Mariners Insider: How Edgar, simplified approach is helping offense

ST. LOUIS – Friday night in St. Louis the Seattle Mariners found themselves in a familiar spot having arrived in the fifth inning yet to score a run.

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If the spot was familiar, the feeling was most likely new. There were zeros on the board and a good starter in Erick Fedde on the hill, but the frustration was likely with the pitcher as the Mariners had struck out just one time. Fedde would not finish the inning as the Mariners went on to put together a run with a walk, hit by pitch, single and a sac fly. In the process, they got the starter’s pitch count up to 95.

With Bryce Miller on the hill, they didn’t need much, but the offense kept going, scored five runs off the Cardinals bullpen and finished the night with 11 hits, four walks and just five strikeouts. It was their third straight win with the offense showing what it has hoped, and by its own accounts believed, it can be. After the game, J.P. Crawford pointed to a change he sees that could be paying off.

“It’s just getting back to simplifying everything up,” he said. “I think collectively over the last couple of months we were going in with the plan that was way too complicated and these last couple of weeks we simplified everything just getting back to just trusting yourself, trusting your hands and just (a) see-ball-hit-ball type of mentality.”

The results are there in a small sample. Since Aug. 23, the Mariners have had a strikeout percentage of 23.1%, the 12th highest in baseball, down from the MLB-worst 27.7% prior to that day. Crawford credited interim hitting coach Edgar Martinez with getting the group to a place where they could simplify.

“Man, he’s been huge. He’s been really good,” Crawford said. “He’s been helping everyone here and he’s been helping me out these last couple of days. And just the advice he gives is so simple and it really works way better than anything else.”

In an interview on the radio pregame show, Justin Turner, who spends most of batting practice standing behind the cage next to Edgar watching hitters, went more into depth into what he has gotten from the Hall of Famer.

“His idea and understanding of preparation and approach and keeping things external and not so worried about everything that we’re doing in the box as far as our mechanics and our set up and thinking about a million different things,” he said, noting it was very similar to what he saw from Mark McGwire, one of his hitting coaches with the Dodgers.

“They (the Mariners) do a really good job of trying to simplify things for us and keep our thoughts external and be able to compete one-on-one against the pitcher, which is really what the name of the game is.”

While it is impossible to quantify, it is likely Turner himself is contributing to some of the improvement we are seeing with the offense, and not just with his numbers. The veteran was bought in to lead and be an example, and by all accounts he has contributed, being vocal in the hitting meetings and watching batting practices on the field and in cages.

“I love being around the cage and watching guys work and talk through feels, adjustments and what they are trying to accomplish,” he said. “Just continue to be an ear and a sounding board when guys are trying to make an adjustment, to possibly give different ideas or thoughts to help them get where they want to be.”

Those conversations and that support are no doubt valuable. Turner has had success in the league and was an important part of a Dodger team that went to the postseason each of his 9 years with the organization. They know a thing or two about offense, and Turner learned much.

“The biggest thing to understand is offense isn’t one-dimensional,” he said. “It’s not just about hitting home runs. It’s not just about staying in the strike zone and taking your walks when you have to. There’s so many aspects of the game, and I think really being able to take a step back, understand the situation, understand the inning, understand the score, understand what the game is asking you to do as a hitter during that at-bat is so important. And I think the conversations are building around the clubhouse.

“Again, I just got here not too long ago, so I don’t know what that was like before I did, but I think guys are really starting to understand. And not saying that they didn’t before, but buy in to seeing what the game is asking them to do, and in an at-bat and not trying to do too much and not trying to be the super hero every time they step in the box.”

It appears we are seeing more of that. The Mariners scored 16 runs in a game in Oakland where they only hit one home run. It was the pass-the-baton offense we had seen more of in recent seasons but for some reason, it just didn’t take hold this year. Manager Dan Wilson has talked about staying more up the middle, going the other way and  having a two strike approach – the latter in particular is something that was practically begged for before the arrival of Wilson and Martinez.

“It’s one thing (Martinez) has hit on multiple times since he’s been here is before you get to two strikes, it’s your at-bat and you have your approach and what you want to do, but once you get to two strikes, it’s the team’s at-bat,” Turner said. “It’s your job to go up there and fight and scratch and claw and do anything you can to make that guy work as hard as possible to get you out. It’s a game of outs, but I think how you make the outs matter, and if you’re making guys work hard and really pitch to get you out, that takes a toll on those pitchers and sometimes it leads to them making mistakes to the guy hitting after you or the guy hitting after him, and that can sometimes lead to a big inning.

“So really just stressing on, ‘Hey, once you get two strikes, it’s about swallowing your pride, it’s about battling. It’s about not caring what you look like, but doing whatever you can to scratch and claw and find a way to put a ball in play and get on base.'”

While words to action are important but fragile in this game, it’s ultimately the results that generate the buy in and lasting change. Time will tell where the Mariners are in that process.

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