g47-g50 | while I was away...

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that I missed much while in Austin ...

Seems the M's catching woes continued, prior to the short road trip - Josh Bard was placed on DL  and Alphonso was called up from AAA.  Jack Hannahan was designated for assignment.

The series started out with a bang with a convincing win over the Halos on Friday night in the land of Disney...
Mariners 8 | Angels 3

Then, despite a large, early lead, the Halos managed to tie up the second game and win in "grand" fashion with a grand slam off Brandon in the 10th (although, they lost their star first-baseman, possible for the season as he suffered a broken ankle as a result of the celebration at home plate)...
Mariners 1 | Angels 5

And, once again, defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory in the third game of the series, as the Halos hit another walk-off homer.  This time in the 9th, with DA pitching with a one-run lead...
Mariners 7 | Angels 9

Maybe things would improve at home?  Nope.  Looked like maybe they could pull out some late-inning magic of their own, but it proved to be too little, much too late..
Mariners 4 | Twins 5

Apparently, bullpen composition will be a bit different come tonight's game as  Jesus and Tex were designated for assignment in favor of Sean White and Garrett Olson.  Shannon seems to think it will help - here's hoping she's right.  Certainly can't hurt at this point.

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!)

g11 | eleven is a nice number..

courtesy Compass Rosy's PalmPrePlus

Mariners 11 | Tigers 3
I usually enter the stadium through the Right Field gate because I walk from Stadium Station after disembarking from light rail.  Tonight though, I walked all the way around to the west side because I had some business to do at the Ticket Exchange window - traded three of my View Reserve seats for one Terrace Club seat (first row!) for the Friday night game vs. the Rangers on the 30th.  So, that put me near the Home Plate entrance ... little did I know when I snapped the photo above (Batting 1.000 - one thousand bats) that it would be a bit of an omen for the the M's bats tonight - and they would absolutely explode!  (of course, at this point, I'm thinking I need to enter through that gate from now on - what the heck, I could use the exercise).

Anyhoo, I was doubly, er triply excited ...
~ first Friday night game (always my favorite)
~ Felix Day
~ AND, was looking forward to sitting in my new seat in section 331
My old seat was in section 339, so I still headed to my normal concession stand to get a corn dog - but, what's this?  Gyros!  Even better ... Yum!  Then I find my way to my seat and BOY am I happy with it.  I'm in the last row of the first section of the third level (up against the wall) ... and, it's an aisle seat just a smidge to the 3rd base side of home plate - awesome.

OK, now the game - whew!
Let's have some more fun with numbers, shall we?

FOUR 0 NINE Guti's average
TWELVE hits
ELEVEN runs
TEN total Tiger K's
NINE by Felix
SIX walks
THREE sac flys
THREE two out rbi
TWO stolen bases
ONE double play (Felix to Jack to Casey)
ONE triple
ONE sac bunt
ONE bunt base hit
ZERO homers
ZERO doubles

The SIX runs the M's scored in the 5th inning was more than any game total so far this season.  Talk about a breakout ... even this pitching and defense gal can appreciate that (especially given the slumbering lumber of late).

Felix has made THREE starts so far and the M's have won all of them but, this was win number ONE for Felix. He and Bonderman both started out great, but Bonderman would lose it in the 3rd (and never recover) while Felix had a little hiccup in the 4th but, was able to regain his composure and command.  His 105 pitches wouldn't quite get him through SEVEN (he went 6.2) but with a NINE run lead, at least he could exit (with the tip of his cap to a standing "O") comfortably.

AP Photo/Elaine Thompson

When asked if he had everything working, Hernandez smirked and said, "Yep," before laughing."Everything was good," he said. "Everything was working."---Seattle Times

Sean and Mark gave up a couple of hits and a run respectively in "garbage time" but that was all she wrote .... M's win!! M's win!!

Of course everyone loves solid pitching and stellar D.  But, I'm likely in the minority in lovin' this kind of offense.  Maybe I'm just getting old (like a certain "Kid" we know).  Sure, home runs are exciting and sexy.  But infield hits, sac flies, sac bunts, stolen bases are interesting and ... cerebral ;-)

And, whether some like it or not ...
it's Mariners Baseball.

Oh, by the way, lovin' my view from section 331...

courtesy Compass Rosy's PalmPrePlus

g8 | well, so much for the home cookin'

Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

Mariners 0 | Athletics 4
I remember turning to my mother-in-law after the great pre-game ceremonies (Jack Z and Ichiro receiving their awards, the National Anthem, Randy's first pitch, the Make-a-wish kid running the bases, etc.) and saying, "Wow, that was pretty great, and we still get to watch a ball game!"
Little did I know, the pre-game would be the highlight.

Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

AP

Looks like retirement agrees with the Big Unit, that's the biggest smile I've ever seen on him.  So anyway....

on the hill
RRS was looking awesome, perfect in fact, through three.  Then the A's were able to score one in the 4th, still without the benefit of a hit when Ryan walked the bases loaded and Oakland scored on a sac-fly.  Ryan was able to escape without further damage with a pretty nifty DP turned behind him. The A's first hit didn't come until the 6th - and it counted, a home run to left.  The five walks were u g l y - but.... the 7IP and 3H (vs. a hot team) were good and hopefully something to build on.  Shawn and Sean allowed one hit and no runs each in the 8th and 9th innings respectively.

at the plate
How 'bout let's not even go there.  Suffice it to say, the M's were shut-out for the first time this season.

leather-works
A couple of awesome DP's and definitely seeing why Kotchman is manning 1B.

There was that little faus-paux by Milty in LF that allowed two runs to score - hard to say though - was it Ryan's walks, Rob's drop of a third strike or MB's error that was really to blame?  None of it was good, that's for sure.

Tip o' the cap the the A's and especially to Justin Duchscherer.

Anderson and Mr. Fister tomorrow...

g5 | good start, bad finish

AP

Mariners 2 | Rangers 6
Once again, not a great start time for optimal viewing/listening pleasure (since the game was more than half over by the time I left work) but here's what I gather from what I did catch and read about...

on the hill
Jason got off to a great start - yielding only five hits and one run (solo shot) through five innings.  Then, the wheels fell off and unfortunately, Shawn wasn't much help, although Sean did well after that - too little, too late.

at the plate
Not a lot to crow about here either - only six hits.  Although with three for extra bases (including Casey's first home run as a Mariner) you'd expect at least a couple more runs - but no when you go 0-7 w/RISP.

leather-works
A couple trademark "Guti-gloves" (one in the photo above) were the defensive highlights.
No errors (like the nightmare that was the Oakland series) but no DP's either.

Tomorrow = FELIX DAY!

Mariner Matters | 9.7

Brandon to take Luke's spot in the rotation and Sean appears down for the count...

Morrow, who started Sunday for Tacoma, will join the Mariners in Anaheim this week and slide into the rotation in French’s spot.

French, acquired in the deal that sent Jarrod Washburn to Detroit, has gone 3-3 with a 6.38 earned run average since joining Seattle. Opposing hitters are batting .331 against him.

In 22 games with Seattle this year, six of them starts, Morrow has an 0-4 record with six saves and a 5.28 ERA. In 10 starts for Tacoma, he went 5-3 with a 3.60 ERA. He pitched 55 innings, including a four-inning start Sunday, and struck out 40 with 23 walks. His one complete game was a four-hit shutout of Iowa on Aug. 14.

If he pitches every fifth game the rest of the way, Morrow would get four starts and the Mariners would get the chance to evaluate the right-hander.

White, who went from non-roster invitee to spring training to one of the team’s most reliable setup men, took his ailing right shoulder back to Seattle on Sunday and will see team doctors today. He is almost certainly done for the season, and if he needs surgery, he may be unavailable for the start of next season.

:::

White, 28, made spring adjustments to his delivery at the suggestion of pitching coach Rick Adair, and enjoyed the best season of his professional career.

“If you could promise me the same season next year he’s given us this year, I’d take it in a heartbeat,” Wakamatsu said. “That’s how special his year has been.”

Wak on Ichiro's milestone...

"It's such a feat," Wakamatsu said of the 2,000-hit milestone and others within sight. "And just his ability to play every day over the years and make the adjustment from Japanese baseball to here as well as anybody is maybe going to. He's just a special player and I know many guys in that dugout feel the same way."

For Wakamatsu, what stands out is Ichiro's ability to keep collecting hits even without drawing walks. Back in 2001, a big concern mentioned often by present and former players, managers and, yes, the media, was that Ichiro would never maintain the hits needed to keep his on-base percentage where a good leadoff hitter should.

And yet, nine seasons later, his lifetime OBP of .378 would put him near the upper echelon of this year's best AL leadoff men — where five players, Ichiro included, are positioned between .380 and .401 (Ichiro is at .392).

Maintaining numbers like those over a prolonged period is something few hitters, power or otherwise, have done. And while the debate rages about Hall of Fame guideposts like 500 career home runs, in light of steroids revelations, the sanctity of a 3,000-hit career remains intact.

Ichiro will reach his 3,000th hit by the 2014 season at age 40 if he continues on this current pace.

"It's just his versatility," Wakamatsu said. "Like I said, he can hit home runs now and then, he can go to all fields and he can get a lot of infield hits. He puts a lot of pressure on an opposing team."

And that pressure has continued this year, with his 54 infield singles being Ichiro's second-highest total since 63 in 2001. And that's come at a time when his slugging percentage of .463 is the highest he has ever posted.

Hanging with the best | Road Reflections

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2-1 vs. Dodgers
1-2 vs. Yankees
2-1 vs. Red Sox


ROAD RHYTHM

~ Felix being Felix (not quite as strong in BOS as he was in LA) but definitely coming into his "ace-hood"
~ Super kudos to the bottom of the order who started to take off with the salvage game in Yankee Stadium and continued rolling on into Fenway (in 5 games the 5-9 hitters were 35 of 52 in hits, 16 of 27 in RBI and 17 of 27 in runs scored)
~ the D.A. added two more saves to his total
~ JR hit his 620th career homer in LA and his 621st in the new Yankee Stadium
~ Russell hit a MOON shot in new YS
~ Red Sox fan catches a foul ball in his cap (preventing Youks from catching it) and the inning extends and the M's get three on a double and a homer
~ Comin' from behind is always fun, but doing it in Fenway is sweet! (and on the 4th of July, no less!)



ROAD RUBBISH

~ Jason continued his road woes in LA
~ Sean struggles mightily for the first time all season (in NY and BOS)
~ Some critical errors spoil comeback in NY and BOS
~ Bullpen implosion in Fenway prevents M's from sweeping the Sox
~ Adrian decides he can no longer play through the pain - the Dodger series is his last prior to surgery