Thursday Quote: Enthusiasm

I was ecstatic when I found this weeks quote because I think it fits in perfectly for what some of us may be experiencing. It is from the great world leader and former Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill. He said:

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."

Does this quote reflect some of your feelings towards the Mariner right now? It definitely describes what I've been thinking perfectly. During the extended losing streaks in what has been a roller-coaster year for this ballclub, I have found myself losing enthusiasm for the rest of the season even though we remain in the playoff chase. It almost seems like every losing streak is the beginning of the end, like the ship is sinking and there is no way to stop it. As soon as we started winning again, my enthusiasm came back and kept rising until the next losing streak. I'm going to try a different approach this time and I think it's something we all should do. Stay enthused. Don't let this losing streak quell your excitement for the fact that we've exceeded expectations and we are in the thick of the playoff hunt. Making the playoffs IS NOT supposed to be easy! You've just got to grind it out and hang with the big boys. We shouldn't start to worry until we're three or four games back in the wildcard and we should NEVER lose enthusiasm. So let's walk with the same swagger that we do after winning some games and not hang our heads in defeat. The Angels series is over, and we're sort of in that eerie phase right after the storm has passed. It's a new day and we play a new team so have hope and stay excited. Even if we lose tonight against the Indians, it's not the end of the world, it's just a slight extension of a losing streak. Don't lose enthusiasm!

Nightcap: 8/28/07 vs. Angels

The Mariners once again failed to come up with ten-plus hits and once again failed to beat the Angels in a 10-6 loss. The Mariner bats were working early with five runs in the first on three scoring plays; a Guillen double, a Beltre triple, and a Johjima single. But then the Angels scored seven unanswered runs until Betancourt scored on an Ichiro single in the bottom of the seventh. That sixth run was it for the Mariners, but the Angels added four more to round off the victory. Weaver pitched only 4.1 innings allowing eight hits and four earned runs. Brandon Morrow got the loss after allowing four runs in an inning on two hits and two walks; which is not good to see after we thought his control problems were behind him. As far as offensive notables, Johjima went 3 for 4 with an rbi and Richie Sexson was hitless in four at bats dropping his average back down to .208. Hopefully we can salvage a game in this last game against the team that we desperately need to start beating.

Tomorrow's Starters: Felix Hernandez (10-6, 3.90) vs. Jered Weaver (9-6, 3.96)

Umpires: HP--Larry Poncino 1B--Bruce Dreckman 2B--Jerry Meals 3B--Gary Darling

Time: 3:12

Attendance: 44,395

Weather: 73 degrees, clear

Wind: 10 mph, in from left.

Nightcap: 8/27/07 vs. Angels

First off, let me say that I'm sorry that I haven't gotten this up sooner. I got home from the game early, but wasn't able to use the computer. I had the most incredible seats. I sat 5 rows behind Jose Guillen in right field, and there was a lot hit out in that gap. So if you saw me, let me know!

The Mariners seemed really outmatched yesterday. Lackey dominated us even through his case of strep throat. The Mariners were late on what seemed like every pitch. When he threw a slider or a change-up, we were too early, and screwed ourself into the ground. In the first inning, the Mariners had the crowd behind them. A hit-and-run turned double play in the first and then McLaren's ejection (yes, the crowd went crazy) had the fans behind them 100% . The place was loud as could be. The top of the 2nd started off with Garret Anderson staying hot, leading off the inning with a home run. The top of the 3rd saw a 2-run ground rule double from Anderson, but I believe we got lucky that the Angels only got 2. A fan interfered with a with Anderson's double down the right field line, which I assume Guillen didn't see. He then proceded to throw a rocket into the Angels dugout from the right field corner, which would have allowed Vladimir Guerrero to score. From then on, a single here and there, sac fly or a wild pitch, and the Angels scored at every opportunity possible. The Mariners, on the other hand, could get nothing going. We were flat out outmatched.

Today's Starters: LAA: Santana (5-12, 6.03 ERA) -- SEA: Weaver (6-10, 5.51 ERA)

Umpires: HP--Gary Darling (2/10, bad call on Ichiro's strike out) 1B--Larry Poncino (3/10 name coolness) 2B--Bruce Dreckman (2/10 name coolness) 3B--Jerry Meals (5/10 on name coolness becuase it makes me hungry, but he also made a very rash and anal call on calling Matthews Jr. safe at 2nd)

Time: 2:24

Attendance: 45,998

Weather: 69 degrees, partly cloudy

Wind: 3 mph, in from left

Big Series: Battle for 1st with the Angels starts tonight

We've all been talking about it for awhile now but the moment has finally come for us to play the Angels again with a chance to take over first place in the AL West. The Mariners have dropped two straight games coming into the series during this brutal stretch of their schedule. The offense wasn't it's usual self in those two games and I have found no reason to panic about the two loses coming into this series (outside of my tendency to complain about McLaren's little league decision making skills late in games). If we can somehow manage a sweep in this series we will take a one game lead in the AL West. Taking 2 out of 3 will leave us 1 game back. Losing 2 out of 3 will leave us 3 games back. A disastrous sweep by the Angels (and losing 5 straight overall) would put us at 5 games back. So this series is definitely key if we want to win the division and also to sustain our lead in the Wildcard over the Yankees and Tigers.

Here is a quick look at the expected pitching matchups for the series:

1st game: 08/27/07 7:05 pm at Safeco Field
Miguel "Artista" Batista (4.57 ERA, 13-9, 1.55 WHIP) vs. John Lackey(15-8, 3.34 ERA, 1.29 WHIP)

So we have our most consistent pitcher all year who is coming off his worst start of the year facing a potential Cy Young candidate in Lackey who has lost his last two decisions. This game could be a tough one for us but let's hope our offense gets back on track and Miggy bounces back from a bad start.

2nd game: 08/28/07 7:05 pm at Safeco Field
Jeff "Don't wake me now I'm having a dream" Weaver (6-10, 5.51 ERA, 1.46 WHIP) vs. Ervin Santana (5-12, 6.03 ERA, 1.56 WHIP)

In this game we have our hottest pitcher who blew balls at the beginning of the year but has won his last 4 starts facing the Angels worst starter who has lost 6 straight decisions. I like our chances in this game. I think our offense can pound Santana. All we need is a quality start from Weaver, not a great game like he's pitched in 3 out of his last 4 starts.

3rd game: 08/29/07 1:35 pm at Safeco Field
Felix "The King" Hernandez (10-6, 3.90 ERA, 1.38 WHIP) vs. Jered Weaver (9-6, 3.96 ERA, 1.42 WHIP)

This game could end up being a classic pitchers duel. The King has won 4 straight decisions and has shown signs of becoming the dominant pitcher we all know he can be in his last 5 starts. Jeff's brother has won 2 out of 3 starts and has looked very good at times this year. I still like our chances though with our offense and The King on the mound.

So for those of you that have tickets to the games this week: Cheer loud, have fun and wear blue. For the rest of us pray for a sweep and yell at the TV when McLaren makes a questionable decisions late in the game. My personal prediction for this series is that the Mariners will take the 2 out of 3 by winning the last two games of the series. Let us all know what you think in the comments....

Nightcap: 8/26/07 @ Rangers

The Mariners rallied late against Texas on Sunday but fell just short as they lost 5-3 to split four games with the Rangers. It wasn't for lack of a quality start; Jarrod Washburn pitched six solid innings while giving up three earned on six hits, walking none, and striking out five. Texas jumped ahead early with a two run homer off the bat of Sammy 'Corky' Sosa in the first inning. Scoring for either team didn't resume until the sixth with a sac-fly by Marlon Byrd scoring Ian Kinsler for the second time. The Mariners finally put runs on the board in the 7th via two-rbi single by Adrian Beltre. Two more Ranger runs came around to score in the eighth, both earned, off of Sean Green in the eighth. The M's made it close, with two runs scoring in the ninth. One of them on a Johjima single and the other on a wild pitch. It was the first night in a while that the Mariners failed to have 10+ hits and we also didn't score runs early like we have been. The Angels won their game so we are now 2.0 games back of them in the division. The Yankees lost so we remain 2.0 games up on them.

Tomorrow's Starters: John Lackey (15-8, 3.34) vs. Miguel Batista (13-9, 4.57)

Umpires: HP--Jim Wolf 1B--Mike Dimuro 2B--Tim Tschida 3B--Jim Joyce

Time: 2:30

Attendance: 25,437

Weather: 95 degrees, partly cloudy

Wind: 7 mph, in from center

Nightcap: 8/25/07 @ Rangers

And the Mariners should be in the WIN column. But, because of Beltre's decision making with his arm, a lucky squeeze bunt and McLarens finite wisdom, we lost the game. We put up the first three runs of the game. A couple singles and a Sexson sac-fly and we're up 1-0 in the 2nd. Top of 3rd: Jones gets hit by a run away curve on a 0-2 to pitch. Vidro then rips a double down the right field which hugs the wall, allowing Jones to score from first. Top of 5. A couple singles and an error by the right fielder and runners are on 1st and 3rd. Beltre then rips one over the head of Kinsler and we have a comfy 3-0 lead. But, we lose it, and I can actually say HoRam wasn't at fault. Bottom of 5. A one out single for the Rangers. Another out, 2 down. Beltre gets a hard hit ball. He gets up, stares at the seams and side arms a missile to Sexson. OOPS. Overthrow and everybody is safe. Next batter, Kinsler, made us pay. He sent a fastball right down the middle into the left field seats to tie the game. Every inning after that, the Mariners had their chances. We had runners on almost EVERY inning, and still failed to produce a run (we didn't get a runner on in the 8th). In the bottom fo the 7th, that's where it got ugly. An out and a single later and Kinsler is up at the plate, again. He hits a slow runner to Beltre. Beltre runs the ball past Richie and the runner scores from first base, and Kinsler goes all the way to third. The next batter, Gerald Laird put down what is probably the most awkward squeeze I've ever seen. With a fastball coming at his face, he threw his bat up, fell down, and dropped down the perfect squeeze. 5-3 Rangers. From then on, they had the game, except the 9th. That's where hindsight can be a pain. With Ibanez at the plate and runners on 1st and 2nd, McLaren failed to pinch hit Ibanez, a lefty, who would be facing a left handed, hard throwing closer/relief pitcher (C.J. Wilson). Ibanez grounds to 2nd, boom fielders choice. 1 out, runners on the corners. Betancourt pinch runs for Ibanez instead of Ichiro. Betancourt isn't green lighted to steal first pitch, and 1st pitch, sure enough, DOUBLE PLAY GAME OVER. You can't help but wonder WHAT IN THE HECK WAS McLaren THINKING!?

Tomorrow's Starters: Washburn (9-10, 4.11) vs. Padilla (3-9, 6.55)
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Umpires: HP--Jim Joyce. 1B--Jim Wolf. 2B--Mike Dimuro. 3B--Tim Tschida

Time: 2:47

Attendance: 47,977 (98.1% full) (Was there a give away or something?)

Weather: 90 degrees, clear

Wind: 8 mph

Decision Making Tonight (9th inning)

To sum it up, I have supported McLaren since he took over for 'Grover. I have stuck by some of the bonehead moves he has put forth. I have backed him up on some controversial stuff as well. However, today, I was screaming at the TV, punching anything in my way and pacing across my living room floor at his 9th inning decision making.

The Situation:

Vidro is at 2nd and Guillen at 1st. Raul Ibanez is at the plate with a left-handed pitcher on the mound. That situation alone should have said, "OK, Broussard and Ichiro: Rock/Paper/Scissors to see who gets to pinch-hit!" The pinch-hitter never came out of the dugout. Maybe they tied? Raul hits a slow grounder to Kinsler at 2nd, and a double play seemed at hand. However, thanks to a hard, hard slide by Guillen at 2nd Ibanez was able to make it to first, via no throw. OK. Runners at the corners, both insanely slow, 1 out. Beltre is up. Pinch-runner! OH CRAP IT'S NOT ICHIRO! In that situation, you need to put in your wheels. Ichiro is obviously the man. He's been caught stealing only twice this year in something rediculous like 38 attempts. If you want to stay out of the double play, you put Ichiro in. Betancourt comes in, first pitch double play game over Mariners lose! Mariners...lose?

Yes, McLaren, I hate to say it but you cost us today. Sure Beltre aided by 2 errors that led to all 5 runs scoring and swung at a bad pitch to end the game, but come on, use your freaking head! You got the best contact hitter in the MLB on your bench in Ichiro. OK, so don't use him as a hitter and use him as a pinch-runner. That's good enough right? WRONG. McLaren doesn't even pinch run him to keep us in the game.

I don't care if it was his day off or not, I really don't. If we're serious about being in the playoffs, we have to have a manager that wants us to get there. We should be beating teams like the Rangers, and not because our manager fails to see the obvious.

Braves DFA Wickman, Possibility?

The Braves designated 38-year old reliever Bob Wickman for assignment yesterday after recent struggles forced him out of the closer's role. Just two years ago in 2005, Wickman was among the best relievers in the game as he recorded 45 saves with a 2.47 era with the Indians. If I'm not mistaken, I believe he went to the All Star Game that year as well. Though he's blown 6 saves in 26 opportunities, his era is still very respectable at 3.92. With Bavasi trying to find a veteran arm / grandfather for the bullpen, don't be too surprised if he is targeted by the M's. If the Mariners do acquire Wickman, recent call-up and Wickman's brother from another mother Rick White would likely be sent back down or even released. White was called up when it was determined that John Parrish could not get the job done in the bullpen.

Nightcap: 8/24/07 @ Rangers

And the MARINERS are in the WIN COLUMN! Another victory for the M's as they took the second game of this four game set in Texas 4-2. On this very hot night, Felix Hernandez only went six innings while throwing just 84 pitches; but he was filthy. He allowed two earned on three hits while sending seven back to the dugout. Sherrill, Morrow, and Putz pitched the final three innings combining to allow just one hit and no runs, with Putz getting his AL leading 37th save of the season. The Mariner offense was once again, solid, as they again reached double-digit hits with thirteen. Everyone had atleast one hit except for Richie Sexson who surprisingly did not strikeout in any of his four at bats tonight. We have gotten used to scoring early and tonight was no exception. Jose Guillen hit a solo funk blast, his nineteenth, to put the M's ahead 1-0 in the first inning. Singles by Ichiro and Guillen also plated a run each in the second and seventh respectively.

This month, the Mariners have atleast ten hits in 15 of 21 games and have scored in the first inning in 9 of 21 games (9 of last 16).

Tomorrow's Starters: Horacio Ramirez (8-4, 7.15) vs. Jamey Wright (3-5, 4.11)

Umpires: HP--Tim Tschida 1B--Jim Joyce 2B--Jim Wolf 3B--Mike Dimuro

Time: 2:39

Attendance: 32,716

Weather: 93 degrees, partly cloudy

Wind: 15 mph, in from right.

Why are the M's winning?

Throughout the year I've constantly heard doubts about how the Mariner's have managed to play this well throughout this year. People have said that we are "playing above our heads" and that we will "fade". Well it's 3/4 of the way through the season now and the Mariners still haven't "faded" and a lot of people still seem to think that the Mariner's aren't really this good. A lot has been made of the formulas that show that the Mariner's are indeed outperforming what the stats point to as their probable record at this point in the season. According to The Hardball Times the Mariners should currently be 65-60 instead of 72-53, pointing out that we have currently won 7 more games than expected. Well anybody who has read some of my posts on the myspace groups will know what I think of stats as a predictor of what will actually happen at any given point in time. Personally I believe that baseball has too many subjective human factors that affect it's play to be able to try and predict what will happen on any give day through stats that try and break the game down objectively. However, in this case I will offer you some stats that support points as to why the Mariners may be "playing above their heads".

The first one I am going to talk about is simple and any moron can calculate it and that is the fact that our entire lineup has the ability to drive in runs. This is very simple to see by the fact that our entire starting lineup now has over 50 RBIs. This is the first time this has happened in Mariner history and I'm willing to ponder a guess that this isn't all too common in MLB history (I welcome people to prove that wrong since that is just an extrapolation I made myself with common sense). Here is the Mariner's normal lineup and their current RBI totals:

Ichiro Suzuki 53 RBI
Jose Vidro 51 RBI
Jose Guillen 79 RBI
Raul Ibanez 83 RBI
Adrian Beltre 75 RBI
Richie Sexson 62 RBI
Kenji Johjima 51 RBI
Jose Lopez 52 RBI
Yuniesky Betancourt 51 RBI

Now say what you want about these stats but I'm going to give you my opinion as to what it means. Simply the fact that our entire lineup has over 50 RBIs points to the fact that anybody in our lineup can produce runs and that over the course of the season any time one of our big boppers, who are supposed to produce throughout the season, has been in a slump they have been picked up by the rest of the guys in our lineup. Couple this with the fact that no matter who is up late in a game they are very capable of knocking in critical runs and you get a winning team that could be playing better than their stats point to.

The second thing I'm going to talk about is a combination of things and isn't quite as simple but they are all offense related. Now, anybody who has watched the M's on a regular basis this year will know that they are aggressive at the plate and don't draw many walks. In fact the M's are last in the AL in walks by quite a margin. However, their aggressiveness has had other benefits. They are second in batting average at .288, which isn't a very telling stat. However, I will point to two other stats that could point to how the M's offense has kept them playing well and winning at a rate greater than expected. The first is that they are third in the AL in BA with RISP at .286 which essentially says that with their aggressiveness at the plate they are getting hits when it is needed to score runs. The second is that they are tied for second in the AL in BABIP (Batting Average on Balls In Play) at .312. This is a very telling stat because we already know that the Mariners are aggressive at the plate and put the ball in play. However, this stat tells us that this aggressiveness is paying off because when they hit the ball in play they are getting hits at a more than acceptable rate. So their aggressiveness is not going for naught because they are batting at a high clip when they use it to put the ball in play. So essentially despite a lack of implied plate discipline for the Mariners they are using this aggressiveness to fuel their offense to be among the tops in the AL. They have production throughout their lineup and these stats could very well be reason's why. Aggressiveness is good as long as it doesn't come back and blow up in your face and that has yet to happen with the Mariners. So far their aggressiveness has produced an offense that is scoring a lot of runs and is helping them to continue to win games despite predictions of an impending "regression to the mean".

I offer these things on the offensive side of the ball along with an improved starting rotation, amazing young bullpen and very good defense as things that will support this offense on the way and lead to W's that the stats otherwise wouldn't have brought out. I welcome your opinions...Tell me I'm a god who is the smartest guy on earth. Tell me I'm an idiot who doesn't know what I'm talking about. However, this is what I've extrapolated from basic stats as to why this team is doing so well this year even when people still can't seem to accept it.

Nightcap: 8/23/07 @ Rangers

And the MARINERS are in the WIN COLUMN! After failing to complete the sweep of the Twins, the Mariners stormed back with a 9-4 come-from-behind win over the Rangers who scored 39 runs in a double dip yesterday in Baltimore. The Mariners struck for the first run of the ballgame in the second inning when Kenji Johjima singled in Rauuuuuuul Ibanez. The Rangers came back with a two run shot in the next inning off the bat of Brad Wilkerson and a solo shot in the fourth from Jarrod Saltalamacchia. They scored thirty unanswered runs in the first game yesterday against the Orioles, but thankfully only three tonight as the Mariners countered with a huge seven run inning in the sixth. In that inning, Guillen had a solo funk blast, an rbi single for Lopez, a three-rbi, bases clearing double for Ichiro, and a two-run funk blast from Mr. Vidro to put the M's up 8-4. A Richie Sexson rbi single in the ninth capped off the night as the Mariners once again advance to nineteen games over .500. Jeff Weaver had another quality outing going six innings allowing three earned runs on seven hits with only one walk. O'Flaherty allowed one, and Green and Putz closed out the final 1.2 innings. In four August starts, Jeff Weaver is 4-0 while only allowing ten earned runs.

Tomorrow's Starters: Felix Hernandez (9-6, 3.94) vs. Kevin Millwood (8-10, 5.39)

Umpires: HP--Mike Dimuro (5/10 name coolness) 1B--Tim Tschida (8/10 name coolness, pronounced like "Cheetah") 2B--Jim Joyce (3/10 name coolness) 3B--Jim Wolf (4/10 name coolness) (20/40 crew name coolness)

Time: 2:49

Attendance: 26,963 (And none of them can pronounce Saltalamacchia yet)

Weather: 93 degrees, clear (Niehaus hates hot and humid weather)

Wind: 18 mph, in from right (So how the hell did Jose Vidro hit a homerun to rightfield?!)

Parrish's Time with the M's has Perished

The Pershishable Food Item known as John Parrish will likely be forced out of his Mariner's uni just a few weeks after putting it on when he switched clubhouses in Baltimore in a bizzaro move made by Bill Bavasi. Immediately following the move, every M's fan I know questioned the move as I did, asking why would we need a fourth left-hander in the bullpen with an era of nearly 5 and a half? The answer to that question was supposebly that we would somehow benefit from his veteran presence. Uhhhh no. We didn't. And the only one who may have been insane enough to think that was Bill Bavasi. It's unclear whether Parrish will be DFA'ed or head to the minors, but atleast he won't be ruining anymore games for us. My thought is that he will be DFA'ed, and consensus seems to be that Rick White, who's 39 years old, will be called up from Tacoma in Part II 0f Bavasi's hell-bent attempt to bring in a grandfatherly figure to tell war stories to the youngsters in the bullpen.

Thursday Quote: Pathway to the Future

The American writer and cultural anthropologist Mary Catherine Bateson once said:

"The past empowers the present, and the sweeping footsteps leading to this present mark the pathways to the future."

This season, the Mariners have tread along a surprising path of success which most thought we wouldn't be on for a couple more years. Some have questioned whether this team can continue their winning ways for the rest of this season and possibly into the playoffs, and many have cited the next twenty games on the schedule as a roadblock. Is there a tough road ahead? Most certainly. But can we succeed? There's no doubt in my mind. We've not only proven this season that we can fight an up-hill battle, but we've shown that once we get near the top of the hill, we keep clawing and grinding our way to the top. We have a head of steam that is fully capable of propelling us through the roadblock ahead of us and into the promise land; and like Mary Bates said, the past empowers the future.

Who Would You Want To Face?

If the season ended today, the Mariners would be assured a spot in the playoffs and a taste of the postseason for the first time since 116 wins in 2001.

Looking at the field of contenders still in play, in your mind, who presents the best matchup for the Mariners? (NOTE: This is strictly a look at the remaining contenders for postseason play not an assumption of potential possible matchups.)

THE CONTENDERS

The Yankees - If there were ever a year to want to face off against George's crew, this might be it. The rotation has been shaky and inconsistent and their ace is....Chin-Ming Wang? That's hard to swallow when you can also trot out your choice of guys by the name of Clemens, Mussina, Pettite, and the youngster Hughes. The bullpen is a whos-who of no names short of the most dominant closer of all time (sorry Trevor). The bats have kept the Yankees afloat and behind A-Rod's monster campaign, Matsui, Posada, Abreu, Jeter, Cano, Cabrera, and a rotating cast including Giambi, Betemit, and Co.

VERDICT: Thumbs up. I'll take my chances that the Yanks are having an off year by their own standards.

The Tigers - The Tigers should absolutely be in the catbird's seat in the Central with their lineup but injuries and inconsistency have slowed their pursuit of back to back trips to an October payoff. Ordonez has not only returned to form but he is having a career year and should get serious consideration as the favorite for MVP. Sheffield showed M's fans why he might be even more feared than Magglio when he parked a grand slam into the bullpen during the Tigers last trip to town. The arms are pure power. Seriously, the Tigers rotation is scary when it's right. Zumaya is back, albeit in a limited capacity but the bullpen is now at full strength for the first time since May.

VERDICT: Thumbs down. The Tigers have too many X-factors. You better believe that their cold streak is well timed and won't be continuing.

The Indians - Cleveland and the M's seem to have intertwined fates this season after their snowed out first week. It would be fitting to see them meet in the playoffs at some point. Chances are good however that we won't see it. The Indians come to town at the end of the regular season and will make up one of those snow days with a double dip. The Indians are chock full of young talent and should be a threat in the next few years, but this team doesn't have enough to go deep in the playoffs.

VERDICT: Thumbs up. I would take on the Indians any day of the week. Too bad this won't likely happen.

The Red Sox - Ooh. This matchup has all the makings of something special. On paper, the Red Sox seem to be the clear favorite. But there is that nagging issue of their recent troubles at Safeco. The M's have had success limiting the damage that Papi and Manny have inflicted. Perdroya is a nice spark plug in the David Eckstein mold but Julio Lugo and Jason Varitek are no longer serious threats with the lumber. The rotation, if healthy, doesn't need to go any more than three deep with Beckett, Dice-K, and Schilling. Throw Tim Wakefield in their in any roll and a 7-8-9 combo of Del Carmen, Gagne, and Papelbon and the game gets markedly more difficult.

VERDICT: Thumbs down. If for no other reason than I am too young to have ulcers from watching David Ortiz kill his former club....David Arias. how far you've come!

The Angels - They are on a mission and show no signs of slowing down. The series beginning on Monday may set the tone for the final month. The Angels play a game of constant motion, led by Chone Figgins and his amazing season. The Angels possess speed throughout the lineup and one of the most unheralded group of arms in the game. In some ways, I think that the difference between the Angels and M's is found only in the quality of starting pitching. Advantage Angels in that regard.

VERDICT: Thumbs up. And I couldn't tell you why!

What's the verdict for you?

Nightcap: 8/22/07 @ Twins

The Twins took the third and final game of this three game series in the Metrodome with an 8-4 win over the M's. It was a rough day for Miguel Batista who was touched up for eight earned runs on nine hits in just two innings. Michael Cuddyer blasted what I believe to be the third Twins grandslam vs the M's this season. That came in the first inning, and was followed by three more in that inning and then one more in the second. Ryan Rowland-Smith then threw four innings of scoreless and hitless ball striking out six and walking two. The Mariners finally got on the board in the seventh via funk blast by Ben Broussard. Later in the inning, Yu-Bet tripled in Willie Bloomquist for the second run. In the next inning Guillen also tripled in a run followed by a sac-fly by Ibanez scoring Guillen for the fourth run. Richie Sexson, who homered last night, went 0 for 4 with two k's.

Tomorrow's Starters: Jeff Weaver (5-10, 5.57) vs. Kameron Loe (6-9, 5.56) Hopefully the Mariners will be able to take three of four from the last place Rangers who may be tired out after getting into record books in Baltimore. For anyone who didn't know, they scored the most runs in a game since 1897 in a 30-3 rout of the Orioles in the first game of a double header Wednesday night. It was one of those games where you remember exactly where you were when it happened. I was sleeping for most of the game and then woke up during the ninth inning. I looked at the score with my sleepy-eyes and did a double take when I saw the score; 24-3 at the time. I then watched Paul Shuey, a member of the worst bullpen I've ever seen, proceed to give up 6 more runs before the suffering was over. So now I'm sitting here watching the second game of a double header between these two teams, with Texas up 3-0 after two. The record-breaking rape game took almost three and a half hours and double headers can always be tiring. It may be a good thing to play Texas tomorrow...

Umpires: HP--Jeff Kellogg. 1B--Jerry Layne. 2B--Bill Miller 3B--Chris Guccione

Time: 2:16

Attendance: 29,881 (That's more like it, this number was well over 40,000 according to Yahoo
the last two games. Major BS)

Weather: INDOORS

The Team That Plays Together....

...stays together.

So clearly by this point in the season, we have talked statistics to death. Even the most casual fan that tunes in to watch an M's game these days is compelled to watch the events unfold because....wait for it...this team plays like a real TEAM.

So much has been made of Jose Vidro's lack of pop, Raul Ibanez's lack of fielding prowess, and the Mack Truck sized hole in Richie Sexson's swing that we have forgotten to focus on what makes this team special.

They like to play together.

2001 was the last glimpse Seattle fans had of a true "team" atmosphere. A different hero every night. The birth of "Sodo Mojo" and "Sanshin". Hey remember "two outs so what?". As a fan, I find my eyes drawn to the expressions not of the players on the field, but the players on the bench. Ben Broussard, who could easily see significant playing time on another club, smiles brighter than anyone when Richie Sexson goes deep.

It is not necessary for players to like one another in order to produce on field wins. But it sure doesn't hurt.

Let's not forget, as fans, to savor the ride and look beyond the box score at what is happening to baseball in Seattle.

Nightcap: 8/21/07 @ Twins

And the MARINERS are in the WIN COLUMN! Eighteen hits and seven runs were more than enough to take the second game of this series against the Twins 7-2. The Mariners have now won five in a row and a lot of their last many, which is extremely important knowing that we're in for some tough games coming up in the next few weeks. Once again, the M's jumped out in front after Adrian Beltre (20) and Richie Sexson (21) launched back-to-back solo funk blasts in the second inning off of starter Scott Baker. Before the Twins could strike back, Jose Vidro doubled in the third Mariner run in the sixth inning. Minnesota didn't get on the board until the bottom of that inning, when Michael Cuddyer singled off of Jarrod Washburn to plate the Twins' only two runs of the contest. The M's put it out of reach in the eighth with four more runs from a fielder's choice, a throwing error, a double from Beltre, and a single from Johjima. Every Mariner in the starting lineup had a hit in this one, three each from Ichiro and Vidro at the top of the lineup. Jarrod Washburn pitched a very good game allowing two earned on five hits and two walks while striking out five in six innings. Morrow and Sherrill pitched the final three innings responsible for only one hit, one walk, and two strikeouts. These last two games served as good revenge against two pitchers that dominated us last week in Garza and Baker.

Tomorrow's Starters: Miguel Batista (13-8, 4.14) vs. Carlos Silva (9-12, 4.17)

Umpires: HP--Chris Guccione 1B--Jeff Kellogg 2B--Jerry Layne 3B--Bill Miller

Time: 2:49

Attendance: 42,373 (I swear they make up these numbers)

Weather: INDOORS

Mariners Projected Starters

I looked at our next 5 games and looked to see who was starting and who they were going up against. Then, I got curious. I kept the pattern going and found out who was pitching in quite possibly two of our biggest series' left.

August 27-29 vs. LA Angels (@Safeco Field)

August 27 - Miguel Batista
Miguel has pitched against the Angels three times this year.

April 20. - Loss
6 innings pitched
6 runs, all earned
10 hits allowed, 1 home run
Struck out 2, walked 1

May 28. - Win
5 1/3 innings pitched
4 runs, all earned
9 hits allowed, no home runs
Struck out 4, walked 4

July 30. - Masterful win, and most important start to date.
7 innings pitched
No runs
4 hits allowed, no home runs
Struck out 4, walked none

Miguel Batista's season record vs. the Angels (2-1)


August 28 - Jeff Weaver
Jeff has pitched against the Angels two times this year.

April 22. - Loss
3 innings pitched
3 runs, all earned
7 hits allowed, no home runs
Struck out 3, walked none

July 31. - Loss
4 innings pitched
6 runs, all earned
7 hits allowed, 2 home runs
Struck out 3, walked 3

Jeff Weaver's season record vs. the Angels (0-2)


August 29 - Felix Hernandez
Felix has pitched against the Angels three times this year.

May 15 - No decision
3 2/3 innings pitched
3 runs, all earned
7 hits allowed, no home runs
Struck out 5, walked 3

May 30 - Loss
6 innings pitched
7 runs, all earned
9 hits allowed, 3 home runs
Struck out 5, walked 1

August 1 - No decision
8 innings pitched
4 runs, all earned
6 hits allowed, 1 home run
Struck out 7, walked none

Felix Hernandez's season record vs. the Angels (0-1 with 2 no decisions)


September 3-5 vs. the NY Yankees (@Yankee Stadium)

September 3 - Felix Hernandez
Felix hasn't pitched against the Yankees this year.

Felix Hernandez's season record vs. the Yankees (0-0)
Felix Hernandez's season record on the road (4-3)

September 4 - Horacio Ramirez
Horacio has pitched against the Yankees one time this year.

May 13 - Win
6 1/3 innings pitched
1 run, earned
5 hits allowed, no home runs
Struck out 1, walked 1

Horacio Ramirez's season record vs. the Yankees (1-0)
Horacio Ramirez's season record on the road (2-3)

September 5 - Jarrod Washburn
Jarrod has pitched against the Yankees two times this year.

May 6 -Loss
5 1/3 innings pitched
3 runs, all earned
7 hits allowed, no home runs
Struck out 3, walked 2

May 11 - Win
8 innings pitched
No runs
6 hits allowed, no home runs
Struck out 6, walked 1

Jarrod Washburn's season record vs. the Yankees (1-1)
Jarrod Washburn's season record on the road (4-3)

Season Through Game 122

Shown as games over/under .500

(click pic for better image)

Nightcap: 8/20/07 @ Twins

And the MARINERS are in the WIN COLUMN! If you would have told me that Horacio Ramirez would have given up four runs in the first and Garza would have pitched seven strong innings, I would have believed you. But if you would have told me those roles would be reversed, I would have went into a multi-hour laughing fit. The roles WERE reversed, and Horacio actually pitched 7.1 innings giving up four earned runs on nine hits and walking ZERO! Thats right, NO WALKS! And it was on the ROAD! Now did the Mariners put up the run support that Horacio usually gets? Yes, and in a big way. The Mariners mashed tonight by racking up nine runs on fifteen hits, including four funk blasts. Ibanez (14) and Sexson (20) both hit two run funk blasts off of Matt Garza in the first inning to shoot the M's out to a 4-0 lead before the Twins made it to the dish. In the third inning, the Mariners continued their slugfest at the expense of Garza as Ibanez (15) blasted his second of the game and a major league leading ninth of the month. A few batters later, Kenji Johjima followed suit and parked a 96 mph high fastball in the left field seats. At the end of the night, every M except Jose Vidro had a hit, although he did walk once. Sean Green capped off the night with 1.2 innings of scoreless, hitless, baserunnerless ball as the Mariners won the first game of the series 9-4.

Tomorrow's Starters: Jarrod Washburn (8-10, 4.16) vs. Scott Baker (6-5, 4.53)

Umpires: HP--Bill Miller (Guillen wasn't happy, 1/10 name coolness) 1B--Chris Guccione (7-10 name coolness) 2B--Jeff Kellogg (4-10 name coolness) 3B--Jerry Layne (4-19 name coolness) (Overall crew name coolness = 16/40)

Time: 2:23

Attendance: 31,755 (I didn't think it was nearly that many)

Weather: INDOORS

Season Outlook: Updated Here: IMPORTANT SERIES

Looking over the MLB schedule for today, I noticed something that I think all people should look at. For the next 3 days the Yankees and the Angels will square off in Angel Stadium. The Yankees have a losing record on the road, and the Angels play extremely well at home.

With the Yankees .5 behind us, and the Angels 2 games ahead of us, it really looks like either team winning is a plus. However, I want the Angels to sweep. The Yankees are running on an extremely lucky streak as of late. I think that if the Angels sweep, that just might be the stick that breaks the Yankees back. They are averaging a ridiculous 7 runs a game in the 2nd half, whereas the Major League average is between 4 and 5 runs. Statistically, they have been two or three runs better than every team. The Angels are averaging just over 5 runs a game.

Realistically, the Mariners are in a win-win, assuming that we beat the Twins; taking 2 of 3 or a sweep, but I would rather have one team lose the total series, which distances the Mariners no matter what.

I really don't care how you want the series to turn out, that's your thought for yourself. As for me, I'll be rooting for the Angels.

Go Mariners!

A Slice of History and How the Mariners could have been From New York

Though the city of Seattle has been a place of inhabitance for Native American Indians for nearly 10,000 years, it was officially settled on November 14th, 1851 by Arthur A. Denny. Originally, Denny and his crew decided to call the area New York, but was then changed to Duwamps, and then finally to Seattle as an anglicized version of Chief Sealth. Chief Sealth had been the chief of the Suquamish and Duwamish Native American tribes in the area.

Chief Sealth was born in 1786, supposedly on Blake Island, Washington, where his father was the chief of the Suquamish tribe and his mother was the chief of the Duwamish tribe. He was known to be a fierce and aggressive warrior as he often led charges and ambushes on raiders and surrounding tribes, and a master orator whose voice was said to carry half a mile when he spoke.

Later in life, chief Sealth and his people were in trouble as the more powerful Snohomish tribe began to move into their native grounds. Though negotiations were in place for the tribes to share the area, Sealth realized after the Battle of Seattle in 1856 that the two tribes would not be able to live on the same land peacefully and consequently moved away from the area. Sealth would probably be happy if he could see the town of Seattle today, a beautiful thriving town with rich traditions. Chances are if chief Sealth was alive today, he would be a Mariners fan. Later in life he found faith in the Roman Catholic Church and took the name of Noah. That name, of course, being synonymous with one of the greatest Mariners of all time and the ark that he built when the floods were a’ comin’.

Every year, “Chief Seattle Days” are celebrated by the Suquamish in the third week of August.

5th Starters in Recent History

I decided to compare Horacio Ramirez to the 5th starters on the AL Wildcard winners since 2001 just to see how bad of an option he is at the end of the rotation. Here is what I found:

Year: Team: 5th Starter: Record, ERA, WHIP, Hits/9, Homeruns/9, Walks/9, Strikeouts/9

2001: Oakland: Gil Heredia: 7-8, 5.58, 1.58, 11.82 H/9, 2.22 HR/9, 2.38 BB/9, 3.94 K/9

2002: Anaheim: John Lackey: 9-4, 3.66, 1.35, 9.39 H/9, .83 HR/9, 2.74 BB/9, 5.73 K/9

2003: Boston: Casey Fossum: 6-5, 5.47, 1.47, 9.34 H/9, 1.03 HR/9, 3.87 BB/9, 7.18 K/9

2004: Boston: Bronson Arroyo: 10-9, 4.03, 1.22, 8.51 H/9, .86 HR/9, 2.37 BB/9, 7.15 K/9

2005: Boston: Wade Miller: 4-4, 4.95, 1.57, 9.49 H/9, .79 HR/9, 4.65 BB/9, 6.33 K/9

2006: Detroit: Zach Miner: 7-6, 4.84, 1.42, 9.68 H/9, 1.06 HR/9, 3.10 BB/9, 5.71 K/9

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2007: Seattle: Horacio Ramirez: 7-4, 7.38, 1.89, 13.00 H/9, 1.13 HR/9, 4.00 BB/9, 3.88 K/9

ERA: Worst by 1.60
WHIP: Worst by .32
H/9: Worst by 1.18
HR/9: 2nd Worst
BB/9: 2nd Worst
K/9: Worst by .06

Season Outlook

So, after todays win against the Chicago White Sox I looked at the today's scores. The Yankees won, as did the Angels. We're 2 games back of the AL West leading Angels. I looked at the Wild Card and I see we're .5 games ahead of the Yankees. We don't have any room for error. Upon noticing the standings, I got curious and wanted to see what the rest of our schedule looks like. Here it is:

Teams above .500

Minnesota Twins
April 17-19 = Mariners swept in 3 @ Safeco
August 13-15 = Mariners drop 2 of 3 @ Safeco
August 20-22 = @ Metrodome

Current record against Twins = 1-5

Detroit Tigers
May 8-10 = Mariners drop 2 of 3 to the Tigers @ Comerica
July 12-15 = Mariners and Tigers split a 4 game series, 2 games a piece @ Safeco
September 7-9 = @ Comerica

Current record against Tigers = 3-4

Cleveland Indians
May 21 = Mariners lose make-up game @ Jacobs Field
June 11 = Mariners win make-up game @ Jacobs Field
August 30 = @ Jacobs Field
September 25-27 = 4 game series against the Indians @ Safeco Field. The 2nd game on September 26th is an Indians home game at Safeco to make-up for a lost game.

Current record against Indians = 1-1

Toronto Blue Jays
June 29-July 1 = Mariners sweep a 3 game series @ Safeco
July 20-22 = Mariners drop 2 of 3 @ Rogers Centre
August 31-September 2 @ Rogers Centre

Current record against Blue Jays = 4-2

New York Yankees
May 4-7 = Mariners and Yankees split a 4 game series, 2 games a piece @ Yankee Stadium
May 11-13 = Mariners take 2 of 3 @ Safeco
September 3-5 @ Yankee Stadium

Current record against Yankees = 4-3

Los Angeles Angels
April 20-22 = Angels sweep 3 game series @ Angel Stadium
May 15-17 = Mariners drop 2 of 3 @ Safeco
May 28-30 = Mariners drop 2 of 3 @ Angel Stadium
July 30-August 1 = Mariners take 2 of 3 @ Safeco
August 27-29 @ Safeco
September 20-23 @ Angel Stadium

Current record against Angels = 4-8

Of the 41 games left, 24 are against teams with winning records.

Teams Under .500

Texas Rangers = August 23-26 @ Rangers Ballpark

Oakland A's = September 10-12 @ Safeco

Tampa Bay Devil Rays = September 13-16 @ Safeco

Oakland A's = September 17-19 @ McAfee Coliseum

Texas Rangers = September 28-30 @ Safeco

17 of the Mariners final 41 are against the sub-.500 teams.

Against AL West

20 of the final 41 are against AL West teams. Of those 20, 13 are against the teams with losing records, the A's or the Rangers.

2 Biggest Series...

September 3-5 @ Yankee Stadium

September 20-23 @ LA

The two teams we are essentially fighting against for either the Wild Card of the Division, and they are both on the road.

Nightcap: 8/19/07 vs. White Sox

And the MARINERS are in the WIN COLUMN! The story of today's 11-5 M's matinee victory was the top of the lineup. Ichiro, Vidro, and Guillen combined to go 7 for 12 with six runs, seven driven in, and two walks. If Jose Vidro keeps it up, we may just be talking about a batting crown for him (just kidding, but seriously!). The M's, as they have done so well as of late, jumped out to an early three run lead in the first inning with a two-run funk blast by Jose Guillen followed by a solo shot by Adrian Beltre just two batters later. Two more runs scored in the second inning on a Jose Guillen single to make the score 5-0. Five of the other runs scored in the third on and Yu-Bet double, Ichiro single, wild pitch, and a walk. As for King Felix, well he wasn't too shabby. His night ended after 6.1 innings having given up ten hits, four earned runs, a trio of walks, and five strikeouts. O'Flaherty and Morrow combined for the final 2.2 innings allowing only one baserunner via the free pass, and struck out four. Now we head off on our most important stretch of the season to play Minnesota (3 games), Texas (4 games), LAA (3 games), Cleveland (1 game), Toronto (3 games), NYY (3 games), and Detroit (3 games). Out of those twenty games, the three games against the Halo's are the only ones at home. Thats 17 of our next 20 on the road. It's make or break and it will be tough, but we are ready for a challenge.

Tomorrow's Starters: Horacio Ramirez -- SEA -- (7-4, 7.38) vs. Matt Garza -- MIN -- (2-3, 2.05) This is a rematch of last Tuesday where the Twins routed Horacio Ramirez at home (where he is like 10 times better, literally) and beat us 11-3. I'm nervous, scared, and am already feeling the depression from the loss. WAIT, we haven't lost yet, we have to have hope right?!?! Eh, not really. Go Ho!

"Just yesterday morning, they let me know you were gone.
HoRam the plans they made put an end to you.
I walked out this morning, and I wrote down this song.
I just can't remember who to send it to..."

Bavasi, do the right thing and let go of HoRam. I know it's hard for you, BUT YOU'VE GOT TO LET IT GO! You can have my shoulder to cry on...

Umpires: HP--Dan Iassogna 1B--Dale Scott 2B--Ron Kulpa 3B--Paul Emmel

Time: 2:54

Attendance: 45,668 (Good crowd to send us away)

Weather: INDOORS

Wind: 6 mph, out to left

Nightcap: 8/18/07 vs. White Sox

And the MARINERS are in the WIN COLUMN! Jeff Weaver was once again, impressive, in the Mariners 7-5 win over the White Sox tonight. He followed a complete game last outing with a 7.2 inning effort tonight giving up just four earned runs, nine hits, and only walking one. The fourth run came on, wouldn't you know it, another homerun off of George Sherrill in relief, this one to Jim Thome with a runner on. The offense tonight was solid again pounding out thirteen hits. The only Mariner without a hit tonight was Ichiro Suzuki, who was 0 for 3 with a walk. Vidro, Ibanez, Beltre, Lopez, and Betancourt each had two hits, and runs were knocked in by Vidro (1), Guillen (2), Ibanez (1), and Johjima (1). Chicago's offense collected only six hits from three hitters. Jim Thome blasted homeruns nineteen and twenty of the season during this game and drove in three. J.J. Putz recorded his thirty-sixth save of the year and the Mariners gain a game on the Angels and are now two back in the division. The Yankees won tonight, so we remain a half game up on them in the wildcard.

Tomorrow's Starters: Jon Garland (8-8, 4.63) vs. Felix Hernandez (8-6, 3.86)

Umpires: HP--Paul Emmel (Weaver was frustrated) 1B--Dan Iassogna 2B--Dale Scott 3B--Ron Kulpa

Time: 2:31

Attendance: 41,121

Weather: INDOORS

Nightcap: 8/17/07 vs. White Sox

And the MARINERS are in the WIN COLUMN! Miguel Batista put forth an excellent performance in the first game of this three gamer in Seattle against the pesky White Sox. Though his line for the night looks mediocre, I thought he pitched much better than what the line shows. He went 6.1 innings surrendering only three hits, five walks, and three earned runs that scored on the grandslam by Danny Richar off of George Sherrill in relief. With the win, Batista improved to 13-8 on the season. Another big night for Raul Ibanez who went 3 for 4 with yet another homerun, his thirteenth on the season, and drove in two. Jose Vidro went 0 for 2 but did do his job by knocking in two with sac-flys. Beltre was 3 for 4 with one knocked in, and Jose Guillen hat two hits in four at bats. Morrow pitched a scoreless inning and Putz recorded his 11th multi-inning save going 1.1 innings and walking two. The White Sox almost tied the game in their last at bat, but Putz struck out Alex Cintron with a runner on third to end the game. I really don't understand why McLaren brought Putz in during the eighth inning while we were up by a run. Morrow was throwing heat and had the situation under control. I'd rather have my closer start the ninth inning fresh rather than throw some pitches in the eighth and then have to come back in the game. Jose Contreras had a decent night despite giving up nine hits in seven innings. Four earned runs were charged to Contreras as Mariner and Dodger scouts looked on. Could he be a Mariner in the next couple days? Hopefully. His fastball reached 93 or 94 and his splitter/forkball looked sharp. We'll see what happens with Contreras, but the important thing is that the M's remain three back of the Angels and a half a game up on the Yankees in the wildcard.

Tomorrow's Starters: John Danks (6-10, 5.22) vs. Jeff Weaver (4-10, 5.64) It's a battle of the ten game losers with 5+ earned run averages. Let's see if Jeff can weave us another good dream.

Umpires: HP--Ron Kulpa (Beltre wasn't pleased, 5/10 name coolness) 1B--Paul Emmel (3/10 name coolness) 2B--Dan Iassogna (I love lasagna! 7/10 name coolness) 3B--Dale Scott (1/10 name coolness) (Overall crew name coolness = 16/40)

Time: 2:50

Attendance: 46,170 (Sellout)

Weather: 68 degrees, partly cloudy

Wind: 0 mph

Tonights Game an Audition for Contreras?

Tonight, the Chicago Whitesox will send the discouraged Jose Contreras to the mound in what could be his last game with Chicago. U.S.S. Mariner reports that Mariner scouts will be watching closely and if they like what they see, Contreras may switch clubhouses by tomorrow. The 36 year-old right-hander has had a terrible 2007 season thus far and temporarily lost his spot in the rotation. He is 6-14 with a 6.24 era, which is still more than 1.14 points better than Horacio Ramirez. And this is Contreras at his absolute worst. I'm convinced that moving from the blast-pad that is U.S. Cellular Field to pitcher-friendly Safeco could only help him. He won 15 games in 05 and 13 games in 06, with era's of 3.61 and 4.27 respectively. Though he is owed 20 million dollars over the next two years, Contreras is the best pitcher that could be still on the market, having cleared waivers earlier this week. I'm actually rooting for Contreras tonight; I hope he brings his A game to impress the scouts and the front office. Maybe we can win a 1-0 game or something...

Phillippe Aumont

The wait is over; the Mariners finally signed their first round draft pick. With the 11th overall pick the Seattle Mariners took 6'7" RHP Phillippe Aumont from Quebec, Canada.

The 6'7" RHP is 18 years old, and very raw to say the least. He never pitched for a high school, since his school didn't have a team. His only experience basically came as a traveling pitcher. The Mariners followed him x amount of miles just to watch the raw, tall, and lanky pitcher throw heat. His fastball ranges anywhere from 90-95 MPH. Unlike many high school pitchers, he is more than just a 4-seam fastball pitcher. He has shown an impressive 2-seamer which dives hard like a sinker. With his frame, he's also got a feeling for the bottom of the strike zone, another thing very hard to find in a high school pitcher. With his tall frame coming down off the mound at that angle, he isn't just intimidating, but he's got all the make for a power, ground ball pitcher. Basically, with his potential he's got two comparisons. The first, Derek Lowe, whose an EXTREME groundball pitcher. The second, Kevin Brown. Brown was more power than Lowe, and still had extreme sink on his stuff, which made for a very successful career. He has shown a flash of brilliance with his slider, but it still needs a load of work in order to be a effective out-pitch at the highest level. He hasn't shown much with his change-up, which would be a great pitch for anybody who throws around 95.

Had he played more, he might have drawn more attention, and thus been drafted higher. I personally think this was a great pick. Sure, he's gonna be a lot of work, like 3 to 4 years of work. The pay-off, nobody knows. If he pans out, there isn't any limit to what he can achieve. He's got all the potential in the world to be a dominating force to go along with Felix.

I'm yet to find the actual contract terms, but he did receive a 1.9 million dollar signing bonus. I'll get back to you all when I find out more.

Phillippe Aumont is due in Seattle on Friday to finalize the terms of the agreement and meet with local media.

Welcome to the Mariners Mr. Aumont. Please, please don't get injured if you pitch for Team Canada...

Thursday Quote: Mental Edge

The great tennis superstar and civil rights leader Arthur Ashe once stressed the importance of attitude when you're behind when he said this:

"Regardless of how you feel inside, always try to look like a winner. Even if you are behind, a sustained look of control and confidence can give you a mental edge that results in victory."

I'm gonna keep thing one short and sweet. The 2007 Mariners have really exemplified Ashe's quote this season. Despite the occassional game where we've been out of the game physically and mentally, which has happened a couple times this season, we have been one of the better teams in the majors at coming from behind to win ballgames. We have shown tremendous perserverance and determination in the face of adversity. We have heard that we aren't good enough all season long from critics and bloggers and ESPN personalities. But we ARE good enough and we have shown that we can compete for the playoffs. When we go down in ballgames, we play hard and we play to win. The mental edge that Arthur Ashe talked about is something that has helped us win all season and has gotten us to this point despite not scoring many more runs than our opponents. If we can keep the mental edge over our opponents, there is no telling what we are capable of the rest of the season but I will tell you one thing; I have confidence that we WILL continue to play hard and fight until the last out of every game.

Nightcap: 8/15/07 vs. Twins

Ouch. This afternoon the Mariners dropped the third and final game of this series against the Twins, 6-1. It wasn't a great one to watch; or atleast I don't think it was... I fell asleep myself. I woke up in the 8th inning to find that the game was still within reach at 2-1, but saw the highlight of the second run that came around to score for the Twins and I was not happy about it. Though a throwing error was charged to Washburn on a play to first base, Jose Lopez, who was covering the bag, actually just flat out missed the ball. The throw was low but still a good foot off the ground and should have been caught. If the game would have ended 2-1, you might point to that play as the reason that we lost. Everyone complains about Jose Vidro's defense at second base but what I've been trying to tell people all along is that errors aren't terrible unless they directly contribute to a loss. Washburn pitched a fine game; seven innings of seven hit ball. He gave up two runs, only one of those being earned, and struck out five. In the top of the ninth the Twins busted it open when Torii Hunter took Sean Green deep after Mauer was walked intentionally to load the bases. Some are going to be critical of this move, but it was the right move to pitch to the right-handed bat of Hunter. He only hits .275 off of righties, whereas the left-handed bat of Mauer hits righties at a .321 clip.

The offense that was so good on the road trip has cooled significantly as the Mariners only had eight hits today with only a single run, an Ibanez solo shot, on the scoreboard at the end. Six Mariners struck out today; Lopez (1), Guillen (2), Beltre (2), Sexson (1), Jones (3), and Betancourt (1) for a total of ten. If I were to criticize a John McLaren decision today, which I will, it's the fact that Jose Vidro (who has been on fire) was not in the lineup today. I don't know what the reason for that was since we have an off-day tomorrow, but I would have liked to have one of our most reliable hitters, especially w/ RISP, to be in the lineup in the rubber game of a three game series.

Now we have the off-day tomorrow to think over our two consecutive losses to a .500 team.
Umpires: HP--Gary Cederstrom 1B--Lance Barksdale 2B--Jim Reynolds 3B--Tim Welke

Ejections: MINNESOTA's Gardenhire by Cederstrom (6th) (I was sleeping)

Time: 2:37 (Typical Washburn game)

Attendance: 42,921 (Nice crowd on what looked to be a beautiful day)

Weather: 73 degrees, partly cloudy (Wow. I'm jealous over here in Maryland)

Wind: 3 mph, left to right.

Nightcap: 8/14/07 vs. Twins

A disappointing night for the Mariners has finally ended as we drop the second game in the series to the Twins, 11-3. We knew early that this game would end on a sour note when the Twins were leading 2-0 after the second hitting. At that point, Minnesota had already collected four hits and two walks off Horacio Ramirez. The Twins continued to hit, scoring in five of the nine innings and knocking Ramirez out of the game after five innings. Just when you though Horacio's era couldn't get any worse, it did. He went into the game with an era of 7.12 and it has now inflated to 7.38 after being touched up for nine hits and six earned runs while walking three. The bullpen could not stop the bleeding as RRS was responsible for two more earned runs in two innings. John Parrish, who had a rough first outing at the Safe the other night, continued to struggle in two innings tonight allowing three earned on six hits and walking one. As for the offense, well, there wasn't a whole lot to cheer for. Richie Sexson returned to form going 0 for 4 and striking out twice. The player of the game and really the only one worthy of consideration was Jose Vidro who continued his tear at the plate going 2 for 2 with two walks and two batted in.

Tomorrows starters: Scott Baker (6-5, 4.76) vs. Jarrod Washburn (8-9, 4.30). Tonight we had a chance to take the wildcard lead and to gain a game on the Angels, so it was a pretty bad loss. We've got to take this third game.

Umpires: HP--Tim Welke 1B--Lance Barksdale 2B--Gary Cederstrom 3B--Jim Reynolds

Time: 2:46

Attendance: 33,729

Weather: 77 degrees, clear

Wind: 11 mph, left to right.

Shouldn't I Feel Better About Winning?

Let's face it, this 2007 Mariners club continues to exceed expectations and we are currently tied with the Yankees for the wildcard at 16 games over .500. If anyone would have notioned that we would be talking about the playoffs in the middle of August, I would have dismissed it as a ridiculous claim and would have had a good chuckle over it. Now I talk to a lot of M's fans daily, and the percentage of them who would have predicted the Mariners to be this good is 0%. No one, and I mean NO ONE, saw this coming. In fact the consensus was that our goal should be to finish over .500 and not finish in the basement of the A.L. West. I don't think we have to worry about either of those now, especially the latter because Texas is doing that job pretty well.

But even though we're winning, it really doesn't feel like it. I guess it's because I'm not used to many winning ballclubs, following the Orioles before the Mariners, following the Wizards in the NBA when they sucked, and following the Ravens through the sub-par years after the superbowl in 2001. I guess there is a bit of surrealism that effects my feelings. Check that, a lot of surrealism. It happened last year when I dismissed the Ravens as a non-contender before the season started, predicting we'd go 9-7. Like the Mariners, they exceeded my expectations and went 13-3 and advanced to the playoffs as a #2 seed. I remember that when they clinched the division, it took a while to sink in. I remember questioning myself on why I wasn't as excited as I should be. I guess it's just the fact that I still had my doubts about what was going to happen in the playoffs that kept me from thoroughly enjoying it.

The Mariners this year have given me the same kind of doubt with a manager resigning in the middle of a winning season, a new manager and his questionable decisions, poor pitching performances, inconsistent play by almost everyone throughout the year, extended scoring droughts, and extended losing streaks. Though our record is drastically better than anyone would have imagined, It's hard to believe that we can keep our pace up to make the playoffs, especially as we are contending with some really good teams. I hear people saying that there is "no doubt" that the Yankees will make the playoffs and I ask myself "Wait they are tied with us so for the wildcard so why do I feel so much doubt?" Only time will tell how the season will pan out. From now on I'm just going to try to enjoy winning and hope that if our team collectively struggles or if a player individually struggles, we can be resilient and bounce back. We've already done it this season. We've come charging out of a few extended losing streaks. Sexson and Ibanez are carrying the team over the last 7 games. Vidro continues to impress though his first half was under heavy criticism. John McLaren's decisions, though sometimes questionable, are not affecting our record. And finally Bill Bavasi's moves, though each is criticized to no end, are actually not turning out to be so bad.

Let's keep up our winning ways and ENJOY IT because we are very fortunate to be where we are today.

Nightcap: 8/13/07 vs. Twins

The success from the road trip has followed the Mariners to the Safe where they took the first game in a three game series against the Twins by a score of 4-3. The colossal matchup between Johan Santana and King Felix was a good one as both pitchers had quality outings. Santana went seven and gave up three earned runs and Felix went six giving up only one. Though Felix did not get the W due to a bad first showing at Safeco for John Parrish, he pitched well enough to deserve the win and got out of some big jams early in the game. Vidro had three hits and drove in a run, but the player of the game was the resurgent Richie Sexson who is finally showing life three quarters into the season. After a good road trip for Sexson, he went two for four and drove in three. Two of those runs were plated on a two out double that almost left the park for a homerun, and his third rbi came in the form of a walkoff solo shot in the bottom of the ninth to put the M's in the win column for the sixth time in the last seven games. We now advance to sixteen games over .500 which I believe is the highest we've been all year, and equally important is Richie Sexson getting some confidence and raising his average to .210; where it hasn't been since July 5th.

Tomorrow's matchup should be interesting. We send out Horacio Ramirez who somehow is 7-3 while posting a 7.12 era and the Twins send out young phenom Matt Garza who is 1-3 with a 1.70 era. So Garza loses when he gives up few runs and Ramirez wins when he gives up a lot of runs... I can't talk about this anymore because I'm too confused.

Umpires: HP--Jim Reynolds (Boring name = 2/10) 1B--Tim Welke (Semi-boring name = 4/10) 2B--Lance Barksdale (Pretty cool name = 7/10) 3B--Gary Cederstrom (Pretty cool name = 6/10) (Overall Umpire Name Coolness Grade (UNCG) = 19/40)

Time: 2:36 (Another pretty quick one, thanks Richie)

Attendance: 37,902 (And some STILL booed Sexson for strikeouts in at bats 3 and 4)

Weather: 70 degrees, partly cloudy (Niehaus was extremely happy, he said he could barely breathe on the road trip... Get this guy some oxygen next time)

Wind: 1 mph, left to right

Nightcap: 8/12/07 @ White Sox

Though the streak of double-digit hits ended, the Mariners ended their road trip with a 6-0 shutout and took fice of six on this trip. Jeff Weaver perhaps pitched his best game of the season in a complete game shutout only five hits, walking none, and striking out eight. He had everything working for him including his breaking pitch that baffled White Sox hitters. Offensively, all but two Mariners (Ibanez and Jones) had a hit. Sexson, Guillen, and Beltre each had a homerun off of the Sox starter John Danks. It was good to see Richie hit his first homerun since July 26th as he took a Danks fastball over the fence in rightfield. Raul Ibanez, who has had what has to be his best road trip ever, went 0 for 4 with four strikeouts; he couldn't seem to figure out the left-handed Danks. Overall it was an outstanding game and an outstanding roadtrip for the team. The Yankees won today so we are now tied with them for the wildcard, with the Cleveland Indians 1.5 back. We now head back home for six games in seven days against the Twins and then these White Sox.

Umpires: HP--Andy Fletcher. 1B--Mike Reilly. 2B--Jeff Kellogg. 3B--Eric Cooper. (This crew did a nice job in this series. This is the crew that had just come from the bean-ball series in Toronto.)

Time: 2:13 (The Dream Weaver wove us a quick one... 2/13 is my birthday!)

Attendance: 36,629

Weather: 83 degrees, sunny

Wind: 7 mph, left to right

Nightcap: 8/11/07 @ White Sox

The Mariners took this game 7-6 but it was way too close for comfort. For the fifth night in a row, the Mariners reached double-digits in hits as they scored just enough early in the game to take this second game of the three game set in Chicago. We started it off early with a three-run homer in the first by none other than the Werewolf of London himself, Raul Ibanez. That's his tenth on the season and his fifth in as many games! Talk about a tear! The other four runs came via Grand Salami in the fourth inning off the equally hot bat of Yunieski Betancourt, who raises his average to .293. On the mound, Miguel Batista got his twelth win on the season after going 5.2 innings while walking four, sending six to the dugout, and scattering six hits. He mainatined his composure and pitched his way out of a couple jams and only gave up two earned runs. The game was under control until the ninth inning when the White Sox made a late charge. Eric O'Flaherty began the ninth having relieved Batista a couple innings earlier. He allowed two singles and was replaced by left-handed specialist George Sherrill, who then walked his only batter Owens. J.J. Putz then entered the game to try his hand at putting away the pesky White Sox, but gave up a grand slam to the Mariner Killer Josh Fields, who homered twice in the Chicago victory last night. After the dust settled, J.J. sat down the final three batters he faced and the Mariners escaped narrowly with a 1-run victory.

Umpires: HP--Eric Cooper. 1B--Andy Fletcher. 2B--Mike Reilly. 3B--Jeff Kellogg.

Time: 3:01 (Ah the perfect three hour game)

Attendance: 38,210 (Again, pretty packed for a team under .500)

Weather: 87 degrees, clear (B-E-A-U-TIFUL)

Wind: 9 mph, in from right

Nightcap: 8/10/07 @ White Sox

Though we recorded double-digit hits for the fourth game in a row, this Fryday game in Chicago goes in the loss column, 5-3 Sox. Washburn pitched 6.2 innings and surrendered five earned runs on seven hits (three of them for homeruns, two by Josh Fields) and two walks, and was handed his ninth loss on the year. Newbie John Parrish made his first appearance in an M's uniform and pitched a scoreless/hitless 8th inning. Two of the three Mariner runs were a result of solo homeruns by Kenji Johjima (13) and Raul Ibanez (10), Ibanez homering for the fourth time in as many games. Vidro, the only Mariner without a hit tonight, brought in the third and final M's run in the 5th with a sac-fly.

Though we made no errors on the field, I believe Jon McLaren made a couple in the dugout. One of his errors that turned out to be costly was leaving Washburn in a few batters too long. The 7th inning began with a hard-hit single by Jermaine Dye into left field. Scott Podsednik, a lefty, then lined out to Ibanez for the first out. At this point, I called for Morrow to come into the game to face the right-handed hitting Uribe. Instead, Mac decided to leave Washburn in the game, and Uribe doubled off the wall. To add insult to injury, the White Sox added their fifth run on an Erstad triple that got past Ichiro before Washburn left the game. The second error that McLaren made was letting Richie Sexson hit against the right-hander Macdougal with two on and no out in 8th inning. Down by two, we needed to get Ibanez and Beltre to the plate, and I figured I'd rather have the righty-lefty matchup with Broussard instead of the righty-righty matchup with Sexson. Richie then grounded into a double play, and our chances of winning were severely crippled. Mac is now 18-17 with the ballclub.

Umpires: HP--Jeff Kellogg. 1B--Eric Cooper. 2B--Andy Fletcher. 3B--Mike Reilly.

Time: 2:36 (I love Washburn games)

Attendance: 38,586 (Pretty good for a team 7 games under .500)

Weather: 79 degrees, clear (Perrrrfect baseball weather)

Wind: 6 mph, left to right

Ho's Gotta Go

Horacio Ramirez. We traded Rafael Soriano for this guy. We traded a 27 year old dynamite reliever, who may have had a future as a starting pitcher for Horacio Ramirez; he of the career 1.21 K/BB ratio, the career 5.11 FIP, and the absolutely insane 3.66 home ERA/5.20 road ERA split. What has he done for us this year? 7.12 ERA. 5.38 FIP, 5.49 xFIP. Sure, he's posted a 7-3 record, but by all accounts you can pretty much credit the offense with supplying him with 8.33 runs per nine innings. Here's a log of his starts in which the M's have staked an early lead for him, and he's blown it:

May 3 vs. Boston Red Sox: Mariners jump out to a 5-0 lead in the 1st inning. By the bottom of the 2nd, the BoSox have tied it up. The Sox then add 2 more in the 4th to take a 7-5 lead.

May 8 vs. Detroit Tigers: Mariners score 3 in the top of the 1st. The Tigers tie it up in the 2nd. The M's score 1 in the top of the 4th, but the Tigers score 3 more in the bottom half to take a 6-4 lead. The M's creep back by scoring a run in the top of the 6th, but the Tigers get it back by scoring another in the bottom of the 6th to make it 7-5.

July 23 vs. Texas Rangers: Mariners go up 2-0 in the top of the 1st. Ho holds the lead until the bottom of the 3rd when he allows 3 runs. The M's fight back by scoring 1 in the top of the 4th to tie it up, but Ho can't hang on. The Rangers score 5 runs in the bottom of the 5th to knock Ramirez from the game.

August 9 vs. Baltimore Orioles: M's score 3 in the top of the first, and add another in the 3rd to go up 4-0. Ho holds "strong" until the wheels fall off in the bottom half of the inning. The O's put up 5 runs to take the 1 run lead. The M's eventually tie it up and go on to win, but turning a 4 run lead into a 1 run deficit is something we've seen far too often from Horacio Ramirez.

It's not as if Ramirez has been incredibly unlucky this year. He just simply doesn't have the stuff to be a major league pitcher. When facing Ramirez, hitters are putting up an obscene .368/.436/.554 batting line against him (.410/.485/.675 on the road). That's basically like having 9 Ted Williams' facing Ho every game. How have the Mariners given 13 starts to this guy?

With guys like Robert Rohrbaugh, and Jorge Campillo knocking at the door in Tacoma, there really isn't a good reason to keep giving starts to Horacio Ramirez.

Thursday Quote: Leadership is Contagious

"Leaders don't create followers, they create more leaders." ~Tom Peters

That quote sums up what Ibanez has done (or hasn't done) this year. He hasn't come up in the big situations and hasn't put up big numbers. His season is just now starting, and I believe it's way too late for him to have a decent shot at keeping his spot next year. He is aging. Adam Jones is here. The youth in this organization is taking over. A few players come to mind...

Meet Yuniesky Betancourt, age 25. He is absolutely tearing the cover off the ball as of late. He's hitting a sizzling hot .349 since the All-Star break. His career line shows he's a 2nd half hitter too. Batting average is an overrated stat though. His RISP, RISP <2> against the Angels the young man is hitting .364, which is what we need when we go in playing the team whose occupying the division lead by 3.5 games.

Meet Adrian Beltre, age 28. For the first time in his Mariners career, he might hit above his career average. For the first time in his Mariner career he might reach 100+ RBIs. For the 2nd time in his career he might hit above 25 HRs (don't cross fingers for 48 unless you want steroid talks to pop up in Seattle). No, he doesn't have the RISP or men on base average stats that Yuni has got going for him, but he's got the RBIs that Yuni can't get. 44 of his 67 RBIs have come with men on base, and 24 of those 44 have come with 2-men out. His offense, yes has been a bust in Seattle, and that should have been expected. However, he is definitley worth the price tag for his stellar defense. I've heard grumblings during Fox Saturday Baseball Game of the Week numberous times this year that Eric Chavez is no longer the glove standard at 3rd base, Adrian Beltre is.

Meet the Mariner bullpen, average age (of the selected players, who were required to be on the ESPN Roster and active when checked) is 25. I don't think I can praise them enough. The easiest player by far to talk about would be J.J. Putz. He's the best closer in baseball, and his name is still going throughout the ball world and through Cy Young talks. However, Sean Green, George Sherrill and Eric O'Flaherty are the real heroes of this bullpen. They are the ones who get the ball to Putz in order to make us "Thunderstruck" and give us the win.

Nightcap: 8/9/07 @ Orioles

After a weird turn of events that brought Parrish from the O's clubhouse to the M's clubhouse, the Mariners continued their offensive onslaught ending the night with thirteen runs on fifteen hits and swept the three game set with the Orioles with a 13-8 win. It was amazing to be at two Mariner games this series and having them score more than ten runs in both of them. Seven of the nine starters had atleast one run batted in tonight, we walked five times as a team, we smacked fifteen hits, and Adam Jones scored four runs. Yeah the offense is clicking on all cylinders; then again, this is the Orioles we're talking about. Horacio Ramirez had another bad outting despite only allowing five hits in five innings of work. He gave up seven earned runs and matched the five hits he allowed with 5 walks. One of the five hits was a third inning grandslam by Miguel Tejada to put the O's up 5-4. A rain delay of roughly a half hour followed that inning but then the M's tied it back up when the skies cleared. R.R.S., Sean Green, and George Sherrill combined to close out the game allowing a combined three hits and one run, as Sherrill got his first save of the season by recording five outs in a five run ballgame. All around good game, especially since I got signed balls from Garcia, Goff, McLaren, and Rhodes. Lots of fun, can't wait until the M's are back in town next year, hopefully for more than one series.

Note: A Miguel Tejada error in the sixth inning that should have been an easy double play resulted in five Mariner runs in that inning, the ultimate difference in the game. Just goes to show you that while Tejada can look like a hero for hitting the grand slam but really he cost his team the game.

Umpires: HP--Charlie Reliford. 1B--Greg Gibson. 2B--Larry Vanover. 3B--Tony Randazzo. (Reliford's strike zone was all over the place, RAZZLE DAZZLE blew the check swing call that cost us four runs.)

Time: 3:23 (Plus rain delay totaling 23 minutes in the 3rd). (Not too bad for a Hor Ram game plus rain delay)

Attendance: 18,679 (Seems about right, rain sent some people home.)

Weather: 89 degrees, cloudy (Beautiful night for baseball, rain cooled it off a bit)

Wind: 3 mph, right to left (A slight breeze is always good)

M's Trade for Scrub

The highly coveted John Parrish is now ours, for the low-low price of Sebastien Boucher. Now, Boucher was nothing to write home about (think TJ Bohn, but with more speed), but to just throw him to the Orioles for a goddawful 29 year old reliever is just downright idiotic.

Our bullpen is fine. Seriously, what weakness did it have to make this trade necessary? Hard-throwing, dominant closer? Check. Devastating LOOGY? Check. Hard-throwing righty set-up guy? Check. Groundball-inducing, strikeout set-up guy? Check. Secondary LOOGY? Check. Long relief/mop up duty reliever? Check.

I guess I shouldn't get so riled up over this since it's not going to be a make-or-break move, and it affords the team the ability to send Mark Lowe down to get the amount of work he needs in order to get back to where he needs to be. But, dammit, it just doesn't make much sense. The way this team so easily gives up talent in order to bring in "veteran leadership" or to "build team chemistry" is just so utterly baffling, so completely forehead-smacking stupid.

-------------------------------------------------

Phil, I'm glad you got to this one before I did, but I'll just add my two cents.

So I was sitting at Camden Yards tonight for the final game of the series, and before the game I saw that John Parrish was shaking the hands of the Orioles relievers while wearing a Seattle uniform. I first thought was that this was some kind of awful joke, but then reality sunk in. John Parrish was a Mariner. Very awkward moment there seeing a guy switch clubhouses like that, had to be weird for Parrish.

I can testify to how poor of a pitcher Parrish is, I've watched him for a few years with the Orioles since they are my hometeam. Basically what I've watching is him get blasted for multi-run innings. In fact he had a terrible performance just the other week against Boston, cost the O's the game. Other than this move not making sense because he sucks, it also doesn't make any sense at all to bring in a FOURTH, yes a FOURTH, left-handed reliever (Sherrill, O'Flaherty, Rowland-Smith, and now John Parish-able Food Item). Wait until you guys see him pitch, just wait.

Nightcap: 8/8/07 @ Orioles

The M's win the second game of this hot series in Baltimore in similar fashion to last night's 10-3 beating as they win 8-4 tonight. Like last night, both teams pounded out double-digit hits; the Mariners with 15 and the Orioles with 11. Also like last night, only one Mariner starter did not contribute with a hit, that being Kenji Johjima tonight who went 0 for 4. Jose Vidro, Jose Guillen, and Raul Ibanez (2-3-5) contributed four, two, and one runs batted in respectively, and each added a homerun. Ibanez now has three of his nine homeruns in the first two games of this season. The winning pitcher is Felix Hernandez after allowing four earned runs on ten hits in 6.2 innings, and watched Sherrill, Morrow, and Putz close the game out giving up only one hit. For Putz, who again came in during the eighth inning, recorded his 33rd save of the season.

Before the game, former Oriole World Series MVP Rick Dempsey said how he would pitch to Ichiro. He said that he put a shift on where the leftfielder would play the line, the centerfielder would play in the gap, and the rightfielder would play almost in center. He said he would also put the second baseman behind the bag. When Dempsey's co-anchor asked him if Ichiro was good enough to pull the ball to avoid the shift, Dempsey said NO! I couldn't believe the stupidity of that idea. I understand that Ichiro kills the Orioles, hitting like .380 career, but theres no way that you can put a shift on Ichiro because he can pull the ball ten times out of ten if he wanted to.

Umpires: HP--Tony Randazzo. 1B--Charlie Reliford. 2B--Greg Gibson. 3B--Larry Vanover (RAZZLE DAZZLE BEHIND THE PLATE!)

Time: 2:42 (Nice quick game even with 26 combined hits)

Attendance: 17,511 (Almost 10,000 less than yesterday due to increased heat and no Jeremy Guthrie T-Shirt giveaway)

Weather: 101 degrees, partly cloudy (I wasn't there tonight, but I definitely believe it)

Wind: 6 mph, left to right

Time to Get Well(s)?

All indications are that the Padres are on the brink of either trading or releasing David Wells after four consecutive bashings that Wells took on the mound, giving up an MLB record tying ten hits in a row to the Cardinals in the latest beating. With the Mariners in need of a starting pitcher, Wells seemingly wanting to stay on the west coast, and the numerous trades between the two clubs over the last few years, it seems like a perfect match. Wells numbers this year aren't great, but they are still better than Hor Ram's. In 22 games started, "Boomer" Wells is 5-8 with a 5.54 era and nearly a 2:1 strikeout to walk ratio. Time to make some 07 comparisons.

ERA:

Wells: 5.54
Ramirez: 6.68
Weaver: 6.20

WHIP:

Wells: 1.59
Ramirez: 1.84
Weaver: 1.62

Quality Starts (6.0 innings or more, 3 ER or less) / Total Starts

Wells: 9 / 22 (.409)
Ramirez: 6 / 12 (.500)
Weaver: 6 / 17 (.353)

K:BB

Wells: 63:33 (1.91 K's per BB)
Ramirez: 25:24 (1.04 K per BB)
Weaver: 46:24 (1.92 K's per BB)

I really don't know what to think, but Wells is only making 3 million dollars this year on a 1 year contract. Is he worth a prospect? Possibly.

Nightcap: 8/7/07 @ Orioles

We've just climbed aboard the Dream Weaver traaaaain. Yes, I am actually listening to the song over and over again as I type this entry. I got back a couple hours ago from the M's and O's game at Camden Yards and boy did we put on our hittin' shoes tonight. The efforts of Dream Weaver on the mound and the Werewolf of London at the dish propelled us to a huge 10-3 victory in the first game of this 3 game set in Baltimore. Ibanez crushed homeruns seven and eight of the season in his 3 for 6 effort while driving in four and scoring three times. Increasing your season homerun tally by a quarter in one night in August, well, thats sad yet refreshing. Something to note about the offense is that we only struck out twice tonight, both by Beltre, who did have two hits as well. Weaver pitched himself out of jams and only allowed three runs in six innings while surrendering eleven hits and the bullpen pitched the final three innings giving up no runs on four hits. I was also impressed that Weaver walked NO ONE! I was disappointed at not winning rally fries, especially after I met one of the M's cameramen before the game. Overall a very satisfying night at the ballpark, I'll be there again Thursday.

Umpires: HP--Larry Vanover. 1B--Tony Randazzo. 2B--Charlie Reliford. 3B--Greg Gibson (Randazzo is so Hollywood... Razzle Dazzle!)

Time: 3:38 (Thanks to Steve Slowest on the Trach-sel and a combined 34 hits)

Attendance: 25,060 (most probably because it was Jeremy Guthrie T-shirt night)

Weather: 95 degrees, overcast (Ugh maybe 95 on a black metal surface, but not in the stadium)

Wind: 7 mph, right to left

Catching 2 of 3 in Baltimore

Finally the time has come when the M's come to Baltimore for their only trip of the year. I will be at the Tuesday game (section 46) and the Thursday game (section 30) to cheer on Weaver and Ramirez respectively... greeeeaaaat. I've got a Rally Fry sign to take to tonights game and I think I have a pretty good chance of winning, since Baltimore is practically on the other side of the planet and half the people in the stadium probably don't know who the Seattle Mariners are. Lets just hope Blowers and Co. keep their eyes open!

Sexson's Demise

I thought about what I could blog about tonight and I decided I wanted to speak my mind about Richie Sexson, who has been mired in a prolonged slump this season. I wanted to try to find some other occassions in baseball history where power-hitters fell off the side of the earth and into the abyss. I was thinking maybe there would be some logical explanation for why this happens or how it can be fixed. So I went to my trusty Yahoo! search engine and searched for "struggling sluggers". The first link on the results page was an article put out by the Arizona Daily Star and the irony that ensued when I clicked on that link surprised me...

Go ahead, read the article: http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/77250 You may find some of the quotes in there interesting.

Anyway onto my rant.

As of tonight, Richie Sexson is hitting a miniscule .196 on the season. He's leading the club in homeruns, but only with 17. There has been a lot of talk among fans about what to do with Sexson and his grossly enormous contract. Can you sit the guy or even platoon him while he's making 14 million dollars? It's a fair question, and I used to ask it whenever the situation was brought up. But now, as far as I'm concerned, the answer to the question is a resounding yes. There is a very simple explanation for what has turned into a complicated situation. Would you rather pay him fourteen million dollars to play but hurt the team's chances of winning night in and night out or would you rather pay him fourteen million dollars to ride the pine and have minimal effects on the team? Since I like to win and I want to win, I'll easily take the latter. There is always that "what if" factor that comes into play. What if Richie starts hitting the ball? Well, to be honest with you, it doesn't look like theres much more that we can hope for from him. He hasn't been hitting homeruns lately, his average has been in decline since the season started, and he's striking out against righties and lefties. It's not looking good.

Now I want to do some number crunching because after all, numbers don't lie.

Average:

2007 Monthly High / Low:

April: .333 (4/2) / .136 (4/28)
May: .196 (5/31) / .143 (5/2)
June: .213 (6/26) / .194 (6/12 and 6/16)
July: .209 (7/7) / .199 (7/18)

Note: Barring the first 5 games of the season, Sexson's average has not reached above .222

Career Averages on August 4th / Season Average / + or -

1999: .252 / .255 / +.003
2000: .254 / .272 / +.018
2001: .248 / .271 / +.023
2002: .282 / .279 / -.003
2003: .271 / .272 / +.001
2004: INJURY
2005: .266 / .263 / -.003
2006: .223 / .264 / +.041
2007: .196 / -- / --

Note: On average, Sexson raises his batting average by .018 from August 4th to the end of the season. That would put him at a 2007 average of .214, the lowest of his career and by far the lowest excluding 2006.

Homeruns:

Career Homeruns on August 4th / Total for the Year / + #

1999: 22 / 31 / +9
2000: 18 / 30 / +12
2001: 26 / 45 / +19
2002: 23 / 29 / +6
2003: 29 / 45 / +16
2004: INJURY
2005: 26 / 39 / +13
2006: 24 / 34 / +10
2007: 17 / -- / --

N0te: On average, Sexson hits about 12 homeruns from August 4th until the end of the year. That puts him on pace to hit 29 homeruns in 2007, tied for lowest of his career.

Runs Batted In:

Career RBI on August 4th / Total for the Year / + #

1999: 69 / 116 / +57
2000: 50 / 91 / +41
2001: 71 / 125 / +54
2002: 77 / 102 / +25
2003: 79 / 124 / +45
2004: INJURY
2005: 82 / 121 / +39
2006: 73 / 107 / +34
2007: 54 / -- / --

Note: Sexson has only had one season where his RBI total on August 4th was lower than the 54 he has this year. At career average RBI's acquired after August 4th, he is on pace to have 96 RBI's, only the second time in his career where he would be under 100 for the season.

Thursday Quote: Dangerous Decisions

The quote this week comes from American economist and political writer Thomas Sowell. He once said:

"It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong."

Lately, the in-game decisions made by Mariner's manager John McLaren have come under close scrutiny and have drawn criticism from the Mariner faithful. But this week, John McLaren has made an even more crucial and controversial decision to bring Adam Jones up from Triple-A Tacoma tomorrow after saying that he doesn't want Adam Jones up with the big club until there is a place for him to play everyday. Speculation is that Jones will be used in a utility role, playing all of the outfield positions when players need rests or pinch hitting later in games. However, this would contradict what John McLaren said before about only promoting him when there is a starting spot open for him. Thinking that McLaren wouldn't intentionally contradict himself, it is obvious that McLaren is being pressured by the front office to bring Jones up, and it seems like he has folded under the pressure and yielded to the front office. To add to the confusion, McLaren has also stated the old adage that "if it ain't broke [the team], don't fix it." But it seems like the front office has went against that wisdom and will bring Jones up for a quick fix.

Several players, including Jose Guillen, have made it clear that the team chemistry right now is very good and the morale is high. Not surprisingly, the rumblings in the clubhouse seem to be that the team is not all in favor of the Jones promotion as they feel it will disrupt the chemistry. A valid argument indeed and one that Bill Bavasi should realize. In the scheme of things it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to bring a rookie up in the middle of a playoff hunt. It would most certainly mean that guys like Jose Vidro and Raul Ibanez, solid veteran players who prove their worth consistently, will be forced to yield at bats to Jones, and in Ibanez's case, duties in the field as well. That is precisely why the move is going to hurt team chemistry, guys are going to arrive at the ballpark wondering if they will be playing that day, and if they're not, trying to figure out how to stay sharp for when they are called upon next. That uncertainty is not something that should be floating around in the club house at this point in the season.

Now we will see how the Jones promotion will pan out. Obviously I'd like to see it work but I can't say I'd be surprised if it contributes to missing the playoffs. I wish the front office and John McLaren would get on the same page with this, but it doesn't seem likely. When you step back and look at the situation, McLaren has to protect his job by satisfying the people above him, the front office and Bill Bavasi. Bill Bavasi has to protect his job by satisfying the owners and the fans. When nearly the entire fan-base is screaming their lungs out to bring Jones up and when the management and ownership above him wants the same thing, he's going to appease them in a heartbeat. Whether the move ends up being a positive one or a negative one, Bavasi can't be criticized for the decision since an overwhelming majority of people want the move to be made. In other words, he won't pay a price for being wrong. And as Thomas Sowell tells us, that way of decision-making, practiced by people who can't be blamed if something turns out poorly, is the most dangerous way to make a decision.