Happy Fathers' Day

No preview today, but I'll be tweeting from @PTLeary21 at the game with my dad. Mariners will win 5-3. Here's a video of Felix playing baseball with his son last weekend. Happy Fathers' and Felix Day.

"I'm Little Feeeeeeeelix"

Giant Failure Part 1 (but really part 2)

By Patrick

Step it up, Dustin

Sorry I didn't do a preview last night. But as they say, duty calls. And by duty, I mean golf. But I didn't miss much. Would you have honestly read something about how the M's got swept by the Padres but now are going to get swept by the Giants? Probably not. 

And yes, the Mariners lost last night. And yes, they scored two runs again. And yes, they still suck at home. Jason Vargas fought through eight difficult innings, and Ryan Vogelsong out did him. The M's lost to the Giants 4-2, and nobody really cared. When you've lost six in a row, you kind of get used to it. If you're a Mariner fan, you kind of get used to it. Such is life.

June 16: Kevin Millwood (3-5, 3.57) vs. Tim "the Freaky Franchise" Lincecum (2-7, 6.00)

If Bill Bavasi wasn't Bill Bavasi, Lincecum could be pitching for the M's tonight. Instead, he makes his first professional start in Seattle today. It should've been his 200th or something. He opposes Millwood, who threw six innings of a no-hitter last time out. Unfortunately, he didn't throw all of a no-hitter, since he pulled his groin. He had his start pushed back, but didn't truly miss a start, which is good news. Maybe Millwood can finally right the ship for the Mariners in the midst in this losing streak. Lincecum, while still being Lincecum, has really struggled in 2012. If karma serves itself tonight, then the Giants will roll the M's though to make us feel bad about Brandon Morrow.

Players to Watch:

Dustin Ackley: Ackley got demoted again. We'll see how he reacts to that. The seven hole isn't ideal for him, especially since he's supposed to be the top-of-the-order hitter of the future. Dustin has to get it going. No excuses.

Brandon Belt: First of all, great, great baseball name. Swung on and Belted could really catch on in Seattle. But Belt was formerly a really highly touted prospect. He hasn't panned out as well as the Giants might have hoped, hitting just .246 with just three homers. The guy has serious potential though, and could do seem damage from the seven hole. He's the San Francisco version of Justin Smoak if you think about it.

Prediction:

Giants 5, Mariners 1: No way the Mariners beat Tim Lincecum. It just wouldn't be right the way things are going. It will take a spectacular effort from Felix tomorrow to right the ship, since it won't turn around just yet. It sucks to type this with absolutely no hope, but where should I feel confident? Nowhere. Mariners lose. Go M's.

The Three Amigos: Kosher Edition

By Patrick

If you are unsure why this is the Kosher Edition, it is because the Ham Sandwich was sent down to Tacoma and Erasmo Ramirez was called up. I was in finals stress/ packing mode all week so I ignored the boys for a while. Then the Padres sweep us. Coincidence? I think not. Clearly the team cares so much about me, that whenever I don’t even check the ESPN gamecast, they give up. But I don’t really care. I am done with school and am a bottle cap flip away from a beach in Hawaii. So yeah, I don’t really care how we do because I am in paradise. Onto the amigos.

Hector Noesi

Wow, cool Hector. That was a pretty awesome start. Sure it was against the Padres, who are rumored to hit worse than us (I remain skeptical), and it was in Safeco. I don’t care. He pitched 7 innings, gave up one run on a home run from Yonder Alonso, 3 walks and 5 K’s. Yonder Alonso is a very good hitter. If Noesi gives up home runs to really good hitters occasionally, that’s ok. Anyway, Noesi did a very good job of not throwing meatballs in 0-2 counts. I am not a huge fan of the number of walks. But if he has to walk a few people to pitch like he did, then that’s cool. Remember those things I always bring up with Hector? The number of whiffs, changeup command and limiting line drives? Well he did pretty awesome at all those. If only our offense wasn’t as terrible as warm Keystone at 6 in the morning. Anyway, Hector gets an A-. 

Erasmo Ramirez

The rookie made his debut and did his thing. It worked for a while. Of course his thing is throwing a bunch of strikes. Wow, this is really hard to write about. He is almost as boring as Blake Beavan. I guess his name is cooler. I hope Patrick comes up with a nickname for him soon. Ramirez’s line was 5 innings, 5 runs, 3 K’s and a walk. I don’t have much to say here, I guess I’ll go on a tangent. I am lacking inspiration and motivation here, sorry guys. I will be accepting bets on when the M’s finally move Danny Hultzen to Tacoma. The dude is lighting up AAA. His stats are 75 innings, 1.19 ERA, 79 strikeouts. He has more K’s than innings and has given up 10 earned runs all year. Can somebody realize that he needs more of a challenge? Let him get used to the Northwest air and let him dominate in Tacoma. Nick Franklin is also pretty good, and by pretty good I mean he is also dominating. Let the kids play!

Kevin Millwood

It took me till this long in the article to realize that Kevin Millwood has yet to pitch because of his groin. I know as an educated fan and blogger I should have looked at that earlier. Somehow I don’t feel bad about messing that up. I can’t stand looking at his numbers, face or anything remotely Millwoody. I really don’t like him…. He gets an incomplete. And this time it is justified.

Tip of My Cap

Franklin Gutierrez: He has only been with the team a few days. But he is already hitting in the 2 hole. I don’t tip my cap to him for that. But in his first at-bat back from the DL he got hit. I found that quite funny honestly, but what I tip my cap to is that he didn’t get hurt when he got hit. I would have no been surprised if he left the game after that. Took a few days off to rest a “shoulder contusion” or something and then gone back to the DL. But Franklin is a fighter! He lives for pain! He played through it like a champ. And actually looked pretty good.

Wag of My Elbow

Yes, I am stepping up the punishment. Clearly the finger was not cutting it. So I am upgrading to the elbow waggle. This goes out to Eric Wedge. He has made a few lineup changes that I have not liked. But what I am wagging at him for is the continuation of no John Jaso. I love John Jaso almost as much as I love Lucas Luetge (Who I got a reply from on twitter). Whenever Jaso is up, he looks like he always has a chance to make the pitcher work or at least not look pathetic in the box. Miguel Olivo on the other hand is embarrassing sometimes. The pitches he swings at are laughable, the times I have sworn at a TV when he hits is way too high and just the general feeling he inspires is me is not positive. Wedge, can we please #FreeJaso?

Cathartic: I will be honest. This totally applies to me. Cathartic means cleansing for those who don’t watch the National Spelling Bee or read the dictionary. This week of not watching the M’s was cathartic for me. I felt relaxed (for having finals) and didn’t have to worry about Hector Noesi hanging a curve or the curious case of Felix Hernandez, (I will be elaborating on that later this week/ weekend). It was nice to get away from them recently and recharge. But now I am back with a vengeance. Let’s do some cool things Mariners. Like throwing perfect games and dropping 5 home runs a game. Deal? Go M’s

Praying for Runs, Part 3

By Patrick

The future

Um, OK. Nice game boys. Hector Noesi was brilliant, but a homer from Yonder Alonso cost him the game, as the Mariners didn't do shit offensively. Well I guess that's not exactly true. They did get a two hit night from Casper Wells in this return to the big club and a three hit night from quietly surging Jesus Montero. But that's it. This game was so bad that I'm only writing one paragraph about it, a new season-low, in an effort to put it behind the M's. On to today's important game.

June 14: Erasmo Ramirez (0-0, 2.45, first start of the year) vs. Edinson Volquez (2-6, 3.91)

Why is today important? Well, firstly, the Mariners can't morally afford to be swept by the Padres, and they don't want to lose five in a row either. All that aside, the most important part of today's game will be the first major league start from Ramirez. Erasmo pitched a little bit out of the 'pen this year, and performed reasonably well, but didn't leave any sort of definitive impression one way or another before he returned to Tacoma to receive grooming to start. So I guess we don't really know what we're going to get from him. He should be solid enough, and hopefully can sure up a spot in that magical future M's rotation we always discuss on the blog. Volquez is an interesting character. He has great stuff but has really struggled over the last couple of years. A drug suspension hurt his career in 2009. I really don't care who the Padres throw up there ultimately since the Mariners just need to start hitting again. Big day for Erasmo though.

Players to Watch:

Dustin Ackley: Ackley is still going through a rough patch. An 0-for-4 last night puts him at just .244 on the year and continues the calls for him to return to the leadoff spot where he hit so well. He won't go there unless Ichiro absolutely starts sucking, and that hasn't happened yet, even though Ich is hitting only .264. Ackley needs a pair of hits tonight and needs to avoid strikeouts in order to restore his confidence.

Yonder Alonso: Hey! Finally someone else remotely interesting on the Padres. I remember when Anthony mentioned Alonso's name way back in 2011 (long time ago) as a potential offseason target for Erik Bedard. Well, the Red Sox bit on Bedard and we got Trayvon Robinson instead. Alonso instead moved from the Reds to the Padres in the Mat Latos deal. And then he ripped apart Hector Noesi in the 7th inning art night. Damn it. Whatever. Erasmo's got a cooler name.

Prediction:

M's 4, Padres 2: I expect decent numbers from Erasmo in his starting debut. He probably will only go six innings, but the Padres define soft landing and he shouldn't struggle too mightily. The bullpen will excel again and the M's should do just enough damage to Volquez to chase him through five and close out the win, avoid an embarrassing sweep. Then again, I picked the Mariner in every game this series. Damn it. Go M's.

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.

Praying for Runs, Part 1

By Patrick

"I'm Larry"

Here comes the annual Peoria Complex rivalry again. The Mariners have to love this game. The Padres have been so bad over the past few years, worse than almost every team the American League offers. This year is no exception. Their leading batter who qualifies for the rankings is Will Venable, who's hitting .277. Sure, the Mariners aren't any better, but it's fun to make fun of other teams who have our problems. That's a Mariner mentality.

And don't the Padres have a Mariner mentality? They hit in a pitchers' park, they don't hit well, and they historically have had great pitching. This year however, after they dealt ace Mat Latos, their pitching has fallen off, with Cory Luebke posting the highest ERA on the squad. Oh, and their record is worse than ours significantly, so that's comforting. Let's see what I can dig up here.

June 12: The King (4-4, 3.42) vs. Clayton Richard (2-7, 4.58)

Ouch. Clayton Richard has been in struggle city in 2012, and much like one of Anthony's hangovers, it has hit him hard. That's good! The Mariners oppose a down-on-his-luck pitcher who really doesn't deserve to start in the majors right when they need to get the bats going. However, he's a lefty. Damn it. That's not ideal. Oh well. He's nothing special, and he's not a phenom, so he doesn't necessarily inspire much fear. The thing I'll be watching for tonight is how Felix Hernandez approaches his return to the mound against a minor league lineup. No, he's not making a rehab start in Tacoma. The Padres suck that much. If Felix loses tonight, he should go on the DL. Mark it down. He also needs to fix his velocity, and he said he found something on film that might have messed him up. Whatever. Good for you dude. Let's beat the Padres tonight, OK?

Players to Watch:

Carlos Quentin: Quentin, a notorious Mariner killer, has evidently made his way to the hitting black hole that is Petco Park. Sucks for you, bro. Unfortunately, we still have to play him today, and for the rest of the series. I guess Quentin had an injury for most of the season so far, since he's only played 10 games. But he's hitting .429 with five home runs in that stretch. So he's scary and hot. Kind of like Charlize Theron in Prometheus. Go see it.

Chone Figgins: Figgins is hitting eighth today. That's a new wrinkle in the lineup. Wedge repeatedly tried him at the top of the order to virtually no success, so I guess Figgins will take all the time he can get at this point. With Mike Carp still struggling mightily, Figgins still seems relevant in left field. You wonder why we named our crazy blog after that position. The Mariners can't find ANYONE to play there. And we can't find anyone that thinks the Mariners are good. Commonalities are fun.

Prediction:

Mariners 7, Padres 0: Felix needs a shutout tonight. He needs to restore the diehard fan's confidence in him. His back problems and his velocity drop have worried us, but a loss to the Padres, or any sort of struggles will really concern us. As I wrote earlier, he should go to the DL if he can't dominate the Padres. Watch out for Carlos Quentin, and Felix should do just fine. Go M's.

Dodging Bullets Part 3

By Patrick

Yuck

The Dodgers dominated yesterday. Clayton Kershaw was brilliant, save for one pitch to Miguel Olivo that produced all three Mariner runs. The Dodgers dominated Jason Vargas early, but he hung in there and saved the bullpen by getting through six innings. Shawn Kelley proved yet again that he sucks, giving up two more runs, and hopefully paving the path to AAA. 

Today presents a great opportunity for the bats to not only wake up and prove they can do the job at Safeco, but to take two of three from another great team. That would be a special result, but they'll need to hit a notorious strikeout artist to do so.

June 10: Ham Sandwich (3-5, 5.22) vs. Chad Billingsley (3-4, 3.80)

I feel like a fourth grader opening the lunch that my mom gave me earlier that morning. I open it up, and much to my dismay, "ham sandwich again?" Yeah, Beavan's pitching again. With Felix hurt, the Amigos have had a heavier workload. That's been fine for Kevin Millwood, but not for Blake and especially not for Hector Noesi. But Beavan will need his good stuff today, since the Mariners are facing a pitcher in Billingsley notorious for his strikeouts. He' s got a nasty breaking ball that hitters like the struggling Justin Smoak will have to watch out for and generally avoid. It will be important for M's hitters to get ahead in counts and be aggressive early to get Billinsley out of his game, since he is inconsistent through all of his out pitch ability. That being said, Billingsley is on a different and much higher tier than Beavan.

Players to Watch:

Mike Carp: Why not, right? The Mariners will need runs today, and Carp has fared terribly against breaking balls so far this season. So if he can right that ship today, he can make a big impact from the bottom of the order. he didn't start yesterday with the lefty Kershaw on the hill, but came in last and reached base. It would be great to see him on base twice today, and maybe even have him rip one into the gap or over the wall.

Adam Kennedy: Welcome back Adam! Good to see you and your giant chaws again. A key role player for the M's in 2011, Kennedy left in free agency for a better offer from the Dodgers. He's hitting .233 in limited action this year, and as his career winds down, he'll probably see less and less time in the lineup. Good to see him returning to Safeco though. Hard to believe he hit cleanup a bunch for the M's last year.

Prediction:

Dodgers 6, Mariners 2: Billingsley is a nasty righty that is susceptive to getting hit, but the Mariners haven't shown that they can really hit much in this series. Beavan has sucked lately and I don't see today being any better for him. If there's any consolation, it's that Kelley and Iwakuma, the bad relievers, pitched yesterday, so the good pitchers will be rested. So maybe the Dodgers only get as far as they do against Beavan. Still, little faith from me in the Ham Sandwich. Go M's.