Thank God it's Oakland Part 1

By Patrick

The future

The Mariners evidently have no ability to beat the Padres without Felix being absolutely on his game. On the plus side, their pitchers can hit. Which is good, since the M's play in the National League. What? They don't? Well, fuck. Whatever. They still get to play Oakland, who they have smashed this season. 

The A's essentially consist of a below-average, patchwork rotation with a few decent young hitters and a good bullpen. The Mariners consist of a bunch of wildcards, and I'm beginning to think the opponent doesn't matter much. The A's in Safeco should be about as cushy as it gets for the Mariners though, and they desperately need to get back on track to salvage 2012.

June 25: Erasmo Ramirez (0-1, 5.40) vs. Tommy Milone (7-5, 4.13)

On one hand, Erasmo Ramirez has not impressed much in his first two starts or in his time in the bullpen. On the other hand, he presents a great option for the future rotation. I can do a similar comparison with Tommy Milone. On one hand, he's a promising young pitcher who has provided a bright spot in a tough season as far as Oakland starting pitching is concerned. On the other hand, he lost to the M's in his only start against them in 2012, and his 7.42 road ERA is baseball's third worst. Couple that with a .317 BAA on the road, and Erasmo may be well on his way to his first career win.

Players to Watch:

Franklin Gutierrez: It's so nice to finally be able to type this name again in a preview. Guti is an incredible fielder. So if he can hit .270, we'll be good. So far, he's hitting .290. Schwing! It's a small sample size, but Guti has succeeded so far, and the M's might have the number two hitter they've been actively looking for.

Brandon Inge: Inge with anyone else besides Detroit is weird. The Tigers cut him though, and so Billy Beane went in and swooped him up. How's he been doing? Not too great. .221/7/35 isn't great, but it's Inge numbers. He's a pretty ham sandwich kind of player. Perfect for Erasmo or Blake Beavan.

Prediction:

M's 5, A's 4: Yes, the Mariners haven't pitched well at all lately, but for the love of God, it's the A's! They suck, and they suck against the M's. The Mariners have no excuse for losing this one in front of the home fans. I have them winning a tight one. Go M's.