The Calming Joy of the Seattle Mariners

By Patrick

Thanks man

Yesterday sucked. I woke up around 10:30, only to find out that there had been a double homicide pretty close to my quiet neighborhood on Roosevelt street. All day I sat in my basement as my mom freaked out about whether we were safe or not and what to do about picking my brother up from school. I watched King 5 as they kept reporting the grim details of the horrible murders, that also included another fatal shooting by the same man downtown. 

This stress continued all day, and it really sucked to live where I live. I've never felt so unsafe and unsure of my surroundings in all ten of my years living in this great city. 

Then around 4:30, as we ventured out to pick up my brother, KOMO 1000 news radio played a live interview of the deputy sheriff of the Seattle Police Department. He announced that the shooter had been identified in West Seattle by detectives and had shot himself once he realized that cops were about to arrest him. The man hunt was over, since detectives had linked the man to both shootings.

Almost miraculously, the Mariner game started just a half hour later. While my nerves had calmed significantly now that the shooter was apprehended, I was still shaken up about the whole ordeal. 

What I love about the Mariners is that they have a way of completely taking my mind of of it. Did the team hear about the shootings and decide to play harder today for the city? Probably not. But if they didn't, they sure made it seem like they did. 

The Mariners put forth one of their most impressive offensive showing in franchise history yesterday, ripping off three touchdowns in a 21-8 victory over the Texas Rangers Wednesday night. They scored eight runs in the second inning, but didn't think that was good enough, so they went out and scored eight more in the third to put the game well out of reach. 

Justin Smoak hit two three-run homers and had three hits. Kyle Seager went 4-for-6 and scored a run every time he reached base. Michael Saunders had three more hits. Dustin Ackley snapped his slump with a three-run homer and two hits. Jesus Montero drove in four and scored four times. Even Chone Figgins scored twice.

This game was chicken soup to the Mariner fan's soul. But more importantly, this game did exactly what sports are supposed to do: provide a diversion from the perils of everyday life. Four people died in fatal shootings yesterday in Seattle. While the grief and suffering of the families affected cannot be overlooked, the way the Mariners made fans happy last night temporarily provided a distraction from the horrible atrocities of Wednesday morning.     

The crimes won't go away. Those feelings of insecurity won't just disappear never to resurface again. They'll be there. But so will that Mariners win. That feeling of invincibility that makes life so great. The incredible reality that your team is beating the Texas Rangers, the two-time defending AL champs, buy 17 runs after four innings. Shooters like Ian Stawicki can take away our peace of mind, and even some of our loved ones, but they can't take away our ability to rally around those people and things we love.

A lot of people in Seattle love the Mariners, and on Wednesday, that love overpowered the desolation that the horrible shootings caused.

Revenge of the Alamo: Rangers Series Preview Part 3

By Patrick

Keep hitting, champ

Finally. The Mariners got a great start from Jason Vargas on Tuesday night, and finally worked some great at bats and delivered continually with runners in scoring position. The Mariners beat the Rangers 10-3. You read that right. It wasn't the other way around. They threw down a six spot in the eighth inning, loading the bases and moving runners from station to station with singles and a key error by Elvis Andrus that bailed out Brendan Ryan's continual 3-2 count struggles. 

Vargas turned in another nice start, allowing just three runs to the Rangers, all driven in by Josh Hamilton. That's OK by me. If he can take away all of the Rangers hitters besides Hamilton and Andrus in front of him, the Mariners will have a chance to win most of those games. And they won this one. Vargas improved to 6-4 with the win. This is the best and most consistent season of his career. 

Today, an opportunity to take back to back series from the Rangers presents itself. The Mariners definitely understand how important this chance is. Blake Beavan also understands that, and will look to score his third win of the season against his former team. 

May 30: Ham Sandwich (2-4, 4.38) Derek "the 'stache" Holland (4-3, 4.05)

Here's another case of the Mariners versus the Rangers in the run support department. Holland and Beavan have similar ERAs. Sure, Holland is viewed as a better pitcher in experts' minds. But the two have had similar seasons in terms of runs allowed. Yet Beavan deals with the Mariners' offense, whereas Holland gets the Rangers high-powered and well-oiled machine behind him. Hence the 2-4 versus the 4-3. Beaven got robbed by Brandon League's hopefully final implosion in a save situation Friday. Beavan threw a solid seven innings, and his only blemish was a three run shot by Albert Pujols. Holland beat the Mariners the only time he faced them earlier this year. He's also left handed, which instantly makes him better against the M's. As such, the M's have adjusted their lineup to try and use their crappy veterans to produce hits. Good stuff M's.

Players to Watch:

Kyle Seager: Seager snapped a terrible stretch last night that most likely went under most Mariner fans radars. But the important thing is he's back on track, after a 3-for-4 night last night that included two doubles. With Ichiro on the bench today, Seager slots up to the three-hole, and will have a chance to prove himself against a lefty. A good night for Seager should translate directly into a good night for the M's, as it has for the most part in 2012.

Michael Young: Usually a Mariner killer, Young has proved a remarkably easy out for Mariner pitching in 2012. Tonight, with the second toughest out in the lineup (Andrus) getting a day off, Young moves up to the second spot in the order and takes the field, playing first base. Hamilton relies on Andrus getting on base and going nuts on the base paths to help his team win. Young won't steal bases, and so his production will be crucial for the Rangers tonight. If he gets extra-base hits, the Rangers should win.

Rangers 5, M's 3: This is a tough one for me. Beavan has looked solid lately, but I just think he throws way too many strikes to baffle the Rangers. I wouldn't be shocked if they don't take him deep once or twice tonight. That being said, Holland should trouble the Mariners, since he's left handed and pretty talented. It's really that simple. Just ask Matt Harrison. The Mariners will use last night's explosion for a little momentum, but will likely come up short in a tough matchup. Go M's.

Revenge of the Alamo: Rangers Series Preview Part 2

By Patrick

Last night's game was boring. Matt Harrison stymied the M's yet again. Kevin Millwood only allowed one run, but he also threw way too many pitches, and got yanked after just five innings. And that opened the door for Steve Delabar, who let two runners get on really quickly and then threw a nice 2-0 fastball right down the middle to Mike Napoli. Great pitch, Steve. Napoli murdered it to the opposite field. Absolutely crushed it. That makes seven of Delabar's eighteen hits allowed this year homers. That puts him second on the Mariners in home runs allowed behind Blake Beavan, who pitches starter innings and throws almost exclusively strikes. Tacoma, anyone?

Brendan Ryan had an RBI triple. That's cool. He also was thrown out stretching it into an inside the parker. Not nearly as cool, Brendan. Let's be a little smarter next time. Do you really just not want to be on base that badly? Enjoy the feeling a little more. Maybe that will convince you to get more hits. I'll take anything at this point, since your defense continues to wow me. Great work with that run saving defense. Now it's time to stop playing run saving offense (thanks for this one Anthony).

May 29: Jason Vargas (5-4, 3.39) vs. Scott Feldman (0-2, 4.66)

I usually like to save my predictive commentary until the end, but looking at this matchup, I couldn't wait. How low will the Mariners have stooped if they lose this game? Jason Vargas is the second best pitcher on the roster, and the only starter with a winning record in 2012. His 3.39 ERA is stellar, and his consistency in 2012, with no career defining terrible starts but no flashy shutouts either, has fit his role perfectly. Scott Feldman on the other hand, lost to the Mariners six days ago. He replaced Neftali Feliz in the Rangers rotation, and just kind of sucks in general. He's the guy that threw Alex Liddi a fastball with the bases loaded. Six days later, throwing Alex Liddi a fastball is unheard of. The guy that learned the hard way against Alex Liddi of all people should not beat Jason Vargas. That would be embarrassing, and if the M's want to get of the losing schneid, tonight would be their best chance for a while. 

Players to Watch:

Dustin Ackley: The lineups aren't out yet, but I've got to think Ackley will be back in the leadoff spot tonight. Coming off of his second day off in four days, Ackley will try and prove he's worth all of his hype. He's been missing an alarming amount of pitches so far in 2012, and needs to bring his average up and his strikeout rate down in order to be successful as a leadoff man. Two singles or an extra base hit tonight would be great from the Carolina Kid.

Josh Hamilton: He's back. Damn it. That stomach illness he dealt with over the weekend unfortunately didn't last until Wednesday, and the Mariners will have to deal with the former and future MVP yet again. Vargas therefore will have to work his hardest to get Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus out in front of Hamilton, in order to take some of the pressure off having to face baseball's best hitter. Hamilton could really ruin a great chance for the Mariners to finally win and might have extra motivation to do so, since the M's have really held down the Rangers offense lately.

Prediction:

M's 6, Rangers 4: For the second straight night, a pick a slumping team with an underperforming offense to win. What's my problem? I feel a lot better about tonight than I felt about yesterday though. That stems from the Rangers' starting pitcher. Feldman isn't much at all, and doesn't have the track record of success against the M's that Harrison has (8-1 now, wow!). The hitters should be itching for a chance to get back on track, and maybe even Kyle Seager will hit tonight. Everything about this game says Mariners win to me. Go M's.

The Super Duper Mega Amigos Part I don’t know…

By Anthony

Sorry guys, due to the whole four-day weekend for me and the College Nationals for Ultimate Frisbee being this weekend, I was a little inattentive to when the amigos were supposed to pitch and didn’t really pay attention to the M’s in general. Meaning I watched more College Ultimate than baseball games. Sorry. I did check the box scores and when people scored. Turns out I chose a solid weekend to be a very detached fan. The M’s got swept in a four game series. Albert Pujols remembered that he was Albert Pujols, was anyone surprised that it had to happen against the M’s? In this super duper mega version of the Amigos, Hector Noesi and Kevin Millwood got to pitch twice before I was able to grade them. Not so fast for you Ham Sandwich. You’re not falling through the cracks so easily. 

Hector Noesi

In his two games, Hector did not get a win. He got two losses and the M’s lost both games. If I was stupid I would then say that Hector sucks. But in the two games he combined for 16 innings, 6 runs, 4 walks and 7 K’s. I will remind you he faced off against the Angels and Rangers. That line is awesome. I have a theory that the Mariners have a hazing ritual for new rookie pitchers where they just decide that they can’t win more than 5 games all year so forget how to hit whenever they pitch. It sort of got out of hand for Ryan Franklin but Wedge was able to rein it in and now it is a little more subtle. Until some genius blogger, me, uncovered the corruption. Hey Hector, you’re welcome, I’ll take diamond club seats as my reward. Going into depth with what Hector has to do to succeed, throw strikes with his changeup, get whiffs with his breaking pitches and stop giving up line drives, he was not bad. He has started throwing his slider a lot, and got 10 whiffs on it. He only threw his changeup for a strike about 57% of the time but with it being used less that is less of a problem. As for avoiding line drives, he didn’t do too bad a job, yielding 11 total. Hector I will give you an A- since you have finally started getting consistent but need to maintain your focus for the entire game. That homerun to Mark Trumbo was brutal, (I actually saw that one happen).

Blake (Costs 5 dollars at Subway) Beavan

Yawn Yawn Yawn. The Ham Sandwich was doing his sandwichy thing. 7 innings, 3 earned runs, 1 strikeout and 2 walks. Then Brandom League forgot that Beavan has actually been playing for two years with the M’s and is not subject to the only 5 wins rule. Silly Brandon League, he’s so cute when he tries to throw strikes and utterly fails. Anyway, time for the Ham Sandwich tangent. Patrick touched on this issue already but Brandon League is out as closer and right now Tom WIlhelmsen is in line for the throne. However, in a plot twist worthy of Game of Thrones, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Stephen Pryor get a few turns in the ninth inning. He has pitched 11 innings in Tacoma as their semi-closer. He has 14 K’s and two saves while not giving up a run. I’m not saying he needs to be getting the ball in the ninth against the Cardinals in game seven of the World Series, (We are currently in Anthony fantasy land) but he needs to be given a chance in the ninth. His stuff is awesome. Blake you get an A but the curve drops you down to a B+. And by curve I mean Brandon League.

Kevin Millwood

For those of you who know how I feel about Kevin Millwood, you may be surprised to hear how disconsolate I was when Steve Delabar gave up a bomb to Mike Napoli. Jesus Montero had just missed the inning before and Kevin Millwood was out of the game. Therefore I was really heart broken. I just wish Milwood could have done that himself instead of throwing 97 pitches in five innings. Which brings me to my latest gripe about Kevin Millwood. Throw some strikes! I am a pretty dedicated fan and a pretty educated fan but I was getting pissed off at how often he was falling behind the Rangers. Yes, those guys can hit. But Kevin, you know what else? It is a lot easier to hit when a pitcher has to throw a strike. A great way to pitch is to get ahead, which means you start throwing strikes early in the count, not at 2-0 or 3-1. So yeah, congrats on your 5 innings with 1 run, 2 walks and 5 K’s. I hope you realize you kind of set yourself up for the bullpen to do their thing. That is blow leads. Anyway, in his other start, he threw some more shut out innings. 6 to be specific with 1 walk and 2 K’s and 97 pitches. That is two starts where Millwood has thrown 97 pitches against the Rangers. He has lasted 11 innings in total. Millwood you get a B but your participation and attendance in class sucks, like 35%. Man I wish participation was worth more than 10% of the grade. 

The Word

Unfortunate-This is a feeling that is quite often used and experienced by Mariners fans. It was really unfortunate Albert Pujols caught fire against us. He was pretty much a terrible hitter before he ran into us. Then remembered he is awesome. So that sucked. Also, Alberto Callaspo, someone whose name is impossible to say in a non-announcer voice, and who hits like he should play for the M’s all of a sudden took a King Felix pitch out to dinner and didn’t call it again since it got lost in the stands. That just goes to show how random baseball is. Say Callaspo swings a tenth of a second later or Felix throws that pitch a little more inside, then the M’s are still in that game. But unfortunately it did not and Callaspo got to be a hero.

Wag of My Finger

Brandon League-Just as I typed that, League gave up a lead off single to the Rangers. Must be a sign. League came into this year as one of the more dependable players on the roster. We knew what he could do and he was supposed to bring some consistency to a bullpen that was full of question marks. That blew up in our faces. He has suced and gone from being a valuable trade chip at the deadline to being a person who I want to get lost on the way from the bullpen to the field. He has shown no command, his fastball is not finding the zone and his splitter never really could. THROW STRIKES! Somebody please! I Feel Like I Am Taking Crazy Pills!!!!

Tip of My Cap

Justin Smoak-The Smoakamotive seems to have been able to turn things around recently. And by recently I mean he was our offense against the Angels. He went 5-12 in three games with an OPS of 1.333 and a stolen base. I find that last part hilarious because he is tied atop the list of Mariners who I want to watch try and steal a base since they are so slow. But in all seriousness, Justin needs to start hitting and hopefully he can continue this pace and not force the M’s to replace the Smoakative with the Taijuan-Walker-is-only-a year-or two-away-amotive. Which would be an awesome train car, but seriously, go Smoakie. And Go M’s, and #FreeBrendanRyan’sBat

Revenge of the Alamo: Rangers Series Preview Part 1

By Patrick

"Can you believe how well I'm pitching?"

The Mariners haven't won since Wednesday. That's fine. It's also pretty typical. But this weekend series really hurt with every loss. First, Dan Haren absolutely humbles the lineup, reminding them they still can't hit consistently and striking out fourteen M's just for good measure. Then Friday, Brandon League implodes in the ninth and blows a win for Blake Beavan that he both deserved and needed. Saturday, King Felix allows a sixth inning grand slam and pitches below average in a game where the M's needed to stop the bleeding. And finally Sunday, Hector Noesi gets his second straight dose of what it's like to be a Mariner pitcher, as he threw another stellar eight innings but lost yet again. Seattle can't buy a break. Or run support, for that matter.

Now the M's head to Texas to try and right the ship. Last time they played in Texas, they lost three of four, and probably should have been swept. Last time they played Texas, they took two out of three and could have easily locked in the sweep. But that was before pitchers started throwing Alex Liddi curveballs. So who knows.

One thing's for certain. The Rangers don't want to lose another series to the lowly M's, especially at home. They would love to just sweep Seattle right back under the rug where they think we belong. And with no Felix in this series, they might just do that. I'm scared.

May 28: Old Man Jenkins (3-4, 3.72) vs. The Cold-Blooded Mariner Killer (5-3, 4.72)

That might be a stretch of a nickname for Matt Harrison, but the Mariners really do not hit him well ever. Going into his last start against the M's, Harrison was 6-1 with a 2.67 ERA lifetime against Seattle. So naturally, he went eight innings allowing just one run to improve to 7-1 and ruin my first trip to Safeco of 2012. I'm now 1-2 going to the ballpark, if you were wondering. Damn you, Alberto Callaspo. Anyway, the M's don't hit Harrison well, like ever. So that sucks. He's a lefty though, so at least we know why. The M's just don't hit dominant lefties well at all (i.e. CJ Wilson yesterday). But there is hope at least, since Kevin Millwood and his 17 straight scoreless innings streak take the hill for the Mariners. Millwood's turn around over his last three starts has been astounding. The guy was buried. The Mariners could have cut him if he had two more bad starts. But he's been successful, and has won his last three turns on the hill. So this might actually be a pitcher's duel in Arlington tonight.

Players to Watch:

John Jaso: I mentioned that first series that the Mariners should have lost all four in early this year? Well they won one game in that series thanks to Kevin Millwood and timely hitting from Jaso. Today, as just announced by Eric Wedge, Jaso will lead off for the second time in 2012. Interesting. With Kyle Seager at second base, Wedge clearly still has trust issues with his young second baseman Dustin Ackley. Jaso will need to shoulder some of the scoring load today, and hopefully he can create scoring opportunities for the M's early and often.

Mitch Moreland: Yes! No Josh Hamilton today! It's like Christmas and my birthday all rolled into one! With Hamilton out, the power needs to come from somewhere else in the lineup. Adrian Beltre maybe? Or Nelson Cruz? How about Moreland? He's hitting .301 this year, fifty points above his career average, and has eight homers. He went beast mode on Felix a week ago, and is having the best season of his career. And he hits eighth. I hate the Rangers so much.

Prediction:

M's 3, Rangers 2: Really? Am I actually picking this? Why not? Kevin Millwood hasn't allowed a run in his last two starts, and he's pitched well in two starts against Texas in 2012. Matt Harrison can't beat the Mariners forever. He's just not that good of a pitcher. Chone Figgins is back in the lineup again as well. Oh shit. My pick suddenly looks worse. But I'm sticking to my guns. Pitcher's duel, Millwood goes seven strong, and Tom Wilhelmsen (and not Brandon League) closes it out, with Delabar pitching the eighth. Go M's.

Monday Morning Rant: Brandon League Must Go

By Patrick

Great throw, buddy

On Friday night, the Mariners held a 4-3 lead going into the ninth inning after a fantastic start from Blake Beavan. But if you polled hardcore Mariner fans during the commercial break, most probably wouldn't have had faith in closer Brandon League delivering the victory. 

Those fans, unfortunately, would have been right.  

League allowed the first two hitters to reach, both in typical fashion. The first runner reached on a scouting report hit off of League. League doesn't have a solid changeup, so he has to use his fastball to get ahead. So the first hitter jumped on his fastball and lined it to center. One pitch, one baserunner. The next at bat was more complicated. League got ahead early, but the count was worked to 3-2. And of course, with the pressure on, League overthrew a fastball and walked the second hitter of the inning. 

The next batter, Erick Aybar, dropped down a sacrifice bunt, but League couldn't make it a regular sacrifice. He forced a throw to third, which Alex Liddi didn't come anywhere near. That allowed the tying run to score, and the runners to move into scoring position. Howie Kendrick later delivered a two-run single that sunk the Mariners once and for all.

A win in that game could have made the series with the Angels radically different. Imagine if the M's were looking at 1-1 rather than 2-0 heading into the Felix start. Maybe the Callaspo slam wouldn't have happened. The Mariners might have split the series instead of getting swept. We wouldn't be feeling as thoroughly depressed this morning as Mariner fans.

But that loss, as well as the three other League has dealt the M's this season, doesn't explain why League has to leave Seattle. The reason League must go stems from the feeling and the environment that League's pitching creates.

The Mariners have a young roster that have no idea how to win. They are all learning how to succeed at the major league level together. On Friday, they learned how for eight innings. Justin Smoak knocked in three runs, and Blake Beavan pitched spectacularly outside of a homer to Albert Pujols, which we'll forgive since it happened to Felix too. And then League came in and spoiled all of it.

Tom Wilhelmsen should have pitched the ninth. Sure, he got rocked by the Rangers on Wednesday while League finished the save, but Wilhemsen has better closer stuff. His fastball is faster and better than League's. His out pitch also beats League's any day. That hammer curve is the second best pitch on the entire team, behind Felix's change up. Sure, Wilhelmsen is young and untested, but that's my point exactly. Friday would have been a victory for the young guys if Wilhelmsen closed it out. 

Instead, League, yet another of the Mariners' questionable veterans, stepped in and screwed everything up. The Mariners need to commit to their youth. They have already by shelving Chone Figgins on the bench and favoring Jesus Montero to Miguel Olivo. In the next month, they need to add League to that list. Wilhelmsen needs the experience of the closer role in order for him to improve. 

The Mariners need to relegate Brandon League to the eighth inning, where he belongs. He absolutely sucks against left-handed hitters, and that doesn't translate well to the closer role, where he's expected to get every hitter out regardless of matchup. League has good stuff, but the closer role has proved too demanding for him, and he needs to permanently vacate that role.

This season is about young players learning how to win. Brandon League is a struggling veteran, and the Mariners have no tolerance for that kind of player. League needs to step aside, and the Mariners need to trade him at the deadline. Tom Wilhelmsen is the future, and Brandon League's time is up. Go M's.

Broken Wings: Angels Series Preview Part 4

By Patrick

We know, you're back. Calm down already.

Can anyone stop the bleeding here? Not even Felix was up to the Angels challenge yesterday, but the way the Angels foiled him perplexed most hardcore fans. A pinch-hit grand slam to Alberto Callaspo? Really Felix? Besides that pitch and a solo blast for Pujols, Felix pitched decently in front of the retro King's Court on Saturday evening. But a grand slam, especially a half inning after the M's finally gave him a lead, really takes the air out of anything the Mariners want to do offensively.

There were some plus sides to last night. Mike Carp and Dustin Ackley both came through with RBI singles with runners in scoring position. Ackley really looked terrible besides that though. Justin Smoak went yard again as well. His promising power is encouraging, but he really needs to work on consistency more than occasional ripping power. Steve Delabar also looked great out of the bullpen, and may have thrown his hat in the ring for the vacant closer position for the time being that most fans assume belongs to Tom Wilhelmsen. 

May 27: "Jason Vargas" (2-5, 5.26) vs. CJ Wilson (5-4, 2.90)

Hector Noesi has to be the guy to stop the bleeding I guess. That sucks, because he's not really a stopper kind of pitcher. Noesi is developing as a major league starter, and his starts don't really contribute to the overall Mariners momentum. Here's what I mean by that: his starts seem to exist outside of the realm of the Mariners 2012 season. Felix will pitch, Vargas will pitch, Beavan will pitch, Millwood will pitch, and fans will look at the results of the games. With Noesi, nobody really cares who wins or loses, because if you look at his starts that way, you will rarely see any bright spots. Sure, he lost last week to the Rangers, but he only allowed runs in one inning, and gave up three hits in an eight inning start. All in all, a win for Noesi. Today, he takes on CJ Wilson, who as a tough lefty, will most likely stymie the Mariners' offense. So today, if you want to feel good about something, get pumped when Noesi strikes out Pujols, or gets through an inning quickly, or completes a solid start in a losing effort. At this point, 2013 is way more important than 2012 at this point.

Players to Watch:

Ichiro: Ich has to give us something today. CJ Wilson is a lefty, and Ichiro struggles against him, hitting just .209 with 11 career strikeouts. But the Mariners need Ichiro to hit today. Even his little infield singles would help. The M's need base runners to win this game. CJ WIlson could easily come up with a Dan Haren start tonight, and the Mariners could look just terrible again. But they need to stop the bleeding. And they need Ichiro, their "veteran leader," to come through for them. 

Alberto Callaspo: I don't like you very much. He ruined the Mariners Turn Back the Clock Night yesterday, with a pinch-hit grand slam in the sixth inning. Felix made a bad pitch, and Callaspo cranked it. He was only hitting .234 coming into that at bat, but the power he showed yesterday earned him the start at third base in the two-hole this afternoon. Noesi needs to get him out to be successful, since a red hot Albert Pujols will wait on deck each time.

Prediction:

Angels 4, M's 2: The way this series has gone, I can't feel good about picking the M's to win this game. It's just been all bad in every game. They got shutout, Brandon League blew a save badly, and then Felix got humbled by a terrible pinch-hitter yesterday. How could it go any worse? Well, they could lose today to complete the sweep. Noesi will pitch well again, but CJ WIlson will prove too much and Pujols will hit another homer just to make sure the Mariners know he's in the division now. Also, Chone Figgins starts today for the Mariners. Further proof that it will be a long day at Safeco. Go M's.

Broken Wings: Angels Series Preview Part 3

By Patrick

Larry wants the Mariners to win tonight

Brandon League. What is your deal, man? Why do you have to do this to us so often. In case you missed it, Brandon League looked horrendous as he blew a save Friday night by allowing three runs in the ninth. The Mariners lost 6-4, but really should have won behind a spectacular performance from Blake Beavan. Beavan allowed three runs, but all three came on one pitch, a mistake to a magically reborn Albert Pujols, who gave it another good ride out of Safeco Field.

Justin Smoak had the defibrillators placed on his 2012 last night, and after he laced an RBI single that drove in Ichiro in the fourth, he connected for a two-run homer, his sixth in 2012. Games like last night provide the Mariners with good signs and reasons why they need to stay patient with Smoak. The guy will turn it around. We just need to wait. It's not like the team has any urgency. This year basically serves as an observation year, where individual performance trumps overall team success.

That being said, fans care about wins. Wins keep butts in the seats. Fortunately for the Mariners, butts will be in almost all of the seats tonight, as the King's Court will be in full swing on Turn Back the Clock Night. Felix takes the hill to stop the bleeding of this so far horrible series.

May 26: The King (4-3, 2.80) vs. Jerome Williams (4-2, 3.74)

The King to the rescue! The last two games have been absolutely nightmarish for two different reasons. Fortunately, the King swoops in tonight to fix all of that. Felix has been incredible this season. With the exception of the one bad start in Cleveland, he's looked like the pitcher that won a Cy Young in 2010. In his last outing, he shut down Texas' potent offense and led the M's to an easy 6-1 victory over Yu Darvish. His opponent tonight has far less hype surrounding him. Jerome Williams faced the Mariners twice in 2012. He won both starts. Damn it. Another one of these guys. By these guys, I mean another irrational Mariner killer. Williams has an interesting story. He started regularly for the Giants from 2003 to 2004, but then went to the Cubs, where he floundered into the minors. Then, Williams left the majors and played in the Golden Baseball League as well as in Puerto Rico and Taiwan. He mad his major league comeback with the Angels last season, and has fortified the fifth starter role in their "dominant" rotation. Felix might have to deal with very little run support tonight. He's probably used to that by now though.

Players to Watch:

Justin Smoak: Finally. Justin put a game together last night. He did exactly what the M's needed of him, driving in three runs and recording two different RBI hits, including a homer. Maybe Justin can use last night as a momentum builder as he continues to improve. It would be really great to see him just rip off a couple of great games in a row as a result of last night. Today's as good of day as any, especially since the park should be packed and Felix will probably pitch well enough to win by all accounts.

Kendrys Morales: Everyone knows this guy's story. He hit a walk off granny against the M's back in 2010, and as he started to celebrate, landed awkwardly on home plate and broke his ankle. That was mid-2010. He just returned this season. Bummer dude. Don't celebrate against the Mariners I guess. Morales had an RBI single against Jason Vargas that was pretty impressive on Thursday. The count was full, and Vargas missed his spot high with a fastball. Inexplicably, Morales bailed him out by swinging. Sigh of relief, right? Nope. RBI single. This guy still has it, even with 1.5 years out of the league.

Prediction:

M's 4, Angels 2: Tonight, the King is re-coronated. That makes no sense really. But Felix will dominate tonight. I have no doubt in my mind. Jerome Williams will pitch well, but the Mariners will find ways to scrounge out a few runs, and Brandon League hopefully won't come in to screw it up. Either Felix goes all the way, or he goes eight and Tommy Wilhelmsen comes in and drops his hammer. Felix will refuse to lose this game. Go M's. 

Broken Wings: Angels Series Preview Part 2

By Patrick

Last night sucked. The Mariners couldn't touch Dan Haren. Fourteen strikeouts. Fourteen! That's a whole new level of suck. That's almost as bad as the perfect game. Not quite, but it still sucks. The M's really didn't have a swing to call home about the entire game either. They were completely fooled from start to finish. That doesn't bode well as the first game in a four game set. 

Jason Vargas was pretty sharp, allowing only Albert Pujols and Kendry Morales to hurt him and getting through seven innings and letting in just three runs. Not terrible. Just pretty decent. That's what Vargas has to do. The hitters didn't hold up their end of the bargain. It was a long night. It's hard to get Albert Pujols out when your offense has no chance of helping you.

May 25: Ham Sandwich (2-4, 4.46) vs. Ervin Santana (2-6, 4.22)

Where have we seen this story before? Oh right, yesterday. Damn it. Another struggling Angels pitcher who traditionally kills the Mariners coming to Safeco to get it all fixed. This doesn't look good folks. Santana doesn't even face a Vargas-like opposition. Against Blake Beavan, the Angels can be guaranteed two or three runs, and probably will get four or five. That's all Santana will need probably. Beavan will have to have his best stuff for the Mariners to win tonight if they come out with anywhere near the lack of intensity of last night's game. 

Players to watch:

Kyle Seager: Nothing lately from Kyle Seager. I went to back to back games on Tuesday and Wednesday with my friend who loves the Mariners, but didn't put up the cash for mlb.tv and hadn't seen the M's much this year. I tried to convince him Seager was the next big thing. Everytime I was like, "OK, watch this," Seager would look embarrassing and not even get close to a breaking ball. He's got to turn it around and do it quick, since Liddi (who sucked last night too) has been applying some pressure with his hard hitting lately. 

Albert Pujols: Watch Albert because it seems like he's finally exciting again. He hit Vargas hard twice last night. Once. he went deep. The other was a ripped single that almost caught the gap. Tonight, he gets a huge strike thrower in Blake Beavan, and then whatever relievers the Mariners throw at him. It could be another big night for "the Machine."

Prediction:

Angels 6, Mariners 1: This looks too similar to last night for me. Haren and Santana are basically the same pitcher as far as Mariner hitters are concerned, and they'll have to wait till tomorrow for their confidence game with Felix vs. Jerome Williams. This kind of looks like the Lester-Beckett Red Sox mini-series. In that, the Mariner got pounded twice against struggling yet historically successful pitchers. I don't expect anything different tonight. Santana goes eight innings for the Angels and Beavan struggles early in a losing effort. Go M's.

Broken Wings: Angels Series Preview Part 1

By Patrick

Welcome back, I guess

The Mariners took two out of three from the Rangers. I'm sorry can I type that again? It makes me happy. The Mariners took two out of three from the Rangers! That's wonderful. Let's take a quick look at some of the amazing parts of this series.

I think we can all agree that the Rangers probably have the most fearsome offense in baseball. However, they scored just seven runs in three games in Seattle this week. That pitching effort is incredible. More impressively, the Rangers scored in just THREE INNINGS the entire series. That means the Mariners pitched 24 scoreless innings in this series. Hector Noesi and Kevin Millwood both pitched in this series. That is just mind-blowing. If you were to tell me that the Mariners were going to score 12 runs in these three games and win two out of three, I would have said absolutely not. Just shows you how much I know. Enough to call yesterday's exact score.

Now the Angels come to town, and the Mariners face them for the first time in 2012. The Angels confuse me. They have the most talent in the division arguably, yet they are in last place so far. Albert Pujols plays for them. That's something. He has sucked this season. That's also something. Jered Weaver threw a no-hitter against the Twins. That's pretty irrelevant, but also pretty cool. The Mariners have a better record than the Angels. That's just embarrassing. 

May 24: Mr Consistency-ish (5-3, 3.34) vs. "What the hell is going on with" Dan Haren (1-5, 4.37)

Wow! Dan Haren sucks in 2012. That explains the Angels a little bit more. He has been a huge investment for them over the last two years, and numbers like those aren't gonna do it for him or them. Contrast those to Jason Vargas' 2012 numbers. I love Jason Vargas. He is doing exactly what the Mariners asked of him preseason. Those stats are perfect for the fringe number two starter he is. He's been consistent and not overwhelmingly good. However, he did get lit up in Boston last week, but followed that up with a win in Colorado. No complaints. Why does Dan Haren suck now? I'm really confused. Whatever. More for us I guess. 

Players to watch:

Miguel Olivo: Everyone will have their eyes on Olivo tonight as he returns to the Mariners for the first time since tearing his groin in a pretty nasty way a few weeks back. Good for him though for hustling back and getting healthy again. The bad news with his promotion back to the big club is that the M's had to get rid of somebody, and that somebody was inexplicably named something other than Chone Figgins. Casper Wells went back to Tacoma, and while yes, he has struggled a bit in his second major league season, he needs reps to build confidence. It's yet another head-scratching Mariner personnel decision that got us in this mess in the first place. Maybe if Olivo succeeds right away we can forget about the idiocy of this move. Although most people don't want Olivo back either. Damn, this sucks.

Mark Trumbo: When Albert Pujols landed in LA in free agency and Kendrys Morales appeared ready to return from his crippling leg injury, the future for last year's top hitting rookie seemed bleak. But Trumbo has out hit every Angel including Pujols, hitting .325/.388/.556 with six homers and 19 RBIs. He's been playing some outfield, and absolutely tearing through pitchers. The Mariners have some great second year players, but none as good as Trumbo. Watch out Vargas.

Prediction:

M's 6 Angels 2: Jason Vargas again. That's my rationale. The M's have won five of six, and now they get a struggling pitcher and a not struggling pitcher. Sure, this happened two weeks ago with Vargas vs. Lester, but this is different, since Safeco field suits Vargas and Fenway doesn't. A soft throwing lefty with a short porch in left field doesn't get the job done normally. A soft throwing lefty in Safeco field is completely different. The M's come off the momentum of yesterday's series-clinching win and knock Haren around for three or four runs in six or seven innings, and jump on the bullpen late. Bold prediction: Miguel Olivo goes deep in his return. I just died a little inside after typing that. Go M's.

No Soup For Yu: Rangers Series Preview Part 3

By Patrick (Follow the blog on Twitter @Way_Out_In_Left)

Teach me your ways, sensei

Matt Harrison pitched really well last night. So did Hector Noesi. But the difference in last night's 3-1 loss for the M's lay in their ability to score runs with runners on base. The only run of the game for the Mariners came in the first inning when Justin Smoak delivered a timely 2-out single through the hole between shortstop and third. That was a great sign for Smoak, but unfortunately not a sign of things to come for the Mariners on Tuesday. 

Trailing 3-1 in the eighth, the Mariners chased Matt Harrison with back to back single to lead off the inning from Alex Liddi and Ichiro. Presumably, the meat of the order should deliver at least one of those runs. But Jesus Montero flew out to center, and Smoak and Kyle Seager both struck out. Unacceptable if you want to win a game. 

Two more notes. Besides a horrendous third inning that ultimately cost him the game, Hector Noesi pitched admirably. Eight innings and just three hits. He really excelled when he would get ahead in counts, attacking the hitters early on. That will probably be key for Noesi all season as he continues to mold himself into a starter.

Last note. Casper Wells had the bases loaded with two outs in the first and absolutely crushed one to deep center. Josh Hamilton tracked it down at the wall. Alex Liddi crushed one to deep center in the third. Hamilton got that one too, this time crashing into the wall and leaving an indentation. I hate Safeco Field centerfield and Josh Hamilton.

May 23: Old Man Jenkins (2-4, 4.17) vs. Scott "the Replacement" Feldman (0-1, 3.00)

Kevin Millwood has pitched exceptionally his last two times out. Seven innings of one run ball to beat the Tigers followed up by a two-hit complete game shutout against the Rockies in Coors.  But the Rangers are always a completely different animal. Mike Napoli hit eighth last night. Eighth! He hit 30 home runs last year! That's just not fair. But Millwood did succeed last time he face Texas, allowing just one run in six innings after working out of early trouble. All of these signs look positive. Anthony doesn't really want Kevin Millwood to do well. But a win's a win in my book. I'll take anything we can get from Old Man Jenkins. Scott Feldman on the other hand is pretty average. He's replacing the injured Neftali Feliz in the Rangers rotation, and has held down a rotation spot before. He's 3-3 with a 3.54 ERA in nine career starts against Seattle. Not too much to evaluate there. He's pretty much been the definition of decent. This pitching matchup is intriguing to people who like watching paint dray and grass grow. Yet I'm still going to the game. What's my problem?

Players to Watch:

Ichiro: Solid game for Ich last night, with two base hits. His hit in the first made me smile, as he chopped it over Mitch Moreland's head and out of the reach of Kinsler for a base knock. Beautiful stuff really. He's got to keep making solid contact though. The three-hole requires some gap power at the very least, and Ichiro really hasn't shown off much of that. Hopefully he can jump on Feldman tonight like he did against Harrison yesterday. 

Ian Kinsler: Kind of a slow series for Kinsler so far. Rarely does he go two games without being involved in some sort of run scoring play. Hector Noesi bottled him up last night though, holding him hitless and thankfully not walking him. As the leadoff hitter with immunity (meaning he would never get pulled if he struggled since he has been so dominant in years previous) he needs to set the table, and he hasn't done that. As a result, Texas has an absurdly low four runs in two games. I know that sounds kind of OK to Mariner fans, but that sucks everywhere else.

Prediction:

M's 5, Rangers 3: Millwood has been on fire lately. He has notched his two best starts of the year in his last two outings. His third best start? Against the Rangers in April. Need any more proof? OK, I'll give you some. Scott Feldman is about as meh as it gets. He should be good for three runs and maybe Jesus Montero will get into one. Millwood has done a great job of limiting damage in tough pitching situations (Tigers lineup, Coors Field), and will continue to excel in the pitcher-friendly confines of Safeco this afternoon. Boom! Go M's. 

No Soup For Yu: Rangers Series Preview Part 2

By Patrick

It would be a great night for an Italian Job

Last night, the Mariners played Soup Nazi, as they destroyed Yu Darvish's start early and often. Ichiro jumped all over him in the first three innings, and the M's sent the rookie packing after four innings. It was an incredible offensive performance for the Mariners, even though they only had five hits. They drew seven walks, and went on to smack the Rangers 6-1.

Felix Hernandez also bounced back from an atrocious start in Cleveland last night. He went eight innings, surrendering just one run and striking out seven. He recorded most of his strikeouts in the second half of his start too, which suggests he got better as he went along. That is comforting. It's great to be King. He actually hadn't beaten the Rangers since 2010 until last night, after going 0-4 with an ERA over five last year. So that makes last night even more important for him.

How do the Mariners follow up such a great overall performance? Well, we'll see. Hector Noesi and Matt Harrison go tonight. Any time Noesi pitches, you never really know what to expect. Let's try and set some expectations anyway.

May 22: "Jason Vargas" (2-4, 5.61) vs. Matt Harrison (4-3, 5.21)

Looking at just those numbers, you would think that the key difference between Harrison and Noesi is run support. That is a difference for sure. The Rangers offense could be the best in baseball and the Mariner offense struggles to score consistent runs. Digging a bit deeper, Harrison has struggled in his last three or four starts mostly, whereas Noesi has been hit-and-miss, sucking some nights, pitching exceptionally other nights, and having decidedly Blake Beavan-esque nights other times. Noesi still is a crapshoot at this point in his career, which sucks since fans want predictability. Moreover, Harrison has a 6-1 record with a 2.67 ERA in his career against the Mariners. Crap, he's one of those guys. By that I mean completely average pitchers that seem to feast on the Mariners. Bruce Chen does this. Phil Humber does as well. Matt Harrison would make that list. So that doesn't help the Mariners' confidence. But if Noesi does his job, the Mariners should give him at least three runs to play with, and that could mean a close win, or a close game that Brandon League blows.

Players to watch:

Alex Liddi: Michael Saunders has occupied the two-hole for the last few games and done admirably. Unfortunately, Matt Harrison is left-handed. So Saunders will remain in the lineup, but move down to seven in the order. This means that a right-handed hitter will have to hit in the second spot, and Eric Wedge decided that that hitter is Alex Liddi. Curious. Liddi doesn't play much. He plays more than Chone Figgins, but isn't a regular. Yet he will occupy the most trying spot in the Mariners lineup tonight. That's something to keep an eye on. If he succeeds, the Mariners should win the game. Pretty simple.

Josh Hamilton: Scary dude, this Hamilton fellow. Tons of tats, massive drug problems, and MVP-like numbers. Not to be fucked with. He took Noesi deep in Hector's debut down in Texas way back in April. If Noesi struggles with his control and walks Kinsler and Andrus in front of Hamilton like he did last time these two faced off, it will be a long night. Felix also made Josh looks silly on his birthday last night, so you know he'll want to just rip Noesi apart tonight, hopefully not literally. I'm worried about Hamilton. I should be. He's quite good at hitting.

Prediction:

Rangers 7, M's 3: Hector Noesi will struggle. As obvious as it sounds, he has excelled against bad lineups like Oakland and Minnesota and struggled against solid lineups like the Rangers. He does have the pressure turned off though, since the M's have won all of the games since he pitched last. Wow. If the Mariners win today, they will have swept an entire trip through their rotation. That would be mind-blowing. But with what sample sizes we have, Noesi has sucked in one start against Texas and Harrison has killed the M's in a bunch of starts. Let's hope that doesn't happen again, but it's the safe bet here. Go M's.  

The Three Amigos Pjesa 8

By Anthony

I actually don’t know which installment of the amigos this is. I’ll be honest, I have lost track. And the language is from one of my favorite Denzel Washington, Spike Lee movies, “Inside Man.” So clearly its Albanian. Idiots. Anyway, this turn in the Amigos was pretty solid. Sure Hector Noesi didn’t win, but it wasn’t really his fault. Thanks bullpen and Brandon League. Kevin Millwood made me eat my own words again. I appreciate it though Kevin, I haven’t eaten yet today and I was hungry and am low on dining points. Blake Bea….. (Insert anything you want realating to Blake Beavan’s averageness). To the grades!

Hector Noesi

Let us see, Hector has quietly settled down in his last few starts, finally becoming the pitcher we thought we were getting along with the divine savior of opposite field power. I don’t want to claim ALL the credit for this turnaround, but ever since I told him what he needs to do better, he has. So hats off to the guy who told Noesi to read this blog, which in all honesty might have been me and my awesome tweeting. So I guess I do deserve all the credit. Winning! Hector’s line was 6.1 innings, 1 run, 5 K’s, 3 walks. But for the stuff that actually matters he had a 67% strike rate on his changeup, and 4 whiffs on 19 breaking balls. He shut down the Indians who can actually hit the ball thanks to Bill Bavasi. So well done Hector, since you can’t hear this round of applause I am giving you, I guess I will just accept it for you. Something also to take note of, he threw almost as many changeups as four seam fastballs. That is an interesting fact because he usually throws as many two seamers as changeups. Now that could easily be because of the pitch F/X data is misinterpreting his two seamer as a four or vice versa, but he definitely is trying to use his four seamer more. Go Hector, you get an A. Except if this was a partner project, you would drop down to a C since the bullpen hates you. I wonder what you did to piss them off. 

Blake Beavan

Yawn Yawn Yawn. I honestly didn’t expect to write that there. He was playing a Rockies team that isn’t quite great, but they have some guys who can hit the ball a long way in the thin air, and Blake relies on the heavy air of Safeco to help him out. But he only lasted 5 innings, looked hilarious trying to hit, and got the win. And won me two bets. So well done Blake. Alos, his line was 5 innings, 2 runs, 1 walk and 7 strikeouts. Yes, SEVEN strikeouts. The most Ham Sandwich has had before this was 4 in a game. And he only last 5 innings in this contest. Now I don’t want to call him the next Max Scherzer, who had 15 K’s in 26 batters, but this is weird. Ham Sandwich is actually missing bats, something he is not good at. Something to keep your eye on for sure. Or it could be a complete aberration and the Rockies are really that bad. Anyway, to a brief tangent. Does anyone ever wonder what it is like to wake up at 430 in the morning, imbibe themselves with energy drinks and then walk around San Francisco all day until you realize that you got 3 hours of sleep last night and are 4 miles away from the train station to take you home? Well that was a tradition called Bay to Breakers, it was 50% fun. Try to guess where the unfun part was? Well Patrick and I made it to mile 5 on the 12 K and didn’t sustain any major injuries like some people we saw. Yeah, I don’t know where I was going with this but yeah, good times. Blake gets an A since he is the new Max Scherzer

Kevin Millwood

I hate you Kevin Millwood. You did well. You two hit the Rockies in a complete game shutout. I don’t want to write anymore about you. You get an incomplete. Editor's Note: Are you kidding me? What an incredible start! A++

Tip of My Cap

Ichiro: He was getting hated on by many fans for not driving in a lot of runs in the 3 hole. I will point out that the entire team wasn’t doing that either so its not fair to blame him on that alone. But he went up against his countryman Yu Darvish and destroyed him. Ichiro is owning Yu, not like you the reader although he would probably bat 1.000 against you too. So Ichiro drove in some runs and silenced the haters for now. Go! Ichiro Go! Alos, you are the subject of one of my favorite nicknames ever, Indo-ichiro. After a friend of mine asked if he was in or out after a bang-bang play at first in intramural softball. 

Wag of My Finger

Kevin Millwood: Is there any explanation needed. I am super biased and opinoinated against you. I hope you slowly slink away in the shadows of Safeco and then in August Patrick will ask me what happened to you and I won’t be able to answer. Ye Be Warned Millwood, no more complete game shutouts!

The Word

Dice-K-esque: I tweeted about this the other day but, lets see, a Japanese pitcher comes over and a good team pays a bunch of money for them. They are revered for having a bunch of pitches and cause many media circuses. Then they start pitching and reveal that they throw a lot of pitches, nevertheless, tey win a lot of games and pitch quite well because the offensebehind them is really good. Now look at Yu Darvish and Daisuke Matsuzaka. Tell me there is no resemblance. I am not saying that Yu will get hurt and start sucking, but there is definitely a similarity between the two’s pitching style that is really infuriating. I don’t like games to last 3.5 hours! That’s why I am a Mariners fan! Just kidding, I am in it for the awesome hot dogs from Al’s Gourmet Sausage.

Go M's, Go Amigos, Go away Kevin Millwood and #freeJaso

Adrian Beltre and Felix Have a Chat

This is awesome. I don't speak Latin baseball player, but some of the stuff they do is just hilarious

Monday Morning Rant: Saving Private Ryan

By Patrick

Hey! We're back! After quite a long and eventful weekend, Way Out is right back in the swing of things with a good old fashioned MMR. In the second installment of this (hopefully) recurring series, Mariner shortstop Brendan Ryan takes center stage. Let the frustration boil over and the tomatoes fly!

Last May, the Mariners thought they had grabbed a bonafide steal by nabbing Ryan for so far useless Maikel Cleto over the winter. One year later, the deal seems more curse than gift. Ryan had .248/.313/.326 splits in 2011 while playing pretty solid shortstop until a late season injury slowed him down. So far in 2012, Ryan's splits pale in comparison. No baseball player should hit .165, and the splits of .165/.288/.248 definitely leave something to be desired. 

But honestly, what can the Mariners do about Ryan?

They can let him play through his slump, which they for the most part so far have, and hope he escapes his terrible stretch at the plate. Only problem is that those dead at bats he's been dishing out can really demoralize a young club building confidence. Unfortunately, the option to replace him look slim.

Option one is Munenori Kawasaki. However, in the limited time he's seen the field, Kawasaki has only six hits, all of them singles. This from the Cactus League batting champ (screw Spring Training). He's also 0-for-2 so far stealing bases, where Ryan is a perfect 2-for-2. Small sample size, but Moony is supposed to be better than Ryan in that respect. 

So that option sucks so far. The only other legitimate possibility within the major league roster lies in a move that Eric Wedge employed at the end of last year with Ryan on the DL. Kyle Seager, the clubs third baseman, could move to shortstop, and Alex Liddi could start taking everyday reps at third. This option sucks too, since Liddi isn't quite ready for that big of role and having Seager adjust to a position change could affect his incredible hitting so far in 2012. Don't fix it, 'cause it ain't broke with Kyle Seager.

The Mariners could try and make a move for a free agent or veteran shortstop, but that would only really be a stop gap, whereas an improvement from Ryan could help for years to come. 

Fortunately, a patient Mariners organization has a solid option for 2013 and maybe even the end of 2012. Nick Franklin, a 21-year old from Sanford, FL currently plays shortstop for the deepest minor league team in baseball, the Jackson Generals, the Mariners' AA affiliate. 

So far in 2012, Franklin is hitting .339/.394/.522 with 2 homers and 16 RBIs. Fifteen of his 39 hits have gone for extra bases. He has done almost all of this damage from his natural spot in the batting order, the two-hole. All of this sounds like heaven to an M's offense lacking in all of these areas.

But Franklin still sits in Jackson. Even if the Rainiers called him up tomorrow, he probably wouldn't come up until July, and that would be too fast. Realistically, Franklin's ETA is September. Which means, the Mariners have to make do with their major league talent for the next four months. 

Brendan Ryan has sucked in 2012. Unfortunately, the Mariners are helpless against his poor play, because they don't have any sort of quality immediate depth in the middle infield. The Mariners will have to either go out and commit more money to a veteran free agent or stick with Ryan as their primary 6-man for basically the rest of the year.

Those choices suck. But really, there's not much they can do. Ryan should still keep his job since there are no valid alternatives. Plus, he plays fantastic, run-saving defense and has an irrationally high OBP, which shows he's at least being patient at the plate and walking a ton. 

While I hate Brendan Ryan as much as the next Mariner fan, nobody in the organization can do what he does as well as he does it. Yeah, he hasn't done it well in 2012. But Wedge has to keep giving him chances, because if Ryan somehow does snap his slump, he could play a big role in a resurgent Mariner team in 2013 and give the potential stud Franklin ample time to mature. Go M's