g77 | EXTRA Happy Felix Day!!!

Mariners 7 | Yankees ZERO

This might just be my most favorite Mariner photos EVER.

Cliff's expression is oozing with pride at his young teammate's accomplishment and the Felix's appreciation of that emotion is fully evident.... 

Seth Wenig | AP

Well, okay.  This one is pretty good too...

Seth Wenig | AP

Where do I begin?

We shall soon see if there are enough superlatives to describe this game.

on the mound

If ever there was a game in which Felix lived up to his nickname "K'ing", I would say this would be it - that apostrophe becomes important (and understandable) in a game where "his highness" strikes out ELEVEN.  Not only did he dominate with the K, but essentially allowed ONE hit, even though the scorecard shows TWO (Figgy somehow lost an easy popup in the Bronx night sky).   Felix did allow THREE walks, but we'll forgive him, as none of them came around to score.  Can you say DOMINANT?  Granted, a game on the last day of June on a team with little hope of seeing the post season could hardly be considered "big" ... but that makes this performance from Felix all the more special and impressive.

at the plate

Who ARE these guys?!?  NINE hits, FOUR walks, FOUR home runs (Milton, Russell and Michael w/TWO) and SEVEN runs (for the second straight game).  

~Sure Michael isn't even hitting his weight but, 20rbi and 7hr in 39 game is certainly note worthy production - you go, Condor!  

~Nice to see Figgy coming around (it was bound to happen) with a hit, a run, a walk and another stolen base SB (that's TEN in his last NINE games - and he !).  He ended up batting .271 with 13 stolen bases for the month of June.

~Welcome back, Russell!

~Lopey extends his hitting streak to THIRTEEN

~Milty doing his best to catch up with Russell.

leather-works

Oh yeah - "the Condor" can field his position pretty darned well too - TWO very nice grabs in left.

Felix = 117 pitches (76 strikes)

Yankees = 187 pitches (118 strikes)

g76 | talk about playin' to the level of your competition...

Mariners 7 | Yankees 4
Well, we knew what Clifton was capable of vs. the Yanks, so his complete game was certainly not a surprise (although the one walk and the 4 runs were pretty un-Cliff like)

SETH WENIG / AP

But how 'bout those bats?!?

TWELVE hits!
including FOUR doubles (Jose, Michael and Rob w/2) ONE Guti homer and an Ichi SF!

SETH WENIG / AP

g75 | no O

Mariners 0 | Brewers 3

Jason's start wasn't quite up to his normal standards, but it should have been good enough to notch a win - a bit difficult to do when your team scores no runs (guess Russell got to see first hand why the M's need him).  Kudos to the Brewers' starter, Narveson - he was stellar - 8 innings of 4-hit ball.

David Pauley made his first appearance as a Mariner - he did OK - didn't give up any runs, struck out two and allowed three walks in two innings.  Sean also pitched a scoreless inning.

Off day in NY tomorrow ... and then three games at the Stadium (Cliff, Felix and RRS)

Rosy's Ramblings ~ Russell's back....

That's Russell IS back (not to be confused with the possessive "Russell's back" - which proved to be a bit of an issue last season and was a large part of why he wasn't re-signed with the M's in the off-season).


Anyhoo...
Seems this deal caught everybody by surprise.  I first heard via a tweet from Shannon Drayer last night around 9pm and shortly after that, the tweets and other reports were flying fast and furious.  Many were puzzled because given the M's current record, they seem to fall in the "sell" category and this move was definitely more of a "buy".  But, after listening and reading comments from several within the organization, it seems that it was as much a move for the future as it is for the present.  Some quotes from Jack Z via Shannon's blog here.  Tony Blengino expressed similar thoughts (paraphrased), "We were able to deal from depth and give our young guys more support in order to continue their development in a positive light."

So, if Russell can stay healthy (granted, a big IF) there's no question that he immediately improves the team at basically no cost, as the M's were able to deal from a position of organizational depth to add a player at a position that was clear need (yes, the Kotchman era was over before it began and Carp was apparently not the answer either).  It won't likely be enough improvement to matter much in the standings for this season (the hole the M's have dug for themselves is too deep even for Branyan's shovel) but if he can help put a few more wins on the board it could give some of the young kids a little confidence going into next season and provide a stop-gap at 1B for 2011 as well. 

g74 | power and pen...

Mariners 5 | Brewers 4


There were lots of question going into this game...
~ How would Mister Fister be in his first start off the DL?
~ Who would step up in the pen (with Kelley to the DL and DA home to be with his newborn)?
~ Would the offense be able to get anyone in to make up for the possible pitching problems?

And answers during and after...

~ The good answer regarding Doug's start was that he was able to exceed his pitch count and still felt fine.  The bad answer was that 92 pitches only got him through four innings - giving up 4ER along the way (back- to-back homers in the 3rd) but, the Brew Crew is third in the majors in home runs, so not a lot of shame in that, especially for his first start off the DL.

~ The answer to the bullpen question was more resoundingly positive.  Wow - welcome back, Brian Sweeney!  Nice story here that details the timeline of Brian's career, from being drafted by the M's traded to the Padres and his time in Japan.  Anyway, back to the game and his part in it...
4IP - 1H - 0R - 0BB - 4K

~ The answer to the offense, well, for the most part they are still searching for that spark to "get 'em in" as another 11 were left on base.  BUT, at least a little pop showed in the form of a solo shot from MB and a 2-run jack from Lopey.  Also good to see it happen when it did, in the inning immediately following the opponents offensive burst.

And, don't look now, but Figgy has SEVEN hits and SEVEN stolen bases in his last SIX games....

Morry Gash   AP Photo

g73 | road woes...

Mariners 3 | Brewers 8

Well, the first 3 innings were pretty good....
~ the offense with 5 hits - 3 runs - 2 SB
~ and RRS with no hits, no walks

But then came the fourth and it all fell apart.

Let's see what Mister Fister brings tomorrow....

g72 | Home sweep elusive....

Mariners 2 | Cubs 3

Another CG!
Well, sort of.  Felix went 9 innings - unfortunately, the game was over after that.
To extras they went but despite the same number of hits as the previous game (11) they only yielded a quarter of the runs (2).  Chance after chance though - none better than in the 10th - 2 walks, a double-steal and an intentional walk - but then 2 K's

Off to face the Brew Crew for the last InterLeague series....

g71 |

Mariners 8 | Cubs 1


Cliff was just ho-hum Cliff...
~ SECOND STRAIGHT complete game (his FOURTH of the season)
~ NINE more K's (0-2 on NINETEEN batters)
~ ZERO walks making his K's/BB/s ratio now 19/1

DEAN RUTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES

And lookie here...
a little offense to go along with the pitching - again, in large part thanks to "the Condor"...

g70 | gimme a V, gimme an A, gimme a G -A - S!!!

Mariners 2 | Cubs 0

What does that spell?  
Awesome pitching, that's what!
Way to go, Jason!

And, Guti with the homer for the difference+ in the game.

News of the past five games...
BAD = the M's have only score 11 runs
GOOD = the M's have only given up 2 runs
EXCELLENT = the M's have won ALL five

PHOTOS COURTESY ELAINE THOMPSON/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

g69 | sWeeP!!!

Mariners 1 | Reds 0


Pitching...
Nice to see RRS finally pitch as expected and be rewarded with a victory.

Pitching...
What an AMAZING job by Brandon!  To come in with 2 on on and NO outs and get through the inning unscathed = super!  And, to turn in a defensive gem in a critical juncture = super duper!
(I  admit - I was nervous about the BP - worried that they would be rested to the point of rusted - so glad I was wrong)

And more pitching...
The DA slams the case closed!

and JUST enough offense....
The lonely run after Figgy singled, got to 3B on a Lopey base hit and then home on a Guti sac fly.

Just as it was scripted in the off-season.  
Unfortunately not the way it has gone for the majority of the real season.   The last four games have shown they are capable ... let's see if they can find a way to keep it up.

g68 | Happy Felix Day, indeed!

Mariners 5 | Reds 1

Yes indeedy - Felix rounding into form right on schedule....
9IP - 5H - 1ER - 1BB - 9K

Elaine Thompson / Associated Press

And a bit of run support for a change!
Double digit hits including 2 doubles (Guti and Loepy) and 2 homers (Ichiro and Michael)

AP photo/Elaine Thompson

g67 | we will miss you, Clifton

Mariners 1 | Reds 0

As fabulous as it was to watch Mr. Lee execute his craft to near perfection.  But, as happy as I was to see the M's record their second victory in a row (in the way most expected their W's to come - great P, solid D and just enough O), all I could think of when it was over was .... what a shame Cliff is not long for a Mariner uniform.

“It’s about being able to score more than them and having a horse on the mound like Cliff Lee,” Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said. “I don’t know if you can pitch any better than he did tonight against an awfully good-hitting ballclub. Command. Aggressiveness. Feel for all his pitches. Tempo. Economy of his pitches. Just a tremendous outing and awfully special to watch.”

If only things could have been different...
Most knew that things would have to align nearly to perfection, but no could have predicted they would fall SO short of the mark, with SO many guys not even approaching their career numbers making it next to impossible to keep Cliff for even the short term, let alone having a shot signing him for the long haul.  So, have to be satisfied with having been able to watch him for a very short time and hope that his unprecedented work ethic and awesome attitude, that only serve to enhance his super talent, has left its mark on some of his current teammates and that they will be better for it as individuals AND as a unit.

Elaine Thompson/AP

g62-g66 | catchin' up (me on posts, not the M's in the standings ;-(

Mariners 1 | Padres 7

• Cliff was solid
• Offense got plenty of hits, including 3 doubles, but didn't make 'em count
• bullpen was horrid

Mariners 4 | Padres 2

• now THAT was a Happy Felix Day! one out short of a CG
• and the DA gets the one out save
• just enough offense (including a Milton homer)

Mariners 3 | Cardinals 9

• well, started out great with a lead-off homer from Ichiro
• and a Figgy run on a Lopey ground out - 2 runs in the first
• then it went down hill ... pretty fast
• Luke wasn't great and Ian was horrible (and would be DFA's a day later)

Mariners 2 | Cardinals 4

• I thought RRS could have gone a bit longer ... he only had 59 pitches through 4
• Despite giving up the one run, the bullpen was better than it had been
• Solo shots from both Milty and Ryan, but hits with RISP continued to be elusive

Mariners 2 | Cardinals 1

• Back home with a win!
• Jason = AWESOME (11th quality start of the season - in 13 tries)
• I admit I was holding my breath a bit when Brandon came in...
• David did great in the 9th
• This JUST enough "O", STELLAR "P" and DECENT "D" is how the M's should be winning...

Day off at home and in come the Brewers over the weekend and the Cubbies next week!

Taking a break from the regularly scheduled game recap....

Nothing like a visit to Orcas Island (where my aunt has lived for over 30 years) to bring some serenity to this blog and my life...

Arriving at Orcas Island via the ferry Chelan

View from my Aunt's deck (at just some of her 25 acres)

down the garden path...

I fell asleep to the serenading frogs on the pond...

g61 | I'm thinking there are no hearts left to break

Mariners 3 | Padres 4

~ Jason leaves with a lead after logging yet another quality start
~ Shawn and Brandon each pitch one scoreless inning
~ Josh and Milton each go 3 for 3
~ Milton's solo shot in the 6th puts the M's ahead by one
~ BUT, the ability to add on is denied in the 8th, despite a runner on 3rd with only one out
~ AND the DA is unable to prevent
~ 9th walk-off loss this season

The Cavalry to the rescue... Mr Lee takes the mound tomorrow.

g60 | time to get the heck outta texas

Mariners 3 | Rangers 12

AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

I didn't see any of the game, but when I heard that 8 of the 12 runs were UNearned ... well needless to say I was glad I hadn't seen it.  It's one thing for a pitcher to have a bad game (heaven know, even Felix has those) and we've seen the bullpen blow leads and the offense struggle to provide enough run support when the pitching is good.  But.... NO excuse for sloppy baseball and there has been ENTIRELY too much of it from the boys in navy and teal of late.

g59 | Ian, Ian, Ian....

Mariners 2 | Rangers 12

ay. yi. yi.


Just when you though it couldn't get much worse....
the starting pitcher gives up SEVEN earned runs in less than TWO innings pitched ~ youch!!

GUTIERREZ / AP

And it all started so well 2, 2-out runs in the first.  But the Rangers tied it up in the bottom of the inning and then came the 3rd and they never looked back.

At least Luke was able to save the bullpen ... small conciliation, but likely just large enough to land him a  chance at a spot in the rotation...

g58 | sad felix day...

Mariners 1 | Rangers 7


Not that his offense or defense gave him much help.
And, the Texas D squelched any chances the Mariner bats had.

Pretty much a sucky game all 'round...

g57 | ready, set, pitch!

Mariners 4 | Rangers 2

Talk about tempo.  Cliff sets it.

TONY GUTIERREZ / AP

I got home just in time to see the slightly dicey part . . .
after the Rangers had scored 2 runs in the 9th and had 2 on with 2 outs.  I got out of the car after Cliff's failed attempt to get the 3rd out when he dropped the ball he had caught bard-handed covering first base on a shovel pass from Casey.  Dave said that Aardsma was coming in, but by the time I got in the house and turned on the TV, Cliff was still pitching.  I was glad, because at that point, even if he had lost, at least it would not be the bullpen blowing it.  As it turned out, he got the last batter to pop up, sealing the victory AND the complete game - only the third Mariner ever to toss a complete game in Arlington (Randy Johnson and John Halama the other two).

The offense provided just enough, on a day where shake-ups were plenty . . . 
from the lineup - MB to 2nd, Figgy to 9th, Carp to 5th, Casey to the bench and a swap of 1st and 3rd coaches.  And, whether it be the line up change or not, the bottom of the order comes through providing 7 of the 10 hits and all 4 RBI (thanks to Michael's 3-run homer and Rob's rbi single)

AP

One down in the Texas heat . . .
Here's hoping it truly is a Happy Felix Day tomorrow (cuz there have been 10 Felix days so far, only three of which have been "happy")

g56 | spittin' bristles at home 'gainst the halos

Mariners 4 | Angels 9

Well, at least I know it isn't me :-) (I was at the first two, but not today)
Another quality start (Jason's 9th in 11 starts) and another no decision.

Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

This one is all on the pen ...
Friday and Saturday were pen implosions as well, but the offense (or lack thereof) was also to blame.  All of a sudden, Shawn and Sean have lost it.  Garrett and Chad are still finding their roles.  Brandon is up and down.  David is under-worked.  And, boy do they miss Mark.
The good stuff ...
~ every batter, save one, with at least one hit (3 with 2)
~ total of 12 hits - third double-digit hit total this home stand (with 8 being the lowest hit total)
~ Saunders, the one without a hit, drew 2 walks and scored once
~ five extra base hits
~ Guti WebGem
Now they head to Texas ...
Can the stellar starting pitching and the recent good offensive signs continue enough to overcome the BP short-comings?  And/or will the BP snap out of their funk?  

g55 | pleasant surprise through 5 - nightmare 6th and 7th

Mariners 2 | Angels 11

And here I was worried about RRS getting the start instead of Mister Fister...
Ryan actually threw out his best performance of the season so far - the bullpen?  Not so much.

Apparently, teal did not agree with Shawn, in particular - he gave up 4 walks, 3 runs and hit a batter in his 1/3 of an inning.  He certainly looked out of character today, considering his last 8+ innings of work he had walked only two and given up only one earned run...

AP photo/Ted S. Warren

g54 | momentum eluded

Mariners 1 | Angels 7

Too many walks issued by Ian, too many GDIP from Figgy, et al.  Throw in an inept performance from the pen and the combination is not a good one.

Nice hit total, too bad home plate didn't get hit a bit more by the hometown nine.

Getty Images/Otto Greule Jr

g53 | Series win!!!

Mariners 4 | Twins 1

ahhh, the Felix we know and love and he is FINALLY rewarded with the WIN!

AP photo/John Froschauer

g52 | one for twenty-four

Mariners 2 | Twins 1
Reflections still stirring around in my head and heart regarding the biggest news of the day (well, probably the biggest news of the year) so will get to that later.


Meanwhile....
the M's finally decided to win an extra-inning affair (0-6 in "overtime" going into this game).  And, isn't it fitting that "George's" good friend Ichiro would have the game winning hit?  Unfortunately, Cliff won't be credited with the victory for his stellar performance ~ the only run he allowed was a solo shot (the first homer he had given up so far this season) and he struck out eight and walked one in eight full innings.  But, the team victory certainly was nice ... and needed.

DEAN RUTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES

A couple of touching comments in the post-game interviews...

"We love you, June-bug." ---Ryan Langerhans

"It's hard to see the pitches with tears in your eyes." ---Milton Bradley

g51 | considerable victory

Mariners 7 | Twins 1

I didn't get to see most of this one, but sure looks like there were only rosy thing that occurred...
Stellar starting pitching, reliable relief with 7 runs on 13 hits, a DP and an SB - as it should be.

ELLEN M. BANNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Really good to see two who have been struggling mightily break out a bit ~ Figgy and Lopey combined for 4 hits and 4rbi.

Believe Big.

:-)

g47-g50 | while I was away...

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that I missed much while in Austin ...

Seems the M's catching woes continued, prior to the short road trip - Josh Bard was placed on DL  and Alphonso was called up from AAA.  Jack Hannahan was designated for assignment.

The series started out with a bang with a convincing win over the Halos on Friday night in the land of Disney...
Mariners 8 | Angels 3

Then, despite a large, early lead, the Halos managed to tie up the second game and win in "grand" fashion with a grand slam off Brandon in the 10th (although, they lost their star first-baseman, possible for the season as he suffered a broken ankle as a result of the celebration at home plate)...
Mariners 1 | Angels 5

And, once again, defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory in the third game of the series, as the Halos hit another walk-off homer.  This time in the 9th, with DA pitching with a one-run lead...
Mariners 7 | Angels 9

Maybe things would improve at home?  Nope.  Looked like maybe they could pull out some late-inning magic of their own, but it proved to be too little, much too late..
Mariners 4 | Twins 5

Apparently, bullpen composition will be a bit different come tonight's game as  Jesus and Tex were designated for assignment in favor of Sean White and Garrett Olson.  Shannon seems to think it will help - here's hoping she's right.  Certainly can't hurt at this point.