g107 | wait, what? a win??

Mariners 3 | Rangers 2

Nice win for the new daddy!
Jason threw a lot of pitches and walked three (all of the lead-off variety) but he got through six giving up only two runs on three hits and was rewarded with his 7th win (his first since July 18th vs. the Halos)

Figgy to Jack to Casey ...
Very nice DP to get Brandon out of DEEP doo-doo in the 8th after he walked the first two batters and then had runners at the corners with only one out

Nice job by Jamey and David ...
only one hit combined and no walks between the two innings they pitched and the DA gets his 19th save

Not exactly an offensive explosion ...

But the ELEVEN hits are a good sign, including two for extra bases (a Guit homer and a Tui single) and a safety squeeze

Nice catch, kid!

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

g102 | rough ride on the south side...

Mariners 5 | White Sox 6

I think I know who's going to win the World Series ;-)
I realize the M's aren't the greatest of competition but, MAN do the Sox look strong.

Lots of good stuff in this game, despite the loss ...
~ Early runs off Buehrle
~ 11 hits, including a double and a home run
~ 5 runs, in the first two innings!
~ the bullpen looking much better of late

't was the "Figgy Show" ...
~ 2 hits, 2 runs, 2 rbi
~ his first Mariner home run
~ a steal of home!

and the bad part ...
~ Jason not havin' it (3 homers, yikes!) in a game where he FINALLY gets some support
~ 9 men left on base

g97 | viva la Vargas!

Mariners 1 | Red Sox 2

Tell me something new, you say?

Sorry, not gonna happen...

Jason pitches ANOTHER quality start ...
7IP - 8H - 2ER - 3BB - 2K
and once AGAIN has to take the LOSS.

JOEY ANCHONDO / THE SEATTLE TIMES

The good thing is, Jason has been fairly efficient with his pitches (101 tonight) so hopefully that will enable him to continue pitching deep into games for the rest of the season.  Seems like this is really important in terms of his development after surgery, both in terms of experience (getting his mechanics, etc. just right) AND in terms of physical stamina (getting stretched out to go be able to go 200+ innings next year).  As for the mental side ... Jason's got NO problem there ~ he will absolutely not be intimidated by anyone ~ the guy is the coolest cucumber this side of Cliff Lee.

As for the offense ...
Another scoreless innings count has begun - tomorrow's game will start at eight without a run.

Oh, by the way, I was at the game, you know... 
at "Fenway Northwest".  There were RS fans all around, but actually, at least the ones around me were civil and not really obnoxious at all.  Good to see that, despite the two losses in a row, the Mariners have at least quieted them down and maybe even made them sweat a bit ;-)

And of course, there was the dust up...

No time for this now, have to absorb some of the reports and interviews and will provide opinion later.

g92 | salvaged ... in more ways than one

Mariners 2 | Angels 1

The win averted a sweep as well as averting attention from more base-running blunders.
Who should come to the Mariners rescue?  Why Jose, of course!  (I believe he led the team in game winning hits last season).  Here's hoping he is poised for a strong second half.  Anyhoo, in the 10th, Guti reached 1B via fielder's choice and then stole 2B.  Jose singled Guti home for what would prove to be the winning run.

~ M's save a bit of face by four-game sweep avoidance
~ Ichiro's boo-boo is forgotten (caught in a run-down between 2B and 3B for the second out of the 10th)
...or not ...

"Ichi's got to make sure that ball gets through, and he didn't,'' Wakamatsu said. "That ball's in froint of him, and he gets caught off guard there.''

It was reminiscent of Friday's game in which Jack Wilson was thrown out trying to go from first to third on a single to left.

"That's not good baseball, and those are veteran players,'' Wakamatsu said. "Those two plays, the balls in front of them. They have to make better decisions.''

Too bad for Jason ...
Once again he throws a quality start and has nothing to show for it.  I decided to look up run support and here's what I found:  going into today's game there were 58 starting pitchers with at least 80 innings pitched.  Jason is 57th of the 58 in run support.  And, oh by the way, RRS is 50th, Cliff is 52nd, Doug is 54th and Felix is 56th.

g85 | groundhog day...

Mariners 1 | Yankees 3

~ Jason with ANOTHER quality start and and other NO DECISION to show for it.
~ BASES LOADED again and NO RUNS to show for it.
~ Two DP's, but also two ERRORS.

A stat just caught my eye ...
The M's starting pitchers have 51 quality starts that have equated to all of 34 wins.


Kudos to Andy, a rare bird that's getting better with age.

g80 | another series lost...

Mariners 1 | Tigers 6

Apparently, third time was the charm for Mr. Verlander (M's had beaten him twice already this season).

Jason started out great...
cruised through the first three innings, but then came the fourth where he gave up two, but it could have been much worse.  But in the fifth, things really fell apart... another four runs.

On the good side of the pitching ledger....
Brian and David P combined for three innings of scoreless relief.

And then there was the hitting, or lack thereof....
Strange how they are able to have back-to-back seven run games and then score all of four runs in the next three games.

Time for Clifton to salvage the series tomorrow...

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)

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

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!

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.

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?  

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.

:-)

g46 | eighth inning magic

Mariners 5 | Tigers 4

Wow - a sweep of the Tiggers!
OK, 't was only a two game series - but considering it's the first series win since the end of April when they took 2-3 from the Royals, I think they'll take it.

Jason wasn't terribly sharp but was able to get through five only allowing 2 runs.  RRS and Brandon didn't do so quite so well and weren't helped at all by the defense (something that is increasingly disturbing).  But, thanks to some eighth inning offensive magic (what? is this the M's?) from a Guti single, a Mike homer, a Lopey single, a Rob double and a Josh single that equated to 4 runs and then throw in a 1-2-3 ninth by the DA ... it didn't matter in the end.

Certainly hoping this offensive spark and the good feeling of two wins vs a good team will carry over to the weekend in the land of Disney....
where there will be both a Happy Felix Day and a Happy Cliff Day :-)

I'll have to miss all the games, as I'm headed to Austin, Texas in the morning for the long weekend to visit my daughter who just moved there.

Go Mariners!!!

g41 | happy, happy, joy, joy

Mariners 4 | Blue Jays 3

TED S. WARREN / The Associated Press   AP

12:30pm on a weekday is a crummy time for a baseball game to start.

But, Junior finally reminded us of how great one can end.

At last ... on the right side of a walk-off win!

Congratulations to Don Wakamatsu who notches his 100th win as Mariner Manager
(and gets tossed for the first time as a major league skipper in the process!)

g36 | it's a sad, sad situation . . .

Mariners 2 | Rays 3
. . . and it's getting more absurd.
Not exactly what Elton John and Bernie Taupin had in mind when the wrote the song, but it seems to fit, none the less.

Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images

So sad that another stellar starting pitching performance goes to waste...
So sad that the bullpen takes the heat for not being perfect....
So sad that the offense can't score more than 2 runs per game with any consistency (despite Sweeney's third home run in as many games and Figgy's second double)...
So sad that Adam got hurt just when he was starting to break out offensively...


But, gotta give credit where credit is due ~ Shields was really good (8IP and 10K)


Still got a chance to take the series ... would help make this road trip a little less sad...

g31 | exhaaaaaaaaale!

Mariners 8 | Angels 1
And, a Happy Mother's Day it was!

AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey

Especially for Michael Saunders mom . . .

"Getting one today was really special, with my mom in the stands," Saunders said. "She's been through a lot for the last 11-12 years, battling cancer and everything. So not only was it special for me to hit a home run, it was more special that she was here to see it."  Jane Saunders has been battling various forms of cancer since Michael was 11. She's had four different stints with the disease, which recently returned again.

on the mound
Jason was great again - through seven, he  gave up only four hits, walked on and struck out four.  The lone earned run he allowed came after he walked the lead-off batter in the eighth and Brandon came in and struck out the next batter, suffered an error behind him and then threw a wild pitch.  Shawn pitched a scoreless ninth.

at the plate
wow - 12 HITS!  2 doubles, 1 triple and 2 home runs! (not to mention 4 stolen bases - 2 of which scored).  And, the most important thing .... more runs than the other team
Whodathunk that when the M's finally hit back-to-back home runs, it would be Josh Wilson and Michael Saunders?!?  The M's needed a spark in the worst way and they finally got it.  Now, here's hoping they can keep that spark stoked on the off-day travel to Baltimore.

If there was a negative about the game, it was that the M's could have easily had 3 more runs - two runners were thrown out at the plate and one was picked off 3B (with one out).

leather-works
Despite the Josh's error and Adam's passed ball, the "D" overall has looked MUCH better the past couple of games.  They even managed a double-play yesterday.

Meanwhile, Alan Cockrell is the scapegoat for M's quiet bats.

In other news, Congrats to Dallas Braden!
Perfect game vs. the Rays - wow.  Guess he can answer A-Rod's question about "what has he done..." now with - "something only 19 players in HISTORY have done".

g26 | home, apparently, not where the heart is

Mariners 1 | Rays 5

Certainly not where the runs are....

Or the gloves...
4 errors?!? 3 by JDub?

Jason becomes the latest in the long line of hard luck losers from the Mariners rotation....
6.2IP - 4H - 3ER - 3BB - 8K (career high)  - not too shabby vs. the best team in baseball.

~sigh~   

Tip o' the cap to Mr. Shields.
Doesn't get any easier - Mr. Garza tomorrow.

Road Reflections | CHI, KC

Chicago was about as bad as it gets...
Three games, three heart-breaking losses, all by one-run (in fact, all but one of the games on this road trip were decided by one run, and that one by two).  To twist the knife a bit more, two were walk-offs and one was in the 8th.  RRS continued to struggle, Doug and Jason continued to shine.  While the bullpen's lapse was a bit concerning, the late surge by the offense in two of the three games was encouraging.  As for the "D", despite a couple of errors, there were five DP's turned.

Back on track in KC...
Felix took his first loss, but still put up a quality start (maybe not to "Felix quality", but quality nonetheless).  Ian's line wasn't great, but the way in which he was able to escape self-induced trouble was pretty impressive.  RRS was on his way to a solid start, looking good for five innings, but couldn't finish things in the 6th - apparently, April is not his month.  As for the rest of the pitching staff, right back up on that horse, er,  mound they got.  The pen as a whole pen recovered pretty darn well from their debacle on the South Side - pitching 8 scoreless innings in KC and the DA notched two more saves (of the one-run variety).  The offense, while certainly far from potent, showed a little spunk, especially in the last game, bunching some runs to go ahead early, losing the lead and then scratching out a run late to win.

Regarding Jose...
Something occurred to me the other day.  Many are concerned, understandably so, about the offense and there's already be quite a lot of mention about Jose ... his lack of patience, etc. This is nothing new and he's typically a slow starter.  The thing that struck me was the lack of concern about something that many had a fair amount of trepidation about going into the season... how would he perform at his new position?  Well, so far, question answered - in spades!  He has not only performed adequately, he has embraced the change and seems very comfortable in his new home at the hot corner.  Considering the shoes he had to fill, this is excellent, if seldom mentioned, news.

Milty = Mr Happy...
Some good signs from MB ... he was out of commission in Chicago, but back in action in KC and contributing.  Some nice gestures with the fans as well - like when he tried to toss a ball to a Mariner fan above the M's dugout in KC, but a Royals fan interviened and caught the ball - he went into the dugout, got another ball and personally handed it to the fan.  Love it.

g19 | bristles on the south side it is...

Mariners 2 | White Sox 3
Holy Moly!  Another great start spoiled by the bullpen.  And some thought (maybe me included) that it was going to be the bullpen bailing out the starters not named Felix.  Three games, three one-run losses .... what happened to those guys who racked up all those one-run victories last season?

Kudos to Jason.  Another stellar start, made even more impressive by how he was able to overcome early struggles - he threw a ton of pitches and yielded a run in the first, but settled down and almost got through the 7th (you could tell he was peeved having to come out of the game).  Sean was able to get the last out of the 7th, but Brandon gave up homer to Konerko (his 3rd of the series) in the 8th.  And, despite the M's getting two on, with two out in the top of the 9th, that homer would prove to be the game winner.

Thank goodness they are gettin' the heck out of Chicago....

On to KC ... and Felix Day tomorrow!

oh  by the way - nice rehab start for Cliff down in Tacoma

6IP - 3H - 0BB - 0ER - 4K

Can't wait for Friday night at The Safe, when Mr. Lee makes his Mariner debut (I'll be there in the Terrace Club!)

g15 | series win!

Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

Mariners 3 | Orioles 1
And some were worried about the 3,4,5 .... hmph!
As mentioned previously, we'll cut Ian some slack with the emotional AND physical stuff he's had to deal with the past 10 days or so.  We saw Mister Fister last night and the start before last and now.... methinks some difficult decisions coming for Skip and crew when Mr. Lee returns...

on the hill
~ Jason records his second SOLID start...
7IP - 3H - 1R (in the first) - 2BB - 5K
~ Mark in the 8th
~ David in the 9th
The way it's spoze to be :-)

at the plate
Not quite the hit explosion of last night, but certainly adequate, considering the pitching performance.  Nice to see the hits spread throughout the lineup and a couple more doubles (Adam and Jack)

leather-works
Jose had a little boo-boo, but also a really nice bare-handed charge play.  Again, just lookin' more and more like he belongs at the hot corner.  And Kotch continues to dig...

Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

Tomorrow.... Felix Day!