g6 | swept out of Arlington

Mariners 3 | Rangers 7

AP Photo

Due to the early start time, I was only able to catch audio snippets of the game here and there.  Other than the walks, seems like Felix had a decent day (105P - 7IP - 6H - 2ER - 3BB - 6K) ~ especially considering the lineup he was going against and the ball park he was pitching in.

Unfortunately, there were a few too many similarities to 2010 in this game:  inability to drive in runs (2-6 w/RISP), bullpen implosion and THREE errors (TWO in ONE inning by Wilson that accounted for TWO unearned runs as well as his removal from the game).




Oh yeah - another injury.  Adam Moore to have an MRI on his knee tomorrow.  Here's hoping it's not too serious, but Shannon warns us to expect a roster move...


Now they head home to Seattle so come Friday night...
so we can welcome baseball back and say farewell to Dave.

ST26 | vs. Rangers

Mariners 4 | Rangers 5

NOT SPECTACULAR MOUND PRESENCE TODAY
French gave up a lot of hits (NINE) in FIVE innings allowing THREE runs, ONE walk and ZERO K's.  The "W's" (Wilhelmsen and Wright) continued to cruise through spring and the "P's" (Pauley and Patterson) each gave up ONE run (Patterson's coming in the 10th as the winning run for the Rangers)

OFFENSE EARLY SPARK AND THEN A FIZZLE
Figgy hit his first homer of the spring in the first inning with Ichiro on base.  Bradley singled, moved to second when Cust grounded out and scored on Langerhans single.  Then the lull began, as only TWO player reached base (and NONE scored) until Seager homered in the 8th to tie the game at four.

DEFENSE LOOKING SOLID (even the backups)
Heard most of the game on the radio today (a rarity) and the guys seemed pretty pumped about the D.  Only ONE double play, but Moore recorded a pick-off and Josh Wilson made some nifty plays at 2B.

NEWS AND NOTES

• Felix's final tune-up | Seattle Times
• Laffey's new focus | Mariners.com

ST3 | vs. D'backs

M's 3 | Diamondbacks 5

IMPRESSIVE CACTUS LEAGUE DEBUT FOR PINEDA
TWO scoreless, hitless innings with ONE strikeout

AND THERE WASN'T MUCH ELSE IN THE LOSS
as TWO of the FOUR Mariner hits didn't come till the 8th (Ackley double and Moore triple)

NEWS AND NOTES

• Shawn Kelley healing fast and well | Seattle PI
• M's add Laffey to the bullpen comp | Shannon Drayer
• Still no definitive word on Guti's tests...

Tomorrow, there is a baseball game!!!

OK, it's only intra-squad, but it's still baseball!

with two 22-year-olds taking the mound...

Pineada vs. Beaven


And, several countdowns have commenced...

• Charity game w/ Padres = this Sunday
• First Spring Training game = Tuesday, March 1st
• My trip to Arizona = Wednesday, March 16th
• Opening Day @ Athletics = Friday, April 1st  
• Home Opener vs. Indians = Friday, April 8th 

Some news and notes from AZ...

• Zduriencik hoping M's don't repeat drama of '10 | Tim Booth
• Adam Moore: At a Mariners crossroads | Larry Larue
• Guti out with stomach issues again | Shannon Drayer
• M's manager has no problem with young club | Kirby Arnold

Charlie Riedel / AP

g161 | 100 is a very round number

Mariners 3 | Athletics 5


Well, at least this one was a bit more competitive ...
but, didn't matter in the end, at least 100 losses on the books for the 2010 M's

David made it interesting through 3.2 ...
retiring the first ELEVEN A's he faced but, with TWO out in the FOURTH gave up back-to-back solo shots to Mark Ellis (who ALWAYS seems to kill the M's over SO many years - even though he still looks about TWELVE) and Jack Cust.  Davis still had a decent outing, going SEVEN innings and giving up THREE homers (the other a 2-run jack by Chris Carter)

Nice to see some extra base hits from the young ones ...
Michael with his TENTH homer, Justin with TWO doubles (ONE rbi) and Adam with a double

g156 | wait, what ... RUNS, what are they?

Mariners 7 | Rangers 5 


SEVEN runs?  after SIX yesterday?
who are these guys and what have you done with my Mariners?

offense, it's a beautiful thing...
albeit too little, too late for this season but, good to see the young ones starting to come through (FIVE of the 10 hits and THREE of the 7 runs were from "the future" (Justin, Adam, Greg)

David did a very nice job...
scattered EIGHT hits through SIX innings but, only gave up a couple runs and a couple walks.  Vavaro had a rough outing but the rest of the pen (Garrett, Jamie and Brandon) came through like charms, yielding only ONE hit and TWO K's over 2.2 IP.

g120 | The Luke and Tui Show

Mariners 4 | Orioles 0

Quality start by Luke...
only three hits and the first one not till one out in the 6th

All four runs driven in by Tui...
double in the 5th to score Adam Moore and homer in the 9th with Guti and Casey aboard.

Are we seeing the the beginnings of young talent coming to fruition?

't will be an interesting last few weeks...
Here's hoping we will get a chance to see what the youngsters can do so the needs can be properly assessed going into the winter.

g119 | yet another loss in extries...

Mariners 4 | Orioles 5

M's tie it up 3-3 with back-to-backers in the 3rd inning (Russell and Jose) and it would stay that way till Adam Moore homered in the 10th, but the O's would tie it right back up when Adam Jones scored on a bases-loaded walk by Julio Lugo (off David, who really struggled ... too much work lately?) and then Adam Jones would break the tie in the 11th with a squeeze bunt.

So, apparently, the TWELVE left on base was more significant to the outcome than the THREE homers.

*sigh*


On a happier note, I received a lovely, unexpected gift today...
A signed and framed panoramic photo of "First Pitch" at Safeco Field.  I was there all those years ago and now, thanks to a generous friend, I have a memento to cherish.  I'm taking it as a good omen for things to come in the future :-)