Sexson Sucks It

Today, the Mariners trotted out Ryan Rowland-Smith to spot start. And he delivered. He threw five scoreless innings. Nate Robertson had his good stuff for Detroit, too. It was shaping up to be just a great, great game.

In the seventh inning, Raul hit a double with one out. They walked Beltre, naturally, to get to Sexson, and to set up the double play. Sexson worked the count to 2-0. Things were looking pretty good. Robertson was tiring, and Sexson had the count in his favor and could wait for his pitch.

So what happened? Robertson threw a very well-located fastball low and away. Sexson tried to pull it and--surprise--hit a grounder to short. Inning over. You learn in coach pitch when you're eight that you can't pull the low and away fastball. Be a little selective there, guy. Either go with the pitch, or take it. Hell, you strike out look all the time; the concept of taking a strike is nothing new.

The Mariners wound up losing in the 15th inning, and Sexson was a solid 0-6 with four men left on base.

It is time to cut him, or at least bench him. Let Clement get his hacks over there. Call up Balentien and let Raul play first. Call Bob Hamelin out of retirement. Do anything. Just don't let that choking choker choke anymore. You already wasted the money, but you don't have to inflict this on your fans.