Blake Beavan
Mariners, Rainiers swap relievers, coaches
A recent pair of moves have somewhat shaken up the look of the Mariners and Rainiers. On Wednesday, prior to the Mariners’ victory over the Orioles, the Mariners promoted situational lefty Lucas Luetge in place of long reliever and former starter Blake Beavan, who was optioned to Tacoma.
I’m back, everybody. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
Thursday brought about another move from the team, but not from a player standpoint. After third base coach Jeff Datz revealed his battle with cancer recently, the Mariners hired John Stearns as an extra coach and interim third base coach while Datz undergoes treatment. After just three games, the team has promoted Tacoma manager Daren Brown to interim third base coach in place of Stearns, who will instead manage the Rainiers.
First off, let’s look at the Luetge-Beavan swap. The move makes sense, especially if the Mariners want Beavan to continue starting games. After Aaron Harang’s quality start and first win Wednesday, the rotation appears pretty set for the next two weeks. Beavan is first and foremost a starter, and so keeping him in the bullpen for long relief didn’t make a lot of sense for his future.
Luetge could give the Mariners a huge boost against lefties in late innings. Unfortunately for him, the Mariners already have two lefties in the bullpen who are currently viewed as more valuable in Oliver Perez and Charlie Furbush. When the Mariners needed to get power-hitting lefty Chris Davis out in the eighth inning Wednesday, Furbush came in and crossed him up with breaking balls. Luetge allowed three runs on seven hits in 11 innings during his eight-appearance minor league stint after struggling to start the season with Seattle. He’ll need to show improvement from four runs in four appearances line he put together to warrant any mound time.
The Brown-Sterns switch makes far less sense. Stearns’ most notable work came as a bench coach and third base coach when the Mets were good around 2000. He’s been an average minor league manager before, but not for a while, and was serving as the Mariners’ catching coordinator until his promotion this week.
Daren Brown, however, has a solid history with the Mariners, having managed in the organization since 2001. He has served as the Rainiers manager since 2007, with decent success. He even served as interim manager of the Mariners in 2010 after Don Wakamatsu got the can. Why disrupt the continuity for key players like Mike Zunino and Nick Franklin by forcing a coaching change on them? Only Jack Zdurencik will ever know.
Tags: 2013 Season, Blake Beavan, Daren Brown, featured, John Stearns, Lucas Luetge, seattle mariners, Transaction
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Mariners trade for Aaron Harang to save rotation
The newest Mariner starter, Aaron Harang. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports
The back end of the Mariners rotation has struggled mightily in 2013, and patience has apparently run out. According to Fox’s Ken Rosenthal, the Mariners are in the final stages of securing a deal for Rockies’ starter Aaron Harang.
Harang, who went 10-10 with a 3.61 ERA last season for the Dodgers, was traded to the Rockies Saturday in exchange for backup catcher Ramon Hernandez. Immediately, the Rockies designated Harang for assignment and began shopping him to prospective teams around the league.
According to Rosenthal’s twitter account, the teams need approval of the commissioner’s office, which typically is required when a trade involves an exchange of over $1 million. Harang presents an inexpensive option, since the Dodgers are already covering more than half of his $7 million 2013 salary.
Recent reports have also linked an unnamed right-handed reliever to go from the Mariners to the Rockies once the trade goes through.
Harang would likely replace either Brandon Maurer or Blake Beavan in the Mariners’ rotation. Maurer, who is 0-2 with an atrocious 16.20 ERA thus far in 2013, failed to get out of the first inning Tuesday. He surrendered six earned runs and seven hits while recording just two outs. Beavan has posted an 0-1 record with a 7.59 ERA in his first two starts. The Astros beat him around Wednesday night to the tune of five runs (four earned) and nine hits in 5.2 innings.
Tags: 2013 Season, Aaron Harang, Blake Beavan, Brandon Maurer, Breaking News, rockies, trades, Transaction
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Somewhat Bold Predictions for the Mariners in 2013
Tomorrow is opening day for the Mariners, and you should be PUMPED! The team is undeniably moving in the right direction. This year will be another step forward for Seattle, and they may even surprise some people. I don’t usually like giving super bold predictions, so here is a quick list of somewhat bold predictions I am making for the Mariners this year.
Brendan Ryan hits .270
Ryan has simplified his swing for 2013. Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports
Ryan literally didn’t hit his own weight in 2012, but that’s not how it has always been. In his first full season in the major leagues, Ryan hit .292 with a .332 BABIP. Sure, the BABIP is a bit high, but it certainly is no indication of a future .194 hitter like he was in 2012. One of the big differences between the Ryan of 2012 and previous years was that he had no luck getting hits from ground balls. His average on line drives was also low which indicates a bit of unluckiness which is supported by his measly .244 BABIP over the season. Common logic tells us that his average will rise back to the mid .200’s. In theory, his adjusted hitting mechanics will cut down on his strikeout rate which has climbed for each of the last two seasons, and his removed bone spur should help him as well. Once you take all these things into consideration, a .270 average from Ryan seems possible.
Blake Beavan doesn’t last the full season in the rotation
If you read my last article, you know that I don’t think much of Blake Beavan. When I look at him, I see a pitcher who pitches to contact but doesn’t know how to get groundballs and doesn’t know how to avoid barrels. His stuff isn’t good enough to bail him out when he makes mistakes, and he tends to make a lot of mistakes. With Erasmo Ramirez, Jeremy Bonderman, Danny Hultzen, and James Paxton all sitting in AAA close to being prepared to pitch in Seattle, I don’t see the Mariners giving Beavan a whole lot of slack this season.
The Mariners are within 4 games of division lead in September
This somewhat bold prediction is derived from a gut feeling more than anything else. My main support for this ascertain is a simple, “why not?” The Mariners are a solid team that, with a little extra production, could win 85 games this year, and the division probably doesn’t have a team good enough to run away with the AL West crown unless the Angels’ rotation over performs. Saying that the Mariners will win the division is a bit too bold for me, but saying that they will be the hunt down the stretch is just somewhat bold enough for my liking.
Michael Saunders has a 25/25 year
Last year, Saunders hit 19 homeruns and stole 21 bases. In 2013, he will likely get more at bats and will probably have much better protection in the batting order. Assuming that he continues to progress as a player, a 25/25 year for Saunders would be a bit surprising but certainly not unrealistic.
King Felix wins his second Cy Young award
Again, why not? There is no doubt that Felix Hernandez has good enough stuff to win the Cy Young, and this year his numbers should get a little help from the games he will pitch against the Astros instead of the Angels. The improved offense should provide a few more wins which will give him some extra votes. Seattle’s stellar defense should also help his case. Even with the fences moving in, Safeco won’t be easy on batters and Felix’ numbers outside of Safeco have never been much worse than at home. In fact, he has allowed more homeruns at home than on the road in several different seasons. The dimensions shouldn’t have a significant impact of the King.
Franklin Gutierrez gets traded
The pieces match up for a trade like this happening. It’s his last year under contract, the Mariners could use to dump his salary, he doesn’t seem to be in the organization’s future, and he could fetch a decent return. It’s a perfect situation for Seattle. It’s not often that a gold glove caliber centerfielder gets traded, but if it is going to happen this summer, it will probably happen to Guti.
Mike Zunino makes his major league debut before the all star break
Zunino is spring training. Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Zunino has thrived in every level of competition he has seen thus far. He will start 2013 on the doorstep of the major leagues, and with nothing more than a defensively inept catcher standing between him and a major league starting job, it doesn’t seem like he’ll have to wait very long to get his major league debut. Prior to the all star break may be a bit optimistic, but it is doable. His ETA will also vary based upon a few other players.
Smoak has a .800 OPS
It seems a bit unrealistic, doesn’t it? Let me lay out a scenario for you. Justin Smoak will replicate his typical walk rate of about 10% while finally posting a somewhat respectable BABIP. With a tad bit of luck, his OBP should sit around .350 in this scenario. In order to achieve his .800 OPS he will need to slug .450. This is a stretch for Smoak, but we know he has made some changes at the plate. If his Spring Training is any indication of his future, a .450 slugging percentage could just barely be in reach. He hit as many doubles in spring training as he did in five months in 2012. If Chris Johnson can reach a .450 SLG%, Smoak should be able to.
The team ERA drops
Considering that Hector Noesi won’t be pitching every five days in 2013, this somewhat bold prediction looks pretty good. I prefer Joe Saunders to Jason Vargas and I think Iwakuma will improve in his sophomore year. With some added experience in the bullpen, the team ERA is prone to drop in 2013.
The season attendance reaches 2,500,000 fans
The club has received a minor facelift, the ballpark has seen some remodeling, the promotions are stellar, and the weather appears to be wonderful; there is no reason why 2,500,000 fans shouldn’t enter Safeco Field for the first time since 2007. Get out and watch some games!
Happy baseball season!
Tags: Blake Beavan, brendan ryan, featured, Felix Hernandez, franklin gutierrez, justin smoak, Mariners General, Michael Saunders, Mike Zunino, Popular, Previews, Projection, seattle mariners
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A Case for Erasmo Ramirez
It’s official, the starting rotation for the Seattle Mariners on opening day will not include Erasmo Ramirez, while Blake Beavan and Brandon Maurer will fill the last two spots in the rotation. Quite honestly, I am dumbfounded. The purpose of this article is quite simple; I will make three main points. 1) Erasmo Ramirez is a quality major league pitcher. 2) Erasmo Ramirez is better than Blake Beavan. 3) Erasmo Ramirez is better than Brandon Maurer.
1) Erasmo Ramirez is a quality major league pitcher
I must start by admitting the fact that Ramirez has only logged 47 innings as a starting pitcher. However, in that time, he posted a 3.24 FIP and a 5.13 K/BB. In that small period of time he also had a 1.0 WAR which is pretty impressive for such a short window of opportunity.
I decided to try to find a pitcher who had thrown a full season with similar statistics to Ramirez in order to get an idea for where his WAR would have been after a full season. The best comparison I could find between Ramirez’ 47 innings and another pitcher’s full season belonged to Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants.
Erasmo Ramirez pitching. Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports
Matt Cain Pitching.
Admittedly, it is not a perfect comparison. For example, Ramirez’ FIP and xFIP were 16 and 30 points better than Cain’s respectively, he walked about .5 less batters per 9 innings, and he did a better job of getting swinging strikes, especially outside the strike zone. On the other hand, Cain allowed slightly fewer line drives and instead got more fly balls and also had a much lower ERA, although we all know that the ERA is an unreliable statistic. If you want to see their stats side by side, feel free to do so here.
Nevertheless, Cain had the closest resemblance to Ramirez last year that I could find. Cain’s WAR in 2012 was 3.8. So, if Ramirez was able to replicate production similar to that of his 47 innings for an entire season, his WAR would have probably been in the 3.5-4.0 range. A 3.5 WAR would have put him in the top 25 in the MLB last year. That’s not bad at all.
Now, let’s evaluate his performance compared to some of the best rookie starting pitchers in baseball last year.
| K/9 | BB/9 | FIP | xFIP | Swinging Strike % | |
| Erasmo Ramirez | 7.85 | 1.53 | 3.24 | 3.52 | 12.2 % |
| Wade Miley | 6.87 | 1.60 | 3.04 | 3.70 | 8.6 % |
| Jarrod Parker | 6.95 | 3.13 | 3.43 | 3.95 | 9.9 % |
| Tommy Milone | 6.49 | 1.71 | 3.93 | 4.02 | 8.7 % |
| Matt Moore | 8.88 | 4.11 | 3.93 | 4.35 | 11.8 % |
| League Average Rookie Starter | 7.28 | 3.16 | 4.24 | 4.16 | 8.7 % |
I would say Ramirez matches up nicely compared to these premier rookies. It is also worth noting that the other four pitchers listed here had WARs ranging from 4.7 to 2.5.
2) Erasmo Ramirez is a better than Blake Beavan
There are so many ways to go about this argument. First of all, Ramirez’ WAR was 250% of Beavan’s, and it took him about a third of the innings Beavan threw to do so. Essentially the only thing Beavan is superior to Ramirez at is that he walks less batters, although barely less. However, the ability to not walk anybody is basically worthless if it comes at the expense of allowing lots of homeruns. Beavan had a HR/9 of 1.36 in 2012 despite getting about half of his starts in quite possibly the best pitchers park in the MLB. Even at home, he averaged over a homerun per nine innings. Not even Jason Vargas gave up that many homeruns in Safeco Field.
Beavan afer giving up a home run this spring. Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Compare Blake Beavan’s 1.14 HR/9 in Safeco Field last year to Ramirez’ .31 HR/9 in Safeco. Not to mention the fact that Ramirez did this while walking almost as few of guys as Beavan while striking out almost twice as many. For more on the Blake Beavan discussion, I would highly recommend this article written by Dave Cameron last June. Although it’s from awhile ago, the points he made are still quite applicable.
Ramirez’ swinging strike rate from last year was exactly twice Beavan’s. In my mind, some of the most revealing statistics about Blake Beavan are his outside the zone swing rate of 31.8% and outside the zone contact rate of 80.9%. Essentially what this means is that he is about average at getting batters to chase pitches outside the zone, but when they do, they make contact about 80% of the time. Now compare Beavan’s 80.9% to Ramirez’ number of 57.8% and the major league average of 68.3%.
No matter what way you look at it, Erasmo Ramirez is a much better pitcher than Blake Beavan.
3) Erasmo Ramirez is a better than Brandon Maurer
It is a harder to compare Ramirez to Maurer just because Maurer has never pitched past AA. Despite the difference, Ramirez posted better a K/9 and BB/9 in his time as a major league starter than Maurer did in AA Jackson.
There is no doubt that Maurer has looked good this spring, but there is a big difference between spring training and the regular season, and there is an even bigger difference between class AA and the major leagues.
Just look at Danny Hultzen as he made his transition from AA Jackson to AAA Tacoma last year. His FIP jumped from 2.84 to 4.29 and his ERA went from 1.19 to 5.92.
I think that skipping AAA entirely is simply too big of a leap at one time for Maurer to make. Maurer may not be far away from being a solid major league pitcher, but we have already seen that Ramirez is a good pitcher. Why send down the good pitcher to allow a potentially good pitcher to be rushed to the big leagues?
I think that Maurer will be a solid starter down the road, but there is no reason to force him into the big leagues right now when there is a better pitcher already prepared for a MLB starting role.
Overall, I think that Erasmo Ramirez got the short end of the stick this spring. I believe that he is a better pitcher than both Beavan and Maurer, and he deserves to be in Seattle’s starting rotation. I would love to get your take on this issue in the comment section below.
Tags: Blake Beavan, Brandon Maurer, Erasmo Ramirez, featured, Mariners General, Popular, seattle mariners
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Mid-Season Evaluation
The all star break is always a good time to stop and evaluate a season. It’s easy to just see at the 36-51 record and call it a bad season, but let’s look at the specific goods and bads from the season thus far. Unfortunately, there aren’t as many goods, so I will start with them.
Goods:
Felix (most of the time)
Other than June, when he posted a 4.45 ERA, Felix has been phenomenal. Our only all star has an ERA of 2.67. Sure, his fastball hasn’t lit up radar guns like he used to, but Felix is still a great pitcher with electric stuff. I wouldn’t worry about our king.
Wells and Saunders
Going into the season, most people didn’t want to give Michael Saunders a chance, but a Franklin Gutierrez injury opened up a spot for Saunders, and he has done well. His 20.9 line drive rate has far exceeded previous seasons, and his .320 BABIP has been stellar as well. Saunders has also tacked on eight homeruns and thirteen stolen bases.
Wells started off slow, but since heating up in July, he has hit .340 with three homeruns in 20 games. He has also been one of the few guys who have hit better at home than on the road. Both Saunders and Wells have performed beyond expectations, and will hopefully continue to do so in the second half of the year.
Justin Smoak’s month of May
Smoak’s year has been very discouraging, but the month of May was bright. In that month, he hit .255 with six homeruns and eighteen rbis. A year at this pace would amount to 36 long balls and 108 runs batted in. May was the only month that I felt we were seeing what Smoak is actually capable of. I know the other two months of the season for Smoak was abysmal, but at least we have seen a glimpse of Smoak’s capability.
John Jaso
Jaso came over from Tampa in return for a AAA reliever in Josh Lueke, but he has turned out to be much better than a seventh reliever. He has provided a solid bat off the bench and also a good option behind the dish. He is hitting .267 in 135 at bats, has drove in 21 runs, and has nearly as many walks as strikeouts. Considering what the M’s gave up for Jaso, he has been a quite pleasant surprise.
Tom Wilhelmson
The struggles of Brandon League forced Tom Wilhelmson into the closer role where he has excelled. In 39 appearences, the former bartender has earned a 2.44 ERA, seven saves, and seven holds. His curveball has also provided some comical reactions from batters.
Furbush and Leutge
Furbush didn’t start on the major league roster, but when the lefty got his chance, he turned into a reliable option in the bullpen. In 36.2 innings of work, the southpaw has posted a 2.21 ERA, .148 opponent average and, more impressively, a .818 WHIP. Unlike most Mariner pitchers who excel at home and struggle on the road, batters are hitting just .114 off of Furbush in visiting ballparks.
Luetge’s role in the bullpen this year has been very specific, and he has become an excellent lefty specialist. Left-handed batters are hitting just .140 off of Luetge this season. 52 lefty batters have stepped into the box against Luetge, and only six batters have gotten hits off of him, none of which were extra-base hits, while sixteen have struck out.
The Big 3
The trio of young prospects have had a great first half of the year, and Hultzen and Walker were both invited to the MLB Futures game where they each made appearances. In AA, the three have posted a 16-10 record and ERAs of 1.19, 4.50, and 3.46. They each have also struck out an average of more than one batter per inning. Hultzen has been the only arm to be promoted to AAA Tacoma, but the other two aren’t far behind.
Bads:
Time to take a look at the countless bads of this season.
Ichiro
It didn’t matter if Ichiro was batting third or first, he hardly hit at all. His .288 OBP was miserable and he didn’t show any of the power that Wedge had hoped to see in the middle of the order. There is nothing more to say than that Ichiro’s 2012 campaign has been a major disappointment.
Justin Smoak
As discussed earlier, Justin Smoak had a phenomenal month of May in which he showed the ability that Jack Z thought he was getting in the Cliff Lee deal. However, the other two months of the year have been discouraging. In March, April, and May, Smoak has batted a mere .171 with 5 long balls and 14 rbis. That’s production deserving of a demotion to AAA. If the Smoakamotive doesn’t figure out his swing in the second half of the season, he will quickly find himself out of a spot in the future of the organization.
Beavan and Noesi
2012 is the first full season for each of these two young pitchers. They each earned spots in the starting rotation out of spring training, but they have each had horrible first halves and have been sent back to AAA. Beavan’s ERA was 5.92 until he was demoted to Tacoma. He also had an average of 1.73 homeruns per game which is a shocking number considering how many games he pitched in Safeco Field.
Noesi’s record this year is 2-11. He has lost eleven games in seventeen starts. While this can be blamed on Seattle’s inadequate offense, Noesi has still had a miserable season. His ERA is fifth to worst in baseball, his FIP is worst, xFIP third to worst, and HR/9 the worst as well. Just consider that; a pitcher who has the luxury of throwing in Safeco Field has given up homeruns more consistently than any other pitcher in baseball. THAT’S EMBARRASSING. That’s Hector Noesi.
Dustin Ackley
Ackley set high expectations for himself hitting .273 in his rookie season, but his sophomore campaign has been drastically worse. His average has dropped 40 points, his OBP 37 points, and his slugging percentage has dropped 92 points. Even Ackley’s line drive rate has also fallen a bit. Unlike Smoak, Ackley has plenty of time to become a good hitter, but this year has certainly been a major setback in the course of his career.
Injuries
The injury bug has been everywhere in the Mariner’s locker room. It started in the spring training with Franklin Gutierez and continued in the opening series when Mike Carp went down. Even the young players like Stephen Pryor and Erasmo Ramirez have been struck by injuries. Kevin Millwood was pulled from a game in which he was throwing a no-hitter due to a muscle strain.
Mike Carp (when healthy)
Carp has only been able to play in 32 games because of injuries, but when he has played, he has been horrible. His average is just .157, he has struck out in over a quarter of his at bats, and his LD% is 15.5%. The only good thing about Carp’s season at the plate has been his 14.3% walk rate which has escalated his OBP to just two points below Ichiro’s.
Brandon League
In 2011, League was an all-star closer. In 2012, he has been a save blowing machine. He has blown six saves and has five losses in 39 appearances. Not only has League lost several games for the Mariners, but he has erased a once great trade value.
Here are just a few of the highs and lows of the first half of the season. I may have forced a few of the goods and ignored many of the bads, but sometimes you have to do that as a Mariner fan. Let’s hope we have more good things to talk about when the season ends.
Tags: Blake Beavan, Brandon League, Casper Wells, Charlie Furbush, Danny Hultzen, dustin ackley, featured, Felix Hernandez, Franklin Gutierez, Hector Noesi, Ichiro, james paxton, John Jaso, justin smoak, kevin millwood, Lucas Luetge, Mariners General, Michael Saunders, Mike Carp, Popular, taijuan walker, Tom Wilhelmson
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How Long Until We See Hultzen and Franklin?
There comes a time in every season when you start thinking towards the future. For some teams, that time comes after the season ends, and for some, the time comes in mid-June. I prettymuch threw in the towel for this season after we got swept by the Padres.
That doesn’t mean that you should completely ignore the Mariners for the rest of the season, but it does mean that it is time to start paying more attention to prospects in the farm system and potential moves at the trade deadline.
Just yesterday, top prospects Danny Hultzen and Nick Franklin were promoted to AAA Tacoma. The best part about the call-up is that Seattle natives can take a quick drive down I-5 to watch these two guys play. As exciting as it is to see these guys in AAA, the real question is, when will we see them in the MLB?
I can see Hultzen pitching for the Mariners by the end of the season depending on two things. First of all, he needs to stay healthy and succeed, but more importantly it will depend on his inning count for the year. Last season at Virginia, Hultzen threw 118 innings. Hultzen is currently at 75.1, so he is nearing his career high. His availability for the Mariners will be dictated by how many innings they decide to cut him off at.
Assuming that Danny Hultzen’s progress is not slowed, I would not be surprised to see him in a Mariner uniform during September callups, especially since he is already on the 40 man roster. Hultzen’s chance of getting a few starts could also be helped if the rotation continues to struggle or if Vargas is dealt at the deadline.
On the other hand, Nick Franklin is much less likely to be in the big leagues this year. First of all, he is not as far along in his progression as Hultzen is. In addition, he is not a current member of the 40 man roster meaning that the Mariners would have to remove someone from the 40 man in order to bring the 21 year old shortstop to the majors. While this is not undoable, it is less likely.
The matter of demand is also a main difference between Franklin and Hultzen. The current starting rotation could use some help considering that Vargas may be traded, Beavan is now in AAA, and Noesi and Ramirez have been less than impressive. Sure, Brendan Ryan has been incompetent at the plate, but the gold glove defense is worth the .290 OBP at least until the end of the year.
Keep an eye on the Rainiers to see how these two players are doing in Tacoma. Expect to see Hultzen in the MLB in September, but wait at least until late next seasons to see Nick Franklin at Safeco Field.
Tags: Blake Beavan, Danny Hultzen, Erasmo Ramirez, featured, Hector Noesi, Jason Vargas, Mariners General, nick franklin, Popular, Prospect Reports, prospects
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Two Peas in an Anti-Run Prevention Pod
Tags: Blake Beavan, Charlie Furbush, Erasmo Ramirez, featured, Hector Noesi, hisashi iwakuma, Mariners General, Popular
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Seattle Finalizes Roster
Just yesterday I was pondering how much longer the Mariners would wait to trim a few loose strings. Today those strings have been neatly trimmed…kind of.
Here is your Seattle Mariners 2012 Opening Day Roster.
Tags: alex liddi, Blake Beavan, Brandon League, brendan ryan, Casper Wells, Charlie Furbush, Chone Figgins, dustin ackley, Erasmo Ramirez, featured, Felix Hernandez, George Sherrill, Hector Noesi, hisashi iwakuma, Ichiro Suzuki, Jason Vargas, Jesus Montero, John Jaso, justin smoak, kevin millwood, kyle seager, Lucas Luetge, Mariners General, Michael Saunders, miguel olivo, Mike Carp, Munenori Kawasaki, Popular, shawn Kelley, Steve Delabar, Tom Wilhelmsen
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Remaining Position Battles
The Mariners play their first game in Japan in less than a week, but there are still position battles that are unsettled. Here is a look at a few of these open jobs and the options the Mariner’s have to fill them.
Third base: … [visit site to read more]
Tags: Adam Moore, alex liddi, Blake Beavan, Carlos Peguero, Casper Wells, Chone Figgins, Erasmo Ramirez, featured, Hector Noesi, hisashi iwakuma, Ichiro, Jesus Montero, John Jaso, kevin millwood, kyle seager, Mariners General, Michael Saunders, miguel olivo, Popular, position battles, spring training, Vinnie Catricala
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How Much Are the Mariners Really Counting On Iwakuma?
I love all the stories of Spring Training. We make bigger deals of a lot of things that simply require patience. Then other times we just look at situations with the wrong perspective. This is the way I feel about visit site to read more]
Tags: Blake Beavan, Charlie Furbush, Erasmo Ramirez, featured, Hector Noesi, hisashi iwakuma, kevin millwood, Mariners General, Popular
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FIRST CACTUS LEAGUE GAME!
Well, A) I thought I’d have the first original thoughts on the first non-consequental game of the year. But I guess Bryant had be all tricky and slide in his pre-game thoughts yesterday to be all “on top” and total steal my thunder. Whatever… I … [visit site to read more]
Tags: Blake Beavan, Carlos Peguero, Cesar Jimenez, Chance Ruffin, Darren Ford, Featred, Game Review, Jesus Montero, johermyn chavez, Michael Saunders, Mike Carp, Popular, shawn Kelley, Steve Delabar
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A Post I Was Going To Write Until It Backfired On Me
I appreciate snark. To various degrees and put more aptly, when it’s done in a way that doesn’t generate a rise out of me. I’m not very good and disguising any type of snark in written form or in real life speak. Normally, if I have something to say and it’s not going to be nice it ends up being either one of two things. A) It comes across a bit whiny or B) it’s blurted out rather bludgeoned. Similar to using the jack in Thief. It just… just… well it didn’t kill anyone but obviously it would come across as a bit crass and if I didn’t get plumbed, I certainly didn’t make friends.
Well, see I enjoy putting together little posts over certain subjects that I had believed and others had said I was “wrong” for thinking. I don’t mind being wrong but discovering proof that your previous line of thought was correct, gives you too much ammo to sit on. So, at times, I’ve been known to throw something together and come across rather pompous.
Hey it’s my blog and if you think that no one else does that well… that would be a stupid opinion. I’m human and I like proving I’m not entirely stupid. My writing of course does that for me.
Yet, this time it kind of backfired a bit. It started after both Keith and Marqman responded in the comments about Hector Noesi. I basically called him a better more serviceable starter than Blake Beavan, because Beavan basically sucks in my mind. While others keep bringing up Doug Fister and talking about how Beavan might morph into what Fister has become. I’m hesitant to agree and that’s where things go wrong on my end.
Tags: Blake Beavan, Casper Wells, Chance Ruffin, Charlie Furbush, Chris Hawkins, Chris Young, David Pauley, Doug Fister, Felix Herandez, Francisco Martinez, Jeff Marquez, Jesse Hernandez, John Stilson, Matt Dean, Off-Season
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Things I Missed, While I Was Out
First and very foremost, a big shout out to the incomparable Keith Myers, whom kept the lights burning strong while I was out gallivanting around Rome, Italy with the wife. It was an very, very good time and I highly suggest a person taking the … [visit site to read more]
Tags: Andrew Miller, Blake Beavan, Jesus Montero, kevin millwood, Michael Pineda, Miguel Cabrera, Off-Season, prince fielder
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Hisashi Iwakuma Signs With The Mariners, Cool
I’ve been thinking. Thinking a lot. This may surprise some of you, as I’m sure based upon reading my blog on somewhat of a semi regular basis most of you probably think of me as a twit, while others just a talking head that recites what others … [visit site to read more]
Tags: Andrew Carraway, Blake Beavan, Brandon Maurer, Charlie Furbush, Erasmo Ramirez, erik bedard, hisashi iwakuma, jarrod washburn, Jason Vargas, Jimmy Gillheeney, Off-Season, russell branyan, Signings, taijuan walker
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Mariners Regress, Return To Old Ways
Jim Mone / AP
Whenever there are morning games, I have to listen to the game at work, since there are no TVs at work. Sidebar: if there were TVs at work, work would be awesome! Every time I flip to the station, I get those glances. You know, those glances. Why do you even care anymore? they say. Oh the Mariners are horrible again this year! they remark. I try to level with them as we go about our business, explaining to them that this is a rebuilding process we can actually get behind.
But no one listens. Any semblance of hope that I can glean from these games falls on deaf ears. Anytime “winning” and “Mariners” are in the same sentence, most people shut down. They aren’t as optimistic as we bloggers attempt to be. Harsh remarks and sarcasm are flung towards those who think the Mariners will ever make it to the point of a winning record.
Today, the Mariners were handed a loss by the Minnesota Twins. It was sort of a nail biter, but in the back of my head I couldn’t help but think that these Mariners couldn’t sweep any given baseball team, let alone the team with the worst run differential in baseball. It’s just baseball. My suspicions were correct, as the Mariners were walked-off on thanks to substitute teacher Steve Delabar. As exciting as his first win was on September 14th, he now gets to come back down to earth. Mark the date, September 22nd! The life of a reliever is so fickle.
Today, the Mariners had a three-game winning streak snapped. The Twins had an eleven-game losing streak snapped. It’s impossible to win every game, and it’s ludicrous to think as much at this point in the season. At this point, there are only a handful of positive things we an look at.
As we waddle through the drudge of a losing season, we can imagine what it would be like to have clinched a playoff berth.
Tags: Blake Beavan, dustin ackley, Recaps, Steve Delabar
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