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

Opening Day!

It's Opening Day! Well at least it is in Seattle. The Mariners come home today to start a three game series with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. There are plenty of reasons to be excited for this one.

1. The M's are 5-2 and leading the AL West. Granted it's only a week of baseball and there is plenty left to play, the M's have looked good of late. The bullpen which was a serious question mark heading into the season looks serviceable and the M's are getting great production from their offensive lineup.

2. Ichiro is back! Starting on Wednesday Ichiro will be back into the starting lineup. Anytime you can add 200 hits and 100 runs to the top of the lineup is a good thing.

3. The return of Griffey. The kid comes home! Today will be very nostalgic for me as the player I idolized as a young child comes home. Not to mention, my seats are on the first base line, prime Griffey territory. I only hope that with the return of Ichiro comes the full-time Griffey DH.

But with the good comes the bad, let's highlight some of the things to watch for in this series.

1. The Angels: It doesn't matter if the Angels are starting off slow. The last two years they have owned the Mariners. In that time they have gone 27-11 against the M's. Not to mention their 3-3 record is deceiving after playing a tough series against Boston. The Mariners need to clean house inside the division. They already swept Oakland, now it's time to take care of the Angels.

2. Starting pitching: The M's are trotting their 3-4-5 starters out for this series. With so much uncertainty surrounding Carlos Silva and Jarrod Washburn it'll be interesting to see if they can turn it around. There is already so much animosity in Seattle over Silva. The man is paid a lot of money to perform...something he has done little of while in Seattle. Silva will need to keep the ball down in this game and mix up his pitches. The Angels will crush Silva's fastball if he throws it as much as he did against the Twins.

Washburn was impressive in his debut against the Minnesota Twins, but let's face it. The Angels are NOT the Twins. This second game will be the telling tale of Washburn's season. Washburn will need to throw strikes and effectively change his speed to keep the Angels honest.

So let's get to it already! It's 11:30 on Opening Day and I'm still at work but will soon be out of here. I can't wait! Go M's!!!

Aardsma throws hard

This is a late posting but I just wanted to comment on David Aardsma's game from yesterday. 19 pitches, all of them fastballs, all of them mid-90s. This guy can throw some smoke and he showed it yesterday. The key for Aardsma is to throw strikes consistently, if he can do that I can see him excelling in the set-up role for the M's.

Washburn looks Sharp as M's split with the Twinks

The Mariners take the fourth and final game of the series against the Twins today.

Sounded like Washburn was fairly lights out, going 8 and giving up 5 hits and no runs. He also retired the first 8 batters he faced. All I see when I read into his line is his trade value going up. He does pitch pretty well in the Metrodome, so we'll see how he does when gets back into the friendly confines of Safeco Field. Its good to see them go into Minnesota and split a four game series.

We also had Morrow step right back up and get his first save after a tough game two days ago. I think he's going to be a bit of a roller coaster this year, but its going to be a great ride.

Beltre went 2 for 2 with two walks. Both Noah and I are thinking he's going to have a great season. Its his contract year, so expect him to turn out a pretty productive season. He won the NL MVP during his last contract year, so who knows (just to be clear, I don't think he'll get the MVP this year, but I would bet he puts up some decent numbers, just the same).

I gotta say though, looking ahead at the schedule, looks like Silva is going to be pitching the home opener, if it all lines up correctly, which sucks for me and anyone else going to the game. Not sure who I would rather not watch, Silva or Washburn. Silva may have lost some weight, but the guy's still chubby. Not CC Sabathia chubby (holy cow by the way, that guy is a tank) but still chubby. And Washburn, by all accounts, is just a jerk. He might become my new Willie Bloomquist honestly. However, if he keeps throwing 8 scoreless innings a start, that probably won't be the case.

That's a good question to throw out there. If you had to keep one, between Silva and Wash, who would you keep and why?

Tragedy Strikes in Los Angeles

ESPN is reporting Angels rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed in a car accident early this morning. Adenhart pitched on Wednesday night logging six scoreless innings while giving up seven hits and striking out five. It's never easy to hear about a death in any situation, especially when promising young people like Adenhart are involved.

What really irks me is that this entire accident was completely preventable [as most are]. But the fact that a minivan ran through a red light, hit a Mitsubishi, and then the driver FLED from the scene really pisses me off. Thankfully the police were able to catch the driver and this low-level scum will get the punishment he deserves.

This does not take away from the loss of Adenhart's friends and family though. My thoughts are with you all.

Link: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4055343&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines

*Update: This story was changed from its original version because I had used the word "him" to describe the driver when there is no information on whether they are male or female.

Club House Chemistry overated?

I just read a really good article from Bill Simmons on ESPN talking about A-Rod and his effect on the Yankees, and more generally, the effect a super star like A-Rod can have on a clubhouse. Something interesting to think about when we talk about the Mariner's improved clubhouse atmosphere (Or maybe percieved improvement at this point).

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=4050462

Home Opener in 6 Days!

This is the one day I anticipate more than any other! The home opener for the Seattle Mariners. Nick and I will be seeing the action first-hand on the first base line. But that's not what I'm going to write about in this post. Plenty of time to build up on that.

What I'm going to talk about is Garbs and my competition for each home game we attend. That's right, we challenge each other to see who can throw the fastest in the bullpen speed pitch! Historically, I believe I am up 2-1. But Nick pulled off an upset last year beating me at the end of the season. Personally I think he may have been using performance enhancing drugs.

Regardless, I am back and ready for domination this year! Much like Miguel Batista and Jarrod Washburn I've been able to make an adjustment in my delivery that will allow me to gain 2-3 miles per hour on my fastball. I can't talk much more about it but if initial tests of my discovery are consistent I can't see how I could lose this year. Stay tuned for our podcasts, I'm sure this will be a heavily debated topic.

By the way, this competition is much more than just bragging rights. The loser also owes the winner a beer. Get ready to pay up Nick.

Brutal loss tonight!

I think we saw something that is going to occur quite a bit this year, in our bullpen showing its ability to throw hard but lack control. Morrow was hitting high nineties, but missing the zone. What I saw was Morrow being tested early in his new role and him not stepping up. That could be a bit harsh, but when he needed to hit the zone, he couldn't bring it back enough to hit his spot. I think it was mostly nerves, and at least this happened early, so he can use the experience. It is just the second game, but tough to see that crappy of a loss so early.

The team does feel different though. I thought it was pretty cool when Griffey was the first guy talking to Morrow when he got pulled. They just feel like a better team. But as I said before, its only the second game.

Go M's

Garbs

Welcome to the Bush Leagues!

Welcome to the Bush Leagues with Nick and Noah. What was that? No, it's Nick and Noah, not even close to that movie Nick and Nora whatever.

Anyway, on this site we will dive into the life of Major League Baseball with our own analysis, opinions and overall meaningless fan-crazed rants.

What can be expected from this blog? A lot of heavily biased, little researched content that will be entertaining at least to the authors and those who know us. But fear not, it is our intention to make this an enjoyable site to visit, read about and listen to some baseball and at least have a laugh or two. So sit back and hold on tight, this is going to be a bumpy ride!