All This Drama in The ALCS…

Its kind of hard being the Yank-dee oh double E’s. At least thats what ive gathered from these past 4 games.

I feel like my usual social networking criticism hasn’t been to constructive in the past week. Anyone can bash the yankees just for the sheer thrill of a “FUCK YEAH MAN YANKEES CAN SUCK THE FATTEST PART OF MY DI-…!” from your fellow low-brow peers. Its the best way to get your opinion heard without the merciless beating from an ACTUAL New Yorker. Feels good, man. So we have already established that I am by no means a yankees fan, but being a baseball fan I feel like they deserve an unbiased opinion that doesnt include the words “fuck” “suck” or “money” included in it…from this point on at least.

Im going to keep this simple. That means no stat vomit or sabermetrics. This is straight amateur (and boy do I mean amateur) sports writing, son.

All this comes down to the fact that the Rangers want this more. Plain and simple.  The way ive seen that offense perform against these post-season veteran Yankees is astounding. The yankees have enormous talent at almost each one of their positions with the exception of first base (sorry Texiera), but the way I see it is that no matter how genius their summer was, the marquee talent is past their prime.  They simply CANNOT stop this Ranger offense, especially with the way Burnett, Sabathia and the relief has been throwing(also, questionable Girardi calls. But thats a completely undesirable topic for me to discuss). C.C. has a chance to put them back in the race tonight but I dont see it happening against Lee and Ranger bats. Gruesome combo.

Bottom line: The yankees are out of this as far as im concerned. I said rangers in 6, Rangers in 5. It ends tonight for the Yankees.

This is about as constructive as I want to get for now, I just couldn’t fit all of this into a status update.

(Who really wanted to see a rematch world series anyways?)

Mark’s Top 10 Mariner Silver Linings

The Mariners lost again…this time 8-3 to the Tampa Rays…with Cliff Lee pitching…with more errors…with Griffey still in the 5th spot.

While many have the Mariners in the toilet, I don’t think now is the time to think the Mariners are done. Here are my Top 10 Mariner Silver Linings:

10- Our Bullpen has looked strong. If you take out tonight’s miserable performance by Sean White. Our bullpen is pitching above average compared to the years past and the majority of the league. Aardsma has blown a save or two but that happens to all closers, for every 5 or 6 Aardsma saves, he will lose one. Our bullpen is starting to look like a unit we can rely on in the last few innings.

9- Franklin Gutierrez is off to his best start ever. He had a few off nights in the last series but he is still the hottest bat on the team. He is not only starting to get his batting average up towards .350 he is also leading the team in slugging (.505) and OPS (.901). Having him in that 4th spot in tonight’s game was the only reason we even got the runs we did. He hit a 2 run homerun and was able to score the 3rd run.

8- Rob Johnson is second behind Figgins in walks. Johnson, last year was trying not to have the most strikeouts on the team, he struggled with one of the lowest OBP (on-base percentage), and struggling to do anything at the plate. I know he is not doing great behind the plate, with the pass balls, but drawing 11 walks when you are only playing 3 of every 5 games is pretty good! We need more guys on our team to just draw walks- best way to get on base.

7- Every game we have played, has been competitive. We aren’t getting blown out. The score of tonight’s game might suggest otherwise but if you watched it, it didn’t look like the Mariners were dominated. We lost 3 games in Chicago thanks to walk-offs. We lost 2 games to the Rangers in extra innings and one came down to a botched squeeze bunt. We are in every ball game, we just need to find a way to start coming out on top.

6- The Angels have lost 6 in a row. The Rangers have lost 2 in a row and we are still only 3 games out of first to Oakland who is 15-14. This division seems to be helping us sort out our issues so we can still compete in it. That’s nice of them.

5- Milton Bradley is wanting help. He has had some issues in Seattle but we all knew he would when Dr. Z brought him in. Yet, he loves manager Don Wakamatsu and Jack Zduriencik. He actually wants to play for this club and he wants to work on his issues so he can help this club. We haven’t seen that side of Milton before! And its probably because he finally found coaches and teammates, that actually care about him and not just his production.

Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

4- Doug Fister.

3- Jack Zduriencik seems to have a plan that involves eventually adding an extra bat. Here is a quote from ESPN.com, “Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said Monday he’s been making a ‘tremendous’ amount of phone calls in search of another hitter, but other teams are not offering because the trade market had yet to open.
‘I expect something to happen. I don’t know when. It might not happen now. It might not happen for a month from now,’ Zduriencik said.” In Jackie Z we trust.

2- Cliff Lee.

1- What was our biggest problem last year? You may remember the hitting not being good similar to our problem this year. However, that wasn’t the main thing because we were somehow winning games with that hitting. What the biggest problem was last year was a lack of starting pitching that could eat innings.

We finally have a whole rotation of pitchers that have been making it into the 6th and 7th with no big ordeal. Last year was a nightmare, I used to pray that a pitcher besides Felix would pitch past inning 4 so the bullpen could rest. This year we have a rotation of Felix, Lee, Fister, Rowland-Smith, and Vargas. Eventually Bedard will be thrown in there somewhere. Up until this point—all quality inning eaters.

Advent Horizon: Cliff Lee

Lee winding up at Cheny Stadium

We’ve all heard the rumors; Cliff Lee is a cyborg sent to seattle to win a world series, Cliff Lee can put his pants on both legs at the same time, Cliff Lee doesn’t release the ball when he pitches, he simply rotates the earth around him until the ball reaches the mitt etc.  So will he live up to this hype? Will Lee really be the savior of this recently swept away bullpen?  Who knows. I’ll let the ever judgemental fans of seattle settle this question.

Over the weekend, Lee garnered in almost 8000 fans at Cheny stadium, the largest crowd in undoubtedly a very long time. While he was there, Clifton Phifer Lee threw 6 innings with 3 hits and 4 k leaving with a 0.00 era. Before leaving in the 6th, Lee was at 68 pitches with 48 strikes and no walks topping out at 92 mph. Who’s getting excited for the 30th?

"Yawn"

Thats right, if for some reason you were living under a rock for the past 2 weeks, April 30th is the day Lee will take the mound for the mariners pitching against Texas righty Colby Lewis at Safeco field.
What does this mean for the struggling seattle bullpen? Savior or not, help is on the way. Ian Snell will most likely be hitting the pine to make room for Lee, giving us a pair of aces to go along with these recently triumphant bats.  I’m seeing Lee healthy and getting us out of some tight jams in the near to immediate future. Coming off this 3 game losing streak, heading into a shaky Kansas City with Felix(2-0, 2.96) taking the ball in game 1, keeping the bats alive until we head home for a hot Texas team where Lee and Felix both take the mound to start, bookending the series. I see the Mariners going 4-2 in the next 6, bringing us back up to speed. Believe big Seattle

World Series? Let’s Take a Deep Breath Mariner Fans

There has been a lot of hype about the Mariners and the “win-now” approach. That the mariners are all-in, with the windows painted “world series or bust!” The believe that Jacky Z has orchestrated together a team that is dedicated to bringing back the World Series pennant in 2010.

King Felix is a big piece to the World Series Pie called Hopes

I don’t think that is necessarily the case, I think the division is up for the taking and the mariners look to be legitimate contenders to win it this year. And if that is to happen, Jacky Z is hoping that will keep around someone like Cliff Lee and they can sign him to a multi-year deal. If the mariners aren’t in it come July 31st, expect Lee to be dealt and the Mariners to bring in some prospects. However, King Felix doesn’t think that will happen, “When Cliff sees our team play defense, he’s not going to want to ever leave. I think this is our year to win it all.” (reported by Jeff Bradley from ESPN the Mag)

Felix also has the “all-in” fever! But before us mariners fans or even Felix gets too worked up over the world series, let’s break down the road to get there and why I think this may be a 2 to 3 year approach.

Scott Feldman won 17 games in 2009. Can he do it again?

First, and foremost we have to win our division. This is not as easy as it sounds, this division is full of pitchers and not just on our team. We have to face; Jared Weaver, Scott Kazmir, Joe Saunders, Joel Pinero, and Erivin Santana! That is just the ANGELS! The Athletics added Ben Sheets to an already above par rotation. The Rangers grabbed Rich Harden and added him to Scott Feldman and Colby Lewis.

We also have to worry about hitters, the angels have Torii Hunter and Hideki Matsui. The Rangers have Vladimir Guerrero, Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, Ian Kinsler, and Nelson Cruz. Lastly, the Athletics have Jack Cust, Coco Crisp, and Kurt Suzuki. And I left out a bunch on each team. But suffice to say that each team has some deadly weapons with a bat and some deadly weapons with their arms.

Our division won’t be a walk in the park, granted we still have the best “1-2 punch” in the division, if not in all of baseball but we aren’t going to run over any other team in the AL West.

Let’s continue on, saying, we do win the division and go to the playoffs. I would be SHOCKED if 2 of the other 3 teams in the AL aren’t the Yankees and the Red Sox. One will likely win the AL East while the other wins the wildcard. That means we most likely are going to play either the Yankees or the Red Sox in the first round of the playoffs! If we get by one of them we will most likely be playing the other.

Therefore the road to the world series is not just lined with the Angels, Rangers, and Athletics, we are going to have to get through the Yankees and the Red Sox.

Now I am an eternal optimist but I have also learned to not get my hopes WAY UP so they come crashing down. Let’s dash our optimism with a little realism so we don’t all come crying back to Seattle if the curse of Seattle Sports once again grabs us in the playoffs.

The season is less than week away at this point and this year is made out to be an exciting one. Could we win the World Series? HECK YEAH WE COULD! Will we? It is going to be a battle and just because we now have Chone Figgins and Cliff Lee doesn’t me the world series is ours to lose!

One more thing – GO MARINERS!

Who’s Best in the West?

The American League West Division has been an arms race all offseason. It has seen Ben Sheets go to Oakland, Rich Harden go to Los Angeles, Cliff Lee come to Seattle, and a few returns to the AL West by Joel Pineiro (Angels), Colby Lewis (Rangers) and now reportedly Erik Bedard (Seattle). On paper, the AL West looks like it could very easily be the best pitching division in baseball.

New Angels pitchers Joel Pineiro played for the Mariners from 2000-2006

Let’s start with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. They may have lost John Lackey, but their rotation is still very strong. Their five are Jared Weaver (16-8, 3.75 ERA, 211 innings, 174 Ks), Scott Kazmir(10-9, 4.89 ERA, 147+ innings, 117 Ks), Joe Saunders (16-7 4.60 ERA, 186 innings, 101 Ks), Joel Pineiro (15-12, 3.49 ERA, 214 innings, 105 Ks), and Erivin Santana (8-8, 5.03 ERA, 139+ innings, 107 Ks). When all healthy, this will be a frightening starting 5. Santana had a shortened season due to injuries and Kazmir has had previous run-ins with the injury bug as well, but Santana is just one year removed from a 16-win season 200+ inning season and Kazmir owns almost all of the Tampa Bay Rays pitching records.

Much of the A's pitching outcome will depend of if Justin Duchscherer can make a return from last season's surgery

The Oakland Athletics added big right-hander Ben Sheets to their rotation. He missed all of 2009, but hasnt had an ERA over 4.00 since the 2003 season. The rest of their rotation looks to be the following: Brett Anderson (11-11, 4.06 ERA, 175+ innings, 150 Ks), Dallas Braden (8-9, 3.89 ERA, 136+ innings, 81 Ks), Trevor Cahill (10-13, 4.63 ERA, 178+ innings, 90 Ks), and Justin Duchsherer (also missed all of 2009, but had a 2.54 ERA in 22 starts in 08). I’d be shocked if Gio Gonzalez didnt get some time starting as well. Having two pitchers who havent pitched in a full year will allow Gonzalez to rack up the fill in starts. Gonzalez had 109 Ks in 98+ innings but has a high ERA (5.75), so he will most likely not get featured action in the starting rotation. The A’s have a handful of young and talented pitchers who are in need of a veteran influence to guide them and between Duchsherer and Sheets both staying healthy, that could be their guiding light to victory.

Scott Feldman won 17 games in 2009. Can he do it again in 2010?

The Texas Rangers were able to snag a pitcher in Rich Harden that was targeted by many teams, the Mariners included. Yes, this is the same Rich Harden that played for Oakland and consistently tore up Mariners hitters. Harden is a highly effective pitcher but has a dreadful history with injuries, and hasn’t hit the 30-start mark since 2004. Besides Harden the Rangers have Scott Feldman (17-8, 4.08 ERA, 189+ innings, 113 Ks), Colby Lewis (11-9, 2.96 ERA, 176+ innings, 186 Ks in Japan), Derek Holland (8-13, 6.12 ERA, 138+ innings, 107 Ks), and Tommy Hunter (9-6, 4.10 ERA, 112 innings, 64 Ks). Lewis was not impressive in the least bit before playing in Japan for the past two seasons. In Japan, Lewis took back-to-back strikeout titles and is hoping to bring that confidence back tot he states to pitch well in America and the MLB. The Rangers lost Kevin Millwood to the Baltimore Orioles and now more pressure lies on Feldman to repeat his 17-win season success from last season.

The M's are counting on a repeat of King Felix's Cy Young runner-up season from 2009.

The Seattle Mariners made two power deals for their rotation. They traded for Cliff Lee and signed Felix Hernandez to a five-year deal. Hernandez (19-5, 2.49 ERA, 238+ innings, 217 Ks) and Lee (14-13, 3.22 ERA, 231+ innings, 181 Ks) will lead the rotation and be the strongest 1-2 punch in baseball. Behind them are Ryan Rowland-Smith (5-4, 3.74 ERA, 96+ innings, 52 Ks), Ian Snell (7-10, 4.84 ERA, 145 innings, 89 Ks), and starting May or June possibly Erik Bedard (11-7, 3.24 ERA, 164 innings, 162 Ks COMBINED in first two seasons with Seattle), but in the meantime it will be a mixture of our young arms. Most Likely the combination of Jason Vargas, Garret Olsen, and Doug Fister. Those final three being the M’s predominant young starters who have a shot at the mound in 2010. You cannot get more set than Hernandez and Lee to start off the rotation. But beyond those two the questions begin to arise. Rowland-Smith will be entering his first year as a set starter, Snell pitched well in Seattle when coming over from Pittsburgh, but will he continue that new pitching groove or will his old Pittsburgh pitching find its way to Seattle? Bedard, oh Bedard… If he can come back in May or June and stay back, he will pitch great. The reported contract has some say up to an additional 4 or 5 million extra in performance incentives and if Bedard can figure out that good pitching now equals more money next year, he will be back to his pitching ability from Baltimore when people were mentioning his name in the Cy Young race.

The American League West is going to be an exciting division, and I might say the most exciting. Don’t count out the little 4-team division early, there are a lot of talent pitchers packed in and most are just waiting for their time to shine. I anticipate a 1-game playoff in October being the deciding factor on who gets to the playoff spot.

Sheets signs with Oakland

The now Oakland Athletics pitcher, Ben Sheets

Another pitcher that Seattle was reportedly interested in has signed with a team and once again it’s with a non-Seattle team. Even worse is that its an AL West team. It was announced late this morning/early afternoon that RHP Ben Sheets, formerly of the Milwaukee Brewers, has signed a one-year deal with the Oakland Athletics for reportedly $10 million plus performance bonuses.

This is almost deja vu for Mariners fans as a little over a month ago, Rich Harden signed with the Texas Rangers to a one-year deal with a mutual option for a second year. Harden, like Sheets, was sought after by the M’s but ultimately lost to an in-division rival. Late last week it was made offical that former Mariners pitcher Joel Pineiro had signed a 2-year $16 million deal. Odds are that Jackie Z had at least looked into a reunion with Pineiro, who began his career in Seattle.

Now I am in no way doubting Z’s plan, but with these pitchers going off the board, it is leaving little options for a suitable free agent pitcher. We’ve added Cliff Lee, but I have stated a few times now that we should probably add one more. I would feel more comfortable with having one more veteran arm in our rotation, rather than dump the load on a share of youngsters.

Possible starting pitching rotations for 2010

The top of our rotation is solid. But after that it gets a little more interesting. Some are still saying Ryan Rowland-Smith needs to prove what he can do, but I think that his streak of 4 starts with at least 7 innings (going 8 all but once) speaks for itself. He had a 3.74 ERA in 96 innings and its time he gets his reward of more starts. Ian Snell pitched much better after he came over from the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was 2-8 in Pittsburgh and 5-2 in Seattle. He will be help solidify our bottom end of the rotation.

But that leaves one more spot that right now looks like will be shared among our many young arms. Here’s a better idea, have 5 starters, and use the young arms as fill-ins. Either give them some bullpen duty or let them start in AAA. If we were to keep our 3, 4, and 5 starters to 20-25 starts that would leave considerable space for the young guys to get their chances at occasional starts and getting to show their stuff.

I would feel way better about our rotation in that circumstance than I would with a relatively untested young arm going out and tossing 20 some odd starts and racking up a big loss column on his record.

R.L. Judd

Felix Hernandez and Seattle Mariners Crown Felix with Multi-Year Deal

2002, Seattle Mariners scout Bob Engle signs him. 2004, he makes his MLB debut. 2010, he follows a season fit for a king by crowning himself with a new multi-year contract. Yes, Mariner fans, Felix Hernandez has just been extended by the Seattle Mariners!

In 2009 he posted a 2.49 ERA with a 3.09 FIP and a fifth best 5.9 WAR value while still being only 23 years old. As far as any comparisons for players to be in his situation, the list begins and ends with Felix.

This deal has been rumored to be getting close, but now it is here. After talking with Ryan Divish of the News Tribune, he believes the deal is for five years with an option for a sixth. But as he later noted, “who knows, it could be two and must be a cruel joke on everyone”. How’d you like to wake up tomorrow morning and see that in the news? Yeah, me too…

So far this offseason, Mariners General Manager, Jack Zduriencik, has signed speedster Chone Figgins, traded for Cliff Lee and then a little later on traded for Milton Bradley and Brandon League in seperate deals. Then when people thought he was done, he acquires Casey Kotchman from the Red Sox.

The 2010 team looks set to contend.

Last years 85 win team is now in search for their first playoff birth since the magical 2001 season. They may be bound to get it. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have lost Figgins, ace John Lackey, 2004 MVP Vladimir Guerrero and have only one notable player to show for it, an aging Designated Hitter in Hideki Matsui.

The Rangers lost Kevin Millwood but at least they got reliever Chris Ray in the deal that opened up Texas’ wallets to a signing in Rich Harden. Adding to the Angels’ wounds was the Rangers showing off their newest player, who just happened to be the aforementioned Guerrero.

Apart from the Jake Fox and Kevin Kouzmanoff trades, the Oakland Athletics haven’t made or broke the headlines this offseason but watch for them to be a sleeper in the Russell Branyan sleepstakes (Yes, that was an ill attempt at humor).

As far as right now, January 18, 2010, the Seattle Mariners can be considered the favorites to win the American League West division crown in 2010.

Felix Hernandez, the one good thing that came from the Bill Bavasi era.