st 23 | old man and the kids...

Mariners 6 | Padres 1

Considering that they went up against mostly starters, I'd have to say that...

37 year-old Kevin Millwood can still get it done
7IP - 5H - 1ER - 2BB - 8K

and the "kids" are progressing well
(every other pitcher/player was born in 86 or later (1 in 86, 1 in 87, 5 in 88 and 3 in 89) 

All but two of the hitters had at least one hit, and three had multiple hits...
-Poythress - 3 hits and 1 rbi
-Romero - 2 hits and 1 run
-Sucre - 2 hits and 1 rbi
-Carol, Miller, Dunigan and Hicks all posted 1 hit, 1 run and 1 rbi

The young pen was impressive as well...
Capps and Prior combined for a hitless/scoreless 2IP with 1BB and 4Ks

g2 | scarce as hen's teeth

Mariners 1 | Athletics 4

Yes, one of Dave Niehau's favorite phrases could very aptly apply to the M's offense in general but, it could also apply to...
1) the fact that every run in the game was scored via the long ball, and
2) the fact that it happened in a game between the M's and the A's

Getty Images

Unfortunately, the M's only had 1of the 4 total home runs...
(Justin's first of the season) and it was of the solo variety. A pattern seems to be forming (ok - only two doesn't really make a pattern but, it's hard to set aside last year's experience) where a good to great starting pitching performance is not justly rewarded.  Jason Vargas pitched 6+ and gave up two hits and two walks and one run (aboard via a walk that scored when Kelley gave up a homer in relief of Jason) at one point retiring 14 of 15 batters.

't was definitely not the bullpen's night...
Larry Stone tweeted that Sherrill faced 81 lefties last year and gave up ONE homer and this year gave up a homer to the first lefty he faced.

It wasn't exactly a steller night for the O either....
Only THREE hits but, good to see Montero get his first M's hit, breaking up the no-hitter in the 5th
And, look at this - SEVEN walks - definitely should have scored more than ONE run.

But, they came away with a split...
which, apparently, is how every MLB season opening series in Japan (this being the 4th) has ended up.

Now, back to Zona...
for some jet-lag recuperation and last bit of tuning up before their "next" opener - in Oakland one week from Friday.

g1 | extra early start, extra innings end

Mariners 3 | Athletics 1

Of course the most important first was the WIN but, lots of other notable season firsts...

• First extra inning game
• Ichiro first hit in his first AB in the 3-hole (and first since KGJ to record 4 hits in an opener)
• Ackley first homer, first RBI, first run scored, first error
• Saunders first put out, first stolen base, first GDIP
• Ryan first double, first CS
• Miggy first runner thrown out
• Figgy first sac bunt
• Felix first K, first ND, first HBP
• Tom threw the first relief innings - both of the scoreless variety, resulting in his first win
• Brandon first save

And then there were a couple of rarities...

• Apparently a Japanese tradition, so only different for the players - the awarding of an MVP after every game - and this game's deserving recipient ~ Dustin Ackley ~ was awarded with a check for 1 million yen (about $12k)
• And, there were ZERO walks in the entire game

Brandon McCarthy and the A's 'pen was pretty solid... 
he retired 6 of the first 7 batters he faced (5 ground outs and a strikeout). Michael Saunders seemed to get things going in the 3rd with a single on the first pitch he saw and then he swiped 2B - but, the good will was erased when he erred on the base paths - thrown out a 3B when the ball was hit in front of him.  Not to be left out, Brendon Ryan made a base-running blunder of his own when he got a bit too aggressive after a getting on base with a single and then got caught stealing 2B. Figgy was 0-2 in his first AB's as lead-off guy but, recorded a hit and a sac bunt in his last two ABs. Dustin's homer and the first run of the game came in the 4th but Ichiro was left stranded after his second hit and McCarthy and the A's bullpen would leave the M's hitless until the 11th

As for Felix...
after allowing a lead-off hit to Weeks (who seems to be as annoying to the M's as a A as Figgy was as an Angel) he went on to retire 9 in-a-row before allowing 2 doubles in the 4th - Carp made a nice diving try for the second one (off Suzuki's bat - another one of those pesky A's) but, to no avail and the run scored to tie the game. Speaking of Carp, he was a pretty busy man, especially in the later innings when he recorded a total of 5 put-outs. Over the next 4 innings, it was a bit of a mixed bag for Felix - a couple HBP, a single, a double and a stolen base - but no runs, so he did his job. And, as per usual, a shame he didn't get the win - thought he would be the first to say what matters is the TEAM win.

And then there was the Bartender...
Tom was GREAT! In his 2 innings of work, in which he would ultimately earn the win (still think that's a bizarre rule), he allowed one hit but the runner was erased on Miggy's throw and recorded 3 K's

Get 'em on, get 'em over, get 'em in...
Brendon led off the 11th with a double, Figgy bunted him to 3B and Dustin singled him home to give the M's the lead 2-1. With Ichi batting, Ackley stole 2B and Ichiro singled him home for the third run - and was promptly thrown out trying to take 2B

Brandon came in and quickly recorded a fly out and a strike out...
but, the single he gave up was a bit breath-taking - in that it whizzed right between is glove and his face! But, he was none the worse for wear and a K later, he was shaking Miggy's hand.

Bottom line good...
Felix was Felix, the bullpen was stellar, the defense was solid, the offense did j u s t enough

Bottom line NOT so good...
the offense is going to have to show more ~ especially the  4-7 hitters ~ who were 0-17

Bottom line obvious...
Japan LOVES their native son (and the Ichi-meter travels!)...

Getty Images

Geoff Baker captured some of Ichiro's emotion of the evening...

And in the end, his most enjoyable moment came when teammates told him how much they apreciated the crowd here. Members of the A's told him the same thing on the field the many times he reached base.
"Our teammates said that about our fans,'' he said. "They said they like the fans here, the atmosphere, the way they approach it that about the atmosphere. And even the players on the other side, the opponents, the A's, said that, too. So, it's a good experience.''
Actually, it was something more than that to him.
"To see the fans and how they react and how they welcomed the players, they're very warm-hearted,'' Ichiro said.
"It makes you cry.''

woot! woot!

game post later ...

I'm going back to bed :-)

Opening Morning ...

choneFIGGINS third


dustinACKLEY second


ichiroSUZUKI right


justinSMOAK first


jesusMONTERO hitter


mikeCARP left


miguelOLIVO catcher


michaelSAUNDERS center


brendonRYAN short


felixHERNANDEZ king


vs.


Weeks 2B
Pennington SS
Crisp LF
Smith DH
Suzuki C
Reddick RF
Cespedes CF
Allen 1B
Sogard 3B
McCarthy SP


pLaY baLL!!!

four and a half hours till first pitch....

I really want to take a nap, so I will be all fresh and rested for every pitch, every at bat.  Trouble is ... I'm not tired!  Not at the moment anyway.  Hoping I'll be able to doze for an hour or so at some point prior to first pitch.

In the meantime, here are some links with news and notes of the last couple of days - in Japan and here at home...

Guti and Moore start the season on the 15-day DL

Shannon Drayer shares the "clinic trip" with photos

Larry' Stone talks about young hitters who hold promise but wonders if the pitching can hold out

Greg Johns says Felix still looking to improve



Carp and Ackley at the US Embassy...
(thanks, Shannon Drayer!)

This one is worth re-posting - it's such a great shot!

(thanks, M's twit pic)

and, some pre-game tweets...

CarpusMaximus20

Opening Day Japan just a few short hours away. Here we go 2012! Wishing all my teammates good health and best of luck this year.

TheDA53

@shawnkelley23 @BrandonLeague43 good luck today. Pulling for y'all

Mariners

Ladies and gentlemen, we're 12 hours away from the first pitch of the #OpeningSeries. How are you planning to watch the game?

CompassRosy

@Mariners I will try to nap around 11pm and have the alarm and coffee pot set for 2am. Can nap after the game too, since I took the day off!


Mariners
@CompassRosy A fan with a plan. We like it.

• Cl

ex 2 | sailors of Seattle no match for the Giants of Yomiuri

Mariners 3 | Giants 9

I happened to wake up from a sound sleep to see that the M's game had started just minutes before (at 3am PT) so I watched on my phone for a few minutes and drifted in and out of sleep.  Ackley had already homered but that was countered by a Giants home in the bottom of the inning.  Ackley would later triple and Seager a double (for an RBI) and Ichiro had the other RBI.  And that was all she wrote for the offense.

And things did not get any better on the pitching side of the ledger.  To say Iwakuma struggled would be an extreme understatement. Some, since, have enve speculated injury.

And then there was the defense that shown initially with a nice DP as well as an outfield assist by Carp but later, 2 passed balls by Quiroz, a failed pick off by Sherrill and a throwing error by Liddi (all in the 6th inning!) erased all that.

Let's just say - they are glad this one doesn't "count".


But, there were some pretty cool outings earlier in the day prior to the game...
Like the visit to Camp Zama that Justin Smoak, Dustin Ackley and George Sherrill took (complete with a ride in a Blackhawk helicopter!)

courtesy Greg Johns twitpic

ex 1 | Let's chalk it up to jet-lag...

Mariners 1 | Hanshin Tigers 3

And, maybe the very raucous atmosphere, that even the vets, let alone the rooks, aren't even used to.

Here's some great photos and pre-game video from Geoff Baker.

This is how the Tokyo Dome looked during introductions (that apparently exploded in huge cheers upon the mention of Ichrio, Iwakuma and Kawasaki)

introductions | courtesy M's twitpic

Hector Noesi posted a nice 1-2-3 first inning but melted down a bit in the second...

giving up 3 runs on 4 hits (including a 2-run homer) a HBP and a walk.  Then, he settled down and allowed only 2 hits over the next 3 innings.

• Erazmo Ramirez relieved Hector and tossed a scoreless 6th with 2 K's
• Tom Wilhelmsen ... not so much, another couple of runs for the Tigers
• Brandon League came in and pitched a scoreless 9th

Not much offense mustered vs. the Tigers...

only EIGHT total hits - one double and one home run

the lone run came via the long ball - Casper who, heretofore, was having an awful spring. Go figure. Cool that he brought his dad with him, who, according to a tweet from Shannon, was going nuts in the stands :-)

The travelers arrived safe and sound...

The Mariners et al arrived in Tokyo in the wee hours of the morning (PT) on Friday.
Sounds like the nearly two hour bus ride from the airport to the hotel was worse than the 13 hour flight.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so what better way to share the M's trip so far but with photos from some of those who are there, soaking it all in...
(thanks to Shannon Drayer, the AP and the M's)

FLIGHT FUN

Mike and Dustin, set to fly | courtesy Shannon Drayer

Wedge having some with his players | courtesy M's twitpic

I'll see that bet and raise you.... | courtesy Shannon Drayer

Hector buried in pillows on the plane | courtesy M's twitpic

Happy Catchers | courtesy M's twitpic

THRONG OF THE PRESS

the paparazzi awaits | courtesy Shannon Drayer

have some press! | courtesy Shannon Drayer

INTERNATIONAL STYLE

AP photo

AP photo

A TASTE OF SEATTLE IN TOKYO

The Beavans and the Seager sporting Starbucks | ccourtesy Shannon Drayer

ICHIRO IS EVERYWHERE!!

IN the Tokyo dome | courtesy Shannon Drayer

IN the Tokyo dome | courtesy Shannon Drayer

ON the Tokyo dome | courtesy Shannon Drayer

INSIDE THE TOKYO DOME

Jesus in the cage at the Tokyo Dome | courtesy Shannon Drayer

M's clubhouse in Tokyo | Ms twitpic

REMEMBERING THOSE WHO ARE HERE ONLY IN SPIRIT

Dave Niehaus's widow, Marilyn and daughter, Gretta | courtesy Shannon Drayer

Mike Carp honoring Greg | courtesy M's twitpic

Movin' on up and headed out....

The M's make a sizable jump in Baseball America's Organizational Talent Rankings...
from 18th in 2011 to 6th in 2012

Jesus surly had something to do with it but, so did Paxton, Hultzen and Walker, et al



Prior to their departure from Peoria to Tokyo, the M's had to get down to their "traveling 30"....

Yesterday they released Shawn Camp and today they out righted Cesar Jimenez to AAA.  Millwood will stay behind to get in his work, as they won't be needing a 5th starter on the trip.  Gutierrez and Moore will start the season on the DL - so that leaves..

- Felix, Beavan, Noesi, Vargas for the starting Ro
- Delebar, Furbush Iwakuma, Kelley, League, Luetge, Ramirez, Ruffin, Sherrill, Wilhelmsen in the 'pen
- Jaso, Montero, Olivo, Quiroz behind the dish
- Ackley, Figgins, Kawasaki, Liddi, Ryan, Seager, Smoak around the horn
- Carp, Ichiro, Peguero, Saunders, Wells in the outfield

There are some complicated rules about how many they can take on the trip and when they have to pare down even more


and they're off!!!
(well, actually, they should be landing in less than two hours, took off about noon today)

TwitPic from Greg Johns

st 22 | OK, so, what a difference a (nearly get-a-way) day makes

Mariners 8 | White Sox 13

As great as things went yesterday - quite the opposite today...
Felix said he's fine and he's ready, that the WS were just hitting everything. I'll say - to the tune of 8 runs (7 earned) on 10 hits in 5 innings.  And, the bullpen did not provide any relief (combined to allow another 5 runs on 6 hits).

So, was it...
- the typical last start of the spring? (maybe)
- the unusual, "hey, I'm going to Japan tomorrow!" ? (possible)
- just one of those days (likely)
- an injury (nah...)
- the mighty WS extraordinary talent (double nah)

Despite the fact that most of the hitting came too little, too late, with unknowns on the mound - there were some notables....
- Liddi's had 3 RBI (oh, by the way - he's leading the team in nearly every offensive category this spring)
- Montero with another RBI (one of the few that he has over Liddi)
- Figgy walked twice (tied with Smoak for the team lead)


Leaving, on a jet plane (the M's, that is - wish I were too!!!

ROTATION announced...

tweet from the Mariners....

MarinersEric Wedge announces starting rotation of Felix, Vargas, Noesi, Beavan, Millwood. Noesi & Iwakuma will start exhibition games in Japan.

and, this from Shannon...

shannondrayerMillwood will not travel to Japan. Iwakuma and Noesi will start exhibition games.

st 21 | so THIS is what they mean by firing on all cylinders...

Mariners 8 | Reds 1

Yes, it's still just Spring Training but...

Opening Day is only EIGHT DAYS AWAY!!!

And this is one of the first games where nearly everything went well...
~ starter (Millwood) went a strong FIVE
~bully (Iwakuma and Luetge) posted a scoreless FOUR
~ hits, runs and RBI up and down the lineup
~ nice D including a DP and an attempted thief gunned down (by Jesus!)

some of the stand-out hitters today...

• Kawasaki with THREE hits
• Seager with THREE doubles 
• Peguero with a homer and FOUR rbi

st 20 | Jason gave up 7, the bats scored 7

Mariners 7 | Cubs 12

7 runs in 2/3 of an inning isn't exactly a confidence builder for your last start of the spring...
Jason walked the first batter on 4 pitches (never a good sign) and ended up with 40 pitches, only 24 for strikes. He said after the game that he felt fine and really had no reason for his horrible outing other than "just one of those days" - said they were hitting good pitches and bad pitches.

Steve Delebar had his first rough outing and Charlie Furbush gave up his first ER of the spring.

On the pitching bright side - the two Shawns...
Camp and Kelley combined for 5.1 IP - 4H - 1ER - 0BB - 2K
Even though Kelley took the loss, the fact that he was able to pitch 3 full was encouraging

And, look, the M's have bats!
I think they'd take 12 hits, 5 walks and 7 runs everyday and twice on Sunday!

• Ichiro, Montero and Seager all with homers (Jesus and Kyle back-to-back to tie the game at 7)
• Figgy picked up where he left off in the rain delay with 2 more hits (including a RBI triple)
• Smoak was 3-3 with 2 walks (now the camp leader in OBP at .500!)

Sounds like the D was pretty impressive today...

• Ackley to Smoak DP
• Outfield assist for Figgy
• Gold Glove play for Ryan

st 19 | CANCELLED due to desert rain

This was only about the 3rd or 4th game slated to be televised so far this spring and, the first one that I was going to be able to watch the entire broadcast.







No box score (since none of the stats will count) but, here are some of the happenings...

• Hector Noesi went 4IP - 4H - 2ER - 2BB - 1 K and threw 60 pitches, 33 for strikes.  He tossed a couple of wild pitches (that resulted in one run) and had just given up back-to-back singles when the game was called
• Kyle Seager hit his 3rd homer of the spring to tie the game with his 6th and 7th RBI of the "no count" variety
• Figgy had two hits and an RBI that gave the M's the lead (again, they do't count)

Mariners twit pic

Prior to the game, Eric Wedge commented on... 

• Brendon Ryan - doing better but still nursing a sore leg, gotta find a way to get him to stay healthy
• Cuts coming - some may come down to the final day ... can take 30 players to Japan
• Beavan and Ramirez - both making VERY strong bids in the rotation competition
• And, don't discount the importance of a long reliever 

Jack Z was interviewed during the game..

• Hector Noesi a very important piece of the trade
• Ramirez has been on the radar for awhile
• Felix will pitch two of the "three openers" as the rotation ebbs and flows with the crazy schedule
• Emphasized player attitude/work ethic and that NOBODY is guaranteed anything - so, they better come ready to play - especially, for a manager like Eric Wedge

st 18 | too much Peavy

Mariners 0 | White Sox 5

the bad news....

~ Mariners were shut out for the first time this spring - they managed only 2 hits and 3 walks - Peavy was just too much to handle, no-hitting the M's in his 5 full innings.

~ Kuo has really been struggling and, today was no exception - he gave up 4 of the 5 runs in only 1IP





the good news...

~ Blake Beavan continued to look strong.  He gave up a double and a single that led to the one run he allowed but, then he only gave up one more hit and he retired the last 5 batters he faced.

~Luetge and Camp posted nice scoreless outings of 2 IP and 1 IP respectively.

~Liddi and Saunders got the M's hits and are both hitting .400+ for the spring (and, playing some more than decent defense at their respective positions).





See what I did there?
Found more good than bad, even in a loss...
but then, I wouldn't be Rosy if I didn't, would I?

:-)

and the spring time ax takes a few more swings...

sent down today were

Six pitchers...
Sean Henn
Oliver Perez
Matt Fox
Aaron Heilman
Josh Kinney
Jeff Marquez

One Outfielder...
Trayvon Robinson

Major League camp roster now stands at 40, must be cut to 30 prior to the departure for Japan next week.

st 16 & 17 | splittin' the split squad - 6-1 win, 1-6 loss

Mariners 6 | Brewers 1

Felix appears to be ready and rarin'...
6 innings - 6 strikeouts - 1 hit - 0 runs - 1 walk

And then...
the combination of Jimenez, Fox and Kinney allowed one run on only one more hit (yes - the Brewers were 2-hit!) and no walks

Liddi, Ackley, Robinson - oh my!
Alex and Dustin each with 3 hits (Liddi -homer, Ackley -double) and Trayvon with 2 hits


Mariners 1 | Athletics 6

Iwakuma is ruffed up, again...
giving up 3 earned runs and 5 total in his 5 innings of work but, he did settle down a bit to retire 6 of the last 8 batters he faced and after the game Wedge said Wedge said...

"I think if you look at his last few outings, he has had better stuff and he's staying down in the zone," Wedge said. "He still needs to move forward [with] regards to his total game, but we've seen some good indicators." after the game he was encouraged that he saw improvement.

the bully, on the other hand...
well, Kelley and Delebar specifically, was STELLAR! Those two combined for 3IP - 2H - 4K
Ruffin looking like he may not yet be ready for primetime.

the O has seen much better days this spring...
though Ichiro, with his 3 hits, is now over .400 in CL play. Guess his getting comfortable in the 3-hole.

st 15 | some good, some bad but, all-in-all coming along...

Mariners 5 | Giants 7

Erasmo has an ERA now after giving up a single and a double in the first but, otherwise pitched well.

After a nice 1-2-3 5th inning, Kuo fails to execute on the DP and in the end it costs him a 2-run home run

Sherrill had a bit of a rough time as well...
although the defense behind him was none too crisp.  There were at least three plays that should have been made but weren't and he ended up allowing three runs in his one inning of work (not TOO concerned about George though, I seem to remember his poor springs being legendary).

BUT, then in the 8th Vinnie recorded a web-gem!
Awesome snare of a line drive and a strong throw  j  u  s  t  getting the runner at 1B

One of the lowest hit totals in a spring game thus far but, nice hit-to-run ratio :-)

st 14 | Millwood pitching to pitch

Mariners 6 | Royals 2

(first ST game on TV but, missed most of it ;-( )

Millwood threw 53 pitches in his four innings of work and, despite walking three, gave up no runs.
In fact, none of the M's pitchers (Delebar, Perez, Jimenez, Wilhelmsen) gave up any earned runs - Perez was charged with 2 unearned runs when Liddi committed an error at 1B in the 7th

Ichiro and Catricala with two hits each
Catricala and Saunders with two RBI each

THREE DeePees!!!

st 13 | Noesi making a case, hitters keep hitting

Mariners 7 | Brewers 4

Noesi gave up his first earned run of the spring (a solo shot on a change up - which he was supposedly working on along with his slider).  He went 3 full innings that included on of the 1-2-3 variety and a pick-off (apparently, his first ever).  Hector is slated to throw 80 pitches in his next outing.

League, Furbush and Henn each pitched a scoreless inning and had one strikeout apiece.
Kinney gave up two late via a single and a homer.

Ackley and Saunders were the RBI guys (each with TWO)
Smoak and Saunders each had two hits
And hey, lookie here, three walks - Wells, Peguero and Smoak

the new crop is here!

2012 Mariners Commercials

League and Vargas welcome Montero Seattle style with a fish toss
Ryan makes an impression
Ackley gets encouragement - Rocky style
Felix picks up a new hobby - ventriloquism
Smoak fells a tree for a bat

While they aren't the best batch ever, they're not bad and, clearly, they had fun making them.
The bloopers are the best!

st 12 | watch Blake pitch, watch Jesus hit...

Mariners 6 | Rangers 4

A nice outing for Beavan today...
Even though he gave up 2 runs, it was good to see that he made it through 5 full innings using 64 pitches (43 for strikes!) oh, and NO walks.  BB is definitely making a case for the starting ro.

the bully was a bit of a mixed bag today...
Kuo and Sherrill each tossed a scoreless inning (though George walked 2)
Ruffin and Camp each gave up a run in their respective innings of work.

The 8 hits were scattered nicely throughout the lineup...
but the RBI were concentrated mostly at the catcher and DH position: Miggy hit a 3-run bomb off Nathan in the 6th to give the M's the lead at the time and Jesus hit a 2-run double in the 9th to give the M's the lead for good.  Oh, and Vinnie hit his second homer of the spring.

Great Cactus League Report tonight (thank heavens for the podcasts, as we had company for dinner and I couldn't listen live). Jack Z, Saunders, Wilhelmsen, Smoak, Montero, Robinson and Jim Caple

st 11 | good signs, even in loss

Mariners 5 | Giants 7

Sometimes, OK most times, spring training is about individual prep and progress rather than team results.
Today was such a day.  Granted, Felix's line was nothing too special but, he threw 53 pitches in 4 full innings and got that much closer to being ready for Opening Day in just over two weeks! Eric Wedge had this to say after the game...

"He threw the ball well again today, used all his pitches, so he's right on target," Wedge said. "He'll be ready to go out there and pitch as long as we need him to, once we get to Japan. We've had him and [Jason] Vargas as well as a few other guys mapped out for quite a while. So he's right on line."

Now, as for the bullpen...
seems they'll need a bit more prepping as 2 of the 4 gave up 2 runs, 1 gave up 1 and the other walked 2

Seems the outfield competition just gets more heated by the day...
Saunders with another 2 hits, a runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base
Robinson went 3 for 4 with a home run and a double

And, Catricala continued his hot hitting...
with another 2 hits including a double

still dreaming of the big leagues | 15 cut today...

Optioned to Minor League Camp...
LHP Danny Hultzen
LHP Mauricio Robles
RHP Yoervis Medina
INF Francisco Martinez
INF Carlos Truinfel
OF Johermyn Chavez
OF Chih-Hsien Chiang

Re-Assigned to Minor League Camp...
LHP James Paxton
RHP Scott Patterson
RHP Forrest Snow
RHP Taijaun Walker
C Ralph Henriquez
INF Nick Franklin
OF Darren Ford
DH Luis Jimenez

st 10 | split squad 2 showcases the "big four" in rapid succession

Mariners 7 | Diamondbacks 1

While the early split squad game on the radio made for a great back-drop for my spring cleaning this afternoon, tonight's game was the one I really wanted to see!  But, had to settle for the opposition's radio broadcast and gameday tracking...

Ramirez, Hultzen, Walker and Paxton combined for...
EIGHT innings - ONE earned run - FOUR hits - THREE walks - EIGHT strikeouts

Ramirez led the charge, going THREE scoreless against mostly DBacks big league starters.
Shannon Drayer has a nice story here about the fourth of "the big four" and his baseball journey so far...

"I want to have fun and compete for one place (in the rotation). If I am here I want to show everyone what I got. If they say, alright you need to spend more time in the minor league I say okay I got it. No problem. I will go there and show them that I can learn. If they give me the chance I will show them I am working and cannot stay there. I will give everything I have got and after that they make the decision."

AP photo

Three seemed to be the number of the evening at Salt River Fields...

• Jesus had THREE RBI, including a 2-run double (and he caught 6 scoreless innings)
• Kawasaki also had THREE RBI going 3 for 5 as the lead-off guy (with plenty of comparisons to his countryman, Ichiro, by the Arizona broadcasters)
• Carp also posted THREE hits and the other RBI

Good to see some excitement brewing for M's baseball, single seat tickets went on sale today...

Mariners twitter pic

st 9 | split squad 1 ends in tie

Mariners 5 | Dodgers 5

A little better outing for Iwakuma this time....
He got through 4 innings, gave up 2 runs and a walk and struck out 2

League went 1IP and Furbush 2IP...
each have yet to give up a run this spring

't was a pretty good day for the hitters...

• All starter, except Olivo, had at least one hit
• Seager hit his second homer of the spring and Ackely had a triple
• Saunders, Ichiro and Figgins all had doubles

While the M's were clean in the field with an outfield assist by Chiang (getting Looney at the plate) and a nice DP turned, there was a little falderal on the bases...

• In the 4th inning - Ackley hit a triple but was tagged out on a FC by Ichiro and then Ichiro was picked off
• Then in the 5th - Saunders walked and Wells singled but, somehow passed Michael on the base paths so they were both out

st 8 | a rare (so far) spring loss

Mariners 5 | Diamondbacks 8

A bit of a rough outing for Jason...
as he gave up 5 runs in 4 innings but the 4 strikeouts were a good sign.  Also, he threw 55 pitches so good to see him getting stretched out, especially considering he'll be pitching the second game of the season in Japan in just 20 days.

There certainly was no lack of hitting...
one homer, one triple and FIVE doubles should add up to more than FIVE runs but, I guess the 5/12 with RISP explains it.

Report that Adam Moore's "broken wrist" may be a bone chip...
hopefully, for him, that's the case.

st 7 | good signs, bad news...

Mariners 10 | Cubs 3

First, the good....

14 hits
10 runs
2 homers (Ackley and Quiroz0
2 doubles (Smoak and Liddi)
5 walks
4 steals (Kawasaki -2-, Ford, Olivo and ... Peguero?!?)

Most of the pitchers threw pretty well today (Millwood only used 3 pitches to retire the side in the 3rd).
Tom W had a bit of a rough go - 2 unearned runs (one of the errors was his)

Now, the bad...

Adam Moore is injured.  AGAIN.

out for the spring...

Hard-luck catcher Adam Moore received another blow on Thursday when the Mariners discovered the 27-year-old has a broken bone in his right wrist, suffered during Tuesday's Cactus League game against the Reds.
Moore broke the third metacarpal on his upper hand while blocking a ball in the dirt. He saw a hand specialist Tuesday afternoon and manager Eric Wedge had no update following the Mariners' 10-3 victory over the Cubs in Mesa, but said Moore's sure to miss the rest of Spring Training.
Moore missed almost the entire 2011 season after injuring his right knee in his second regular-season game and undergoing surgery to repair a medial meniscus tear.

Man, some guys just can't catch a break (no pun intended - really)

st 6 | springtime vs. the angels at the devil

Mariners 6 | Angels 4

Ah... hearing that the M's played the Angels in Tempe today had me reminiscing once again about my trip to the desert last season and wishing I was there this spring.  Tempe Diablo Stadium was one of the venues I visited (I believe the Halos were playing the Tribe).  It was really HOT and I spent a good part of the game in the shaded concessions area.  But, it is a great stadium and 't was a fun day....

Tempe Diablo Stadium | March 2011

Getting ready for first pitch | March 2011

OK, back to current day, which was a decent one for the M's!

Especially for Blake Beavan and Charlie Furbush who combined for...

6IP - 4H - 1BB - 0ER - 4K

AP photo

AP photo

On the other side of the plate, things were nice and spread out...

• Saunders and Montero each had two hits
• Ackley and Rodriguez each had doubles
• Robinson scored twice and stole a base
• Catracala his first spring homer - a 2-run shot

st 5 | The Felix, Ichi and Adam Show AND Bye-bye Carlos!

Mariners 8 | Reds 6

Getty Images

Nice outing for Felix, as he readies for the MLB Opener in Japan vs. the A's...
3 IP - 0 H - 0 ER - 0 BB - 4K

Ichiro's best day so far in his new 3-hole spot...
3-3 with 2 RBI and 1 run scored (he did have a little mix-up on the bases though when Justin laced a line drive and Ichiro was called out at 3B, cuz Kawasaki was already there ;-) )

Adam's number for the day was TWO... 
2-2 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored


The big news of the day - Carlos calls it a career...

"My first two boys were born in Seattle, so that's why I wanted to come here," he said. "I never thought to end my career here, but I feel like I have to. I learned a lot of good things from Jay Buhner and all the players when I was here -- Edgar Martinez, Junior, A-Rod. They were fun years for me and the fans in Seattle."

I'll never forget "the bunt" "the bunt"...
I was crossing the Narrows Bridge in Tacoma on my way to my Grandfather's memorial service in Sequim when I heard Dave make that call. I cried tears of joy knowing he was cheering from above.

Seattle Times

Best Wishes in Retirement, Carlos!