Mariners Take Two From Astros

In a way it was a tough series however great road trip with the Mariners taking two out of three from the Astros after sweeping the White Sox. The White Sox after the Mariners losses decided it was the end so they traded three more of their top players. Amazing what teams do when they lose to the Mariners. I wonder what the Astros will do now that they lost two out of three at home against the Mariners. Of course I am not being serious here they could keep on winning once again or fall on their faces like the Angels did in 1995 and wouldn’t it be nice to revisit that year again with a different team in its place.

The Mariners are now back at 500 with one day below. They have a record of 48-48 winning five out of six coming out of the all-star break. I am not sure what that means other than that general manager Jerry Dipoto thinks they are still a contender and he will make a trade or more to bolster the roster especially in the pitching. There is talk that they are ready to make a trade for a reliever so it could happen today. I will let others speculate who that may be.

What made that series so good was that the Mariners were in a tight series however came out being triumphant. The pitching was good in two of the three games and the defense was awesome all the way through. The Mariners depended on some timely hitting especially home runs. I guess you could say Minute Maid Park is a homers park. This series should give the players more confidence in their playing. We know to that manager Scott Servais has the primary relievers set to pitch in any series we just hope that they are not overused. Although another reliever supposed to come aboard it would be nice to get another starter as well.

The Mariners now start another well-meaning series against the New York Yankees and then the Boston Red Sox back in Safeco Field. I expect that Safeco will be filled with a lot of fans. If the Mariners can take three out of four against the Yankees then they will take over them for the second wild card and be closer to the first wild card.

Right now we have to see what trader Jerry will do over the next ten days or so. I am sure he will surprise us in some manner since he always does. It would be nice to see a major trade along with some minor ones as well. The important thing we have to remember when he makes a trade it will be for the future as well as for today. In the meantime we will enjoy Mariner baseball. Oh yes can’t forget thanks James Paxton for a well-pitched game on Wednesday afternoon. Thursday night see Felix Hernandez take care of the Yankees. He likes taking them out.  

Add on: Thursday morning Jerry Dipoto traded with the Miami Marlins and picked up reliever David Phelps for four prospects. Should be in Seattle to face the Yankees. Have to see what other trades the Mariners may come up with. A plus for the bullpen for sure. Not sure who will be sent down yet.