Patience ~ preach it, Sista!

I've been preaching "patience" for so long that I must admit even I get impatient at times...

But now, I really mean it!

Patience is a virtue...
I been up against fans, in both personal and online discussions, who are just so tired of waiting and, from their perspective, not even seeing progress with their Mariners. While I can understand their frustration, I also recognize that having lived through the Bavasi years before getting to the Zduriencik years is likely a contributing factor to their heightening impatience. But, at some point you have to stop starting over - let's give Jack a fair and full chance

Endurance is patience concentrated.... (Thomas Carlyle) 
I have argued that Jack Z has made a ton of progress. Let's face it, he had his work cut out for him taking over an organization whose farm system had been decimated by the previous regime and whose big league roster had a lot of high-priced, low-level talent. He has done a tremendous job of replenishing that farm system at every level, as well as, stock-piling cost-controlled talent on the big club.

Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience... (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Jack Z has a plan and I truly hope we get to see him carry it through to fruition. Rebuilding doesn't happen over night, over a season or even over a couple of seasons. It is an extremely long and tedious process. Even when abysmal seasons net high draft picks, it can take years for even the best young players to make it to the Show.

Genius is eternal patience... (Michelangelo)
Jack Z is doing it the right way, with the intent of building a solid foundation that will be strong and sustainable for years to come. Think about it, back in the mid-late 90's when the Yanks started going on their run (that, by the way, they haven't stopped) they had a few high-priced players (like the M's have Felix and Ichiro now, for instance) but, their home-grown, "core four" were just coming up together.  That turned out pretty well, didn't it?  Is it so out of the realm of possibility that the likes of Ackley, Carp, Montero, Seager, Smoak, Wells, Hulten, Paxton, Noesi and Walker can be successful?  Sure, the likelihood that they ALL exceed expectation is not high but, even if a few of them succeed, just think how long they could stay together and the foundation they would lay.

Then there was the little matter known as the nightmare of 2010...
It literally came out of the blue after the Kumbaya year of 2009. I won't rehash the hideous details, suffice it to say everything that could go wrong did (with the exception of Felix being exceptional and winning his first Cy Young award) and proved to be a serious set back in Jack's plan. I doubt we will ever know the whole, ugly truth of that season (not sure we really want to) - whether it was Wak's inexperience, Junior's frustration with himself, Figgy's attitude toward just about everyone, Milton's issues or just a convergence of all things flammable. Jack deserves a mulligan on that whole ordeal.

And another thing...

What about Wedge?!?!

My thoughts drifted to his potential impact on this young, rebuilding team going forward as I listened to a couple of different interviews he gave tonight (I was flipping back-and-forth between the two sports talk radio stations as they were both interviewing every sports figure in town and their brother ~literally~ due to the Seattle Sports Star Awards held at Benaroya Hall).  Wedge has been through this process before and come out on the winning end. Granted, the dynamics of each situation, each organization, are different but, it stands to reason that his experience is an invaluable asset to the process.

Last year, Wedge laid back a bit, admitting that he felt it was vital that he get to know the vets and kids alike. Now that he has a plan formulated based on the talent, personalities and attitudes he observed both on the field and in the clubhouse, he has made no bones about the fact that the team will see a much different Wedge. He's just getting started and deserves the time to let it play out.

1/26 UPDATE: after Thursday's Media Day - this from Wedge about last season on Larry Stone's blog...

"What we're going to do is make sure we put out the best possible lineup to score more runs. It's not acceptable the amount of runs we've scored the past couple of years. Last year, I sat back, and I bit my tongue off more than once, but it was the right thing to do. My wife was proud of me, let's put it that way. This year's going to be a little different, but you don't go from zero to 60. We're going to let it out a little more this year, and raise the bar a little bit."

So, there you have it. Mark my words, patience will pay off.

In spades.


oh - btw, more evidence of a bright future...
FIVE M's make MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects List ~ Montero (12), Hultzen (16), Walker (18), Franklin (52), Paxton (77)

g81 | swept at home at the half way point

Mariners 2 | Braves 5

Short and mostly sour...

Prior to the game, Erik Bedard and Chris Gimenez were placed on the 15-day DL
Josh Bard and Jose Yepez were recalled from AAA Tacoma

• Unhappy Felix day 7.2IP - 10H - 5ER - 3BB - 6K
• Dustin homered and drove in two
• Josh, fresh up from AAA, for DL'ed Gimenez, doubled and drove in one
• Eric Wedge was tossed in the 2nd inning (first ejection as Mariners skipper)

g72 | Viva la Vargas, indeed

Mariners 2 | Phillies 0

Nothing like a day at the ballpark with Dad on Father's Day...

The fact that the M's notched a thrilling victory was just icing on the cake!

Where to begin?

Well, how about with the M's starting pitcher? (who would also prove to be the closing pitcher)...
What an outing by Jason Vargas!  A complete game, 3-hit shutout of any team is pretty special, the fact that it happened to be against the team with the best record in baseball, with a typically potent offense (especially vs. lefties) made it even more so.

Getty Images

Whodathunk that Jason would out-pitch BOTH Michael AND Felix in this series?

Well, that be why they play the games!
And, that be why they play nine innings cuz, early on, most were probably wondering if Jason would even make it far enough to qualify for a decision.  He got three outs on fourteen pitches in the 1st, except that the third out (second strikeout) ending up being a passed ball and the batter was safe at 1B.  The next batter singled and in the following AB a wild pitch sent the runner at 2B to 3B.  Thankfully, due to the center fielder who was playing left (that would be Mr Greg Halman) a sinking line drive was caught instead of dropping to drive in at least one run and extending the inning.

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Over the next two innings, Jason would allow a single and two walks and then go on a run to retire 15 batters in-a-row.  He gave up a single to Ryan Howard with two outs in the 9th  at which point Eric Wedge went out to the mound and returned to the dugout to thunderous applause having left the game in the very capable hands (er, arm) of his starter.  The last batter flied out to Guti in center.  INcredible!

Getty Images

Oh, and remember that "Mariner-killer" I mentioned in the previous game post?
Well, turns out OUR Mr. V easily beat THEIR Mr. V ~ Vargas held Victorino to 0 /4 with a strikeout.

So how did the runs score?

Despite the fact that only two runs scored - the offense was pretty darned interesting.  It all started with Ichiro -  who is now 16 for 34 since his day off with an 8-game hitting streak and has multiple hits in 7 of the last 8 games.  Oh, and he also scored 4 of the 7 total runs scored by the M's in this series.

Getty Images

But hey, he's a veteran (and a future hall-of-famer) kind of to be expected - what about the kids?

Glad you asked!
Justin was the one to knock Ichiro in after he singled with one out in the 6th for the first run of the game.

Dustin hit his first major league triple and scored when wise old Wedge pinch hit Adam Kennedy for Mike Carp despite the fact that Adam was 0-7 off Hamels.  Adam just needed a fly ball, but he got a hit. 

AP PHOTO

AP PHOTO

Dustin also made his presence known and appreciated many times over in the field - making 5 total put-outs - some routine and some not-so-routine (like the back-handed grab of a ball that got past Justin and then an effortless toss to Jason covering 1B or a grounder that he bobbled a bit, but stayed with it and threw to Justin in plenty of time for the out).

Wedge Words [paraphrased]

on what he "asked" Jason when he went to the mound with 2 outs, one on in the 9th...

"I didn’t ask him anything. I let him know this was his game .... that he needed to focus pitch-to-pitch and finish it off."

on what this team has shown him...

"...that they can dig deep when the need to..."

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p.s.  I like the fact that the Phillies are 8-2 in their past 10 and the 2 losses are to ...

Our beloved Mariners!!!

p.p.s  thanks to the Rangers loss in Atlanta today, along with the M's win...
Said beloved Mariners are only ONE HALF game out of first place!

Off to "the other Washington" they go....

ST17 | vs. Royals

Mariners 1 | Royals 9

NOT MUCH TO SEE HERE...

Comments from Wedge and Felix say it all...

After watching his team lose, 9-1, to Kansas City, manager Eric Wedge tried to be a little understanding.

“It’s the middle of spring,” he said. “In the beginning, guys are all fired up to be playing games. About halfway through, where we are now, they realize, ‘Hell, there’s a couple more weeks of this.’

“There’s no excuse for sloppiness, and this is not the way we’re going to operate. You’ve got to come to play, and the last couple nights, we’ve been a little sloppy.”

:::

Felix Hernandez didn’t like the green baseball cap Major League Baseball requires all its players to wear on St. Patrick’s Day – and he wasn’t crazy about his pitching, either.

“I threw everything tonight, and they hit it all hard,” the Seattle ace said. “I got my work in, but 80 pitches in four innings? That’s not good. And six runs? That’s terrible.”

NEWS AND NOTES

• Olivo may be ready for Opening Day | Seattle PI
• Roster down to 47 | Mariners.com

baseball ... on the radio ... tomorrow!

Sure, it's only the annual charity game vs. the Padres ... 
but it's a real, live baseball game we can actually listen to!

And then, the realization sets in that a voice will be missing ...

from Shannon's blog

No lineup yet, but Erik Bedard will take the mound...
How's THAT for exciting?!?  Other pitchers slated to see action:  Luke French, Manny Delcarmen, Denny Bautista, Justin Miller, Cesar Jimenez, Yusmerio Petit and Chris Smith

Other news and notes...

• Jerry Brewer offers this piece on the M's new skipper - a sort of "the 5-R's" of Eric Wedge
• Geoff Baker catches up with M's top prospects Pineda and Ackley
• Kirby Arnold gives the latest report on Guti's gut

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

Welcome Skipper Wedge!

Well, since Lou left the M's have had as their field manager a Bob, a Mike, a John, a Jim, a Don and a Daren.  Now, it's Eric's turn - here's hoping that turn lasts a  l o n g  time.

Jack Z introduces another "W" (AP)

Official Press Release

Drayer | My Northwest.com

How did he get here? In lightening-quick fashion it turns out. Jack Zduriencik started out with a list of 59 names. He was looking for someone who had experience, someone who had won before, someone who had leadership ability and what he called a no-nonsense approach. He did his due diligence, spoke with trusted allies, former players and Wedge’s former general manager, Mark Shapiro. Then he spoke to Wedge himself. In addition to having the qualifications he was looking for, Zduriencik saw something else.

"When you're sitting across from someone you want to see who they are, you want to feel the accountability, the work ethic, the passion and the character," Zduriencik said. "Quite frankly, that is what I saw."

Zduriencik added: "He's not going to be me and I am not going to be him, but the passion I think is there for both of us. Where we are going, there is a process to get there. We both understand it. There are going to be times when I will judge him and say, 'OK, I understand your point, we will go with it.' There will be other times when he will have to say, 'OK Jack, you have the bigger picture than I do. I get it.' His experiences and my experiences are different and that's good. He said that in the interview process that he did his homework on me, who I was, where I came from. Now, does it work? Is the ability there to come together? At the end you think it works and you go with it."

LaRue | The News Tribune

“When Eric left to fly home, we talked it over and I called him just as he was walking in the door,” Zduriencik said. “I asked him if he’d enjoyed the visit, liked the city, had a good time.

“Then I asked him, ‘How would you like to be our manager?’ He said, ‘Jack, I haven’t put my suitcase down yet.’”

About to start his third year in Seattle, Zduriencik found in Wedge all the criteria he’d listed when the search began.

“I wanted experience, a winning track record. I wanted toughness, I wanted someone with discipline, a leader,” he said. “I was looking for the kind of leader to turn our players over to, and we found him.”

Wedge, 42, had interviewed with three other teams and was considered a finalist for two, but when the Mariners offered the job, he didn’t hesitate.

“For me, it just felt right. I can’t put it into words. It was just a good feeling I got here,” Wedge said. “I love the energy of the city, of Safeco Field. I’ve seen it from the other side. It’s electric.”

Brewer | The Seattle Times

The Mariners are finally committing to the kind of solid rebuilding plan that the people have clamored for forever, but they arrived at this eureka too late for anyone to acknowledge it. There's a statute of limitations on doing the right thing, apparently. The Mariners are so tardy to the party that they're forced to reason with a crowd drunk on outrage or, worse, apathy.

So, there has been only a tepid response to the hiring of manager Eric Wedge, even though his track record suggests he can develop those young players that fans are desperate to see mature. And general manager Jack Zduriencik, who just completed a bad but not devastating season, is a polarizing figure, even though he's mostly building the team in the proper manner. And the Mariners will likely have one of their youngest, but most precocious, rosters in 2011, but assuming they don't win a lot, it will be difficult for fans to chase their frustration with patience.