Breaking news – Richie Sexson makes contact
Marc and I had the pleasure of attending last night's Mariners game, where we watched them not only lose again, but also not score any runs. Come to think of it, the Mariners have not scored any runs for 22 innings. That is 2 ½ games for your non-baseball fans. The crowd was pretty quiet, which is the norm for a Mariners game unless the Yankees or the Red Sox are in town. But Marc and I were sitting back and enjoying our Thursday night out when all of a sudden, chaos ensued.
Some background here – Richie Sexson, the guy who grew up locally who came home to play for his favorite team 3 years ago, was up at bat. Now Sexson was brought in to be a clean-up hitter and was given a pretty sizeable contract with the hopes that he would deliver. I remember being at 2005 Opening Day for Sexson's 1st game as a Mariner and he cracked 2 home runs in that game. I remember thinking, "wow, it only goes downhill from here". Never expected that slope to be so steep.
Sexson batted .205 for the 2007 season, which is pretty bad for any major leaguer, let alone for someone pulling in $15 million bucks per year. Yes, one could argue the same about Jason Giambi, whom I think the Yanks should just release and be done with him, his steroids baggage and his bloated contract. Anyway back to Richie. This year Richie is batting .209, which is again dangerously close to the Mendoza line.
OK, back to last night. So we're in the 4th inning, and Felix Hernandez (pitcher for the Mariners) was having a wild night. He hit a couple of guys, but it was pretty clear that he just couldn't find the strike zone. It was possible that the Rangers pitcher, Kason Gabbard, might hit one of the Mariners in the usual "gotta protect my players" mentality that permeates throughout baseball. Up comes Sexson, who is 6' 8", and a pitch comes in high at the level of his head.
He then literally charges the mound with his helmet in his hand and throws the helmet at the pitcher. I don't know in all of the years that I have been watching baseball that I have seen someone throw a helmet at someone like that. It was crazy. Dugouts emptied. Bullpens emptied. I immediately said to Marc that was the best contact Sexson had made in the last 2 seasons but too bad it was with his helmet and not his bat. And Marc and I had the benefit of replay based on where we sit, and the pitch was high but right down the middle!
I think he gets suspended for at least a week because of the helmet and not just charging the mound to throw a punch. You would also think that a fight like this would galvanize the Mariners. Just like the infamous 2004 brawl between ARod and Jason Varitek, which turned it around for the Red Sox – still think my grandmother's death was related to that event as she was a lifelong Yanks fan. But no, the Mariners didn't muster any runs even with runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out. Not good.
Once again, you can't make this stuff up. That fight probably generated the loudest ovation that the Mariners received all year.
More to come on our recent trip to Vancouver, BC. Stay tuned.