Mariner Performances in the Mid-Summer Classic

Ichiro

What more can you say about this guy? He starts off the game in typical Ichiro fashion with a single pulled hard between 1st and 2nd. Next at-bat, Ichiro singles to left field, and that is nothing new either. Neither of them had an effect on scoring.

His third at bat was in the 5th inning...

Situation: Runner (Brian Roberts) on first base, after drawing a walk. 1 Out.

Ichiro pulls a 1st pitch fastball deep into right-center. Mariners fans all over had to have been in a state of hysteria. On contact, Ichiro starts jogging to first anticipating a slow trot around the bases. Well, he did trot around the bases, but he did it a lot faster than he expected. Even though the ball didn't clear the brick monster that protects McCovey Cove, it took a nasty bounce off the wall and Griffey Jr. was completely fooled. Ichiro then saw that the ball was rolling towards the right field foul line with Griffey standing in right center and turned on the jets. He ended up motoring his way 360 feet back to the place where he makes the magic happen, home plate. Ichiro can now add an inside the park homerun to his long list of major league accomplishments. His inside-the-parker was the first in All-Star history, only adding to the legend that is Ichiro Suzuki. Four pitches later, the inning was over, but the damage had been done. Ichiro certainly did not disappoint in his 7th All-Star performance going 3-3 with two singles, a homerun, and a pair of rbi's. After the game, he went on to be named MVP of the 2007 All-Star game, joining Ken Griffey Jr. (1992, San Diego) as the only other Mariner to receive the honor.

Ichiro's All-Star grade = A+, and we couldn't have asked for more. Now, GO SIGN THAT NEW CONTRACT!

J.J. Putz

Jim Leyland did just what he said he would do if it came down to a save situation, use J.J. Putz. Putz came in to protect a 5-2 AL lead. He started off facing the red hot Matt Holliday who participated in the homerun derby the night before. He currently sits at 2nd in the NL batting title race, and should take over the 1 spot when Hunter Pence, a rookie, falls off the edge of the world like most rookies do. Putz threw five pitches to the Holliday, including four strikes, the fourth which struck out Holliday on a swinging attempt. Putz then had to face Brian McCann. After a couple of strikes and a ball, McCann popped up to the shortstop, and Putz was one out away from an All-Star save. He then proceeded to pitch to surprise All-Star Dimitri Young. The count: 1-2, and Young hit a ground ball in the hole between 1st and 2nd. Brian Roberts went to his left, somehow found the ball, and then just dropped it. I don't think he knows what happened yet either, because I sure don't. The ball was there, it just didn't stick. He followed that by just looking at what seemed to be in the direction of 1st base. Five pitches later, and Putz was watching Soriano circle the bases on an opposite field 2-run blast that kept the National League in the game.

No worries right? I mean, it is J.J. Putz. Nothing fazes him. Next pitch, BALL IN THE DIRT. He missed horribly. Next pitch, strike 1. OK, J.J. is fine right? Wrong. Balls two, three, and four in a row. J.J. Putz then came to realize how long that walk really is to the dug-out.

In comes K-Rod, and Putz's night was over.

J.J.'s All-Star grade = C. He got the first 2 outs easy. Brian Roberts made an error (or should have been an error at least) and he got rattled and found himself in a hole to a dangerous hitter. He then gives up the home run, and proceeded to walk the next batter on 5 pitches.

All in all, it was a great outing for the Mariners. Ichiro showed why he's one of the best hitters in the game, and Putz had electric stuff as usual, reaching 98 mph.

Let's hope J.J. puts that performance behind him and is back to normal come Thursday.