Similar reactions may have been heard on the left coast when Seattle Mariners fans found out their young stud pitcher Michael Pineda was headed east. The Yankees and Mariners have reportedly completed a four player exchange with their young studs as the centerpieces.

As first reported by the Seattle Times’ Larry Stone, the Yankees sent Montero and pitcher Hector Noesi to the Mariners for Pineda and pitcher Jose Campos. Noesi was one of the Yankees promising young starters on the rise, and showed some of his mettle as a reliever at the Major League level last season. Campos is a 19-yr old right-hander with potential (Evaluator John Sickels rated him as the #5 M’s prospect for 2012 and had this to say, “Grade B: We need to see him at higher levels and his secondary stuff needs refinement, but his upside is very high, he throws hard, and already throws strikes.”), but will not have an impact for quite some time.

Clearly this deal was about the Yankees need to boost their starting rotation and the Mariners need for a big bat. After being rebuffed in their attempt to acquire Felix Hernandez, the Yankees went after his young teammate (Pineda will be 23 next week).

Pineda’s rookie season of 2011 saw him finish 9-10, 3.74 with a 1.10 WHIP and 173 strikeouts in 171 innings.  The 6’7″, 260 pound native of the Dominican Republic limited AL hitters to a .211 batting average and gave up just 133 hits. He also held right-handed hitters to a .587 OPS with a torrid fastball and nasty slider. According to Fangraphs.com, Pineda averaged 94.7 mph on his fastball, the fourth best mark in the AL.

Pineda dominated in pitcher-friendly Safeco Field (2.92 ERA in 12 starts) and was much better in the first half before tiring down the stretch. In fact, the Mariners limited his innings per start over the final two months of the season.

With the Yankees lacking pop from the right side, Montero got the call to the bigs in August and produced a .996 OPS in 69 plate appearances.  Among Montero’s 17 hits were four home runs and four doubles, and he drove in 17 runs.  Montero has good power to the opposite field and averaged 18 home runs in his first four full seasons in the minor leagues.  He was nearly dealt to the Mariners at the 2010 trade deadline for Cliff Lee, but Seattle opted to obtain Justin Smoak from Texas instead.

In Montero, the Mariners get a player with 30 home run potential, even if their ballpark is not suited to a hitter’s needs. There were mixed feelings within the Yankees organization as to whether or not the 6’4″ Montero could make it in the Major Leagues as a catcher and that certainly played into the decision to deal him. With 1st base occupied (Mark Teixeira) and the DH slot needed to give the Yankees aging stars (Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, etc.) a rest, there wasn’t much room for Montero to flourish. With Seattle, he’ll get that chance.

Brian Cashman told the Bergen Record’s Bob Klapisch that he believes he took a big gamble.  ”I gave up a ton (for Pineda). To me, Montero is Mike Piazza. He’s Miguel Cabrera.” He may have taken a risk, but this deal appears to be a “win-win”, with both teams profiting. It also puts the Yankees back on top as the favorite in the AL East.

Cashman wasn’t done dealing on Friday night though. A short time after the trade was reported, word came that the Yankees and free agent pitcher Hiroki Kuroda had agreed to a one year contract, pending a physical, worth $10-11MM. Kuroda was thought to be seeking a $13MM deal.

Kuroda, who turns 36 in February, came over from Japan in 2008 and was 41-46 in four seasons with the LA Dodgers, despite a 3.46 ERA. He’s coming off a 13-16 season with a career low 3.07 ERA and a 3.7 WAR, also tops in his four seasons.

With the two acquisitions, the landscape of the Yankees’ starting rotation changed drastically. Prior to Friday evening, the Yankees five man squad was made up of ace CC Sabathia, 2nd year man Ivan Nova, the erratic A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes, and surprise 2011 stand out, Freddy Garcia. Hughes’ immediate future is now up in the air and he could be used as trade bait to bring back a bat. The Yankees would most certainly rather trade Burnett, but the $33MM owed to him is an albatross around Cashman’s neck.

The Yankees would be looking for a short term, low salaried player. CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reported tonight that Carlos Pena was among the bats that were piquing the Yankees interest.

Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

BaseballDigest.com aims to keep up that tradition.  This season, we bring you a Report Card on each team in Major League Baseball from writers that cover that team directly.  At the bottom of each write up, you will find the writer’s name, website, and any other pertinent information.  

Before the 2011 season, the Seattle Mariners were viewed as more of a rebuilding team for Eric Wedge’s first year in the Pacific Northwest, mainly built around young ace Felix Hernandez.  The Mariners didn’t surprise anyone by finishing fourth in the AL West, but they did surprise a lot of people by ripping off a seventeen-game losing streak in July.  The Mariners were 43-43 before that losing streak, and never fully recovered, finishing 14 games below the .500 mark at 67-95

Rotation: B+
Despite the Mariners starters going 49- 75, they were sixth in the AL with a 4.04 ERA.  Starters also pitched the fourth-most innings (1021.1), and third-best batting average against (.252).  They had the second-most strikeouts with the third fewest walks in the AL, and the fourth-best WHIP.  The biggest downside to the starters, despite giving up the fifth-most homer runs in the AL (113) was that they had the worst run support in the AL (fourth-worst in MLB).  Mariners fans have a lot to look forward to in terms of starting pitchers because of the steps taken by the rotation this year.  All-Star Felix Hernandez turned in another good year in a so far stellar career leading the team in strikeouts, and leading the starters with a 3.31 strikeout-to-walk ratio.  Jason Vargas did not have a flashy year, but had decent, solid numbers.  Michael Pineda (who was signed as a free agent at age 16), showed why he was signed with some well-pitched games at the young age of 22, even being named to the All-Star team.  Former first round pick Blake Beavan, who came over from Texas in the Cliff Lee deal in 2010, notched 15 starts and showed some promise.

Doug Fister was the M’s best pitcher, but he was traded at the deadline to the Detroit Tigers for a package including pitchers Charlie Furbush and former first rounder Chance Ruffin.  Furbush made 10 starts, but was up-and-down.  He showed some promise in some games, and was rocked in others.

Overall, the rotation pitched well, but was doomed by the lack of run support.  M’s fans should be happy with the job the rotation did, and look forward to the future.

Bullpen: B
Like the starters, the relievers had good stats while not getting run support.  The Mariners bullpen had the third-best ERA and the lowest number of walks in the AL.  The relievers even limited opposing batters to a .249 batting average, gave up the fewest home runs in the AL, had the third fewest blown saves, and sixth-best WHIP.

Closer Brandon League saved 37 games for the Mariners and made the All-Star game.  It was League’s first chance to be a full-time closer after David Aardsma (who was the 2010 closer) missed the season due to an elbow injury.  David Pauley turned in a 2.15 ERA before being shipped to Detroit in the Doug Fister deal.  Veteran Jamey Wright led all relievers with 48 strikeouts.  Mid-season acquisition Chance Ruffin showed some promise in 14 innings of work.

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Catchers: D
Starting catcher Miguel Olivo had more home runs (19) and more RBIs (62) than last year, but his batting average dropped to .224, on-base percentage dropped to .253 and slugging dropped to .388.  He was worst or second-worst in offensive stats of all catchers with at least 400 plate appearances.  His fielding percentage (.988) and errors (11) were the worst in the league as well.  Backup Josh Bard was just that, a backup.  He added little offensively, and had the same fielding percentage as Olivo.

Infield: C
Chone Figgins, Brendan Ryan, Dustin Ackley, and Justin Smoak were the primary infielders from left to right.  Figgins signed a large deal before 2010 to play in Seattle, but only played in 81 games with a .188 batting average.  After four years in St Louis, Brendan Ryan took his game to Seattle and had a career-high in RBIs (39) walks (34).  An interesting and useless fact about Ryan is that in his first two years in St. Louis, he had 9 doubles each year.  For the past three years, he has had 19 doubles per year.  Dustin Ackley, draft second overall in 2009, was called up in mid-June to take over second base from Jack Wilson.  He responded by hitting .273, with 6 home runs, and 36 RBIs.  He also led the team with a .348 on-base percentage.  Another 2009 draft pick, third-rounder Kyle Seager, was called up in August to take Figgins’ place and played decently while hitting .258.  Justin Smoak, a trade piece in the Cliff Lee deal in 2010, showed some power with 24 doubles, 15 home runs, and 55 RBIs, but only a .234 batting average to show for it.  He also struck out 105 times.  Free-agent acquisition Adam Kennedy, a career .275 hitter before this season, hit .234.

Fielding, the Mariners were lost at sea.  Brendan Ryan led the team with 15 errors.  Chone Figgins was third with 11, in only a half-season worth of work while Justin Smoak was fourth with 7.  Kennedy did play well defensively, mainly spending time at first and second.

Outfield: D+
Overall, Seattle had the worst batting average in MLB, and the outfield didn’t make anything better.  Even Ichiro, who never hit below .303 since he arrived in the league in 2001, hit .272.  Franklin Gutierrez missed time due to injury.  Youngsters Carlos Peguero, Trayvon Robinson, and Michael Saunders all got playing time in the outfield, but none showed any offensive prowess.  Even Casper Wells who was hitting .257 with Detroit, only hit .216 in Seattle with about the same number of at-bats.    In terms of fielding, all outfielders had fielding percentages under .990. At times, the Mariner outfield appeared to be on a boat adrift at sea.

Top Offensive Player
Dustin Ackley was the best of a bad lot.  His on-base percentage led the team, and the .273 was best for the starters.  Ackley gets the nod over utility man Mike Carp (who played a lot of first base in August) because of Ackley’s extra-base power.  Ackley hit 16 doubles, and 7 triples, to go along with 6 home runs.  Ackley’s numbers weren’t eye-popping, but were solid enough for a 23 year old in his first partial season of work at the big league level, and with less than 2 years minor league experience.

Top Pitcher
Surprisingly, naming a top pitcher is difficult for the Mariners.  Many pitchers pitched well in 2010, but it comes down to two: Doug Fister and Felix Hernandez. Honorable mention goes to young Michael Pineda, but the Mariner’s best pitcher as King Felix.  Fister was traded to the Tigers at mid-season, but not before being saddled with a 3-12 mark due to awful run support, contradicting his 3.33 ERA.  Hernandez gets the nod for his 14-14 record, 3.47 ERA, and 222 strikeouts.  Felix had the fourth-worst run support (only better than Tim Lincecum, Doug Fister, Paul Maholm, and Jered Weaver), yet still had 14 wins.  In 7 seasons (six full as a starter), Hernandez has 2 All-Star games and a Cy Young award to his name.

Nick Waddell
www.seamheads.com

It did not happen that way.  The Mariners slipped to another 101 loss season in 2010.

From a high of 794 runs scored in 2007, Seattle scored 123 fewer runs in 2008.  It stood to reason, given they went from an 88-win team to a 61-win team.  Yet even though they rebounded in 2009 to win those 85 games, they actually scored fewer runs than the previous year (640 total).  Last year they allowed virtually the same number of runs to their opponents as they did in 2009 (698 to 692), but set a franchise record for the fewest runs scored in a full season by only plating 513 runs, a 127 run drop from 2010.

Seattle struggled all around the diamond.  Other than Russell Branyan (acquired in June from Cleveland), Mike Sweeney (who went to Philadelphia in August), and Ichiro, no Mariner position player posted an OPS+ over 100.  Following the season General Manager Jack Zduriencik made moves to improve the offense, notably making Justin Smoak the everyday first baseman, Michael Saunders the everday left fielder, and acquiring Jack Cust to become the team’s designated hitter.  Chone Figgins was moved back to third, both in preparations for the expected arrival of prized prospect Dustin Auckley mid-season to play second and with the hope a more familiar position would awaken his bat.

So far it is not working out that way either.  Two-thirds of the Seattle lineup are currently posting worse OPS+ numbers than in 2010, as the following list reveals (Red indicates a lower OPS+ so far in 2011 than in 2010, Green higher, Black no change.  Players at each position are based on data from Baseball Reference).

• Catcher: 2010 44 (Moore), 2011 21 (Olivo)
• First Base: 2010 73 (Kotchman), 2011 161 (Smoak)
• Second Base: 2010 84 (Figgins), 2011 51 (Jack Wilson)
• Third Base: 2010 71 (Lopez), 2011 33 (Figgins)
• Shortstop: 2010 62 (Josh Wilson), 2011 79 (Ryan)
• Left Field: 2010 86 (Saunders), 2011 118 (Bradley)
• Center Field: 2010 87 (Gutierrez), 2011 77 (Saunders)
• Right Field: 2010 113, 2011 111 (Ichiro)
• Designated Hitter: 2010 123 (Branyan), 2011 55 (Cust)

As with all statistical presentations, the 2011 numbers encompass a small sample size, as they represent barely 15% of a total season-worth of effort.  It is likely these players will rebound and hit closer to their career norms, especially Cust, Figgins, and Miguel Olivo.

Franklin Gutierrez’s return will help the lineup defensively, and will also allow Bradley to shift to a DH role, improving the offense overall.  In fact, his return in a couple of weeks may spell the end for Jack Cust, as Geoff Baker writes, unless Cust is able to rediscover his swing and begin hitting line drives with more regularity.

Until this team rebounds at the plate, and in spite of some sparkling pitching so far from Hernandez, Michael Pineda, and Doug Fister, they will continue to struggle to score runs.  Challenging for the top of the division will remain a task for another season.

Mike Metzger is a Senior Writer covering the AL West for BaseballDigest.com.  He can be reached at metzgermg@yahoo.com and followed on Twitter @metzgermg.  Mike blogs about the Cardinals and Padres in his spare time.

Texas swept their opening series against Boston, and after taking the first two off Seattle they are a perfect 5-0 the first time through the rotation.  Every starter has a win except for CJ Wilson, and he pitched well enough to win (5 2/3 inning, 2 ER).  In fact he would have his first win of the season if (a) he had been able to get a little deeper into the game, or (b) Darren Oliver had not served up a cookie to David Ortiz in the eighth inning that night.

The team’s best two starts so far have not come from their two best pitchers.  Matt Harrison was dominant on Sunday, striking out 8 Red Sox hitters over 7 innings and allowing only 1 run.  Rookie Alexi Ogando was almost as good yesterday, throwing six shutout innings and striking out 4.  Not bad for a guy who started his career as an outfielder and had made only three previous starts at any level before last night’s outing.

Will the Rangers finish the season 162-0?  Of course not.  They may see their winning streak end today at the hands of Seattle ace Felix Hernandez.  So far into this season, the defending AL Champs have shown last year was not a fluke, and they will be alive deep into the post season.

Around the Division:

Seattle Mariners: Heralded prospect Michael Pineda made his major-league debut last night in Texas, and although he took the loss he pitched very well (6IP, 3R, 4K, 1BB).  The concern with Pineda revolves around his ability to get left-handed hitters out, since his change-up is still a work in progress.  Most of the damage against him was done by lefties, who went 3 for 7 with all 3 hits for extra bases.  In contrast, righties were 2 for 17.  Limiting Texas to 3 runs in their ballpark is quite a feat for a 22-year old rookie, proving he’s major-league ready now; and as his change improves he will become one of the dominant pitchers in the league.

Oakland A’s: Oakland has started the season slowly, and have only themselves to blame – or more accurately, some sloppy defensive play.  The A’s have been charged with 9 errors so far, with 3 each for the normally very reliable Kevin Kouzmanoff and Daric Barton.  Oakland pitchers have been as good as expected the first time through the rotation – Gio Gonzalez, Brett Anderson, and Trevor Cahill have allowed 3 runs combined in 17.2 innings – but the team is only 1-2 in those starts.  The defense will improve, and when it does the A’s will be right back in the thick of the race.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Too bad the Angels can’t start Jered Weaver every day.  The ace won his second game in as many starts last night, beating Tampa 5-3.  The other big news of the past couple of days is the elevation of Jordan Walden to closer, replacing Fernando Rodney.  Walden has long been considered the closer of the future, but with Rodney fighting his control (10 batters faced, 4 walks issued so far in 2011) the future became the present.  Walden recorded his first career save last night in Florida.

Mike Metzger covers the AL West.  He also blogs about the Padres and Cardinals in his spare time.

Starting rotation: The Rays starting rotation led the East with the most innings compiled by starters—999 2/3 innings pitched—to go along with the most quality starts and the lowest Earned Run Average which sat at 3.99. However, the Rays traded away Matt Garza—the author of one of last seasons no-hitters—to the Cubs for prospects the Rays hope will soon have an impact. Fans shouldn’t fret as the Rays have a ready-made replacement in the wings who may actually be better than Garza at the end of the day.

David Price is the unquestioned ace of the young Tampa Bay staff. The talented 25-year-old lefty was in the discussions for a possible Cy-Young award after posting arguably the best statistical season by any Rays pitcher. Price went 19-6 with a 2.72 ERA to only be bested by Felix Hernandez and his historical season of dominance. Price is still working on developing his change-up and if he does, the A.L. East batters will have their hands full with this young ace.

James Shields, otherwise known as Big Game James, comes off of yet another season of disappointing results. Shields, 29, had a breakout season in 2008 when he won 14 games while pitching to a 3.56 ERA, however, the last two seasons have seen precipitous drops in production, none more so than last season. Shields regressed to a 13-15 record while pitching to an ERA north of five when he struggled with command of his change-up. Shields needs to discover his change-up if he wants to succeed in 2011.

Jeff Niemann, 27, is an intimidating presence on the mound at a listed 6-foot-9. Niemann completed his second full season as a starter last year, making 30 starts for the eventual A.L. East champs. Niemann showed tremendous poise in dealing with the stacked East lineups and finished with a 12-8 record and a respectable 4.39 ERA. Niemann should once again be an above-average pitcher for the Rays and should surpass 15 wins in 2011.

Wade Davis comes off of his first full season as a starting pitcher. The 25-year-old righty had 29 starts last season finishing with a 12-10 record and a 4.07 ERA. The 6-foot-5 2010 A.L. Rookie of the Year candidate should have many favorable match-ups against opponents No. 4 starters and thereby improve upon his 2010 season.

The final starter and Garza’s replacement is youngster Jeremy Hellickson. The 23-year-old phenom started four games and pitched in 10 last season, compiling an unblemished 4-0 record to go along with a 3.47 ERA. The hard-throwing righty should once again bedevil A.L. East hitters and live up to his nickname, “Hellboy.”

Bullpen: The Rays bullpen was amongst the leagues best during the 2010 season. Entering the season not knowing who would be their closer, it was now departed reliever Rafael Soriano who took hold of the role and never relinquished it. Piecing together innings from journey-man relievers and young pitchers is manager Joe Maddon’s specialty and expect him to continue to execute pitching changes to the Rays benefits.

J.P. Howell, one of Tampa’s brightest young pitchers, underwent shoulder surgery last season and may miss some of the early going this season because of it. The hope is the 27-year-old lefty can rehab quickly and join the bullpen mix as manger Joe Madden looks for a closer. Howell compiled a 7-5 record and a 2.84 ERA out of the pen in 2009 while also saving 17 games. If healthy, Howell should continue to be one of the top relievers in the game.

Journeyman reliever Joel Peralta heads over to the Rays after spending last season as a member of the Washington Nationals. The 35-year-old righty had his best statistical season, compiling a 2.02 ERA in 32 games for the perennial basement-dwellers. Maddon hopes Peralta can continue his success from last season to this year as an integral part of the pen.

Kyle Farnsworth could not handle the heat while in New York, but the Rays are betting that the Tampa atmosphere is perfect for the hot-tempered pitcher. Farnsworth, 34, has a fastball to match his hot-tempered attitude and should be in the competition for the closers role. Farnsworth had his best statistical season in four years last year with the Detroit Tigers, compiling a 3.34 ERA. He will be the x-factor in a bullpen with many question marks.

Andy Sonnanstine is the last guaranteed member of the bullpen heading into camp. Sonnanstine, 28, is your typical junk-ball pitcher and can effective out of the bullpen or in the rotation. Pitching in 41 games out of the pen, Sonnanstine threw 81 innings as the swing-man in the pen. Expect Sonnanstine to continue handling the role bestowed upon him and keep the damage to a minimum when in the game.

Infield: The Rays infield has a franchise player manning the third base position while the other positions are occupied by journeyman or veterans of many years. The Rays are not a team to out hit someone in terms of power, but they are a team built on pitching a defense and the defense of the infield should once again be solid.

Third Base: Evan Longoria, the perennial All-Star, will man the hot corner for his third full season with many more to come. Longoria, 25, is one of baseball’s brightest stars and possesses all the tools needed to be an elite player. He can field his position, has an above-average arm and can hit to all fields with power. After slumping to only 22 home runs last season, expect Longoria to come out of the gate motivated to improve his production as the Rays franchise attraction.
Shortstop: Reid Brignac takes over the everyday shortstop position after the Rays shipped former starter, Jason Bartlett, to San Diego this offseason. The 25-year-old played in only 113 games last season and showed pop in his bat by blasting eight home runs. Brignac should be expected to hit around 10-15 home runs while supplying abover-average defense as captain of the infield.

Second Base: Sean Rodriguez will get the majority of the playing time at second as long as he continues to flash the power/speed combination that makes him a promising young role player. The 25-year-old hit nine home runs for the Rays last season in part time duty and should surpass that total as the new everyday man.

First Base: Dan Johnson is penciled in to be the Rays everyday man at first this season. He blasted over 30 home runs in Triple A last season but is only a career .243 hitter at the major league level. If the trends continues, Johnny Damon, Desmond Jennings and Matt Joyce could possibly fill-in at first if needed.

Catcher: John Jaso should beat out Kelly Shoppach to be the everyday catcher for the Rays in 2011. The 27-year-old is not looked upon to supply much offense, although he does have a penchant for walks, but instead is expected to handle the young pitching staff throughout the season. Jaso should improve upon his average and home run totals from last season, but his most important contribution will come behind the plate.

In 2008, Baseball Digest wrote about Carlos Pena and how he thought he joined something special when he signed with the Rays. It can be read here.

Outfield: After losing Carl Crawford during the offseason to free agency the outfield situation more or less resembles a jumbled mess for the Rays. They enter the season with only one clear-cut starter and the rest of the positions will be shared by numerous players in the hopes of gaining the most possible production out of the position.

Left field: This position should be a rotation between newly acquired veteran Johnny Damon, Desmond Jennings and Matt Joyce. Most likely it will be Damon who will play the bulk of the time in the outfield and DH the rest in order to rest his 37-year-old body. Damon struggled last season in Detroit and seemed to mostly lack power while playing his home games in a pitchers park. Expect Damon to contribute more offensively and be extra motivated to prove to everyone that he still has some life left in his bat.

Centerfield: This is the only position that is set in stone for the Rays and it is the real estate of the talented B.J. Upton. Upton, 26, blasted 18 home runs last season, his most since hitting 24 in 2007. Upton is no slouch on the defensive side of the ball either, possessing an above-average arm and speed essential to stopping extra base hits at Tropicana Field.

Right Field: Ben Zobrist should occupy most of the time in right field this season for the Rays as he tries to bounce back from a disappointing 2010 season. Zobrist, 29, saw his home run total drop to 10 after blasting 27 just one year prior. Expect Zobrist to bounce back to his previous levels while Manny Ramirez occasionally fills in to supply Zobrist some rest.

DH: Manny Ramirez will bring his powerful bat and colorful personality to Tropicana Field where he will mostly occupy the designated hitter role which best fits his 38-year-old body. Ramirez can still mash when he is healthy and expect him to do some major damage while in the DH role in 2011.

Bench: The Rays bench is well-utilized by manager Joe Maddon. He likes to have players who can play multiple positions in a cinch, making the question of injuries popping up irrelevent. Matt Joyce and Ben Zobrist can play a number of positions as can Johnny Damon with his penchant for filling in at first. Maddon will have plenty of different ways to fill out his lineup card throughout the season.

Manager: There is no better manager for the Tampa Bay Rays then Joe Maddon. Maddon is a baseball-lifer, having coached in the minors and the majors before even getting considered for a managers position. Maddon has infused the Rays organization and turned it into one that expects success instead of just hoping it will come. He implemented many of the tricks he learned while he was a bench coach for the Angels and you see the impact in the way the Rays will small-ball a team into oblivion. Bunts, taking the extra base, steals and situational hitting is all a part of the Rays game plan and it is all because of their manager, Joe Maddon.

Flexibility: The Rays ownership have done a fantastic job in turning a once moribund franchise into a perennial contender. Their devotion to drafting well and developing young players have been the key to their success, so don’t expect them to trade the farm in order to get a big piece at the deadline. Rays fans are more apt to see management promote a youngster in the hopes of providing a spark instead of trading for a high-priced mercenary.

Ryan Lazo is a Senior Writer covering the A.L. East for BaseballDigest.com. He can reached at lazorm09@bonaventure.edu, follow him on Twitter @RMLazo13 and read his blog Artificially Enhanced.

Starting Rotation:

Read more about Ichiro’s hitting style and prowess in this Baseball Digest piece from 2004.

I wonder if the Wilpon Family-Bernie Madoff mess will be a distraction for the Mets during the season. It’s already become a distraction on NYC talk radio where WFAN’s Mike Francesa has been discussing the Ponzi scheme the entire week. The Wilpons and others are also being investigated as to whether or not they were aware of any wrong doing. For his part Madoff told reporters that the Wilpons were not aware of the scheme.

I wonder if Albert Pujols will wear a Chicago Cubs uniform next year. Can you imagine? Think of your favorite player in any sport. Now think of the biggest rivals of that team. Now think of that player in one of those other team’s uniform. Roger Clemens wearing Yankees pinstripes. Brett Favre in Vikings purple. Leo Durocher managing the NY Giants. Those all did happen.

I wonder who the first player will be, that was hedging about returning in 2011, to retire before the regular season starts. I wonder no more on that one. Jim Edmonds of the Cardinals decided to call it quits today after a 17 year career. Edmonds underwent surgery recently to relieve pain in an achilles tendon and decided not to risk permanent damage. He retires with 393 career home runs, 1,199 RBI, and 8 Gold Gloves. Happy retirement to one of the most exciting centerfielders to watch.

I wonder who will be the first player, who retired after last season, to return this season. My money is on the Yankees’ Andy Pettitte. Though he is strong in his convictions and said there’s no way he’s pitching this year, he also said never say never. Perhaps a July return. Even Jorge Posada has a hunch he’ll back this year.

I wonder if Felix Hernandez will still be a Seattle Mariner when the trade deadline passes. I’m thinking not, no matter how much the Seattle front office says otherwise.

I wonder if Justin Morneau will have a healthy, concussion free season. This is a very worrisome situation for one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball. This is a great career that could easily get derailed even if another concussion does not occur. Morneau has been cleared to take part in spring training drills, but has not yet been cleared to play in games. Morneau’s concussion occurred last July!

I wonder if Manny Ramirez will a) play in more than 120 games b) hit 30 or more home runs c) come up with a lame injury. I’m not sure about a or b, but c is pretty much a definite.

I wonder if Bryce Harper will tear apart minor league pitching and if he’ll get a September call up. Yes and yes- Harper should terrorize lower minor league pitching (He’ll play at two levels at the very least) and will be brought up in September to put some fannies in the seats.

I wonder if Don Mattingly will make a good Major League manager. Being a great/very good ball player doesn’t guarantee success (Ted Williams was one of the many that found that out).  Relationships change when you go from player to coach and coach to manager. I think he’ll be successful as long as he remembers what constitutes a trip to the mound.

I wonder if Bud Selig will get his wish in 2012 or shortly thereafter to expand the MLB playoffs. My answer is a resounding yes, because this has nothing to do with baseball. It’s all about greed.

I wonder what I’ll write about next week.  Stay tuned.

Drew Sarver is a senior writer  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

The Red Sox deal Jon Papelbon for a bat or a starting pitcher. The Red Sox had some discussion with Mariano Rivera then signed closer Bobby Jenks to a two year deal to set up (for now) Papelbon. It’s obvious the front office isn’t happy with Papelbon’s performance and would like to move him even though they insist otherwise. The Red Sox are still trying to sign Brian Fuentes, which would give them another closer/set up guy and plenty of depth to deal Papelbon.

How about a non-move? The Brewers, bolstered by Zack Greinke, Shaun Marcum, and Yovani Gallardo, hold on to Prince Fielder for the entire season.

The Yankees, in need of starting pitching, decide to go all out to land Joakim Soria from the Royals.  Soria sets up Rivera as a prelude to taking over as closer one day.

The Mets deal Carlos Beltran and cash to the Brewers  as Milwaukee goes all out for a shot at the World Series.

The Mets tire of Jose Reyes‘ inconsistency and work out a mega deal with the Angels. Among the players the Mets receive are Erick Aybar, Brandon Wood, and prospect Garrett Richards.

The Astros continue to clean house and deal Carlos Lee, not getting too much in return, but not having to pay out the entire remainder of his contract either.

The Yankees are rebuffed in numerous attempts to acquire Felix Hernandez or Justin Verlander, and overpay to acquire Fausto Carmona from the Indians.

Derrek Lee has a tremendous comeback season with the Orioles, who then flip him at the deadline for several prospects.

Okay, time for things that are more likely to happen…

Rumors, News, and Transactions

A’s beat reporter Joe Stiglich reports the team is among six clubs interested in reliever Chad Qualls.

According to the Centre Daily Times, the Metrodome roof won’t be fixed until March. That means hundreds of college baseball games will be affected and the Twins annual fan festival will have to find another venue.

Cuba is considering letting some ball players sign with teams in the US in exchange for some money… a lot of money.  First things first though, the U.S. would have to lift the embargo on such a maneuver.

AOL Fanhouse has named 19 year outfielder Mike Trout as the top MLB prospect of the year.

SI’s Jon Heyman said the Yankees “checked in” on Rafael Soriano, which just sounds like due diligence.

Drew Sarver is the Yankees content editor and a contributor  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

Back to Greinke for a moment. Per the NY Post’s Joel Sherman, the Royals reportedly offered Greinke to the Yankees in return for Jesus Montero, Eduardo Nunez, and either Dellin Betances or Manny Banuelos. A very steep price that GM Brian Cashman was not willing to give up for only two guaranteed years of Greinke.

Another pitcher who may or may not be back is Andy Pettitte, who’s decision making skills seem to be right up there with Brett Favre’s. At least he’s not making daily/weekly pronouncements. With the Yankees pitching so up in the air, how long until Cashman takes the Royals asking price to Seattle in a Hail Mary attempt for Felix Hernandez?

Rumors, News, and Transactions

The Nationals have signed outfielder Rick Ankiel to a one year, $1.5M deal. (correction)

The Brewers are bringing back infielder Craig Counsell for another year.

The Twins added to their depth, signing former Braves prospect Chuck James to a minor league deal.

Since George Steinbrenner took over the team, the Yankees always have had a penchant for bringing guys back a second time. Add reliever Luis Vizcaino to that list. He was inked to a minor league deal.

The Indians dealt Austin Kearns to the Yankees at the trade deadline, but have brought the free agent back with a one year, $1.3M deal.

The World Champion Giants inked veteran reliever Guillermo Mota to a minor league deal.

The Rangers added some depth by signing a trio of veterans. Outfielder Endy Chavez, pitcher Seth McCLung, and infielder Brian Barden all got minor league deals and major league invitations.

Drew Sarver is the Yankees content editor and a contributor  for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

So the focus of today’s hot stove is not on the 2010 free agents, but those that are eligible for free agency in 2011 and beyond. There are some big names out on the horizon that could be dealt prior to the end of the coming season.  Chief among them San Diego Padres 1st baseman Adrian Gonzalez.

Gonzalez has averaged 32 home runs and 100 RBI on a weak hitting Padres team over the last five seasons.  Imagine the damage he could do on a team such as Boston, who has coveted him for the last few years.  It’s nearly 100% certain that the Padres won’t make a serious attempt to re-sign Gonzalez, so the odds that he’ll be dealt by this season’s trade deadline are pretty good.

The Padres had better get a better payback then the Florida Marlins and Texas Rangers did when they dealt the slugger.  Granted the Marlins sent for him for Uggie Urbina who helped them to a World Series championship in 2003, but Texas sent him to the Padres for Adam Eaton and Akinori Otsuka.

Seattle stud right-hander Felix Hernandez could be on the move as early as 2011.  “The King” signed a five year, $78M deal prior to the 2010 season.  And while he puts fannies in the seats, he’s also the Mariners best shot to bring back a boatload of major league ready prospects.  The Mariners suffered (that’s the best way to put it) through the 2010 season.  In-fighting, firing the manager, and a dismissal 61 win season.  So while GM Jack Zduriencik may deny he’s going to deal Hernandez, he most certainly is taking calls on the subject.

Another right-hander whose name as been bandied about is KC Royals pitcher Zach Greinke.  The 2009 AL Cy Young winner struggled in his follow up season, a 2.01 rise in ERA and 61 less strikeouts despite throwing just nine less innings.  Greinke has expressed frustration at the Royals rebuilding efforts (Who can blame him since it appears the Royals have taken whatever monies they’ve gained from the luxury tax and stuck it right into their pockets) and may be already looking at the light at the end of the tunnel – free agency at the end of the 2012 season.

Greinke currently has 15 teams in his no-trade clause, but the clause is only good up to the trade deadline.   KC GM Dayton Moore insists he is no hurry to move Greinke, but has also admitted he is listening to offers.  Texas and Toronto have already expressed interest in Greinke and more teams will certainly jump into the fray.

Others who could be dealt prior to their post-2011 free agency: Dan Uggla, Jonathan Papelbon, Aramis Ramirez, Carlos Beltran, Heath Bell, and Bobby Jenks.

Division Roundup:

The focus of today’s division roundup is the American League West, home of the pennant winning Texas Rangers and perennial favorites, the LA Angels of Anaheim.

Rangers - The 2010 Texas Rangers did what none of their predecessors could do, not only win a playoff series, but make it to the World Series.  And while they couldn’t bring home the title, they excited their fanbase and there are high hopes for the future with a new ownership in place.  Of course, all of that could change in a hurry if the Rangers lose Cliff Lee to free agency.  The Rangers also need to clean up their catching mess and should make a push for John Buck.  The Rangers must also decide whether they want to bring back Vlad Guerrero or look elsewhere to fill their DH needs.

Athletics - Oakland finished at .500, not bad considering only three teams in the AL scored less runs than they did. GM Billy Beane took a big and bad gamble signing free agent Ben Sheets last year in the hopes of a big payoff at the trade deadline. Sheets season ending injury ended those hopes.  Don’t look for Beane to repeat that mistake or make any kind of a splash in the free agent market.

Angels - Despite free agent losses, tragedy, and injuries over the past two seasons, the Halos managed to play near .500 ball (80-82) in 2010.  Much of that can be attributed to arguably the best manager in baseball, Mike Scoscia.  The Angels are thought to be going hot and heavy for outfielder Carl Crawford and 3rd baseman Adrian Beltre.  The Angels also need a reliable closer and that could come in the form of Rafael Soriano or a set up man such as Joaquin Benoit.  The Angels will probably let their longtime set up man Scot Shields walk and are not likely to bring back Hideki Matsui.

Mariners - The 2010 Seattle Mariners were a case study in bad baseball, bad blood, just plain bad everything. A 61 win season and internal fighting cost manager Don Wakamatsu his job before the season was over. New manager Eric Wedge will look to pick up the pieces and maybe get rid of some pieces, such as Milton Bradley who played for Wedge in Cleveland.  Chone Figgins was a free agent bust after signing prior to the 2009 season, but with Wakamatsu gone, he may have a bounce back season.  This team clearly needs a face lift.

The division roundup concludes on Monday with a look at the NL Central.

Update 7 p.m.

Oh no you d’int! Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. shot down a report by ESPN radio’s Jayson Stark that the Phillies have already ruled out bringing back Jayson Werth. “That’s unequivocally a false statement,” Amaro said. “That did not come from me and I would not express that.”

On the hot stove broadcasting front, it’s all but official that ESPN Sunday Night Baseball’s 2011 trio will be Dan Shulman, Orel Hershiser, and Bobby Valentine.

Thanks to Google translator, the hot stove can report that Edgar Renteria would like to play for the Cardinals or Marlins next season.  After consulting with Tony LaRussa, Bobby Cox, and Manny Mota, Renteria apparently changed his mind about a possible return to the San Francisco Giants.

Boston Red Sox GM Theo Epstein told WEEI radio in Beantown that he would like to re-sign both Adrian Beltre and Victor Martinez. In a minor deal the Red Sox acquired one time top pitching prospect Andrew Miller from the Marlins for left-hander Dustin Richardson.

Add Blue Jays pitcher Brian Tallet and outfielder DeWayne Wise to the free agent list.  Both refused outright assignments to the minor leagues.  Another Blue Jay, 3rd sacker Edwin Encarnacion, has been picked up on waivers by the Oakland A’s.

Drew Sarver is the Yankees content editor and a contributor for BaseballDigest.com.  You can also read his work at his blog, My Pinstripes. He can be contacted at mypinstripes@gmail.com and can be followed on Twitter at @BD_Sarver and @MyPinstripes.

New York baseball writers talked about how Sabathia is deserving of Cy Young because he wins every game.

Bloggers mentioned Hernandez’s 2.30 ERA and league-leading 209 strikeouts despite only winning 12 games. They point out he should not be punished for playing on a terrible team that gives him lack of run support.

Those two deserve a shot to win the award, and it is hard to get worked up if either of them wins the Cy Young Award. With that said, people should not forget about the year David Price is having.

Price earned his 17th win of the season Tuesday night against the Red Sox.  He is three wins away from winning 20 games this year. With the year he is having, it is a good bet he will reach his goal.

Anytime a starter gets 20 wins, he should get a shot to win the Cy Young.  It is not just the 20 wins that should help Price win the award. His ERA is 2.87, and his WHIP is at 1.23. Plus, he threw 163 strikouts for the season.

Price has been great all year. His only bad start was against the Yankees in July. The Yankees hit him well at the Bronx in his first post-All-Star Game start on a Sunday afternoon.

That should be enough to impress voters, but right now, Sabathia is the slight favorite to win the award.

For one thing, Sabathia’s 19 wins, 3.02 ERA and 1.19 WHIP should stake his claim to the award. Plus, his 165 strikeouts should help his cause.

Second of all, Sabathia wins all of his starts with the exception of Tuesday night against the Orioles. This matters when one looks at the fact the Yankees rotation has been a mess. Hughes is on innings limit and Andy Pettitte has been on the disabled list. Dustin Moseley, A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez struggled on the mound.

Sabathia helps the Yankees survive in the battle of first place with the Rays. The Yankees are not in this position without the arm of Sabathia.

One can say the same thing for Price, but the Rays have a deep rotation, so this could cost Price votes for Cy Young.

It does not have to be that way though. Price controls his fate by just winning all of his starts. This is all he can do right now.

Tuesday night was a good start. The Rays’ ace wasn’t great by any means. He fell behind the count, and Boston scored two runs off him. To his credit, he got out of a jam in the first inning and he pitched scoreless innings after that.

He made use of his run support by going seven innings. That may not be impressive, but when one looks at the fact he managed to pitch himself out of it, this gives him some points with the voters.

It comes down to the showdown against the Yankees for Price. Price will be starting couple of times against the Yankees for the next two weeks. This is where Price has to dominate. He can not have the start he had in July.

For the Rays to win the Yankees’ series, Price has to set the tone by getting at least eight or nine strikeouts. He has to pitch scoreless innings on the scoreboard. He has to get ahead of the count at every opportunity.

It is a good bet Price will match up with Sabathia either next week or the following week. Maybe they face each other twice. This would be the best scenario for Price.

Price has to outpitch Sabathia in both of those starts. If he does that,  Price wins the award. It will be hard for voters not to see that.

Hernandez should be deserving, but fair or not, awards are given to players that participate on playoff teams.  Those guys make an impact whether a team plays in October or not. Those guys need to perform when they are out on the field.

It is not easy to go out and deal with the pressure of performing every day or every fifth day. That is why those guys should be rewarded for it.

People will talk about how it is unfair for Hernandez to be penalized for playing for a bad team. Answer this. Why should Price and Sabathia be penalized for playing for a great team?

Hernandez will win a Cy Young award one day. It will not be the end of his career if he does not win it this year. Once the Mariners get better or if Hernandez pitches for the Yankees or the Red Sox, he will get his award.

Until then, he should wait for his turn and let Price and Sabathia battle it out.

If Price wants to win the award, he has to be better than what he did Tuesday night. There is still time for him to make the claim for the award.

On The Field

The Mariners faced fellow strugglers Baltimore for their first series of the week, managing to win two games out of three and coming extremely close to a sweep. They lost the opening game in a nailbiter that both teams seemed to be trying to give away: the Mariners blew a chance to go ahead in the 8^th when Ichiro Suzuki and Chone Figgins both struck out with runner on the corners, and then the bullpen blew a one-run tenth inning lead by walking everyone in sight. The eventual game-winning hit was a bunt single by Adam Jones that Jose Lopez couldn’t field; it came as something of a relief. Game two was the Luke French-Matt Tuisasosopo show, with French shutting down the Orioles for almost eight innings while Tuiasosopo drove in all four Mariners runs in the 4-0 win. The rubber match was a little more back-and-forth, but the Mariners eventually prevailed in a contest of ‘Whose Bullpen Is Less Bad’ – I was as shocked as you.

Felix Hernandez has been on a tear against the New York Yankees, and he came into the first game of the weekend series having thrown three consecutive complete-game wins against the most storied franchise in baseball. He didn’t quite manage to get to nine innings this time, merely shutting the Yankees out over eight innings and getting eleven strikeouts in the process, so that was a bit of a waste. The Mariners won that game handily, but would go on to get well and truly pasted in the next two, to the tune of a combined score of 19-5. Russell Branyan and Ichiro both put on power shows, though, Ichiro hitting a pair of homers in the second game and Branyan becoming the first player to hit the upper deck in New Yankee Stadium by annihilating a Javier Vazquez offering.

Injury Report

Milton Bradley is now out for the season with knee surgery, which would have been a big blow if he had been hitting at all – which he wasn’t.

On The Farm

Dustin Ackley: More power from the second baseman – Ackley hit five doubles and a home run last week, and Monday’s homer was of the walkoff variety. He’s also started walking again, and had three multihit games out of seven. Not too shabby. .295 BA, 3 HR, 15 RBI (AAA Tacoma)

Justin Smoak: Not a great week, but not a bad one either. Smoak collected nine hits, two doubles, and five walks, but didn’t hit a home run and struck out a few too many times for comfort. .244 BA, 4 HR, 11 RBI (AAA Tacoma)

Nick Franklin: Franklin was caught in a slump for much of the week, but busted out of it by going 8-10 combined between Thursday and Saturday, with two doubles and a home run added on for good measure. It was a good way to make up for Monday’s 0-6, with five strikeouts. .283 BA, 20 HR, 57 RBI (A Clinton)

Alex Liddi: We haven’t talked about Liddi in a while, but he had one of the most dismal weeks of all time, so it’s probably worth a mention. In his first five games, the third baseman managed to go 1-20 with 13 strikeouts. A double and a home run on Saturday didn’t really make up for it. .260 BA, 14 HR, 80 RBI (AA West Tennessee)

Dan Cortes: Cortes, brought over from Kansas City has been switched over to a reliever in an attempt to combat his control problems. He’s done that, and his fastball velocity has also jumped to the high 90s, hitting 100mph with alarming regularity. Cortes, who looked to be a failed starter as recently as last month, is now widely viewed as a legitimate closer in the making. 1-1, 1.42 ERA, 7 K (AAA Tacoma)

Box breakdown—Each 2004 Bowman Sterling box has 6 packs with 5 cards each.  In a box you get 12 first year player cards, 6 veteran relic cards, 6 first year player autographs and 6 first year prospect autographs.  Each hobby box comes with a box loader that has either a black parallel, 1/1 red parallel or Bowman Originals autograph card inside.

Parallels—Each card has the following parallels:  refractors (numbered out of 199), black refractors (numbered out of 25 for autograph and autograph/game used combo cards and numbered out of 16 for first year cards and game used cards) and red refractors (true 1/1’s).

Inserts—The only insert set is the Bowman Originals autograph set which is found in the hobby box loaders.  This is a 46 card autograph set containing cards of Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano, Barry Bonds, Eric Chavez and Jose Reyes.  Cards are numbered out of 1 to 106.

Rookie cards—Solid rookie crop in this set.  The key names being Adam Wainwright, B.J. Upton, Conor Jackson, Carlos Quentin, David Wright, Delmon Young, Felix Hernandez, Homer Bailey, Robinson Cano, Phil Hughes and Scott Kazmir.

Autographs—I already mentioned the players in the Bowman Originals set.  Some of the better autos you can pull from the base set are Adam Wainwright, B.J. Upton, Carlos Quentin, David Wright, Delmon Young, Homer Bailey, Huston Street, Matt Bush and Robinson Cano.

The test of time—Very slick looking set and I love how they incorporated the autographs and game used cards into the base set.  This makes pulling a rookie card a little more special.  You also have to like the breakdown of the box itself, every pack is loaded.  Online stores have these way boxes for the absurd price of around $275 a box.  If you do some searching you can find them for around $150 to $200 a box on auction sites.  If you can find them for closer to the $150 price you have a great chance at breaking even on an average box.  If you get lucky and pull a low numbered refractor of a star player or get a Bowman Originals autograph of a star you are going to do very well on this box.  Paying over $200 though and your odds of breaking even are going to be very tough.

If you can find this box at a solid price I say go for it.  The cards trade well and a star player still sells well today from this set.  Many other boxes for $150-200 do not give you this much bang for the buck.

Next week I will be taking a look at the 2007 Bowman’s Best release.

On The Field

The Oakland Athletics came into town on Monday, and sent young left-handed pitcher Vin Mazarro to the hill to square off against Doug Fister. The Mariners pounced early, scoring two runs in the first, and that would turn out to be all they needed for a 3-1 victory. Fister helped himself out immensely by getting Mark Ellis to hit a ball right to the third base bag with runners on first and second with no outs in fourth, Jose Lopez stepping on the base before firing to Chone Figgins at second. The relay to Casey Kotchman at first looked to be a little bit late, but the umpire called him out anyway, and Safeco Field had seen the first triple play in its history.

Game two of the set saw Felix Hernandez at his effortless best. The Venuzeulan struck out thirteen batters in eight innings, completely dominating proceedings. It was an unexpected result considering the start of his game – three straight singles loaded up the bases with no outs in the first. Hernandez struck out Jack Cust before inducing a double play off the bat of Kevin Kouzmanoff, and then he was well and truly off to the races. Casey Kotchman provided the required offence with an RBI single in the seventh, the Mariners eventually winning 2-0.

Luke French leading the Mariners to a sweep seemed like a little too much to ask, and some sense of normality was restored on Wednesday, the Mariner offence sputtering out en route to a 5-1 reverse. Very little went right for French, the A’s going ahead in the second on a single by Coco Crisp. By the time the Mariners got a run across in the seventh inning, the team was already behind by four.

After a day off, Cleveland were the next opponents, the Mariners playing the Indians for the first time all season. Some might point to the Indian’s poor record as being a result of not playing against Seattle enough this season, but the Mariners would silence those jibes with a solid performance against Fausto Carmona to win the first game 3-2, a Jason Donald error on Adam Moore’s weak ground ball to second allowing Franklin Gutierrez to score the deciding run in the sixth. David Pauley earned his first win of his career, going six innings with five strikeouts and two earned runs.

The Mariners struck early on Saturday, but the Indians came back in the fourth against Jason Vargas. Russell Branyan immediately restored the lead with a solo home run to left field, and then a single and two errors set the stage for Josh Bard. The backup catcher had promised his daughter a home run for his birthday, but he went one better and hit a grand slam to put the Mariners ahead by five. Casey Kotchman also homered in the 9-3 win.

It looked as though the Mariners might be poised for a series sweep, with Felix taking the hill on Sunday against Justin Masterson. The Mariners drew walk after walk, but couldn’t buy a hit. Chone Figgins was robbed of a bases loaded bunt single when the first base umpire ruled that Matt LaPorta had made a diving tag – replays indicated that no contact was made with Figgins’s back. The game went into the bottom of the seventh tied 0-0, and Felix got two quick outs before another blown call opened up the flood gates, the Indians scoring seven runs with two outs. A 9-1 loss was the result, restoring some semblance of familiarity to a bizarre week.

Injury Report

Shortstop Jack Wilson is done for the year after breaking his right fifth metatarsal, the bone below the pinky finger. Apparently the injury was sustained when he slipped in the bathroom and landed on his hand, presumably after seeing himself in the mirror.

On the Farm

Dustin Ackley: For the first time all season, the second baseman went a week without a walk. Instead, he had three multi-hit games, albeit with very little power. .283 BA, 2 HR, 11 RBI (AAA Tacoma)

Nick Franklin: Not the best of weeks for the switch-hitting shortstop, with the strikeouts coming in bunches. Like Ackley, not much was going on in the way of power. .277 BA, 19 HR, 54 RBI (A Clinton)

Justin Smoak: Looking for where all the walks and home runs went this week? Look no further than Justin Smoak, who picked up two bombs and five walks. .189 BA, 4 HR, 6 RBI (AAA Tacoma)

Michael Pineda: Did not pitch this week. The top pitching prospect in AAA is being rested as he brushes up against the innings limit. 3-2, 3.67 ERA, 59 K (AAA Tacoma)

Mauricio Robles: After a dodgy start against Montgomery on Monday, Robles was aggressively promoted to Tacoma. His first start was on Sunday against Houston affiliate Round Rock. The eight strikeouts in five innings were good, but his command deserted him after the fourth and he gave up four walks and five runs. 0-0, 9.00 ERA, 8 K (AAA Tacoma)

On the Field

The Mariners actually managed to go .500 on the weak, a vast improvement over their play throughout July, when they contrived to win just six games all month. First up on the homestand was a series against AL-West leading Texas. Fortunately, Seattle avoided Ranger ace Cliff Lee, throwing Jason Vargas, Doug Fister, and Felix Hernandez against Colbey Lewis, C.J. Wilson, and Tommy Hunter. With Vargas and Felix both having legitimately excellent seasons, it was a good opportunity to throw a wrench into Texas’s plans at making a playoff run. The formula seemed to be working on Tuesday, when Gutierrez’s home run put the Mariners on the path to a 3-2 victory, some terrifying bullpen work turning out to be just a wobble. Alas for the team, they crumbled in the two games following, scoring six runs against the Rangers’s eleven on Wednesday and getting shut out on Thursday, losing Michael Saunders to an injury in the process.

The Kansas City Royals were next in line, and they flung Mariner-killer Zack Greinke against Mariner-killer (in a more insidious way) Luke French, but for the first time in team history, the M’s managed to smack Greinke around a little bit. Ryan Langerhans was the star, finishing 3-4 and a triple away from the cycle, as the team snatched the lead in the third inning and never looked back, 7-1 the final score. In a-not-so-amusing twist, the Mariners proceeded to come on the verge of being shut out by Bruce Chen, the soft-tossing lefty’s only blemish against Seattle being a Russell Branyan home run in the fourth. The M’s managed to get the tying run in scoring position with one out in the ninth, but a pair of strikeouts sealed the deal for Kansas City. The rubber game was also close. The Royals took the lead in the 6^th only for Casey Kotchman to take it right back with a two run single to plate Ichiro and Chone Figgins. Figgins singled in Ichiro for an insurance run in the eighth, which turned out to be fortuitous as Alex Gordon stung a pitch from Seattle closer David Aarsdma into the right field seats to close the gap to one with two outs remaining. A close-you-eyes-and-hope lineout from Chris Getz later, and Aardsma was faced with the relatively trivial task of retiring Gregor Blanco on a ground ball to second. .500! It’s so much easier to enjoy baseball when you have low expectations.

Injury Report

Eric Bedard had season-ending surgery to remove bone spurs in his left shoulder on Friday. Bedard hadn’t managed to pitch yet this year, but this was a relatively minor procedure and he’s expected to be healthy again by spring. I’ve heard that before…

Reliever Shawn Kelley is going under the knife for season-ending surgery as well, the right-handed pitcher having suffered from elbow issues for the better part of two months. Hopefully he comes back as his strike-throwing self – elbow injuries tend to mess with command – because otherwise he’s just another generic bullpen arm.

On the Farm

A few switches in this edition, as interesting prospects (previously uncovered) make some noise.

Justin Smoak: A couple of home runs, a ton of walks – it’s business as usual for the slugging first baseman, the crown jewel of the Cliff Lee deal, recently demoted after a troubling performance in Seattle. .207 BA, 2 HR, 4 RBI (AAA Tacoma)

Josh Lueke: Ace-reliever in the making Lueke, another part of the Lee trade, gave up his first run in a month on Tuesday, but otherwise was comfortable, allowing two hits and two strikeouts in a pair of innings. 0-0, 2.25 ERA, 6 K (AAA Tacoma)

Dustin Ackley: More strikeouts than we’re used to from the best pure hitter in the organization, but with the Ks came some power, Ackley adding to his home run tally and smacking a triple as well. .277 BA, 2 HR, 10 RBI (AAA Tacoma)

Nick Franklin: The switch-hitting shortstop’s locking in a bit of a cold streak right now.  Of course, a bad week from Franklin still means five hits, including a double and a home run, but he’s making more outs than we’d like to see right now. .278 BA, 19 HR, 52 RBI (A Clinton)

Michael Pineda: Pineda is getting close to being shut down for the season, and he’s now thrown 80 more innings this year than last. He started twice this week, going six innings against Reno and just three at Omaha as the team seeks to limit his innings tally. He was effective in both outings, if a little wild during his appearance against Omaha yesterday. 3-2, 3.67 ERA, 59 K (AAA Tacoma)

Don Wakamatsu has made a lot of noise about trusting in modern baseball theory, but from the time he joined the team he’s seemed more interested in his own pet theories – Rob Johnson the catcher being foremost amongst them. He’s had a habit of playing other mediocre players too much (bullpen arm Sean White is a good example), simply because they fit into his belief system – he thinks they’re good, so they get playing time. Meanwhile relatively valuable players like Ryan Langerhans get zero playing time, for no apparent reason.

His management of pitchers is also a concern. Wakamatsu routinely let arms stay in for too long, failing to heed warning signs when a pitcher was on the verge of imploding, and recently risking Felix Hernandez’s health during a lost season by having the young ace throw game after game with over 130 pitches. For all his talk about buying into new ways of doing things, Wakamatsu has turned out to be less than optimal on the field.

Of course, work on the field isn’t even half of the manager’s job, and as the Mariners ended 2009 with a lap of honor around Safeco Field, I was pretty happy with Wakamatsu’s work. Everything I had heard indicated that the players loved him, and that he was doing an excellent losing of helping to heal a once-fracture clubhouse. Being able to juggle the personalities on the team is a very big deal, and having a manager capable of that seemed to be an asset for the club.

Fast-forward ten months and we’ve had rumors of forced retirement from Ken Griffey Junior, altercations in the dugout involving players from Mike Sweeney to Chone Figgins, and Felix Hernandez switching off in the middle of games to pout. You name it, and it’s happened. About the only thing that’s gone right is Milton Bradley not terrorizing the Pacific Northwest after devouring nuclear waste and turning into Godzilla, which was a reasonable fear after the Carlos Silva trade.

When it turns out that the one good thing about the manager that outweighs all the little flaws is actually a big flaw in and of itself, you have a problem. Indeed, that’s what was on General Manager Jack Zduriencik’s hands by midway through the season, after it had become clear that Wakamatsu had lost the clubhouse. To make matters worse, Wakamatsu and his staff began fighting with the front office, despite the latter group being reasonably accommodating (many personnel decisions appear to have been made to appease Wakamatsu, in particular the signing of Mike Sweeney and the acquisition of terrible right handed pitcher Jamey Wright, who he had been stumping for for more than a year). When the ‘vote of confidence’ came out, most suspected the time for a parting of the ways was near.

Many people will believe that this is scapegoating. Certainly others are at fault for this catastrophic season as well, from the players to Jack Zduriencik and his staff. However, the on-field coaching was borderline incompetent all season – there’s reason to believe that Brandon League’s ineffectiveness is the result of a mechanical alteration by ex-pitching coach Rick Adair, for example – and after a public tug of war over players like Rob Johnson and Justin Smoak this was always going to be the only conclusion.

The Mariners now stand without leadership, and the team will be keen to see that their next manager will be someone who buys into their philosophies while retaining the respect of the clubhouse. That’s easier said than done, of course, and we should expect a long, hard hunt during the offseason. In the meantime, Tacoma Rainiers boss Daren (one r) Brown will take over as the interim manager. Good luck to him, and hopefully the guys let go find jobs as well. We wouldn’t be talking about this if it wasn’t for some miserable performances by the players, and the coaches that left are all reportedly stand-up characters, but this had to be done. This season has sucked.

On The Field

Monday and Tuesday saw the baseball world held enraptured by the Home Run Derby and the 2010 All-Star Game in Anaheim. Unfortunately for Mariners fans, only Ichiro Suzuki gave the game any hint of Northwest flavor, and he popped out against Ubaldo Jiminez leading off the first – no shame there – then struck out against Marlins ace Josh Johnson before being replaced by hometown favorite Torii Hunter in the 4^th. Sure, he made history by being the first play ever to hit leadoff nine times in the midsummer classic, as well as making a trademark running catch in the gap to deny Albert Pujols a double, but it was a pretty mild showing for Mariners fans to find any joy in. On the other hand, at least those who have followed Seattle for any length of time are comfortable with Matt Thornton blown saves. It was time the rest of the American League shared our pain on that one.

Normal play resumed on Thursday, with the Mariners in Los Angeles for a four game set against the Angels. Mariner fans were probably expecting a series of tough losses, and they were not to be disappointed. The first game saw Doug Fister take the hill against old friend Joel Pineiro, a matchup that would have looked more favorable before Fister’s magical pixie dust expired and he went back to being a mediocre contact pitcher. Fister gave up a run before he’d recorded two outs, and things went downhill for there, and Ichiro bases loaded double to bring the game to within a run aside. Jamie Wright made his first Mariner appearance in the 8-3 loss, and nothing sums up the season better than the fact that the manager coveted a pitcher who at his best walked more batters than he struck out.

Felix Hernandez ran into some trouble early in the Friday night contest with some weak grounders going in for hits past a weirdly drawn-in Jose Lopez at third (I would write more on the subject of Lopez’s positioning on the infield grass but I suspect the tirade would wear me out), putting the Mariners in a three run hole by the end of the third. Against Jered Weaver, it seemed unlikely that they would manage to claw their way back into the game, but in the 7^th an infield single by center fielder Franklin Gutierrez followed up by a moonshot from new first baseman Justin Smoak saw the gap closed to within one. It would stay there until the ninth, where with two outs and Smoak on deck, designated hitter(!) Casey Kotchman faced off against Angels closer Brian Fuentes. For those not in the know, Fuentes this year has a .237/.326/.526 line against right-handed hitters, and a .107/.167/.107 line against left-handed bats. Casey Kotchman was not put in a position to succeed, and the decision not to replace him with a right/switch hitter – Milton Bradley and Josh Wilson were available – cost the Mariners any small hope of taking something from the game.

I managed to fly down to southern California in time to watch Saturday’s game, and Justin Smoak looks kindly on such ventures, rewarding my dedication with an excellent performance batting from his supposedly weaker right side. He went 3-4, and was a triple shy of the cycle after his first three at-bats. Each of his hits was a rocket into left field, and the single would probably have decapitated Angels third baseman Brandon Wood if he was playing any further to his left. The Mariners put together six runs against the combination of Joe Saunders and Kevin Jepsen, but that wasn’t enough as Ryan Rowland-Smith and the relief corps contrived to give up seven, the seventh immediately following a game-tying home run by catcher Josh Bard. The Mariners ultimately lost the game 7-6, but on a happier note gave me an inspiration for next year’s team slogan: ‘Mariners Baseball: Sometimes We Keep it Close!’ The marketing guys will be all over it.

Jason Vargas was on hand on Sunday to clean up everyone else’s mess, and he did a fine job with a bundle of strikeouts, eventually leaving in the 8^th inning with the game tied at one, the only blemish on his record being a Mike Napoli home run in the second. Angels starter Ervin Santana was nowhere near as sharp, walking four in seven innings, but the Mariners just couldn’t hit him, doing just enough to stay in the game. Fast-forward to the 10^th inning, where Ichiro led off with a walk, was sacrificed to second, and then was out at third on an ill-conceived running play that saw Gutierrez safe at first. It would have been in keeping with the rest of the season if the Mariners had fizzled out at that point, but Gutierrez stole second and was sent home by a Jose Lopez single to win the game and avoid the sweep.

Injury Report

Adam Moore seems completely recovered from the leg injury he sustained against Tampa, as he’s been hitting the ball decently in Tacoma for the past few weeks.

Erik Bedard had yet another setback, feeling shoulder soreness during a bullpen session. He’s off to see pitching specialist Dr. Lewis Yocum and at this point he may as well be renting out the good doctor’s spare bedroom. It’s probably time to come to terms with the fact that he’s probably not coming back, which is a shame.

On the Farm

Dustin Ackley: As part of the fallout of the Cliff Lee trade, Ackley was promoted to AAA Tacoma, whereupon he’s hit for more power than he’d shown in half a season at West Tennessee. This is probably a function of where he’s been playing – Reno is a notoriously hitter-friendly environment, but it’s still encouraging. .278 BA, 1 HR, 5 RBI (AAA Tacoma)

Nick Franklin: A nice little week for Franklin saw him collect a few hits and walks to go along with two home runs. .289 BA, 17 HR, 43 RBI (A Clinton)

Alex Liddi: Five extra-base hits will look good for anyone, but they were particularly helpful for Liddi, whose power had been fading lately. .268, 7 HR, 57 RBI (AA West Tennessee)

Michael Pineda: On the face of it, Michael Pineda had a strong start on Sunday, going almost seven innings and allowing two runs. However, the strikeouts were not there, which was a bit of a worry. 3-0, 4.04 ERA, 31 K (AAA Tacoma)

Mauricio Robles: Left with an injury in the second inning of his start against Huntsville on Sunday. Bad news. 6-5, 4.32 ERA, 95 K (AA West Tennesee)

2010 Season record: 51-31

The Yankees opened the week with the last place Mariners, but unfortunately ran up against two of the best pitchers in the game.  The opener was supposed to be a pitcher’s duel between potential All-Stars Phil Hughes and Cliff Lee.  The Mariners left-hander did his part, pitching his third straight complete game.  But the M’s tagged Hughes for six earned runs in 5.2 innings and went on to a 7-4 win.

The Yankees bats were even more anemic the next night when Felix Hernandez tossed a brilliant complete game.  Seattle’s “King” allowed just two hits and struck out 11 Yankees in the 7-0 victory.  Javier Vazquez gave the Yankees a quality start, but the M’s put the game away against Damaso Marte and Chad Gaudin in the late innings.

The Yankees avoided a three game sweep thanks to a great performance by their ace, CC Sabathia.  CC pitched eight strong innings, allowing only one earned run and beat the Mariners 4-2.  Alex Rodriguez  helped him out with a 2-4 night, including a home run and 2 RBI.

The Yanks licked their wounds and welcomed Toronto to the Stadium for the second half of the homestand.  But the Jays picked up right where the Mariners left off.

Starter Brett Cecil worked out of a number of jams and the Blue Jays bullpen shut the Yankees down as Toronto took game 1, 6-1 in 11 innings.  The Yankees did get a great pitching performance from A.J. Burnett, however Joba Chamberlain couldn’t hold the lead in the 8th inning and David Robertson and Chan Ho Park were miserable in the extra frames.

The Bomber’s bats came out with a vengeance in game 2, scoring 11 runs in the third inning.  The Yankee sent 15 men to the plate, including Brett Gardner who started the rally with a single and then broke the game open with a grand slam off of Ricky Romero.  As a result of the offensive explosion and another quality start from Andy Pettitte the Bombers cruised to an easy 11-3 victory.

In the final game of the series the Yankees and Jays got into a heavyweight fight, going back and forth, exchanging blows and scoring runs.  Both starting pitchers allowed five earned runs but in the end it was Marcus Thames who landed the knockout punch.  On the day he was activated from the DL, Thames stepped up to the plate in the 10^th and hit a walk off RBI single that sent everyone home happy.

Even though the Yanks had an off week they did manage to stay on top of the AL East, with less than three games separating them from the Rays and Red Sox.

Pinstriped Positives:

Mark Teixiera’s bat finally seems to have awoken from it’s slumber.  Over his last 10 games the slugger is hitting .342 with 2 HR and 9 RBI.

A.J. Burnett had his first quality start since May 30^th.   The return of pitching coach Dave Eiland seemed to do the trick.

Negatives:

Jorge Posada’s struggles have continued.  The Yankees catcher is hitting an even .200 in his last 10 games with no homers and 2 RBI.   He also had to leave Sunday’s game early with a sprained ring finger on his catching hand and was listed as day-to-day.

The bullpen continues to be a matter of concern for Joe Girardi.  Outside of Mariano Rivera, and even Damaso Marte, none of the Yankees relievers have been consistent.  Dustin Moseley was added to the mix over the weekend to shake things up.

What’s Next:

The Yankees are now out on West Coast for the rest of the first half of the season.  They are going to take on the Athletics for three games and then will have a rematch against the Mariners.

The Yankees are sending Derek Jeter, CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, Robinson Cano, and Alex Rodriguez to the All-Star game next week in Anaheim.  Yankees fans can go online and vote to send Nick Swisher to the game as well in the final vote.

John Fetter recently joined Baseball Digest as a New York Yankees contributor.  He can be reached at jfetter@sportstalk88.com.

In The News

In a different season, Erik Bedard’s return against Kansas City on the 6^th would be cause for celebration amongst the Mariner faithful. In 2010, it will instead be a symbol of futile hope, the fragile but sublime left-hander probably replacing the more effective (not to mention durable) Cliff Lee, who is expected to be traded within the week. The perfect world would have featured Lee, Felix Hernandez, and Bedard at the head of the pitching rotation during a run to – and through – the playoffs, but with the Mariners 15 games back in the American League West, Lee’s days with the team are numbered.

In happier news, both Lee and star outfielder Ichiro Suzuki made the American League All-Star team, although neither is a big surprise. Erstwhile ace Felix Hernandez is a major snub, but after an inconsistent and incoherent first half, it would be hard to argue that he deserves the spot on this season alone. Center fielder Franklin Gutierrez was unable to maintain his hot start with the bat, but if he continues to progress with the stick while putting up Gold-Glove caliber defense in the outfield, a Midsummer Classic is surely not too far away.

On The Field

As Monday dawned, only one opposing pitcher had ever thrown a complete game in the (admittedly short) history of New Yankee Stadium. The pitcher? Cliff Lee, then with the Phillies, who dazzled the Yankees in game one of the 2009 World Series. Lee returned to the scene of his most triumphant crime on Tuesday, and promptly gave up a home run to Nick Swisher. Another was to follow in the seventh, but between the two Swisher bombs, the Mariners offense decided to wake up, spotting Lee seven runs on the strength of nine singles, including a doubles onslaught by Rob Johnson. As soon as Ichiro singled in left fielder Michael Saunders to give the Mariners a 2-1 lead in the third, Lee cruised through the game, eventually allowing three earned runs in nine innings – another complete game victory for Lee in New Yankee Stadium.

Felix Hernandez took to the hill on Wednesday, and after successfully navigating a dodgy first inning, which saw two umpire-assisted walks, some Rob Johnson-assisted ‘wild pitches’, and a terrifying Robinson Cano lineout to left, proceeded to utterly annihilate the star-studded Yankees lineup. The box score says that Felix allowed two hits, three walks, and struck out eleven in nine innings en-route to the 7-0 victory (and another complete game!), but what it will not tell you is that one of the hits was an infield fly that Figgins lost, and two of the walks were dubious calls at best. Felix was on, and when he’s on, he’s unhittable. For the second game in a row, the bats came out to play. Milton Bradley smacked a home run to center in the second inning, Russell Branyan added one of his own, and Michael Saunders had two in the game, the second one reaching the upper deck. It was the team’s first four-homer day since September 2009.

It would be asking a lot for Ryan Rowland-Smith to match the feats of Lee and Felix, especially considering the disappointing season the Australian has endured so far. Still, he was not a disaster on Thursday, limiting the Yankees to two runs and giving the Mariners enough of a chance to get a win. Alas, the sweep was not to be. Russell Branyan would spark the Mariners into life with a game-tying two run single in the top of the eighth, but his good work was undone by one pitch from closer David Aarsdma meeting the bat of Alex Rodriguez and departing at speed into the New York sky. Nobody will be complaining too much about failing to sweep the best team in baseball on their home turf, but it’s a little sad to see how poor Aardsma’s been all season – his home run problem in 2010 proof that you simply cannot make a living on allowing warning track flyballs, especially in high-pressure situations.

Doug Fister was probably pitching over his head at the start of the season, and his outing against the Tigers went pear-shaped in the second inning, after Franklin Gutierrez had spotted him a one-run lead with a home run. Three singles, a double, and a walk led to four runs scoring, and despite Gutierrez’s early fireworks, the Mariners were never favorites to make a dent in young right-hander Max Scherzer. The ninth inning summed up the night:  Ichiro and Figgins singled to lead off, followed by a lineout double play and a Jose Lopez strikeout.

Jason Vargas was kind enough to give the fans some hope before he had a meltdown of his own on Saturday, but he managed to give up six runs in less than five innings all the same. Again, the offense conjured up very little, managing just one run on an infield single by Michael Saunders during the (extremely boring) 6-1 loss. Sunday’s game was in progress at the time of writing, with the Mariners ahead 7-1 in the 5^th against now-ejected Jeremy Bonderman. With any luck, the Mariners will break even on the New York-Detroit road trip – no mean feat even if you’re throwing Cliff Lee out twice and Felix Hernandez once.

Injury Report

Erik Bedard through a rehab start in Tacoma and looked to still be shaking off some rust, as three walks in less than five innings will attest. However, his velocity was in the low 90s, and his curve looked as good as ever. This was enough for M’s brass to declare him ready to go, and he’ll be making his 2010 debut against Yuniesky Betancourt and the Royals on Tuesday.

On The Farm

Dustin Ackley: Ackley had three multihit games over the week, but he also had three stinkers, going a combined 1-13 on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. .253 BA, 2 HR, 26 RBI (AA West Tennessee)

Nick Franklin: Franklin played in just two games this week (for reasons currently unclear to the author) and played poorly in Monday’s and Saturday’s contests. Hopefully his post All-Star game struggles are just a blip. . 290 BA, 14 HR, 38 RBI (A Clinton)

Alex Liddi: Another week, another bushel of strikeouts for the young third baseman. Liddi struck out six times between Monday and Saturday, which is actually a significant improvement on the week prior. He didn’t even pick up any RBIs. .277BA, 6 HR, 52 RBI (AA West Tennessee)

Michael Pineda: Although Pineda gave up his first AAA runs on Monday, his start against Sacramento was something to behold. Eleven strikeouts vs. one walk in six innings is impressive no matter how you slice it. Two home runs were the only blemishes on his performance. 1-0, 2.25 ERA, 16 K (AAA Tacoma)

Mauricio Robles: Robles had two starts on the week. His second saw six shutout innings, eight strikeouts, and one walk against Tennessee; his first can simply be described as ‘depressing’. 6-4, 4.56 ERA, 90 K (AA West Tennessee)

July 2^nd: The international signing deadline saw the Mariners reportedly pick up outfielder Philips Castillo, who’s supposed to have thunder in the bat. If all goes well, he’ll be ready in about seven years. If it doesn’t, nobody will ever hear of him again. Knowing the success rate of international prospects, I would bet on the latter.

In the News

With Milton Bradley’s return to the lineup, Don Wakamatsu announced that he’d play left field against left-handed pitchers and spell Griffey Junior at designated hitter against right-handers, allowing Michael Saunders some much-needed playing time. Saunders had been excellent in his time with the Mariners so far this season, providing an important spark to a scuffling offense with timely hitting and some pop.

On the Field

The Mariners rolled into Oakland on Monday after a cross-country flight, desperate to wipe out the memory of miserable opening series that has set the tone for the year to date. In the season opener, the Mariners played in three close games, ultimately losing two on walk-off hits. They reversed this trend in game one of this two game set, foregoing late-inning dramatics and getting well and truly destroyed instead. Ryan Rowland Smith struggled again, giving up ten hits in less than three innings against an impotent Athletics attack, and the offense just could not catch up, managing six hits in the 8-4 loss. Utility player Matt Tuiasosopo hit his first home run of the season in the fourth inning against Gio Gonzalez; his elder brother could only dream of such success in the Coliseum.

After the blowout, the Mariners reverted to form for game two, keeping it tight and competitive for ten innings. Felix Hernandez wasn’t particularly sharp, but he did well enough to keep his team in the game, striking out six while allowing three runs over his six-inning outing, leaving with the game tied. Rob Johnson provided some power, hitting his second home run off the season off Oakland ace Ben Sheets (Sheets has now  given up 40% of Johnson’s career home runs), and the rest of the lineup chipped in too with ten hits and five runs. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, and the team fell 6-5 in extra innings after wild-pitching the lead runner to third with less than two outs. Casey Kotchman and Chone Figgins showed signs of life, each grabbing two hits as they looked to break out of their slump.

The road trip produced a 2-6 record, and the weary Mariners flew back to Seattle for a game the next day. The Toronto Blue Jays came to town for another two game series, pitting their American League-best home run total against Seattle’s meager 23. Remarkably, Doug Fister kept the Jays inside the park in the first game, pitching just well enough to lose yet another tight game 3-2. Chone Figgins made it interesting when he moved the tying run to third with one out in the seventh inning, but that’s where it would stay as the Jays bullpen kept the Mariners off the board, despite a shaky ninth inning which saw Jose Lopez barely miss a walk-off home run to deep left. This game saw Milton Bradley’s return to the city and the lineup, and he seemed visibly touched by the roaring ovation given to him by the Safeco faithful during his first at-bat.

It was walk-off mania for the Mariners on Thursday, as a strong Jason Vargas couldn’t quite match up against left-hander Ricky Romero. Vargas gave up three runs in almost seven innings of work, but the Mariner managed very little in the way of hitting until the ninth inning, where erstwhile closer Kevin Gregg lost first his ability to miss bats and then his command. Down by two, designated hitter Mike Sweeney led off with a single, immediately followed up by Jose Lopez’s base hit to left. Milton Bradley walked on the full count, and then Kotchman did the game, forcing the tying run to third. Josh Bard, catching in Adam Moore’s absence, laced a ball to left field deep enough to tie the game, and with one out and two on, Ken Griffey Junior came to the plate to pinch hit. Normally left handed hitters don’t try to pull pitches low and outside, but it worked this time, the ball sizzling into the right field corner and sending Safeco Field into raptures. After being on the receiving end of so many walk-off hits in the course of the young season, the 4-3 win felt like a little slice of heaven on earth.

I actually had tickets to the Friday game against the Padres, in what turned out to be prime Will Venable heckling position. The game did not start out auspiciously. Cliff Lee likes to throw strikes, and the Padres like to swing as hard as they can at any and all strikes they see. Three hits on three pitches saw Seattle’s hated rivals from San Diego staked to a 2-0 lead, and from then it felt a little bit like it was game over, despite Wade LeBlanc’s decidedly un-intimidating mound presence. The sense of despair only lasted a few minutes before Venable checked the cheat-sheet in his back pocket, which apparently told him to drop the next ball he came across. One easy pop-fly later, and Franklin Gutierrez was stood on first base, with Mike Sweeney quickly sending him to third with a single to the right-center field gap. No runs were scored in that inning, but the flood waters were rising, and the Mariners hit three home runs over the next four innings, scoring fifteen runs before the fifth was over. Despite an improbable night for David Eckstien being supported by an entirely probable night from star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (who hit three opposite-field doubles), the Padres just didn’t have the firepower to come back from such an enormous deficit, and the Mariners cruised to a 15-8 victory. There was a moment of comedy during Gonzalez’s fourth at-bat – his previous three had seen him deposit the ball into the left field corner each time. Milton Bradley jogged over into the corner to start the at-bat and stared at Gonzalez for a little while before they both burst out laughing and Bradley got back to his normal positioning. Then Gonzalez hit the ball the other way again.

After a fifteen-run outburst, it was back to normal for the Mariners, with the exception of Ian Snell, promoted back to the rotation in light of Ryan Rowland-Smith’s struggles. Snell started on Saturday, and looked very sharp, giving up just one run on a monstrous Matt Stairs home run to right field. Kanekoa Texeira relieved him in the sixth, and allowed a run after a pitch got past Josh Bard with a runner on third, otherwise looking good on the mound. Down 2-0 in the seventh, the Mariners needed runs fast, and pulled one back through a Mike Sweeney single to drive in Ichiro after Franklin Gutierrez had grounded into a double play. The ninth looked promising, with Gutierrez lining out hard to center field before Sweeney smacked a double to left. Lopez barely missed tying the game with an infield hit that shortstop Everth Cabrera looked like kicking away, before Padres close Heath Bell went 3-0 to Milton Bradley, who took ball four only to see the umpire call it a strike. Two pitches later, and Bradley was down. Kotchman too departed without a fight, and a winnable game remained 2-1 in favor of the Padres.

The week started with an ugly blowout, and it ended with an ugly blowout. Hernandez was once again not at his best, but he kept the Mariners in the game before the bullpen coughed up five more runs late en-route to an 8-1 loss. After a 15-run first game, the Mariners only managed two more over the next two days, and were outscored in the series 18-17. The team dropped to 16-28 on the season, and the Mariners are closing in – and fast – on the point of no return.

Injury Report

Erik Bedard had yet another setback after throwing a bullpen session. The optimistic scenario for the Canadian left-hander was a return by the end of May – now it’s looking like July at the earliest for him to be 100%.

On The Farm

Dustin Ackley: Another handful of hits for the #2 overall pick in last year’s draft, adding a triple and a double to his extra-base hit tally in double-A.  .206 BA, 1 HR, 13 RBI (AA West Tenn)

Nick Franklin: Franklin’s home run binge didn’t last into the week, but he did keep the walks and the hits coming, drawing three free passes and stinging two doubles. .318 BA, 8 HR, 23 RBI (A Clinton)

Alex Liddi: Liddi spent some time hitting third in West Tennessee’s potent lineup, but he failed to produce much thunder. After a solo home run on Monday he went without extra bases for the remainder of the week. .279 BA, 4 HR, 26 RBI (AA West Tenn)

Michael Pineda: Pineda dominated again in his start against Montgomery on the 20th. The Biscuits crumbled against his devastating array of pitches, striking out eight times in six innings while only scoring a pair of runs. Alas, the Diamond Jaxx were even more thoroughly stifled, and lose the game 3-0 for Pineda’s first reverse of the season.  3-1, 2.23 ERA, 54 K (AA West Tenn)

Mauricio Robles: It was an ugly start at Mississippi for Robles, lasting just under six innings while walking four, giving up a home run and striking out just three. Although he left with the lead, the bullpen blew the game in the seventh and West Tennessee could not recover. 3-1, 3.05 ERA, 46 K (AA West Tenn)

Check back in with Graham as he helps Baseball Digest keep an eye on all things Mariners throughout the 2010 season.
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