The Pitching

Is Jeff Harris our second best starter right now? He just might be. Jamie has been fairly mediocre to decent except for one really bad stretch in May and the rest of the non-Felix rotation has been a disaster.

Mariner starters are 11th out of 14 in ERA despite playing in an excellent pitchers park. Pick a pitching measure, they suck at it. K/BB ratio? 13th. WHIP? 12th. OPS against? 12th. They are easier to score on than a room full of drunk soroity girls.

I don't know that next year looks any better. Of course you've got Felix. That'll help a lot. But after that who knows? Burnett and Millwood are going to get huge contracts, probably beyond their worth. Can Bavasi swing a trade for someone else? He's probably going to have to, because you cannot really afford to just roll Piniero, Franklin and Meche out there again and hope.

And what about Brian Price? How much blame does he get for this? I don't think he had a ton to work with, but a few years ago we were talking about him being in the elite of pitching coaches. After the last two years I don't think we can put him in that class anymore. He's not Leo Mazzone that's for sure, although frankly, who is?? I'll tell you this, if long-time Grover crony Mark Wiley comes free this off-season (he's coaching for the Marlins) Price probably better dust off his resume.