Super Bowl Update

By Kshell

The Seattle Mariners ace finally did what so many expected he could do which is throw a no-hitter. Felix Hernandez even out-did his lofty expectations Wednesday afternoon at Safeco Field when he threw a nine inning complete game perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays. It was the first perfect game in the Mariners 34 year history as Hernandez becomes only the 23rd pitcher in baseball history to throw one and third to throw one against the Rays since 2009. The Mariners won the game 1-0 which was the same score of the Mariners last no-hitter which happened earlier this season when the Mariners threw a combined no-hitter to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0. For Hernandez who threw 113 pitches while striking out 12 batters including the last one as he caught Sean Rodriguez looking. Hernandez was touching 95 miles per hour in the 9th inning and continues to show why he is one of the games most dominant pitchers if not the games very best. For Hernandez who is easily the face of this city this has been a terrific moment for him. He has flirted with no-hitters in the past and to finally see him throw one was incredible. The Seattle Mariners have been a terrible franchise this past decade but every fifth day since 2005 at least we have the chance to see Felix Hernandez one the elite pitchers of our lifetime.

Hernandez has been on a roll lately and is now 11-5 on the season with a 2.60 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. He has four complete games and four complete game shutouts this season and has thrown 180 innings striking out 174 batters. He has also won seven straight decisions in last 12 starts. During those 12 starts he is 7-0, having pitched 92 1/3 innings(7 2/3 innings a start) with four complete game shutouts in that span, three of which the Mariners won 1-0. He has posted a 1.56 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 90 strikeouts(8.77 K's per 9). He is enjoying a terrific season and with his strong performance down the stretch he is positioning himself for another Cy Young award. Hernandez with this perfect game will also have the signature moment to go with his Cy Young. Hernandez once again is being wasted away on a last place team but the joy in watching him pitch every fifth day has truly been something magical to watch.

I wish the 2009-present version of Hernandez had been on those Seattle Mariners teams from 2000-03 that desperately needed an ace. I hope someday Hernandez pitches a playoff game for the Mariners. I would love to see this great talent on the big stage where he tends to rise up in big games. Hernandez talents were working today like never before using a great mix of his fastball, curve ball and change up. That is what makes King Felix so special is the fact that he has three terrific pitches while always seeming to be poised on the mound. When the Mariners traded away Randy Johnson I thought we'd never see a pitcher as good as the "Big Unit" but in a lot of ways I feel like Hernandez is better. When you factor in that Hernandez is only 26 years old while Johnson didn't become elite until his 30's it's not even a debate. I would pay big money to see Hernandez pitch in a playoff game even if it was on the road I don't care. I would love to see Hernandez start a game seven of the World Series with the Mariners up heading into the 9th 1-0 with Hernandez going back out to finish the deal. He is a special talent and I'm glad it all came together today as he etched his name into major league baseball history!

Being a Mariners fan the past decade hasn't been fun but what has been fun is watching Hernandez. I remember seeing his third career major league start, second at Safeco Field where Hernandez recorded his first career double digit strikeout game. I've seen plenty of Hernandez starts throughout his career as I always make sure to watch him pitch. Hernandez is one of those guys regardless of where the Mariners are in the standings you stop and watch him pitch. Randy Johnson the other Cy Young award winner in Mariners history was the first to throw a no-hitter while Hernandez is the first to throw a perfect game. Hernandez has been terrific down the stretch and I hope come November he is winning another Cy Young award. Regardless everyone will have claimed they were at this game and Hernandez once again shows he is a premiere pitcher in this league. For me there isn't a single pitcher in the game of baseball I would take over Felix Hernandez! Long live the King!

By Kshell

The Seattle Mariners just ended their week by winning two games in a row against the Minnesota Twins which had snapped their seven game losing streak. Earlier this week the Mariners were swept in four games by the Tampa Bay Rays by a combined five runs. This week saw some young hitters emerge while their ace continued to dominate. This week also saw the overdue benching of Chone Figgins who was terrible in his series against the Rays. Unfortunately for the Mariners Figgins isn't the only bat in the lineup struggling. This week since the Mariners only went 2-5 and are only a half game ahead of being in last place I'll go over the good(Young hitters plus Felix), the bad(Justin Smoak and Brendan Ryan's struggles) and the ugly(the Chone Figgins era). I hope you enjoy this weekly recap even though the results weren't very good.

The Good:

For a team that went 2-5 this past week there was some positives actually. The Tampa Bay Rays have the best record in the American League and the Mariners could have won all four games. Then they returned home to take two out of three against the Minnesota Twins as they easily could have swept that series. The main positive this week was the hitting duo of Jesus Montero and Kyle Seager both youngsters had big weeks for the Mariners. Another good thing was the pitching especially against the Twins. Felix Hernandez continues to dominate this year proving his fastball is nothing to be concerned about while Jason Vargas continues to have a solid season once again in the first half. This week also saw Hector Noesi was part of the Jesus Montero trade have a good start this week. So far Noesi has had a rough year and his only two good starts were at home against light hitting teams like the Oakland A's and Minnesota Twins. Still Noesi needed that start to stay in this rotation.

Good Hitting:

Kyle Seager: 9-26(.346), 3 HR's, 5 runs, 10 RBI's
John Jaso: 4-12(.333) run, 2 doubles
Ichiro: 9-25(.360), 3 runs, 3 RBI's, 5 BB's
Jesus Montero: 9-25(.360), HR, 4 runs, 3 RBI's

Good Pitching:

Felix Hernandez: 1-0, 16 IP, 0.56 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 18 K's
Jason Vargas: 6.1 IP, 1.42 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 5 K's
Hector Noesi: 1-1, 12.2 IP, 2.84 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 6 K's
Lucas Luetge: 2.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 2 K's
Steve Delabar: 4.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, 4 K's

Felix Hernandez this year is having an incredible season. On the year he has made seven starts posting a 3-1 record throwing 52.1 innings. He has an 1.89 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, .189 BAA and 51 strikeouts.

Kyle Seager is having a breakout year as well this year hitting .298/.320/.511 with four home runs and a team leading 17 RBI's.

The Bad:

Whenever you go 2-5 on the week and are forced to bench a guy who you owe 18 million the next two seasons it's never a good week. The Mariners bullpen imploaded some in their series sweep to the Rays as their hitters failed to come up with that one big hit. The big trade piece in the Cliff Lee trade was dropped to seventh in the order as he is getting off to where he left off last season which is horrible. The Mariners top young hitter Dustin Ackley continues his struggles this week although when moved to leadoff this weekend he performed just well so hopefully he can produce there. Brendan Ryan finally snapped an awful 0-27 streak that he was in but still didn't hit very well despite Eric Wedge batting him now second in the order.

This was indeed a rough week for a team who is still trying to find their own identity.  They have three hitters who sit below .200 while three others in Olivo(now DL), Saunders and Ackley sit below .240 which is terrible. The Mariners starting pitching hasn't done much better as veteran Kevin Millwood continues to struggle. This week even saw reliable closer Brandon League blow the save in the 11th inning then record the loss in the 12th inning in a tough loss to the Tampa Bay Rays which saw Felix Hernandez goes eight innings while allowing one run the entire game.

Bad Hitting:

Michael Saunders: 3-26(.115), HR, 2 runs, RBI, 12 K's
Dustin Ackley: 5-25(.200), 5 runs, 5 BB's, SB, 7 K's
Justin Smoak: 4-25(.160), RBI, 5 K's
Brendan Ryan: 3-16(.188), run, 2 RBI's, 10 K's, Caught Stealing
Chone Figgins: 0-15(.000), 6 K's

Bad Pitching:

Blake Beavan: 0-1, 5.1 IP, 8.44 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, K
Kevin Millwood: 0-1, 6.1 IP, 5.69 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 4 K's
Brandon League: 0-1, blown save, 2.1 IP, 7.72 ERA, 2.57 WHIP, K

Michael Saunders had that big game last week but overall still isn't hitting very well. Saunders on the year is hitting .217/.294/.435 with four home runs but 31 strikeouts in 92 AB's.

Kevin Millwood on the year in five starts is 0-3 having pitched 28.2 innings. He has a 5.34 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and .304 BAA with only 19 strikeouts. He is an old veteran who doesn't belong on this team at all.

The Ugly:

The ugly this week I'll focus on three guys who were all acquired by the scout pretending to be a GM Jack Zduriencik. The Chone Figgins experiment with the Mariners appears to be coming to an end pretty shortly. Figgins was recently told by Eric Wedge that he'll be benched and just an expensive utility guy. Figgins was leading off this year hoping that could save his career and minus that opening week in Oakland it didn't work out at all. The Figgins mess hurts the club financially for this year and next year as he is nine million dollars per year.

A much greater concern is Justin Smoak. Smoak is supposed to be a franchise piece to build on and already ussmariner has had two different posts on him how A) he can't hit breaking stuff anymore then B) can't hit heat anymore either. If Smoak busts out like Figgins has I don't see how the Mariners can justify keeping Zduriencik around since those were his two major moves and it appears he will have whiffed on both.  Another player slumping this year is Brendan Ryan and Wedge for some reason is now batting him second despite the fact that he strikesout a lot while not looking at many pitches. In fact this team as a whole doesn't walk at all but hacks a lot why they have so many strikeouts.

Ugly Hitting:

Justin Smoak: Hitting .180/.241/.280 on the year with only three home runs in 100 AB's while striking out 25 times. Smoak as you can see isn't hitting, not getting on power and not hitting for power. He is basically useless right now and you have to think the Texas Rangers bluffed the Mariners on that trade.

Brendan Ryan: hitting .153/.273/.250 on the year with one home run in 72 AB's with 24 strikeouts. Ryan is good defensively despite his untimely errors although he isn't hitting well at all. He is slumping big time and has zero power as well.

Chone Figgins:

2010: Hit .259/.340/.306 in 602 AB's with 62 runs, one home run, 35 RBI's, 74 BB's, 114 K's, 42 SB's
2011: Hit .188/.241/.243 in 288 AB's with 24 runs, one home run, 15 RBI's, 21 BB's, 42 K's, 11 SB's
2012: Hitting .189/.250/.305 in 95 AB's with 10 runs, two home runs, 8 RBI's, 8 BB's, 28 K's, 2 SB's

As you can see in 2010 he was over paid but at least a productive major league player. The past two seasons he has just flat out been awful and the Mariners are STILL on the hook for another nine million for him next year. Time to cut your losses Mariners and release Figgins already just having him around isn't a good thing.

Al West Standings:

Texas Rangers: 19-10, first place
Oakland A's: 15-14, 4.0 GB
Seattle Mariners: 13-17, 6.5 GB
L.A. Angels: 12-17, 7.0 GB

The Mariners are going through another rebuilding season but must get some of their young guys going like Ackley and Smoak. This week was nice to see Hernandez once again be dominate while Montero and Seager continue to provide with the bat. The Mariners are now taking on the Detroit Tigers who they swept earlier this year and are riding a two game winning streak. Hopefully this week will turn out differently than this past week did.

By Kshell

The baseball playoffs on day two saw a rare moment in baseball playoffs. All four home teams won as there was plenty of offense to go around in these games. You saw Texas-Tampa Bay battle to see if this will be a series or if the Rays will control the series. The Yankees-Tigers resumed play after the game was postponed at 1-1 tie in the bottom of the second inning which proved to have a wild inning. In the Phillies-Cardinals game two great franchises saw Roy Halladay get roughed up early on but then return to form. Then the fourth game saw two teams who aren't in the playoffs very much in the Brewers and Diamondbacks. That game was your typical playoff game where there was no big innings but instead death by papercuts. In this following post I'll give a quick recap of each playoff game.


Robinson Cano drives in six runs as Yankees win 9-3 to take 1-0 series lead:

The game resumed at 1-1 in the second inning as both teams lost their ace pitchers. The Yankees went with Ian Nova while the Tigers went with Doug Fister. The game remained 1-1 until the fifth inning when Robinson Cano drove in former Tiger Curtis Granderson with an RBI double to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.

In the six inning that is when Doug Fister would fall apart. Brett Gardner would have a two-run single driving in Mark Teixeira and Jorge Posada to give the Yankees a 4-1 lead. The Yankees would put the game away when Cano would hit a grand slam off of Al Aburquerque to give the Yankees an 8-1 lead.

The Yankees would win 9-3 as Cano would finish the game three for five with a home run, two doubles and six RBI's. Yankees "reliever" Ian Nova would get the win going 6.1 innings, allowing just two earned runs while striking out five. For the Tigers Doug Fister had a rough outing lasting only 4.2 innings giving up six runs while striking out six. For both teams losing their aces really hurt but the Yankees took advantage to take a 1-0 series lead.


Rangers use five run inning to even series with 8-6 win:

After being embarassed in game one at home the Texas Rangers bounced back in game two. After trailing 3-0 the Rangers exploded in the fourth inning scoring five runs off of James Shields. The Rangers also saw young pitcher Derek Holland step up when his team needed them most.

Leading 1-0, Matt Joyce hit a two-run homerun driving in Casey Kotchman to give the Rays a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning. That is when the Rangers offense finally woke up after being outscored 12-0 through the first 12 and a half innings of play in the playoffs.

With the bases loaded former Mariners third baseman Adrian Beltre was hit by a pitch to make the game 3-1. Mike Napoli came up with a big two-run base hit which tied up the game up at 3-3. Then Beltre would score on a wild pitch giving the Rangers a 4-3 lead. Mitch  Moreland would ground out which allowed Napoli to score. When the inning was over the Rangers held a 5-3 lead over the Rays.

In the sixth inning Ian Kinsler would add to the Rangers lead with a two-run double giving the Rangers a 7-3 lead over the Rays. In the top of the seventh the Rays would strike back as Eva Longoria would hit a three-run homerun to cut the lead to 7-6.  Mitch Moreland would homer in the bottom of the eighth to give the Rangers an 8-6 lead. The Rangers would hang on for the 8-6 win which would tie the series up at 1-1.

The Rangers offense exploded today unlike yesterday getting shutout. The Rangers would pound out 10 hits while scoring eight runs. The Rangers were led by several guys including Ian Kinsler who was two for five with two RBI's, Mike Napoli was two for four with two RBI's and two runs, and Mitch Moreland who was one for three with a homerun and two RBI's. Starting pitcher Derek Holland went five innings allowing one earned run with two strikeouts. The Rays didn't receive a good outing from James Shields who lasted five innings allowing seven runs while striking out six.


Phillies erupt late to win 11-6 behind Howard's key homerun:

The game started off rocky for the Phillies ace Roy Halladay unlike last year. Last year in the NLDS Halladay threw a perfect game against the Reds. This year he began the playoffs by allowing a three-run home run to Lance Berkman in the first inning as the Cardinals took a 3-0 lead.

Trailing 3-1 entering the sixth inning the Phillies erupted off of Kyle Lohse. With two men on Ryan Howard did what he does best which is hit a home run to give the Phillies a 4-3 lead. Then Raul Ibanez followed that up with a two-run blast to give the Phillies a 6-3 lead.

The Phillies would score three more runs in the seventh innings. Howard would have a sacrifice fly to give the Phillies a 7-3 lead. Shane Victorino had a single scoring Chase Utley to give the Phillies a 8-3 lead. Raul Ibanez followed that with an RBI single to give the Phillies a commanding 9-3 lead.

The Phillies would hang on to win 11-6. Roy Halladay would earn the win going eight innings, allowing just three hits, three runs and eight strikeouts. The Phillies were led by their bats which saw Ryan Howard go one for three with a homerun and four RBI's. Raul Ibanez would go two for four with a homerun and three RBI's. For the Cardinals Lohse went 5.1 innings allowing six runs, five earned while striking out five.

Gallardo shuts down big D-Backs bats to lift Brew Crew to a 4-1 victory:

In a game which many expected to feature a ton of scoring instead was the low scoring game of the day. Led by Yovani Gallardo who pitched eight terrific innings for the Brewers. While the offense did just enough for the Brewers to earn the win.

There was no scoring until the fourth inning when Jerry Hariston had a sacrifice fly scoring Ryan Braun. The Brewers would score again in the sixth when Jonathan Lucroy drove in Yuniesky Betancourt to give the Brewers a 2-0 lead.

The game would be put away in the seventh inning when Prince Fielder hit a big two-run homerun off of Ian Kennedy to give the Brew Crew a 4-0 lead. Gallardo would allow a homerun in the eighth inning but that didn't matter as the Brewers won 4-1.

The Brewers were led by Gallardo who pitched eight innings, four hits, one run and struck out nine guys. While the Diamondbacks ace Ian Kennedy went 6.2 innings allowing four runs with three strikeouts. The Brewers were led by their stud hitter Fielder who was 2-4 with a homerun and two RBI's.

In conclusion, this was a good day for baseball as the home teams won so the crowd was exciting. I love this time of the year with the baseball playoffs. Expect to see more pitching as the playoffs go on as high scoring games only happen in the LDS while the playoffs go on pitching becomes more dominant.

By Kshell

Well that time of the year again where the baseball playoffs have begun. Today was a strange day for the first day of the postseason as one game featured a blowout while the other game was postponed after just an inning and a half. This wasn't like last year where you saw a perfect game on the first day. So like I'll be doing for the entire major league baseball playoffs I'll be recapping all the games as best as I can. For today there is only one game which features a rematch between the Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers who played in a great five game series last year. The Texas Rangers unlike last year were hosting the game as the Tampa Bay Rays are the wild card team. The Rays who rallied from a 7-0 deficit on Wednesday to make the playoffs making up nine games in the standings on the Boston Red Sox.  Due to that game on Wednesday the Rays were throwing a pitcher who had made only one career start. The Rays also have to fly to Texas facing the Rangers ace C.J.Wilson so many expected the defending American League champions to defeat the Rays in game one. Well just like on Wednesday baseball is a funny game. Hero's can step up when you least expect it which is what happened today for the Rays.

Shoppach homers twice as Moore shuts out Rangers for Rays 9-0 win:

The Rays took it to the Rangers in game one improving to 3-0 all-time in the ballpark of Arlington in the postseason. The Rays behind seven shutout innings from their rookie pitcher Matt Moore won game one to take a 1-0 lead. The Rays were also helped out by slumping catcher Kelly Shoppach who was 3-5, two home runs and five RBI's.  Not bad for a guy who hit below .200 during the regular season.

The Rays started their scoring on C.J. Wilson in the second inning when veteran Johnny Damon hit a two-run homerun to right field to give the Rays a 2-0 lead. After Shoppach reached base, two batters later Matt Joyce drove in Shobbach to give the Rays a 3-0 lead.

Hanging onto a 3-0 lead the Rays made sure Moore's first career playoff start would be as easy as possible. In the third inning Shoppach put the game away when he hit a three-run homerun to deep centerfield scoring Ben Zohbrist and Eva Longoria to give the Rays a commanding 6-0 lead as C.J.Wilson was getting rocked.

In the fifth inning Shoppach took Wilson deep again for a two-run homerun as Damon was on base to give the Rays an 8-0 lead. That would be Wilson's final inning as he lasted five innings, allowing seven hits, eight runs, six earned, striking out six but gave up three homeruns a far cry from his start last year against the Rays.

The Rays would score their final run in the ninth inning on an infield base hit by Damon to give them a 9-0 shutout win in game one. For the Rays they were led by Shoppach who was 3-5 with two homeruns with five RBI's and three runs scored. Damon was 2-5 with a homerun, three RBI's and two runs scored. Moore pitched terrificly going 7 innings allowing no runs while allowing just two hits. He struck out six while walking on two batters. Making his second career start he doesn't seem fazed by the moment. In two starts he has won at Yankees stadium and now on the road in the playoffs so I think safe to say he won't be scared of pressure.

In conclusion, this was a boring first day as one game was a blow out and the other was rained out. Hopefully the baseball playoffs will provide plenty of great moments which I'm sure they will. The Rays taking game one is huge with James Shields and David Price behind Moore. Remember the Rangers won't have Cliff Lee this year who was 2-0 in that five game series win over the Rays last season. The Major League Baseball playoffs is underway and I'm pretty excited to finally care about baseball again. As a Seattle Mariners fan I stopped caring about baseball when in April, actually in July. I love baseball playoffs as every pitch can be the difference between a World Series title or losing in the first round. The Rays who won the American League in 2008 are off to a good start in this years postseason.

By Kshell

The Seattle Mariners just completed their week losing five games in a row. The Mariners began the week with a thrilling come back victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Then after that win the Mariners lost the next two to the Blue Jays where Safeco Field was cheering louder for the Blue Jays than hometown Mariners. The Mariners took the road to Tampa Bay to take on the Rays where the Mariners were swept. The Mariners this week saw Mike Carp extend his hitting streak up to 20 games with Casper Wells hitting a home run in four straight games dating back to last week. The Mariners also saw their pitching particularly the bullpen just get lit up this week. The Mariners had just two out of a possible six starts that were quality starts. The Mariners finished the week 1-5 so we'll talk about the good(Carp and Wells), the bad(pitching) and the ugly(young guys getting lit up). Like I usually do I'll start off with the positives first.

The Good:

When a team goes 1-5 it's hard to find some positives. The Mariners did see Mike Carp extend his hitting streak to 20 games showing the Mariners that he deserved playing time this entire time. Another positive was the play of Casper Wells who had homered in fourt straight games while hitting three home runs for the week. Another player the Mariners acquired in the trade then called up was Trayvon Robinson who hit pretty well this week which was nice to see. The Mariners wasted another masterful game by Felix Hernandez who threw his second complete game in his last three starts but was left the loss. The Mariners did see rookie Tom Wilhelmsen record his first ever major league win in relief.

Good Hitting:

Casper Wells: 6-18(.333), 3 HR's, 5 RBI's, 5 runs
Mike Carp: 8-23(.347), 2 HR, 3 RBI's, 4 runs
Willy Mo Pena: 3-8(.375), HR, 2 RBI's, 2 runs
Jack Wilson: 3-9(.333), RBI
Kyle Seager: 7-21(.333), HR, 3 RBI's, 3 runs
Trayvon Robinson: 7-19(.368), 3 RBI's, 3 runs

Good Pitching:

Felix Hernandez: 0-1, 8 IP, 3.38 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 9 K's
Dan Cortes: 0-1, 5.2 IP, 1.59 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 2 K's
Tom Wilhemsen: 1-0, 4.2 IP, 3.86 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 3 K's

This week saw Tom Wilhemson win his first ever game as well as Kyle Seager hit his first career home run. This week also saw Willy Mo Pena hit his first home run as a Mariner. For a week that went as bad as it did the Mariners did see some firsts.

The Bad:

This week saw plenty of bad for the Mariners as they lost five in a row. The starting pitching was a total disaster as was the bullpen. The Mariners saw three different relievers post extremely high ERA's and WHIP. The Mariners released the recently ineffective Aaron Laffey. This week also saw some key hitters slump in Dustin Ackley(first of his career) and Ichiro. They also saw Franklin Gutierrez go back to not hitting and Miguel Olivo despite praise from his manager continues to be terrible. The Mariners young pitching duo of Blake Beavan and Charlie Furbush were once again rocked. The Mariners also saw Michael Pineda pitch well against the Rays which was nice after he was shelled against the Blue Jays. Jason Vargas was also shelled against the Blue Jays allowing six runs in the first inning.

Bad Hitting:

Dustin Ackley: 4-20(.200), 2 runs, 7 K's
Ichiro: 5-25(.200), RBI, run, K
Adam Kennedy: 1-12(.083), 3 K's
Miguel Olivo: 3-14(.214), HR, RBI, 2 runs, CS, 5 K's
Franklin Gutierrez: 4-26(.153), 2 RBI's, run, 5 K's

Bad Pitching:

Jason Vargas: 0-1, 4 IP, 18.00 ERA, 2.75 WHIP, 2 K's
Michael Pineda: 11 IP, 5.72 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 11 K's
Blake Beavan: 0-1, 5 IP, 9.00 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 3 K's
Aaron Laffey: 1.1 IP, 20.30 ERA, 3.76 WHIP, ZERO K's
Jamey Wright: 1.1 IP, 27.00 ERA, 3.76 WHIP, ZERO K's
Josh Lueke: 3.2 IP, 7.36 ERA, 2.18 WHIP, ZERO K's
Charlie Furbush: 0-1, 3 IP, 15.00 ERA, 3.00 WHIP, 2 K's

This week the Mariners got rid of Aaron Laffey who was 1-1 with a 4.01 ERA, 1.64 WHIP in 42.2 innings pitched in 36 games. He struck out only 24 batters while walking 16 while allowing a .305 opponents batting average. In the second half he was even worse as he had a 12.00 ERA and a 2.77 WHIP in only nine innings pitched. He only struck out six batters while walking four batters. Laffey doesn't have great stuff and has been rocked lately as his WHIP was always pretty high for a reliever.

The Ugly:

Seeing crowds cheer louder for an opposing team was pretty annoying this past week. In fact this was a subject that I tackled last wednesday and again later that night on my radio interview. You can view that post by clicking here. It has been sad to see Safeco Field be so incredibly empty this year. Now I'll talk about some reasons why as of late.

Ugly Hitting:

Franklin Gutierrez: Hitting on the year .216/.251/.264 with only one home run and 14 RBI's in 269 AB's.
Miguel Olivo: Hitting on the year .215/.247/.367 with 111 strikeouts to just 18 walks in 368 AB's. He takes the term impatient hitter to a whole new meaning.

Ugly Pitching:

Blake Beavan last two starts: 0-2, 11.1 IP, 8.73 ERA, 1.77 WHIP, 6 HR's, 4 K's. Never a good thing when your HR to strikeout ratio is 1.5/1.0
Charlie Furbush: 2-2, 20 IP, 6.30 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 11 K's, .299 BAA which is pretty awful numbers.
Josh Lueke: 1-1, 16.2 IP, 9.72 ERA, 2.04 WHIP, 15 K's, .338 BAA.

I brought up these three young guys as they are acquisitions by Jack Zduriencik who the local media loves to brag up. Whenever a young guy does anything you hear non stop "In Jack Z we trust" slogans from all the care bear fans. Whenever his players struggles(which often is the case) you hear non stop excuse making on why he can't build a major league team.

AL West Standings:

Texas Rangers: 73-55, first place
L.A. Angels: 69-59, 4.0 GB
Oakland A's: 57-70, 15.5 GB
Seattle Mariners: 53-72, 18.5 GB

In conclusion, the Mariners are a struggling team who is simply playing out their season. It is frustrating to see them lose but at this point there is no reason to be worked up over losses. This is a learning stage for a lot of these players. For so many guys on this roster this is extended spring training for next year. What you do going forward could determine your status on this roster. I would like to see manager Eric Wedge pull Hernandez after seven innings under all circumstances excluding a no-hitter. There is absolutely no reason for Hernandez to be throwing this many innings/pitches in a wasted season. The Mariners offense is slowly coming around but with Zduriencik trading away some key pitching pieces the pitching has struggled lately. Hopefully the Mariners this offseason can acquire some much needed batters and some pitching as well. For now I say go the fact that football season is here.

By Kshell

The Seattle Mariners just completed the week losing two of three to the New York Yankees then two of three to the Tampa Bay Rays. The Mariners did snap their franchise record 17 game losing streak this week with a 9-2 win over the Yankees. The Mariners went 2-4 and also traded three players from their team and designated Jack Cust for assignment. The Mariners have gone through some major changes from their roster compared to the roster they had on opening day. The Mariners find themselves in last place for the third time in four seasons and they still aren't hitting. The Mariners also received some bad pitching this week as well from two left handed starters. The Mariners did see both of their all-star pitchers rise to the occasion this week which was nice to see. So the Mariners went 2-4 which means I'll be doing a good(all-star pitchers), the bad(tons of hitters and three left handed pitchers) and the ugly(second half woes plus Jack Cust).

The Good:

The Mariners just completed a 2-4 week but there was some bright spots this past week. One of the bright spots was the Mariners finally won a game after losing 17 straight. Another positive was seeing all-star pitchers Felix Hernandez and Michael Pineda bounce back from poor outings to have strong outings this week each picking up the win. The Mariners also saw Dustin Ackley continue to hit while Mike Carp is taking advantage of playing every single day in left field. The Mariners also saw their bullpen arms pitch pretty well. The Mariners still aren't scoring enough runs but it is nice to see two guys who began the year in Tacoma really hitting the ball well. It was especially nice to see the Mariners two aces rebound from a tough week with dominating performances each earning a hard earned win for the Mariners who desperatly need as many victories as possible.

Good Hitting:

Dustin Ackley: 7-20(.350), HR, 5 RBI's, 4 runs, .458 OB%
Mike Carp: 7-21(.333) 5 RBI's, 2 runs, .391 OB%
Ichiro: 6-24(.250), RBI, 4 runs, 2 SB's

Good Pitching:

Felix Hernandez: 1-0, 7 IP, 1.28 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 5 K's
Michael Pineda: 1-0, 6.1 IP, 1.42 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 10 K's
Josh Lueke: 2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, 2 K's
Chris Ray: 4 IP, 2.25 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 2 K's
Jamey Wright: 4 IP, 2.25 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, 3 K's
Brandon League: 2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, K, Save
Doug Fister: 0-1, 7 IP, 3.86 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 5 K's

For Doug Fister, Erik Bedard and David Pauley they were traded away and all had good seasons.

Erik Bedard: 4-7, 91.1 IP, 3.45 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 87 K's
David Pauley: 5-4, 54.1 IP, 2.15 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 34 K's, 7 holds
Doug Fister: 3-12, 146.0 IP, 3.33 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 89 K's

These Mariners pitchers will be missed and replacing their value won't be as easy as some Mariners fans may think.

The Bad:

When you go 2-4 for the week there has been plenty of bad. When twice this week a pitcher has flirted with a no-hitter against you there is plenty of bad. The Mariners hitters are in a season long slump and this isn't just Chone Figgins who is slumping. Since May Miguel Olivo and Justin Smoak have been just as awful as Figgins not to mention Franklin Gutierrez who has been terrible as well. The Mariners also saw two left handed pitchers get rocked as well. In the case of Bedard his Mariners career is over so no sense stressing over that. In the case of Jason Vargas who I'll talk about later in this post in more depth he has had a horrible second half which is exactly what happened last season. The Mariners are showing some red flags that is concerning for the future mainly in Vargas and Smoak. It apears Smoak still hasn't adjusted to teams adjusting to him. The same could be said towards Vargas who is once again struggling in the second half of the season.

Bad Hitting:

Justin Smoak: 2-17(.117), RBI, 3 runs, 8 K's
Jack Cust: 1-5(.200), run, 3 K's
Miguel Olivo: 1-16(.062), 9 K's
Adam Kennedy: 4-18(.222), RBI, 2 runs, 4 K's
Brendan Ryan: 3-24(.125), RBI, run, 8 K's
Greg Halman: 0-5(.000), 2 K's
Franklin Gutierrez: 4-19(.210), RBI, 5 K's

Bad Pitching:

Jason Vargas: 0-2, 9.1 IP, 7.71 ERA, 1.92 WHIP, 8 K's
Aaron Laffey: 1.2 IP, 16.16 ERA, 3.59 WHIP, 2 K's
Erik Bedard: 0-1, 1.1 IP, 33.75 ERA, 5.25 WHIP, 2 K's

Justin Smoak has been awful in the month of July hitting just .141/.211/.188 in 85 AB's this month. He has zero home runs and just four RBI's while striking out 24 times(28.2%) to just 8 walks(9.4%) which isn't good. He's hit under .230 for three straight months now which suggests maybe this is a trend and not a slump.

Miguel Olivo has been terrible since May. In June he hit just .189/.196/.489 in 90 AB's. He had belted eight home runs while driving in 19 guys. He also struck out 26 times(28.8%) to just one walk(1.1%) which is awful. Then in July he managed to hit even worse by hitting .188/.188/.304 in 69 AB's. He has belted just two home runs while driving in eight guys. He has struck out 22 times(31.8%) to zero walks(0.0%) in the month of July. Olivo was terrible his first stint with the Mariners and he is just another Jack Zduriencik failed free agent signing.

The Ugly:

There has been plenty of ugly going around with this Mariners franchise. Last season the Mariners saw their #3 hitter Casey Kotchman flop, #4 hitter Milton Bradley flop and #5 hitter Ken Griffey Jr suddenly retire. Well this year has seen their #3 hitter Bradley get released less than a month into the season, their #4 hitter Jack Cust was recently DFA'd while their #5 hitter Justin Smoak has been awful other than April. I don't care how many speedsters you have if your 3-4-5 guys are terrible chances are your offense will be terrible as well.

Ugly Hitting:

Jack Cust: For the season hit .213/.344/.329 in 225 AB's. He had just 3 HR's while driving in 23 runs. He struck out 87 times(38.6%) while walking 44 times(19.5%). Now his walking was good but he was also brought in for some power. He had a home run every 75 AB's was just awful considering he was striking out two out of every five at bats. This is the second straight season the Mariners have received nothing from DH or left field. Not to mention the nothing from third base this year, almost nothing from catcher and nothing from center field. When you receive that much nothing no wonder your offense is going to the shitter quick.

Ugly Pitching:

Jason Vargas 2011 second half: 0-4, 18.1 IP, 8.84 ERA, 2.29 WHIP, 11 K's.
Jason Vargas 2011 first half: 6-6, 121.1 IP, 3.49 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 81 K's

Jason Vargas 2010 second half: 3-8, 85.0 IP, 4.66 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 48 K's.
Jason Vargas 2010 first half: 6-4, 107.2 IP, 3.09 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 68 K's

Jason Vargas 2009 second half: 0-3, 28.0 IP, 7.39 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 13 K's
Jason Vargas 2009 first half: 3-3, 63.2 IP, 3.82 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 41 K's

As you can see Vargas in the second half has been downright terrible. In all three first halves he had ERA's in the low 3's while in the second half he fell apart. Hard to blame arm fatigue when this is becoming a pattern. The fact that Vargas is showing he might not be a second half pitcher should worry some fans about trading away Doug Fister.

AL West Standings:

Texas Rangers: 61-48, First Place
L.A. Angels: 59-50, 2.0 GB
Oakland A's: 49-59, 11.5 GB
Seattle Mariners: 45-62, 15.0 GB

In conclusion the Mariners end July on a terrible note going just 6-20 after starting off 4-1 too it has been just a disaster. The Mariners began the month only two games back of first place with the hope of being buyers. Instead the Mariners will most likely finish last place for sixth time since 2004. The Mariners despite having a future hall of famer in Ichiro will have finished last place six times with him on their team in his 11 seasons which is sad considering they didn't finish last his first three seasons. The Mariners appear to be a team just going through the motions and the pitching staff is finally breaking down. If Zduriencik does anything at all this offseason he needs to bring in some power bats. Like I explained the last two years the Mariners 3-4-5 which was questionable going into the season has proven to blow up in their faces during both years. The Mariners completed a tough stretch where they bombed terribly losing 19 of 21 games. Now the Mariners like they have done too many times recently are simply playing out the season.

By Kshell

The Seattle Mariners completed another successful week going 5-2. The Mariners in the past three weeks have gone 15-5. This is the first time since 2001 when the club won 116 games where they have won six straight series. The Mariners this week took the Baltimore Orioles two out of three then whooped up on the Tampa Bay Rays winning three of four. The starting pitching was terrific this week having thrown seven quality starts out of seven. The hitting picked it up against the Rays as well hitting nine home runs against the Rays. The Mariners pitching is keeping the team in the game while the hitting is starting to come around. This week I'll go over the good(which features a ton of pitchers), the bad(the same guy every week) and the awesome(more on our pitching). Like I said in the past it's always better to write about the good weeks than the bad weeks which the Mariners have been doing a great job lately.

The Good:


There was plenty of good this week for the Mariners to write about. The hitting started to show off some power including two great comebacks. One game the Mariners trailed 2-0 with two outs in the eighth inning when Justin Smoak hit a three run home run. Then yesterday against the Rays the Mariners rallied from 3-0 and 6-5 down to win led by Miguel Olivo who hit a three run home run. Of course the pitching this week has been terrific as usual. I feel as if I'm always putting a ton of pitchers on the "good" list because they have been lights out this past month. We also saw Jason Vargas for the first time in his major league or minor league career throw a complete game shutout over the Rays on Friday. So here we go the best of the best this week.

Good Hitting:

Adam Kennedy: 6-19(.315), HR, 5 RBI's, 4 runs
Justin Smoak: 5-24(.208), 3 HR's, 6 RBI's, 4 runs
Carlos Peguero: 5-17(.294), 2 HR's, 4 RBI's, 6 runs
Miguel Olivo: 7-23(.304), 3 HR's, 8 RBI's, 4 runs

Good Pitching:

Jason Vargas: 1-0, 9 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.55 WHIP, 4 K's
Felix Hernandez: 1-0, 7 IP, 1.28 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 11 K's
Michael Pineda: 7 IP, 1.28 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 7 K's
Erik Bedard: 13.1 IP, 3.37 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 14 K's
Doug Fister: 1-1, 14.1 IP, 3.76 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 15 K's
Chris Ray: 1-0, 2.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 4 K's
Brandon League: 3 saves, 3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.33 WHIP, 2 K's

The Bad:


Luckily for the Mariners lately there hasn't been much bad going on. However there are two hitters who have been slumping badly now for a month. The pitching list only has one pitcher who had a rough week and hopefully it was just that. Mainly the hitting has been slumping especially the table setters. Ichiro and Chone Figgins were supposed to get on base, steal bases and cause lots of runs. Instead both are slumping especially Figgins for the past month. The Mariners despite 27 million(on those two) and another 12 million on Milton Bradley are playing well despite nearly half of their payroll giving them nothing.

Slumping Hitting:

Ichiro: 6-29(.206), 2 RBI's, 5 runs, 2 SB's, 4 K's
Chone Figgins: 2-18(.111), RBI, run, 6 K's
Franklin Gutierrez: 0-18(.000), run

Slumping Pitching:

Jamey Wright: 1-1, BS, Hold, 2.1 IP, 15.45 ERA, 2.14 WHIP, K

Chone Figgins on the season is hitting .186/.225/.248 . Since May 1st he is hitting 17-107(.158) with just four walks and four stolen bases.

Ichiro since May 1st is hitting 26-127(.204) with just four stolen bases and three caught stealing. Pretty amazing how the Mariners are doing so well with these two slumping so badly.

The Awesome:


The Mariners have won 15 of their last 20 games which is extremely impressive. During that stretch the team is averaging 4.1 runs a game while posting an ERA of 2.47 during that stretch. The Mariners offense is slowly coming around while the pitching is just been dominating as of late. If the Mariners can reach the playoffs they would be a team that nobody would want to face due to their great starting pitching. The team has surprised everyone so far as many including myself picked them to finish last place. The pitching staff everyone figured would be pretty good but nobody thought they'd be this amazing.

Amazing Pitching:

Mariners team pitching: 31-28, 3.32 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, .240 BAA, 16 saves

Felix Hernandez: 6-4, 91.2 IP, 3.04 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 92 K's, .223 BAA
Michael Pineda: 6-2, 70.1 IP, 2.30 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 73 K's, .196 BAA
Erik Bedard: 3-4, 65.0 IP, 3.46 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 59 K's, .247 BAA
Doug Fister: 3-6, 79.1 IP, 3.29 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 56 K's, .273 BAA
Jason Vargas: 4-3, 75.0 IP, 3.96 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 48 K's, .252 BAA

David Pauley: 4-0, 3 Holds, 35.1 IP, 0.76 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, 20 K's, .157 BAA
Jamey Wright: 2-2, 11 holds, 26.2 IP, 2.70 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 17 K's, .232 BAA
Aaron Laffey: 0-1, 2 holds, 26.1 IP, 2.05 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 13 K's, .235 BAA
Brandon League:0-4, 16 saves, 25.0 IP, 4.68 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 17 K's,.253 BAA

As you can see the Mariners starting pitching has been incredible this season. The pitching is keeping this team in it and so is the bullpen. The pitching staff has been carrying this team all year long. If the hitting can keep producing like they did this past week the Mariners can make some noise in this AL West.

American League West Standings:

Texas Rangers: 34-26, First Place
Seattle Mariners: 31-28, 2.5 GB
LA Angels: 30-31, 4.5 GB
Oakland A's: 27-33, 7.0 GB

The Seattle Mariners behind first year manager Eric Wedge are trying to surprise everyone. They are hoping to pull a 2010 San Francisco Giants where they sneak into the playoffs then ride the pitching. This run was nice for a week but now that it has extended for three weeks I think the fans are starting to buy in. Before you know it Safeco Field will be packed again. This pitching staff will keep the team in every game as the mariners don't have a bad pitcher in their starting rotation. This ride has been fun for three weeks now hopefully this ride never ends.