Mariners make bold move; Trade Pineda to Yankees for Montero

By Kshell

The Seattle Mariners finally made a move to help their weak offense and it was a big move indeed. No the Mariners didn't sign Prince Fielder instead Jack Zduriencik traded all-star pitcher Michael Pineda and the organizations #5 prospect pitcher Jose Campos to the New York Yankees for the #3 prospect in all of baseball catcher/DH Jesus Montero and their organizations #7 prospect pitcher Hector Noesi.  This was the type of risky move that several people including myself begged Zduriencik to pull off. Well Jack Z did just that trading an organizational strength(pitching) for a weakness(hitting). The Mariners traded away a 23 year old pitcher who has already made the all-star team for a guy with limited at bats in the major leagues plus gave up one of their top pitching prospects in return. Still this is the type of bold move that championship teams make and Jack Z has just shoved his chips into the center of the poker table for the first time in his career.

The Mariners acquired Jesus Montero and  Hector Noesi from the Yankees. What the Mariners have in Montero is a 22 year old catcher who will most likely be a DH. In 2010 he was regarded as the fourth best prospect in baseball and in 2011 he was rated as the third best. Montero this year in a September call up with the Yankees in 69 plate appearances hit .328/.408/.590 while hitting four home runs and driving in 12 runs as he also scored nine runs. In the minor leagues in 2,038 plate appearances Montero hit .308/.366/.501 with 76 home runs, 318 RBI's, and 262 runs scored. He also had 118 doubles. The guy can flat out mash the ball and brings a much needed power right handed bat to the Mariners. He isn't just a power hitter as you can see he is a good hitter who is compared to Miguel Caberra. The Mariners also acquired the 25 year old pitcher Hector Noesi who last year with the New York Yankees in 30 games including two starts went 2-2 with a 4.47 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 45 strikeouts in 56.1 innings. In his minor league career Noesi has appeared in 84 games with 64 starts went 25-15 with a 3.17 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 365 strikeouts in 377.2 innings. He will be competing for a spot in the Mariners rotation especially with the departure of Pineda.

The Mariners are taking a big chance by trading away 23 year old Michael Pineda and Jose Campos. The Mariners are trading away Pineda a pitcher who finished fifth in the rookie of the year voting and made the all-star team last year. He was also the 16th best prospect heading into the 2011 season. Last season Pineda in 28 starts went 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 173 strikeouts in 171 innings pitched. In his minor league career Pineda in 86 games, 71 of which he started he went 31-14 with a 2.49 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 396 strikeouts in 404.1 innings. Prior to this season his career high for innings pitched in a season was 139.1 innings as he was injury prone. Still the Yankees acquired an ace of the future who is already a proven Major League all-star plus acquired another pitcher who most scouts are high on. is pitcher Jose Campos who is only 19 years old. Campos in 40 appearances, 30 of which he started has a 14-10 record with a 3.26 ERA, 1.17 WHP and 167 strikeouts in 171.1 innings pitched. The Mariners gave up a lot for Montero a player which they almost acquired two years ago.

Two years ago when the Mariners fell out hopelessly out of contention Zduriencik had a big trade chip in Cliff Lee. Instead of dealing Lee to the Yankees he chose to deal him to the Texas Rangers for Justin Smoak. So far the return on Smoak hasn't been what fans had hoped for. Smoak who in 2010 was 13th best prospect is now 25 years old. So far in Seattle in 611 plate appearances Smoak has hit .235/.316/.398 with only 20 home runs and 69 RBI's. Had the Mariners simply acquired Montero then they wouldn't have had to deal Pineda plus Campos now. Smoak to date has been a bust for the Mariners but if he can be that player he was in the Minor leagues where he hit .283/.401/.458 with 24 HR's and 93 RBI's in 773 plate appearances the Mariners would take that. The facts are Smoak hasn't even had 2,000 plate appearances in his professional career so the book is still out on him. Either way this trade today and Smoak's developement will be Jack Z's legacy in Seattle.

In conclusion, I love the fact that Jack Z is taking a risk here. This isn't your normal Jack Z trade where is trading a pile of garbage for a less than pile of garbage. This is a big time move that can make Zduriencik a legend in Seattle or a failure in Seattle. Prior to this trade Jack Z was like a game manager QB a guy who made no real mistakes but also made no significant big plays. This trade he is putting himself out there. Fans such as myself have been screaming all offseason to make a big move, to acquire a big bat. Now Zduriencik makes this move and a lot of those same fans are now bashing him as well as his usual supporters. The great thing about sports is nobody knows what any of these four players and Justin Smoak will turn out to be. Heading into the 2008 season the Texas Rangers who had taken last place basically every year since 2000 made a bold move. They traded their top pitching prospect and future all-star Edison Volquez for a guy who waas a former drug addict and had played just one season in the Major leagues.That player was Josh Hamilton and the Rangers have been to two straight World Series. Risks need to be made in sports sometimes. Without risk there is no reward. This trade could turn out to be legendary for the Mariners or this trade like many in the past will come back to haunt us. I'm just glad that Zduriencik finally had the balls to make a big time move like this. I'm also confident when the dust settles the Mariners not the Yankees will win this trade.

Mariners embark on the biggest off-season in franchise history

By Insider Steve


Is it me or does anyone else feel like the Mariners are on the verge of something exciting?

Alright, so maybe it's just me. So please allow me the time and try to convince the masses out there in Marinersville on what the Mariners are about to embark on. For three years now, Mariners GM Jack Zdureincik has had the dubious honor of fixing an organization so broken that most industry figure heads thought it would take at least five years before the Mariners would be even able to financially compete, let alone see results on the field. Only three years after taking over as GM, Jack Zduriencik is sitting on the cusp of the biggest off-season in Mariners history. I do know one thing is certain, win or lose, there will be some major fireworks going off over the Sodo this winter. In order to see those fireworks we need to discuss some truths about the Jack Zduriencik era.


Truth;

Jack Zduriencik just hasn't had the financial luxury up to this point in his tenure as Mariners GM to radically improve the ball club. It wasn't Zduriencik's fault that ownership slashed the payroll by 18 million dollars in his first season. In the three years Zduriencik has been in charge, he has had an average payroll of 94,890,230 million dollars. Compared to the 96,271,463 average per season in five seasons that former GM Bill Bavasi had. That's a difference of 1,381,233 million dollars extra that Bill Bavasi had at his disposal. In the 2006-2007 off-season, Bill Bavasi's payroll shot up from 87,959,833 to 106,460,833. A difference of 18,501,000. Which is precisely the figure Zduriencik stand to inherit this off-season. If you add that figure to this seasons payroll, this is what the team payroll would look like in 2012; 113,124,194. Which is still 4,542,291 million dollars shy of Bill Bavasi's all-time high payroll of 117,666,482 in 2008. The bottom line is payroll will be increasing. Ownership needs to realize they have a financially responsible GM in place, and that is okay to add more to the pot.


The Future;

The Mariners have put together a nucleus of young talent with tremendous staying power. On the offensive side, Dustin Ackley, Justin Smoak, Mike Carp, Kyle Seager, Trayvon Robinson, and Casper wells are hitting a combined .252/.319/.415/.735, 42 HR, 140 RBI, 348 Hits, 144 Runs, and all play positions that were/are in desperate need of improvement; 2B, 1B, DH, 3B, and OF. On the pitching side Felix Hernandez, Michael Pineda, Jason Vargas, Brandon League, and Tom Wilhelmsen have quietly form a solid base in which to build upon. Those five have combined to go 35-41, 3.53 ERA, 586 K's, 1.178 WHIP, and a K's/BB ratio of 3.01. Three of the five have been selected to the All-Star game, and Hernandez has already has a Cy Young on his resume. Those are just 11 of the active 25 man roster. Not even including the likes of Blake Beaven, Charlie Furbush, Shawn Kelley, Josh Lueke, Chance Ruffin, Dan Cortes, Taijuan Walker, James Paxton, Danny Hultzen, and Alex Liddi. Who could all very well make an impact in 2012.


What will the Mariners have coming available;

1. Milton Bradley = 12,000,000



2. Carlos Silva = 5,500,000



3. Yuniesky Betancourt = 1,000,000



4. Jack Wilson = 5,000,000



5. Josh Wilson = 179,000



6. Jack Cust = 2,000,000



7. Jamey Wright = 900,000



8. Adam Kennedy = 750,000



9. Luis Rodriguez = 600,000

• Total = 27,929,000
  

Isn't that a fantastic number to see? Even if you factor in arbitration, the number is still going to remain in the 18-20 million dollar range. That number allows flexibility in spades. Which is more then enough to add a power bat in the OF and at 3B, upgrade the catching position, and add a solid starter to the rotation mix.

Lets' forecast shall we. Let's say the Mariners make one trade and sign two free agents to open up the off-season. we will say the Mariners sign 3B Wilson Betemit (.268/.335/.445/.779, 62 HR, 242 RBI, 466 Hits, 221 Runs), who has never made over 4 million dollars in one season, to a 2-year 8 million dollar deal. Then let's say Zduriencik make a trade for Kansas City Royals LF Alex Gordon. Who still has two years of club control, but is still arbitration eligible. Because Gordon posted career highs in every statistical catagory, .303/.376/.502/.879, 23 HR, 87 RBI, both parties figure out a way to agree on a mutual figure of 5 million dollars for the 2012 season. The Mariners then sign a starter like a Paul Maholm, Jason Marguis, or a Javier Vazquez. Who would all come at a reduced price. Something to the tune of 1-year at 1.5 million. Just in those three deals the Mariners have used up only 10.5 million dollars. That would still leave Zduriencik nearly 8 million dollars left to improve the bullpen and the catching position.

I'm being 100% honest when I tell you guys that next years team will have the look and feel of a winning ball club. It's just a matter of putting your eggs into that basket. I know it's a hard thing to do when you have seen the team go from bad to worse in a span of less then two seasons. But it is going to get better. That you can bank on. It's just a matter waiting it out for another six months...

Seattle Mariners weekly recap: September 5th-11th edition

By Kshell

The Seattle Mariners just finished up a 3-4 week which saw them lose two out of three down there in Anaheim while splitting up here in Seattle with the Kansas City Royals. The Mariners kind of went back to the first half Mariners where the pitching staff was terrific but the offense was horrible. During the week the Mariners averaged just 2.8 runs per game. The Mariners did see Justin Smoak return from the DL last week and this week he started to hit the ball. This was Smoak's best week in a few months which was nice for the Mariners as he factors into the future plans. The Mariners pitching staff was terrific this week led by once again Felix Hernandez who has been a dominant ace for the month of August and September. The Mariners also saw pitchers Jason Vargas, Blake Beavan, and Charlie Furbush have nice bounce back performances which they all desperately needed. The Mariners only have 16 games remaining on their schedule as they are just playing out the season. This week I'll go over the good(the pitching staff), the bad(the hitting) and the ugly(all the losses). The Mariners have just three weeks left in the season if anyone is still paying attention to this club.

The Good:

The Mariners had some good things this week despite going 3-4. One of those good things was the recent hitting of Ichiro who has been on fire now for about five weeks. Ichiro this week displayed some power and also showed that he still has some speed left in his game. For having a "bad" year Ichiro is still having a productive season he simply isn't having an Ichiro season is all. The Mariners also saw their pitching staff pitch extremely well this week anchored by Felix Hernandez. Hernandez is now 6-2 in his last eight starts. The Mariners starting pitching this week went 3-4 but in seven starts managed to throw 47.1 innings with a 2.85 ERA and 29 strikeouts. The Mariners pitching staff who had been struggling lately was nice to see them turn it around this week. The Mariners bullpen pitched pretty well too. Overall the Mariners pitching didn't have a single pitcher appear on the bad list. The Mariners hitters only had three regular players which was Ichiro, Justin Smoak and Miguel Olivo. The Mariners hitting which had been improving hit another disasterous slump this week. At least the pitching staff came to play to salvage the week by going 3-4. The Mariners pitching which has been terrific all seaosn long was terrific this week as well.

Good Hitting:

Ichiro: 8-29(.276), 2 HR's, 4 RBI's, 3 runs,  5 SB's
Willy Mo Pena: 2-7(.286), RBI
Miguel Olivo: 6-20(.300), HR, 2 RBI's, 3 runs
Justin Smoak: 9-27(.333), 2 HR's, 6 RBI's, 4 runs

Good Pitching:

Felix Hernandez: 1-0, 8 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 7 K's
Jason Vargas: 1-0, 6 IP, 1.50 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 3 K's
Blake Beavan: 1-0, 6.1 IP, 4.26 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 3 K's
Charlie Furbush: 0-1, 7.1 IP, 3.68 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 3 K's
Anthony Vasquez: 0-2, 11.2 IP, 3.86 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 5 K's
Michael Pineda: 0-1, 8 IP, 3.37 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 8 K's
Jamey Wright: 5 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.40 WHIP, 6 K's
Shaun Kelley: 4 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 2 K's
Tom Wilhemsen: 2.2 IP, 3.37 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 2 K's
Brandon League : 2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, 2 saves

Felix Hernandez last 8 starts: 6-2, 59.1 IP(7.2 IP a start), 2.27 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 63 K's(9.55 K's per 9).
Michael Pineda last four starts: 0-3, 26 IP(6.2 IP a start), 3.46 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 28 K's(9.69 K's per 9).

As you can see Hernandez has been dominating lately and is finally racking up the much deserved wins. Meanwhile you may read that Michael Pineda hasn't won since July 30th and see he went from 6-2 to 9-10. Pineda simply isn't getting the run suppor but he is still pitching extremely well down the stretch while setting a career high in innings pitched with 167(previous high was 141).

Bad:

The Mariners this week went 3-4 despite the pitching staff just carrying them. The offense scored just 2.8 runs this week as the Mariners lost two out of three in Anaheim. After winning the first two games against the Royals the Mariners dropped the next two games. The Mariners are going with some youthful pieces who are all slumping at the same time which is hurting the offense. The Mariners also for whatever reason keep on insisting to play Adam Kennedy even though he doesn't factor into their future plans at all. The Mariners pitching was great this week so they'll have no pitchers on the bad list which is rare for a 3-4 week. The Mariners have gone 5-12 in their last 17 games and are headed towards another 90 plus loss season. The Mariners rank towards the bottom in just about every offensive category for the second straight season. This year was supposed to be a rebuilding season for the Mariners but after the hot start the first three months nobody expected to see this team headed towards another 90 plus loss season. The Mariners will most likely finish in last place for the sixth time in eight seasons. During that stretch the Mariners will have lost over 90 games five times in the past eight seasons. The hitting needs to be worked on this offseason or expect another long season next year.

Bad Hitting:

Dustin Ackley: 5-24(.208), 2 runs, SB, 6 K's, .321 OB%
Mike Carp: 3-21(.143), HR, RBI, run, 8 K's
Kyle Seager: 3-18(.167), run, SB, 5 K's
Trayvon Robinson: 4-18(.222), HR, 2 RBI's, run, SB, 9 K's
Brendan Ryan: 5-30(.167), HR, RBI, 2 runs, 3 SB's, 7 K's
Adam Kennedy: 2-11(.182), run, 4 K's
Casper Wells: 1-6(.167), 3 K's
Michael Saunders: 0-5(.000), RBI, run, 2 K's
Alex Liddi: 1-8(.125), run, 5 K's

Adam Kennedy 2nd half: Hitting .172/.193/.284 in 116 AB's with 25 K's to just 2 walks.
Casper Wells last 3 weeks: 3-39(.076), run, 17 K's

The Ugly:

The  Mariners are headed towards another crappy finish to a crappy season. The Mariners since the all-star break are now 18-36(.333) which is just terrible. The Mariners are now the fourth worst team in the major leagues. This would be the third time in the last four seasons the Mariners are in the bottom five in all of major league baseball. The Mariners offense currently ranks dead last in batting average, on base percentage, slugging, hits and are second to last in runs scored. The Mariners are going with the youth experiment which is okay but in the process it sure is hard to watch on a daily basis. The Mariners are in danger of losing their fan base with all this losing and lack of hitting. The Mariners are one of the worst teams in all of baseball since 2004. Only the Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates have been worse during that stretch.

Ugly Baseball:

2004 Seattle Mariners: 63-99(.389), last place, runs scored: 698, runs against: 823
2005 Seattle Mariners: 69-93(.426), last place, runs scored: 699, runs against: 751
2006 Seattle Mariners: 78-84(.481), last place, runs scored: 756, runs against: 792
2007 Seattle Mariners: 88-74(.543), 2nd place, runs scored: 794, runs against: 813
2008 Seattle Mariners: 61-101(.377), last place, runs scored:671, runs against: 811
2009 Seattle Mariners: 85-77(.525), 3rd place, runs scored: 640, runs against: 692
2010 Seattle Mariners: 61-101(.377), last place, runs scored: 513, runs against: 698
2011 Seattle Mariners: 61-85(.418), last place, runs scored: 500, runs against 600

As you can see the Mariners have been horrible during this eight year stretch and even in their two winning seasons they were still outscored on the year. The Mariners are a franchise who are headed nowhere with no direction. The Mariners claim to be rebuilding yet Adam Kennedy still is finding two to three starts a week. The Mariners have reverted back to the 1980's where winning seems to be an after thought. The Mariners franchise just isn't scoring enough runs and not winning enough games. Where is the public  out cry from our fan base? Why do I feel as if I'm in the minority when I should be in the majority on the Mariners.

AL West Standings:

Texas Rangers: 83-64, first place
L.A. Angels: 80-66, 2.5 GB
Oakland A's: 66-80, 16.5 GB
Seattle Mariners: 61-85, 21.5 GB

In conclusion, the Mariners are grinding out their season for the eighth straight year. For the eighth straight year nobody in Seattle including myself can give a crap about baseball as football has taken over. The Mariners have wasted the career of Ichiro and appear determine to do the same for Felix Hernandez who is having another terrific season. The Mariners are simply playing out their season and wonder why the fans can care less. This weekend there was so many empty seats and with football going on I can't blame them. Like I showed earlier the Mariners have been one of the worst franchises in all of major league baseball. The Mariners are one of two franchises to never reach the World Series and I don't expect that streak to end anytime soon. The Mariners are just 16 games away from their season ending in disappointment which has been the theme since 2004.

Seattle Mariners weekly review: August 29th-September 4th edition

By Kshell

The Seattle Mariners appear to have given up on the season as they finished the week losing four games in a row to go 2-5 on the week. After splitting at home with the rival Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim the Mariners were swept down in Oakland to the Oakland Athletics. The Mariners have lost 7 of their last 10 games and appear headed towards another last place finish with 90 plus losses. The Mariners once strong pitching staff has fallen apart with the exception of Felix Hernandez and Michael Pineda. The Mariners hitting just isn't hitting anymore besides a few youngsters. The Mariners are playing like a team who is just playing out their season as they were swept by a team they had dominated all season long. The Mariners fall to 58-81 on the season which just won't get the job done at all. This week I'll talk about the good(Felix Hernandez), the bad(the slumping Casper Wells) and the ugly(Jason Vargas disasterous second half once again). The Mariners need to go 15-8 to avoid 90 losses which I don't see the team doing as it appears the team has packed it in.

The Good:

The Mariners just completed a 2-5 week but there was some positives to draw on. The Mariners saw ace pitcher Felix Hernandez defeat the Angels star pitcher Dan Haren 2-1 in which Hernandez threw a complete game to earn the win. The Mariners also saw youngsters Dustin Ackley and Mike Carp who were slumping break out of their slumps. The Mariners also saw the face of their franchise Ichiro continue his red hot hitting as he is trying to record 200 hits. Ichiro currently needs 40 hits in his last 23 games to have 200 hits this year something he has done the last 10 seasons. The Mariners bullpen saw some guys pitch lights out once again which was nice to see. The Mariners had some guys produce this week like Justin Smoak returned from the DL to produce this week. Unfortunately the Mariners just didn't receive much help from anyone else besides these guys. Lately the only good pitching performances have been by just Hernandez and Michael Pineda even though Pineda can't seem to buy a win lately. Even though the Mariners are slumping they still have plenty of guys who are doing well. Just need to have a week where more than a handful of guys are doing their jobs.

Good Hitting:

Ichiro: 9-30(.300), 4 RBI's, 4 runs, SB
Mike Carp: 7-27(.259), HR, 5 RBI's, 2 runs
Justin Smoak: 4-12(.333), run
Dustin Ackley: 11-25(.444), HR, 6 RBI's, 5 Runs, SB. .500 OB%, 8-game hitting streak

Good Pitching:

Felix Hernandez: 1-0, 9 IP, 1.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 9 K's
Michael Pineda: 0-1, 6 IP, 4.50 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 7 K's
Brandon League: 2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 2 K's, save
Jamey Wright: 3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 3 K's
Tom Wilhelmsen: 1-0, 2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, 3 K's

Felix Hernandez last 7 starts: 5-2, 51.1 IP, 2.63 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 56 K's, 9.81 K's per 9, 6 Quality Starts
Felix Hernandez season: 29 starts, 13-11, 209.1 IP(7.1 IP a start), 3.27 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 204 K's, 8.77 K's per 9, .237 BAA. 5 CG's, 20 quality starts.

Felix Hernandez is having another terrific season which is being wasted. I discussed this topic a few weeks ago when I wrote a post about Felix being wasted which you can read by clicking this link Wasted Talent . It has been a shame seeing the Mariners waste such a terrific arm in Felix Hernandez. I do think fans should appreciate Hernandez more and I'm not talking about the Kings Court chanting "Larry". I'm talking about feel fortunate to see one of the games best pitchers who hasn't even entered his prime for 33-36 starts a season since 2005.

The Bad:

The Seattle Mariners after splitting with the Angels were swept by the Oakland A's in three games. Whenever your record is 2-5 for the week there is plenty of bad. The fact that I have four starting pitchers on my bad list is a sign this franchise is in trouble. The Mariners did have pitching but no hitting and now they have neither. The "good" news is general manager Jack Zduriencik was told he will return next season. The Mariners hitting has been awful all season long and was pretty bad this week. After starting his brief Mariners career on fire Casper Wells has been in a horrible slump which dating back to last week has him hitting 2-33(.060) in the last two weeks. The Mariners young hitters are slumping badly now and the pitching in particular the three left handers keep getting bombed which has been a horrible trend to pay attention to.

Bad Hitting:

Kyle Seager: 4-23(.174), 2 RBI's, run, 2 K's
Trayvon Robinson: 1-10(.100), 3 runs, 7 K's
Brendan Ryan: 1-16(.062), RBI, run, K, Caught Stealing
Franklin Gutierrez: 5-27(.185), RBI, 3 runs, SB, 4 K's
Casper Wells: 1-18(.055), 5 K's
Miguel Olivo: 5-24(.208), 2 RBI's, 2 runs, SB, 6 K's

Bad Pitching:

Blake Beavan: 0-1, 12 IP, 5.25 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 3 K's
Charlie Furbush: 0-1, 6 IP, 6.00 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 5 K's
Jeff Gray: 2.2 IP, 16.87 ERA, 3.37 WHIP, K
Josh Lueke: 5 IP, 7.20 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, K
Cesar Jimenez: 0.1 IP, 81.00 ERA, 9.00 WHIP, K
Anthony Vasquez: 0-1, 4 IP, 15.75 ERA, 2.50 WHIP, K
Jason Vargas: 0-1, 5 IP, 7.20 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 4 K's

Three left handed starting pitchers: 0-3, 15 IP, 9.00 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, 10 K's.

The Mariners can't seem to find a quailty starting pitching from the south side which is a good thing they took Danny Hultzen with the #2 overall pick in the draft. At Safeco Field if you have a quality left handed starting pitcher he can be dominant since Safeco is tough on right handed hitters.

The Ugly:

There has been plenty of ugly for the Mariners this season and for this week. The Mariners lost centerfielder Franklin Guiterrez for the rest of the season with a strained Oblique muscle. This has been a very disappointing season for Gutierrez who began the season on the disabled list and will end the season on the disabled list. Gutierrez was the crown jewel in Jack Zduriencik's big J.J. Putz trade(meanwhile he's kicking ass for first place Arizona Diamondbacks). In fact another player in that trade who has been struggling lately has been Jason Vargas. For the third straight second half Vargas has been down right terrible. There can be plenty of excuses made but when this happens three years in a row that is called a bad trend. In fact Insider Steve explored the problems of Jason Vargas with this post you can read by clicking the link Does Jason Vargas have a future in Seattle? . Which is a curious case and one that needs to be explored this offseason. Zduriencik traded away Bill Bavasi's guy Doug Fister(who is kicking ass for first place Detroit Tigers) meanwhile he kept the guy he acquired Jason Vargas. Vargas is looking horrible and the guys acquired in the Fister trade aren't looking very good either. You have to wonder what Mariners management was thinking in bringing back Zduriencik who other than the draft hasn't show much.

Ugly Hitting:

Franklin Gutierrez: Hit .224/.261/.273 in 322 AB's. Has just one HR, 19 RBI's, 26 runs scored and 13 SB's. This year has been a disaster for Gutierrez and his Mariners future has to be in question heading into the offseason. His bat came around late but two weeks worth of good hitting doesn't make up for the months of terrible baseball.

Miguel Olivo: Hitting .220/.254/.371 in 410 AB's. Has 16 HR's, 55 RBI's, and 45 runs scored. He also has 122 strikeouts to 20 walks. I know plenty of fans are high on him but he simply isn't getting the job done this year. His defense has been below average as well. Time for the Mariners to get serious and go acquire a catcher who has some respect for the strike zone instead of swinging at everything.

Ugly Pitching:

Jason Vargas 2011 second half: 10 GS, 1-7,  53 IP, 7.13 ERA, 1.89 WHIP, 27 K's,  .336 BAA
Jason Vargas 2010 second half: 14 GS, 3-8, 85 IP, 4.66 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 48 K's, .265 BAA
Jason Vargas 2009 second half: 3 GS, 0-3, 28 IP, 7.39 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 13 K's, .292 BAA

Do the names Dave Flemming, John Halama, Ryan Rowland-Smith mean anything to you? Well they should because they were all fly ball pitchers for the Mariners who enjoyed success at first. Then the league rocked them in the second half of the season. Then the league featured them out and kept rocking them where they spent the rest of their baseball careers in the minor leagues. It appears that is Jason Vargas destiny because as you can see three straight bad second halfs shows he isn't cut out for the long haul.

Charlie Furbush: 2-4, 31 IP, 6.39 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 20 K's, .277 BAA

He was acquired in the Doug Fister trade along with the slumping Casper Wells who is currently doing his best Chone Figgins impression. Another lefty who can't seem to keep the ball down which means he is getting pounded all over.

Anthony Vasquez: 1-1, 9.1 IP, 11.57 ERA, 2.25 WHIP, 3 K's, .372 BAA

He simply isn't a major league pitcher and might not ever be one. It's actually an insult to the major league players on the roster that he is starting games for the Mariners. The Mariners have to have someone in Triple A who is better than Vasquez who you can't tell the difference between his fastball or his changeup. He is to pitching what Carlos Peguero was to hitting which is to say he is overmatched.

AL West Standings:

Texas Rangers: 80-61, first place
L.A. Angels: 76-64, 3.5 GB
Oakland A's: 64-76, 15.5 GB
Seattle Mariners: 58-81, 21.0 GB

In conclusion, the Mariners appear to have mailed it in this month. They aren't putting out a major league starting pitcher four of the six starts. Felix Hernandez and Michael Pineda who will be shut down after two more starts are the only pitchers in the rotation currently who belong on a major league rotation. When you check out the hitters only Ichiro going into the season was a major league hitter. The team is rebuilding yet young guys like Trayvon Robinson can't seem to find AB's. The Mariners for the eighth straight season are just playing out their season in the month of September. For the eighth straight September the city of Seattle is tuning out the Mariners and focusing on football. The Mariners are in serious danger of losing their fan base because despite all those gimmicks the best gimmick of them all is simply winning. The Mariners aren't winning and until they do the fans will keep decreasing by the season.

Seattle Mariners weekly review: July 25th-July 31st edition

By Kshell

The Seattle Mariners just completed the week losing two of three to the New York Yankees then two of three to the Tampa Bay Rays. The Mariners did snap their franchise record 17 game losing streak this week with a 9-2 win over the Yankees. The Mariners went 2-4 and also traded three players from their team and designated Jack Cust for assignment. The Mariners have gone through some major changes from their roster compared to the roster they had on opening day. The Mariners find themselves in last place for the third time in four seasons and they still aren't hitting. The Mariners also received some bad pitching this week as well from two left handed starters. The Mariners did see both of their all-star pitchers rise to the occasion this week which was nice to see. So the Mariners went 2-4 which means I'll be doing a good(all-star pitchers), the bad(tons of hitters and three left handed pitchers) and the ugly(second half woes plus Jack Cust).

The Good:

The Mariners just completed a 2-4 week but there was some bright spots this past week. One of the bright spots was the Mariners finally won a game after losing 17 straight. Another positive was seeing all-star pitchers Felix Hernandez and Michael Pineda bounce back from poor outings to have strong outings this week each picking up the win. The Mariners also saw Dustin Ackley continue to hit while Mike Carp is taking advantage of playing every single day in left field. The Mariners also saw their bullpen arms pitch pretty well. The Mariners still aren't scoring enough runs but it is nice to see two guys who began the year in Tacoma really hitting the ball well. It was especially nice to see the Mariners two aces rebound from a tough week with dominating performances each earning a hard earned win for the Mariners who desperatly need as many victories as possible.

Good Hitting:

Dustin Ackley: 7-20(.350), HR, 5 RBI's, 4 runs, .458 OB%
Mike Carp: 7-21(.333) 5 RBI's, 2 runs, .391 OB%
Ichiro: 6-24(.250), RBI, 4 runs, 2 SB's

Good Pitching:

Felix Hernandez: 1-0, 7 IP, 1.28 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 5 K's
Michael Pineda: 1-0, 6.1 IP, 1.42 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 10 K's
Josh Lueke: 2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, 2 K's
Chris Ray: 4 IP, 2.25 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 2 K's
Jamey Wright: 4 IP, 2.25 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, 3 K's
Brandon League: 2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, K, Save
Doug Fister: 0-1, 7 IP, 3.86 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 5 K's

For Doug Fister, Erik Bedard and David Pauley they were traded away and all had good seasons.

Erik Bedard: 4-7, 91.1 IP, 3.45 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 87 K's
David Pauley: 5-4, 54.1 IP, 2.15 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 34 K's, 7 holds
Doug Fister: 3-12, 146.0 IP, 3.33 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 89 K's

These Mariners pitchers will be missed and replacing their value won't be as easy as some Mariners fans may think.

The Bad:

When you go 2-4 for the week there has been plenty of bad. When twice this week a pitcher has flirted with a no-hitter against you there is plenty of bad. The Mariners hitters are in a season long slump and this isn't just Chone Figgins who is slumping. Since May Miguel Olivo and Justin Smoak have been just as awful as Figgins not to mention Franklin Gutierrez who has been terrible as well. The Mariners also saw two left handed pitchers get rocked as well. In the case of Bedard his Mariners career is over so no sense stressing over that. In the case of Jason Vargas who I'll talk about later in this post in more depth he has had a horrible second half which is exactly what happened last season. The Mariners are showing some red flags that is concerning for the future mainly in Vargas and Smoak. It apears Smoak still hasn't adjusted to teams adjusting to him. The same could be said towards Vargas who is once again struggling in the second half of the season.

Bad Hitting:

Justin Smoak: 2-17(.117), RBI, 3 runs, 8 K's
Jack Cust: 1-5(.200), run, 3 K's
Miguel Olivo: 1-16(.062), 9 K's
Adam Kennedy: 4-18(.222), RBI, 2 runs, 4 K's
Brendan Ryan: 3-24(.125), RBI, run, 8 K's
Greg Halman: 0-5(.000), 2 K's
Franklin Gutierrez: 4-19(.210), RBI, 5 K's

Bad Pitching:

Jason Vargas: 0-2, 9.1 IP, 7.71 ERA, 1.92 WHIP, 8 K's
Aaron Laffey: 1.2 IP, 16.16 ERA, 3.59 WHIP, 2 K's
Erik Bedard: 0-1, 1.1 IP, 33.75 ERA, 5.25 WHIP, 2 K's

Justin Smoak has been awful in the month of July hitting just .141/.211/.188 in 85 AB's this month. He has zero home runs and just four RBI's while striking out 24 times(28.2%) to just 8 walks(9.4%) which isn't good. He's hit under .230 for three straight months now which suggests maybe this is a trend and not a slump.

Miguel Olivo has been terrible since May. In June he hit just .189/.196/.489 in 90 AB's. He had belted eight home runs while driving in 19 guys. He also struck out 26 times(28.8%) to just one walk(1.1%) which is awful. Then in July he managed to hit even worse by hitting .188/.188/.304 in 69 AB's. He has belted just two home runs while driving in eight guys. He has struck out 22 times(31.8%) to zero walks(0.0%) in the month of July. Olivo was terrible his first stint with the Mariners and he is just another Jack Zduriencik failed free agent signing.

The Ugly:

There has been plenty of ugly going around with this Mariners franchise. Last season the Mariners saw their #3 hitter Casey Kotchman flop, #4 hitter Milton Bradley flop and #5 hitter Ken Griffey Jr suddenly retire. Well this year has seen their #3 hitter Bradley get released less than a month into the season, their #4 hitter Jack Cust was recently DFA'd while their #5 hitter Justin Smoak has been awful other than April. I don't care how many speedsters you have if your 3-4-5 guys are terrible chances are your offense will be terrible as well.

Ugly Hitting:

Jack Cust: For the season hit .213/.344/.329 in 225 AB's. He had just 3 HR's while driving in 23 runs. He struck out 87 times(38.6%) while walking 44 times(19.5%). Now his walking was good but he was also brought in for some power. He had a home run every 75 AB's was just awful considering he was striking out two out of every five at bats. This is the second straight season the Mariners have received nothing from DH or left field. Not to mention the nothing from third base this year, almost nothing from catcher and nothing from center field. When you receive that much nothing no wonder your offense is going to the shitter quick.

Ugly Pitching:

Jason Vargas 2011 second half: 0-4, 18.1 IP, 8.84 ERA, 2.29 WHIP, 11 K's.
Jason Vargas 2011 first half: 6-6, 121.1 IP, 3.49 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 81 K's

Jason Vargas 2010 second half: 3-8, 85.0 IP, 4.66 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 48 K's.
Jason Vargas 2010 first half: 6-4, 107.2 IP, 3.09 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 68 K's

Jason Vargas 2009 second half: 0-3, 28.0 IP, 7.39 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 13 K's
Jason Vargas 2009 first half: 3-3, 63.2 IP, 3.82 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 41 K's

As you can see Vargas in the second half has been downright terrible. In all three first halves he had ERA's in the low 3's while in the second half he fell apart. Hard to blame arm fatigue when this is becoming a pattern. The fact that Vargas is showing he might not be a second half pitcher should worry some fans about trading away Doug Fister.

AL West Standings:

Texas Rangers: 61-48, First Place
L.A. Angels: 59-50, 2.0 GB
Oakland A's: 49-59, 11.5 GB
Seattle Mariners: 45-62, 15.0 GB

In conclusion the Mariners end July on a terrible note going just 6-20 after starting off 4-1 too it has been just a disaster. The Mariners began the month only two games back of first place with the hope of being buyers. Instead the Mariners will most likely finish last place for sixth time since 2004. The Mariners despite having a future hall of famer in Ichiro will have finished last place six times with him on their team in his 11 seasons which is sad considering they didn't finish last his first three seasons. The Mariners appear to be a team just going through the motions and the pitching staff is finally breaking down. If Zduriencik does anything at all this offseason he needs to bring in some power bats. Like I explained the last two years the Mariners 3-4-5 which was questionable going into the season has proven to blow up in their faces during both years. The Mariners completed a tough stretch where they bombed terribly losing 19 of 21 games. Now the Mariners like they have done too many times recently are simply playing out the season.

My interview on "steady as she goes" with Jeff Mariners

By Kshell

This past Wednesday I had an interview on seamheads with Jeff Engels. For those who don't know Engels is also known as Jeffs Mariners on facebook. The actually interview you listen to right here at the 91 minute mark. That is when Jeff and myself discussed the Seattle Mariners for a half hour. It was pretty fun discussing the Mariners on a national podcast. The format of the podcast is it is two hours long which a half hour is dedicated to the Seattle Mariners which Jeffs Mariners has been doing all by himself this season. Well the Mariners lost 17 games in a row and with Jeff having a cold I came on to help out. I'll be more appearances on his podcast which is every Wednesday at 7 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. throughout the season. In this particular podcast we discussed the state of the franchise which meant some talk about Jack Zduriencik and the job he is doing. We also discussed at lengths about how the Mariners keep "rebuilding" with young guys who to date haven't panned out. I brought up Justin Smoak who Jeff isn't a fan of as he's been struggling. I'm usually quick to write off a player but I'll wait on Smoak although his June and July leave me concerned. We also had some positive news to discuss in this podcast as well.

The positive of course was that day the Mariners ended their franchise record 17 game losing streak with a 9-2 win over the New York Yankees. The Mariners led by Felix Hernandez going seven innings while allowing just one run and Ichiro having four hits helped lead the Mariners to the win. We talked about Ichiro's slump this season and how Jeff(along with Bryan White) would be upset if they resign Ichiro after 2012. We talked about how Dustin Ackley is already the Mariners best hitter despite being a rookie. How Ackley is the only hitter in the lineup who gives you a quality at bat every time up. We also discussed Mike Carp how this appears to be his last chance and he's making the most of it in his second stint of 2011. I ended the podcast saying something crazy talking about a potential winning streak the next time I come on. There was plenty of good baseball talk though for that half hour segment.

In conclusion, I love doing radio interviews as they are very fun. I used to be afraid to listen to my voice but now I enjoy it. If someone asked me to talk about Science on the radio I would have to decline but to talk sports I'll accept every single time. I always laugh when these sports talk radio hosts complain about their work load. They get to discuss sports how hard can it be? I'm thankful for the opportunity Jeff Mariners gave me to co-host the show with him. I'll never turn down a sports radio interview as they are fun. I don't even need to plug my blog either I can talk for hours at a time. I recap my interview but I left plenty out so go listen for yourself. I come on at the 91 minute mark and it was pretty fun. Hopefully next time I come on the Mariners have a winning streak like I said to end the last podcast.

Seattle Mariners weekly review: July 14th-24th edition

By Kshell

The Seattle Mariners are currently going through their worst stretch in franchise history. The Mariners went into the all-star break on a five game losing streak which appeared to eliminate them from the race. Now the Mariners in the second half have lost all 10 games to the Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox. The Mariners have lost a franchise record 15 straight games which is shocking considering as of July 6th this team was just 2.5 games back of first place. Now the Mariners trail the Oakland A's as they sit in last place in their division. The losing streak started off with the Mariners not hitting which has been a problem all year long and has been a problem in the entire Jack Zduriencik regime. What has surprised most fans is that this week especially on the road trip to Toronto and Boston the Mariners offense woke up while the pitching staff has been lit up. For the first time all year I'll have several pitchers make the "bad" list. Like I do whenever the team has a losing week I'll be going over the good(not much), the bad(over half the roster) and the ugly(the mastermind behind this team).

The Good:

When a team is going through a 15 game losing streak I'm sure you are thinking good?!1 Well a few hitters have stepped up this past week and so have some pitchers. This week saw the return of Mike Carp from Tacoma and now that he is getting regular at bats he took advantage this week. If Carp can show life that would be nice since the offense is still broken. The Mariners also saw short stop Brendan Ryan hit his first home run of the season and then he followed that up with a grand slam. This week also saw rookie pitcher Blake Beavan who was acquired in the Cliff Lee deal pitch pretty well in his two starts despite picking up the loss. Beavan this year has pitched a quality start in all four of his starts which is a good way to start your career. The Mariners finally had some hitting this road trip but the pitching has been terrible. The Mariners offense this road trip has averaged 4.8 runs per game which is pretty good for this offense.

Good Hitting:

Dustin Ackley: 12-42(.286), HR, 6 RBI's, run
Brendan Ryan: 14-40(.350), 2 HR's, 6 RBI's, 7 runs, 2 SB's
Mike Carp: 8-22(.363), 2 HR's, 4 RBI's, 3 runs

Good Pitching:

Blake Beavan: 0-2, 13.1 IP, 4.05 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 7 K's
Jeff Gray: 6.1 IP, 1.42 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 5 K's, Blown Save
David Pauley: 0-1, 5.1 IP, 3.38 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 4 K's
Chris Ray: 3.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.60 WHIP, 3 K's
Brandon League: 2.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 2 K's

The team hasn't performed very well as you can see by the limited work that closer Brandon League has received. It was nice seeing the youngsters like Dustin Ackley, Mike Carp and Blake Beavan perform well during this losing streak that was the lone bright spot.

The Bad:

The Mariners have set a franchise record with their 15th straight loss when they were swept by the Boston Red Sox sunday losing 12-8. The Mariners go on the road to the New York Yankees then return home to face the Tampa Bay Rays so this losing streak could very well stretch to 20 games. The Mariners pitching in particular their bullpen overachieved in the first half and law of averages have caught up to them. The Mariners still have several hitters who are slumping as the offense scored just two runs in their four game sweep at home to the Texas Rangers to begin the second half. Watching this losing streak I think we all feel crazy that just two weeks ago there was actual playoff talk surrounding this team. Now the Mariners are headed towards another top five pick in the major league baseball draft. First year manager Eric Wedge you can tell is fed up with this team as he blasted his veterans in a loss against the Toronto Blue Jays. He even shaved his famous mustache in an attempt to avoid the losing streak. The team is hitting slightly better now but that was all negated due to the pitching being so terrible.

Bad Hitting:

Justin Smoak: 6-34(.176), run, 7 K's
Adam Kennedy: 6-32(.187), HR, RBI, 3 runs, 6 K's
Miguel Olivo: 8-36(.222), 2 HR's, 6 RBI's, 3 runs, 2 SB's, 10 K's
Carlos Peguero: 0-2(.000), 2 K's
Franklin Gutierrez: 7-32(.218), 3 RBI's, 4 runs, 4 SB's, 7 K's
Chone Figgins: 2-13(.153), 2 runs, SB, 5 K's
Greg Halman: 2-19(.105), HR, 3 RBI's, run, 8 K's

Bad Pitching:

Felix Hernandez: 0-2, 14 IP, 6.43 ERA, 1.79 WHIP, 8 K's
Jason Vargas: 0-2, 9 IP, 10.00 ERA, 2.67 WHIP, 3 K's
Michael Pineda: 0-1, 10.2 IP, 10.13 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, 10 K's
Doug Fister: 0-1, 13.2 IP, 5.27 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 5 K's
Aaron Laffey: 5.1 IP, 10.13 ERA, 2.25 WHIP, 3 K's, hold
Jamey Wright: 0-1, 4.2 IP, 11.57 ERA, 2.36 WHIP, 3 K's

The numbers don't lie right there. The starting pitching which has carried this team all season long has fallen apart in the second half. The Mariners saw two key bullpen guys just fall apart which isn't helping things at all. The hitting has been terrible since 2008 which makes you question how things are being run upstairs. The main player that is a red flag is Justin Smoak who has been slumping pretty bad ever since his hot April. He was a key acquisition in the Cliff Lee trade and if he doesn't pan out that will set the franchise back some years.

The Ugly:

The Mariners right now are looking like a flawed roster that is heading for another disasterous season. The Mariners are on pace to lose 93 games this season which would be their third season in the last four years of losing over 90 games. The Mariners are going for history this season as the worst American League offense in the DH era which is a record you don't want. The Mariners despite a decent sized payroll have put out a minor league batting lineup the past two seasons. Now I've already debated with Insider Steve on whether or not Jack Zduriencik should be retained. I'm not going to open that up instead I'll post some ugly stats.

Jack Zduriencik era

- Has a 189-236(.444%) record in Seattle. That is an average of 71-91 record.
- Has an offense that is scoring 3.28 runs per game in 2011 which ranks last in baseball, scored 3.16 runs per game in 2010 that ranked last in baseball and 3.9 runs per game in 2009 that ranked 28th in baseball.
- In his years his offenses have averaged 3.49 runs per game.
- His teams have hit only 325 HR's in 425 games so they aren't producing the power.
- In 2011 the Mariners are hitting .226/.290/.334 which ranks last place, last place and 29th. In 2010 the Mariners hitting was .236/.298/.339 which ranks last place in all three categories. In 2009 the Mariners hitting was .258/.314/.402 which ranked 21st, 29th and 23rd. The offense has regressed each season under Zduriencik.

Now the pitching has been pretty good but Jason Vargas and recently Blake Beavan only starting pitchers that Zdurienik has his hand on. While the crappy hitting only Ichiro this year and last year Jose Lopez plus our crappy catchers were the only non Zduriencik hitters. The hitting has been historically awful and this losing streak might have sealed Zdurienik's fate. I think firing Zduriencik doesn't solve the Mariners problems but hard to imagine a GM keeping his job with such ugly numbers.

AL West Standings:

Texas Rangers: 58-44, first place
L.A. Angels: 55-47, 3.0 GB
Oakland A's: 44-57, 13.5 GB
Seattle Mariners: 43-58, 14.5 GB

The Seattle Mariners as a franchise has been in a decade long drought. The Mariners feel like that snail who takes one slow step forward then falls back quickly two steps. The Mariners since 2003 have had five full-time managers and seven managers overall. The Mariners have had three different GM's in that time and it appears we'll have our fourth next spring. The new "savior" that the fans will drool over every move he makes. This feels like a process that never ends. The names come and go while the same crappy results continue on. This franchise despite having an ace pitcher in his prime and a first ballot hall of fame hitter will lose over 90 games for the third time in four seasons. They will have lost over 90 games five times since 2004. This year we all figured it was going to be a rebuilding year and possibly the team overachieving in the first half may have cost Zduriencik. The fans had accepted 90 plus losses heading into the season but expectations changed during the season. One thing that hasn't changed is the historically awful offense that Zduriencik has assembled. For as much crap as people give Wedge for his lineups you can only do so much with seven turds. The Mariners offense is just one giant turd at the end of the day and this losing streak just magnifies it.

Seattle Mariners weekly review: July 4th-July 10th edition

By Kshell

Well that was a fun ride while it lasted. The Seattle Mariners this past week officially answered the question on whether they should be buyers or sellers with an emphatic sellers! The Mariners after going on the road to take two out of three at Oakland to defeat the Athletics they found themselves swept on a four game road trip to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Mariners lack of hitting has caught up to them for a month now. The Mariners who were once 37-35 after defeating the Philadelphia Phillies two out of three find themselves now 43-48. The Mariners who were once a half game out of first place now find themselves 7.5 games back of the Texas Rangers and Angels. This week I'll break down the good(not much besides Felix Hernandez), the bad(basically the entire offense) and the ugly(as I dive more into the offensive woes). The Mariners after overachieving much of the first half saw their lack of offense finally catch up to first year manager Eric Wedge.

The Good:

When a team goes 2-5 you have to stretch to find some good. The starting pitching was pretty good this week as the Mariners received six quality starts out of seven. The Mariners saw rookie Dustin Ackley put up another good week as he is showing he is the best hitter on the roster. Ackley's defense so far this year has been pretty incredible as well. The Mariners also saw all-star pitcher Felix Hernandez dominate this week yet came up empty in the wins column. Jason Vargas also followed up his complete game shutout last week with another complete game this week only he lost 2-0. The Mariners pitching has carried them all year and this week was no different.

Good Hitting:

Dustin Ackley: 8-26(.307), HR, 2 RBI's, 5 runs, SB, .357 OB%
Brendan Ryan: 7-29(.241), 2 RBI's, 4 runs, SB
Ichiro: 7-28(.250), RBI, run, 2 SB's

Good Pitching:

Felix Hernandez: 15 IP, 1.80 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, 16 K's
Blake Beavan: 6.1 IP, 2.84 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, K
Jason Vargas: 0-1, 8 IP, 2.25 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 6 K's

The Bad:

There was plenty of bad this week for the Mariners. The Mariners season basically ended in Anaheim. The hitting which has been terrible all season long and I was worried the minute the pitching went from dominant to good a long losing streak would follow. The Mariners looked helpless at the plate this week. The strikeouts were racking up as the bats were silent. The Mariners who were getting production from Adam Kennedy and Justin Smoak aren't getting much from them. In fact Justin Smoak has been pretty bad since June. The Mariners pitching was solid but saw two key guys slump for them in David Pauley and Michael Pineda. Pineda has been rough in his last three starts hopefully this isn't a sign of arm fatigue. The Mariners went 2-5 so therefore I'm going to have a ton of guys on the bad list this week.

Bad Hitting:

Justin Smoak: 3-26(.115), 2 RBI's, 7 K's
Carlos Peguero: 2-15(.133), RBI, 9 K's
Adam Kennedy: 4-23(.173), 3 RBI's, 4 K's
Greg Halman: 4-18(.222), run, 2 SB's, 6 K's
Kyle Seager: 1-12(.083), 3 K's. Hit .083/.214/.083 his debut week in the bigs
Franklin Gutierrez: 4-19(.210), 3 runs, 2 SB, 4 K's
Josh Bard: 2-9(.222), HR, RBI, run

Bad Pitching:

David Pauley: 0-2, 2.1 IP, 11.59 ERA, 2.14 WHIP, K
Michael Pineda: 1-1, 11 IP, 6.54 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 14 K's

The Mariners aren't getting much hitting from certain guys as everyone in the lineup not named Dustin Ackley has their averages dropping.

Justin Smoak got off to a hot start in April hitting .284/.393/.527 with four HR's and 17 RBI's with 18 K's to 14 BB's. In May Smoak saw his hitting drop to .229/.333/.417 with four HR's and 14 RBI's with 27 K's to 14 BB's. In June Smoak was hitting similar to May as he hit .226/.318/.419 with four HR's but just nine RBI's with 16 K's to 12 BB's. So far in July Smoak has been terrible hitting .118/.179/.176 with no home runs and just three RBI's with 9 K's to 3 BB's. Not trying to pick on Smoak but he is a big part of the offense now and for the future.

The Ugly:

The ugly this week was the fact the Mariners won't be playing a meaningful game in August for the fourth straight season. The Mariners won't be playing a meaningful game in September for the eighth straight season. The Mariners hitting has been terrible this season and the overachieving bullpen is coming down to earth once again. The Mariners are finding themselves rebuilding yet again. The Mariners are years away from being a good team with the current offense and judging by the minor league system. Dustin Ackley and maybe Justin Smoak only youngsters I'm excited about. Kyle Seager could be a good hitter but he is a year or two away. The Mariners have nothing in their outfield as we are witnessing with Greg Halman and Carlos Peguero's non stop strikeouts. The Mariners need to get tons of depth as they have way to many holes offensively.

Ugly Hitting:

Seattle Mariners: .224/.290/.331 which is a terrible statline for an individual much less a team. The Mariners rank dead last in all of baseball in batting average, on base percentage, slugging percentage, hits and runs. The Mariners rank 29th out of 30 teams in RBI's, 28th in doubles and 26th in home runs.

Carlos Peguero: hitting .199/.250/.376 on the season. Peguero has struck out 52 times in 141 AB's which is 34.2% of the time. Peguero has only walked seven times this year for just 4.6% of the time. His "power" isn't that great either as he homers one in 23.5 at bats. Wedge needs to stop playing him and send his ass down.

Franklin Gutierrez: hitting .187/.218/.227 on the season. Gutierrez has just one home run in 150 AB's on the season. He is only walking 3.8% of the time which is a terrible percentage. Basically he is a hitter who doesn't walk or hit for power.

Chone Figgins: hitting .183/.231/.244 on the season. Figgins has been a disaster for the Mariners. He like Gutierrez doesn't walk or hit for power either. Figgins during his all-star season with the Angels two years ago was walking 13.9% of the time while now he is walking only 6.0% of the time. He is only stealing bases at a 60.0% clip which isn't that good and leads the team in errors with 10.

The Mariners offense is pretty terrible and are constantly throwing out three hitters who are hitting below the mendoza line. The Mariners offense is awful and if not for the pitching like in 2009 the team would be having a season like they did in 2010. The Mariners are on pace to win 76 games right now and considering I predicted 72 wins before the year I don't feel so bad. Look for the Mariners record to get worse after they trade away some decent pieces as well.

AL West Standings:

Texas Rangers: 51-41, first place
L.A. Angels: 50-42, 1.0 GB
Seattle Mariners: 43-48, 7.5 GB
Oakland A's: 39-53, 12.0 GB

The Mariners have their work set out for them for the rest of the year. The Mariners can't afford a rebuilding season so don't expect a complete fire sell. The Mariners also don't have many tradeable pieces as they either have guys that makes no sense to trade, over priced bad players, cheap guys under club control and very few veterans that typically get traded this time of the year. The first half ride was fun while it lasted but that 5-1 collapse to the Washington Nationals turns out to be the turning point of the season. No longer does Eric Wedge look like a genius instead just a manager who allows his pitchers to walk hitters on three balls. The Mariners in the second half need to develope the young guys but just remember other than Ackley, Smoak and Seager the other hitters won't be on this roster by 2013. Just like the past three seasons the Mariners will be sellers at the trade deadline.

Seattle Mariners weekly review: June 27th-July 3rd edition

By Kshell

This week the Seattle Mariners completed another 2-4 week which saw them get swept at home to the Atlanta Braves but recover to take the San Diego Padres two out of three. The Mariners aren't playing well having lost 15 of their last 25 games including going 4-8 the last two weeks. The Mariners once again saw their starting pitching pitch great and yet received no wins. The Mariners hitters were silent once again and in particular two hitters have been killing them this season. The fans have been riding one hitter but have given the other hitter a free pass which I won't be doing with this weekly review. The Mariners were swept to the Braves despite throwing Erik Bedard who later landed on the DL, all-star hopeful Michael Pineda and all-star Felix Hernandez. Then against the Padres the Mariners saw their starting pitching throw 25 innings while allowing just two earned runs yet only won two of three games. So like I do in a losing week I'll go over the good(starting pitching), the bad(hitting) and the ugly(more hitting).

The Good:

This week the Mariners went just 2-4 but not everything was bad. The starting pitching the last two weeks has been pretty good despite the poor record. Against the San Diego Padres this season the Mariners went 5-1 with a 0.50 ERA in six games. The pitching like it has all season long has carried the team. The Mariners did see rookie sensation Dustin Ackley once again do well even though he had to sit out two games due to a bruise rib. The Mariners also saw the return of Jack Cust who hadn't started a game in over two weeks due to interleague play. The Mariners this week also saw the major league debut of Blake Beavan who was acquired in the Cliff Lee trade and he pitched terrific getting the win in his major league debut.

Good Hitting:

Dustin Ackley: 4-13(.308), HR, 4 RBI's, run, SB, .400 on base percentage
Jack Cust: 3-12(.250), HR, 4 RBI's, run, .400 on base percentage
Brendan Ryan: 6-22(.272), 4 runs, 3 SB's, .384 on base percentage
Greg Halman: 3-11(.272), SB

Good Pitching:

Jason Vargas: 1-0, 9 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 7 K's
Doug Fister: 0-1, 9 IP, 1.00 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, 7 K's
Blake Beavan: 1-0, 7 IP, 1.29 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 4 K's
Erik Bedard: 0-1, 7 IP, 3.86 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 5 K's
Brandon League: save, 2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, 2 K's

Jason Vargas now leads the American League with three complete game shutouts as he shutout the Padres 6-0 on friday night.

Dustin Ackley has reached base in all 13 games he has appeared in. For the year Ackley is hitting .302/.367/.558 on the season.

The Bad:

The Mariners aren't winning games anymore due to a lack of offense. The Mariners this week saw three regular hitters slump terribly. In the case of all three hitters these slumps have extended now for two weeks. For two of those hitters it has happened the entire season. The Mariners also saw their two best pitchers Felix Hernandez and Michael Pineda get roughed up a bit by the Braves. In the case of Pineda he tied a career high with five walks while Hernandez allowed 10 hits in 7 2/3 innings while throwing 127 pitches. The Mariners manager Eric Wedge also made another mistake(He's had a terrible three weeks by the way) when he didn't argue a walk which should have been only three balls in Saturday's 1-0 loss. That walk that shouldn't have been was a big deal since he scored the only run of the game while nobody on the Mariners bench caught that mistake. The Mariners have pitched well the last two weeks but are just 4-8 because the hitting has failed them yet again.

Bad Hitting:

Franklin Gutierrez: 1-17(.058), run, 5 K's, 1-21(.047) slump dating back
Justin Smoak: 1-20(.050), RBI, 2 runs, 5 K's, 1-29(.034) slump dating back
Chone Figgins: 1-10(.100), SB, 2 K's, 1-23(.043) slump dating back

Bad Pitching:

Michael Pineda: 0-1, 6.1 IP, 5.68 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 5 K's
Felix Hernandez: 0-1, 7.2 IP, 5.86 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, 6 K's

The Mariners offense this week averaged just 2.8 runs per game this week as they fell to 2-4 on the week. The Mariners completed interleague play going 9-9 which was helped by going 5-1 against the Padres.

The Ugly:

The Mariners are getting nothing from Chone Figgins and the fans are noticing by booing him every time he records an out. On the other hand Franklin Gutierrez I feel is getting a free pass with his poor hitting as are a few other hitters. The Mariners pitching staff has been pitching great this whole year but the offense once again has been terrible this season as the Mariners fall to third place in the division for the first time in over a month. The Mariners also have a tough schedule coming up so they could find themselves completely out of the race by the trade deadline if they don't make a trade.

Bad Hitting:

Chone Figgins: On the season is hitting .185/.230/.246 in 260 AB's
Franklin Gutierrez: On the season is hitting .183/.219/.229 in 131 AB's
Mike Carp: Hitting .200/.333/.257 with ZERO RBI's or runs in 35 AB's
Carlos Peguero: Hitting .206/.265/.405 in 126 AB's with 43 K's to 7 BB's

Seattle Mariners: Hitting .226/.294/.336 as a team on the season which is pathetic.

The Mariners currently rank dead last in batting average, on base percentage, runs scored, and base hits. The Mariners rank second to last in slugging percentage, and RBI's while ranking third to last in doubles. In other words the Mariners offense is the all around worst offense in all of baseball. The Mariners on the season are averaging just 3.4 runs per game for the season. The Mariners offense has gotten worse as the season has gone on due to manager Eric Wedge's agressive approach towards hitting. Wedge would rather see you be a hacker(Peguerro) than a guy who takes pitches(Cust or Carp). The value of the walk is lost with this team which is too bad to see.

AL West Standings:

Texas Rangers: 44-41, Tied First Place
L.A. Angels: 44-41, Tied First Place
Seattle Mariners: 41-43, 2.5 GB
Oakland A's: 38-47, 6.0 GB

In conclusion, the Mariners completed a rough stretch where they have lost 15 of 25 games. The schedule isn't any more friendly as the Mariners play 16 of their next 20 games on the road. In fact the Mariners have a tough schedule for their next 45 games which if the offense remains the same will most likely kill their slim chances of the playoffs. The Mariners play the Angels on the road for four games which is huge going into the all-star break. Wedge has had a rough last couple of weeks especially with his hitting lineups like the game I went to on Saturday when he had Gutierrez bat third despite Figgins and Jack Wilson also playing. The Mariners pitching has been great but if the pitching ever decides to be average for a week it could be an ugly week for the Mariners. This week the Mariners play seven games against their own division this is their sink or swim week that is for sure. The Mariners better get some hitting or else they'll be sinking this week.

Seattle Mariners midseason report card

By Kshell

The Seattle Mariners were recently swept by the Atlanta Braves which dropped their record to 39-42. That also was the end of the first half of the season. Now many will consider after the All-Star game to be the true second half I figured I'd do a midseason report card. What I'll do is grade on a bit of a curve based on player expectations heading into the season. I'll grade each player on the roster if healthy while posting their stats. I"ll also explain my grade on each player. If you have been following my weekly recaps or the Mariners in general you'll notice the pitching will grade out. The hitting probably won't grade well at all as the hitting for the season has been down right terrible. Also any player like Milton Bradley for an example who was released during the season would receive an F. So I'll start off by grading the regular starting nine.

Hitters, Grade: D

Ichiro, right fielder. Grade: C

Hitting .275/.321/.335 on the season. Has 92 hits, 1 HR, 22 RBI's, 42 runs, 20 SB's

Ichiro is experiencing by far his worst season of his major league career. At the halfway point he is a negative UZR(Ultimate Zone Rating) defender and isn't hitting like he usually does. As you can see Ichiro for the first time in his career isn't on pace to record 200+ hits in a season. Ichiro is still stealing bases just fine as he's on pace for 40 stolen bases. Ichiro is capable of having a big second half which the Mariners are hoping he will do.

Brendan Ryan, Shortstop. Grade: B-

Hitting .252/.317/.306 on the season. Has 61 hits, 0 HR's, 24 RBI's, 23 runs, 3 SB's

Brendan Ryan has been a nice addition to the Mariners this season. I know the local media tends to overrate him due to him being a great interview. He has also played great shortstop defensively and has hit better than I expected going into the season. Ryan has been the #2 hitter in the lineup by default since the Mariners lineup has been so terrible. Ryan has exceeded expectations so far and isn't the problem on offense.

Adam Kennedy, second base/third base. Grade: B

Hitting .264/.304/.410 on the season. Has 56 hits, 6 HR's, 24 RBI's, 25 runs, 6 SB's

Adam Kennedy currently third in the Mariners lineup started the season off as a spring training invite. It didn't take long for Kennedy to take Jack Wilson's job at second base. Then with Dustin Ackley being called up and Chone Figgins struggling Kennedy has taken over at third base. Kennedy is on pace to hit 12 HR's while driving in 48 runners which is way more than even the biggest Mariners homer could have ever predicted.

Justin Smoak, first base. Grade: C+

Hitting .243/.345/.449 on the season. Has 64 hits, 12 HR's, 40 RBI's, 22 runs

Justin Smoak was the key piece in the Cliff Lee trade from the Texas Rangers last year. Smoak currently is slumping badly but for the most part is having a good year. He is on pace for 24 HR's and 80 RBI's which the Mariners would take from him heading into the season. He has a good OB% that will go up when he makes more contact. So far Smoak is progressing well and the Mariners are glad he is part of their future for a while. If Smoak can hit in the .260 range with those power numbers the Mariners will take that for the next decade.

Dustin Ackley, second base. Grade: A

Hitting .300/.378/.575 on the season. Has 12 hits, 2 HR's, 6 RBI's, 7 runs, 1 SB(12 games)

Dustin Ackley the #2 pick overall in the 2009 baseball draft has been great since he has been called up. In 12 games he has flashed some good defense and has been terrific at the plate. Ackley who is a lefty is 6-8 on the season against left handers including three tough left handed specialist and Cole Hamels. I know this is only 12 games but if Ackley does this for a whole season he would have 162 hits, 27 HR's, 81 RBI's, 94.5 runs and 13.5 SB's which would put him in the All-star game ever season as a second baseman. Ackley has definately given the fans one hitter you look forward to watching hit.

Miguel Olivo, Catcher. Grade: C-

Hitting .222/.267/.399 on the season. Has 55 hits, 12 HR's, 38 RBI's, 34 runs, 2 SB's

Miguel Olivo in his second stint with the Mariners is having a weird season. On one hand he is on pace to hit 24 HR's, 76 RBI's and score 68 runs at the catcher position which would be incredible. On the other hand his defense this season has been terrible and he's hitting in the .220 range. His on base percentage is well below .300 which is also horrible. Olivo since most catchers are bad grades as a C- as I thought he was going to be a disaster in Seattle so he has exceeded my expectations barely.

Jack Cust, DH. Grade: D

Hitting .219/.359/.339 on the season. Has 42 hits, 3 HR's, 21 RBI's, 17 runs

Jack Cust was brought in to walk and hit for some power. He is walking as he leads the team in on base percentage amongst those who have played all season long. However he was brought in for power and being on pace for just six HR's and 42 RBI's simply won't cut it. He avoids getting the dreaded F due to his walking. Cust needs to show he can do more than just walk or he won't be on this roster very long.

Carlos Peguero, Left Fielder. Grade: D+

Hitting .202/.264/.412 on the season. Has 24 hits, 6 HR's, 16 RBI's, 14 runs

Peguero wasn't even on the radar heading into the season so for that he avoids an F. He has also shown decent power with six HR's in 119 AB's(one HR every 20 AB's) so that is the good. The bad is his negative UZR rating in defense, his inability to make contact enough, and he never walks. Peguero looks lost at the plate and if he has any chance of ever being a productive hitter he needs to be sent down to triple A. He is striking out over 33% of his at bats so his power is nice but not at the rate he strikes out. The fans have came around on Peguero as I'm no longer an "idiot" for saying he's not very good.

Franklin Gutierrez, centerfield. Grade: F

Hitting .197/.228/.246 on the season. Has 24 hits, 1 HR, 8 RBI's, 7 runs, 2 SB's

Franklin Gutierrez is playing great defense this year and started the season off sick where he lost over 30 pounds. Still through 122 at bats this season he has looked terrible. Gutierrez in the past has been a decent hitter with decent power but this year he has been terrible. He isn't walking either so he is getting out on average seven times out of every nine plate appearance.

Chone Figgins, third base. Grade: F

Hitting .186/.232/.249 on the season. Has 47 hits, 1 HR, 14 RBI's, 21 runs, 8 SB's

Chone Figgins is having one of the most unproductive seasons in Seattle Mariners history. Figgins has over 250 AB's yet is on pace to drive in 28 runs and score only 42 runs. The only people who like Figgins are alcoholics. Due to Figgins piss poor batting average Norm's a local bar in Seattle is selling beer at the price of Figgins batting average every monday for all day long. Figgins who is getting worse as the season is going on is due to be on the DL for "suckitis" at any moment. Figgins is owed 18 million the next two seasons and 4.5 million the rest of this year so the Mariners can't afford to burn 22.5 million dollars. They already lit 12 million dollars on fire by releasing Milton Bradley earlier this season. The Mariners are stuck with Figgins for a while which sucks.

Jack Wilson, second base/shortstop. Grade: F

Hitting .230/.256/.254 on the season. Has 28 hits, 0 HR's, 6 RBI's, 18 runs, 5 SB's

Jack Wilson who has been the Mariners starting shortstop the last season and a half was the opening day second baseman this year. He quickly got in manager Eric Wedge's doghouse and hasn't really done well enough to get out of it. Wilson has been a terrible hitter this season and look for him to be dealt soon as he serves no purpose on this ballclub. Wilson is another expensive contract that is thankfull off the books at the end of the season.

Pitchers, Grade: B+

Felix Hernandez, starting pitcher. Grade: B-

Has a record of 8-7, 3.35 ERA, 1.19 WHIP for the season. Has pitched 129 innings, struck out 124 batters, 2 Complete games and .233 BAA

The reigning Cy Young award winner Felix Hernandez has pitched below his capabilities that is for sure. Hernandez has been an innings eater this year as on average he is giving the Mariners a little over seven innings a start. Hernandez has had some dominant starts on the year but too many times he has had a rough inning every other start. Hernandez the Mariners are still waiting for him to have that dominant month which is capable of. As of right now Hernandez is on pace for 258 innings pitched with 248 strikeouts which is quite a lot. I think because Hernandez is so good people forget he isn't having that terrible of a season.

Michael Pineda, starting pitcher. Grade: A

Has a record of 7-5, 2.65 ERA, 1.03 WHIP on the season. Has pitched 102 innings, struck out 99 hitters and .198 BAA

As it stands now Pineda might be the only guy representing the Mariners at hte all-star game unless Hernandez has two dominant starts in his next two starts. Pineda going into the year was supposed to be the teams fifth starter yet he has pitched the best. In fact I'd call Pineda the team MVP for the first half. Pineda has been great this year but you have to be concerned about his workload as he has never thrown more than 140 innings in a season. He is on pace for 204 innings this year with 198 strikeouts. Pineda is the leading candidate for the American League's rookie of the year.

Erik Bedard, starting pitcher. Grade: B+

Has a record of 4-6, 3.00 ERA, 1.11 WHIP on the season. Has pitched 90 innings, striking out 85 hitters and .222 BAA

Erik Bedard was recently placed on the DL which is never a good thing given his injury past. Bedard for the first half of the season has been terrific. After a horrific first four starts to this season Bedard has been lights out. In his last 11 starts Bedard has pitched 71.1 innings with an ERA of 1.76 and a 0.88 WHIP with 68 strikeouts. Bedard has been great for the Mariners considering going into the year nobody knew what they were going to get from him this has been incredible. Bedard if this latest injury to his knee isn't too bad could win the comeback player of the year award in the American League.

Doug Fister, starting pitcher. Grade: B+

Has a record of 3-8, 3.18 ERA, 1.20 WHIP on the season. Has pitched 110.1 innings, struck out 70 hitters, has 2 complete games and .260 BAA

Doug Fister has been great for the Mariners despite his bad record. He is keeping the team in games with his low ERA and is giving the team innings averaging almost seven innings a start. Fister has done everything and more a team could ask for from their back of the rotation starter. Fister every fifth day is giving the team a quality seven innings just has had a hard time getting run support this year. Fister isn't putting up flashy numbers but is on pace to give the Mariners 220.2 innings this season.

Jason Vargas, starting pitcher. Grade: B-

Has a record of 5-5, 3.88 ERA, 1.21 WHIP for the season. Has pitched 104.1 innings, struck out 68 batters, has 2 complete game shutouts and .241 BAA

Jason Vargas is having a solid season for the Mariners. Vargas my only complaint on him is he needs to be more consistent. Vargas this year too many times is terrific or terrible in a start. Still for basically the Mariners fifth starter Vargas is on pace to give them 208.2 innings pitched this season. Vargas was the fifth best player when Jack Zduriencik traded J.J. Putz and now he is the best player in that trade. Vargas like all the starting pitchers this year have been lights out.

Brandon League, closer. Grade: B

Has 21 saves, 0-4, 3.48 ERA, 1.07 WHIP for the season. Has pitched 33.2 innings, struck out 21 batters and .242 BAA

Brandon League who was supposed to be the set up man this year has done a good job as the closer. He has 21 saves in 24 opportunities which is a little over 85% success rate. League would be having an all-star season if not for one awful week in May. As is League is exceeding most fans expectations and has been lock down closer for the team.

David Pauley, reliever. Grade: A

Has a record of 5-1, 5 holds, 1.44 ERA, 0.87 WHIP for the season. Has pitched 43.2 innings, struck out 27 batters and .184 BAA

David Pauley has been a great story for the Mariners this season. Pauley who was a journeyman failed starter is having an all-star season as a setup man. Pauley began the season as a long reliever then has taken over the eighth inning job this season. Pauley is a big reason why the Mariners are competing so well for the division race.

Jamey Wright, reliever. Grade: B

Has a record of 0-2, 11 holds, 3.18 ERA, 1.35 WHIP for the season. Has pitched 34 innings, struck out 22 batters and .256 BAA

Jamey Wright another setup reliever the Mariners didn't expect much out of this season. He is also like Pauley a failed reliever who is a big reason why the Mariners are contending for the AL West. Wright has slowed down this past month but that shouldn't take away how great he was the first two months. He leads the team with 11 holds as he was the eighth inning man for the first two months. Wright had a good first half and hopefully he continues to pitch like he did in April and May.

Chris Ray, reliever. Grade: C-

Has a record of 3-2, 1 hold, 5.24 ERA, 1.30 WHIP for the season. Has pitched 22.1 innings, struck out 16 hitters and .271 BAA

When the Mariners signed Ray he was supposed to be second setup man. Then with David Aardsma being on the DL he was supposed to be the eighth inning man. Ray was terrible in April but has since recovered. If Ray continues to pitch like he has in May and June the Mariners will gladly take that.

Aaron Laffey, reliever. Grade: A-

Has a record of 1-1, 3 holds, 1.93 ERA, 1.32 WHIP on the season. Has pitched 32.2 innings, struck out 17 hitters and .254 BAA

Just like with most of the bullpen Laffey is another failed starter who is in the bullpen. Laffey the only Mariners left hander in their bullpen has done a pretty good job this season. Laffey has an ERA under two and has been lights out for them out of the bullpen. His recent outing since it is so fresh in my mind is why he didn't receive an A grade. Laffey like the rest of the bullpen has been great this season.

Manager Grade:

Eric Wedge, Manager. Grade: C+

I think Eric Wedge has done a pretty good job in his first season despite the recent struggles of losing 14 of 22 games. The Mariners are on pace to go 78-84 which is a losing season but still a 17 game improvement from last season. I still think Wedge has some room to improve especially his batting order, how he wants every hitter to be a hacker. I do think Wedge for the most part is doing the best he can with what little he has on offense. However you do this Mariners lineup the lineup won't produce many runs as they simply aren't a good offense. With that I'd say Wedge has done an above average job so far this year.

In conclusion, the first half of the season is over for the Mariners. I know it ended in a way that we wouldn't have liked. On the other hand this was a team that I thought would win just 72 games so they have exceeded my expectations so far. Overall I'd give the team the same grade I gave Wedge which is a C+. The pitching has been great while the hitting has been terrible. The one thing I'll point out is at least the Mariners so far have the fans caring again. This first half ended on a bad note and the team is under .500 but the first half of the season mattered. While last year mid May it no longer mattered anymore. So I hope you enjoyed the grades I gave out on the players who had enough evidence to grade(why I left out Mike Carp, Greg Halman and Jeff Gray). The first half ended and hopefully the second half can produce some offense with a few more wins than the first half.