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