All Rise: A Night in the Supreme Court

By Patrick

Felix, judged by a jury of his peers

All Rise.

Tom Hutyler’s voice boomed over the PA system, and 39,000 fans rose to their feet in order to cheer Felix Hernandez as he walked from the bullpen to the dugout before the game. As the sound of a gavel rebounded around Safeco Field, the King took of his hat and saluted every bit of the stadium he could. The cheers of the fans intensified and then died away, but the playoff atmosphere, like which hadn’t been seen since 2001, stayed in the park for all nine innings.

Ask anyone who went to the Mariners’ 5-1 win over the Indians last night, and they will tell you something along the lines of “one of the best games I’ve ever been to.”

And they would be right. Not only did the King deliver a solid 7 2/3 inning performance, but fans got the chance to cheer for him at every opportunity imaginable.  With two strikes, the ENTIRE stadium was chanting “K, K, K, K.” He got standing ovations as he walked in from the bullpen, as he took the mound intentionally a little before his teammates in the first inning, and as he tipped his cap as he left the game in the eighth inning. Plus, almost every fan paid tribute to Felix with “King of Perfection” across their chests.

The game itself wasn’t too shabby either. The Mariners didn’t get a hit for five innings, until Eric Thames woke the entire stadium up with a blast to right. When Thames went out to right for the top of the seventh, the fans in the right field seats chanted his name over and over again until the inning started.

And even though Felix couldn’t hold the 1-0 lead in that inning, the offense refused to let him leave without the win on his special night. The first four men to bat in the bottom of the seventh scored, as Michael Saunders walked, Kyle Seager singled, John Jaso doubled, and Jesus Montero ripped a three-run shot 438 feet off the left field bleacher façade.

In the grand scheme of things though, there wasn’t anything particularly special about the actual game. Felix won a game at Safeco convincingly, and made up for not having his best stuff by scattering hits and pitching to contact. It was a pretty typical Mariners game, the sort of which the King spoils his subjects with on a regular basis.

But the atmosphere, which Felix called the best he’d experienced in his career at Safeco and which Thames likened to a World Series Game 7, made last night special. Games like last night’s make Mariner fans wonder what it would be like to contend again and pine for 2001. Just 11 years ago, the Mariners were the best regular season team in baseball history.  What would it be like in the park every night if they approached that again?

Probably a lot like last night, where the stadium rocked from Felix’s first strike all the way through the game-clinching groundout to Seager. The SODO Mojo returned last night, and who knows, if the Mariners keep winning, it might keep coming back late into September. Go M’s.

What the Future Holds: First Base Edition

By Anthony

A rare Justin Smoak home run

This is part of a series of articles I will be writing on each position and where the Mariners stand at each position. This will be an attempt to look at the present and future for the Mariners at each position. 

There is definitely an ideal first baseman mold in the MLB these days. They are supposed to be big power hitters that hit in the middle of the order and drive in a bunch of runs. See Prince Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez and Albert Pujols. Defense is not really as big a deal since most plays a first baseman makes is catching a ball. So what makes a good first baseman is their hitting. That’s promising.

First base is kind of an awkward position right now for the Mariners. Justin Smoak was supposed to be the savior after we dealt away Cliff Lee. Hmmm… I don’t really want to call him a failure just yet but he is definitely running out of time. Mike Carp was filling in for Smoak for a while, until he hurt his hip stretching for a ball. Super Duper! In the farm system the position is not well represented. Awesome.

Patrick is still in the camp that Justin Smoak deserves a third year because if we get rid of him that means we give up on the Cliff Lee trade. I’ll just throw it out there that we have both Blake Beavan and John Jaso as leftovers from that trade and we certainly know where the pitching staff would be without Beavan around (In roughly the exact same place) and we know Eric Thames would never have tasted shaving cream without Jaso here. So I don’t really care about that whole win/lose a trade thing. Smoak has always hit well in September, in a super annoying way. We always look at his Septembers and say “Wow, he may have turned that around, we should keep putting him out there” then he rides the Mendoza line and gets sent to Tacoma. I do not think Justin Smoak should be in the Mariners future plans at first base. 

Mike Carp is a little more interesting, mostly because he hit way over his head last year and has been trying to upstage Franklin Gutierrez for the DL crown. He was supposed to be a corner outfielder this year, then he got hurt and ended up eventually at first. His offense has been lacking this year, whether it is regression to his skill level after last years outburst or his shoulder injury. Either way, Carp deserves more of a shot than Smoak at this point and hopefully will get it when he returns.

Jesus Montero can also play first base. I use the word play here kind of loosely. I call Mike Carp the starfish because of his lack of mobility; I will need a new animal nickname for Montero if he starts playing in the field because he is one of the least mobile players I have ever seen. Montero definitely will not stick at catcher based off what we have seen this year and first base could be an option for him.

Now we delve into the minor leagues to try to solve the problem. Tacoma really does not offer much help. Alex Liddi and Luis Jimenez are playing there for Tacoma. Jimenez is a journeyman DH who can play at first but really should not. Despite the fact his bat is probably the best in Tacoma, he has never found success in the MLB and won’t start now. Liddi has already seen some time in Seattle and is still striking out way too much. His contact problems are still present and until he fixes that he won’t stick in Seattle.

AA Jackson is slightly more interesting, mostly because of Rich Poythress. He had been slowly moving through the Mariners system and after struggling in Jackson in AA in 2009, he has bounced back this year. He is hitting .310 and has an OPS of .845. A bit of a warning flag is that he has only hit 4 home runs all year but he is also walking 14% of the time and is only striking out 9% of the time. While 4 home runs is not good, its especially bad in 309 at-bats. But those peripherals are very nice and his gap power should be decent in Seattle.

I don’t really want to go below AA just because of the difficulty of projecting players below this point. But some names that people may want to remember in the part of the brain where potentially useless information is stored. I have already discussed Taylor Ard on this blog from Everett. Dennis Raben is still in the California league for his third year (A bad sign). Jharmidy De Jesus has an awesome name but has already been demoted once this year and seems to be dropping off the radar.

So this position is looking awfully bleak. Smoak is not the answer right now and Carp isn’t looking much better. When Rich Poythress is your best option in the farm system, things could be better. It looks like a Montero platoon is the best option in the near future and Ard/ Poythress/ a draft pick help in the future.

Felix's Perfection, Step by Step

By Patrick

Bow down to the King

For at least a day yesterday, Felix Hernandez made us forget how painful the rebuilding process is by hurling the 23rd perfect game in Major League Baseball history. He was truly unblemished from start to finish, and what follows is an annotated recap of all 27 at bats Felix conquered on the way to crowning himself King of baseball for a while.

First Inning

Sam Fuld flies out to Eric Thames, in what was perhaps the most dramatic out of the 27. Thames ranged all the way to his right, deep into the gap, and cut into the shade at the very end of his run. Still, he was able to backhand it to retire Fuld. Every perfect game seems to have a defining defensive play. Debatably, this was that play. 

BJ Upton grounds out to Brendan Ryan, who had to get to his left in the hole to scoop and throw out Upton. On a day when the Rays had pretty much zero balls in play that looked like hits, this one got close I guess. Good play by the future gold glover Ryan.

Matt Joyce grounds out to Dustin Ackley, but he ripped a pitch up in the zone. Fortunately, Ackley was in the right position, and played it on a hop, making it look a lot easier than it was.

Second Inning

Evan Longoria strikes out swinging, on a nasty curveball at 81 MPH from Felix. The pitch wasn't far out of the zone, but it certainly ended up in a completely different place than Longoria saw coming. 

Ben Zobrist bounces out to Brendan Ryan, who was essentially playing second base due to the huge shift Zobrist gets. Easy play for Brendan.

Carlos Pena flies out to left fielder Trayvon Robinson, who moved into the gap to make the catch. The fly ball was pretty harmless and shallow, and Trayvon took it easily.

Third Inning

Jose Lobaton flies out to Eric Thames in right, who makes a routine catch coming in. Not threatening at all, and Lobaton was first pitch swinging.

Elliot Johnson strikes out swinging, on another nasty breaking ball in the dirt. Jaso scoops it up and throws to first, as Johnson makes the "I had no idea where that pitch was" walk of shame up the baseline. 

Sean Rodriguez flies out to Robinson, and his swing made it look a lot scarier that it was. He seemed to smack the 93 MPH fastball that was middle-middle, but it ended up looking eerily similar to Pena's flyout to end the second. For what it's worth, Felix has 24 pitches through three innings at this point.

Fourth Inning

Sam Fuld lines out to Kyle Seager, who played it perfectly, otherwise Fuld might have been on base. Fuld took a 3-2 pitch the other way, but on this day, every Mariner was right where they need to be. 

BJ Upton strikes out swinging, and had no clue. Felix buried breaking balls like no one I've ever seen before yesterday, and this one was no exception. Perfect pitch for his third strikeout of the afternoon.

Matt Joyce strikes out swinging, and he had no chance against the change up Felix threw him in that spot. 90 MPH with deceptive speed and great motion? Good luck.

Fifth Inning

Evan Longoria lines out to Ackley, on a pretty weakly hit flare that Dustin had time to track and snag. Longoria, who has keyed the Rays' recent run of success, looked pretty vulnerable on this day. Then again, so did the entire Rays lineup, coaching staff, and front office.

Ben Zobrist flies out to Robinson, on what was the deepest fly ball after the first out of the game. It checked up nicely for Trayvon, who got under it for the out. This was the final fly ball of the game for the Rays. In the fifth. Long live the King.

Carlos Pena grounds out to John Jaso, in a freaky play that could have easily broken up the perfecto had Jaso rushed his play. It was like a poor man's Baltimore chop, but Jaso barehanded comfortably and made a good throw to Smoak.

Sixth Inning

Jose Lobaton strikes out swinging, on the gold ol' change up. For real though, how is a no-name guy like Jose Lobaton supposed to hit Felix on a day like yesterday? Answer, he doesn't. Five K's for Felix at this point.

Elliot Johnson strikes out swinging, on yet another nasty change up. This one had a little more bite to it than the one to Lobaton, but regardless, Johnson had no prayer of hitting it. 

Sean Rodriguez strikes out swinging, producing probably the ugliest of Felix's 12 strikeouts from a hitting perspective. Felix threw him a slider, and Rodriguez pitifully attempted to check his swing as the pitch dove hopelessly away from him. Felix struck out the side in the sixth, but I would argue this wasn't even his best inning.

Seventh Inning

Sam Fuld grounds out to Ackley, after fisting a high fastball. Felix used every pitch to get him outs on Wednesday, and here he used his fastball to create weak contact. He had command that shouldn't exist in nature yesterday.

BJ Upton grounds out to Ryan, on the nerviest play of the entire perfecto. Upton bounced it into the hole on the left side, and Seager attempted a hero dive to save the perfect game. Fortunately, Seager wasn't even close, so the ball squirted past him and through to Ryan, who fielded cleanly and came up throwing to get the speedy Upton at first. This play goes in the voting for the defining defensive play, even though Ryan made it look routine.

Matt Joyce grounds out to Smoak, on a 3-2 pitch. Remember, Felix can't throw a ball, otherwise his perfection is spoiled. Picking a pitch in that spot must have been so difficult. As Dave Sims said, "we're getting into nitty gritty time folks." Six more outs.

Eighth Inning

Evan Longoria strikes out swinging, on perhaps the nastiest breaking ball Felix has ever conceived. Longoria knew he was gone right as he started his swing, and Felix just snapped that curve down and buried it in Jaso's glove an inch off the ground. Yet another incredible pitch from the King.

Ben Zobrist strikes out swinging, on a change up that broke away from him like he had the plague. It ran away from him like it was trying to outrun Usain Bolt. Other references to how awesome it was.

Carlos Pena strikes out swinging, on another curveball from Felix. This inning, as a whole, was one of the best innings of pitching I've ever seen. He took the three most powerful Rays hitters, and toyed with them, striking out the side after having already thrown 90 pitches. He hardly threw a fastball in the inning, but after his performance in the eighth, you just kind of knew he was going to finish this one out. Ten strikeouts now.

Ninth Inning

Desmond Jennings strikes out swinging, on a 1-2 change up that broke at him. That must be a really scary reality to face. Felix's change up just snapping at you at essentially the same speed as his heater. Best pitch in baseball. Two more outs.

Jeff Keppinger grounds out to Ryan, and at this point the Rays are just trying to find the ball with the bat. They've pinch hit twice in a row with good players, trying to confuse Felix and throw him off his game just a little bit, and they pretty much had zero success. Felix has to get it now. One more out.

Sean Rodriguez strikes out looking, marking the first Ray to watch strike three all day. Sure, Felix threw him an absolutely perfect change up, that not only broke at him but also painted the inside corner. But don't you have to swing? You just can't sit there and watch history as a hitter. No matter though. Felix finishes off the perfecto with his twelfth strikeout of the day and is mobbed by his teammates at the mound. The Jackson Generals start dancing in Tennessee, the entire of country of Venezuela erupts into hysteria, and ESPN decides to put Felix in front of Melky Cabrera on the rundown for Sportscenter.

Felix was perfect, in command of all of pitches, and thoroughly deserved to go down in history for yesterday's performance. Go Mariners, and Happy Felix Day. 

Felix Throws a Perfect Game

By Patrick

We already knew you were perfect buddy

We've know for years that Felix had the stuff to throw a no hitter. It was just a matter of time until he did it. Today, he threw a perfect game, and really the Rays weren't even close. He struck out 12, and finished the game off by painting the inside corner with a 92 MPH split. So sick.

We obviously will write more than this. This is the single greatest game in Mariners regular season history. So Anthony and I will write more about this for sure. But for now, enjoy this. And have a very Happy Felix Day. Go Mariners.

A Trip to the Farm: The Everett Aqua Sox

By Anthony

Mike Zunino, catcher of the future, taking a hack

I had the pleasure of going to watch the AAA Tacoma Rainiers earlier this year and wrote some things about them. I recently saw the A- Everett Aqua Sox and will now proceed to write some things about them. There are a few differences between AAA and A- besides the lack of letters. First of all, Everett is mostly higher draft picks and lower grade prospects, read as very few people who could play in the MLB. So why would I want to see the Aqua Sox play if there are only a few players that could make an impact? 

First of all, Everett has a pretty nice stadium and I had the pleasure of sitting in the third row near the Aqua Sox on-deck circle for $18. It was also 2-dollar hot dog, soda, peanut and beer night. So I was able to sit in my “diamond club” seat and have food delivered to me while I watched a game. Pretty sweet I know. Also pretty sweet is Mike Zunino, the M’s first overall draft pick. Also present were 4^th round pick  Patrick Kivlehan, 7^th round pick Taylor Ard and 9^th round pick Jamodrick McGruder. McGruder only got a pinch hit at bat where he struck out uneventfully in the ninth. The other three played the whole game. 

First and most importantly is catcher of the future Mike Zunino. Now remember how Everett is an A- league? Yeah, so Mike Zunino is probably at a nAA level right now, at least with the bat. Ironically, he was just called up to Jackson, so I pretty accurately observed his skill. In his first at-bat he lined a single off of the left field wall. Now that sounds pretty impressive, but in person it was much more so. His swing looked effortless and he turned on an inside fastball and it easily could have left the park. But no, don’t take my word for it since I only saw one game. He is hitting .347 in 26 games with an OPS of 1.117. He has also struck out 23 times and walked 13 times. 

At the plate he is a patient hitter and that can cause him to work deep into counts. This can cause him some trouble, I saw him strike out twice, once looking on a borderline strike. The second K was on a breaking pitch low and away. That pitch is something he has struggled with at this point if he really has struggled at all offensively. 

Behind the plate Zunino has a very good arm, back picking a guy once but the umpire blew the call and then throwing out the same guy by at least three steps. He showed some nice blocking ability as well but did show a tendency to stab at times. This is something that can be worked out and he is by far a better defensive player than Jesus Montero. I would like to see Zunino get some reps in the Arizona Fall League. 

Patrick Kivelhan, from Anthony's dynamic angle

Patrick Kivlehan is a pretty interesting story. He went to Rutgers and played football for them. In his senior year he played baseball and absolutely destroyed the ball. He plays third base right now but looked really awkward in the hot corner in the one play he got. This makes plenty of sense since he hasn’t played there for awhile and his swing also reflected this. At first glance, its pretty clear this guy used to play football. He is jacked. However, his swing is not nearly as refined as Zunino and on his follow through he tends to pull his back foot. This shows his relative inexperience and lack of balance in his swing. This should all be ironed out in time and Kivlehan is hitting .313 with an OPS of .872. He also lacks plate discipline, striking out 62 times in 51 games. He also could be in line for a promotion but definitely needs seasoning. 

Local product and Coug, Taylor Ard

Taylor Ard is a local boy, attending the great Washington State University. He is also a first-baseman, a position that the Mariners don’t seem to have an answer at. Like most first baseman, Ard is a big guy who hits for power. Of course this cuts into his average but he still is managing a .286 average and a slugging percentage of over .500. What I like about Ard is his K rate is about 17% and his BB rate is about 10%. Those numbers are both good and hopefully will continue as he tries to climb the ladder. Defensively he seemed adequate and his size made him a big target to throw to. He is the least likely to be called up of the three I have talked about so far but could definitely see some time in A+ High Desert next year.

Some other interesting players that are down in Everett are of course Jamodrick McGruder, RHP’s Victor Sanchez and Dylan Unsworth. McGruder is a speedy infielder who has been playing all over the place, including the outfield. His natural position is second base. His contact skills aren’t great but he can definitely run. Victor Sanchez is 17. Let that sink in for a bit. (Contemplates best way to fix American economy) You thought about that for a bit? Good. I am glad that you realize this kid is playing against college and advanced high school players. And he would be going into his senior year in high school. So yeah, he is pretty good. His ERA is slightly below four and he is striking out 7.33 guys per 9. Remember how he is 17? Just checking. Dylan Unsworth is interesting because he is South African. I don’t think you need time to absorb that, its not super interesting. His 5-0 record, 6.76 K/9 and 3.28 ERA are all good. He is also 20, so I guess 2-dollar beer night wasn’t enjoyable for him or Sanchez. Too bad. 

So that’s just about it from my sojourn to Everett. I do recommend fans do make the trip and see some talent that will make its way up to Seattle eventually. I will now leave you with the a top five of names on both the Everett Aqua Sox and Boise Hawks ranging from “ok, maybe it’s a family name” to “Really? I would totally name my child that if I wanted my wife and child to hate me forever”

5. Tie- Jeimer Candelario/ Janelfry Zorilla

Man, I don’t know much about Latin American names, but those are some super awesome names. I hope there are more Janelfry’s in the world. But I do think that’s a name to be found in Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings.

4. Gioskar Amaya

I do know that there is a Gorkys who plays for the Pirates, but Gioskar takes the whole random G placement to a new level. And Amaya just oozes great scrabble word. If a reader names their child, or even a puppy Gioskar, they will totally get a surprise present from this blog. 

3. Ambioris Hidalgo

Has anyone ever seen the movie Hidalgo? Viggo Mortensen rides a horse a bunch. Ambioris is a pretty bad pitcher with a pretty awesome name. I don’t know about some people reading, but if I knew a kid named Ambioris, I would yell his name every time I saw him. Well, maybe not in a library. Librarians can be scary sometimes.

2.  Tie- Izaac Garcez/ James Zamarippa

Clearly this is a spot for the random Z names. But really Izaac? Did your parents get a terrible Scrabble rack and have to make a name? (For the record, I would totally be in to do this as long as Patrick did too.) Seems like they pulled it off pretty effectively, only if one of the Z’s is on a triple letter though. Otherwise it’s a waste. And yeah, I would assume the Zamarippa’s had the same issue with naming their child from a Scrabble rack. (Based on statistics, there is like no way I would get a Z on my Scrabble naming rack. Right? Yeah my wife would totally buy that.)

1. Rock Shoulders

Yes. I know what you’re all thinking. This is a lie. And I’m not saying that I am above making up a name to make a top 5 super awesome, just ask Patrick. But I swear on the changeup of Felix Hernandez and I guess my Scrabble-rack-named-child that this is serious. I first thought it was Brock Shoulders and that name was pretty sweet. Then I saw it on the scoreboard. Rock Shoulders. I don’t even need to say anything. Just bask in the greatness of that name. (Basking, basking, basking). Ok that’s enough, I don’t want to get a sunburn or something from all this basking in the glory of Rock Shoulders.

The September Call Ups

By Anthony

DJ Mitchell might see time in Seattle

It is currently August, and for those lacking a calendar, September is soon approaching. September is a special month in baseball, as the playoff hunt gets crazy and rosters expand. Besides the fact that the Mariners are technically in the playoff hunt, its more likely they will catch a unicorn and Sasquatch playing Bach’s third concerto than play baseball in October. So the rosters expand right? That’s what September really means for Mariner fans. Instead of the measly 24-man roster we have now (I count Chone Figgins as a lack of a roster spot), we can have 40 people in the clubhouse. 

Of course, there are a few rules as to who exactly can play for the Mariners. First of all, they must have a contract with the Seattle Mariners, so sorry, no Terrell Owens. But for a second, think how crazy that would be! The amount of time ESPN spends on the Seattle Mariners would increase by like a million! Anyway, the biggest rule is that a player must be on the 40-man roster. For those missed the day in elementary school when subtraction was taught, that means that 15 players who aren’t in Seattle now are eligible to be called up. Here are the 15.

41 Charlie Furbush  

75 Danny Hultzen 

74 Yoervis Medina 

D.J. Mitchell 

45 Hector Noesi 

50 Erasmo Ramirez  

67 Mauricio Robles

59 Chance Ruffin 

16 Alex Liddi 

66 Francisco Martinez 

17 Justin Smoak

64 Carlos Triunfel 

70 Johermyn Chavez 

21 Franklin Gutierrez 

4 Carlos Peguero 

Charlie Furbush is set to return soon, which could see Carter Capps sent down to Tacoma. Franklin Gutierrez is supposed to be coming back, but he is still out looking for a unicorn and Sasquatch playing classical music or something. When/if he comes back I would love to see Chone Figgins cut. If he doesn’t get cut, then a suddenly passable Trayvon Robinson probably goes down. That deals with the DL players, and I would fully expect whoever gets sent down for Furbush and Guti to be back in September. 

Amongst the pitchers, Danny Hultzen is already having his starts limited in Tacoma so there is no way that he gets called up. Yoervis Medina is in AA, so that’s not happening. Mauricio Robles, despite having a super awesome name, is struggling in Tacoma so probably not. Wedge has already said Erasmo Ramirez has to earn his spot back in the rotation, so one of Millwood/Iwakuma/Beavan has to fail. Same story with D.J. Mitchell even though he has an ERA of 1.50 in three starts for Tacoma. Hector Noesi is doing worse in AAA than he did in Seattle, which does not bode well for him. Chance Ruffin could maybe be called up, but his 6.56 ERA isn’t awesome. 

So if a pitcher will be called up, they will have to not on the 40 man and a move will have to be made. Scott Patterson, Bobby LaFromboise and Brian Moran are all interesting names. But of course that would cost us a spot on the 40 man roster. Not much could be happening with the pitching. Maybe a shift to a six man rotation could happen to give Mitchell or Ramirez some time but that’s about it. 

Now we move to the offense. Alex Liddi and Justin Smoak have each seen time with the Mariners this season. Even though Smoak’s struggles have continued with the Rainiers. Liddi is not so embarrassing but is still hitting sub-.250. Francisco Martinez is still in Jackson so he is a year or so away. Carlos Triunfel used to be a top prospect and then got hurt/ was not very good and is still in Tacoma, just hanging out. He is not playing very well so I don’t think he sees a promotion. Chavez is in Jackson and won’t be called up. Wow. Ok, so I am just going to sum this up. There is nobody on the 40 man who looks like the have deserved a call up to the big leagues. 

Nick Franklin, the top hitting prospect in the organization, is somehow not on the 40-man roster. That's confusing and inconvenient. He's in AAA though, so he could potentially be called up. He was an all-star in Jackson earlier this year, but since heading to Tacoma, his numbers have dropped off a bit. He's also striking out 28% of the time, which is pretty bad unless your Adam Dunn and hit a home run 28% of the time too. Franklin is not Adam Dunn. So maybe he's not quite ready for the bigs yet. Stay tuned with him come September.

The best hitters in Tacoma are Luis Jimenez, Luis Rodriguez and Darren Ford. Jimenez and Rodriguez aren’t worth the roster spot. I do like Darren Ford quite a bit. He has enough contact skills and is a good enough defender to merit a spot. Of course, someone then has to be removed from the 40 man. ARRRRGGGGGHHHHH….

Based off of this, the Mariners will not be too active and that shouldn’t be too surprising in retrospect. They already have one of the youngest teams in the league and September call-ups are supposed to give some young players a little MLB experience, our young guys are already here. Guys like Capps, Pryor and Robinson would normally be called up, but they’re already here. Wooo!! Go Mariners for being young. 

For those who are still looking forward to a wild card spot, or as I like to call it, the mythical creature classical music duo, you may as well keep doing that since September is not going to see much roster action from the M’s. 

Felix Throws His Crown in the Cy Young Ring

By Patrick

Serious Mariner fans know that Felix Hernandez usually owns the Yankees, and for some reason especially owns them in Yankee stadium. These same fans also know that CC Sabathia typically mows down the Mariners anemic offense with ease. CC did just that on Friday night, and maybe Felix felt like he had to answer. Whatever he thought prior to Saturday's 1-0 Mariner win, his complete game two-hit shutout in Yankee Stadium shot him to the top of the Cy Young race.

That statement might not shock the casual baseball observer, but think back to June 12. Felix had just dropped a start to the San Diego Padres, giving up five runs on nine hits in just six innings. In the two starts before that, he only went five innings in a no decision against the White Sox and allowed five runs in a loss to the Angels. Felix was 4-5 with a 3.70 ERA. His velocity was down, and many people thought he was hurt.

That San Diego game woke Felix up. He told the media in the days following his third consecutive bad start that he "hated" pitching like he had been. Felix was tired of not being the dominant ace he was so used to being. He decided to regain his throne and take over his team and the league again.

In the ten starts since the San Diego loss, Felix is 6-0 with an ERA of 1.41. His ERA dropped over a full point, from 3.70 to 2.63. He has 75 strikeouts in 76.1 innings in that stretch. His fastball touched 95, back up from the 91 and 92 he started out the season throwing. He has thrown three complete game shutouts in those ten starts. He allowed more than one earned run in a start just three times since the Padres game. He has been nothing short of royal.

With all that in mind, Felix Hernandez is officially a Cy Young Candidate in 2012.

The number speak for themselves. 10-5 with a 2.63 ERA. His 159 strikeouts in 164 innings leads major league baseball. He sits in the top five in WAR (wins above replacement, a metric that's supposed to be the best indicator of how valuable a player is) among pitchers, which is fine, since he isn't helped by the fact that his team loses a lot even when he pitches. He even has a positive win-loss record this time around. Why couldn't Felix take this to the end of the season and bring home more hardware for the Mariners?

Well, there's always that start to the season that may haunt him. Felix had some real head scratching starts in the month of May this year. In Cleveland on May 16, he didn't even make it out of the fourth inning. He allowed eight runs in that start, and six of them were earned. That was not a very happy Felix Day. He lost a game in Yankee Stadium on May 11 that he could have won, were it not for a three run homer by Raul Ibanez. But even before that homer, he had allowed 10 hits, and didn't have his best stuff. Many Mariner fans thought that the King had lost what earned him his crown in the first place.

But has any pitcher in baseball been better since June 12? Felix's velocity came back, and he continued to perfect his incredible changeup, which may be the best pitch in the game today. That pitch is just nasty. As Brendan Ryan said postgame Saturday, Felix's change "defies science." That change is the reason Felix leads the MLB in strikeouts, and the reason, in the midst of another Mariner losing season, that Felix can bring home another Cy in November.

He only has 9 or 10 starts left in 2012 at most, so he must make the most of his opportunities from here on out. But if he ends up 15-7 with an ERA at 2.40 and the MLB lead in strikeouts, Can the MLB deny the King his second pitching crown? Probably not. Go M's.

The Trade Deadline and Other Miscellaneous Notes

By Anthony

Jack Z could have traded Millwood for coffee, if Seattle didn't already have that in surplus

The best part of any baseball season, at least for teams that will not be competing for a playoff spot, is now over. The sellers became sellers (See Phillies, Philadelphia), and the buyers became buyers (See Dodgers, Los Angeles) and players moved everywhere. Thanks to twitter and the perpetual link of any young person to the Internet and other electronics, about 50 trades hypothetically happened in my head and then never went through. I already had a “What Happens to Justin Smoak Now?” talk with Patrick after we were linked to Brandon Belt and Brandon League was linked to the Giants. Oops. I guess that post can be shortened a bit. And ever since A-Rod put his hand in the way of a Felix Hernandez pitch, the Yankees were looking at a list of infielders to fill in for him. And guess who was on that list: Chone Figgins. Yeah, we apparently could have sent Chone Figgins, the worst player on our team right now (Sorry Kevin Millwood), to the Bronx Bombers. The New York media would have loved him. 

So now I have to figure out what actually happened and what is just in my head. I could have sworn Jack Z pulled the trigger on the Kevin Millwood for a box of original wheat thins and wedge of extra sharp cheddar cheese. I mean, how can you say no to a wedge of EXTRA sharp? I know he wanted the wheat thins with a hint of salt, but I still don’t know how you can say no to that offer. I swear he is losing it these days.

Patrick already discussed what happened; essentially we sent two bullpen arms to two teams and got three younger players in return. In Patrick’s opinion, Delabar is useless. I do not agree with that sentiment, but League needed to go, which I do agree with. Delabar has a young arm, throws hard and if he could figure out how to keep the ball in the park, would be a pretty good reliever. League, on the other hand, is going to be a free agent next year, lost a lot of value after an all-star year and did not fit into the bullpen picture going forward. So those two are gone and are replaced by Eric Thames, Logan Bawcom and Leon Landry. Woah! Two major league players just turned into one major league player and two minor league players. Shocking!

First of all, Eric Thames is going to be riding a wave of support after he took a Charlie Villanueva pitch to a nice seafood dinner, never called it again, and then hit it 411 feet. He also supposedly fits the bill of a major league hitter, something the M’s were in the market for. He is also one of the stronger Mariners, something evidenced by him hitting a ball 411 feet in Safeco. Patrick and I had a brief chat on twitter about who would win a boxing match between him and Casper Wells. Patrick had it to Thames easily, but I thought it went split decision. Either way, Casper Wells is strong, so is Eric Thames. 

Here are some facts about Eric Thames. He wears the number 10. He is only 6’0 tall. Here are some facts you should care about. He put up a 0.9 wins above replacement last year in 95 games with the Blue Jays. He strikes out above 20% of the time. He doesn’t walk very much. That is not good, and since he doesn’t quite have the power numbers that other hitters who strike out 20% of the time do, he will not be a great hitter. Sorry to burst people’s bubble, but the guy we traded Steve Delabar for will not be an all-star. What he will be is a platoon outfielder with some pop in his bat who can hold down the corner outfield spot with Casper Wells and Trayvon Robinson. 

The other two players we got, Bawcom and Landry, are more interesting to me. Mostly because they are kids and could, hypothetically, still be the greatest baseball player in Seattle Mariners history. But, they likely will not be. Bawcom is an AA reliever with some shiny numbers and some not so shiny numbers. Landry is a high A outfielder whose numbers were made to look shiny by the California League. 

Bawcom profiles as a set up man or at least bullpen arm, essentially a younger Steve Delabar, but hopefully without the home runs allowed. He closed for the AA team and in 27 appearances put up 9.35 K/9 and 4.35 BB/9. Hmmm… One of those numbers is good, and one is not. Meh… he throws in the low 90’s with a slider and a changeup. He is now in AA Jackson, hanging out with Taijuan Walker and James Paxton. 

Before I talk about Leon Landry, know that the California League is very hitter friendly. Like friendlier than Elmo. And if you don’t think Elmo is friendly you need to reexamine your life choices. His triple slash lines (Batting average/ OBP/ SLG) are .328/.358/.559. Based off of those numbers, you would say that he is a power hitting corner outfielder. However, that is not correct. His slugging is amped up by the number of triples he has. He is a speedster, and projects to be a platoon guy at the Major League level. Of course, he is 23 and is in high A ball. So things can change. 

That pretty much rounds out the trade deadline dealings that the Mariners did. Not too many drastic changes were made, but guys were moved and replaced with other guys. Other moves can still be made through the waiver process but that is all kind of weird and complex so I don’t want to deal with it unless I have to.

Now come some notes and things that didn’t real deserve a full post but should be paid attention to:

• The Mariners bullpen is all of a sudden really interesting. Carter Capps and Stephen Pryor were called up to replace League and Delabar. Capps profiles as a future closer and both can throw 100. Add in the return of Charlie Furbush and this bullpen could actually be good. 
• Danny Hultzen will be missing a few starts intermittently for Tacoma to limit his innings. So for those who wanted to see a September call up, that is not happening. He also hasn’t been very consistent and has struggled locating his fastball. 
• Nick Franklin is hitting better than he was in Tacoma but is still plagued with a K % of almost 30, something that is not projecting well to the Major League level.
• James Paxton looks back on track after battling a knee injury. Hopefully we see his beautiful face next year