What a Great Game

The Seattle Mariners had one of the best games of the year on Saturday. Just kidding because the game was rained out in Kansas City and it didn’t stop at all.

Now they expect to have a double header on Sunday. The Mariners did get bad news on Saturday when Felix Hernandez who was supposed to start was put on the 10 day disabled list. He was sent back to Seattle to have his shoulder checked out. Marco Gonzales who the Mariners got in the trade for outfielder Tyler O’Neill was brought up from Tacoma. Not a big surprise since they expected us to see him sooner than later.

King Felix being put on the disabled list was retroactive to a couple days earlier so he may only lose one start but likely more. Unless he is checked out pretty well I would recommend that he miss the rest of August. It would depend on how the race for the wild card goes for the Mariners but having a truly healthy Felix in September would be the best thing for them.

Nelson Cruz was supposed to be back in the lineup on Saturday however an extra day off I am sure helped him out. I would have to say the same thing for Robinson Cano. Also for the other players who have a few little injuries here and there.  Danny Valencia who has played in every game for a while it may be good if he was given the second game off. I am sure Servais will work thing out to keep everyone rested and healthy. It is nice that they do have Monday off after having to travel to Oakland to play the A’s on Tuesday and Wednesday before arriving back in Seattle to take the only two series at home in August.

The Mariners will be facing a lefty in the first game so we should see Heredia in center field in the first game instead of Dyson. How things work out for the outfielders in the second game will depend on the first game as well. Both Gamel and Leonys Martin have had days off this last week so they could each play in both games of the double header.  I like to see Heredia in both games only because the Mariners always seem to do well when he is in the lineup. Of course he can pinch hit or pinch run depending on the situation just like Dyson will do in the first game.

Because Sunday is a double header the Mariners were able to bring up an additional player so they brought up Cody Martin to be available in the bullpen. I can understand them doing that because we don’t want the bullpen to be over used however it would have been nice to bring up an infielder, outfielder or even a catcher. I like having an extra catcher so the Mariners can pinch hit for either Zunino or Carlos Ruiz. Since they do have Monday off the bullpen shouldn’t be in poor shape anyway.  Casey Lawrence can be used in long relief in one game if necessary and Emilio Pagan in the other. Tony Zych and lefty James Pazos will likely pitch in only one of the two games and the same may go for Dave Phelps and Nick Vincent. I am sure that Phelps will only pitch one inning in the first game just in case he is needed for the second game. The same would be for Nick Vincent. I am sure that Edwin Diaz be available to pitch in the ninth inning for both. My argument for not needing Cody Martin and getting a position player instead but the manager always wants as many pitchers as they can in the bullpen. I would not disagree if the fact was that the Mariners have poor hitting catchers and could use another bat. Most of the time they have not executed when they are at bat with runners on base. Since the games have been close most of the time a pinch hitter could make a difference plus the Mariners only have three bench players it will not help if one of the players gets hurt in either game. Having nine pitchers in the bullpen right now and then you could count a tenth because of the off day on Monday because they really won’t need a fifth starter that is too many pitchers for me. Of course I am not the boss.

So let’s keep our fingers cross that none of the position players get hurt today especially in the first game. Go M’s.