Seattle Mariners

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

The usual course of these things is to present facts, followed by interpretations. Let’s begin with some facts. Fact Justin Smoak hit a home run against the Indians on Monday. Fact According to the ESPN Home Run Tracker, said home run left the bat at 113.0 miles per hour. Fact According to same, that is the hardest-hit home run of Smoak’s big-league career, beating out a 111.5 from May 2010. His previous fastest as a Mariner was 110.4. The league average is about 103 or 104. Smoak’s career average is 104. Naturally, there are some caveats. First of all, the Home Run Tracker calculations are somewhat inexact. It’s not that they’re not to be trusted, but there are unseen error bars. Secondly, Smoak pulled his homer right down the right-field line, so it would’ve left the bat when it was traveling with maximum speed. Thirdly, the pitch was right down the middle of the plate. Fourthly, it was thrown by a side-arming righty reliever. So that’s that. But personally, I’ve been waiting for Smoak to show some more signs of actual, legitimate power. There are home runs and non-home runs, but there are barely-home runs and serious home runs. Smoak hit a serious home run, and it might tell us a little something about his power potential. What we know, now, is that Smoak is capable of a dinger that flies at 113 miles per hour off the bat. He hadn’t done that before in a game, and while that doesn’t mean it wasn’t possible, now we know for sure. Smoak’s been demonstrating improved control of the strike zone. He’s been demonstrating an ability to hit the ball hard on a line. It can’t be considered a bad thing that he just launched his fastest career homer. Even with all the caveats, this was something he hadn’t done before. This is more a sign of progress than not a sign of progress. And Smoak can certainly look the part of a power hitter: Since April 22, spanning 86 plate appearances, Smoak’s batted .314/.442/.526, with 16 walks and 17 strikeouts. Just yesterday, he hit the fastest home run of his major-league career. As such, I’m upgrading Justin Smoak’s alert level from Normal to Advisory. NORMAL Performing at or around usual level, to be considered the background state. Features insufficient quality of contact, unacceptably high rate of swings at wrong pitches. Sometimes attacks warning track. ADVISORY Exhibiting signs of elevated unrest above established background level. Demonstrates strike-zone competence, reasonable contact over dozens of plate appearances. Looks like big-league hitter. WATCH Exhibiting escalating or sustained unrest, over longer period of time. Looks like good big-league hitter. Begins to regain lost trust and faith, laying off wrong pitches while punishing right ones. Power, patience, contact all simultaneously present. WARNING Breakthrough imminent, underway, or suspected. Productivity sustained for long period of time, with slumps forgotten and approach embraced. Walk, strikeout numbers similar, power unmistakable. Widely considered dependable. We aren’t to the point where we can say that Justin Smoak is breaking out. He did this last September, which was followed by this April, and he did this in April 2011, which was followed by gradually worsening misery. Smoak hasn’t broken out yet, despite his previous bursts, so we need to wait and see with this latest burst before we get carried away. What we don’t know is whether Justin Smoak is taking his game to a real new level. What we do know is that these days we’ve had no reason to complain about Justin Smoak, and that’s one of the steps in the right direction. If Smoak were to be headed in the right direction, we’d have to pass through our current state of being. So, be advised. Be nothing more, and nothing less. -- This post came from: U.S.S. Mariner, and is copyright by the authors. This RSS feed is intended for the

The Indians thoroughly enjoyed the Mariners’ visit. David Richard-USA TODAY Sports Baseball, more than any other sport, is all about numbers. This was the case even before the sabermetric craze that divides analysts today and inspires numerous a JJ Keller column on this website. In this new segment, I take a look at the numbers that shaped a series, beginning with the disastrous sweep in Cleveland this past weekend. 75 – Percent of the games that ended in Cleveland walkoffs. Jason Kipnis, Carlos Santana and Yan Gomes all delivered game-ending hits against Mariner relievers in the series. This brutal stretch of three paintful defeats in four actually isn’t unprecedented for Seattle, who suffered a similar feat at the hands of the Orioles and Indians back in May of 2011. Avoid Cleveland in May is good advice for Seattlelites. Actually, just avoid Cleveland in general. 5 – Earned runs allowed by both Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma in their Sunday-Monday starts. Felix took his third loss of 2013 while the Mariners continued to hit for Iwakuma, and he earned a no decision. The Mariners cannot win wiht their one-two punch leaking runs like both did this weekend. 3 – Home runs Mariners hit off of Chris Perez in his two appearances in the series. When Perez came in with a two run lead and quickly retired the first two Mariners he faced, the game was assumed over. But back-to-back jacks from Raul Ibanez and Justin Smoak gave the Mariners new life (which they would soon extinguish). In Monday’s ninth inning, Perez served up a lead-off, pinch-hit homer to Endy Chavez of all people. 11 – Hits allowed in 5.1 innings by Joe Saunders Saturday in what Root Sports analysts were calling “a good start” from the veteran lefty. No! That was a terrible start! Are you crazy? The wind knocked down a home run and gifted him a double play and he still gave up a home run to the next batter he faced! No more road Joe please. 430 – Pitches thrown by Mariners starters, in appearances that ranged between five and six innings in length. Only Brandon Maurer produced a quality start of the four. All four threw over 100 pitches. 2 (but really 3) – Errors committed by pitchers in Monday morning’s horrendous 10-8 loss. Iwakuma made an early error and Charlie Furbush screwed up a late sacrifice bunt play but the error was charge to Smoak. But none was more glaring or costly than Tom Wilhelmsen’s clank job as he stepped on first for the game’s final out. That error marked Wilhelmsen’s first blown save of 2013 in 12 chances. 7 – Batters retired consecutively by Danny Farquhar in his first appearance with the Mariners. He struck out five of them, but his great performance will be lost in the shuffle of an overall terrible series. 1 – Home run on the season for Brendan Ryan, who turned the corner in Cleveland. He went 5-for-13 with his first two extra base hits of 2013. Will he go on a tear and fight his way over the Mendoza line now? Who knows? The Mariners play at 7:05 PT in Anaheim tonight and will try and snap the four-game skid this horrific series put them on.

I remember being in favor of the Mariners pursuing free agent Josh Hamilton. There was all that hot talk about the team being willing to spend more money and how the young guys were about to break out and the big three would soon be on their way and moved in fences for more dong jobs and hey look at this big awesome scoreboard the Mariners will be good in a couple of years or three we promise! The 2014 class of available hitters wasn't looking too hot and so it made sense to perhaps go big a year early and lock up a star caliber player for when all the goodness started to trickle in. The Mariners reportedly offered something a lot like 4 years/$100 million, with two vesting options. It certainly didn't strike one as unreasonable. Hamilton ended up going to the Angels for 5 years/$125 million plus all sorts of other small little perks. For some, this marked doom for the Mariners, proof that all good players hate Seattle and that the team would never be capable of landing a Run Producer in free agency, that ownership was still too cheap and all that and so on. You know where this is going. To date, Josh Hamilton has come to the plate 188 times. Here's what he's managed to accomplish: AVG: .216 OBP: .354 SLG: .351 wRC+: 69 WAR: -.03 Not, as they say, so hot. It turns out Hamilton's long successful approach of swinging at everything and relying on otherworldly coordination and talent to mask pitch recognition and strike zone awareness problems has begun to betray him as his body has grown a bit older. He's now just the smallest tick slower, unable to make contact and produce power the same as he once did, and it's been a disaster. Some players, like Hamilton, operate on the furthest brink that their talent provides, where a millisecond or millimeter could be the difference between glory and failure. Right now, those small fractions are catching up with the slugger, and he's only getting older. Every day. His mortality and inevitable demise growing ever more haunting and stark with each passing moment. So, hey, good thing the Mariners didn't sign him to that contract, right? Pitching: Aaron Harang vs. Jerome WilliamsTime: 7:05Location: Angel Stadium of AnaheimTelevision: ROOT Sports

Ms Minor League Catchers: Mike Zunino, John Hicks, Tyler Marlette, Marcus Littlewood. Zunino and Marlette have MLB All-Star potential. Hicks and Littlewood are progressing as solid organizational options. Ms Minor League Shortstops: Nick Franklin, Carlos Triunfel, Brad Miller, Chris Taylor. I think you'd have a hard time finding an organization with 4 better SS prospects in high A and above. Franklin has been killing it. Triunfel is still just 23 and putting up very solid numbers at AAA. Miller is regarded as a top prospect. And Taylor has done nothing but hit since he got into the org. Considering the state of the ML club at these spots, I thought it might brighten people's days to think about the future a bit. Ms Minor League Catchers: Mike Zunino, John Hicks, Tyler Marlette, Marcus Littlewood. Zunino and Marlette have MLB All-Star potential. Hicks and Littlewood are progressing as solid organizational options. Ms Minor League Shortstops: Nick Franklin, Carlos Triunfel, Brad Miller, Chris Taylor. I think you'd have a hard time finding an organization with 4 better SS prospects in high A and above. Franklin has been killing it. Triunfel is still just 23 and putting up very solid numbers at AAA. Miller is regarded as a top prospect. And Taylor has done nothing but hit since he got into the org. Considering the state of the ML club at these spots, I thought it might brighten people's days to think about the future a bit.

I'm tired of talking about Jesus Montero. One of the most infuriating things as a fan is when you watch a player day after day make mistakes that can be avoided. Mistakes that, with basic mental preparation, should never happen. When Raul Ibanez doesn't get to a ball in left field and boots it, it isn't about a lack of effort or that his head wasn't in the game, he's simply not talented enough as a defender to make that play. The things Jesus Montero does behind the plate don't fall under that definition. I'll choose my words carefully, because it would be presumptuous (and ill-advised) to insinuate that Montero is lazy or anything like that. I don't know a single thing about Jesus Montero as a person. I don't know how he has received his instruction, I don't know what his preperation method is. What I do know is that major, avoidable, fundamental mistakes continue to happen. One thing I will presume is that Jesus Montero, "catcher" by trade, has been taught the correct way to position himself at home when there's a play at the plate. When you are setting up to get a force out at home, you place your right foot on the plate, so that your glove can extend out as far away from the plate as possible to receive the throw before the runner steps on home. Below are several examples of how this has been done by other catchers around the league. This is how Jesus Montero decided to field Brendan Ryan's fantastic attempt at saving the game on Saturday. Left foot planted firmly on home plate, as if he's about to rotate and block the plate from a slide. Glove side towards the plate, not the field. It's not to say that if Montero was positioned correctly, he makes the play. And the Mariners most likely still would have lost, even if that play becomes an out. But it's an avoidable mistake, and an inexcusable mental error. If Montero has his right foot on the plate, he can stretch further and his glove is closer to the play. Montero couldn't keep his left foot on the bag, but the throw seemed to beat the runner. I refuse to believe Montero hasn't been instructed the right way to position himself for a play like this. On the other hand, I do believe that Montero probably wasn't thinking about the ways he would need to move before the pitch was thrown, or this wouldn't have happened. This is the same game that Montero got picked off as the lead runner on 2nd base with nobody out. These mistakes keep piling up, and it isn't just behind the plate, although that has gotten the most attention. Jesus Montero ranks dead last at pitch framing this season. He's thrown out one batter in 24 stolen base attempts. His bat has been terrible, even though it's dragged down by a low BABIP. It's enough on it's own to damn his performance. But what really raises an eyebrow are games like Saturday's. I just don't think Jesus Montero gets it. I don't think he gets that he has to prepare hard, think about every play before it happens, and know what he has to do and what he absolutely cannot do. There's been no progress in that aspect of his game, or any progress in his defense in general. You could even argue there's been regression. I could absolutely be wrong, and wouldn't dare present this opinion as fact. The results speak for themselves either way. The Future of Jesus Montero Taking a look at Jesus Montero's struggles and where he fits in this organization in the upcoming months, by Scott Weber A popular idea is to send Jesus Montero a message, whatever that means, and send him to the minors - but the Mariners really can't afford to do so. Zunino is obviously getting all the time in AAA, and Hicks is the primary guy in AA (though he's really scuffling). To send Montero down would basically be an admission that he's done as a catcher (this is most likely inevitable), but they would have to bring up somebody like Jesus Sucre, who's not on the 40 man roster - and with Gutierrez and Kinney returning from injury soon, the team is a