If I ran Major League Baseball.....

By Kshell

The Major League baseball playoffs are currently going on and just like they have in the past are getting killed in the ratings by the NFL. Baseball recently announced that the Houston Astros are moving from the National League Central to the American League west. Now every division has five teams but the problem is the leagues now each have 15 teams. The problem with this is that interleague play will be going all season long. Two teams will start the year off with interleague play while two other teams will end the season with interleague play which will piss off every old school baseball fan. Baseball is also expanding the playoffs to five teams. I think these are good ideas and in this following post I'll explain how I can solve the baseball season.

To solve the interleague problem I would expand the league to 32 teams. The two cities I would hand pick assuming they could get a stadium would be Las Vegas, Nevada and Portland, Oregon. Baseball doesn't have enough western teams as the teams out west constantly rack up the miles in travel. Las Vegas is a great sports city and have supported the 51's for years. The fear with Las Vegas is the gambling aspect. I understand that fear but with cell phones and the internet if you are going to bet on games that is very easy to do so. I also picked Portland even though it is a bad triple A baseball city but I feel has a passionate fan base. The city of Portland has shown great love for their Portland Trail Blazers and now Portland Timbers who are both leagues that is below Major League Baseball. I also added them to create more rivalries going forward. With these two teams I would be like the NFL where I'd have eight divisions of four teams. Like the NFL I would also have each league have six playoff teams with the top two seeds receiving a bye week. The first round would be a best of three, second round best of five then LCS and World Series play would be best of seven. I would also make sure both leagues are on the same page so either both have the DH or neither has the DH.

New Divisions:

AL Northwest:
Seattle Mariners
San Francisco Giants
Oakland A's
Portland Beavers

NL Pacific Division:
Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles of Anaheim Angels
San Diego Padres
Las Vegas Snake Eyes

AL Midwest Divison:
Kansas City Royals
St.Louis Cardinals
Chicago Cubs
Chicago Whitesox

NL Mountain Division:
Colorado Rockies
Arizona Diamond Backs
Texas Rangers
Houston Astros

AL Southern Division:
Tampa Bay Rays
Florida Marlins
Atlanta Braves
Washington Nationals

NL Northern Division:
Detroit Tigers
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
Minnesota Twins

AL Atlantic Division:
New York Yankees
Boston Red Sox
New York Mets
Toronto Blue Jays

NL Atlantic Division:
Balitmore Orioles
Cleveland Indians
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates

In conclusion, take a time to digest that and look at all the natural rivalries in the divisions. There wasn't enough southern teams so I had to split up the Orioles and Nationals same with Indians and Reds. Just as a Mariners fan look at our division you would have Seattle-Portland then the Bay Area teams. In the NL west you would have the LA teams with the Padres and Las Vegas all within four hours of each other. I think the attendance would increase as there would be more rivalries plus with having six playoff teams that is 37.5% of the league makes the playoffs so more playoff races will be involved. I know this is probably a long ways from happening but I think baseball should embrace the NFL model. I know a Seattle-Portland game at Safeco Field or down in Portland would be a packed house and the thought of that has me excited. Not to mention going on a road trip to Las Vegas to watch the Mariners play. Hopefully someday this dream of mine can finally become a reality.

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: August 1st-7th edition

By Kshell

The Seattle Mariners just completed a successful week that saw them go 4-2. The Mariners swept the Oakland Athletics in a three game sweep then dropped two out of three to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Mariners saw much improved hitting this week as well as the pitching was fantastic. The Mariners starting pitchers were great in all six starts this week which was nice to see. The Mariners once again are entering a tough stretch on their schedule so it was nice to see them having a winning week. The Mariners played great in sweeping the A's then allowed just four runs in the series loss to the Angels. The Mariners won four out of six games and their two losses were by a single run. It was nice to see the team playing competitive unlike that disasterous 17 game losing streak. So this week I'll talk about the good(tons of players), the bad(not many players) and the awesome(the guys the Mariners have called up or traded for).

The Good:

The Mariners had plenty of good this week as they went 4-2. The hitting finally stepped up in the series sweep of the Oakland A's. The pitching was terrific all week as all six games saw the Mariners starting pitchers earn a quality start. This week also saw all-star pitcher Felix Hernandez dominate his opponents striking out 21 batters in just 14.1 innings. The Mariners have received great pitching from Blake Beavan this year as well as he broke Michael Pineda's record for starting his Mariners career with six straight quality starts. The Mariners already have seen great return on their trades with Charlie Furbush, Casper Wells and Trayvon Robinson. It was nice seeing the Mariners playing good baseball with the young kids from Tacoma doing most of the damage.

Good Hitting:

Mike Carp: 10-25(.400), HR, 6 RBI's, 4 runs
Casper Wells: 6-19(.315), HR, 4 RBI's, 3 runs, SB
Brendan Ryan: 6-12(.500), RBI, 3 runs, .571 OB%
Ichiro: 8-26(.307), RBI, 4 runs, SB
Justin Smoak: 2-5(.400), 2 runs, .571 OB%
Miguel Olivo: 5-17(.294), 2 RBI's
Dustin Ackley: 6-22(.272), 3 RBI's, 4 runs, .384 OB%

Good Pitching:

Blake Beavan: 2-0, 14.2 IP, 2.45 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 5 K's
Charlie Furbush: 1-0, 5 IP, 1.80 ERA, 0.40 WHIP, 3 K's
Brandon League: 3.2 IP, 2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 2 K's, 2 saves
Josh Lueke: 2.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 3 K's
Jamey Wright: 4.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 4 K's
Jason Vargas: 6 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 3 K's
Felix Hernandez: 1-1, 14.1 IP, 2.51 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 21 K's

As you can see the starting pitching this week was terrific. The starting pitching this week went 4-1 with an ERA of 1.57 while throwing 40 innings(6.2 innings a start) for the week. The starters had a WHIP of 0.97 with 32 strikeouts. The starting pitching despite trading away two guys this past week was terrific. The hitting was pretty good as well with the Mariners having five guys hit over .300 on the week. This was the best week the Mariners have had in a few months.

The Bad:

The Mariners didn't have much bad this week which was refreshing. The bad did take place against the Angels where the Mariners saw their starting pitching go 22 innings allowing just 3 runs(1.22 ERA) with just one win to show for it. The hitting was once again silent down in Anaheim and there is one hitter in particular who could be in jeopardy of losing his job. The Mariners this past trade deadline traded for three outfielders and two are already up. THe Mariners have already shipped out one slumping outfielder and another could be next. The Mariners with these trades have put Franklin Gutierrez on notice. The pitching this week was terrific minus two bullpen blow ups which happens during a long season. The Mariners were also reminded this week why Jack Wilson never plays because he showed he is a terrible hitter. The roster is changing and some of the dead weight will be shipped out of town before opening day next year.

Bad Hitting:

Franklin Gutierrez: 4-19(.210), 2 RBI's, run, 4 K's
Adam Kennedy: 2-15(.133), 2 RBI's, run, sb, 6 K's
Greg Halman: 0-4(.000), 3 K's
Jack Wilson: 3-16(.187), run, 7 K's, CS

Bad Pitching:

Dan Cortes: 0-1, 0.1 IP, 27.00 ERA, 9.09 WHIP
Jeff Gray: 1.2 IP, 16.19 ERA, 2.99 WHIP, 2 K's

Greg Halman was sent down after hitting 2-28(.071) with 13 strikeouts and no walks. His second half line was .071/.103/.179 which won't cut it at the big league level.

The other player who is put on notice is Gutierrez. Guiterrez for the season is hitting .195/.237/.236 on the season with just one home run and 11 RBI's in 220 at bats on the season. He is slowly hitting better but that isn't enough to make up for this piss poor season he is having. I predict if Gutierrez finishes the season under .200 he won't be back next year.

The Awesome:

The awesome this week is all the Mariners who weren't part of the opening day roster who are contributing. The Mariners two best hitters right now are Dustin Ackley and Mike Carp. The Mariners also saw Casper Wells and Trayvon Robinson do well this week. The pitching of Blake Beavan and Charlie Furbush makes fans say Doug Fister and Erik Bedard who? The Mariners are getting some good seasons out of Tacoma players. If you include Michael Pineda who is a rookie the Mariners future appears to be bright. Now the Mariners will ultimately have to add to this nucleaus but at least a foundation appears set in place.

Awesome Hitting:

Dustin Ackley: Hitting .301/.368/.529 in 153 AB's. Has 5 HR's, 23 RBI's, 21 runs. Ackley has been a huge lift this season and his glove has been great. He's been consistent all year and his slumps when they happen will be very few and far between.

Mike Carp: Hitting .311/.372/.476 in 103 AB's. Has 3 HR's, 15 RBI's, and 9 runs. Carp since his second call up where he is getting consistent playing time is hitting .368/.394/.588 in 68 AB's. He has 3 HR's and 15 RBI's during that stretch. I don't know why Eric Wedge decided to play Carlos Peguero over Carp when the Mariners were still in a playoff chase.

Casper Wells: Hitting .304/.360/.435 in 23 AB's with the Mariners. This is small sample size but with Detroit he also hit .257/.323/.451 in 113 AB's. For his career he is hitting .288/.343/.485 in 229 AB's which isn't much to judge but it sure is better than what the Mariners have been getting all year long.

Awesome Pitching:

Blake Beavan: 3-2, 41.1 IP, 2.83 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 17 K's, .245 BAA . Beavan is looking like the best player in the Cliff Lee trade. He has pitched a quality start in all six starts and is averaging almost seven innings a start. As you can see Beavan is a pitch to contact type of pitcher(Fister jr). When Bedard went down Beavan took advantage which showed the organization Fister was expendable as they are similar pitchers. Beavan a former first round pick in the 2007 draft has pitched pretty well.

Charlie Furbush: 1-0, 6 IP, 3.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 3 K's, .150 BAA. Furbush looked great in his first start with the Mariners. Granted it was a day game with the shadows against the Oakland A's but still he looked pretty good out there. Furbush is a fourth round pick in the 2007 draft and will be given a chance to start the rest of the season to earn a spot in next years starting rotation.

Josh Lueke: 1-1, 12.2 IP, 9.24 ERA, 1.89 WHIP, 14 K's, .327 BAA. I'm sure your wondering why I included Lueke on here. Well he wasn't ready in April that is for sure but he went to Tacoma and made the PCL all-star team. Since he has been called up he has been lights out as well. In the second half Lueke has pitched 6.1 innings, 1.42 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 6 K's, .208 BAA. Lueke has been terrific so far since his call up.

I've been and will continue to be critical of Jack Zduriencik. I also wouldn't be doing a good job if I didn't point what he has appeared to have done right. Ackley was his draft pick which anyone could have made but the other players I listed he has traded for in the past calender year. Now if Zduriencik can just use his eye for young talent on major league talent and acquire some major league hitters in free agency the Mariners could finally have a team.

AL West Standings:

Texas Rangers: 64-51, First Place
L.A. Angels: 63-52, 1.0 GB
Oakland A's: 51-63, 12.5 GB
Seattle Mariners: 49-64, 14.0 GB

In conclusion, the Mariners got better for the future with their trades and for now. Manager Eric Wedge actually has some options to work with which he didn't before. The Mariners have some decent hitters in the outfield which has been nice to see. The Mariners face a tough schedule for the rest of the month. I remember at the start of July thinking the next 60 games is going to be tough on this team. I'm glad the Mariners still have some fight in them but they need to be more consistent to avoid another long losing streak. It has been nice seeing guys who weren't on the opening day roster contributing.

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 13th-June 19th edition

By Kshell

This week saw the beginning of hopefully a new era for the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners finally called up highly rated prospect Dustin Ackley when they took on the Philadelphia Phillies who came into this series with a seven game winning streak. The Mariners partly because of Ackley's bat defeated the Phillies two out of three. The called up Ackley after losing two out of three to division rival the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. This week saw plenty of great pitching for the Mariners and once again the hitting slumped this week. This was a tough week hitting wise for any team as the Mariners went up against Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. So for the Mariners to go 3-3 this week was pretty incredible. The Mariners are also just a half game back of first place of the Texas Rangers in the closely tight AL West race. The Mariners went 3-3 this week but I'll keep things positive so I'll go with the good(pitching as usual), the bad(two call ups in Left Field) and the awesome(more on two specific pitchers). The Mariners under first year manager Eric Wedge are playing some good baseball and with the addition of Ackley look for the offense to improve.

The Good:

Well there was plenty of good to talk about this week for the Mariners. The Mariners saw two prospects hit their first career major league home run this week. The fans packed the house this weekend including selling out Fathers Day for only the second sell out of the season. The Mariners also saw Justin Smoak break out of his slump last week and now this week saw Ichiro come alive. Ichiro who had been slumping badly for about six weeks broke out of his slump this week. Was it because he finally got a day off? Who knows but all I know is it was nice to see Ichiro on base. When on base Ichiro was stealing some bases this week as well. Another bright spot was the pitching especially by Jason Vargas who if not for a bad break against the Angels would have went 2-0 this week. As is Vargas threw a complete shutout to outpitch Cole Hamels and win 2-0 over the Phillies. There was indeed plenty of good things to talk about this week which was nice to see for the Mariners.

Good Hitting:

Ichiro: 12-25(.480), 6 runs, 4 SB's
Greg Halman: 3-10(.300), HR(first career), Run, RBI, SB
Justin Smoak: 6-17(.352), 2 RBI's, 6 BB's(.521 OB%)
Dustin Ackley: 3-11(.273), HR(first career), RBI, 2 runs. Hit .273/.273/.727 for the week

Good Pitching:

Michael Pineda: 1-0, 6 IP, 1.50 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 5 K's
Erik Bedard: 1-0, 7 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.43 WHIP, 5 K's
Brandon League: 2 saves, 2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.50 WHIP
Jason Vargas: 1-1, 16 IP, 2.81 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 12 K's

The Bad:

Well the Mariners still aren't scoring runs despite all the hype about the young kids being up. The offense like it has all year has been hurting this ball club. In particular the left field and DH positions plus third base the Mariners have received zero from those positions this season. You can also throw center field into the mix as well which is 44% of the lineup is giving the Mariners absolutely nothing. It appears Jack Cust is in Eric Wedge's dog house as he is playing the younger guys of Mike Carp and Carlos Peguero both of which struggled this week. Now this is going to come off as me picking on Peguero but I simply don't do that. I let the stats do the talking and right now he simply isn't getting the job done. The Mariners were hoping the return of Franklin Gutierrez would solve the centerfield problems but instead he is struggling badly at the plate. The pitching was once again good as I had to stretch to find some guys to make the slumping list.

Slumping Hitting:

Carlos Peguero: 2-15(.133), 2 RBI's, run, 6 K's
Mike Carp: 3-15(.200), 7 K's
Miguel Olivo: 3-23(.130), HR, RBI, run, 8 K's
Franklin Gutierrez: 2-16(.125), RBI 4 K's

Slumping Pitching:

Doug Fister: 0-1, 7 IP, 5.14 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 5 K's
Jamey Wright: 2 IP, 9.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 2 K's

Mike Carp on the year is hitting .217/.357/.261 in limited playing time.
Carolos Peguero on the year is hitting .208/.266/.426 with 33 K's to just 6 BB's.
Miguel Olivo on the year is hitting .230/.276/.410 but leads all catchers with 11 HR's.
Franklin Gutierrez on the year is hitting .187/.221/.253 which is behind Chone Figgins in all three categories.

The Mariners need some of these hitters to step up or make a trade ASAP if they wish to win this division. You can't expect to keep winning games 3-2 or 2-1 eventually you'll lose games like Saturday 3-1.

The Awesome:

Not just this week but for a while now you are seeing two guys emerge from two unpopular trades. Now I'm not going to defend those trades as I'd still rather not do either trade but you are starting to see what our GM's were thinking. The first trade was done by Jack Zduriencik who traded away high draft pick Brandon Morrow to the Toronto Blue Jays for reliever Brandon League. League who had one rough week has been lights out and peole aren't exactly asking for David Aardsma back anytime soon. The other trade which was extremely unpopular was of course done by Bill Bavasi when he traded away Adam Jones, George Sherrill and two prospects for Erik Bedard. Bedard up to this point had been injured so hard to call him a bust when injuries are things you can't predict. While Bedard this year especially in his last nine starts has been the best pitcher for the Mariners. On a staff that includes Cy Young award winner Felix Hernandez and Rookie of the year candidate Michael Pineda he has been the best. The Mariners are getting a lot back on two guys heading into the season the fan base wasn't really happy with.

Awsome Pitching:

Erik Bedard: 4-4, 77.0 IP, 3.16 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 70 K's, .233 BAA.
In his last 9 starts he is 4-0, 58.1 IP, 1.69 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 53 K's.

Bedard has been terrific for the Mariners rebounding from his rough first four starts which feels like a decade ago. Bedard for all the crap he's taken from our media(Softy Mahler, Steve Kelly, etc), he is owed an apology. He was injured not hurt the last three seasons this isn't a matter of being "wimpy" at all. He is also giving the team innings this season as well as he has just 12 walks in his last nine starts. Bedard is going after hitters and hopefully for his career the injuries are a thing of the past. I think people are finally seeing what Bavasi saw in him and while losing Adam Jones hurts the other prospects never materialized. For a guy the Mariners didn't expect much from this season he has been fantastic for them and is a huge reason why the Mariners are fighting for the playoffs.

Brandon League: 0-4, 20 saves in 23 opportunities, 30.0 IP, 3.90 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 20 K's, .246 BAA.

Since May 13th League has pitched 14 innings with 11 saves, has a 0.00 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 7 K's.

League is currently leading the American League with 20 saves and is tied for first place in all of baseball with 20 saves. League was involved in another unpopular trade and struggled last year. The fans of Seattle wanted to throw him out of town after his horrible week despite nobody on the roster capable of outproducing him. I'll give Wedge credit for sticking with his closer not because of his title but instead he is the Mariners best reliever. The other relievers are pitching great but none of them have the stuff that League has. League a guy who heading into the year was a shaky setup man has been a lights out closer to date. He is also a huge reason why the Mariners are contending for the division title.

Just goes to show that you can't freak out over trades and give the trade some time. Now I still think the Mariners will end up on the short end of both deals but neither seem as lopsided as they did just a year ago. The Mariners are getting big time production from two guys who were involved in popular trades. To acquire talent you must give up talent which the Mariners did. The Mariners however did receive some talent back in those trades and it's finally paying off for the ball club.

AL West Standings:

Texas Rangers: 38-35, First Place
Seattle Mariners: 37-35, 0.5 GB
L.A. Angels: 35-38, 3.0 GB
Oakland A's: 33-40, 5.0 GB

In conclusion, the Mariners are right in the thick of this playoff race in a season many including myself thought would be a rebuilding season. Like I pointed out though the Mariners are getting production from two pitchers who were very capable but they weren't counting on. If the Mariners can just score some runs they can run away with this division as they are 25-5(.833) when scoring just 4+ runs. Which means the Mariners are 12-30(.285) when they don't score four runs. So over half their games to date the team isn't scoring runs yet the pitching like yesterday found a way to get the win. With the call up of Ackley that is another hitter for the Mariners that can actually contribute. I have a feeling Zduriencik will be working on a trade even if that is a minor trade the Mariners need some bats in left field and DH. The Mariners are winning which is a surprise and hopefully Wedge moves Ackley up in the order sooner rather than later. I'm just happy that we are three weeks from the All-Star game and the Mariners are just a half game back of first place. The ride has been good and hopefully can last a few more months.

Seattle Mariners weekly recap: May 16th-22nd edition

By Kshell

This week saw the Seattle Mariners climb out of last place for the first time since April 8th. The Mariners had a great week with their pitching staff going 6-1 on the week with the only loss being 2-1. The Mariners split with the Minnesota Twins at home, then swept a two game series against division rival Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim who were throwing Jered Weaver then Dan Haren. Then the Mariners played some interleague play down in San Diego as they swept the Padres as the Mariners starting pitching allowed one earned run in 23 innings. The Mariners starting pitching has flat out been dominant this week. The Mariners also welcomed back gold glove winning centerfielder Franklin Gutierrez. This week like I did two years ago I'll recap the good(entire five man starting staff), the bad(no pitchers) and the awesome(elaborate more on this pitching staff) which will be a fun write up.

The Good:

There was plenty of good this week for the Mariners who went 6-1. The Mariners starting pitching has been great this entire month of May. This week saw Erik Bedard go eight innings for the first time since 2008, Felix Hernandez tie a career high with 13 strikeouts in a game and Jason Vargas tie a career high with nine strikeouts. The Mariners also received some nice hitting from two veterans who had been slumping and one youngster in Carlos Peguero. The main story was the Mariners starting pitching which saw them throw 53 innings(7 2/3 innings a star) in seven starts allowing just four earned runs for an ERA of 0.68 while striking out 58 hitters. The Mariners starting pitching had one of the best weeks in franchise history.

Good Hitting:

Carlos Peguero: 5-20(.250), HR, 5 RBI's, 2 runs
Miguel Olivo: 6-20(.300), HR, RBI, 5 runs, SB
Brenden Ryan: 5-12(.417), 4 RBI's, 5 runs

Good Pitching:

Michael Pineda: 2-0, 14 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.43 WHIP, 16 K's
Jason Vargas: 1-0, 7 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 9 K's
Erik Bedard: 1-0, 8 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.63 WHIP, 9 K's
Doug Fister: 8 IP, 1.12 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 2 K's
David Pauley: 1-0, 3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.33 WHIP, 4 K's
Felix Hernandez: 1-1, 16 IP, 1.68 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 22 K's

Seattle Mariners starting five: 5-1, 53 IP, 0.68 ERA, 0.70 WHIP, 58 K's

The Bad:

Well this week there won't be a single pitcher on my bad list which is nice to see. Instead you'll see the Mariners go 6-1 despite the top of the order slumping. The Mariners went 6-1 this week despite their best two hitters Ichiro and Justin Smoak slumping this week. While the other member of this list seems to live here as his contract appears worse and worse every day. The Mariners still aren't hitting but the starting pitching has been so great they won games. Hopefully with Gutierrez up and soon Dustin Ackley they can start hitting some.

Hitting Slump:

Ichiro: 5-26(.192), RBI, 2 runs, two caught stealing
Justin Smoak: 6-28(.214), 2 RBI's, 2 runs, 10 K's
Chone Figgins: 5-30(.167), 2 runs, 7 K's, Caught Stealing

Chone Figgins on the season has been a disaster. He's hitting just .212/.250/.288 with only nine walks to 20 K's. He also has just seven stolen bases to five caught stealing. He is totally useless and needs to be benched and turned into a Mark McLemore type utility guy. If Jack Zduriencik gets fired Figgins will be the main reason.

The Awesome:

The Mariners starting pitching dating back to last week have produced nine straight great starts. The Mariners have two pitchers with ERA's in the 2's, Hernandez is at 3.01 and two others in the 3's. Other than the week League blew up the Bullpen has been pretty solid as well. The starting pitching has saved this club so I'll break down each starting pitcher and what they've done on the year plus their hot streaks.

Michael Pineda: 9 starts, 6-2, 58 1/3 IP(6 2/3 IP a start), 2.16 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 61 K's, .194 BAA. Not only should Pineda be ROY but he should be on the all-star team.

Felix Hernandez: 11 starts, 5-4, 77 2/3 IP(7 IP a start), 3.01 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 77 K's, .225 BAA. Hernandez is having another great year with no run support. With him and Pineda the Mariners have the best 1-2 punch in the American League by far.

Jason Vargas: 9 starts, 3-2, 58 1/3(6 2/3 IP a start), 3.39 ERA, 1.2 WHIP,41 K's, .253 BAA. Vargas has been on fire lately going 3-0 in his last four starts pitching 30 2/3 IP with a 1.46 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 20 K's. In his last three starts he has gone 23 2/3 IP allowing just one earned run.

Doug Fister: 9 starts, 2-4, 58 1/3(6 2/3 IP a start), 2.93 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 35 K's, .274 BAA. Fister has been the hard luck guy going 16 IP allowing just three earned runs his last two starts and received two no decisions. Fister has been pitching great all season long.

Erik Bedard: 8 starts, 2-4, 45 2/3(5 2/3 IP a start), 3.94 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 41 K's, .236 BAA. Remember when Bedard was terrible? In his first four starts he was 0-4, pitched just 18 2/3 IP(4 2/3 IP a start), 7.71 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 7 home runs allowed and struck out 17.

Now Bedard in his last four starts is 2-0, pitched 27 innings(6 2/3 IP a start), 1.33 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, 24 K's. He has also allowed zero home runs. Bedard is pitching like the Bedard Bill Bavasi thought he traded for in 2008.

As you can see this Mariners pitching staff has been terrific and carrying this team. If the Mariners can get a few more hitters Eric Wedge can see his team back in the playoffs. Wedge has a tough job putting out a successful lineup but it sure is easy with this starting rotation. The Mariners have the best starting rotation in the American League. You have two aces(Felix and Pineda), a former ace(Bedard) and two great back end of the rotation guys(Vargas and Fister). Just sneak in the playoffs then do damage should be the Mariners goal.

AL West Standings:

Texas Rangers: 24-23, First Place
L.A. Angels: 24-24, 0.5 GB
Seattle Mariners: 22-24, 1.5 GB
Oakland A's: 22-25, 2.0 GB

So there you have it guys the Mariners are out of last place. The pitching staff has been great and hopefully some hitters can turn it around. When Ackley is finally called up Wedge should bench Figgins for Kennedy. Figgins is horrible and killing this team. The Mariners top of the order which includes Ichiro is making 27 million yet neither is stealing enough bases. The pitching has been great but if the Mariners want to make a run they need to get another stick or two. As is I'll enjoy this week seeing our starting pitching dominate all seven starts. I hope the Mariners fans are finally taking notice and more than 15 thousand people show up for the next home game. Also the Yankees are coming to town so please fans don't sell your tickets to Yankee fans. I'm sick and tired of this split crowd non sense. Hopefully the Mariners pitching can continue this roll they are on.