The week that was Seattle Mariners edition: April 1st-10th

By Kshell

Unlike previous sports where I write a game recap on each game with baseball I'll just do a simple week that was post. For the Seattle Mariners they started the week off pretty good winning their first two games on the road at Oakland. Then after that it was all downhill for the team as they have lost seven games in a row. During that seven game losing streak the team has scored just 18 runs. This week has already brought the team some excitement with the debut of Michael Pineda, Ichiro breaking Edgar Martinez franchise hits record, Felix Hernandez receives his Cy Young after pitching a complete game on opening day. Then there was some lowlights like the seven game losing streak, Erik Bedard's era, the terrible defense and the Jack Wilson saga. I'll break all this down in the upcoming post.

The Good:

The good for the week was the 2-0 start where the Mariners had some terrific starting pitching. The Mariners starting pitchers went 15 2/3 innings allowing only three runs while striking out 11. The Mariners also scored 11 runs the first two games. Ichiro recorded four hits in the first two games to pass Edgar Martinez as the all-time hits king. Felix Hernandez pitched the first complete game win in Mariners history on opening day.

Hitting Leaders:

Jack Wilson: 6-18(.333), 3 SB, 2 runs, RBI
Adam Kennedy: 5-16(.313), 2 Doubles, 2 runs
Ichiro: 9-36(.250), 2 runs, 4 RBI's, 3 SB

Pitching Leaders:

Felix Hernandez: 1-1, 16 IP, 2.25 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 11 K's
Doug Fister: 0-2, 11.2 IP, 2.31 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 5 K's
Jamey Wright: 4.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.46 WHIP, 4 K's
Brandon League: 2.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.38 WHIP, 2 K's, one save

The Bad:

There has been plenty of bad for the Mariners this season. The Mariners are currently on a seven game losing streak. The Mariners as a team are hitting .215 with just four home runs through nine games. The Mariners have scored just 18 runs during this seven game losing streak which is an average of 2.5 runs per game.

Hitting Slump:

Chone Figgins: 5-37(.135), HR, 3 RBI's, 2 runs, SB, 6 K's
Brendan Ryan: 3-21(.143), 2 RBI's, 4 runs
Jack Cust: 6-32(.188), 3 RBI's, 3 runs, 11 K's
Ryan Langerhans: 3-18(.167), 2 HR's, 3 RBI's, 2 runs, 8 K's

Pitching Slump:

Erik Bedard: 0-2, 9 IP, 9.00 ERA, 1.89 WHIP, 9 K's
Tom Wilhelmsen: 2.2 IP, 13.50 ERA, 2.63 WHIP, 4 K's
Josh Lueke: 2.2 IP, 13.50 ERA, 2.25 WHIP, 4 K's
Chris Ray: 1-0, 1 BS, 3.1 IP, 8.10 ERA, 1.8 WHIP, ZERO K's

The Ugly:

This team appears to be falling apart inside the clubhouse as well. First with Jack Wilson who made two costly errors on a game against the Texas Rangers. Wilson then asked out of the game because he felt he was hurting the team. After the team Wilson said Eric Wedge pulled him from the game which Wedge didn't take kindly. In fact Wilson didn't play at all in the three game sweep to the Cleveland Indians. Then during Saturday's game Milton Bradley apparently was being heckled by his own home crowd. It got to the point where he was batting with earplugs in his ears. The Mariners like I said are currently riding a seven game losing streak.

Ugly Hitting:

Seattle Mariners team: 64-298(.215), .285 OB, .597 OPS, 4 HR's, 27 RBI's, 69 K's. 29 runs scored(3.2 runs per game).

Standings:

Texas Rangers: 8-1 1st place
LA Angels: 5-4, 3.0 GB
Oakland A's: 4-5, 4.0 GB
Seattle Mariners: 2-7, 6 GB

As you see despite only play nine games the Mariners already find themselves six games back in the division. The Mariners after taking two of three from the Oakland A's got swept by the Texas Rangers then the Cleveland Indians. The Mariners despite the season just starting already feel hopelessly out of the season. Just a matter of time before Jack Wilson is released. I predict by June you'll see Jack Cust and Milton Bradley shown the door. The Mariners I'm sure are desperately trying to trade Figgins if anyone wants him. For now just sit back and enjoy Felix Hernandez and Michael Pineda. The bright spots on this team very few and certainly far between. The Mariners completed the first week of the season going 2-7 and still can't score any runs. This looks like a team headed towards their third 100+ loss season in four years. Hopefully this team can give the fans something.