What More Can We Say Mariners

I am not sure what more I can say about the Mariners after the weekend they had in Anaheim against the Angels.

The pitching still continues to be outstanding but the hitting is on the downturn. We can only hope that players will listen to Edgar Martinez and the hitting will come around.

We know the issue is not the Mariners are not able to get runners on base because they do; however, they are unable to get them home. We can hope that Edgar will discuss with them how to drive in runs.

On Saturday’s game that was watched on Fox Eric Karros said the problem is Safeco Field; the players can’t hit in the park. I disagree they have to take the same approach that Nelson Cruz does and Edgar did for so many years. The importance is not to try to hit home runs, and to hit the ball where it is pitched. The most important thing is to concentrate when runners are on base. Find a way to either advance the runner or drive them in. The reason the Mariners won 116 games in 2001 because they were able to score runs often with two outs. This team has very little success in that matter. In fact they have trouble scoring with either one or no outs with runners at third base. I find it hard to count how many times Austin Jackson leaves standing at third.

Tonight (June 30) Iwakuma is making another rehab assign-

ment with Triple A Tacoma. They expect him to pitch six innings and ninety pitches. If things go well he could be activated on Sunday July 5. The problem which is a good one who does he replace? The mostly likely choice is Elias. Whether to send Elias down to Tacoma is a hard one to answer. I would like to see him pitch in the bullpen but I said the same thing when the season started.

Whatever the choices the Mariners need to make in the bullpen it is nothing like the hitting. The Mariners do now have Gutierrez up playing against lefthanders. I believe he can help with the situations of getting runners home. In fact in the first game he played he had a sacrifice fly. Also, he can help with the defense. Other than an occasional start Dustin Ackley’s role is to come into games in the late innings for defensive. I wonder if he will be traded before July is over. Of course there is no value for him. It may be better to wait until the off season.

I hope I can talk in July where the Mariners have rebounded from an awful first half of the season. I am sure we would have thought the Mariners would be in the lead of the division like Houston and the Astros would be in the Mariners spot. Though they are having a good season this year you wonder if the Mariners have the same bug of losing like the Cubs. Looking at it in another way at least the Washington Nationals are not doing much better than the Mariners. It would be dishearten if the Nationals went to the World Series this year. Remember the Mariners and Nationals are the only teams never go to a World Series. Leave at that; so we can say again Go Mariners!