Seattle Times: Baker: Not all losses are created equal

Give me an A…#### it, give another one.

Mariners’ manager Don Wakamatsu put it best: “No loss is easy, but obviously when you give it up in the ninth, it stings a little more. It hurts quite a bit.’‘

No sugar-coating this one—it belongs in the pantheon of excruciating losses by the Mariners this season. Off the top of my head, I can think of the back-to-back walkoffs by Texas off Brandon Morrow, and the one against Anaheim in which they blow a large lead, with David Aardsma coughing it up in the ninth for one of his three blown saves.

Aardsma has been excellent for the most part this year, and Wakamatsu alluded to over-use as a possible cause of this outing, while declaring his continued belief in the closer.

“This guy has been the heart and soul of our ballclub,’’ Wakamatsu said. “He’s been consistent. That’s why he’s been at the top of our league in ERA for relievers. If we tack on a couple of runs, it’s a little different situation; the pressure is maybe not there. We talked about the amount of appearances and innings the bullpen has sustained, and sometimes you’re going to have some bad ones. This guy has been our rock, and done a tremendous job for us.”