M's Rival Worst Club Of Decade
Seattle Times Staff Reporter
Although the Mariners are closer to first on this date than they were in 1995, there will be no miracles this time. Not the way this team is carrying on.
...........Mariner pitchers, mostly the relievers, have allowed some big innings during that span, including two four-run innings last night. Mariner arms allowed a team-record seven home runs last night as the Blue Jays ran their run total against Seattle to 34 in the past three games.
"It got ugly," Manager Lou Piniella said. "The last three times we played this team, we've made them look like the '27 Yankees."
........If left fielder Shane Monahan hadn't made a terrific diving catch in the fourth inning, the Jays would have scored two or three more runs. He laid almost level to snag a two-on, two-out liner by Darrin Fletcher.
"You get kind of spoiled playing next to Junior (Ken Griffey Jr.) out there," Monahan said. "He covers so much ground. He's the best outfielder in the game, covering gap to gap."
But when it was clear Griffey wasn't going to get there, Monahan took charge. "I got a decent jump, I made the catch and that was it."
In terms of dives, however, his could not compare to the one by Rosie Santizo of Bellevue, a ballgirl on the left-field line. Santizo was at her station in the second inning when Craig Grebeck bounced a would-be double past third baseman Russ Davis.
Umpire Chuck Meriwether immediately called it a fair ball, but Rosie was after it, believing it was a foul ball, as it whizzed down the line, to quick for her to catch the umpire's call out of the corner of her eye. She made a desperate lunge to stop it, landing on her nose, but the ball squeezed past. Meriwether called interference and ruled a double for Grebeck, which would otherwise have been an easy triple.
"The ballgirl definitely had the best dive tonight," Monahan said. "I've never seen that from anyone like that. She had the wrist bands on tonight. She was ready to play."
Jose Cruz Jr., who had one of the seven home runs against his former team, said of Rosie's attempt, "Oh my God. That was the best play of the game."
Afterward, Santizo could be seen holding her hand to her face, embarrassed by her sudden notoriety.
In a game the Mariners would like to forget, Rosie's dive will live on forever on someone's video highlight reel.
Copyright (c) 1998 Seattle Times Company, All Rights Reserved.
