Biggest Reason #Mariners Missed the World Series? | #SeattleSports

Biggest Reason #Mariners Missed the World Series? | #SeattleSports

Yeah, you were eight outs away from from getting to a spot this organization has never reached in their existence and to have it just yanked out with that guy with George freaking Springer cheater extraordinaire and for those that get tired of hearing that tough it’ll never leave I will never stop referring to him aluve Koreah any AJ Hinch Everybody that’s involved, as long as they are involved in baseball, I will always refer to them as that. I do not care what anybody you see wherever those guys play, they hear a a resounding course of booze on the road. It’s not because they’re just and they’re all great players. There’s part of it is that, but Vlatty doesn’t get booed the way that Springer gets booed. Vlatty’s 10 times better than Springer, right? General question for the Mariner fan out there. What is the biggest There’s not one singular reason, by the way, but what’s the biggest reason this team is is not in the World Series? What’s the biggest reason that they lost last night? There are a lot of moments you can point to. I don’t know that there are any wrong answers. I don’t I also don’t think there are any absolute answers in that if you would have done this, this would have happened. Had you done this, this would have happened. You don’t have any certainty to any move. Yeah. Okay. So, it can go we can start with the bunt of JP Crawford which I had a little issue and not not so much the bunt. I don’t have a problem with that cuz I felt like it was going to be a lowscoring game and that you need to squeeze out some runs and if you got that opportunity do it. Here’s the problem. You’re bunting to get to eight and nine to Revas to Canone, right? I I have no faith in and I I and Revas who has been a a guy that gives a great atbat. He typically is going to go up there, see some pitches, make the pitcher work, often will work a walk, had two of the most horrific at bats he maybe in his entire career. He swung at a pitch that you would need a tree log to reach. Like I don’t even know what he was seeing. His his AB was so bad. Um Kzone’s been terrible. He’s been and he’s a guy that I looked at as a potential X factor. I thought this guy was on fire after he got called back up from Triple A. He He was hitting for average, hitting for power. He fell flat in the postseason. So, the fact that you were bunting in that situation, the bunt itself, not a huge I know a lot of people had a huge problem with that. I did not, but it was where in the lineup they were and who they were bunting to get to. Right. if you’re bunning to get to Cal to Julio to Cal to Naylor to pretty much Dave anybody else if I’m being honest if I’m looking at the lineup saying hey even even Gino who has not been had that great moment certainly and we’ll never forget that but but uh yeah I just I just I couldn’t I’m like where where who you who are you trying to get to who who do you have faith in to come through in this moment because you hadn’t been getting it from that part of the lineup at all at all. So that’s one moment we will look at, you know, the pitching chain. Who did you go to? Should you have walked Springer to set up the double play? Well, you there’s no certainty you’re going to get that double play ball, right? And then you’re going to be facing Vlad. So with the bases Ju. So there’s a lot of people that got on and there were absolute conclusions to these moves. Had you done this, this is how it would have gone. We don’t know. You don’t know. You got to Some of it is, hey, you got to give yourself the best chance. And in in some cases, these decisions did not set you up with your best chance. Yeah. But in terms of the outcome, you don’t have any certainty, right? So, um it starts and I know that Ryan was was talking about this. I actually called Ryan, talked to him after the game on his way home last night, but we just talked about some of the different aspects of the game and one that he was on was, you know, George Kirby and he felt like Kirby should have been left in there longer. I understood why he pulled him. He didn’t want him to see the lineup for a third time. Mhm. Um, Mark D. Rosa, MLB Network, who we all know and and you have a particular fondness for, explains why he agrees with Ryan. He would have uh let Kirby stay in the game. Give me a reason to take George Kirby out of this game cuz he’s throwing 98 mph bowling balls right past these guys right now. So, I would have had a hard time even going to Woo in that spot. But then I would have had a hard time taking Woo out. So, as he’s walking, I’m like, “Okay, Munoz is coming into this spot.” And then you could be all right with that. And then right here, I’m saying to myself, Woo’s previous at bat in the bottom of the fifth. He took apart George on three pitches. Yeah, I I get it. I get it. I didn’t match up there. At the moment, I I’m not going to, you know, play Monday morning quarterback. I didn’t have a huge problem with that at the time. I’m like, all right, we and we’ve talked about this better a a hitter early as opposed to a hitter late. and if they were and the other part is we don’t know you know what what they knew about George and how he was feeling and what Cal was seeing from him. So I’m going all right I I can live with this you know I understood why they did it. I also understand why people are like Ryan and D. Rosa are saying why did you do that? Yeah but to me that’s not where the game was lost right well I mean I know that we’re we’re going with what’s the one thing but the biggest thing what’s the big because there isn’t one thing to me. Yeah. And you know, to me, I guess it’s it’s more general and it has to do with Woo. I mean, and you know, look, we were we were talking about this going into the Toronto series that um you like, man, we’ve been doing all of this without Brian Woo. And ultimately what you ended up getting out of Brian Woo, who’s their best pitcher by far, there was never a point during the season where you and I went, “Okay, who’s who’s the ace? Oh, maybe it’s Logan, maybe it’s this.” It was Brian Woo. Yeah. And you you end up getting four and a third out of him. And that’s nobody’s fault. It’s just the fact that, you know, he he got injured. Four and a third out of What’s that? Who are you talking about? Oh, you got four and a third out of uh Woo in the the two games. Oh, combined. I was going to say, yeah, he didn’t pitch that long. No, no, I Yeah, he went uh two and a third and and two and gave up three earned runs in uh in those those two instances. So, yeah. I mean, to me that was that was like not having Cal basically, you know, in your in your lineup. I mean, that that part of it I think that that killed him. Yeah. Yeah, it was. Uh, and I know it’s not anything specific from last night, but I just think in in general, the biggest reason why they lost that series was was there. And it’s not Brian’s fault, obviously. He he was fantastic all year, but, you know, that that killed you. Yeah, it was uh look, you got through the first two innings with Woo, he he was three up, three down. He was fine. Yeah. You get into that seventh, he walks Barger, Connor Falefa comes up with the single. Here comes the bunt. You knew that was coming. And then they bring in Bazardo. So he he was I didn’t have a pro to me. There’s the argument, should you have left Woo in to face Springer because of what the previous at bat looked like. I get that. But Woo also to me looked like maybe he was losing a bit of his command there. And the change for me, again, I I’ll I’m not going to Monday morning quarterback this one. I didn’t have a problem at the time. I was like, “All right, get him out. Get him out.” And but it was who they brought in. And that was a first guess for me because Bazardo had just pitched two innings the night before. I’m going, “Okay, two, one of two things could be in play here. A, he’s not completely fresh. Two innings the night before. Now he’s shown that he can go multiple nights in a row and he’s got a rubber arm and all that. The other part is they’d seen him. They had seen what he’s got. They had seen they had just seen him the night before in a game that and to me if you want to question Bazardo, I’d question why you pitched him two nights in or two innings uh the night previous when you were down five to nothing. Mhm. That to me is a more curious question. But looking at this game, I’m thinking, okay, this is a leverage situation where the game you’ve got the tying run on on base and you got the the go-ahead run at the plate. You got to face that situation who’s one of their best in Springer with your best your best arm in that bullpen is Andres Munoz. Yeah. Your closer doesn’t have to pitch the ninth. That’s that’s old school, you know, philosophy. Well, here’s my eighth inning guy. Here’s my ninth inning guy. Here’s my seventh inning guy. Here’s my bridge. whatever. It’s the playoffs, man. Yeah. It’s the the the closer goes where he’s needed most in that situation. You’ve got your best arm. You can’t leave him sitting on the bench. And you’ve got him in a in a beyond leverage situation with arguably the second best hitter on that team behind Vlad and George Springer who’s just been on fire. That’s crucial. And I love Bazardo. He has been, you wouldn’t be in this position without him. He was crucial to this team. But in that situation, I’m looking at it again two two issues potentially that he just pitched two innings the night before. What does he have in the tank? And B, how fresh is that image in their mind in terms of okay, here’s how he here’s how he sequences. Here’s here’s what he’s going to do here. And this is what his breaking ball looks like and here’s what this looks like. And Springer hit that like he knew what was coming. It wasn’t middle middle. It was middle in a little lower, but it was it was in the strike zone. it was right there and he put a good swing on it and you know that wasn’t a certainty either. It wasn’t oh Bazardo’s in you’re going to lose this game but that’s how it turned out and that that was a first guess for me. I’m like I I don’t like this I don’t like this move. Yeah. And at the time you didn’t like it, right? I mean no. And it wasn’t the move of removing Woo. I didn’t Some had an issue with why didn’t you leave Woo in there? I understood that cuz to me it looked like he was losing a little bit of his command. So again, hitter early as opposed to a hitter late because if he’s if he faces Springer and gives up a the the deep ball, everybody’s going to go, “Dan, you saw he walked a guy, he gives up a hit behind him, you you see that he’s faltering. Why didn’t you pull him out?” So he he would have lost that argument anyway. So I I didn’t have a problem with the timing of it. My problem was was with who they brought in to face him. Well, and I heard somebody say something about Dan. You know, you you talked about like that’s from like 15 or 20 years ago, that that style as far as it’s well, that’s even regular season. It’s not even old school like, oh, well, they don’t do that anymore. But that’s regular season. He’s your closer, right? Munoz is in your eighth inning guy is brash and your your guy before that your seventh inning guy is Spire and you know that’s they kind of have innings attached to him if you will. He comes in here, he comes in here, but when it’s the playoffs that goes out the window. Yeah. You know, it’s interesting. Bazardo, you know, this was, and he pointed this out. This is the first time he lost a game for the Mariners this season. So, and you know, I just wanted to get what Munoz said. He said, “He’s been awesome for us this season. Our one homer doesn’t determine his season. Without him, we wouldn’t have been able to be here. Please keep that in mind.” Oh, he’s 100% right. Great great teammate right there. And he’s right. He’s not just standing up for Look, he he made a mistake and Springer made him pay for it. But I’m not looking at, oh, Bazardo stinks. Why is he on the team? You’re he’s 100% right. You are not in this position without him. Y he was absolutely crucial to what this team has been able to do. I just again the situation didn’t set up for him specifically.

Bob Stelton and Dave Wyman (Wyman & Bob) break down the decisions and moments from ALCS Game 7 between the Mariners and Blue Jays.

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0:00 – 8 outs away from a WS appearance
1:05 – Why aren’t the Mariners in the WS?
5:30 – Bryan Woo’s postseason
7:10 – Decision to bring in Eduard Bazardo
10:25 – Dan Wilson’s style

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Listen to The Wyman & Bob Show weekdays from 2 p.m. – 7 p.m. live on Seattle Sports 710 AM and the Seattle Sports App, or on-demand wherever you listen to podcasts.
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