Bay to the Mets

For those of you hoping Jason Bay still might wind up roaming Safeco's left field, the New York Mets flushed your dreams of having the right-handed power hitting, bad defensive left fielder by signing him to a 4-year guaranteed $66 million contract with a vesting option that would pay him over $80 million for 5-years. ESPN

It was rumored that both the Mariners and Jason Bay were interested in getting a deal done, but ultimately the price tag was too high and both sides would have to make a serious compromise to get a deal done. In the end, Bay took an incredible pay check to go back to the NL East while the Mariners head back to looking for a power-hitting first baseman.

Personally, I never saw Bay signing with the M's but as long as his name was on the free agent list and there was mutual interest you had to consider it a possibility. Granted, Bay would have become the M's best hitter if signed, the fact he's a right handed hitter in lefty friendly Safeco Field paired with his below average defense would have made this move a little tough to swallow. Good luck in New York, Jason!

Oh, Hello There...

Uhh...wow...what the hell happened to The Bush Leagues?

I've gotten that from a few people over the last four months as Garbs and I have seemingly disappeared off the face of the planet. It's true, it's true, The Bush Leagues took a bit of a hiatus, ironically about the same time football started and the weather began to turn shitty. We became lethargic with our posting which led to them being absent. But I'm going to work on building the posts and the commentary back up to a respectable level. Ok, maybe The Bush Leagues were never a beacon of respectability, we might as well be filming a TV show in our parents basement. But you get the point.

With that being said, there are plenty of things for Mariners fans to get excited about this upcoming season.

- Chone Figgins: The free agency season started with a bang as the M's were able to lure Figgins away from AL West rival the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and put him in Mariner blue. The move will give us one of the best tandems at the top of the line-up as all Figgins does is get on base while giving Zduriencik options on how he puts together the remainder of his infield. Welcome to the M's Chone, I used to think you were a horrible person, but now, you're ok in my book. Funny how changing teams can influence perception.

- Cliff Lee: We were able to trade for one of the Top 5 pitchers in baseball and all it cost us were three guys who might make an impact for the Philadelphia Phillies one-to-three years down the road. Granted, we only have Lee inked for one-year at present, but this is a great sign from the M's front office that they're focused on winning in 2010. Not to mention, is there a better 2-man top of the rotation than King Felix and Lee?

- Milton Bradley: Obviously the best part of this addition is what we gained by subtraction: No more Silva! But also, Bradley will give us the bat we needed in the heart of the order to follow Ichiro and Figgins. Although it has been made very public by the media of Bradley's past problems and his seven different teams in ten years, I feel confident all he needs are some good hard Griffey tickles to keep him in check.

And the best part is, we're not done yet! There is still a glaring hole at first base and a group of bottom of the rotation starting pitchers to be less than excited about. Although he will most likely break camp, I do not see Mike Carp as our regular starting first baseman. It's just not going to happen. Look for Z to make something happen through free agency or trade, but I guarantee you we will have a Number 4 hitter to follow Ichiro, Figgins and Bradley.

For the fifth spot in the rotation we have the hold-overs from last year; Jason Vargas (not Justin), Luke French, Doug Fister and Garrett Olson. None of these pitchers offer anything to get truly excited about as far as talent go, but they would be well-suited for the bottom of the rotation. However, there are still pitchers in free agency that could offer plenty of upside for a moderate salary. Pitchers like Ben Sheets, Chien-Ming Wang or even bring back former M's pitchers Erik Bedard, Jarrod Washburn or hell...even Randy Johnson.

There's still plenty of things we can do in the offseason to build a team for an AL West Championship. But, early signs point that we are well on our way.

What's wrong with David Aardsma?

UPDATE! The ship was righted. Aardsma gave up a leadoff double to Jack Cust but then locked it up getting Suzuki and Sweeney to pop out before stiking out Powell. Told you guys not to worry.

Abandon ship! Our closer sucks! He's blown two saves in the last two weeks!

That's the feeling I get from some of the people around Seattle. Here's the deal, Aardsma is not a great closer. He's been effective this year and hell, has put together a nice little season considering he has 28 saves for the Mariners. You throw in the fact that Brandon Morrow took away 6 saves in 8 chances early in the season and it's not too far out of the realm of reality to think Aardsma could have 36 saves right now.

So, he's blown 4 saves. Get over it. I mentioned in a previous post that it's guaranteed Aardsma will walk 1, give up a long fly ball and strike out 2. Well, when the first batter is Aardsma's walk and you're holding on to a 1-run lead...get ready for a bumpy ride.

Aardsma walked Carlos Guillen last night and Miguel Cabrera promptly hit a double to put runners in scoring position with nobody out. Aardsma had to walk Magglio Ordonez to put the force out at home in effect. The next ball in play was the long fly ball I was talking about...this scored the tying run.

There's nothing wrong with David Aardsma, he's still pitching the way he has all year. Unfortunately, when he walks the leadoff batter and is unable to follow it up with an out, the game is instantly in jeopardy. So, keep your chins up Mariners fans! Don't get distracted. Aardsma is not always going to walk the first batter, he's not that bad. Plus, look on the bright side. At least Morrow is down in AAA working on his curveball so he can be a starter and Aardsma is up here finishing the games!

How I spent my Monday Night

So, by now you should have all heard. the Mariners signed their first overall pick, Dustin Ackley just minutes before the 9:00 p.m. PT deadline on Monday night. Here is a text message account Garbs and I had leading up to the deadline.

Aug 17, 2009 8:59 p.m.
Noah: Dude WTF Ackley? Sign already!
Garbs: Not going to happen...fucking boras

Aug 17, 2009 9:00 p.m.
Noah: It's 9. Let's hope for the best
Garbs: Is it 9:09? The deadline?
Noah: 9:00
Garbs: Eff I don't like it.

Aug 17, 2009 9:25 p.m.
Noah: Ackley signed
Garbs: How much? Like 8?
Noah: 9.5 with a major league contract, whatever that means. Assume it means he's added to the 40 man roster.

Obviously, not truly exciting stuff. I just felt it was pretty ridiculous that I could waste 30 minutes of my time so concerned whether or not a 20-year-old baseball player signs for millions of dollars when it's not even certain he'll be any good.

So, what do I think of the deal? Regardless of the money and the fact that it's a major-league contract this deal needed to get done. If the Mariners are truly serious about competing in 2011 they need Ackley on their team. He instantly became the M's best prospect and we should see him break the club by 2012...2011 if we're lucky.

Here's to the future!

Every guy's worst nightmare

So...um...yeah...Adrian Beltre doesn't wear a cup. I mean, he only plays a position in Major League Baseball that has the hardest hit balls hit to. No biggie. But in the extra inning thriller against the Chicago White Sox, Beltre took a hard grounder straight to the nads off the bat of Alexi Ramirez. Ryan Divish at the Tacoma News Tribune does a better job explaining it than I can cause...let's be honest, I just don't have the stomach to even read about it...let alone describe it with words. Oh...Beltre played 5 innings following the injury and scored the game winning run. Unfortunately, on the downside, his testicles now bleed.

So, for all those little leaguers who somehow miraculously read The Bush Leagues without their parents knowing...this is why we all wear a protective cup...well except Beltre apparently.

Mariners Social Media Night at Safeco

Tonight the Mariners Marketing Department hosted their first-ever Social Networking Happy Hour. Fans who signed up ahead of time were able to listen to a panel discussion from some of the area's leading Twitter users. Among the panelists were Mike Salk from ESPN Radio, Jenni Hogan from KIRO 7 and Mariners Twitter user Ryan Rowland-Smith. It was a really cool idea and it was a privelege for me to be there representing both The Bush Leagues and my company. I even got to bring home a Ryan Rowland-Smith "I follow hyphen18" t-shirt. Don't believe me? Look at the picture below.

With admission to the panel came a ticket to tonight's game. I was more than impressed with Doug Fister. He had his pitches working for him as he threw a 1-hit shutout with 4 Ks. Fister is the definition of a pitch-to-contact pitcher and he was able to locate his pitches very well. The trick here will be his next start when a team has a chance to look at tonight's game and do their homework.

Here are my thoughts from the game:

1) Miguel Batista is done. The guy threw twice as many balls as he did strikes and walked three batters. He was the beneficiary of a Jack Wilson double-play but without that he wouldn't have gotten a single batter out. The guy looks like he has no confidence on the mound to where he can throw a strike and I've lost all confidence in him to be able to hold a lead.

2) Jack Wilson has OCD. I noticed this during Friday's game and spent a good 20 minutes watching it. After ever pitch Jack Wilson walks behind the pitcher toward second base. Of course the meaning of this is for him to back up the throw in case it gets back to the pitcher but in addition Jack will take off his glove, hold it in his throwing hand and smooth out the dirt with his foot. He does it after every pitch, and he smooths out the same exact spot or at least very close to the same exact spot. Next time you go to a game look for it. I was pretty entertained and watched that more than I watched the action at the plate. If that's not enough for you, Garbs pointed out on Sunday that after the grounds crew drags the infield he'll walk over to the second dark green spot in the outfield and draw an "X" with his cleats. It's much like he just has a routine but comes off as OCD.

3) David Aardsma flirts with disaster nearly every game. I tell Garbs all the time that Aardsma is good for one walk, a LONG fly ball out and two strike outs in save situations. Tonight, unfortunately he didn't get some of the strike calls to get him the two strike outs needed after he gave up a deep fly ball to Konerko hauled in at the wall by Gutierrez. Unfortunately, this is Aardsma's make-up and as good as he's been this year he has benefitted tremendously from pitching in cavernous Safeco Field and having a great outfield defense behind him. If Aardsma is going to be a shut down closer he'll need to improve his command, limit the walks and keep the ball down.

Oh yeah...one more thing. Ozzie Guillen is full of s***. Over the weekend such a big deal was made about Guillen's comment that he'll bean an opposing batter for every time one of his are plunked. Well, tonight Gordon Beckham was hit by a pitch and there was nothing from the White Sox. Granted, it was Doug Fister's first start and that may have been cause for hitting Beckham. But I'd be lying if I didn't say I was expecting some fireworks at Safeco similar to the Red Sox/Tigers brawl.

Also, speaking of that brawl...did everybody see Rick Porcello pancake Kevin Youkilis? I haven't seen a throw like that since high school wrestling. Not to mention it was very fitting after Youkilis threw his helmet at Porcello. I remember last year when Richie Sexson took a lot of heat for doing the same thing against the Texas Rangers. Let's see if anyone says anything about Youkilis and whether he acted like a coward using the helmet as a weapon. But what do you guys think? Are you ok with hitters throwing helmets at pitchers after getting hit?

Apparently the M's almost traded The King

Per Baker, the M's were close to a deal that would have sent Felix Hernandez to Boston in a three team trade involving the Red Sox, San Diego Padres and Seattle. Of course this hasn't been confirmed and never will, but according to one of Baker's "sources" the deal would have netted the M's first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, pitcher Clay Buchholz and a couple other prospects (probably similar to the ones gained in the Washburn deal).

I'm not quite sure what I would have felt if the M's made this trade, if it was in fact under consideration. Let's take a look at what the entire trade would have looked like.

Boston gets:
Felix Hernandez (From Seattle)

Seattle gets:
Adrian Gonzalez (From San Diego)
Clay Buchholz (From Boston)
Minor League Players

San Diego gets:
Brandon Morrow (From Seattle)
Philippe Aumont (From Seattle)
Carlos Triunfel (From Seattle)
Prospects (From Boston)

Now, according to the story, the reasoning for declining the trade was Jack Z felt he could have leveraged a similar package for Felix next year and because of that, felt there was little need to pull the trigger. Here's what I think, the players in the deal didn't absolutely wow Z like they would need to in order to deal Felix. Don't get me wrong, Adrian Gonzalez might be the most dominant young left-hitting first baseman in the majors. But he's the only player who has proven himself in the majors. Buchholz, while good, does not have the experience to guarantee he won't bust.

Not to mention...look at what the Mariners would have been giving up to get Gonzalez and Buccholz. Two 1st round draft picks and the top prospect in the M's organization in Carlos Triunfel. Would this have helped the organization in the longer term? I don't think so, we would have given up three of our most prized pitching prospects. That would have killed our pitching staff for 2011. Now, who's to say whether this same deal won't get made next year, cause it could very much happen. But at this moment, I'm glad Jack held off on this one.

UPDATE! Washburn to Detroit!

Was on the bus on my way to work when this hit. But in case you guys actually come to The Bush Leagues to get your breaking news, Washburn was dealt to Detroit for Lefty starters Luke French and Mauricio Robles.

I'll give my opinion on this a bit later as long as my real job doesn't interfere...We'll see.

Tired, sooooo Tired....

With the news that broke yesterday of Big Papi and Manny Ramirez testing positive for PEDs (performing enhancing drugs) in 2003, baseball is, once again, up in arms over cheating. Apparently there is a list of just over 100 players that ended up testing positive for PEDs in 03, and it seems that every couple of months, a couple more stars are being outted, even after the courts where sworn to keep the results secret. When will baseball learn that keeping these cheaters safe is the wrong way to go?

Everyone knows that baseball is basically tainted for a solid ten year period in the late 90's to 2000's. Lets take David Ortiz for example. He was an average, platoon hitter for the Twins before he came over to Boston, then all of a sudden, jumps to 40+ homers a year, and helps Boston win their dramatic World Series title in 04. Kinda fishy how this success happened at the same time he failed a drug test...

The steroids issue in baseball is a bit tricky when considering how fans feel about it. Some people (like yours truly) think that is a complete smack in the face to a great game and its fans, not to mention the players that have come before and done such great things. Some people see it a different way, claiming that it enhances the game, makes it more interesting and exciting. Some just don't care at all at this point, being let down so many times as their heroes are revealed as cheats year after year. Can we all remember how fun it was to watch Roger Clemens dominate hitters in the late 90's? He was bound for the Hall of Fame, first ballot all the way. Now, I don't see him getting it at all.

Baseball needs to smarten up and purge itself of this. Its time to come clean and let the public know what its national pastime has done in the past and what it plans to do in the future. There is too much history linked to this game to risk its integrity for a bunch of juiced up hacks. I think letting the fans know who was on that infamous list that was created in 03 is a start. I say this, however, with a bit of apprehension, because I'm worried to find out who else is on that list. Imagine if we come to learn that guys like Edgar Martinez, Randy Johnson, or, god forbid, Ken Griffey, Jr. were revealed on that list. Personally, it would be crushing to learn that some of my childhood heroes cheated. Some people would probably scoff at the mention that Jr. might show up on any of these lists, because he's never been one to work out or get so huge where he doesn't have a neck, and they're probably right. However, I just think about all the people who watch Roger Clemens and didn't see it coming. I know I didn't.

If baseball wants to quit being the laughing stock of pro sports, I think it needs to face this issue head on, because people are beginning to shake their heads now instead of being outraged. In my opinion, its apathy that can kill the credibility of a sport with its fans, and baseball is toeing that line.

What do you guys think?

Garbs

PS. TRADE WASHBURN!!!

Today's the Day

So here we are...it's the trading deadline and the Mariners see themselves 8 games back of the division lead with both the Rangers and Angels ahead of them. What does that mean? SELL, SELL, SELL! I don't want to be the pessimistic fan here, but no team (except the '95 M's) has come back to win the division while more than 6 games out at the trading deadline.

We have a very good bargaining chip with Jarrod Washburn and we actually have a chance to get a decent prospect in return for shipping him off to a contender. Now, can you say that was the case at this time last year? Hell no, we would have been happy with somebody just picking up his contract.

So, it's time to think realistically. The Mariners, while still could play some entertaining ball down the stretch have all but blown their chance of an AL West title. The Cleveland series hurt, bad, and this Texas series doesn't look so good after Olson's gem last night and Vargas getting the nod today.

So...everyone needs to set aside their new-found love for Jarrod Washburn because they think all of a sudden, "Hey, he's figured it out. He's on the top of his game...one of the best in baseball. Not to mention a great clubhouse leader." Because I'm not sold on his success. Instead I say capitalize on it and pull the deal for a decent to good prospect. No need to go out there and demand the world, cause let's be honest...although he's one of the hottest pitchers in baseball right now...it's still Washburn.

I have full confidence Jack will do what he needs to do. It feels right.

Welcome to Seattle Wilson and Snell!

So the rumors about Jeff Clement were true. Seattle traded SS Ronny Cedeño, C/1B/DH Jeff Clement and three minor league pitchers for SS Jack Wilson and minor league RHP Ian Snell.

Link

Jack Wilson will replace Cedeño as the starting SS for the M's. Wilson is signed through 2009 and has a club option of $8.4 million for 2010 which according to Buster Olney, the Pirates were not going to pick up. Since 2006 Wilson has had the fourth highest fielding percentage among major league shortstops.

Ian Snell is a 27-year-old talented right-handed pitcher who was sent down to AAA Indianapolis at the beginning of the year. During that time he has started six games going 2-2 with a 0.96 ERA striking out 47. Snell recently fell from the graces of heralded prospects in the Pirates organization. Snell was quoted as saying he would rather play for Indianapolis than Pittsburgh and when asked about Snell's contract extension Pirates GM Neil Huntington was quoted saying he made a huge mistake.

Ronny Cedeño was falling out of grace with the Mariners. He is currently stuck in a 0-25 slump and his only saving grace is his defense, which while good, is not spectacular.

Jeff Clement did not have a position on this team. He stopped catching for Tacoma early in the season and when you look at the AAA and MLB roster, there are plenty of left-handed 1B/DH types.

This trade makes sense all-around for the Mariners. Although they don't have any pitching depth in Single-A Clinton as all three minor leaguers are from there. But remember, Jarrod Washburn is still on the team. It will be interesting to see if that's still the case come 1:00 on Friday. Look for another middle infielder possibly?

Bavasi's strengths sucked too!

It looks like by the end of the day two of Bill Bavasi's coveted first round draft picks will be heading to a new organization. Rumors have Jeff Clement all but gone and speculation is that Brandon Morrow might join him.

Why does this matter? How does this involve Bill Bavasi? Why do we keep bringing up that horrible excuse of a General Manager? Well the reason is, for all the things that Bavasi wasn't, he WAS supposed to be a hell of a talent evaluator and was tasked with re-stocking the Mariners farm system. Clement and Morrow were two of Bavasi's first round draft picks and have clearly fallen out of the eye of new GM Jack Zduriencik.

If you pair this with the decision to move Philippe Aumont to the bullpen the report card on Bill Bavasi's tenure with the M's is about as good as the college student who spends his time smoking pot all day rather than going to class. Hell, I think that kid could've done a better job, at least then we'd still have Adam Jones.

If this deal goes through, Bavasi's legacy with the Mariners will be defined as the guy who gave up Adam Jones for nothing and wasted four consecutive first round picks. Two on guys shipped out of town and two as relief pitchers.

Hyphen Returns

As USS Mariner calls it, tonight is "Hyphen Time." That's right! Ryan Rowland-Smith gets the start. For those of you wondering why his nickname is hyphen, he's the only player in major league history to have a hyphenated last name. I don't know why it is, but I really like this kid. He doesn't blow you away with his fast ball, his curve is slightly better than average and he makes hitters put the ball in play...usually in the air. For all the things he's not, what he does do well is provide us a serviceable arm that has the potential to work 7 innings for a small amount of money.

I'll be sitting behind home plate for tonight's game...granted I'm not exactly sure if it's in row 1 or row 30 in the 300 level. Regardless, tonight's an exciting time if for nothing else it means no more Olson.

In Other News...

So Nick and I have been contemplating on whether this site would be only Mariners coverage or if we should try to incorporate Seattle sports as a whole. Well, our decision really hasn't been made yet but here is my first attempt outside the realm of baseball and into the overall world of Seattle sports. As with everything else, let us know what you think.

Seahawks wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh appeared on the Colin Cowherd show this morning. The newly acquired wide receiver had some choice words for EA Sports, the makers of the Madden Football franchise. The following quote was taken from Mike Sando's NFC West Blog.

"I understand I averaged 10 yards a catch, but it's the offense, not me. I'm not playing Madden no more until they get my rating right. ... I used to be the best in the world at Madden. I'm going to miss not playing it, but until they do me right, I'm not playing it any more."

Now, according to Sando, Houshmandzadeh was rated the sixth best wide receiver in the NFC at a 91 rating. He trailed only Larry Fitzgerald (99), Steve Smith (97), Anquan Boldin (94), Roddy White (93) and Calvin Johnson (92).

Where it gets interesting is Pro Football Talk's take on the interview. The web site takes Houshmandzadeh's comments completely out of context and offers that "he comes off as a guy who simply doesn't get it."

Of course one could make the initial reaction that Houshmandzadeh could become a potential problem and this is the sort of prima donna mentality that former teammate Chad Ochocinco is cursed with. I, however, think this may be an attempt by PFT to increase readership to their site. The quote from Houshmandzadeh, as with most quotes, can be taken out of context and be interpreted differently than I think was intended. If you don't believe me listen to the Cowherd spot with T.J.

Let's just speculate for a minute that T.J. did intend for the quote to be filled with that wide receiver "the world owes me" mentality. I have absolutely no problem with it and would be a little excited about Houshmandzadeh's passion.

The Seahawks need to have a chip on their shoulder. After a 4-12 record during last year's injury-plagued season. Most analysts are hardly giving the Seahawks a chance to compete. I've seen a lot of 8-8 predictions and hardly any talk of playoffs.

This statement would be Houshmandzadeh telling the world they have it wrong. They're underestimating a dangerous player and they're underestimating a dangerous team.

The Seahawks are in a great position to prove all the critics wrong this year. We will have a young energized new coaching staff, a healthy Matt Hasselbeck, a healthy offensive line, an upgrade at wide receiver with T.J. Houshmandzadeh and my prediction for Defensive Rookie of the Year Aaron Curry.

Big thanks to Cam Schwartz for passing this one along.

The Elusive Triple Crown...

Baseball's "Triple Crown" is a pretty hard achievement to reach. Being the leader in batting average, home runs, and RBI has only been done 13 times since 1900 and hasn't been done since Carl Yastrzemski did it in 1967. Why is it so hard to achieve this? I would say the main reason is that when a player decides to swing for the fences on a consistent basis, his average inevitably goes down. Generally, most guys can lock up the HR and RBI lead, but the batting title generally alludes them. So is the case with Albert Pujols in the Nation League.

Right now, Albert leads in HR's (34), RBI (90), but has the second best batting average at .333 (Hanley Ramirez, 3.45). So he's 12 points away from leading in the triple crown. In my opinion, I don't see him winning it this year. With as much power as he hits with, and as good a hitter that Ramirez is, it doesn't quite add up. Now, its possible Ramirez could take a nose dive at the plate in the second half, but I wouldn't bet on that.

I do think we are lucky as baseball fans though, that we get to watch a player like Pujols play because he is a special ball player. He has had his success after the roid era exploded, so he's doing it clean. He's not an asshole like Manny Ramirez, not a weirdo/over all jackass like A-Rod, he's just what seems to be a good guy who can tattoo the baseball. Its a refreshing site to see in a baseball world that seems to find its heroes to be cheating in one way or another every month.

Like I said, I don't think Albert will get the triple crown, but if it happens, I can't think of another player (considering there are really only a hand full of guys who would have a shot at doing it) I would want to achieve it. If for no other reason then the game needs a guy like him to do something extraordinary. So keep rolling Al, good luck!

Garbs

PS: ESPN.com's Tim Kurkjian wrote a great article about Albert and the history of the Triple Crown if you want to check it out

Pujols Pushing for Triple Crown History

The Bush Leagues Blogast, Episode 7

In episode 7 of TBL, We talk about our first half picks for the M's, including team MVP, best hitter, and best pitcher, among others. We also make our predictions for the second half as to who we think will end up on top. Listen in as we jaw back and forth defending our picks and, as always, let us know what you think. Thanks for listening!

Garbs

Episode 7

Another Former Mariner All-Star

There have been a number of players to leave the Mariners as one-time prospects who never reached their potential while with Seattle. More often than not these players go on to have very successful careers including appearances in the All-Star game.

Ryan Franklin is one of these players. But I can safely say that Ryan Franklin is now uglier than he was while with Seattle.

What the hell is that under his chin? It looks like some sort of 70's porn star nether-region hair made it onto his face! Ryan, this is 2009, please trim it up a bit.










By the way...just to cover my ass, this pic was taken from dailyradar.com.

At the break...

Here we are at the All-Star Break. We're a little past the half-way point of the season and to say that the Mariners are playing better than expected would be an understatement. At the beginning of the year I think I pegged them to be out of contention in mid-June.

We're in mid-July and the M's see themselves only 4.5 games behind division leader Los Angeles. I fully expected Erik Bedard to be playing for an east coast team that has visions of making the playoffs. I did not expect to see Russell Branyan close to being the league leader in home runs. And I sure as hell didn't see the M's sporting a record of 46-42.

So what's going on here? The truth is, this team is playing just as that...a team. When Beltre and Lopez struggled, Ichiro and Branyan stepped up. When Ichiro and Branyan cooled down, Lopez and Gutierrez got hot. This team is fun to watch because any given night a new hero steps forward. I went to the Texas Rangers game on Saturday night, and of all the people in the lineup...Rob Johnson hits a three-run homer to put the M's up for good. That kind of production from the bottom of the lineup is necessary for a team looking to contend for the playoffs.

On a side note...in that game Branyan hit probably one of the farthest home runs I think I've ever seen while at Safeco. His shot off the Las Vegas sign below the Hit It Here Cafe was nothing short of phenomenal.

But I digress...this team feeds off each other. They have each other's backs, they're accountable for their own mistakes and they're buying into the system. These are all things that weren't present with last year's ball club. The transformation this team has gone through in just 10 short months speaks volumes of the job that General Manager Jack Zduriencik and Field Manager Don Wakamatsu have done.

I'm not willing to jump whole-heartedly on the idea that this Mariners team is a playoff contender...yet. There are still some moves to be made before the end of July that will determine that. But half way through the season, I am more than impressed with this ball club and uncharacteristically hopeful for the second half and years to come.

It's been a great ride so far and can only get better from here.

Betancourt traded to the Royals...How do I feel about that?

I'm sure you've all heard by now that Yuniesky Betancourt was traded to the Kansas City Royals for two minor league pitchers. As much as I've made a point to point out Yuni's flaws I'm truly sad to see him go. There was always a hope that he could become the defensive whiz out at shortstop while possessing the above-average bat that we saw flashes of when he broke into the league in 2005.

That being said, Yuni did not perform. It seemed Don Wakamatsu tried everything to get Yuni to see it his way; talking to him, calling him out in the newspaper, benching him. Each time Yuni would fix his mistakes...for a short while, but he always regressed to the player he was before the discipline.

Good luck in KC, Yuni. Finally, WFB and YFB will be reunited again. I really do hope he can turn his career around in KC. There is just too much talent there to dismiss as wasted. We'll see what happens.

Where do the M's go from here? Well...there is a huge glaring hole at shortstop, not that the trade of Yuni made it any worse than it was before but you just can't have Ronny Cedeno as your everyday shortstop. The value of Jarrod Washburn couldn't be any higher than after his 1-hitter. I think you'll see a package deal with Washburn and another player, maybe a Wladimir Balentien to fill the hole at short. This should be an exciting 3 weeks for M's fans.

Stay tuned as I'll take a look at the players the M's got in return for Yuni. From the initial look of things Jack Z pulled off another gem.

Our Dilemma as Baseball Fans...

"No baseball fan has to explain his mania to any other baseball fan. They are a fraternity. It is less easy, often it is hopeless, to try to explain it to anyone else. You grow technical, and you do not make sense. You grow sentimental, and you are deemed soft in the head. How, the benighted outsider ask you with no little condescension, can you grow sentimental about a cold-blooded professional sport?" - John K. Hutchens

Thanks to Laura Ditt for finding us this great quote!

Garbs

The King Reigns, Guti saves the day

I hope anyone reading this post caught the Mariner game last night, because if you watched the whole thing, there is no way you can't be excited about the outcome. Games like last night are the reason why I watch every game I can. People often say that baseball is boring to watch, that its extremely slow. I can't fault them for that, because it can drag on from time to time. However, when you get the right ingredients together, baseball is tops, in my opinion, in suspense and intrigue. Last night was a prime example of what can happen when you have a player who is on fire, a King who is taking his rightful throne, and two teams who realize what is at stake by playing each other.

Franklin Gutierrez...Wow. Noah "touched" on him in his post, but its really exciting to watch this guy come into his own. Currently, in the last 22 games, Guti has raised his average from approx .250 to almost .300. That's insane! Its interesting to watch a pitcher's approach when facing him. It looks like the scouting report on Frank was that the best way to get him out was to bust fastballs in on his hands, jamming him. But ever since the NL West trip, he is CRUSHING these pitches, getting his hands through the zone, and driving balls over the left field wall. His HR's are consistently over 400 feet and in what seems to be the most opportune times. So we have a guy that catches anything that is hit in the air to center field, who is completely on fire at the plate, and is also clutch. Playoff teams have guys like that. Its guys like that that win you division titles because they come through in huge series. My only concern with Guti is wondering what is going to happen when the scouting report determines that the outside pitch is the way to go. We'll see how well he can adjust to a different approach, but after what I have seen lately, I got all the confidence in the world in this guy as of late. Its tough to say who actually "won" the game for the M's last night for me. Frank was a huge part of it though.

King Felix, in my opinion, gets the game ball for the M's last night. This is his upteenth time in a row that he has come out, no matter who the opponent, and dominated. The Rangers lead the league in home runs, and he made them look like a little league team all game long. His two seem fast ball, with all the movement, is basically a 93-95 mph curve ball. Pair that with his actual curve ball, and finish it off with one of the best change up's in the game, and you have your stopper. Your ace. Your King. By holding the Rangers to one run, he allowed the offence to grind away on the Rangers' starting pitcher, Hunter, and get into their bullpen. He did everything an ace is supposed to do. Go 8 innings, hold the other team down by the neck, and allow your team to have a decent inning. A solid ace is another huge piece to a playoff team, and we look to have ours firing on all cylinders. The fact that he did it against a team we are trying to catch is absolute gold, sending a message to the Rangers and Angels that we are for real, and we're chasing you down on the backs of guys who want it.


Lets call last night and the next three games what it really is. A statement series. The closest thing to playoff baseball that you cant get...in July. We came out with our Ace, shut down our rival, and eventually locked it up with a majestic HR by a guy who is exploding onto the scene as a major player. Now I know it was only one game. This is a four game series, and if history has taught an M's fan anything, its that you can't get too excited (two years ago we were a similar situation and found a way to lose 10 or so games a row...). But history has also allowed us to experience the feeling of a playoff caliber team, and what they are able to do on any given night - to excite, along with succeed in huge games. I feel like that's what the M's did last night. They showed the Rangers, the AL West, and their fans that they can win the big game. I still think they are a piece or two away from truly contending, but not too far. Last night's win hopefully sold the powers that be that this season can be a huge success if we make the right moves. Last night got me all kinds of inspired (if you can't tell by this post). I'm heading to the game tonight to hopefully see the M's shave another game off the Rangers' division lead. Let's get excited about this team folks. Baseball isn't all that boring when the team can pull off wins like they did last night.

Garbs

Death to all Flying Things...I think I love you

So, I always tell Garbs not to bring this up on the blog, but after the game tonight it needs to be said. I have an unbelievable man-crush on Frankin Gutierrez. During last year it was Evan Longoria and the work that Guti has done out in centerfield has completely won over my [baseball] heart.

It started out innocent enough. I mentioned to Garbs earlier in the season that if I had a daughter I'd let Franklin take her to the prom. The only stipulation was he was to have her home by 10:00 pm. Well, as the season went along, I extended the deadline to midnight, then the next morning. When Gutierrez started hitting the ball with authority during the NL West road trip I started to turn a bit and said I would let Guti take me to the prom. Now...full on man-crush. It's not sick or dirty...it's just right.

So what if I get made fun of for this. Guti is a beautiful, beautiful person and I will shout it out to the world so everyone can hear! Well, the best way I know how to do that is through this blog. I distinctly remember recording our last blogcast over at Garbs' and I mentioned it looked like Gutierrez was starting to come around.

Dave over at USS Mariner posted a while back about how Gutierrez should be an all-star. When you compare his glove with the recent tear he's been on I don't think you can even doubt that he should at least have been considered. Unfortunately for Guti, most fans reward offense over defense. So, until Guti starts putting the ball out of the ball park in a Josh Hamilton fashion, he might have to settle with the adoration of yours truly.

Here's what Guti has done since that San Diego series on June 16th:

.395/.500/.686

That's a batting average of .395, an on-base percentage of .500 and a slugging percentage of .686. This is very impressive and although I don't think the kid will be able to sustain his offensive production it was his defense that initially attracted me to him in the first place.

Here are Guti's defensive numbers so far:

UZR: 12.0

Remember, UZR is a measure of how many runs a player saves a team with their defense. Gutierrez has saved us 12 runs just by being out in centerfield. That's phenomenal.

For those of you who like to look at other metrics like errors, it's just not a valid statistic. If you don't believe me look at Gutierrez' throw a couple days ago against the Orioles. The throw unfortunately hit the side of the mound and bounced past the catcher for an error. Now, if it hadn't have hit the mound, the runner still would have been safe at home but the other runners wouldn't have advanced giving him an error. But regardless, Guti has only committed 3 errors this year compared to a ton of Sports Center Web Gems. That's going to be my next project, ratio of errors to web gems, cause they're both misleading. But the truth is, Guti gets it done in the field.

For those of you who prefer to look at more basic statistics, here are the numbers I used to get the batting averages, on-base percentages and slugging percentage for Franklin Gutierrez.

Games: 22

At Bats: 86

Hits: 34

Walks: 9

1B: 23

2B: 4

3B: 0

HR: 7

Long Live The King!

Great article by Jim Caple about Felix today, check it out, and see why every day he starts should be a holiday.

Garbs

The King

Have we lost it?

Episode 6 has been up for 5 days and we have a whopping 11 downloads. One of those downloads came via Nick because he's so vain he likes to hear himself talk. 5 of those downloads came from iTunes. I'm assuming, but that means that only 5 downloads came from people who regularly or visit the blog.

So, what's the deal? Have we lost everyone? Do you care? Are the Mariners boring? Are we boring? What can we do to improve The Bush Leagues experience for you all?

This is actually something that Nick and I are trying to turn into a valuable show but we do invest a lot of personal time and effort into it. And although I love being able to play around with cool new technologies I'm also very interested in providing a service that people find useful and entertaining. By no means are we ready to throw in the towel yet, I just want to hear from you, the listeners, what you want to hear. Do we broaden the scope to all Seattle sports? Do we stick with baseball but cover it in a more general sense? Do we sacrifice a lamb during the show?

We're in a transitional stage in our show and we'll pull through, but we want to hear from you what you like!

The Bush Leagues, now on video!

Hey everyone,

Just as Nick eluded to earlier this morning, we have in fact evolved as a Mariners news source. We are now offering video of our blogcast so all of you can see our interactions with each other and exactly what goes on when we record. Although I must admit, we do exactly what it sounds like we're doing...sitting on a chair clucking like a couple of hens about baseball. Not a bad way to pass the time.

Apologies for the sound at the end but I'm kind of new to video editing and my audio didn't quite sync with the video the way I had hoped. Please be patient as I go through the growing pains of digital video editing.

P.S. Garbs' hat says, "Chicks lay better in the morning."

The Bush Leagues from Noah Banning on Vimeo.

Stay Tuned...

Noah has been hard at work producing the video blogcast of Episode 6, which we'll have up soon. Its a little trickier then you might think.

In M's news, we just completed a sweep of the D-backs at home this weekend, sit one game over .500, and are 2.5 games out of first place behind Texas and LA. The Mariners are showing a knack for getting a much needed run or two in the late innings, and its gaining us wins as a result.

Starting Tuesday, we face the Padres for 3, then its probably the hardest road trip we'll face this season, as we head off to Chavez Ravine and the Dodgers for three, homerville in the Bronx against the Yankess for three, and finish up in Fenway against the Bo-Sox for three. If we can take 5 out of 4 or better in this road trip, consider the M's a true contender this summer. It won't be easy though.

Garbs

The Bush Leagues Blogcast, Episode 6

Hey everybody! Noah and I finally got around to recording episode 6 of TBL. Listen in as we hit on the AL West, player injuries, and Interleague play. Check it out and let us know what you think!

Garbs

Episode 6

Harey Caray Agrees with me...

The Ghost of Harey Carey is on my side when it comes to the Predator playing baseball (Podcast #5), only he thinks he could cause some trouble too...

The Ghost of Harey Caray

M's take on the D-Bags, err, I mean backs tonight. Going 4-5 on the road trip didn't help our cause. Bedard is hurt, Lopez is gone due to a death in the family, and the Angels seem to be on fire. Hope this post cheers you up.

TGIF

Garbs

My Love/Hate Relationship with the 2009 Mariners

This team is great at being mediocre. Not bad, not good, just meh. Need evidence? Take a look at that Colorado Rockies series versus their current San Diego Padres series. Granted the Rockies are riding one of their unbelievable streaks and the Padres are just...well...bad. But this yo-yo winning 6 games then losing 6 games has got to stop.

Please M's, for the sake of my sanity pick one or the other. My vote is for winning, but if you choose the alternative at least I can accept the fact that this year is over and look forward to 2010.

The worst trade in Mariner history

News broke today that Erik Bedard has been placed on the 15-day disabled list. The move is retroactive to June 8th but I think you can squash the possibility of trading Bedard by the deadline. You'd be hard pressed to find a general manager in Major League Baseball willing to give up a prospect or two in exchange for a left-handed pitcher with a history of injuries. Regardless whether his ERA and BAA is in the American League's Top-5.

So, let's recap this amazing trade engineered by the mastermind genius Bill Bavasi. (I know it's hard to establish sarcasm in written form but let me point out I was laying it on pretty thick in the last sentence.)

The Mariners receive a left-handed strike-out, ground ball pitcher who goes on to post an 11-6 record working 146.2 innings in a little under a year and a half with a 3.07 ERA. In those 146.2 innings he has struck out 137 batters and walked only 59. Not bad stats but obviously the glaring issue is the 146.2 innings pitched, roughly half of what he should be at.

Let's take a look at what the guys the M's have given up have done. The centerpiece of the deal, Center Fielder Adam Jones has gone on to post a .296/.341/479 with the Orioles. It's nothing earth shattering but if you also remember that 2008 was his first full-year in the majors and that the kid is only 24 years old, it hurts more than a little bit.

The other major league piece of the trade, George Sherrill has only saved 43 games for the Orioles in just under a year and a half. Hmm, I'm sure the M's would have loved that kind of production out of their closer last year and early this season.

Not to mention Tony Butler Chris Tillman instantly became one of the Orioles' best pitching prospects and looks to get called up later this year.

But what's done is done, right? Let's look to the future. As I was telling Garbs, if we didn't have Franklin Gutierrez in Center Field, arguably a better defender than Adam Jones by about 3 runs this would be a harder pill to swallow. The only reason I'm holding my head high is because I emphatically believe Jack Zduriencik is the man who can right the ship after this debacle of a trade and we have already seen how he can turn situations into positives for the M's.

With the No. 2 pick in the draft...

The Mariners take Dustin Ackley. Hands down Ackley is the best hitter in the draft. I'm very happy with this pick. Jack Z was on the phone during the MLB Network broadcast and he said Ackley will play in the outfield and will be in the big leagues soon. Obviously he won't be up in Seattle this year but watch out in 2011.

Number 27: The Mariners select Nick Franklin a switch hitting shortstop out of high school in Florida. Franklin is a very athletic, versatile player who fits the mold of players you've seen Jack Zduriencik bring onto the ball club. Obviously, Franklin projects to be a solid major league player but he may have been drafted to ease the concerns for the money the M's would be spending on Dustin Ackley at number 2.

There are rumors that the M's have agreed on a deal with catcher Steve Baron at number 33. The reason they can get away with agreeing on a deal with Baron is because he has been slotted to be picked much deeper than 33. Personally, I say watch for the M's to take a pitcher with their 33rd pick coming up here. Especially if pitcher Tanner Scheppers is available and they're willing to pay the money and risk the shoulder injury from the Fresno State pitcher.

*Update: The rumors are true. The Seattle Mariners select high school catcher Steven Baron with the first compensatory pick at #33.

First the birds, then the NL...

So I haven't written a post in a bloody fort night. Since the last time I wrote a blog article I have beaten the monster of all video game conferences, in E3, and I have also gotten engaged to my lovely fiance Natasha, so its been a wild couple of weeks. But the baseball season keeps chugging along, so lets get into this.

The M's seem to be on a bit of an upswing as of late. Winners of 7 of their last 10, they currently sit one game under .500, and 5 games out behind the Rangers. Looks like Beltre is figuring some things out at the plate along with Lopez, Branyan is still sitting balls into Lake Washington, and some kid who was a throw-in player in the JJ Putz deal refuses to let any one score when he's on the bump. Justin, err, Jason Vargas is currently a 2-0 pitcher, with a 1.93 ERA. and looking more and more like a solid number 4-5 starter. A very pleasant surprise, and he goes tonight against Baltimore, who he only gave up 2 runs against last time he faced them on June 3rd, in a 3-2 win, in which he got a no decision.

Looking ahead on the calender, after we finish the series in Baltimore, we then stroll into Colorado for three and then San Diego (I believe it means 'A Whale's Vagina' in German) for three. The M's have always seemed to play very well against the NL, going 116-96 leading up to this year, so if history tells us anything, it says we might be able to make some headway and be in the black, record wise, when we get home. For our next homestand, we get AZ, San Diego, and then off to Dodger land for the start of the following road trip.

If this team wants to make the playoffs, it needs to rip through this road trip, stay hot, and get home with some confidence and momentum. I personally think anything less then 5-4 record is a disappointment, with 6-3 being the goal. The three teams we are facing are a combined 19 games under .500, so its time to make a move. Either that, or go 3-6, and Bedard, Branyan, and Washburn better not be on the flight home. Instead, they should be flying out to their new teams because they just got traded. We are starting to get down to the nitty gritty here for this team. They are making a case that with the correct guys producing, they can win games. But if I were the GM, I would be expecting them to tear through the NL in this next month. June is going to be make or break, and I really don't think it could have lined up any better for us, given our history. 15 games this month against teams we have always done pretty well against in the past can't hurt a club looking to climb back into it. So here's to hoping!

Garbs

PS. As Noah mentioned in an earlier blog post, today is the first day of the MLB Draft. Strausberg is off to the Nats, he'll to warrant 40-50 million before throwing a major league pitch, and we could have had him if the A's wouldn't have purposely thrown the last series of the year, last Sept (my conspiracy theory, not proven). Instead, we get Dustin Ackley, who I'm happy with. Sounds like a decent amount of talent with some good upside, so we'll see I guess. I'll tell you what though, if Strausberg ends up being a bust for the Nationals (which crazier things have happened), that's it for that franchise. They need a shot in the arm, and this could be it, but if not, that's a mighty big motza ball to have to cover for a team that wins approx 60 games a year and has about 4 people watch their games.

First-year player draft starts tomorrow

Tomorrow, June 9th will mark the opening rounds of the 2009 first-year player draft or the Rule 4 draft. Our own hometown M's will be selecting 2nd. Now of course all you've heard of is this Stephen Strasburg kid, but forget about him. He's going #1 overall to the Washington Nationals and will probably become the highest paid draft signing ever.

So who does that leave us with? Well, the M's aren't going to end up with that bad of a player in the #2 slot. The University of North Carolina's Dustin Ackley is well regarded as the best hitter in the draft with plus speed and above average defense. I'd look for the M's to take Ackley #2. The only question is where will he play.

In Ackley's junior season at UNC he played first base. But, he's too good of an athlete to have him at first. Many of the experts see him roaming center field or possibly even second base. Either way, this is a kid you can really get excited about. Sure, he's no Strasburg...but who cares.

If you want to know more about Ackley, I encourage you to take a look at this feature written by Larry Stone at The Seattle Times.

Putting the game in motion

This weekend a reader of the blog explained to me that he felt Don Wakamatsu has changed the way he has managed the team. During the Mariners' very successful April we heard the term Wak ball invented as the M's focused on manufacturing runs by bunting runners over, using the hit-and-run and stealing bases.

The reader told me he felt during May the M's have abandoned their strategy of putting the game in motion. I had to think about it for a while, but it sounded like a good explanation to the struggles with the M's offense. 

Now there are some obvious explanations for why the M's would be sacrificing and stealing less. The first is the recent strategy to bat Russell Branyan second in the order. Obviously with the power Branyan adds to the line-up you don't want to take his power away with a sacrifice bunt. The M's have also seen a power increase the last couple weeks as Ichiro continues to drive the ball into the gaps and signs are showing of Jose Lopez turning the corner, offensively.

But I wanted to take a look at the statistics anyway just to see if Wakamatsu has in fact slowed the game down or if by chance we're just getting accustomed to Wak's style.

In the month of April, The M's stole 16-of-23 bases with Endy Chavez swiping a team high 5 bags. Of course the M's played the first half of April without one of their best runners, Ichiro, so that definitely has a bearing on the way they played the game. Additionally, the M's recorded 11 sacrifices bunts through April.

In comparison, during the month of May, the team converted 17-of-24 stolen bases, 5 from Ichiro and 18 sacrifice bunts, 7 coming from Yuniesky Betancourt.

Hmm...so looking at the numbers, the Mariners are actually attempting more stolen bases and sacrificing more often. So why is there a big difference in the way the team has played from April to May? The problem occurs when we get those runners on 2nd and 3rd base we can't come up with the big hit to score those runs. 

Offense is a streaky part of the game, when runs are easy to come by, the little things like moving runners over and stealing bases can get overlooked. But when the offense isn't producing it becomes a very important part of the game. Moving runners over and stealing bases can help manufacture extra runs that normally you normally wouldn't. 

Power was always a concern for the 2009 Mariners. Given the lack of power we've had this year it's encouraging to see Wak continue moving the runners and sacrificing outs for position.

There's cause for celebration

Plenty of good things happened today in the land of The Bush Leagues.

First of all...the M's win! Bringing their record to 25-28.

Erik Bedard pitched a hell of a game against the Orioles battling through 6 1/3 innings giving up a run and recording 7 strikeouts. He reminded me a lot of the way Rich Hill looked last night (or should I say, Rich Hill reminded me a lot of Erik Bedard). But the most significant accomplishment; he pitched well and stayed healthy.

The offense showed up! We finally start to see some production from the top of our lineup. Granted Ichiro has been producing all month but Don Wakamatsu shook things up a bit by throwing Russel Branyan in the 2-hole. Followed by Adrian Beltre, Ken Griffey Jr. and Jose Lopez. And the lineup produced. Branyan hits a home run, Griffey goes 3-for-5 with 2 doubles and a homer, Beltre goes 3-for-5 and Jose Lopez goes 3-for-5 with 3 doubles. Granted much of this offense came when the M's were already up by 3+ runs, it's still encouraging to see.

But the real cause for celebration, our own Nick Garbareno proposed to his girlfriend on Tuesday and amazingly she said yes! Everyone join me in giving Nick and truly his better half a Bush Leagues congratulations!

I'm already thinking of ideas of how I'm going to bring The Bush Leagues into this wedding. Let's open up the comment board for ideas. A baseball wedding with the officiant dressed as an umpire? Athletic supporters with cup for groomsmen gifts? Let's hear it everyone!

Rich Hill is the Greatest Pitcher in All the Land!

Well...Either that or he was just pitching against the Mariners and their anemic offense. Regardless, Rich Hill looked amazing last night, and given that he's a left handed pitcher who throws a low-90s fastball, a 12-6 curve and a change, I was pretty impressed he worked the M's to the tune of 7 IP, 0 runs, 2 hits and 7 Ks. This year the M's have held their own against this type of pitcher.

The thing I noticed about Rich Hill watching last night's game and was apparent by the way the M's hitters just looked confused was that he has a very similar throwing motion for both his fastball and his curveball. His release point is nearly identical and because of that you see the M's hitters watch a perfect strike 3 fastball go by or flail aimlessly at a 2 strike curveball in the zone.

This was a frustrating game to watch as the M's wasted another great pitching performance, this time by Jarrod Washburn, and especially on the heels of that Angels series where it looked like the bats might finally come around.

I guess we'll see what happens tonight against David Hernandez with Erik Bedard on the bump for the M's.

The Bush Leagues Podcast, Episode 5

Episode 5 is now posted for your listening pleasure. Our good friend Rob Rasmussen joins us for some friendly banter. We dive into trade possibilities and also run through our favorite baseball movies of all-time. Then we take those movies and build our all-star lineups from fictional movie characters.

*Please note: This was recorded on Saturday May 30th prior to the 2-1 series win against the Angels.

Episode 5

Enjoy!

Our bad...

Hey everyone...

Sorry for the lack of updates over the past week. Unfortunately The Bush Leagues doesn't pay very well and some times our real jobs can get in the way. Obviously not a good excuse but Nick and I have been very busy none-the-less.

I do have one update, however. The winner of the Episode 4 Blogcast. We had asked all of our listeners to provide feedback about our blogcast and we'd enter them into a drawing for a special prize.

Well the prize was a 2007 Ichiro bobblehead doll, still in its original packaging (come on, we may be the Bush Leagues but we're not that bad). We received some great feedback from four commenters and you'll start to see some of that put to use in the next blogcast, which has a tentative recording date for this Saturday.

So, the process for picking a winner was that I asked a co-worker of mine to pick a number...which being a butt, she picked 79. So after counting 79 through the four commenters I landed on Tom Wiggin. So, congratulations Tom! You are now the proud owner of a 2007 Ichiro Bobblehead Doll, complete with 7 gold gloves!

So, I'll leave you with that and hopefully will be able to write a post this evening after playing 2 softball games and grabbing beers afterward...we'll see.

Thanks for the feedback...

Nick and I really do appreciate the feedback we're getting from everybody. By helping us out we can continue to inform you about the Mariners while trying to be "somewhat" entertaining. I'm already trying to set up a guest caller for the next blogcast so be on the lookout for that, should include some good stuff.

In lieu of the feedback I've gotten from some of you I wanted to share a rough draft of the next blogcasts' transcript. Remember, this is just a rough draft so bear with me as we continue to develop it into something more.

Noah: Welcome back, everyone! This is the Bush Leagues with Nick and Noah. I'm Noah Banning joined by my good friend Nick Garbareno, say hello Nick.

Nick: Hello.

Noah: This is episode 5 and I'd like to thank everyone who provided us with feedback for our blogcast. It really does help us tailor the show to the people who matter most, the listeners. From the comments, it seems a lot of you don't want to hear about Morrow, Griffey, Yuni or Branyan anymore. So we'll hold off on talking about them for a while.

Nick: So...yeah, that's our show for today, thanks for listening and we'll see you at the park.

Of course I'm joking, and we really do appreciate the feedback. We bring it up every show that some of the topics seem like we're beating a dead horse, but they are what we feel is impacting the M's at that point in time. But we are listening. Coming up in future shows we'll be sure to talk about the make-up of the Mariners bench including the role of Ronny Cedeno. We'll also look into how Wak utilizes his platoon players (mainly outfield, catcher and DH) and whether he's doing this successfully.

But...if Yuni gets traded in the next week or so...which there are a lot of rumors going around, I reserve the right to analyze and talk about Yuni for the entire show if I see fit. That's just the power that comes with being on a blogcast.

The Bush Leagues Blogcast, Episode 4

Check out the latest episode of the Bush Leagues! We dive into why the M's are losing lately, Russell Branyon's future with the club, and what to do with B-Mo. Check it out, and for the love of God, please let us know what you think!!!

Episode 4

Nick and Noah

Useless Statistics

Dear FSN,

Please stop showing the graphic of home runs that Griffey has hit on "This Date in History." There is absolutely no correlation between the date and how successful a batter has been.

Thank you,

The Bush Leagues

Looking at the young kids, and what to do with them

After Nick and I returned from Vegas to see Erik Bedard scratched from the Boston Red Sox series we both thought escaping this series with a win would be very difficult. I mean, the M's were sending three of their most inexperienced pitchers on the big league roster. But now that the series is all said and done, I can say the reason the M's were able to take 2-out-of-3 games was because of the pitching from Chris Jakubauskas, Garrett Olson and Jason Vargas. Granted, each of the pitchers made mistakes in their games, but they were able to pitch out of jams by generating double play balls, striking batters out and producing short pop ups.

Let's take a closer look at the youngsters.

Chris Jakubauskas: The elder statesman of the three struggled with his control early in the game. In the first three innings, Jakubauskas threw 33 strikes out of 62 pitches for a 53% strike rate. But that's not the reason he was roughed up so bad. The reason he was lit up for runs is that when you're struggling to find the plate, often times you'll leave pitches out in the middle of the plate thigh-to-belt high. This is what happened to Jakubauskas. If you were to look a plot of his pitches I guarantee you would see most of them down the middle of the plate with little to no strikes called on the corners. Sometimes you can get away with leaving pitches over the plate, but not against the Boston Red Sox, and we saw what happens when the Sox get pitches to hit. They lit Jakubauskas up for 4 runs in 3 innings.

Innings 4-6 were a different story as Jakubauskas began throwing his fastball for strikes and could then rely on his curveball to keep the hitters off balance. He was able to throw 31-of-43 pitches for strikes for a 72% strike rate. When he was missing with his pitches they were closer to the zone. This allowed for him to collect some swinging and even some called strikes with pitches out of the strike zone. When Jakubauskas did throw a strike many of his pitches weren't in the middle of the plate like the first three innings of the game. He was able to hit the corners a lot more consistently. Overall, a decent job of being able to keep the Mariners in the ball game against a dangerous Boston lineup.

Garrett Olson: Garrett Olson struggled during his entire 6 innings to keep the ball in the zone. Of his 93 total pitches, only 50 were strikes for a 54% strike rate. Regardless of Olson's struggle with his command he only gave up 4 hits. Unfortuanately, he also issued 4 walks and served up 3 home runs. Two of those home runs came immediately following a walk. When you're pitching against a powerful offensive team like the Red Sox, you can't issue walks, or they will make you pay much like they made Olson pay. Regardless of the walks and the home runs, Olson still did his job and left the game after 6 innings only down by 2 runs. Overall, the outcome of the game was not how the M's would have liked, but given Olson was a stop-gap pitcher filling in for Erik Bedard who's out with a hamstring injury you couldn't have asked for much more.

Jason Vargas: Vargas' outing on Sunday was less than spectacular as he struggled through out the day giving up 7 hits and 3 walks and 2 runs (1 earned because of an error on Yuniesky Betancourt). He did, however, benefit from some stellar defense to get him out of some jams. Twice with the bases loaded, Vargas was able to serve up double play balls to escape the innings with minimal damage, if any at all. Vargas threw 57% strikes locating 54-of-94 in the zone often times working inside to lefties and outside to righties. As a pitcher that throws mostly fastballs he can benefit from throwing outside of the zone, but he needs to be able to prove that he can get his fastball over for strikes when needed to justify throwing out of the zone. Something that he just wasn't able to do consistently against the Red Sox. But when it was all said and done, Vargas kept us in it for five innings and received a no decision for his efforts.

All three of these young pitchers are not going to blow batters away with their electrifying stuff. They all throw their fastballs in the low-90s and rely on being able to throw their secondary pitches for strikes. Where they are going to be successful is being able to locate their fastball and throw the breaking balls in the zone.

Unfortunately, the Mariners' starting rotation is full, Rowland-Smith and Silva will be back soon and granted both of them are not guaranteed a spot on the roster, but my initial feeling is that they will be welcomed back into the rotation upon their return. So where does that leave Jakubauskas, Olson and Vargas? If you ask me, I think Jakubauskas finds himself back in the bullpen, Olson will be sent back down to Triple-A Tacoma and Vargas will probably find himself in a similar situation. However, the ability of these three young pitchers to keep the Mariners close in these games against the Red Sox have given General Manager Jack Zduriencik some options to pursue regarding trades regardless of where they lie in the standings. What does this mean? It means you can sure as hell guarantee come July, Jarrod Washburn will no longer be a member of the Seattle Mariners.

If Griffey wasn't Griffey...

If Griffey wasn't Griffey, how would we react to what he has done in the first 35 games? What we have, name or not, is a player who is hitting .212/.343/.365 with 3 hrs and 7 RBIs. To top it off, we are asking this player to be our DH against right handed pitchers. Take the name and fanfare out of this equation, and he isn't much different the Vidro at this point. Granted, he still has much more power potential then Vidro did, but if you look at what he has done so far, it seems to be his name that is bringing him along, not his bat.

Take for example the Texas game on Wednesday, when he was up with runners on third and first with one out, against a left handed pitcher. There is absolutely no reason why he should have had a bat in his hand with the right handed Mike Sweeney sitting on the bench. If Griffey wasn't Griffey, he would have been pinch hit for in that situation. What happened? Griffey ended up hitting into a rally killing 1-6-3 double play. I don't know if I can necessarily blame Wak, he didn't want to take out one of the best hitters of all time in a key RBI situation. Fair enough. But if Griffey wasn't Griffey, Wak pulls the trigger and puts in Sweeney.

I'm not here to smear the greatest Mariner of all time though. If Ichiro wasn't Ichiro, wouldn't he be hitting in the third hole instead of lead off? He doesn't walk (so he really shouldn't lead off), he gets hits consistently, and more often then not, hits well with runners in scoring position. The only problem is, he doesn't feel like he is anything but a leadoff hitter, and as a result, doesn't want to hit higher in the order. Apparently, what Ichiro wants, Ichiro gets. Just look how long he stayed in center field.

If Griffey wasn't Griffey, and Ichiro wasn't Ichiro, we could have a chance at having a much better, more sound line up. But instead we have a guy who gets 200 hits a year and doesn't walk, leading off, and a DH who hits third and probably won't get much higher then 20 hrs for the whole year. The fact is, they are who they are, and that alone puts butts in the seats. I think the main question is, if we keep free falling like we are, will that be enough come August?

Hmm...

What in the hell happened to Brandon Morrow?

Vargas impresses; Defense does not

Same shit story, different day, right? It's starting to become really frustrating to watch the 2009 Mariners turn close games into blow outs! It happened again last night with Jason Vargas pitching a solid 5 innings, giving up 5 hits, 1 run (on the Chris Davis homer), 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. Not too shabby for your first major league start in 2 years and frankly he exceeded all of my expectations against a dangerous Texas lineup.

I'm going to beat this defense topic into the ground yet again. Our outfield defense is amazing, our middle infield however, has become a liability. In the 7th inning of last night's game Yuni again botched another play up the middle on a ball hit by Andruw Jones. The play should have been made and the only reason he wasn't charged with an error on his off-target throw was the fact the Rangers were the home team and the bookkeeper wanted to boost Jones' average.

Let's take a look at the UZR of our two middle infielders Betancourt and Lopez courtesy of fangraphs.com. Remember, UZR is a way to measure how many runs a player contributes or gives up based on the balls they either reach or fail to get to compared to the rest of the players at that position.

Let's start with Yuni. Our shortstop has cost the Mariners -6.4 runs per game based on his defense. Shortstop, arguably the most important defensive position is not a place to be giving up 6.4 runs in 32 games. It may be time to see what Ronny Cedeno can do in the 6-hole.

Lopez, although playing not as poorly as Betancourt, has a UZR of -1.5 based on his defense. And the argument for Lopez was that he more than makes up for his lack of defense or focus with his bat. Well, looking at Jose's offensive stats you'll see he's hitting .248/.289/.360. That's a .248 average, .289 on-base percentage and a .360 slugging percentage. Not exactly setting the world on fire.

Back to defense, this means between our two starting middle infielders they have given up nearly 8 runs! It is absolutely inexcusable for a pair of professional middle infielders to give up a combined 8 runs. So, it's little wonder why when horrible defense up the middle is paired with a flailing offense we can't pull out wins in close games, or prevent close games to becoming blow-outs.

This problem has been occurring for the last three years and it's time to be addressed. How Zduriencik and Wakamatsu take care of this situation however is rather limited. You can't bench both players because the only utility infielder on the team is Cedeno. And you can't trade both of them, so the question remains, If you had to choose between keeping Yuni or Lopez, who would you keep?

Griffey should hit with the pink bat every day

Sorry I'm a little late on this one, had to catch up on some sleep yesterday. But, after a double, a two-run home run and a Mariners win, Griffey should swing the pink stick every game.

The Bush Leagues Blogcast, Episode 3

Hey Everyone, we threw together episode 3 just before we hop on a plane to Vegas!! Check it out and enjoy!!!

Episode 3

Lookin in the rear-view mirror

Don't look now, but at this time tomorrow the M's could be in second place in the AL West. After taking 2-of-3 from Oakland in what could be described as some of the best baseball this season, the M's faltered in the Texas series as they were swept. But trust me, it gets better! The Rangers are sitting half a game back from the M's in the AL West standings! Thank God this was only a two game series, I would hate to have to send Silva out there to face this Rangers lineup.

Even worse, the Angels are hanging around, sitting only 2 games back of the AL West leading M's. Let's look at the upcoming series for each teams.

The Mariners travel to Kansas City in a showdown of the AL Central leaders and AL West leaders. Ok, seriously...KC and Seattle are leading their divisions?!? Anyone out there who tells me they saw this coming back in February, I'll say you're full of shit. But still, the M's are playing against a hot KC team right now. And what does KC get? Silva and Washburn paired with a very dinged up bullpen and a lack of offense. I'm sorry M's fans, but I'll be happy coming away from this series with a split. What's even worse is I'm sure Willie Bloomquist will find some way to be productive. My [very optimistic] prediction: Split series.

Second place Texas battles the AL West cellar dwellers, the Oakland A's. Oakland just suffered a sweep of their own at the hands of the LA of A Angels while Texas comes to town boasting a 4-game winning streak. Texas absolutely smashes the ball and Oakland will be sending a couple youngsters to the mound in Dan Giese and Trevor Cahill. Oakland picked Giese up off waivers from the Yankees and he has had control problems in his previous starts. Cahill has looked impressive against the M's but has yet to record his first big league win. Texas will counter with Scott Feldman and Brandon McCarthy who, like every other Rangers pitcher, give up runs by the handful. But still, Oakland is in a rut and Texas swings the hot stick. My prediction: Texas sweeps Oakland 2-0.

The Angels have suddenly found themselves back in the picture for leading the AL West. They are only two games behind division leader, Seattle. Not to mention they are doing it without the likes of John Lackey, Ervin Santana and Vladimir Guerrero, all of which are scheduled to return shortly. Unfortunately, for LA fans, the Angels run into the AL East leading Toronto Blue Jays and quite possibly the best pitcher in baseball, Roy Halladay. I can't bet against Roy Halladay, the guy can single handedly win games just by throwing the ball. But game 2 looks to be in the Angels' favor. My prediction: Split series

So if the games go the way I predict. Going into the weekend you will see the Texas Rangers leading the division with the Mariners .5 games behind and the Angels 2.5 games back of the Rangers. The M's had a fantastic start to the season, but they're losing their momentum and it may soon be too late for them to get it back. This is a very important week of baseball for M's fans.

5 hours later...

The Mariners just won another series today, but it took 5 hrs and 5 mins to wrap up the rubber match with the A's. Today was an amazing game, with the A's taking the lead, the Mariners tieing it up, and so on for 15 innings! A couple of things I want to address about today's win.

Testicular Fortitude.

This team continues to show the ability to come from behind, something we haven't seen in Seattle for a while. They were down by two in the bottom of the nineth today, and Kenji Johjima stepped up and hit his 1st HR of the year, tieing it up and sending the game into extra innings. In the top of the 13th, the A's took a 3 run lead after Batista faltered. But in the next half inning, the M's battled back to tie game, and eventually, won it in the bottom of the 15th.

Jose "Mr. Clutch" Lopez.

For the second time in three days, Jose Lopez ends up winning the game with a basehit. On Friday, it was a 15 pitch at bat that was one of the craziest things I have ever seen. Battling off questionable pitch after pitch, he literally just outlasted Oakland's Russ Springer, sending a liner into right field, and the M's to victory. Today, with the bases loaded, he parachuted one in front of the left fielder to lock up the win. Lopez is having a great season, leading the team in RBI's with 17, and proving he is a guy you want up in a clutch situation.

Bullpen comes through, one more time.

The bullpen really came through today, keeping the A's in check after Jak left after 4.1 innings, holding Oakland scoreless from the 6th on in to the 13th inning, before Batista gave up 3. Justin Vargas, who we got in the trade for JJ Putz during the winter, then came in and shut the A's down and ended up getting his first win as a Mariner. He looked extremely impressive with a low 90's fastball and a decent breaking ball. Just another example as to why I think this team is going to be dangerous if they get a shot at post season play down the road.

Wins like today and Friday are what we as M's fans have been waiting for. These are the games that we are talking about when we say, win or lose, this team will be exciting to watch. They have the talent and moxy to come from behind, and the more times they do it, the more confidence they will gain. Great to see us put some distance between us and AL West.

Go M's

Nick

Will baseball recover?

*Please note, I wrote this blog post on February 10th for a public relations blog about how baseball needs to improve its image following A-Rod's steroid scandal. The only reason I have not shared it with anyone was because it was outdated and irrelevant. Because of the news that Mr. Alex Rodriguez may have been taking steroids as early as high school, it makes this story relevant again.

Thank you for the relevance, A-Rod!

***

These are dark times for America's past time. Clouded by scandal, baseball has fought to clear its name of alleged steroid use by some of recent times' greatest players: Bonds, McGwire, Sosa and now...Alex Rodriguez. Once pegged as the savior for Major League Baseball, A-Rod was supposed to pull his sport back to prominence as the premiere "clean" player. He was supposed to break the all-time home run record currently held by Barry Bonds without the aid of performance enhancing drugs.

That hope is now gone. With Alex Rodriquez admitting yesterday that he used performance enhancing drugs from 2001 - 2003 while with the Texas Rangers. The Seattle sports fan in me instantly thought, "Phew, at least he was out of Seattle during those times." But really this issue is bigger than local sports. Major League Baseball has a huge mess on their hands. Athletes are paid hundreds of millions of dollars to put up huge power numbers and many believe steroids are the answer or quick fix to produce.

How can baseball fix this? There is little doubt the sport has damaged its image from the steroid era. Is there any way for MLB Commissioner Bud Selig to save his sport in the eyes of the public?

If you look back at history there have been scandals in major sports before: The 1919 Black Sox throwing the World Series, Pete Rose's gambling, NBA official Tim Donaghy's gambling and several Olympic and Tour de France dopers. In each instance, the respective sport had to make an example of those caught. The Black Sox and Pete Rose were banned from baseball for life, Tim Donaghy fired, and Olympic medalist's were stripped of their medals.

Why hasn't this happened during the steroids era?

Baseball needs to make a statement that cheating will not be tolerated. They need to make a sacrifice to save their sport. Granted, Alex Rodriguez used these steroids when there was no official policy on banned substances and I'm not saying an example needs to be made of him, but what he did was still cheating. Bud Selig needs to bite the bullet on this one. Records need to be pulled from any player involved in steroids and subsequently banned from the sport. Harsh...maybe, necessary...yes.

Be sure to turn off the lights before you go home

Baseball is becoming a spectacle sport. What started as playing music for plate appearances has turned into each Major League established closer having their own music as well. Mariano Rivera has "Enter Sandman," Trevor Hoffman trotted out to "Hells Bells" and JJ would strike fear into opposing batters with "Thunderstruck."

But is this an intimidation tool? Or simply another way for the home stadiums to pump up an already excited crowd with the lead in the ninth?

I haven't been to a Mariners game this year where Brandon Morrow has needed to come in and lock the game up with a save. Because of that I have no idea what his "closer entrance theme" is. If you do know, please tell me in the comments.

But this posed an interesting question for me. If you were a major league closer what would your entrance music be?

I'll go first...Hatebreed "I will be Heard."

Hopefully most of you reading this will know what I'm talking about but for those of you who don't, imagine the most hardcore metal song that starts out with, "Now...is the time...for me to rise...to my feet! Wipe this spit...from my face...wipe these tears...from my eyes!"

If you can't get jacked up for that, you aren't alive.

How say you? What would your closer entrance music be?

*UPDATE: Garbs points out in the comments that Morrow's closer music may be Lenny Kravitz' "Are you gonna my way." If this is in fact true, (which I hope it's not) you can eliminate any chance of using closer entrance music to strike intimidation into the hearts of batters. Instead, in this case, it's used as a means to get the average fans toe tapping with catchy guitar riffs while at the same time succeeding in ultimately pissing people like me off.

The Bush Leagues Blogcast, Episode 2

We finally got our second blogcast up and ready for download. Check it out, and let us know what you think!

Special thanks to Nate Minear for producing the opening music for us.

Nick

Episode 2

Freddy Garcia Released!

Former Mariner Freddy Garcia was released by the Mets today. "The Chief" allowed seven runs in two starts for New York's Triple-A club, the Buffalo Bisons.

Unfortunately I think this may be the end of the line for Freddy Garcia. He was quoted by MLB.com as saying, "I don't feel I have any power, so I tried to do the best I can with whatever I have."

Since leaving Seattle, Freddy Garcia enjoyed success with the Chicago White Sox, winning a World Series with the club in 2005. He was traded to the Phillies prior to the 2007 season but never lived up to his expectations. He was placed on the DL as he needed surgery to repair his rotator cuff.

Way to go, Rookie Biotch!

Noah and I took a shot at recording episode 2 of our blogcast yesterday, only to figure out when we listened to the play back, that my mic sounded like hell. We think it was because it was too far away from my face. Go figure. Anyway, We are going to meet up on Tuesday and give it another shot, and hopefully I can pull my head out and get a good recording.

On a lighter note, its my B-day! Turning 26. Absolutely nothing happens for this birthday. Yay...

Garbs

Hanging out right now, watching Eric Bedard throw the Angels into a hole that is going to be a bitch to get out of. Currently, its 7-1 in the bottom of the 5th, and the M's look like they have a pretty good chance of winning the opening game. There is some psychic ability for you. Watching Bedard do what he was brought to Seattle to do is a bit bitter sweet for me for the simple reason that I don't know if he'll be here next year to keep doing it. If the M's end up making a run at the pennant this year, its going to be because we have the best 1-2 punch in baseball (currently, with how Washburn is throwing, we have the best 1-2-...4 combination in baseball). Granted, we do need to hit the ball better to hope to do anything, but having Felix and Bedard at the top of the rotation is a huge part of our success. Can you imagine having to face a rotation like the M's have in a five game series? I have a feeling teams around the league are secretly keeping an eye on the M's, hoping this insane pitching we have going on is going to cool off.

Our bats are bound to come alive. Right now, the M's are winning 8-3, Chavez is 3-4, Branyan has a HR along with a double, and even Beltre has an RBI double. If either Beltre, Branyon, or Griffey decides to have a great month of May, look for the M's to be a top three team in the league still. They have the pitching of a playoff team, just need a bat or two to get hot, and it won't matter when the Angles get healthy, they'll be 8 or 9 games out.

What do you think, are we a bat away from leaving the West in our dust?

Also, Noah and I are going to try and record the blogcast every Sunday, so if you have any questions or issues you want brought up by a couple of guys who think they know way more about sports then they actually do, leave them in the comments, and we'll bring them up on the show.

Be sure to tell anyone who likes the M's or baseball about our blog and blogcast. Word of mouth is always a great way to spread information, and we can use all the help we can get! Thanks to everyone who downloaded the first episode. Be sure to check in on Monday for episode two!

Nick

Whoa...I can tell you the future!

Here is a direct quote from an earlier post about the M's - Rays series:

"My guess? Seattle wins Game 1 with Washburn on the mound. Tampa wins Game 2 and Felix dominates the Rays in a pitching duel with James Shields for the Game 3 W and the series win! "

I'm not saying I can predict the future...but that's kind of creepy. Twilight Zone style shit.

For those of you who missed it...

Sure, people laughed at me when I said it. Hell, when asked after the podcast if I really thought it was true I recanted on my decision and said I didn't think it was possible. But let it be known that I did say Jarrod Washburn would have 10 wins by the All-Star break! If you don't believe me, have a listen here:

http://media.libsyn.com/media/bushleagues/blogcast4-18Final.mp3

Now this could completely blow up in my face but, after 3 starts, Washburn has 3 wins (2 of which came while he was experiencing the flu and cramps) and has looked impressive thus far. Come on, Jarrod! Seven more!

Seattle vs. Tampa Bay

If any of you actually listened to the podcast you would know that I cautioned everyone against getting excited about the Mariners' amazing start. I warned everyone that we still have yet to play any of the A.L. East teams.

Well that all changes tonight and I'm now telling you this series is very winnable. The series will feature two of the best defenses in baseball as both lead the league in UZR. So what will this one come down to? Tampa Bay's pitching. Last year Tampa had one of the more impressive starting rotations but as of now they have failed to show a glimpse of 2008. If the starting rotation can keep the Mariners hitters in their current funk I see them winning the series.

But! There is a but, I would take a struggling hitter over struggling pitching. Hitters can be streaky at times and without warning things click and begin to make sense. Seattle has gotten off to this amazing start without much offense. That being said I look for Tampa's pitching to make a comeback but ultimately not the comeback needed to take two-of-three games against the M's.

My guess? Seattle wins Game 1 with Washburn on the mound. Tampa wins Game 2 and Felix dominates the Rays in a pitching duel with James Shields for the Game 3 W and the series win!

Behold, Our first blogcast, ready to download!!

Noah and I finally got our first blogcast recorded yesterday before we went to the game. Pretty excited and surprised that we ended up with a final product. Fairly bare bones and this point. We need to work on things like audio levels and how to hold mics and what not, but all in all, not bad!



Click the link below to start the download, and please comment on this post with your thoughts.

http://media.libsyn.com/media/bushleagues/blogcast4-18Final.mp3

Nick



PS: Sorry for the cell phone interference in the middle. You shouldn't have cell phones on when recording...Lesson learned.

Worst part about going to a game

I love going to baseball games. I love it when the games are close and it comes down to that 7th, 8th or 9th inning at bat with a runner on second and third and a hit would score two. But you know what I don't like about these situations? The drunk guy near the front row who all of a sudden has the brilliant idea to start the wave!

I'm sorry, I'm at the ballpark to watch a baseball game. I'm not there to stop paying attention to the action only to watch a man, who mind you is drunker than your Uncle at last year's family holiday party, try and rally everyone to stand up sequentially all around the stadium. And it's not just one attempt, it's several attempts. This man just won't be satisfied until he gets the wave to complete a full revolution.

What's more? When I don't participate why is it that said lush instantly points me out as if I am a bad fan for not joining in on all the fun. I'm a bad fan?!? Excuse me sir! My fandom begins and ends with the product on the field, not the extra curricular activities in the stadium seating. If you want to do the wave I suggest you take yourself to a minor league hockey arena where the wave would make sense. Not only is it condoned in such a facility, the arena is much more wave friendly. Not like Safeco where sections are split by aisle ways and bleachers have a maximum of 20 rows.

Sadly, I know the wave is a part of the game and I have to deal with it. But my greatest joy in life just might be making it out to catch a ball game and heading home after a Mariners win, having not seen the wave that night.

How say you? Do you like the wave? How bout the beach ball? Streakers in the outfield? Garlic fries? Anything really irk you during a baseball game?

Griffey makes history, Nick and Noah strike out!

What a ride it has been in the first nine games of the season! The M's are currently on a six game winning streak and looking like a team that is believing in itself more and more each game they play. I'm not sure what is worse though. Waiting for this team to come back down to earth (which they are bound to do eventually), or reading and listening to every baseball personality in the Seattle area down play this start, literally starting every thought they have with "Now I know its only the start of the season, and I still don't expect the team to make the playoffs, but..." Is Seattle incapable of enjoying success? I would say yes, but its for good reason. We don't usually see it happen. This city felt and said the exact same things in 2001 as we are saying and feeling know. Back then, we had just lost A-Rod to the Rangers and just signed a little guy from Japan who looked like he would get the bat knocked out of his hands by a change up. Look, I'm not saying we're going to win 116 games, or even win 85, but this team has a feel to it that we haven't seen since 2001. They can come from behind very well, they have recieved the best starting pitching in baseball (so far), and they have an outfield that can chase down fly balls all day long. They are an exciting team to watch, led by a manager who seems to know what he is doing for a change, and I think they'll stay exciting this season, win or lose. So I'm going to let myself get swept up into this current ride, cause some jerk in OK City stole my basketball team, some hick in Virgina just stole my college basketball coach, and my college football team only won one game last year. I NEED THIS!

And that, ladies and gents, is the first rant of the year from your's truely.

Quickly, on Griffey. He hit is 400th HR as a Mariner last night, making him the first player in history to hit 400 with one club, and 200 with another (Reds). It was a thrill to see him accomplish this feat with the M's, and the fact that he did it on Jackie Robinson day just adds to the mistique that Griffey is one of those athletes who excells in theatric situations. Glad to have that guy back on our side.

On a final note, Noah and I attempted to record our very first blogcast (we are going to call them blogcasts from now on, since using the word podcast implies that you can only listen to the show on a iPod) last night, but quickly found out that even though you have two audio ins and outs on a PC, it doesn't mean that you can record with two microphones at once. Whoops! So we are going to get a mixer this weekend, and hopefully record our show before the 6:10 M's game on Saturday which we now have tickets to, thanks to our buddy Wally. Pretty psyched for that, by the way.

Go M's

Garbs