Seattle Mariners

On April 24, the Mariners lost 10-3 in Houston to fall to 8-15 on the young season. This was the low point for the 2013 season, and the team knew they had to respond to have any chance of contending. They responded in earnest, winning five of six series to get to 20-21 on May 16. They had a chance to surpass the .500 mark and make a run at Texas with a good series in Cleveland. Unfortunately, that dream scenario for the Mariners simply did not play out. They lost a nail biter in extra innings Friday, as an exhausted bullpen yielded a walk off homer to Jason Kipnis. They lost in similar fashion Saturday, on a walk off infield hit after they had stormed back with homers in innings eight and nine. When an up-and-coming team like the Mariners loses two games in devastating fashion, they need their best players to come through and dig them out of the hole. Felix Hernandez was in perfect position to do just that Sunday morning, as he took the mound against Justin Masterson. Instead, Felix put together his worst start of 2013 and Masterson dominated, sinking the Mariners even deeper in a 6-0 loss. A pair of bummed out Mariners. David Richard-USA TODAY Sports Hernandez lasted just five innings and surrendered six runs (five earned) on eight hits. He walked two and struck out eight. The big blow came off the bat of Michael Brantley, who ripped a three-run homer to centerfield in the second inning to put Cleveland up 5-0. The Mariners didn’t do anything to help themselves offensively either, as Masterson dominated for seven incredible innings. He allowed just three hits, walking two and striking out 11. At times, the Mariners had absolutely no idea against Masterson. The loss dropped the M’s to 20-24, and Cleveland can finish the sweep tomorrow. All that equates to gut check time for Seattle. They need to win tomorrow with Hisashi Iwakuma on the mound to salvage something from this series and prepare for two games against the Angels in LA. They cannot get discouraged by watching Felix get shelled today. That happens to Felix from time to time as it does to all pitchers. Felix especially struggles at Progressive Field, where he is 3-5 lifetime with a 4.50 ERA in nine starts. He had a similarly horrendous start right around this time last season (on May 16, 2012, Felix gave up eight runs on ten hits in just 3.2 innings at Progressive Field). This bad start and loss doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. But it could if the Mariners let it get them down. If they refuse to plod forward like good teams do and dwell on these three consecutive losses, they may never scrape .500 again in 2013. Iwakuma can win tomorrow, and the ship will be right back on track for the best Mariners team in a few long years.

Hisashi Iwakuma has been one of the best pitchers in baseball in 2013, but with a number of top prospects waiting in the wings, the Mariners best option might be to trade the Japanese export.

We've written many positive things in this space about the Mariners and their offense this season. But it's safe to say, this team is far from perfect offensively. And one of the shortcomings that gets mentioned a lot is the lack of athleticism and speed in the batting order. Heck, let's drop the athleticism part of it. The Mariners are just slow at times. They can really start clogging up the bases when the middle of the order gets on and we saw today what a team with real speed -- like the Indians have -- can do with it when it comes to manufacturing runs. Today's game was a 6-0 loss and some of the sluggishness in the field is what caused that. The Mariners looked bad on four different defensive plays the first four innings and it cost them three runs. The other three came on a Felix Hernandez sinker that didn't sink and resulted in a Michael Brantley homer. But the other aspect to today's game was how the Indians took advantage of pure speed up top and at the very bottom of their batting order to make things happen. This Indians squad did a fantastic job of remaking their offense both via some trades and in good free agent signings this winter. They didn't do it all with youth. And now, they have the American League's most dangerous-looking offense both in terms of power and speed. They can beat you in so many different ways. Plus, they are versatile. They have a bunch of switch-hitters they can flip around and use to stack their lineups from both sides of the plate depending on the handedness of the pitchers. I see a lot of misdirected criticism being aimed at the Mariners and GM Jack Zduriencik for the fact they signed some veterans this winter and let go of some mid-to-lower-level role players like John Jaso and Casper Wells. Needless to say, I've never agreed with that criticism. In the end, I think this is a better team with Michael Morse, Kendrys Morales, Jason Bay and Raul Ibanez on it. And in the end -- regardless of this losing streak, now at three games and counting -- this is still a good team that should win more than it loses and can stay in contention. But all that said, there is still room for criticism here. Not because the Mariners got rejected by Josh Hamilton. Not because they were turned out on what would have been a good trade for Justin Upton. No, there is criticism because the Mariners did not do all they could to maximize their own offense this winter. The Indians weren't the first choices of guys like Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn. Those players fell to the Tribe because of a lack of interest expressed by other clubs, some of them more worried about losing a first-round pick and spending some money than they were in the quality of those players. Now, I've said it before, I'm not really that upset about Swisher. I think the Mariners have seen some good things from Justin Smoak so far at first base, they have Morales who can play there for now as well and some right fielder types. But some people may disagree with me on that, feeling Swisher is a better overall player, more proven and with the pedigree of having played important games for contending teams. Hey, that's fine. I don't claim to always be right or have all the answers. Just saying I won't personally sweat that one. But the Bourn thing, for me, is a classic example of how this rebuilding process has played out for the Mariners. It's taken a long time to get where we are and I do think we could have seen some better baseball a bit quicker had the Mariners spent some dough this winter and in prior ones to shore-up where they were lacking. Being a rebuilding team does not mean having to suffer through a bunch of 95+-loss seasons. Yeah, these Mariners could wind up a .500 team or better this year. But the Indians are now a first-place team with one of the best offenses in baseball. Last year, they were a horrific team in the second half. The Mariners knew going into this winter t

The Mariners have the ability to stay competitive in most games, but they usually have to bring their "A" game to do it. Today, Felix Hernandez and his teammates brought their "C" level stuff and the result was a rather predictable 6-0 loss to the Cleveland Indians. Justin Masterson is going to be tough to beat most days and he fanned 11 batters in this one. But when Hernandez and a bungling defense spots the home side five runs the first two innings, the rest of it becomes moot. We saw two poor defensive plays by Michael Morse lead to a run in the first, an error by Justin Smoak lead to another run that inning and then a poor play by Hernandez, who forgot to cover home when his catcher went to field a bunt, allow yet another marker to scorein the fourth inning. An all-around forgettable day, for Hernandez, who yields five earned runs in five innings. And a woeful day by the offense, which mustered only four hits -- one of them a Jesus Montero double (well, it should have been, since the ball hit the wall, but alas, he stopped at first base) in the ninth -- and did nothing in the fifth inning when the first two runners reached base. The Mariners are better than this. But they have to do more than just show up to prove it. The actually have to show up.

Hero of the game: Kyle Seager (-0.01 WPA), for taking only 12 pitches in 4 plate appearances, helping to end the game faster Goat of the game: ... ... ... ...Felix. (-0.32 WPA) Instead of posing questions, by suggestion of sea-townie, I'll present a visual history of the 2013 Seattle Mariners, as reflected by the herb garden on my deck. The Seattle Mariners, on April 24: The Mariners are a collection of untreated wooden boards, unsupported by any foundation, sagging under the weight of the dirt and decomposed material that feeds a few sad, sagging herbs. The Seattle Mariners, on May 16: The Mariners have been stained and braced as well as possible, and there are actually a few plants growing (although, of course, not always the most desirable ones). The Seattle Mariners, at 11:00 this morning:

The Mariners are playing with thier heads someplace other than at Progressive Field today and it cost them another run in the fourth inning. Cleveland now leads 6-0 after a leadoff double by Mike Aviles and then a chopper in front of the plate by Drew Stubbs. Jesus Montero fielded the ball and made a strong throw to first for the out, with Aviles going to third. But Montero was a good 15-20 feet from home plate after the throw and Felix Hernandez was busy watching the play instead of doing what he should have been, which is covering for Montero. Aviles saw that nobody was close enough to the plate, so he took off and scored the run. Time for the Mariners to hit the "reset" button. For the second day in a row, they really don't look like they're in this game and I doubt we're going to see a flurry of late homers like we did yesterday. 10:48 a.m.: Felix Hernandez caught a bad break in the second inning on a grounder to second that Michael Bourn legged out for an infield single with two out. The inning could have been over right there, but Hernandez didn't do himself any favors after that by yielding a line drive single to center by Jason Kipnis that left runners at the corners and then an absolute bom of a three-run homer to center field by Michael Brantley to make it a 5-0 game. The Mariners needed more in this game than Hernandez has given them so far. The Mariners have gone six up, six down on offense, so it's not looking good. 10:19 a.m.: Sure hope that 12th overall draft pick (and the saved slot money) winds up being worth it for the Mariners in a few weeks. The Mariners used that pick as an excuse not to go after free agent Michael Bourn this winter and the Indians have reaped the benefits -- signing him to a lower-than-expected deal. Bourn entered today batting .311 with a .363 OBP and a .473 slugging percentage -- and that's for a center fielder and leadoff man. The comparisons of him to Chone Figgins this past winter by some were bordering on the ridiculous. The biggest comp between them is speed, which Bourn displayed in the first inning with a leadoff double on what should have been a single to right-center that Michael Morse was slow getting to. Bourn would score on a single to right by Michael Brantley that Morse made an ill-advised throw home on (see "speed" and "Bourn) which allowed the runner to take second on the throw. That proved big when Justin Smoak "Bucknered" a Nick Swisher grounder, enabling Brantley to score easily. So, it's now a 2-0 game, Indians in the lead after one. I've been a fan of what the Mariners did offensively this winter, but felt they really could have bettered themselves even more with a Bourn addition. Now, instead of an outfield with Bourn in center and Michael Saunders in the corners for years to come, we get another sub-$90 million payroll and get to wait for Franklin Gutierrez to come off the DL again so the team can squeeze every last dime out of the remaining money owed to him for a few more months. And we get to watch the Mariners keep juggling fifth outfielder/center fielder types in Class AAA to use as emergency insurance in case of another Gutierrez injury. Oh, and the draft pick. The Mariners still have that. 9:55 a.m.: Felix Hernandez hasn't always had the easiest time of it in Cleveland, where he's 3-4 with a 4.02 ERA in eight career outings. Today, he'll be taking on Indians ace Justin Masterson, so he'll have to limit the damage and give the Mariners a chance to score some runs and snap their two-game losing skid. Hernandez hasn't pitched at home since April 27, making this his fourth consecutive road outing. He's 4-1 with a 1.29 ERA in four road starts thus far this season.

Felix Hernandez vs. Justin Masterson, 10:05am Well this has certainly been a frustrating series. The M’s bats have come alive late, only for the bullpen to cough up the lead again. You’ve got to be confident about this game, though, as the M’s start Felix. Masterson’s Carter Cappsian arm angle has always produced huge platoon splits. This year he’s been successful against lefties largely due to BABIP and HR/FB luck, and the M’s can trot out several hitters who will get a long look at the ball. Saunders and Seager can hopefully get on base for the incandescent Raul Ibanez. Honestly, match-ups like this are why Ibanez is here. He’s a streaky hitter on an insane tear and he’s facing a pitcher who plays to Ibanez’s strengths. 1: Saunders, CF 2: Ackley, 2B 3: Seager, 3B 4: Morales, DH 5: Morse, RF 6: Ibanez, LF 7: Smoak, 1B 8: Montero, C 9: Ryan, SS James Paxton starts for Tacoma this afternoon in the finale of the 4 gamer against Memphis against ex-M’s fireballer Maikel Cleto, aka the guy the M’s swapped for Brendan Ryan. Taijuan Walker and Tyler Pike also start in AA and A, respectively, making this a pretty interesting day in the minors. Go M’s. -- This post came from: U.S.S. Mariner, and is copyright by the authors. This RSS feed is intended for the personal use of readers and not, for instance, spam blogs.Game 42, Mariners at Indians

While he didn’t hit his second home run of the season until the ninth inning of Saturday’s 5-4 loss to the Indians, Mariners first baseman Justin Smoak has quietly been putting together a strong three-week stretch that has lifted his batting average to .254. Going into Sunday’s game, Smoak had reached base safely in 12 straight starts and is hitting .328 (20-for-61) over the past 19 games with a .992 OPS. The 26-year-old from South Carolina has been seeing the ball better this season, waiting for his pitches, and is tied for seventh in the American League with 24 walks. The only thing missing for Smoak has been power and he figures that will follow if he continues swinging well and being selective. “I’ve been squaring balls up,” Smoak said. “I’ve hit a couple doubles. The homers will come. In the past I’ve got too pull happy trying to be a homer guy. It’s not good for me, as we’ve seen in the past. I’m just trying to get good at-bats, hit the ball where it’s pitched. It’s a long season. Good things will happen.” Manager Eric Wedge said Smoak is following a natural progression that will pay off for him in the long run this year. “I feel like Smoak and [Dustin] Ackley have been getting their hits, but now with Justin he’s starting to create a little more damage. He had the double the other way and the home run. That’s what he’s capable of doing. But he’s been getting on base, he’s had long at-bats. Those have all been good things to see. “You have to hit first and then if there is power in there, it’ll come in time. But you can’t shortcut the process and try to get there without having the other because you’ll come up empty. He’s done a good job with that.” Smoak and the Mariners are facing tough Indians right-hander Justin Masterson today. Masterson is 6-2 with a 3.14 ERA, but Smoak has had success against him in the past (4-for-7 with a double and two walks). Here’s today’s lineups for the 10:05 a.m. PT game in Cleveland:

Jesus Montero will get a quick shot at redemption today after his tough day yesterday on the bases and behind the plate on that decisive ninth-inning play. Montero usually has big games when catching Felix Hernandez and the Mariners are going to go with that attery today. Mariners manager Eric Wedge had a chance to review yesterday's key play on video and is convinced Brendan Ryan's throw would have made it in time to Montero had the latter kept his foot on home plate. "He just came off the plate,'' Wedge said. "He just released too early. You've got to keep your foot planted. You're not going to turn two on that, so you've just got to keep your foot planted on that.'' I asked Wedge whether that was something that comes with experience, or whether it's a more basic fundamental that the Mariners teach all their catchers and that they are expected to already be adept at. "That's what you see us do in spring training,'' Wedge said. "The home-to-first, or the force out or the tag play at home. Those are things you work on.'' Ultimately, he said, Montero's findamentals of foot and glovework on the play got all messed up. "I've been there,'' Wedge said. "It's the game-on-the-line situation. You've got to be under control and kind of be in your first baseman's mode. But not to where the ball could be anywhere. Understand that , one, you're only going to get one out. So stay put and get one out. And two, just work your feet accordingly. He probably should have gone out with the other foot and caught the ball like this,'' he added, demonstrating by twisting his hand in an upright position rather than to the side. "He just put himself in a tough position to where he kind of pulled himself off.'' So, anyway, like I said, it was a bit of a rough day for Montero. After Wedge was done speaking to reporters, he went out on the field and had an extended conversation with Montero behind the batting cage, going over the technical aspects of the play and how the catcher should have handeld it. You can see it in the photo above.  

One of the most interesting and frustrating things about baseball is that success doesn't perfectly correlate with victory. Yesterday a haunted, shivering Joe Saunders allowed nearly half (13 out of 29) of his opponents to reach base, but only gave up four runs and kept the Mariners, nominally, in the ballgame. Meanwhile, a Mariners bullpen that has, on average, been fairly strong throughout the season, has been slapped with two losses on consecutive days. One comes away with the sense that it isn't fair, or that it is by definition fair, or that there is no such thing as fairness, based on one's philosophical predilections. The lineups: 1. Michael Saunders CF 1. Michael Bourn CF 2. Dustin Ackley 2B 2. Jason Kipnis 2B 3. Kyle Seager 3B 3. Michael Brantley LF 4. Kendrys Morales DH 4. Nick Swisher 1B 5. Michael Morse RF 5. Jason Giambi DH 6. Raul Ibanez LF 6. Carlos Santana C 7. Justin Smoak 1B 7. Mark Reynolds 3B 8. Jesus Montero C 8. Mike Aviles SS 9. Brendan Ryan SS 9. Drew Stubbs RF FELIX SP Justin Masterson SP The Hot Hand buys himself at least one more start, which is understandable, while the guy with easily the best OBP on the roster hits in front of Montero and Ryan, which is less so. The lineup is actually the same as yesterday, minus an Endy Chavez and plus a Condor. On the Indians side, the graybeard Jason Giambi returns to the lineup. This could be the very last time you ever see Giambi play, as is true any time he starts, so if you're inclined toward nostalgia, drink that up. It is in fact a Felix Day, for which we should all rejoice. The Mariners in turn face Justin Masterson, who is quite good at pitching, and seems to be even better at it now than he was before. This could very well be a 2-1 game, or a 7-4 game, or a 5-1, because they are all possible scores for baseball.