Today in Minneapolis people didn't know if there would be baseball played. The day brought rain and hail and then sunshine, so basically Washington type weather but the Mariners and Twins took the field tonight. The Mariners announced today that Jeremy Bonderman would be the starter for Sunday's series finale against the Twins.
Emperor Hisashi Iwakuma, as he is now called, took to the mound against the Twins looking to go for his sixth win of the season while Mike Pelfrey went out looking for his first win in five starts. Both Iwakuma and Pelfrey had easy 1-2-3 innings, but in the top of the second inning the Mariners were to get two runners on including one in scoring position after Michael Saunders walked and stole his seventh stolen base and Nick Franklin walked, but unfortunately Jesus Sucre couldn't get the job done and the inning ended with the Mariners leaving two runners on.
The Mariners finally got to Pelfrey in the top of the sixth inning. Kyle Seager started things off right for the M's in the sixth by leading off with a single to right field, the following at bat Kendrys Morales drove one into the Mariners bullpen for his eighth homerun of the season and his 32nd and 33rd RBIs of the season. Raul Ibanez got on base with a single to right and Nick Franklin walked for his second time of the game, Jesus Sucre then was able to loop one into right center field to drive in Ibanez and the Mariners took the 3-0 lead.
Iwakuma worked 7 2/3 strong dominate innings. He was able to get out of plenty of jams that would've ended up in runs but thanks to some great defense and some tricky pitches he was able to not allow a run, Charlie Furbush came in to face Justin Morneau and struck him out on three straight pitches and that ended the threat and the inning for the Twins.
Tom Wilhelmsen was brought in the game in the bottom of the ninth inning looking to have a better game then he did in San Diego. Tommy boy was able to go 1-2-3 and shut the door for his 12th save of the season and putting the Mariners win streak up to 2 games. The Mariners are now 24-31 and remain in fourth place in the American League West and only 10.5 games out of first place.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Flashback Friday: The Kid
In 1994 I had just moved back to Washington after spending 2 years in California. It was spring time when me and my mom and dad moved back so baseball was about to start. Now, when I moved back I didn't know anyone and I didn't have any interests in anything so I was one of those shy kids. At the time of the move back to Washington spring training had started for the Mariners and at the time I was not into sports of any kind, but one day my grandma called me into the living room and she sat me down and turned onto the first Mariners game of the 1994 season.
Now for the first three games I didn't show any interest in the team but the fourth game of the year changed my life forever. In the top of the fourth inning a young slugger by the name of Ken Griffey, Jr., stepped in and drove a deep drive for his first homerun of the season, when I saw that homerun hit with the sweetest swing in baseball I immediately fell in love not with just the Seattle Mariners but with Ken Griffey, Jr. Now, Griffey made me love the game of baseball even more in the top of the seventh inning by hitting another sweet swing homerun of the year. Unfortunately the Mariners lost the game 8-6 but I was instantly hooked on the team.
The 1994 baseball season was cut short due to the players strike but after that year I would become not just a fan of the Mariners but a fan of the Seattle Seahawks and the Seattle Supersonics. I had the privilege of watching my first Seahawks game with my grandmother as well and got to see them dominate the Washington Redskins 28-7! The Supersonics did the same thing to me in their first game as I got to watch both Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp beat the Utah Jazz 110-101. My love for sports grew so much in one year and every since 1994 I have not stopped loving the game of baseball, football, or basketball.
1995 would see my love for the Mariners reach a new height, I watch the team go to their first playoff series in their franchise history but I also attended the team's home opener. That first game would be amazing for me being a 5 year old, when Griffey came up to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning I cheered my loudest and told my dad that Griffey would hit his first homerun of the year and Jr., didn't disappoint as he hit a 3-run homerun to put the M's up 3-0 on the Detroit Tigers and Randy Johnson also dealt an incredible game throwing 6 innings of shutout baseball and striking out 8 batters.
The scare of my young life came in that game where Griffey raced to make one of the greatest catches of his career but on that play Griffey broke his left wrist and would be sidelined for 72 games. Once Griffey made his return the Mariners pulled together to make a late season surge to take their first American League West title. The 1995 Division Series was just as nerve racking as the season was but as a 5 year old you would think that I wouldn't pay much attention but your dead wrong, my eyes were glued to the screen and everything my grandmother did I did. Going into Game 3 we were worried that we would be swepted by the New York Yankees, but that would not be the case. The Mariners made sure that they would continue their new slogan "Refuse To Lose" and came back from a 2-0 deficit in the series and won the series to move on to their first American League Championship Series against the winningest team in baseball that year the Cleveland Indians. The Mariners would lose in 6 games.
The 95 season would see the Seahawks finish 8-8 but would see the Sonics go 66-14 and would lose in the NBA Finals in 6 games to the 72-10 Chicago Bulls.
Now the blog is named The Kid for a reason, because Ken Griffey, Jr., was the reason I got into sports. From 96-99 season I attended 100 games in the Kingdome and I also attended the final Kingdome game where Griffey would hit one more homerun in the beloved stadium. Griffey was not just a player to me, he was a God and he was then and still my favorite player and hero. When I played on a baseball team I made sure I was the first one to snatch up the number 24 and I continued to wear that number with every baseball team I played for. When Jr., was traded away to Cincinnati I was devastated and I wrote him a letter telling him he was the reason I watched Mariners baseball, and he actually wrote me back saying in the letter "I appreciate your letter and your interest in baseball. Because of the thousands of letters I receive each week, it is not possible to respond to each one personally. I am enclosing you a special baseball card, and hope that you enjoy following the Mariners and Major League Baseball. Best wishes from your hero Ken Griffey Jr." After I received that letter I told myself to not to continue loving the Mariners but to also following him as his career continued in Cincinnati.
The 2000 Mariners season saw Mike Cameron make plays that made me just love the Mariners still and the team made a great American League Wild Card champion run in the playoffs by sweeping the Chicago White Sox but falling to the Yankees in the ALCS. Griffey had a terrific 2000 batting .271 slugging out 40 homeruns and batting in 118 RBIs. Over the next 4 years would see Jr.'s superstardom decline as the injuries crept up on the aging superstar. 2004 would see Griffey hit his 500th homerun of his career on Father's Day. 2005 would see Griffey renew his career by hitting 35 homeruns and driving in 85 RBIs and winning the National League Comeback Player of the Year. 2006 would see Griffey play well again and he would play for Team USA in the first World Baseball Classic, as he batted .524 and hit 3 homeruns but the USA failed to make the semifinals, Griffey would make the All WBC Team and would finish tied for the most RBIs in the tournament with 10.
The regular season Griffey would hit 27 homeruns and drive in 72 RBIs. After both the 2007 and 2008 season the Mariners announced the signing of Griffey and as I knew this day would come again I celebrated all night. I attended 18 games that year at Safeco Field and I was able to watch Griffey hit 8 homeruns in those 18 games, he would finish the year off 19 homeruns. The next year Griffey signed again with the team but it would turn out to be the worst season of his career as he would not hit any homeruns and batted a mediocre .184, in the middle of the season Griffey just left the state of Washington and announce that his career was done.
It was a sad day when my hero retired, I admit that I did cry knowing that I would not see that sweet swing anymore. Ken Griffey, Jr., was not just a player to me, he was an inspiration, he was a terrific athlete, he was my hero, and he is the reason that I have a great love of baseball and sports. If I never would've watched that one game in 1994 I don't think I would've never gotten into sports or have a love for the Seattle teams. So to Ken Griffey, Jr., I want to thank you for being that one inspiration I needed to develop such a love for the Seattle Mariners, the Seattle Seahawks, the Seattle SuperSonics, and for getting me involved in playing sports.
Thank you Jr., for everything that you have done for me. For making me fall in love with the game of baseball and for making me a Seattle Mariners fan.
Now for the first three games I didn't show any interest in the team but the fourth game of the year changed my life forever. In the top of the fourth inning a young slugger by the name of Ken Griffey, Jr., stepped in and drove a deep drive for his first homerun of the season, when I saw that homerun hit with the sweetest swing in baseball I immediately fell in love not with just the Seattle Mariners but with Ken Griffey, Jr. Now, Griffey made me love the game of baseball even more in the top of the seventh inning by hitting another sweet swing homerun of the year. Unfortunately the Mariners lost the game 8-6 but I was instantly hooked on the team.
The 1994 baseball season was cut short due to the players strike but after that year I would become not just a fan of the Mariners but a fan of the Seattle Seahawks and the Seattle Supersonics. I had the privilege of watching my first Seahawks game with my grandmother as well and got to see them dominate the Washington Redskins 28-7! The Supersonics did the same thing to me in their first game as I got to watch both Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp beat the Utah Jazz 110-101. My love for sports grew so much in one year and every since 1994 I have not stopped loving the game of baseball, football, or basketball.
1995 would see my love for the Mariners reach a new height, I watch the team go to their first playoff series in their franchise history but I also attended the team's home opener. That first game would be amazing for me being a 5 year old, when Griffey came up to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning I cheered my loudest and told my dad that Griffey would hit his first homerun of the year and Jr., didn't disappoint as he hit a 3-run homerun to put the M's up 3-0 on the Detroit Tigers and Randy Johnson also dealt an incredible game throwing 6 innings of shutout baseball and striking out 8 batters.
The scare of my young life came in that game where Griffey raced to make one of the greatest catches of his career but on that play Griffey broke his left wrist and would be sidelined for 72 games. Once Griffey made his return the Mariners pulled together to make a late season surge to take their first American League West title. The 1995 Division Series was just as nerve racking as the season was but as a 5 year old you would think that I wouldn't pay much attention but your dead wrong, my eyes were glued to the screen and everything my grandmother did I did. Going into Game 3 we were worried that we would be swepted by the New York Yankees, but that would not be the case. The Mariners made sure that they would continue their new slogan "Refuse To Lose" and came back from a 2-0 deficit in the series and won the series to move on to their first American League Championship Series against the winningest team in baseball that year the Cleveland Indians. The Mariners would lose in 6 games.
The 95 season would see the Seahawks finish 8-8 but would see the Sonics go 66-14 and would lose in the NBA Finals in 6 games to the 72-10 Chicago Bulls.
Now the blog is named The Kid for a reason, because Ken Griffey, Jr., was the reason I got into sports. From 96-99 season I attended 100 games in the Kingdome and I also attended the final Kingdome game where Griffey would hit one more homerun in the beloved stadium. Griffey was not just a player to me, he was a God and he was then and still my favorite player and hero. When I played on a baseball team I made sure I was the first one to snatch up the number 24 and I continued to wear that number with every baseball team I played for. When Jr., was traded away to Cincinnati I was devastated and I wrote him a letter telling him he was the reason I watched Mariners baseball, and he actually wrote me back saying in the letter "I appreciate your letter and your interest in baseball. Because of the thousands of letters I receive each week, it is not possible to respond to each one personally. I am enclosing you a special baseball card, and hope that you enjoy following the Mariners and Major League Baseball. Best wishes from your hero Ken Griffey Jr." After I received that letter I told myself to not to continue loving the Mariners but to also following him as his career continued in Cincinnati.
The 2000 Mariners season saw Mike Cameron make plays that made me just love the Mariners still and the team made a great American League Wild Card champion run in the playoffs by sweeping the Chicago White Sox but falling to the Yankees in the ALCS. Griffey had a terrific 2000 batting .271 slugging out 40 homeruns and batting in 118 RBIs. Over the next 4 years would see Jr.'s superstardom decline as the injuries crept up on the aging superstar. 2004 would see Griffey hit his 500th homerun of his career on Father's Day. 2005 would see Griffey renew his career by hitting 35 homeruns and driving in 85 RBIs and winning the National League Comeback Player of the Year. 2006 would see Griffey play well again and he would play for Team USA in the first World Baseball Classic, as he batted .524 and hit 3 homeruns but the USA failed to make the semifinals, Griffey would make the All WBC Team and would finish tied for the most RBIs in the tournament with 10.
The regular season Griffey would hit 27 homeruns and drive in 72 RBIs. After both the 2007 and 2008 season the Mariners announced the signing of Griffey and as I knew this day would come again I celebrated all night. I attended 18 games that year at Safeco Field and I was able to watch Griffey hit 8 homeruns in those 18 games, he would finish the year off 19 homeruns. The next year Griffey signed again with the team but it would turn out to be the worst season of his career as he would not hit any homeruns and batted a mediocre .184, in the middle of the season Griffey just left the state of Washington and announce that his career was done.
It was a sad day when my hero retired, I admit that I did cry knowing that I would not see that sweet swing anymore. Ken Griffey, Jr., was not just a player to me, he was an inspiration, he was a terrific athlete, he was my hero, and he is the reason that I have a great love of baseball and sports. If I never would've watched that one game in 1994 I don't think I would've never gotten into sports or have a love for the Seattle teams. So to Ken Griffey, Jr., I want to thank you for being that one inspiration I needed to develop such a love for the Seattle Mariners, the Seattle Seahawks, the Seattle SuperSonics, and for getting me involved in playing sports.
Thank you Jr., for everything that you have done for me. For making me fall in love with the game of baseball and for making me a Seattle Mariners fan.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Homerun balls with King Felix hot sauce
Felix Hernandez was sent out to try and salvage a split in a home/road 4 game series with the San Diego Padres. The Mariners got their first run in the top of the first inning as Kendrys Morales sent his seventh homerun of the year over the centerfield fence and the Mariners took the 1-0 lead. The top of the third inning started off in a very interesting way, Brendan Ryan has never been known for his power but more for his glove, but for the second time this month Ryan sent one out and the Mariners took the 2-0 lead for Felix. After Hernandez struck out both Endy Chavez and Kyle Seager singled to put runners at the corners, Morales then added to his day by singling up the middle to drive in the third run for the Mariners for the day and his second RBI of the day as well.
Felix had a no hitter going into the bottom of the fourth inning, until Chase Headley singled up the middle, before Headley singled Hernandez walked Alexi Amarista and on the single Amarista was able to get to third. Carlos Quinten drove in the first run for the Padres by sending a fly ball to Michael Saunders that scored Amarista. Hernandez was able to get out of the fourth inning thanks to a great diving play by Brendan Ryan to start an inning ending double play. In the top of the sixth inning Nick Franklin drove a ball to deep centerfield and was able to get enough to get it over the fence for his first major league homerun and the Mariners took the 4-1 lead. Felix was able to draw a walk with one out in the top of the seventh inning, the following at bat Endy Chavez would add to the homerun total 4 as he hit his second homerun to put the Mariners up 6-1.
In the top of the eighth Nick Franklin would hit his second homerun of the day to put the M's up 7-1 and the homerun total to 5 for the day. Felix exited the game after pitching eight strong innings and Oliver Perez was brought in to shut the door on the Padres. Perez was able to close things out and end a 7 road game losing streak.
The Mariners travel to Minnesota to face the Twins for a three game series. Hisashi Iwakuma will go out for the first game, Aaron Harang will take to the mound in game 2, and even though it hasn't been decided I have a feeling that Jeremy Bonderman will go out for his Mariners debut in the series finale.
Felix had a no hitter going into the bottom of the fourth inning, until Chase Headley singled up the middle, before Headley singled Hernandez walked Alexi Amarista and on the single Amarista was able to get to third. Carlos Quinten drove in the first run for the Padres by sending a fly ball to Michael Saunders that scored Amarista. Hernandez was able to get out of the fourth inning thanks to a great diving play by Brendan Ryan to start an inning ending double play. In the top of the sixth inning Nick Franklin drove a ball to deep centerfield and was able to get enough to get it over the fence for his first major league homerun and the Mariners took the 4-1 lead. Felix was able to draw a walk with one out in the top of the seventh inning, the following at bat Endy Chavez would add to the homerun total 4 as he hit his second homerun to put the Mariners up 6-1.
In the top of the eighth Nick Franklin would hit his second homerun of the day to put the M's up 7-1 and the homerun total to 5 for the day. Felix exited the game after pitching eight strong innings and Oliver Perez was brought in to shut the door on the Padres. Perez was able to close things out and end a 7 road game losing streak.
The Mariners travel to Minnesota to face the Twins for a three game series. Hisashi Iwakuma will go out for the first game, Aaron Harang will take to the mound in game 2, and even though it hasn't been decided I have a feeling that Jeremy Bonderman will go out for his Mariners debut in the series finale.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
A blown save and a loss on the rocks
Before tonight's game the Mariners made a very interesting move. Alex Liddi was brought up and Brandon Maurer was sent down to Triple A Tacoma and Wedge wouldn't say who would start Sunday's game against the Minnesota Twins. We can only guess who will take to the mound on Sunday whether it be Hector Noesi or Jeremy Bonderman. Bonderman's minor league contract will expire on June 1st so the Mariners will have the option of either giving him the start, releasing him, or re-signing him.
Ok, now lets get to the recap of tonight's game shall I? Joe Saunders took to the mound against Eric Stults. The bottom of the first saw Saunders's streak of 22 2/3 innings of shutout pitching against the Padres come to an end as Chase Headley drove one deep into the second deck in left field and the Padres took the 1-0 lead. Stults continued his dominance by striking out 6 through 4 innings. In the top of the fourth inning the Mariners were able to tack on their first run of the game. After Jason Bay struck out to lead off the inning Endy Chavez singled ending the streak of 10 in a row set down by Stults. Kyle Seager doubled advancing Chavez to third, Kendrys Morales then grounded out scoring Chavez from third to tie up the game at one a piece.
After the top of the fourth pitching for both sides dominated. Saunders pitched a brilliant seven strong innings only giving up the one run and allowing only 4 hits. Eric Stults though went 8 really strong innings and striking out a career high 12 Mariners hitters. Going into the top of the ninth inning Stults's night was done and the Padres sent out Houston Street, who has an incredible success against the Mariners. Jason Bay saw three sinker pitches from Street and the third one he saw put the Mariners in front 2-1 as his sixth homerun of the year just sailed over the left field fence and just sailed past Kyle Blanks's glove. Tom Wilhelmsen was brought in to close the game for the Mariners. Tommy boy did not bring his stuff, his control was completely off as failed to locate his pitches and after giving up a base hit Jedd Gyorko he loaded the bases after intentionally walking Yonder Alonso. Wilhelmsen failed to shut the door and gave up a game tying sacrifice fly but was able to get out of the inning without surrendering the game winning run.
The Mariners couldn't muster a hit or a runner in the top half of the tenth inning. Yoervis Medina was brought in for Tommy boy in the bottom of the tenth inning. Chris Denorfia hit a ground ball to Brendan Ryan and on the ground ball Ryan made a beautiful under the legs scoop but couldn't make an accurate throw to get Denorfia at first. The next batter Everth Cabrera hit a hard single to left center field on a hit and run play which also allowed Denorfia to advance to third. So here is another jam for a Mariners pitcher, Medina intentionally walked Chase Headley to load the bases. Will Venable only needed three pitches, on the third pitch he saw he lined a ball passed Morales at first to drive in the game winning run.
NOTES: Nick Franklin on a positive note was able to get his first major league hit out of the way. The Tacoma Rainiers tonight though had better hitting and run success then the Mariners did. The Rainiers destroyed the Colorado Spring Sky Sox 25-6! Not counting the two pinch hitters in the game for the Rainiers all starters for the team had at least two hits in the game, the Rainiers had 30 total hits. Dustin Ackley went 5-6 with a homerun and 3 RBIs. Both Erik Thames and Brad Miller had 6 RBIs. Abraham Almonte went a perfect 6-6.
Ok, now lets get to the recap of tonight's game shall I? Joe Saunders took to the mound against Eric Stults. The bottom of the first saw Saunders's streak of 22 2/3 innings of shutout pitching against the Padres come to an end as Chase Headley drove one deep into the second deck in left field and the Padres took the 1-0 lead. Stults continued his dominance by striking out 6 through 4 innings. In the top of the fourth inning the Mariners were able to tack on their first run of the game. After Jason Bay struck out to lead off the inning Endy Chavez singled ending the streak of 10 in a row set down by Stults. Kyle Seager doubled advancing Chavez to third, Kendrys Morales then grounded out scoring Chavez from third to tie up the game at one a piece.
After the top of the fourth pitching for both sides dominated. Saunders pitched a brilliant seven strong innings only giving up the one run and allowing only 4 hits. Eric Stults though went 8 really strong innings and striking out a career high 12 Mariners hitters. Going into the top of the ninth inning Stults's night was done and the Padres sent out Houston Street, who has an incredible success against the Mariners. Jason Bay saw three sinker pitches from Street and the third one he saw put the Mariners in front 2-1 as his sixth homerun of the year just sailed over the left field fence and just sailed past Kyle Blanks's glove. Tom Wilhelmsen was brought in to close the game for the Mariners. Tommy boy did not bring his stuff, his control was completely off as failed to locate his pitches and after giving up a base hit Jedd Gyorko he loaded the bases after intentionally walking Yonder Alonso. Wilhelmsen failed to shut the door and gave up a game tying sacrifice fly but was able to get out of the inning without surrendering the game winning run.
The Mariners couldn't muster a hit or a runner in the top half of the tenth inning. Yoervis Medina was brought in for Tommy boy in the bottom of the tenth inning. Chris Denorfia hit a ground ball to Brendan Ryan and on the ground ball Ryan made a beautiful under the legs scoop but couldn't make an accurate throw to get Denorfia at first. The next batter Everth Cabrera hit a hard single to left center field on a hit and run play which also allowed Denorfia to advance to third. So here is another jam for a Mariners pitcher, Medina intentionally walked Chase Headley to load the bases. Will Venable only needed three pitches, on the third pitch he saw he lined a ball passed Morales at first to drive in the game winning run.
NOTES: Nick Franklin on a positive note was able to get his first major league hit out of the way. The Tacoma Rainiers tonight though had better hitting and run success then the Mariners did. The Rainiers destroyed the Colorado Spring Sky Sox 25-6! Not counting the two pinch hitters in the game for the Rainiers all starters for the team had at least two hits in the game, the Rainiers had 30 total hits. Dustin Ackley went 5-6 with a homerun and 3 RBIs. Both Erik Thames and Brad Miller had 6 RBIs. Abraham Almonte went a perfect 6-6.
Padres bash Maurer
Eric Wedge said that this game is Brandon Maurer's last chance at saving his position in the rotation. Maurer knew this and started out his night very well getting out of a few jams and not allowing a run in the first three innings. The Mariners got Maurer a run in the bottom of the second inning and at first it looked like the Mariners were going to win their third game in a row. The inning started off with Kendrys Morales extending his hitting streak to 6 games by getting an infield hit, very shocking huh; a big guy like Morales getting an infield hit. Mike Morse and Michael Saunders were both able to draw walks off Edinson Volquez. Nick Franklin was unable to get a hit as he grounded out and Yonder Alonso threw out Morales at home but Franklin was still able to make it on first to keep the bases loaded for the Mariners. Jesus Sucre drove in the first run in for the Mariners by hitting a long fly ball out to Will Venable scoring Mike Morse from third.
Maurer gave up his first runs in the top of the fourth by giving up a two run homerun to Jedd Gyorko and the Padres took the 2-1 lead. In the bottom of the fourth Morse singled up the middle with one out to bring up Saunders, who has been struggling mightily up at the plate, was able to drive one to right center field and third base coach Daren Brown stupidly sent Morse running home and on that play Morse both was thrown out at the plate and injured himself on running. Morse would leave the game with a left quad strain and will remain in Seattle on a day-to-day injured list. That inning ended after Nick Franklin struck out, Franklin had a tough first MLB start going 0-4 and making a fielding error.
Maurer gave up another homerun but this time a solo shot to Alexi Amarista, putting the Padres lead to 3-1. The Padres finally drove Maurer off the mound and in shame in the top of the sixth. Yonder Alonso and Yasmani Grandal both singled with one out, Maurer threw a wild pitch that moved both runners up. Gyorko walked and following that Mark Kotsay singled to center driving in both Alonso and Grandal putting the Padres lead to 5-1 and after that manager Eric Wedge saw enough and brought in Danny Farquhar to relieve the young blunder of a pitcher. Now as I said in the paragraph above Franklin made an error in the sixth that allowed one more run to come in increasing the Padres lead to 6-1.
The rest of the night speaks for itself. After this game I believe that Wedge and the Mariners are fed up with Maurer's mediocrity and poor control of his pitches. Maurer leads the league in wild pitches after tonight's game along with not even being ranked in the top 105 pitchers in ERA! That means he has the worst ERA in the majors among starting pitchers with a 6.93 ERA. In my opinion Maurer basically screwed himself out of a job with the Mariners for now, I believe that Maurer will not make the trip down to San Diego tonight with the team and Jeremy Bonderman will be brought up from Triple A Tacoma along with Horacio Ramirez being brought up from Double A Jackson. Maurer was brought up too early and needs to spend more time to develop.
Maurer gave up his first runs in the top of the fourth by giving up a two run homerun to Jedd Gyorko and the Padres took the 2-1 lead. In the bottom of the fourth Morse singled up the middle with one out to bring up Saunders, who has been struggling mightily up at the plate, was able to drive one to right center field and third base coach Daren Brown stupidly sent Morse running home and on that play Morse both was thrown out at the plate and injured himself on running. Morse would leave the game with a left quad strain and will remain in Seattle on a day-to-day injured list. That inning ended after Nick Franklin struck out, Franklin had a tough first MLB start going 0-4 and making a fielding error.
Maurer gave up another homerun but this time a solo shot to Alexi Amarista, putting the Padres lead to 3-1. The Padres finally drove Maurer off the mound and in shame in the top of the sixth. Yonder Alonso and Yasmani Grandal both singled with one out, Maurer threw a wild pitch that moved both runners up. Gyorko walked and following that Mark Kotsay singled to center driving in both Alonso and Grandal putting the Padres lead to 5-1 and after that manager Eric Wedge saw enough and brought in Danny Farquhar to relieve the young blunder of a pitcher. Now as I said in the paragraph above Franklin made an error in the sixth that allowed one more run to come in increasing the Padres lead to 6-1.
The rest of the night speaks for itself. After this game I believe that Wedge and the Mariners are fed up with Maurer's mediocrity and poor control of his pitches. Maurer leads the league in wild pitches after tonight's game along with not even being ranked in the top 105 pitchers in ERA! That means he has the worst ERA in the majors among starting pitchers with a 6.93 ERA. In my opinion Maurer basically screwed himself out of a job with the Mariners for now, I believe that Maurer will not make the trip down to San Diego tonight with the team and Jeremy Bonderman will be brought up from Triple A Tacoma along with Horacio Ramirez being brought up from Double A Jackson. Maurer was brought up too early and needs to spend more time to develop.
Monday, May 27, 2013
A Memorial Day bashing
The day after their extra inning win the Mariners decided that some changes had to be made, so Nick Franklin put on a Mariners jersey for the first time in his career and came into Safeco Field today as a major leaguer. Dustin Ackley was optioned downed to Triple A Tacoma along with Lucas Luetge and brought up Hector Noesi to replace him. So, with some young guys being brought up that was more then a reason for Mariners fans to both watch and go to the game today. Aaron Harang took to the mound today looking to have a better outing then the disaster he had in Anaheim. Harang had a great first inning after giving up a lead off double to Everth Cabrera he went 1-2-3.
Jason Bay lead off the bottom half of the first in a big way, sending a long drive over the wall to give the Mariners the early 1-0 lead and on that homerun a fan made one impressive catch, had to put that in there. The Mariners didn't stop there, after Kyle Seager drew a walk and Kendrys Morales doubled Mike Morse sent one more pitch into the center field seats and the Mariners took a nice comfortable 4-0 lead.
Harang continued to pitch brilliantly as he had easy innings and located his pitches in the right spot. The bottom of the fourth saw the M's hit their third homerun of the game as Kelly Shoppach drove one into Edgar's Cantina. The Mariners got were able to have another terrific inning. The bottom of the seventh began with Brendan Ryan singling to left field and putting his batting average to .214 for the year now. Jason Bay and Kyle Seager both drew walks and then Kendrys Morales drove in two more runs with a 2-run single and the Mariners took a 7-0 lead. Anthony Bass threw a wild pitch in the dirt that allowed Seager to score and the lead grew to 8-0.
Raul Ibanez then was able to line a ball down the right field line scoring Morales and giving the M's and Harang a 9-0 lead to work with. During the bottom of the seventh when Carlos Triunfel came up to bat the crowd started cheering as Nick Franklin wearing the number 20 on his back came onto the on deck circle to take some swings and get ready for his first major league at bat. Triunfel grounded out to end the inning and Franklin went back into the dugout but came out to play second base and get his first major league action.
Harang had another easy inning the in the eighth and Franklin made two plays to start his career out as well. Franklin lead off the bottom of the eighth inning and the fans gave him a terrific ovation as he walked up to take his first MLB at-bat. The first pitch to Franklin went in for a strike but after that he looked at four straight balls to walk in his first at-bat of his career. Harang was over 100 pitches as he entered the ninth inning. Harang finished off the first complete game shutout of the year for a Mariners pitcher. The team treated Harang not to the Super Soaker but a classic Gatorade bath which was well deserved.
Tomorrow the Mariners send out Brandon Maurer against Edison Volquez looking to pitch better then he did in Anaheim as well.
Jason Bay lead off the bottom half of the first in a big way, sending a long drive over the wall to give the Mariners the early 1-0 lead and on that homerun a fan made one impressive catch, had to put that in there. The Mariners didn't stop there, after Kyle Seager drew a walk and Kendrys Morales doubled Mike Morse sent one more pitch into the center field seats and the Mariners took a nice comfortable 4-0 lead.
Harang continued to pitch brilliantly as he had easy innings and located his pitches in the right spot. The bottom of the fourth saw the M's hit their third homerun of the game as Kelly Shoppach drove one into Edgar's Cantina. The Mariners got were able to have another terrific inning. The bottom of the seventh began with Brendan Ryan singling to left field and putting his batting average to .214 for the year now. Jason Bay and Kyle Seager both drew walks and then Kendrys Morales drove in two more runs with a 2-run single and the Mariners took a 7-0 lead. Anthony Bass threw a wild pitch in the dirt that allowed Seager to score and the lead grew to 8-0.
Raul Ibanez then was able to line a ball down the right field line scoring Morales and giving the M's and Harang a 9-0 lead to work with. During the bottom of the seventh when Carlos Triunfel came up to bat the crowd started cheering as Nick Franklin wearing the number 20 on his back came onto the on deck circle to take some swings and get ready for his first major league at bat. Triunfel grounded out to end the inning and Franklin went back into the dugout but came out to play second base and get his first major league action.
Harang had another easy inning the in the eighth and Franklin made two plays to start his career out as well. Franklin lead off the bottom of the eighth inning and the fans gave him a terrific ovation as he walked up to take his first MLB at-bat. The first pitch to Franklin went in for a strike but after that he looked at four straight balls to walk in his first at-bat of his career. Harang was over 100 pitches as he entered the ninth inning. Harang finished off the first complete game shutout of the year for a Mariners pitcher. The team treated Harang not to the Super Soaker but a classic Gatorade bath which was well deserved.
Tomorrow the Mariners send out Brandon Maurer against Edison Volquez looking to pitch better then he did in Anaheim as well.
The successful ex Mariners
Before I even started this blog a few people on Twitter has said that this would be a book more then a blog entry, but I wouldn't be talking about every ex Mariner player that has had success when they have left just some of the current ones. The first player I have to start off with is Adrian Beltre. Now Beltre had some success in Seattle averaging a .266 batting average, 20 homeruns, 79 RBIs, and 150 hits a season with the Mariners along with winning 2 Gold Gloves with the team. Beltre as you remembered also hit the first inside-the-park homerun at Safeco Field against the Boston Red Sox. Since Beltre has left the Mariners he has averaged a .312 batting average, 32 homeruns, 103 RBIs, 175 hits a season and 2 extra Gold Gloves.
Now, looking at what he did in Seattle compared to his time away from Seattle I look at two things, one the stadium that his played in and two the hitters that have hit before him in the lineups. While in Seattle Beltre had to deal with the fences being as far as they were along with the salty sea air that makes it difficult for the baseball to travel far. Beltre also did not have a great hitting lineup to back him up for him to drive in more runs. When Beltre departed the Mariners for the Red Sox he was put in a stadium that has one of the shortest left field fences to home plate ever, now yes he had to deal with the Green Monster but that's really easy to hit over with his power.
The Red Sox in 2010 had great hitters for Beltre to hit behind and drive in for runs. He had Jacoby Ellsbury in lead off which provided great speed on the bases, Dustin Pedroia who provided the necessary power and average that could get Ellsbury home or advance him to third, Victor Martinez provided more power and average to the lineup in front of Beltre, Kevin Youkilis provided again power and average, David Ortiz provided power, walks, and average again, so if you add all that up when Beltre came to the plate he was looking at least two runners on base either at second and first or second and third. It was the same when he left Boston to join the Texas Rangers he had speed, average, and power in a lineup that won two American League pennants.
Anther success to leave the Mariners has to be Shin-Soo Choo. Choo was traded for first basemen Ben Broussard. Choo never really got the chance to show what he could really do but since he has left he has hit 93 homeruns in the eight years that he has been away from Seattle. Choo even hit a homerun in his first at bat against the Mariners. Now I will end this blog by naming a few other names that has had success after leaving the team. Mike Carp, Jose Cruz, Jr., R.A. Dickey, Randy Johnson, Raul Ibanez, Adam Jones, Carlos Guillen, Matt Tuiasosopo, Brandon Morrow, Scott Podsednik, and Miguel Olivo.
Now, looking at what he did in Seattle compared to his time away from Seattle I look at two things, one the stadium that his played in and two the hitters that have hit before him in the lineups. While in Seattle Beltre had to deal with the fences being as far as they were along with the salty sea air that makes it difficult for the baseball to travel far. Beltre also did not have a great hitting lineup to back him up for him to drive in more runs. When Beltre departed the Mariners for the Red Sox he was put in a stadium that has one of the shortest left field fences to home plate ever, now yes he had to deal with the Green Monster but that's really easy to hit over with his power.
The Red Sox in 2010 had great hitters for Beltre to hit behind and drive in for runs. He had Jacoby Ellsbury in lead off which provided great speed on the bases, Dustin Pedroia who provided the necessary power and average that could get Ellsbury home or advance him to third, Victor Martinez provided more power and average to the lineup in front of Beltre, Kevin Youkilis provided again power and average, David Ortiz provided power, walks, and average again, so if you add all that up when Beltre came to the plate he was looking at least two runners on base either at second and first or second and third. It was the same when he left Boston to join the Texas Rangers he had speed, average, and power in a lineup that won two American League pennants.
Anther success to leave the Mariners has to be Shin-Soo Choo. Choo was traded for first basemen Ben Broussard. Choo never really got the chance to show what he could really do but since he has left he has hit 93 homeruns in the eight years that he has been away from Seattle. Choo even hit a homerun in his first at bat against the Mariners. Now I will end this blog by naming a few other names that has had success after leaving the team. Mike Carp, Jose Cruz, Jr., R.A. Dickey, Randy Johnson, Raul Ibanez, Adam Jones, Carlos Guillen, Matt Tuiasosopo, Brandon Morrow, Scott Podsednik, and Miguel Olivo.
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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!