Seattle Mariners

Needless to say, the Mariners could use a victory later this afternon in this finale of a road trip that began so well and then went south on the team in a hurry. The Mariners are 2-6 on the trip after losing five straight, the most recent of those defeats a 12-0 thrashing last night. This is where a coaching staff becomes so important. The Mariners simply cannot allow this recent string of setbacks to ruin everything they've built up over the past month. But for a few breaks, they'd have won most of the games in Cleveland and then last night's Aaron Harang debacle would not seem to be as catastrophic as it does. The coaching staff has to communicate what Raul Ibanez tried to last night. That this team appeared to be on the verge of a breakthrough in Cleveland, but just ran into a red hot squad. This is a huge test for the Eric Wedge staff. They have to convince players not to aandon their approach at the plate. That the offense had run a .348 OBP on this trip heading into last night despite all the ate defeats and that one terrile outing in Anaheim doesn't change that. We'll see. Because the future of this staff might depend on it. If the Mariners can't pull out of this tailspin in time, it does not bode well down the road. This is an area where Wedge excels more so than in-game mangement. He has to use that veteran player support network as well and get the Mariners to realize they should have won many more games on this trip and the process appears sound. We'll see whether they are up to the task.

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

The last thing you want to do as a baseball team is overreact to a bad stretch. But the Mariners have reached a point where a few moves are necessary not just as a knee-jerk way to shake things up in the middle of a slump, but as a realistic means to improve the team moving forward. Tonight's loss, a 12-0 rout to the Angels, was as ugly in its own way as the three agonizing walk-off defeats in Cleveland. At least the Mariners fought hard in those games and were in them until the end. Tonight, they were completely non-competitive, an outcome that was set into motion by a very poor start from Aaron Harang. He had missed his last start because of back spasms, and now has had four poor starts out of six as a Mariner. His ERA climbed to 8.58. Harang seems like a great guy, but the team has little reason to endure his ups and downs for what might be at best a modest payoff down the road. Remember, Harang was brought here in somewhat of a desperation move when Blake Beavan got off to a rocky start. It's unfortunate that both Erasmo Ramirez and Danny Hultzen are hurt, and that James Paxton has been up and down. But the Mariners need to find some more stability at the back end of the rotation. As I've said before, Joe Saunders and his $6 million salary isn't going anywhere, and it seems far more worthwhile to live with the inconsistency of a young pitcher with upside like Brandon Maurer while he learns what it takes to pitch in the major leagues. But they can't afford another rollercoaster pitcher, so I would advocate replacing Harang with another veteran, Jeremy Bonderman. He has been building up his arm strength all year in Tacoma, and has pitched at least six innings in six straight starts. That includes an eight-inning gem in which he blanked Tucson on two hits on May 2. Overall, Bonderman has a 3.79 ERA in nine starts. Hey, he's no sure thing either, but I'll bet most fans are ready to try something new. If it doesn't work, then you can go to Plan D (Beavan being Plan A, Harang Plan B, and Bonderman Plan C). I'd also give strong consideration to making a move I've been advocating for awhile -- elevating Nick Franklin from Tacoma. He's hit a little bit of a rocky spell, batting just .222 over his last 10 games. But Franklin still has a .370 on-base percentage in that stretch, and is hitting .311 overall -- down from .330, but still providing the promise of being an offensive improvement. I like the idea I heard from Matt Pitman tonight on the post-game show: Calling up Carlos Triunfel (.307) along with Franklin, and cutting loose Robert Andino -- another good guy, but one who has hardly made himself indispensable with a .192 average and .500 OPS. The accompanying move would be a tough one, but how about letting Dustin Ackley go down to Tacoma to try to find the stroke we saw when he first came up to Seattle, but has been largely absent since. Ackley is hitting .224/.284/.273, and that just doesn't cut it more than one-fourth of the way through the season. I still believe in Ackley's long-term potential, but perhaps a stint in Tacoma to work things out in a lower-pressure environment would be beneficial. Franklin's ability to play shortstop at the major-league level has been questioned. This way, he could slide in at second base, and Triunfel could get some time there as well and share time at shortstop with Brendan Ryan, who right now is riding a hot bat. Even under .200, Ryan is worth keeping around for his glove, but it sure seems high time to see if the Mariners can get a needed offensive boost from Franklin and Triunfel. In the best-case scenario, Ackley would eventually push his way back into the Seattle lineup -- a good problem to have, as the old saying goes. The other move that is simply crying out to be made is for Jesus Montero to go down to Tacoma as well. He's too often a detriment behind the plate, and for some reason his offense has fizzled as well. Montero w

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