Seattle Mariners

Sometimes, as in what happened this past weekend in Cleveland, there isn't much a coaching staff or front office can do. Players are the ones who play and when they lose games because of walkoff home runs, or dropped balls, or whatever, that falls under the guise of on-field stuff and we all know that stuff happens. But sometimes, there are things a team can do to help. The back end of this Mariners starting rotation has been a shaky loose link for most of the season with a few points of stability. Tonight wasn't one of those stable moments. The Mariners lost 12-0 and were down 7-0 by the fourth inning when starting pitcher Aaron Harang gave an extra-base hit clinic -- and not from the side you want to be giving one of those. Nope, he was on the mound, unfortunately. By the time that inning was done, he'd given up a home run, two triples and two doubles -- in the same inning. That's not the kind of pitching a winning team needs. The Mariners, unfortunately, need better than that every five days. They need it because the bullpen is going to get torched otherwise before the season is even halfway over and this clu's shot at a winning record will go out the window as well if it keeps punting games at one or more rotation slots. Thursday is an off-day, so the front office will no longer have the continuity of games as an excuse for inaction. They can make a switch and bring back Hector Noesi, or promote Jeremy Bonderman. Neither option is really all that thrilling. But neither is the prospect of watching any more of this. At this stage, Bonderman makes sense because a DFA of Harang would free up the 40-man roster spot needed to add Bonderman to the roster. The Mariners have to make a call on Bonderman by June 1, or he can become a free agent if not added to the big league club. Noesi isn't going anywhere. He got hit hard in AAA tonight and can still be added at any time without 40-man roster worries. “We’ll have to talk about that,’’ Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. “You can’t keep putting this kind of heat on the bullpen. You want to give everybody ample opportunity, but having said that, you can’t keep doing what we’re doing and expect to compete.’’ And this is exactly what it all boils down to -- giving the Mariners a chance to win. Harang didn't do that tonight. The back end of the rotation hasn't done that on too many nights this season. You have guys in that cluhouse busting their tails and taking gut-wrenching losses in Cleveland. Just throwing this game away was like a kick in the gut for them. You can't point fingers at an offense when it trails 3-0 after one and 7-0 after four. A major league team needs major league pitching. The Mariners cut some corners in the rotation this winter and are getting what they paid for at times. Now, they have to try to fix it. If they send Harang back out there, they'd best pray he turns it around. If not, they will have set themselves up big time with the bullseye smack dab on their forehead. For Harang's part, he feels he has more left to show the Mariners. “I think it’s just a matter of getting the repetition,’’ he said. “I had the stints off and as a pitcher you have to stay sharp, to keep throwing. Obviously, that hinders you. So, I think it’s just a matter of being out there and throwing my pitches and getting my feel back.’’ He added: “It’s tough to get into game speed when you just keep throwing bullpens. So, I’ve got to keep grinding and I know I can get back to where I need to be. It’s just a matter of getting the repetition in there and getting that muscle memory back.’’ Harang may be telling the truth. It just may be that he does have more left to show. But he might be showing it someplace else. At this point, after tonight, he has no reason to expect the Mariners will keep sending him back

Every baseball season starts with varying degrees of expectation and hope. Fans and team start the first game on different but parellel paths, with both leading to the same idealistic zion: The Playoffs. As the season progresses there is nowhere to go but down each party's respective path. But as losses begin to pile up the paths stop being parallel and begin to curve and wind their separate ways. Fans begin to look for scapegoats for failure, be they players, managers, coaches or front office executives. They look for hope in the success of young players, at times to the point of forcing a mirage of success somewhere beyond pure results just to give them a hook upon which to hang their sanity. The fans yell for the promotion of prospects. The players begin to worry about keeping up their health and production to earn a job for the next year. They cling to whatever friendships they can find among the culture of the clubhouse. They try to explore cities on road trips. They kill time. How in the world does losing create all that damnable time? When there's winning, or at least enough winning to keep hope alive everyone is striving towards the same things, players and fans alike. But, as they do every year, the Mariners are giving us ample reason to start looking left and right. We've been down similar roads. 2010: 11-11 on April 28th. They lose 15 of the next 18. 2011: 43-43 on July 5th. 17 game losing streak. 2012: 11-10 on April 27th. Lose 13 of the next 18. I didn't expect this team to compete for a playoff spot this year. But I hoped, I still hope that they can give us something enjoyable at least until the weather gets nice enough that they are easier to ignore. The last 5 days have felt like the the needle skipping, playing over and over the worst part of the lamest track of that dumb record we're too lazy and stupid to change out. The next week will determine if we'll be spending the next four months talking about baseball or contorting ourselves ridiculously to talk about anything else with just enough baseball-flavored coating to appease our overlords. Baseball is really fun. I'd like to have reason to talk about it awhile longer, please. Just a few bullet points because while writing can often be easier in defeat tonight it is not. Aaron Harang was terrible tonight. Why? I'm sure there are many reasons. There are many, many factors that can lead to a pitcher performing poorly. Aroldis Chapman, arguably the best relief pitcher in all of baseball had a bad game that may be directly attributable to consuming 18 pastries prior to the game. Felix Hernandez just had a particularly poor showing and he's one of the 2-5 best pitchers alive. I wouldn't begin to try and explain why this particular outing for Harang was so atrocious. But I will offer at least a glimpse into part of a reason why, maybe:2013 American League batting line: .256/.323/.415After 1-0 count: .267/.380/.453After 2-0 count: .283/.502.514Tonight Aaron Harang faced 20 batters. 8 of them got to a 1-0 count and 6 to 2-0. That's a lot of numbers saying Aaron Harang could not locate worth a damn tonight. At times when pitchers fall behind in the count they are credited with "not giving in." The meaning behind this phrase, like many baseball phrases, is nebulous but I think it means that the pitcher refuses to throw an easily hittable pitch despite everyone knowing he needs to throw a strike. Well Harang spent the 1st and 4th innings giving in tonight. Rather than allow free passes he elected to make the Angels put the ball in play. They did, often, in the air and with frightening velocity.With the team's tough week and Harang's poor showing this year he has quickly become the easy and predictable target for demotion. Jeremy Bonderman, Blake Beavan and any other starting pitcher in Tacoma with an ERA under 5 are now the baseball equivalent of a backup quarterback; fans scream for them not so much because they are good but beca

Brock Huard shares what he saw from Seahawks wide receivers Golden Tate and Doug Baldwin during the teams first OTA practice.

Start spreading the news...we're not in New York City anyore. Tales of the Mariners' exploits in the Big Apple have been long forgotten and the Mariners now face a brand new crisis in both confidence and their season. This 11-0 loss tonight to the Angels was just one game. But the Mariners have now lost five in a row, play here again tomorrow and then face the Rangers this weekend. In other words, yeah, a long, long losing streak could be just around the corner if the Mariners don't figure some things out. Some of it, the players can control. They did nothing offensively tonight, again, though, in their defense, the pitching by Aaron Harang was brutal and left them little chance in the game. Other changes are entirely up to management. There is no rule that says Harang has to keep being sent out there to get lit up. There's an off-day Thursday and that's usually when roster changes come. If the Mariners stand pat, they will be writing their own epitaph. Mike Trout hit a home run off Lucas Luetge in the eighth inning, making him the youngest player to hit for the cycle since Mel Ott of the New York Giants in 1929. Trout becmes the sixth player to hit for a cycle against the Mariners, the most recent being Aaron Hill of the Diamondbacks last June. This road trip has gone from heartbreaking to ugly in a hurry. The Mariners and their front office can no longer keep their fingers crossed and hope to get by. The dam has broken in the back end of the rotation. It's time for a fix before the season gets washed away.

Source: FanGraphsMost embarrassed: Aaron Harang (-.313 WPA) Least embarrassed: Robert Andino (.033 WPA) Feel free to discuss how refreshingly stress free and relaxing tonight's defeat was below. To me it was what I imagine dying from carbon monoxide poisoning while sleeping in my bed might feel like.

Aaron Harang isn't quite the stopper you want out there when trying to snap a string of four consecutive losses. Then again, he's making his "return" to the Los Angeles area, where he pitched for the Dodgers, and at least is making his start this time -- period. Harang skipped his last start in New York with lower back stiffness. Hector Noesi filled in admirably in that contest against the Yankees. So, if Harang gets lit up tonight, it should make for some interesting discussion about what happens next.

Tough not to notice all the strikeouts the Mariners have taken of late. Hitting coach Dave Hansen is hard to pin down, but we got him for a few moments today and one of the topics that came up was the team's strikeout rate. The Mariners have struck out at least 11 times in four of the first seven games on this 2-5 trip. They have struck out 13 times on three occasions and are averaging 9.3 strikeouts per contest. Then again, if you crunch the date, the Mariners also have a .348 on-base-percentage and a .474 slugging mark during those seven games for an .814 OPS and are averaging 4.7 runs per contest. The team's walk rate has also gone up. So, on the surface of it, the team is still putting up some impressive offensive totals despite the whiffs. Hansen said what you're seeing now is the team going through the process of "refining" its strike zone. The Mariners are still striking out, ut they are also taking more walks and generating more offense by swinging at hittable pitches and doing some damage with them. "We're still working on it,'' Hansen said. "We're still getting our strikeouts. But when you're consistent with your approach, you refine your strike zone. It's a byproduct, I think. You just don't chase as many. We still chase. But we don't chase as many pitches. We're looking for more specific pitches and that's real important that we do that -- stay focused that way. "You will see the walks. We're still working on the other part, but I do see that we're in it every pitch. And that's real important. Hansen said that Justin Smoak is a good example of a player who has refined his strike zone while working to maintain his aggressivness. "He's got a really good eye, but he would chase outside of that zone because he can drive the ball out of the ballpark,'' Hansen said. "So, being able to control that aggressiveness -- still staying on-the-hunt, but refining that strike zone so that we can have some discipline at the plate -- that's the bottom line. "These guys are all good,'' he added. "Pitchers are good at this level. The hitters are good. Wat's the difference, really? It's discipline. We're still working on it. It's a daily process, for sure.'' Hansen was asked whether the power numbers might be the last thing to come for Smoak, as he carries a team-high .366 OBP, but only a .367 slugging mark into tonight's game. "Yeah, it is,'' he said. "Smoakie's a unique guy, because from both sides (of the plate) he's pretty disciplined with his strike zone. For a big dude, that's pretty unique. But keeping him within himself -- because he does have that power -- that can get you in trouble. So, we just constantly preach about being a good hitter. Being a good hitter and not worrying about where the ball ends up. If it ends up in the seats, great.''

Aaron Harang vs. Jerome Williams, 7:05pm Aaron Harang’s ailing back is all better, so he’s back in the rotation tonight in Anaheim. That’s great news for Aaron Harang, I guess. Opposing him is Jerome Williams, meaning I’m obliged to link to this, from back when he first completed his journey from broken/ex-ballplayer to MLB swingman. Scott Kazmir’s in the major leagues, and Ubaldo Jimenez is suddenly kind of good again, so it’s not like baseball’s short on these longshot comeback stories, but there’s still something about Williams that makes me do a double-take every time I see his name in the probables. It’s not like he, or Kazmir, or Jon Garland, or Jeremy Bonderman, is legitimately awesome again. Over three partial seasons adding up to just over 200IP, Williams has been worth 1.5 WAR, or 1.7 RA-WAR, if that’s how you roll. That’s a touch below average, thanks to some home run problems and a so-so strikeout rate, but…Jerome Williams gave the Angels, a team that famously has zero rotation depth thanks to the Dan Haren trade, a perfectly acceptable 200 IP after washing ashore in 2011. Every team gets production from unlikely sources (Jason Bay?), but Jerome Williams was so-so with the Uni-President Lions in 2010. There’s some evidence to suggest that Williams isn’t content with just making it back and being a nice story. His fastball velocity is up markedly this year (just shy of 1.5mph over last year), which is remarkable given that velocities are lowest in April/May. Since 2007, Williams arm slot has made the opposite journey of Danny Farquhar, going from a standard 3/4 to very low 3/4/sidearm. But as he’s further and further from rotator cuff problems, he continues to gain velocity, going from 88-89 in 2007 to 91-92 in 2011 to near 94 this year. Williams has pitched in relief a bit this year, so I initially figured the velo boost was just the result of shorter starts, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. He’s averaged about 94 in his three starts, touching 95 in two of them. I know you’re probably sick to death of my enthusiasm for Jerome Williams, but listen: Williams is a living, breathing, pitching reset button on pitcher attrition, “TINSTAAP”, and prospect flameouts. I’m a Mariners fan. You do the math. If Williams can make it back, can we *really* close the book on Chris Snelling? I mean, how closed *is* that book, and how hard is it to open again? Williams is using his sinker and cutter a bit less frequently this year, and that’s caused his GB% to drop a bit. Still too early to know if that’s just an early season blip, or if he’s trying something new. He’s benefited from some luck in his HR/FB%, as his HRs allowed has dropped thus far despite the increase in fly balls. In any event, he’s sporting a decent RA and FIP, which is something noteworthy on an Angels staff that’s essentially being carried by Jason Vargas at the moment. The M’s start Aaron Harang who’s in the perfect ballpark to ease his home run problems, but we could’ve said the same when he faced the Halos in Safeco, and that didn’t go so well. Still, I’m moderately excited to watch a ballgame that doesn’t take place in Cleveland, so Harang’s got that going for him. Line-up: 1: Saunders, CF 2: Ackley, 2B 3: Seager, 3B 4: Morales, DH 5: Morse, RF 6: Ibanez, LF 7: Smoak, 1B 8: Shoppach, C 9: Andino, SS SP: Aaron Harang The Rainiers host Nashville and ex-Angels prospect Jonny Hellweg tonight. Hellweg’s 6’9″ and throws 99, but hasn’t yet harnessed that stuff and become as frightening as he could be. He’s got poor control and doesn’t miss near as many bats as you’d think, but he’s 6’9″ and throws 99mph and so the Brewers hope he’s one mechanical tweak away from domin

Several jokes were flying yesterday about Cleveland Indians closer Chris Perez after 170-pound Endy Chavez popped a ninth-inning, go-ahead homer off him. It was the first homer of the season by Chavez and the fact it came in a pinch-hit appearance was even more impressive. According to Mariners PR and history maven Jeff Evans, the last Mariners pinch-hit home run was by Franklin Gutierrez on June 20 of last year. It was the first pinch-hit home run to give the Mariners a lead by the seventh inning or later since Dan Wilson hit one on May 5, 2001. The last pinch-hit homer that gave the Mariners a lead in the ninth inning or later came when Ken Griffey Jr. hit one on Sept. 16, 1990. So, that was a pretty rare feat by Chavez Turns out, though, this isn't Chavez's first go-around with this late-homer stuff. "I never did it in the minor leagues but I did it in the majors once with the Mets,'' Chavez said. "It was the same situation. I was leading off an inning, the game was close and I hit a home run to keep the game going.'' Well, not exactly the same situation, but pretty close. I looked it up -- not tough to do when a guy has just 27 homers in 12 years -- and there it was, five years ago this month on May 28, 2008, with Chavez going deep off Kevin Gregg of the Florida Marlins at Shea Stadium. The Mets were down 5-4 and Chavez led off the bottom of the ninth with a line drive deep beyond the right field wall to tie it. Florida actually regained the lead in the 12th inning of that game, but the Marlins scored twice in the bottom of the frame to win it. No, not off Chris Perez. It was actually off former Mariners spring training hopeful Justin Miller, known as baseball's tattoo king. Anyhow, I digress. Chavez said there is no real secret to going deep in a situation like that. It's not like he's trying to hit a home run. "Oh, no, no,'' he said, laughing. "I was just trying to get on-base and put the ball in-play. I guess I hit it pretty good.'' He didn't think the ball had any hope of going out. "I was pretty sure that I'd hit some balls harder than that in that stadium and they stayed in,'' he said. "Plus, the wind was blowing in the whole series and keeping balls from going out.'' As for mental preparation, Chavez is used to the whole late-game sub routine by now. He also went to the plate with an idea of what Perez might show him, then unloaded on an 0-1 pitch. "He's very aggressive with the fastball and he likes to attack the strike zone,'' Chavez said. "I'd faced him before, so I knew what he might try to do, but I wanted to see how his fastball was running first, then after I took my swing.''  

I have never written a post on any internet site ever before in my life, but as a big fan of baseball and all things Mariners, I finally thought I'd take a stab at it. Bear with me please. It seems that the Mariners are in an envious position with all of the organizational depth at SS/2B from low-A all the way to AAA right now (Franklin, Romero, Triunfel, Miller, Taylor). In my opinion, Jack Z has really done a fantastic job with our minor league system. Unlike the NFL and the NBA, an MLB GM has a more difficult task at hand in terms of player development and preaching patience with a fanbase. The Seahawks drafted numerous players in 2012 who made significant contributions in their first season (namely Russell Wilson)! Whereas the Mariners six 1st round picks dating back to 2009 have only given us Dustin Ackley on the 25 man roster. Patience. With a franchise struggling as the Mariners have the past decade, patience is still the key. Ok, Brendan Ryan is like Gandolph the wizard with his glove. I imagine him actually saying as a ball is hit his way, "You shall not pass!" That would be awesome! But with a bat in his hands he has tortured us with strikeouts and weak double play grounders for the better part of two seasons. So we should bring up Nick Franklin then right? While I immediately admit to having no talent evaluation skills, everything I've heard and read about Franklin's defense is that he has no future as a SS in MLB. 2B is held by Ackley, and 3B is held by Seager. Another bat without a position. Too bad the Mariners have to play defense, because it seems we are hoarding poor fielding DHs (Montero, Morales, Morse, Ibanez, Bay). Here is my idea. Remember how excited the Yankees were to trade their hyped up prospect Montero to us, knowing he couldn't catch? Why can't we now do the same thing? Franklin is off to a torrid pace in AAA, his stock couldn't be any higher! He doesn't have a position to field on this club. But we sure could use an everyday CF like say Oscar Taveras! I won't get into stats and projections. Suffice it to say that Taveras is one of the best hitting prospects in baseball and he plays CF. I say we trade Franklin to STL for Taveras tonight. If we have to add additional low level developmental depth to the deal...DO IT! NOW! The logic I use for this proposal goes something like this: 1. We have Brendan Ryan as a stop gap until Brad Miller is ready to take over SS. 2. I really don't like the platoon of Bay and Ibanez in LF. By acquiring Taveras, we can move Saunders to LF, put Taveras in CF and Morse stays in RF. 3. The Cardinals are desperate to get production at SS. They aren't quite as knowledgeable of Franklin's defensive liability as we are. 4. We don't have to keep hoping that Franklin Gutierez gets/stays healthy. If anyone has read this far, I apologize for rambling on as much as I have. I love our team and wanted to share my opinion. Regardless of what happens, just stay patient with our club. I truly believe that Z has put us in a good position for the future. Thanks for reading! I have never written a post on any internet site ever before in my life, but as a big fan of baseball and all things Mariners, I finally thought I'd take a stab at it. Bear with me please. It seems that the Mariners are in an envious position with all of the organizational depth at SS/2B from low-A all the way to AAA right now (Franklin, Romero, Triunfel, Miller, Taylor). In my opinion, Jack Z has really done a fantastic job with our minor league system. Unlike the NFL and the NBA, an MLB GM has a more difficult task at hand in terms of player development and preaching patience with a fanbase. The Seahawks drafted numerous players in 2012 who made significant contributions in their first season (namely Russell Wilson)! Whereas the Mariners six 1st round picks dating back to 2009 have only given us Dustin Ackley on the 25 man roster. Patience. With a franchi