Seattle Mariners weekly recap: May 28th-June 3rd edition

By Kshell

The Seattle Mariners just completed a 3-3 road trip that extends tonight. The Mariners began the week taking two out of three against the Rangers which includes a six run 9th inning in a 10-3 win followed up by a 21-8 win which saw the Mariners lead 16-0 after three innings. The Mariners then would lose two out of three to the Chicago White Sox but had an exciting 10-8 win over the White Sox in extra innings on Saturday. This week also saw Justin Smoak named as American League player of the week as he had a huge week along with all the other youngsters on the Mariners team. The young guys are starting to play well and it's nice seeing a team with a future for once. This team with these young hitters has been inconsistent but the future appears bright. This week since the Mariners went 3-3 I'll talk about the good(the youngsters), the bad( Ryan and Figgins) and the awesome(where I go over the players Jack Zduriencik has drafted/traded for to see how they are doing). As always hope you enjoy my Mariners weekly recap.

The Good:

The good for this week was the hitting future of Dustin Ackley, Jesus Montero, Kyle Seager and Justin Smoak. Throw in Michael Saunders who is still in his 20's and this week gave all the optimistic Mariners fans hope in the Jack Zduriencik regime. The Mariners offense three times this week scored in double figures. The Mariners offense averaged 8.2 runs per game. In their three wins they averaged 13.7 runs per game. Like I said up top Justin Smoak was named American League player of the week and this week saw a change in the lineup. Dustin Ackley moves back into the #2 spot instead of leadoff while Kyle Seager is now the #3 hitter as Ichiro slides back into leadoff where he homered twice on Saturday. The Mariners bullpen pitched pretty well this week as they saw the debut of youngster Stephen Pryor who began the year in double A. In his first major league appearance he came in to face Paul Konerko and struck him out on five pitches. He was clocked at 100 MPH twice in that at bat and threw Konerko nothing but fastballs. This week was a great week indeed for the future of this franchise.

Good Hitting:

Kyle Seager: 9-24(.375), HR, 6 runs, 5 RBI's, 4 doubles
Jesus Montero: 9-27(.333), HR, 4 runs, 5 RBI's, 2 doubles
Miguel Olivo: 4-14(.286), HR, 3 runs, 4 RBI's
Michael Saunders: 12-27(.444), HR, 5 runs, 3 RBI's, 3 doubles, SB
John Jaso: 4-15(.266), HR, 4 runs, 4 RBI's
Dustin Ackley: 6-20(.300), HR, 6 runs, 4 RBI's, 2 doubles, SB, 5 BB's
Justin Smoak: 8-23(.347), 3 HR's, 7 runs, 8 RBI's, 6 BB's

Good Pitching:

Jason Vargas: 1-0, 6.2 IP, 4.04 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 2 K's
Lucas Luetge: 2.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, K
Charlie Furbush: 3.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, 4 K's
Stephen Pryor: 2.1 IP, 3.86 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 4 K's
Brandon League: 3.2 IP, 2.45 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 2 K's
Tom Wilhelmsen: 1-0, 4 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, 4 K's

Lucas Luetge a rule five pick this year is 1-0 in 20 appearances having thrown 13.1 innings. He has a 0.00 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 13 K's. Opponents are hitting .174 off of him.

Charlie Furbush another lefty in the pen who Zduriencik acquired in the Doug Fister trade this year is 2-1 in 19 appearances. He has thrown 19.1 innings. He has a 3.26 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, and 22 K's. Opponents are hitting .149 off of him. The Mariners are in good shape as both pitchers are in their mid 20's far as left handed relievers go.

The Bad:

A run saved is worth a run scored is what I keep hearing. Now the bad this week is the veterans of this team continue to not hit. Sure Brendan Ryan has a great glove but he is also hitting .171 which is embarassing for a major league regular playing every day and we are in June right now. This week also saw the starting pitching get lit up which includes Felix Hernandez who might be going on the disabled list. Despite the offense blowing up the team was only able to go 3-3 this weekend losing all three games in close fassion.  With youngsters down in the minors tearing it up you have to wonder when some of these veterans that Eric Wedge loves so much might be getting a plane ticket out of town or in Ryan's case simply becomes a late inning defensive replacement.

Bad Hitting:

Alex Liddi: 2-12(.167), run, RBI, 6 K's
Chone Figgins: 3-15(.200), 2 runs, RBI, SB, 3 K's
Brendan Ryan: 4-24(.167), 5 runs, 4 RBI's, 2 SB's, 5 K's

Bad Pitching:

Felix Hernandez: 5 IP, 7.20 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, 6 K's, 3 HR's allowed
Kevin Millwood: 0-1, 9 IP, 5.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 9 K's
Blake Beavan: 1-0, 6 IP, 7.50 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 2 K's
Hector Noesi: 4.1 IP, 12.47 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 5 K's, 3 HR's allowed
Steve Delabar: 0-1, 0.1 IP, 81.00 ERA, 9.00 WHIP, K

Brendan Ryan on the year is hitting .171/.275/.263 in 152 AB's with just one home run. He is one of the best defenders in baseball but at some point you need to hit.

As for Figgins I don't need to quote his stats as we know they suck. Figgins just needs to be released and hopefully will be when Franklin Guiterrez is called up soon.

The Awesome:

The future is looking very bright for the Mariners with Danny Hultzen, James Paxton and Taijuan Walker headlining the list. Currently all three along with Nick Franklin are in double A for the Jackson Generals as the Generals are currently 35-22. Not only that but the Mariners have a few(not many) nice pieces for the Tacoma Rainiers and then most of the young core is already on the big league team. Through the draft and trades Zduriencik is starting to build something which took a while due to Bill Bavasi wasting two top five draft selections where he passed on Ryan Zimmerman, Ryan Braun, Troy Tulowitski, Ricky Romero. Then following draft Tim Lincecum and Clayton Kershaw while trading away Asdrubal Cabera and Adam Jones. Would be nice having those two back plus two of those players I listed. Now the team has a bright future where I'll post their stats to give you an idea.

Awesome Pitching:

Danny Hultzen(2nd pick overall 2011 draft, #21 prospect baseball America 2012, 22 years old): 6-3, 62.1 IP, 1.44 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 67 K's(9.7 K's per 9)- Double A 2012

James Paxton(1st round 2009 draft by Toronto Blue Jays, 2010 fourth round pick by Mariners, #52 prospect baseball America 2012): 3-3, 46.1 IP,  3.88 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 52 K's(10.1 K's per 9)- Double A 2012.

For his minor league career he is 10-8, 159 IP, 3.00 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 201 K's(11.4 K's per 9)

Taijuan Walker(1st round pick in 2010 draft #43 overall, #20 prospect baseball America 2012, 19 years old): 4-1, 50.1 IP, 2.68 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 53 K's(9.5 K's per 9)- Double A 2012

For his minor league career he is 11-7, 154 IP, 2.75 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 175 K's(10.2 K's per 9)

Stephen Pryor(5th round pick 2010 draft): 1-0, 7 saves, 16.0 IP, 1.12 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 24 K's(13.5 K's per 9, 22 years old)- Double A Jackson

In Tacoma he recorded two saves while pitching 12 innings, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 15 K's(11.2 K's per 9).

In Seattle 2.1 IP, 3.86 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 4 K's(15.45 K's per 9).

In his minor league career 4-3, 24 saves, 113 innings, 2.87 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 155 K's(12.3 K's per 9).

Awesome Hitting:

Nick Franklin(1st round pick in 2009 draft 27th overall, #53 prospect baseball America 2011, #77 in 2012, 21 years old, Short Stop): Hitting .345/.410/.560 in 195 PA's. 4 HR's, 20 runs, 25 RBI's, 7 SB's.

For his minor league career: hitting .295/.362/.475 in 1,239 PA's. Has 35 HR's, 186 runs, 122 RBI's, 51 SB's.

Francisco Martinez( part of Doug Fister trade, 21 years old, 3rd base): Hitting .256/.333/.340 in 243 PA's. Has only one HR, 34 runs, 15 RBI's, 21 SB's.

For his minor league career: hitting .277/.329/.368 in 1,592 PA's. Has 17 Hr's, 218 runs, 161 RBI's, and 75 SB's.

Denny Almonte(2nd round pick in 2007 by Bill Bavasi, outfielder, 23 years old): Hitting .280/.360/.450 in 229 PA's with 8 HR's, 21 runs, 27 RBI's and 11 SB's- Double A

For his career hitting . 251/.297/.439 in 2,229 PA's with 77 HR's, 274 runs, 315 RBI's, 74 SB's

Carlos Triunfel( #62 prospect baseball America in 2008, #89 in 2009, SS/3B, 22 years old): Hitting .251/.310/.403 in 233 PA's. Has 5 HR's, 38 runs, 23 RBI's, 2 SB's.

Minor league career: hitting .276/.319/.373 in 2,206 PA's with 26 HR's, 269 runs, 206 RBI's, 48 SB's.

As you can see the future looks bright and this doesn't include guys who are in the major leagues like Felix Hernandez, Dustin Ackley, Justin Smoak, Jesus Montero, Kyle Seager, and Charlie Furbush. Also doesn't include Mike Zunino the catcher the Mariners chose today out of Florida #3 overall.

Al West Standings:

Texas Rangers: 32-22, first place
L.A. Angels: 28-27, 4.5 GB
Oakland A's: 23-31, 9.0 GB
Seattle Mariners: 24-32, 9.0 GB

This team will probably still lose another 90 games or come very close to doing that. Still the fact this team has so many youngsters who are already on the big club or dominating the minors has to be a refreshing thing to see. This isn't the 2008 group that lost over 100 games with a 100 million dollar payroll with no hope in the minor leagues besides Triunfel. This team is building this thing up from the ground up and will this result in a playoff appearance ever? Who knows. At least as fans we finally have hope for this team something we haven't had in forever. At least now there is some guys who when called up I'll pay money to actually see. There are some guys when called up to Tacoma I'll make the drive to watch in person. I'm probably getting ahead of myself but things are actually looking up for once for this team something we couldn't say a few years back.

Seattle Mariners weekly recap: May 22nd-28th edition

By Kshell

The Seattle Mariners began their week like they ended the previous week by winning two out of three games against first place Texas Rangers. Then it all fell apart as the Los Angeles Angels came to town and swept the Mariners in a four game set. Despite the Mariners receiving six quality starts out of seven this week from their starting staff they went 2-5. The Mariners hitting didn't hit at all this week and were often called out due to striking out. The Mariners also had another late inning bullpen meltdown by closer Brandon League who has been temporarily removed as the closer. This week I'll talk about the good(starting pitching), the bad(the hitting) and the ugly(the Angels domination of the  Mariners through the years).

The Good:

Whenever a team goes 2-5 during the week it can be hard to find some "good" and this week was no different. Only one hitter made my good this week but the Mariners starting five man rotation all made the list. This week in a lot of ways resembled last year where the starting pitching kept the Mariners in the game but the offense let them down. The Mariners did see 37 year old Kevin Millwood continue to turn around his season after starting off 0-4 he has been dominant the last three games. If Millwood continues to pitch like this the Mariners could get some decent value for him at the trade deadline as this team will surely be sellers. The Mariners lone hitter to make the cut was Justin Smoak who is slowly breaking out of his slump which was nice to see. The Mariners did take the Texas Rangers two out of three which is another team they have struggled against as well over the years.

Good Hitting:

Justin Smoak: 6-23(.260), 2 HR's, 2 runs, 7 RBI's, SB

Good Pitching:

Kevin Millwood: 1-0, 6 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 2 K's
Blake Beavan: 7 IP, 3.86 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, K
Jason Vargas: 0-1, 7 IP, 3.86 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 6 K's
Hector Noesi: 0-2, 16 IP, 3.37 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 7 K's
Felix Hernandez: 1-1, 14 IP, 3.86 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 14 K's

Kevin Millwood in his last three starts is 3-0, 22 innings pitched, 0.41 ERA, 0.63 WHIP, 15 K's.

Mariners starting pitching this week: 2-4, 50 IP, 3.24 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 30 K's, 6 quality starts

The Bad:

There was plenty of bad this week especially in the Angels series where the Mariners just couldn't put the bat on the ball. The Mariners scored just nine runs in that four game sweep and 21 overall during this seven game week. Against the Angels the Mariners struck out 40 times in their four game sweep of the Angels including Dan Haren throwing a complete game shutout striking out 14 Mariners to open the series up. The bullpen had their issues once again as Tom Wilhelmsen made a 5-0 game against the Texas Rangers interesting when he allowed a three-run homerun to former Mariner Adrian Beltre. Then on Friday Brandon League gave up three runs as he blew the save. In his last four games League has pitched 3.1 innings, allowed six earned runs and 13 base runners while blowing two saves. League has been removed as the teams closer for now. The Mariners feature a team with young hitters so unfortunately these type of weeks are going to happen. Also doesn't help that Eric Wedge preaches being aggressive at the plate so that is another reason why the Mariners strike out so much. Wedge needs to preach a little bit more patience to his ball club as these strikeouts are starting to become an annoying trend.

Bad Hitting:

Dustin Ackley: 3-22(.136), 2 runs, 2 RBI's, SB, 8 K's
Mike Carp: 2-14(.143), run, RBI, SB, 7 K's
Alex Liddi: 4-17(.235), HR, 2 runs, 4 RBI's, 8 K's
Brendan Ryan: 4-19(.210), 6 K's
Kyle Seager: 2-22(.090), 3 runs, SB, 6 BB's, 7 K's
Michael Saunders: 4-20(.200), 4 runs, RBI, 2 SB's, 8 K's
Jesus Montero: 3-20(.150), 2 runs, 2 RBI's, 7 K's
Miguel Olivo: 0-9(.000), run, CS, 3 K's
Ichiro: 6-28(.214), 2 runs, 2 RBI's, SB, 5 K's. Hasn't walked in 18 straight games(May 8th last walk)

Bad Pitching:

Tom Wilhelmsen: 3 IP, 9.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 4 K's, hold
Brandon League: 0-1, blown save, save, 2 IP, 9.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 2 K's

Mariners team hitting: .226/.288/.360 which all ranks 13th out of 14 teams in the AL. The Mariners are 10th in runs(185), 10th in home runs(41) while being 2nd in strikeouts(389). This offense hasn't improve like most want you to believe this is still a bad ball club in year four under Jack Zduriencik.

The Ugly:

With the Angels sweeping the Mariners this week that put the Mariners in their rightful place of last place in the division a spot they have held six of the last eight seasons. The Angels have dominated the Mariners badly since  2006 and the last time the Mariners won a season series against the Angels was back in 2003 when the Mariners were in the fourth straight year of winning 90 plus games. The series has really turned ugly since 2007 when the Angels along with the Texas Rangers have just taken it to the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners can't expect to compete in this division when two teams are constantly kicking the living crap out of them. In the Angels case they have better ownership, management, and a manager which is why they have dominated the Mariners lately.

Ugly domination:

vs LAA

2007: 6-13, outscored 110-80
2008: 5-14, outscored 98-84
2009: 9-10, outscored 85-71
2010: 4-15, outscored 100-62
2011: 7-12, outscored 70-48
2012: 0-4, outscored 18-9

Totals: 31-68(.313) outscored 481-354(average 4.86-3.58)

This is a six year stretch where the Mariners have defeated the Angels only 31.3% of the time which simply isn't going to get the job done at all. This four game sweep at home was an embarassment as the Mariners resurrected the Angels and their high priced first baseman Albert Pujols.

Al West Standings:

Texas Rangers: 30-18, first place
L.A. Angels: 24-25, 6.5 GB
Oakland A's: 22-27, 8.5 GB
Seattle Mariners: 21-29, 10.0 GB

The Mariners are back to sitting in a spot they know all too well which is last place. You saw the hitting numbers this team doesn't hit for average, get on base or slug the ball at all. This team strikes out way too much as a result over being overly aggressive even our young patient hitters like Seager and Ackley are striking out. Wedge is hurting the growth of these youngsters and needs to go. He was a loser in Cleveland and now is turning the Mariners into an embarassment. The pitching has improved but the hitters aren't doing themselves any favors with all these constant strikeouts on balls in the dirt. Until the Mariners learn to look at a few pitches this is going to be another failed "rebuilding" season once again which the Mariners have been doing since 2004.

Seattle Mariners weekly recap: May 14th-20th edition

By Kshell

The Seattle Mariners just completed their 10 game road trip going 4-6 but ended it with a three game sweep at the Colorado Rockies. This week started off with back to back two game sweeps at the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians before recovering with a three game sweep at Colorado. For the Mariners this week wasn't all bad as much of the young bats continue to produce on this road trip. The main problem on this trip was the pitching mainly the bullpen which blew a 4-1 lead against the Cleveland Indians on  May 16th then Brandon League blew the save in extra innings as the Mariners lost 6-5. The Mariners did recover from that tough loss with a sweep which showed that this team is mentally tough. This team is just consistently inconsistent which is the sign of a young team. The Mariners did go 3-4 this week meaning I'll talk about the good(the young hitters), the bad(the pitchers including the Mariners 1-2 punch in the rotation) and the ugly(the bullpen which has been shaky this year).

The Good:

All the good that happened this week for the Mariners happened in interleague play with the sweep of the Colorado Rockies in Coors Field. The Mariners saw their young hitting core of Dustin Ackley, Kyle Seager, Jesus Montero, and Justin Smoak all have big weeks. This week also saw Kevin Millwood show that he still does have value on this team as he threw a complete game shutout in Coors Field this past Friday night. Some of the Mariners long relievers and secondary bullpen pieces pitched well this week. Just nice this team bounce back from that horrible series in Boston where they didn't compete and the disaster in Cleveland where they blew a four run lead. The Mariners took it to the Colorado Rockies and that was led by their youngsters despite what Eric Wedge wanting more veterans these young guys need to continue to grow.

Good Hitting:

Justin Smoak: 7-25(.280), HR, run, 2 RBI's
Kyle Seager: 7-28(.250), HR, 4 runs, 6 RBI's, SB
Ichiro: 8-31(.258), 5 runs, RBI, 3 SB's
Jason Vargas: 1-3(.333), run, RBI, BB
Jesus Montero: 5-20(.250), HR, 2 runs, 3 RBI, 3 BB's
Michael Saunders: 7-27(.259), 2 runs, 2 RBI's, SB, 3 XBH's
Brendan Ryan: 5-19(.263), 4 runs, RBI, SB, 3 BB's
Dustin Ackley: 9-31(.290), HR, 5 runs, 4 RBI's, 2 SB's

Good Pitching:

Kevin Millwood: 1-0, 9 IP, CG, SHO, 0.00 ERA, 0.33 WHIP, 7 K's
Charlie Furbush: 4.2 IP, 1.93 ERA, 0.43 WHIP, 4 K's
Shawn Kelly: 4.2 IP, 1.93 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 4 K's
Hisashi Iwakuma: 4 IP, 2.25 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 4 K's
Hector Noesi: 6.1 IP, 1.42 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 5 K's

The North Carolina Tarheels connection is starting to pay off lately. For this year in 140 AB's Kyle Seager is hitting .286/.308/.486 with five home runs, 17 runs and 26 RBI's. Seager is looking like a main stay for the Mariners whether he sticks at third base or moves to short stop.

Dustin Ackley #2 hitter: Hit .221/.275/.305 in 102 PA's with just one home run, 10 runs and 6 RBI's. He had 19 K's to just seven walks.

Dustin Ackley now as a leadoff hitter: Hitting .294/.368/.456 in 76 PA's. Has two home runs, 12 runs, 8 RBI's. He has 13 K's to eight walks.

As you can see Ackley is hitting a lot better since moving to leadoff which is important for the growth of the franchise.

Bad:

The road trip ended well with the sweep but it was looking like a complete disaster before that. Felix Hernandez got rocked twice on this road trip as the Mariners went 4-6 including his worst start of the year against the Cleveland Indians when he couldn't get past the fourth inning. The Mariners still aren't beating good teams this year and seeing Hernandez getting rocked was tough to watch. The other Mariners All-Star who had a bad week was Brandon League who blew the save on Wednesday then got rough up in a mop up role yesterday. The Mariners blew a 4-0 lead on Wednesday and what made it sting the most was Steve Delabar giving up a three-run home run to Jose Lopez in the eighth inning to up the game. Yes former Mariner Jose Lopez who has since bounced around baseball hit that shot.

This week saw some good hitting there wasn't too many hitters who struggled minus one in particular in Alex Liddi who is starting to go back to his bad traits from Tacoma where he is striking out a lot. The Mariners week was bad but like I stated it was saved at the end. Just was tough seeing their two best pitchers in Hernandez and Jason Vargas have such a bad week although Vargas did bounce back against Colorado pitching well.

Bad Hitting:

Alex Liddi: 2-17(.117), 9 K's
Mike Carp: 2-10(.200), 2 HR's, 2 runs, 2 RBI's, 3 K's
John Jaso: 2-10(.200), 2 runs, 2 RBI's, K
Casper Wells: 2-10(.200), run, 2 RBI's, K

Bad Pitching:

Felix Hernandez: 0-1, 3.2 IP, 14.71 ERA, 3.54 WHIP, 3 K's
Jason Vargas: 1-1, 13 IP, 5.53 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 4 K's, 3 HR's allowed
Blake Beavan: 1-1, 9 IP, 5.00 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 11 K's
Steve Delabar: 2.2 IP, BS, 10.11 ERA, 1.87 WHIP, 3 K's
Brandon League: 0-1, BS, 1.1 IP, 27.00 ERA, 6.76 WHIP, 2 K's

This week saw Hernandez and Vargas go a combined 1-2 having thrown only 16.2 innings with a 8.63 ERA and 1.73 WHIP with only 7 K's. The Mariners won't have too many successful road trips if those two pitch like that.

The Ugly:

The Ugly this week was the bullpen melting down and in particular this season. If a starting pitcher has a 3.60 ERA which is above average for a reliever to match that he must have a 2.00 ERA. None of the Mariners relievers have close to that. The bullpen struggled once again this past week highlighted by that Cleveland game where they blew a 4-1 lead then League blew a 5-4 lead in the 11th inning. This week in only 1 1/3 innings League allowed four runs and nine base runners. This wasn't a case of League getting unlucky as he allowed six base hits and three walks. League has been very shaky this season as has the rest of the pen. The Mariners would be wise to trade League very quickly before he loses all of his value. More bullpen blowups like this and the Mariners will be hurting. They will also be regretting how they didn't deal League sooner and acquire some pieces.

Ugly Pitching:

Brandon League: 0-3, 8 saves, 3 blown saves, 18.1 IP, 3.93 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, .275 BAA, 11 K's(5.40 K's per 9). Nothing about his stats look good at all as his ERA is high for a closer, his WHIP is really high and his K's per 9 is horrible.

Tom Wilhelmsen: 1-1, blown save, 6 holds, 21.1 IP, 3.80 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, .262 BAA, 26 K's(10.97 K's per 9).  Wilhelmsen is the Mariners top setup man and also has a high ERA for a reliever plus WHIP and BAA. At least he records strikeouts unlike League.

Steve Delabar: 1-0, blown save, 3 holds, 19.1 IP, 5.12 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, .186 BAA, 24 K's(11.17 K's per 9). What is hurting Delabar is he has already allowed six home runs as the rest of his numbers are fantastic but the ERA is unacceptable.

The Mariners aren't a good team and their bullpen is making their record even worse as they have recorded six blown saves on the year while recording only eight saves. That isn't going to cut it at all and if this group doesn't improve changes will have to be made.

Al West Standings:

Texas Rangers: 26-16, first place
Oakland A's: 21-21, 5.0 GB
Seattle Mariners: 19-24, 7.5 GB
L.A. Angels: 18-24, 8.0 GB

If the Mariners have any shot at fooling their fans into thinking they can do something this year now is the time to do it. The Mariners play host to the Texas Rangers this week for three games then the L.A. Angels for four games. The following week the Mariners travel to Texas for three games. Both of these teams have kicked the Mariners ass the last couple of seasons. Now is the time to see if the Mariners young kids are up for the challenge. This is a streaky team but boring ole consistency like taking two out of three every series is what the playoff ball clubs do. The Mariners aren't there yet and won't be for a couple of more seasons it appears.

Seattle Mariners weekly recap: May 7th-13th edition

By Kshell

The Seattle Mariners just completed a 3-3 week which saw them face two teams who had made the playoffs the last season. The Mariners began the week at home defeating the Detroit Tigers two out of three before heading off to New York. The Mariners lost two out of three to the Yankees in New York.  After last week which saw the Mariners lose seven in a row this week was a nice welcome change as the Mariners avoided such a long losing streak. The young hitters are still finding their stride this season as a few are starting to emerge. The Mariners also saw their starting pitching let them down in New York but had a surprise guy pitch well to earn the victory on Mother's Day. This week since the team went 3-3 I  chose to be positive so we'll discuss the good(young hitters), the bad(a struggling young pitcher) and the awesome(focus on a forgotten man in the Mariners rotation plus a rule 5 draft pick). I hope you enjoy yet another Mariners weekly recap.

The Good:

This week the Mariners went 3-3 against good competition which was mainly due to their young hitters. Now that Dustin Ackley has been moved to the leadoff spot he is currently in a nine game hitting streak. His former college teammate Kyle Seager continued to hit well this week as did Casper Wells who had a monster game on Mothers Day. Struggling first baseman Justin Smoak had a good week especially in New York which saw him it a home run off a left hander which prior to that at bat he was 3-31(.091) off of lefties. This week also saw Jason Vargas continue to dominate his opponents as he increases his trade value if the Mariners choose to let him go. Lucas Luetge the lefty specialist who was a rule five draft pick continues his scoreless streak. Overall this was a pretty decent week for the Mariners. It wasn't good but it also wasn't bad either. During a long season when you are facing teams such as the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees sometimes "not bad" is a good thing. The Mariners are hoping to have their young kids grow as this is the youngest hitting team for the Mariners since 1994. The Mariners youth at times can drive you nuts but they are for the most part doing a good job. Now if the veterans can start to carry their weight this team could actually be playing some meaningful games.

Good Hitting:

Kyle Seager: 5-18(.277), run, 3 RBI's, SB
Dustin Ackley: 6-20(.300), HR, RBI, 3 runs - 9 game hitting streak
Casper Wells: 2-7(.286), HR, run, 3 RBI's, 2 BB's
Justin Smoak: 7-22(.318), HR, run, 2 RBI's.....6-12(.500) vs NYY

Good Pitching:

Jason Vargas: 1-0, 8 IP, 1.12 ERA, 0.63 WHIP, 6 K's
Kevin Millwood: 1-1, 12 IP, 4.50 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, 9 K's
Lucas Luetge: 1.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, K, hold
Brandon League: 3 IP, save, 0.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, K
Shaun Kelly: 2.2 IP, 3.37 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 4 K's
Hisashi Iwakuma: 3 IP, 3.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 5 K's

Lucas Luetge is a rule five draft pick  who was taken back in 2005 in the 31st round by the Chicago WhiteSox. Luetge is only 25 years old but is making his major league debut this season for the Mariners. So far he has appeared in 14 games where he is 1-0 having thrown 9.2 scoreless innings. He is sporting a 1.24 WHIP with 11 strikouts. He has three holds and opponents are batting .182 off of him. He has became the Mariners top left handed reliever this year pretty amazing that the Mariners got him off the scrap heap like most of their other bullpen parts.

The Bad:

This week wasn't as bad as it could have been with the Mariners avoiding the sweep in New York. Still seeing Hector Noesi continue to struggle is  starting to become a problem. The facts are the Tacoma Rainiers currently as a team have an era over six otherwise Noesi would be down in Tacoma where he rightfully belongs. This past friday also saw King Felix Hernandez get hit around a bit by a team he normally dominates in the New York Yankees. Herandez is still having a great year so that is bound to happen and probably just a minor blip on the season for him. Mike Carp continues to struggle since coming back from his injury. Last year he started off slow as well so maybe that is simply what he does. Brendan Ryan continues to be a liability at the plate despite his terrific glove. Eric Wedge moved him from the #2 hole(should have never been there to begine with) to the #9 hole. At what point does Wedge seriously consider DH'ing Ryan's spot in the order? The Mariners like I said didn't have a bad week overall. During a loss on Tuesday to the Tigers our fans did show why they are some of the worst in the country when allowing an oposing player to dive into our stands to making the winning catch. I bring this up because seven fans politely backed away. That play summed up the Mariners fans and Seattle fans in one giant nutshell.

Bad Hitting:

Jesus Montero: 3-21(.143), HR, 2 runs, 2 RBI's, 5 K's
Mike Carp: 2-16(.125), HR, run, 2 RBI's, 4 K's
Brendan Ryan: 2-18(.111), 3 runs, RBI, SB, 3 K's

Bad Pitching:

Hector Noesi: 0-1, 7 IP, 6.42 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 4 K's
Felix Hernandez: 0-1, 6.2 IP, 5.39 ERA, 1.94 WHIP, 7 K's
Tom Wilhelmsen: 1.1 IP, 13.53 ERA, 3.00 WHIP, 3 K's

Although he didn't pitch poorly this particular game for the year Hector Noesi has been terrible minus two starts against two crappy offenses at home. For the year he has started seven games sporting a 2-4 record having thrown only 37 innings. He has 6.32 ERA and 1.30 WHIP with 22 K's. His main problem is he has walked 13 batters and allowed eight home runs. He needs to keep both numbers way down as opponents are only hitting .248 off of him.

The Awesome:

Jason Vargas is kind of the forgotten man in the Mariners rotation. With Felix Hernandez grabbing all the headlines along with the new upcoming big three of James Paxton, Taijuan Walker and Danny Hultzen. Vargas was also part of the J.J. Putz trade along with Franklin Guiterrez and Mike Carp. Vargas has been a solid pitcher for the Mariners since the 2009 season. He may have a career losing record but that is mostly because this team can't score any runs. Vargas is enjoying a terrific season so far and is increasing his value.

Which begs the questions, should the Mariners hang onto Vargas or trade Vargas? I think with Vargas struggling in the second half in years past possibly trading him wouldn't be such a bad idea. Hopefully turn Vargas into a Doug Fister type of package where you land four guys who will help your major league team(Charlie Furbush, Chance Ruffin, Casper Wells and Francisco Martinez). Vargas like Fister was the unsung guy of the team and is very "boring" as he isn't a big strikeout guy. Vargas has a ton of value and if the Mariners can speed up their rebuilding by turning him into some valueable pieces that even better. Vargas has been terrific this year and regardless of what the Mariners do with him I'll remember him fondly.

Awesome Pitching:

Jason Vargas: 8 starts, 4-2, 51.2 IP, 2.79 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 38 K's, .200 BAA
Felix Hernandez: 8 starts, 3-2, 59 IP, 2.29 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 58 K's, .216 BAA

The problem with trading Vargas is right now the Mariners have no pitching. Those two are giving the Mariners everything while Blake Beavan, Kevin Millwood and Hector Noesi along with what is down in Tacoma has given the Mariners franchise mostly crap.

Al West Standings:

Texas Rangers: 23-12, first place
Oakland A's: 18-17, 5.0 GB
Seattle Mariners: 16-20, 7.5 GB
L.A. Angels: 15-20, 8.0 GB

The Mariners completed this tough week and will face the struggling Boston Red Sox on the road and the Cleveland Indians as well. The Mariners are still four games under .500 as they hope to stay competitive this season and avoid losing 90+ games for the third straight year. The Mariners are winning with youth which has been nice to see. Hopefully the young kids keep growing and the wins start to come in bunches.

Seattle Mariners weekly recap: April 30th-May 6th edition

By Kshell

The Seattle Mariners just ended their week by winning two games in a row against the Minnesota Twins which had snapped their seven game losing streak. Earlier this week the Mariners were swept in four games by the Tampa Bay Rays by a combined five runs. This week saw some young hitters emerge while their ace continued to dominate. This week also saw the overdue benching of Chone Figgins who was terrible in his series against the Rays. Unfortunately for the Mariners Figgins isn't the only bat in the lineup struggling. This week since the Mariners only went 2-5 and are only a half game ahead of being in last place I'll go over the good(Young hitters plus Felix), the bad(Justin Smoak and Brendan Ryan's struggles) and the ugly(the Chone Figgins era). I hope you enjoy this weekly recap even though the results weren't very good.

The Good:

For a team that went 2-5 this past week there was some positives actually. The Tampa Bay Rays have the best record in the American League and the Mariners could have won all four games. Then they returned home to take two out of three against the Minnesota Twins as they easily could have swept that series. The main positive this week was the hitting duo of Jesus Montero and Kyle Seager both youngsters had big weeks for the Mariners. Another good thing was the pitching especially against the Twins. Felix Hernandez continues to dominate this year proving his fastball is nothing to be concerned about while Jason Vargas continues to have a solid season once again in the first half. This week also saw Hector Noesi was part of the Jesus Montero trade have a good start this week. So far Noesi has had a rough year and his only two good starts were at home against light hitting teams like the Oakland A's and Minnesota Twins. Still Noesi needed that start to stay in this rotation.

Good Hitting:

Kyle Seager: 9-26(.346), 3 HR's, 5 runs, 10 RBI's
John Jaso: 4-12(.333) run, 2 doubles
Ichiro: 9-25(.360), 3 runs, 3 RBI's, 5 BB's
Jesus Montero: 9-25(.360), HR, 4 runs, 3 RBI's

Good Pitching:

Felix Hernandez: 1-0, 16 IP, 0.56 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 18 K's
Jason Vargas: 6.1 IP, 1.42 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 5 K's
Hector Noesi: 1-1, 12.2 IP, 2.84 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 6 K's
Lucas Luetge: 2.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 2 K's
Steve Delabar: 4.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, 4 K's

Felix Hernandez this year is having an incredible season. On the year he has made seven starts posting a 3-1 record throwing 52.1 innings. He has an 1.89 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, .189 BAA and 51 strikeouts.

Kyle Seager is having a breakout year as well this year hitting .298/.320/.511 with four home runs and a team leading 17 RBI's.

The Bad:

Whenever you go 2-5 on the week and are forced to bench a guy who you owe 18 million the next two seasons it's never a good week. The Mariners bullpen imploaded some in their series sweep to the Rays as their hitters failed to come up with that one big hit. The big trade piece in the Cliff Lee trade was dropped to seventh in the order as he is getting off to where he left off last season which is horrible. The Mariners top young hitter Dustin Ackley continues his struggles this week although when moved to leadoff this weekend he performed just well so hopefully he can produce there. Brendan Ryan finally snapped an awful 0-27 streak that he was in but still didn't hit very well despite Eric Wedge batting him now second in the order.

This was indeed a rough week for a team who is still trying to find their own identity.  They have three hitters who sit below .200 while three others in Olivo(now DL), Saunders and Ackley sit below .240 which is terrible. The Mariners starting pitching hasn't done much better as veteran Kevin Millwood continues to struggle. This week even saw reliable closer Brandon League blow the save in the 11th inning then record the loss in the 12th inning in a tough loss to the Tampa Bay Rays which saw Felix Hernandez goes eight innings while allowing one run the entire game.

Bad Hitting:

Michael Saunders: 3-26(.115), HR, 2 runs, RBI, 12 K's
Dustin Ackley: 5-25(.200), 5 runs, 5 BB's, SB, 7 K's
Justin Smoak: 4-25(.160), RBI, 5 K's
Brendan Ryan: 3-16(.188), run, 2 RBI's, 10 K's, Caught Stealing
Chone Figgins: 0-15(.000), 6 K's

Bad Pitching:

Blake Beavan: 0-1, 5.1 IP, 8.44 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, K
Kevin Millwood: 0-1, 6.1 IP, 5.69 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 4 K's
Brandon League: 0-1, blown save, 2.1 IP, 7.72 ERA, 2.57 WHIP, K

Michael Saunders had that big game last week but overall still isn't hitting very well. Saunders on the year is hitting .217/.294/.435 with four home runs but 31 strikeouts in 92 AB's.

Kevin Millwood on the year in five starts is 0-3 having pitched 28.2 innings. He has a 5.34 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and .304 BAA with only 19 strikeouts. He is an old veteran who doesn't belong on this team at all.

The Ugly:

The ugly this week I'll focus on three guys who were all acquired by the scout pretending to be a GM Jack Zduriencik. The Chone Figgins experiment with the Mariners appears to be coming to an end pretty shortly. Figgins was recently told by Eric Wedge that he'll be benched and just an expensive utility guy. Figgins was leading off this year hoping that could save his career and minus that opening week in Oakland it didn't work out at all. The Figgins mess hurts the club financially for this year and next year as he is nine million dollars per year.

A much greater concern is Justin Smoak. Smoak is supposed to be a franchise piece to build on and already ussmariner has had two different posts on him how A) he can't hit breaking stuff anymore then B) can't hit heat anymore either. If Smoak busts out like Figgins has I don't see how the Mariners can justify keeping Zduriencik around since those were his two major moves and it appears he will have whiffed on both.  Another player slumping this year is Brendan Ryan and Wedge for some reason is now batting him second despite the fact that he strikesout a lot while not looking at many pitches. In fact this team as a whole doesn't walk at all but hacks a lot why they have so many strikeouts.

Ugly Hitting:

Justin Smoak: Hitting .180/.241/.280 on the year with only three home runs in 100 AB's while striking out 25 times. Smoak as you can see isn't hitting, not getting on power and not hitting for power. He is basically useless right now and you have to think the Texas Rangers bluffed the Mariners on that trade.

Brendan Ryan: hitting .153/.273/.250 on the year with one home run in 72 AB's with 24 strikeouts. Ryan is good defensively despite his untimely errors although he isn't hitting well at all. He is slumping big time and has zero power as well.

Chone Figgins:

2010: Hit .259/.340/.306 in 602 AB's with 62 runs, one home run, 35 RBI's, 74 BB's, 114 K's, 42 SB's
2011: Hit .188/.241/.243 in 288 AB's with 24 runs, one home run, 15 RBI's, 21 BB's, 42 K's, 11 SB's
2012: Hitting .189/.250/.305 in 95 AB's with 10 runs, two home runs, 8 RBI's, 8 BB's, 28 K's, 2 SB's

As you can see in 2010 he was over paid but at least a productive major league player. The past two seasons he has just flat out been awful and the Mariners are STILL on the hook for another nine million for him next year. Time to cut your losses Mariners and release Figgins already just having him around isn't a good thing.

Al West Standings:

Texas Rangers: 19-10, first place
Oakland A's: 15-14, 4.0 GB
Seattle Mariners: 13-17, 6.5 GB
L.A. Angels: 12-17, 7.0 GB

The Mariners are going through another rebuilding season but must get some of their young guys going like Ackley and Smoak. This week was nice to see Hernandez once again be dominate while Montero and Seager continue to provide with the bat. The Mariners are now taking on the Detroit Tigers who they swept earlier this year and are riding a two game winning streak. Hopefully this week will turn out differently than this past week did.

Mariners weekly recap: April 23rd-29th edition

By Kshell

This week the Seattle Mariners went on the road after a disasterous homestand. The Mariners this week won four games in a row including a couple of dramatic wins. The Mariners swept the Detroit Tigers on the road before dropping two out of three against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Mariners saw a big game from Michael Saunders friday night in Toronto as Saunders was playing in his home country. Since the Mariners went 4-2 this week I'll talk about the good(the hitting), the bad(Justin Smoak) and the awesome(more focus on some younger hitters). The Mariners youngsters this week looked pretty good as they took on two very tough teams both on the road.

The Good:

There was plenty of good this week which saw the Mariners sweep the Detroit Tigers in Detroit. Then on Friday trailing 5-3 in the ninth inning the Mariners rallied to tie up the score. In the 10th inning Michael Saunders hit the game winning grand slam to give the Mariners a 9-5 lead which they eventually won 9-5. The Mariners saw their young offense perform this week which was nice to see. With Chone Figgings sitting due to not hitting Dustin Ackley did well in the leadoff role showing that someday down the role he could be the new leadoff hitter. The Mariners offense this week scored 32 runs(5.33 runs per game) which is a huge upgrade from what we've seen the last four seasons and before this week this year as well.

Good Hitting:

Alex Liddi: 7-23(.304), 2 HR's, 3 runs, 3 RBI's, SB
Ichiro: 8-27(.296), 4 runs, SB
Kyle Seager: 5-13(.385), 2 runs, RBI, 2 doubles
Miguel Olivo: 7-25(.280), 2 HR's, 4 runs, 3 RBI's, SB
Jesus Montero: 7-22(.318), HR, 3 runs, 4 RBI's
Dusin Ackley: 7-26(.269), 2 runs, 3 RBI's, 3 doubles, 3 BB's
Michael Saunders: 8-23(.348), 2 HR's, 9 RBI's, 4 runs, SB

Good Pitching:

Felix Hernandez: 1-0, 7 IP, 1.29 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 2 K's
Kevin Millwood: 0-1, 7 IP, 1.29 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 4 K's
Brandon League: 2 saves, 3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, K

For Michael Saunders to have the big week that he did was a huge week for his career. He was off to another slow start in basically a make or break season for him. Saunders showed why he was a former top 100 prospect and hopefully has more weeks like this past one.

The Bad:

The Mariners went 4-2 this week so there wasn't much bad. Still it is getting a little bit annoying seeing the same people slump every week. Mainly Justin Smoak and Brendan Ryan as Miguel Olivo actually had a good week. Smoak the key piece in the Cliff Lee trade is getting off to a horrible start and has yet to produce a good major league season. Hopefully Smoak can turn it around as the Mariners really need his big bat to start providing otherwise he might have to sit on the bench if Alex Liddi keeps hitting. Hector Noesi who was a part of the Michael Pineda trade as a throw in with Jesus Montero has pitched poorly in three of his four starts as a Mariner. Noesi so far is showing that he probably isn't ready for the major leagues quite yet and the Mariners might want to think how they use him going forward before his confidence is totally killed. The Mariners also had two eighth inning meltdowns in their losses to the Blue Jays this week as the bats went silent those two games. After scoring 30 runs in the four game winning streak the offense scored just two runs in the two losses. The Mariners wrap up April later today as they take on the Tampa Bay Rays hoping to break .500 for the month with a win.

Bad Hitting:

Brendan Ryan: 0-14(.000), run, RBI, 4 K's
Justin Smoak: 2-16(.125), HR, 3 runs, 3 RBI's, 3 K's

Bad Pitching:

Hector Noesi: 5 IP, 7.20 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 2 k's
Tom Wilhelmson: 3.1 IP, 5.40 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, 4 K's
Hisashi Iwakuma: IP, 36.00 ERA, 4.00 WHIP, 2 K's
Charlie Furbush: 2-0, 2.1 IP, 11.59 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 4 K's

Hector Noesi for the season is 1-2 in four starts having gone just 17.1 innings posting an 8.83 ERA and 1.67 WHIP

Justin Smoak on the year is hitting .187/.238/.320 with three HR's and 20 K's in 75 AB's. Like Dave Cameron wrote earlier this week Smoak has average power to be striking out as much as he has been. Like I said I hope Smoak turns it around but so far it's not looking good for him.

The Awesome:

The young hitters of Michael Saunders, Alex Liddi, Kyle Seager, Dustin Ackley and Jesus Montero all did wonderful this week. The Mariners also scored plenty of runs so Felix Hernandez can finally earn a victory who has pitched terrific this season. With the Mariners sweep of the Detroit Tigers they improve to 8-2 since last year against the team who appeared in last years ALCS. The Mariners hitting still isn't hitting very well but they are scoring runs something they haven't done in the past years. The youth movement has been nice especially by the players I just mentioned. It was nice to see Saunders do something and hopefully this is just the start for him who is in a make or break season. The Mariners young hitters some of them are taking advantage of their player time which is nice to see.

Awesome hitting:

Alex Liddi: Hitting .297/.333/.486 on the year with two HR's. He is showing he can be a solid platoon option this year against left handed pitchers.

Kyle Seager: Hitting .279/.290/.426 with only one HR but seven doubles. Seager rarely strikes out but must walk more to further develope into a good hitter.

Michael Saunders: Hitting . 258/.347/.515 with three HR's and eight doubles. He also has nine walks as well. Saunders had a productive week and was once a top 100 prospect hopefully this is just the start of things to come for him.

Awesome Pitching:

Felix Hernandez: 2-1, 5 starts, 36.1 IP, 2.48 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 33 K's. Hernandez is doing what he always does which is pitch like the ace that he is. Hernandez is showing that the myth about his lack of a fastball is just that a myth.

Brandon League: 7 saves, 0-1,  11.2 IP, 1.54 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 7 K's. League minus that one blown save which is going to happen has been lights out once again this year like he was last year. League who made the all-star team last year is racking up the saves this year and could be going back to the midsummer classic once again.

AL West Standings:

Texas Rangers: 16-6, first place
Oakland A's: 11-12, 5.5 GB
Seattle Mariners: 11-12, 5.5 GB
L.A. Angels: 7-15, 9.0 GB

The Mariners are still under .500 ballclub but it was nice seeing that four game winning streak. The young hitters are finally starting to come around while aging veterans like Olivo, Ryan and Chone Figgins continue to take up space. Despite what Eric Wedge thinks these guys aren't veteran leaders and actually set a poor example. The Mariners two all-star pitchers continue to pitch well and it was nice for Saunders to finally show us something which has been long overdue. Hopefully Justin Smoak can take a page from Saunders and have a big week as he desperately needs one. The Mariners did have a winning week which was the positive in this long season as the first month is over after today.

Seattle Mariners weekly recap: April 16th-22nd edition

By Kshell

The Seattle Mariners just completed a dreadful week at home which saw attendance numbers reach all-time lows while the team went 1-5. During that 1-5 stretch the Mariners saw a perfect game thrown against them. That was the first ever perfect game and no hitter thrown in Safeco Field history.  I happened to go to a game this Friday which was Ichiro bobblehead night where the first 20,000 fans received a free bobblehead. Too bad less than 20,000 fans showed up. At least I got to see the Mariners first every all-star throw out the first pitch in former outfielder Rupert Jones. In three seasons with the Mariners Jones hit .257/.333/.418 with 51 home runs and 68 stolen bases. Then the Mariners proceeded to ruin that moment by falling behind 6-0 midway through the second inning before having a perfect game thrown against them the following day. This week I'll go over the good(Felix Hernandez and Jason Vargas), the bad(the hitting) and the ugly( this lack of offense in year four under the Jack Zdurienick regime). Anyways hope you enjoy my weekly recap of the Seattle Mariners.

The Good:

Whenever you go 1-5 there isn't much good. The Mariners after that great 3-1 start are now 7-10 on the season. The positives were the pitching of Jason Vargas and especially Felix Hernandez. For all the talk about King Felix's lack of a fastball those talks died after his last dominant start which he showed that his most powerful pitch is his change up. Up 1-0 facing a bases loaded one out jam in the eighth inning Hernandez got out of the jam with back to back strikeouts on a change up. Sadly which has been a theme in his career in Seattle he didn't earn a win as Brandon League blew the save for him. Another positive this week was the long relief trio of Hisashi Iwakuma, Steve Delabar and Erasmo Ramirez. They not only pitched well but saved the rest of the valuable bullpen arms so the Mariners can survive. The hitting once again didn't get much help although two reserves who rarely played did hit well. Justin Smoak also saw his first career four hit game. Hopefully for Smoak that is the type of game that can launch his season as he has been struggling all year long.

Good Hitting:

Casper Wells: 3-7(.429), run, 2 doubles
Alex Liddi: 2-6(.333), RBI, double
Justin Smoak: 4-16(.250), run, RBI, 5 K's
Ichiro: 6-24(.250), HR, 2 runs, 5 RBI's

Good Pitching:

Jason Vargas: 1-0, 7 IP, 1.28 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 7 K's
Hisashi Iwakuma: 4 IP, 2.25 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, 2 K's
Erasmo Ramirez: 4.1 IP, 2.08 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, K
Steve Delabar: 3.1 IP, 2.70 ERA, 0.60 WHIP, 6 K's
Felix Hernandez: 8 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 12 K's

So far on the year Hernandez is 1-1 in four starts. He has thrown 29.1 innings with a 2.76 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and has 31 strikeouts. His fastball might not be as fast as it was but that is also by choice. His best pitches now are his cutter and mainly his change up. He is still an elite pitcher and fans need to stop worrying about him. He isn't the problem and is actually one of the few bright spots on this team.

The Bad:

The Mariners went 1-5 this week as attendance sank below 12,000 setting a Safeco Field record for lowest amount in a game. The Mariners got bombed in the game I went to losing 7-3 but fell behind 6-0 after two innings. On Saturday they allowed a perfect game and they simply aren't hitting the ball well at all. They began the week off by blowing a 9-1 lead against the Cleveland Indians at home as Kevin Millwood gave it up. The game I attended Hector Noesi who was in the big Michael Pineda trade got rocked and could only give the Mariners four outs. The team is still showing signs of hacking away at pitches which Eric Wedge keeps preaching to attack but at what point are they just hopelessly swinging at everything? At what point does this mess fall squarely onto Jack Zduriencik's shoulders since this is year four? Practically everyone on this roster was put here at the hands of Zduriencik and this team is terrible. The Mariners are 5-2 against the Oakland A's and 2-8 against everyone else. This year looks no different from 2010 or 2011. The pitching is decent but still not good enough. While the hitting has been downright terrible the last two weeks which ended with the White Sox sweeping them. The White Sox are now 19-3 against the Mariners since 2010.

Bad Hitting:

Kyle Seager: 4-20(.200), run, SB, 4 K's
John Jaso: 1-8(.125), HR, 2 runs, 4 RBI's, 2 K's
Dustin Ackley: 5-24(.208), 2 runs, 2 RBI's, 7 K's
Jesus Montero: 3-19(.158), HR, run, 3 RBI's, 5 K's
Brendan Ryan: 2-14(.143), 5 runs, RBI, 7 BB's, 5 K's
Chone Figgins: 3-21(.143), HR, 2 runs, 2 RBI's, 9 K's

Bad Pitching:

Kevin Millwood: 0-1, 9.1 IP, 10.61 ERA, 2.14 WHIP, 4 K's
Brandon League: 0-1, blown save, 2.2 IP, 6.75 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 2 K's, save
Hector Noesi: 0-1, 1.1 IP, 40.60 ERA, 6.01 WHIP, K

The Mariners are 4-9 since starting the season 3-1. They aren't hitting and their pitching has been rough at times too. The Mariners simply aren't making enough on the field progress in year four under Zduriencik's regime.

The Ugly:

The Mariners allowed a perfect game to Philip Humber who isn't an ace by any means. In fact in his career he has only started 30 games with a record of 12-10, 3.90 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. He is a solid pitcher but not a guy who should be putting up zero after zero on you.  The Mariners had a disasterous week seeing attendance numbers look like crap, blowing a huge lead, getting swept at home and the perfect game to a middle of the rotation guy. With the Mariners ownership trying to the block the Sonics return and the poor product on the field the fans have finally spoken. They want a winner and are tired of the gimmicks! This team needs new leadership at the top as Eric Wedge and Jack Zdurienick need to go. Obviously Chuck Armstrong and Howard Lincoln need to go or the manager/gm doesn't matter as long as those two clowns are operating this dog and pony show.

Ugly Hitting:

Seattle Mariners: Hitting .223/.274/.342 on the season. They ranked out of 14 teams in the AL: 14 in on base percentage, 13th in batting average, slugging average and OPS. 13th in home runs and walks while 4th in striking out the most. They rank 11th in runs scored basically this is the same crap we've been dealing with the last two years.

Justin Smoak: Hitting .203/.242/.322 with 17 K's in 62 plate appearances and only three walks.

Chone Figgins: hitting .215/.278/.323 with 20 K's in 75 plate appearnaces only six walks. A leadoff hitter whose on base percentage is under .300 but is striking out 26.7% of the time per plate appearance is just sickening!

Miguel Olivo: hitting .154/.170/.192 with 11 K's in only 54 plate appearances but has just one walk. Despite this piss poor stat line Wedge continues to play him even at DH in a move that makes zero sense to anyone who still cares about this team.

Ugly Attendance:

Tuesday April 17th vs Cleveland : 12,461
Wednesday April 18th vs Cleveland: 11,343(lowest in Safeco history)
Thursday April 19th vs Cleveland: 12,947( on a day when Felix was pitching)

Friday April 20th vs Chicago White Sox: 19,947(bobble head day and a friday)
Saturday April 21st vs Chicago White Sox: 22,472( beautiful Saturday after noon game)
Sunday April 22nd vs Chicago White Sox: 19,975

The fans have spoken they are tired of Jack Z's crap product he has put on the field year after year. He is a major league scout but he isn't a major league GM.

AL West Standings:

Texas Rangers: 13-3, first place
Oakland A's: 8-9, 5.5 GB
Seattle Mariners: 7-10, 6.5 GB
L.A. Angels: 6-10, 7.0 GB

This franchise needs to start getting serious about baseball or Safeco Field might have some games where the attendance drops below 10,000 fans. The fans are tired of this crap as the hitting hasn't improved at all. The hype about this team being improved was just that hype. Felix Hernandez continues to be wasted on a poorly built team that is "building" one brick at a time. Zduriencik is building this thing up much like Paul Wulff built up Washington State football. He is doing it very slowly and hopefully the next guy can lead us to the promise land. This team is a mess and this week was an absolute embarassment.

*Special thanks to my sisters boyfriend Nick Snow on two of the pictures he took. He is a great photographer and hopefully you guys get to enjoy more of his pictures.

Seattle Mariners weekly recap: April 9th- April 15th edition

By Kshell

The Seattle Mariners entered week two of the season against the two-time defending AL champions Texas Rangers and then returned home to face the Oakland A's. The Mariners this week once again took care of the Oakland A's winning two out of their in their opening homestand that continues into this week. The Mariners like they did last year took a licking in Texas losing three out of four to the Texas Rangers despite some quality starting pitching that went to waste in that series. The Mariners for the week went 3-4 dropping their season record to 6-5 now. Since this was a losing week I'll be going over the good(starting pitching and key bullpen arms), the bad(most of the offense) and the ugly(Miguel Olivo and the domination the Rangers have had on the Mariners).

The Good:

The good this week was the Mariners taking it to a division rival the Oakland A's as they are now 5-2 on the season against the A's. The Mariners also saw their key trade piece Jesus Montero have a big week as he hit his first of many home runs for the Mariners and also had an eight game hitting streak. The Mariners bullpen duo of Brandon League and Tom Wilhelmsen continues to be lights out for the Mariners in late innings. The starting pitching this week was pretty good as well. The Mariners also had their home opening ceremonies which saw Mike Cameron throw out the first pitch. Cameron also signed a one day contract so he could retire a Seattle Mariner the team he made his lone all-star appearance with. It was a touching moment and the next games afterwards was nice to see. Blake Beavan pitched great this week who was acquired in the Cliff Lee trade. Also on Saturday in the Mariners 4-0 victory over the A's saw Montero drive in three runs as Hector Noesi threw eight shutout innings giving the Mariners early returns on the Michael Pineda trade. The Mariners still struggled against the Rangers but at least early on they are showing they aren't the worst team in the division. The Mariners have beat up on the A's to start this year which was the positive of the week.

Good Hitting:

Jesus Montero: 7-20(.350), HR, 2 runs, 4 RBI's
Alex Liddi: 2-8(.250), RBI
John Jaso: 2-4(.500), run, RBI, triple
Kyle Seager: 6-24(.250), HR, 3 runs, 4 RBI's
Ichiro: 7-28(.250), 2 runs, RBI

Good Pitching:

Blake Beavan: 1-1, 13.1 IP, 2.70 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 7 K's
Kevin Millwood: 6 IP, 1.50 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 7 K's
Felix Hernandez: 0-1, 7 IP, 2.57 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 6 K's
Luke Luetge: 1-0, 1.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 2 K's
Tom Wilhelmsen: 3.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 3 K's
Brandon League: 2 saves, 3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 2 K's

The hitting as you can see struggled with only Montero hitting over .300 which was nice to see. Montero went from a top tier organization in sports and a hitting ballpark to let's face it a bottom tier organization in sports and a pitchers park. There will be some adjustment period for Montero who has displayed already great power as his home run was a line drive to deep centerfield at Safeco Field.

The Bad:

The Mariners once again this week proved they aren't ready to hang with the big boys quite yet. The Mariners lost three of four down in Texas where they have been dominated since 2008. The Mariners hitting reverted back to last season where most of their early season surprises went back to their usual ways of hitting bad. Felix  Hernandez although pitched well in his start his fastball still is topping out at 91 miles per hour which has to concern every Mariners fan whether they want to admit it or not. Another problem is the fact that manager Eric Wedge continues to put Miguel Olivo out there every game despite his terrible defense and offense. The Mariners simply can't afford to punt any spots in the lineup and yet they are with the catcher position plus many other guys who have slumped in the past slumped this past week as well.

Bad Hitting:

Chone Figgins: 4-27(.148), 3 runs, 7 K's
Dustin Ackley: 5-23(.217), 2 runs, RBI, 4 K's
Justin Smoak: 6-26(.231), HR, 3 runs, 3 RBI's, 8 K's
Brendan Ryan: 3-18(.167), HR, 3 runs, 2 RBI's, costly error, 5 K's
Munenori Kawasaki: 1-6(.167), run, RBI
Casper Wells: 1-7(.143), 3 K's
Michael Saunders: 2-17(.117), run, RBI, SB, 7 K's
Miguel Olivo: 2-20(.100), 2 RBI's, 6 K's

Bad Pitching:

Hector Noesi: 1-1, 11 IP, 5.73 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 9 K's
Jason Vargas: 0-1, 6.2 IP, 5.40 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 6 K's
George Sherrill: 1.1 IP, 20.30 ERA, 3.00 WHIP
Steve Delabar: 1.1 IP, 13.50 ERA, 2.25 WHIP, 2 K's

The hitting has been a problem for the last few years. After a nice little start by Saunders and Figgins they have gone back to their old form of sucking. While Olivo has just been awful since June of last year and yet Wedge continues to play him every day.

The Ugly:

The Mariners went 3-4 this week so this week wasn't a total disaster but there was some pause for concern. The Mariners were once again beaten up by the Texas Rangers down in Arlington. Last season the Mariners went 1-9 at Texas while this year they went 1-3. The Mariners also seen the return of George Sherrill to the team and he is looking washed up at this point. Sherrill has been lit up and is now on the 15 day DL. Feel good story Steve Delabar has also been getting lit up like a Christmas Tree as of late as well. Then you have Miguel Olivo who every start he makes seem to find one to two balls hitting the backstop since he can't catch despite his position being called catcher. That alone should have him benched then when you factor in that he can't hit either and Montero happens to play some catcher while left handed Jaso does as well makes no sense to keep playing him. Wedge even played Olivo Sunday afternoon after a Saturday night game. It's like Wedge is putting Olivo out there in spite of us fans much like McLaren did with Vidro in 2007 and 2008. The Olivo saga needs to be addressed as he is offering nothing to the team and hasn't for quite some time now.

Ugly Hitting:

Miguel Olivo: 4-36(.111), run, 3 RBI's, 8 K's. Hitting .111/.135/.139 . Since June 6th of last year heading into Sunday's start courtsey of Jeff Sullivan of lookout landing Olivo has an OBP of .212 and has 96 strikeouts to just five walks in that span. Yet Eric Wedge last year called him the most professional hitter on the team. Despite two better options on the team Wedge continues to go with Olivo despite facing a right handed pitcher in 9 of the 11 games so far this season.

Justin Smoak: 8-43(.186), 2 HR's, 5 runs, 5 RBI's, 12 K's. Hitting .186/.239/.349 dating back to last years struggles most were hoping Smoak would get off to a good start. Smoak entering his third season as a Mariner now is no longer this up and coming prospect it's definately now time for Smoak to start producing or else that trade looks worse and worse every day.

AL West domination:

The Mariners have been dominated by the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim since 2008. Below I'll post the raw numbers which aren't pretty.

Vs Texas:

2008: 8-11, outscored 101-94
2009: 8-11, outscored 79-70
2010: 7-12, outscored 101-51
2011: 4-15, outscored 95-53
2012: 1-3, outscored 20-12

Totals: 28-52(.350) outscored 396-280 during that span.

Vs LAA

2008: 5-14, outscored 98-84
2009: 9-10, outscored 85-71
2010: 4-15, outscored 100-62
2011: 7-12, outscored 70-48

Totals: 25-51(.328), outscored 353-265.

Hard to win when two teams in your division have kicked your ass the last four seasons as the Mariners have yet to beat them in a season series or even outscore them which is pathetic.

Al West Standings:

Texas Rangers: 8-2, first place
Seattle Mariners: 6-5, 2.5 GB
Oakland A's: 4-6, 4.0 GB
LAA Angels: 3-6, 4.5 GB

The Mariners still have a winning record which is good. The bad news is they can't play the Oakland A's every game and this week will take on the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Whitesox at home in what should be a nice test for the Mariners. Unlike the A's neither team will be a pushover while unlike the Rangers neither team is a bad matchup for the Mariners like the Rangers were. Wedge needs to pull the Olivo experiment quickly if the Mariners wish to progress at all this year. While the return of Figgins and Saunders appears to have been short lived as both returned back to their normal crappy ways. Hopefully King Felix can get his fastball back before it's too late for him this year. The Mariners have a winning record though so there are still some positives on this extremely young season.

Seattle Mariners weekly recap: March 28-April 8th edition

By Kshell

The Seattle Mariners season has finally begun and the Mariners came out of the gate strong defeated the Oakland A's three out of  four games. In the longest series in franchise history which started in Japan then took a week off to do spring training then resumed in Oakland the Mariners found themselves 3-1 for the first time since 2006. In the two games in Japan both teams had strong pitching performances while over here in the states the Mariners hitting finally woke up. The Mariners also saw two guys who have struggled mightly in the past have a big two game set in Oakland in Chone Figgins and Michael Saunders. The atmosphere in Japan was incredible way to start the season while in Oakland it was business as usual. Like I did last year when the Mariners have a winning week I'll go over the good(the hitting), the bad(there was some hitters who slumped), and the awesome(the great week by Chone Figgins). The Mariners who are now in year two of Eric Wedge as manager are hoping the hitting has improved from last season which ranked last in almost every hitting category. The Mariners are hoping these four games weren't a fluke but just a sign of things to come in the near future for this young ball club.

The Good:

The Mariners went 3-1 against the A's so there was plenty of good. For starters the hitting especially when the series shifted back to Oakland started to pick up. In the first game of the season over in Japan Ichiro playing back in his homeland went 4-5 with an RBI which was a thrill for the future hall of famer. Jason Vargas began the season with two quality starts while Brandon League already has two saves. Felix Hernandez on opening night went 8 innings allowing just one run. The Mariners offense came out of the gate which was nice to see. The Japan series was especially good for Ichiro like I stated he was playing in front of his home fans and responded that series by going 4-9. Dustin Ackley won the game MVP in the first game as over in Japan they reward an MVP each game. In that game Ackley went 2-5 with a home run and also the game winning RBI to earn the game MVP.

Good Hitting:

Chone Figgins: 7-17(.412), 2 runs, 4 RBI's, SB. Hitting .412/.412/.588
Kyle Seager: 4-11(.364), run, 2 RBI's, SB. Hitting .364/.417/.364
Ichiro: 6-17(.353), 2 runs, 3 RBI's, SB. Hitting .353/.368/.471
Dustin Ackley: 6-19(.316), HR, 4 runs, 3 RBI's, SB. Hitting .316/.316/.474
Michael Saunders: 4-13(.308), HR, 3 runs, RBI, SB. Hitting .308/.400/.615
Brendan Ryan: 3-10(.300), 3 runs. Hitting .300/.364/.500

Good Pitching:

Jason Vargas: 1-0, 11.2 IP, 2.31 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 6 K's
Felix Hernandez: 1-0, 14.1 IP, 4.40 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 13 K's
Tom Whilhelmsen: 1-0, 4 IP, 2.25 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 5 K's
Brandon League: 2 saves, 3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 2 K's

The hitting has been great as you can see the Mariners have six regulars right now who are hitting above .300 which may be due to a short sample size. After last seasons failures in hitting this is still a pleasant surprise to see.

The Bad:

Not all was good for the Mariners in their 3-1 start. The Mariners have three regulars including two guys who the organization is hoping to be a cornerstone of the franchise get off to a slow start. Add in the blown save in the second game of the year you'll see a couple of bullpen arms make the list as well. As for the hitting Miguel Olivo isn't hitting at all or is he catching well with already two pass balls. With the trade of left handed John Jaso and facing nothing but righties it was puzzling to see Olivo start all four games this year so far. With the team going 3-1 though it is hard to complain too much. The team played well and players will always be slumping but it was frustrating to see Justin Smoak and Jesus Montero come out of the gate struggling. Both guys are prized prospects who the Mariners gave up some pitching to acquire both. This is Smoak's third year in the major leagues as this appears to be a make or break year for him. So far he has gotten off to a slow start despite the home run over in Japan. For the players hitting well and same with the players doing poorly at first this is just four games into a long 162 game schedule.

Bad Hitting:

Jesus Montero: 3-15(.200), RBI, 2 K's, Caught Stealing. Hitting .200/.188/.200
Miguel Olivo: 2-16(.125), run, RBI, 2 K's. Hitting .125/.125/.125
Justin Smoak: 2-17(.118), HR, 2 runs, 2 RBI's, 4 K's. Hitting . 118/.167/.294
Mike Carp: 0-4(.000)

Bad Pitching:

Shawn Kelly: 0-1, blown save,  0.1 IP, 27.00 ERA, 3.00 WHIP
George Sherrill: 0 IP, 3 hits, 1 run, 1 homerun

Hopefully this week in Texas will awake the bats of Smoak and Montero. Jack Zduriencik's tenure as Mariners GM will be measured up to how those two perform since he traded all-star pitchers Cliff Lee and Michael Pineda for them.

The Awesome:

Chone Figgins in the past has been a pain in the ass for the Mariners. He was a pain in the ass to the Mariners when he played for the Angels too as he was their leadoff hitter constantly getting on base and causing havoc on the Mariners. Then the Mariners signed him moved him to the #2 spot in the order and he was again a pain in the Mariners ass as he never got on base. Last year he hit below .200 as they were having drink specials based on his batting average. Well this year Figgins is hitting leadoff and in exchange for that he is playing everywhere on the field. He was the opening day third baseman and due to Mike Carp getting hurt in left field Figgins is now playing left field which is allowing Kyle Seager's red hot bat to play third base. The Mariners are hoping this isn't just some small sample size instead the return of Figgins. They also saw Michael Saunders who was once a top 100 prospect according to baseball america continue his hot spring training hitting into the major league season.

Awesome Hitting:

Mariners team: Hitting .266/.291/.385 with 3 HR's averaging 4.8 runs per game

Chone Figgins: Figgins has had back to back three hit games for the Mariners something he has only done twice now in his career. Last year in 81 games Figgins had only one three hit performance. He is playing the outfield now and leading off. Figgins is finally starting to hit and hopefully he is due for a big year.

Michael Saunders: Saunders is getting what feels like his last chance in Seattle. With Franklin Gutierrez out due to injury Saunders is starting in his place. Saunders so far has had a terrific spring training and has started off well this year. His home run came off of a lefty where he has struggled in the past.

The Mariners hitting numbers aren't great but they are day and night better than last season. The Mariners have beaten up on the Oakland A's the one AL West team they seem to do well against the last few years. Now comes the real test as they take on the Texas Rangers down in Arlington in a nice four game set.

AL West Standings:

Seattle Mariners: 3-1, First Place
Texas Rangers: 2-1, 0.5 GB
L.A.Angels: 1-2, 1.5 GB
Oakland A's: 1-3, 2.0 GB

The Seattle Mariners are looking to go 4-1 for the first time since 2001. If the Mariners go 4-1 it will be how that 2001 team did as well winning the opener, dropping the second game then winning three in a row. As we all know that 2001 team won 116 games and is the last Mariners team to play in the postseason. Before we get ahead of ourselves it was nice to see the Mariners playing well coming out of the gate especially hitting. This is a big week as the Mariners take on the two-time defending AL champions Texas Rangers a team who has owned them the last four years and then return home for the home opener which should be pretty special. If the Mariners can keep up their hitting they could possibly surprise some people as they hope to compete for a winning season which they have only had two since 2004.