http://www.sbnation.com/users/Jeff%20in%20Seattle Posts made by Jeff in Seattle on SB Nation http://www.athleticsnation.com/2005/4/21/14528/9883 Jeff in Seattle Thu, 21 Apr 2005 05:45:28 -0000 <p>Well, it wasn't pretty, that's for sure.</p> <p>Zito was awful the first inning, and it could have been worse. &nbsp;Ichiro popped out on a pitch that was nowhere near the strike zone. &nbsp;You could even see Z try to steer one in the strike zone, and it wasn't close. &nbsp;He did, however, straighten up and pitch pretty well the rest of the way. &nbsp;I was surprised to see him last 114 pitches.</p> <p>Chavvy is lost at the plate. &nbsp;He got lucky on his hit, as the pitch he chopped up the middle was about shoulder high. &nbsp;In the 8th, you could see he wanted to walk, not swing. &nbsp;The 3-1 pitch was close, a little low even from where I was sitting, but he was begging for that one to be ball four. &nbsp;And when it wasn't, well, it was pretty easy to figure out what was coming next.</p> <p>The M's only hit one ball hard off of Street -- Ibanez's single. &nbsp;He deserved better. &nbsp;The others were all bloopers or choppers. &nbsp;Reed's squib up the 3rd base line was a tough play for Chavvy, but we've all seen him make that play before. &nbsp;Byrnes' play was inexcusable. &nbsp;He had no shot at catching that ball, but rather than play it on a hop and prevent the second run from scoring, he had to be a superhero and lay out for it. &nbsp;</p> <p>I'm done with Byrnes. &nbsp;He was terrible at the plate as well. &nbsp;Others have said it before, but he might just be the least fundamentally sound player in the AL. &nbsp;I was not one to be on the trade Byrnes bandwagon before, but now, I'd rather see the oh-fer boys, Thomas and Kielty, in LF. &nbsp;The problem is that it may be too late for Billy to get anything of value for Byrnes. &nbsp;He's falling apart before our eyes.</p>