M's Clinch .500. Celebrate Good Times!...I Will

2008 was a tough year for being a Seattle Sports fan, there wasn't a franchise or program that wasn't abysmal or stolen from us. Even with the Hawks going 4-12 and the Dawgs going 0-12 the Mariners and their $110 million payroll for 101 losses stuck out as the clearest example of pure fail.

Coming off a solid season prior, many fans felt the addition of Erik Bedard via trade would be the key to success in '08. People hoped the acquisition of a "true number one" was the final piece to make this team a contender, paving the way for domination. Instead it turned out to be one of the worst trades ever. So terrible in fact that it caused many fans to actively forget about the Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek for Heathcliff Slocumb trade.

The M's were in such a terrible state of disrepair after Bill Bavasi's tenure it seemed that there truly was no floor. I felt that no matter who was hired as the next GM they would have a Chernobyl sized clean-up in front of them. Fans seemed resigned themselves to the idea of a long rebuild. Enter Jack Zduriencik.

As a former Director of Player Personnel for the Brewers many in the blogosphere, including myself, worried that Zduriencik was too much of an old school GM when hired. With a solid field of up and coming stat-oriented candidates Zduriencik seemed too scout oriented to complete the overhaul needed to make the M's decent again. Feeling wrong never felt so right.

Tonight, with King Felix making his second to last start(ever?), the M's won their 81st game this year, ensuring a .500 record for the season. I, for one, am at Billy Mays on the excite-o-meter. My beloved M's seem to be building towards something good. FINALLY!!

Equipped with the best defense in the league-a full 20 runs better than the next best team- and possibly the best defense of the decade, a pitching staff and line-up(however impotent) built for the stadium it look to have a solid foundation for the future. The upgrades all over the team have added 20(!!!) wins so far to this season's total all thanks to Jack Zduriencik.

I am very excited to see what moves he makes over the winter to upgrade the offense and tweak the bullpen. Seeing what he has done so far I expect nothing less than a philosophers stone type move of turning Carlos Silva into Albert Pujols somehow. I kid, but I know there will be some move he does that has me standing and cheering when I get the news, even if it's in the middle of class.

Welcome To The Seattle Mariners Jack Wilson And Ian Snell. Hope You Survive The Experience!!

Much happened yesterday in the 100+ degree heat of hottest day in Seattle history. People complained, children swam, workers sweated through their clothes completely and The M's made a much anticipated trade. Former Pittsburgh Pirates Ian Snell and Jack Wilson are now Mariners.

Given up in the trade was former 3rd overall pick, failed catcher Jeff Clement, utility player turned everyday shortstop who's hitting woes make my struggles to put bat on ball as a little leaguer look good by comparison, and 3 Single A arms. Clement had lost favor in the organization because of his inability to catch, a required skill for a player signed to be a catcher. Clement's papíer maché knees caused him to miss significant time this year and also hindered his ability to get into the catcher's stance, another not so good sign. He looks to be a 1st baseman for the Pirates. :(edeño was only ever brought in to be a back up, but with Yuni sucking and subsequently traded he was forced into starting duty where his bats was about as effective as the French resistance. None of the 3 minor league pitchers were all THAT exciting, they were single A after all, but Brett Lorin was supposedly a pretty interesting prospect.

In return we get Jack Wilson, a light hitting, defensive wiz of a shortstop. The down side is that he is 31 years old and owed a decent amount for 2010, $8.4 mil. A major upgrade of the shortstop position to be sure. Still it's like going from a flesh light to a real doll, sure it's an upgrade but you can still do a lot better. Ian Snell was a highly regarded pitcher before mental health issues forced him to request a demotion to AAA. Many fans gave Snell no end of shit for being a pussy and wussing out when the pressure was one. However, if George Romero's "...of the Dead" movies have taught me anything, and they have, it's that the greater Pittsburgh area is an apocalyptic wasteland filled with flesh hungry zombies. If my commute to work was filled with fending off the undead and hearing the constant baritone of their guttural moans I would become suicidal as well.

All in all not a bad trade. Though not the trade many fans were hoping for. Wilson is not as sexy and Reid Brignac or even JJ Hardy, who're 8 and 5 years younger than Wilson respectively. Both seem to have better hitting upsides as well and would be cheaper longer term solutions at the position than Wilson. Snell could be a great value if he regains his form of a couple years ago, as he has a few relatively cheap club options left on his contract. But Snell was done with Pittsburgh and everyone knew it. Many thought it would be possible to trade someone like Wlad for Snell. Even if that was an exaggeration of Snell's stock, it probably wasn't too far off base.

Giving up the arms we did along with Clement and :(edeño seems to tilt this trade in the Pirates favor which is odd. I was hoping that Jack Z would pull off some jaw dropping trade like the 3 team deal with Tampa and Cleveland that had been rumored. Not only would have we aquired the long term shortstop of the future but we might have been able to get rid of Washburn(probably provided we ate the rest of his salary). Now, it seems, the M's over played their hand with Washburn. They made the deal with the Pirates and hoped they could restock what they lost by trading Wash. It looks like now he might not being going anywhere(which isn't a terrible thing) and we might not get anything for him when he leave(which rather sucks).

I have faith in Jack Zduriencik. He's made some damn good trades and pick-ups prior to this trade and I hope he pulls off some deadline move that will cause me to quieltly rise out of my seat and give a monumental slow-clap.

Well, That About Does It

The Mariners were outscored 33-5 while getting swept this series. That fucking sucks! It especially fucking sucks because for the first two games this series The M's faced the two worst pitchers of the Indians rotation and could still barely muster up any offense getting shut out once.

Meanwhile, the Angels refused to lose and have opened a 7 game lead over The M's in the division. The M's had racked up one of the best records in the AL since late May and are two games farther back as payment for their efforts.

Surprisingly I have not come here to bitch. In fact I am rather...ok with the circumstances. I wish The M's coulda stayed in the race for longer but I know it's for the best that they didn't. Much more time stuck in limbo and the M's might not have been buyers nor sellers. At least by falling out of contention now The M's can unload out valuable players for useful parts. A shot to make the playoffs still exists for the M's, for sure. Though it is doubtful that the M's will be able to overcome the obstacles and overtake the Halos. These losses allow Jack Zduriencik and his staff to make the moves necessary to not only build this team for this year but to also make moves that will be good for the club in the future without the fans bitching that he is waving the white flag.

With some solid additions to the big league club that a trade of veteran talent could acquire and a couple tweaks to the roster The M's could almost be more competitive now than they have been. A quality shortstop, a decent bat at catcher, more pop at 3rd and actual production from the DH spot can help get the M's farther than most would have thought possible especially after trading their veteran pitching.

If Veteran pitching does end up going it will be Washburn alone, sadly. Often I had prayed to Jobu to keep Erik Bedard healthy, if only long enough for us to trade him. My prayers and rum were taken with no result. Erik Bedard, after a great start to the season, is headed back to the DL and therefore will not be eligible to trade. Barring a long term signing(not sure if that's a good idea) Bedard will turn out to be one of the worst trades in M's or, hell, MLB history.

Still, Washburn can fetch a nice prize with his sparkly ERA and impressive w-l record. Plus there are other prospects who might be traded, Morrow and Clement, two players whose respective roles on this team have been in question, have been part of may rumors.

All said falling out of contention might have been the best thing possible for the M's to stay in contention as odd as that sounds. A few roster moves and this line up might be better than currently constructed. I have faith in Jack Z. So far he seems to know what he's doing and will do the right thing like Mookie in "Do The Right Thing". In his moves that he has made so far this season he has been damn good and finding quality talent for cheap. Ryan Langerhans and Chris Hannahan have been nice, above average players acquired for next to nothing. Let's see what he does with his moves in dealing "proven" talent for "propect" or "young" talent. My guess is it will kick ass. I mean, the JJ Putz trade has been nothing short of a coup.

Already Z is looking towards the future while still caring about today. Michael Saunders came up yesterday and looks to be the new starting left fielder for the rest of the season. Perhaps Shelton will get more looks at DH and 1st. DH has been a sarlaac pit of suck with Griffey occupying it, young talent might be all that is needed.

So, while I'm bummed that it appears we are not going to make the play-offs, I'm also damn excited about the future of this team not only for the rest of this year but also going forward for 2010 and beyond.

Stuck In The Middle With You

Since May 27th the M's have gone 30-18, one of the best records in baseball and something I would have sacrificed my first born for at the beginning of the season (I have 4 nieces. I don't need my own kids to screw up when I have my brothers I can screw up with no consequence to me.) And yet despite winning at a pace faster than a meth-head on a cleaning binge The M's have LOST 2 games on the Angels in the division standings.

I have lamented for some time now that I am growing a bit weary of this tease of a season. Don't get me wrong, I am ecstatic that we are even in contention. Especially last year when dreams of contention went tits up after the first month. But still, this Jimmy Cliff like limbo that The M's have themselves waiting in is less than ideal.

The M's have some valuable trade trips in Bedard and Washburn with which they could add quality pieces that could fill holes at a place like SS. But I fear that if Zduriencik were to trade Washburn now, which he really should do, Wash's trade value will never be higher, there will be a large backlash. Smart fans might recognize the trade as a savvy move but the majority of fans would be screaming their heads off. Despite Jack Z's prior successes with trades so far I worry that this fan uprising might put pressure on Lincoln and Armstrong to do something.

Even if L&A stay above the fray and let Zduriencik do his thing I worry that just being so close to contention will force Jack to hold onto his two pitchers. I worry that if The M's hover on the fringes too long they'll lose Bedard and Washburn at the end of the season for almost nothing.

I'm all for staying in contention as long as possible. This will instil in the fans a sense of confidence in the front office and carry over to next season, which is always nice. But goddamn is it ever annoying to see that hard scrabble wins the M's have been accumulating fail to make a dent in the Angels division lead. It feels like The M's blew up on of Cybertron's moons only to see the Angels/Unicron come through it unfazed. To quote Spike Witwicky "It's not even dented!!! Ahhh shit! What're we gonna do now?" Damn good question. I wish I knew

"Ohhh We're Halfway There. Oh-Whoa Livin' On A Prayer!" A Mariners First Half Recap

The lazy days of summer are my my half-breed ass like bloggers on this whole Erin Andrews Fiasco. As such I haven't posted in a bit. Granted, not a whole lot significant has gone down since I last posted. Erik Bedard and Jarrod Washburn are still with the team. There is no shiny new shortstop on the team nor a load of prospects to scrutinize. I guess Yuni got traded for something more than a bag of horseballs. This along with the move of picking up Hanahan for a 3rd base stop gap upgrade and the Lnagerhans for Morse deal show Zduriencik's ability to incrementally add to the team for little expense now or in the future.

Upgrades used to feel like such a zero sum game. Need a 5th starter? Trade your best bullpen arm for Horacio Ramirez. Need a DH? Trade away an oft-injured but damn-useful-when healthy player for a washed up Jose Vidro. Close to contention? Trade the farm for a damn-good pitcher who even at his prime isn't worth what was given up. That the new front office recognizes that +.5 wins here, +.3 wins here and +.75 wins there add up to just the same as a +1.55 upgrade but for much cheaper, is fucking great. It's like the act of cleaning your bong, combined with a new bowl piece and building a make shift ice catch is a lot cheaper than purchasing a new bong altogether.

Anyway, now that we are a little over the halfway point of the season I figured it was a good time to look back on what has been and what might be. As opposed to recapping every player or unit as a whole I will give out awards that highlight various players or units. At 49-43 The M's have been alternatingly great and terrible. They started off the season that made me look prescient when I mentioned the possibility of play-offs before the season started. Then they had a terrible May that made me look like a fool for the exact same statements. But a quality June and July has brought this team back into contention. Now if those damn teams ahead of us would stop winning.

The Beer Goggles award-Jarrod Washburn: Yes this man pitched as one hitter his second to last start and yes he's been one of the more consitent pitchers we've had. Here's the thing, Jarrod Washburn isn't that good and he knows it(check out thought #3). He has benefited from great outfield defense and spacious Safeco Field. His peripheral stats are all in line with his career norms save for a low BABIP(batting average for balls in play) which may rise a bit as the season wears but not too much with this D. So he's pretty much the same pitcher as he's always been. Trade him no for fuck's sake!!

The Private Willian Hudson Award-King Felix: In stark contrast to Jarrod Washburn King Felix has made the leap from damn good when he's on pitcher to a true ace. Opponents cry "Game over, man! Game over" every 5 days. He has finally learned to mix his pitches better to keep hitters off balance and is unafraid to throw his breaking stuff for a strike in any count. If he keeps up this type of work throughout the season the M's might have a Cy Young winner in their midst.

The R. Lee Ermy Award-Rob Johnson and Ronny :(edeño: I was unaware that they stacked shit that high. This award is a tied because both have been attrocious with the bat so far this season. Dave at USSM thinks there is hope for RJ and others feel :(edeño is bound for a major uptick in production.

"That's right, Iccccemaan! I am dangerous!" Award-Franklin Guitierrez: Many saw him as a decent player thrown in the Putz deal. Your average all glove no (bat) love outfielder. After a slow start Frankling Guitirrez has gone on a power surge. With his new found power stroke Gutz has blossomed into a beauty like Allyssa Milano post "Who's the Boss?"

The Moonraker award: Another great pickup by Zduriencik, Russell Branyan has gone apeshit once given regular playing time. Currently he has one less dinger so far this season than his career high. WTF?! While he's been struggling a little as of late, smart minds point out he soon should be hitting balls closer to the moon than Apollo 11 ever did.

"Who are those guys?!"Award- Justin Vargas and Garret Olson: Two more players from the Putz deal. These two have come on like Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid in place of fallen starters Carlos Silva and Chris Jakabauskus. These two prove with moderate stuff and great defense much success can be had. The fact that these two have been decent at the end of the rotation makes me higher than Dennis Hopper in "Blue Velvet".

"I'm so gangsta prissy chicks don't wanna fuck with me!" Who else but Ichiro? I'm not sure Seattle fans know just what a special talent they have in Ichiro. Much like people didn't realize for a long time how damn good Jay-Z was. Jay then went on to go make the Kingdom Come album and people realized that the great HOVA was gone. Don't do the same with Ichiro Seattle.

I'm damn tired and my brain is bleeding from the after effects of a crazy weekend. I may add a second part to this post for some of the unmentioned other stars on this damn team. Until then, peace be upon you!!

Perfect Day Ruined By Mariners Game, Larry the Cable Guy

Yesterday I attended my second Mariners game of the season and while all the events surrounding the game were fun the game itself was one of the worst M's losses I've ever seen.

Meeting up with my friend Pat, I was crazy excited about going to the M's game. The game I had attended earlier this year I had been with a bunch of friends and co-workers so I didn't get to watch much of the game. This time I was sure to be able to focus on the action all the field. This proved to be my undoing.

Everything was going fine prior to the top of the 9th inning. We had brought in some delicious Tetsu Hellfire ramen for lunch from Samurai noodle that we ate while periodically heckling players. The flask of Crown Royal served to keep us warm in the overcast and drizzly weather.

The game had been fun. Yes, Jason Vargas had been lucky to give up no runs. He had men on in scoring position almost every inning he pitched and that was damn nerve wracking. But somehow he managed to get through it and the M's held on to a 3-0 lead. The ballpark seemed to be kind yesterday as it allowed me to see Jose Lopez hit a dinger out to left field. I've been to many games where the most exciting part is the hydro races. The ballpark also gave me a great driving catch by should-be-all-star Franklin Gutierrez. There was a sense of universal euquilibrium that hung in the air. Another series win seemed imminent. Then the 9th inning happened.

David Aardsma came in to some crazy montage on the big screen and it felt like the game was over. I mean the win expectancy was somewhere in the mid 90's. It's just you never know when that ~5% of failure will strike. Earlier in the season Aardsma's appearances inspired more fear in M's fans than the entirity of the Sinestro Corps. His command had been suspect and the atkins diet of all fastballs seemed to be a portent of looming failure. However, recently Aardsma has cleared up his walking ways and been damn near dominant. I expected him to come in and dominate. How naïve of me.

Out of the gates Aardsma's comman was off, getting behind in the count to the 7-8-9 batters. A fly ball dropped in, then he issued a walk, at which point a line drive single was scorched to the gap in right center. Bases loaded, no one out. Still I remained optimistic. A strike out and a double play could end the inning and the game. That was not to be.

To be clear this wasn't the terrible walk the world Aardsma of earlier in the season. Yes he gave up one walk, but the other two men of base got their via surprising luck. The same luck would be his undoing as the next 6 of 7 balls in play were groundballs, a pitchers friend, an omen of a possible double play. Not for the M's. Adam Jones singled to third base and Chris Woodward not being Adrian Beltre was unable to make a play on the ball and get an out, run in. Then a sure double play ball was hit to Jose Lopez, who picked a terrible time to play like shit. Jose dropped the ball on his was to second for the first out. Still no one out, still bases loaded, 3-2 now. A force out keeps it at 3-2 now with one out. Then a succesful pick off attempt got Aubrey Huff for the second out. A groundball single up the middle scored one more and the game was tied. It very well could have stayed there if not for Jose Lopez again. This time he rushed his throw to first baseman Russel Branyan and skipped the ball to him, still 2 outs.

The entire crowd was in shock. There had been glimmers of hope in that inning and Jose Lopez chased them away. The crowd had been lively before now they sat stunned as if 2girls1cup had been played on the big screen. The inning ended with The M's down 3-5. Little hope remained with Wlad and :(edeno as the first two batters of the inning.

Normally when a team is down in the 9th inning by a managable margin the scoreboard operator puts on some hackneyed montage of inspirational clips from movies like "Rocky", "Hoosiers", or even "Animal House". While not very orginal or fun they at least are not maddeningly offense. That was not the case at this game where a video of LARRY THE FUCKING CABLE GUY(!!!!!) was shown to the crowd teling the M's to "Git r dun". More than anything in the innings prior this pissed me off and saddened me the most. This is what we have come to for inspiration? Racist faux truckers with an insipid catch phrase and a overly managed "every guy" image" are now replacing the cliché but sensbile movie montages? Sweet merciful Zombie Jesus eat my brains now so I no longer have to watch my country devolve into a bunch of morons spouting out tired catchphrases like "Git r dun" and little John's "Hohkaay", as they are fresh and orginal. "Idiocracy" wasn't a great movie but as the days go by it seems more and more prescient.

Wlad and :(edeno made two quick outs as expected, pushing us to the brink. There was a rumbling in the crowd, a feeling that rose up to our superstar and pleaded with him to do something, anything, to keep the game alive. They were saying "Help us Ichiro Suzuki, you're our only hope!"

Ichiro did his best by lining a double into the gap. The crowd came back to life when it was revealed that Griffey was coming up to pinch hit for Chris Woodward. The fans started to clamor as hope filled the void that had been created by Jose Lopez' ineptitude. As much as I wanted to believe that there was something magical that could happen, I just couldn't. I knew better. Everyone around me saw Griffey as he was years ago when he played here, a once in a lifetime talent that could make a pitcher pay for a mistake. I however, saw a sad old man unable to catch up to a low 90's fastball. That sad old man hit a soft roller to second on the first pitch he saw. Game over man, game over.

This was twice in the past two games that the bullpen had fallen apart like a post-Evander Mike Tyson. Many had warned of regression from the pen. It still hurts when those warnings come to pass. Luckily Dave Cameron of USSM says that there may be help on the way. Though until those options come through it is hard to know how many more cock punch game like the last two the bullpen might dole out.

Jarrod Washburn Flirts With Perfection. Perfection Tells Him To Tuck His Sack Back. Wear Some Rouge

All manner of improbable things have occurred this week for the Mariners.

 First, they acquired a damn good outfielder, Ryan Langerhans, to replace the injured Endy Chavez for practically nothing. Then, they managed to go 5-4 on a road trip against the best teams in baseball in some parks that should spell death for our pitchers.

It was a road trip over which fans expected the M's to go 2-7 or 3-6  . That they managed to come out with a winning record revived hope presumed dead in April. Then came the return home against a tough pitching match-up against a hot Brad Bergenson and Jarrod Washburn who's results belied his peripheral stats. Not did the M's manage to mount some decent offense against Bergenson but Jarrod Washburn threw a one hitter. The one hit was the only thing keeping Jarrod Washburn from a perfect game.

Part of me is happy he didn't get a perfect game for a few reasons. First, I wouldn't have been able to see it and that woulda been a bummer. Second,  Jarrod Washburn has been a miserable acquisition prior to this year. High paid and poor performing, Washburn blamed his struggles on the poor pitch-calling of his battery, Kenji Johjima, which doesn't sit well with me. I'd rather the benevolent King Felix, throw a perfect game. It would sit better in the soul of this life long Seattle fan.

Despite these petty misgivings, a perfect game is a perfect game. When a pitcher is close you always root for the magic to continue. Plus, the accomplishment would have increased Wash's already elevated trade status,which could have have meant an even better haul for the M's in trading the soon-to-be free agent.

Right now the M's need to sell high on Washburn. He is an improved pitcher this year but, like I linked earlier in the post, his recent success is far more luck-based that skill baswed. The M's should trade him before that luck trends south.

I'm pretty sure team like the Phillies would be willing to give up some pieces to have Washburn shore up their injury-riddled rotation. Guys like Jason Vargas, Ryan Rowland-Smith when he comes up from Tacoma, and Garret Olsen provide the same profile of a pitcher with extreme fly-ball tendencies who rely on outfield defense to make outs.

Same goes for Erik Bedard. Sure he's been great when he's healthy but Bedard and health get along like The Sham-Wow Guy and hookers. Even when healthy it's not as if Bedard has gone deep into games. The best to hope for is for him to string together a few good starts so he can be traded before the deadline.

It's nice to be excited about possible trades to keep us in contention. At this point last year we were 18 games under .500 hundred. To be 4 games over this year and only 3 1/2 out of first means my summer banter can have a qaulity sports tinge to it and not just be about the badassness of the Black Lantern Corps.

"If Only Someone Had Warned Us The Bullpen Was About To Implode!"

After a rally the inning prior tied the score at 5-5 and the game feeling winnable again Sean White displayed the pitching ability of his snowboarding namesake. Which is to say, he allowed 3 runs and fucked things up quicker than Artie Lang on Joe Buck's talk show. If only some sage-like person had warned that the high highfalutin ways of our bullpen were about to end. Oh wait, someone did. Armed with this knowledge today's implosion would seem less painful. This is not the case, or at least not for me. I kept hoping that somehow the 'pen could push their regression back just a few more days at which point they would suck all collectively at once before returning to mediocrity. Sadly, this did not happen.

In a battle of highly touted bullpen arms turned struggling starters the M's tried their best to stay with the Yankees. Going into the today the game was predicted to be a death march for the M's. This prediction was due to Brandow Morrow being a extreme right handed fly ball pitcher going against left hand heavy lineup built to take advantage of the short right field porch like Jerramy Stevens on a drunk girl. These factors combined with the fact that even pop up bunts are being blown out for homers in the new stadium made the chances of a close low scoring game about as likely as finding a well adjusted person on reality TV.

In a reversal of expectations Morrow magically managed to give up 2 fly balls compared to 12 ground balls which helped him not have the Yankee's hitters go all Kobe Bryant on him. However, ever struggling with his command, Morrow walked 5 compared to just 4 strike outs. The walks ended up being his undoing and he was pulled after 98 pitches. He limited the lumber of the Yankees to just 3 runs with only one of them coming as earned.

Things look bleak for the rest of the series as the M's run out Washburn, another extreme fly ball pitcher, against Petitte and then another flyballer in Jason Vargas against CC Sabathia for the finale. I'm holding my expectations low and praying to Jobu that the Mariners can manage to come out of the series with at least 1 win. However if things start to fall apart I'm gonna root for some real fail only so that there is an impetus to trade Bedard and Washburn.

In reality, with Beltre gone and Chris Woodward not being the answer, this team needs some serious luck to make it into the playoffs. I know many would see trading two of our better pitchers as punting the season and giving up on '09. In reality this is not the case. With the upgrades in areas like the middle infield could make for a net gain for the pitching loss.

These next few series before the all-star break will prove our mettle. My guess is, though, without key contributors like Beltre and his awesome glove at 3rd this team will start to fall apart. Sad but true.

M's Continue To Flirt With .500. Heavy Petting Expected Soon

The M's came into the series against hated rival San Diego their Catholicism looking to pick up a few more wins before they head out on the hellish 9 game road trip that takes them to the home run heaven of the new Yankee Stadium, minuscule Fenway Park, and out to Chavez ravine in East LA. Today was not a good start to the series.

Garret Olson showed why he is a back end rotation starter/long reliever by taking the M's Win Expectancy down below 10% before handing the game over to Roy Corcoran to add another 3 runs to the Padres lead. Corcoran has been less than stellar in his small amount(10 2/3 innings) so far this year. His line drive percentage is at 27% compared to last years 10.2%. Combine that and a walk rate of 10.13BB/9 innings and you got a dealy mixture like Codeine and Promethazine. Hopefully as he gets healthy he'll start pitching better, until then I'd like to not have him in while the game is at all still in question.

The M's decided to show itself later in the game with both Griffey and Branyan homering do satisfy the crowd with requisite dingers to keep them distracted from the loss. Griffey's homer was the 5,000th HR in M's history. Rather fitting he be the one to hit it.

Scoring 7 runs and only losing by 2 stings like a mofo. Many fans will blame Corcoran for not stopping the bleeding by letting the 2 runners he inherited score but then adding 3 earned runs of his own to the mess. In reality Olson put is in the tough spot by giving up so many runs earlier. Over 90% of the time the M's lose that game with just the 4 runs that Olson gave up in his 5+ innings of work.

No matter who was to blame for the runs given up there was no excuse for the M's offense to only awaken once the decidely mediocre Chad Gaudin left the game with the best line of his career. Same old story I suppose. Right handers with a pulse are the M's kryptonite. It's really sad.

Tough loss against a pretty terrible team. We do it again with Morrow starting again(I know WTF?!) and then Washburn to close out the series. Hey M's try to not to lose the series to a terrible Padres team. PLEASE.

Rocky Mountain Lowe Colorado

After a solid stretch of baseball got them back to .500 the M's hiked up the Rocky Mountains to face their first interleague opponent on their home turf and their National League rules, The Colorado Rockies. The Rockies were better than their record suggested and were on an 8 game winning streak coming into the series against the M's. There was hope that this could be there series that could move the M's from being tied with Anaheim to making a serious push for first. Of course it's the Mariners so that didn't happen.

Jarrod Washburn fell apart as the first game progressed, and after some early offensive explosions the M's bats went dormant. The Next game Marked a new Lowe point(get it? genius I know) for a bullpen rife with low moments so far this year. On a single on the third base side of the mound by Troy Tulowitzki Lowe Picked up the ball and had a chance to get the runner out. Instead his throw was as off target as a Glenn Beck rant, sailing wide right and allowing Tulowitzki to advance to second. Next batter put down a bunt and Lowe tried to get cute and throw out the lead runner at third. Instead he showed off his poor command throwing the ball on the foul side of third base causing Beltre to have to wheel around and make the tag to no avail. The next batter lined in a run and then Lowe walked two more batters to load the basses. The damage was mitigated by a sac fly and a ground out. By then though the final nail had been hammered in. The 2 runs scored that inning ended up being too much for the M's to overcome.

Then just today the offense seemed to disapear and again the starting pitching fell apart late giving up 5 runs the inning before heavy rains caused the game to be called. It was not the way anyone wanted to end the series.

Now the M's are back to 3 games under .500 and being generally annoying. They can't seem to decide if the want to be a good team and make a push for contending or if they wanna be mediorce and be seller at the trade deadline. A few weeks ago I had written off this team to be sold off piece by valuable piece. Then they had to go on this run that brought them a tie with the Angels at .500 and all I could think was "So you're saying there's a chance!!" Now this terrible stretch of three games has made me wonder what the hell is going on.

Damn it, M's I need stability in my life right now. You can't keep reentering into my life just when I've made my peace with you for the season only to have you walk out on me right when I start to truly believe we have something going. It's not right. I wish I could quit you.

Bill Bavasi Fired! "And There Was Much Rejoicing."

As loyal readers of the blog know, I have a very passionate dislike for Bill Bavasi. So when I heard rumors that he was to be fired after the Mariners were swept at home by the worst team in the National League, I was giddy with anticipation. "Could this possibly be true?" I wondered. "Or is it just another cruel trick?" Minutes later it was confirmed Bavasi's horrible regime was brought to an end. Time to use out tanks to tear down those giant bronze Bavasi statues he had erected around Safeco field.

Tons has been written about why Bill Bavasi was one of the worst GM's in the league. Much of it by me. Often ranting against this evil tyrant as I saw him turn my childhood team into a mockery of sport. But most of what I wrote was from an emotional level with a few examples thrown in in attempts to make my point. But to truly grasps why Bill Bavasi is like the Neil Young song "The Needle and The Damage Done" you should read this well thought out post on BaseballAnalysts.com by Dave of USSM fame, entitled Mariners Foibles.

I am extremely excited about this move, as one might imagine. A chance at a new beginning for everyone is exactly what this organization needs. The New GM, when hired, will bring in his own coaching staff and we will finally be rid of John McLaren, his insipid explanations/rationalizations, terrible in game strategy and shameful lineup construction.

At the same time my head is soaring in the clouds like I just re-lost my virginity, my heart is gripped with a very real and tangible fear. That fear is this, the person who is hired in the off-season to replace Bavasi will be only a slightly marked improvement and will be in the same "old school baseball" mindset, only paying lip service to the proven tools of statistical analysis.

Let us not forget that the root of the evil that plagued this ball club remains intact, Chuck Armstrong and Howard Lincoln. These are the two people that hired Bavasi in the first place.

When Pat Gillick left the team after the '03 season Armstrong and Lincoln presided over the search and hiring of the next man to run this team. Out of all the many qualified GM's, many who have gone on to be successful elsewhere, these two chose Bavasi to be their man.

Nothing in the 5 years since that point has shown me, a dyed in the wool M's fan, that the mindset that led the Front Office to hire Bavasi, has changed in the least. Or that the abuse my beloved franchise has gone through these past years will end anytime soon.

The FO still talks to their fans like they believe that the fans feeble minds cannot truly grasps the will of God. That the moves they make in order to "better" the team, while seems odd and obtuse to the casual fan, would be made perfectly clear if the fans had the "baseball knowledge" and resources the FO does. And this type of talking down to the fan base infuriates me to no end.

I have followed the M's since The Kid was just a kid, fresh out of high school. Not the future first ballot Hall of Famer who just hit 600. Most of my life of watching the M's I was a casual observer, stuck in the old baseball modes, it was all I had ever known. Years later I would read a little book called Moneyball, in which the author lays out how A's GM Billy Beane fields a competitive team year in and year out on a minuscule budget. I saw then, the cracks in the Mariners facade, but did not fully grasps how deep those cracks went.

A couple years after that I was introduced, by a friend, to UssMariner.com. A Mariners website with a Moneyball-ish bent. It was here that I was shown all that truly plagued the team, not the crap like chemistry and grit that the local beat writers loved spewing on about.

I can see clearly now that if there is any hope that the fortunes of my team to be turned around that it must start at the top. That change could come in the form of a change of heart/mindset in the FO, but a complete 180 degrees change in terms of thought processes are rare. The more likely way to attain this change would be a cleaning of the house.

Short of one of those two events taking place it is hard for me to see a true change coming. I hope so very much that by some stroke of fate that the FO goes with the change of heart. That they now see we live in the 21st century. And that people who use the many statistical tools to help guide decisions do so not because they seek to rip the soul and mystique out of the game but because time and again this tools have been proven highly effective.

If they embrace this forward thinking approach to the game I will be the happiest man alive. Then I can openly root for this team without fear that their success only emboldens poor decision making, something I long to do so very much. Sadly, I worry that this will not be the case and in 5 years from now I will be writing about the sorry state the team is in, still. Please, Chuck and Howie, prove me wrong. I will love you for it.

Why Do The 2008 M's Suck So Bad? According to Bill Bavasi, It Aint Him.

Much has been written about the Hindenberg style disaster that is the 2008 M's season, picking apart very facet of every loss, complaining about lack of accountability, and generally asking God "Why, do we suck so bad?". Through it all the USSMariner.com has been doing their best to shine a light and expose the true problems that plague this franchise. Too often are the teams problems explained through good/bad chemistry, lack of accountability and the need for veteran leadership when the true cause of this malignancy that hangs over this franchise is ignored.

In the spirit of showing the fan base what is killing their team they had a nice little article on Bill Bavasi's take on why we are where we are(dead last in the MLB in wins). Bill's take was, more or less, that it's not our crappy manager who continues to bat our slap hitting DH in the 3 spot. It also is not due to the fact that the team was built on the premise that a bunch of old no-skill players would do what even Hugh Jackman could not accomplish in "The Fountain" and find the legendary well of eternal youth.

No, according to our GM Bill Bavasi it is because the team lacks a leader to light a fire under them. Someone to hold them accountable for their failings and get them to play at the level they are capable of. He believes the team is a horribly under performing contender just waiting to bust out if just a gritty veteran clubhouse leader who has been through the wars would hold their feet to the fire.

Why does Bill Bavasi believe this? Why, because the talking heads on ESPN all concurred, in their sage-like wisdom, that with the addition of #1 Staff Ace EriK Bedard (prounounced buh-DAR, he's a Canuck, let it go), The Seattle Mariners were favorites to win the AL West. Also tons of sports writers who rarely, if ever, see our team play also spouted in agreement "Best 1-2 punch in baseball!!! Pitching will carry them to a division title!!!!" None of these "analysts" had "the nerve" to pick us anything less than second in the division, Bavasi ranted.

Sadly, as Dave at USSM points out, any sort of real analysis showed that the M's were a paper tiger. In today's sports world, an especially in baseball, the amount of statistical data available to help guide smart decision making is almost endless. There are formulas and programs that can execute said formulas given the proper data that can make fairly accurate predictions of teams given performance.

Now there are many stats I won't try to pretend I understand, UZR, RZR, tERA, etc...but I do understand runs scored and runs allowed. And I know last year the M's scored 794 runs and allowed 813 and I know that normally when give up more runs than you score you are going to have a losing record almost every time. That the M's won as any games as they did last year was not an upward trend but a statistical anomaly.

Some would argue that with Ho-Ram and Dream Weaver off the team and the additions of Carlos Silva and #1 Staff Ace EriK Bedard would shore up our runs given up and allow us to be the contenders were seemed to be before the collapse. While our pitching staff may have been bolstered the defense took a serious hit to any already shaky unit with the loss of Adam Jones in the outfield. Offensively, everyone is a year older and for the majority of our line-up that's not a good thing. Altogether, the upgrade in pitching is washed up by sub-par defense and aging hitting.

When Bill Bavasi says he and is analysts could have never predicted the team so poorly to start the season it reminds of when President Bush says he could not have predicted things falling apart like they did in Iraq. It's the kind if myopic statement one would expect out of someone surrounded by yes-men tuning out all opposing thought points on the subject. Truthfully it's childish. Reminds me of a time when I broke a window by being too close to the house taking batting practice. My parents asked me I just didn't take my swings out in the yard and I told them I didn't imagine the bat'd slip from my hand and go crashing through the window. The difference being my parents didn't buy it and I got in trouble while people seem to continue to buy or at least permit the lies woven by Bush and Bavasi.

Anyone that had been watching this team last season and thought about all that needed to go right for us to be good knew what Public Enemy was saying with "Don't Believe the Hype". In my post on the M's winning their first game I even predicted that the M's would need to be very lucky to be good and that it wouldn't require much for everything to fall apart. I said that the offense is very hot and cold and that the defense is over-hyped and there could be a lot of well pitched games lost to lack of defense and hitting. I thought the expectations that Suxson would regain his form of 4 years ago, Vidro would continue to bat an extremely hollow .300, Wilkerson would do much of anything, an that our expensive veteran pitchers would step up and prove their mettle were very tenuous and more than likely would not happen. And I've been proven right.

So, Bill Bavasi, when you say no one predicted your team to do so poorly how about you pull your head out of your ass before you do so. Then you might see that a 25 year old lowly suite runner with 0 baseball experience accurately forecasted your season. And that should shame you. Because if a dumbass like me is out-thinking you on how to run your team I'd hate to see what some of those bright baseball minds are doing to you throughout the league.