Ready to go.....

We're here. We're ready to go. I've got the Meche jersey on. Heading to Camden in a few minutes. Let's go M's!!!!!

What a difference a day Makes

I was at the end of the proverbial rope with this team yesterday. I felt there was no way they could pull a series win out of the white soxs. It was actually funny, my roommate and I head to a local watering hole close to home on Wednesday’s for Happy hour, which by the way offers 1/2 off wine. Roomy called me saying he was leaving from Kirkland at 5:30 mid rush hour and there was a mariner’s home game so he was going to be a while. I jokingly said not to worry no one goes to the Safe anymore anyway traffic will be fine. Which in many ways is true. Anyway taht was just compounding my disappointment in this squad.

That being said Washburn is this years Ryan Franklin. Not in skill level, washburn appears to be vastly superior but in lack of run support. Last night he got 5 which was nice but Mr. Washburn has pitched well enough for more wins than he currently has. He is showing that he indeed was a nice addition although I am still not sold on the price.

The main thing of this post is a topic I wanted to get others to chime in on. Raul Ibanez. Over the past 2 seasons or so has there been a more consistent guy? Sure he’s numbers are not to die for but they aren’t bad ether. He doesn’t really ever seem to slump, just is always around 300 with moderate HR and moderate Rbi's. He is a guy who I think could take the ropes and lead this team since it seems to me that Sexson doesn’t want to, beltre is to bad too, ichiro doesn’t want to unless he is playing for Japan in the WBC. I think Raul might be a good source. I think I brought this up last year only to be shot down but after taking some time to reflect has anyone’s opinion changed?

Oh and its time to put Soriano as closer and move Eddie to set up, its not that I don’t have faith in Eddie, it is wavering a bit but soriano is so nasty its almost hard to see any other spot for him.

And lastly I dont want to jinx anythign but could alst nights series win put a spark in tehse guys for the road trip? Get ready mike they are coming your way like a runaway train.

Pounded

Seattle
Pineiro 4.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 HR
Livingston, B 1.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 HR
Woods 3.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 2 HR


Ouch.

A win. Yay.

Living on the East Coast can be difficult if you're a fan of a West Coast team. Games start at 10pm and don't end until well after midnight. It's not for lack of dedication to a team, but staying up that late every night wears on you. So, I don't do it. Usually what I do is I put on my XM headphones and fall asleep to the soothing sounds of Rick Rizzs. Most nights I'll wake up at some point, quickly check on the score, put the radio away, and check the final in the morning. Last night was no different. This time when I woke up, it was 2-2 in the 8th inning. Moments later, Raul Ibanez hit the HR to give the M's the lead. I decided I'd listen to the top of the 9th. Then Eddie came. His suckage continues. After he gave up the HR to Brian Anderson....BRIAN ANDERSON....I went to sleep. Grumpy.

But, hey the M's won! Yuni! Of course, it would have been nice to have taken it in the 9th so Putz and Mateo wouldn't have had to get work. But, whatever.

A couple of things....

USS Mariner points out that the M's struggles can be summed up in one word: IchiBeltrxson. There've been some trade rumors too. I'd love to say trade Eddie now, but what value are you going to get for him at this point? He was throwing the hardest he has all year last night, so maybe that's a good thing. If he can get in a few good outings, his trade value will increase. But, it could also get worse and he might become untradable.

OK Mariners. Please win more than one in a row. I'd like to see a team that's playing well come to Baltimore this weekend.

whats up with eddie

When have you ever seen Eddie walk 4 hitters in one inning? When have you seen him walk in the go ahead run? Something is up with him. After the game Eddie said he didn’t know what was going on. He feels good and his pitches are not terrible. He just isn’t the Eddie from before so far this year. This was a big one two, thats two blown opportunities, I realize last night was not a save situation, in less than a week.
Is it time to start the conversation of moving Eddie to set up and soriano or putz to closer? I keep telling myself its only week 3, but from the looks of things 85-90 wins is going to win the west and dammit I think this team can win 80 plus so every game counts!! Discuss............

Comeback Win....Special Guest Writers Neddy Ballgame and Maaaah

Yes, boys and girls, there is life in these Mariners...maaaah! and I were there last night---with a few (very few) thousand of our closest friends---many of those few bailed out well before the fireworks in the bottom of the ninth...and what a ninth it was...but before we got there it was looking like another painful evening at our favorite outdoor restaurant(guy behind us was screaning at Grover for letting Blalock hit with first base open and of course old Hank gets a base knock and then Julio strikes out the next batter!))....

Millwood was on (44 pitches through 4 innings) and Jamie was getting out of jam after jam but a couple of things saved our heart--Ichiro broke through the Mendoza line with a 4 for 4 night (Everett broke through the night before) and Adrian got his first extra base hit and RBI (that caused a sensation in our area ..high fives all around)...our boys kept chipping away and JJ Putz did not give up the extra run looming on third base ( his breaking stuff looked quite good and he wasn't afraid to go to it )..

Then to the 9th(maaaah! made me turn my hat into a Rally CAp --and it worked !!)--I went ballistic when Frankie Cordero hit Ichiro then our man Jose ( he is exceeding all expectation so far in the 2 slot)..thought Raul's high sac fly could have made it out (wishful thinking since it was about 5 feet short of wall) then Ritchie came through to tie it (got to see Matt Lawton as pinch runner) and Jo Mama kept it going --we now have only one out and Buckie boy in the Rangers dugout is gettting nervous so he finally pulls his ace freakin' closer for a leftie who has pitched a total of 1/3 inning to turn my boy ( yes ,I know I was the biggest detractor of this Bavasi signing !) Carl Everett around ( high percentage play since he was hitting even lower righty than lefty ) aad then "Good Bye Baseball" as he walks off and hits the KOMO 1000 sign with a rocket that you knew was gone the second it left the bat -

The Safe goes nuts --almost like a plyoff win--strangers high-fivin', I've lost my voice..what a difference 2 days makes--losing by a walk off on Monday then turning it around last night ...what a great win ..everyone smiling and laughing even the security guy broke out into a smile.

And here is maaah's take:

Is there anything greater than baseball? Until the last 5 seconds of last night's game I thought the most entertaining/memorable thing was going to be the 4 yokels in front of us or maybe mr. baseball encyclopedia behind us catching the fly ball. But in the bottom of the ninth I was reminded of the moments leading to Griffey's rounding the bases in '95. For the 2 thousand of us left watching...cheering our hearts out, Carl the dino didn't disappoint. You would have thought we'd won the world series. That's just how starved we poor Mariners fans are for a winning season...heck...just a win! There is for sure something different in this team from the last 2 years. The one thing that makes a game or a season worth participating in...players with heart. Is there anything greater than baseball?

King less Kingly again

Felix, lets go bud!! You’re better than this. You look at his line and its not terrible but he is leaving pitches out over the plate and they are getting CRUSHED!! Chalk it up to being young and what not but the king has struggled. I think he will get it together and hopefully soon.

There isn’t much to say about last night to be honest it was a game lacking intrigue which is interesting to say since Felix was on the mound and I always was interested to see those games.

Something I want to address is Sexson strike out totals. He seems to be doing it more and more of late. Now I know we were aware of this prior to the signing but over the past few games it just seems like he is doing it alot. A couple games in Boston come to mind where he struck out with less than 2 outs and a runner on third. I am not sure what can even be done to remedy this I just would like to see him put the ball in play more often and get out that way rather than Strike out. Maybe its lofty thinking.

Grover Grover Grover. I know people will tell me its early, and mike would suggest that Managers have little to do with the team in actuality. I personally think its time for him to go. I realize they are not going to cut him loose mid year but at the end I think this is Grover’s last ride or at least I hope it is.

This is a pointless post due to just the lameness of the game last night! Hopefully today will bring something more to the table.

6-8, that's fine

Because of the wonders of XM Radio, I was able to listen to the game this morning as we drove back to Baltimore from Ohio. I screamed at the top of my lungs when Mark Loretta hit the walk-off HR off Eddie G. I was so mad. How great would it have been to split the series in Boston? We'd be 7-7 after a brutal schedule over the first two weeks. But, I didn't stay mad for long. Why? Because I think there's a lot to still be excited about.

For starters, 6-8 against LA, Oakland, Cleveland, and Boston isn't all that bad. The M's took two of those series. Even if the Angels beat the Oreos tonight, they'll only have a 1.5 game lead for first place. No one is running away with the divison. And take a look at who each of of AL West bretheren have played:

Angels (6-6): @ Mariners, Yankees, Rangers, @ Orioles
A's (6-7):Yankees, @ Mariners, @ Twins, Rangers
Rangers (5-8): Red Sox, Tigers, @ Angels, @ A's

The M's? Angels, A's, @ Indians, @ Red Sox. I think it's fair to say we've had the toughest schedule.

The Red Sox series could be a great experience for down the road. Even though they lost 3 of 4, they played TOUGH against one of the best teams in baseball, in one of the most hostile environments, with their top two pitchers throwing. Manny and Ortiz were shut down until today. There is no way the teams of the last two years could have done that.

OK I know this post is sort of turning into a rant, but whatever.

My biggest concern at this point is the rotation. The only one of the starters that can truly dominate is Felix, and even he is going to be shut down after a certain number of pitches and innings. So that means we should only expect to get 5-7 IP a night from whoever takes the hill. This means the bullpen is going to get a lot of work. The bright side is that the bullpen is looking like an absolute strength. Sherrill, Putz (Michigan grad-gotta give credit when he's doing well), and Soriano are just plain filthy. Woods and Mateo are decent enough. I'm not ready to give up on Eddie, but so far he's been the shakiest. My concern is they're going to wear down. We'll have to keep an eye on that. I wonder if we'll see Foppert, Harris, or even Blackley or Nageotte getting some apperances down the road.

Switching gears. Again. Now, I'm of the mind that managers don't really make that much of a difference in baseball. I think for the most part, it's all about who's on the field. But, Hargrove made a decision that really confused me today. It was a 5-5 game in the top of the 9th and Keith Foulke was pitching. Beltre was on first with on out. I thought for sure we'd see Reed, Petagine, or Lawton pinch hit. But no. Willie Bloomquist stayed in to bat. I couldn't believe it. I really can't understand the logic there. Betancourt was coming up next, and he was ultimately pinch hit for. But, why did Hargrove do it that way? Clearly you have to leave at least one of Bloomquist or Betancourt in to play short in the bottom of the ninth. Betancourt's better defensively, and pretty comparable offensively. Why not bring in a better hitter with less outs so he can get the big hit? Beltre was on first and isn't scoring unless someone hits a HR or a deep double. Reed, Petagine, and Lawton are all much more capable of doing that than Bloomquist. You risk him hitting into a double play, or not advancing Beltre. Plus, all those pinch hitters are lefties. I really am having a hard time writing coherently about it, so I'll just hope you all get what I'm saying. Lucky for Hargrove, Wee Willie got a hit. Then Petagine knocked in Beltre so it all worked out. But, still. Am I crazy to question that decision from Hargrove? When it happened, I was thinking that when I made the post there would be swearing involved. So I'm proud of myself for that. I guess this is why Petagine or Lawton might be traded. The M's need another infielder on the bench. If they had that, then both Bloomquist and Betancourt could have been pinch hit for. I know a lot of people don't like Hargrove (and I'm not a fan), and there's been some fire Hargrove talk in the blogosphere, but I don't really see the point of doing that right now. They're playing pretty well (maybe despite the manager but whatever), and I don't know if it would really do a lot of good for the team. I'd like to hear people's thoughts on that.

Felix tomorrow! Two very winnable series against the Rangers and Tigers this week.

Back to .500 and my first Sportscenter appearance

When I found out that the M's would be in Cleveland while I was on my Easter break visiting Ohio with my wife, I was excited. When I found out that Felix would be pitching at the game I was going to, I was even more excited. When Felix looked like crap, the M's were down 4-0, Indians fans were going nuts for Travis "Pronk" Hafner, and drums were being beaten, I wanted to stop being a baseball fan.

But then my wife and I said it: "You know where he keeps that power right? Mmmmm hmmm. In his back pocket." Ichiro goes yard. 4-3. The Tribe adds another run to make it 5-3. But it was in the top of the 6th that my life changed for....a day or two.

When Jose Lopez ripped that home run, it was coming straight at me. And fast. In my mind I'm thinking, "Yes. Good. But....oh....oh my God it's coming right at me. I really wish I had my glove." I made a lame jump for it, but luckily it was too far over my head and the kid behind me (who did bring his glove) caught it. I've never been so glad to not catch a home run ball. There's no way I would have caught that ball, and I would have looked like an ass in front of all those Cleveland fans. Which would have been especially bad since it was college night at Jacobs Field and there had already been fights and other nonsense between Mariners and Indians fans.

A few minutes ago I turned on ESPN, and when the game highlights came on, I saw my lanky self on TV! Tee Vee!!! Couple this with the fact that Moira linked us this week on her P-I blog and I feel like a Z-list celebrity.

But, back to the game. What a great win. Really. How great was George Sherrill when he mowed down Hafner and Broussard in the 7th? And Putz too!

So, I had this great idea for the blog that was shot down by both my wife and Travis, but I'm going to tell the Magic faithful about it anyway. I thought it would be fun to give a game ball out to the player or players who we felt like were the most important to the M's that night. I thought we could take it a step further and, staying with the magic motif, give out a game wand! It was called "chincy", "over-commercialized", "corny", "hokey", and a littany of other unpleasant adjectives. Fine then. So, without further ado, tonight's game ball/wand goes to George Sherrill. I think you'd have to actually be at an Indians game to understand how just annoying their love of Travis Hafner really is, so you may not have gotten quite the devilish pleasure that I did at seeing "Pronk" get mowed down. Regardless, it was freakin sweet.

Boston's next. This first 2 weeks for the M's is absolutely brutal. Two series wins so far which I'm very happy with.

The question is-how good can this team be?

The streak ends and The M's look to win their Second Series

After all the bad from that A's Series our boys are poised to win their second series! 2 of the first 3 series would be an excellent start to the young season. A few things to note from last nights game. I missed the early portion due to a doctor’s appointment, and basically tuned in to find our boy Gilbert struggling as usual. 49 pitches were thrown in the 1st two innings. That my friends are more than Florida marlin Serigo Mitre threw in 5. Who is Mitre? Unless you’re me you probably don't care lol.

The point being Gil is no better in the early part of the season than he was all of the past two. I don't want to jump off his wagon to early but how long are we going to go with this guy in a starting roll. Rolls like what Ryan Franklin had when he was good think 2001.
The offense woke up which was great to see, well all but Beltre who did single and steal a bag but 1 for whatever is not something I want from one of my franchise players.

My favorite thing of last night was when the Indians walked Raul to get to Sexson with the bases loaded. Richie wasted no time in reacting. The first pitch to him was absolutely crushed to deep left field. Raul has been walked to face Richie twice now and in both cases Richie has homered. Are teams gonna learn that walking Raul to get to Richie pisses richie off??
I am a bit concerned with Eddie, he looked rusty again. Let’s hope that it is just early season rust and that he can get into form here.

One last thing to bring up is how big a stud Kenji is. Not only is he hitting and playing defense well, he is so Clutch!! That double had me jumping out of my chair, I thought it was gone. A scaring moment in the 8th I think it was where Kenji on his throw back to the mound hit is hand on the bat of an Indians batter, I forget who was at the plate. Luckily it didn’t look serious and he remained in the game. The last thing he needs is a injury to spoil his fire!!
Tonight is the King as they go for the series win!

Oh and props to Ichiro for breaking outta his "Slump". And of course Raul needs some love for his 4-4 4rbi night. He is Mr. consistency!

Travis Hafner = Seattle Mariners

Lovely quote from The Seattle Times this morning:

Two strikes later, Travis Hafner hit his fifth homer of the season, which tied the Mariners' team total until Jose Lopez smacked a two-run shot an inning later.

This whole sucking thing is getting old.

Start hoping for the Wild Card

Prisoners at Guantanimo Bay can consider themselves lucky. At least they weren't Mariners fans this weekend. 27 innings without a run. 27. As a team. And the first one came how? On a bases loaded hit by pitch. That was brutal.

It's pretty clear that the A's are the class of the AL West. They made the Mariners look silly in every possible way. And let's be honest, the A's were just toying with us when they allowed the M's to get back in the game yesterday. The M's played the Angels tough, but the A's were just on another level. Remember in 1995 when the M's started to get hot but were still 12 back of the Angels? Remember how Jay Buhner said "forget the Wild Card, we want the division" (and then punched someone in the arm)? Mmmmm, not so much in 2006. I say our best hope is the Wild Card. It's fitting that the Indians and Red Sox, two playoff/Wild Card contenders are next on the schedule. Could be an interesting week. Next Monday it may be time to start hoping for .500, or start hoping for a good trade, or start hoping that it's August and there are good football teams to follow.

By the way, I'll be at the game in Cleveland on Thursday. Everybody sing along (to the tune that Wayne and Garth sang "We got five thousand dollars!" in Wayne's World)....I get to go see Felix! I get to go see Felix!

The other day, Travis and I talked about whether or not it was premature to call Beltre a bust. We sort of came to the conclusion that it probably was. But, the grumblings have started. Ted Miller at the P-I says he's "on the brink" of being called a complete bust. There was some discussion at Lookout Landing as well. I've only been listening to the games, but he's striking out, grounding out, popping out, not hitting good pitches, all of the same crap he did last year. But, it's early. Let's give it some time and we'll leave it at that.

Bad Game

Last night's game was a punch to the collective guts of the Mariner Nation. Everything was going so well. Our best pitcher was going and it looked like we were going to make it 4 in a row. But, no. Felix was rusty, the bats were non-existent, and the pitchers walked 11 A's. I would have much rather had this game happen for Meche's start. At least then we would have been expecting to lose anyway.

2 hits? 2. Off Joe Blanton and Justin Dooocheererer. I was thinking that Blanton had done this before, and he did dominate the Mariners last June 29th. But not nearly at the same level as last night.

You know what? There's no point in writing anything else about that game.

This is the beauty of baseball. We've got another one tonight. Moyer vs. Zito. Go M's!

Fairly vs. Rizzs....Round 1 to Rick

Did anyone else hear this exchange on the radio broadcast last night? This isn't verbatim, but I thought it was hilarious.

Scene: SafeCo Field press booth. 2nd inning, 1 out. Jeremy Reed on 3rd. Betancourt at the plate

Fairly: Jeff Pentland has been work with Betancourt on going the other way.This would be a good spot for Yuniesky to do that. He's got a better chance of lifting a ball to center or right than if he tried to pull it. He's more likely to roll one over if he tries to do that.
Rizzs: (cornily-but do I even need to say that with Rizzs?) What about a good old squeeze play? (uncomfortable laugh like he's kidding when he'd actually crap his pants if it really happened).
Fairly: (irritated) It's too early for that. Too early. He should try to lift a ball and get Reed in.
Rizzs: (again with the strange laugh) Well Red the only reason I say it is because third base coach Carlos Garcia just whispered into Jeremy Reed's ear.
Fairly: (sharply) Well, that's a decoy. That's so in case this situation comes up again in the ninth they can do the same thing and the A's won't be expecting it.
Rizzs: (still laughing-you can tell he's dying for the squeeze) Well.... (with unbridled fervor and emotion) ASJSFJ AND THE SQUEEZE IS ON OH MY GOODNESS BUT HE FOULS IT OFF!!!
Fairly: ......

You know Rizzs wanted to rub Fairly's face in that.

Gilbert and Jurassic Carl

Don’t look now but the Mariners are 3-1 and in sole position of 1st place in the AL West. That’s right folks so far the hot start that we all had been clamoring for is currently underway. Last night it was more of the same from the prior two wins. Our Offense scores early and give our pitching staff room to work and actually kind of takes some pressure off.

I was unable to catch anything other than the 9th inning yesterday (due to some Russian Vampire movie (Nightwatch) I went to see, very unique I must say) so most of my account comes from papers and a bit of sports center.

From what I read Meche gave up a solo run in the first on a substantial amount of pitches something like 30. Not a great start but he came back to a better balance later. The mariners came back in the second and put up a 3 spot highlighted by a Jurassic Blast to right. I am going to call every vital Carl Everett HR a Jurassic Blast. I think that is awesome!! But ya he turned on that pitch.

Reed followed up with a gap triple. You know that is the type of hitter I want reed to be. A guy with moderate gap power who can leg out double s and in this case triples. He later would score as well. Something to note, as the Seattle times did, Grover put the Squeeze on only to have Betencourt foul it back.

But the point is they are truly more aggressive this year on the base path and I for one am very happy with that. You don’t just see that in this play but the other night richie tried to stretch a double outta a single, and ibanez advancing to second on his rbi Single when the throw went home. Things of this nature are good to see in this club.

Meche continue into the 6th inning making the Mariners starting rotation 4 for 4 in 60 inning starts. I called into KJR yesterday as Softy had an open segment and I wanted to talk M's. I brought two things tot the table. A.) Kenji is a complete stud so far AND B.) if the rotation is going to give us 6-7 innings a start and 2-3 runs. Man this team is going to be good!!

Wow what a great time it is in mariner land. Let’s keep it going. The king goes tonight!! Could we be looking at a 4-1 start????

New links

Just a couple of changes/additions to the "Baseball Sites" on the right. First, Mariner Housewife has gone big time and is on the P-I's site now. Congrats to Moira. Also, I finally got around to putting up a link to Marinerds. I really like Deanna's perspective and she brings some great knowledge about Japanese baseball to the table. Keep up the good work ladies!


2-1!

Game 3: Washburn Goes 7

Ladies and Gentlemen the mariners win the series!! Well the opening series that is but this was no joke. They took 2 of 3 from the vaunted LA Angels of Anaheim. This was the team that won the west last year. How did a 90-loss team pull this off? Pitching defense and a vastly improved offensive unit. In the series each Start pitched into the 7th inning, most recently Washburn who completed the 7th. Washburn Struck out the last man he faced with a battle cry as he left the mound. It was good to see some fire out there!

Again Mr. Lopez was a hitting start, he may really be coming into his own here folks. If he could put up Ronnie Belliard numbers I would consider him heaven sent! Last night Mr. Lopez went 3 for 5 with a RBI and a run scored. In his AB in the 7th, while he didn’t get a hit, he did hit a slow grounder to second that advanced Ichiro to second and scoring position. What happened next was a Raul single scoring Ichiro in what was a vital run. So far this year Lopez is hitting a cool .462. While this of course has to balance out I'm fired up for this kid.

Big richie doubled in 2 more runs and seems like he hasn't lost a step from last year. What a tremendous signing he has turned out to be. Sexson along with Kenji, I am just in love with Kenji, he is a general out there. I have to wonder how many games a week he is going to be behind the plate is all. Hopefully he will get a few days off from that, but keep the bat in the lineup.

Congratulations go out to Mr. George Sherrill in obtaining his first career Major League Save. It wasn't picture perfect but it was a save none the less.

Overall though yesterday's game was a solid performance. They have another tough test coming today in the form of Oakland. Many have picked the A's to win the West this year, and that just turns my stomach, I hate the A's. Last year I would have gone into this series thinking if we can get one................But as Hendu said on the broadcast yesterday "Come out and support these guys are on fire" Its 3 games hendu but I love the enthusiasm!!!

Win #1. Hopefully the first of many

I'm glad I went to bed when I did last night. I listened to the first few innings of last night's 10-8 win and checked out when it was 6-0. I figured if they were going to lose I didn't want to hear it anyway. But...holy Johjima!! And that bottom of the order produced a 5-run second. Looking good 7-9! (I'll refrain from mentioning our third baseman's performance at the plate.) Like Moyer the night before, Joel pitched decent enough I suppose. 97 pitches through 6 1/3 isn't too bad. I'm sure Lookout Landing or USSMariner will have a post about how he was really a lot worse than it seemed. Putz and Guardado sucked but right now let's take the win. And for the Mariners, they better hope it's the first of many. Here's why....

Thanks to USSMariner, we know that only 20,051 showed up for the game last night. The worst second-game attendance since Safeco opened. And that was following the worst opening night since 1995. I admit I've been impressed that the Mariners have been able to keep high attendance over the last two years. Seattle fans don't get much more fairweather (notice all the Seahawk fans coming out of the woodwork), and two 90-loss seasons are hard to deal with. But it looks like they've had enough. The dancing groundskeepers and Zombie Nation aren't going to keep those turnstiles....uh...turning (can't think of a better verb). The only way to get the Safe hoppin' again is to win some ballgames. I think this team can do that. I like Washburn against his old mates today.

.500! Woo!

Opening Day Blues

0-1. Boo. I listened on my XM (best invention ever) today. That was tough loss (let's make it clear JJ Putz went to Michigan), but I'll take a few positives:

-Johjima's HR. Freaking sweet.
-The bottom part of the order. This is a much better lineup top to bottom than the last two years.
-Soriano throwing 96. (Organ music, angels singing, etc.)
-Petagine! There's your left-handed sock Bavasi. Huge addition to have that pop off the bench.
-Moyer pitched decent enough.
-Fairly said something truly hilarious. After Petagine's HR, Niehaus said the last pinch-hit homer for the M's was by Scott Spiezio against Toronto last year. Fairly says, "I think that was his only hit of the year right?". I LOLed.


Remember 2004? When the Angels came to Safeco and whipped the M's around? Not quite this time. This is a solid ballclub folks. Good lineup, solid bullpen (despite JJ Putz-Michigan grad) Of course, Piniero, Washburn, and Meche are throwing for the next three days so I may be singing a different tune come Thursday.

Here's the recap.