Seattle Mariners

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.

Just noticed that...I will most definitely be there (I live 5 minutes from the stadium. Is there any interest in doing a group outing to an AquaSox game? If so, I can potentially help with any legwork as I live so close by. I would also be interested in a group outing to the NWL All-Star game, if anyone else wants to do it, too. Ticket availability is the widlcard...I don't even know how they're allotted, if at all. Anyway, speak up if you're interested...it would be really cool to mob deep to some AquaSox games with some of my fellow M's fans this year. I don't know how or when those A-S game tix become available, but I'm definitely going to try to pounce on some if I can. It's usually just a short stop for the better prospects, but if you haven't been to an AquaSox game before, it's a lot of fun and the baseball is pretty damn good, actually. The baseball atmosphere at Everett Memorial Stadium is top notch for minor league ball. I caught a couple of Zunino's game there during his very short stint in A ball, so it's excellent to be able to go do that kind of thing there, too. Just noticed that...I will most definitely be there (I live 5 minutes from the stadium. Is there any interest in doing a group outing to an AquaSox game? If so, I can potentially help with any legwork as I live so close by. I would also be interested in a group outing to the NWL All-Star game, if anyone else wants to do it, too. Ticket availability is the widlcard...I don't even know how they're allotted, if at all. Anyway, speak up if you're interested...it would be really cool to mob deep to some AquaSox games with some of my fellow M's fans this year. I don't know how or when those A-S game tix become available, but I'm definitely going to try to pounce on some if I can. It's usually just a short stop for the better prospects, but if you haven't been to an AquaSox game before, it's a lot of fun and the baseball is pretty damn good, actually. The baseball atmosphere at Everett Memorial Stadium is top notch for minor league ball. I caught a couple of Zunino's game there during his very short stint in A ball, so it's excellent to be able to go do that kind of thing there, too.

The Mariners have relied on offensive contributions from veterans during their recent climb up the standings, while Dustin Ackley and Jesus Montero have continued to struggle.

A couple of days ago, a gentleman some of you might know by the name of Jeff Sullivan cautioned Mariners fans to be patient. He was referring specifically to the Brendan Ryan benching, which drew some ire from the fanbase (and myself) at the time, and which has over the past couple of weeks sorted itself out. Ryan is back as the starter, and is showing signs of improvement. All the fuss was over next to nothing. There's a danger in patience, however, or at least a danger in avoiding fuss. Because if we take the philosophy to its logical extreme, one could easily argue that many of the things we care about as fans are similarly negligible over time, to the point where wins and losses themselves become meaningless. Because everything is based on perspective, and tinged with uncertainty, patience leeches out the passion in a fan. Why spend a Saturday afternoon listening to a Mariners game that ultimately won't matter? Why read a recap? Why write one? Why care about baseball at all? I don't think Jeff is saying that fans shouldn't be passionate. He's right; it's all too easy to lose perspective. But I do believe that while being too narrow in one's view can cause one to overreact to something like a Brendan Ryan benching, being too broad can be equally harmful. With this team, in this era, it can be so easy for the emotional fire to flicker and die. Joe Saunders nearly doused my own spirit with five-plus innings of eleven-hit, one-run baseball, a sort of water torture. But I persevered, partially because of my silly obligation to write this, and those of us who did were rewarded with two innings of legitimately exciting baseball. For a couple of innings, it didn't matter that we were hoping for a single victory in mid-May by an also-ran baseball team. We didn't really worry how each play affected the M's playoff odds. We got caught up. (The actual, abbreviated recap in this article: the Mariners came back from 4-0 to tie the game 4-4 with three home runs, only to cough it up in the bottom of the ninth.) There are countless different ways to approach fandom, and no right or wrong way to care about baseball. But from a communal standpoint, one of the greatest feelings is getting caught up, and we want to experience that wave from its very earliest moment, its origination. We wait for a time and a place for the story to start, where we can start constructing our own narrative of our fandom. Narratives get a lot of bad press lately, and certainly, they're really terrible if you're using them to make predictions. But there's nothing wrong with using narratives to frame our own experiences and create our own history. Today, for a little less than an hour, it felt like this might, just maybe, be the beginning of a wave. The two-run home run by Brendan Ryan, of all people, cascading down the LL comments before my phone had reached through the internet to learn of it, was one moment. It didn't quite work out. It usually doesn't, which is why it's so special when it does. Instead, we'll just wait a little longer. Seemingly needless bullet points: If there is such a thing as style in baseball, Joe Saunders is the absence of style. Every inning was a series of wounds, seemingly self-inflicted. Justin Smoak increased his season OBP to .374. That puts him in the top-20 in the American League. I'm going to disagree with Logan here and say that if Mark Reynolds wore a Mariners uniform next year, I‘d be perfectly content. At the right price, of course, which it probably wouldn't be. I'm probably overrating him, but from my viewpoint, his improvement doesn't look like all luck. Asdrubal Cabrera has about as much faith in Raul Ibanez's defense as we do. He was halfway to third when Ibanez caught a fairly easy (albeit wind-deadened) fly at the wall, and got doubled off easily running all the way back to first. Wedge's refusal to employ his best reliever in a tie game in the ninth inning was as frustrating as it was unsurpris

We've discussed the lack of athleticism by catcher Jesus Montero before and it came into play at a couple of key moments in today's 5-4 loss to the Cleveland Indians. The biggest play was the one in the bottom of the ninth, when Brendan Ryan made that diving snag of a Mark Reynolds shot that appeared headed into left field. With the bases loaded and none out, Ryan had to come home with his throw and made a pretty stellar effort to get the all there. But catcher Montero -- wanting to catch the ball before the runner touched home -- took his foot off the plate in making his stretch. To be fair to Montero, catchers don't practice stretching for balls the way a first baseman would and it was pretty evident on that play. “That’s the reason right there,’’ Montero said. “We usually block the plate. But in that moment, I was thinking ‘Just touch the plate and catch the ball.’ But the ball was a little far.’’ Mariners manager Eric Wedge had not viewed a replay yet, but said he felt Ryan's throw would have beaten the runner had Montero stayed put. "You have to stay on the plate,'' Wedge said. "If the throw pulls you, that's fine. But if there's a spot to stay on the plate, you have to do it. And then either he's out or he's safe. You have to give yourself a chance there.'' Montero also didn't help matters in the third inning when he was the lead runner with men on first and second. Endy Chavez squared to bunt, but held up and Montero -- having strayed too far off second in an attempt to cheat towards third -- was nabbed in a rundown by catcher Yan Gomes. Once again, the lack of athleticism and speed by Montero played a part. "That's happened to me before,'' Montero said. "I tried to get t third base and I never made it to third base because I'm so slow. I tried to cheat a little bit and when I saw Endy was not bunting, I was like 'Oh, God!' So...I gave up, because I'm not fast.'' No, he is not and the Mariners know full well about Montero's limits as a baserunner and as a defensive catcher. They are trying to work on those aspects of his game ut there is only so much that will wind up being accomplished. He's here to hit and at some point, he'll either have to do that or the team will have to make some decisions. As somebody pointed out, even had Montero kept his foot on the plate, there still would have been bases loaded and only one out. The Mariners, as we pointed out earlier, took far too long to wake up on offense today, mustering only four hits the first seven innings and entering the eighth down 4-0. That they came back on a late homer by Ryan in the eighth and then two more by Raul Ibanez and Justin Smoak in the ninth was as much a testament to the pitching by Seattle as anything else. Danny Farquhar had a stellar debut, retiring all eight batters he faced -- five via strikeouts. Prior to that, Joe Saunders had toughed it out for 5 1/3 innings on 120 pitches. He escaped jams for the most part, but got hurt in the sixth when he allowed two of his four runs. Saunders had trouble finishing some innings off after good starts and could have used a reak or two along the way. But he hasn't had many this season on the road, where he's still winless. "We're going to sacrifice a live chicken before my next road start,'' Saunders quipped. "Just bad breaks. I threw some great pitches, they made some good swings on great pitches and I didn't get the breaks again. I battled my (butt) off today and tried to keep us in the game as much as I could. I told Wedgie (Eric Wedge) and I told (pitching coach) Carl (Willis) after the fifth, 'I'll throw 150 if I have to.' '' Saunders said he had nothing left by the time he was pulled. "That was everything I had,'' he said. "Everything humanly possible to keep us in the game today. I battled my tail off

SEA Pitcher WPA CLE Pitcher WPA J Saunders -0.112 Z McAllister 0.315 D Farquhar 0.034 R Hill 0.036 O Perez -0.302 C Perez -0.295 Y Medina -0.064 T Wilhelmsen (N/A) SEA Batter WPA CLE Pitcher WPA E Chavez -0.001 M Bourn 0.074 J Bay -0.023 J Kipnis -0.011 M Saunders 0 A Cabrera 0.227 D Ackley -0.07 N Swisher -0.01 K Seager -0.111 M Reynolds 0.256 K Morales -0.072 M Brantley 0 M Morse -0.075 C Santana -0.082 R Ibanez -0.039 M Aviles 0.047 J Smoak 0.418 Y Gomes -0.039 J Montero -0.172 D Stubbs -0.018 B Ryan 0.089 Hero: Justin Smoak (+0.418 WPA) Goat: Oliver Perez (-0.302 WPA) Honorary Bonus Goat: Jesus Montero (-0.172 WPA) Questions posited for the reader: 1. Is it better to be hurt than to never feel at all? After seven innings, this game was more of a surreal, hangover-fever dream than an actual sporting event. If the game had ended then, would you have been better or worse off? 2. As pretend general manager, would you potentially sacrifice wins for the big league club by demoting Jesus Montero for the sake of a Shoppach/Sucre combination? 3. Perform some internal calculus. Raul Ibanez, as you have no doubt noticed, has hit 6 home runs in 7 games. Is he, at this exact moment, lovable? If not, how many games of averaging .86 of a HR per game would it take to make him so?