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.

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.

Tigers eliminate Yankees 3-2!

By Kshell

The baseball playoffs have been terrific so far with three of the four series going the full distance. Today saw the Detroit Tigers eliminate the team with the highest payroll the New York Yankees in five games by a score of 3-2. The Tigers were led by back to back homeruns in the first inning and never looked back. For the first time in playoff history you saw two pitchers making their first career playoff start in an elimination game. Remember Doug Fister and Ian Nova came out of the bullpen in game due to the rain. This game would quickly turn into the power of the bullpens as both teams starting pitching didn't last very long as the leash in a game of this magnitude is so short.



In the first inning the Tigers gave Doug Fister early run support. The second batter of the game Don Kelly belted a home run to deep right field to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. The following batter Delmon Young jacked the ball to deep left field giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead in the first. Nova who had been so terrific in game one was down 2-0 in the games first seven pitches. For Doug Fister the first three innings were pretty easy for him then came the fourth inning where Fister would have to escape the jam.

In the fourth inning Fister walked Alex Rodriguez, after recording an out gave up a base hit. Fister allowed a single to Jorge Posada to shallow centerfield but that couldn't score Rodriguez from second base. Fister was in a bases loaded one out jam and it had appeared he was in for a big inning like in game one. This is when Fister buckled down as Russell Martin popped up to shallow right field. Then Fister would have Brett Gardner fly out in foul territory leaving the inning allowing zero runs. That was a big opportunity lost for the Yankees who had several chances this game.

The Tigers did their best to add to their 2-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning. Facing the Yankees third pitcher of the game already who happen to be C.C.Sabathia is when the Tigers scored their final run of the game. Former Yankees top prospect Austin Jackson legged out a double to begin the inning. Sabathia like most aces struck out the next two batters then intentionally walked Miguel Cabrera. Victor Martinez singled in Jackson to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead. In the bottom half of the inning the Yankees would finally score a run. After Fister recorded two quick  outs he gave up a homerun to deep right field to Robinson Cano to cut the lead to 3-1. For Fister that would be his final inning as he allowed one run in five innings of work. He did his job unlike game one which was give the Tigers a terrific outing. For the Tigers there was plenty of big moments left in this playoff clinching game. The Yankees weren't about to go away that easily as they trailed 3-1 and were behind the eight ball as Ian Nova lasted only two innings allowing two runs.

Earlier in the day Jim Leyland announced he was not going to pitch Justin Verlander on two days rest no matter what. Well in the seventh inning that thinking almost left Leyland up for a ton of second guessing. The bottom of the seventh began with a strikeout then  Derek Jeter recording a "Jeter special" which was a clutch single to start a rally. That is when Leyland would pull Max Scherzer the game two starter for Joaquin Benoit. Benoit gave up a single to Curtis Granderson then an infield single to Robinson Cano as he misplayed the ball. Benoit with the Tigers clinging to a 3-1 lead saw Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez at the plate with the bases loaded and one out. Benoit who mixed his pitches well that whole at bat struck out Rodriguez for a big second out. Benoit then walked Mark Teixeira which cut the lead to 3-2 and the bases were still loaded. Benoit was facing Nick Swisher who homered off of him in game two. Benoit struck out Swisher for the biggest strikeout of his life. The Yankees left the bases loaded for the second time this game as the Tigers remained in the lead 3-2. For the Yankees time was running out as they were down to their final six outs. In the eighth inning after recording two quick outs Benoit gave up a base hit to Gardner which set up Jeter. Jeter hit the ball opposite field to deep right field only to see the ball caught at the wall. That would have been a go ahead homerun instead the Yankees were trailing 3-2 entering the ninth inning.

The ninth inning came with the Yankees sending up the heart of the order against Jose Valverde. Valverde guaranteed a Tigers series win and was perfect in save situations recording 49 for 49 saves. Valverde retired Granderson who flied out to shallow left field for out number one. Then came up Cano who torched the Tigers for six RBI's in game one which Valverde got him to fly out to centerfield. The Yankees season would come down to Rodriguez who has been a lighting rod  for past Yankees playoff failures. Valverde would finish off Rodriguez awful night with a strikeout to finish off the Yankees. For Rodriguez that would be his third strikeout of the game as he hit just .111 for the series. For the Tigers they are moving on the American League Championship series to take on the Texas Rangers.

For the Tigers they received a big outing from former Mariners pitcher Doug Fister. Fister who rebounded from his awful game one outing went five innings, allowing five hits, walking two, allowing just one run while striking out five batters. The Tigers unsung hero was Benoit who pitched 1.2 innings, allowed three hits, one walk but struck out three as he allowed zero runs in relief. Delmon Young was huge for the Tigers going two for four with a big homerun as was Kelly who hit a homerun. For the Yankees who left 20 men on base this was a tough loss. The Yankees saw their bullpen pitching seven innings allowing only one run. The damage had already been done though in the first inning.

In conclusion, the Detroit Tigers by not pitching Justin Verlander will have him available for game one of the ALCS. The Tigers will be going to the defending American League Champs house for the first two games so rain shouldn't be a factor there. The Tigers a team I picked to make the ALCS in the preseason have the right ingredients to go all the way. The Tigers finished off the evil empire when everyone in America was rooting for them. For the second straight year the Mariners have traded away a pitcher who won a clinching game five in that very same year. The Tigers finished off the Yankees is just the start to a great postseason as we have two do or die games tomorrow.

Game two LDS recaps

By Kshell

The baseball playoffs continued today as three games were all compelling. In a best of five game series game two is so crucial as teams are trying to even the series stealing homefield or teams are trying to go up 2-0. Today saw two road teams win  to steal homefield advantage while another team took care of business with a big inning to go up 2-0 in the series. One team saw a former Cy Young award winner blow a 4-0 lead. In another game the home team was down early but rallied late in the game with the go ahead man at the plate. In the third game saw a team blow a 4-1 lead only to score five runs to put the game away. In this following post I'll give a short recap of the three playoff games.

Brewers use five run sixth inning to win 9-4 over D-Backs; leads series 2-0:

The Brewers began this critical game two hoping to go up 2-0 in the series to be one game away from their first postseason series victory since 1982. The Brewers sent former Cy Young award winner Zach Greinke to the hill. In this game Greinke couldn't hang onto a 4-1 lead but the Brewers offense rallied in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead for good as the Diamondbacks bullpen imploaded.

The game started off terrific for the Brewers as Ryan Bruan hit a two-run homerun in the bottom of the first inning off of Daniel Hudson to give the Brewers a 2-0 lead. The Diamondbacks would respond in the top of the second inning with a Paul Goldschmidt homerun to cut the lead in half at 2-1.

In the third inning the Brewers would score two more runs as Prince Fielder would single in Ryan Braun with a shallow single. Richie Weeks would triple to deep centerfield scoring the slow footed Fielder from first base to give the Brewers a 4-1 lead. Chris Young of the Diamondbacks in the top of the fourth inning would go yard as the Diamondbacks pulled within 4-2.

In the fifth inning Greinke trying to hold a 4-2 lead couldn't do so. After allowing an Aaron Hill base hit he would make a mistake to all-star Justin Upton who homered to deep left field to tie the game up at 4-4. That would be Greinke's final inning as he last just five innings, allowing eight hits, four earned runs, three homeruns while striking out seven. The Brewers would change the series in the bottom half of the sixth inning.

In the bottom of the sixth inning Daniel Hudson retired the first batter he faced. After allowing a double to Jerry Hariston Jr. that would end Hudson's night as he was pulled for Brad Ziegler. After a walk and a balk the Brewers had first and third with one out with Jonathan Lecroy up. Lecroy had a sacrifice to Ziegler who committed a two base error scoring Hariston Jr. while allowing the Brewers to have second and third with one out while being up 5-4. After an intentional walk with the bases loaded the Brewers saw Corey Hart come up with an RBI single to give the Brewers a 6-4 lead. Nyjer Morgan would put the game away with a two-run RBI single extending the lead to 8-4. Braun would record an RBI single to give the Brewers the 9-4 lead. That is when Ziegler's day was finally over as he allowed four runs while not recording a single out. Hudson would receive the loss allowing five runs in 5.1 innings.

The Brewers were led by their offense and bullpen once again. The bullpen went four shutout innings striking out six Diamondbacks hitters. For the offense they were led by Ryan Braun who was three for four with three RBI's and two runs scored. The Diamondbacks were carried by Chris Young who was three for four with a homerun. For the Brewers they just have to win one game in the next three to win their first playoff series since 1982. For the Diamondbacks they are hoping to avoid being swept for the third time in franchise history in the postseason.

 Cabrera has huge game for Tigers as they even up the series with a 5-3 win over Yankees:

The Detroit Tigers earned the road split that they wanted as they return home hoping to finish the Yankees off in four games like they did in 2006. The Tigers received a lights out performance from Max Scherzer and fended off a late rally by the Yankees to tie the series up at 1-1.

Going up against veteran playoff pitcher Freddy Garcia the Tigers jumped on the board in the first inning. Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run home run opposite field scoring Miguel Ordanez to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead which is all Scherzer would need.

In the sixth inning after Garcia had settled down the Tigers got to Garcia again. Cabrera would single scoring former Yankees top prospect Austin Jackson to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead. Victor Martinez would also single giving the Tigers a 4-0 lead. That was all for Garcia as he went 5.1 innings, allowing four runs, three earned while striking out seven.

Curtis Granderson finally got the Yankees on the board with a homerun in the bottom of the eighth inning to cut the lead to 4-1. In the top of the ninth Don Kelly who came in as a defensive replacement would single to shallow center scoring Brandon Inge giving the Tigers a 5-1 lead. The ball was then handed to their closer Jose Valverde who hadn't blown a save all season long.

Yankees made the ninth inning interesting as Nick Swisher led the inning off with a homer cutting the lead to 5-2. Jorge Posada would triple to deep center and then Valverde would walk Russell Martin would brought the tying run at the plate. Andrew Jones recorded a sacrifice fly scoring Posada cutting the lead to 5-3. Valverde then struck out Derek Jeter for the second out but would walk Granderson. Robinson Cano the go ahead runner at the plate who had six RBI's the previous game was the batter. Valverde got Cano to ground out to end the game as the Tigers held on.

The Tigers were led by Cabrera who was three for four with a homerun and three RBI's. Magglio Ordonez was three for three with a run scored. Scherzer went six shutout innings striking out five Yankees batters. Now the series will resume in Detroit as both aces will be taking the hill in what is now a best of three series. The Tigers recorded the split they wanted and now for the Yankees they must have at least a split or their season will end in disappointment.

Cardinals rally from 4-0 deficit to Lee to even series up:

The Cardinals who rallied just to make the postseason were asked to rally again. After blowing a 3-0 lead in game one it was the Cardinals who rallied this game. The Cardinals sent their ace Chris Carpenter on three days rest in game two. Carpenter was blown up but the bullpen kept the Cardinals in the game. After falling behind 4-0 to Cy Young award winner and postseason legend Cliff Lee the Cardinals rallied to beat the Phillies 5-4.

The game began horribly for Carpenter and the Cardinals. He loaded the bases with nobody out for Ryan Howard who had burned the Cardinals in game one. Howard then recorded a two-run RBI single to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. Raul Ibanez would single scoring Hunter Pence to give the Phillies a commanding 3-0 lead in the first inning. The Phillies would tack on another run in the second inning on a Hunter Pence RBI single scoring Jimmy Rollins. With Cliff Lee on the mound the 4-0 lead seemed untouchable.

The mighty Lee would finally start to show signs of being human in October in the fourth inning. The inning would begin with a rare walk by Lee followed up by a strikeout. Lee would allow a base hit to set up first and second with one man down. Ryan Theriot doubled to right scoring Berkman while Molina advanced to third base to pull the Cardinals within 4-1. Jon Jay singles to right cutting the lead to 4-2.  Lee would record another strikeout only to allow an RBI base hit to Rafael Furcal scoring Theriot but Jay was gunned out at the plate by Raul Ibanez to keep the lead at 4-3. Carpenter was lifted for a pinch hitter lasting only three innings giving up four runs striking out just two.

In the sixth inning the Cardinals would finally tie the game up on Lee. After recording two quick outs Lee would allow a double to Theriot. The game would be tied up as Jay singled in Theriot. Allen Craig would lead off the seventh inning with a triple off of Lee. Setting up Albert Pujols who singled in the go ahead run to give the Cardinals a 5-4 lead. Lee would be finished going six innings, allowing 12 hits, five runs while striking out nine.

The Cardinals would hang on for the 5-4 win sending the series back to St.Louis tied up at one game apiece. The Cardinals were led by Jon Jay who was two for three with two RBI's. Pujols was two for five with an RBI while the Cardinals bullpen went six shutout innings striking out six batters. For the Phillies who were the "dream team" they have lost their homefield advantage in a game they had to feel they let go.

In conclusion, the baseball playoffs at least had some drama and we have three of the four series tied up at one game apiece which is good. Baseball needs these series to go pretty far because too many times in the past the series have been short lived. I love the baseball postseason and hopefully this week when not competing with football others will enjoy them as well. October baseball nothing beats it. We saw two road teams rally to even up the series which is what playoff baseball is all about.

Game one LDS recap; game two ALDS recap Texas-Tampa Bay

By Kshell

The baseball playoffs on day two saw a rare moment in baseball playoffs. All four home teams won as there was plenty of offense to go around in these games. You saw Texas-Tampa Bay battle to see if this will be a series or if the Rays will control the series. The Yankees-Tigers resumed play after the game was postponed at 1-1 tie in the bottom of the second inning which proved to have a wild inning. In the Phillies-Cardinals game two great franchises saw Roy Halladay get roughed up early on but then return to form. Then the fourth game saw two teams who aren't in the playoffs very much in the Brewers and Diamondbacks. That game was your typical playoff game where there was no big innings but instead death by papercuts. In this following post I'll give a quick recap of each playoff game.


Robinson Cano drives in six runs as Yankees win 9-3 to take 1-0 series lead:

The game resumed at 1-1 in the second inning as both teams lost their ace pitchers. The Yankees went with Ian Nova while the Tigers went with Doug Fister. The game remained 1-1 until the fifth inning when Robinson Cano drove in former Tiger Curtis Granderson with an RBI double to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.

In the six inning that is when Doug Fister would fall apart. Brett Gardner would have a two-run single driving in Mark Teixeira and Jorge Posada to give the Yankees a 4-1 lead. The Yankees would put the game away when Cano would hit a grand slam off of Al Aburquerque to give the Yankees an 8-1 lead.

The Yankees would win 9-3 as Cano would finish the game three for five with a home run, two doubles and six RBI's. Yankees "reliever" Ian Nova would get the win going 6.1 innings, allowing just two earned runs while striking out five. For the Tigers Doug Fister had a rough outing lasting only 4.2 innings giving up six runs while striking out six. For both teams losing their aces really hurt but the Yankees took advantage to take a 1-0 series lead.

Rangers use five run inning to even series with 8-6 win:

After being embarassed in game one at home the Texas Rangers bounced back in game two. After trailing 3-0 the Rangers exploded in the fourth inning scoring five runs off of James Shields. The Rangers also saw young pitcher Derek Holland step up when his team needed them most.

Leading 1-0, Matt Joyce hit a two-run homerun driving in Casey Kotchman to give the Rays a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning. That is when the Rangers offense finally woke up after being outscored 12-0 through the first 12 and a half innings of play in the playoffs.

With the bases loaded former Mariners third baseman Adrian Beltre was hit by a pitch to make the game 3-1. Mike Napoli came up with a big two-run base hit which tied up the game up at 3-3. Then Beltre would score on a wild pitch giving the Rangers a 4-3 lead. Mitch  Moreland would ground out which allowed Napoli to score. When the inning was over the Rangers held a 5-3 lead over the Rays.

In the sixth inning Ian Kinsler would add to the Rangers lead with a two-run double giving the Rangers a 7-3 lead over the Rays. In the top of the seventh the Rays would strike back as Eva Longoria would hit a three-run homerun to cut the lead to 7-6.  Mitch Moreland would homer in the bottom of the eighth to give the Rangers an 8-6 lead. The Rangers would hang on for the 8-6 win which would tie the series up at 1-1.

The Rangers offense exploded today unlike yesterday getting shutout. The Rangers would pound out 10 hits while scoring eight runs. The Rangers were led by several guys including Ian Kinsler who was two for five with two RBI's, Mike Napoli was two for four with two RBI's and two runs, and Mitch Moreland who was one for three with a homerun and two RBI's. Starting pitcher Derek Holland went five innings allowing one earned run with two strikeouts. The Rays didn't receive a good outing from James Shields who lasted five innings allowing seven runs while striking out six.

Phillies erupt late to win 11-6 behind Howard's key homerun:

The game started off rocky for the Phillies ace Roy Halladay unlike last year. Last year in the NLDS Halladay threw a perfect game against the Reds. This year he began the playoffs by allowing a three-run home run to Lance Berkman in the first inning as the Cardinals took a 3-0 lead.

Trailing 3-1 entering the sixth inning the Phillies erupted off of Kyle Lohse. With two men on Ryan Howard did what he does best which is hit a home run to give the Phillies a 4-3 lead. Then Raul Ibanez followed that up with a two-run blast to give the Phillies a 6-3 lead.

The Phillies would score three more runs in the seventh innings. Howard would have a sacrifice fly to give the Phillies a 7-3 lead. Shane Victorino had a single scoring Chase Utley to give the Phillies a 8-3 lead. Raul Ibanez followed that with an RBI single to give the Phillies a commanding 9-3 lead.

The Phillies would hang on to win 11-6. Roy Halladay would earn the win going eight innings, allowing just three hits, three runs and eight strikeouts. The Phillies were led by their bats which saw Ryan Howard go one for three with a homerun and four RBI's. Raul Ibanez would go two for four with a homerun and three RBI's. For the Cardinals Lohse went 5.1 innings allowing six runs, five earned while striking out five.

Gallardo shuts down big D-Backs bats to lift Brew Crew to a 4-1 victory:

In a game which many expected to feature a ton of scoring instead was the low scoring game of the day. Led by Yovani Gallardo who pitched eight terrific innings for the Brewers. While the offense did just enough for the Brewers to earn the win.

There was no scoring until the fourth inning when Jerry Hariston had a sacrifice fly scoring Ryan Braun. The Brewers would score again in the sixth when Jonathan Lucroy drove in Yuniesky Betancourt to give the Brewers a 2-0 lead.

The game would be put away in the seventh inning when Prince Fielder hit a big two-run homerun off of Ian Kennedy to give the Brew Crew a 4-0 lead. Gallardo would allow a homerun in the eighth inning but that didn't matter as the Brewers won 4-1.

The Brewers were led by Gallardo who pitched eight innings, four hits, one run and struck out nine guys. While the Diamondbacks ace Ian Kennedy went 6.2 innings allowing four runs with three strikeouts. The Brewers were led by their stud hitter Fielder who was 2-4 with a homerun and two RBI's.

In conclusion, this was a good day for baseball as the home teams won so the crowd was exciting. I love this time of the year with the baseball playoffs. Expect to see more pitching as the playoffs go on as high scoring games only happen in the LDS while the playoffs go on pitching becomes more dominant.

Safeco Field gimmicks aren't pleasing the fans anymore

By Kshell

This homestand has been hard to watch at times. The Seattle Mariners have found yet another way to piss me off when watching their games during this homestand. The play on the field hasn't been bad at all in fact the Mariners are 3-2 on this homestand, instead I'm tired of the visiting crowd drowning out the Mariners crowd. First the Boston Red Sox came to town to make Safeco Field into Fenway Park on the west coast. Now the fans from Canada are driving down to cheer on their Blue Jays(Glad Boston Bruins won the cup! Gotta have "country" pride right?) despite being extremely closer to the Mariners. It has been annoying seeing all those empty seats this season and whenever a real team comes to town like the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies their fans invade Safeco Field. Then our fans feel like they are attending a road game which isn't right.

It wasn't always that way for this franchise who had some of the best crowds in baseball from 1996-2007 where they averaged over 30,000 fans a game. Now for the fourth straight year the Mariners are drawing under 30,000. This year is the third worst season since 1991(1992 and 1995 were only worst) far as per game attendance. The Mariners fans are finally tired of all the gimmicks that Howard Lincoln and Chuck Armstrong insist the fans like. The fans have spoken which is give us a good product and we'll turn out. The Mariners used to have great attendance in the past and sell out a Wednesday night game against the Kansas City Royals when John Halama was pitching. Now Felix Hernandez can be throwing on a Friday night and you'll be lucky to get 20,000 fans. This isn't 2001 anymore and the Mariners need to realize that good ole fashion winning baseball is what the fans really want.

The Mariners from 1977-1995 never ranked higher than eighth in attendance or averaged more than 27,000 a game. Then everything changed in 1995 when the Mariners made their great playoff run which sucked the fans in. Despite playing in a crappy building in 1996 the Mariners averaged 33,628 fans a night ranking them fourth in the American League. Then in 1997 the Mariners won the division title and averaged 39,410 fans ranking third in the AL. The next three years the Mariners attendance dropped a little bit but still ranked fifth in 1998, fourth in 1999 and fourth in 2000. Then in 2001 the Mariners won 116 games and ranked first in attendance. They averaged 43,300 fans a night. With excitement from 2001 heading into 2002 the Mariners set a franchise record and again ranked first in attendance averaging 43,740 fans a night. In 2003 which was the Mariners last great year was also the last year they would crack three million fans. They would average 40,352 ranking second in the American League. In 2004 and 2005 attendance would drop but the Mariners still ranked fourth and then fifth. Then in 2008 first time since 1995 they didn't average 30,000 fans a night. Currently the team is averaging 24,012 fans a night which is 19,728 fans fewer than 2002. The Mariners have chose family friendly over the real fans.

The downfall of Safeco Field was in one April weekend of 2002. That weekend the Mariners were playing the New York Yankees the same Yankees who had eliminated the Mariners from the ALCS in back to back years. It was a playoff like atmosphere. The Yankees took the first game then the Mariners defeated Ted Lilly who threw a one-hitter and had a no-hitter for 7 2/3 innings. Freddy Garcia pitched a complete game to get the win 1-0 on Saturday night. So Sunday was the rubber match of the series that despite being in April had a great playoff atmosphere. I remember going up to the game with my dad and we paid more than face value to watch the game. During that game more than 50 Mariners fans were kicked out just for wearing T-Shirts that read "Yankees Suck". In the North East they break out in Yankees suck chants during New England Patriots games. The soft Mariners had their home fans kicked out of a big game despite not throwing anything or causing any problems. That is when the Mariners basically told the true fans to piss off as they bow down to the visiting fans, bandwagon fans, the hydro racing fans and currently the rally fries fans. The Mariners are so concerned with family friendly atmosphere they turned away the fans who would actually pay during down times.

Going to Seattle Seahawks games and Mariners games is night and day. At Seahawks game there is energy at the game as the Seahawks "get it". They don't have stupid promotions they just put a good product on the field and let fans be fans. While the Mariners are so worried about being PG the games lack buzz, 80% of the fans are on their cell phones or reading a damn book. Then when our own fans act like fans they get kicked out. At games I'm constantly getting yelled at for standing up with two strikes. While last month the Mariners were playing the Texas Rangers this fan pulled a Steve Bartman and denied Ichiro the chance to make the catch. That hitter would get on base then score a crucial run against Felix Hernandez. Nothing happened to that fan at all. He sat there smiling like the douchebag that he is. No fans got on him and most importantly the Safeco Field ushers didn't kick him out. He was allowed to stay there even though he cost the Mariners a crucial run and potentially the game. While fans in 2002 who were there to support the Mariners were kicked out. That type of atmosphere allows all those annoying bandwagon Red Sox fans to invade Safeco Field. That type of atmosphere has alienated the true Mariners fans from going to games.

In conclusion, I'm not going to a game this year unless there is a special circumstance. That circumstance will be if some others and myself can properly organize a brown paper sack day where we show up and wear brown paper sacks over our heads. We'll each write a unique saying on our sack and I guarantee we'll be ejected but it's worth it. I'm tired of the real baseball fans at the game getting the shaft from Howard Lincoln and Chuck Armstrong. I'm tired of these fools thinking that rally fries, Kings Court, Bobble heads and hydro boat races is what fans want. Yes the stupid fans want that but who cares about those morons? What about the true fans who actually spend money on the crappy product they have put on the field the last four seasons. I hope the Mariners realize how embarassing it looks that the opposing team who doesn't really have a fan base like the Toronto Blue Jays for the second series this year have taken over Safeco Field. I'm glad the people of Seattle are starting to speak loud and clear. Pretty simple produce some wins and the fans will show up. Just stop relying on gimmicks as the fans are tired of gimmicks and simply want wins.

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.

Mariners weekly recap: May 23rd-May 29th edition

By Kshell

The Mariners have put together quite the string of success these past two weeks. The Mariners even found themselves over .500 for the first time since the second game of the season. The Mariners on the week took two out of three at the Minnesota Twins then defeated the New York Yankees two out of three at home. This week was a strange week as the Mariners hitting once again didn't hit well especially the top of the order. The starting pitching unlike all season didn't pitch well either having just thrown one quality start in six starts. The Mariners bullpen was terrific once again this week which allowed the Mariners to pull within a game of first place. The American League West race is pretty tight as the difference between first place and last place is just a game and a half. Like I'll do whenever the Mariners have a winning week I'll feature the good, the bad and the awesome. This week the good list will feature plenty of relievers, the bad will feature the top of the order while the awesome will have more attention on the middle relievers.

The Good:

The Mariners went 4-2 on the week which saw plenty of good. This week Erik Bedard like he has all month long is pitching like the pitcher Bill Bavasi gave up so much to acquire. The Mariners relief was excellent this week as they went 3-0 with three saves on the week. Then the Mariners got a little bit of offense from their double play combination especially Brendan Ryan who has been red hot for nine games after being ice cold. The Mariners this week just found ways to win as they won three games in which they trailed including two in extra innings. One of the Mariners wins came off of Mariano Rivera who is the greatest closer of all-time. The Mariners had a winning week when Felix Hernandez and Michael Pineda didn't pitch that great of games. So here were the stars of the week for the Mariners this week.

Hot Hitting:

Brendan Ryan: 12-21(.571), 3 RBI's, 2 runs
Adam Kennedy: 7-19(.368), 3 RBI's, 3 runs. He also had game winning hit off Rivera.
Franklin Gutierrez: 7-21(.333), HR, RBI, 3 runs. He robbed a home run against Nick Swisher.
Miguel Olivo: 7-17(.412), HR, 5 RBI's, 3 runs, SB

Brendan Ryan in the past nine games: 17-31(.548) with 7 RBI"s, 5 runs and a nine game hitting streak.

Hot Pitching:

Erik Bedard: 1-0, 6 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 4 K's
Brandon League: 3 saves, 4 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, 2 K's
Jamey Wright: 1-0, hold, 3.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, K
David Pauley: 2-0, hold, 6 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 3 K's

Erik Bedard in his last five starts: 3-0, 33 IP, 1.09 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 28 K's
Jamey Wright on the season: 1-1,10 holds, 24.1 IP, 1.48 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 16 K's
David Pauley on the season: 4-0, 3 holds, 32.1 IP, 0.84 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 20 K's

The Bad:

I'm glad that some guys like Ryan, Olivo and Jack Cust aren't living on the bad list but Figgins still remains. The Mariners top of the order has been doing terrible for two weeks now. The 27 million dollar men which is Ichiro and Chone Figgins have done horrible this month. It's pretty incredible how the Mariners are even .500 with the way the team has been hitting. The starting pitching was very average and last weeks hero Jason Vargas got beat up pretty good this week. Then the Mariners have a problem in left field as all the youngsters out there have looked very quadruple A like with the non stop strikeouts. The main problem is Figgins who the Mariners are stuck with for two more seasons after this year at nine million a season. The Mariners need to call up Dustin Ackley now and bench Figgins in favor of Kennedy or at least put Figgins ninth in the order.

Poor hitting:

Chone Figgins: 1-22(.045). For the year hitting .193/.235/.260
Ichiro: 3-26(.115), 2 RBI's, 2 runs, SB
Carlos Peguerro: 2-14(.143), 2 RBI's, 8 K's
Michael Saunders: 0-9, run, SB, 6 K's
Justin Smoak: 4-24(.167), HR, 2 RBI's, 2 runs, 7 K's

Ichiro and Figgins last two weeks combined are 14-104(.135) which has to play a part of Smoak's recent struggles.

For the month Ichiro is hitting .204/.262/.235 with 2 SB's and 3 Caught Stealing. Yet he isn't even the worst hitter or in the worst slump.

For the month Figgins is hitting .169/.204/.202 with 2 RBI's, 5 runs and 4 stolen bases to 2 caught stealing. Time for Figgins to be benched or least moved to ninth in the order. Hard to score runs when your 1-2-3 go a combine 24-156(.154) in the last two weeks.

Poor pitching:

Jason Vargas: 0-1, 7.2 IP, 12.91 ERA, 2.61 WHIP, 3 K's

Vargas doesn't really ever have an average outing. It is either a great outing or a terrible outing much like Ryan doesn't have an average week hitting wise ever.

The Awesome:

The Mariners going 4-2 on the week and 10-3 the last two weeks is pretty awesome. The Mariners were 16-23 have battled back from the week where they blew several leads. Now the Mariners are playing like a team with their bullpen and Ryan carrying the offense. The same Ryan who was hitting .200 just nine games ago. The past two weeks has been fun to watch as the Mariners have given this team very little to cheer about lately. So I'll break down the awesome part of the week.

Awesome hitting:

Brendan Ryan: For the month he is hitting .385/.438/.492 and in the past two weeks he is hitting .515/.555/.687 while driving in 7 runs, scoring 6 runs and has a nine game hitting streak. Ryan has raised his average from .200/.276/.245 to in nine games is now .277/.350/.348 on the season nearly improving by over 100 points in every category.

Awesome pitching:

Erik Bedard: For the month he is 2-0, 26 IP, 1.04 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 25 K's and .180 BAA. Bedard has been dominant his last five starts and he'll take the hill tomorrow against his former team. The Mariners have a tough choice to make here in a month on Bedard if he keeps pitching this well. I'd love to make the playoffs with Hernandez, Pineda and then Bedard as no team would want to face the Mariners.

Mariners Bullpen: 3-0, 3 saves, 2 holds, 24.2 IP, 1.09 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 12 K's. The Mariners middle relief has been great and David Pauley deserves to be an all-star.

David Pauley on the season is 4-0, 3 holds, 32.1 IP, 0.84 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 20 K's and .168 BAA. Every year they pick a middle reliever and I don't see how Pauley isn't the leading middle reliever at this point in the season.

AL West Standings:

Texas Rangers: 28-25, First Place
LAA Angels: 28-27, 1.0 GB
Seattle Mariners: 26-26, 1.5 GB
Oakland A's: 27-27, 1.5 GB

As you can see the Mariners under first year manager Eric Wedge are right in the middle of the race. Wedge does have his team playing hard as there is no quit in this team which is nice to see. The Mariners are 10-3 the last two weeks despite the top of the order hitting horrible. The Mariners just got Gutirrez back which has already been paying off. When Dustin Ackley is finally called up and eats into Figgins playing time that will help the offense again. Also the Mariners are winning despite Ichiro slumping and his track record suggests he'll snap out of this which is another hitter as well. At least the Mariners are giving us some excitement which they didn't do last year. Hopefully the hitting turns around and the pitching staff keeps pitching well. It does feel good to talk positive about the Mariners for once. It has been a great two week stretch that I hope can last a little longer.

Is it time to finally forgive A-Rod?

By Kshell

The fans were hurt when he left us for a big payday. They couldn't believe how we lost another superstar in this town. After losing in the ALCS fans wondered out loud if he was on the team could we have finally reached a World Series? They couldn't believe how he betrayed the team and held the team hostage. The player I'm talking about of course is Ken Griffey Jr who demanded a trade after the 1999 season despite having one more year left on his contract. Not only did Griffey Jr demand a trade he demanded a trade to only one team which was the Cincinnati Reds. That meant the Reds were in no position to give the Mariners anything close to fair compensation. When the dust had settled Griffey Jr. was traded to the Mariners to be closer to his family(even though he lived in Florida) and the Mariners were robbed. They received Brett Tomko, Mike Cameron and two minor leaguers who never played in the major leagues for them. The Mariners lost that year in the ALCS to the New York Yankees in six games a team Griffey Jr historically has dominated. Yet when Griffey Jr came back to Safeco Field he was given a standing ovation. While Alex Rodriguez despite leaving the team 11 years ago still continues to be loudly booed for doing something everyone would have done in his shoes. So I beg the question when is it time to finally forgive A-Rod and move on?

While with the Seattle Mariners Rodriguez was a four time all-star, batting champion and pulled off the 40/40(40+home runs, 40+ stolen bases) season. While in 1996 Rodriguez finished second in the MVP race where had either Seattle writer voted him first or second he would have won the MVP and again in 2000 he took third in the MVP race. Rodriguez was a key player on two playoff teams including one team that went to the ALCS where he had a good series. The memories he gave the Mariners fans shouldn't go away and I'm happy to say I saw one of the games greatest players of all-time in person on my team. For the Mariners in seven seasons but in reality only five seasons he hit .309/.374/.561 and hit 189 home runs, drove in 595 runs, scored 627 runs and stole 133 bases. In the playoffs he also performed for the Mariners in a playoff loss to the Orioles he hit .313/.313/.563 with a home run back in 1997. Then in 2000 when he was the man against the White Sox he hit .308/.308/.308 with two RBI's in the three game sweep. Then in a loss to the Yankees in the ALCS he hit .409/.480/.773 with two home runs, five RBI's and four runs scored. So Rodriguez was big time for the Mariners as well. I can understand why at first fans were upset with him for leaving as I was too.

I still remember when Rodriguez left the Mariners for division rival Texas Rangers. I was a freshman in high school at the time and it made me so mad that for the third straight year the Mariners lost a future hall of famer. When the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets both pulled out of the Rodriguez sweepstakes I thought for sure he was going to stay in Seattle. Then out of left field the Texas Rangers gave him an offer he couldn't refuse. I was only 15 years old and was a Mariners fan so I couldn't understand the decision at the time. The Mariners offered him three years at 60 million and two option years making it a total of five years for 100 million. Rodriguez would have been a fool to turn down 10 years/252 million dollars making him the highest paid player in sports history. Rodriguez is a guy who grew up poor without a dad, a guy who finished second in the MVP race in 1996 making $442,334.00 so he needed to be paid what he was worth. I can understand the initial anger towards Rodriguez who left the Mariners an ALCS team for a last place Rangers club in our own division. What Rodriguez did was very professional in my opinion unlike the two previous guys who departed the Mariners.

I'll bring up a quick scenario for you guys to judge who truly is the "bad" guy. Player A demanded a trade to only one team and one team only despite still having a year left on his contract. By demanding a trade to only one team that team was forced to receive some crappy pieces. Player B complained his entire last season and underachieved for various reasons. He was even involved in an altercation with a teammate that season. Player C busted his ass to get the Mariners to within two games of the World Series and finished third in the MVP race. Player C didn't let his free agency be a distraction at all and the Mariners received two first round draft picks for him. Now after reading that clearly player C did the Mariners the least amount of wrong even though he is the only one of those three who receives boo's. Player A is Ken Griffey Jr and player B is Randy Johnson for those who couldn't figure it out. Now I'm not saying Rodriguez means more to the franchise than those two because well he doesn't. I'm also not saying you should boo those two either because that is just dumb. I think it's time we finally let it go on Rodriguez who played his heart out for this team. His last game ever as a Mariner in Yankee Stadium in game six of the ALCS he went four for five with a home run. After that game he sat in his locker crying knowing that could have been the last time he ever played for the Mariners. He gave the Mariners everything he could and I wish instead of booing him the fans would cheer him as a sign of thanks.

When Rodriguez makes it to the baseball Hall of Fame he'll go in as a New York Yankee. Whenever they show his highlights though they'll show some of his moments with the Mariners which for a franchise who had nothing going for themselves prior to 1991 is a great thing. When you walk in the Mariners current Hall of Fame you'll see Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner, Dave Niehaus and Alvin Davis. Those guys are solid but unless you are from Seattle it shows how bad our franchise is. Eventually you'll see Ken Griffey Jr, Randy Johnson and Ichiro in there which will make our Hall of Fame seem legit. Well if the fans forgave Rodriguez having possibly the all-time Home Run king in our own Hall of Fame would look pretty cool. As long as the fans keep booing him though I doubt the Mariners would risk the PR nightmare of having Rodriguez featured. He will be remembered as a Yankee but he is a hired gun to them. He grew up as a Mariner as the #1 pick coming out of high school, to the kid who scored the tying run in 1995 when David Cone walked Doug Strange, to the man who became the most feared Shortstop hitter in baseball history from 1996-2000. I think time heals all wounds and it's time to stop booing Rodriguez like he personally did something wrong to us.

In conclusion, the Rodriguez who played in Seattle before he became a hollywood type figure in New York was a guy I could respect. He was a guy who worked hard every game, unlike Griffey Jr. on routine groundballs he would always run them out. He didn't care about stats either in game three of the 2000 ALDS against the White Sox he had a sacrifice bunt to move the runner along. His dad walked out on him as a kid and when he became famous his dad wanted to be a part of his life. Rodriguez wanted no part of the man who made life hell on his mom. In fact to this day Rodriguez says he only has one "dad" and his name is Lou Piniella. Rodriguez speaks highly of Piniella, Niehaus and owes his entire career to Edgar Martinez. The Mariners aren't even rivals with the Yankees and Rodriguez has never burned the Mariners in a big playoff game either. He currently has 622 career home runs at 35 years old. There is a very good chance he'll break Barry Bonds career home run record which is 762 home runs. It would be nice if the Mariners can celebrate that moment with Rodriguez. So fans he has been gone for 11 years now. Time to move on and remember the good times he gave the Mariners. I'm just happy and lucky to have watched a player who is as great as he is play for my favorite team. So fans stop booing A-Rod and surprise the nation while cheering him.

The Yankees are coming to town

By Kshell

For the first time since the Los Angeles Angels swept the Seattle Mariners in a series back in August of 2007 there will be a buzz at Safeco Field. When the New York Yankees come to town there is always packed crowds at Safeco Field but this year will feel different as the Mariners behind first year skipper Eric Wedge are playing good baseball. The Mariners have gone 8-2 over the past 10 games which saw their pitching staff dominate. This series will feature a contrast in styles as the bronx bombers like to play long ball while the Mariners like to keep games low scoring. I'm glad there will be finally an energy at Safeco although I'm aware it will feel like the Washington Huskies-Nebraska game at Husky Stadium where the visitors will have plenty of fans. Most of these "fans" for the Yankees are your classic bandwagon fans who are born and raised in Washington yet root on the evil empire. Still I'd rather see that than 18,000 fans like we have seen all year. These two teams had a nice rivalry from 1995-2003 which saw them square off in the playoffs three times against each other.

It was the first playoff meeting that is the most famous especially in Seattle as baseball was saved. The reason these teams will play at Safeco Field is because of the 1995 ALDS which saw the Seattle Mariners make their first ever postseason appearance against the New York Yankees who was the first ever American League Wild Card participant. This was a wild series which saw three classic games. In game one the Yankees won 9-6 despite Ken Griffey Jr going deep twice. Then in game two was the heartbreaker that many thought crushed the Mariners. The Mariners blew a 4-3 lead in the seventh inning then after Griffey Jr hit a home run in the 12th inning they blew the lead again. Ultimately the Mariners lost on a walk off home run in the 15th inning and were coming home down 0-2. In game three behind Randy Johnson striking 10 Yankees the Mariners won their first ever playoff game. In game four the Mariners were trailing 5-0 when Edgar Martinez hit a three run home run to cut the lead. Then with the game tied at 6-6 Martinez hit a grand slam to give the Mariners a 11-8 victory. Martinez set a postseason record with seven RBI's which set up the game that saved baseball in Seattle. In game five Randy Johnson pitching on one days rest allowed a run in his third inning of work in the 11th so the Mariners trailed 5-4. With first and third and nobody out Edgar Martinez lined a double down the left field line which scored Joey Cora and Ken Griffey Jr from first base to win the series. That is when baseball in Seattle was saved and a rivalry was born.

Well after 1995 the Mariners made the playoffs three more times and had six more winning seasons through 2003. While the Yankees went on a run winning four of the next five World Series and five of the next six American League championships. In 2000 it was the Mariners who were the Wild Card team facing the Yankees for the right to go to the World Series. After winning game one in New York the Mariners lost the next three. The Mariners did win game five when Edgar Martinez hit a home run off Jeff Nelson in the fifth inning. Then in game six the Mariners had a 4-3 lead in the seventh inning when Arthur Rhodes blew up once again. The Yankees won 9-7 against the Mariners in what would be Alex Rodriguez final game as a Mariner. In his final game he went 4-5 with a home run and two RBI's and two runs scored. The following year the Mariners tied a major league baseball record with 116 wins as they once again squared off with three time defending World Champions Yankees. The Yankees won both games in Seattle then the Mariners won game three in New York. Once again the Mariners saw a late inning lead disappear in the Bronx as they led 1-0 in the eighth when Rhodes gave up a home run to Bernie Williams. In the bottom of the 9th closer Kaz Sasaki gave up a walk off home run to rookie Alfonso Soriano giving the Yankees a commanding 3-1 series lead. The Yankees would kill the Mariners 12-3 to finish off the Mariners. The rivalry was hot at that point. I remember going to a game in 2002 where my dad paid $100 a ticket for us to watch the game. That game the Mariners lost 4-3 on a sunday when you guessed it Rhodes blew the game. Rhodes was a great reliever for the Mariners but had his problems against the Yankees. That is all in the past now as the Mariners face the Yankees this weekend at Safeco.

The Mariners this weekend will be throwing their top two pitchers at the Yankees which should get the fans excited. On Friday you'll see Michael Pineda(6-2, 2.16 era) going up against A.J.Burnett(5-3,4.02 era) on Friday. This is a matchup of two power arms and for Pineda a chance to make some noise all across the nation. This will be Pineda's first real pressure game as he has never faced an opponent like the Yankees. For Burnett you don't know what you are going to get. Last year he lost to the Mariners as he went seven innings allowing 12 hits and six earned runs. For his career against the Mariners he is 2-2 with a 3.83 era. Then on Saturday the Mariners will be throwing reigning Cy Young award winner Felix Hernandez(5-4, 3.01 era) against Ivan Nova(4-3, 4.29 era) in a matchup the Mariners should like. Hernandez has dominated the Yankees the past two seasons. Last year against the Yankees in three starts Hernandez went 3-0, threw 26 out of a possible 27 innings while posting a 0.35 ERA while striking out 31. In Hernandez last four starts against the Yankees he is 4-0 and has thrown 35 out of a possible 36 innings and has allowed just two earned runs and has struck out 34 guys. For his career his 5-3 with a 2.73 era against the Bronx bombers. As for Nova like Pineda will be making his first career appearance against the Mariners. Then on Sunday afternoon the Mariners will be throwing Jason Vargas(3-2, 3.86 era) against veteran Bartolo Colon(2-3, 3.77 era) in what should make for an interesting series. Vargas last year against the Yankees went 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA and for his career he is 0-1 with a 6.05 era against the Yankees. As for Colon he has had plenty of battles with the Mariners including two starts in the playoffs. Colon for his career is 14-11 against the Mariners with a 4.13 era. In the 2001 ALDS he went 1-1 with a 1.84 era against the 116 win led Mariners. The Mariners seeing how they are throwing their two best pitchers and avoided C.C.Sabathia have a great chance to win this series and gain more momentum going forward.

In conclusion, I'm just happy that there will finally be a buzz at Safeco Field. If you live in the Seattle area and are a Mariners fan please make it to the game. I'm tired of the last few years where the Yankees and Red Sox fans taking over our crowd. I remember growing up laughing at southern California fans when they would take over their crowds. Let's take back Safeco Field fans and make this a playoff atmosphere. I would say the Yankees are clearly the better team but the Mariners should be slight favorites in Friday nights game, overwhelming favorites in Saturday's game and underdogs in Sunday afternoons game. Still if the Mariners win two out of the three that would put them at .500 on the season which everyone would take. I'm excited to see how young Pineda does in a big moment in front of a national audience. This is a chance for the Mariners to make some noise this weekend and show the baseball world we are for real. I'm excited for the Yankees coming to town and I hope city of Seattle shows up to support this team.