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.

06/29/11 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)

06/23/11 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)

06/17/11 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.

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!

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)

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)

06/05/11 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)