Good One Walker

On Friday night May 29 TaiJuan Walker had his best game of his major league career pitching for the Seattle Mariners. He gave up only two hits, struck out eight batters, and no runners scored against the Cleveland Indians in eight innings. The Mariners won the game 2-1 with closer Fernando Rodney making it interesting once again in the top of the ninth. He not only gave up a run the Indians had the tying run at third base. Fortunately there were two outs, and Rodney was able to get the final out.

What made this game important for Walker to win was twofold. His previous outing he had to leave the game after a poor outing in the sixth inning. He actually pitched the first four inning very good without giving up a hit; however, things went bad after that. After the game fans wondered if this would be it for Walker would he have to gone back down to Triple A to straighten things out or sent to the bullpen. Neither happened he started this game.

It was not only important that he have a good game the Mariners lost James Paxton on Thursday night. He had to leave the game because of discom-fort on his middle finger of his left hand. Friday morning he was examined and put on the 15 day disabled list. This was the second reason the Mariners needed a good outing by Walker.

The Mariners now are at full strength in the bullpen with seven relievers; however, they will need to bring up a starter from Triple A next Tuesday to pitch in Paxton spot. The most likely candidate is left hander Mike Montgomery. He is having a solid season at Tacoma, and he is on the 40 man roster. At that point the Mariners will decide whether to go back to six relievers, trade, or release one of the extra outfielders.

The injury to Paxton though was a blow on the positive side has allowed the Mariners to wait on doing what they figured would be done on the weekend by releasing the extra outfielder. Of course, they could continue to postpone it depending how far the starters go and how much the relievers are actually used.

Right now the Mariners are on a unusual eleven game home stand. They are playing the Indians four games through Sunday followed by three games against the New York Yankees and ending with four against the Tampa Bay Rays. It would be nice to win three out four against either the Indians or the Rays and two out of the three against the Yankees. Of course, we would love to see the Mariners beat the Yankees all three times.

Speaking of the Yankees they are having a better season so far then I expected. They currently have a record of 25-24; however, they have lost the first two games in their four game series against the A’s in Oakland. Why I say they are doing better than expected is that they have an older team. Alex Rodriguez is having a good season so far after missing all of last season because of a suspension. With the retiring of Derek Jeter I expected them to be near the bottom of the American League East. Right now they are leading that division. I am sure if they continue leading the division before the end of July the will go out and get a proven player to help them out for the remaining of the season.

Actually I would not mind the Yankees to be in the playoffs if it means the Mariners would face them. It would be very nice for the Mariners to eliminate them.

Until next time Go Mariners!

Mariners Coming Home

The Seattle Mariners are coming home after Felix Hernandez spectacular pitching performance today against the Tampa Bay winning 3-0. Actually Tampa Bay had a wonderful pitching performance as well from Chris Archer.

The game was 0-0 going into the top of the ninth inning. Felix had given up only four hits and had less than one hundred pitches. Tampa Bay brought in their closer Brad Boxberger in the ninth because Archer had thrown a lot of pitches. He had more pitches thrown than Felix.

Boxberger started out well in the ninth inning by striking out two batters but then he walked Seth Smith and Robinson Cano.  Now came up to bat is no other than Nelson Cruz. He had no hits in his last seven at bats so I had a good feeling he would be able to drive in at least one run. The way Felix was pitching I figure one run would be enough. So what did Nelson Cruz do he hit a home run to make it 3-0. It basically ended the game; Felix finished off the bottom of the ninth getting all three batters. He looked as good in the ninth as any of the other innings.

The game on Tuesday night the Mariners won 7-6 in ten innings with Kyle Seager hitting a home run. It was his second home run of the game because in the eighth inning he hit a grand slam to make the score 6-3. Fernando Rodney came in the ninth inning for the save which he turned out in blowing. The Rays scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to make it 6-6.  The Mariners were lucky because Rodney just missed out in giving up a grand slam home run which would be a walk off. The Mariners could have lost two out of three to the Rays but weath-ered the storm. When things are going bad they would have lost both games so I see it all as a good sign.

The Mariners had a successful road trip going 6-3. They still have some questions in starting and relief pitching. Besides Seager and Cruz the Mariners continue to need help in the hitting. Against the Rays Robinson Cano did snap out of his slump in a way. I know most fans are concerned about his lack of power. He has only one home run so far in the season. Right now he is an average player. Of course, the Mariners are paying him to be a superstar. I am sure no one expects him to have eighteen home runs like Cruz but expect him to be getting on base and driving runs in.

Kyle Seager on the other hand started out hitting poorly but this road trip has brought him back into his normal ways. If Cano can join Cruz and Seager in produc-ing runs it will be a big lift to the team. Also, it would be nice to have another player hitting consistently as well. Now that Brad Miller  is getting used to playing more than one position he will be valuable hitting lower in the lineup. Austin Jackson needs to improve his on base percentage leading off so the big three we call them can drive him home.  I like it when the Mariners can score early in a game like they did in the first two games in Tampa Bay.

I think if the Mariners shuffle the batter order I would like either Brad Miller or Seth Smith leading off against right handed pitching and Rickie Weeks leading off against left handers. Austin Jackson would hit seventh against right handers and second against left handers.

At the top I mentioned pitching. The starting pitching has been good most of the time except when TaiJuan Walker is out on the mound. He pitches well sometimes but most of the time not. The Mariners need to go out and get another starting pitcher. I am sure we will see a change if it continues; however, if the four starters continue pitching well they stay with Walker as he is a work in process.

In relief side the Mariners sent down Danny Farquhar to Triple A after giving up seven runs in four innings. They did the move when reactivating Austin Jackson on Tuesday. The Mariners are short one pitcher in the bullpen; however, they will make a move sometime during this weekend. They knew pitching J.A. Happ and Felix Hernandez they could go with one less pitcher temporarily.

I know those who are Seahawk fans wonder why I write about the Mariners. The truth is I am a big baseball fan and football is secondary to me. During the football season I will follow the Seahawks and root for them to make it to another Super Bowl; however, the off season for football I prefer to spend time watching the Mariners. I know that some super fans believe in football all the time. I am not one of those fans. If something comes up that I would call newsworthy I will write about it with my take.  So right now Go Mariners!

One Moved One to Go

The Seattle Mariners behind the pitching of Elias and finally hitting by Robinson Cano to beat Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in the first game of three. Cano drove in two of the four runs starting off in the first inning driving in Seth Smith. Also, Brad Miller scored in the first to make it 2-0. The Mariners did not score until later on in the game. The final blow was a home run by Mike Zunino to make it 4-1. Fernando Rodney finished off the game for another save.

The news that Jack Z. announced after the game was partly expected but not in the manner most fans and media thought would happen. Jack Z. announced that Danny Farquhar was being optioned to Triple A Tacoma, and outfielder Austin Jackson coming off the disabled list. What this leaves is six pitchers in the bullpen. Only three were used on Monday so the other three relievers remaining would be available. Those three would be Tom Wihelmsen, Charlie Furbush, and Joe Beimel.  Of course, Rodney should be available to close the game.

The Mariners start J.A. Happ in tonight’s game (Tuesday) and Felix Hernandez on Wednesday to finish off the road trip and return Thursday to Seattle. Both Jack Z. and Lloyd hope that Happ and Hernandez will be able to pitch deep into both games where the seventh pitcher in the bullpen will not be needed.  They do have history of doing so we likely see it happen. They said that another move would be made either today or tomorrow if necessary; however, they hope that it will not happen until they return to Seattle at least.

Activating Austin Jackson means that the Mariners have an extra outfielder on the roster now. Brad Miller right now can play either infield or outfield. I am sure the Mariners are looking to make a trade with someone to add on another pitcher. It could be either a starter or a reliever. The trade most likely would be that of Dustin Ackley since he has the most trade values of any the backup players. Though he has value I would say it would be not very much. Most likely a fifth starter or a reliever similar to Medina that they traded last week; it will be interesting to see who will be the player the Mariners will trade or release. There are two players that do have options to be sent down to Tacoma in Chris Taylor and Brad Miller; however, that is unlikely.

We can all hope that the Mariners can finish of the Rays and return back to Seattle in successful fashion. I heard last night the Cleveland Indians who had been a losing way worse than the Mariners have won eight or nine in a row. They are now back in contention for the American League Central which is a very tough division. So if the Indians can play well we can only hope the Mariners will string off a bunch of wins. When the Mariners come home they will face the Indians along with the Yankees and the Rays. We can only hope that the Mariners will be over .500 by a few games when they go on their next road trip. Go Mariners!

Two out of Three

The Seattle Mariners lost today (Sunday) to the Blue Jays in Toronto with the score of 8-2. TaiJuan Walker started out good but struggled in the fifth inning giving up two two-run home runs. Going into the game the Mariners did a really good job against the Blue Jays though the hitting still has been somewhat suspect.

The issue now what will the Mariners do in the pitching rotation in Walker’s spot? Personally I have mentioned that I am not a big fan of the five man rotation anyway but I will not go there. It does look like Walker sometimes and that is a big sometimes goes well through the batting order the first time. The problem right now is that the Mariners really do not have any starting pitchers at Triple A to help out. Also, the Mariners need to find a way to use Walker without him losing more confidence. It is quite a dilemma that I am not sure there is an answer.

The manager likes to have the starter go at least five innings but with Walker they may want to limit him to maybe four innings. It is possible to start Tom Wihelmsen instead and bring in Walker in the fourth inning.

Again today Farquhar pitched for the Mariners coming in for Walker. He finished off the sixth inning getting one batter but had problems in the seventh. According to TV analyst Mike Blowers Farquhar is struggling with the cutter which is his number one pitch. This shows right now the Mariners have two positions in the pitching to figure out to resolve. We can only hope that things will resolve soon, and no other problems happen in the pitching.

Going onto Tampa Bay we can only hope the Mariners can win two out three there as well. This would give them a winning record of 5-4 on the road trip.

We will be seeing this week if Austin Jackson returns from his rehab assignment at Tacoma. The question that has been going on who will he replace. Though his hitting has not been good Chris Taylor playing very good shortstop; I would say likely Willie Bloomquist will be released unless someone else gets hurt in the meantime. The Mariners have several other ways to go and what the answer is anyone’s guess.

Jackie Z. now the time to get your thinking cap on and see what the Mariners can go out and get. Until Iwakuma gets back the Mariners need to look to see what veteran starting pitcher is available.   

 

Onto Toronto

The Seattle Mariners had a good start in Baltimore with the pitching of Elias but the last two games did not go over so well.

It was not only the pitching but the hitting was not so good either which has been a problem the last several weeks especially at the bottom of the batting order. In fact I would have to say I am tired of talking, hearing, and writing about the bottom of the batting order. Also, we can say the lack of hitting by Robinson Cano. Without Nelson Cruz the Mariners would be even worse shape we all know.

Now on to Toronto for another three game series; we hope that the hitting can improve. The Mariners should take advantage some of their speed. It should be a good park for guys like Miller and Taylor along with Cano, Cruz, and Seager. Maybe Ackley could get out of his slump as well. Speaking of Ackley the Mariners traded Michael Saunders to Toronto and Justin Smoak  landed there as well. I am not sure what the Mariners could get for him but I believe we would be happy for anything. Saunders is hurt again so Ackley could be an added addition for them. The park I think would be good for him. Of course, the trade should happen on Sunday when the Mariners are off to Tampa Bay.

The Mariners start the King Felix tonight (Friday) against the Blue Jays. He usually bounces back from a poor outing like he had in  his last one plus he didn’t pitch well last September last time in Toronto. For Felix they both are strong incentive to win which I sure he will. He is such a competitor that he does not like losing anytime but this time for sure.

The Mariners can hope that James Paxton and Elias will both pitch like they did in their two last outing. The Mariners we can all hope they can win at least two games if not all three. It would be really nice to go into Tampa Bay 4-2 on the road trip.

The Mariners still will not have Austin Jackson playing at all in Toronto because of their turf. He is on a rehab with the Tacoma Rainiers. In fact I would not play him in Tampa Bay either since it is one of the worst fields to play on.  I would wait until the Mariners return to Seattle next Thursday. I am sure we are all anxious to see who the Mariners remove off the roster when Jackson returns. I am sure the top two candidates are Willie Bloomquist and Chris Taylor. A lot depends whether they want to continue Brad Miller in the super Sub position or not. I guess the other candidate would be Rickie Weeks; however, he has more power than Bloomquist. In the end it would depend who is deeper in Lloyd’s dog house or what Jack Z wants to happen.

There are other changes that might happen depending on how the Mariners do on the rest of this road trip. I am sure most Mariner fans like me know what they would do if things continue. We would like the club be close at five hundred when returning next Thursday.

I will be going to a game on June 6 to see the Mariners play the Tampa Bay Rays. Like all of us connected to the Mariners fans, players, coaches, man-ager, and general manager that the Mariners will be over the five hundred mark. Depending upon changes by June 6 whether I want to see the Mariners face a right hand or left handed pitcher. If at status quo I would rather see the Rays pitching a left hander.

All I can say now in my close Go Mariners!

Day Off in Baltimore

The Seattle Mariners got an off day on Monday in Baltimore. One thing for sure was nice I never heard about any rioting going on. . I am sure the Mariners enjoyed a day off before starting on a nine game road trip.

The first three games will be in Baltimore as you would know followed by three in Toronto and three in Tampa before coming home to face the Cleveland Indians.

Splitting the four games against the Boston Red Sox made the nine game home stand 6-3. I would love to see these nine games end with the same 6-3 at least. It would be great to win the first game in each series and split the other two would be fine.

The Baltimore Orioles record is just below that of the Mariners so it tells me they have a good shot. We can hope that Nelson Cruz do a really good job against his old team. I know that Orioles have some other changes on the team from last season though I am not sure what they are since do not follow them closely. One thing I do know that former Mariner Adam Jones is having a really good year. That is what I heard recently anyway.

My cousin Christy and her husband David visited for a couple hours on Monday on their way back to Canada from Arizona. In conversation I mentioned the Mariners would be playing in Toronto. He told me they had a really good chance because the Blue Jay’s pitching is terrible. He follows the American League East more than I do so he said that the Tampa Bay Rays were the best of the three teams. He keeps an eye on the Mariners as well.

With the Mariners having a day off and not seeing any transactions happening I checked on news going on in other parts of the world of sports. In the American League West the Angels and the Astros both lost which is really good news. The Astros lost to Oakland. It would be nice to see the A’s win a few against Astros and then go back to losing. We do not want to see a winning streak by the A’s. What they have going for them is their starting pitching but not much else. Oh their offense to some degree.

I am not really following the NBA playoffs. I only know that Lebron James and the Cavaliers finished off the Chicago Bulls. Also, the San Antonio Spurs are out as well I think? Also, not following the NHL playoffs either although there is speculation of building an arena in Seattle area to house a NHL team; supposedly if Seattle gets an expansion team the cost will be around $500 million for the fee.

In football on Monday news that the Seattle Seahawks will lose defensive tackle Jesse Williams out of University of Alabama via Australia. It is reported he has a type of kidney cancer so he will be out all 2015 season. We hope that he can return in 2016 but the best news he live at least a normal life removing the cancer.

Other news it was reported on Monday that the Ryan Tannehill quarterback of the Miami Dolphins signing a new contract for four years at $77 million that starts in 2017. Of course, that starts news again what the Seahawks will be paying Russell Wilson. There had been reports around $80 million for four years; however, with the Tannehill contract that will go up. The Seahawks are reported to paying $1.5 million on his remaining year into 2015 on his original rookie contract. On a new contract part of the whole thing will the Seahawks increase the salary for 2015 as well?  Currently the highest paying quarterback is reported to be Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers at $22 million per year. So I expect the Seahawks will have pay around that same amount. Also depends how much the Seahawks are willing to guarantee as well.

I know on sports radio in Seattle the talk is about either Dustin Ackley of the Mariners and Russell Wilson. I am sure there are those who worry about the Seahawks losing Wilson to free agency. Like several media reporters have said the fans do not have to worry about it. If there is a problem signing him in the next year they do have the option to make him a franchise player which is probably around the same amount he is asking for; however, it would not be guaranteed except on a yearly basis so if he got hurt or his performance was not as good as the last three years he would be out of pocket. We are not talking about defensive players chasing him. Ha Ha.

We can all hope that the Mariners will continue with good pitching and the offense to start in high gear. I am sure during this nine game road trip at some point Austin Jackson will be back after his rehab assignment. We can only guess who he will replace on the roster. I am sure we all have a favorite for him to replace. I am sure though Brad Miller will be in the lineup playing somewhere since he was just named player of the week. Anyway Go Mariners!

Pinch Hitting and More

I guess it depends on your team but I am not a big fan of pinch hitting. I know it certainly does not work for the Seattle Mariners. I think manager Lloyd tries to out think himself by using pinch hitting when trying to use a left handed bat against a right hand pitcher and vice versa.

My idea of pinch hitting should happen in certain situations where the batter most likely can be successful. For example, if there is a runner on third base with less than two outs, and the pinch hitter has had success to hit sacrifice flies. Another case would be if the runner is on second base with no outs, and the pinch hitter is a good bunter. The only other time maybe if the batter has power and possibly can get at least a double; the most important thing is the batter must have some experience in pinch hitting. The Mariners do have one such player in Seth Smith. He has played in the national league where it is common to pinch hit for the pitcher since there is no designated hitter. These are the kind of players the American league should get if they plan on pinch hitting.

The whole thing is that pinch hitting is not going to be successful most of the time unless the manager puts the batter in a position to succeed like the examples I mentioned already. Another thing the manager needs to let the player know that he will be pinch hitting a few innings before he does. If I were a manager I would explain to the player beforehand what he wants him to do. The whole thing is not everyone is meant to be a pinch hitter. Also, he must pinch hit for someone who he can be more successful than. I guess this is enough about pinch hitting for now.

Right now the Seattle Mariners pitching both starting and relieving have been corrected except maybe Danny Farquhar but we will see. The main problem now is the hitting especially with runners in scoring position. The problem mostly occurs at the bottom of the batting order. Of course I believe most people realize the problem. The Mariners need look to shake up the lineup. In my opinion they need to have a good hitter batting eighth. This may sound funny because usually the worst hitters are at the bottom of the batting order; however, the Mariners are getting batters on base in the sixth or seventh in the batting order but get stranded. I am not sure the player should be but someone needs to fit it.

I see if the pitching continues on course and the Mariners make corrections in the batting order they should start winning more games than they lose. Right now Austin Jackson is doing a rehab assignment with Triple A Tacoma and he is available to come off the disable list in the next come days. He will make things more stable in the outfield. He could be the guy that would fit at the bottom of the batting order. We can all hope as Mariner fans that the hitting can be corrected when June starts. Go Mariners!

 

Danny Farquhar and More

There is talk about the Mariners much more about other things and players than Danny Farquhar. I figure to get into him first of all.

Right now the Lord Farquhar as some of us call him has not been doing very well in relief for the Seattle Mariners. He maybe one of the least problems they have but I figure something must be done about the Lord Farquhar. His pitching has been inconsistent in the same manner as the Mariners hitting has been. That is the way I would really put it. He has had few good games but not some good ones either. His major problem is throwing the ball high and getting batters on base.

The most recent time was on Tuesday May 12 where batters were on base but he was bailed out. The previous time Tom Wihelmsen had to come in and try to bail him out but was not so successful. Even Manager Lloyd is wondering what is going on with him.

I see that the Mariners will need to use him in situations that will not affect the game. Other words the game has been decided one way or another. Farquhar himself believes that his thinking too much when he is pitching. I know by experience thinking can get us all in trouble. We all hope that he will be able to correct things. We know that he has been successful in the past pitching for the Mariners.

Another area problem with the Mariners is the outfield. Actually the problem is the hitting of the outfielders outside of Nelson Cruz. We can even go further and say the bottom of the batting order is not doing very well.

The one that most fans are putting their eyes on is Dustin Ackley. He is adequate to Ok in the field but his hitting has not been good. He has been doing poorly especially in clutch situations. He usually hits better later in the season but no one really wants to wait to see him get going. I would say Mariner fans put him in the position as Justin Smoak who the Mariners finally released last season.

Ackley is a high first round pick being picked second overall.  So the Mariners have been giving him as much chance as possible. I would even say right now that Lloyd continues to give him additional chances. We have to see what happens when Austin Jackson comes off the disabled list in the next few days.

Mariners Split with Padres

The Seattle Mariners had a chance to take two in the series from the Padres. On Tuesday night the Mariners won 11-4 with six home runs; however, the Padres beat the Mariners 4-2 on Wednesday night.

It was the first time since 2004 the Mariners had hit six home runs at Safeco Field in a game since 2004 when they did it to the Kanas City Royals. The Mariners show that they can hit home runs at Safeco Field despite excuses by former Mariner players like Beltre. It always amazed me because players from other teams could hit home runs at Safeco Field even before they moved in the fences.

What would have been nice if the Mariners could have saved a few runs from Tuesday to be used on Wednesday; however, they did have opportunities to score runs but left ten runners in scoring position without a hit.

The Mariners were smart taking a lot of pitches to get starter James Shields out of the game after six innings but they were only able to score one run off him and that was a home run by Brad Miller. In fact Miller was the offense since he drove in a run with a double in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The middle of the Mariners batting order had several opportunities to drive in runs but I would at least excuse Nelson Cruz since he has done well so far. Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager have been inconsistent; hopefully that can change soon.

The bottom of the batting order continues to falter when they have opportunities to score runs. It seems to me the Mariners need to make changes at the bottom of the batting order. The most likely change has to do with Dustin Ackley. Early next week Austin Jackson is expected to be back from the disabled list. Of course he did not light fires when he was in the lineup either; however, he may be better lower in the lineup.

The big question when Jackson returns who will be taken off the twenty-five man roster. Now with Brad Miller expected to be super sub who is left out in the cold. The three main choices are Dustin Ackley, Rickie Weeks, and Willie Bloomquist. I could see any of three being let loose. Ackley would be the best choice if the Mariners are able to make a trade. Weeks and Bloomquist would be released because they have little value in a trade.

One thing for sure is that I am glad that I do not have to make the decision. Now with Cruz playing mostly in right field the Mariners have the choice with either Brad Miller or Seth Miller playing in left field and the other DH when facing right handed pitchers. When facing left handed pitching the best choice would be Rickie Weeks at DH and Rugg-iano in left. So you can see that pushes Ackley out of the picture.

Lately the Mariners have been facing mostly right handed pitching so neither Weeks nor Ruggiano are getting much playing time. I would look at the weekly schedule and see if they can put either Weeks or Ruggiano in the lineup against a right hander. In fact I would have had Ruggiano in the lineup Wednesday night because when you face other teams number one pitcher the Mariners likely won’t score a lot of runs anyway. Looking at it another way Tuesday night may have been better with Ruggiano in the lineup because they are facing not as good as a pitcher. Either way should have been done to give Ruggiano at bats.

Next time what will the Mariners do with Danny Farquhar? Plus the Mariners face the Red Sox in four games in Seattle.

Deflate Gate, Rooke Camp, and Mariners vs Padres

I am sure that a lot of fans like me were surprised by what Tom Brady did before the American Conference Championship game  def-flating the balls. First of all why did he lie about it and just say that the balls were deflated because he pre-ferred less pressure in the ball. Second I thought the NFL provided the balls instead of each team using their own balls. I am glad that he was fined and being suspended four games; however, the NFL should start providing balls so no team has an advantage one or another. The ball should be used regardless of the circumstances. I under-stand now they use a different ball for kickoffs, field goals instead of the same ball in play. My thought is that each quarter they should bring in a new ball except if a team objects that the current ball is in no good shape. Time of objection the main referee will inspect the ball and decide whether to remove the ball. His decision is final.

The NFL teams like the Seahawks had their rookie minicamps this last weekend. I was amazed that two top draft picks were lost for the season. I was surprised this would happen if they were not in pads. I could understand if a running back or receiver turned an ankle or something else minor to keep them out for a few days but for the whole season sounds crazy. I am sure in the future teams will look out how they run these rookie mini-camps.

The Seahawks had a good mini-camp without any injury. The worst I heard was their top draft pick second rounder Frank Clark got cramps and had to miss a little bit of time. The weather was hotter in Seattle than in Michigan where he had been training.

The media question Frank Clark about his situation of domestic violence which was proper since it is a big issue. Until early last season I did not realize in the NFL and society that domestic violence happ-ened so much. I knew it happened but not to that degree. It is a gamble that the Sea- hawks drafted him because if he has one offense that happens he will be out of the league. The team I guess believe that he is work the chance. We hope that he will be able to overcome this and be a good citizen going forward. It does not minimize what happen to the woman though. I hope that she is able to get counseling and either Clark or the Seahawks will help in paying for it. Domestic violence needs to be taken out of the NFL and society.

The Mariners take on the San Diego Padres in a two game series in Seattle. I hope the Mariners can continue to get better and sweep the Padres as well. The Mariners should have the advantage since they will be going with American League rules and the designated hitter. First game especially interesting since James Paxton will be starting tonight (Tuesday). The Padres have been leading the National League hitting against left handed pitching. Also, Paxton has been struggling pitching as well. The Mariners on Wednesday night decided to switch pitchers as well. Instead of Elias pitching who is also left handed the Mariners decided to go with TaiJuan Walker instead. Elias will start the series against the Red Sox on Thursday night.

I hope that the Mariners will continue to improve their hitting against the Padres. There are players like Ackley and Zunino that need to be hitting like we all think they are capable or at least a little below average instead  of hitting so poorly. If they continue hitting poorly changes will need to happen at catcher and in the outfield. I wonder who will be left out in the cold when Austin Jackson returns from the disabled list. I think Jackson will need to be down further in the batting order instead of hitting either first or second until he is showing mark improvement in his hitting.

The remaining six games in this home stand will decide what corrections the Mariners will need to make. If the Mariners win at least four of these games than I would not change anything; however, if they only win one or two of the games changes will need to happen.

Like I usually say at the end Go Mariners!

The Mariners Over the A’s

The Seattle Mariners swept the Oakland A’s over the weekend in Seattle. It was good because it is what the Mariners needed to happen. Also, we can ask ourselves as Mariner fans what does it mean?

Too look over the three game series on the TV broadcast we were told the A’s have one of the top offenses in the American League several times.  If the case the Mariners showed us that good pitching always beats good offense.  Actually the A’s had good starting pitching in the series as well.

Besides the good pitching the Mariners beat the A’s three  times was the A’s do not have a good bullpen and their defense was very poor to say the least. It sounds a lot like the Mariners going into the series. The main difference is that the Mariners have a good bullpen when the starters are able to go at least six innings while the A’s can’t say the same thing. The Mariners defense did not make critical mistakes on defense like the A’s. The Mariners have a good defense on the infield. The only questionable spot is at shortstop where mistakes do happen sometimes. The outfield defense is Ok at best.

I would say in this series the Mariners offense did Ok. Of course, the A’s do have good starting pitching. Hopefully the Mariners offense can get on a roll against both the San Diego Padres and the Boston Red Sox.  I am not sure about the Padres pitching because I do not really follow them but the Red Sox pitching has been bad. In fact they ended up firing their pitching coach. They now have hired former Mariner pitching coach Carl Willis.

Looking at the Mariners offense since we need to look at more improvement the top of the batting order did an Ok job against the A’s.  I thought Seth Smith did a good job leading off though he is not the ideal lead of hitter. What makes Smith good is that he willing to take pitches at the same time is aggressive at the plate. Also, he does have some power as well so if he can get at least a double it helps out the team. His downfall leading off is that he does not have speed.

Brad Miller did a good job batting second in the lineup in two of the games. What I like about Miller batting second is that he can pull the ball and he bats left handed which are both good things. Robinson Cano got out of his hitting slump against the A’s which is a good thing. We need to see Cano at his normal best so the Mariners can have him drive in runs or have Nelson Cruz available to drive in runs. Speaking about Cruz is that he had another good series against the A’s though he did not hit home runs. What I like about Cruz he hits the ball hard so even if he hits one through the infield it gives him a good chance to get a hit. He reminds me of Edgar Mariners where he can get a lot of line drive hits as well as those high long home runs.

I thought that both Kyle Seager and Logan Morrison did a good job as well in the fifth and sixth places in the batting order. Of course, Morrison won a game with a walk off in the eleventh inning of Friday night’s game. The Mariners need both of them hit the way we know they are capable of.

The seventh, eighth, and ninth men in the order did Ok which is best we can hope for. Dustin Ackley had some good at bats in the series and drove in some runs especially on Sunday. If he can do that on semi-regular basis it will help the Mariners offense. The way that Ackley has been hitting so far in the season he will not last long in the lineup on a regular basis especially if Brad Miller becomes the super-sub that Lloyd calls him. Also, Rickie Weeks needs to be in the lineup at least three times a week to be effective as well. Can say the same for Ruggiano; we will see what happens in the outfield when Austin Jackson returns. Neither Weeks nor Ruggiano can be effective on the amount of at bats they getting right now.

Mike Zunino also did Ok in the two games he played in the series as he got Sunday off. With today (Monday) off as well will help him out. Zunino needs to get his batting average up over .200 and not strike out so often. Of course, we know it is his defense is the most important; however, the Mariners need some offense out of him. Mainly the Mariners need the power from him getting doubles and home runs.

Chris Taylor is now back in the lineup at shortstop for the Mariners. He missed Sunday’s game because of a minor injury to a finger. According to Lloyd he should be back in soon. His first week was not good offensively but we can help that he can get better. The Mariners need him to get on base to turn over the lineup. This is especially true if he leads off an inning.

Last but not least for sure we must congratulate King Felix in getting his two thousandth strike out on Sunday for his career as well as his sixth victory without a defeat. Go Mariners!

 

Way to Go LoMo

The Seattle Mariners on Friday night May 9 had their first game of the new home stand after struggling on the road.

They had started the previous road trip sweep-ing the Texas Rangers in the three games; however, they were swept by the Houston Astros in four games followed by losing to the Angels two out of three games. They won the first game in Anaheim behind the pitching of Felix Hernandez but lost the last two games by walk off fashion.

What made Friday’s game so good was they won themselves with a walk off home run by Logan Morrison in the bottom of the eleventh inning. Recently Morrison had been hitting pretty good after having some bad luck as well. Hopefully this means that the Mariners will go on a good long winning streak. Including Friday night’s game they are home for nine games. It would be nice if Morrison’s home run would lead the Mariners to win most of the games on this home stand. Last year about the same time Kyle Seager hit a home run that led the Mariners who had gotten off on a poor start to go on a good winning streak.

Logan Morrison has not been the only hitter that has been struggling at hitting either. In fact most of the team has not been hitting very well; however, Morrison will be a key part of the Mariner offense. Outside of Nelson Cruz the rest of the lineup has been very inconsistent. Other key parts of the offense Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager have been struggling as well. It is important they get back into hitting in their regular manner. If so the Mariners should be Ok.

In other good news the Mariners bullpen Friday night pitched six innings without giving up a run and only allowed one hit. Tom Wihelmsen was reactivated off the disable list and should be a real influence on the rest of the bullpen. He did not pitch in Friday night’s game though he would have if had gone into the 12^th inning so he will be available tonight. The whole bullpen should be available except maybe Carson Smith who pitched the last two innings and got the victory. The other pitchers used did not pitch no more than one inning which is the way it should be.

What really made it nice the walk off home run was against the Oakland A’s. In recent years the Mariners have had tough times winning games against the A’s; however, right now the A’s have been struggling just like the Mariners. Hopefully they will continue in the same manner.

Go Mariners!

 

What’s Up Mariner Bullpen?

On Tuesday night May 5 the Seattle Mariners offense made a comeback to put the Mariners ahead in the eighth inning 4-2; however, the bullpen gave up two runs in the eighth inning to make a tie with the Angels and then in the bottom of the ninth inning rookie player Perez hit a home run off Leone to win the game for the Angels.

The fans have different players to blame for the loss of the game along with the media.

Looking at it you can blame the bullpen for the loss especially in the eighth inning but you can blame the offense as well.

The problem right now with the Mariners being 11-16 outside of Felix Hernandez, Nelson Cruz, J.A. Happ and Fernando Rodney the losses happen differently in the sixteen losses. Without those guys who know what the Mariners record would be.

Last night the loss may have been primarily the bullpen because the Mariners had a two run lead going into the bottom of the eighth but the offense could have scored more runs. Dustin Ackley who has started off poorly once again had a chance to hit in more runs in the sixth inning. The Mariners had the bases loaded with two out, and he did not swing at one pitch. The count was up 3-0 when he took two pitches which is understandable because the Angels pitching could have walked in a run but he did not swing when the count became 3-2.

Some of those sixteen losses have been the starting pitching outside of King Felix and J.A. Happ. Other losses have happen because of hitting, poor defense, and the relief pitching.

Carson Smith had one bad outing giving a home run in the last game in the Houston Astros series. The Astros have been hot especially going to the series again the Mariners. Other than bad timing he has been excellent out of the bullpen along with Fernando Rodney who had one bad outing as well.

The Mariners be winning or may start winning if they can have each part working at the level they should be. They put good starting pitching, defense, offense and relief pitching going together. We all know they have the capability they just have not done it all at the same time.

Let’s go Mariners we know you can do it. Just start doing it.

Mariners Leave Houston on Sour Note

 Going into Houston series the Seattle Mariners had just beaten the Texas Rangers in a three game sweep at Arlington Texas. Though the Astros were the hottest team in baseball no one expected that the Mariners would be swept in Houston. I certainly did not expect it. In fact I was looking at least two wins in the series; however, the Astros bats decided to sing a good song with ten home runs.

It would not have been so bad if the home runs were mainly solo shots but most of them had runs on base.

Going into the eighth inning on Sunday it actually looked like the Mariners had a chance to salvage the last game of the series as they came back to tie in the seventh inning. Unfortunately it was bad timing Carson Smith gave up his first run in the major leagues in the bottom of the eighth inning. Of course, it had to be a home run to Gettis who happened to hit his fourth of the series.

We all knew that Smith would eventually give up a run but in this game not good. It was the only bad pitch Smith pitched in the two innings he was in. Sort of wonder if he should of walked Gettis.

After the game the Mariners optioned Medina and Olson to Tacoma. They did not announce at the time who would replace them though speculation is left handed reliever Joe Beimel and shortstop Christ Taylor. Announcement is expected today. This would leave six relievers in the bullpen; so the Mariners will need to another reliever. Chris Taylor maybe there to take the place of center- fielder Austin Jackson who sprained his ankle in Sunday’s game.

The Mariners do have a day off on Thursday so it is possible they will skip a starter in the rotation. That starter could be looking at doing long relief and the Mariners getting another regular reliever when they return home on Friday.

The Mariners did have several chances to win the game on Sunday. They especially lost a run when Brad Miller hit a triple and did not come home on the play that Austin Jackson turned his ankle. On the next play he was thrown out at home on a fly out to right field by Seth Smith. Originally Miller was called safe but was overturned in replay by the umpires.

We can only hope now that the Mariners can go into Anaheim and win two out of the three at the expense of the Angels. Players like Robinson Cano will need to get out of their slumps and we can hope the pitchers will return to good form. Positive side Felix Hernandez will take the mound tonight.

The Mariners will need to change their ways in May. We hope that June will not make it another season of disappointment. They need to relax and play ball. We all know that they have the talent. Go Mariners!

 

2015 NFL Draft Concludes

The NFL college draft concluded after seven rounds on Saturday May 2. I am sure the so-called experts have said who they think the best and worst teams did during the draft. The problem we really will not know the outcome for some time.

The Seattle Seahawks the year they drafted Russell Wilson as a third round picked were given a rating of a D and we all know how that worked out since they have been to two straight super bowls and winning won of them and should have won the second. In fact most people think they may go a third straight super bowl. Other words so much for what the draft experts think as soon when the draft ends.

The first two picks in the draft both being quarterbacks have question marks how far they will go; Jameis Winston the top pick in the draft by Tampa Bay singed a four year contract; however, there are question marks in his character. Marcus Mariota out of Oregon did not play in a conventional pro type offense so who knows as well for sure. We can go down the list knowing the question marks of each player. There will be those who are successful and those who will not but it could be three or four years before we really know.

 My team the Seattle Seahawks first pick for them in the second round was Frank Clark defensive end out of Michigan. He was surprise by everyone because he had been kicked off the team for domestic violence. The local media sure went into questioning General Manager John Schneider and Head Coach Pete Carroll who both said that they really looked into his past and they were assured that he had not assaulted the woman in question. The media really wanted to know why they spent so much time looking into his situation and whether he was work the take. Coach Carroll felt Clark had a real upside to him. At this point we can only trust their judgment since he is a risk.

The second pick in the draft by the Seahawks in the third round was wide receiver/returner Tyler Lockett out of Kansas State. The Seahawks traded up that round to get Lockett. They believe he can be both the punt and kick returner which they need. He will back up Doug Baldwin as the slot receiver. Last season I only watched him once in a game for Kansas State; however, I was very impressed, and excited for him now to be a Seahawk.

The remaining picks by the Seahawks were players that I have no idea how good they are. I am sure most Seahawks fans feel the same way. As I said before only time will tell; the Seahawks drafted two offensive linemen in the fourth round along with another in the sixth round. They were in need of offensive line especially in depth. At least one of them will need to start for them at the beginning of the next season.

The Seahawks also drafted another defensive end Obum Gwacham out of Oregon State in the sixth round as well. It is another position that the Seahawks can use some depth in back up roles right now. Also for depth they draft two defensive backs in the fifth round and seventh round. Both are excited to learn from the legion of boom.

We found out that the last player in the draft in the seven round by the Seahawks defensive back Ryan Murphy is a cousin of the “beast mode “Marshawn Lynch. He lived in Marshawn’s home when he was sixteen years old and considers him his mentor.

The Seahawks also signed twelve college free agents after the draft as well.  I have to say I never heard of any of them either. The odds I am sure if any of them will actually play for the Seahawks in the NFL is very remote. It is a chance one or two could make the roster or the practice squad.