| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2010 5:42 pm |
||||||||||
 |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
 |
|
| RECENT POSTS: | |
|
• Some Felix Hernandez numbers to chew on September 2 • Good news on Kelley elbow surgery: He has "partial" Tommy John procedure September 1 • The fine line between developing a young catcher and destroying him September 1 • UPDATED: Mariners prospect Cortes to pitch in Venezuela; Wilhelmsen to fall league August 31 • Thoughts on Jose Lopez, a minor league slugger and Shawn Kelley's surgery August 31 |
|
|
|
| Archives: | |
|
|
|
|
| RELATED ARTICLES: | |
|
• Mariners' Vargas regrets HR pitch September 1 • Hansen has Mariners' catchers sweating September 1 • Mariners' Kelley does not need Tommy John surgery September 1 • Mariners minor league report: Poythress puts up numbers in Class A September 1 • MARINERS UPDATE September 1 • Mariners beat Angels 3-1 August 31 • Mariners Update August 31 • Angels beat Mariners 5-3 August 30 • Manny Ramirez joins White Sox August 30 • Roger Clemens pleads not guilty to charge of lying to Congress August 30 |
|
|
|
|
ADVERTISEMENT |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Some Felix Hernandez numbers to chew on It's going to be interesting where Felix Hernandez falls in the American League Cy Young Award line, considering he has posted some worthy numbers across the board but, thanks in large part to lousy run support, remains stuck with a 10-10 record. Thanks to Jeff Evans of the Mariners' baseball information department, the club today produced some interesting highlights to Hernandez's season. Here they are: Hernandez has a single-season club record with 20 consecutive starts (May 23-current) pitching into at least the seventh inning. During that stretch, he is 8-7 with a 1.81 ERA (31 ER, 154.1 IP) with 148 strikeouts. E-mail | Print | Comment
Good news on Kelley elbow surgery: He has "partial" Tommy John procedure Mariners relief pitcher Shawn Kelley went into surgery this morning in Los Angeles knowing the exploratory surgery on his ailing right elbow could result in something as little as a cleanup but as serious as full-blown "Tommy John" ligament replacement. In his mind, Kelley said Tuesday that he was preparing for the full Tommy. What Dr. Lewis Yocum performed was something in between. Kelley had a small ligament tear that was repaired in what the Mariners are describing as a "partial" Tommy John procedure. Instead of a full year of recovery if it was the full Tommy John, the Mariners say Kelley should be able to start playing catch in four months. "The news is better than we would have thought. It's good for Shawn and it's good for us," manager Daren Brown said. Brown said the site of Kelley's previous Tommy John surgery seven years ago looked strong, according to the surgeon. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment The fine line between developing a young catcher and destroying him A day hasn't gone by this homestand without Roger Hansen, the Mariners' longtime catching coordinator and current bench coach, putting either Adam Moore or Josh Bard or both through some sort of mid-afternoon fundamental drill. Today, it was Moore and the focus was foul popups. Hansen had a machine at home plate shooting baseballs high into the air -- at all angles -- with Moore springing out of his crouch to locate the popups, then settling under them to make the catch. Fairly placid duty, you'd think, especially compared with the days he has the catcher block pitches in the dirt, which can leave welts and bruises. Not today. A few minutes ago, Hansen shot one popup toward the Mariners' dugout and Moore put his eyes on the ball and sprinted toward where he though it would land. One problem. The ball drifted, and kept drifting, and so did Moore. At nearly full speed, he disappeared down the dugout stairs just as the baseball did. There was a scream or two from the few in the ballpark watching, fearful that Moore might not reappear. He didn't for nearly a minute, although Hansen certainly didn't seem concerned, leaning on the machine at the plate without expression. Had the legend of this tough coach grown? Naw. Moore made his way back up the dugout stairs and onto the field, had a few words with Hansen, then dropped into his crouch for another copule of popups before they ended the drill. It would only be fitting if Moore gets the chance to make a great catch beside the dugout tonight against the Angels. He's back in the lineup, batting eighth. A few notes before we go downstairs to see how Moore enjoyed his popup drill: Here is tonight's Mariners lineup: Ichiro Suzuki, right field Chone Figgins, second base Franklin Gutierrez, center field Russell Branyan, DH Jose Lopez, third base Casey Kotchman, first base Michael Saunders, left field Adam Moore, catcher Josh Wilson, shortstop Left-hander Jason Vargas (9-7, 3.53 ERA), starting pitcher ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
UPDATED: Mariners prospect Cortes to pitch in Venezuela; Wilhelmsen to fall... 10:50 P.M. UPDATE I spoke with Pedro Grifol, the Mariners' minor league director, in the clubhouse after tonight's game and got the skinny on why reliever Dan Cortes was replaced by Tom Wilhelmsen on the Peoria Javelinas' Arizona Fall League roster. Instead of the fall league, Cortez will pitch winter ball in Venezuela. The Mariners made that decision only a couple of days ago, Grifol said. The Mariners believe having Cortes pitch in Venezuela may better prepare him -- or at least let the organization gauge how ready he'll be -- for what they hope will be a key bullpen role on the big-league team next season. He has pitched well at both Class AA West Tennessee and AAA Tacoma since converting from starter to reliever, with a fastball from 97 to more than 100 mph. "We want to get Cortes to Latin America in winter ball and get him in front of pressure situations and the fans down there," Grifol said. "Maybe we can expedite his development down there." ------------------- No explanation yet from the Mariners on this, but hard-throwing right-hander Dan Cortes has been pulled from the list of pitchers they're sending to the Arizona Fall League and Tom Wilhelmsen has been added to the Peoria Javelinas roster. We'll try to get an answer after tonight's game from Pedro Grifol, the Mariners' minor league director and a part of the big-league coaching staff in the post-Don Wakamatsu phase of the season. Besides Wilhelmsen, other pitchers from the Mariners playing for the Javelinas will be right-handers Maikel Cleto, Josh Fields and Josh Lueke, plus second baseman Dustin Ackley, third baseman/first baseman Matt Mangini and outfielder Nate Tenbrink. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Thoughts on Jose Lopez, a minor league slugger and Shawn Kelley's surgery The trade rumor of the day is that the Colorado Rockies might be interested in Mariners third baseman Jose Lopez, and we assume this isn't some dream sequence by 9/10ths of the fan base. It came in a Tweet from Ken Rosenthal of Foxsports.com. The Rockies entered tonight seven games out of first place in the National League West and needing help at third base after Ian Stewart went on the disabled list because of an oblique strain. Other than the Rosenthal Tweet, other reports out of Denver say the Rockies will make do at third base with Melvin Mora and Johnny Herrera. This isn't exactly baseball's trade season, although waiver deals can be made with the only hangup being that players acquired in September won't be eligible for the postseason (although there are loopholes to that). Lopez and his .241 average and horrid .272 on-base percentage are still fair game, although it's hard to see any team not in sheer desperation mode being interested. Why? Lopez's approach at the plate has been one of the great mysteries of this season, and his at-bat in the fourth inning tonight is an example why managers and hitting coaches have gone batty the past few years. Against Angels starter Dan Haren, Lopez flailed and missed an offspeed first pitch off the plate, hit an opposite-field foul on the second pitch, then watched strike three on an outside-corner fastball on the third pitch. So much for having a narrow hitting zone early in the count. Edgar Martinez must be dying a little, if he's even bothering to watch anymore. At this point, you'd think the Mariners would salivate over any interest in Lopez. He's owed less than $400,000 on his $2.3 million contract this season plus a $250,000 buyout of the $4.5 million club option next year. There's a reason, however, why Lopez's hasn't been seriously mentioned in trade rumors even though several contending teams have faced third-base issues. See the at-bat mentioned above. A couple of other thoughts as we wrap up the month of August: But High Desert first baseman Rich Poythress is having a great season, and a much-needed one after what he endured last year. Poythress leads the California League with 125 RBI and is third with 30 home runs, and he's batting .311/.377/.574/.950. Go ahead and put an asterisk on it because it's the Cal League, although Mariners minor league director Pedro Grifol won't. “I don't care where you're playing, when you've got 125 RBI it means you're able to produce with men on base,” Grifol said. “He's not missing too many opportunities to drive people in.” It's a nice comeback for Poythress, the Mariners' second-round draft pick last year who struggled at Class AA West Tennessee (.230 with one homer and 9 RBI in 87 at-bats) “Our intention at the beginning of the year was, ‘Let's put this guy in a position where he can have some success,'” Grifol said. “Last year we sent him to Double A and it was a very difficult transition from the NCAA. He's in the right place right now.” “I'm ready to get this done and move on,” Kelley said. “It's more likely to be Tommy John surgery than not, but I won't know until I wake up. I'm prepared for anything.” The surgery was pushed back until tomorrow because Kelley's wife Kelsey gave birth to their first child, son Parker Andrew Kelley, on Thursday. E-mail | Print | Comment Prince of Darkness does some cheerleading for the Mariners The Mariners unveiled something new recently to stir up their fans at Safeco Field. No, not a hitter capable of a three-run homer. The Mariners acquired the services of Ozzy Osbourne, if only for a few seconds on the video board, to rev up the crowd whenever they've got a rally in the works. Insert your own joke here about the Mariners' offense. On Friday when the Mariners had a runner in scoring position against the Twins (any runner in scoring position constitutes a possible rally for these guys), Ozzy appeared on the big screen in center field and urged on the crowd. “Hey Mariners fans, let me hear you scream!” he shouted. And while some Ozzy/Black Sabbath played over the stadium speaker system, they did scream. It was the Prince of Darkness himself and not a really good impressionist as some people were thinking. “It's really Ozzy. We just made a few calls,” Mariners marketing director Kevin Martinez said. “I think he's a big Mariners fan.” Actually, nobody is quite sure Ozzy knows who the Mariners are. However, the Mariners talked with folks at Major League Baseball, whose people talked with Ozzy's people and got him in front of a green screen to pull off the video clip. No bats – wood or otherwise -- were harmed in the making of the video (Google it, kids). It also helps that Ozzy is promoting his new album “Scream,” so the gig fit. We'd show the video but licensing legalities prevent it from being shown anywhere but the ballpark. In lieu of that, here's a video of Ozzy attempting Take Me Out to the Ballgame at Wrigley Field. At least Ozzy enunciated for the Mariners. Ozzy isn't the only entertainment celeb to deliver video encouragement at Safeco Field. When comedian Larry the Cable Guy spent some time in the clubhouse and taking a round of batting practice last year, he also stopped for a few seconds to make a video urging the Mariners to “Get-R-Done!” Martinez said the Mariners also are putting together a similar video with Nate Robinson, the former UW basketball star now with the Boston Celtics. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
There's actually a softer side to Mariners coach Roger Hansen According to legend, Roger Hansen eats nails for breakfast and lightbulbs for dinner, and in between he works young baseball players into either a pulp or men. Hansen, the Mariners’ longtime catching coordinator and now their bench coach, does little to dispel that reputation. He definitely puts the catchers through some tough workouts and he challenges them mentally, but he’s also a man who cares deeply about each individual and, above all else, the Mariners as an organization. And get this: Hansen is a family man as well. When he’s not at the ballpark, Hansen enjoys quite a different life at home on five acres near Stanwood. He, his wife Lynn and daughters Rylie and Madison care for goats, chickens, dogs, cats and gardens on the property, and there’s barely a word about baseball spoken at home. “I tell people they’re my rented family,” Hansen says, trying his best not to break the myth. Hardly. >Here’s my feature story on Hansen that ran in Sunday’s newspaper, >along with a dozen photos by Herald photographer Jennifer Buchanan, who spent a couple of hours with the Hansens last week. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment M's vs. Angels: Reaching home plate may be an elusive dream Several players with the Angels are on the field doing early work, and at the momoent they're running from first to third. It might help if they practiced going all the way to home plate. You think the Mariners struggled to score runs over the weekend against the Twins (they went 16 straight scoreless innings before they flooded the scoreboard with two runs in the seventh on Sunday)? The Angels are scuffling even more. They haven't scored since the first inning Friday night, and go into tonight's game against the M's on a 26-inning scoreless streak and and a three-game losing streak. Michael Saunders is back on the lineup card, playing left field and batting seventh, for the first time since an MRI on Thursday showed his ailing right shoulder was only bruised. He crashed into the wall Aug. 5 and hasn't been well since. It probably won't be written in ink until Saunders takes batting practice to test the shoulder, although he hit off a tee yesterday and said he felt fine. Here is the Mariners' lineup against Angels right-hander Ervin Santana (13-9, 4.13 ERA): Ichiro Suzuki, right field Chone Figgins, second base Russell Branyan, DH Jose Lopez, third base Casey Kotchman, first base Franklin Gutierrez, center field Michael Saunders, left field Adam Moore, catcher Josh Wilson, shortstop Right-hander David Pauley (2-5, 4.02 ERA), starting pitcher. . ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
'Tis the season to shut down young pitchers -- this time it's Brandon Morro... Interesting news this morning out of Toronto, where the Blue Jays have decided to give Brandon Morrow one more start and shut him down for the rest of the season. Here's the story from the National Post. Morrow is 10-6 with a 4.27 ERA and has thrown 143 1/3 innings in his first real season as a starting pitcher. After acquiring Morrow last winter from the Marniers in exchange for reliever Brandon League, the Jays decided to make him a starter and leave him there. The Mariners never did that, and the wishy-washiness of the is-he-a-starter/is-he-a-reliever debate never allowed Morrow to show what he truly could do if given one job and left to develop with it. That's my opinion, along with the thought that Morrow didn't help himself last year when he went back and forth in his own mind and essentially caused the Mariners to shift his role. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Saunders getting closer, plus the manager's thoughts on Pineda (and lineups) Very little juicy news on a cloudy, cool day at Safeco Field, where Mariners manager Daren Brown needs a victory today against the Twins to avoid being swept in a series for the first time since he took over for Don Wakamatsu. Outfielder Michael Saunders will test his bruised right shoulder by taking some swings off a tee. If that goes well, he'll take batting practice on Monday and, he hopes, play that night against the Angels. Saunders had an MRI on the shoulder Thursday and, while the image showed nothing more than bruising, the invasiveness of the dye injected into the shoulder has forced him to lay low for a few days. Brown was asked this morning about the organization's decision to shut down minor league pitching prospect Michael Pineda. Actually, Brown did the asking: "What, no Pineda questions?" Brown had gotten a good look at Pineda when he managed the Tacoma Rainiers before becoming the Mariners' interim manager, and he was impressed not only with the big 21-year-old's stuff but also his competitiveness. He compared that with Felix Hernandez a few years ago, which can be good and bad if we remember how Felix would get flummoxed by some of the adversity he encountered. Bottom line, in Brown's mind, is that shutting down Pineda now is the right thing to do and that he should be a strong candidate for a rotation spot with the Mariners next year. That said, the organization must be careful again with Pineda, much like it was with Hernandez a few years ago. "He'll be 22 years old and we won't be looking at 200 innings," Brown said. "It will be important that he stays healthy. I'm a believer in stressful innings and how hard he has to work to get out of innings. I can tell you that at Tacoma if he threw six innings, four or five of them weren't very stressful." Today's lineups: TWINS Denard Span, center field Orlando Hudson, second base Michael Cuddyer, first base Jason Kubel, DH Delmon Young, left field Danny Valencia, third base Jason Repko, right field J.J. Hardy, shortstop Drew Butera, catcher Right-hander Carl Pavano (15-9, 3.56), starting pitcher MARINERS Ichiro Suzuki, right field Chone Figgins, second base Russell Branyan, DH Jose Lopez, third base Casey Kotchman, first base Franklin Gutierrez, center field Adam Moore, catcher Matt Tuiasosopo, left field Josh Wilson, shortstop Left-hander Luke French (2-4, 4.57), starting pitcher ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Mariners decide minor league star Pineda has pitched his last this year It has turned out to be "Shutdown Saturday" with the Mariners. Minnesota right-hander Nick Blackburn snuffed the Mariners on two hits -- both in the first inning -- in a 1-0 Twins victory. After the game, there was more shutdown news delivered by general manager Jack Zduriencik. He announced that star minor leaguer Michael Pineda has thrown his final pitch this season because he has reached the innings limit the club had set early in the year. Pineda has made 25 starts and pitched 139 1/3 innings between Class AA West Tennessee and Class AAA Tacoma this season. “The simple reason is because of innings,” Zduriencik said. “We had gauged that he would pitch between 140 and 150 innings this year. This is a prized product of ours and this is a guy we want to protect.” Zduriencik said Pineda’s past two starts, when he struggled, weren’t factors in the decision. Pineda allowed eight hits and six runs in 3 2/3 innings of Tacoma’s game Thursday, and that followed an eight-hit, four-run performance over 4 1/3 innings. He has never pitched more than 138 1/3 innings in his minor league career and, because of arm problems, was limited to 47 1/3 last year. “There’s nothing physically wrong at all,” Zduriencik said. “It’s strictly an innings issue and we figure it’s the best thing to do for our future and his future. Should we have given him another start, he may have jumped back in and done some of the things that we saw a few weeks back. From the very beginning we talked about (between) 140 and 150 innings. One more outing is not going to make or break this kid’s career. From our standpoint, this is the right thing to do.” Zduriencik said Pineda, a 21-year-old who mixes a high-90 mph fastball with a sharp-breaking slider, will continue to work out with the Tacoma Rainiers until the end of their season, then possibly spend some time in September with the Mariners before reporting to the month-long fall instructional program in Peoria, Ariz. When Pineda returns to spring training next February, Zduriencik said he’ll get a chance to make the Mariners’ 2011 starting rotation. “When he comes into camp, that should be the mindset he has,” Zduriencik said. “We’ve seen this kid dominate this year. He’s a young kid. You never know how a 22-year-old kid is going to react around a spring training setting and being around a big-league club. But, all the earmarks are there that this guy has a chance to have a very, very good future. We feel strongly that this guy is going to have a great shot to make our club.” ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
M's second-round pick makes a nice first impression Marcus Littlewood, the Mariners' newly signed second-round draft pick, took batting practice and fielded grounders before tonight's game, and he came away from it feeling like most any teen-ager would. “It was awesome,” said the 18-year-old from St. George, Utah. “Hopefully in a couple of years I'll have the same opportunity.” Several hundred at-bats and a climb through the minor leagues will determine that, but Littlewood impressed those who saw him today with his smoothness in the field and a quick bat. Littlewood, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound shortstop, signed with the Mariners just before the Aug. 16 deadline, passing up his previous commitment to play at the University of San Diego. He'll get a $900,000 signing bonus. “It was such a relief to sign and get it over with,” he said. “Every single day I was contemplating school or pro ball.” Littlewood hasn't spent a dime of his bonus because he hasn't gotten it yet; that won't happen for about 30 days. When the money does arrive, Littlewood knows exactly what he'll buy first -- and no, it's not a car. “Probably a phone,” he said. “I have a piece-of-crap phone right now. I might buy my mom's car, but I haven't really thought about it. All that money stuff is over my head right now. All I'm worried about is playing.” Littlewood will take part in the Mariners' fall instructional program beginning in mid-September. Other notes on a cool August evening at Safeco Field: Saunders needs a few days to recover from the MRI because it involved injecting dye into the shoulder. Manager Daren Brown believed he would be able to play the field on Monday. Until then, he can be used as a pinch runner. “I was really relieved to find out what was going on,” Saunders said. “Any time you have surgery on something and you're finally healthy, then you hurt that area and it's a constant ache that isn't going away, there's something in the back of your mind making you think, ‘I hope I haven't done it again.' Rehabbing a year and a half isn't fun and surgery isn't fun either. But we got good news.” E-mail | Print | Comment
Whether it's a cold night in Seattle or oven-like Arizona, baseball is bliss As many of you have figured out, when the Mariners hit the road, I don’t. Expenses being what they are, The Herald doesn’t travel with the Mariners -- at least while they’re the non-contending Mariners. We do spend the duration of spring training in Arizona and have covered every playoff game in the history of the franchise home and away. And, in 2007, we were prepared to travel the final month with the Mariners until they dive-bombed that plan (along with their division hopes) by losing 13 times in a 14-game stretch in late August/early September. Because we aren’t on the road with the team, I’m reluctant to offer much in the way of insight or opinion because I believe it’s important to base those thoughts on what I observe with my eyes and hear with my ears from the players, coaches and management. Forming an opinion based on what you see on TV or from a stats sheet often doesn’t tell the whole story. So the blog gets fairly quiet when I’m not around the team to get a true feel for what’s going on. That doesn’t mean I don’t pay attention to baseball, and the past two weeks are an example. While the Mariners were on that 12-game road trip, I: I spent part of Tuesday morning in Peoria with right-handed pitcher Taijuan Walker, the Mariners’ first draft pick in June who’s playing for the rookie-level Peoria Mariners in the Arizona League. Walker is a quiet, polite 18-year-old who has been impressive in his brief time on the mound since the draft. Here’s the story on Walker that ran in Wednesday’s sports section. Since that story ran, Walker pitched a scoreless inning Wednesday night, walking one. Also spent some time with Andy Bottin, the Peoria Mariners’ manager and one of the best people you’ll meet in baseball. He’s a Camano Island resident who’s not only skipper of the ballclub but also a father figure to the young players there, many living away from home for the first time and several new to this country. Andy has been working at the Peoria Sports Complex (and living across the street at the Hampton Inn) since early March, and he’s looking forward to coming home for a few weeks in September before the fall instructional program begins down there. And last night, while returning from dinner, I noticed the lights were on at the Reds’ spring training complex in Goodyear, Ariz. Naturally, I talked my son into stopping and dragged him, his wife and my wife into the 100-degree night air to watch a couple of innings. This was hardly an Arizona League game with players we might see in the big leagues in a few years. It was an adult-league baseball game with 70-some-mph fastballs, 6-some-second sprints from home to first base and the outfield warning tracks necessary for only the jackrabbits that might be in the neighborhood. But still, it was baseball and that made for a perfect final night of the trip. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Deadline is here; Mariners sign second-round pick The Mariners have signed their second-round draft pick, high school shortstop Marcus Littlewood, but have swung and missed on their third-round pick, right-handed pitcher Ryne Stanek. Littlewood, of St. George, Utah, signed for $900,000, according to ESPN.com. Earlier today, the Mariners signed left-handed pitcher Jordan Shipers (16th round) and right-handed pitcher Ernesto Zaragoza (25th). Besides Stanek, nine other players drafted by the Mariners went unsigned before the 9 p.m. (PDT) deadline and will return to the draft next year. Their fourth-round pick, left-handed pitcher James Paxton, also hasn't signed although the Mariners have until next year's draft to secure him or lose him because he's out of college. In addition to Stanek, the unsigned players taken by the M's who will be eligible for the draft next year are right-handed pitcher Jon Keller (11th round), left-handed pitcher Tyler Linehan (14th), catcher Luke Guarnaccia (21st), right-handed pitcher Nick Fleece (27th), first baseman Jonathan McGibbon (29th), third baseman Douglas Peterson (33rd), left-handed pitcher David Rollins (46th), center fielder Colton Keough (49th) and right-handed pitcher David Holman (50th). Last year, 16 of the Mariners' 52 picks went unsigned. They signed their first 15. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment It's sign-them-or-lose-them day for baseball's draft picks The Mariners and every major league organization (including the Nationals with No. 1 pick Bryce Harper), have less than seven hours remaining to sign their June draft picks or, with only a few exceptions, lose the rights to those players and have them re-enter the draft pool next year. The deadline is 9:01 (PDT) tonight, and the Mariners have a dozen unsigned players. Two who did sign today were Jordan Shipers, a left-handed pitcher from South Harrison High School in Bethany, Mo., drafted in the 16th round, and Ernesto Zaragoza, a right-handed pitcher from Kaizer High in Riverside, Calif., taken in the 25th round. Of the 12 unsigned, left-handed pitcher James Paxton, drafted in the fourth round, doesn't fall under tonight's deadline because he has completed his college eligibility. The Mariners will have until next year's draft to sign him or lose him. So, the 11 Mariner draftees who do fall under tonight's deadline are: Shortstop Marcus Littlewood (second round), right-handed pitcher Ryne Stanek (third round), right-handed pitcher Jon Keller (11th), left-handed pitcher Tyler Linehan (14th), catcher Luke Guarnaccia (21st), right-handed pitcher Nick Fleece (27th), first baseman Jonathan McGibbon (29th), third baseman Douglas Peterson (33rd), left-handed pitcher David Rollins (46th), center fielder Colton Keough (49th) and right-handed pitcher David Holman (50th). We'll have updates here (and via twitter at @kirbyarnold) when signings are made. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Ackley, Fields among seven from Mariners to play in Arizona Fall League The Mariners have made their assignments to the Arizona Fall League, and there will be seven – including second baseman Dustin Ackley and right-handed reliever Josh Fields – who'll play for the Peoria Javelinas. Others from the Mariners’ minor league system who’ll play for the Javelinas will be right-handed pitchers Josh Lueke, Dan Cortes and Maikel Cleto, and corner infielders Matt Mangini and Nate Tenbrink. Ackley, the second overall pick in the 2009 draft, will continue his transition to second base in his second straight year in the fall league. Last year with the Javelinas, Ackley batted .315 with one home run and 20 RBI in 20 games. He started 17 games in center field but, soon after the fall league had ended, the Mariners announced they would shift him to second base. Ackley is batting .289 with a .372 on-base percentage, .464 slugging percentage and .836 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in 97 at-bats since being promoted to Class AAA Tacoma from Class AA West Tennessee. He has two home runs and 10 RBI. Fields, the Mariners’ first-round pick in 2008, also returns to the fall league for a second straight year. He has been on the disabled list since mid-June because of a sore right forearm but, according to the Mariners, has been making steady progress in his recovery. Until the injury, Fields was 1-1, 3.14 in 21 games with six saves and 28 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings with West Tennessee. The Mariners acquired Lueke last month from the Rangers in the Cliff Lee trade. He has a 1.59 ERA and one save in four relief appearances with Tacoma and was 1-0, 0.00 in six games at West Tennessee, where he struck out 14 in 7 1/3 innings. Cortes, acquired last year from the Royals in the Yuniesky Betancourt trade, is 6-4, 5.27 at West Tennessee but, in nine games since being converted to a late-inning reliever, is 1-0, 0.71 with 20 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings. His fastball has reached 102 mph, Mariners minor league director Pedro Grifol said. Cleto is 3-6, 5.54 in 18 games (16 starts) this season at Class A High Desert. Mangini has 13 home runs and 49 RBI at Tacoma and is batting .288/.337/.501/.838. Despite his productive bat, the Mariners want to see improvement from Mangini in the field and, despite coming up as a third baseman, may see more time at first base. Tenbrink, a third baseman, is batting .275/.383/.425/.808 with four home runs and 22 RBI at West Tennessee. In 44 games at Class A High Desert, he batted .377/449/.646/.1.095 with nine homers and 42 RBI. The Arizona Fall League runs from Oct. 12-Nov. 20 and features six teams comprised of top prospects from all 30 major league organizations. The Peoria Javelinas’ roster will be a collection of players from the Mariners, Red Sox, Indians, Astros and Blue Jays organizations. They play their home games at Peoria Stadium, the Mariners’ spring training home. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Top draft pick Walker throwing again after arm problem This will appear in the three-dot notes in tomorrow's newspaper, but I Tweeted it earlier today (yes, I Tweet, which my daughter says makes me a Twerp. If you want to follow, I'm at @kirbyarnold): Taijuan Walker, the tall teen-aged right-hander who the Mariners drafted with their first pick (43rd overall) in June, is throwing again after taking some time off because of a sore arm. Mariners minor league director Pedro Grifol said Walker had some tenderness in his throwing arm after he'd pitched in two games last month with rookie-level Peoria in the Arizona League. Walker is throwing bullpens again and working on the side, but the Mariners aren't rushing him back. The organization is being very careful with a kid who gives them high hopes with a mid-90s fastball, keeping in mind that there's little mileage on his arm since he took up pitching only a couple of years ago. In two games for Peoria, Walker struck out six in four scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks, and he hit a batter. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Looks like we'll have Tui Time a little more often Matt Tuiasosopo, the local hero who a lot of people have been yearning to see more regularly in the Mariners' lineup, is starting this afternoon for the second straight game. Interim manager Daren Brown says he'd like to rotate all his bench players into the lineup on a somewhat regular basis, and Tuiasosopo is a guy he hopes to give moreat-ba ts. Tuesday, he started at third base (Jose Lopez was the DH and Russell Branyan got the day off). Today, Tui is playing left field (with Michael Saunders still down with a bruised shoulder and Ryan Langerhans not facing a lefty starter). Brown says he knows what Tuiasosopo can do with more frequent playing time, having managed him much of the past few seasons at Class AAA Tacoma. "I have seen him on an everyday basis," Brown said. "Hopefully with some consistent at-bats, people up here will see what I've seen." Saunders believes he'll be ready to play Friday when the Mariners begin a 12-game road trip with a series at Cleveland. He played catch and took batting practice (in the indoor cage) this morning. He crashed into the left-field wall last week and injured his shoulder and neck, and his day-to-day status turned into a week. "I bruised my rotator cuff," Saunders said. "But I'll be good to go (Friday)." Today's lineups: A'S Coco Crisp, center field Daric Barton, first base Kurt Suzuki, DH Kevin Kouzmanoff, third base Adam Rosales, shortstop Mark Ellis, second base Rajai Davis, right field Chris Carter, left field Landon Powell, catcher Left-hander Dallas Braden (6-8, 3.75 ERA), starting pitcher MARINERS Ichiro Suzuki, right field Chone Figgins, second base Jose Lopez, third base Russell Branyan, DH Franklin Gutierrez, center field Casey Kotchman, first base Josh Bard, catcher Matt Tuiasosopo, left field Josh Wilson, shortstop Left-hander Luke French (1-2, 4.73), starting pitcher ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Wakamatsu won't talk about what went wrong Former manager Don Wakamatsu just finished a conference call with reporters and spent much of it thanking the Mariners for hiring him and Mariners fans for the support they gave him and the team. Today, Wakamatsu put his family on a flight back to their home in Texas. Later this week, he will spend a few days with his parents and grandparents near Hood River, Ore. Wakamatsu refused to speak about issues that led to his firing on Monday, although what he didn’t say seemed pretty revealing. He was asked about reports that he and the coaches, some who had significant knowledge of the Texas Rangers’ minor league system, weren't consulted about the players the Mariners received from the Rangers in the Cliff Lee trade. He didn't deny those reports. “I’m not going to get into any of that stuff,” Wakamatsu said. “The whole reason I wanted to get on this call is to thank everyone.” Wakamatsu said the firing didn’t surprise him, although the timing did. “Obviously, there were things in the papers (about) the state of the club and everything,” he said. “I was a little surprised at the timing.” He said general manager Jack Zduriencik called him into his office Monday morning to give the news. “Jack called me into the office and said they decided to go into a different direction,” he said. “I understood that it all comes back to the manager, the wins and losses “We set out to build something longterm. The way the season went, there was a lot of disappointment on my side. The club wasn’t playing up to the level of expectations to what it should be… to what we expected here in Seattle.” What happened since last year? “I don’t want to get into that stuff,” Wakamatsu said. He also wasn’t prepared to look ahead to his next baseball job. “Right now, I’m going to focus on spending some time with the family,” he said. “I’ve been away so much this year, really over the last 2 ½ years. I think there will be opportunities in the future and I look forward to them.” ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
As I combed through statistics this morning for our weekly minor league report (which runs in the sports section every Wednesday), a few of Michael Pineda's numbers jumped out even more than usual. The strapping right-hander at Class AAA Tacoma has a 3.52 earned run average when he's ahead in the count, but it's only 2.38 when he's behind. Opposing batters have a .193 average when he's ahead, but it drops to .150 when he's behind. If it seems like there's some backward pitching going on, that just might be the case. The Mariners require their minor league starting pitchers to throw changeups on 12-15 percent of their pitches, 65 percent fastballs and breaking balls with the rest. In Pineda's case, Mariners minor league director Pedro Grifol believes he's getting in his changeup/breaking ball quota early in at-bats, and when he falls behind he goes with what serves him best. "Good old No. 1," is how Tony Blengino, the GM special assistant whose specialty is statistical analysis, describes it. Granted, it's a small sample size at Tacoma, where Pineda has started only nine games since being called up from Class AA West Tennessee. But it's also a pretty good indicator of just how good his fastball is. Even when he's behind in the count and hitters can expect to see the fastball, they're not getting much of it. "He's got that hard fastball and there's a lot of late movement on it," Grifol said. Pineda is 3-2 with a 3.67 ERA in 49 innings with Tacoma, including Sunday's three-inning start when he gave up four hits, two walks and two earned runs at Omaha. At West Tennessee, he went 8-1, 2.22 in 13 starts. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Another year on the beat and, unbelievably, another managerial change When I began covering the Mariners for The Herald in 1999, I never thought I'd see one managerial change much less the six that have taken place through today. It seemed then like Lou Piniella would last forever here. But the longer you're around this game the more you realize that there's no forever. Even for legends. Lou Piniella leaves. Bob Melvin gets fired. Mike Hargrove drives off in his red pickup. John McLaren gets canned. Jim Riggleman isn't asked to return. Today, Don Wakamatsu and three of his coaches are dismissed in the middle of a season like nothing I've ever experienced. It wouldn't be a shock if we're writing about the brief Daren Brown era in a few months. General manager Jack Zduriencik got a few questions today about the continuity that's being disrupted by the Wakamatsu move. Wasn't Wakamatsu and his staff brought here as part of a plan to improve the Mariners at both the major and minor league levels? Isn't 1½ years too brief a period to overhaul an organization into a consistent contender, especially so soon after 2008 when the Mariners lost 101 games and the minor league system was decimated of true big-league prospects? Doesn't this mess with the continuity of what the Mariners had started? As unfair as it might seem that Wakamatsu took the fall for a faulty roster and the poor season that ensued, this isn't college football where a coaching change can mean years of painful rebuilding. The next manager who walks in here, whether it's Joey Cora, Bobby Valentine or Ricky Bobby, likely will be as successful as the big-league roster allows him to be. That could be good or bad, and where the Mariners stand now I'm not getting my expectations too high for next year. The guts of this organization remains, especially in the player development and scouting levels, and Zduriencik seems happy with that. This regime has re-stocked the minor leagues well in the two years they've been here and there are a lot of interesting prospects in the system. With so many of them at the Class AA level or lower, it's going to be time before we learn just how good they are. So, for continuity sake, I'm not sure a whole lot has changed considering that the future of the franchise is, and will remain, in the minor leagues. On the pace I've been covering managers in my time on the beat, Joey Cora or Bobby Valentine or Ricky Bobby or whoever the next skipper becomes won't be around when these prospects are ready to succeed in the big leagues. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Mariners fire manager Wakamatsu, three coaches The Seattle Mariners are expected to announce the firing of manager Don Wakamatsu and three members of his coaching staff. Darin Brown, manager of the Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers, is in the Seattle area and will manage the team the rest of this season. The Mariners say there is nothing to announce at the moment. In Wakamatsu’s second season as manager, the Mariners are 42-70 and last in the American League West Division, 22 ½ games behind the first-place Texas Rangers. Last year, the Mariners won 85 games and finished third in the division, and Wakamatsu was praised for helping re-establish cohesiveness in the clubhouse of a team where bitterness existed the previous year, when the Mariners lost 101 games. This year’s team has been marked by controversy and clubhouse distractions, however. Ken Griffey Jr. retired on June 2 after he struggled at-bat and then had his playing time cut. Second baseman Chone Figgins criticized Wakamatsu twice this season, once after the manager used Griffey as a pinch-hitter and later when Figgins, also struggling at-bat, was dropped to ninth in the order. Last month, Wakamatsu removed Figgins from in the middle of game after he believed Figgins didn’t hustle to get a throw from the outfield. The two argued in the dugout, and several players, coaches and team personnel became involved in pushing and shoving as they broke up the incident. Wakamatsu, the 16th manager in Mariners history, has a 127-147 record. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Mariners dismiss four good men: Wakamatsu, VanBurkleo, Adair, Hecht Within the past 10 minutes, the Mariners made official what we had heard with a growing rumble this morning, that manager Don Wakamatsu has been dismissed along with three members of his staff, bench coach Ty VanBurkleo, pitching coach Rick Adair and performance coach Steve Hecht. We'll have some thoughts about the moves below. Daren Brown has been pulled from Class AAA Tacoma (like much of the rest of his team lately) and will be the Mariners' interim manager the rest of this season. Roger Hansen, the longtime catching coordinator from Stanwood, is the new bench coach. Carl Willis, the former Indians pitching coach in his first year as the Mariners' minor league pitching coordinator, is up as the pitching coach. No word on a replacement for Hecht, although given the messes in this clubhouse this year you'd think a mental skills guy would be a must ... along with whips and chains ... but we digress. Brown has managed the Rainiers the past four seasons and has succeeded at turning an ever-changing roster of players into a consistent winner, and contender, in the Pacific Coast League. The Rainiers currently lead the PCL Pacific North Division. Hansen, while officially listed as the catching coordinator, has responsibilities that reach much further within the organization. He has been minor league director Pedro Grifol's right-hand man in a multitude of decisions. Hansen has been in the Mariners' dugout most of the past week after the team called up young catcher Adam Moore. “I have concluded that these changes needed to be made now and that they are in the best interest of the Mariners as we move forward,” general manager Jack Zduriencik said in a news release from the team. “Don, Ty and Rick are all good baseball men and they have done their very best. But we are where we are. I no longer have confidence that Don, Ty and Rick are the right long-term fit for our organization. New leadership is needed and it is needed now.” My thoughts: I believed the Mariners put Wakamatsu into a no-win situation this year with the roster he began the season with, particularly with Griffey. Here's a column I wrote on July 25 about the situation, headlined "Don't lay Mariners' wreck at the feet of Wakamatsu." Last Tuesday, Zduriencik was non-committal when asked if Wakamatsu would manage next year or even the rest of this season. "Don is our manager," Zduriencik repeated numerous times. The present-tense nature of his mantra made it clear where this thing was headed. My question is why now? Why not two months ago after the Griffey situation blew up and, more importantly, when a change might have planted some burrs under enough butts to get this team to playing a crisp form of baseball that it's capable of playing. I'm not saying the Mariners could turn around their season and suddenly contend -- oh no, not with this offense -- but these guys are better than what they were showing on the field. Take Chone Figgins, for instance (and a lot of people lately have said, "Take him, please.") He can talk all he wants about playing hard every day on every play, but when he stood and watched a throw from the outfield roll away and allow an opposing baserunner to advance to third, Wakamatsu got him out of the game. And then Figgins protested to the point that an ugly incident with Wakamatsu in the dugout got national attention. Play hard every day on every play? That hardly was the first time anyone had noticed that Figgins didn't seem to have his heart into the game. Numerous times in the games leading up to the dugout incident it seemed like Figgins wanted little part of contact at second base, particularly on throws from the catcher. Before I make an observation about something like that in print, I almost always check in the clubhouse to make sure I'm not off base. The answer I got was: "You're seeing the same game up there that we're seeing down here." The Mariners, Figgins included, seemed to be playing good, hard baseball lately. So why now? Good question, although I'd been told that Wakamatsu had especially lost the ear of some veteran players. And, with a bevy of impressionable young players in this clubhouse now, the hope was that the lack of true spirit among the veterans wouldn't rub off on the kids. Could be a good point, because even in victory lately the clubhouse has been quiet as a proctologist's waiting room. Poor Luke French pitched the game of his life the other night and you'd have thought the Mariners had lost the game, given the lack of chatter, loud music, etc., that usually accompanies victories. Shaving cream pie or beer shower? Not now. Guys seemed more intent on getting dressed and out of there. Unfortunately, four good men -- Wakamatsu, Adair, VanBurkleo and Hecht -- are gone and won't come back. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment A thank-you from Don Wakamatsu Don Wakamatsu, fired today in his second season as the Mariners' manager, has sent out a statement thanking Northwest fans for their support. Wakamatsu plans to speak with the media tomorrow. Here is his statement: “I would like to thank the city of Seattle and all the baseball fans here in the Northwest for the great support offered to me during my time as Mariners manager. “My single biggest disappointment is that we were not able to finish what we wanted to finish here, bringing a championship club to the fans. “I can not tell you how great the fans were to me, and to my family. The support I received here will always mean a great deal to me.” -- Don Wakamatsu ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
AquaSox forfeit victory stirs memories of brawls, bus mishaps and Willie Mays The Everett AquaSox’ forfeit victory Saturday night -- when Boise manager Jody Davis pulled his team off the field in the first inning because he believed the wet outfield was dangerous -- was a brief topic of discussion in the Mariners’ clubhouse this morning. It also rekindled a few minor league memories. Nobody had ever been involved in a forfeit, but manager Don Wakamatsu experienced some only-in-the-minors moments during his days as a player, coach and manager. “We had the bus break down at 3 in the morning, and one time a bird flew through the windshield of the bus,” Wakamatsu said. There was one game that had gotten contentious between the two teams and Wakamatsu, the third base coach, waved home a runner who got caught in a rundown. His runner somehow dived into home plate under the tag of the pitcher, who wheeled and spiked the baseball onto the back of the baserunner’s head. The pitcher was kicked out and suspended. Wakamatsu also remembered a playoff game at Chattanooga that also got testy, especially when the opposing pitcher plunked his hitter. “Our guy charged the mound,” Wakamatsu said, “and the pitcher bit off half his earlobe.” Back to the AquaSox, one of my favorite tales is from the days Bob and Margaret Bavasi owned the team. In the early years, they were affillated with the San Francisco Giants and known as the Everett Giants. Bavasi was able to get Willie Mays to appear for autographs before one game, and he promoted it so well that the line of fans waiting for Willie's signature stretched around the ballpark. The bigger problem was that Mays arrived only about 15 minutes before the start of the game, and then informed Bavasi that he would sign autographs only until the game began. Bavasi looked at the long line of autograph seekers and figured it would take a half-hour or longer to get them all an autograph, and the last thing he wanted was for any of his fans to wait so long and go home empty-handed. So Bavasi pleaded with Mays, but the legend was insistent. He told Bavasi that he would sign until gametime, and when he heard the National Anthem, he was outta there. That's when Bavasi made a couple of astute observations. First, he noticed that Mays never looked up as he signed. Second, he noticed that Mays wasn't wearing a watch. So Bavasi left the autograph table for a few minutes and spoke with the umpires, then with Everett Memorial Stadium PA announcer Tom Lafferty. He told them the situation and asked that the game not start until he gave them a signal. As the last person in the autograh line approached the table, well past the scheduled starting time, Bavasi sent word to Lafferty, who played the Anthem over the stadium sound system. The umpires started the game and Willie Mays never realized how long he'd actually spent signing autographs in Everett. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment One more test will determine if reliever Kelley needs elbow surgery In the seven years since Shawn Kelley had Tommy John ligament surgery in his right elbow, he has pitched his way into the major leagues and been a integral part of the Mariners' bullpen. That's not to mean the elbow didn't hurt pretty badly during and between outings, but it remained sound structurally and he pitched on. Not now. Kelley hasn't pitched since June 16 he'll continue a series of tests on Monday that he hopes will determine why he's hurting and, gulp, whether he'll need more surgery. Kelley said this morning that he'll undergo a stress X-ray which he hopes will show the stability of the elbow joint. Tests on Friday, an MRI and a CAT scan, weren't conclusive. While manager Don Wakamatsu seemed fairly certain that surgery is needed, Kelley won't go that far. Yet. "It's not for sure that's the route we're going to go. But that's a possibility," Kelley told The Herald this morning. "It's a decision I'll have to make. I've got one more test tomorrow and we'll see how that goes. That will tell if the ligament has been stretched out. If it is, then that would be enough cause to need Tommy John anyway. " In his mind, Kelley is preparing himself for surgery. If Monday's test isn't conclusive, surgery may be the only way to find what's been causing the pain. "I just can't go all offseason wondering if it's OK and come to spring training not being 100 percent. I might feel good coming to spring and then try to get it going and then I'm right back to where I am right now," he said. ""I'm not going to miss a lot of time by going in there (and learning nothing is wrong). It's a lot more work for me because I'm going to have to rehab it pretty hard this offseason, but at the same time I'll know going into spring if I'm OK. "It's kind of a no-brainer for me." ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Chen music simply isn't Mariners' style in 2-1 loss Royals left-hander Bruce Chen retired the first eight Mariners he faced tonight, and also the last eight. And in between, Chen pretty much had his way with a group of Mariners hitters who, offensively challenged as they are, didn't make him work all that hard in a 2-1 loss to the Royals. Chen had only two three-ball counts, got ahead with first-pitch strikes and made the Mariners chase a lot of piches they couldn't handle. The only Mariner who reached third base was Russell Branyan, and that was on his home-run trot in the fourth inning. “First-pitch changeup over the plate,” Branyan said, using that to illustrate what Chen did give the Mariners to hit. Usually, Branyan said, the most hittable pitch they saw was the first of each at-bat. After that? “We didn’t have a whole lot of opportunities against him. He would get ahead (with a first-pitch strike) and then he’d get you out with his pitch, something on the corners,” Branyan said. Aside from his home run, a majestic blow over the center field fence, Branyan lumped himself with every other Mariners hitter who let Chen dominate. “To lose this game 2-1, shame on us," Branyan said. "Bruce Chen did what he had to do, but I think we should have had better at-bats off him.” After Branyan's homer, Chen allowed only Adam Moore's one-out single in the fifth. The Mariners got a hit off Blake Wood in the eighth and one off Joakim Soria in the ninth, but did nothing with those. It became a waste of another decent outing by Mariners starter David Pauley (5 1/3 innings, five hits, two runs in the second inning) and scoreless relief from Sean White, Garrett Olson and David Aardsma, plus some quality defense by everyone on the infield -- even third baseman Jose Lopez. Lopez booted a grounder in the sixth but leaped to snag a line drive and turn a double play in the same inning. Shortstop Jack Wilson also made a leaping catch of a line drive, second baseman Chone Figgins smartly threw out a runner at third and first baseman Casey Kotchman made a diving catch of a grounder in the eighth. “We played a good ballgame overall,” manager Don Wakamatsu said. “But it’s about scoring runs.” ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Ache-and-pain report: Saunders improving but not ready (plus lineups) The Mariners are rolling out the same lineup as last night, and before you cringe again at Casey Kotchman batting third or the four hitters in the lineup batting .240 or lower, this is the crew that beat on Jack Greinke last night. Ryan Langerhans is back in left field because Michael Saunders remains sore after his crash into the wall Thursday night. Manager Don Wakamatsu said he probably would miss a couple more games. Other notes: As we wrote last night, Erik Bedard had bone spurs removed from his left shoulder on Friday. Wakamatsu said the labrum, which was repaired last August, was in good shape. Still, Bedard is finished for this season but he should be at full strength by spring training, Wakamatsu said. Whose spring training? Wakamatsu said that's for the Mariners' front office to determine. A few minutes ago, Bedard told reporters that he wouldn't be opposed to returning. Here are tonight's lineups: ROYALS Grego Blanco, center field Jason Kendall, catcher Billy Butler, DH Kila Ka'aihue, first base Wilson Betemit, third base Alex Gordon, left field Mitch Maier, right field Mike Aviles, shortstop Chris Getz, second base Left-hander Bruce Chen (6-5, 4.74), starting pitcher MARINERS Ichiro Suzuki, right field Chone Figgins, second base Casey Kotchman, first base Russell Branyan, DH Franklin Gutierrez, center field Jose Lopez, third base Adam Moore, catcher Ryan Langerhans, left field Jack Wilson, shortstop Right-hander David Pauley (0-3, 3.47), starting pitcher ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
No beer shower for French, just the game of his career If anybody deserved a beer shower after a victory, it was Mariners left-hander Luke French tonight. He spread nine Royals hits through a career-best eight innings and not only won his first game of the season, 6-1, he beat KC ace Zack Greinke. At this point, we guess, beer showers are the things that slow down the process of getting dressed and going home in a season that, for some Mariners, can't end quickly enough. Even on a good night like this. This was as much of a top-to-bottom, team-effort kind of victory as you're likely to see this year. French did his part, winning his first big-league game since Aug. 26, 2009. The offense certainly did its part, not only beating Greinke for the first time ever (he was 4-0 against the Mariners), but scoring an earned run off him for the first time since April 14, 2008. It came when Ryan Langerhans hit a first-pitch home run over the center field fence in the third inning. That was a preview of the rest of the night against Greinke, for both Langerhans and the Mariners' offense. They attacked Greinke early in the count and managed 10 hits off him. Every Mariner except DH Russell Branyan and catcher Adam Moore got at least one hit, and Moore scored twice. Chone Figgins went 2-for-5 and drove in three runs with a third-inning RBI single and a two-run double in the sixth. His third-inning hit capped an 11-pitch at-bat that featured six foul balls. Langerhans came within a triple of hitting for the cycle, also hitting a single in the fourth inning and a double in the sixth. He flied out to center field in his final at-bat in the eighth. “I was trying to get in there, make something happen and bring some energy,” Langerhans said. “It was a heck of a win because everybody contributed. It was a fun one to be a part of.” And French? Pitching with the rare comfort of a lead -- the Mariners led 4-1 in the fourth and 6-1 in the sixth -- he worked aggressively and especially cruised through his final three innings. He retired 11 of his final 12 hitters. “Throw strikes and attack,” French said. “Just pitch my game and not change.” Earlier this season, when a victory like this would have meant more, he'd have gotten a beer shower. But, like we said, there wasn't a lot of frivolity or loud music in the clubhouse after this one. Lastly, a late-night health update: Manager Don Wakamatsu said Erik Bedard's surgery today was a success, and that he had bone spurs removed from his left shoulder. It's too soon to put a timetable on Bedard's recovery. And reliever Shawn Kelley had a CAT scan on his ailing right elbow, Wakamatsu said, and not an MRI as the team first reported. Wakamatsu didn't know the results tonight, although the team said Kelley would undergo more tests on the elbow Monday. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Health update on Bedard, Kelley, Saunders (plus tonight's lineups) 8:50 P.M. UPDATE: Nothing new yet on Bedard's surgery, other than it happened. On Kelley, he had the MRI today and is scheduled to undergo more tests on Monday. --------------- Michael Saunders says he took harder hits in his hockey days than he did last night when he crashed into the left-field wall chasing David Murphy's home run in the seventh inning. Still, Saunders is sore enough and stiff enough that he won't start for the Mariners tonight against the Royals. Ryan Langerhans will play left field. As for his hardest hockey hit (Saunders is from Victoria, B.C.), he said he doesn't remember it. That's right, it knocked him unconscious. But, being a hockey player, he probably skated off on his own power. The reports are more uncertain with a couple of Mariners pitchers. Erik Bedard had surgery this afternoon in Seattle on his ailing left shoulder and while the early report is that the procedure went well, we won't know details until later today, at the earliest, when the doctors who performed the surgery arrive at the ballpark. Dr. Edward Khalfayan, the Mariners' medical director, and Dr. Lewis Yocum, the L.A. orthopedist who has operated on Bedard in the past, also will check out Mariners reliever Shawn Kelley. Kelley is scheduled to have an MRI on his right elbow after he suffered a setback following his one-inning rehab stint Monday with Class AAA Tacoma. Here are tonight's lineups: ROYALS Gregor Blanco, center field Jason Kendall, catcher Billy Butler, DH Kila Ka'aihue, first base Wilson Betemit, third base Alex Gordon, left field Mike Aviles, shortstop Chris Getz, second base Willie Bloomquist, right field Right-hander Zack Greinke (7-10, 3.97), starting pitcher MARINERS Ichiro Suzuki, right field Chone Figgins, second base Casey Kotchman, first base Russell Branyan, DH Franklin Gutierrez, center field Jose Lopez, third base Adam Moore, catcher Ryan Langerhans, left field Jack Wilson, shortstop Left-hander Luke French (0-2, 6.27), starting pitcher ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Is this the new, improved Sean White or a temporary spurt of effective pitc... Don't look now, but Sean White has come back to the Mariners and pitched three scoreless innings. That includes an impressive one last night when he struck out Michael Young and Josh Hamilton, and seemed to have gotten Julio Borbon to hit a third-out ground ball before third baseman Jose Lopez threw a sinker to first base that allowed Borbon to reach on an error. Speaking of sinkers, White shook off the error and used that pitch to get Nelson Cruz to ground out to Lopez for the third out. Since being recalled from Class AAA Tacoma for the third time this season, White has been a different-looking pitcher. He has pitched three innings, allowed one hit and struck out three. It's the first three-inning stretch fo scoreles relief he has thrown for the Mariners since mid-May. Nice as it is for the Mariners to see that from White, nobody is ready to proclaim that he's back to being the reliable late-inning reliever he was the first two months last year -- White included. This three-inning sample size is too small, and White knows that. “This is an opportunity for me to come back here and really pitch well and show the team who I am,” he said. “I want to be a guy that they go to. I want to be in the role that I feel I was successful in last year.” He flourished in April and May with a 1.75 ERA in those months. In June and July, however, it ballooned to 4.37 and by September his shoulder was hurting so badly from tendinitis that the team shut him down. White refuses to cite the injury as the reason he struggled early this season and spent two stints with Tacoma. “My arm has felt really good all year. That’s a big plus for me,” he said. “I spent a lot of time in the offseason building strength.” More than any physical issue, White said he struggled mentally as he tried to recapture the throwing mechanics that worked so well last year. “There were a lot of mechanical thoughts that I was trying to fix,” he said. “Going down to Tacoma turned out being a good thing. It gave me a chance to back off a little bit and slow myself down and just get back to focusing on the batter opposed to what I’m doing with my delivery and everything. I was thinking about too many things.” Wakamatsu said the difference now is the quality of White's pitches down in the strike zone. “He’s had the velocity all year but it’s been elevated and it hasn’t had the late life,” Wakamatsu said. “He’s played around with his mechanics. The one thing he’s assured us all year, it hasn’t been the result of the injury. At least his lack of success hasn’t been because of the injury. “It’s been the feel, and sometimes you see that with guys that have injuries to end the year. Even though there’s no pain, you change your mechanics to protect that, and I think that’s a little of what you saw earlier. Now it looks like he found some mechanics down in Triple-A, he’s been able to relax a little more.” White’s challenge is to keep pitching this way. “It’s something that might take some time, but I feel like I’ve made a lot of progress in the last couple of weeks,” he said. “It’s just (a matter of) getting myself comfortable back on the mound again. I want to get back to where I know I can pitch.” ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Lacking offense wastes another quality outing by Hernandez I'm not much into pity-parties when it comes to million-dollar athletes. But in Felix Hernandez's case, we'll make an exception. The Mariners' star right-hander tossed up another scoreboard full of zeroes through six innings, but when the hitters again showed how not to score, it became his ninth loss this season. The Rangers beat the Mariners 6-0, scoring three runs in the seventh inning and three in the eighth. While Hernandez dominated through six innings, retiring 14 straight in one stretch, the Mariners had Rangers starter Tommy Hunter pitching with runners on base in all 6 1/3 innings he worked. But, when the middle of the order flailed and failed, the Mariners went 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position. Meanwhile, Hernandez couldn't hold off the Rangers any longer, and in the seventh David Murphy hit a game-changing home run for the second straight night. His opposite-field drive to left for a two-run homer broke the scoreless tie and became the spark that allowed the Rangers to add on. Hernandez , 7-9, has lost four of his past five starts and is winless since July 10. The Mariners have scored seven runs in the time Hernandez has been on the mound in those nine losses. “It’s baseball. It happens,” he said. “What do you want me to answer? It’s just hard.” Manager Don Wakamatsu was more matter-of-fact. “We’ve got to score runs to have a ballgame,” Wakamatsu said. “We had plenty of opportunities early in the ballgame. The top of the order has done the job for the third straight day, but we have to be able to drive guys in. “It’s been 18 innings since we’ve scored for Felix. It’s got to wear on a young guy like him. He had tremendous stuff and I thought he had his best velocity of the year -- he hit 97 (mph). But he made the one pitch up to Murphy." That homer hurt more than Hernandez's won-loss record. Left fielder Michael Saunders nearly impaled himself into the left-field wall, and he was replaced by Ryan Langerhans when the Mariners took the field in the eighth. Wakamatsu said Saunders jarred his right shoulder and neck, and his status for Friday night's game against the Royals won't be known until he's checked out when he arrives at the ballpark. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Notes: Rowland-Smith to pitch Saturday for Class AAA Tacoma It's a busy time for various members of the Mariners' pitching staff. Reliever Shawn Kelley will have his right elbow examined later today after soreness never subsided following his one inning of rehab work Monday for the Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers. Left-hander Erik Bedard got well-wishes from teammates this afternoon before he undergoes a third round of surgery Friday on his troubling left shoulder. And left-hander Ryan Rowland-Smith was packing his travel back for a trip tomorrow to Iowa, where he'll make a rehab start Saturday for the Rainiers. He has been on the disabled list since July 28 because of a lower back strain. Manager Don Wakamatsu said he's concerned about Kelley because the elbow pain flared up after only one inning in his first rehab outing since going on the DL June 16. In the back of everyone's mind is the fact that Kelley had Tommy John surgery on that elbow in 2003 when he pitched for Austin Peay University. "We've got to be real cautious," Wakamatsu said. Kelley was supposed to pitch the first two innings tonight for the Everett AquaSox but was scratched from that after the pain never went away following his outing in Tacoma. "It was a little more than I thought it was," he said. "It was not getting better." And on the catching front, Josh Bard continues to battle a stiff neck and is available tonight only in an emergency. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Tonight's lineup: Lopez back at third base Last night's game, particularly some questionable fielding in the seventh inning that turned a close game into an 11-6 Rangers rout, made me think about former Mariners manager Mike Hargrove and the 27-out drill he ran at spring training. The gist of the drill is this: Fielders take their positions and a coach hits fly balls, ground balls, popups, dribblers, bunts -- whatever -- and the players must make the play. Do it 27 straight times without flaw and the drill is over. Do it 26 straight times and mess up on the 27th, and the count reverts to zero. Oh, how we got accustomed to Hargrove shouting, "Zero!!!" Makes me wonder if this year's team would ever get to 27. And that brings us to tonight's lineup, which has Jose Lopez back at third base despite more adventures in the field last night, especially in the seventh when a popup hit the third-base dugout railing and an easy-out grounder turned into an infield hit when he double-clutched before the throw. Here are tonight's lineups: RANGERS Elvis Andrus, shortstop Michael Young, third base Josh Hamilton, center field Vladimir Guerrero, DH Nelson Cruz, right field David Murphy, left field Bengie Molina, catcher Mitch Moreland, first base Andres Blanco, second base Right-hander Tommy Hunter, starting pitcher MARINERS Ichiro Suzuki, right field Chone Figgins, second base Casey Kotchman, first base Russell Branyan, DH Franklin Gutierrez, center field Jose Lopez, third base Adam Moore, catcher Michael Saunders, left field Jack Wilson, shortstop Right-hander Felix Hernandez, starting pitcher ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Ian Snell's tough season now includes a trip to the DL A season that started with a clear mind and high hopes with the Mariners has taken another tough twist for right-handed pitcher Ian Snell. Snell was placed on the disabled list this morning, one day after he suffered through a second straight rough outing with the Class AAA Tacoma. The Mariners say Snell came out of the game Wednesday night at Iowa complaining of tenderness in his right elbow. He is to e re-examined today. Snell gave up six hits and seven earned runs in 3 2/3 innings in the Rainiers' 9-3 loss Wednesday night. On July 30, he allowed 12 hits and nine earned runs in 5 2/3 innings at Fresno. In nine starts this season with Tacoma, he's 3-4 with a 6.66 ERA. Snell started the season in the Mariners' rotation, eager to continue his strong finish to the 2009 season after he'd come to Seattle in a July 29 trade with the Pirates. He went 5-1, 3.00 in his final nine starts. Instead, Snell started 2010 with an 0-5 record and 6.41 ERA in 12 games, eight of them starts. The Mariners outrighted him to Tacoma on June 20. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment
Quality baseball early, then Mariners crumble late I'm not sure what the expression "hell in handbasket" really means, although I think I saw it before my eyes in the middle and late innings of the Mariners' 11-6 loss tonight to the Texas Rangers. The Mariners led 5-2 and starting pitcher Doug Fister had made his way nicely through the minefield that is the Texas Rangers offense after four innings. Then the fifth happened. And so did some sloppy baseball that cost the Mariners their 68th loss this season. Fister tried to tie up David Murphy with a two-strike fastball but left it over the plate, and the left-handed-hitting Murphy crushed it well over the right-field fence for a three-run homer in the fifth. Fister gave up two more hits before he was pulled, and Mitch Moreland grounded an RBI single off left-hander Chris Seddon before he got out of the inning. In the eighth, the Mariners showed what happens when you give the Rangers two extra outs to play with. They loaded the bases on reliever Garrett Olson even though he'd gotten Moreland to hit a pop foul and Elvis Andrus to hit a soft grounder, each of which could have -- and should have -- been the third out. Instead, Moreland's popup bounced off the padded railing in front of the Rangers dugout when catcher Adam Moore got a late break because he didn't see it and third baseman Jose Lopez couldn't reach it after a long run. The closest person to the ball was Rangers manager Ron Washington, and he was bolting down the steps to get out of the way of a Mariners defender who never arrived. Morland used his extra life to hit a single and extend the inning. Andrus, the next hitter, hit a grounder that Lopez scooped up a few steps into the infield grass. However, he double-clutched to get a better grip on the baseball and the speedy Andrus beat his throw to first for a hit. One pitch later, Michael Young hit a grand slam. Those are some of the reasons a team loses 68 of 108 games, even though the Mariners' offense actually had a decent night against a starting pitcher who has haunted them this season. C.J. Wilson battled his control and the Mariners made him pay with two runs in the first inning and two in the third on Moore's two-run homer. That blast broke a 2-2 tie, and the Mariners not only added on with a run in the fourth on Franklin Gutierrez's RBI double, they took away two in the top of the fifth when Gutierrez made a leaping catch against the center-field wall to rob Vlad Guerrero of a two-run homer. “It was two different ballgames for us,” manager Don Wakamatsu said. “Early, we did a lot of things right. The three-run homer run and the grand slam are two pitches that cost you the game. It comes down to being able to get those guys out.” True, although Young wouldn't have batted in the seventh had the Mariners made plays on routine balls. Even off the field it was a tough night. As we wrote in an earlier post tonight, all isn't well with reliever Shawn Kelley and he has been scratched from his scheduled rehab outing Thursday night for the Everett AquaSox. He was supposed to pitch two innings, but he experienced soreness in his right elbow at some point after he'd pitched an inning Monday night for the Tacoma Rainiers in his first rehab outing. We'll know more Thursday about Kelley, who has been on the disabled list since June 16 because of inflammation in his right elbow. "Just some tenderness," Wakamatsu said. "He's going to get it checked out tomorrow." While it would be jumping to conclusions to get overly concerned about Kelley now, especially considering it would be foolish to rush him back in a season like this, it's also important to keep in mind that he has exprienced elbow problems in the past. In 2003, while pitching for Austin Peay, he underwent "Tommy John" ligament surgery. In 2007, after being drafted by the Mariners in the 13th round and climbing from the AquaSox to Class A Wisconsin, he went on the DL in late June and missed the rest of the season because of an elbow strain. Since then, he hadn't experienced any disabling arm injuries until the problem in mid-June this year. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment M's reliever Kelley scratched from scheduled start with AquaSox This interesting nugget from Scott Johnson, our reporter covering the AquaSox tonight at Everett Memorial Stadium: Mariners reliever Shawn Kelley has been scratched from his scheduled rehab outing Thursday for the AquaSox because of soreness in his right arm. Kelley has been on the disabled list since June 16 because of inflammation in his right elbow. Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said at mid-afternoon today that Kelley was still scheduled to pitch Thursday in Everett. However, the report from the AquaSox tonight is that Kelley was scratched because he is experiencing soreness in the arm. Kelley pitched Monday for the Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers and said Tuesday that he felt fine. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Mariners trade: Phillies get Mike Sweeney's bat (along with his back) UPDATE: Phillies manager Charlie Manuel says Sweeney will be the regular first baseman until Ryan Howard returns from his sprained ankle later this month. Editorial comment in the form of a question here: Can Sweeney stay healthy playing in the field that much? ---------------- The Mariners just announced they have traded DH Mike Sweeney to the Phillies in exchange for cash or a player to be named later. The Phillies had claimed Sweeney off waivers, and the deal was struck. Sweeney had been on the disabled list since June 26 because of back spasms and, in 12 rehab games with Class AAA Tacoma, batted .366 with two homers and nine RBI. Interesting move by the Phillies, who entered today two games behind the Braves in the NL East and have their needs as they try to return to the postseason. First baseman Ryan Howard is on the disabled list with a sprained ankle. Sweeney definitely brings a right-handed bat that could play well in the smallish confines of the Phillies' ballpark, but he also has the balky back that has landed him on the disabled list twice this season. It seemed like every time he hit the ground, either sliding into a bag or diving for a ball in the field, he was prone to come up hurting. No word yet from Philadelphia on how Sweeney will be used, although you'd think it would be more as a bench bat with minimal time in the field. There's another Mariners connection with the Phillies' first-base situation. After Howard was hurt, they called up minor league first baseman John Mayberry Jr., who the Mariners drafted in the first round in 2002. Mayberry chose to play at Stanford instead. Sweeney's penchant for back problems is why it seemed a team in the AL, with the DH, would be a better fit. Also, Sweeney had said before this season that he would retire if he didn't play for a team on the West Coast, near his San Diego home. With two months left in the season -- and, now, a division-race season for Sweeney -- it looks like he'll be able to make do. Here's the news release from the Mariners announcing the trade: Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jack Zduriencik announced today that Mike Sweeney has been acquired by the Philadelphia Phillies in a waiver claim trade for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Prior to the transaction, Sweeney was returned from his rehab assignment at AAA Tacoma and activated from the 15-day disabled list (not to report). Sweeney has been on the disabled list since June 27 (retro to 6/26) with back spasms. “Mike is true pro and was a contributor to our organization in many ways, both on and off the field,” said Zduriencik. “This is a great opportunity for Mike and we are pulling for him to succeed in Philadelphia.” Sweeney, 36, played in 30 games with the Mariners this season and hit .263 (26-for-99) with 3 doubles, 6 home runs and 18 RBI. In 16 games in May, he hit .310 (18-for-58) with 2 doubles and all 6 homers. He was also on the 15-day DL June 3-17 with lower back inflammation. In 12 rehab games at AAA Tacoma, Sweeney hit .366 (15x41) with 3 doubles, 2 home runs and 9 RBI. In two seasons with the Mariners, Sweeney combined to bat .276 (94x341) with 14 home runs and 52 RBI. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Lopez returns to the lineup GAMETIME UPDATE: The Mariners have flipped Saunders and Moore in the batting order, with Moore batting seventh and Saunders eighth. ----------------- On the Mariners' first day in two years without at least the aura of Mike Sweeney (see previous post on today's trade to the Phillies), the Mariners will have another "presence" back in the lineup -- Jose Lopez. Lopez, out since July 27 with a tight left hamstring, will start at third base and bat sixth. A few other notes before we talk with manager Don Wakamatsu in about 20 minutes: Here is the Mariners' lineup tonight against the Rangers: Ichiro Suzuki, right field Chone Figgins, second base Casey Kotchman, first base Franklin Gutierrez, center field Russell Branyan, DH Jose Lopez, third base Michael Saunders, left field Adam Moore, catcher Jack Wilson, shortstop ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment Lowe finally meets his new teammates with Rangers Mark Lowe has officially been a Texas Ranger since June 9, when the Mariners traded him and Cliff Lee. He didn't meet his new teammates, however, until Tuesday when the Rangers began a three-game series against the Mariners at Safeco Field. Lowe had back surgery June 15 and the Rangers allowed him to remain in Seattle and continue working with the doctors and therapists who've been with him since the operation. As nice as that is, it's been weird, Lowe said, staying in Seattle while being the property of another team. "I would do my work every day, go home and watch (the Mariners) on TV every night," he said. "It kind of feels like I got released and I’d been looking for a job the last month. But the Rangers have been very understanding about everything and made me feel really comfortable on what’s gong to be best for me and what’s going to make me heal the quickest.” He is working out with the Rangers at Safeco Field during this series and will accompany them on their weekend series at Oakland, then to Arlington, Texas, for their homestand next week against the Yankees and Red Sox. After that, Lowe will go to his offseason home in Peoria, Ariz., and continue his workout program, then report back to Texas when he’s ready to begin throwing bullpens. He played catch Tuesday for the first time since the surgery and said he felt “completely normal.” Well, not completely. “It felt kind of like when you take time off in the offseason and come back on your first day to throw,” he said. “You’re looking forward to it but nothing feels perfect. There’s a long way to go mechanically. You’re not going to be perfect when you haven’t thrown in two months. But it’s as good as I can ask for. No pain and I feel great.” He's on the 60-day disabled list but still clings to the hope that he'll be pitching by the end of the regular seson and, with this first-place Texas team, in the playoffs. "In the back of my mind, I would love for that to happen," he said. "But No. 1, I have to listen to my body. If I’m able to do it, I’ll do it. If not, I’ll be ready to go next year." There's no doubt Lowe misses the Mariners, especially the group of relief pitchers who considered him their leader. But, the trade gained him more than 20 games in the standings and an opportunity to pitch for a team in his home state. Lowe grew up near Houston and not only played college baseball at Texas-Arlington, he parked cars at the Rangers' ballpark. "I'm now pitching for my country," he said with a laugh, proving that even though he'll always love the Northwest, he's still pure Texan. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment |
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| View all Top Cars |
|
|
| CONTACT THE HERALD |
Newsroom
newstips@heraldnet.com |
- A Dick's Drive-In for south Snohomish County?
- Suspect arrested in Everett manhunt after shots fired at officer
- Reardon makes pitch for Dick's Drive-In
- Man claims self-defense in killing
- A stroke of kindness for Everett woman
- Bus driver avoids I-5 tragedy in harrowing south Everett collision
- Boeing won't buy supplier
- Edmonds teen missing since Thursday
- More public housing smoking bans possible
- Charges for alleged robbery at Alderwood mall
- A Dick's Drive-In for south Snohomish County?
(54) - More public housing smoking bans possible (52)
- Mukilteo's red-light camera fight on radar of others (26)
- Man accused of shooting at police had allegedly bought drugs (20)
- Report on Granite Falls police chief fills 5 binders (13)
- Income-tax initiative's math adds up (11)
- Suspect arrested in Everett after chase that shut down I-5 (9)
- Judge rules against Trafton supporters (9)
- ACLU opposes student cell phone search (9)
- Crash leaves car embedded in Everett Transit bus (9)
- Prep football: Picks of the week
- Sixth Annual Puget Sound Bird Fest
- PTSD: The battle after the war
- Jackson relying on new faces
- Edmonds Center for the Arts announces new season
- Stevens Hospital District taxes to stay
- Mountlake Terrace seeks more success seeking more success
- Hootenanny hosts singer/songwriters
- Cascade Bank employees plan 3 Day of Caring events
- Northwest Software Technologies celebrates 25 years in business
- Marysville Tulalip chamber names new board members
- Smokey Point Walmart hiring center takes applicants
- Red Rooster Route farms celebrate Corn Festival
- 787 delayed again, until February
- Beleaguered small businesses hold the key to recovery
|
|
|Contact Us
|Advertiser Services
|Home Delivery
|Newsstand Locations
|Classifieds
|Feedback
|About the Company
|Work@the Herald
|Site Map |
|
