g23 | all hat, no cattle

(couldn't resist using the phrase as my daughter just moved to Texas ;-)


Mariners 0 | Ranger 2
Wow - no wonder there was a bit of hype when the M's acquired Cliff Lee.  Sure, M's fans have seen him pitch before, but to watch him toss seven, nearly effortless innings, giving up only three hits, no runs and no walks with eight strikeouts along the way was pretty special.  And Felix, for one, let him know...

Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

Unfortunately, there was almost as much consternation (if not more) regarding the M's offense as there was hype around a rotation that would include Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee - and the reasons were never more evident than last night.  Of course, credit and cap tips must be given to Colby Lewis.  As stellar as Cliff was, Colby was even better - at one point retiring TWENTY-ONE Mariners in-a-row.

I LOVE a pitching duel . . . 

and was having a great time and loving the view from my "princess seats" in Section 219...

That is until the frustration set in . . . 

Bases loaded with one out in two straight innings without scoring one measly run ~ Sweeney GDIP in the 10th and Byrnes botched squeeze play (that resulted in Ichiro out at the plate) and subsequently struck out to end the 11th.... arghh!

There were no runs in the game . .  

until the top of the 12th when some flukiness ~ a couple of singles, an error, a wild pitch, an intentional walk and a ground out ~ accounted for the the Rangers 2 runs.  The M's went fairly meekly in the bottom of the inning and that was the ballgame.

Wake-up call . . . 

Really a shame for Cliff's fabulous debut to go to waste, here's hoping something is sparked.  While it's true that these guys aren't about to power their way to wins, they are perfectly capable of manufacturing some runs, enough runs, to win more than they lose.  

Let's see it!

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.

g22 | back to .500 and goin' home

Mariners 6 | Royals 5

A road series win!
While it's an early novelty, here's hoping it becomes boringly familiar ;-)

Ed Zurga   AP Photo

Gotta be some concern re: RRS ...
Other than the lead-off homer, he looked great through five but the wheels came off in the 6th - single, HBP, wild pitch, walk, single, triple - and just like that, tie ball game.

But let's focus on the positive, shall we?

Ichi-Fig was alive and well in KC!  5 hits, 3 rbi, 1 run, 1 walk, 1 stolen base

the bottom third of the order was responsible for 2 runs 2 rbi and a walk

MS and MB contributing in most of the O columns as well

and while not a single homer was hit there were 4 doubles and a triple

bullpen proves resilient after the nightmare that was Chicago

And then there is the "D"...

two more DP's

a great pirouetting play by J-Dub, complete with description by Mr. Neihaus that involved the word "tu-tu"

Day off at home tomorrow and then, on Friday, the night we've been waiting for since last winter...
Mr. Lee taking the mound at Safeco Field for your Seattle Mariners!

g21 | neeeeeeeded that!

Mariners 3 | Royals 2

Now THAT is the way the "one-runners" are supposed to go :-)

AP Photo/Ed Zurga

Whodathunk?
Zack, not surprisingly, had a shutout through 7 innings (that would be 29 scoreless innings in-a-row vs. the M's).  The good news is, despite no runs or walks and only 6 hits vs. Zack through seven, the M's were able to get his pitch count up and get him out of the game - so they could go to work vs. the Royals pen.

Crazy 8!
You know what?  Sometimes a little luck is all it takes to spark things.  In the 8th, after Jack struck out, Ichiro got on via a bunt single, Figgy walked, Guti singled and Ichi scored, Jose "doubled" (pitcher deflected a likely DP ball through the hole into centerfield) and Figgy scored, Jr. walked, and Milton walked in a run to give the M's 3-2 lead!  OK it would have been nice to get another run (or four) with the bases loaded and only one out (both Casey and Adam struck out) but, beggars can't be choosers.

Oh, and don't forget "Snel-dini"...
WOW - can't really give Ian enough credit in this game.  He hadn't pitched in NINE days (with the last two starts just before and just after family tragedy, not to mention his physical ailments) and yet he goes out and keeps his team in it.  Things looked VERY bleak in the first inning when he loaded the bases with NOBODY out - but he ESCAPED!  He would allow runners in every inning, but only 2 runs (one in the 4th, one in the 5th) and would leave with two on, one out in the 6th.

And then the pen...
You know - the one we all know and love
(not that silly impostor that appeared for 3 days in Chicago)

Mark = one-two-three

DA = out, hit, DP, case CLOSED

Y-aY!!!

g20 | where O where is the O?

Mariners 1 | Royals 3

Wasn't able to listen/watch tonight... maybe that was for the best.
Seems Felix wasn't super sharp and took the loss (his first of the young season) but still managed a quality start vs. the team with the best team BA in the league ~ proving that Felix on his bad day is better than most others on their best.

Kudos to Davies who held the M's hitless through five.  M's apparently had the makings of a rally in the 9th, but 't wasn't to be.

Zack vs. Ian tomorrow...
My first impression is not to be filled with joy and anticipation.  I'll say right now that I don't usually like surprises, but in THIS case, I'll make an exception...
com' on bats, com' on Ian ~ SURPRISE me!

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!)

g18 | seriously?

Mariners 4 | White Sox 5
Talk about walk-off road woes :-(

• Yesterday it was a matter of mediocre starting pitching and some great, clutch hitting and then a mistake pitch from the pen ~ Mark 
• Today it was a matter of great starting pitching and just enough hitting and then two (or three!) mistake pitches from the pen ~ David

so, "from the pen" seems to be the common denominator... 
Early on, seemed like they were over-used, as the starters just weren't quite stretched out yet.  Lately, seems like they may be suffering from a bit of rust now that the starters are going long.  Also, there has been a bit of flux in the roles ... maybe not quite fully defined yet.  I'm thinking this is the sort of thing that a little time and "Wetteland wonder" will take care of.

definitely not time to panic yet....
The bats have finally started to come alive, the "D" is still looking awesome and, for the most part, the starting pitching has been great of late.  I am a little concerned about RRS but, apparently he and Wak had a sit-down today - here's hoping it will have the same effect on him as it did on Felix last May.

Go, Jason!  Go, bats!
Let's see you avoid spittin' bristles on the south side....

g17 | dem's the breaks ...

Mariners 6 | White Sox 7
buuuummm-er!

RRS definitely didn't have it tonight and unfortunately, the defense didn't help him much.  There was the excitement of Lopey's first home run of the season that, oh by the way, was also the first grand slam of his career - off old buddy, old pal J.J.  That made the score 6-5 in the 7th.  The ChiSox would tie it up in the bottom of the inning and tied it would stay ... until the bottom of the 9th with 2 out and a pitch that no doubt Mr. Lowe would like to take back - to Andrew Jones (his second of a game that saw 5 homers).

Here's hoping the bats can pick up where they left off today and Mister Fister can continue his dominant ways to help the M's avoid back-to-back losses (last time 11th and 12th).

Oh, and here's to J-Dub getting well soon ....
injured thumb in the 3rd inning and was replaced by Tui - supposedly not broken, but likely day-to-day.

Homestand Highlights | oak, det, bal

7-2 = 3 series wins + 1 sweep

2.00 ERA

Starters = 6 of 8

Closer = 4 for 4

3.70 BA w/RISP

RD in wins = 37-11

RD in losses = 2-8

Milton in a happy place

Mark focusing on efficiency

Wak says, in Adam we trust

Larry Stone details "projected weaknesses that have proved strengths" so far

g16 | COMPLETE - with high socks!

MARK HARRISON / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Mariners 4 | Orioles 1

Complete is the word of the day....

• Felix's first complete game of the season (and I just LOVE those high socks)
• Mariners complete their first sweep!

on the hill
Felix left some pitches up early and didn't get much help (uncharacteristically) from his "D" but then he buckled down (you KNOW he hated giving up that run in the first) and took it... all. the. way.  Wak gave big cred to Rob (it's a catcher to catcher thing) and one has to admit that Rob and Felix are definitely simpatico.  Well, maybe with the exception of Felix being a bit to anxious to field certain balls that he should leave to others to handle (whew!)

AP

at the plate
In a nutshell, hits and rbi's at the bottom, walks at the top and runs in the middle and all that mattered in the 4th - where the M's scored all four of their runs (thanks, in large part, to the hustle of Mr. Tui!)

Rob Johnson(notes), who had Seattle’s first hit off Millwood, chopped a grounder back up the middle that was cut off near the outfield grass by second baseman Justin Turner(notes). Instead of trying a difficult throw across his body to get Johnson, Turner made an underhand flip to shortstopCesar Izturis(notes) covering second.

Tuiasosopo hustled and slid his foot into the bag ahead of the ball, scoring Lopez and tying the game at 1-1. Wilson then followed with a drive to deep right-center.

“That changed the whole game,” Wilson said. “The ball gets hit and you think they’re out of the inning and next thing you know (Tuiasosopo) makes a big play, gets everybody pumped up, gets me pumped up to go to the plate.”

And then, with the bases loaded J-Dub hits his FOURTH in three games...
this one of the bases-clearing variety.

MARK HARRISON / THE SEATTLE TIMES

leather-works

There were the rare 2 errors ...
but, the good thing is, those who committed them (Tui and Figgy) more than redeemed themselves with hustle and 2 DP's respectively.

7-2, nice way to head off on the road.
Homestand Highlights, comin' up...