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 review: June 27th-July 3rd edition

By Kshell

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

The Good:

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

Good Hitting:

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

Good Pitching:

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

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

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

The Bad:

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

Bad Hitting:

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

Bad Pitching:

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

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

The Ugly:

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

Bad Hitting:

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

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

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

AL West Standings:

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

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

Seattle Mariners 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.

Longview native Bud Black wins NL manager of the year

By Kshell

Not every day you can see someone from your hometown take down a Major League postseason award. On Wednesday November 17th, Longview native Bud Black won the National League manager of the year award for 2010. The former Mark Morris Monarch capture the award after leading the San Diego Padres to a surprising 90 wins in 2010. Black who was on the hot seat heading into the season saw his Padres in first place in the division for much of the season as they competed for a playoff spot until the very last day of the regular season. Black has now won a World Series and now manager of the year award.

This is your classic local guy from small community who happens to make it big. When a guy makes it big from Seattle or Portland he is one of many to do that. When a guy makes it big from a small community such as Longview he is idolized. Black graduated from Mark Morris High School in 1975 then proceeded to enroll at Lower Columbia College which is a community college in Longview, Washington. After his two year stint with the Red Devils Black continued his journey towards the Major Leagues by playing at San Diego State. Then on September 5th, 1981 as a September call up Black made his major league debut for the hometown Seattle Mariners. That would be the only season Black would pitch for Seattle as he moved on to the Kansas City Royals who had reached the World Series in 1980.

While in Kansas City Black enjoyed some success. In 1984 Black help lead the Kansas City Royals to an American League West title with a 17-12 record with a 3.12 ERA and led the American League that season with a league low 1.12 WHIP while pitching 257 innings. He would also add 4.5 WAR which is wins above replacement level. That was definately Black's best season in the major leagues. The following year Black who would pitch in a World Series game was part of the 1985 World Series Champions Kansas City Royals. Black in the American League Championship series would sport a 1.69 ERA. Black would pitch for the Royals from 1982-1988 posting a record of 56-57 with a 3.73 ERA with a whip of 1.25 and 10 saves. Black would finish his career pitching for the Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants then end his career with the Cleveland Indians. For his career Black was a very respectable 121-116 with a 3.84 ERA with a 1.26 WHIP and 11 saves. That set up Black's next career move which saw Black become a pitching coach.

When Black became the pitching coach down in Anaheim for Mike Scioscia the Angels hadn't made the playoffs since 1986. Black was pitching coach in Anaheim from 2000-06 which saw the Angels win the World Series in 2002, win the AL division title in 2004 and 2005. The Angels pitching coach was a young up and coming coach who would finally have an opportunity to manage. After Black lost out to Bruce Bochy on the Giants job he took over for Bochy for the Padres in 2007.

During that 2007 season the Padres season ended in controversy. The Padres lost in extra innings in a one game wild card playoff to the Colorado Rockies where Matt Holliday supposedly scored the winning run. I still don't think he scored on that play which propelled the Rockies to the World Series. The next two seasons for Black saw the Padres struggle losing 99 games in 2008 and then losing 87 more in 2009. Heading into this season of 2010 the Padres were an after thought.

Despite the Padres low payroll and an anemic offense surprised everyone in baseball this season. The Padres who were expected to be sellers at the trade deadline this season were actually in first place. The Padres collapsed late in the season and lost the division title on the last day to the San Francisco Giants who went on to win the World Series. Black has been so close to tasting huge success in San Diego when twice now he has been eliminated on the last day of the season to teams who went to the World Series. His consolation prize is the very prestigious manager of the year award.

All in all, citizens of Longview should be proud of Bud Black. This community lately hasn't had much to be happy about lately so it is good to see a hometown guy enjoy such success. Black becomes just the third full-time pitcher to win Manager of the year award in the National League. Larry Dieker and hall of fame manager Tommy Lasorda were the only two. Congrats to Bud Black everyone here in Cowlitz County is proud of you.