Mariner Nation

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

2008-01-12T22:23:00.000-08:00

Me, Dustin, and Hiro have moved to Bleeding Blue and Teal

We are in the works of improving upon that site and we are looking to go private withing the next couple months. Cya There!

Miguel Cairo: WHY?

2008-01-09T18:55:00.000-08:00

So, Bill Bavasi goes out and picks up veteran IF Miguel Cairo. This was reported all around the Mariner blogosphere and stuff a few days ago, but this is a different sort of venting.

Now, maybe I'm missing something. Is Cairo freed up to HGH or something?

Okay, okay, I know. It IS a move, and we've all been pushing for SOMETHING. This is really random though. He's pretty much a tool to make Jose Lopez and Willie work for their time. This said, this isn't something you just go out and do. This just seems like something you'd do for your Kindergartners. Bring in a smart kid to make the other kids show off.

Now, it's not all bad. He's cheap. There's low expectations. Nothing at stake or anything.

I'll just sit on my criticisms for now.

I'll also throw in some Dustin bit...

*Presses post, and proceeds to dream about the all the reports "just kidding" about the Bedard trade for George, Triunfel, and Adam*

Outlook

2007-12-29T13:30:00.001-08:00

We are currently in the process of making some major changes so the posting may fall off a bit over the next month or two.

Poll Results: Opening Day Ace

2007-12-27T01:43:00.000-08:00

Who Will Be #1 In The Rotation On Opening Day?

Erik Bedard: 8 votes (19%)

Felix Hernandez: 32 votes (78%)

Johan Santana: 1 vote (2%)

Other: 0 votes (0%)

Pole closed on 12/24/07

41 votes in only 8 days. I like.

Christmas Wish Lists

2007-12-26T12:10:00.000-08:00

As has been done by other blogs, I feel the Mariners players have certain christmas gifts that must be given. Sorry for belating it, guys. Let's start from the top...

Ichiro - Year supply of turtlenecks and GQ subscription.

Jose Vidro - Hometown Buffet $50 gift card, Star Wars Episode VI (sentimental value.)

Richie Sexson - New amendment demoting Mendoza line to .100.

Raul Ibanez - '06 memories.

Yuni - The imminent croaking of Fidel Castro.

Kenji - Extra-protective gear, which covers every square inch of his body which has any chance in hell of taking a hit.

Jamie Burke - Fountain of youth, career HR #2.

Ho - Surgically removed left arm, likely to be replaced by something useful.

JJ - Angus Young outfit introduced as "Throwback-Alternate Uniforms."

Jose Lopez - Lower, more realistic expectations.

Adrian - Eternal love of Red (how coincidental, his last 4 christmas presents as well!)

Willie Ballgame - Love/hate relationship with all Mariners fans. Emphasis on the slash which seperates the values.

King Felix - Ben Broussard traded to prevent freakish yet harmful injuries to team as whole.

Jeremy Reed - ... is still on our team?

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

Chappy Channuka everyone!

Movie Monday: Merry Christmas!

2007-12-24T19:42:00.001-08:00

I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas. I hope you all have a great day, filled with joy of spending time with loved ones. The best Christmas present for me would be Johan Santana being traded to the Mariners, but some of Christmas is just wishful thinking right?

So on behalf of Patrick, Quinn, Hiro, Andy, Brian and I (Dustin), I wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Trying to Make Sense...

2007-12-23T14:00:00.000-08:00

I'm still trying to figure out all this trade rumors crap. To be honest I have no clue what is going on. So I'll list out the sources and what the say about the trade rumors, who should be dealt and why or why it won't work. How does that sound? Me telling you what I believe does you guys no good. Me telling you what the FO says helps a little more (except for the fact that we have good ole' Bill running the team still).

ProSportsDaily (on Bedard) - Only 3 days ago we were reported to be in the lead for Bedard, along with the Reds, but yesterday and today have both opened eyes. Apparently, the Orioles are looking to hang onto Bedard, and it is likely that he won't be dealt and will be the Orioles ace on opening day 2008. It is reported that the GM and the whole FO thinks that Bedard is worth more than just Adam Jones and Brandon Morrow. Both Jones are Morrow are Mariners' FO favorites, and only a couple of days ago the FO has said they won't trade Morrow. Bedard seems out of the question now.

ProSportsDaily (on Santana) - Apparently the Mariners are still in the hunt for landing Johan Santana. A source inside the Mariners organization has said that the Mariners are still very involved and alive in landing Johan Santana. Once again, Morrow and Jones would be in the deal, for sure. I just said that Morrow wouldn't be traded, but to me, this deal makes all the sense in the world. REFER HERE for my past blog on why Morrow, Jones and Clement all make sense for Johan Santana. So blogged today on PSD, the Mariners are still very much alive for Johan Santana.

MLBTradeRumors (on Bedard) - Just another article on Bedard being kept by the Orioles.

MLBTradeRumors (on Santana) - The Yankees are pretty much done with Santana. They (The Twins) are asking for something the Yankees said they wouldn't trade (too many key pitching prospects). If traded, I think Johan is a Red Sox pitcher. However, I'll go along with Peter Gammons and say that Johan Santana isn't traded. I'm not putting any money on that, but I would venture to say that a player of Johan's caliber and asking price is just too high. He'll be a free agent after the season, where he can cash in more money. Signing Silva to 4 years for $48 million didn't help the Mariners cause on Santana when the Twins only offered 3 years and 18 million. If Silva is worth $48 million, what in the hell is Santana worth!? I'll tell you. GOLD. DIAMOND. RUBY. (Insert precious metal or mineral). Santana has a value too extreme for the MLB if Silva is worth $48 million.

This is just the latest. I'll be updating it with every ounce of info I can dig up.
Patrick will post here too if he finds stuff I'm unable to get to.

Morrow

2007-12-21T23:39:00.000-08:00

According to MLBTradeRumors...

Brandon Morrow - it is highly unlikely that the Mariners are going to trade the young right handed pitcher. It is reported that the worst we will do with him is put him in the starting role in AAA, but it is most likely that he will end up with the Mariners in their bullpen throughout most of the first half.

The trades he was linked to were for Johan Santana, which has nothing going for it now, and for Erik Bedard, which we are supposedly in the lead for.

Thursday Quote: Joys and Sorrows

2007-12-20T17:12:00.000-08:00

This week's quote, from deceased writer/artist Kahlil Gibran, is short and sweet:

"We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them."

Isn't that the truth! Any decision you make has the potential to either live up to the good expectations that influenced your decision in the first place or to end up as a miserable failure. Mariner Nation seems to be split right now over the decision to sign Carlos Silva to a 4-year deal worth $48 million, and I can't say I blame either side. This is is not one of those signings where much can be said about the player's potential as Carlos Silva is not a guy who seems to have the potential to be a dominant starter. He goes out there, puts up average but consistent numbers, and that's that. Of course we all hope that Safeco Field, an extremely pitcher-friendly park, will allow Silva to improve his numbers slightly, but we just don't know if the decision that has been made will turn out to be a joy, like Miguel Batista last year, or a sorrow like Jeff Weaver and Horacio Ramirez.

Silva and Gold

2007-12-19T17:10:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: THE MARINERS HAVE SIGNED PITCHER CARLOS SILVA TO A 4 YEAR CONTRACT WORTH $48 MILLION.

MLB.com reports that the Mariners have agreed to terms with starting pitcher Carlos Silva on what is expected to be a 4-year contract worth approximately $44 million. Negotiations seemed to have gone rather quickly, which to me shows that management knows that something had to be done before there was no one left. I have no problems with this contract; the market is thin and we need a decent #4 guy. Silva fits the bill in my opinion.

Silva On The Radar

2007-12-18T18:39:00.000-08:00

The Mariners are close to bolstering their weak, but steady rotation.

Carlos Silva, 28, is mulling over his contract offer by the Mariners; the contract is reported to be 4 years worth $44 million. Over the past 3 seasons he has a 2-1 record at Safeco Field, and has won 3 of his 4 career decisions against the Angels. In the past 4 seasons he is 47-45.

In 2007 he was 13-14 with a 4.19 ERA.

The man can also log the innings; he has pitched in at least 180 innings in each of the last 4 years.

This potential signing would not hinder our talks with Bedard, and we are still pursueing Bedard as far as we all know.

I am 100% okay with this, seeing how we don't lose any prospects, and just use the Kuroda money on Silva. This is really a low risk move as far as I can tell.

If you don't see eye-to-eye with me, feel free to leave a comment.

Movie Monday: Fairweather Fans

2007-12-17T12:22:00.000-08:00

Mariners' Looking To Further Weaken A's

2007-12-16T21:41:00.000-08:00

Buster Olney has reported, according to MLB Trade Rumors, that the Mariners' are currently in a bidding war for the Oakland A's right handed starter Joe Blanton.

Olney believes that Adam Jones would have to be thrown into the mix in order for the A's to part ways with Blanton. Personally, I have a problem throwing Jones' potential around for a guy with a career 4.10 ERA and a K/9 that is under 6, at 5.24. But, once again, I'm not Bavasi.

The only reason I'm for going for him is our obvious need for pitching, and he'll cost significantly less than Bedard or Santana.

Other teams that may be looking at him include the Cincinnati Reds and the New York Mets.

This is fairly recent so I expect to hear more as time goes on.

Filling 1st Base

2007-12-16T11:20:00.000-08:00

With Ben Broussard gone, sadly, because of a worthless deal, we don't have a back-up for when Sexson folds in May or gets traded to a contender who needs potential power. I have a solution. Tony Clark.

Clark is an imposing figure, standing 6'7" and weighing in at 245 pounds. The guy is a swith-hitting power bat who has more power success from the left side of the plate. A pull, power hitter is what Seattle has always lacked in Safeco. The fact that he's a switch hitter makes him all the more appealing because once Sexson hits the wall, Clark can fill in full time, hitting against both lefties and righties. When given playing time, Clark has been a successful power bat. Every year that he's played more than 130 games, he's hit more than 30 home runs. I won't lie, the guy strikes out quite a bit, about 1/4 of the time, but not like we haven't seen that in Sexson. Honestly, he can't do worse than Sexson did last year.

With a career slugging percentage of about .500, an on-base percentage of about .350 and batting average of about .265, he's not a huge risk because he won't command Sexson like money for a 2-year deal. He's made just over 1 million in each of the last two years. With his age, 35, he won't be able to ask for much more than that, if at all. I say we take the chance after losing our back-up, Broussard.

I learned today that the Diamondbacks have pulled their two-year offer off the table because of the Chris Burke pick-up in the Jose Valverde trade.

Thoughts?

The Rotation: How it could be used Different.

2007-12-16T11:01:00.001-08:00

I have an idea.

As we all know, your ace is the first man in your team's rotation. The second man should be the second best pitcher you have in your rotation. The third is, of course, a middle of the road SP, and so on.

But I've been thinking... about an experiment with a different combination of numbers. Think about this...

ACE-4-2-3-5

This is a rotation experiment. Your best pitcher could win the first game of your series (i.e. a 3 game series.) That is a near-guaranteed game 1 win, if your ace is as good as he should be. He is followed by a 4 guy. The 4 guy, of course, is not that good. Chances are he loses, and the series is tied. If he wins, you win the series, good for you. Anyway, so the series is tied. Next up, your 2 guy. He's probably just a peg under your best pitcher, if your 2 guy is how he should be. Chances are, your 2 guy beats their 3 guy.

You win the series, if not sweep (which shouldn't happen with your 4 guy, but miracles do happen.)

Next series, it's your 3 guy, your 5 guy, then your ACE. That's a series that could go one way or another, but may I remind you, it's your 3 guy versus their 4 guy this time around, then your 5 v. their 5 (big offense game), and your ACE v. their ACE.

Of course, these matchups would change from series to series, but you would still have this different type of pattern over and over again, which could be an advantage. The most important aspect is that it would prevent losing streaks, and, while it limits winning streaks, you could still win many series, which is the big thing in a 162 game season. winning 2/3 of these games makes it worthwhile.

Two More Options to Help the Rotation

2007-12-16T09:16:00.000-08:00

We all knew going into the offseason that the pickings would be slim this year when it came to acquiring starting pitching. Short of pulling off a blockbuster trade for Santana or Bedard, we all knew that there wasn't a great chance of the Mariners improving their rotation much past mediocre. That being said there are still some free agent pitchers available that could be viable options as 4 or 5 starters for the Mariners next year. After losing out on Kuroda and trade talks seemingly going nowhere right now the Mariners should persue two of the few healthy free agent starters left, Carlos Silva and Kyle Lohse.

While neither of these guys is likely to come to the Mariners and turn them into instant contenders I think they could be more viable options than fixing our problems from within.

Here's a look at both pitchers:

Carlos Silva:
55-46, 4.31 ERA, 102 ERA +, 1.36 WHIP, 259 G, 125 GS, 5 CG, 945 IP, 1122 H, 489 R, 171 BB, 395 SO

While those numbers aren't absolutely stunning they aren't bad either. An above .500 career record, sub 5.00 ERA and ERA + of just over 100 are pretty good traits for a potential 4/5 starter. The worst thing about Silva is most likely going to be the price tag. Right now he's one of the best healthy free agents pitchers available in a slim market with lots of suitors. This will no doubt drive the price of Silva up. The potential of another Weaver disaster is there with Silva but I think that at this point the Mariners could have no choice but to aggresively pursue him.

Kyle Lohse:
63-74, 4.57 ERA, 95 ERA +, 1.443 WHIP, 218 G, 195 GS, 6 CG, 1164 IP, 1302 H, 664 R, 365 BB, 734 SO

These number are clearly inferior to Silva's. A sub .500 win percentage, sub 100 ERA+ and 1.443 WHIP are far from great. The risk is even greater for the Mariners in signing Lohse. I can see Jeff Weaver written all over Lohse. Lohse would be my second choice behind Silva. Hopefully Lohse would come cheaper than Silva but in this years free agent market it probably wouldn't be much cheaper.

These are two more options for the Mariners that would keep them from having to go with some combination of Morrow, Baek, RRS and Dickey as the 4 and 5 starters. Of course the Mariners could always go really risky and high price and persue Bartolo Colon or Livan Hernandez...

Prior would only be a thorn in our side

2007-12-15T17:21:00.000-08:00

Talk of the possibility of signing Mark Prior after he was not tendered a contract earlier this week has heated up now that Kuroda has signed a 3-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Many seem to think that signing Prior would be one of those low risk, high reward types of scenarios when, in fact, it is moderate risk with minimal or no reward. The Kane County Chronicle out of Illinois reports that "Prior, still recovering from mid-April arthroscopic shoulder surgery, will likely miss some, if not all, of the 2008 season – forced the Cubs’ decision."

This claim is backed up by Rotoworld who says, "Prior was non-tendered by the Cubs earlier this week and likely won't be ready to pitch until several months into the season following shoulder surgery."

I'm not sure about this, but my gut tells me that the Mariner fans who are pushing for Prior are not privy to these details. If they are indeed aware of the extent of Prior's injuries, I'm baffled as to why they would still call upon management to sign him...

What are we supposed to think if the M's inked Prior? If we signed him, does that mean we expect him to be in our rotation? Would we lose our vigor (if we have any) in pursuing other options?

The bottom line is that we have two rotation spots that we need to fill so that we don't have to call upon Ho, Dickey, and Feierabend Associates. If we signed Prior, we would STILL have two rotation spots that we would need to fill! There is absolutely no sense in pursuing a pitcher who may not even pitch next season. To show you just how hopeless he is for next season, you need not look any farther than the fact that the Cubs declined to offer him salary arbitration where he would have made about $3 million. Even the Cubs, who considered Prior to be the future of the organization, cut ties with him.

This prior has fallen off the rosebush. We are best to let it lay upon the ground and be trampled by the busy footsteps of general managers frantically looking for pitchers...

Kuroda to L.A. for $36-40?

2007-12-15T14:40:00.000-08:00

>Update: The Dodgers have announced a press conference for noon pacific time tomorrow to announce that they have signed Hiroki Kuroda to a 3-year contract worth$35.3 million.

The newest report from the Los Angeles Daily News indicates that Hiroki Kuroda is currently working on finalizing a three year deal with the Dodgers after completing his physical earlier today. This information is pretty damning evidence of what Mariner fans have been fretting about over the last few days, especially since the report even states the hospital where Kuroda was examined; Centinela Hospital. Surprisingly, the deal is said to be worth more money than expected though still only for three years; $36-40 million, which means $12-13.3 million a year.

It's pretty amazing that Kuroda has chosen the Dodgers over the Mariners. Think about this... He is going to a place where there is really no Japanese influence in the community and no prominent Japanese players on the team. Furthermore, he apparently believes that the Dodgers have a better chance to win than the Mariners even though the Mariners won 6 more games than L.A. in 2007! In addition, we sent an envoy inlcuding Bavasi and McLaren to Japan to meet with Kuroda; something I don't believe any other team has done. All things considered, I wonder if Kuroda is just that impressed by L.A. or if our front office just really did a poor job. So what if we may have had to add another $1-2 million bucks a year! I don't think there is another team in baseball with no viable 4th or 5th starter!

By the way, here is what MLB.com says about the Dodgers: "The fifth starter will come from a group of candidates that includes Jason Schmidt and Esteban Loaiza." Wow, what an awesome dilemma to have...

AL West gets a little bit easier

2007-12-14T20:38:00.000-08:00

Today, the Oakland A's and Billy Beane sent 2007 Cy Young hopeful Dan Haren to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The only big name in the deal was Dan Haren; the rest were either spot starters, minor leagues or people with little MLB experience. I love that this happened. But then again, Beane always finds ways of putting a team on the field that can compete.

Here's a look at the entire deal:

Oakland To Receive From Arizona:
Brett Anderson - LHP
Dana Eveland - LHP
Greg Smith - LHP
Chris Carter - INF
Aaron Cunningham - OF
Carlos Gonzalez - OF

Arizona To Receive From Oakland:
Dan Harn - RHP
Connor Robertson - RHP

Arizona To Receive From Houston:
Chad Qualls - RP
Chris Burke - INF
Juan Guttierez - RHP

Houston To Receive From Arizona:
Jose Valverde

This trade, as it would to any staff, completely destroys the front of the rotation. With shotty end of the rotation pitchers, the A's have to deal with Joe Blanton's inconsistencies and Rich Harden's yearly injury at the front of the rotation.

It's a good day to be a Mariners fan.

Could this weekend get any better?

**Dreams of waking up to find out that Johan Santana has become a Mariner and Adam Jones was traded away so he can become a bust with the Twins**

One Man's Push for Mark Prior

2007-12-14T15:25:00.000-08:00

Mark Prior is now a free agent after being non-tendered by the Cubs and I would be ecstatic if the Mariners signed him. What do the Mariners need right now? Starting pitching. What is Mark Prior? A starting pitcher once billed as the best thing since Rodger Clemens. First we’ll look at our own rotation and then at Mark Prior and why he fits.

Our rotation, at this point, is essentially 3 men deep with Felix, Washburn, and Batista leaving two spots open. Of the guys looking for the last two spots none impress me all that much. Cha Baek, Ryan Feierabend, Brandon Morrow, Horacio Ramirez and R.A. Dickey come to mind as the guys that will fill those last two spots. Cha Beak and Dickey would be an alright bottom of the rotation starters but the other three should not be in the majors at this point. Morrow has been pitching well in his winter instructional league but that is mostly AA guys and I believe he should probably start out the season in AAA and work his way up to the majors where he will be installed in the rotation. Feierabend is a guy who is fine to have around in AAA in case of injury on the big league club that necessitates a starter to be called up, but he should not be part of your rotation permanently at this point in his career, maybe later. Ho is horrible, the Mariners say that Stottlemyre can work with him and make him better but when the pitching coach has nothing to work with he can’t do much for you. I mean seriously, the guys has a career ERA+ of 93 where 100 is average, the guy is bad. I can see R.A. Dickey doing fairly well in Safeco field with that knuckleball of his that forces most to beat the ball into the ground and the players who can elevate the knuckler will probably be disappointed as Safeco’s outfield gobbles them up. Looking at Dickey’s AAA stats, as a starter, from last year(22 starts, 146.1 IP, 3 CG, 1.73 GO/AO, 99 K’s, 58 BB’s) he looks like he could translate into our 4th/5th starter. So if we look completely within the organization to fill our rotation it will look something like this, Felix, Washburn, Batista, with some combo of Baek, HoRam, and Dickey filling out the last three spots(Baek and Dickey would be my personal choices) with Morrow and Feierabend in AAA.

Mark Prior. He’s had some injury problems but most of them are flukes. One injury came after a collision with Marcus Giles, another came after a line drive off of the bat of Brad Hawpe, but the most serious injury was back at the beginning of 2006 when he had ‘strained’ his shoulder. Its is believed that the Cubs had misdiagnosed this injury, which also landed Prior on the DL later that year and was called shoulder tendinitis this time around, while there was actual structural damage to his shoulder that was repaired by Dr. James Andrews. If we assume that Prior’s shoulder has healed and he can now pitch I see no reason he couldn’t go out there and put up and ERA of about 3.50, which would be a great addition to a pitching staff looking for quality arms to go in the front of the rotation. With Prior the M’s staff now looks like something that might be able to compete with Felix, Prior, Washburn, Batista, and Dickey/HoRam/Baek(With Dickey being my first choice).

The Mariners are in desperate need of quality starting pitchers and Mark Prior will fill that need. Prior’s addition to the rotation would rid us of HoRam, it would allow Morrow to get experience starting in the minors before returning to the big show as a permanent fixture, and it would add a possibly dominating pitcher to the front of our rotation without giving up our prospects. Mark Prior has my stamp of approval.

Money Ball versus Our Ball

2007-12-14T10:53:00.000-08:00

Year after year, we watch the Angels (and more extensively,) the A's rise to the top near the end.

As we all know, the A's take the money ball approach. The Angels take a lesser-rout of spending money, spending it smart, and for players with great upside.

Our Mariners FO seems to pride itself in taking a more humble approach. We don't toss around money for proven players, we much prefer giving 8 million dollars for 6 months of suckage to ones like Jeff "Not quite a dream" Weaver.

And yet, we always seem to complain about being not as good as those two other teams. We all know our FO sucks, but there is one particular thing I've thought about recently. Is our more humble, and sensitive signings logically sensible enough to create such a margin as 6 games or so late in the year?

The Oakland Athletics have Billy Beane. He's about sabermetrics, and taking older players (yet proven and respected givers to a team and clubhouse.) The Angels' GMs in recent years have spent money VERY intellegently. They pick up Vlad Guerrero, take young players that have tremendous upside, and older players (like Vlad, Garret Anderson, John Lackey, Torii Hunter) who pretty much function as destructors of a promising season for the rival Seattle Mariners.

We pick up people like Richie. We pick up Rick White. We pick up Ho. We back out of races for big arms (Dice-K, Bedard.) Those two are acceptable abdications. However, backing out of races for ones such as Johan Santana, and a solid 3-man in Kuroda, the season comes around and we're the same. Teams that win go out and get what they need. They know they have the money, that's not an issue.

Our FO is so cautious, and only willing to either build from inside (which I don't have a problem with, really,) or go out and make stupid moves. These said stupid moves are played off as "a veteran we're picking up to add depth to our baseball team, and shift us into the contender position."

In conclusion, my question, (which would be a raging debate in the comments alley), is how big an advantage of Money Ball is, over Seattle Mariners FO baseball. It may be a less personal and colder take to it, but it puts fans in the seats to go out and watch people that are exciting play. Should the Mariners start taking this approach, or are we as fans content with how our FO is controlling our decision-making personality? I know none of us like the FO at all, but is their approach currently going to pay off, and should we wait it out?

Mitchell Report

2007-12-13T15:04:00.000-08:00

I scanned through the Mitchell report today and found it to be interesting. Most of the evidence seems to be hearsay and wouldn't stand up in a court of law. Nevertheless 76 players are named in the report, many of them Mariners at some point in their career. The big names in the report are Clemens, Pettite and Tejada with many other prominent players being named also like :Lenny Dykstra, Dave Justice, Gary Sheffield, Jason Giambi, Kevin Brown, Rafael Palmeiro, Jose Guillen, Paul Lo Duca, and Mo Vaughn.

Unlike some teams no major former or current Mariners were named in the report and no current roster members were named. Despite our speculation, Bret Boone wasn't in the report. That doesn't mean he did or didn't do steroids. It simply means he wasn't connected to the limited amount of sources that the Mitchell report got their names from. Personally I think that this report was a necessary step in baseball overcoming the steroid era and moving on to better times. However, the handling of the release of the report and the threshold of proof for including names in the report seems questionable. I made a full list of players but didn't want to waste space by posting it. If you really want it you can email me and I'll send it to you.

That being said here is a list of former Mariners that were named in the report:

David Segui
Josias Manzanillo (I've never heard of him either)
Glenallen Hill
Ron Villone
Ryan Franklin
Todd Williams
Fernando Vina
Jose Guillen
David Bell
Ismael Valdez
Fernando Vina

Most of these guys weren't with the team for more than a couple of years and none of them are really guys whom members of the Mariner Nation belove. The same cannot be said for the Yankees whose former trainer, Brian McNamee, was a prominent figure who linked Clemens and Pettite, among many Yankees, to steroids.

Here is the list of current and former Yankees that were named, the list is long (it contains 20 of the 76 players named) and contains many distinguished players:

Andy Pettite
Roger Clemens
Gary Sheffield
Randy Velarde
Bobby Estalella
Josias Manzanillo
Hal Morris
Rondell White
Chuck Knoblauch
Jason Grimsley
David Justice
Glenallen Hill
Denny Neagle
Ron Villone
Todd Williams
Mike Stanton
Kevin Brown
Daniel Naulty
Jose Canseco
Darren Holmes

The backlash of the naming of Clemens and Pettite has already started. While I wouldn't call the evidence against both pitchers incredibly strong, I still think it will be interesting to see fans reactions. Clemens and Pettite, unlike some other players that have been linked to steroids (Barry Bonds) are beloved and held in high regard by a lot of fans. It seems fitting to me, however, that perhaps the two best players that current baseball fans have seen grace the field have now been linked to steroids...

That other New York team, the Metropolitans, also was a prominent figure in the report. One of their former clubhouse workers, Kirk Radomski, was a prominent distributor of steroids and gave testimony to Mitchell, giving up many names. Here is a list of Mets that were named in the report:

Lenny Dykstra
David Segui
Josias Manzanillo
Todd Hundley
Mark Carreon
Matt Franco
Mo Vaughn
Chris Donnels
Todd Pratt
Mike Stanton
Paul Lo Duca
Fernando Vina
Gary Bennett, Jr.
Paul Byrd
Gary Matthews, Jr.
Scott Schoeneweis

The best thing that I think came out of this report is that it places blame for the steroids era on three main entities: MLB, the MLBPA and the press. All these groups seemingly turned a blind eye to steroids while baseball prospered from baseballs flying out of the park. This report places the blame where it belongs, directly upon the major players who had the power to induce change yet chose to ignore the truth for so long.

At the least this report is going to create a lot of talk over the next week to month. I'm really interested to see what repercussions may come about because of it. Personally, I just can't wait for this to be past us and for next season to start.

Thursday Quote: Odd Silence

2007-12-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

This week, I take a quote from Australian poet Pam Brown who once wrote:

"Odd how much it hurts when a friend moves away - and leaves behind only silence."

If you think about it, this really sums up this offseason so far; one of our main guys (Jose Guillen), who I would even say was our team leader last year, is now a member of the Kansas City Royals after the Mariners refused to offer him salary arbitration. Since then, granted, the old and reliable rumor mill has been crankin' out some juicy stuff, but the transaction front for the Mariners has been about as quiet as Dolphin Stadium during a Marlins home game. Jose Guillen has left behind a strange and unwelcome silence in that regard that is only being amplified by the noise around baseball.

Mariner fans have been waiting patiently this offseason for management to make some changes that would allow us to compete for the playoffs in 2008. What's worse than watching our team stand idly by is doing so while our competitors have been fine-tuning their rosters (Red Sox, Yankees, Indians) and even landing huge players (Angels, Tigers). Take a look at the moves some of our competitors have made in the last two months and then take a look at what we've done at the bottom.

New York Yankees
11/2/07: Exercised 2008 club option on OF Bobby Abreu
11/15/07: Agreed on the framework of a deal that would pay Alex Rodriguez up to $305 mil. over 10 years
11/16/07: Signed RHP Scott Patterson as a free agent
11/29/07: Re-signed free agent C Jorge Posada to a four-year contract
12/3/07: Signed C Jose Molina to a two-year contract
12/12/07: Signed LHP Andy Pettitte to a one-year contract

Boston Red Sox
11/2/07: Red Sox exercised the 2008 contract options on RHP Julian Tavarez and RHP Tim Wakefield
11/6/07: Signed RHP Curt Schilling to a one-year contract
11/20/07: Re-signed 3B Mike Lowell to a three-year contract
12/7/07: Re-signed free agent RHP Mike Timlin to a one-year contract

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
11/19/07: Acquired RHP Jon Garland from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for SS Orlando Cabrera and cash.
11/21/07: Signed free agent OF Torii Hunter to a five-year contract

Detroit Tigers
11/11/07: Signed SS Ramon Santiago to a a one-year contract
11/12/07: Acquired OF Jacque Jones from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for INF Omar Infante
11/30/07: Re-signed LHP Kenny Rogers to a one-year contract; Signed RHP Francisco Cruceta to a one-year contract
12/4/07: Acquired RHP Denny Bautista from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for RHP Jose Capellan
12/5/07: Acquired LHP Dontrelle Willis and 3B Miguel Cabrera from the Florida Marlins in exchange for RHP Burke Badenhop, RHP Eulogio De La Cruz, RHP Dallas Trahern, LHP Andrew Miller, C Mike Rabelo and OF Cameron Maybin; Acquired OF Freddy Guzman from the Rangers for 1B Chris Shelton

Cleveland Indians
11/20/07: Signed RHP Masahide Kobayashi, who had been with the Chiba Lotte Marines of the JPL, to a two-year contract with a club option for 2010
12/8/07: Acquired INF Jamey Carroll from the Rockies for a player to be named

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

Seattle Mariners
12/6/07: Selected RHP R.A. Dickey from the Twins in the Rule 5 Draft
12/12/07: Acquired minor leaguer Tim Hulett from Texas for 1B Ben Broussard

Broussard Traded, HoRam Tendered, Parrish Non-tendered

2007-12-13T03:11:00.001-08:00

The Mariners finally made a move today that shouldn't have been surprising considering the circumstances. Bavasi had to make a decision to either tender Broussard a contract for next year, non-tender him and let him become a free agent, or trade him. They chose the last option and you'd think they would try to get a little pitching or something, right? Wrong. Broussard was traded straight-up to Texas for a minor league infielder with some pretty good potential by the name of Tim Hulett (24). Hulett is a left-handed hitter who is said to be able to play multiple infield positions. Last year with Triple-A Oklahoma, he hit 279/.350/.406.

While this isn't a crushing blow, it still hurts to see a guy like Ben Broussard traded, especially within the division. He figures to receive the bulk of the playing time at first base for the Rangers in 08 and may be platooned with right-handed hitter Chris Shelton.

In addition, the Mariners decided to tender Horacio Ramirez a contract for the 2008 season; but this may simply be for precautionary reasons should the M's fail to acquire starting pitching... very, very possible.

Let's atleast end this post on a positive note; the Mariners non-tendered left-handed reliever John Parrish who join the club late in the season after minor leaguer Sebastian Boucher was traded to the Orioles in a pre-game swap between the two teams. As far as the bullpen goes... He was the weakest link; GOODBYE!

How To Lose the Division

2007-12-12T19:55:00.000-08:00

How To Lose the Division to the A’s
By Lil’ Billy Ba-broken-vasi

I went on a vacation with my parents last weekend. I traded baseball cards with my brother the whole way there. It was a lot of fun.
He wanted Johan Santana for a few prospects. I said no, because you never know when you would want to trade them away for someone like Ho.
Then my friend from school called my mom’s cell phone. He's really good at collecting, and he wanted to know if I wanted a baseball card of a new guy from Japan that he says was average-to-above average. I offered him, like, 33 kagillion dollars for the card, and I'd come visit with my best friend John. He said he'd think about it, then hung up.
When we got to the hotel, I immediately ran in and started playing my PSP. Wait, first, I'm gonna tell you about John.
... MY FRIEND JOHN IS NICE!! He makes me smile, laugh, and when we have sleepovers, he even tells me secrets about him!!! We have pillowfights, we pick on lil' Mikey Hargrove (who we kicked out of our fort last year because he didn't like lil' Ichiro,) and we cry at the end of Forrest Gump in eachothers' arms. Right, Ichiro, that reminds me, he nearly left our fort last year, but then when lil' Mikey left, he got all better now. It scared us so bad, I decided that we needed a veteran friend like Ricky White. He drew bright red all over his chin during Nap time some time ago, which coincidentally happened when he started going to our kindergarten! WOW!!! It was so funny, I nearly went and renewed my friendship with lil' Chris Reitsma, who I kicked out last year after he betrayed me by throwing easy pitches to the other teams during recess >:(

Edgar Martinez and The Hall

2007-12-12T16:20:00.000-08:00

It’s the off season and I got around to thinking about Edgar Martinez out of sheer boredom and the more I look at his numbers the more I think he has got to make it into the Hall of Fame when he comes up for election in 2009. The voting is based on “The player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.” and if you apply these to Edgar’s career there is no reason I can see that should exclude him from the hall.

If we start with playing ability it is evident that he was a great ballplayer. He hit for a career line of .312/.418/.515 and a 147 OPS+. Consider the job of a hitter, what is the most important thing you can do? That would be getting on base and not making an out allowing you to score runs. Taking a look at career OBP numbers Edgar ranks 22nd all-time, that’s right only 21 men were better than him at getting on base. And if you want to take a look at just right handed batters Edgar is 5th, fifth! Only behind Hornsby, Foxx, Helton, Frank Thomas, and Pujols. The first two are in the hall and the last 3 are probably on their way there. Looking at his OPS+(OPS adjusted for both park and league factors.) he is 46th all time, tied with the likes of Willie McCovey, Alex Rodriguez, Mike Schmidt, and Willie Stargell. That is a bunch of pretty good hitters right there, three Hall of Famers and a guy that is obviously going to be. Edgar didn’t play defense all that much, he played 70% of his games at DH, and all of the Hall of Famers I quoted are better than him because of it. But fielding is only one component of being a good ballplayer, just because somebody didn’t play defense does not mean they were not great and Edgar is proof. Look at Paul Molitor, he played more games at DH than any other position and he is in the hall, and if Molitor is there Edgar deserves to be there too.

Now onto the second component, his integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team he played on. Much less important than his playing ability but still a criteria for hall induction Edgar shines here as well. Its 1995 and the M’s are 13 games back of the Angels in the West, and what did Edgar decide to do? He only hit for a line of .398/.560/.786 when things were looking their worst and getting this team on its comeback trail, which was and still is the most improbable comeback in the history of baseball. Then, in the ALDS, Edgar hit’s the most famous double named simply “The Double” for no name could accurately describe the emotion and importance of the moment. In this season which may have saved Mariner baseball as we see it today Edgar’s star burned as bright as anybody’s. His character is also a shining star in the Seattle area. He has made contributions of time, money, and other resources to the Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle. Just this year Edgar was elected into a sports hall of fame because of his generous contributions to the community, on June 20, 2007 he was inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame in Boise, Idaho.

People may believe that his Humanitarian work means nothing, but even if they do his playing career spoke for itself as one of the most brilliant hitting careers the league has seen and he deservedly belongs in Cooperstown, New York along with the other legends of baseball lore.

As position players disperse, focus turns to pitching

2007-12-12T14:12:00.000-08:00

On the day that the Mitchell Report is set to be released naming approximately 70 to 80 players with links to steroids, it has been a pretty active day in the Hot Stove League. So far we've seen the disintegrating Orioles deal their disgruntled shortstop Miguel Tejada to the Astros in return for a 5 player package of major league ready but hardly impressive prospects including outfielder Luke Scott and pitcher Matt Albers. It kind of makes me happy that Miguel Tejada didn't really work out for the Orioles because if you'll remember back to a couple offseasons ago, the M's and the O's duked it out to sign the then free agent Tejada. Wooo that was a close one! Could you imagine... well, don't try to imagine; it's been bad enough watching Beltre and Sexson underperform.

But I digress. Today, we've also seen the Giants sign outfielder Aaron Rowand to a 5 year / $60 mil. contract, Andruw Jones officially tie the knot with the Dodgers, Crag Monroe hook on with the Twins, the Cubs and Fukudome agree to terms, and the Rays come close to signing Cliff Floyd to a one year deal. What does all of this mean? Well with position players being traded and snatched up, the focus for most teams will surely turn to starting pitching. The pursuit of pitching should be aided by the fact that the non-tender deadline is tonight and teams could be making room and setting themselves up to make a splash in the market. How this will end up for the Mariners is yet to be seen and a lot could be at stake tonight; there is a possibility that the Mariners will decide to non-tender Ben Broussard effectively making him a free agent as well as the possibility that the much anticipated decision from Japanese pitcher Hiroki Kuroda will come in the next 24 to 48 hours. Hopefully Bill Bavasi plays OUR cards right and does something that will benefit the team.

Stay on top of things in the next couple days; check back with Mariner Nation for everything you need to know.

The Off-Season May Have Just Gotten Interesting For The Mariners

2007-12-11T21:04:00.000-08:00

Time: as I type is 9:05 WCT
Time the blog was posted: 8:10 WCT
Subject: Hiroki Kuroda

Apparently a source very close to the Kuroda signing says that the Dodgers have gotten Kuroda's services. It is not official on any mlb site, or the Dodgers home page, but it was posted by a source close to the deal (he was actually in Japan, apparently) says that Kuroda says the Dodgers will be his team in 2008. This is shocking because the Mariners have a stronger Japanese circle of influence (Seattle, Ichiro, Kenji) and we offered more money (undisclosed). I really don't know why Kuroda would rather pitch for the Dodgers for less money, but that wasn't my decision. Geoff Baker's blog on the Seattle Times website says that this is untrue, but from 3 other rumor sites, his is the only one I've said that the deal wasn't true, and that it may be another week before Kuroda makes his decision. So, think what you want, and believe what you want. So, I'm making this blog a hypothetical blog now (since according to Baker, Kuroda wasn't signed).

Now, this makes Bavasi's job a lot more stressful. He now knows he must push for Bedard or Santana (let's pray it is Santana). He must decide who is tradeable, who is untradeable, who is untouchable, and work out a deal that won't give up too much or a deal that goes dead because he offers too little. Let's hope Bavasi knows where this line is.

Johan Santana
Santana is going to be the easier in terms of trade agreement, because the Twins haven't asked for as much as the Orioles. However, he has a full no-trade clause, and has said he doesn't want to be a Mariners pitcher. Now, he needs a new contract also... From baseball history in the era of greed, we know any player will sign for x ammount of money. With deeps pockets for owners, the Mariners could shed the money. I see this getting easier if we can somehow shed Sexson in the deal (lots of money, little performance). Adam Jones, Brandon Morrow and Jeff Clement may be too much, in some people's opinion, but to me, the deal makes total sense. Aside from the Red Sox, in Ellsbury, the Twins won't find another young CF with immense potential. This also makes sense in that Morrow could go either way as a starter or a closer. They lose Santana, they get Morrow to start. Joe Nathan's contract is up soon, so if he goes, they have Morrow to step in and close. The Twins have discussed moving Mauer to 1st, left or DH to save his legs. Clement can step in and catch, and hit too. Justin Morneau's contract ends soon, and if he wants to leave, Clement or Mauer could step into 1st. The Mariners need a starter. Why not get the best pitcher on the planet? His numbers and his awards (2 of the last 4 Cy Young awards) say this also. He is 100% proven on the mound, and he's left handed. I love this scenario. I really hope it is explored.

Erik Bedard
The other option, and more difficult one, is Erik Bedard. The Orioles are asking more for Bedard, since he is not in his contract year. His contract ends after the 2009 season, so the Orioles aren't in a rush to deal him. The only way I see this easier than Santana is that an Orioles scout and front office man said the Mariners are "a logical and easy fit for Bedard." Those aren't worded perfect, but it is a paraphrase, since the quote was about a paragraph. Bedard would also have to be signed. I don't want a two year rent-a-player. That would be bogus. He is a high price. Jones, Morrow, George Sherrill and Wladimir Balentien is the asking price, and that only seems to go up. I don't like giving up Jones (future Mike Cameron) or Wladimir (future Manny Ramirez), let alone in the same deal! The Orioles are out of their mind if they think they will pry away both of those players in the same deal. Also, Bedard hasn't had any measure of success outside of his last 2 years as a starter. He isn't as proven, and I venture to say he isn't even fully proven. He is left-handed though, so it wouldn't be a total blow below the belt to the Mariners organization if we ended up with him. Either way, he's an upgrade over Weaver and HoRam. I, still, would push for Santana.

Now, it is up to Bavasi to get off his butt if this rumor about Kuroda is really 100% true. I guess we will find out soon...

Kevin Mench DFA'ed

2007-12-10T12:47:00.000-08:00

Today, the Milwaukee Brewers designated 29 year old outfielder Kevin Mench for assignment in preparation to sign pitcher Salomon Torres. It is likely that the Brewers will non-tender Mench on Wednesday making him a free agent. How is this relevant to the Mariners, you ask? Well, call me crazy, but I don't think it would be such a bad idea to sign a guy like Kevin Mench after cutting ties with Jose Guillen. It doesn't seem like the Mariners will be making any big splashes this offseason, and if they do, it will more than likely involve sending Adam Jones and/or Wlad Balentien to Baltimore for Erik Bedard or to Minnesota for Johan Santana. Let's go through the possible scenarios to see how Kevin Mench could play an important role on this team.

1) Jones and Balentien are both traded: This would leave us with a severely depleted outfield consisting of Raul Ibanez in left (by all indications) and Ichiro in center. So who plays right? The answer is simple: Kevin Mench.

2) Jones is traded, Balentien retained: Again, this could possibly open up a spot for another outfielder. I'm not sure how management views the possibility of Balentien starting somewhere in the outfield in 2008, but for all intensive purposes let's say he would start in right-field or in center with Ichiro in right for this scenario. Mench would STILL be a huge asset to this club as he would be able to be platooned in left with Ibanez. Ibanez would get the starts vs. right-handed pitchers and Mench would be in vs. the southpaws. This would make for a pretty efficient platoon based on each of their career stats when the matchup favors them.

Ibanez vs. righties: .293 AVG .355 OBP .497 SLG .852 OPS
Mench vs. lefties: .305 AVG .361 OBP .563 SLG .924 OPS

3) Jones is retained and starts in right: Mench could still platoon with Ibanez in left not to mention some time at DH if Vidro gets hurt or his average slips.

Signing Mench would be a low-risk, high reward type of thing since it wouldn't cost us all that much to sign him. Last year, he made $3.4 million although he did not quite live up to expectations, hitting .267 in only 101 games for the Brew Crew. This is just my opinion; don't expect Bavasi to make this happen.

Movie Monday: Sweet Lou Piniella-ella-ella

2007-12-10T03:20:00.000-08:00

If anyone can record a song related to the Mariners, you rock!

Bullpen Dynamics

2007-12-09T09:24:00.000-08:00

In 2007, the Mariners had one of the best bullpens in baseball as well as one of the youngest as minor league talent translated well into major league success. However, towards the end of the year, the bullpen struggled and contributed to the decline of the Mariners sparking several questions about the stability and organization of the bullpen. Who's the legitimate set-up man? Do we need a veteran in the bullpen? How many lefties is too many? In this post, I hope to answer some of those questions and provide a rough plan for the bullpen in 2008.

When it comes to the bullpen, relief pitchers are not created equal. There are vast differences in the various roles that relievers play within the bullpen and it's crucial to understand those roles before plugging guys into certain spots. A bullpen typically consists of the following:

> Long Reliever (LR): This role, sometimes regarded as "mop-up work," is not really a desired role for pitchers, but somebody has to do it. They are used early in the game, usually in the first four innings, when a starting pitcher has to leave the game because of injury, rain delay, fatigue, ejection, or is just being flat-out pummeled. Their goal is usually to keep the game within reach and give the offense a chance to get back in it. Normally, a long reliever is a former starter who has been banished to the bullpen in order to get back on track in a less pressurized situation.

> Middle Reliever (MR): The majority of pitchers in any given bullpen normally classify as middle relief. They are typically used right after a starting pitcher has put forth a mediocre, five or six inning effort. It is hoped that a relief pitcher coming into the game is more effective than the starter and will allow the team to get back into the game if they are behind before it gets too late. Middle relievers are also important because they can be viable options out of the pen which allows the manager to save the late inning guys for specific situations. Often times, young pitchers fresh out of the minor leagues get a chance to audition in middle relief in hopes of landing a more important pitching role.

> Left-handed Specialist (LHS): A left-handed specialist is not necessarily simply a left-handed reliever. The term "specialist" comes from the the idea that they only face one or two batters; usually left-handed hitters. This is because when a left-handed pitcher throws a breaking pitch to a left-handed batter, it will tend to sweep away from the hitter making it more difficult to hit. Since there are more right-handed pitchers, left-handed hitters have less opportunities to bat against left-handers and, therefore, often struggle. Some left-handed specialists take advtantage of this by developing a delivery that intensifies the break on their pitches making it that much harder on the hitters they face. Most teams carry atleast one left-handed specialist in their bullpen and they are typically used in the mid to late innings but can be used earlier to get a big out against good left-handed hitter.

> Right-handed Specialist (RHS): The job description of a right-handed specialist is essentially the same as a left-handed specialist, just flipped around. It is rarer to see a pitcher who is classified into this role simply because no matter what their throwing motion looks like, right-handed hitters have more experience at hitting right-handed pitchers. There are those, like Chad Bradford, who have such an uncommon delivery that they can be an effective right-handed specialist. Usually, this uncommon delivery is in the form of a "submarine" delivery.

> Set-up Man (SET): The setup man is arguably the most important relief pitcher and is used to bridge the gap from the starter or reliever to the closer. This is normally the 8th inning but some setup men who feel comfortable going two innings will come in during the 7th inning. It is not uncommon for a team to have two of these; one left-handed and one right-handed.

> Closer (CL): The closer should be the best pitcher in the bullpen. He is the guy that you want out there with the game on the line, so being consistently dominant is an important characteristic. Being able to go out there whenever the game is on the line comes with a lot of pressure, so a big league closer needs to have a certain attitude that will allow him to deal with that pressure. It's often said that a closer should have a short memory so that he can go out there a day or two after blowing a save and show no signs of it affecting him. Typically, they should have a high level of intensity as well as a one spectacular pitch whether it be a smokin' fastball, a sharp breaking ball, or a splitter that falls right off the shelf. They are used almost exclusively in the 9th inning with their team leading by a small margin.

Candidates: Cha Seung Baek (R), R.A. Dickey (R), Ryan Feierabend (L), Sean Green (R), Jon Huber (R), Cesar Jimenez (L), Mark Lowe (R), Brandon Morrow (R), Eric O'Flaherty (L), John Parrish (L), J.J. Putz (R), Horacio Ramirez (L), Ryan Rowland-Smith (L), George Sherrill (L), Sean White (R), Joseph Woerman (R)

My 2008 Mariners Bullpen (assuming all of the above pitchers are not in the starting rotation):

> LR: Ryan Rowland-Smith (L), R.A. Dickey (R)
> MR: Sean Green (R), Mark Lowe (R), Jon Huber (R)
> LHS: Eric O'Flaherty (L)
> RHS: --
> SET: Brandon Morrow (R), George Sherrill (L)
> CL: J.J. Putz (R)

Do we need to go out and get a veteran for the pen?

No way. Our bullpen was kicking through the first three quarters of the 2007 season up until we did try to bring in some veterans (John Parrish and Rick White). Instead of helping our young guys out, they just brought the bullpen and the team down with poor performances out on the mound. I would have liked to have seen Bill Bavasi go after a guy like Mike Timlin who is a veteran as well as a GOOD PITCHER. It is good to have Norm Charlton as the bullpen coach as he will surely provide a veteran presence.

How many lefties is too many?

I don't want to set a specific number on it, but after acquiring John Parrish last year, there were something like four or five out there in the pen which was certainly too many. My plan calls for 3 of the 9 pitchers to be left-handed.

Who's the legitimate setup man?

I do like the idea of having a left-handed and a right-handed setup man and I think we've got two guys in Morrow and Sherrill who are perfect for that role. Sherrill absolutely dominates lefties and Morrow has the fastball velocity to be effective in the 7th and 8th innings. The only concern with Morrow is his control, but he seemed to improve as the season when on. If Sherrill and or Morrow happens to be traded this offseason, Sean Green would fill the right-handed spot and Eric O'Flaherty would fill the left-handed spot.

Bavasi's Uphill Battle

2007-12-08T14:25:00.000-08:00

So a lot of people out there think that GM Bavasi has no plan. Incorrect. He has a plan, it is just an uphill battle (hence the title).

Plan A - Johan Santana
Obviously, the best on the planet. Any team would be drooling just to have him on their roster, let alone IN THE TRADE RUMORS. This isn't going to be an easy trade though. Santana has a "no-trade" clause and would most likely wave the Mariners as a suitor because if he goes to the West Coast, he wants to be on a 1st place team. Now, no offense Mr. Santana, but with you in our rotation, I would gamble to say we would be pretty dang close to getting 1st. Santana also has another drawback, and that is his pricetag. I haven't heard anything recently on the new asking price, but it won't be easy to compensate for him. He comes with a new salary also. Here's what I don't understand: If we get the trade through, we have the money to pay the salary. Our owners have pretty dang deep pockets, since we are owned by Nintendo.

I am calling out Bavasi right now, to get off the couch and hardcore pursue Santana. Santana is a once in a decade, heck, maybe two decade pitcher. Just the fact that our team has been mentioned isn't enough. We need to land him. He is a safer bet than Bedard.

Plan B - Erik Bedard
Bedard is the most risky bet. Bedard's asking price is immense since his contract doesn't end until the end of 2009. He is a fan favorite in Baltimore. I mean, how could he not be on a terrible team, but that is keeping him closer to the organization. He is going to come with a risk also. He's not produced the numbers that Santana has put out.

Also, and this is another thing I don't understand, he will cost more than Santana. Don't ask me how that is possible, but it is. They are asking for Jones, Morrow, Sherrill and/or Balentien. This would be the dumbest thing ever. Trading Jones and Balentien in the same deal, let alone the same off-season shouldn't even be considered, and the Mariners should pull away from that now. No way is a not-so-much-proven pitcher worth that. He's also going to get a lot of money with his next new contract (FA after '10), so we would have to be able to resign him.

Safer bet = Santana
More reward for the risk = Santana
Better pitcher = Santana
Easier to coax into the Mariners organization = Santana

This shouldn't be a hard decision for Bavasi. He should put all his efforts and thoughts into Johan Santana, and fall back on Bedard only as a back-up plan.

Poll Results: Trade for Santana?

2007-12-07T20:25:00.000-08:00

Should the Mariners trade Adam Jones, Jeff Clement, and Brandon Morrow to the Twins for starting pitcher Johan Santana? Vote only once.

Yes, but only if the Twins sign him to a contract first: 18 Votes (41%)

Yes, regardless if the Twins sign him to a contract or not: 5 Votes (11%)

No: 20 votes (46%)

Poll closed on 12/6/07

Interesting... Glad to see that 43 votes were cast! Hopefully everyone respected the integrity of the poll and voted only once.

Thursday Quote: Good to be a Pessimist

2007-12-06T15:05:00.001-08:00

I'm pretty thrilled about this week's quote from George Will; a conservative journalist and news paper columnist.

"The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised."

This week's annual Winter Meetings for baseball general managers in Nashville, Tennessee just ended today and the Mariners, like many teams, are coming home empty handed. I began the week advising Mariner fans to "brace yourselves for nothing to happen." I gave this advice because over the last few years, we have been disappointed time after time with bad trades, no trades, bad free agent signings, and no free agent signings to the point where I've come to expect this type of thing from our front office. Now that I'm at the point of pessimism, I have experienced one of its two sides; I've been proven right. When given the choice, I would rather be pleasantly surprised ten times out of ten; but that's not how surprises work. That said, I'm not at all surprised that we came away from the Winter Meetings with the same players we went in with and I hope that Bavasi and Co. will "pleasantly surprise" me before the season begins. Until that happens, I guess I will continue to be a pessimist and use the front office's track record as a means of predicting the future only to more than likely be proved right.

Mariners Rule 5 Draft Picks

2007-12-06T12:08:00.000-08:00

The Rule 5 Draft is part of MLB's collective bargaining agreement that occurs once a year at the Winter Meetings. Basically, teams get to choose minor league players from other organizations who are not on that team's 40-man roster. A team that makes a selection must add that selection to their 40-man roster; meaning if there is no room, they may not select a player. When the season starts, the selection must remain on the 25-man roster for the entire season in order for the team to have the power to option him to the minors or designate him for assignment. If he does not remain on the 25-man roster for the entire season, he must be offered back to the team from which he was selected from.

Major League Phase

R.A. Dickey (from Minnesota): Robert Alan Dickey is a 33-year old, righthanded knuckleballer from Nashville, Tennessee. He started out his career in Texas after being drafted by the Rangers in 1996. Dickey made his major league debut in 2001 with Texas but never proved to be consistently good enough to remain in the majors. The Rangers gave him another chance in 2006 as their fifth starter after he became a knuckleball pitcher in the minor leagues in an attempt to find more success. His stay in the rotation was short-lived as he was demoted to the minors after giving up a record tying six homeruns in his first start. Last January, Dickey signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers and spent 2007 with their triple-A affiliate; the Nashville Sounds of the Pacific Coast League. There, he compiled an impressive 12-6 record with a 3.80 era leading him to be named Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year. Some of his success in the minor leagues may be attributed to the fact that he faced younger hitters that are yet to develop the plate discipline of players in the major leagues making his knuckleball seem more effective than it actually is. On November 28th, he became a minor league free agent and signed with the Minnesota Twins with an invite to Spring Training only to be selected by the M's in the Rule 5 Draft about a week later.

As far as the impact that Dickey could have on the Mariners, it is assumed that he will be invited to Spring Training and given a shot at the fifth spot in the rotation should that spot still be open. In the end, this pick may not be that bad. At the least, he is a guy with some big-league experience that could step in to make some emergency starts if needed.

AAA Phase

None

AA Phase

None

Note: The Mariners did lose right-handed relief pitcher Juan Sandoval to the Milwaukee Brewers organization in the triple-A phase of the draft. Last year, he recorded a 5.75 era with a 2-6 record between West Tennessee (AA) and Tacoma (AAA).

Winter Meetings: Newest Developments

2007-12-06T05:22:00.000-08:00

UPDATED 12/6 @ 8:21 AM EASTERN / 5:21 AM PACIFIC

Hiroki Kuroda: Reports indicate that Kuroda will visit Seattle, Arizona, and LA (Dodgers) before making a decision. These are three of the four supposed finalists with the other thought to be the Mets. Originally, it was thought that all teams involved had offered around 3 years/30 million for Kuroda; but Geoff Baker now believes that the Mariners have indeed added a fourth year to the offer. If this is the case, expect the Dodgers to do the same.
Raul Ibanez: The Cubs and the Indians have shown interest in Ibanez. mlbtraderumors.com mentions the possibility of the Mariners acquiring starting pitcher Cliff Lee from the Indians inreturn for Raul. If Japanese import Fukudome signs with the Cubs, don't expect Ibanez to be heading to Chicago. If they don't sign him, however, Keep your eyes on starting pitcher Sean Marshall.
Darin Erstad: Rotoworld reports that the Mariners are one of atleast four teams who have inquired about 1B/OF/DH Darin Erstad of the White Sox. At this point in time, the Mariners have absolutely no use for Erstad so I'm not sure why he's being brought up besides the fact that Bavasi was GM in Anaheim the same time that Erstad played there.
Richie Sexson: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Mariners are intent on trading Richie Sexson and names the Orioles, Giants, Devil Rays, and Yankees as possible candidates for his services. A report a couple days ago mentioned a deal with San Francisco that would send Sexson to the Giants in return for Ray Durham. Seattle would most likely have to pay atleast part of Sexson's 08 salary if he is traded anywhere. Since Broussard was apparently offered to the Rays for Edwin Jackson (deal was rejected by TB), Sexson is probably safe for the time being.
Edwin Jackson: The Mariners are reportedly interested in starting pitcher Edwin Jackson of the Devil Rays. This isn't really surprisng considering his name was tossed around at the 07 trading deadline. Originally, a Broussard for Jackson swap seemed possible until the Seattle Times reported that the Rays had rejected this deal. The word seems to be that Tampa Bay may want catcher prospect Rob Johnson as well as Broussard.
Matt Clement: The Mariners are one of at least three teams who have shown interest in starting pitcher Matt Clement.
Erik Bedard: The Mariners are now one of three teams pushing aggressively for Orioles ace Erik Bedard along with the Mets and Dodgers. A deal would probably be centered around some type of combination of Adam Jones, Brandon Morrow, Wlad Balentien, and George Sherrill and would likely not involve Jeff Clement as the O's don't need a catcher. There are at least eleven other teams pursuing Bedard though an O's source said Seattle may be the best fit.
Marcus Giles: The free agent second baseman has drawn interest from the Mariners, the Rockies, and atleast one other NL team. He would command around 4 million dollars a year and should the Mariners sign him, he would be used to challenge Jose Lopez for the starting position at second base or allow the M's to deal Lopez to another team (though not likely).
Ben Sheets: It seems as if this rumor is just about dead and the Mariners are no longer looking into Ben Sheets though they have met with the Brewers; possibly about other pitchers like Chris Capuano.
???: A report on mlbtraderumors.com mentions that the GM of the Cardinals, John Mozeliak, met with the Mariners today as well as the Brewers (regarding Rolen [STL]), the Orioles (regarding Tejada [BAL]), and the Brewers (regarding Anthony Reyes [STL] and Edmonds [STL]). I doubt the conversations with Seattle involved Rolen or Edmonds, but possibly young starter Anthony Reyes.
Mark Loretta: The Mariners have talked to Mark Loretta's agent about signing the veteran second baseman and using him as a utility infielder. mlbtraderumors.com figures the M's would be willing to pay him around 2 million dollars. The Rockies seem to be the more likely choice for Loretta should he reject arbitration from the Astros.
Tim Linceum: It's been reported that the Mariners have been linked to San Francisco's young starting pitcher Tim Linceum. While Giants GM Brian Sabean is not shopping Linceum, the M's could put together a package including Richie Sexson. Don't put too much stock in this one...
Ben Broussard: Two teams seem interested; the Giants and the Rangers. They may wait to see if the Mariners tender him a contract or not.
Jose Lopez: Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports has reported that the Mariners are using Jose Lopez as trade bait. The Nationals, Giants, Rockies and Twins are teams in need of a second baseman.
David Wells: The Mariners and the Reds are considering the veteran starter. Call it being desperate or call it covering all bases... It's just not a good idea.
George Sherrill: Bill Bavasi has mentioned that several teams have shown interest in the left-handed specialist.
Geoff Jenkins: The Seattle Times reports that the Mariners have been in contact with the agent of leftfielder Geoff Jenkins. He seems to only be a possibility if Ibanez or Sexson is traded.
Johan Santana: It is assumed that the Mariners will finally be able to begin negotiations with the Twins over the hottest commodity this offseason; Johan Santana. Previously, it seemed as if the Twins were only interested in talking with the Red Sox and the Yankees. Now that the Yankees and Red Sox are moving out of the picture, it would make sense for other interested teams to jump in. The Mariners would most likely put together a package of Brandon Morrow, Adam Jones, and Jeff Clement, though maybe not in their initial offer.

Baltimore Not in Bedard's Future

2007-12-03T07:41:00.000-08:00

The Washington Post reported that left-handed pitcher Erik Bedard has told the Baltimore Orioles that he has no intentions of signing a contract extension to remain in Baltimore, increasing the chances that he might be traded sooner rather than later. There are disagreements among the baseball community about what it would cost to acquire Bedard from the O's with some reports saying that the Orioles would want four prospects for him; more than the Twins want for Santana. A Baltimore Sun article yesterday reported that the Mariners are one of six teams that have expressed interest in Bedard, along with the Angels, Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, Diamondbacks. One would have to figure that the Red Sox will get into the mix sooner or later. The consensus at the Winter Meetings is that the Orioles would like to make some fundamental changes so keep your eye on Bedard.

Cubs Interested in Ibanez?

2007-12-03T06:24:00.000-08:00

Chicago Cubs GM Jim Hendry has made his apirations to acquire a left-handed bat quite clear this offseason and the name Raul Ibanez has been tossed around as a potential candidate. It's hard to gauge where management stands on Raul Ibanez and if they consider Wladamir Balentien to be ready for a full-time job in the big leagues. The Cubs have also toyed with the idea of trading Mark Prior before they have to tender him a contract for the 2008 season in about a week. If the Mariners are willing to take a risk on Mark Prior and hope that he can get healthy and then stay healthy, I wouldn't be completely surprised if the two teams struck a deal involving Prior and Ibanez.

Santana Makes Ultimatum

2007-12-03T03:22:00.000-08:00

According to the Providence Journal, Johan Santana has told the Twins that he would not only use his no trade clause to block any trade during the season, but that he would use it in the coming week on any deal involving a team not named the Yankees or the Red Sox. This effectively puts an end to any hope Mariner fans had of acquiring the All Star southpaw this offseason.

Meanwhile, the Mariners contingent arrived in Nashville the other day for the annual Winter Meetings that are set to begin today and continue through Wednesday. Keep checking back with Mariner Nation for news and analysis of the Winter Meetings.

Mariners Decline Arbitration on Guillen, Others

2007-12-02T12:26:00.000-08:00

Rotoworld reported early this morning that the Mariners declined to offer arbitration to Jose Guillen, Jeff Weaver, Arthur Rhodes, and Chris Retisma. Obviously the big news here is Jose Guillen and the fact that the Mariners did not want to take a chance on him accepting arbitration according to Rotoworld. While many fans seem to be emotionally distraught with his departure, it does paint a clearer picture of what may be in the immediate future. I expect Adam Jones to assume the vacancy in right field and Raul Ibanez to continue patrolling left, though most fans cringe when they picture Ibanez in the outfield. The idea of putting Ibanez at designated hitter is certainly intriguing, but it would cause a chain reaction of questions that would have to be answered regarding the roles of Ben Broussard, Jose Vidro, and Wladamir Balentien (assuming he would get playing time in left).

It's going to be interesting to see what goes down at the Winter Meetings in the next couple of days. I would feel a lot more comfortable if most of the offseason questions are addressed this week; including the rotation. All the advice I can give Mariner fans is pray for terrible things not to happen, brace yourselves for nothing to happen, and hope that something good happens.

And another thing: DING-DONG JEFF WEAVER'S GONE!

Hot Stove: 12/1/07

2007-12-01T06:51:00.000-08:00

Updating previous reports, the Mariners are still waiting for Japanese ace Hiroki Kuroda to make a decision. It has been reported that the Mariners have made the most aggressive offer that would lock him down for four years.

mlbtraderumors.com reports that the Mariners have been in talks with Jeremy Affeldt's agent. Affeldt, a left-handed pitcher, used to start games for the Kansas City Royals when he came up in 2002 until mid-2004 (and then 9 games in 2006) when he was converted to a reliever. For his career, he has a career ERA of 4.74 and a record of 25-27. Last season was by far his best year on record as he went 4-3 with a 3.51 era in 75 games for the Colorado Rockies. However, those numbers could be misleading because in those 75 games, he only pitched 59 innings which means that he was probably used a lot against left-handed batters. This would make sense since his ERA against those lefty hitters last year was 3.27. When push comes to shove, I don't think that Affeldt would be a good fit for Seattle, mainly because he has had limited success as a starter in the big leagues and has only started nine games in the last three years.

mlbtraderumors.com also points out that Bavasi doesn't seem to be content with Jose Lopez at second base and may look for other alternatives like Tadahito Iguchi, David Eckstein, and Marcus Giles. They even mentioned a possible trade with the San Francisco Giants where Richie Sexson would be shipped to San Fran in return for washed up second baseman Ray Durham. In regards to that trade, I see no logic behind replacing the up-and-coming Jose Lopez with 36-year old Ray Durham who has never hit over .300 and hit a mere .218 last year. As for signing one of the other free agent second baseman, I am completely against it. I don't understand why management has all of a suddent lost hope in Jose Lopez. He and Yunieski Betancourt are the best double play tandem in the majors and to lose that would be devastating. Sure Lopez has struggled in the second half of the season in his first two years in the bigs, but give him a break! He has already proven to everyone that he can hit, so let's atleast see how he begins the season. Oh by the way, Yung Chi Chen is waiting in the wings and many believe he would be a viable option should Lopez fall on his face.

The Mariners have the option of offering Jose Guillen an arbitration salary. If Guillen agrees to accept what the Mariners want to pay him, he will be signed through 2008. If he rejects the arbitration offer, he will become an unrestricted free agent. The likely scenario is the latter.

Igawa's Name Surfacing Again

2007-11-29T16:21:00.000-08:00

mlbtraderumors.com has listed the Mariners as a team who may have interest in trading for the disgruntled Yankee. Should Kuroda sign elsewhere, the Mariners may look to deal for Igawa since he is extremely inexpensive as far as contracts go (owed 4 mil a year thru 2011) and will probably not cost a lot on the market due to his struggles thus far in the states coupled with the fact that the Yankees don't have a rotation spot available for him. If he is unsuccessful, we can simply do what the Yankees did, demote him to the minors. Four million dollars a year is miniscule compared to what other guys are making and he could potentially be a diamond in the rough who just hasn't been in the right situation to thrive in New York. The chances of the Mariners having two Japanese starters in the rotation next year are slim, so I expect a deal would only be considered if Kuroda signs elsewhere.

Speaking of Kuroda, he recently said that he has not made a decision yet and has to carefully think about his future.

Thursday Quote: Creating a Better Future

2007-11-29T12:50:00.000-08:00

This week, I'm drawing from the wisdom of futurist John Renesch.

"There's no reason people who work have to be resigned to situations and endure circumstances when we all possess the power to create better futures."

As Dustin mentioned earlier, there has been a lot of discussion about what exactly the future of the Mariners should be. Do we keep our top prospects with the hopes that they live up to our expectations or do we let them go and guarantee that we'll have the best pitcher in baseball for the next four or five years. To be honest with you, I'm not really sure. There are definitely some pro's and con's to each option that must be weighed before making a judgement. Whatever decision management makes in the end, there are going to be a great deal of fans who disagree. The good thing about the situation right now is that we are atleast involved in the Johan Santana talks. If anything, it shows initative and recognition of the fact that we have a gaping hole that we need to fill. As Renesch said, we all have the ability to brighten our future. We all have the ability to decide what we have in store for the future instead of succumbing to what the future has in store for us. Let's just hope that what ever decision is made, it is made for the right reasons...

Why Clement, Jones and Morrow are Tradeable

2007-11-28T22:15:00.001-08:00

People are putting a price on winning. "We are trading away too much and his contract is too heavy to afford." That is all I've heard.

I can't believe you people are willing to just give up on the best pitcher on the planet. Simple as that. We cannot win with our rotation. Jones is still a work in progress, and I still don't see him becoming a full-fledged superstar, Morrow is another HUGE work in progress and Clement is stuck in a spot where his playing time will be limited. I'll summarize my point once again.

Morrow - Morrow does not have what it takes to be a starter, yet. It will take time. He pitched 3, 4 innings max in a game this year, and he started to get hit hard later it seemed. He was totally inconsistent throughout the year. If we push him to start, he's going to get shelled early and often. All he is, is a pitcher who throws hard. Worst, he's right handed. A right handed guy who can only throw his fastball is worthless in the rotation. If we move him to the bullpen, he won't be as effective. He could, in theory be a dominant closer in the future. He only needs to throw his fastball, change-up and occasional breaking ball. He has the making of a DOMINANT closer. Problem? We have Putz. We don't need Morrow.

Clement - He is stuck. He won't get much playing time. Johjima is going to be the starting catcher. His CS% was the highest among regular, full time catchers and he is a gold glove caliber catcher. You could argue that he should have won it this year. Clement won't get time at DH since we have the ever-consistent Vidro at DH anchoring the line-up with a .300 average all year. He can't be moved to first since we are stuck with that lard 1st baseman Sexson. As of now, Sexson isn't being put out on the market, so for now, 1st base is his. So Clement will see sporatic playing time between catching Johjima in the days off, assuming Burke is still with the team. He won't get time at 1st because we still have Broussard who needs more playing time, and will get it when Sexson has his days off. DH won't be Clements because we have Ibanez and Vidro as the top two cantidates starting in the DH slot, most likely in a platoon.

Jones - I'm stuck here. I want to see him live out his potential and his hype, but he just isn't impressive. His career average, as of the last game of the season, is only a mere .230. That is nothing, at all. He has 3 home runes and only 12 RBIs in 73 games. 32 hits in a total of 73 games. He is just not impressive. He has also made 5 errors in his 73 games. That is about 12 or 13 errors a year, in a 162 game season. That is pathetic.

We don't need this. There is nothing that jumps out at me saying, "Hey, Bavasi, don't trade our future!" We could use Johan, who is still 28, a lot more than we can use our undeveloped and unfulfilled "future" and hype.

Pursuit of Johan Santana

2007-11-26T16:15:00.000-08:00

Introduction:
So as we should all know, the Mariners are still in the running for landing Johan Santana. Now, let's get past the obvious, it is going to cost some serious money. However, let's think about this. The Mariners are in desperate need of an upgrade in their rotation, and what better way to start than by getting the best pitcher on the planet?

Numbers:
Santana is a winner. In his 4 full seasons as a starter Santana is 70-32, with an average ERA in those 4 season that is an astounding 2.89. Those are unheard of. Let's delve further into the stats. His total strikeouts in that 4 year run total 983, compared to just 198 walks. People, that is almost a 5 K/BB ratio. For a power pitcher, that is rediculous. We haven't seen numbers like those since Pedro Martinez's run with the Boston Red Sox. His years there, he was Cy Young. Johan Santana has won 2 of the last 4 Cy Young Awards. In the crunch, he is even better. In the last 4 season he has a Post-All Star record of 36-14. Coincidence: The Mariners fold in the 2nd half every team our name has a playoff lable on it!

Intangibles:
Safeco Field would be the perfect fit for Santana. Safeco Field favors the left handed pitcher, well, even pitchers in general. However, the left hander is dominant in Safeco. Johan, is a dominant left handed pitcher. Love? Next, and maybe less of Santana and more of his catcher, but in his 4 years as starter, Santana has allowed 20 stolen bases, and 22 men have been caught stealing. Yes, over 50% of base runners have been caught during his full time starting tenure. One less man on base is one less runner and one less potential run. Next, Santana is a workhorse. In those 4 years as the starter in Minnesota, Santana has logged 912.1 innings, or 228 innings per year. That averages out at about 7 innings per game, also. The sooner we can get the ball from Santana to Putz, the better chance we have at winning.

The Price:
It is reported that he is seeking 5 years and $126 million. Yeah, I won't lie, that is a lot of money. However, let us think about this. The numbers have already shown you what he can do. Here is the real question: How badly to the Mariners want to win and what is the price of winning? To me, the price of winning is $126 million. Yes, Johan Santana is worth every penny. He has been the most dominant pitcher in the last 4 years, and you can argue 5 (he began starting about half way through 2003, but didn't hold onto a full time spot until 2004.) Santana is a once in a decade, one in a career (front office career) type offer.

The price isn't limited to money. The Twins have outlined that they would like Adam Jones, Brandon Morrow and Jeff Clement. To some people, this may seem like too much to trade away. I however, say it is would be worth it. Let's look at this: None of them are nowhere as proven in the MLB as Santana.

Adam Jones has struggled in his two stints with the big club, and struggled mightily. He has been extremely unsuccessful at the plate, showing little discipline, and has struggled to use his power. In the field, I don't know what is going on. He's supposed to be great, but he's been making routine plays seem like highlight reel catches. He has been compared to the greatest Mariner ever, Ken Griffey Jr. That is setting him up for failure. Not to mention, Torri Hunter just left the Twins, so center is wide open for Adam Jones to take over.

Brandon Morrow has seen time, has been demoted, promoted, and anything in between. He has struggled with his control, and is about as streaky as they come. I don't know what they would do with Morrow, meaning, I don't know if they would keep him in the bullpen or convert him to the starting rotation, but either way, they gain an electric arm.

Jeff Clement has never really rubbed me right until his September callup. When McLaren went nuts with playing the Rainiers against the MLB I thought he was stupid. I saw Clement's numbers [in AAA] and thought he would die. He proved me wrong. I saw both of his home runs at Safeco, and he looked extremely impressive. With the possibility of Joe Mauer being moved to an every day spot to save his knees, Clement would fit in perfect in Minnesota.

Outside Sources:
Buster Olney (of ESPN) posted a blog (Insider: Free, recently made "unfree") saying that a Santana trade seems impossible. The impossible factor was the money. Nobody is sure whether or not the Twins will be able to resign Santana. If resigned then traded, that will save money. (IE - Carlos Zambrano, who could command more money than Santana.) If not resigned by Santana, that is where it gets insanely disgusting. He could run up the table more. His $126 million was his Twins counter-offer. On an open market, he's free game.

Larry Larue (of The Tacoma News Tribune) posted a article on the money aspect of free agency and trades. He referenced Santana and the money he commanded. He said, "The Mariners and a half-dozen other teams still have interest in trading for Santana, but each of them took a large gulp after hearing that figure. Now, to obtain Santana it will take a package of ready-for-prime-time talent – and $126 million." The Mariners fit every checkmark. First, we have been mentioned in the running. Second, we have ready-for-prime time talent. All three guys have seen time in the MLB. Finally, the money. Okay, don't get me wrong, it will cost us. But, is there a price on winning? We are owned by Nintendo, so, if we are ever short on money, we can take a loan from the only gaming system currently making money. Coincidence? I only hope.

Finale:
Now, here is what I really mean. I want Johan Santana. I want somebody to teach Felix how to pitch, and a Johan/Felix 1-2 punch would be a top-of-the-line rotation. I am in love with the guy on the mound. He is putting on one of the most dominant runs in baseball in the last 30 years. He has been lights out and consistent, about as good as it comes.

My Summary
I want Johan Santana.

Another Opinion; (An Opposition To Johan):
Fellow learned blogger, Jon:
http://theseattlemariners.blogspot.com/2007/11/cost-of-johan-santana.html

Sources:
Johan Santana stats:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/stats?playerId=4280
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/splits?playerId=4280

Tacoma News Tribune:
http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/mariners/story/212490.html

Miscellaneous:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=3121887

Hot Stove: 11/25/07

2007-11-25T08:23:00.000-08:00

-Randy Wolf, possibly one of the better free agent pitchers out there, has received a contract offer from the Philadelphia Phillies. Wolf pitched for the Phillies before signing a contract for his favorite team growing up, the Dodgers, in a injury plagued season in 2007. Delaware Online reports that Wolf often watched Phillies games while with the Dodgers, kept in contact with Phillies players and the "Wolf pack" who cheered him on from the upper deck at Citizens Bank Park. In my opinion, all signs point to him rejoining the Phillies so cross Wolf off the Mariners list (if he was there in the first place).

-Delaware Online has also reported that the Phillies have offered Hiroki Kuroda a contract. They do recognize that it is a long shot and that Seattle is probably the top contender for his services. Something I didn't know, Kuroda's agent, Joe Urbon, is based in Seattle.

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071125/SPORTS01/711250386/1021

Kuroda Film

2007-11-24T16:46:00.001-08:00

Tonight, I decided to take a look at some film of the much-talked-about future (hopefully) Mariner Hiroki Kuroda pitching for the Hiroshima Carp. There have been some rumors that his fastball can hit 96 mph but I'm not believing them after the film I've watched. I watched him throw about fifteen pitches and here is what I saw:

An average fastball that ranged from 89 to 92
An average to good slider that ranged from 76 to 81
An average to good forkball that was consistently around 86
Good control, good composure
A slightly staggered but not so funky windup

He's everything I thought he'd be. Hopefully his meetings with Bavasi and McLaren went well

A couple videos of Kuroda pitching:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=r6QhfHMxWPA

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZycHPwbcuHQ

Fred Claus

2007-11-24T07:31:00.000-08:00

As the hot stove continues to burn away, general managers will surely focus first on getting a nice Christmas gift in the form of a starting pitcher for their respective teams. While the offseason seas are relatively quiet with only a couple marquee players being reeled in, the inevitable frenzy is bound to have general managers scrambling around like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Jingle All the Way. One of the big starting pitcher prizes this year is former Mariner Freddy Garcia who finished out a three year contract as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies last year. His season was a short one due to a shoulder injury that required surgery on his labrum and rotator cuff. Garcia's agent, Peter Greenberg, said that the Mets have shown "considerable interest" in Garcia as well as some other teams. The Mets just missed out on Freddy Garcia last year when the White Sox sent him to the Phillies for highly touted pitching prospects Gavin Floyd and Gio Gonzalez.

Many Mariner fans are wondering about the possibility of the Mariners bringing back Garcia, a fan-favorite during his years in Seattle. Will it happen this offseason? Probably not, thankfully. According to the New York Daily News, Garcia "should be ready to pitch by midseason, perhaps as early as June." Garcia's agent confirmed that diagnosis and discussed the alternative of Garcia not signing a contract until he's healthy;

"If something is right at the winter meetings, maybe he'll sign or maybe he'll wait and maybe make more money. He'd be a guy for the second half. Contenders are looking for pitching around that time and you wouldn't have to trade for it then. If we did a showcase and we reached a deal, we'd let a team do a physical and do a Roger Clemens, a prorated deal for that season plus any extra years."

In my opinion, the only way the Mariners should pursue Garcia is if he remains a free agent into the middle of the season and if the Mariners' fate is still in their hands at that time. Signing a starting pitcher in the dark while his health is uncertain and his ability is jeopardized by his injury is extremely risky, especially for a player of his caliber. So when it comes down to it, I'd rather see a lump of coal under the Christmas tree than Freddy Garcia; atleast you can use the coal. He could make a nice graduation present though...

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2007/11/24/2007-11-24_mets_interested_in_freddy_garcia.html

Thursday Quote: Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T08:09:00.000-08:00

I take todays quote from a 20th century American humorist by the name of Erma Bombeck.

"Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence."

So even though this is a blog about baseball, I want everyone to realize the importance of Thanksgiving and what you must do today. There are three things:

1-Give thanks: Share the love people! If you're thankful for someone or something, say so.

2-Eat a ridiculously large amount of food: The laws of supply and demand say that if there is a lot of something available, TAKE IT! Well, they don't actually say that but it is a good concept.

3-Watch football: As Erma Bombeck said, football and thanksgiving are meant to go together. So today, don't worry about our division rival signing one of the best available free agents to a huge contract, just relax and watch some good ole' football.

*Note: Numbers 2 and 3 are best when done simultaneously!

Green Bay Packers (9-1) @ Detroit Lions (6-4) -- 12:30 pm EST / 9:30 pm WST -- I'm takin' the Packers 31-21

New York Jets (2-8) @ Dallas Cowboys (9-1) -- 4:15 pm EST / 1:15 pm WST -- I'm takin' the 'Boys 28-13

Indianapolis Colts (8-2) @ Atlanta Falcons (3-8) -- 8:15 pm EST / 5:15 pm WST -- I'm takin' the Colts 34-10

Angels Feast on Prime Free Agent

2007-11-22T07:22:00.000-08:00

On a day where the theme is giving, the Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim) have gotten into the spirit by giving stud free agent centerfielder Torri "Highlight Reel" Hunter the gravy in the form of a fat 5 year contract estimated to be anywhere from 80 to 90 mil. This is certainly the biggest splash of the offseason so far, especially since nobody saw it coming. Hunter said that even he was surprised to learn just a few days ago that the Angels were interested.

So what does this deal mean? Well, it means that the Angels are by far the best team in the AL West after adding Jon Garland and now Torri Hunter, both in the last week. It means that they're team is now better than they were last year when they won the division. Even if the Angels stop making moves now and go into next season with what they have, they will be extremely tough to beat. But if you think new GM Tony Reagins is about to go cold turkey, think again. The offseason has just begun and already there are rumors that the Angels excess talent will allow them to make a trade with the Marlins for superstar third baseman Miguel Cabrera. Names like Juan Rivera, Reggie Willits, and Casey Kotchman may come up in the coming weeks as likely candidates to be shipped off to hell, I mean Florida, if a Cabrera deal gains momentum.

So the Angels have made the first move. If it would have been the Yankees, the Redsox would be next to land a marquee name. Seattle GM Bill Bavasi needs to, has to, MUST do something soon. We can't wait until the end of the offseason to pick on everyone's leftovers. I don't know what Bavasi is brewing up, but I do know this: If the Angels trade for Miguel Cabrera, hopes of the Mariners being AL West champs in 2008 are as good as gone.

Hiroki Kuroda

2007-11-21T10:48:00.000-08:00

According to the Tacoma News Tribune, Seattle is actively pursueing Hiroki Kuroda, a 32 year old starter from Japan. In his 11 year career he has amassed 103 wins and 89 losses. His last 3 seasons have been far more successful, posting a 40 win - 26 loss record. He is reported to have a mid-90s fastball, a forkball and a slider (all above-average).

Since he has been playing professional for over 10 years he does not require a posting fee. This is very nice for us since we will not be wasting plenty of money on the posting fee alone.

It is reported that he is leaning towards a west coast team, and perfers west coast teams. The Mariners have a huge advantage having Ichiro and Johjima to sway him towards the Mariners.

Other teams interested in Kuroda are the Cubs, Phillies, Dodgers and the Rangers.

Source: http://seattlemariners.com

Free Agent SP Rankings

2007-11-16T23:38:00.000-08:00

Dustin and I have compiled this list of starting pitchers who will be free agents in the offseason and have ranked who we think are the top 13.

1. Freddy Garcia

P: Though 05 and 06 for Garcia in Chicago were only mediocre, he has still shown to be a very consistent pitcher throughout his career. In the eight seasons prior to 2007, Garcia's era hasn't been over 4.53 in 2006 and has been as low as 3.05 in the M's magical year of 2001. His career K:BB ratio is 2.23 : 1, a very solid mark. Though he has been hurt for most of this season, I expect this 31 year-old to have a 2008 that falls in line with his consistent track record.

D: I loved Freddy when he was with Seattle. He logged 76 wins to 50 losses. A career 4.07 ERA, which would most likely be lower had he stayed with the Mariners, instead of moving to hitter friendly US Cellular Field in Chicago where his ERA was above 4.50 for most of his time there. Now, its at an unhealthy 5.90. I am all for Freddy, and I believe he'll be fairly cheap.

2. Livan Hernandez

P: There is something about Livan Hernandez that has always told me to either draft him in fantasy leagues as a sleeper or to pick him up in free agency. At 32 years-old, he is a tremendous workhorse and will always rack up a ton of innings. With a winning ballclub, that means a lot of wins. His K's to walks have never really been impressive, and it is a slight concern. At the end of the day, he gets the job done.

D: An innings eater. He led the NL in innings pitched from 2003-2005. He also has an amazing glove for a pitcher, only committing 11 errors in his long, long career. He would eat innings and shave the innings pitched by the bullpen, which is something like 3rd most in the AL. I've wanted him for quite some time, and I believe he will come cheap due to age.

3. Randy Wolf

P: Wolf is well-past his two short glory years with the Phillies in 01 and 02; the only two seasons where his era ended at under 4.00. He is an injury risk, but when healthy he can be a decent number 4 guy.

D: Incredible risk. He could command money, and he might also be worth it, if he can stay healthy. That is a HUGE if though. He hasn't started more than 23 games in the last 4 years, and this year won't break that trend. With a career 4.26 ERA he looks like a "get 'em if he's still there" guy, but he's only had 3 full MLB years since coming up in 1999. I'd pass on him except for the the little stat of G/F. He's an extreme fly ball pitcher. His career mark is .89, compared to Washburn's .78. They aren't vastly different.

4. Carlos Silva

5. Kenny Rogers

6. Paul Byrd

7. Odalis Perez

8. Bartolo Colon

9. Joel Pineiro

10 Wade Miller

11. Jon Lieber

12. Matt Clement

13. Kris Benson

Did dot make top 13: Shawn Chacon, Scott Elarton, Josh Fogg, Casey Fossum, Jason Jennings, Brian Lawrence, Kyle Lohse, Rodrigo Lopez, Eric Milton, Julian Tavarez, Brett Tomko, Kip Wells, Jaret Wright, Victor Zambrano

Stottlemyre and Charlton Among New Mariners Coaches Named Monday

2007-10-24T12:26:00.000-07:00

McLaren officially named his new coaching staff on Monday and I have to say I'm a fan of the moves that he has made. The headliners of the new staff are Mel Stottlemyre as the pitching coach and Norm Charlton as the bullpen coach. Jim Riggleman takes post at Bench Coach and Eddie Rodriguez is the 1st Base Coach. Larry Bowa has been offered the 3rd base coach job. Jeff Pentland is the only holdover from Hargrove's staff.

Heres a quick synopsis of each new coach:

Mel Stottlemyre:
I really like this move by the Mariners. Not only is Stottlemyre a former successful big league pitcher (three time 20 game winner) and father of two former big league pitchers but he was also the mind behind the pitching staff of the New York Yankees during their 4 World Series Championships of the Torre era. Plain and simple the guy knows what he's going when it comes to coaching pitchers. I can't wait to see what he can do with Felix, Morrow and some of the other young guys out in the pen. Hopefully Stottlemyre will be able to influence McLaren into making better decisions when it comes to handling the bullpen.

Norm Charlton:
I like this move probably as much if not more than hiring Stottlemyre. I was always a fan of Charlton even if he did sometimes about give me a heart attack when he took the mound. Charlton is not only a former Mariner but was a very good relief pitcher for many years in the big leagues. He knows what it takes to come out of the pen and perform in just about every relief situation. Hopefully he'll be able to convey this knowledge to our young guys out in the pen.

Jim Riggleman:
I've said before that I think that Bench Coach is an irrelevant position but that may just be me speaking out of ignorance. Riggleman is a former major league manager and has a lot of experience as a coach. If anything hopefully he'll be able to help McLaren make better choices in key situations because gods knows Jonny Mac could use the help.

Larry Bowa:
I really hope that Bowa accepts the offer to become 3rd base coach. He's another former big league manager that hopefully can help McLaren mature into a manager who makes the correct decision more often than not.

In general I think McLaren did a very very good job choosing his staff. He's surrounded himself with guys who have many years of experience both playing and coaching in the big leagues. Hopefully the coaching staff's experience will go a long ways towards him making better decisions in critical situations. And I really really can't wait to see what Stottlemyre can do with our young pitchers...

Potential Offseason Moves: Free Agent Starting Pitchers

2007-10-09T16:49:00.000-07:00

While there are many moves that could be made this off season to improve the Mariners this off season, starting pitching is the most glaring need. I'll address free agents moves for starting pitching, trades for starting pitching and other general roster moves. For this post I'm sticking with moves the Mariners could make on the slim free agent market for starting pitching.

We made two terrible off season moves last year to try and improve our starting pitching by signing Jeff "Nightmare" Weaver to an 8.3 million dollar one year deal and trading potential star reliever Rafael Soriano for Horacio "Oh No!" Ramirez. These two combined to be perhaps one of the worst 4 and 5 starting combos in Major League history. They obviously won't be back next season but they do need to be replaced somehow. Some people would say ANYONE WOULD BE BETTER THAN WEAVER AND RAMIREZ. However, that was essentially the thinking that got us those two nightmares on our team last off season so lets try and get out of that mindset.

This year's free agent pool for pitchers is slim at best. Which means that anybody that has had anything revealing some sort of success at the major league level won't be cheap (this is exactly the same reason why we gave Weaver so much money last off season). The best of who could be in the free agent pool (some of these players have options for next year) are: Freddy Garcia, Greg Maddux, Curt Schilling, Carlos Silva, Paul Byrd, Bartolo Colon, Randy Wolf and Jon Lieber.

I'll toss out the old guys who I really don't think would be a viable choice for the Mariners, so you can throw out Maddux, Schilling, Byrd and Lieber from this list. Although it could be viable to sign Maddux or Schilling for one year to help groom Morrow as a starter, I just don't think it's worth the money either of those guys will be demanding (assuming neither of them retire). Any of these older guys could be a solution until we can develop a couple of the young guys in our farm system, however, I think the younger four guys are a much more viable solution for the Mariners. So those four aside leaves us Freddy Garcia, Carlos Silva, Bartolo Colon and Randy Wolf. Slim pickings really considering there are 29 other MLB teams to compete with. I'll take a look at each of these guys stats in depth.

FREDDY GARCIA:

He's my personal pick for who we should go after the hardest. He had season ending shoulder surgery in August. While there is a risk he could never be the same pitcher after the surgery, I like him for two reasons. He is an 31 year old 8 year veteran, two time all-star and has won a WS with the White Sox. He is a former Mariner fan favorite when he started his career in Seattle. While he won't be exactly cheap I think he'll be well worth the money coming to the Mariners as the potential #1 or strong #2 behind Felix. His 2007 stats are anything but stunning but his career numbers are solid and I think he can come back from the surgery strong and be one of the solid starters the Mariners are in dire need of, not to mention a great mentor for Felix. Look for him to want more than the 3 year $27 million contract that just expired for him, probably somewhere between 10 and 12 million a year.

Here are his stats:

2007: 1-5, 5.90 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 11 G, 58 IP, 74 H, 39 R, 12 HR, 19 BB, 50 K, 95.2 P/GS, .318 BAA

Career: 117-76, 4.07 ERA, 1.296 WHIP, 263 G, 12 CG, 4 SHO, 1701.2 IP, 1658 H, 814 R, 770 ER, 203 HR, 548 BB, 1252 SO

CARLOS SILVA:

Another viable option for the Mariners. He had pretty good stats this year on a very mediocre Twins team. He's a 5 year veteran and 28 years old. While he's never had any great seasons he is a solid candidate to be anywhere from the Mariners 3 to 5 starter next year. 36 walks in 202 innings and a 1.312 WHIP would be a giant improvement over Weaver or Ramirez. He'd probably be a little bit cheaper than Garcia but will still get a premium in this year's thin market. He'll be looking to get more than the $8.3 million we gave Weaver last year.

Here are his stats:

2007: 13-14, 4.19 ERA, 1.312 WHIP, 33 G, 33 GS, 2 CG, 1 SHO, 202 IP, 229 H, 99 R, 94 ER, 20 HR, 36 BB, 89 SO

Career: 55-46, 4.31 ERA, 1.368 WHIP, 259 G, 125 GS, 5 CG, 2 SHO, 2 SV, 945 IP, 1122 H, 489 R, 453 ER, 117 HR, 171 BB, 395 SO

BARTOLO COLON:

Colon is a 34 year old, 11 year veteran and former Cy Young winner. Colon has proven to be a viable pitcher in the Major Leagues. He does come with risk because he's been hampered by injuries the last two seasons but his last full season was a stellar one for the Angels when he won the AL Cy Young. Colon would probably be the biggest risk the Mariners could take but could come with the biggest reward if Colon can get back to his Cy Young form of 2005. By signing Colon we would be betting that he can successfully come back after struggling to come back this year from a torn rotator cuff. He also may be the most expensive option for the Mariners. Colon made $14 million in his injury shortened 2007 campaign. He would also be a great mentor for Felix. He could essentially show him what it means to be an effective power pitcher.

Here are his stats:

2007: 6-8, 6.34, 1.621 WHIP, 19 G, 18 GS, 99.3 IP, 132 H, 74 R, 70 ER, 15 HR, 29 BB, 76 SO

Career: 146-95, 309 G, 306 GS, 31 CG, 8 SHO, 1975.3 IP, 1955 H, 966 R, 899 ER, 238 HR, 679 BB, 1542 SO

RANDY WOLF:

This is the guy who is the biggest unknown for me. He is a 31 year old, 9 year veteran and one time all-star. Minus one season where he went 16-10 in 2003 he is a .500 pitcher for the most part. He as a decent career ERA and WHIP but his numbers really are nothing to brag about. Since I've never seen him pitch I don't really know anything about Wolf but he seems like the biggest risk that the Mariners could go after. He just seems to remind me too much of Ramirez or Weaver. I might be completely wrong with that but that is the feeling I get. Wolf also is the only one of these four guys I've mentioned that has a club option on his contract for $9 million for 2008. The Dodger very well may exercise that option. So Wolf may not even be a possibility for the Mariners. I'm guessing he'd be better than Ramirez or Weaver but who knows.

Here are his stats:

2007: 9-6, 4.73 ERA, 4.53 WHIP, 18 G, 18 GS, 102.7 IP, 110 H, 55 R, 54 ER, 10 HR, 39 BB, 94 SO

Career: 78-66, 4.34 ERA, 1.342 WHIP, 212 G, 208 GS, 11 CG, 7 SHO, 1277.7 IP, 1239 H, 642 R, 604 ER, 167 HR, 476 BB, 1065 SO

The pickings for the Mariners are certainly slim. There just aren't many quality free agent starting pitchers available. Personally I think that we should go after Garcia and Silva as hard as possible. We should also get into the bidding for Colon and Wolf (if the Dodgers don't exercise his option). If we pursue all of them hopefully we'll sign at least one of them. If we sign two of them it'd be even better because then we wouldn't have to rely on one of the young guys next year. I won't lie, I want us to get Garcia real bad and hope to see him in a Mariners uniform next year. I think he could be just the #1/#2 starter the Mariners need to be a real competitor next year. Not only would he be a great mentor for Felix, he would give him some competition at the top and hopefully push Felix to his full potential.

Nightcap: 09/28/07 vs. Texas

2007-09-28T23:20:00.000-07:00

And the Mariners are in the win column for the 86th time this year thanks to more late inning heroics. For the second time this week rookie Jeff Clement hit a HR in the ninth inning, this time it was a two-run walkoff to give the Mariners a 6-4 victory. This is coming only two nights after Clement hit a game tying HR in the ninth inning of the nightcap of a double header, which helped the Mariners take that game 3-2.

The Mariners went down early when Jeff Weaver gave up 2 runs in the 3rd. The Mariners battled back by scoring 3 runs in the 6th to take a short-lived lead. The Rangers shot back in the 7th on a two run Travis Metcalf HR. The Mariners then tied the game in the 8th thanks to a clutch pinch-hit RBI single by Jose "Turbo" Vidro.

JJ Putz came in to shut down the Rangers in the 9th to set up Clements 9th inning heroics and up his record to an impressive 6-1. Which is great considering he only has two blown saves in 41 opportunities. Weaver had a decent outing tonight that keep the Mariners in the game, going 8 innings and giving up 4 earned runs on 9 hits with 0 walks.

Lets hope this late inning excitement continues in the Mariner's favor for the next two games. If anything it will give us reason to watch the games and enable us to see the end to a suprising season for the Mariners.

Winning Pitcher: JJ Putz (6-1) Losing Pitcher: Mike Wood (3-2)

Tomorrows starters: Miguel Batista (15-11, 4.43) vs. Kevin Millwood (10-13, 5.16)

Attendance: 31,954

Game Time: 3:08

GameZone 9/28/2007 @ Safeco

2007-09-28T19:28:00.000-07:00

Texas Rangers (75-84) @ Seattle Mariners (85-74)

Starters: Jeff "Soon to be Just a Dream" Weaver (7-13, 6.30) vs. Edinson Volquez (2-1, 4.40)

Lineups:

SEA
Ichiro CF
Beltre 3B
Ibanez LF
Guillen RF
Clement DH
Johjima C
Morse 1B
Lopez 2B
Bloomquist SS

TEX
Frank Catalanotto 1B
Ian Kinsler 2B
Micheal Young SS
Marlon Byrd CF
Hank Blaylock DH
Jason Botts LF
David Murphy RF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia C
Travis Metcalf 3B

Lets see if we can close out the season with a sweep of the last place Rangers, who were at the forefront of our slide from contention. A season record of 88-74 doesn't look too bad to me.

McLaren and Bavasi Coming Back for 2008

2007-09-28T10:01:00.000-07:00

Well if you haven't already heard it was announced before last night's win that McLaren and Bavasi will be back to give it another go in 2008. I agree with bringing Bavasi back. As much as the entire Mariner Nation has criticized some of the bad decisions he has made, he has made enough good decisions to put a winning team on the field this year. Let's face it, no Mariner fan who follows the team closely expected this team to have 85 wins heading into the final series of the year. Yeah, we're not going to make the playoffs but we've improved our record for the third straight season under Bavasi and have a solid core of players coming back next year that should keep us in the playoff hunt again. While Bavasi hasn't made all the right decisions, he's certainly done well enough to earn himself another year to try and put a team on the field that will make the playoffs.

Now, as far a bringing McLaren back, I gotta wholeheartedly disagree with this move. Yes, McLaren was put in a tough situation when Hargrove "retired" suddenly in the middle of the season. He even kept us in realistic contention through August. You really can't complain about a 40-41 record from a first time manager who took over unexpectedly. However, you can complain about how McLaren has repeatedly proven over the last 81 games that he lacks the ability to make competent decisions in critical game situations. I think Jeff over at Lookout Landing may have put it best when he said that managers rarely get fired for the decisions they make from the dugout, instead it's when they can't run the clubhouse when they get the boot most often. McLaren keeps the clubhouse and Ichiro happy, which is about as good as it seems to get in the Mariner's eyes.

While I understand why McLaren is getting a chance to come back, that isn't going to stop me from complaining about why it is a bad move. McLaren is a 56 year old rookie manager and I think he has shown why he has never gotten a shot to run the show until now. He simply cannot do the little things that keeps a team in contention by helping them win ballgames in critical situations.

He fails to take advantage of lefty vs. righty situations by pinch-hitting late in games claiming that he "doesn't buy too much into whole lefty vs. righty thing". However, on the otherside of the ball he repeatedly takes advantage of lefty vs. lefty (and vice versa) matchups by making far too many bullpen moves. You simply don't need to change pitchers every other batter to match up lefty vs lefty and righty vs. righty at all times. It'll wear your bullpen down, and it certainly wore the Mariner's bullpen out (our starting pitching is partly to blame for this but if McLaren didn't use 7 pitchers every game our great bullpen wouldn't look so ragged right now).

McLaren also seems to be a HUGE believer in toeing the line when it comes to toying with team chemistry. He seems to think our veterans have no backbone at all to stand upon and fails to toy with lineups because of this. Rather than putting the lineup that matches up the best and gives us the best chance to win McLaren would run out the same lineup game after game after game so our "chemistry" wasn't affected. This hurt us for two reasons. The first being that he stuck with Richie Sexson entirely too long this season. Richie was doing terrible, yet, as a veteran, McLaren marched him out there everyday in hopes that he would snap out of it, all the while Broussard sat on the bench rotting away after repeatedly proving he could perform this year.

The second reason this hurt us is because McLaren failed to take advantage of all the young players, including Adam Jones, who came up in late in the season. It was questionable bringing all these guys up, and most of them probably won't have a regular spot on the Mariner roster anytime soon, but if anything they weren't going to do any worse than the regulars during our late season struggles.

First of all Adam Jones could've been worked into the lineup atleast 4 to 5 days a week without drastically cutting into anyone's playing time. It's called giving guys regular rests and most teams do it. There is no reason why Ibanez and Guillen couldn't have gotten a rest about once a week to give Jones a chance to play. Work in DHing Ibanez twice a week (with Vidro starting at 2B one of the games and resting the other) and you get 4 starts a week for Jones and all the veterans should be fresh and happy. The situation with Adam Jones just wasn't as hard as McLaren made it seem. Most of the last two months was wasted for AJ and his great season at AAA seemed to go by the wayside. By the way, take note of the above scenario for next year McLaren, it'll do wonders if you are faced with the same situation for AN ENTIRE YEAR.

Second of all we haven't realistically been in the playoff race for the last two weeks, and playing the young guys more isn't going to hurt anything (not even the team chemistry, if the vets can't deal with the young guys playing late in the season than they shouldn't be on a major league roster). If playing the young guys more would have done anything it would have gave them a chance to showcase their talents to other teams for potential trades. Let's face it, a majority of the young guys who are up with the big club right now don't fit into the big picture too well and the best value they are to the Mariners is as trade bait. If players like Jeff Clement, Jeremy Reed, Wladimir Balentien and Mike Morse would've got a little more time on the field late in the season they may have become more attractive to a team who might be willing to send us a quality starting pitcher. I'm not saying play all of them every day but three of them every game for the last three weeks of the season would've utilized them much better and might've brought better value for these players in any potential trades this offseason.

I'm a big believer that any person can learn and become better at things with time. Hopefully McLaren has learned alot in his 84 games this year as a MLB manager and will take what he has learned into next year. If he does, he might not be as bad a manager as I percieve him at this moment. However, if he doesn't learn from the mistakes that he has made this season, I may die of blunt force trauma to the head by the All-Star break from banging my head repeatedly into the wall watching McLaren make decisions on-par with those that a volunteer little league manager would make.

GameZone 9/27/2007 @ Safeco

2007-09-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

Cleveland Indians (94-64) @ Seattle Mariners (84-74)

Starters: Cha Seung Baek (3-3, 5.48) vs. Paul Byrd (15-7, 4.55)

Lineups:
SEA
Ichiro CF
Beltre 3B
Ibanez LF
Guillen RF
Broussard 1B
Johjima C
Clement DH
Lopez 2B
Bloomquist SS

CLE
Grady Sizemore CF
Chris Gomez 1B
Asdrubal Cabrera SS
Travis Hafner DH
Franklin Gutierrez RF
Casey Blake 3B
Kenny Lofton LF
Kelly Shoppach C
Luis Rivas 2B

Let's hope today's game is less painful to watch from a decision making standpoint than last nights. Baek will get his final chance this year to try and get a step ahead at earning one of the available starting roles for next year. Another blown save by Borowski for a third consecutive night would be awesome. That guy just seems to like to throw straight up gopher balls. I'm amazed that he leads the league with 43 saves with his 5.23 ERA and 1.43 WHIP. This just makes me even more glad that we have JJ. I don't know if it's true because I just got home but I just heard my dad say something about McLaren announcing he might be back next year for sure.....If that's true I'll post a long and well thought out rant about why I might die next year from blunt force trauma to the head....

GameZone 9/26/2007 @ Safeco

2007-09-26T16:00:00.000-07:00

Game 1 (Makeup from snowout in April)

Seattle Mariners (83-73) @ Cleveland Indians (93-63)

Starters: Ryan Feierabend (1-5, 7.33) vs. Fausto Carmona (18-8, 3.03)

Game 1 Lineups:

SEA
Ichiro CF
Beltre 3B
Ibanez DH
Guillen RF
Broussard 1B
Johjima C
Reed LF
Lopez 2B
Bloomquist SS

CLE
Grady Sizemore CF
Asdrubal Cabrera SS
Travis Hafner DH
Victor Martinez C
Ryan Garko 1B
Jason Micheals RF
Casey Black 3B
Ben Francisco LF
Luis Rivas 2B

This first game will be an odd one since we'll be the visiting team at home due to the fact that this is the final makeup game from the snowouts in April. Interesting enough the Mariners have stuck with just about the same lineup because "they want to ensure the integrity of Cleveland's battle for the AL's best record", yet the Indians seem to be mixing up their lineup...Hmmm....Maybe, just maybe, we'll see some more of the youth for the second game. On the good side of things we do get to see young 23 year old phenom Fausto Carmona on the mound tonight for the Indians. Let's hope the Felix ends up being as good as Fausto when Felix is 23.

Game 2

Cleveland Indians (93-63) @ Seattle Mariners (83-73)

Starters: Jarrod Washburn (10-15, 4.36) vs. Jeremy Sowers (1-6, 6.93)

Game 2 Lineups:

SEA
Ichiro CF
Bloomquist SS
Guillen RF
Beltre DH
Mike Morse 3B
Vidro 1B
Lopez 2B
Jones LF
Burke C
Nick Green 2B

CLE
Franklin Guttierez CF
Chris Gomez 1B
Jhonny Peralta SS
Ryan Garko DH
Jason Micheals LF
Trot Nixon RF
Casey Shoppach C
Josh Barfield 2B
Andy Marte 3B

GameZone 9/25/2007 @ Safeco

2007-09-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

Cleveland Indians (92-63) @ Seattle Mariners (83-72)

Starters: Felix Hernandez (13-7, 4.07) vs. Aaron Laffey (3-2, 5.35)

Lineups:
SEA
Ichiro CF
Lopez 2B
Ibanez LF
Guillen DH
Beltre 3B
Vidro 1B
Johjima C
Jones RF
Bloomquist SS

CLE
Kenny Lofton CF
Chris Gomez 3B
Travis Hafner DH
Victor Martinez C
Ryan Garko 1B
Jhonny Peralta SS
Trot Nixon RF
Ben Francisco LF
Josh Barfield 2B

The good news is that the Mariners don't have to face Sabathia in this series since the Indians are getting their rotation in line for the playoffs. The bad news that as I write this the Mariners are already down 3-0. Doesn't look like this is going to be a gem for "The King".

GameZone: 9/23/07 @ Angels

2007-09-23T08:20:00.000-07:00

Seattle Mariners (83-71)@ "Los Angeles" Angels of Anaheim (91-64)

Starters: Jeff Weaver (7-12, 6.21) vs. John Lackey (17-9, 3.13)

Lineups:

SEA
Ichiro CF
Beltre 3B
Ibanez LF
Guillen RF
Broussard 1B
Vidro DH
Lopez 2B
Burke C
Bloomquist SS

LAA
Chone Figgins RF
Orlando Cabrera SS
Guerrero DH
Anderson LF
Casey Kotchman 1B
Matthews, Jr CF
Maicer Izturis 3B
Howie Hendrick 2B
Jeff Mathis C

The Mariners look to delay the Angels inevitable clich of the AL West and stay mathematically alive in the Wild Card race for one more day as they go for a third straight win against the Angels and 84th win of the season. Should be a tough one with Cy Young candidate Lackey on the mound.

Sorry Guys

2007-09-15T20:46:00.001-07:00

Now that school has started, I simply do not have the time to dedicate to this blog. I thought I put together a good core of authors that would make the blog easy to maintain, but I was sadly mistaken. It's awful hard for one person to post as big of a majority of the posts as I have been, especially when there are 7 others that are supposed to be contributing. I figured I would be inactive for about a week and see how many entries were posted in that time. Not surprisingly, there has not been a single post by anyone in the last week. I won't give up on this blog, but we may have to start fresh over the offseason. I will be recruiting new authors over the offseason and I hope we can come back strong in 2008.

GameZone: 9/8/07 @ Tigers

2007-09-08T15:51:00.000-07:00

Seattle Mariners (74-65) @ Detroit Tigers (76-65)

Starters: Jeff Weaver (6-11, 5.85) vs. Nate Robertson (7-11, 4.95)

Lineups:

SEA
Ichiro Suzuki -- CF
Jose Vidro -- DH
Jose Guillen -- RF
Raul Ibanez -- LF
Adrian Beltre -- 3B
Richie Sexson -- 1B
Kenji Johjima -- C
Jose Lopez -- 2B
Yunieski Betancourt -- SS

DET
Curtis Granderson -- CF
Placido Polanco -- 2B
Gary Sheffield -- DH
Magglio Ordonez -- RF
Carlos Guillen -- SS
Ivan Rodriguez -- C
Timo Perez -- LF
Sean Casey -- 1B
Brandon Inge -- 3B

GameZone: 9/7/07 @ Tigers

2007-09-07T15:08:00.000-07:00

Seattle Mariners (74-64) @ Detroit Tigers (75-65)

Starters: Miguel Batista (13-10, 4.59) vs. Justin Verlander (15-5, 3.67)

Lineups:

SEA
Ichiro Suzuki -- CF
Jose Vidro -- DH
Jose Guillen -- RF
Raul Ibanez -- LF
Adrian Beltre -- 3B
Ben Broussard -- 1B
Kenji Johjima -- C
Jose Lopez -- 2B
Yunieski Betancourt -- SS

DET
Curtis Granderson -- CF
Placido Polanco -- 2B
Gary Sheffield -- DH
Magglio Ordonez -- RF
Carlos Guillen -- SS
Ivan Rodriguez -- C
Timo Perez -- LF
Sean Casey -- 1B
Brandon Inge -- 3B

GameZone: 9/5/07 @ Yankees

2007-09-05T12:27:00.000-07:00

Seattle Mariners (74-63) @ New York Yankees (77-62)

Starters: Jarrod Washburn (9-12, 4.37) vs. Phil Hughes (2-3, 5.65)

Lineups:

SEA
Ichiro Suzuki -- CF
Jose Vidro -- DH
Jose Guillen -- RF
Raul Ibanez -- LF
Adrian Beltre -- 3B
Ben Broussard -- 1B
Kenji Johjima -- C
Jose Lopez -- 2B
Yunieski Betancourt -- SS

NYY
Johnny Damon -- LF
Melky Cabrera -- CF
Derek Jeter -- SS
Alex Rodriguez -- 3B
Jorge Posada -- DH
Shelley Duncan -- RF
Robinson Cano -- 2B
Wilson Betemit -- 1B
Jose Molina -- C

8th Inning: Tacoma @ NYY

2007-09-04T19:15:00.000-07:00

Alright so the game got out of hand tonight, and with two innings to go, down by 10, John McLaren surrendered to the Yankees and sent up 6, yes SIX, September callup players to pinch hit back to back to back to back to back to back in the eighth inning (Reed, Clement, Jones, Jimerson, Balentien, Green) and has now used Mike Morse in the 9th as the seventh consecutive pinch-hitter. Not to mention that Rob Johnson is now listed as the catcher and Willie Bloomquist came in to play short. And thats just the madness that transpired with regards to the lineup. As far as pitching goes, Ramirez started and he was followed by O'Flaherty, Morrow, Rowland-Smith, Parrish, and White. Thats 3 of the 5 lefties in the pen and 5 of the 11 available relievers.

In these first two games the Yankees broadcasters have pointed out that the Mariners have a 35 man roster right now and they made a good point in saying that clubs normally don't callup that many players because they just get in the way and can disrupt chemistry. But of course our management has no sense of team chemistry, they've proven that to us. Now I understand that we've have been losing, but I have to agree completely with those guys on that one. This is the most bizarre and absurd things I've ever seen in my life... aside from squirrels climbing foul poles, go figure. I will try to not extend this part of my rant, but let me say that I am completely dumbfounded and critical of this September Mega Roster of Fat that we've sewn onto our already crippling body. This metaphorical "Mariner Man" now has man-boobs that appeared quick enough to make Pamela Anderson jealous.

But anyways back to the game. What bugged the living hell out of me tonight was using all of these roster fillers or stuffers or whatever you want to call the army of raw druid re-enforcements that were recruited for battle (no offense to the callups, but they are young and raw, and we are in a playoff race). When we are in a damn playoff race and we are playing the team that we most need to beat, I want to see my starters playing out there the entire nine innings. I don't care if we are down by 10, 20, 50, or 100 runs (which the Baltimore Orioles have shown us is a real possibility), I want to see us battle for the entire game with the best we've got. Five runs in two innings is not an impossible task. I really don't know what the deal is, but it's like John McLaren just had Christmas in September and ripped his new toys out of the boxes ASAP and had to play with them all. These players are now packed like sardines in a can. How are our veterans supposed to take these guy's under their wings and teach them how to fly when the plane is going down and all hands are in the cockpit trying to keep this baby in the air?
It's lunacy.

Note: It's sad when your top batter according to Yahoo was 1 for 1 with 2 rbi (Balentien)

Another Note: We used 18 position players and 6 pitchers in this game... that's gotta be some kind of record(s). I mean thats like All-Star Game stuff right there.

GameZone: 9/4/07 @ Yankees

2007-09-04T13:34:00.000-07:00

Seattle Mariners (74-62) vs. New York Yankees (76-62)

Starters: Horacio Ramirez (8-4, 6.55) vs. Chien-Ming Wang (16-6, 3.79)

Lineups:

SEA
Ichiro Suzuki
Jose Vidro
Jose Guillen
Raul Ibanez
Adrian Beltre
Ben Broussard
Kenji Johjima
Jose Lopez
Yunieski Betancourt

NYY
Melky Cabrera
Derek Jeter
Bobby Abreu
Alex Rodriguez
Jorge Posada
Hideki Matsui
Shelley Duncan
Robinson Cano
Wilson Betemit

Austin Bibens-Dirkx's Album

2007-09-04T13:15:00.000-07:00

ABD, an outstanding pitcher in our minor-league system who we could see as early as next year, recently released his self-titled album "Austin Bibens-Dirkx" and it is now available on Itunes. Go check it out, he's an extremely talented artist and there is some good stuff on there. Not only is he a great artist, a great pitcher, but after talking to him he's a great person too. He'll definitely be a fan favorite when he comes up.

Note: The only reason he isn't with the Mariners yet is a season-ending injury, but his rehab in Arizona is going well and he's scheduled to have surgery early this month.

GameZone: 9/3/07 @ Yankees

2007-09-03T07:40:00.001-07:00

Seattle Mariners (73-62) @ New York Yankees (76-61)

Starters: Felix Hernandez (10-7, 4.08) vs. Roger Clemens (6-5, 4.15)

Lineups:

SEA
Ichiro Suzuki
Jose Vidro
Jose Guillen
Raul Ibanez
Adrian Beltre
Ben Broussard
Kenji Johjima
Jose Lopez
Yunieski Betancourt

NYY
Johnny Damon
Derek Jeter
Bobby Abreu
Alex Rodriguez
Hideki Matsui
Jorge Posada
Jason Giambi
Robinson Cano
Melky Cabrera

GameZone: 9/2/07 @ Blue Jays

2007-09-02T12:19:00.000-07:00

Starters: Jeff Weaver (6-10, 5.62) vs. A.J. Burnett (7-7, 3.70)

Lineups:

SEA
Ichiro Suzuki
Jose Vidro
Jose Guillen
Raul Ibanez
Adrian Beltre
Ben Broussard
Kenji Johjima
Jose Lopez
Yunieski Betancourt

TOR
Vernon Wells
Russ Adams
Alex Rios
Frank Thomas
Matt Stairs
Lyle Overbay
Aaron Hill
Greg Zaun
John McDonald

Thursday Quote: Enthusiasm

2007-08-30T12:35:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-28T23:00:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-27T23:59:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-27T16:23:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-26T23:59:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-25T23:54:00.000-07:00

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)
\
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)

2007-08-25T23:30:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-08-25T05:32:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-24T20:50:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-08-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-23T20:58:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-23T08:51:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-08-22T22:51:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-22T17:56:00.000-07:00

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....

2007-08-21T22:56:00.000-07:00

...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

2007-08-21T20:21:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-21T15:56:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-21T02:00:00.000-07:00

Shown as games over/under .500

(click pic for better image)

Nightcap: 8/20/07 @ Twins

2007-08-20T20:01:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-20T15:04:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-20T05:19:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-19T19:05:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-19T17:08:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-19T16:22:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-18T21:51:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-17T22:11:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-08-17T14:06:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-16T01:00:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-16T00:40:00.000-07:00

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.