Mariners Swept and Football

The Seattle Mariners ended the road trip on a soar note. Against Tampa Bay and the Atlanta Braves the Mariners had a good half of the road trip taking 4 of 6 however the second half went the other way where they beat the Yankees the first gam however lost five straight with two against New York and three against the Orioles.

The sad part of the second half of the road trip they could have easily split or taken two out of three as well. This was especially true against the Orioles where they had the lead in the first game along with the third game. Ramirez had a good game pitching where he gave up two home runs in six innings on Tuesday however the offense didn’t do their job. Wednesday the team had a very good lead where they led early 6-2 but Ariel Miranda gave up two home runs in the fifth inning. One was a solo while the other was a two-run homer. He was taken out after the second home run. It was ridiculous in my mind because he was pitching well keeping the ball low with his split finger and then high inside with the fastball however he got balls down the middle of the plate that were crushed. All he had to do was being aggressive and do those two things to stay in the game.

The Mariners were able to chase Orioles starter Jimenez in the third inning where Haniger hit a double that drove in two runs with two outs and then he was followed by Mike Zunino with another double that drove in more runs. It put the Mariners ahead at 6-2 before the scored three in the fourth inning and tied scoring another in the fifth 6-6. The Orioles took a one run lead in the sixth however Mitch Haniger had a solo to tie the game again in the eighth but Schoop hit in the winning run in the bottom of the eighth. Former Mariner Castillo was the hitting star for the Orioles getting four hits and driving in three like Haniger. Bergman was the loser for the Mariners.

In football the Seahawks have their final pre-season playing the Raiders in Oakland. The Mariners have the day off so don’t have decide which game to see. There was talk on Wednesday that wide receiver Jermaine Kearse might be traded.  Having receivers like Tyler Lockett and Paul Richardson especially getting hurt is that a good idea. Kasen Williams who like he has made the team it will be his first chance to make the roster so with these questions is it a good idea that Kearse is traded and Russell Wilson loves throwing the ball to him.

Facing the Raiders we will Marshawn Lynch however how much anyone’s guess is. Otherwise this is a meaningless game unless you are still trying to make the roster. I am sure we will see some good action tonight.

On Friday night the first day of September the University of Washington Huskies take on Rutgers back in New Jersey. The Huskies should win this game fairly easy the questions will be the wide receiver position with the loss of John Ross. Also the Huskies are replacing the three defensive backs that went to the NFL as well. Another thing will see the maturity of quarterback Jake Browning who is now going into his third year starting for the Huskies. What I liked last year was his passes to the sidelines. I think he is the best I have ever seen do that and it would be good if he can do his other passing just as good. The Huskies running game should be even better than last year. They went with two backs last year but they may have three or four runners to use this season. They could wear out the other team when they get to the fourth quarter especially with a big lead.

The Washington State Cougars take on Montana State Saturday Night at home in Martin Stadium. What is unusual is that the Cougars have seven home games this season and five of them lead off the season. Next Saturday Sept. 9 the Cougars will host Boise State. That should be a tough game for the Cougars.  It will be interesting to see if their running game will be better this season to match the passing attack. In any case this weekend go Seahawks, Huskies, Cougars and the Mariners.

Orioles Blank Mariners

What started out being a pretty good road trip where the Mariner beat the Tampa Bay Rays and the Atlanta Braves two out of three on each one to make the first two series 4-2.  It has been a disappointing in the last two series where the Mariners have lost two games out of three to the Yankees in New York and so far lost the first two games to the Orioles in Baltimore. The Mariners will have to win the final game Wednesday afternoon in Baltimore to make it 6-6 on the road trip.

The Orioles beating the Mariners on Tuesday night were all done on the long ball which should not be a surprise. The Mariners losing 4-0 the Orioles scored all four runs on solo home runs. Two of the solo home runs were off of starter Erasmo Ramirez who had another outstanding game outside of them. He pitched six innings giving up five hits including the home runs he walked two batters and striking out seven. In many cases it would have been a victory for Ramirez like on Monday night if he had pitched then. James Pazos gave up a home run in the seventh inning and Casey Lawrence did as well. Each gave up one other hit but still the home runs were solo. Both struck out a batter without walking anyone.

The Mariners had one hit in the game and that was a bunt off the bat of Kyle Seager who was going against the shift. Only two other batters reached the base on walks. It was Yonder Alonso and Mike Zunino.

Ariel Miranda goes for the Mariners on Wednesday. He has been struggling for the last two months or so. The plus side he is the only starting pitcher for the Mariners not to miss a start all season long.  He will be facing Ubaldo Jimenez who has a losing record along with a high earned run average so the Mariners could get back to scoring runs like they did against the Orioles on Monday hopefully with a win instead.

I am sure the players will be glad to come home after being on the road for two weeks and playing twelve games. They will be playing three series before going back on the road again. They will play the Oakland A’s over this weekend followed by the Houston Astros next week and then the Los Angeles Angels next weekend. It will be important that the Mariners do well on this home stand to have any chance to make the playoffs.

There is word that the Mariners have made a trade with the St. Louis for pitcher Mike Leake. He hasn’t had very good seasons this year or last however I am sure the Mariners hope that he will do a better job than the pitchers currently in the rotation besides Ramirez. The Mariners traded a minor league infielder for him. How much he helps the Mariners we will find out. I figure Dipoto believes that he will be better than those who are in the rotation now. When Felix and Paxton return the rotation looks it will be Paxton, Felix, Ramirez, Miranda and Leake. Go M’s.  

Mariners Offense Works Pitching Doesn’t

The Seattle Mariners opened the last series on the current twelve game road trip losing to the Baltimore Orioles 7-6.

The offense played a good game most of the time how the pitching was disappointing at least from the starter Marco Gonzales. The bullpen was good most of the time though Emilio Pagan gave up the winning run although he stopped a rally when he came into the game.

The infield defense wasn’t that good in my mind. At least at shortstop and third base; Segura made some good plays along with Seager however I was disappointed the balls that got between them. I thought that they could have gotten those balls however the infield could have been faster than I think. Whatever the case a couple of plays on the infield could have made the difference. Of course we will never know for sure. When a team is fighting for the playoffs at this time of the year every play can make whether the team will win.

Danny Valencia and Ben Gamel were the hitting heroes. Valencia hit a solo homer in the second inning and Ben Gamel a three-run homer in the fourth inning. It put the Mariners ahead 4-3 however the Orioles scored two in the bottom of the fourth to make it 5-4. The game went back and forth. Pagan gave up the final run in the seventh inning.

Marco Gonzales went only three and one-third innings in the game giving up five earned runs on eight hits. He walked two and struck out two batters. Bergman came in to replace him. He pitched two innings and gave up a home run in the fifth inning to Andrew Jones. After getting some more runners on base in the sixth inning Pagan came in and replaced him. He finished the game for the Mariners. He took the loss because the run he gave up in the seventh inning. In general he has done a good job since he has been called up. He is really good getting batters out with runners on base. I wonder if the Mariners should have replaced him in the seventh inning.

Now the Mariners are even on the season and on the twelve game road trip right now at 5-5 with two games remaining. They open up a home stand on Friday against the A’s and then followed by the Astros and Angels to begin September.

Erasmo Ramirez takes the mound Tuesday night against Dylan Bundy who has a 12-8 record. The Orioles have been playing good ball again so it will continue being a tough series for the Mariners. We hope that the Mariners win the remaining two games. Go M’s.

Defense Brings Down Mariners

The Seattle Mariners had the chance to win another series the third one on the current road trip however defense in the first brought it to a screeching halt.

The Mariners started off the first inning with a double by Nelson Cruz that drove in Yonder Alonzo however that ended right there. In the bottom of the first their defense let them down by having five errors one by Ben Gamel who missed a catch, Jean Segura who had three of the errors fielding, catch and throw. The fifth error was a fielding miscue by Kyle Seager. After the game Seager said he couldn’t repeat the words that he was thinking after his error. Also he said that they didn’t play defense in the first and the pitcher deserved batter. I would have to say that is an understatement.

The five errors allowed the Yankees to score six runs in the first inning. Of course it would be hard for any team to overcome that even if they played a perfect game after the first inning. Andrew Albers who started his third game for the Mariners was able to get through five innings. Actually he started the sixth inning however Dan Altavilla replaced him. In total Albers gave up eleven hits and two walks in the five innings plus. His line was eight runs with only three earned and he struck out four.

Altavilla on the other hand went the rest of the way going three innings giving up four hits and two runs that made the final score 10-1. The Mariners have a record of 5-4 heading to Baltimore to take on the Orioles. We hope that the team can get into their heads to play better defense. The last time a time in the major leagues had five errors was 1977 when the Mariners were an expansion team. They actually were not the team that had the five error that honor goes to the Chicago Cubs.

The Mariners had a total of six hits in the game and no player had any more than one hit. Of course if you took the three earned runs in the game when Albers pitched the Mariners could have had a chance to win.

In team news Jarrod Dyson is eligible to come off the disabled list however he isn’t ready to do so. The Mariners right now have eight relievers in the bullpen so if Dyson were able to come off the disabled list likely it would be for a pitcher and my guess would be Dan Altavilla since he pitched three innings on Sunday.

Marco Gonzales will be taking the first start of the series on Monday night against the Orioles. Though he has struggled to get past the fifth inning it would be nice if the Mariners could have him go six innings. The bright spot the Orioles have ex-Mariner Chris Tillman who has been having problems all season. In fact he was sent to the bullpen for a couple weeks. His last outing was last Sunday when he went five and one-third innings. He gave up four runs on four hits however walked six batters while striking out two. If the Mariners can be patient at the beginning of the game they should be in good position to score runs early off of Tillman and get him out of the game so the Orioles have to use their bullpen for several innings. This is a good shot for the Mariners to win the opening game of the series. They did win the first game against the Yankees so the chances look good. If the Mariners win the series they can come home with a record of 7-5 on this road trip and 8-4 if they sweep the Orioles. It is nice to see that they are still in this wild card race after being on the road for nine games.

This coming Friday will be September 1 so the Mariners will be able to expand their rosters. How many players will come up is anyone’s guess however I am sure they will bring up a few pitchers. James Paxton and Felix Hernandez might still be a couple weeks before their returns. Iwakuma not sure if he will pitch the rest of the season or not. One thing for sure the Mariners will want both Paxton and Hernandez be totally healthy otherwise will not help them get to the playoffs or when they are in it. I would say that Andrew Albers has a good chance to stay in the rotation when Paxton and Felix return. I would send Gallardo back to the bullpen when one or both return. The Mariners could go with a six-man rotation the rest of the way as well. Go M’s.

Yankees Even Series

The New York Yankees under the pitching of Sonny Grey beat the Seattle Mariners Saturday afternoon 6-3.

The Yankees took the early lead in the second inning scoring a run to make it 1-0. Cooch Ruiz tied the score for the Mariners in the top of the third on a solo home run his second of the season. The Yankees took the lead for good when Jacoby Ellsbury hit a three run homer to put the Yankees up to 4-1.

The score kept that way until the seventh inning when the Yankees scored two more runs including another RBI by Ellsbury. He drove in four of the Yankees six runs. Those two runs were off of Casey Lawrence who came in the sixth inning to replace Gallardo who was supposed to face Ellsbury the first time after giving up the three run homer. Now the score is 6-1. The Mariners scored two runs in the top of the eighth inning with Kyle Seager and Guillermo Heredia each driving in a run. Cano came in to pinch hit for Taylor Motter with two runs on base and two outs however he struck out to end the rally and the final score being 6-3.  Now this is another game where the Mariners lost scoring three runs or less.  The positive side the Mariners only used two pitchers so they have a bullpen that will be ready to go on Sunday afternoon if necessary.

Andrew Albers who the Mariners picked up from the Atlanta Braves after James Paxton went on the disabled list will make his third start. He is 2-0 in those starts and going ten innings. If he can go the same way on Sunday as he has the previous two games then the Mariners have a good start in winning the game. He will face Masahiro Tanaka who will make his second start after coming off the disabled list. In his last start he gave up three runs on six hits through seven innings. If Albers can go five or six inning giving up a couple or three runs and the Mariners can get three runs off of Tanaka then they have a good shot in beating the Yankees and taking the third series in a row on the current road trip. Even if the Mariners don’t win they will go into the series against the Orioles in Baltimore with a record of 5-4.

Jean Segura and Ben Gamel who have been their best hitters almost all season are right now in a slump. Neither one got a hit in Saturday’s game. It will be nice if they can rebound on Sunday and have a good series against the Orioles. I expect that Segura will come back because he has the history of doing so though Gamel doesn’t.  Not known right now whether Cano will be in the lineup on Sunday or wait until the Orioles series. The Mariners may move Motter over to shortstop to give Segura the day off if Cano can play. It is nice to see that Heredia was able to recover quickly when he was taken out of the game on Wednesday when he was hit below the elbow. Right now he has done well especially defensively along with making key hits when the Mariners are scoring several runs in one inning. Right now he is my favorite player and I like all the outfielders along with Segura. They are bringing some young spark to a team that is older in the other positions except catcher with Zunino. Recently Zunino has picked up his hitting. It would be nice if he can keep it up. The Mariners can use his hitting to go along with his defense. Until next time go M’s.

Mariners and Seahawks Both Win!

It was good news that both the Seattle Mariners and Seahawks won on Friday night. The game for the Mariners was more important because they are in the regular season while the Seahawks was their third pre-season game. They have one more to go for pre-season on the road next Thursday night. The regular season begins on September 10^th when they play against the Green Bay Packers at home.

The Mariners are playing a weekend series in New York against the Yankees. The last series against the Yankees was in Seattle where they beat the Mariners three out of four games so it was important that the Mariners win since they are still in the race for the second wild card.

The series figured to be hard because of who the Yankees were having as starting pitching. Friday night the Mariners had to face CC Sabathia who is having a pretty good season. He wasn’t a disappointment because the Mariners only scored one run off of him a home run by Mike Zunino in the fourth inning. The Mariners though had Ariel Miranda who was able to match up well with Sabathia at least into the fifth inning. He threw too many pitches so he only last four and a third innings. Fortunately the bullpen came through though Dave Phelps did struggle in two-thirds of an inning. The Yankees were able to tie the game at 1-1 in the eighth inning off of Phelps. The Mariners were fortunate that the Yankees didn’t score any more runs. The Mariners had their opportunities to score as well. The game went into extra innings where in the eleventh inning Yonder Alonso hit a towering shot off of reliever Chapman too make it 2-1 that turned out to be the winner. Edwin Diaz pitched the bottom of the eleventh getting the save. He did give up a walk but no hits. This would have been a tough game for the Mariners to lose. Now they are 5-2 on current road trip with five games remaining. It is good news that they won the first game of the series. The Mariners will have Yovani Gallardo going for them against Sonny Grey. This will be the first time the Mariners face Grey since he was traded to the Yankees from the Oakland A’s. Like Miranda Gallardo has been struggling when he has been in starting rotation most of the season; we hope though he can pitch like Miranda did except go further in the game. Right now the Mariners want to have their starters go six innings if they can and be in the game when the bullpen is called in. Saturday’s game is an afternoon game in New York so it will be televised this morning in Seattle.

The Seahawks on the other hand won their third pre-season game at home against the Kansas City Chiefs 26-13. They play next on the road on Thursday on Aug 31 in the last pre-season game. They can go for an undefeated pre-season however will that run over into the regular season? We will find out when the season begins on Sept. 10 against the Packers.

Quarterback Russell Wilson has had a good pre-season so far. He threw for two hundred yards and a touchdown completing thirteen out of nineteen attempts. I would have to say that is well for a good night. The offensive line did a good job as well. Both the running backs and wide receivers are having good competition in camp. Most likely a few good ones won’t make the team. The Seahawks may make a few cuts before the last pre-season game though they are no longer required to do so until after the fourth game.

The backup quarterback position is still up in the air. Yes I know a terrible pun. Anyway Thursday night game will determine whether the backup will be Boykin or Davis. Both of them have had their highlights as well as downlights during camp. The Seahawks will only keep one of them on the roster. In a week we will have the answers who makes the squad and who doesn’t. So let’s go Mariners and Seahawks.

Seahawks take on Chiefs

 The Seahawks play the Chiefs in CenturyLink Field Friday night in a national televised game. Coach Pete Carroll plans to play the first team most of the first half. Running back Thomas Rawls will miss the game again and Eddie Lacy will start in his place. Also running back CJ Prosise is expected to miss the game.

 On the offense the Seahawks will be trying different players at the left tackle position in place of George Fant who got hurt last week and is out for the season. The Seahawks hope in having one player to start and not move offensive lineman around like last year. This game will answer who will start the season for the Hawks on the offense and defense side. It will be important for the players who are expectant to be the backup players as well and round out the roster.

The offensive line starting should be Luke Joeckel at left guard. He can move over to the left tackle if necessary however with Fant out now for the season the Seahawks will start Reese Odhiambo at left tackle. Justin Britt who signed a three-year extension last week will start at center. On the right side will be Oday Aboushi at guard and Germain Ifedi at tackle. It is important game for Ifedi because he is marginal right now. How he plays will determine whether he starts the season. Offensive line coach Tom Cable along with Carroll will decide how it will go. Cable knows that they don’t want to move players around like they did last year.

Jimmy Graham will start again at tight end and Luke Willson will see his first action of the fall since he has been injured. This game may decide the third tackle spot between Nick Vannett going into his second year and converted quarterback Tyrone Swoops.

Doug Baldwin will start at one receiver while Paul Richardson will be on the other side. Jermaine Kearse will likely be the one in on third receiver sets. Again Kasen Williams who has had an outstanding pre-season will see action on Richardson’s side too along with special teams. He most likely already has made the team however this game may seal it for him. The Seahawks likely will keep Tyler Lockett on the side lines.

We will likely see Russell Wilson the whole first half while Trevone Boykin will be in the third quarter and Austin Davis in the fourth at quarterback. At this point Boykin likely will be the backup quarterback.

On the defensive side the ends will be Michael Bennett on the left and Cliff Avril on the right. In the middle between them will be Rubin on the left and Reed on the right. The linebackers will be Bobby Wagner in the middle with KJ Wright be back on one side of him and Michael Wilhoite on the other side. Richard Sherman will start on one cornerback while Jeremy Lane or Shaquill Griffin on the other side. Also Pierre Desire and Mike Tyson will see action on that side. Kam Chancellor will start at strong safety while Earl Thomas will be at the free safety spot. It has been great to see Thomas able to play after being injured at the end of last season.

Blair Walsh will be the place kicker while Jon Ryan continues to do the punting. Tyler Ott is the long snapper while Paul Richardson will be on kickoff returns and JD McKissic will be at the other for Tyler Lockett while taking his spot as punt returner as well.

Again this will be a big game for those who are trying to make the team as the backups and special teams. The Seahawks final pre-season game will be on Aug. 31. Go Hawks!    

Mariners Take Series Over Braves

It was nice to see the Mariners come back from the shutout on Tuesday night to take the series on Wednesday beating the Braves 9-6.

The game started out shaky with Erasmo Ramirez giving up two runs in the first inning. He got off the hook because he could have given up more runs. It was amazing because I didn’t think he would last three innings alone go six innings. Nice way that he was able fix his problems and he got a couple hits in the game and drove in a run as well to help his cause.

The Mariners were able to take the lead 4-3 in the third inning and it stayed that way until the seventh when the Braves scored two runs to take a 5-4. I find it interesting that Marc Rzepczynski recorded a hold and then Dave Phelps who came off the disable list before the game got a blown save. He recorded the win because the Mariners scored five runs in the top of the eighth to take a 9-5 lead. Marc R had runners on base that allowed Phelps to have the blown save that is what I find interesting. Phelps shouldn’t have gotten the victory either. They should give the victory to the team instead. Nick Vincent pitched two-thirds of an inning in the eighth giving up one run. Edwin Diaz came in with the two outs in the eighth and finished the ninth to get the save. If anyone should have gotten the victory it should have been Ramirez since the team was ahead when he left the game or give it to Diaz.

The Mariners lost both Robinson Cano and Guillermo Heredia during the game. Cano to a hamstring and Heredia below the elbow when he was hit; they are both listed as day to day. When Phelps was activated the Mariners designated Leonys Martin for assignment. He will be assigned to Tacoma if he goes through waivers once again. Though Cano and Heredia are day to day the Mariners will likely bring up a position player to be sure they have enough to cover. In that case a reliever will have to be sent down.

The Mariners will face the Yankees in New York over the weekend in a three game series. They have Thursday off so I will write about the Seahawks going into their third pre-season game. The series will be tough because CC Sabathia will pitch Friday for the Yankees followed by Sonny Grey on Saturday and Tanaka on Sunday. The Mariners could lose all three tough games in New York however the offense could do a good job against them since they do know all three pitchers well. Next week they will take on the Orioles in Baltimore before returning next Friday Sept 1 home. It would be a success if the Mariners could at least go 3-3 in those six games and give them 7-5 on this road trip. Go M’s.

Braves Shut Out Mariners

Not a big surprise to me that the Mariners got shut out on Tuesday by the Braves. It was a similar situation when they got shut out in Tampa Bay on Sunday. They allowed a pitcher that only pitched four major league games in his career to get the best of them. They seem to do better against pitchers like Chris Sale.

I wonder if they will ever learn their lesson when they face pitchers like Sims. He was able to go six innings and only give up three hits while walking two and striking out four. The final score was 4-0. If they had scored like other teams did in his previous games the Mariners would have scored at least three runs and would have been in the game. Whatever the problem is they need to learn to play better in these games.

The Mariners had another poor game of fielding as well. James Pazos who pitched an inning and a third along with Danny Altavilla who was brought up to replace Tony Zych who went on the disabled list each gave an unearned run. Oh yes Altavilla got in two innings so I am sure he will stick around since no long reliever was used.

The top of the order didn’t produce much in the game. Nelson Cruz who started in right field because of no dh didn’t get a hit at all. Mike Zunino got a couple hits in the bottom of the order however he struck out in the ninth inning with runners on base. I am not sure why the Mariners didn’t pinch hit for him in the game. He has been doing better of late but doesn’t do well with runners on base most of the time. I would recommend hitting for him when runners are on base. On the positive side the Mariners only used three pitchers in the game so most of the bullpen will be rested for Wednesday’s game.

Erasmo Ramirez will be going against former Mariner R.J. Dickey in Wednesday’s game. I don’t have prediction since the game could go either way. It would be nice if the offense can come back alive for the Mariners. We will be rooting for you win the series going into New York over the weekend. Thursday will be a day off so using the bullpen in the best way can happen. I wonder what the guys will be up to on their day off in New York. A lot to do in New York for sure. Go M’s.

Mariners Take First in Atlanta

The really good news is that the Mariners took the first game of the series against the Braves in Atlanta. What that means is continuing on in the wild card race and whether they win the remaining two in the series or not at least they have taken care of the first important game. I think it is always important to when the first game.

The Mariners scored first in the game going ahead 1-0 in the top of the second however the Braves responded by scoring two runs in the second that included a home run by catcher Suzuki. This is a guy I have wished that the Mariners could have acquired after he left playing for the Oakland A’s. He would be fine fit playing a couple times a week at catcher for the Mariners along with pinch hitting role. He could have been the regular catcher when Mike Zunino was struggling and spent parts of two seasons at triple A. It is not always easy to find a good catcher these days but when one is available to go out and snatch him.

The Mariners came back and tied the score in the third inning at 2.-2 and then scored three runs in the fourth inning. It included a hit and an rbi by Mariner starter Andrew Albers. It was his first in the major league for both.  Yonder Alonso had his best game as a Mariner hitting two doubles and driving in three runs including in the fourth inning. The Mariners scored their final run in the top of the six to make it a 6-2 lead however the Braves made it interesting scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth to make the final score 6-5. The Mariners bullpen especially Nick Vincent who got the final out in the seventh inning was able to get through the eighth without giving up a hit as well. He actually only threw seven pitches to record the four outs so he should be available again on Tuesday. Edwin Diaz recorded his twenty-eighth save pitching the ninth inning to preserve the win. He did give up one hit but otherwise pitched well.

Marco Gonzales will make the start for the Mariners in the middle game of the series on Tuesday. The importance for the Mariners is hoping that he will be able to get through five innings with the Mariners leading in the game. He faces Lucas Sims for the Braves who has started and pitched in four games for them. He has a record of 1-3 with an era of 5.24. Also he has given up four home runs in those games so the Mariners have a good chance to score some runs off of him however as we know this doesn’t always work for the Mariners offense. Only on Sunday they scored no runs against Seattle native Blake Snell for the Tampa Bay Rays. We hope that the Mariners will have more success against Sims.

With Gonzales starting for the Mariners we could see long reliever Casey Lawrence along with lefty James Pazos pitching multiple innings in relief. In pitching news Dave Phelps pitched a simulated game on Monday and could be activated on Wednesday or over the weekend against the Yankees. Also Iwakuma has done a little throwing to see how his shoulder is going. Not sure whether he will be back soon or at all this season. The Mariners are expecting Felix Hernandez and James Paxton to start throwing this week as well. Most likely they may return early September. This will be good news for the rotation along with the bullpen. Right now the important thing is that the starters will go at least five innings and hopefully six or seven to keep the bullpen rested as possible. The Mariners will likely make at least a few moves in the bullpen before the September roster call ups happen.

I don’t expect that the Mariners will acquire another player however with Dipoto we can never say never; he does make a move most likely a pitcher and could be someone for the bullpen. In the meantime we enjoy the rest of this road trip.

Major League Baseball Having Expanded Rosters

Right now major league baseball expands rosters in September. They can have up to forty players if they would like to. They have a forty man roster as well as the regular twenty-man roster that goes throughout the season. If a player is brought up that is not on the forty man roster the team has to remove a player if the roster is full. The same goes if a player is traded as well.

My idea is that the team instead of having a twenty-five man roster when the season begins until September they make the roster to be twenty-eight in April and expand to thirty after the all-star break when team are playing almost every day. This would give teams players needed rest especially the bullpen or dealing with injuries.

This expansion of the roster could play out like they do in the NFL. The team would still have twenty-five players activated for a series so three would be deactivated and five after the all-star break. A team could have one of their starters be deactivated if they wanted to because they wouldn’t be pitching in that series any way. This would allow teams like the Mariners to carry at least a couple long relievers in a series instead of continuing bring them up back and forth; they could carry an extra infielder, outfielder and catcher. This way you could pinch hit for Zunino or Carlos Ruiz without worry about injury. Also you could deactivate a player like Seager was last week when he was sick or carry an extra infielder on the twenty-five roster for that series. This could go for someone like Robinson Cano or Nelson Cruz who may look at not playing in a series because of an injury and the team doesn’t have to put them on the disabled list. This would make teams more competitive and exciting during the season. The cost would not be that much more because the three to five players would be getting paid the minimum salary and the cost is not that much more than what they are getting paid in the minor leagues.  This would allow the teams to be healthier as well during the season. I believe this would make major league baseball better overall as well.

No Sweep For Mariners

The Mariners had the opportunity to win three games against the Tampa Bay Rays especially when Yovani Gallardo pitched an unusual good game.

I am sure Mariner fans continue to be frustrated because the Mariners can’t get along when they go above the five hundred mark by a couple games and can’t hit against a pitcher who has been struggling most of the season. Blake Snell who is a native of Seattle did have incentive to do well against his hometown team. He gave up only two hits, walked two and struck out eight. A very good performance especially for the Mariners offense that have a hard time hitting against pitchers who are having a subpar season;  manager Scott Servais did make the lineup right handed hitting heavy since Snell is a left. Only lefties in the lineup were Robinson Cano and Ben Gamel. The Mariners had Taylor Motter inserted in the lineup in place of Kyle Seager. Motter was recalled and activated before the game.

The two hits that came off of Snell were both singles by Cano and Cruz. It was interesting that Danny Valencia who started because he is platooning now with Yonder Alonso at first base struck out all three times he faced Snell.

Gallardo pitched as I said before a good game he did give a home run to lead off the game and then again in the seventh inning with a runner on base. Those are where the Rays got all three runs scored in the game. It makes me still wonder what the Mariners era would be if they didn’t give up so many home runs. The Mariners could have replaced Gallardo in the seventh inning before giving up the home run however Servais decided to leave him in the game. Though the Mariners have seven relief pitchers on the staff right now you would have thought they could have brought in a pitcher before Gallardo gave up the home run.  After the home run the Mariners brought in left specialist Marc Rzepczynski to face center fielder Kiermaier who let off the game with a home run. Kiermaier and Lucas Duda who batter after each other both are left handed hitters. We can guess that Servais wanted to save a right handed pitcher before facing those two. It is hard to say whether things would have been different if the Mariners had brought in another pitcher before Marc R.

On the positive note the Mariners did win the series two games to one and only used two relief pitchers in the game. Casey Lawrence pitched the eighth inning for the Mariners since they were behind 3-0 the same as the final score. The Mariners did get the chance in the ninth inning to at least tie the game but it was not meant to happen.

Now the Mariners go to Atlanta to face the Braves. Since it is interleague game there is no designated hitter used in a national league park. Personally I believe that the national league rules should be used in the American League parks and vice versa in the National League parks. It would make it interesting for the fans to see the games that way. Speaking of no designated hitter that means likely Nelson Cruz won’t be in the starting lineup unless Servais decides to put him in right field which most likely won’t happen or won’t happen in all three games anyway. He will be available for pinch hitting duties for sure. This will depend on how the games go for the Mariners.

The Mariners will start Andrew Albers against his old team the Braves on Monday night. He will be facing Mike Foltynewicz a right handed pitcher for the Braves having a winning record of 10-8. He does have a high era though of 4.75 so the Mariners may be able to get to him. It would be interesting to see if the Mariners struggle for the second game in a row though. Be really nice to win the first game of the series so the Mariners can look toward winning another series. We will see how it goes. Let’s go M’s.

Two Wins Ten to Go in August

The Seattle Mariners now have gone into Tampa Bay and won the first two games of the series. They have an early game on Sunday starting in just over two hours. Yovani Gallardo goes for the Mariners. Doesn’t give much confidence for a sweep though he has pitched well in Tampa Bay before; the Rays have Blake Snell who is a native from Washington state however he hasn’t been pitching well either. This could be and most likely a high scoring game.

On Saturday the Rays took an early lead scoring a run in the first inning however the Mariners scored four runs in the third inning on a grand slam homer by Mitch Haniger who just came off the disabled list. He took the spot of Jarrod Dyson who was put on the disabled list. Guillermo Heredia is expected to be the main guy playing center field while Dyson is out. Leonys Martin will be the fourth outfielder during this period. Dyson should be activated before the roster expansion on September 1 if he is feeling fine. Depending on what happens in the meantime Martin could go back down to Tacoma for a few days.

The Mariners scored three runs in the fourth inning including a two-run homer off the bat of hot hitting Nelson Cruz. The Mariners had a 7-2 lead going into the sixth inning. Miranda gave up a home run before leaving the game and then Emilio Pagan gave up a two-run homer in the sixth inning after replacing Miranda. Pagan has been pitching pretty well so I will give him some slack in giving up the home run. He pitched the day before as well; so made the score 7-5.

It stayed that way until the 9^th inning when closer Edwin Diaz gave up a solo home run to former Mariner Logan Morrison who was pinch hitting for Daniel Robertson with one out. Fortunately Diaz looked better than his last outing so he was able to get the last two batters out that included a strike out.

The Mariners will be going with primarily right handed lineup since Snell for the Rays is left handed. The only lefties in the lineup will be Robinson Cano and Ben Gamel. Taylor Motter who was just called up from Tacoma will make the start at third base. I am sure it is because of the flu that Seager had and they wanted to give him  a day off. Also Danny Valencia will start at first base with the platooning he has with Yonder Alonso and Carlos Cruz at catcher.

It will be nice if the Mariners could sweep the Rays however they have taken the series which is what they hope to do the rest of the road trip. The Mariners will go to Atlanta for an interleague game before facing the Yankees in New York next week. Not known yet who will start in Atlanta on Monday.  

With the activation of Taylor Motter the Mariners released utility player Danny Espinosa who hasn’t played a lot however did fine when he did. Motter was able to find his stroke again while being down in Tacoma. He could be very valuable for the Mariners on the rest of this road trip. Jean Segura who had a little trouble Saturday with injury will start at short however having Motter around will help if they need to give him a day off. So we hope to see a sweep in Tampa however good job done so far. Go M’s.

Good Friday For Mariners and Seahawks

Both the Seattle Mariners and Seahawks won their games on Friday Night. The Mariners started the game fast and won 7-1 while the Seahawks game was not as close as the score indicated winning 20-13.

Erasmo Ramirez had his second good outing for the Mariners. He again gave up only one run which didn’t happen until the last inning that he pitched. He went a total of six innings he gave up a double to center fielder Kevin Kiermaier who was driven in by first baseman Duda. As of late the Rays have been in trouble scoring runs. This game was another good sign for the Mariners being on the road. The Mariners started the first road trip in August going 6-3 before coming home and going 2-5. The Mariners now are 62-61 with thirty-nine games remaining.  All the other teams except the Minnesota Twins that are in the wild card race lost.

Nelson Cruz continues his hot hitting in August having three hits including two doubles and his 30^th home run. The home run was recorded as the longest ever in Tampa Bay. He has now ninety-eight RBI’s as well. It was nice seeing Kyle Seager back in the lineup after missing two games because of sickness. He drove in his 500^th RBI as well.

Ariel Miranda who has struggled as of late will go for the Mariners. The important thing is that he stays away from giving up home runs. It is a problem in that stadium though. It would be nice if he can go six innings for the game. Only two relievers went for the Mariners in James Pazos who went two and one third innings. He had a good outing giving up one hit, one walk and struck out five. Emilio Pagan finished off the ninth inning giving up one hit and struck out two batters. He has been doing an outstanding job in the bullpen for the Mariners. He will be one of the key guys pitching in relief for the Mariners. Everyone else in the bullpen should be ready to pitch and next week Dave Phelps might be back to pitch in the bullpen.

Kasen Williams again had an outstanding game for the Seahawks. He was in the three set receiver chore in place of Paul Richardson. Also in that chore were Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse. Williams made an outstanding one-handed catch that led to a touchdown which he made as well. Right after that he made an outstanding play on the kickoff. So it looks like he should make the team as an extra receiver. The Seahawks have tough decisions to make at receiver in the same way as running back.

Speaking of running back Eddie Lacy started for Thomas Rawls who didn’t play at all because of an ankle injury however Alex Collins had the most carries ten for a total of fifty-eight yards. Quarterback Russell Wilson threw for two touchdowns when he was in the game. Both backup quarterbacks played as well but neither scored or threw a touchdown. Besides the two touchdowns by Wilson the Seahawks had two field goals in the game. They also missed a field goal as well.

The Seahawks had thirteen different players who caught a pass. Doug Baldwin and Alex Collins led the team with four touchdowns. Besides Williams the other touchdown catch was made by Mike Davis who is trying to make the squad to. His pass was for twenty-two yards. It will be interesting to see who makes the team and who doesn’t. Next two pre-season games will make the difference.  

Friday Night Doubleheader

The Seattle Mariners and Seahawks are both playing Friday night. The Mariners are on the road in Tampa Bay so their game will start first and then the Seahawks start almost two hours later.

At the start of the Seahawks game the Mariners will be in the fourth or fifth inning so we may know whether they are winning or losing. At that point we can switch games if we would like. The Seahawks game being a pre-season game likely I will stay with the Mariners though except I will switch games during the commercials. If I can time it right I will watch the kickoff of the game as well. Also if you are going to Seahawks game then you can listen to the Mariners game on the way.

The Mariners seem to be playing better on the road these days and they are playing the Rays another team in the chase for the wild card so the Mariners hopefully will be ready to play. The Mariners will have Erasmo Ramirez going against the team he was pitching for almost a month ago. His last appearance he pitched pretty well giving up only one run and that was scored on an error. He comes anywhere close to that in this game the Mariners will be in pretty good shape to win the game.

The Mariners start a twelve game road trip playing against four teams. If the Mariners can take two out of three in each of the series they will come home beginning of September with an 8-4 record. We know this could happen if the starters can go six innings in each game and give the bullpen some needed rest. Good news to is that they have two Thursday’s off on the road and another on their way home.

The Seahawks on the other hand came off a dominating game in the first pre-season winning 48-17. Backup quarterback Boykin and receiver Kasen Williams who both had great games will want to show they can duplicate it once again. For both of them it is important to do so that they can make the team. Boykin has a good shot to be on the roster when the season begins. The Seahawks will only carry two quarterbacks on the roster. Austin Davis who the Seahawks signed in the off-season right now is the third quarterback so he will have to play like Boykin did last week to get any chance to make the ball club. Of course injuries will tell the story as well like at any positions on the team.

As far as the offensive line goes Justin Britt is the starting center as he signed a three-year extension on Thursday. The spot for his backup will be second-year Joey Hunt or three-year veteran Will Pericak. If the competition is close Pericak could get the spot because he can play both guard spots as well. The players can play more than one position and do well on special teams often have the edge to make the ball club.

The Seahawks already have announced that second-year pro George Fant will start at left tackle. Quite the story because last year when he started at left tackle somewhere around the middle of the season he had little college or pro experience; he was a former basketball player. Luke Joeckel who the Seahawks signed during the off-season will start at left guard. The right tackle and right guard are still in competition on who will start at the beginning of the season. So this game will be important for those guys as well.

So you may watch either the Mariners or Seahawks I will be looking at watching both games. So go Mariners and Hawks!

Seahawks Take on Vikings

With the Mariners having Thursday off decided to write about the Seahawks. They take on the Minnesota Vikings in the second pre-season game on Friday. After last Sunday’s game winning 48-17 over the Los Angeles Chargers how much better can the Seahawks be? Actually the scores of these four games don’t really matter however it is important for the team to get ready for the first regular season game.

Thursday Coach Peter Carroll said that Thomas Rawls who started the last game will likely not play because of an ankle sprain that occurred against the Chargers. Rawls hasn’t practiced this week and Carroll is not too concerned. Rawls should be back for the third pre-season game. Eddie Lacy who is competing for the number one running back position is expected to start against the Vikings. This will allow the other running backs that are competing more action as well. What we hope for is a lot of Rawls and Lacy when the season begins.

Carroll also mentioned that receivers Tyler Lockett and Paul Richardson probably won’t see action against the Vikings but they will go through pre-game warmups with the team. KJ Wright who has been out of town for what has been called a process whatever that means will be back for next week’s game. Also tight end Luke Willson who is out with a groin injury will miss the game but will be back next week.

The Seahawks had great news where center Justin Britt signed a new three-year contract extension. This will keep him with the Seahawks thru 2020. Last year Britt moved to center which was his third position on the offensive line in three years. He was so successful last season with the move to center that he made the Pro Bowl. Right now he is the stable player in the offensive line. The other four positions are still being competing for and no one is sure how successful they will be but Britt will anchor the line. What I hope for whoever plays the guards and tackle positions are not moved around. It is important that the five regulars stay that way so the Seahawks will have more success with the line. How it looks right now the running game should be a success as long as Rawls and Lacy can stay healthy for the season. If not that one of the other running backs step forward.

Another key to the offense has to do with tight end Jimmy Graham. Though he has had success with the Seahawks the team still has not done well inside the other team’s twenty yard line. It would be nice if this year Russell Wilson can get the ball to Graham frequently inside the twenty along with the wide receivers. Also need to see improvement on third downs as well.  I am not too concerned about the defense and we hope that the special teams will work well for the Seahawks. So the 12^th man enjoy Friday night’s game and go Hawks!

Mariners Win Series Barely

The Seattle Mariners won the final game of the series on a Wednesday afternoon game however it was stressful and frustrating at the same time. The final score was 7-6.

The game went back and forth in a way. The Mariners took a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning on a home run by Yonder Alonso his first for the Mariners. Gonzales struggled in the fifth inning giving up three runs to take 4-3 lead. In the bottom of the inning the Mariners scored three runs to take a 7-4 lead.

Going into the ninth inning it looked like a comfortable lead however Diaz had trouble getting the ball over the plate walking three batters and hitting two batters. When he left the game the score was 7-6. Actually Leonys Martin made an outstanding catch that could have tied the game. Lefty specialist Marc R. (kept it short) got Chris Davis on three strikes to end the game. This was his second save in his career. Manager Scott Servais was ejected on the second hit batsman by Diaz for arguing the call. He thought that Mark Trumbo had gone around on the pitch. It was a 3-2 count. I really hope that Servais learned something from this game.

Now the Mariners are back even again going on the road. They will face the Rays over the weekend in Tampa Ray. The road trip the Mariners will play three against the Rays, the Atlanta Braves, the Yankees and the Orioles. It will be nice if the Mariners could win all four series. Doing so they will go 8-4 and be four games over five hundred. How they do will again will depend on the pitching. Go M’s.

Streak Ends At 5

The Mariners losing streak at home in the latest stand ends at five games.  It was nice to see a good ball game for a change and having Nick Vincent and Edwin Diaz getting in some action along with Emilio Pagan.

The Mariners started newcomer Andrew Albers who went five innings and gave up six hits and one run. The Mariners were leading at the time along with the final score 3-1. Albers struggled early with runners on base however he was able to get out each time. The only run he gave up was a solo home run in the first inning with two outs to second baseman Jonathan Schoop. It was his twenty-sixth home run of the season so he is another heavy hitter in the Baltimore Orioles lineup. It would be nice if Albers could be a solid pitcher in the Mariners lineup even when James Paxton and Felix Hernandez return.

Pagan came in the sixth inning and pitched two excellent innings striking out four and not giving up a hit. Along with Dave Phelps could be valuable pitcher in the bullpen that can go two innings for the Mariners. None of the four relief pitchers gave up a hit in four innings either. It was nice to see Nick Vincent back in relief as well. He pitched the eighth inning and then Edwin Diaz closed out the ninth striking out one batter.

It would have really good if the Mariners would have had this set of pitchers available in the Angels series. They could have won at least one of the games they gave away in the three first games. The Mariners made a total of five roster moves on Tuesday before the game including activating Albers.

Wednesday’s game is an afternoon game with Marco Gonzales going for the Mariners. It would be nice if he could go six innings this time instead. This is the game that Andrew Moore gave the game away. Vincent and Diaz both should be available to pitch an inning once again if the Mariners have a lead.

The Mariners brought up Sam Gaviglio on Tuesday. He probably is the long reliever in Wednesday’s game if needed. Tony Zych I expect is available to pitch an inning or two as well. Personally I would like the relievers to go only an inning however I understand if the starter goes five innings or less. The Mariners do have Thursday off so the Mariners could use the whole bullpen to. They have a weekend series in Tampa Bay against the Rays and then a series against the Atlanta Braves. They have next Thursday off as well before facing the Yankees in New York and the Orioles again in Baltimore. This is how the Mariners play out August.

The Seattle Seahawks take on the Minnesota Vikings in the next pre-season game in Seattle on Friday night. Jeremy Lane is not expected to play at corner and neither is linebacker KJ Wright who is not in camp. They say he is having a process which I am not sure what that means. Fans still having mixed feelings about Michael Bennett sitting during the national anthem; Coach Carroll supports Bennett though he wishes all players would stand for the national anthem. Wide receiver Doug Baldwin says that the team does support Bennett. I can go either way but I am glad that the players are supporting him. There is nothing worse than having a team that is divided.

Wide receiver Paul Richardson is back in practice after being injured which is very good news for the Seahawks. Though the Seahawks have depth in the position is good to have one of your top receivers feeling good.

More news coming for the Seahawks and Mariners when needed; the University of Washington Huskies starts their season in fourteen days. With these three teams things will start getting busy. Go teams!

Mariners Lose 5th in a Row

Right when the Mariners need to stay in the race for the wild card the team decides to go flat this after going 6-3 on the last road trip they have now lost five in a row at home. Against the Los Angeles Angels they were swept where they should have won the first three games that got away because of the bullpen.

Now the first game against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday the first inning the offense had a chance to score three runs at least however left two batters on base. Jean Segura had a double followed another double by newcomer Yonder Alonso which tied the score 1-1. Cano had another hit however didn’t score Alonso but Cruz, Seager and Heredia each couldn’t bring Alonzo or Cano home.

The second inning was the big problem Yovani Gallardo had one of the biggest pitch counts for an inning that any pitcher in the major leagues this season throwing about sixty pitches. He gave up six runs in the second inning including a grand slam that made the score7-1. It pretty well put the game out of reach. Very disappointing as far as I am concerned for a veteran pitcher who right now is at the top of the rotation; he should have been ready to pitch in this game when he knew that it was important for the team. In my opinion he needs to either go to the bullpen or be released. I know that the Mariners are limited at starters with Paxton, Felix and Iwakuma out but this is all bad. If it isn’t the starter it is the bullpen.

Casey Lawrence came in the fifth inning and gave up three runs including a two-run homer to former Mariner Seth Smith. The Mariners had him pitch four innings and he likely will be sent down for another reliever.

In the ninth inning Brazilian Thyago Vieira who was called earlier in the day made his major league debut. On the first pitch he almost lost his head however he was able to snare and catch the ball off of Chris Davis. He came back to throw a 100 mph fast ball and get the final two outs as well to have a successful night. We will likely see him in another game soon.

The Mariners not only need to get a veteran starting pitcher they need to go out and get at least one veteran reliever to have any chance to make the playoffs. I am sure every fan is as frustrated as I am.

Tonight the Mariners will be going with another newcomer Albert Albers who they picked up last week from the Atlanta Braves after James Paxton was put on the disabled list. He has a lot in common with Paxton being a Canadian, lefty and went to Kentucky as well. We will see how he will do tonight.  Go M’s.

Seahawks Open Pre-Season and Mariners Are Swept

First I am sorry I had to take care of a busy day. I had things to do last night so I didn’t have time to see much of what happened in the Seahawk pre-season game. I was surprised when I turned on the radio to hear the score was 48-17 Seahawks beating the Chargers. It has been a while since the Seahawks have scored that many points in the pre-season.

What I do know is that backup quarterback Boykin did an excellent job that he may have sewn up the spot however we have to see what happens in the next three pre-season games. If he does anything close to that he will be on the roster on opening day against the Green Bay Chargers.

The other player who did real well on the offense side was Kasen Williams former University of Washington Husky wide receiver. He now has made the competition for the wide receiver position more interesting. I expected with Doug Baldwin out of the game someone would step up and he seems to be the guy. I will watch the game sometime this we to get more insight and give out my analyses.  It was nice to see that the offense got off so well in the beginning of pre-season and I hope the same goes when the season begins because often the Seahawks start off slow and don’t get going until the second half.

Now to the Seattle Mariners if you have read anything I have said or listen or watched any or all the games this last weekend that was so special because of the retirement of Edgar Martinez’s number the games were all disappointments. This was especially true of the first three games where the Los Angeles Angels came back to win those game. In the final game the Angels won 4-2.

Ariel Miranda had a poor pitching performance where he ended up walking six batters with four hits in four and two-third innings. He was replaced by lefty James Pazos who finished off the fifth inning.  Christian Bergman finished off the game going four innings with only one hit and struck out three without giving up a run. He pitched well enough to help the offense get back into the game which they were not able to do so though the tying runs were on base in the bottom of the ninth inning. It was the time the Mariners scored their second run. Bergman was sent down to make room on the roster for another pitcher from triple A. More details on that on the next post.

The Mariners now take on the Baltimore Orioles in a three game series before going on the road for the rest of August. We hope that they can rebound to take at least two of the three games for the series. Yovani Gallardo will take on his old team that traded him to the Mariners during the off-season. He has struggled most of the season though he has had his moment. Actually in most of his starts he has had one bad inning. He then was sent off to the bullpen where he actually pitched well before being put back into the rotation.

The Baltimore Orioles will be having right handed pitcher Kevin Gausman on the mound to start the game. His record is 8-8 and he has an era of 5.21. So this game could be a flip when it comes to who will win the game.

I hope that something changes in regards to how the bullpen has been used for the last five or six games. It is though with the injury to starter James Paxton that manager Scott Servais decided to make different moved in the bullpen. I don't understand it at all. I hope that he goes back to managing the bullpen like he did last week. The managing of the bullpen was using the top relievers in the games where the Mariners were ahead and the other pitchers when tied or behind. They seemed to use lower tier pitchers in game when ahead. I believe the main reason why they lost the first three games against the Angels. This is what really puzzles me. I hope that Servais goes back to the other way. It would be bad if the Mariners lose out for the playoffs by one game when these games the team should have won. No excuses as far as I am concerned. I don’t care how tired pitchers may have been. If they are injured in some fashion themselves we should be told that as well. OK Mariners let this series be a beginning of something special.

Three Down and One to Go

  Saturday’s game for the Mariners became another frustrating game after the great ceremony for retiring Edgar Martinez number 11. It now sits next to Griffey’s number 24 and Jackie Robinson 42.

The Mariners now have lost three games to the Angels in the series with one remaining on Sunday so the Angels will look to sweep the Mariners in Seattle on a special weekend. Erasmo Ramirez pitched a wonderful game for six innings and not returning to pitch the seventh with the Mariners leading 3-1. The one run was actually on an error by first baseman Yonder Alonso trying to flip the ball to Ramirez on what should have been the third out however he was able to get the next runner out. That took place in the top of the fifth to make the score 2-1 however Kyle Seager hit a home run to center field to make it 3-1 and the Mariners final scoring for the game.

In the seventh inning former Mariner farmhand Valbuena hit a two-run homer with one out off of reliever Casey Lawrence to tie the game 3-3. With the loss of David Phelps the Mariners really don’t have a real setup man to come in the game either in the sixth or seventh inning. The closest guy they have who is being successful is Emilio Pagan. He pitched two-thirds of an inning on Friday night and threw only six pitches. I think they could have used him once again for an inning. I am not sure whose fault it is however the Mariners need to use relievers in the game like they are in the playoffs already.

I am not sure who is still available on the teams that are not in contention however Dipoto needs to find at least one reliever on one of those teams. How much I would like them to get a starter the last three games show the problem is more in the bullpen.

Tony Zych came in the eighth inning and gave up three runs. I am not sure why he was in the game instead of Nick Vincent. The only explanation I would have they wanted to save him with the Mariners ahead.  Personally I would have Zych go in the seventh instead of Lawrence though the results may have been the same.

Another option would be to have Ramirez go into the bullpen and have Chris Bergman start. At this point the Mariners have four starters in Ramirez, Miranda who goes Sunday, Gallardo and Gonzales. Right now not sure who will start on Tuesday.

I hope things will change around today against the Angels before facing the Baltimore Orioles in a three-game series.

In football the Seattle Seahawks face the Chargers in San Diego Sunday night. Right now Thomas Rawls is the starting running back however Lee Lacy is on his tail looking to start instead. Both of will see some action before the Seahawks will have others out there to play. Most likely see a lot of reserves in the third and fourth quarter. Doug Baldwin won’t be in the game so we will see more receivers than would be expected. Go Hawks!

Friday Night Mariners Blow Lead

The Seattle Mariners blew a lead Friday night against the Angels. They had a 5-1 lead late in the game however when the Mariners had Andrew Moore come into the game to relieve in the sixth inning with a 1-1 tie. He was able to pitch well in the sixth inning however things fell apart with two outs in the seventh inning. I am not sure why manager Servais didn’t have someone ready to come in before he gave up four runs to tie the game.

After the game Servais talked about having limited pitchers to use out of the bullpen; Moore was brought up from Tacoma when James Paxton went on the disable list. The intention was to Moore and then likely sending him back down to Tacoma. According to Jerry Dipoto the twelve pitchers in Seattle and the twelve in Tacoma will be ready to pitch any time. So we will probably see a fresh arm come up from Tacoma.

I think the problem Friday night was that Servais played a defensive game when coming to the bullpen. Actually he started offensively on the fact that he took out Gonzales with one and runners on base in the fifth inning. He brought in Emilio Pagan to get the final two outs. Pagan got both outs on a total of six pitches. He then went to Moore. I am not sure why he didn’t leave Pagan in other than he wanted him to be available Saturday night as well. He brought Moore in the sixth inning. I am sort of curious because I am not sure whether Moore has pitched in relief at all. In any case he should have had someone ready in the same manner as when he pulled Gonzales. I am sure Servais didn’t think that the game would fall apart. I hope that he will do things different next time.

When I mean being offensive Servais should have someone ready anytime throughout the game. Erasmo Ramirez starts for the Mariners Saturday night. Since he has tired in the third or fourth inning I would have someone ready to go then. I would have at least one pitcher available per inning after that. In fact to be offensive I would not necessarily have someone pitching a full inning. Whoever comes in could pitch to one or two batters instead. My idea is that the Mariners pitch the game as though they are already in the playoffs. We will have to see what happens starting tonight. Of course we can’t forget it is Edgar Martinez retiring number as well. Be sure that you tune in if you have any chance to do so on either radio or television. Go M’s.