07/06/11 30-Second Recap

M's 0 - A's 2

Mariners win the series but get shut-out in the final game of the 3-game set. Vargas pitches a complete game, allows 2 runs, strikes out 6, and walks 1. Kennedy and Ackley with the only hits for the M's. Disgusted with the team's offense, Zduriencik summons Kyle Seager to man third base "for the forseeable future" immediately after the game. Yes, this Kyle Seager, the one with all of 12 AAA games under his belt. Fun note: Kyle's middle name is the sound I make when my wife asks me where her "Silky Self" pedicure lotion went: Duerr.

M's 3 - Padres 1

Mariners win. Welcome to the big leagues Blake Beavan. In his major league debut Blake goes 7 innings, strikes out 4, walks 2, and allows just 1 run. Much talk has been made of late about the lack of starting pitching depth on this team. They're still right. Blake Beavan had about the softest of landings you can image. The Padres are almost as good as the Sacramento Bees this year. Behind Blake in terms of depth are Chris Seddon (nice hair), Luke French (bad), Chaz Roe (so hittable), Fabio Castro (short! like, 5'7''), and Charlie Haeger (KNUCKLER!).

To make room on the roster for Blake, Mike Carp was sent down to Tacoma. He promptly hit a home run on his first night back. Anger issues, Mike.

After putting up the lone decent offensive performance yesterday, Greg Halman goes 0-for-4 with 3 strikeouts today. Ichiro goes 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base. Franklin Gutierrez, while still a gem of a guy defensively, is sooooo bad at the plate right now.

(41-43)

Bring on the A's.

BTW Kyle Seager is tearing up the PCL since his promotion. And he's been moved from 2nd to 3rd. Jus' sayin'.

07/02/11 30-Second Recap

M's 0 -Padres 1

Mariners lose. This game should have been a celebration. Doug Fister pitched a complete game giving up only one run, had 1 "walk" and 7 strike outs. The one run he gave up was the guy he had walked in the 5th, Cameron Maybin, who eventually came around to score. There's just one problem. Maybin walked on 3 balls. The only run of the game was illegitimate.

Fister got screwed. Fister always gets screwed. He's (3-9) with a 3.19 ERA (3.18 FIP) so far this year. The Mariners' offense is screwing Doug Fister. His run support is the worst in the league at 3.17 runs per game. There's also a huge chasm between his run support average and the second worst, Jered Weaver with 3.56.

Am I mad that the only run that Fister gave up was based on the blowsiest of blown calls? Sure I am. You should be too. It's a blatant mis-justice. But the Mariners should have been able to overcome that and they didn't. The blame for this loss falls squarely on shoulders of this team's offense. The only decent offensive performance was Greg Halman who went 2-for-3 and didn't strike out. No one else even reached base. *disgust*

Of note: neither Ackley nor Olivo played today. Wedge kept both out as a precaution; both made statements to the effect that they could play today if called upon. Both will likely be in tomorrow's lineup.

(40-43)

07/01/11 30-Second Recap

M's 6 - Padres 0

Mariners win. Jason Vargas goes the distance in a brilliant performance shutting out the Padres. He struck out 7 and walked no one getting first pitch strikes on 22 of the 31 total batters he faced. Cust had a very Cust-ian performance with a double, two walks, and a strikeout. Everyone in the lineup got a hit except for Ichiro and Gutierrez. Yes, Figgins was in the lineup. Bard was at catcher tonight while Olivo recovers from his cramps (Midol!) and Ackley was out with bruised ribs.

(40-42)

Also, Sir Mix-A-Lot threw out the first pitch. Wanna see? Sure you do.

Swass.

06/27/11 30-Second Recap

M's 1 - Braves 3

Mariners lose. Brandon Beachy is a very good pitcher so the rope-a-dope tactic of striking out nine times in order to elevate his pitch count and end up having him leave the game after 6 innings was an interesting new tactic for this woeful offense. Erik Bedard went 7 innings, struck out 5, walked one, and allowed 3 runs, his last two off a two-run home run in the 7th. Adam Kennedy hit a home run and Dustin Ackley went 1-for-3 with a walk. Mike Carp had a multiple hit game going 2-for-3.

L.A. Angels move ino second place. Standings are: Texas, Angels (1.5 back), M's (2 back), Oakland (6 back).

(39-40)

06/26/11 30-Second Recap

M's 2 - Marlins 1

The Mariners take the rubber match to get back to .500. We're gonna try a bit of a different format tonight.

• Doug Fister pitched 8 innings of 1 run ball. He struck out 3 and walked none. His command was there all night as he got first pitch strikes on 18 batters faced. He also hit a double. Fister for DH!
• Fister's one run came off of an Omar Infante12-pitch at bat in the bottom of the 8th. Rizzs: "There's nothing you'd like to see more than a battle between Doug Fister and Omar Infante." I beg to differ, Rick. I beg to differ.
• Dustin Ackley hit a triple, a single that should have been a double because it hit the 1st base umpire, and a double that should have been another triple as Ackley apparently didn't realize that Logan Morrison was practicing his juggling tonight.
• Dustin Ackley scored the winning run in the 10th inning off of Steve Cishek's wild pitch. Steve was attempting to intentionally walk Carlos Peguero because old people fear large human beings who hack at everything and Jack McKeon is nothing if not old. Anyway, on the third pitch, Cishek sailed his throw and Ackley scampered in for the score. It was a close play but Cishek dropped it. If he had held on to the ball Ackley likely would have been out. That's, like, a triple fail right there; sailing the intentional ball, dropping the tag, and allowing Choate's run to score. Sleep well tonight, Steve.
• Brendan Ryan went 2-for-4 with a walk and a strike out. He also flashed some dazzling defense at short. We got him for Mikael Cleto.
• Jose Lopez scored the Marlin's only run.
• Doug Fister scored one of the two Mariners runs. Touché.
• The Mariners left 13 men on base tonight. They had plenty of opportunities that they just couldn't cash in. This type of offensive ineptitude is so much more frustrating than just getting shut down by mediocre starting pitchers, as has happened to this team throughout much of this decade. It's like having a delicious Strawberry-Rhubarb pie put in front of you and then having it dumped on your crotch as opposed to, say, getting a plate of tofu. You never expected anything from the tofu.
• Chone Figgins pinch-ran. That's it. Never took the field defensively. Never had an at-bat. It's amazing to me that Wedge has navigated this $27 million political landmine and is coming out of it looking like JFK. Let's hope that the MLB doesn't move any games into Dallas.
• League picked up his 21st save of the year. Maybe we can trade him for, like, Brandon Morrow or something.

(39-39)

06/21/11 30-Second Recap

M's 5 - Nationals 6

Mariners lose in heartbreaking fashion. Up 5 to 1 going into the 9th with Brandon League coming in to shut the door, the Mariners coughed up the win. Doug Fister went 8 innings with 3 K's, 1 BB, and 1 RBI (go interleague play!) and gave up only 1 run. Gutierrez and Kennedy had 3 hits a piece, Ichiro and Ryan had two, and Ackley had one hit but 2 RBIs.

*sigh*

(37-36)

06/19/11 30-Second Recap

M's 2 - Phillies 0

The Mariners take the series in dramatic fashion with a Jason Vargas complete game shutout over the Phillies. Vargas K'd 6, BB'd 2 and out-dueled Cole Hamels. Ackley tripled, Ichiro and Smoak had two hits apiece, and Mike Carp got pinch-hit for in favor of Adam Kennedy. Nice win, congrats to Vargas. Happy Father's Day to me!

(37-35)

06/17/11 30-Second Recap

Mariners 4 - Phillies 2

Mariners win. Dustin Ackley debuted and got a hit in his first Major League plate appearance. Pineda went 6, K'd 5 and BB'd 3. Olivo and Ichiro had good nights at the plate. Ichiro had 3 hits including a double and 2 runs scored and Olivo had a home run, a single, and was robbed of an XBH. Brendan Ryan was productive in both facets of the game and is looking like a gem of an acquisition. League made it interesting but in the end wound up with his 20th save on the year.

*OVER 30 SECONDS ALERT!*

Dustin Ackley lynch-pinned a double play in the eighth that directly led to at least 1 run saved. It was a play that I'd been hearing other media outlets quake at in fear. Ackley had to hang tough against a hard charging base runner and get his throw off to first and not only did he avoid contact but he put enough zing on it to get the double play. That's a play that the Mariners have been getting only get one out on for the past couple of years. Welcome to the Mariners, Dustin. Make yourself comfortable.