Praying For Runs, Part 2

By Patrick

We missed you buddy

Last night changed things for the Mariners in many ways. The obvious way involves the insane four roster moves they made today. I've never heard of a team altering four spots on their 25-man roster on the same day, but that's what happened with the M's. Let's look at the four changes before I get into the preview, because let's face it, nobody really cares about Hector Noesi against the Padres.

1. Stephen Pryor heads to the 15-day DL with a pulled groin, Steve Delabar is recalled from Tacoma: Pryor's injury last night really bummed me out. He didn't even hurt in pitching either. He was regularly hitting 97 mph out of the bullpen, and with some polishing could have been the set up man in a month. Now Delabar comes back up, presumably in a seventh inning sort of role. I hope he allows less homer runs this time around. The M's lost a fairly reliable bullpen arm and gained a shaky one.

2. Mike Carp goes to the DL with a nagging shoulder injury and general suckiness, Casper Wells is recalled from Tacoma: The injustice of Wells' demotion upon Miguel Olivo's return has been avenged, as he returns to Seattle and starts tonight. The Mariners lose Carp, who has lost all ability to hit in 2012. He clearly isn't healthy, and Wells' defense and potential for pop is a significant improvement.

3. Blake Beavan is optioned to Tacoma, Erasmo Ramirez returns from AAA to replace him in the rotation: Mercifully, the Mariners let Beavan go to Tacoma. The second prize in the Cliff Lee deal has struggled mightily in 2012, getting absolutely lit up with home runs on a regular basis. Ramirez has trained as a starter in Tacoma ever since the M's sent him down in April, and should start on Thursday. Ramirez should drastically improve the starting pitching situation, and he will replace Beavan in the Three Amigos column.

4. Alex Liddi heads down to Tacoma, Franklin Gutierrez comes off the DL to rejoin the Mariners: Finally! Guti is back! His injury problems have plagued him the last few years, but hopefully, they are past him in 2012. He replaces Liddi, who has tanked in the last three weeks after pitchers stopped throwing him fastballs. He had no chance against MLB pitching anymore, and needs to hone his skills back in Tacoma. Guti should be a serious upgrade.

So in theory, the Mariners got better today. Let's hope so. Another thing that changed yesterday was how we feel about Felix. The King got knocked around by the Padres last night, which really worries me. He needs to be in great form for the Mariners to have any success, and his losses can really lower morale for the M's. They need to look to turn it around tonight.

June 13: Hector Noesi (2-6, 5.99) vs. Jason "Monsignor de" Marquis (2-5, 7.95)

Holy shit. This is ugly. Jason Marquis has worse numbers than Noesi does. So, does that mean the Mariners have a chance tonight? Of course it does. Noesi has absolutely sucked lately, giving up six runs in each of last two starts. But the Mariners won both of those games. And they are playing the Padres, who have seven road wins with a crappy veteran pitcher on the mound. But Noesi needs to succeed more than the team as a whole tonight. Noesi ideally will be the fifth starter in the future M's rotation. He needs to start pitching like a major leaguer. If he struggled tonight, I would support a demotion for Wedge, even though he probably wouldn't option him after moves today.

Players to watch:

Casper Wells: Wells returns today, but I'm less excited about his bat than I am his left field defense, which the Mariners have missed for weeks now. He starts there tonight and hits eighth, with the potential to drive in Michael Saunders and John Jaso with clutch hits. Casper goes one-for-four with a clutch RBI tonight in his return.

Carlos Quentin: If you really feel the need to watch the Padres hit tonight, only watch Quentin. Nobody else is exciting. I would feel awful asking you to watch anybody else. They all suck. And they beat Felix last night. Damn it. Come on Hector.

Prediction:

M's 6, Padres 4: Bounce-back alert! The Mariners need this win tonight, and a hungry Mariners team should outplay a lethargic Padres side. Marquis sucks, and the offense will pounce on him early en route to a nice night at the plate. Noesi won't knock our socks off, but he will do his job, surviving six or seven innings with only a little damage. The M's win, and Guti rejoins the handshake line. Go M's.