g7 | 9th inning drama that favors the M's?!? In Arlington?!?

Mariners 4 | Rangers 3

I had to work late, so was unable to watch the game (other than quick glances at At Bat) but, I was able to listen, on my way home, to what turned out to be the best part - a bit of the 8th and all of the 9th!

23-straight, scoreless innings (but who's counting? not me!) and then came the 8th which was...

Really good = a lead-triple by Jaso and an rbi single by Ackley

Getty Images

and, Really bad = strikeout by Figgy and a GDIP by Ichi

But hey, the scoreless draught was over, although most were probably thinking, 

"too little, too late" 

or, 

"M's up to their old non-tricks again"

Not so fast, Speed Racer. The M's had plans. They had plans for their bats, plans for their legs, plans for their arms, plans for where that little round ball was gonna go but, most of all, they had plans for touching home plate one more time than the Rangers tonight.

Yes indeed, the 9th inning was a thing of beauty...

a lead-off single by Smoak, a double by Seager and a sac-fly by Jesus and, whah-lah! One run closer.

Kawasaki had pinch run for Seager and he scored from third when Saunders hit his second double of the night. Then, get this, Michael STEALS 3B! 

Getty Images

OK, all was not beautiful cuz Ryan struck out and Michael was still standing at 3B. But then, wanting to out-do his ownself in his Mariners debut, John Jaso brings Michael home with a single to shallow center. 

And then it was BLT...

M's took a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the 9th and, without too much drama (a fly-out, a single, a strikeout, a wild pitch and a line-out) Brandon walked off the mound and to fist bump with Jesus to celebrate his third save and the M's fourth win.

A win in Arlington. whodathunk it?

Possibly lost in the the after-glow of the 9th inning luster was...

Mr. Millwood's Mariner debut. Certainly nothing lustrous about his first inning (all 34 pitches worth) but amazingly, he was able to escape by allowing only one run. Then, over the next 5 innings he would give up only a walk, a single and a double but NO runs and, in fact, retire 15 of the last 17 batters he faced. I heard tell that there were a couple of times early on that he summoned Jesus to the mound in order to get on the same page. Good on him, that's how the lad is going to learn. Hard to imagine Jesus not paying attention to that voice (man, does Millwood have some pipes!)

Anyhoo, I had the thought when I first saw the lineup tweeted this afternoon...

that this seemed to be a great opportunity to get Jesus behind the plate for his Mariners catching debut. Sure, Arlington can be a scary place for a battery but, Mr. Millwood knows it like the back of his hand, not to mention most of the hitters he would be facing. What better on-the-job mentor for Jesus?

One more game in Texas and then our guys FINALLY get to head home from their first little road trip that took them from Zona to Toyko back to Zona to Oakland and to Arlington. Considering all that, sure is nice that they have a chance to split the 4-game set with the Rangers but, no matter what, they will open tomorrow at Safeco Field with no worse than a .500 record.

I'd take that in a Seattle second ... cheers!

movin' on up...

M's farm system now boasts FIVE players in the Top 100...

• C Jesus Montero (#12)
• LHP Danny Hultzen (#16)
• RHP Taijuan Walker (#18)
• INF Nick Franklin (#52)
• LHP James Paxton (#77)

And, they even have a "cover-boy"...

Media Day...

Lots of interesting "tweet tid-bits" from yesterday's Mariners Media Day - good news such as...

14 + / -
~Justin Smoak has lost 14lbs and 4% body fat
~Guti has gained 14lbs of muscle (with no signs of stomach trouble)

Casper Wells has been working out regularly and has had no further equilibrium issues

710ESPN will broadcast the games in Japan vs. the A's, as well as the exhibition game vs. Hanshin

But, the most eye-opening factoid was this...

Of the 65 invitees to Spring Training - 55 have less than five years time in the big leagues, 45 have less than one year.  Yowsa - talk about baby M's!

Then, of course, there was everyone's favorite photo of the day...

via TwitPic

Jack Z, Carl W, Shawn K and ... HeyZeus!!!

Some snippets from the Hot Stove League Show..
first up, Jack Z's segment ~paraphrased~
(I'm no court reporter ;-) )

on the Montero acquisition in general...
~ obviously we've been on this guy for quite awhile
~ we played a big price but, you have to give something good to get something good

on the unique aspect of making a trade that is "youth for youth"...
One of the big things is years of control ... he mentioned that when he "landed here", there weren't any talented players that were making NO money - they were ALL making big dollars.  To get 18 rookies last year and, this year we are going to add a few more, is pretty unique.  They scoured everything to find an upper echelon YOUNG hitters and settled on a list of only FOUR hitters - this is the guy they coveted and he told Brian Cashman, "By the way - I've gotta get a pitcher back!"

on Jesus the man...
Most of these deals you try to do your homework on but you don't really "know" the players.  He had a chance to have lunch with Jesus and spend a couple hours downtown with him - walked away VERY impressed.  He was very insightful, composed, confident, compassionate. He called Eric (Wedge) immediately and said, "We are gonna like this kid".  You can tell he's cut from the right cloth...

on the catching options...
A few of the guys have options and if they have to go to AAA then so be it.  And, there is always a chance for injuries.  Could carry three at the big league level.  Will have ALL our folks make their OWN evaluations of Jesus as a catcher - and will get a good solid look at him in ST.

on Spring Training hopes in general...
#1 Health.
Beyond that, guys to step up and contribute.  He spoke of the (Wedge instigated) "pre-ST eval" that took place a couple weeks agoa.  Nine guys that came to Seattle for a little extra strength, conditioning and nutrition coaching/direction. To a man (Olivo, Ackely, Figgins, Seager, Smoak, Guti, Jaso, Wells and Ryan) they reported in great shape (e.g., Guti gained weight, Smoak and Olivo trimmed down)

Pitching coach Carl Willis provided some thoughts on a couple of his young arms...
~ Hector Noesi - kid that has average to above average fast ball, good control and command, average change up, curve ball and slider.  Many scouts have him over Nova.
~ Danny Hultzen - saw only one game, went 3+ innings impressed with demeanor fast ball command and feel for the change up. For a kid just stepping out of college he is very disciplined and eager to learn the routine of the pros.

Shawn Kelley is back!
He's been working out getting stronger and healthier and get his velocity back.  When he was able to come back toward the end of the season, he felt his command and stuff was there, confidence each outing got better and better of being comfortable on the mound.  Learned he doesn't have to rely on velocity if he can rely on his command.  He took a lot away from the experience - able to prove to himself and the coaches that he could come back from his second surgery.


And, last but not least - the man of the day, Jesus Montero!

on his visit to the city so far...
It's been fun, it's been good.  It's only the second time he has seen snow in his life (first was in Indiana).  He is happy to be here with this team and they are going to give him more opportunity in his life and in his career.  The Yankees taught him to do a lot in baseball but, he's proud the Seattle Mariners will give him "an opportunity to show people who Jesus Montero is for real."  He's going to help the pitchers win.

growing up in Venezuela...
lt's fun, good, amazing to to him that he used to watch Edgar Martinez hit home runs. He is going to work so hard behind the plate. Looking at Felix as a superstar - he played against Jesus's older brother and was the only pitcher to strike out everyone on the team.

on what Spring Training will be like...
The staff and coaches will teach him about the pitchers, there will be lots of papers to study and will talk to the pitchers a lot and get to know them and be on the same page all the time.

he just wants to play hard...
He's been catching since he was four years old but, he will play where ever he is needed - just wants to have some fun in the field and play hard.

"I'm gonna do my best, I want to help them to win, we will be the best - you'll see."

Oh - apparently, Matt Pitman got some bad information....
Jesus is NOT a soccer fan.
He IS a drag racing fan (even has two cars of his own - but he doesn't drive them!)

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night (nor ice storms!)

Well, it's FINALLY official...

We must say goodbye to Michael and Jose ;-( and

Welcome Jesus and Hector!

Mariners land Montero in 'old-fashion' trade| MLB.com

"We had a need, and to get a really good player, you have to give up good players," Zduriencik said once the deal was announced following completion of Montero's physical exams. "Neither one of us was trying to walk away from this thinking we got the upper hand. There were no contracts involved, it was strictly talent for talent." 

The stunning part of the deal was the level of the talents, with Montero widely regarded as one of the premier young hitting prospects in the game and Pineda already having achieved American League All-Star status last year as a rookie.Yankees general manager Brian Cashman acknowledged there was a lot of clenched teeth by both sides before doing a deal with such budding young players. 

"Jesus may very well be the best player I've ever traded, and I've been doing this a long time," Cashman said in a conference call with New York writers. "He's a middle-of-the-lineup bat who is very gifted. He's a good kid and he's going to have a heckuva career. It's not easy to make these decisions. But at the same time, we're excited about what we're getting."

Happy Birthday to me!

I don't remember ever having snow on my birthday.  But then, they say the memory is the first to go.

No doubt this is what people around the country are imaging when hearing the weather reports for our fair city :-)

photo credit unknown ... pulled from facebook

I think it may have gotten even MORE difficult for Jesus Montero to hit any out at Safeco Field ;-)

Goodbye beloved Diabolical, Hello reluctant Savior...

I've had some time now to read, reflect, mourn and start the process all over again... several times.

So, I get it.  
There are three certainties in life: death, taxes and the Mariners never-ending need for offense.

But, it's hard.  Really hard.  Especially for one like me who ADORES pitching and defense.
Give me 1-0 game over a 10-9 on any day of the week and twice on Sundays.

But, I get it.
Scoring is a necessary evil and the M's were lacking in that necessity .... like, epically lacking.

But, Michael was ours. We watched him grow, we watched him glow. I loved how he would walk to the back of the mound and have a little chat with himself when things weren't going as planned (and, more often than not, it worked!). Of course you could see his grin in person or on TV but, you could also "hear" it when listening to him via the radio. His love for the game was complete and pure.

Yet, I get it.
To get you have to give. No pain, no gain. Well, we are giving and it's painful.

Michael, it seemed, is the closest thing we will ever get to another Felix. But, he is his own man, his own pitcher and as much as Felix seemed to enjoy mentoring Michael, he knew and respected that fact - he let him learn his own lessons, his own way.

Yes, I get it.
Baseball is a business as well as a pastime. Sometimes assets have to shift - for the good of the whole.

I'll never forget how excited I was to see Michael make his Safeco Field debut last April - I even upgraded my seats for the occasion. Then on a day in late May, he told Shannon Drayer it was a great day because he bought his first car and made his first start against the Yankees (I was at that one as well).  He was one of the few bright and shining beacons in another abysmal year of baseball in Seattle.  He represented hope and gave us a reason to go to the ballpark.

But now it's time for him to leave the nest...
(though it's not official yet) Michael will be headed to the Big Apple to pitch in pinstripes. He will be the first Yankee I will openly root for (except when he pitches against the M's of course) and I wish him nothing but supreme success.

In return, we welcome Jesus Montero to our fair city, to our beloved team...
eager to see how his highly touted bat will contribute and if he's able to catch on at catcher.

One thing is clear, it is a two-way street...
Yankee fans are lamenting the loss of Jesus as much (or more) as Mariner fans are dreading Michael's departure. They were looking forward to seeing him in their lineup all year long (likely as DH) providing a much needed spark of youth to a good, but aging lineup.  And, though many recognize Michael's huge potential up-side, they are concerned that they gave up too much - that a power arm is much riskier than a power bat.  I, of course, assured them that Michael is humbly confident and the epitome of a hard worker and eager learner and that they will NOT be disappointed.

And so here we are...
Two fan bases churning through a gamut of emotions regarding the young players being exchanged. I thought this time-lapsed photography of the sunset last Friday evening in Seattle ~happening just as "the trade" details were emerging~ serves as a photographic analogy of those emotions... a flicker of light, slowly becoming brighter, beautiful in it's depth and breadth, burning in it's intensity, yet as you watch, you know darkness looms...

The anticipation and excitement of exchanging young stars for the betterment of both teams is palpable but, so is the sincere feeling of loss reverberating from both coasts.

Goodbye beloved Diabolical (as the late, great Dave Niehaus coined his slider), you WIll be missed.

FantasyBaseballSportal.com

Hello reluctant Savior - we can't wait to get to know you and hope, one day, we can call you our own.

Daily News

wow, oh wow ... Jesus coming, Michael going ....

Here are just a few of the barrage of tweets from earlier tonight as rumor turned reality in a matter of minutes...

jcrasnickThe #Mariners are moving closer to a trade for a young impact hitter, two baseball sources confirmed.
StoneLarryWouldn't be surprised if deal referenced by @jcrasnick involves Michael Pineda and Jesus Montero. Rumblings in that direction.
JonHeymanCBSSea does have deal according to @jcrasnick. @stonelarry hearing rumblings it MAY involve pineda and montero
GregJohnsMLBNo confirmation from team, but source says Mariners sending Pineda and Jose Campos to Yankees for Jesus Montero/Hector Noesi.
StoneLarrySnap judgment is I like the trade. Tough to give up Pineda, but M's have young pitching depth, and desperately needed a high-upside bat.
JonHeymanCBSso seattle picks up a pitcher on cusp of mlb in noesi along with big bat montero. #yanks thrilled to upgrade rotation w/ pineda
GregJohnsMLBEarly reaction: Yankees fans upset at losing Montero, Mariners fans upset at giving up Pineda. Both are top young 22-yr.olds.
jaysonstMontero-Pineda is one of most fascinating deals in years. Two young studs with star power. No money factor. A pure, old-time baseball trade




It won't be "official" until the physicals are complete and accepted.
Still processing it all ... more later.