With Regards To The Astros Impending AL West Invasion

So word came down from on high today that the Houston Astros are moving from the NL Central to the AL West starting in 2013. This despite seemingly vehement dissent on the part of the fans. Despite a historical rivalry amongst the teams in their division. Despite the fact that the state of Texas will no longer offer the National League style of product. Despite the fact that it would create an unbalanced schedule throughout the year necessitating increased interleague play (and the possible discussion of having the NL adopt the DH). Despite the fact that there are 5 National League teams that play further west than the Astros including the Mariner's "natural rivals", the Padres. It offends my sensibilities that there should be not just one but two AL West teams playing out of the Central Time Zone.

I have three proposals to rectify the situation:

1) Add two teams to the AL and move none of the NL teams to the AL. That makes 16 teams in each league. Re-organize them into four four-team divisions. Might I suggest Las Vegas and Portland? Additional revenue streams!
Or
2) If the league can't support adding additional markets, CONTRACT one team from the NL Central (Astros).
Or
3) Move the Diamondbacks to the AL. They have a relatively short history and have been discussed to be moved to the AL before. They play in the pacific time zone (usually, no daylight savings time there), and are IN THE WESTERN PART OF THE USA.

The MLB is taking advantage of the team's sale by strong-arming the new owner of the Astros into making this move with a reportedly $80 million discount. I don't like it; I think there are better alternatives as indicated above. I think Bud Selig is an ugly, inefectual weasel and has now officially been added to my "David Stern" list. Good day to you, sir. I said good day!

Just so you weren't left wondering.

I'm bored with the Mariners right now. I still love them, but the offense sucks. I'm focusing my energies elsewhere. I may return. *shrug*

Quick Update While I Have A Moment

Mariners get swept by the Angels in a four-game series leading into the All-Star Break. They looked terrible offensively. Like, really bad. Speaking of really bad; Justin Smoak. What's going on with Justin Smoak? He's been, like, bad for about a month now. Why? I'll look into this later. Peace.

07/08/11 30-Second Recap

M's 3 - Angels 4

Mariners take it in the shorts off of four solo home runs. Blake Beaven goes 6.1 innings, allows 2 runs off of 1 strike out and 0 walks. The bull-pen failed to hold the lead, though, as Jamie Wright gave up a home-run to Hank Conger in the 7th and David Pauley gave up a walk-off home-run to Mark Trumbo in the 9th.

Look, we know this whole "Bull-pen being awesome" thing couldn't last. But seeing it fall apart to the God damned Angels as we fall further and further from contention...well...that just sucks. Greg Halman went 2-for-3 with a strike out, a double, and a stolen base. Dustin Ackley got another hit. Kyle Seager walked! Franklin Gutierrez got robbed of a double by Mike Trout's youth.

(43-46)

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.

07/04/11 Podcast!

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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.

06/29/11 30-second Recap

M's 3 - Braves 5

M's get swept. The Braves came into Safeco and swept the Mariners out of their home field. The Braves are a much better team, sure, but to rub our noses in it, that's just rude. Dustin Ackley went 1-for-3 with a walk and a home run. The home run came against Jonny Venters, one of the toughest left-handed relievers in the game.

Felix went 7.2 innings, K'd 6, and BB'd 3 giving up 5 earned runs. Welcome back to earth, M's pitching staff. How was the trip around the solar system? Did you find Planet X?

Justin Smoak is in a little slump.

Erik Bedard went on the DL with a sprained knee. So did Chris Gimenez. Miguel Olivo is day-to-day. So is Josh Bard, who is playing through a hurt toe. Jose Yepez is now on the Mariners.

Putting Bedard on the DL was probably a knee-jerk reaction.

(39-42)

06/28/11 30 Second Recap

M's 4 - Braves 5

Mariners lose. After going up 3 to 0 after the first four innings the Braves get back into it with an Uggla home run, a Smoak error in the 6th, and a three run 7th after Pineda had loaded the bases with 3 walks. The Mariners had plenty of opportunities to cash in and just failed to do so. They're not good enough.

Valle was mentioning in the 7th, with Pineda at ~85 pitches, that his arm slot was getting a little erratic. Fatigue after 85 pitches? No...oh...oh no. Oh God no. Nononononoonono. WHY CAN'T WE HAVE NICE THINGS!?

Ichiro went 2-for-4 with a homerun and a walk. Brendan Ryan went 2-for-5 and Jack Cust went 2-for-4. Dustin Ackley's triple slash line after 11 games is .297/.366/.514 and has 4 walks to 5 stikeouts. Straswho?

(39-41)

BTW Rangers, Angels, and A's all won today. *sigh*

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)

06/25/11 30-Second Recap

Mariners 2 - Marlins 4

Mariners lose. Jason Vargas settled in after allowing 3 runs in the first, ultimately going 4 innings, striking out 4, walking 2, and giving up a total of 4 runs. Carlos Peguero went 2-for-4, striking out once and hitting a laser beam home run in the 5th. Confirmed: overall offense still lame.

(38-39)

06/24/11 30-Second Recap

M's 5 - Marlins 1

Mariners win. Felix started slow but eventually settled into a groove to steamroll the hapless Marlins. He went 7 innings, struck out 10, walked 2, and allowed 1 run...off of a dropped strikeout. Ackley walked twice (once intentionally!), Olivo homered, and F-Gut got two hits. Felix also got the first M's hit of the game. Welcome back, .500!

(38-38)

06/23/11 30-Second Recap

M's 0 - Nationals 1

Mariners lose. No, they didn't lose. They flew majestically through the air, made a spectacular loop-de-loop, took a crap mid-flight, and ended up crapping onto their own head. Michael Pineda was great tonight (after a slow start, this whole not warming up thing...no me gusta) going 7 innings with 9 Ks and 1 BB, giving up 0 runs. Chris Ray gave up the only run of the game in the 9th to lose it. No, saying he lost it doesn't give adequate blame to the offense. Stupid. Only bright spot was Smoak who went 2 for 3 with a walk. F&*#, even PINEDA got a hit.

*sigh*

The frustration stems from 3 straight games of 1 run losses. All three very winnable. Against the Nationals. Without Strasberg or anyone else notable. Just...lame. Welcome back, sub-.500.

(37-38)

06/22/11 30-second recap

M's 1 - Nationals 2

M's lose. Erik Bedard takes 87 pitches to go 6 innings, K 10, and BB 2. He got hung for 2 unearned runs and that's all that was needed for the Nationals to take the game and the series. Ackley pinch-hit for Bedard in the 7th and extended his hitting streak to HIS ENTIRE MAJOR LEAGUE CAREER. Miguel Olivo was the only one with multiple hits tonight with 2. Chone Figgins looked terrible. Again.

*OVER 30 SECOND ALERT*

Erik Bedard's ERA this year is 2.93. Considering his first 4 starts of the year, this is amazing. Even considering those first four games, his average game score so far this year is 56. He's pitched 83 innings this year, K'd 80, and BB'd 25. All this despite the fact that his Swinging Strike Ratio is the second lowest it's ever been in his career, 7.8% (8.4% is league average).

Erik Bedard is 32 years old this year. He's got a relatively fresh arm after a couple years of reduced workloads due to injury. Since, He's responded splendidly to his shoulder surgery. He's nails tough and likes it here. Give this guy a 3-year deal.

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)

06/19/11 Podcast!

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06/18/11 30-Second Recap

M's 1 - Phillies 5

Mariners lose. The Mariners looked like the better team tonight but were never able to cash in on their scoring opportunities. They went 1-8 with RISP. Their lone run came off of Dustin Ackley's first Major League home run in the second. King Felix went 7, K'd 5, BB'd 2, had 3 runs hung on him. Shane Victorino went 3 for 4 with a walk and two very timely hits to drive in 4 of the Phillies 5 runs. Greg Halman went 2 for 3 with a walk and the Mariner's lone hit with RISP.

(36-35)

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.

Dustin Ackley called up!

Ackley era...commence!

06/15/11 30-Second Recap

M's 3 - Angels 1

Mariners win to avoid the sweep. Bedard outlasts Ervin Santana after both teams failed to score until the 7th. Bedard went 7 innings, K'd 5, BB'd 0. The Mariners' offense caught a break in the 7th when Carlos Peguero's two out grounder caromed off of second base, scoring Figgins and Ichiro. Both Figgins and Ichiro are looking better, which bodes well. Greg Halman hit a solo home run to center, his first big league home run, and Brandon League chalked up yet another save.

(35-34)

06/14/11 30-Second Recap

M's 0 - Angels 4

Mariners lose. Fister gave up 4 runs in the first inning and then proceeded to breeze through 6 more. He K'd 5 and BB'd 1. Ichiro and Carp had 2 hits each. Ichiro looks to be returning to form after his day off. Jered Weaver went all 9 innings in the shut-out, striking out 6 and walking 1. Welcome back, .500.

(34-34)

06/13/11 30-Second Recap

M's 3 - Angels 6

Mariners lose. Of course it was going to be Vernon Wells to hit two home runs. The Angels want to rub the Mariners' nose in the Figgins albatross steaming pile and use their albatross to do it. *sigh* Vargas had a decent outing going 7 innings, K'd 6, BB'd 2. The game hinged on a dropped ball from Olivo who had Mathis dead to rights at home plate. This extended the 7th and it all went downhill from there.

(34-33)

06/12/11 30-Second Recap

M's 7 - Tigers 3

Mariners win! Felix goes 8 innings. He, once again, didn't have his best stuff today, which has become a fairly disturbing trend. But Felix bad days tend to be a little bit of alright and today was no exception. 8 innings, 6 K's, 5 BB's (3 of them to Miguel Cabrera, can you blame him?). Ichiro, Ryan, and Smoak had multiple hit days and Miguel Olivo hits two home runs. One of Smoak's multiple hits was also a home run. Cust returned to the line-up and went 0 for 3 with two walks and a strikeout.

(34-32)

Podcast! 06/05 through 06/11

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06/11/11 30-Second Recap

M's 1 - Tigers 8

Mariners lose as Michael Pineda had his second hiccup on the year. Although he went 5.1 innings with 4 K's and only 1 BB, not a bad line for a bad outing, he was hung with 5 earned runs and 1 unearned run by the time he hit the showers in the 6th. Ichiro went 2 for 4 with a triple after his off day. The rest of the team's hits came from Smoak, Carp, and Halman, pretty much who you'd expect right now.

(33-32)

Of note, not only have the Rangers had the same game result as the Mariners for the past 7 games, they lost today 8 to 1. Copycats!

Danny Hultzen

Danny Hultzen's pitchface looks like what Arnold Vosloo will look like in 25 years.

06/10/11 30-Second Recap

M's 3 - Tigers 2

Ichiro was benched for the first time in 255 games today. Chone Figgins hit in the leadoff spot. He responds by going 2 for 4 including a double. Smoak homered but Peguero, starting in right field in place of Ichiro, was the offensive star today with a walk, a triple, and a homerun. Bedard goes 5 innings, K's 6, BB's 3, and shook Gimenez off alot tonight. Bedard is picky about his catchers, I'm surprised that the manager was able to Wedge him in there. Humor! League with a nail-biting save but the entire bullpen effort was, once again, nails.

(33-31)

"With Leverage and the Proper Application of Strength..."

The Mariner’s record currently sits at (32-31). Their Pythagorean has them at (31-32) with 230 runs scored and 231 runs allowed. Those of you who have watched this team, though, know that such an even distribution belies this season’s roller-coaster. The team started the 2011 season with a stumble, a tumble, and a faceplant right in the mud with an (8-15)* record by 04/24** with a run differential of (78-112=) -34. To illustrate how bad that is, a run differential of -34 over 23 games translates to -238 runs over a 162 game season which is the equivalent of a (55-107) Pythagorean record, or, a .340 winning percentage. Bad.
*As an aside, (8-15) is a .348 winning percentage. Wow, chalk one up for Pythagorean!
**I know, I know, arbitrary sample sizes. Point taken. I feel that my argument stands regardless.

Since then the Mariners have gone (24-16) for a .600* winning percentage. Their run differential over that span has been (152-119=) +33, which expands to +132 over an entire season for an equivalent Pythagorean of (99-63), or, .611 winning percentage.
*That’s two for Pythagorean.

.340 vs. .611
Two completely different teams, neither alike in dignity in fair Seattle where we lay our scene.

So, what has been the difference? Starting pitching, of course. Also; the bull-pen has been nails with only the occasional hiccup. But with an offense as woeful as this one, how has this turn-around occurred? And is it likely to reverse itself?

Let me throw some splits at your ass. The Mariners are hitting:
Low Leverage .211/.291/.317 .248 BAbip
Medium Leverage .220/.284/.320 .259 BAbip
High Leverage .275/.345/.401 .329 BAbip
Total .228/.300/.336 .270 BAbip
League Average .253/.321/.396 .287 BAbip

The Mariners are a much better hitting club this year in high leverage situations. Their BAbip is also .042 points higher in these situations than the league average. It says here that the Mariners have gotten incredibly lucky when it mattered the most. Now, there are, of course, unquantifiable intangibles associated with “coming through when it counts,” “never giving up,” and “being scrappy.” Look, I’m not so naïve as to think that SABRmetrics is the be all end all in assessing a team. Of course you have to put yourself in a position to take advantage of luck when it goes your way.

But we all know that Lady Luck, she is a fickle mistress, prone to wild swings at unexpected times. By definition, you can’t control her.

Look. This isn’t gloom and doom. The Mariners are 2.5 games out of first place on 06/10/11. That’s worthy of celebration. What this is is a wake-up call. Their winning percentage of late with their offense as it currently stands is unsustainable. Things need to change. Without change, I see no way that they overtake Texas.

Calling up Carp was a good start. Calling up Ackley will be better. Obtaining a long-term answer at left field and third base is a dire priority.

Competing in 2011 might be feasible without sacrificing the future. This team’s pitching has been epic and can be ridden to win after win but only if something is done to address this offense. Are they willing to do what’s necessary to compete this year? We’ll have a very good answer to that on August 1st one way or another.

06/09/11 30-Second Recap

M's 1 - Tigers 4

The Mariners kick off a 4-game set in Detroit with a loss. Verlander K'd 10 Sea-farers while walking only 1 (Mike Carp, by the by). Fister did the bull-pen a solid by going all the way, 8 innings, K'd 3, BB'd 2. He pitched 87 pitches. Adam Kennedy went 2 for 4 and Halman went 1 for 4 dropping his average to .636. The M's 1 run came off the following play: Ja Wilson struck out swinging, Ja Wilson safe at first on wild pitch by J Verlander, G Halman scored.

Wow.

(32-31)

06/08/11 30-Second Recap

M's 7 - White Sox 4

Mariners win in 10 innings to avoid the sweep. Jason Vargas goes 7.1 innings, K's 4, BB's 1. Carp, in his 2011 MLB debut, goes 1 for 4 with a double and a strikeout. Miguel Olivo hit a homerun in the 8th and what ended up being the game-winning double in the 10th. Also, Gutierrez lays down a suicide squeeze, the 2nd this week. Brandon League earned his 17th save of the season.

(32-30)

06/07/11 30-Second Recap

M's 1 - White Sox 5

Mariners lose. King Felix doesn't seem to have his best stuff this game and still goes 6.2 innings with 5 Ks and 2 BBs. He gives up home runs to Paul Konerko and another one (a cheap barley-nicked-the-edge-of-the-foul-pole job) to Carlos Quentin. Carlos Peguero goes 2 for 3. Chone Figgins looks baaaaaad. The whole offense pretty much stunk it up. Man, they should totally bring up Mike Carp or something.

What's that? Huh? Oh. Cool! I guess they did.

Carp up, Mike Wilson down. Well well well.

(31-30)

06/06/11 30-Second Recap

M's 1 - White Sox 3

Chicago takes the first of a 3-game set finally giving John Danks his first win of the year. Pineda went 7, K'd 3, BB'd 2. Halman went 3 for 3 after a big night last night. Keep on truckin' Greg. So, nobody would blame you if you didn't pay much attention to this game. The M's took LHP Danny Hultzen at no. 2 overall today. Go crazy reading all those scouting reports.

(31-29)

06/05/11 30-second recap

Mariners 9 - Rays 6

Mariners take the series with a win in the final of a four-game series with the Rays. Bedard goes 7, K's 7, BB's 0, and gives up a total of 3 runs. Jamey Wright coughs up the lead allowing 3 runs in the 8th but Olivo saves the day with a 3-run home run to left field. Greg Halman had 3 hits on the day including a triple in the 7th. Ichiro also tripled in the third. He then scored on a suicide sqeeze. Everything happened that was needed for an eminently entertaining game.

(31-28)

Weekly Podcast 05/29/11-06/04/11

Boom.

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06/04/11 30-Second Recap

Mariners 2 - Rays 3

Mariners lose. Fister goes 7, K's 6, BB's 4, gives up all three runs. Pauley cinches 'em tight to the end. Miguel Olivo pinch hit for Chris Gimenez in the 8th and hit a 2-run HR to make it interesting. Farnsworth shuts down the heart of the order to lock up the save. Good fightin', wish they had scored earlier in the game when they had their chances.

(30-28)

Life With Z

06/03/11 30-Second Recap

M's 7 Rays 0

Vargas CG 4-hit shutout, K's 4 BB's 1. Smoak, Kennedy, and Olivo with HRs. Ichiro's slump continues, avg. down to .266. No hits for Figgins. I won't post his avg. because I try to avoid posting obscenity on this site.

(30-27)

06/02/11 30-Second Recap

Mariners 8 - Rays 2
Mariners win! Peguero homers twice. Cust and Smoak with a solo shot apiece. All against James Shields. King Felix goes 7, K's 11, walks 2. Figgins, in the 8-hole, got a hit! Chris Ray works the 9th, K's 2, no runs allowed.

(29-27)

Day 1

Starting a blog to house my podcast. But first I gotta finish it. WOO!