All losses hurt, but bullpen losses are gut-wrenching and demoralizing

[PolarVortex]

The mariners have been in all four games since the All Star break concluded. With a little luck, or more specifically, with last year's bullpen, they would have won all four games.

Instead we have gone 1-3.

We lost the first game to the Yankees when Arod hit a homerun off of Joe Beimel. I don't blame Joe Beimel. He isn't on this team to pitch against right-handed power hittters. But, he found himself in that position because our right handed relief from a year ago has completely collapsed this year. Wilhelmsen and Farquar can't get the job done, and Justin Leone/Yoervis Medina were traded for.....Mike Trumbo.

We lost the third game against the Yankees because Fernando Rodney game up a late-game homerun to Mark Teixeira. Again, I don't blame Rodney. Charlie Furbush should have been pitching to Teixeira, but Charlie is on the DL because McClendon killed his arm with over-work because he was one of only three bullpen pitchers who were getting job done.

And we lost last night's game because Mark Lowe had a rare meltdown. Mark was called up prior to game 29. We have now played 93 games. He has pitched in 30 of the team's last 64 games. He's coming off of two years of injuries and he is on pace to pitch in the second highest game total of his 10-year career. So, no, I don't blame Mark Lowe either. He wasn't expected to be on a 74-game pace over a 162-game schedule.

The bullpen is an absolute fucking mess. And, everytime they give up the winning run, this team gets kicked in the gut....hard.

If this continues, we are looking at a 72-90 team, and maybe even worse.

 

[seahawksfan234]

It's funny because the common thread in each of those games comes back to poor management.

I wasn't a fan of Lloyd's hiring to begin with, he had a mediocre track record before coming here and many of the personnel decisions he has made have been questionable at best.

I don't blame the bullpen as much as I blame Lloyd for having the wrong guys out there. The only time he had the right guy out there was with Lowe, and it's tough to put too much blame on him with how great he has pitched this year.