Today's Mariners game showed the fans something that they probably have already figured out.......our bullpen stinks. When the season started the Mariners bullpen was lights out. In April the M's bullpen were lights out. They posted a 3.90 ERA with Stephen Pryor leading the way posting a 0.00 ERA in 7 games in 7.1 innings but went down mid way through the month with a torn right latissimus dorsi muscle. Both Tom Wilhelmsen and Oliver Perez posted almost identical records. Perez appeared in 11 games going 11.1 innings with a 0.79 ERA and Wilhelmsen appeared in the same number of games going 12 innings with a 0.75 ERA with 8 saves. Those three guys pitching like was the big reason that the team posted a 12-17 record.
The next month saw the bullpen post an ERA about the same as the first month, posting a 3.80 ERA. Wilhelmsen had another successful month, appearing in 11 games saving 4 of them in 12 innings posting a 0.75 again. June saw the M's bullpen collapse as the bullpen posted a horrible 5.53 ERA. June also saw Wilhelmsen fall apart as he blew 3 saves while posting a 0-2 record with a 10.57 ERA, the only successful relievers in the month of June for the Mariners came from Perez and Yoervis Medina. Perez posted a 1-1 record with 1 save, appeared in 11 games, and had a 1.74 ERA; Medina posted a 2-1 record with 1 save, appeared in 12 games, and had a 1.93 ERA. Now finally this month, July has seen the bullpen post another bad ERA at 5.05.
Now, let me get to the point of all this. Since June the bullpen has cost the team at least 20 wins and in yesterday's 12-5 win it the bullpen almost fell completely apart and I thought they would blow the game for the team. The Mariners currently sit at 46-52 thanks to a season best 6 game winning streak, now if the M's would like to continue their hotstreak and hopefully have a shot at finishing above .500 or make the playoffs they must first fix their bullpen. Right now Wilhelmsen is getting back to his lights out ways, Perez is one of the best relievers in the game, Medina is always a help, and Furbush is back to throwing hard like he used to.
The biggest problems in the bullpen for the M's are Danny Farquhar, Bobby LaFromboise, Blake Beaven, and Carter Capps. The Mariners need to make some serious call ups if they would like to make a run at .500 or the playoffs, for example if they gave Logan Bawcom the call up that would give the M's a 3-4 inning reliever to work with. Brian Sweeney right now to me could use a call up, he's had a great year in Tacoma posting an 8-3 record with 3.92 ERA. Sweeney can be used in both the starting role and in the bullpen in case a starter needs to be pulled early.
The bottom line is, Eric Wedge needs to wake up and smell the java. In my opinion he's too stupid to realize that his bullpen is one of the worst in baseball and if he doesn't see it now then that could cost him games. The Mariners have great young pitchers in Tacoma right now that deserve a call up to give the team a boost in the bullpen and help the reach their goal at either finishing the season at or above .500 or making another Refuse To Lose run at either the American League West title or the Wild Card. Both titles don't matter to me, all those titles say is that the M's are in the the playoffs.
Showing posts with label Oliver Perez. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oliver Perez. Show all posts
Monday, July 22, 2013
Monday, July 8, 2013
Boston Massacre in Seattle
The Mariners came into tonight's game with their King on the mound. Felix went out looking for his first win in four starts. Felix did not struggle in the first inning as he only gave up the one out single to Jonny Gomes and following Gomes's single got Dustin Pedroia to ground into an inning ending double play. The Bellarmine Prep grad and Washington native John Lester took the mound for the Red Sox looking to get his ninth win of the year, he got the Mariners to go 1-2-3 while striking out two batters. David Ortiz lead off the top of the second inning for the Red Sox by singling to center, Felix got Mike Napoli to strikeout looking following him former Mariners outfielder and first basemen Mike Carp singled to put runners at first and second for the Red Sox. Felix didn't let the pressure get to him as usual, he got Jarod Saltalamacchia to line out to Raul in left and finished the inning by getting Jose Iglesias to strikeout swinging.
Both teams didn't score until the fourth inning. The Mariners began the bottom of the fourth inning on a great note, Kendrys Morales singled and following him Kyle Seager singled to right, on the single Morales was able to hustle into third and the M's had runners at the corners with nobody out. Lester was able to get Jason Bay to strikeout but after that it was all Mariners; Justin Smoak lined a double down the left field line that brought home the Mariners first run of the game and following Smoak's double Mike Zunino was able to draw a seven pitch walk.
After a quick visit to the mound by the Red Sox pitching coach Michael Saunders was able to be patient and draw the bases loaded walk that put the Mariners up 2-0, Lester finally was able to get out of the inning by getting Brad Miller and Nick Franklin to pop out and if anyone was happy to get out of the was Lester as he threw 39 pitches in the inning. The Red Sox bounced back in the top of the fifth inning by getting two runs back to tie the game up.
Raul Ibanez lead off the bottom of the fifth inning by extending his hitting streak to 13 games by hitting his 22nd homerun of the year and putting the Mariners up 3-2. The Mariners had another big inning in the bottom of the sixth inning as Smoak and Zunino lead off the inning by singling, after that Lester exited the game and Alex Wilson came into relief him. Saunders was able to take a 2-0 pitch deep to center field that scored both Smoak and Zunino to put the Mariners lead to 5-2. After Miller and Franklin were unable to add to the lead Ibanez decided that he should be the one to do so, he singled up the middle driving in Saunders for his 51st RBI of the season. The Mariners weren't done there, the bottom of the seventh inning saw four more runs come across for the M's.
Seager lead off the inning by walking, Smoak then drove in his second run of the game with his second double of the game as well. Saunders was able to get his second double of the game as well driving in Smoak on the play and the Mariners now took a 8-2 lead. Brad Miller got his first hit of the game as well and drove in the ninth run of the game and following that Franklin checked in with his first hit of the game and drove in Miller and after the bottom of the seventh inning the Mariners had a 10-2 lead.
Oliver Perez was brought in the top of the eighth to relief Felix and ended up giving up two additional runs. Going in the bottom of the eighth inning the Mariners weren't looking to score anymore runs but after Morales lead off by getting hit by a pitch, Seager walking and Smoak walking as well Zunino grounded out on a check swing that allowed Morales to score and the Mariners had an 11-4 lead after the eighth. Yoervis Medina came into the ninth inning and shut the door to secure the Mariners their 40th win of the year and Felix's first win since June 15th.
Both teams didn't score until the fourth inning. The Mariners began the bottom of the fourth inning on a great note, Kendrys Morales singled and following him Kyle Seager singled to right, on the single Morales was able to hustle into third and the M's had runners at the corners with nobody out. Lester was able to get Jason Bay to strikeout but after that it was all Mariners; Justin Smoak lined a double down the left field line that brought home the Mariners first run of the game and following Smoak's double Mike Zunino was able to draw a seven pitch walk.
After a quick visit to the mound by the Red Sox pitching coach Michael Saunders was able to be patient and draw the bases loaded walk that put the Mariners up 2-0, Lester finally was able to get out of the inning by getting Brad Miller and Nick Franklin to pop out and if anyone was happy to get out of the was Lester as he threw 39 pitches in the inning. The Red Sox bounced back in the top of the fifth inning by getting two runs back to tie the game up.
Raul Ibanez lead off the bottom of the fifth inning by extending his hitting streak to 13 games by hitting his 22nd homerun of the year and putting the Mariners up 3-2. The Mariners had another big inning in the bottom of the sixth inning as Smoak and Zunino lead off the inning by singling, after that Lester exited the game and Alex Wilson came into relief him. Saunders was able to take a 2-0 pitch deep to center field that scored both Smoak and Zunino to put the Mariners lead to 5-2. After Miller and Franklin were unable to add to the lead Ibanez decided that he should be the one to do so, he singled up the middle driving in Saunders for his 51st RBI of the season. The Mariners weren't done there, the bottom of the seventh inning saw four more runs come across for the M's.
Seager lead off the inning by walking, Smoak then drove in his second run of the game with his second double of the game as well. Saunders was able to get his second double of the game as well driving in Smoak on the play and the Mariners now took a 8-2 lead. Brad Miller got his first hit of the game as well and drove in the ninth run of the game and following that Franklin checked in with his first hit of the game and drove in Miller and after the bottom of the seventh inning the Mariners had a 10-2 lead.
Oliver Perez was brought in the top of the eighth to relief Felix and ended up giving up two additional runs. Going in the bottom of the eighth inning the Mariners weren't looking to score anymore runs but after Morales lead off by getting hit by a pitch, Seager walking and Smoak walking as well Zunino grounded out on a check swing that allowed Morales to score and the Mariners had an 11-4 lead after the eighth. Yoervis Medina came into the ninth inning and shut the door to secure the Mariners their 40th win of the year and Felix's first win since June 15th.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
An All Star weekend
Well, just got back from Alaska and during my time in Alaska I managed to watch the Mariners games and keep up with writing my blogs. I guess that ill go over the last three days since I was too stupid not to write on Friday or Saturday. The Mariners were able to take the series from the Cincinnati Reds and go back to Seattle with a successful road trip going 4-2. On Friday the Mariners lead off the top of the first with Brad Miller tripling to start things off for the team, following that Nick Franklin took Reds pitcher Mike Leake deep to give the Mariners the early 2-0 lead. After Aaron Harang went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first inning Michael Saunders lead off the top of the second inning by hitting his fifth homerun of the year putting the Mariners lead to 3-0.
It was Saunders's first homerun since May 4th when he hit two homeruns. Saunders drove in his second run of the game by scoring Kyle Seager on a sacrifice fly to give the Mariners the 4-0 lead. In the top of the fifth inning Miller tripled for the second time in the game but the M's couldn't drive him in. The Reds scored their first run of the game when former Mariners player Shin-Soo Choo doubled to score Devin Mesoraco, then in the bottom of the sixth inning All Star Jay Bruce drove his fifteenth homerun of the year over the center field fence and the Reds now trailed 4-2. Oliver Perez came into the ninth inning to close the game and get the Mariners their 38th win of the year, with only throwing 11 pitches Perez struck out the side and the Mariners took game one of the three game series.
Game two was completely different and was not pretty to watch. For the second game in a row the Mariners got their first run of the game via the homerun thanks to Seager hitting his thirteenth homerun of the year and the M's took the 1-0 after the top of the first inning. Seager broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the third by scoring Miller on a sacrifice fly and the M's took the 2-1 lead. After that it was all Reds as they pounded the Mariners pitching staff for 13 runs. Matt Latos struck out 11 batters and the rest of the bullpen struck out an additional 3 batters. So now we move onto today, the Mariners lead off their third game in a row with a homerun as Franklin hit his sixth homerun of the year. Raul Ibanez also extended his hitting streak to 12 games.
The Mariners got two additional runs in the top of the third as Justin Smoak hit his seventh homerun of the year and drove in Seager as well, so thanks to the Smoak Bomb the Mariners took the 3-0 lead. Tom Wilhelmsen came in the bottom of the ninth and closed the game while only throwing 7 pitches and the Mariners took the series from the Reds and come home to face the Boston Red Sox for a four game series and will also face the Los Angeles Angels for the final three games of the first half.
NOTES: Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma both were named to the American League All Star Team on Saturday.
It was Saunders's first homerun since May 4th when he hit two homeruns. Saunders drove in his second run of the game by scoring Kyle Seager on a sacrifice fly to give the Mariners the 4-0 lead. In the top of the fifth inning Miller tripled for the second time in the game but the M's couldn't drive him in. The Reds scored their first run of the game when former Mariners player Shin-Soo Choo doubled to score Devin Mesoraco, then in the bottom of the sixth inning All Star Jay Bruce drove his fifteenth homerun of the year over the center field fence and the Reds now trailed 4-2. Oliver Perez came into the ninth inning to close the game and get the Mariners their 38th win of the year, with only throwing 11 pitches Perez struck out the side and the Mariners took game one of the three game series.
Game two was completely different and was not pretty to watch. For the second game in a row the Mariners got their first run of the game via the homerun thanks to Seager hitting his thirteenth homerun of the year and the M's took the 1-0 after the top of the first inning. Seager broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the third by scoring Miller on a sacrifice fly and the M's took the 2-1 lead. After that it was all Reds as they pounded the Mariners pitching staff for 13 runs. Matt Latos struck out 11 batters and the rest of the bullpen struck out an additional 3 batters. So now we move onto today, the Mariners lead off their third game in a row with a homerun as Franklin hit his sixth homerun of the year. Raul Ibanez also extended his hitting streak to 12 games.
The Mariners got two additional runs in the top of the third as Justin Smoak hit his seventh homerun of the year and drove in Seager as well, so thanks to the Smoak Bomb the Mariners took the 3-0 lead. Tom Wilhelmsen came in the bottom of the ninth and closed the game while only throwing 7 pitches and the Mariners took the series from the Reds and come home to face the Boston Red Sox for a four game series and will also face the Los Angeles Angels for the final three games of the first half.
NOTES: Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma both were named to the American League All Star Team on Saturday.
Monday, June 24, 2013
A pinch of Kendrys
Jeremy Bonderman took to the mound yesterday against the Oakland A's looking for his first win in four starts. Bonderman got off to the right start as he only allowed a Seth Smith single in the top of the first inning and got Yoenis Cespedes to strikeout. Endy Chavez lead off the bottom of the first inning with a single and after both Nick Franklin and Kyle Seager flied out Rauuuuuuuul Ibanez stepped in a knocked out his sixteenth homerun of the season, it was his 287th of his career, and the Mariners took the lead 2-0. Bonderman would have another easy inning in the top of the second and struck out the last batter of the inning again.
He would continue to pitch well, in the top of the third he was able to get Seth Smith to line into a double play that was huge in the inning, but in the top of the fourth Bonderman would get the first two batters to fly out but walked the next two. He was able to recover by getting Josh Reddick to line out to Chavez in right field to end the threat for the Athletics. Ibanez put the Mariners up 3-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning with his second homerun of the game for his seventeenth of the year and his 288th of his career.
The Athletics would finally strike for a few runs in the top of the sixth inning. The A's began the inning with both Seth Smith and Jed Lowrie singling, Bonderman would get Cespedes to ground into a force out as Seager tagged out Smith for the first out of the inning but both Lowrie and Cespedes were able to get into second and first safely. Brandon Moss would load the bases up by hitting a soft fly ball that landed a few feet in front of Franklin Gutierrez, after a visit to the mound by the Mariners pitching coach Bonderman threw a wild pitch that allowed Lowrie to come home and score the first run for the Athletics. Bonderman would walk John Donaldson and that would be the end of his outing, Danny Farquhar was brought in to try and get out of the inning with minimal damage. Farquhar would get Josh Reddick to ground out for the second out of the inning and on the play Cespedes scored to put the A's deficit to one run, but Farquhar would get John Jaso to ground out to end the inning.
Gutierrez would come out of the game with a strained left hamstring and Jason Bay would replace him. In the bottom of the seventh inning Bay would lead the inning off by walking, Mike Zunino was able to get his first hit of the game and on the base hit Bay, who was out with his own hamstring problems, moved fast to get to third base. Michael Saunders would end the inning on a double play. Farquhar would get the first two batters out in the top of the eighth inning but Brandon Moss would tie the game with his fourteenth homerun of the year.
The top of the ninth would see Oliver Perez come into the game, he would walk Reddick to start off the inning but got to bunt a pop out to Zunino, Nate Freiman to fly out and then got Coco Crisp to pop out to Franklin. Smith would start the tenth inning off by getting on with a lead off single. Perez would come through again in the clutch by getting the next three batters out including striking out Cespedes and Moss to end the inning.
Grant Balfour came into the bottom of the tenth inning looking to get the A's to the eleventh. Balfour got Justin Smoak to ground out to start things off, Zunino was able to get on base on a wild pitch, Saunders then finally came up in the clutch by singling to right field that allowed Zunino to get to third and put the game winning run 90 feet away. Kendrys Morales would then be brought up as a pinch hitter for Brendan Ryan and he didn't waste anytime and belted the first pitch into the right field seats to walk off the game in style with his ninth homerun of the year. The last time Morales hit a walk off hit was against the Mariners back in 2010 and in that game was the game that he broke his leg stomping on home plate, this time his teammates gave him room and Morales trotted slowly on home plate.
With their second win in row the Mariners improved to 34-43 and moved back into a half game lead over the Angels in third place and they are now only 10.5 games out of first place in the AL West and only 9.5 back of the Rangers. They get a well deserved day of rest today and will open a two game series against the 2nd place Pittsburgh Pirates and after that will get one more day of rest and open a three game series against the Chicago Cubs.
NOTES: With today's performance Raul Ibanez has gotten the nation thinking about getting him into the All Star Game and the Homerun Derby.
He would continue to pitch well, in the top of the third he was able to get Seth Smith to line into a double play that was huge in the inning, but in the top of the fourth Bonderman would get the first two batters to fly out but walked the next two. He was able to recover by getting Josh Reddick to line out to Chavez in right field to end the threat for the Athletics. Ibanez put the Mariners up 3-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning with his second homerun of the game for his seventeenth of the year and his 288th of his career.
The Athletics would finally strike for a few runs in the top of the sixth inning. The A's began the inning with both Seth Smith and Jed Lowrie singling, Bonderman would get Cespedes to ground into a force out as Seager tagged out Smith for the first out of the inning but both Lowrie and Cespedes were able to get into second and first safely. Brandon Moss would load the bases up by hitting a soft fly ball that landed a few feet in front of Franklin Gutierrez, after a visit to the mound by the Mariners pitching coach Bonderman threw a wild pitch that allowed Lowrie to come home and score the first run for the Athletics. Bonderman would walk John Donaldson and that would be the end of his outing, Danny Farquhar was brought in to try and get out of the inning with minimal damage. Farquhar would get Josh Reddick to ground out for the second out of the inning and on the play Cespedes scored to put the A's deficit to one run, but Farquhar would get John Jaso to ground out to end the inning.
Gutierrez would come out of the game with a strained left hamstring and Jason Bay would replace him. In the bottom of the seventh inning Bay would lead the inning off by walking, Mike Zunino was able to get his first hit of the game and on the base hit Bay, who was out with his own hamstring problems, moved fast to get to third base. Michael Saunders would end the inning on a double play. Farquhar would get the first two batters out in the top of the eighth inning but Brandon Moss would tie the game with his fourteenth homerun of the year.
The top of the ninth would see Oliver Perez come into the game, he would walk Reddick to start off the inning but got to bunt a pop out to Zunino, Nate Freiman to fly out and then got Coco Crisp to pop out to Franklin. Smith would start the tenth inning off by getting on with a lead off single. Perez would come through again in the clutch by getting the next three batters out including striking out Cespedes and Moss to end the inning.
Grant Balfour came into the bottom of the tenth inning looking to get the A's to the eleventh. Balfour got Justin Smoak to ground out to start things off, Zunino was able to get on base on a wild pitch, Saunders then finally came up in the clutch by singling to right field that allowed Zunino to get to third and put the game winning run 90 feet away. Kendrys Morales would then be brought up as a pinch hitter for Brendan Ryan and he didn't waste anytime and belted the first pitch into the right field seats to walk off the game in style with his ninth homerun of the year. The last time Morales hit a walk off hit was against the Mariners back in 2010 and in that game was the game that he broke his leg stomping on home plate, this time his teammates gave him room and Morales trotted slowly on home plate.
With their second win in row the Mariners improved to 34-43 and moved back into a half game lead over the Angels in third place and they are now only 10.5 games out of first place in the AL West and only 9.5 back of the Rangers. They get a well deserved day of rest today and will open a two game series against the 2nd place Pittsburgh Pirates and after that will get one more day of rest and open a three game series against the Chicago Cubs.
NOTES: With today's performance Raul Ibanez has gotten the nation thinking about getting him into the All Star Game and the Homerun Derby.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Morales's wins it for the Mariners
Jeremy Bonderman looked to go out and win his first game since his second start. The Mariners would begin the game off on an ok note, Nick Franklin got the first hit of the game and then later stole second base but the Mariners couldn't push Franklin home to take the first inning lead. Mike Trout would start off the inning for the Angels with a lead off single on his giveaway night. The Angels gave out a Mike Trout fishhat and I have to say it was the stupidest giveaway ever.......of all time. This giveaway was even dumber then the Mariners goofy glasses night they had back in the 80s. Josh Hamilton would help out the Mariners by grounding out into a double play and following that Albert Pujols grounded out to end the inning.
Raul Ibanez lead off the top of the second off with his fourteenth homerun of the year, following that Justin Smoak, who was recalled from Triple A, didn't wait and swung on the first pitch and hit his fourth homerun of the year. Mike Scioscia thought that a fan reached over and grabbed the ball over the railing so the umpires reviewed the play. After a few minutes the umps agreed that it was a homerun so the Mariners took the 2-0 lead.
The Mariners wouldn't get another run in that inning and in the bottom of the third inning Mark Trumbo would hurt the Mariners again with a lead off homerun for his sixteenth homerun of the year. With two outs the Angels looked like they would score another run, as Eric Aybar singled and Hank Conger walked, but thankfully Bonderman was able to get Peter Bourjos grounded one back to Bonderman to end the inning. Trout would lead off the third inning again with a single but thankfully Hamilton grounded into his second double play of the night and Pujols grounded out to end the inning.
Mike Zunino would double in the fourth inning with two outs, Michael Saunders would walk to put runners on for Brendan Ryan. Ryan would strike out to end the inning for the Mariners. In the bottom of the fifth inning Bonderman would get into a jam but got help from Josh Hamilton again as he grounded into his third double play of the night and the inning would end there. Saunders lead off the top of the seventh inning off with a single to put an insurance runner on. Brendan Ryan failed to move Saunders over as he popped an attempted bunt up in foul ground and Conger was able to run it down for the first out.
Saunders was able to swipe his tenth stolen base but Endy Chavez wasn't able to connect with the ball and struck out. Franklin was able to draw a two out walk but Kyle Seager struck out to end the threat for the Mariners in the seventh inning. Oliver Perez was brought in the bottom of the seventh inning for Bonderman, Chris Iannetta drew the lead off walk. Perez was able to bounce back and get Bourjos to line out and got both Trout and Hamilton to strikeout.
Tom Wilhelmsen was brought in the bottom of the eighth inning and didn't start off on a good note as Pujols blasted away not only the game tying homerun but Bonderman's second win of the season. Wilhelmsen would go 1-2-3 after that but in the bottom of the ninth Tommy boy would allow a lead off base hit and walk the second batter, he was able to strikeout Bourjos and get Trout to fly out and after that Eric Wedge brought in Charlie Furbush to face Hamilton.
Furbush would strikeout the struggling Hamilton, who went 0-5 in tonight's game and was booed as always with his poor performance. In the top of the tenth inning Seager was able to get his 20th double of the year with two outs, Kendrys Morales then got a John Jaso-like clutch hit that scored Seager and the Mariners took the 3-2 lead. Yoervis Medina was called on to close the game for the Mariners. Medina went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the tenth and the Mariners took game 2 of the four game series from the Angels.
Felix will get the ball for tomorrow and I have a good bet that Henry Blanco will be behind the plate to catch King Felix. With tonight's bounce back win the Mariners now improve to 32-40 and move back into 3rd place and 10.5 games back of first place.
Raul Ibanez lead off the top of the second off with his fourteenth homerun of the year, following that Justin Smoak, who was recalled from Triple A, didn't wait and swung on the first pitch and hit his fourth homerun of the year. Mike Scioscia thought that a fan reached over and grabbed the ball over the railing so the umpires reviewed the play. After a few minutes the umps agreed that it was a homerun so the Mariners took the 2-0 lead.
The Mariners wouldn't get another run in that inning and in the bottom of the third inning Mark Trumbo would hurt the Mariners again with a lead off homerun for his sixteenth homerun of the year. With two outs the Angels looked like they would score another run, as Eric Aybar singled and Hank Conger walked, but thankfully Bonderman was able to get Peter Bourjos grounded one back to Bonderman to end the inning. Trout would lead off the third inning again with a single but thankfully Hamilton grounded into his second double play of the night and Pujols grounded out to end the inning.
Mike Zunino would double in the fourth inning with two outs, Michael Saunders would walk to put runners on for Brendan Ryan. Ryan would strike out to end the inning for the Mariners. In the bottom of the fifth inning Bonderman would get into a jam but got help from Josh Hamilton again as he grounded into his third double play of the night and the inning would end there. Saunders lead off the top of the seventh inning off with a single to put an insurance runner on. Brendan Ryan failed to move Saunders over as he popped an attempted bunt up in foul ground and Conger was able to run it down for the first out.
Saunders was able to swipe his tenth stolen base but Endy Chavez wasn't able to connect with the ball and struck out. Franklin was able to draw a two out walk but Kyle Seager struck out to end the threat for the Mariners in the seventh inning. Oliver Perez was brought in the bottom of the seventh inning for Bonderman, Chris Iannetta drew the lead off walk. Perez was able to bounce back and get Bourjos to line out and got both Trout and Hamilton to strikeout.
Tom Wilhelmsen was brought in the bottom of the eighth inning and didn't start off on a good note as Pujols blasted away not only the game tying homerun but Bonderman's second win of the season. Wilhelmsen would go 1-2-3 after that but in the bottom of the ninth Tommy boy would allow a lead off base hit and walk the second batter, he was able to strikeout Bourjos and get Trout to fly out and after that Eric Wedge brought in Charlie Furbush to face Hamilton.
Furbush would strikeout the struggling Hamilton, who went 0-5 in tonight's game and was booed as always with his poor performance. In the top of the tenth inning Seager was able to get his 20th double of the year with two outs, Kendrys Morales then got a John Jaso-like clutch hit that scored Seager and the Mariners took the 3-2 lead. Yoervis Medina was called on to close the game for the Mariners. Medina went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the tenth and the Mariners took game 2 of the four game series from the Angels.
Felix will get the ball for tomorrow and I have a good bet that Henry Blanco will be behind the plate to catch King Felix. With tonight's bounce back win the Mariners now improve to 32-40 and move back into 3rd place and 10.5 games back of first place.
Friday, June 14, 2013
A night of firsts for the Mariners
Joe Saunders was sent out tonight against the Oakland A's looking for his first road win of the season. Jason Bay lead off the game for the Mariners with a single but he was erased when Nick Franklin grounded into a double play, after Kyle Seager walked Kendrys Morales struck out to end the first inning for the Mariners. In the bottom of the first ROOT Sports showed the lineup for the Athletics and I noticed that Chris Young was leading off and I asked myself why would the A's put a guy that is batting .169 in the lead off spot, and my question was answered as Young singled to lead things off for the A's. Seth Smith grounded into a double play and then Jed Lowrie flew out to Bay and Saunders had an easy 1-2-3 9 pitch inning.
Mike Morse lead off the top of the second inning off right as he was able to slide in safely in second with a lead off double, Raul Ibanez used his 41 year old speed to leg out an infield single. Mike Zunino would ground into a double play and on the play Morse scored and the Mariners took the early 1-0 lead and unfortunately thanks to the MLB rules Zunino wouldn't get credited with his first MLB RBI. In the bottom of the second the A's threatened to score a run, on a single by Derek Norris, Michael Saunders bobbled the ball and on the play Nate Freiman began to run home and on the throw to Brendan Ryan, Ryan fired the ball home and on an incredible major league tag Zunino put on Freiman he was cut down at the plate.
The Athletics would score their first run in the bottom of the fifth. Norris drew the lead off walk and after that Josh Reddick grounded out but the Mariners were unable to get the double play. The Mariners would fail another double play as Adam Rosales grounded into a force out at second. Eric Sogard would then pop out on what should have been an inning ending pop out but thanks to some mis-communication Jason Bay collided into Nick Franklin in which Franklin dropped the baseball, that allowed Rosales to score all the way from first and the game was tied at 1-1. In the top of the seventh inning Mike Zunino stepped in to take his swings at the plate, on the third pitch of the at bat Zunino drove on to deep centerfield and over Young's glove for his first major league homerun of his career and first major league RBI and thanks to his homer the Mariners took the 2-1 lead.
The top of the eighth saw Nick Franklin and Kyle Seager leading off the inning with back-to-back singles. After Morales flew out and Morse grounded into a force out at second Ibanez came through again for the Mariners and singled home Franklin to give the M's the 3-1 lead. Danny Farquhar took over for Joe Saunders in the bottom of the eighth and the first batter in Chris Young took him deep to put the Mariners lead to 3-2. Young would go 3-3 and raise his batting average to .182.
Oliver Perez was giving the ball to close out the game in the ninth. Perez shut down the Athletics and earn his first save of his career and the win for the Mariners. Joe Saunders earned his first road win of the season and improved to 7-4 on the season. Tomorrow the Mariners will make their national televised debut on FOX as Felix Hernandez goes out looking to put the Mariners to 2-0 on the road trip.
Mike Morse lead off the top of the second inning off right as he was able to slide in safely in second with a lead off double, Raul Ibanez used his 41 year old speed to leg out an infield single. Mike Zunino would ground into a double play and on the play Morse scored and the Mariners took the early 1-0 lead and unfortunately thanks to the MLB rules Zunino wouldn't get credited with his first MLB RBI. In the bottom of the second the A's threatened to score a run, on a single by Derek Norris, Michael Saunders bobbled the ball and on the play Nate Freiman began to run home and on the throw to Brendan Ryan, Ryan fired the ball home and on an incredible major league tag Zunino put on Freiman he was cut down at the plate.
The Athletics would score their first run in the bottom of the fifth. Norris drew the lead off walk and after that Josh Reddick grounded out but the Mariners were unable to get the double play. The Mariners would fail another double play as Adam Rosales grounded into a force out at second. Eric Sogard would then pop out on what should have been an inning ending pop out but thanks to some mis-communication Jason Bay collided into Nick Franklin in which Franklin dropped the baseball, that allowed Rosales to score all the way from first and the game was tied at 1-1. In the top of the seventh inning Mike Zunino stepped in to take his swings at the plate, on the third pitch of the at bat Zunino drove on to deep centerfield and over Young's glove for his first major league homerun of his career and first major league RBI and thanks to his homer the Mariners took the 2-1 lead.
The top of the eighth saw Nick Franklin and Kyle Seager leading off the inning with back-to-back singles. After Morales flew out and Morse grounded into a force out at second Ibanez came through again for the Mariners and singled home Franklin to give the M's the 3-1 lead. Danny Farquhar took over for Joe Saunders in the bottom of the eighth and the first batter in Chris Young took him deep to put the Mariners lead to 3-2. Young would go 3-3 and raise his batting average to .182.
Oliver Perez was giving the ball to close out the game in the ninth. Perez shut down the Athletics and earn his first save of his career and the win for the Mariners. Joe Saunders earned his first road win of the season and improved to 7-4 on the season. Tomorrow the Mariners will make their national televised debut on FOX as Felix Hernandez goes out looking to put the Mariners to 2-0 on the road trip.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Mariners in the outfield
Yeah I know the title is a rip off of Angels in the Outfield but look at this clip that I post of a certain part in the movie clip.
Now, if you don't want to watch the clip then let me explain what the clip is. Its the part where Danny Glover is sick and tired of his team losing that he goes on a Lou Pinella rage and yells and demeans the team, he and I quote;
"ONE MORE LOSS! ONE MORE LOSS WHICH COULDVE BEEN A WIN! You call yourselves professionals, I have never ever seen a worse group of 25 players! You don't think as a team, you don't play as a team, you don't even lose as a team! You all got your head so far up your butts you cant even see the light of day!". He also said "I want you here in uniform at 9 tomorrow morning, were going back to fundamentals."
Now, why would I post something like this your wondering? Well, because for one thing this is what Eric Wedge should do to the Mariners and quit being the biggest pussy manager in baseball and it describes how the Mariners are playing and have been playing for the last 10 years and im going to break everything down of what Glover said.
Now the first thing was "one more loss which could've been a win" which best describes the Mariners ability to give up during the game and allow their opponents to get to the best of them and score run after run. The Mariners have seen their opponents score 6+ runs 22 times this year, 7+ 15 times, 8+ 10 times, 9+ 8 times, and 10+ runs 6 times. During most of the losses the M's have suffered this year their opponents have scored most of those runs within the first 4 innings or in the 6th inning or later. Tom Wilhelmsen has blown 3 saves and has struggled in the 3 out of the last 4 games he has saved and his ERA has suffered just as much has he has, jumping up from 0.50 to 1.98.
Next thing Glover said in his angry speech was "I have never ever seen a worse group of 25 players". Now, not all 25 players on the Mariners are horrible. Felix, Kuma, Seager, Morales, Franklin, Ibanez, Morse, Capps, Perez, and Chavez are the players that I consider the best players on the Mariners right now, that leaves 15 terrible players on the roster but im counting the guys we sent down so that's an additional 5 players putting the Mariners worse players to 20. Michael Saunders is one of the worst that is currently on the major league roster. Since May 16th Saunders's batting average has dipped from .278 down to .200.
Nobody knows what has happened to one of the Mariners best players from last year, Saunders went from being a power hitter to Brendan Ryan before he found his swing. Dustin Ackley and Jesus Montero playing performance has been horrific. Ackley's batting and fielding has shown along with Montero's defense and hitting. Since I mentioned Montero lets talk about the Mariners catchers situation. The Mariners catchers no matter who it is cant hold on to the baseball, make accurate throws to second, drops the ball on trying to throw out a runner and none of them can hit. The Mariners might have to bring up Mike Zunino if the catcher situation gets any worse.
The next group that should be mentioned on the worse of the worse is the pitchers. Brandon Maurer was just horrible in his brief stint in the majors this year going 2-7 with a 6.93 ERA. Aaron Harang has been just has horrible, although he has been solid in his last 2 starts, but so far he has posted a 2-6 record with a 6.70 ERA. Joe Saunders has been inconsistent as well as he cant find a way to win on the road but has been very solid in his last two road starts but has posted a 0-4 record with a 9.00 ERA. The only two pitchers that have been consistent has been Felix and Kuma. The Mariners need to solve their pitching and catcher situation.
Now getting to the next thing Glover said "you don't play as a team, you don't think as a team, you don't even lose as a team". When the Mariners went on their 8 game losing streak the Mariners began to lose faith in themselves. They don't seem to have confidence in themselves and therefore blame themselves and probably blame each other on tough loses. With the team failing to hit in key situations and their 3-4-5 pitchers need to figure out a way to pitch deep into ball games to give their bullpen a rest.
Now the final line Glover said "You all got your heads so far up your butts you cant even see the light of day". Right there describes the man standing in the dugout with white pubes under his nose and on his chin. Eric Wedge has made some questionable managerial decisions that not even Lou Pinella would have made. Wedge constantly changes pitchers after either they have faced one or two batters. That bite him in the ass during the 16 inning marathon against the Chicago White Sox. I have never seen a manager in my life that makes as many pitching changes as Wedge does. Now if the Mariners were to make a managerial change during the All Star break or now I think I would see the Mariners improve just a little.
To me the Mariners could use Lou Pinella's managerial help right now. The Mariners have been in the dumps since 2004 and has continued to slip into mediocrity along with being a laughing stock in baseball. All the Mariners need to do is improve on hitting with runners in scoring position, find catchers that can play defense and hit, fire Wedge and Jack Z, and find a way to get pitchers that can give the team 5-7 innings and not give up 5-7 runs a game. Im a die hard fan of this team and I have always supported the team through everything but its very heartbreaking to watch my team go through this every year but I will continue to support the Mariners in everyway possible and will always have faith in them.
I will now end by saying this to every Mariners fan, keep your faith in the team and cheer them on to a late season surge into the playoffs and stay True to The Blue!!!
Now, if you don't want to watch the clip then let me explain what the clip is. Its the part where Danny Glover is sick and tired of his team losing that he goes on a Lou Pinella rage and yells and demeans the team, he and I quote;
"ONE MORE LOSS! ONE MORE LOSS WHICH COULDVE BEEN A WIN! You call yourselves professionals, I have never ever seen a worse group of 25 players! You don't think as a team, you don't play as a team, you don't even lose as a team! You all got your head so far up your butts you cant even see the light of day!". He also said "I want you here in uniform at 9 tomorrow morning, were going back to fundamentals."
Now, why would I post something like this your wondering? Well, because for one thing this is what Eric Wedge should do to the Mariners and quit being the biggest pussy manager in baseball and it describes how the Mariners are playing and have been playing for the last 10 years and im going to break everything down of what Glover said.
Now the first thing was "one more loss which could've been a win" which best describes the Mariners ability to give up during the game and allow their opponents to get to the best of them and score run after run. The Mariners have seen their opponents score 6+ runs 22 times this year, 7+ 15 times, 8+ 10 times, 9+ 8 times, and 10+ runs 6 times. During most of the losses the M's have suffered this year their opponents have scored most of those runs within the first 4 innings or in the 6th inning or later. Tom Wilhelmsen has blown 3 saves and has struggled in the 3 out of the last 4 games he has saved and his ERA has suffered just as much has he has, jumping up from 0.50 to 1.98.
Next thing Glover said in his angry speech was "I have never ever seen a worse group of 25 players". Now, not all 25 players on the Mariners are horrible. Felix, Kuma, Seager, Morales, Franklin, Ibanez, Morse, Capps, Perez, and Chavez are the players that I consider the best players on the Mariners right now, that leaves 15 terrible players on the roster but im counting the guys we sent down so that's an additional 5 players putting the Mariners worse players to 20. Michael Saunders is one of the worst that is currently on the major league roster. Since May 16th Saunders's batting average has dipped from .278 down to .200.
Nobody knows what has happened to one of the Mariners best players from last year, Saunders went from being a power hitter to Brendan Ryan before he found his swing. Dustin Ackley and Jesus Montero playing performance has been horrific. Ackley's batting and fielding has shown along with Montero's defense and hitting. Since I mentioned Montero lets talk about the Mariners catchers situation. The Mariners catchers no matter who it is cant hold on to the baseball, make accurate throws to second, drops the ball on trying to throw out a runner and none of them can hit. The Mariners might have to bring up Mike Zunino if the catcher situation gets any worse.
The next group that should be mentioned on the worse of the worse is the pitchers. Brandon Maurer was just horrible in his brief stint in the majors this year going 2-7 with a 6.93 ERA. Aaron Harang has been just has horrible, although he has been solid in his last 2 starts, but so far he has posted a 2-6 record with a 6.70 ERA. Joe Saunders has been inconsistent as well as he cant find a way to win on the road but has been very solid in his last two road starts but has posted a 0-4 record with a 9.00 ERA. The only two pitchers that have been consistent has been Felix and Kuma. The Mariners need to solve their pitching and catcher situation.
Now getting to the next thing Glover said "you don't play as a team, you don't think as a team, you don't even lose as a team". When the Mariners went on their 8 game losing streak the Mariners began to lose faith in themselves. They don't seem to have confidence in themselves and therefore blame themselves and probably blame each other on tough loses. With the team failing to hit in key situations and their 3-4-5 pitchers need to figure out a way to pitch deep into ball games to give their bullpen a rest.
Now the final line Glover said "You all got your heads so far up your butts you cant even see the light of day". Right there describes the man standing in the dugout with white pubes under his nose and on his chin. Eric Wedge has made some questionable managerial decisions that not even Lou Pinella would have made. Wedge constantly changes pitchers after either they have faced one or two batters. That bite him in the ass during the 16 inning marathon against the Chicago White Sox. I have never seen a manager in my life that makes as many pitching changes as Wedge does. Now if the Mariners were to make a managerial change during the All Star break or now I think I would see the Mariners improve just a little.
To me the Mariners could use Lou Pinella's managerial help right now. The Mariners have been in the dumps since 2004 and has continued to slip into mediocrity along with being a laughing stock in baseball. All the Mariners need to do is improve on hitting with runners in scoring position, find catchers that can play defense and hit, fire Wedge and Jack Z, and find a way to get pitchers that can give the team 5-7 innings and not give up 5-7 runs a game. Im a die hard fan of this team and I have always supported the team through everything but its very heartbreaking to watch my team go through this every year but I will continue to support the Mariners in everyway possible and will always have faith in them.
I will now end by saying this to every Mariners fan, keep your faith in the team and cheer them on to a late season surge into the playoffs and stay True to The Blue!!!
Thursday, June 6, 2013
The longest day
Hisashi Iwakuma took to the mound yesterday looking to pitch a great game in order for the Mariners to get the sweep of the White Sox. Iwakuma had a very easy first inning as he went 1-2-3 after giving up a lead off single to Alejandro De Aze. The Mariners in their half of the first were able to get Jason Bay and Kyle Seager on with singles with only one out but Kendrys Morales grounded into an inning ending double play to end the threat. Both the White Sox and the Mariners wouldn't show any sign of a threat until the bottom of the fourth, Seager lead things off with his eighteenth double of the year and after Morales grounded out to move Seager over to third Nick Franklin flew out to Alex Rios and on the throw home from Rios cut Seager down to end the inning for the Mariners.
The Mariners would then threaten to score again in the bottom of the sixth inning. Michael Saunders lead off the inning with a walk, Brendan Ryan then was able to get on first after a soft ground ball to pitcher Dylan Axelrod and following that Endy Chavez drew a walk to load the bases up, Jason Bay then grounded into the third inning ending double play to end the threat again for the Mariners. In the top of the ninth inning Iwakuma's day was done so manager Eric Wedge gave the ball off to Yoervis Medina. Medina allowed the lead off single to Gordon Beckham he was able to get Hector Gimenez to pop out on a bunt attempt, De Aze to fly out and finally Alexi Ramirez to fly out to end the top of the ninth for the White Sox. Nick Franklin lead off the bottom of the ninth by blooping a ball down the right field line and legging out the double to put himself on second to win the game on any type of base hit. The White Sox pitching was able to avoid the walk off win by striking Michael Saunders, Kelly Shoppach and getting Brendan Ryan to ground out.
So, we move one to extra innings. Alex Rios got things started off for the White Sox by getting to second base on an error by Chavez. Medina then intentionally walked Adam Dunn to bring up Paul Konerko. Medina was able to get Konerko to ground into a double play, after that Wedge made a pitching change and brought in Charlie Furbush to face Casper Wells. Furbush got the job done by getting Wells to ground out to Morales to end the threat by Chicago. The Mariners were able to get runners at the corners in the bottom of the tenth but Raul Ibanez failed to get the winning run home to leave the runners out there without scoring and so the game moved into the eleventh inning. Carter Capps took to the mound in the eleventh. Capps got into a jam after giving up a one out single to Gordon Beckham and intentionally walking De Aze. Capps was able to get Ramirez to ground out and end yet another threat by the White Sox.
The Mariners went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the eleventh inning so the game went deeper into extras. Alex Rios started out the top of the twelfth inning by singling, Wedge decided to make a pitching change and bring in Oliver Perez, Perez was able to get Adam Dunn to fly out and for some odd reason Wedge made his second pitching change in the inning and brought in Danny Farquhar to face Paul Konerko. Farquhar got Konerko to fly out and on the play Rios missed touching second base and Farquhar threw it back to second base and Rios was called out to end the top of the twelfth inning. Both teams wouldn't make any noise for the next few innings until the fourteenth inning.
In the top of the fourteenth inning the White Sox got their first two hitters on base by via of a walk and a single. Rios was able to drive in the first run of the game on line drive to center and after Farquhar intentionally walked Dunn Wedge came out to bring in Hector Noesi. Noesi was able to get his first batter to ground into a force out as Seager threw to home to get the runner. Casper Wells then would single home Rios to give Chicago the 2-0 lead. Chicago would not be done there, Jeff Keppinger singled home the third run and Hector Gimenez doubled home two extra runs and after the inning was over the White Sox had a commanding 5-0 lead. In the bottom of the fourteenth inning Addison Reed was brought in to finish the game.
After getting Franklin to pop out Michael Saunders was able to get his first hit of the game by singling, Kelly Shoppach, Brendan Ryan, and Endy Chavez would all get singles to get the first run home for the Mariners. Jason Bay would strikeout to bring up Kyle Seager as the last hope for the Mariners. Seager tried to tie the game up on the secon pitch he saw from Reed by fouling it off, after letting one go by putting the count to 1-2 Kyle Seager swung at a low pitch and drove it out into the center field seats and Seager not only tied the game but he also became the first player in baseball history to tie a game with a grand slam in extra innings.
The Mariners would threaten to win the game in the bottom of the fifteenth inning but couldn't get the run home. The White Sox would then get to an exhausted Noesi to score two runs in the top of the sixteenth inning and the Mariners would not score in the bottom half of the inning and the White Sox would win the longest game in Mariners history. The game ended after 5 hours and 42 minutes of back and forth baseball.
Now, looking back at this game Eric Wedge made some poor managerial skills by taking out Charlie Furbush and Oliver Perez after they only faced one hitter. Furbush and Perez both could've gone 3-4 innings and would've saved some of the bullpen for the Mariners.
NOTES: Seager extended his hitting streak to 9 game and Morales extend his hitting streak to 7 games.
The Mariners would then threaten to score again in the bottom of the sixth inning. Michael Saunders lead off the inning with a walk, Brendan Ryan then was able to get on first after a soft ground ball to pitcher Dylan Axelrod and following that Endy Chavez drew a walk to load the bases up, Jason Bay then grounded into the third inning ending double play to end the threat again for the Mariners. In the top of the ninth inning Iwakuma's day was done so manager Eric Wedge gave the ball off to Yoervis Medina. Medina allowed the lead off single to Gordon Beckham he was able to get Hector Gimenez to pop out on a bunt attempt, De Aze to fly out and finally Alexi Ramirez to fly out to end the top of the ninth for the White Sox. Nick Franklin lead off the bottom of the ninth by blooping a ball down the right field line and legging out the double to put himself on second to win the game on any type of base hit. The White Sox pitching was able to avoid the walk off win by striking Michael Saunders, Kelly Shoppach and getting Brendan Ryan to ground out.
So, we move one to extra innings. Alex Rios got things started off for the White Sox by getting to second base on an error by Chavez. Medina then intentionally walked Adam Dunn to bring up Paul Konerko. Medina was able to get Konerko to ground into a double play, after that Wedge made a pitching change and brought in Charlie Furbush to face Casper Wells. Furbush got the job done by getting Wells to ground out to Morales to end the threat by Chicago. The Mariners were able to get runners at the corners in the bottom of the tenth but Raul Ibanez failed to get the winning run home to leave the runners out there without scoring and so the game moved into the eleventh inning. Carter Capps took to the mound in the eleventh. Capps got into a jam after giving up a one out single to Gordon Beckham and intentionally walking De Aze. Capps was able to get Ramirez to ground out and end yet another threat by the White Sox.
The Mariners went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the eleventh inning so the game went deeper into extras. Alex Rios started out the top of the twelfth inning by singling, Wedge decided to make a pitching change and bring in Oliver Perez, Perez was able to get Adam Dunn to fly out and for some odd reason Wedge made his second pitching change in the inning and brought in Danny Farquhar to face Paul Konerko. Farquhar got Konerko to fly out and on the play Rios missed touching second base and Farquhar threw it back to second base and Rios was called out to end the top of the twelfth inning. Both teams wouldn't make any noise for the next few innings until the fourteenth inning.
In the top of the fourteenth inning the White Sox got their first two hitters on base by via of a walk and a single. Rios was able to drive in the first run of the game on line drive to center and after Farquhar intentionally walked Dunn Wedge came out to bring in Hector Noesi. Noesi was able to get his first batter to ground into a force out as Seager threw to home to get the runner. Casper Wells then would single home Rios to give Chicago the 2-0 lead. Chicago would not be done there, Jeff Keppinger singled home the third run and Hector Gimenez doubled home two extra runs and after the inning was over the White Sox had a commanding 5-0 lead. In the bottom of the fourteenth inning Addison Reed was brought in to finish the game.
After getting Franklin to pop out Michael Saunders was able to get his first hit of the game by singling, Kelly Shoppach, Brendan Ryan, and Endy Chavez would all get singles to get the first run home for the Mariners. Jason Bay would strikeout to bring up Kyle Seager as the last hope for the Mariners. Seager tried to tie the game up on the secon pitch he saw from Reed by fouling it off, after letting one go by putting the count to 1-2 Kyle Seager swung at a low pitch and drove it out into the center field seats and Seager not only tied the game but he also became the first player in baseball history to tie a game with a grand slam in extra innings.
The Mariners would threaten to win the game in the bottom of the fifteenth inning but couldn't get the run home. The White Sox would then get to an exhausted Noesi to score two runs in the top of the sixteenth inning and the Mariners would not score in the bottom half of the inning and the White Sox would win the longest game in Mariners history. The game ended after 5 hours and 42 minutes of back and forth baseball.
Now, looking back at this game Eric Wedge made some poor managerial skills by taking out Charlie Furbush and Oliver Perez after they only faced one hitter. Furbush and Perez both could've gone 3-4 innings and would've saved some of the bullpen for the Mariners.
NOTES: Seager extended his hitting streak to 9 game and Morales extend his hitting streak to 7 games.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
What are the Mariners deal really?
So far this season for the Mariners have had only one problem. Wait a minute, they have way more then one problem. The Mariners could be at or around .500 if it wasn't for that 7 game losing streak. Now, another problem for the Mariners has been Michael Saunders. Saunders started the season off great. In the second game where the Mariners played the Yankees Saunders went 2-4, since then he has gone 7-59 (.118) lowering his batting average by 68 points, he has also struck out 28 times. Right now Saunders to me needs some work in Tacoma to work on his swing, why not send him down and call up Eric Thames?
Now, last night I heard that Franklin Gutierrez will need more time to recuperate from his hamstring injury. ROOT Sports analyst reported that Guti couldn't go more then 3 days without needing a break. Now, Guti's contract is up at the end of this year so why not release him now? Guti hasn't played a full season since 2010, he's nothing but an injury risk and not worth the money anymore.
Now, who could we get to replace Guti? Well, we have Jason Bay who the Mariners might likely resign after this year, Endy Chavez can also be a great replacement for Guti in center, Julio Morbon is another target for a good replacement he's shown us that he can hit the ball and play the outfield at the same time, the last candidate is the guy who we got in exchange for Shawn Kelley, Abraham Almonte. Almonte has been tearing things up in Triple A so far going 22-46 (.478). All of these players are terrific candidates to replace Gutierrez in centerfield along with Michael Saunders (if he can get his bat going again). Now, another problem that has popped up is Tom Wilhelmsen's ability to be consistent and locate his pitches. He was able to locate his pitches last night but before that he has blown 3 saves out of 4 attempts. Before
Tommy boy blew his first our of 3 in Cleveland he was 11 out of 11 in save opportunities with a 0.50 ERA, since then he has gone 1 out of 4 in save opportunities and his ERA has rose to 2.13. Now if Tommy boy loses his position as the closer I would think that either Carter Capps or Oliver Perez would be the two likely candidates for taking the closer position. Carter Capps has been able to come in for the Mariners and get them out of tight situations along with having one of the nastiest breaking ball and slider I've ever seen. Perez has also been just as reliable, in his last 10 games he has pitched 7.2 innings while striking out 16 batters. Capps in his last 10 games has pitch 9 innings allowing only 1 run and striking out 11 batters. Both these relievers are perfect candidates for replacing Tom if necessary.
Now by the end of this season there has to be one more change made to this team, either Eric Wedge or Jack Zduriencik has to go. Zduriencik has made some impressive signings and has drafted excellent talent but the thing is, is that Zduriencik has said "this team is currently rebuilding" now when he came to the team in 2008 he said the same thing. Mariners fans are tired of him saying that and we should have been rebuilding the team this long, the fans want to see this team in the playoffs and were not going to get there when Zduriencik keeps rebuilding. Now, Eric Wedge is one of the biggest pushover managers in baseball in my opinion. Wedge consistently makes excuses for poor performances and in games where he needs to make a pitching change he just stands there with his thumb in his ass watching the team fail. In the saves that Wilhelmsen has blown a normal manager would have gotten someone warmed up in the bullpen and ready to go after watching him walk two straight batters. Wedge never shows his emotions on the field just in the clubhouse........yeah that does not make a good manager.
Lou Pinella and Ozzie Guillen are great examples of when a manager shows his emotions on and off the field and in the clubhouse they get great results. Pinella's tough managerial skills saw the Mariners have their first winning season in his first season as manager and in his third year saw the team winning their first AL West title. Pinella's skills as a red hot manager saw the Mariners go to the playoffs 3 more times including the 116 win season and after that saw the Mariners win 93 games in two of his last 3 years of managing the team. Guillen saw his White Sox win the World Series in his second year of managing the team, in Ozzie's 8 years of managing the White Sox, his team win 83, 99, 90, 72, 88, 79, 88, and 79 games making the playoffs 5 times and winning one World Series.
Changes must be made on the Mariners roster and in their front office if this team would like to see the playoffs.
Now, last night I heard that Franklin Gutierrez will need more time to recuperate from his hamstring injury. ROOT Sports analyst reported that Guti couldn't go more then 3 days without needing a break. Now, Guti's contract is up at the end of this year so why not release him now? Guti hasn't played a full season since 2010, he's nothing but an injury risk and not worth the money anymore.
Now, who could we get to replace Guti? Well, we have Jason Bay who the Mariners might likely resign after this year, Endy Chavez can also be a great replacement for Guti in center, Julio Morbon is another target for a good replacement he's shown us that he can hit the ball and play the outfield at the same time, the last candidate is the guy who we got in exchange for Shawn Kelley, Abraham Almonte. Almonte has been tearing things up in Triple A so far going 22-46 (.478). All of these players are terrific candidates to replace Gutierrez in centerfield along with Michael Saunders (if he can get his bat going again). Now, another problem that has popped up is Tom Wilhelmsen's ability to be consistent and locate his pitches. He was able to locate his pitches last night but before that he has blown 3 saves out of 4 attempts. Before
Tommy boy blew his first our of 3 in Cleveland he was 11 out of 11 in save opportunities with a 0.50 ERA, since then he has gone 1 out of 4 in save opportunities and his ERA has rose to 2.13. Now if Tommy boy loses his position as the closer I would think that either Carter Capps or Oliver Perez would be the two likely candidates for taking the closer position. Carter Capps has been able to come in for the Mariners and get them out of tight situations along with having one of the nastiest breaking ball and slider I've ever seen. Perez has also been just as reliable, in his last 10 games he has pitched 7.2 innings while striking out 16 batters. Capps in his last 10 games has pitch 9 innings allowing only 1 run and striking out 11 batters. Both these relievers are perfect candidates for replacing Tom if necessary.
Now by the end of this season there has to be one more change made to this team, either Eric Wedge or Jack Zduriencik has to go. Zduriencik has made some impressive signings and has drafted excellent talent but the thing is, is that Zduriencik has said "this team is currently rebuilding" now when he came to the team in 2008 he said the same thing. Mariners fans are tired of him saying that and we should have been rebuilding the team this long, the fans want to see this team in the playoffs and were not going to get there when Zduriencik keeps rebuilding. Now, Eric Wedge is one of the biggest pushover managers in baseball in my opinion. Wedge consistently makes excuses for poor performances and in games where he needs to make a pitching change he just stands there with his thumb in his ass watching the team fail. In the saves that Wilhelmsen has blown a normal manager would have gotten someone warmed up in the bullpen and ready to go after watching him walk two straight batters. Wedge never shows his emotions on the field just in the clubhouse........yeah that does not make a good manager.
Lou Pinella and Ozzie Guillen are great examples of when a manager shows his emotions on and off the field and in the clubhouse they get great results. Pinella's tough managerial skills saw the Mariners have their first winning season in his first season as manager and in his third year saw the team winning their first AL West title. Pinella's skills as a red hot manager saw the Mariners go to the playoffs 3 more times including the 116 win season and after that saw the Mariners win 93 games in two of his last 3 years of managing the team. Guillen saw his White Sox win the World Series in his second year of managing the team, in Ozzie's 8 years of managing the White Sox, his team win 83, 99, 90, 72, 88, 79, 88, and 79 games making the playoffs 5 times and winning one World Series.
Changes must be made on the Mariners roster and in their front office if this team would like to see the playoffs.
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About Me
Im a huge Seattle sports nut. Thats basically about me. But im an upcoming blogger who writes only about the Mariners, Seahawks, Sounders, and when they come back the Sonics. Now if you would like me to write about something tweet me and i will write it. Now i should mark that im also Irish and have a beard that is feared above Brian Wilson's beard. His beard can kiss my beard's ass!