When the Mariners signed Richie Sexson this past winter, I was definitely excited. As long as he stayed healthy, the M's would finally have the prototypical cleanup hitter that had been missing since the late 90s. He had 40 HR, 120 RBI potential. But, I felt like he alone wouldn't make the Mariners lineup scary. There was already some speed with Ichiro and Winn, and some decent power in Ibanez. All we needed was a good #3 hitter. Someone who would put up great all-around hitting numbers the way Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, ARod, etc. do. Basically, Sexson with a higher batting average. When the Mariners signed Adrian Beltre, I thought we had that.
Here was a 25-year old who had just come off one of the greatest seasons by a third baseman in history. Some people called it a fluke. But Beltre was someone who had always been talked about as having stud potential, and I felt like he had finally reached that potential. He was approaching his prime years, and it was going to be fun to watch. Needless to say, 2005 has been a disappointment.
But not last night. Last night was what the Mariners shelled out all that money for in the offseason. BelSextreson went back-to-back in the third inning last night, giving Ryan Franklin all the run support he needed. (OK well that's not true, it took a few more hits later in the game, including and RBI single from Beltre and JJ Putz got the win, but whatever). When the M's spent over $100 million in a two-day span in December, it was for July 25th. Without a doubt.
Will there be more to come?
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Its hard to see who would have been a better fit, Sexson or Delgado. I was on the Sexson front from the get go. I really feel Beltre is going to have a big second half and if he can end the year around .280 25 100 I'll take it. Sexson is on pace for a .271 40 127 pace that is awesome. Anyway I only sorta watched the game last night but the back to back jacks were very nice to see.
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