Let Us Sing the Praises of Willie Bloomquist

I can't remember a Mariner player I've been more critical of than Willie Bloomquist...Al Martin, maybe. I've harangued Bloomquist, not in this space, but every time his name is mentioned--about the bad angles he gets on flyballs, his lack of power at the plate, etc. Well, in fairness it's worth pointing out that Bloomquist won the game yesterday with a sneaky steal of third off of Trevor Hoffman. Here's how the San Diego media saw it:

After pinch-hitter Jose Vidro sacrificed Bloomquist to second, Hoffman walked Ichiro Suzuki – who in the seventh had tied the game with a two-out, bases-loaded single off Chris Young – intentionally to get to Jose Lopez.

Here, Hoffman made a mistake. As the closer opted for a high leg kick, Bloomquist took off for third – stealing the crucial base without a throw.

“That's on me,” said Hoffman. “I wouldn't have had a high leg kick if I thought he was stealing.”

With Mariners on first and third and one out, the Padres shortened their infield. But it couldn't have been enough for what ensued.

On a change that was almost in the dirt, Lopez grounded softly to Giles.

With Bloomquist running on contact, the second baseman had no play at the plate.

Bloomquist may not be much of a hitter, but he is a cagey competitor and a fast runner--and those talents got the M's the winning run yesterday. Three cheers for Willie!

Another backup, national media star Jamie Burke, scored a run with a great slide and had three hits--that raised his average to .405, which, if he kept it up, would be a new record!

UPDATE: Here's what Ichiro thought of Bloomquist's steal. "That's a situation where there's a lot of pressure. You need courage to be able to do that. Not many players are able to do that."