Trade Deadline Passed

About two hours after the deadline, last minute trades have seemingly stopped coming in. The Mariners were extremely quiet after so much talk about possible outcomes. Early in the day, there was word that we were working to acquire utility infielder Mark Loretta from the Astros however that deal never really seemed to get close to completion. The mission of acquiring Reyes or Dotel also was unsuccessful, with Reyes staying put in Tampa Bay and Dotel going to the Braves. It was reported that Bavasi offered Balentien to the Royals for Dotel, but it wasn't enough to get him... Thankfully. Though quiet for the most part, Bavasi did hook up with former Mariner GM and current GM for the Philadelphia Phillies to send Julio Mateo to the Phils in return for AA/AAA infielder prospect Jesus Merchan. In 84 games (81 with AA and 3 with AAA), Merchan was hitting .330.

I will post a State of the Mariners: At the Deadline in the coming days once the deadline ramifications work themselves out.

Dotel to Braves

Mariner fans can breathe a little easier now knowing that the Braves have acquired Octavio Dotel from the Royals. Now Mariner Nation will have to hold there breath again and hope that Reyes either stays in Tampa Bay or goes to the Mets.

Reitsma on DL

Ryan Rowland Smith was recalled from AAA to take the spot of Chris Reitsma who will have elbow surgery this week. Dave Niehaus said during tonights game that Reitsma could be done for the year. Hallelujah!

A Reliever?

We are know about 28 hours from the July 31st trading deadline and the latest hot-stove talk is that the Mariners may have shifted their focus to acquiring a right-handed reliever for 8th inning duty that has been split by several different guys this season. It seems as if Al Reyes and Octavio Dotel are the two names that consistently come up.

Two Mariner scouts, including Norm Charlton, have been watching Reyes of the Devil Rays for the last few days. The consensus here is that they have some interest in catcher Jeff Clement. The Mets are thought to be the other primary pursuer of Reyes.

Up to 7 or 8 teams are thought to be in the running for Dotel, primarily the Indians, Mariners, and Dodgers. The Royals have apparently expressed interest in Balentien and Jones, with Balentien probably being the only in play.

But why is Bavasi now targeting a reliever and are we going to get what we need; a starter? It seems like we have exhausted any starting pitcher options that are seen as viable to the front office, atleast, for the players that are currently available. I would view it as a mistake to waste one of our best bargaining chips/future stars on a relief pitcher when we have guys capable of filling the 8th inning role as it is. We'll see what happens, but don't be surprised if we don't land a starting pitcher.

Our Trade Targets

With the deadline approaching the M's options for a starting pitcher are getting slim.

We are looking at 10 or more starting pitchers based on rumors from multiple web sites. However many of them are struggling. Here are their most recent lines.

Contreras- 4.2 inn. 9 runs
Jennings- .2 inn. 11 runs
Morris- 7 inn. 6 runs
L Hernandez- 4 inn. 8 runs
Igawa- 5 2/3 inn. 5 runs

Bedard, Garland and Willis are pitching well however they are thought to be unavailable or overpriced. Vazquez could be had, but he has stated that he is unwilling to play on the west coast. This leaves the Mariners with very few options.

Ichiro's Interesting Fan Confrontation

"CF Ichiro Suzuki had an interesting eighth inning on Saturday. During a pitching change, a fan came out of the stands and started talking to Suzuki and LF Raul Ibanez. It took security a minute to realize the man, who was wearing a jersey, was not a player. As security approached, the fan gave Suzuki a hug before laying down on the grass and being handcuffed. ``First I asked him, 'Have you been drinking?' He said 'No.' ... But all drunk people say, 'I'm not drinking,''' Suzuki said. After checking to see that the fan didn't have any weapons, Suzuki played along, ``lightly'' hugging the fan back. ``I started thinking what would be the most fun thing for me to do for the fans.'' ... Suzuki went hitless on Saturday and remained one hit shy of reaching 1,500." --ESPN.com

Awwwwww Ichiro did what would be most fun for the fans. He loves us, HE REALLY LOVES US!!!

M's Active in Trade Talks

A few miscellaneous rumors have come out today regarding the Mariners and the trading deadline.

1) "The Mariners are in on every available starting pitcher, and several pitchers who aren't. Aiming super-high, they've bugged the Marlins about Dontrelle Willis, the White Sox about Jon Garland and even tried to see if the Yankees were putting Andy Pettitte on the market. They're liable to get somebody, but it isn't likely to be somebody anywhere near that good. The latest talk has them hot on the trail of Houston's Jason Jennings...." --Newark Star-Ledger

Jason Jennings has shown flashes of talent in his first three years in the majors, but he hasn't found a way to stay consistent. He spent his first two years in Colorado and is now pitching in Houston. In both years with Colorado, he failed to win ten games and had a losing record. This year he's 2-6 with a 4.74 era and in his last ten games, he has given up three or more earned runs in nine of them. If he comes to Seattle don't expect him to be too much better although Safeco is a pitchers park. This is another case where we would have to worry about a career NL pitcher coming to the AL.

2) "Kenji Johjima and Ichiro both expressed pleasant surprise in the clubhouse after overhearing a TV report about the Mariners' rumored trade interest in Yankees pitcher Kei Igawa, who is also Japanese." --Seattle Times

To me this is the most intriguing of the new class of rumors. Igawa came over from Japan in the offseason after the Yankees posted $26 million to negotiate with him and then signed Igawa to a five year, $20 million contract. Though he has been a bust so far for the Yankees and has just been demoted for the second time to the minor leagues, Igawa was a star in Japan. His career ERA in Japan is 3.15 and his season ERA's were all under 3.90 from 2000-2006 (four of those seasons under 3.00). Along with his outstanding stats, he is the 5th fastest pitcher in Japanese history to reach 1000 strikeouts. By 2007 standards, Igawa is dirt cheap. He is under contract through 2011 and is owed just $4 million a year. Consider the fact that Jeff Weaver is making more than double that this year on a one year deal. New York is not the best place for a first year pitcher from Japan who doesn't speak english. The Eddie Murphy movie Coming to America keeps popping into my head. On a side note, one of Kei Igawa's hobbies is model planes. What better place than Seattle, the home of Boeing? He shouldn't cost much, I say do it right away.

3) "The Mariners, meanwhile, have serious interest in reliever Al Reyes and, possibly, Edwin Jackson. A Mets scout also was at the Trop." --St. Petersburg Times

This isn't surprising I guess. Here are the stats on these two:

Al Reyes: 1-1, 4.75 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 40 K's, 13 BB, 17 Saves (career ERA is 3.71)
Edwin Jackson: 2-10, 7.00 ERA, 1.86 WHIP, 77 K's, 51 BB (career ERA is 6.16)

Ummmm... How about a big fat NO on Jackson. Reyes would be fine, but there are bigger problems that we need to address first.

7/27: Oakland A's at Seattle Mariners

Dallas Braden (1-5, 5.15 ERA) vs. Felix Hernandez (6-6, 4.02 ERA)

Happy Felix Day? We'll see. Well, I won't, since I'm going to see the Simpsons movie tonight (which is why I'm putting this up so early), but we can hope for Good Felix, right?

Check Mate

As we near the July 31st trade deadline, Bill Bavasi is stuck between a rock an a hard place. Realistically, he has two options on what to do before the deadline; let it pass without making a move or make a move probably for a starting pitcher. As the next few days unfold, you will see that whatever he chooses to do, the calls for his job from Mariner fans will get louder.

If he chooses to not make a move: If Bavasi holds all of his cards, Mariner fans will talk about how much we needed to make a move at the deadline for the rest of the season, especially if we miss the playoffs by a small margin. We will hear the same things we've heard before in the offseason about how all the talk and hope to bring in difference-maker was all for nothing, and how Bavasi needed to be more aggressive in pursuing players. You may hear this type of thing from Geoff Baker, the M's beat writer. He is in favor of making a move to bring in a starting pitcher, even if it meant trading Adam Jones. Though not many M's fans will go that far, the majority think that something needs to be done and that it's Bavasi's fault if nothing happens. There are valid points there, but theres also another side the argument.

If he chooses to make a move: We all know that if we want a solid starting pitcher in Seattle before the deadline, we are going to have to trade some livestock. We're going to have to reach down into our farm system and ship a few guys elsewhere. Most people wouldn't have a problem with that if there were a few quality arms in the market. But there aren't. I've seen a lot of fans, including Dave from USS Mariner, lobby for nothing to be done if it involved trading guys like Jones, Balentien, and Clement. The reality is that if we trade for a starting pitcher, one or more of those guys will have to go. At this point, teams are very reluctant to give up proven arms unless they get some pieces to the future in return.

So either way you cut it, Bavasi is not in a good spot. He has backed himself into a corner by not making improvements to this team in the offseason, and will hear the criticisms no matter what he does. Nevertheless, it's going to be interesting to see which way he leans in the next couple days and what will come out of it. Personally, I side with those who think something needs to be done, even if we have to give up prospects. Anyway, good luck Bill Bavasi because it's gonna be a long rest of the season.

7/26: Oakland A's at Seattle Mariners

Dan Haren (11-3, 2.41 ERA) vs. Jeff Weaver (2-8, 6.19)

One is a good pitcher. The other is not. So instead of digging down to the nitty-gritty on this matchup, I'll leave you with this:



Live blogging -


*Top 1st:
-Why is Ibanez still hitting third? Since that magical two-homer night on June 11th, he's hitting just .192/.239/.320 with two home runs in 125 at bats.
-3 pitch strikeout to Travis Buck. Nice start.
-So far, everything Weaver has thrown has been up in the strikezone.
-He looks like the Weaver of old today. Just missing off the corners, then throwing a meatball down the middle that gets hammered for a hit.
-Nice double play ends Weaver's suffering.

*Bottom 1st:
-Wow, Beltre absolutely CRUSHED that double.
-Pretty typical of the Mariners lately: Get a couple of guys on, then not do anything to get them home.

*Top 2nd:
-Ellis takes Weaver deep.
-Ground-rule double follows. Yikes, the A's have a terrible offense, and they're giving Weaver a royal smacking here.
-This is getting ugly. 1 2/3 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 1 BB, 1 K.

*Bottom 2nd:
-Sexson homers, and my internet decides to crap out. I'll see if I can keep posting, but I'm not holding my breath.

Thursday Quote: Detour

This week’s quote comes from the late American businesswoman and founder of Mary Kay cosmetics; Mary Kay Ash. She once said:

“For every failure, there's an alternative course of action. You just have to find it. When you come to a roadblock, take a detour.”

Currently, the Mariners are knee-deep in a six game losing streak and have just been swept by the division dwelling Texas Rangers in a four game series. I think part of the blame for this losing streak, besides the hitting, falls on John McLaren. Since the All-Star break, the Mariners are 5 and 9 and McLaren has taken some heat for throwing out the same old lineup every night despite who was on the mound. I believe that the criticisms have been just since it is those little things, the intangibles, which can kick any ballclub up a notch or two. Sure there have been little lineup tweaks, like moving Vidro to the five spot which I personally don’t understand. Why Johjima still hits seventh is a mystery to me. I believe that if this team is to succeed, McLaren needs to find an alternative course of action sooner rather than later.

Another thing that has to be mentioned in accordance with this quote is the front office. There is no doubt that our front office is under more pressure now than ever before to make a move before the July 31st deadline. Management has to come to terms with reality; that this team, as it stands right now, is not going to make the playoffs. Say what you will or argue that it isn’t true, but it is. This losing streak has proved that we desperately need either one more solid pitcher or one more solid hitter to give us a shot at making the playoffs. One thing that we seriously lack right now is positive momentum, and that’s because winning or losing streaks and momentum go hand in hand. Looking back at the last six games, five of those losses have been by one run. That means that if we had another good hitter that was able to drive in one or two more runs, we would have probably won a few of those games. The same thing could be said if we had one more solid pitcher. Instead of stopping the negative momentum of a losing streak, we continue to lose and drop deeper and deeper into the abyss. One win can totally reverse the trend. Bavasi has got to make a move. He needs to find the one piece that can reverse the trend, the one piece that can win us the close games, the one piece to get passed the roadblock of a mid-season crisis.

Upcoming Series: Mariners vs. Oakland (July 26-29)

The numbers: 6. 3-7. 21. 30. 5. 4.

6 game losing streak.
3 wins in our last 10 games (if you're a math major, thats 7 losses).
21 runs scored.
30 runs allowed.
5 losses in our 6 game losing streak are by 1 run.
4 in a row.

Do I need to say more?

Upcoming Series:

We move onto the Oakland A's at Safeco Field. The best we're going to see from them is Dan Haren, which is about as good as it gets, and we'll see him Thursday (11-3, 2.41 ERA). Chad Gaudin is the 2nd best we're going to see, and that's Saturday. We haven't really scored much lately, and when we do we end up losing it late. We need to put them away fast! We also need to get to the bullpen, seeing as how they aren't the star studded bullpen they have had in the past few years. The A's are 23-26 on the road, and we're 31-18 at home! Numbers say that we'll play well, and hopefully they favor us (can't we please just get a break?).

The Pitching:

They are good. 2nd best team ERA in the AL with a 3.78 team ERA. The team really hasn't had much success in the 9th inning this year, having only 22 saves in 37 opportunities. Their current closer, Huston Street, didn't pitch in June and only pitched once in July! Rusty? I believe so. They don't give up many hits, don't give up extra base hits, and have allowed the fewest long balls in the AL. They are middle of the pack in walks allowed, and have struck out the 2nd least ammount of batters. Fits right into our plan! They have 4 starters with a ERA under 4 also, so they are effective before the bullpen, which is good for them. Just like I said about the Blue Jays, if we get to the bullpen, we can be winning those games. The Toronto games speak for themselves.

The Hitting:

Last in the AL in runs scored. 2nd least ammount of hits. 2nd lowest batting average. I think that even Jeff Weaver (pre- All Star game) could beat them. Middle of the pack in strike outs means they will K. 2nd most walks drawn means they take pitches and work counts. They won't be a threat on the base paths, stealing only 40 bases thus far, which is 2nd least. They have grounded into the most double plays, so we should keep the ball on the dirt. Bottom half of the league in extra base hits; pitching should thrive.

The Individuals:

They don't really have any hot hitters. Travis Buck is the only batter that has worked lately for them. Shannon Stewart is 2nd best for them lately, having 7 hits in his last 20 atbats.
Dan Haren - His last loss was July 6th, to the Mariners. Chad Gaudin has 4 losses in his last 6 decisions.

Keys to the Series:

We need to score runs. The A's do not put up ample runs to put a team to sleep early. We need to get past the starters because their pitching has been outstanding, at least, the starters. The weak bullpen needs to be touched up to make sure they don't get a condifence boost.
On the Mariners side, J.J. Putz needs to clear his mind of his last outing against the Rangers.
Let's hope for the Mariners sake that we can put up runs and keep the rare leads we've been so reluctant to enjoy.

7/25: Seattle Mariners at Texas Rangers

Miguel Batista (10-7, 4.32 ERA) vs. Brandon McCarthy (4-7, 5.53)

After the abortion that was yesterday's double header, the Mariners look to Miguel Batista to stop the bleeding. He's been a solid pitcher lately after a very rocky start, and looks to try to break the Mariners' current 5-game losing streak. The slumping offense has a decent chance to save some face against the Rangers' terrible starting pitching by laying into young Brandon McCarthy.

However, McCarthy is the type of pitcher that can give the Seattle offense fits. He struggles with command (4.40 BB/9, 1.23 K/BB) which could be problematic, as the Mariners' are dead last in the American League at drawing walks. McCarthy misses out of the zone a lot, and the Mariners, being the free-swingers that they are, tend to bail out pitchers who have poor control by swinging at bad pitches.

Miguel Batista could struggle tonight as well. As I talked about in yesterday's game preview, Ameriquest isn't kind to flyball pitchers. Bastista, historically a groundball pitcher, seems to be taking advantage of Safeco Field's spacious outfield and heavy air by allowing more balls to be hit in the air (yes, this is a controllable skill for pitchers). His career GB% is 50.5% (1.68 GB/FB), but this year that has dipped to 44.4% (1.13 GB/FB).

My Trip to the Jake

As some of you know, I’ve was in Canfield, Ohio for my sister’s softball tournament and since we ended early yesterday, my Dad and I made the hour and change drive to Cleveland for the 7:05 Indians game vs. the Red Sox. I had my Mariner’s hat on and I was one of many who helped the Red Sox win 1-0 in a great pitching duel; Matsuzaka vs. Sabbathia. Rather than talk about the ballgame itself, I’m going to talk about the ambience and environment of Jacobs field.

Right off the bat, things started off well when we found a parking lot just 2 blocks from the Jake on a nearly sold-out night. We hurried to the box office to get tickets and were surprised when the guy told us that the best seats available was section 561 row X. We knew it sounded bad, but bought the $18 tickets anyway. Turns out X was the last row of the upper deck that had a better view of the outskirts of Cleveland than the actual game. Red Sox nation was out in full force, but Indian fans successfully quelled the Sox fans. I was surprised at how excited, enthusiastic, and flat out loud Tribe fans were. I knew this when the entire stadium was standing and making noise in the fourth inning. After boring seventh inning stretch with the same old Take Me Out to the Ballgame, we went down to stand on the left field homerun porch which actually wrapped around onto the third base line and had a fantastic view if you had the patience to wait for a spot on the railing. After I got my must-have, all-beef hotdog (which was really not that good), we found a spot and watched the last couple innings. Another thing that surprised me was how loud the sound system was. When they played Hell’s Bells in the bottom of the ninth, that place was rockin’! All 39,300 fans that showed up were there until the end, and that place was loud. As I said, the Sox ended up winning 1-0, and I was happy!

Besides things I’ve already mentioned, I made some other miscellaneous observations. The first thing I noticed was how tall and steep those bleachers were compared to Camden Yards. It reminded me of a football stadium rather than a baseball stadium. Even though we were in the last row, we actually weren’t far away from the field, just far up. Secondly, since it is a newer ballpark, everything is digitized. All the scoreboards and other little features were all digital whereas Camden Yards has the more old-school look with yellow bulbs on a black background. I tend to like the Camden look better. Lastly, the view past center field was gorgeous. This park was modeled after Camden Yards and features a similar view past centerfield of the surrounding buildings.

Overall, the Jake was a beautiful ballpark and I would encourage you to catch a game there if you’re in the area. I’d have to say that between the two parks I’ve been to, Camden Yards and the Jake, I prefer Camden Yards because of the more old-school look and the great Oriole traditions. Tradition was one thing that was lacking at Jacobs Field.

Upcoming Series: Mariners @ Texas (July 23-25)

Sorry about not being able to get to this, but I've been really busy with work and not home at night.

I really don't think that there is much to say. We're not scoring, we're not hitting (much), and our pitching doesn't seem to be able to hold a rare lead that we may have experienced.

7/24: Seattle Mariners at Texas Rangers, Game 1

Ryan Feierabend (1-3, 9.31 ERA) vs. John Rheinecker (0-0, 12.00 ERA)

This game has the words "possible nightmare" written all over it. Rheinecker owned the Mariners last year to the tune of a 1.69 ERA over 10.2 innings. He doesn't really have an out pitch (only 28 strikeouts in 70.2 innings last year), but he does get a lot of groundballs (58.9% GB%, 2.69 GB/FB). Of the teams he faced last year for any significant amount (more than 7 innings), the Mariners (.383 OPS-against) and the Blue Jays (.436 OPS-against) were the only teams he held to a sub-.850 OPS-against. Boston (1.004 OPS-against), Chicago (.885 OPS-against), and Minnesota (1.216 OPS-against) all absolutely destroyed him.

Given the recent offensive struggles of the Mariners, and the downright suckitude of Ryan Feierabend, this game could be out of hand before you know it. Ameriquest has been less of a hitter's park over the last few years (2007 park factors: batting - 104, pitching - 103), but can still hurt flyball heavy pitchers with lousy control (Feierabend, I'm looking at you: 4.97 BB/9, 0.69 GB/FB).

Lineups are in:

Seattle -
Ichiro DH
Lopez 2B
Guillen RF
Beltre 3B
Sexson 1B
Johjima C
Betancourt SS
Bloomquist CF
Ellison LF

Texas -
Hairston RF
Young SS
Teixeira 1B
Sosa DH
Byrd CF
Melhuse C
Wilkerson LF
Relaford 2B
Metcalf 3B

A Glance at Richie Sexson

Richie Sexson's struggles have been well documented, by both the team and fans. He's been moved around in the lineup. He's logged 88, 231, 25, and 12 plate appearances batting 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th respectively, while being the subject of boos and the occasional article in the papers. However, most remain optimistic because Sexson is historically a second-half hitter. In his career, Sexson has an .806 OPS (87 tOPS+) before the break, and a .939 OPS (117 tOPS+) after the break. Let's look at his first half/second half OPS over his career:

2006: .706/1.012
2005: .865/.962
2004: Injury shortened year
2003: .889/.980
2002: .882/.847
2001: .792/.995
2000: .753/961
1999: .790/.850

2007 (so far): .712/.649

2002 was the only full year of his career in which he had a higher OPS in the first half. Weather is probably the most likely explanation for this huge disparity in his numbers. Of the four teams he has played for (Cleveland, Milwaukee, Arizona, and Seattle), three play in what one could call "cold climates."

The real question this year is will Sexson follow his normal trend and have a strong second half? Perhaps something lies in the statistics more given to luck (BABIP) or his tendencies as a hitter (GB%, BB%, LD%, HR/FB) that will tell us what to expect in the second half, as opposed to the traditional statistics:

BABIP -
Career: .299
2007: .209

That's a huge, huge difference. Normally, I would say he's due for some regression, meaning more of his batted balls that are going for outs will begin falling for hits. However, let's keep digging before pronouncing Sexson's struggles this year as bad luck.

GB% -
Career: 44.4%
2007: 49.2% (19th highest in the league, among Luis Castillo, Michael Young, Derek Jeter, and Ichiro in the top 20)

Now we're getting somewhere. He's hitting a lot more balls on the ground this year. Generally, speedy slap hitters (Ichiro, Lofton, Pierre) are the heavy groundball hitters, because they have the speed to leg out infield hits and make infielders rush their throws. It's no secret that Sexson moves about as fast as the Empire State Building on a good day. He simply doesn't have the tools to succeed while hitting the ball on the ground. This could be a big reason why his batting average of balls in play is so low.

LD% -
Career: 19.0%
2007: 13.8%

A player simply can't survive in the major leagues with only 14% of his hits going for line drives. Line drives are the surest form for scoring runs as each line drive is "worth" roughly 0.4 runs (outfield fly balls are "worth" the second most at about .05 runs, and groundballs are "worth" -0.1 runs...this can be largely attributed to the higher likelihood of double plays). To give you a sense of how terrible a 13.8% line drive rate is, Sexson ranks 171st out of 177 qualified major leaguers (ahead of only Gerald Laird, Ray Durham, Chris Young, Aubrey Huff, Casey Kotchman, and Brian Schneider). So our $14M per year first baseman is in the same company as two backup catchers, an over-the-hill second baseman, an overrated young outfielder, a one-hit-wonder third baseman, and an injured young first baseman. That's some good company.

HR/FB -
Career: 22.8%
2007: 16.9%

Not only is Sexson hitting the ball on the ground more often and hitting weak flyballs, as his LD% tells us, but fewer of his flyballs are leaving the yard. This is a nightmare, because if his flyballs aren't going for homers anymore and he's not hitting the ball hard anywhere else, we've got the recipe for a piss-poor hitter with little hope for recovery.

When looking at component stats, regression to the mean is largely dependent on whether or not the player is still major league quality hitter. When looking at the numbers presented here, it looks more and more likely that Sexson is done being a productive player. He's either hiding an injury, or Safeco is becoming too much for him to overcome and he's trying to change his plate approach. His first year in a Mariners uniform was very successful, especially when you account for the park he plays half his games in. However, he's two years older now and is reaching the significant decline phase of his career. Safeco notoriously feasts on right-handed power hitters, and it looks as if it has claimed another victim in Richie Sexson. I'm not discounting him completely, as a change of scenery would probably do him well. However, his declining bat, and absolutely abysmal play in the field makes him a giant blackhole on the team. He is being paid as one of the elite players in the game. While he was never worth what he was being paid, the past two years have been especially bad. Too many people point out Beltre's contract as the albatross on the team, but really Sexson should be taking way more heat than he has been.

Will he continue to hit under .200 for the rest of the year? Probably not. Will he be worth $14M this year? Absolutely not.

Two Hernandez's in the Rotation?

The New Jersey Star-Ledger, who it seems always has new information regarding teams that have nothing to do with New Jersey, reported that the Mariners are one of a few teams who have shown interest in D'backs starter Livan Hernandez. This year, Hernandez is 5-6 with a 4.77 era, 1.62 whip, 62 strikeouts, and 56 walks. To me, this guy is very hard to figure out. Career wise, he's got a respectable 4.22 era, but some years he has been much better than that. In 2003-2005, Hernandez had two fifteen win seasons and was under a 4.00 era in all three years. Yet it seems like he may have already reached his pinnacle of success. Would he work for the Mariners? He could. But his inconsistency is troubling... I know about this first hand as he's been in and out of my fantasy rotations for the last three years. There simply is no method to the madness. He obviously wouldn't cost as much as Bedard or even a Contreras, but then again he brings more risk. I think M's management will only strike a deal to land Hernandez if better options have been struck down.

http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-2/1185164709129720.xml&coll=1

Pineiro DFA'ed by Red Sox

This made me giggle a little bit. Mariner's alumni Joel Pineiro was designated for assignment by the Boston Red Sox today as they make room in the bullpen for Jon Lester. Story can be found at the link below.

http://www.projo.com/redsox/content/sp_bb_redsoxjo23_07-23-07_QQ6FG0O.314945f.html

Anemic Offense

Not much to say here other than our offense in these last couple games against Toronto was _____________ (Insert word of your choice). We now haven't scored a run in the last 22 innings and have only 7 hits in the last 18 innings. That pretty much defines a cold streak, although the Angels didn't homer in 14 straight games before last night when Garrett Anderson tee'ed off. We mentioned that the key to this series for the M's was knocking the starters out early and getting into the bullpen. Well, in the final two games of the series, we didn't get it done. Towers went 6 2/3 while allowing no runs on only 3 hits in the second game in the series and Halladay pitched a complete game shutout giving up just 3 hits in the finale. Hopefully we are able to spark the offense in the next four games in Texas. Ahhh the Ballpark in Arlington; what better place to come out of a hitting slump?

Jones is Orgasmic (Not Adam)

Straying a little off the beaten path, I have to give a rave review of a product I came across yesterday on our 5 hour drive to Ohio for my sister’s week long softball tournament. We stopped and ate at a Ruby Tuesdays and I got an amazing drink that I’ve never had or seen before. You guys may know what it is since its bottled at Jones Soda Co. 234 Ninth Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109. It’s from a product line called Jones Organics but it may as well be called Jones Orgasmics. It is certified USDA Organic so it pleases my eco-freak, tree hugging mindset. They had it in two flavors, Red Tea Tropical and White Tea Cherry. The Red Tea that I got was amazing, but my dad’s White Cherry Tea tasted like white gummy bears. Like I said, I’ve never seen it before so now I’m going to go all out trying to find this stuff that’s bottled blocks from some of your homes. UNFAIR! It just gives me more incentive to eventually live in the Emerald City. So I came home from the fields to see that we lost a pitchers duel 1-0. Ouch, that kinda hurts. So now we're 1-1 in this 3 game series; the rubber game being tomorrow. So far in the first round of my sisters tournament, we are 1-1 as well, with our only game tomorrow beginning at 9:40 AM eastern against some team from New York. Go Mariners! Go Maryland Stars!

And The Pitcher Is...

Mariner Nation can now reveal the identity of, and the details surrounding the mystery pitcher that everyone has been anticipating for the last 3 days since we broke the story. Recently, former Mariners pitcher Norm Charlton, the Sherriff as he is affectionately called, has been scouting left-handed starter Erik Bedard of the Baltimore Orioles. Tonight, Norm is thought to be in Oakland, where Bedard will pitch against the A’s on extended rest after being scratched from his start against us just two days ago. We do not know if any offers have been made for Bedard thus far, or if he is even available. We learned from Geoff Baker, Mariners beat-writer for the Seattle Times, that Bavasi apparently offered Richie Sexson for Bedard at some point last season. Geoff also told us that Bedard is not available to the best of his knowledge, but right-hander Daniel Cabrera may be. It is certainly very exciting to hear that we are scouting such a great pitcher, and by sending Norm Charlton on a special scouting assignment, it shows that management is serious about making a move before the deadline. Though Bedard is thought to be un-available, most anything can happen in the hectic days leading up to the deadline. Erik Bedard is under contract through the 2008 season, and it doesn’t look like the Orioles will be contending any time soon, and Bedard may want to play for a winning team. Another aspect that could work in our favor is that Bedard will command a significant amount of money assuming he keeps performing at his current level. Orioles’ owner Peter Angelos is not one to dish out large contracts too often, thus contributing to the Orioles recent success, of lack thereof. I can tell you from living a half an hour from Baltimore, the people who cover the Orioles have been skeptical about the chances of re-signing him. The question that we are left to ponder is what would it take to bring Bedard to Seattle? Quite frankly, we don’t know and any guesses would be shots in the dark. We will keep you updated on any further developments. And remember, you heard it here first!

Post your thoughts!

Additonal Information on the "Mystery Pitcher"

Finally a report has been published by Larry Stone involving that "mystery pitcher" that we here at Mariner Nation brought to your attention 3 days ago. Stone's article said the following.

"On Thursday, for instance, one of Bavasi's top lieutenants, Dan Evans, was at Fenway Park watching the Chicago White Sox, who have plenty of pitching to deal. He even dispatched former M's closer Norm Charlton on a scouting assignment this week."

Remember how I mentioned that the second link in the communication chain for this information was "an old friend of the Mariners"? Norm Charlton is indeed the person I was speaking of. He has been scouting and will continue to scout the mystery pitcher right up to the July 31st deadline. I'm hoping that we'll get the all clear to release that name very soon. Stay posted!

M's Scouting White Sox Pitchers

An online Chicago sports website reported that the Mariners have been scouting the White Sox pitchers. The M's portion of the article can be seen below.

"Among the representatives in attendance at Fenway Park was Seattle special assistant Dan Evans. The Mariners are looking for pitching and Sox starter Javier Vazquez (7-5) won his fourth consecutive decision by pitching 6 1/3 innings of two-run ball. Vazquez, however, has a no-trade clause to the nine teams in the NL West and AL West and would prefer to stay with the Sox." -- http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/whitesox/cs-070719soxgamer,1,7409340.story?coll=cs-whitesox-headlines

My guess is that Evans has been watching a few White Sox games up close, as the disgruntled Chi-Sox have been the center of trade chatter to this point. After the hurly-Buehrle was over, and the left-handed ace signed a contract extension, the focus shifted to starters Javier Vazquez, Jose Contreras, and Jon Garland. My thought is that one of these three will be dealt, probably Contreras or Vazquez. If the Mariners management is indeed trying to add a front line starter like we have heard they are (Contreras and Vazquez are second line to me), its comforting to know that there atleast is a backup plan that we can fall back on.

Upcoming Series: Mariners @ Blue Jays (July 20-22)

Well, taking 2 of 3 from the Orioles was good. We currently sit 2 games back in the AL West behind the slumping Angels. In the wild card chase, we are 1 back of the Wild Card leading Cleveland Indians, who aren't playing the best ball either.

Upcoming Series:

The upcoming series in Toronto should be a sweep for us. I would love to see that happen. My bias aside; do I believe it will happen? No. Here's why. Halladay, the prospective game 3 starter is always tough to beat. I hope I'm wrong and that we sweep though! The Jays start this next series rather cold, winning only 4 of their last 10. Their record at home is 26-19, so they are tough to beat in Rogers Centre. Their last series against the Yankees was very unsuccessful, dropping 3 of 4. We've GOT to beat the teams that we're supposed to beat, and the Blue Jays are one of those teams.

The Pitching:

They come in with the 7th best team ERA in the AL, which is in middle. They are at the league average in saves also, so they get their fair share of saves. One plus for us, the Blue Jays don't walk guys, so that fits right into our already, seemingly unbreakable habit of not walking. They are 10th of 14 in walks allowed. Batters don't hit well off them, seeing how they have the 4th lowest batting average against, and 10 points below league average. The bullpen does blow saves too, with BJ Ryan out for the season. It will be important to get the starters out of there ASAP. They don't give up all that many hits, but when they do, they give up the long ball. 3 in every 25 hits they give up leave the yard, which is a considerable amount. They have a low team WHIP and their K/BB ratio is great too. Tough pitching.

The Hitting:

Toronto currently sits in the bottom half of quite a few offensive catagories. They are 10th in runs scored, being about 15 runs below AL average. Likewise, they are 10th in hits, about 30 or so below AL average. They do, however, get their fair share of extra base hits. They are tied for 3rd in the AL with 108 long balls, and are also 3rd in doubles. That being said about their extra base hits ability, those teams tend to have lower averages (power numbers, average tends to go down), and they are no exception. They are way back in 11th in AL team batting average, about 10 points below league average. They are middle of the pack, literally, in walks drawn, at 7th. Our pitchers shouldn't have to worry about the Jays taking off when they get on base, they are rock bottom in the AL in that category.

The Individuals:

Their hot hitters coming into the game are the following: Alex Rios, who has basically just had a high average. Troy Glaus comes in with a lower average in the last week, but more RBIs and more long balls. Lyle Overbay comes in with a high average too, but no production other than an average. Aaron Hill has pretty much done it all, so look out for him. Frank Thomas, having recently reached the 500 career homerun milestone, is always a long ball threat with his long, powerful stroke. Roy Halladay. Need I say more? Despite an era higher than usual, he's still 10-3.

Keys to the Series:

The Mariners are going to have to continue to score early, which we've been fairly good at as of late. The quicker we knock out the starters, the better. We would love to see a lot of the Toronto bullpen and their long-haired relievers.

Notable Stats at Rogers Centre:

-Beltre: .321 3 homeruns
-Sexson: .347 5 homeruns
-Betancourt: Hit game winning homerun against BJ Ryan last year

Thursday Quote: Ability

Being in a very pensive mood today, I thought I would introduce the Thursday Quote; a weekly entry where I will use a great quote from history to talk about the Mariners. Today's quote will be from the accomplished American author of detective fiction, Martha Grimes, who earned a bachelor's degree and a masters degree at the University of Maryland (GO TERPS!), just about 45 minutes from where I live. She said:

"We don't know who we are until we see what we can do."

At the end of last season, Mariner fans everywhere were distraught with the fact that a third straight losing season had concluded, and left us in the basement of the AL West as it had done in the two years prior. Some of us were glad that it was finally over, some of us were melancholy going into the long winter's nap without Mariners baseball. But from either perspective, distraught definitely applied. After the initial depression faded, we looked to the one man that could change things, the one man that could give us hope in 2007. That man: Bill Bavasi. We anticipated that "big signing" throughout the entire off-season. We were positive that we would land a studly starting pitcher to bring the Mariner rotation to a new level; you know, like a Zito or a Schmidt. Agonizing days passed and no starting pitcher. Schmidt went to the Dodgers, Zito, to the Giants, and soon enough, the free agent market for pitchers was dwindling down to a few have-beens, who were in for hefty payoffs simply because they were all that was left. On December 7th, Bavasi traded away the injury-prone fireballer Rafael Soriano for left-handed starter Horacio Ramirez; a move that many Mariner fans were outraged over, including myself. Just a week later on December 14th we signed Miguel Batista, a versatile pitcher who we knew wasn't what we wanted or needed, but we were just happy to see something get done that didn't involve giving up prospects. To round off the pitcher acquisitions, we signed the inconsistent Jeff Weaver to a grossly expensive contract on January 29th, 2007. Surely this was one holiday season that Mariner fans wanted to forget. Bill Bavasi was considered the Grinch who stole Christmas from the M's, or maybe even an evil Santa who left only coal in our stockings. Mariner Nation was now convinced that the 07 season was lost for good.

Winter has long since left, and the summer heat has burned away the doubt and depression that was the Seattle Mariners. To everyone's surprise, we've managed to bring a winning record into mid-July. Not hovering above and below the .500 line, not a few games over, but 14 games over. The hope that was lost has now been found, and we are feeding off of our newly-found energy and enthusiasm. We are in a position that we never thought we would be in, just 1.5 games behind the Angels in the division and just a game out of the wildcard. Just as the Ancient Mariner did in Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", we have cast the dead albatross from our neck and moved onto the brighter side of life. Winning has opened up a channel for us to see the true character of a team that we thought was dead in the water. Regardless of what happens the rest of the way, Mariner fans should come out of this season with a new perspective. We should never pre-judge our team based on statistics or what ESPN says about us. More than anything, the character our team has displayed is responsible for the way we are playing. This 2007 season so far is just a microcosm, a single example in the scheme of things, based on the simple idea that "we don't know who we are until we see what we can do."

Ichiro Contract "Favorable for M's"

A undisclosed agent stated that the new contract that Ichiro signed is very favorable for the M's. The contract includes $5 million in signing bonuses. His base salary is $12 million for 5 years and then $5 million per season of deffered payments that wont begin until he retires and will last until 2032.

M's Eyeing Pettite?

The New Jersey based newspaper The Star-Ledger has published an article with the following information...

"The Mariners are looking for starting pitchers, and were hoping Yankees lefty Andy Pettitte might be available. But the Yankees aren't giving up on their season, and have no plans to deal Pettitte."

Where this rumor came from or how it got into the hands of one Dan Graziano in New Jersey is a mystery to me. It hasn't been reported anywhere else to the best of my knowledge. Don't put too much stock into this rumor.

http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-2/1184819425160200.xml&coll=1

Putz 'em out!

PUTZ 'EM OUT!

That's right! Putz has proven to be the leading closer in the majors - even if he nearly gave up the AL's home field advantage during this years All Star Game before being lifted for an even shakier KRod - who finally got the last out with bases loaded and a 1-run AL lead.

An ERA of under .80 (46.1 IP, 4 ER) and 29/29 this season in saves. He's silenced all his critics, and he's really made those who said he'd do great this season happy. There isn't a closer this season who's been as good this season as Putz. He's the ONLY closer in the majors this season who, with double digit save ops, has an ERA under 1.00 (he, might I add, is WAY under 1.00) and the only one remaining perfect in saves. He's also a leader in strikeouts, being one of only 8 closers with double digit saves with more than 45 K's.

Is Putz among the best, most dominant closers in baseball? No. Simply put, he is THE best, most dominant closer in baseball this season. It is only too bad he didn't start closing games a few years ago.

Keep it up, Putz! Keep Putz'n 'em out!

Good News from an Inside Source

A source from inside the organization has mentioned that the Mariners are pursuing a certain starting pitcher who I can not name. This is what I can tell you:

-He posts All-Star quality numbers

-He would probably be a number 2 starter behind Felix

-He's fairly young

-Mariners management is really trying hard to make this team a serious contender before the deadline

I wish I could talk more about this, but I assure you this is coming from a reliable source that no one else has access to.

The Other Missing Piece

We all know the M’s are looking for another starting pitcher. I believe they should not limit their search to just starting pitching.

I believe a good bullpen has 5 essential parts/roles.

1. A dominant closer- Putz has this under control.

2 & 3. Middle Relievers- They need to be able to work the 6th and 7th innings. It is ideal if there is one lefty and one righty. S. Green and E. O’Flaherty have this role nailed. I don’t know if there is a better pair in the league at this role.

4. A lefty specialist-They need to be able to pitch the 8th inning or just get the tough lefties out. George Sherrill is the best in the league at this.

5. A right-handed set up man- They need to pitch the 8th inning most of the time. They need to get the leagues best righties out. This is where the Mariners lack. They planned on Reitsma filling this role however he has been inconsistent and injury prone. At the beginning of the year Morrow excelled in this role however he has struggled over the last month with an era over 7.00.

The three other teams that will most likely make the playoffs are the Red Sox, Angels and Tigers. Each team has a dominant right-handed hitter in Ramirez, Vlad, and Sheffield. I would not trust Morrow or Reitsma to get any of them out in a tense playoff situation.

The good news is that there are many good right-handed relievers on the market. Names that are believed to be available are Lidge (Astros), Cordero (Nationals), Gagne (Rangers), Dotel (Royals) and Reyes (Tampa Bay). I have not heard the Mariners names linked to any of these players yet, but I would not be surprised if one of these five is a Mariner by the deadline.

Woods Designated for Assignment

Left-handed longman Jake Woods was designated for assignment on July 15th. In limited time this year (10.2 innings), Woods has posted a 5.91 era with a 1.50 whip. Is Woods a bad pitcher? Not necessarily, but the M's have a plethora of pitchers and someone had to be voted off the island. With Reitsma finally healthy, Huber and Lowe getting there, the M's will have some decisions to make as to who will be part of one of the best bullpens in baseball.

Favorite Team vs. Hometeam

Well the time has arrived again when my beloved Mariners face off against my hometown Birds. Just what does that mean? Well first it means that I can watch the games in my room on the local network instead of having to watch on MLB Extra Innings in my basement. Secondly, it means that I'll either gain some bragging rights or lose some with my family and friends, even though O's fans have fallen off the face of the earth.

Here's the scoop on this disgruntled O's team from a native son...

-Miguel Tejada and Melvin Mora will both spend this trip to Sea-town on the disabled list. Look for the 3-4-5 guys to be something like Markakis-Millar-Huff. However it will be interesting to see what the lineup will look like vs. the left-handed Ramirez, since Markakis and Huff are both left-handed hitters.

-New Manager Dave Trembley has brought new life to this struggling team. Formerly the team's bullpen coach, he has taken the reigns from Sam Perlozzo who was fired in June. Management tried to get Joe Girardi to manage the club, but he turned down the offer and the O's didn't have a backup plan. Trembley will get the opportunity to coach the team for the rest of the year after proving to management, players, and the fans that he has a new plan for this team.

-The Orioles are coming in after winning 3 of 4 against the White Sox to start the second half. I was at the first game of that series and I watched the Orioles play as bad as a team can play going down 5-0 early in the game. They simply looked like their heads weren't in the game. The turning point for the series came in the 9th inning of that game, when the Birds scored 5 times to make the game close, but lost 9-7. This jumpstarted their confidence and helped them to a series victory. The players showed excitement in the clubhouse after 3 straight wins, and team leader Kevin Millar said that the atmosphere in the clubhouse is extremely confident.

Upcoming Series: Mariners vs. Orioles (July 16-18)

Well, we split with the Tigers 2-2.. Let's hope we can take advantage of the Baltimore team that's playing pretty poorly.

Upcoming Series:

Seems that the Orioles really have nothing to play for. They are 14 games out of the AL East lead, and definitely not a threat to catch Boston, or any team in front of them (and I can say that without hesitating). This team was expecting to be better than previous years, but it looks like they will finish under .500 again barring a second half surge. They are currently 9 games under .500.

Baltimore's last series was a success for the club, winning 3 of the 4 games against the Chicago White Sox. They come in winning 3 straight.

The Pitching:

The rotation, as a squad, has a 4.41 ERA, which isn't terrible. Baltimore, as a team, leads the AL in strikeouts thrown also. Their batting average against is also the best in the AL. The starters go fairly deep into games also; their bullpen doesn't pitch too many innings, and they have the 2nd least saves in the AL. Chris Ray has helped the team blow 13 saves though, which is 3 above major league average. They don't give up extra base hits, being WAY under league average in each of the doubles, triples and home runs allowed categories. The rotation, as a whole, can also expect just about 4 runs per game, which is below the league average of run support per game. However, they are a one man rotation.

Erik Bedard:

The man is 8-4 with a 3.22 ERA. He leads the AL in strike outs with 156 in only 128.2 innings pitched! The man can throw the ball, and we are set to face him Wedmesday. His most impressive stat is his 156 Ks to his 38 walks allowed! That is incredible! The MLB is hitting only .219 off of him, just above the Mendoza line, and that's dang impressive! His personal home runs allowed is elevated this year, but then again, the Mariners don't go deep all that often anyway. He is pitching very well on the road and during the day, a combination in which we will see Wednesday. He has been lights out in July also, combining to throw 27 Ks in 20.2 innings so far this month in his 2 starts. His last outing against the Mariners wasn't a very successful one, but he has shown great improvement in his pitching since then.

The Hitting:

They don't hit the ball all that hard. They are in the bottom half of the AL with a .269 batting average. They are 3rd from the bottom in runs scored also. They hover around the league average in doubles and triples, but are pretty well below league average in long balls (18 below). They don't really drive runs in either, being about 33 or so runs driven in below average. They don't strike out much, being in the bottom half of the league. However, they don't really draw a lot of walks either, being 20 below league average. They do steal bases though, 20 or so above league average, and are thrown out the league average 19 times. So they are aggressive and it pays off, being 20+ over. They also ground into quite a few double plays (league average is 76 and they are currently sitting at 84).

They have few offensive threats to worry about. Brian Roberts is their thief on the base paths, having 27 bags swiped while only being caught 5 times. They have one healthy power, producer threat in the line up, and that is Nick Markakis, and he really isn't all that dangerous.

Keys to the Series:

I've decided to let you guys explore this on your own. You see the matchups, the numbers, the stats. You tell me what you think we should do or what you would expect to see, and I'll post back to your comments.

GO MARINERS!

Left Handers Trade Places

Left handed starter Ryan Feierabend was sent to AAA Tacoma and left handed starter/reliever Jake Woods was called up. Feierabend has struggled mightily in the rotation since he was called up earlier this year.

Ohka Signed to Minor League Contract

Veteran right hander Tomo Ohka has signed a minor league contract with the Mariners and will pitch in Tacoma. He is thought to be an insurance player in case Horacio Ramirez goes on the DL again. This is strictly speculation, but this move could mean that either the organization feels Feierabend is not ready for the big leagues or that he may be traded.

Ohka, in his 9th major league season, has played for the Red Sox, Expos, Brewers, Nationals, and Blue Jays. His best year by far was 2002 with Montreal when he went 13-8 with a 3.18 era in 192 innings, being one of two seasons where he reached double digit wins. If he does make it to the Mariners, don't expect him to have much success. This year with the Blue Jays, his era was 5.79 in only 56 innings of work.

Career Record: 50-63
Career ERA: 4.14
Career WHIP: 1.39

Marlins President Calls Ichiro Contract "a joke"

Who is this loser? Well he is David Samson, the President of the Florida Marlins. By loser, I strictly mean because his team is one of the worst in baseball and consistently trades away young talent. Well, he is actually a loser in life as well as in baseball as he has verbally attacked the Mariners and Ichiro Suzuki regarding Ichiro's impending contract with the Mariners reported to be 5 years and upwards of $100 million. Yesterday on Dan Le Batard's radio talk show, Samson referred to the impending Ichiro contract as "the end of the world as we know it." In his radio rant, Sampson went on to say "It'll take the sport down, that contract", "Right back to the ridiculous contracts. It can't be", and called the contract "a joke" and "inexcusable". To cap off his interview, he then took a direct shot at the Mariners organization, accusing them of "mismanagement".

Of course I guess this is the type of thing you would expect from a guy who annually puts the Marlins through a "firesale", often resulting in the loss of tremendous young talent. Not only this, but his Florida Minnows only draw an average of 17,821 fans to home games, second worst only to the Devil Rays. It seems to me like Mr. Samson just doesn't realize that the market is getting more competitive every year, and that's precisely why he is fielding a losing team. His very own Miguel Cabrera will soon be leaving the Marlins, and will probably be signing the same type of monster deal that Samson is complaining about. If I were the owner of the Marlins, Jeffrey Loria, I would relieve Samson of his duties on the spot. What message does that tell the fans who actually come to the games, and to players that they may want to pursue somewhere on down the line? With this type of attitude, you can bet that the Florida Marlins will probably never have a winning team any time soon, or ever, since franchise relocation plans have been in the works for some time now.

Adam Jones: Player to be Called Up Later

After reports have surfaced saying Adam Jones will be called up to the Mariners and would start on Thursday, the Post Tribune has now come out and said that this, in fact, is not the case. This will disappoint many Mariner fans expecting Jones to play and Vidro to sit, and is surely not going to be the last twist in the midseason market rollercoaster before the trade deadline.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/mariners/story/107696.html

Whatcha Talkin' Bout? Willis?

Initial buzz has surfaced in the world of baseball rumors about the Marlins left hander Dontrelle Willis possibly being traded to the Seattle Mariners before the trading deadline. The New York Post reported on the impending scenario:

"The Mets also are looking for pitching. Sources say Dontrelle Willis will be traded by the Marlins, but the Marlins will not trade Willis to their chief competition in the NL East. Look for Willis to be dealt to a team from the West."

A team from the west who needs a pitcher to make a playoff run? Hmmmmmm I wonder if...? OF COURSE, THE MARINERS. It is likely that the Marlins would be able to draw 2 good to great prospects for Willis as their annual firesale heats up. When it comes to good prospects, the Mariners have no shortage of ripe young guys in the system that consistently draw intrigue from many ballclubs. Immediately, Adam Jones, Wladamir Balentien, and Jeff Clement jump to mind as possible tradees, but with Adam Jones about to come up to the big league and the organization's long history of coveting him, he doesn't seem as viable as the other two if a trade agreement was reached. So what are Marlins fans thinking? The following is an excerpt from the MVN Blog affiliate for the Marlins:

"According to FOX Sports, the Mariners want Willis more than they wanted Mark Buehrle. The Marlins could essentially name their price......The Marlins could pick up both Jones and Clement for Willis and a reliever."

Though I don't think bringing in Jones is as easy as that entry makes it sound, everything may be on the table since the M's DESPERATELY need a starter.

The Full Article from Marlins Today MVN can be found @ http://mvn.com/mlb-marlins/2007/07/09/willis-needs-to-be-traded-sooner-not-later/

Adam Jones Coming to the Big Club

On a day where Mariner fans awoke to learn that Ichiro is nearing a contract with the team and went to sleep after Ichiro won the All-Star game MVP by going 3-3 with an inside the park homerun, more good news has surfaced. Mariner insiders have reported that Adam Jones will be called up and will start in right field with Guillen moving to left, Ibanez in to DH (most likely), and Vidro to sit on the bench (most likely).

This development is not a surprise to most Mariner fans, who have been calling for a move like this for more than a month. Last year, Jones struggled in his first big-league stint with the M's hitting for a .216 average with a single homerun in 74 at bats. Much is expected of this young man as he has been trasured by the Mariners organization for the last couple years. The team has done everything to keep him, and has even resisted intriguing offers from other clubs involving Jones. He will make his season debut vs. the Tigers this Thursday.

Mariner Performances in the Mid-Summer Classic

Ichiro

What more can you say about this guy? He starts off the game in typical Ichiro fashion with a single pulled hard between 1st and 2nd. Next at-bat, Ichiro singles to left field, and that is nothing new either. Neither of them had an effect on scoring.

His third at bat was in the 5th inning...

Situation: Runner (Brian Roberts) on first base, after drawing a walk. 1 Out.

Ichiro pulls a 1st pitch fastball deep into right-center. Mariners fans all over had to have been in a state of hysteria. On contact, Ichiro starts jogging to first anticipating a slow trot around the bases. Well, he did trot around the bases, but he did it a lot faster than he expected. Even though the ball didn't clear the brick monster that protects McCovey Cove, it took a nasty bounce off the wall and Griffey Jr. was completely fooled. Ichiro then saw that the ball was rolling towards the right field foul line with Griffey standing in right center and turned on the jets. He ended up motoring his way 360 feet back to the place where he makes the magic happen, home plate. Ichiro can now add an inside the park homerun to his long list of major league accomplishments. His inside-the-parker was the first in All-Star history, only adding to the legend that is Ichiro Suzuki. Four pitches later, the inning was over, but the damage had been done. Ichiro certainly did not disappoint in his 7th All-Star performance going 3-3 with two singles, a homerun, and a pair of rbi's. After the game, he went on to be named MVP of the 2007 All-Star game, joining Ken Griffey Jr. (1992, San Diego) as the only other Mariner to receive the honor.

Ichiro's All-Star grade = A+, and we couldn't have asked for more. Now, GO SIGN THAT NEW CONTRACT!

J.J. Putz

Jim Leyland did just what he said he would do if it came down to a save situation, use J.J. Putz. Putz came in to protect a 5-2 AL lead. He started off facing the red hot Matt Holliday who participated in the homerun derby the night before. He currently sits at 2nd in the NL batting title race, and should take over the 1 spot when Hunter Pence, a rookie, falls off the edge of the world like most rookies do. Putz threw five pitches to the Holliday, including four strikes, the fourth which struck out Holliday on a swinging attempt. Putz then had to face Brian McCann. After a couple of strikes and a ball, McCann popped up to the shortstop, and Putz was one out away from an All-Star save. He then proceeded to pitch to surprise All-Star Dimitri Young. The count: 1-2, and Young hit a ground ball in the hole between 1st and 2nd. Brian Roberts went to his left, somehow found the ball, and then just dropped it. I don't think he knows what happened yet either, because I sure don't. The ball was there, it just didn't stick. He followed that by just looking at what seemed to be in the direction of 1st base. Five pitches later, and Putz was watching Soriano circle the bases on an opposite field 2-run blast that kept the National League in the game.

No worries right? I mean, it is J.J. Putz. Nothing fazes him. Next pitch, BALL IN THE DIRT. He missed horribly. Next pitch, strike 1. OK, J.J. is fine right? Wrong. Balls two, three, and four in a row. J.J. Putz then came to realize how long that walk really is to the dug-out.

In comes K-Rod, and Putz's night was over.

J.J.'s All-Star grade = C. He got the first 2 outs easy. Brian Roberts made an error (or should have been an error at least) and he got rattled and found himself in a hole to a dangerous hitter. He then gives up the home run, and proceeded to walk the next batter on 5 pitches.

All in all, it was a great outing for the Mariners. Ichiro showed why he's one of the best hitters in the game, and Putz had electric stuff as usual, reaching 98 mph.

Let's hope J.J. puts that performance behind him and is back to normal come Thursday.

Ichiro, M's Close to Contract

Today, the word around Mariner Nation is that Ichiro is very close to signing a contract thought to be for 5 years and $100 million. This speculation comes after Ichiro's mentality has seemingly changed, and he has openly admitted that the team has rid itself of its losing ways.

This is the best possible news for everyone, except for teams who were ready to take a stab at the 7 time all star in the offseason. The bottom line is that if Ichiro re-signs, we will be closer to guaranteeing half-a-decade of winning instead of more years of losing.

Side Note: Jason Stark of ESPN just mentioned where he thought would be the best fit for Barry Bonds next season: "A west coast team where Bonds can be the DH, Seattle would be a good fit."

Upcoming Series: Mariners vs. Tigers (July 12-15)

Well Mariner fans, here it goes. The site is off and running, and so are the Mariners!

Upcoming Series:

As the break winds down, the Mariners have had a few days prepare themselves for the rest of the season, and the first step is tackling one of the hottest teams in baseball, the Detroit Tigers. They were the Wild Card leading team when the Mariners started our last series against the A's, and ended up leading the AL Central by the break.

They are coming in winning 5 in a row, and 7 of their last 10. They are currently coming off a sweep of arguably the best team in baseball, the Boston Red Sox. The starters they faced that series were Julian Tavarez, who isn't a real starter, Kirk Gabbard who has struggled mightly, and Dice-K, who is posting an All-Star worthy first half.

2 of their previous wins came against a hot Cleveland team.

The Rotation:

Their pitching has been remarkable. They have 5 quality starters, and it will be a tossup on who gets the 5th rotation spot. Their two best by a long shot are Verlander (10-3, 3.14 ERA) and Bonderman (9-1, 3.48). Both have been serious inning eaters, logging 215 combined, and both are averaging just over 8 K's an outing. The 3 other starters, who have been finding a lot of success as well, are Chad Durbin, Mike Maroth and Andrew Miller. However, with the trade of Maroth, the rotation will be set with Nate Robertson. The final piece of the rotation will be the inconsistent Nate Robertson, whose ERA runs around 5, at 4.86.

About the Rotation:

The Tigers have walked the 5th most batters in the AL, at 304. What does this mean? The Mariners will have to work counts, especially since we will most likely see Verlander, who leads the team in walks allowed. The rotation also doesn't go deep into games, seeing how they have one complete game all year, that being Verlander's no hitter. That is a positive, because they are tied for the most in the AL with 14 blown saves. Too bad Zumaya hurt himself playing Guitar Hero, they could sure use him right about now. Another thing going against them is that their rotation has given up quite a few bases, being top 5 in triples and HRs allowed. I don't know if this has anything to do with their offense or pitching, but they also have played in a lot of close games, leading the AL in save opportunities. Once again, another positive, they lead the league in wild pitches and balks. If the Mariners get on base, they should be somewhat greedy, seeing how Pudge is still behind the plate.

The Hitting:

The Tigers have 5 regulars hitting .300 or higher: (Magglio Ordonez, Placido Polanco, Carlos Guillen, Gary Sheffield, Sean Casey). Among those, Magglio Ordonez is currently leading the league in hitting. Their true power threats are Ordonez and Sheffield, combining for 33 longballs this season, which is impressive taking into account that their home field is massive.

Curtis Granderson is a legitimate threat to take over a game at any point. He has incredible
speed (though he only has 9 steals, he hasn't been caught). He leads his team in doubles with 24, and the MLB in triples with 15. His Achilles Heal is his K's, and they aren't pretty. He has struck out 82 times as a lead off hitter.

About the Hitting:

Detroit, as a team, hits the crap out of the ball. They lead the AL in runs scored as well as run support, with basically 6 runs a game. They also lead the AL in total hits, doubles, are 2nd in triples, and are 3rd in home runs. They, as a team, lead the MLB in batting average hitting an amazing .290!

Keys to the Series:

One key is obviously going to be our offense. In our last 7 games, we are hitting a mere .260, which could lead us to wonder how in the world we're 4-3 in those games. The only reason I can give you is our outstanding pitching. Even with that 17 run stomping in KC, our ERA in those last 7 games is 3.16. In the last 5 games the starting pitchers have allowed a combined 7 earned runs. That's incredible. It is likely that we will see their 1-4 starters, and the same 3 starters we faced last series against them. Verlander and Bonderman came away with 2 wins of the 3 game series.

The Mariners are going to have to work the counts, which seems to be difficult for us, seeing how we rank last in the majors in walks drawn, and that isn't even close. [We have 219, and the next lowest is 253!] The more we work the count, the faster the starters come out, and the faster the starters come out, the better chance we have at tacking on runs against their terrible, injury ridden bullpen. Being too patient with this team will hurt us though. We need to jump on the fat pitch, which they seem to give up quite often.

Our pitching needs to come out strong. Felix will start us off, and the rotation will take its normal order into the 4th and final game. We need to keep the Tigers inside the ballpark, and especially keep Granderson from stretching his legs. We need to paint corners with their 1-9 (their whole line-up hits, and there's no way around it).

Only time will tell us what will become of the Mariners. This first series is of great importance. We're 2.5 out of the lead in our division, and 1.5 out of the Wild Card. We are facing a red hot team in our own ballpark. We need to take advantage of our 27-15 home record. We need to take advantage of the changing mindset of, "HEY! WE CAN WIN!" We need to take advantage of our amazing (as of late) starting rotation and our surprising bullpen.

Here's to you, Mariners. Let's start the 2nd half off with a series victory and let's get Seattle to the playoffs!

State of the Mariners: At the Break 2007

The first half of the 2007 season has been spectacular for the Mariners to say the least. Pre-season expectations set by fans after an offseason of inactivity have been shattered, and the Mariners are sitting pretty at 2.5 games behind the Angels in the divsion and 1.5 behind Cleveland in the AL wildcard race. With a record of 49-36 (13 games over .500), we are on pace to win 93 games which we haven't done since 2003 when we went 93-69, finished 3 games behind Oakland, and just 2 games behind Boston for the wildcard. The question that Seattle fans are sub-conciously asking themselves is, "How in the hell did this happen?" It really is a good question considering there was not much hope among the Mariners fanbase after we failed to sign a stud starter in the offseason, which was thought to be a desperate need.

Keys to Success:

Bullpen: The Mariner's young bullpen has been absolutely stellar this year. George Sherrill has been a very pleasant surprise after a ho-hum 2006 season where he had a 5.21 era in just 19 innings. This season, he has been among the best in the league and currently has an era of 1.33. Opponents are hitting just .146 against him, and left handed batters have hit a miniscule .098. He has been fantastic and certainly has the numbers to be a closer; the reason he's not a closer? J.J. Putz. Putz has continued his success as a closer from last year and is heading to the All Star game as arguably the best closer in baseball. His filthy splitter continues to baffle hitters and has been fundamental in striking out 43 batters in 40 innings and maintaining an era under 1.00 (currently 0.90). The cast surrounding these two studs has also been above average. Though he walks a batter for every one he strikes out, Brandon Morrow goes into the break with a very respectable 3.66 era, which is astounding considering his control problems that often plague young pitchers. Sean Green and Eric O'Flaherty have been even better posting era's of 2.67 and 2.17 respectively. If the young guns in the bullpen can continue to dominate, they can default the struggling and inconsistent rotation.

Depth of Lineup: The Mariners lineup is often underrated because people pass judgement too soon. Just because there isn't a stud power hitter in the middle of the lineup doesn't mean we can't hold our own. A closer look at our lineup from 1 through 9 reveals that we actually have talent from beginning to end. If we can get better at hitting with runners in scoring position, opposing pitchers will be in for some really bad innings.

Washburn: There is no doubt about it, Jarrod Washburn has been the most consistent starter for the Mariners this season. Pitching 106 innings thus far, he leads the team in innings pitched and has a respectable 3.72 era, tied with King Felix. This season may be one of Washburn's best of his career as he has already matched his win total in each of the last two years. Chances are he wont match his career best 18 win season with the Angels in 2002, their World Championship year, but if he keeps his era below 4.00, Mariner fans should be pleased.

Disappointments:

Power Outage: Oh where, oh where has the power gone? The Mariners rank 10th in homeruns with only 77 as opposed to 91 at the break last year. A closer look at our power guys reveals why we are struggling as a team with the longball. Comparisons of their career HR's per at bat with their 2007 homeruns per at bat show a downward trend.

Sexson: +2.9 at bats per homerun in 07

Ibanez: +20.8 at bats per homerun in 07

Guillen: +1.8 at bats per homerun in 07

Beltre: -2.8 at bats per homerun in 07

Combined: +3.6 at bats per homerun in 07

Rotation: Our rotation as a whole has been flat out B-A-D. So far this season, our 7 starters have a whopping 5.03 era. In fact, our bullpen is so much better than our rotation that it lowers our team era by a mindblowing 0.54; an extremely impressive statistic since our bullpen accounts for only 35% of innings pitched. The fact that we weren't able to add a front line starter in the offseason is definitely rearing its ugly head right now. If we are able to add a solid guy before the trading deadline, which I personally doubt, then I believe we have a fair shot at making the playoffs and possibly winning a series.