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Mariners Wednesday, October 17, 2001
Seattle rides pitching to best season ever ELLIOTT SMITH, THE OLYMPIAN SEATTLE -- Bobby Ayala. Dick Drago. Jeff Fassero. Sterling Hitchcock. Jose Mesa. Paul Mirabella. Dennis Powell. Heathcliff Slocumb. Paul Spoljaric. Mike Timlin. Steve Trout.
If those names don't give you shivers, then you've obviously blacked out the often-inglorious history of Seattle Mariners pitching.
For years, Seattle struggled to solve the mystery of the mound.
Anyone with a live arm was given a shot. Pitching coaches were changed like underwear. Opposing batters salivated at a chance to face a Mariner arm.
Even the high- lights were not exactly what you'd call noteworthy. Mike Young led the M's in wins in 1983 with an 11-15 record. Bill Stanton paced Seattle with eight saves in 1984. Even after the Mariners' resurgence in 1995, Hitchcock led the team in ERA in 1996 at a staggering 5.35.
And just as recently as 1999, the Mariners pitchers had team highs in ERA (5.24), hits (1,613), runs (905) and walks (684).
But then, something happened. Seattle went from a pitching-phobic team to a pitching-rich one, relying less on three-run homers and more on three-hit shutouts.
It's a team that has ridden pitching all the way to a tie for the best record in baseball history and a berth in the American League Championship Series.
And this is all without a certain Big Unit that is surely headed to the Hall of Fame.
Forget those luminaries listed above. The Mariners have baseball's premier pitching team with the help of a hard-throwing, temperamental star in the making, a 38-year-old junkballer, a supposed injury case, a journeyman, a spring training nonroster invitee and a Japanese legend.
Freddy Garcia, Jamie Moyer, Aaron Sele, Paul Abbott, Norm Charlton and Kazuhiro Sasaki are just a few of the names that have made Mariners pitching the strongest component in a remarkable machine.
"Our pitching has carried us," Mariners manager Lou Piniella said.
Well, yes, but it's not that simple.
Several factors have played a role in giving Seattle its primo pitching reputation.
- The wisening of Lou: Remember when Piniella got into a near-brawl with reliever Rob Dibble during his Cincinnati Reds days?
Well, that was when Piniella was regarded as a good manager with little skill in handling pitchers, which in turn led to frayed nerves among his staff. As Piniella matured into the calm manager Seattle fans now know him as, his skill with pitchers improved greatly.
- Bryan Price: Part of Piniella's rebirth as a pitchers' manager deals with his hiring of Price, a near-unknown outside of the Mariners' organization, where he's spent the past 12 years. As a player, Price never got above Triple-A, but as a pitching coach, he is regarded among the best in the bigs.
- Safeco Field: Departing the hitter-friendly Kingdome for the spacious new park has given Mariners pitchers a much-needed boost of confidence, knowing that a mistake won't necessarily cost them a game.
It's all added up to a major league leading ERA of 3.54 -- a major role in the Mariners' historic season.
"We've said it all year, from Day 1 -- pitching is the name of the game," Seattle outfielder Jay Buhner said.
And from Day 1, the Mariners staff has been extraordinary, using excellent starting pitching and a dominant bullpen to vanquish its opponents.
"Our pitching has been amazing," Mariners DH Edgar Martinez said.
According to Price, the reason the staff has been successful -- especially the starters -- is because they have not gotten away from their strengths.
"They aren't pitching outside of their character," he said. "They've been effective all year, and the only time they're vulnerable is if they change their style."
Leading the way was Garcia, who harnessed his ability and emotion en route to an 18-6 record and league-leading 3.05 ERA. With an active fastball and biting curve, the 24-year-old has established himself as the team's ace.
"The key for him is to not get too emotional," Price said. "He can't let a cheap hit or bad call take away his focus. When he is grounded and focused, he is very consistent."
Moyer isn't going to overpower anyone with his repertoire of curves and changeups, but he is very aware of what it takes to be successful, as evidenced by his 20-win season.
"He has to pitch his own game," Price said. "If something's not going right, it stands out. So he'll just make a mechanical adjustment to get back into the zone."
Sele got off to a fast start this season -- winning eight straight at the beginning of the year -- by using his fastball and curve effectively. He faltered in the middle of the season before righting himself to finish 15-5.
"Aaron is very in-tune with his delivery," Price said. "If he's locating his fastball, his other pitches will follow."
Perhaps the biggest surprise was Abbott, who reeled off 10 straight wins to finish 17-4 -- not bad for a pitcher who only had 21 wins total heading into 2001.
"He needs to control the bottom of the zone," Price said. "If he gets some early outs and gets command of his pitches, the league is not going to hit him."
Four starters, 70 wins. Not too shabby.
"When you win, that helps a great deal with confidence," Moyer said. "But again, I've said this many a time during the course of the year, and I'll continue to say it, I don't think we would be where we are as the Seattle Mariners unless we played together as a team from Day 1."
In the past, the Mariners have had decent starters, but the bullpen was like pouring gas on a fire. But over the past two years, Seattle has built the best pen in the majors -- a unit so good, it's a near-lock when its members enter a contest.
"If the starters go five (innings), the bullpen is good enough to go four," said Seattle reliever Arthur Rhodes, who went 8-0 this year. "The bullpen takes care of the rest. We've been doing the same thing all year."
The nucleus of the pen was built last year, with Rhodes, Sasaki and Jose Paniagua paving the way. The additions of ex-Mariners Jeff Nelson and Charlton pushed the bullpen to the top.
"Last year we wanted to add a hitter, but the only two that were available were (Alex) Rodriguez and (Manny) Ramirez, so we decided to increase our bullpen," Seattle general manager Pat Gillick said.
It was a good move. Nelson and Charlton have been integral to the bullpen's success, giving Piniella two more options late in a game.
"It's the greatest feeling in the world to go to the bullpen and know the game is over," Buhner said.
Reliable starters? Dominant relief? It sure makes Price's job easy.
"They cross the line and get the job done," he said. "That means I get to spend a lot of time in the corner of the dugout watching them."
And it means that Piniella's nervous days in the dugout are over.
"I don't know about the past, because I wasn't here," Price said. "But I heard all the same things you probably heard. But I think Lou has a real respect for pitchers. He understands it's more than just going out there and throwing. He made it clear to me early on that his only expectations were that he wanted the pitchers to compete and throw the ball over the plate. If they're willing to do that, Lou is there for them."
And this year they have been there for him.
"I felt like I walked into a situation where it was an organization that was in need of pitching," Moyer said. "Was I the answer? No, I was not, but I was hoping that I could be a piece of that puzzle. I felt like I got a great opportunity from Lou and the organization to go out and pitch on a consistent basis.
"I felt very comfortable with the players on the team, the opportunities were there every fifth day, and I've played on some pretty darn good ballclubs here in Seattle."
Today
- ALCS Game 1: New York Yankees (Pettitte) at Seattle (Sele), 1:20 p.m.
- On the air: FOX Channel 13; KGY (1240 AM), KMAS 1030 AM)
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