Sunday, July 31, 2005

In other news...

The Mariners played a baseball game today. They lost 9-7 to the Indians.

Piniero was awful. Something is seriously wrong with him. Is he hurt? Will he ever get back to where he was pre-surgery? Is it mental?

George Sherril came in and pitched two strong innings. A lot of people of have wanted to see him up, and the Villone trade made that possible.

I am excited to see what the rest of this season will bring. Snelling will now get regular playing time now that Winn is gone (although he won't be up for a few days because he was just sent down), Olivo is gone so we'll see what happens at catcher, maybe Beltre will put up some consistent numbers.

Oh-and Felix is supposedly starting this Thursday at Detroit.

Saturday, July 30, 2005

Winn Traded....and Olivo....and Villone

Randy Winn has been traded to the San Francisco Giants for Jesse Fopert and Yorvit Torrealba.

We'll get more details later, but Fopert was a top pitching prospect before Tommy John surgery. He's a young arm, so we'll see. Torrealba is a backup catcher.

UPDATE:

Miguel Olivio traded to the San Diego Padres for catcher Miguel Ojeda and reliever Nathanel Mateo.


So far, I think Bavasi has done pretty well. We'll give a more detailed reaction after all the dust has settled.

UPDATE:
The Mariners have dealt Ron Villone to Florida for Yorman Bazardo and Mike Flannery.



My general thought at this point is that Bavasi is building an army. Getting rid of Villone's contract is impressive.

Friday, July 29, 2005

Jim Caple

Mr. Caple, who wrote one of my favorite baseball books, "The Devil Wears Pinstripes" has a wonderful article on Ichiro found on this link, check it out.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=ichiro

Game 101 Indians 6 Mariners 5

I decided to write the most boring recap ever.

Migeul Olivo homered. The ball went really far.
Gil Meche left early with shoulder tightness. I bet that hurts.
Yuniesky Betancourt tripled in his first major league at bat. That's really neat.
The Mariners used 6 pitchers. Boy, that sure is a lot of pitchers.
The Mariners scored 3 runs in the seventh to tie. The Indians won though. Shucks.

Thursday, July 28, 2005

What is that man wearing?




Here he is folks. Jeff Clement. The future of the Mariners. I compare him to Mike Piazza, but left-handed, without a mustache, not peddling shampoo-conditioner hybrids, and not a total tool.

But more importantly, this is the first uniform the poor kid had to wear in professional baseball.

The Richie Sexson Show

Two bombs in last nights win. The first of which was a mammoth upper deck shot to left field. It is bombs like that, that really make you believe this guy could hit one out of the Safe itself. The second shot was really impressive as well as Richie went out deep to right center. He had fouled off several pitches and finally went with one the other way.

Secondly Moyer was really solid, in what could be his last start as a Mariner?!?! I doubt that but he shut the tigers down for 8 innings. Jamie has been solid pretty much all year, which is great and sad at the same time. You like to see Jamie Excel but at the same time you long for that guy to be Joel or Gil and not Jamie.

Back to the game, the Tigers dropped a routine fly ball that cost them three runs, which sort of summed up their game last night. They never really were in the game. Marroth didn’t have good stuff. He was out of the strike zone all night.

It was just good to see a win.

On a side note, this morning like I always do I listen to Mitch in the morning on KJRAM. They had a Twins beat reporter on who said in his opinion Brett Boone will not be with the twins after the trade deadline; not because he was traded but because he had been out right released. It is really sad to see this happen to Brett, his demise was fast and you really like to see a player go out with at least some dignity.

Any new trade news? No, I just have this feeling that they are going to stand pat. I don’t know why I feel that way but I do. Please prove me wrong......................

****************************EDIT*******************************

The USSMARINER is reporting something from the tacoma news tribune that I found really interesting, discuss

"The News Tribune also is the only paper that made it public that Felix Hernandez is going to start for the Rainiers on Saturday, after working out of the bullpen in scheduled relief appearances since his return from his bout with “bursitis”. Saturday is Bobby Livingston’s turn in the rotation, but he was assigned to Everett’s roster to make room for Jorge Campillo, who made his return to Tacoma yesterday.

Now, it may be a bit confusing as to why Livingston got sent to Everett, but its an on-paper move only, a way to clear a roster spot for a few days. A roster spot will reopen for Livingston this weekend when Felix Hernandez is recalled from Tacoma and joins the Mariner bulllpen. Saturday’s start is Felix’s last with Tacoma. He’ll go back to pitching scheduled relief appearances for the M’s during August, and then make several starts in September. "

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Incredible.

Lookout Landing says Snelling has been sent down for Dave Hansen. Good god-WHY?!

Travis and I were talking the other day and figured that the M's would stand pat at the deadline. As much as the non-moves of 2001-2003 pissed me off, I think that could take it to another level. There are certain, very tradeable, players on this team that aren't going to be any part of a successful run in the future. This Snelling move really makes me wonder whether they are going to make a move. Let's make it clear-I am a HUGE Randy Winn fan, but there are some major holes on this team that could be patched (not filled) by moving him. Moves need to made in order to improve the organization. Snelling has earned his chance to see what he can do with regular playing time in the bigs. I just can't believe they did this. WHAT IS THE POINT OF DAVE HANSEN BEING ON THIS TEAM?!!?!?

Okay that's enough venting for now. Prove me wrong Bavasi.

Catcher In My Pocket

The Mariners have announced they've signed their first round draft pick, catcher Jeff Clement, out of the University of Southern California.

The details of the contract have not been revealed. A press conference will be held today at 1 p.m. at Safeco Field.

I say assign him to the AquaSox today, then promote him to the big club to start tonight.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

Game 98: Mariners 5 Tigers 3

When the Mariners signed Richie Sexson this past winter, I was definitely excited. As long as he stayed healthy, the M's would finally have the prototypical cleanup hitter that had been missing since the late 90s. He had 40 HR, 120 RBI potential. But, I felt like he alone wouldn't make the Mariners lineup scary. There was already some speed with Ichiro and Winn, and some decent power in Ibanez. All we needed was a good #3 hitter. Someone who would put up great all-around hitting numbers the way Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, ARod, etc. do. Basically, Sexson with a higher batting average. When the Mariners signed Adrian Beltre, I thought we had that.

Here was a 25-year old who had just come off one of the greatest seasons by a third baseman in history. Some people called it a fluke. But Beltre was someone who had always been talked about as having stud potential, and I felt like he had finally reached that potential. He was approaching his prime years, and it was going to be fun to watch. Needless to say, 2005 has been a disappointment.

But not last night. Last night was what the Mariners shelled out all that money for in the offseason. BelSextreson went back-to-back in the third inning last night, giving Ryan Franklin all the run support he needed. (OK well that's not true, it took a few more hits later in the game, including and RBI single from Beltre and JJ Putz got the win, but whatever). When the M's spent over $100 million in a two-day span in December, it was for July 25th. Without a doubt.

Will there be more to come?

Monday, July 25, 2005

What A Road Trip

Another loss to complete a masterful 1 and 5 road trip. There isn’t much to say about this game. I watched the later innings when the mariners gave the game away. I three run bomb moved the game out of reach for our Hometown nine. Hitting on this tripe started out great but as the trip moved on I saw a lot of 4 hit or less games, or at least I feel that way.

What can we say, Beltre hit a HR, Sexson is still the MVP on offense on this team. Morse needs some Defense work but still hits like a machine. Yawn lets get some excitement.
I really am bummed about this team of late, I am hopeful though that a trade will be made to better the mariner's Future. There is no way we can get pavano for winn, don’t even kid yourselves. But prospects would be nice. This morning on KJRAM they are going over how the mariners worry about their image and how that is going to hurt them in the long run. They may feel to loyal to certain players to do what is best for the team.

I just long for the old days, the miracles that happened. Long Win streaks, high offense, great pitching. The town was abuzz with mariner pride. I remember when John Keister, the host of our Local "Almost Live" Show, came out in a mariners Jersey. At one point would have been considered a joke to start of the Comedy show but instead he was fired up and the crowd gave a standing ovation, hooting and hollering, Pumping their fists and High fiveing each other reminiscent of the Hive Fiving White Guys. Where have those days gone?? Its hard not to get fired up for the days of old, but that’s the problem, I can get fired up for the days of old, but I cannot for what lies ahead. The luster is gone, but hopefully Mariner nation can somehow bring it back.

I really don’t want them to overpay for a guy, but perhaps teams will overpay us. There really isn’t a guy out there that makes me think wow if we can snag him.....fill in the blank. Right now there are a bunch of Jeff Suppans, and guys like that. Not someone I think the mariners need.

Hop on the Trade Rumor Bus

Everybody in! We're going to take a wild ride on the Trade Rumor Bus over the next 6 days. From todays' Seattle Times:

"Yet, Winn going to the Yankees remains an intriguing possibility. What would Seattle get in return?
One guess is pitcher Carl Pavano, who is on the disabled list but someone the Mariners had great interest in as a free agent last winter."

Very interesting. I wasn't too fired up about Pavano in the offseason, but to get him for Winn would be a good deal I think.
Pavano is 29, and had his best season in 2004 (18-8, 3.00 ERA, 222.1 IP) which made him a lot of money this past offseason. I still don't think he's worth what he's making, but maybe the Yankees would agree to pay part of the deal. Looking at the M's starting pitching situation for 2006, Pavano might be a good move.

Also, Travis brought up the rumor he heard of Meche to the White Sox a few posts back. Jayson Stark had mentioned Jose Contreras and prospects. The White Sox are being mentioned by Peter Gammons and others as being involved in the AJ Burnett sweepstakes. The name being mentioned the most is BrandonMcCarthy. If McCarthy were one of the prospects that the M's could get in return for Meche, I would like that deal. He is the White Sox top pitching prospect, and has been called up at least once already this year. It's unlikely that McCarthy is one of the prospects that would come along with Contreras, but it'd be very nice.

Anyway, none of these rumors may come to fruition, but it's fun to talk about. Especially after that pathetic road trip.

Saturday, July 23, 2005

Game 95 Mariners 4 Indians 3

Say what you want about the 2005 Mariners. Phrases often uttered during this season range from "Dammit Gil!" to "These kids are fun!" to "Why is Spiezio alive?" to "When is Eddie's shoulder gonna fall off?". But, you can't honestly say, "These guys are as bad as last year." They're just not. Granted, they can't put a consistent string of wins together, and they get swept every time Mike L attends a series, but they still aren't the pathetic black-hole of a team that was the 2004 Mariners.

Last night the M's had 4 hits and won. When's the last time that happened? OK I'll bite.

(Pause for 10 minutes while Mike L browses through the box scores of low-scoring wins over the past couple of years)

OK forget it. I wanted to be able to put a link up, but honestly, who would click on it?

Back to the game. The biggest of those 4 hits was Ichiro's 2-run homer in the 8th to give the Mariners the win. Every time Ichiro hits a home run, someone is bound to say, "You know he could probably hit 30 a year if he wanted to. He keeps that power in his back pocket." That's a load of crap. Does Ichiro see a pitch and think to himself, "I could definitely hit this out of the park, but I think I'll slap it on a high bounce to the shortstop and see if I can beat the throw."

The pitching was pretty solid. Jamie Moyer continues to be the M's best starter. Trading him would make quite a bit of sense to me. There are certainly contenders that could use a starter (Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles), Moyer isn't going to be around next year anyway, and it'd be nice to see him get another shot at the postseason.

I didn't see this play, but in the Seattle Times write up today, there was mention of the "wheel play" that the M's pulled off. From the article:

"Called only with runners on first and second, the wheel requires the third and first basemen to charge hard and make a play to third, where the shortstop has headed to cover the bag."

Whatever. Sweet. Meche on the hill tonight against Cliff Lee. Despite his inconsistency, Gil could end up with 15 or 16 wins on the year.

Friday, July 22, 2005

Sweep Jay's 6 M's 3

So the Jay’s swept the Mariners. Morse handled 4 consecutive outs to start the game giving everyone a big sigh of relief here at the Magic. However later in the game he made an erratic high throw that cost the M’s a run and on another grounder, which wasn’t ruled an error, he botched another play. It was just a rough series in the field for our boy. I have faith though that he will bounce back.

Joel said that this was the best he felt all season. I would be fired up about that if he had gone 8 giving up one and striking out 5. But instead with Joel feeling better than he has all season he goes 6 and gives up 5 while striking out 4. It may not be that awful of a start for young Mr. Piniero, but 5 runs is to many from a guy touted to be your number one starter.

Good things about the game are Richie Sexson who continues to be worth ever penny we gave him. David Locke of KJRAM broke down, using his insane stat talents, the top 3 most clutch players in all of major league baseball. It was something like the hitter’s average with men in scoring position combined with H.R.’s hit with men on base or something to that nature. The top three were Gary Sheffield, Manny Ramirez, and our Boy Richie Sexson. It was interesting to see that note and reaffirms how valuable Richie has been and will continue to be to the Mariners.

Tonight’s series begins with Cleveland a young team. You really have to love what Cleveland did a few years back, there consecutive sell outs were lost and the monster teams they rolled out year after year in the late 90’s and early 2000 were getting old. So what did they do? The dealt almost everyone for top prospects and had a very fast turn around as those prospects grew. They are now in contention, or at least challenging. Lets hope Mariner management has looked at their model and is at least applying some of their techniques.

Thursday, July 21, 2005

No love for our boy

Jim Callis answered some questions on ESPN.com today. Take a look at the one about the Mariners shortstop depth.

He says, "It's still difficult sorting out the Mariners shortstop prospects, but I'll take another crack at it: Jones, Betancourt, Tuiasosopo, Cabrera, Morse (I think he's playing over his head in Seattle right now), Navarro."


Our boy Mikey Morse is 5th out of 6th on that list. I wonder if his defensive liability is going to push him to a different position. I still like Mikey's attitude and hustle. He's gotten some big hits too. He may not be the long-term answer at short, but I think he will be good Mariner for a while.

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Game 93: Jays 9, Mariners 4

Nice.

I'd love to say that Ryan Franklin overcame a 10-day layover, and continued his excellent July. However, the only excellent thing about his start was his uncanny ability to overcome Mike Morse errors by giving up homeruns. It seems he saw Aaron Sele's start, and thought he could match it. "Heck, I could do better!" 5.2 innings, 8 runs, 2 homers.

Unfortunately, Franklin wasted four runs of support - that's three starts in a row with at least four - and three (3!!!!) homeruns for the second consecutive game. The final would have been much closer were it not for a handful of spectacular plays from Toronto's defense. Orlando Hudson was especially thornish, squelching a couple of possible rallies.

Ibanez put up the first run with a nice blast. He might even get to 20 this year. Sexson and Spiezio went back-to-back in the eighth. Richie's was a moonshot off the upperdeck in left.

The fact the M's enter the series finale down oh-two would be pretty depressing, except six home runs in two days for this team is enough to ignore the pitching woes for one day and throw a party!

I'm gonna bust open a pop (spoken like a true Northwesterner) and toast the offense. Way to go dudes!

Being Tall: Fireworks and Other Hazards

When Bill Bavasi signed Richmond Lockwood Sexson in December, he'd undoubtedly heard from Pelekoudas and the Mariner scouting department that the prospective first baseman was pretty tall. At 6'8", Sexson would supply a punchless, meak-as-a-mouse line-up with some Ruthian power and intimidation. He also bet on Richie's gangly left arm snatching a couple of those high-arching rainbow throws from shallow center that Boone unleashes after tracking down a grounder up the middle. "Tall means good, right?" he asked his front office pals. "Sure, sounds good Bill," they answered back. "It worked out with the basketball team and that McIlvaine guy," chimed in Lincoln on the speaker phone. Let's just say, the Mariner executives we're drooling over the possibility of adding that elusive power forward type to their line-up.

But while they were clear on the slugger's precise altitude, it's doubtful they had the inside intelligence on what has apparently transpired this July. Since the Fourth of July, the Mariners' clean-up man has embarked on a two-week stretch of hitting that can lead Mariner Magic to only one conclusion:

It stands to reason that on Independence Day, Richie Sexson's enormity finally got the best of him. On that night, he was simply too tall.

As he casually stood to observe Seattle's Fourth of Jul-Ivar's Fireworks display over Puget Sound, the trajectory of a misguided spark passed through the coordinates of Sexson's sizable, loftily-positioned head, setting his golden locks ablaze. After the considerable shock subsided - not to mention the panicked head-bobbing in a bowl of Ivar's famous clam chowder to put out his flaming hair - Sexson took the residual heat and lit his bat on fire to the tune of a .422 batting average over 12 games.

Since that fateful spat with a firework, Richie has been worth his riches. 19 for 45. Four HRs, three doubles, seven walks, and 13 RBIs in 12 starts. His average has rocketed from a disappointing .242 to an acceptable, even Buhner-esque .264. Seven multi-hit games?! Now that's the hotness.

Doubt Refusing To Lose's shocking research? Try to prove us wrong. We'll leave you with this: we haven't seen Richie take off his cap for quite some time...

UPDATE: Not convinced? Further evidence - 2 for 4 tonight, with a mammoth two-run homer.

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Game 92 Blue Jays 12 Mariners 10

Watching the Bottom Line on ESPN today, I see that Miguel Olivo is 4 for 5 with 3 HRs in his career against Ted Lily, tonight's starting pitcher for the Blue Jays. So, naturally, Pat Borders got the start.

This game was definitely about offesne. It was an entertaing loss. Beltre and Sexson both homered, which is sweet. But for the Mariners this game was really about three bad pitchers. One who needs to go, one who needs to pitch once in a while, and one who will continue to receive venemous words from Mariner Magic.


The first is Aaron Sele. He's had a couple of nice outings, including a shutout against the Padres on May 22. But he was 0-4 with an 8.72 ERA over his last 4 starts going into tonight's game. Tonight he lasted 3 innings, gave up 6 runs on 6 hits. He also walked three guys. It's time to try something else with that spot in the rotation. A trade may happen, but for now I think it makes sense to bring up someone from Tacoma. Cha Seung Baek isn't exactly lighting up the minors, but he does have some major league experience, including a dominant performace last September 26th against the Rangers in which he went 8 shutout innings. Sele is old and isn't worth keeping on. It's too early to bring up Felix Hernandez. I say go with Baek.


After Sele was lifted, Shigetoshi "I pitch once every two weeks" Hasegawa came in. At one point Niehaus said, "that's five consecutive laser beams hit off Shiggy." Wow. Hopefully for Shiggy, he'll get traded to a team that will use him once in a while. I like him a lot, and still think he could be valuable to a contender that could use some bullpen help (can you say Boston?).

The third is Matt Thornton. He is garbage. I leave Matt Thornton out in the alley for pickup on Monday and Thursday mornings.


Two relievers have been DFA'd over the past couple of days. The first is Shingo Takatsu. He started the year as the White Sox closer, but hasn't panned out. I thought he may be worth considering for the M's, but then I looked him up and saw that he's OLD. The other was Alan Embree, the lefty setup man from the WORLD CHAMPION BOSTON RED SOX (that one was for neddy ballgame). Again, Embree's not young, so not worth going after. But those are two Sox teams that could very well be looking for bullpen help. I've proposed Shiggy, but Villone could be enticing to either of those teams as well.


Scott Spiezio has one hit on the year. Even the kid in little league with coke bottle glasses whose dad made him play and sat on the bench reading got more than one hit during the year.

More Moves that make you say.....HUH????

They sent Chris Snelling down to make room for Dave Hansen coming off the DL. Why do we even have Dave Hansen.

Taken from the Seattle Times:

"Hansen, who is hitting .194 this season, was placed on the DL with tendinitis in his left elbow on July 3. The 36-year-old was signed to a minor-league contract by Seattle on April 28 and recalled from Tacoma on May 4.
Snelling, 23, appeared in four games with the Mariners, going 0 for 5 with two walks. He hit .363 with seven homers and 40 runs batted in in 57 games at Class AAA before being recalled to Seattle."

Good thing we are playing for the future. Jesus this move makes me mad. I guess I could look at it this way at least Snelling will play everyday now rather than ride the bench. I mean 5 at bats??? Thats garbage play him if your gonna call him up. Release Hansen whats the point of having him seriously.


Update:

USS Mariner and Lookout Landing are both saying that Snelling never reported to Tacoma. In fact, he is in Toronto with the big club. This likely means that someone has been traded. Randy Winn? Interesting stuff......

Another Update:
Ok now it seems that Hansen wasn't really healthy enough to come off the DL. Snelling is just resuming his same spot on the bench.

Monday, July 18, 2005

First Half in Review....

After an exciting offseason, it's been an interesting first half for the Mariners. Before we go into analysis, we'll show you the numbers. Here are the M's team numbers and AL rankings for the first half of the season. Thank you ESPN.com and Baseball Prospectus for the stats. If you are interested in more numbers, click on the links. So no one gets nitpicky, we realize that the true first half ended a few games ago at Game #81, but whatever. OK the numbers:

Offense
Runs-377 (13th in the AL out of 14 teams)
Batting Average-.259 (14th)
Home Runs-63 (14th)
OBP-.318 (14th)
SLG-.390 (14th)
OPS-.708 (14th)
Doubles-162 (5th-WOOHOO! I had to find something)

Starting Pitching:
ERA: 4.87 (12th)
WHIP: 1.46 (12th)
K/BB: 1.34 (14th)
K/9: 4.44 (14th)
BAA: .278 (9th)
IP: 513.1 (9th)


Relief Pitching
ERA: 2.99 (3rd)
WHIP: 1.22 (2nd)
K/BB: 1.82 (10th)
K/9: 6.81 (9th)
BAA: .217 (1st)
IP: 243.1 (7th)


Defense
Defensive Efficiency: .716 (3rd in majors)


Here are our thoughts:

Mike L: Coming into the season, I was fired up. I thought we'd see an exciting offense with the additions of Sexson and Beltre. I thought Boone and Ibanez would flourish with those guys in the lineup. It was going to be fun to watch Reed and Olivo grow. Ichiro and Winn would score 100 runs each. The starting pitching was questionable, but I thought good enough to keep us in most games. Joel Piniero and Gil Meche were going to have to grow up. Overall, I was expecting an 80-82 win season with hope for the future.

Um. Not quite. The offense has been putrid. Look at those numbers. Dead last in the AL in almost every category. Despite his recent improvements, Adrian Beltre has been a disappointment. The clock ran out on Boone, Olivo has been garbage in every possible way. Sexson has given us pretty much what I had expected. Big HR and RBI numbers, but not much else. The most important thing about Richie is that he's stayed healthy (knock on wood). The pitching hasn't been much better. The most glaring numbers to me are the K/BB and K/9 numbers for the starters. Thank God the M's have one of the best defenses in the league. They need a guy or two in that rotation that will strike some guys out. Meche and Piniero have been inconsistent, and I've vented my frustrations with that in earlier posts. Going by the numbers, the bullpen has been the strength of this team. Eddie Guardado is easily the M's MVP of the first half.

Looking towards the second half, there are some things to look forward to. For starters, Beltre has been hitting much better of late. He could be the next Mariners superstar, and I hope he builds on his recent success with a monster second half. Ichiro has started to get going as well. The young bucks we love so much here at Mariner Magic will continue to make growth. I'd like to see Rene Rivera is up sometime soon. The trade deadline is approaching, and some moves will likely be made. I hope Bavasi comes through. Most important, the Mariners just SWEPT the Orange County Angels of The San Andreas Fault. Are you kidding me? Where did that come from? There is something very eerie about that. In order to reach .500 for the season, the M's need to go 42-33. That's doable, and would be great to see, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was more like 33-42.

Travis -Big Daddy-

Well the first half has been nothing but a dissapointment for me. As Mike pointed out the offensive statisitcs are putrid. And the rotation whcih for me had promise has been inconsistant at best.

Lets start there witht he pitching staff. As my collegues know I am big pitching first baseball mind. Now what we had was a solid young foundation, or so I thought. I felt taht Meche was going to contnue to grow and succedd much like he did in the second half last year. Pinero I felt was going to take the moose by the horns and really take over the #1 role. Moyer was going to be liek a second picthing coach for these two and teach them to pitch and not throw. Madritch I felt was going to come in and really position himself as a solid #3 or 4 guy. He has all the tools. Injuries hurt him serverly but I have hopes he can recover and come back. I wanted franklin in the rotation. He deserves it. People rip him left and right but this guy is a innings machine. Guys like franky save your bullpen over the corse of a long season. He is #4 or 5 starter at best, but I would argue that he is the best #4 or 5 guy in the league. Putting him in the bullpen was a dumb idea he is a starter. Sele for as decent as he has been should not be here. I would have much rather seen a young guy take his spot on the roster.

The pitching may yet come around but for now there is only one word that discribes it. Inconsistant. You really never know what you are going to get when any one of our starters trot out there.

New Trade talk

Jason Stark reported this morning that the hot name in trade rumors surrounding the Mariners is none other than Mike's Boy Gil Meche. He said that if the White Sox's lose out on AJ Burnett then it is very likely that they will go after Gil. Stark went on to say that the package offered was interesting, which included Jose Contraras and prospects. I for one would rather just get prospects and let them keep Jose, I think he’s garbage. Just a tidbit for ya I’ll see if I can dig up some more info later.

Friday, July 15, 2005

1st game back, Reverting to old stuff

The game started out with promise. Willie drove in one and then 2 errors, one on the same play as his hit, allowed two more runs to score. I remember sitting there thinking this is great they are capitalizing on other teams error's and keeping the pressure on. Sele then proceeded to do what the Mariners pitching staff has done all too often, fail to protect a lead. Sure he went up there the next inning and shut them down but after that the O's were able to score in consecutive innings for 3 straight, while the Mariners were yet again shut down by a .500 pitcher.

It’s really sad how they make most of these .500 or sub .500 pitchers look like dominant all-stars. I mean last night a 7-7 4.70 era Daniel Cabrera just manhandled the Mariners. If it were not for a few errors on throws from his infielders he would have only given up 1 run. He gave up 2 hits............ are you kidding me, am I reading this right we got two freakin hits!!!! You know who else only allowed 2 hits last night? Rich harden who had a perfect game going into the 8th inning. That was Daniel Cabrera's equal last night. Reading the box score is just making me angry.

Other things of note, Boone struck out in his first AB as a twin, looking I might add then proceeded to fly out in his last 3 AB's. Not a great Debut but it of course could have been worse.

Palmeiro as everyone knows is seeking 3000 hits, and got a bit closer last night with a single to right field. The crowed boo'd as Palmeiro walked in his following AB and boo'd again as Palmeiro was left in the one Deck circle in the top of the 9th. Palmeiro has destroyed the mariners over the years so if I had to bet he is going to hit his 3,000 tonight. It will be a good moment and something that should be recognized with respect, which I am sure it will.

Tonight’s game features Pinero vrs Lopez in a dynamic pitching match-up that rivals the likes of Clemans vrs Johnson, or The D-train vrs say Prior.........................well I can dream can't I.

Thursday, July 14, 2005

Beat you to it Bob!

It's pretty clear that Bob Finnigan is a closet Mariner Magic reader. In today's Seattle Times, he points to Joel Piniero and Gil Meche as being the keys to a successful second half of the season. Um, been there, done that.

The O's are in town. I live in Baltimore, and the one time I am in Seattle to see the Mariners play, it's the damn Orios. How bout dem O's hon?!

First half review will be posted soon.

Monday, July 11, 2005

A NEW TWIN

At the last minute the Mariners Traded Brett Boone to the Minnesota Twins for a Player to be named later. Details are not very specific at this time but it is widely speculated that the Mariners will be paying most of Boone’s 4 millions plus salary still due to him. More information will be posted as I find it out.

Sunday, July 10, 2005

Sweep!


The Broom is Back. The Rally Monkey wants to borrow it though so he can beat himself in the head with it.


The Mariners just swept the Angels. I am speechless. Discuss.

Saturday, July 09, 2005

200 WIN CLUB!!!

Who is able to tell which team is the first place team and which one is the last place. All indications point to the Mariners being the dominant team. Last night the Mariners received a stellar performance from the crafty left-hander Jamie Moyer in what turned out to be his 200th career win. He also became only the 25th left-hander in the history of the game to reach that plateau.

This game was another great one to watch, offensive outbursts as well as stellar defense. Beltre had an incredible snag of a grounder that he clearly was upset about. He wanted to turn two but just the fact that he was able to get a glove on the ball was impressive in itself.

Moyer however deserves the spotlight. He has been the constant professional thought-out his tenure with the Mariners. When leaving the game his trademark tip of the hat to the umpire shows his unflappable class. Our hats here at Mariner Magic are off to you Jamie. He has been one of the greatest mariners in the team’s history.

Don’t look now folks the M’s are about to take the first 3 of the 4 games set with the Angels. Could we be seeing yet another swing………this time for the better? Anything’s possible.

Friday, July 08, 2005

Game 84: The power of Mariner Magic

Well it's pretty clear the influence of Mariner Magic. Two days ago Joel Piniero and Gil Meche were called out on this blog. How does Joel respond? A complete game against one of the best teams in the AL. He only struck out two guys, but he used his defense. The 16 groundouts to 9 flyouts is encouraging. Now it's your turn Gil.


Need more proof of the power of Mariner Magic? Yesterday, Travis asked for more PT for Willie Bloomquist. He played again.


Still not convinced? From yesterday's game recap: "Lopez has to get work in the field and it showed last night with errors that resulted in unearned runs". From today's Seattle Times: "Lopez had a nice defensive night," Hargrove said. "He made good plays on grounders, but that pivot he made on the double play was great. He stayed right there and got it done."

Not to mention the curse of the Gil Meche jersey.

If you're not in awe yet, you might want to check and see if you still have a pulse.

Thursday, July 07, 2005

Game: Royals Better than M's

Ok so the title may be stretching it a bit but this was a game that I think we are going to see repeated over the rest of the year. Lopez has to get work in the field and it showed last night with errors that resulted in unearned runs.

The name of the game on the offensive side seemed to be lets leave as many people on base as we can. The M's had runners everywhere but were unable to take advantage of that. Beltre and Sexson both hit into double plays ending potential rallies. But hey stuff happens.

As good as Sele has been, and he has been a surprise, its time to cut ties. I mean if your gonna commit to the future, which Sele is clearly not a part of, then let him go and lets get some fresh arms up here. It's time to bring up new guys let them get 4-5 starts. I do think though that when Bobby is ready that will be the end for Sele. I just want it sooner rather than later.

So anyway KC wins with Runelvys Hernandez as he allegedly changed speeds well. Apparently he has a dynamite changeup, which is clear from his 6-9 record and his miniscule 4.53 era.
But anyway, trade rumors are the thing I am most interested in. Last night rumors started of a Boone for Kyle Loshe trade, which I would do in an instant.

Lastly it was good to see Willie get more PT, its no secret that I am a fan of his like our buds over at USSMariner. Actually they hate him but he is hot right now so keep playing him!!! Oh and Bavasi is on KJRAM this morning it will be interesting to see what he has to say.

Edit:

Bavasi brought very little to the table on the radio this morning. He said that they would undervalue a trade for Boone but their main intention is to find him a solid home. Yadda yadda, get something for him please, anything. He said that they are still trying to make the club better this year. I don't like that mentality. Sure try to get better, but do it in way where you are developing players. Anyway he didn't say anyhting I hadn't already read elsewhere.

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Game 82: Royals 8 Gil Meche....Done?


Will this jersey suffer the fate of Bob Wolcott and Russ Swan jerseys?


In 2003, Gil Meche was rolling. I had graduated from college in 2002, and, having worked for a year, I was ready to pony up the money for an M's jersey. The only question was-who do I get?

Ichiro? Nah. He's the superstar, but he doesn't do it for me like Griffey, Randy, or even ARod before he was evil.
Boone? No thanks. He's good and all, but the short-man disease is too prevalant.
Cameron? Love him, but so does everyone else.
Olerud? That's something a soccer mom would buy.

The decision was becoming difficult. If only it were 5 years earlier. It would have been Griffey in a heartbeat. I was home from Baltimore in June, and the M's were having a great year

It came down to two pitchers for me. Freddy and Meche. I loved Freddy. Still do. The guy is so great to watch when he's not imploding. But Gil Meche was looking like he was living up to the expectations that go along with being a first round pick and a stud pitching prospect.

I decided on Meche. When I bought the jersey, Gil was 10-3 with a 3.27 ERA. Over the rest of the season, he went 5-10 and his ERA finished at 4.59. In 2004, it was more garbage. He got off to such a rough start (1-5 6.97 ERA), he was sent down. When he was called up, he went 6-2 and lowered his ERA to 5.02.

Coming into this year, I felt like Gil Meche and Joel Piniero were going to be major keys to the success of this team. With the way Meche finished last year, I was expecting him to continue making strides towards being a good #2. The combination of Gil and Joel would rival any #2 and #3 in the league. Once the M's added an ace, the staff would be nasty. They were both young and would be a huge part of the M's future.

Unfortunatly, both of those guys have been inconsistent and frustrating this year. It's really disappointing. If it keeps up, and as I look at the starting rotation, I don't see anyone who would be part of the M's future plans. Sele and Moyer are probably done after this year, and Franklin is a decent 5th starter, but nothing worth getting too excited about.

In today's Seattle Times, you can tell that Hargrove is frustrated and Meche has no confidence. Pat Borders thinks he has ace stuff. Gil Meche and Joel Piniero-I am calling you out. STEP IT UP!!!


On a more cheery note, Beltre continues to get hot. The patience and singles hitting approach he took for a few weeks there has built up to some more power numbers. 4 HRs in the past 7 games. Now that's someone worth getting excited about. A core of Beltre, Reed, Lopez, Morse, Ichiro, Sexson, and now Snelling are what we should be focusing on right now. Willie Bloomquist also had a good game last night, and I wonder if a contender would be interested in him. He's got some speed and versatility on defense. He could be a nice addition to contending team, and worth considering as part of a trade package.

Oh, and Snelling is starting tonight.

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

The 2001 M's vs. History

Beyond the Box Score has looked at where the 2001 M's stack up against history. It's pretty interesting and worth taking a look. There are a lot of numbers, but the most important one is that the 2001 Mariners are statistically the 13th best team of all-time.

I was lucky enough to be in Seattle for the summer of 2001, and it was really an amazing time. You expected them to win every night. Even when they were losing, you knew they were going to pull it out. That regular season rivals the 1995 run.

But that postseason was rough. I was at Game 3 of the ALDS against the Indians. 17 to 2. We left in the the 6th inning. But, the M's did pull that series out.

Then of course there was Game 4 of the ALCS against the Yankees. That was the worst one. It was the weirdest game too. Paul Abbout threw 5 innings of no-hit ball, but walked eight guys. There was no scoring until the 8th when Boone knocked one out. I thought for sure we had it then as the strength of that team was the bullpen. But then came Rhodes vs. Bernie Williams and Sasaki vs. Alfonso Soriano. That one hurt. Could have tied the series at 2-2, and Lou's guarantee of the series moving back to Seattle would have been fufilled.

OK sorry for that. Thank you Retrosheet for the box scores.

But we keep the faith. I thought the Red Sox were never going to win it after the Aaron Boone debacle in 2003, but their 2004 run has given hope to all of us fans who are desperately waiting for a championship.

Sunday, July 03, 2005

Goodbye Boone!

Boone has been DFA'd.

In ten days there will be no more bat flips, frosted tips, spastic 2-strike stance, helmet throwing after ground outs, and sadly deterioated defense at second base.

I like this move. It tells me the FO is being proactive and doing what they can to set this team up for the future. I am excited to see what Snelling can do.

We'll always appreciate the good years, but it's time to move on. Your thoughts Mariner Magic Faithful?



Good luck Bret.
pretty much sums up my feelings.



Beltre does seem to be heating up but at this point it doesnt matter. This team is just frustrating.

Friday, July 01, 2005

YET ANOTHER DEBACLE

Beltre 3 errors on the field. Meche and the rest of the staff decides to walk everyone in the A' line-up. You know its going bad when your closer comes in a blowout game because he "Needs Work". This is just bad baseball folk’s. The games are not fun to watch or listen too.

They announced on ESPN that the Giants might be Shopping Jason Schmidt. I was all fired up but then the announced the teams showing interest, and guess what thee mariners were not one of them. He is local guy and a dominant number one starter but no apparently that’s the wrong direction the mariners are going. Pick it up Bill. We need help and there are options out there. I like AJ burnett too but I hear he might want 10 mill a year and frankly he is not worth that kind of money. Ill take him for 5-6 mill but 10 is defiantly over paying for him.

Seriously though what am I suppose to say about the recent Mariner games. They are playing Olivo again which pisses me off. I need to stay positive though I love this team and I have to keep faith that they will fix this............