So long Wash....

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At about 8:30am this morning, it was announced that Jarrod Washburn was traded to the Detroit Tigers for LHP Luke French and minor league LHP Mauricio Robles.

Sorry to see Wash go, but understand why it had to happen.

As the dust settles, seems most are thinking that Robles may be Jack Z's diamond in the rough. And, he seems to be collecting some other gems as he travels down "replenishment road" unlike Bill B who preferred "plunder parkway" ;-)

The Mariners need pitching depth, and the gem of this deal is Robles, who has emerged this season to become one of the Tigers' top-five minor-league prospects. And he is the second top-of-the-line pitching prospect Zduriencik has acquired this month. Earlier in July he traded Yuniesky Betancourt to Kansas City for Dan Cortes.

It is possible both Cortes and Robles could be in the Mariners' rotation sometime in the middle of 2011 or the start of 2012. They represent two giant steps up for an organization that was thin on quality arms.

The Mariners' scouts love Robles, a hard-throwing left-hander who has 111 strikeouts in 91-1/3 innings in Class A this season. Talent evaluation is Zduriencik's strength. If he says Robles is a diamond, believe it. Venezuelan baseball officials thought enough of Robles to put him on their World Baseball Classic roster, heady stuff for a 20-year-old.

And after struggling in his first two starts with the Mariners' Class AA team at West Tennessee, Cortes threw six shutout innings Tuesday.

As he promised when he got here, Jack Zduriencik is rebuilding the Mariners' fallow farm system. Sure, Friday's trade will hurt in the short run, but this is the kind of pain teams have to endure as they slowly get better.

Some thoughts on Robles from a Detroit perspective....

Mauricio Robles has a chance at being for Seattle what Jair Jurrjens has been for the Atlanta Braves.

Robles, a left-hander, is that good.

Fans don't pay much attention to the minor leagues, particularly to the lower rungs, but they should -- and for this reason.

Robles is 20 years old. He was promoted earlier this year from Single A West Michigan to Single A Lakeland. That's a big step for a kid who can't yet buy a drink.

And yet he has flourished. He has 40 strikeouts in 35 innings and only 14 walks. He had a 4-2 record and a 3.60 earned-run average.

And here's a collection of info on Luke French as compiled by Larry Stone...

Good luck, Jarrod.

You go, Jackie Z !

G100 | Wash. Ichi and the "D"

M's 4 | Blue Jays 3

The Energizer Bunny (aka: Jarrod Washburn) just keeps on going....

HoHum, just another 7IP - 1R performance....
Unfortunately, Jarrod doesn't get a W for his efforts, thanks to Mark, who is aggravatingly inconsistent. But, the team got the win and that's what really counts.

"D" a sparklin' and shinin' bright...
Which, of course, makes Rosy one happy camper!
~ Lovin' Michael Saunders in LF
(even though Ryan Langerhans was no chopped liver)
~ Jack H makin' some super plays at the hot corner
(the 3 hits tonight and 1 RBI were a bonus!)
~ Chris Shelton with a beautiful snow cone catch in foul over the tarp

And then there was Ichiro...
3 hits, 2 runs and had the game-winning hit (a bases-loaded "dunker")
Believe it or not - it was Ichiro's first ever GWH!

AP Photo/Elaine Thompson

G95 | Wash the Revived

M's 2 | Tigers 1

whadaya say?
Jarrod just keeps on keepin' on...
another 7 strong innings allowing just 2 hits and 2 walks and ZERO runs. Mark showed he was human (allowing one run) but Sean and the D.A. came in to seal the series (2-1) vs. the Tigers of Detroit.

Even though they only scored "just enough" (2 runs) it was nice to see the 8 hits scattered throughout the lineup (3 of the 2B variety).

There was a rather news-worthy item...
Moments after Washburn helped the Seattle Mariners finish off a 2-1 win over the Detroit Tigers, he and his teammates gathered around clubhouse televisions to cheer the end of Mark Buehrle's perfect game against Tampa Bay.

"It would have been pretty hard for me to top that," Washburn said. "I've always liked him, though -- he's another crafty lefty and he wears my No. 56."

Disappointment and Progress | Home Highlights

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1-3 vs. the Orioles
3-1 vs. the Rangers



Bright Sights...

~ Jarrod! a one-hitter at the O's and a nice start vs. the Rangers
~ One of the greatest moments so far this season was Franklin's 8th inning 3-run homer that ended up winning the 1st game against Texas (Felix's reaction in the dugout was absolutely priceless)
~ Speaking of Felix - super, super performance - becoming and ACE before our eyes
~ Erik seems to be getting better - didn't quite get through 6, but progress made
~ Jason actually did well vs. the O's (a point forgotten in the despair of the loss) he was in trouble every inning but battled and battled (and battled himself right down to AAA)
~ Definitely some clutch hits and great defense enjoyed on the home stand



Bleak peeks...

The bullpen virtually imploded in the 2nd and 3rd games against the O's - here's hoping it was just one of those "blips" that pens go through (as they did end up rebounding nicely vs. the Rangers) and that with a little rest over the ASB they will come back with a vengeance

And, maybe add to their helmet collection helmet collection...

And the brigade of Spartan helmets above the bullpen bench did their job to perfection.

Spartan helmets?

The Mariners’ often-goofy band of relief pitchers has acquired an assortment of props for the pomp and ceremony that takes place nightly in the bullpen. Among them are three Spartan helmets.

When Johnson’s long fly carried over the fence to break a 1-1 tie, the ball bounced off the roof of the bullpen bench, which in turn caused one of the helmets to fall.

Crisis? Hardly.

“Nothing hurt,” reliever Chris Jakubauskas said. “That’s what it’s there for.”

Come again?

Basically, the helmets are placed in a spot on the roof over the bullpen bench so they overlook the field. In a symbolic way, they attract all that’s good for the Mariners and repel evil.

Fun Group :-)

G82 | one shy of perfect

Scoreboard
Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Baltimore (36-47)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Seattle (43-39) «	1	0	0	0	1	2	1	0	x	5	9	0

AP Photo/Ted S. Warren


M's 5 | O's 0

Well, despite not making a ton of progress on the wallpaper stripping project, I decided to treat myself and go to the game anyway...
boy, am I glad I did!

AWESOME performance by Jarrod and the "D" tonight!!
Nick Markakis's single in the 4th was Baltimore's ONLY BASE RUNNER and Jarrod went the distance the first one-hitter of his career (also the first one-hitter at Safeco Field)

I don't know when I've ever felt so confident in a pitcher as a fan during a game...
It was just 1-2-3, 1-2-3 (first 11 in-a-row, then the hit, then 16 in-a- row). He commented after the game how he made an adjustment in ST that just seems to be working, allowing him to get more ground balls and indeed he did (11gb - 13fb). Even though it seemed he threw a lot of first pitch balls ~ he only went to a 3-ball count on two batters.

As is usually the case with this type of outing, the "D" was great behind him (really nice to see especially the 'replacements' stepping up to take over for Adrian, Yuni and Endy). There was a bit of luck though (either that or Wak really knows how to read a crystal ball when it comes to defensive positioning) - there was a stretch for awhile there with nothing by "at-'em balls.


AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

Rather ironic that Jarrod finally gets a little run support and doesn't need it...
~Russell with a 1st inning homer to center
~Ichiro with an RBI single
~Chris with a 2-run double
~Ryan with a sac-fly


AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

It was a rather eerie sight at The Safe tonight, especially after it got dark...
None of the electronic scoreboards were working. The video board was functioning (and they ended up putting the pitch counts there w/each players picture) but all around the park the boards were dark. I always bring my radio, so the only thing I really missed was the pitch counts/speed. Of course the hand-operated scoreboard was working fine....


AP Photo/Ted S. Warren


Oh, another What was really cool, is that his parents were in attendance - in town from Wisconsin.

Oh, a Junior tid-bit...
I was sitting in the first row of the third deck over the M's dugout and at one point when Ichiro was at bat, I looked down and there was Junior at the rail (I think he was next to Rob) mimicking Ichiro as he was batting! I had heard that he did stuff like this, just never caught him in the act - it was hysterical!

Well, be interesting to see how Eirk follows up on this performance tomorrow....

One broom, one duster | Home Highlights

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3-3 from the Snakes
2-3 from the Pads



Bright Sights...

~ Junior's flair for the dramatic
a 3-run shot that tied a game vs. the D-Backs in the 8th inning - a game the M's would eventually win) and a solo shot (in a losing cause) vs. the Padres that was the 5000th in M's franchise history
~ Ichiro = hot, hot, hot
he continues to lead the majors in BA on his way to another 200+ hit season. He also recorded the 1900th hit in his major league career
~ Russell continues to muscle
picked up right where he left off after returning from his grandfather's funeral
~ So far so good, with the bat AND the glove for Wladdy filling in for Endy
~ Starters, for the most part were bright - Jarrod had two QS (and actually got one win!), Felix was Felix, Jason was good again and Brandon's making baby steps in improvement
~ Bullpen was sure and steady as per usual

And look, ma! An 11+ run differential for the home stand ;-)



Bleak peeks...

~ losing Endy (due to the outfield collision) for the season
~ losing Yuni (just when he was improving a few things) for a couple of weeks to hamstring strain

Win some, lose some | Road Reflections

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Oaktown and Disneyland (3-3)

They came OH SO close to 4-2


Two total heart-breakers...

The second game in Oakland that would have sealed the SERIES win...
Jarrod FINALLY get a tad bit of run support (3-0) and Miggy and Mark blow it in the 7th giving up four runs and that's all they would need.

The third game in Anaheim that would have meant SWEEP...
The offense FINALLY scores early and often and adds on (8-1 after top 6th) with enough to overcome the struggles that would eventually find Garrett. But, the D.A. (who has been awesome since assuming the closer's role) blows it in epic fashion in the ninth, yielding two hits, four walks and three runs (M's lose 8-9)

Here's hoping it is true what they say ...

"What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."

Bright Sights...

• Averaged 5.75 runs per game through the last four
• Adrian starting to come 'round ~ 4-multi-hit games
• Ichiro not only extended his hitting streak to 24 games - he collected 15 hits on the trip (including a homer and 3 doubles)
• Felix and Jason and Erik - oh Yeah!
• Jose late inning magic!

Bleak peeks...

• Jaku just never seems to have it vs. the A's ... go figure - he beats the Halos and the BoSox
• Same old, same old for Jarrod the past few years ... nearly non existent run support
• The bullpen has been the strength ... it was just a matter of time and over-use that weakened it

First losing homstand proves exciting but costly | Home Highlights

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A's and R's (2-3)


ROSY RAPTURE

A+ for excitement...
~ 4 out of 5 games decided by one run
~ wins in the 9th are fun (especially when the winning run scores on a single after a 14 pitch AB)
~ wins in the 15th are pretty exciting too (especially when the tie is broken three times!)

Some of the positive pitching numbers...
~ second best ERA in the AL (3.79)
~ fourth highest number of K's in the AL (184 - 14 above league avg)
~ fourth fewest number of BB's in the AL (86 - 7 below league avg)

Some of the positive batting numbers...
~ leading the AL in BA w/RISP (.312)
~ second lowest strikeout total in the AL (148 - 29 below league avg)


PALLID PONDERINGS

Bats need to get a little battier...
~ 25 runs isn't bad, but just a couple more runs and it's easily a 4-1 home stand As for the pitching
~ third lowest BA in the AL (.261)
~ last in the AL in BB (73 - 24 below league avg)

DL stints all too common...
See previous post - let it not be a trend



color me perplexed...
~ Jarrod and Erik have AWESOME outings each going 7IP w/ at least 6 K's and only 1ER) yet in both cases the team came away with the loss
~ Silva, Jaku and Felix all struggled in varying degrees from mightily to just not quite right, yet the team won 2 of those games

G4 | a shutDOWN shutOUT

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AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt

M's 2 | Twins 0

jarrod ~ what a nice sinker you have!
Apparently, Rick Adair gave Wash a few pointers about the pitch ~ certainly seemed to work. Eight innings of shut-out baseball in the Metrodome ain't too shabby!
He only surrendered 5 hits and one walk, while striking out four.

offense just enough...
Gotta tip your cap to the opposing pitcher whose line matched Jarrod's almost exactly, except in the run column. But, the offense was able to do just enough and then add some insurance in the ninth.

get back up on that horse!
No doubt there was some serious acid churning on the field and in the dugout as Brandon pitched to the first batter of the ninth inning ~ a walk on four straight pitches. But, then came two strikeouts and a flyout ~ works better than Malox, Tums and Rolaids combined!
defense just continues to impress
Yowsa - can that Franklin play center field! And Cedeno made a great play at third (Adrian DH'ing today) to Sweeney at first (who did some pretty impressive splits to stay on the bag). The web gems just keep piling up - I LOVE it!

split the four-gamer
Gotta love that - .500 on the road, in the Metrodome? I'll take it!

ON THE MOUND

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courtesy Kirby Arnold | HeraldNet


FELIXhernandez
RIGHT-HANDER
Last season: 9-11, 3.45 ERA
If Hernandez meets his prime goal, to stay healthy all year, he'll eclipse what was a pretty good season in 2008 despite the record. He made 30 starts for the third straight year and reached the 200-inning mark for the first time. How good was he on a bad team? Hernandez made nine starts when he went at least seven innings and allowed less than two earned runs. He went 3-2 in those games.



ERIKbedard
LEFT-HANDER
Last season: 6-4, 3.57
If the conditions were ever ripe for a comeback year, this is it for Bedard. Unlike last year when he squirmed under the scrutiny of being The Guy who would help turn around the Mariners, Bedard is flying under the radar now. He can thank the arrival of Ken Griffey Jr. for that, along with the fact that Hernandez is the likely opening-day starter. Good health is essential, because Bedard was solid when he was pitching last year. He's not a guy you can count on pitching deep into games, so keep the bullpen ready. But when he's on the mound, Bedard will keep the score down.



CARLOSsilva
RIGHT-HANDER
Last season: 4-15, 6.46
If there's a pitcher who needs to make a complete turnaround from 2008, it's Silva. He came to the Mariners a year ago on a four-year, $48 million free-agent contract with the promise that his sinker would be effective at Safeco Field. He was anything but that, suffering through injuries, weight gain and a 0-6 record over his final 11 starts.

This is supposed to be a new year, and Silva reported to spring training as a truly changed man. He lost 30 pounds after a winter of better eating choices and rigorous workouts that included yoga. But is he a changed pitcher? The spring training results are incomplete at best.

Silva worked with pitching coach Rick Adair on mechanical changes designed to create more downward plane and better movement on his pitches. It has been a chore, although Silva has struggled not so much with his mechanics as he has with his mental state. He was torched in his most recent exhibition start, blaming it on his desire to throw too hard, too perfectly even in the relatively relaxed setting of spring training.

"I want to do so good, I want to pitch so well and I screwed up everything," he said. "In the bullpen, I throw as good as anybody. I am so calm and relaxed that I can do what I want to do. In the game, when there is a hitter at home plate, I want to do more than I probably am capable of doing." The Mariners need a completely changed Silva this year, not a guy searching for his confidence.



JARRODwashburn
LEFT-HANDER
Last season: 5-14, 4.69
It's a surprise to some that Washburn is even on this team. The Mariners had a deal in place to trade him to the Twins late last season but team president Chuck Armstrong blocked it. So the Mariners still have a pitcher they'll pay $10.35 million this year, and he's trying to do what he can to earn it _ namely, by tweaking his repertoire. Washburn, who has relied on location and movement with his fastball to get hitters out, is mixing in more offspeed pitches, particularly a changeup.



RYANrowland-smith
LEFT-HANDER
Last season: 5-3, 3.42
Interestingly, Rowland-Smith is a converted reliever who would have started this season in the bullpen had Morrow remained a starter. Rowland-Smith made 12 starts late last season and made eight straight quality starts. He's a big Australian with a fiery aggressiveness and isn't afraid to challenge any hitter at any time. The Mariners want Rowland-Smith to define his pitching style and build a game plan around it.