Mariners Dock

Notable Springs

nightmare — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:41:05 +0000

Early into Spring Training, a few Seattle Mariners have been putting together solid offensive Springs. First, Mike Sweeney, whose consistent presence on the Major League diamond seems doubtful is leading the Ms in batting after 10 at bats. The right handed DH has 8 hits 1 home run and 3 RBI to go with only 1 strikeout.

Also, one of the up-for-grabs spots, catcher, has been offensively dominated by Adam Moore. The young backstop has started the Spring Training 6 of his first 9.

Notable players struggling thus far? Ken Griffey Junior and Chone Figgins are both awaiting their first hits and Ichiro is batting a paltry .200 currently.

1-2

nightmare — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 20:06:12 +0000

After an uneventful first game of Spring Training, two Mariners have left games with injuries in as many days, both big name players. First, on Thursday, was David Aardsma who injured his groin in the third inning. In the inning, Aardsma allowed no runs on only 1 walk. Then Yesterday, Shortstop Jack Wilson left the game after the third inning, unlucky inning for Mariners’ health? Wilson apparently injured his right hamstring while planting to throw the ball across the infield. He later scored his first pre-season run when Ichiro tripled him home.

The good news: neither injury seems to be terribly serious. Wilson says his hamstring feels okay but is tight. He will be re-evaluated today. Aardsma also is expected to be playing again soon.

Mariners Pitching Roughed Up

nightmare — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 01:10:42 +0000

The Mariners pitching staff was roughed up again today against the Padres to the tune of nine earned runs. On the positive side, Luke French and Mark Lowe pitched two innings and one inning respectively allowing a combine zero runs, zero hits, and one walk. On the negative side, occasional 2009 starter, Garrett Olson surrendered six earned runs without closing an inning. Yesterday, Jason Vargas also showed a promising start throwing two scoreless innings while allowing one hit.

0-1

nightmare — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 01:14:50 +0000

The season is young. In fact, 32 days, 22 hours, and 2 minutes remain until it officially begins. But the men in teal were handed their first loss of Spring Training in the first game of Spring Training at the hands of the San Francisco Giants. The final score was 8-7. But don’t kid yourself. This game was far from a preview of the season to come. None of the Seattle’s most lauded arms threw in the contest, though none were able to complete more than one full inning without surrendering a run. Offensively, Casey Kotchman and Adam Moore racked up two hits apiece to add to Seattle’s final tally of 10 in the 10 inning contest. The Mariners also walked 9 times, 2 each for Milton Bradley and Chone Figgins, and 3 for Ryan Langerhans. They’ll get a chance tomorrow against another National League opponent, the San Diego Padres.

Looking to the Future

nightmare — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 13:10:34 +0000

First round pick Dustin Ackley is being groomed in Mariners camp to play second base. By his own admission, he isn’t going to be ready for the bigs just yet, but he is assuming a new appreciation for learning to be the best defensive player he can be. This is good news. No one knows for sure how a prospect will convert, but Ackley hit .417 as a senior last year. That’s offensive production Mariners fans can look forward to. How soon can we expect to see him at Safeco? Ackley says he will disappointed if he is not wearing a major league uniform in three years.

nightmare — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 03:53:11 +0000

It’s five days until the new Mariners will first be battle tested. March third is when the Ms open the competition portion of Spring training. Not that the first Spring game will decisively predict the quality of the team in the field throughout the season. But this will give them a tune up to try out their many new players and possible roster combinations. Hopefully, throughout March, Seattle can can choose a consistent left fielder, first baseman, catcher. Then there is the Chone Figgins-Jose Lopez second-third base quandry. But a month is quite some time to begin sorting out these questions.

Experimenting with a logical infield switch

nightmare — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:29:06 +0000

Shortly into the first day of full-team Spring Training, the Mariners are showing off a new looking infield. They are flipping Chone Figgins and Jose Lopez. This seems logical to me. Figgins is the swifter of foot and surer of hand of the two. Typically speaking, second base sees more action than third base so you’d want your better defender playing up the middle rather than at the hot corner. This also could lead to quicker double play turns with Jack Wilson at short.

The big question is whether Lopez has the arm for third. He has played nearly his entire major league career at second so the longer throw could cause some adventures for him. We will have to wait and see how he handles that. If all goes well, the positive is that Seattle could have dynamite middle defense with Jack Wilson, Chone Figgins, and Franklin Gutierrez. The downside of a such a combo would be the comparatively weak-fielding Lopez at third, a position that, under Adrian Beltre, was a defensive strength for the Mariners in recent years.

Russell Branyan is back in Cleveland

nightmare — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 15:25:55 +0000

Mariners’ 2009 first baseman, Russell Branyan, has signed a one year $2 million deal that will take him back to Cleveland. The power hitting first baseman was hoping that at this stage in his career and with a career in 2009 (31 home runs, 76 RBI despite only playing in only 116 games) he would find a team willing to commit to him over a longer tenure. However, the 149 Ks, .251 BA, and injuries didn’t help his case; and ultimately, the 34 year old will be competing for a job with his former club where he has spent 5 years of his career.

For the Mariners, this means they are officially not bringing back their biggest power threat from last season which leaves them with an increasingly aging Ken Griffey Jr., a volatile Milton Bradley, and second baseman Jose Lopez. Where will the power surge come from? Will they need one?

Believe Big

nightmare — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:43:25 +0000

The Mariners embark on their 2010 season. And with the new season comes a new slogan. Last year’s “A new day, a new way” fit the team’s attitude and playing style. This year, the slogan is “Believe Big”. And I know that is apt based upon the expectations of many Mariners’ fans as well as fans of baseball in general. As I have said on many occasions, I will believe big when I see a consistent starting rotation top to bottom and more offensive production than the Mariners generated last year. The rotation, I think, will be okay. Felix and Cliff are outstanding. And I think there is enough talent in Seattle to fill out the bottom three spots. The offense, I don’t know. Seattle lost its only major power threat in Russell Branyan. They acquired several players with unproven potential, however, so we shall see how it all pans out.

Pitchers and Catchers Report Tomorrow

nightmare — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:18:06 +0000

Spring, it seems, is finally upon us (it doesn’t feel that way in frozen Chicagoland though). All around the majors, the batteries will be reporting to Spring Training in Florida and Arizona with their respective teams. In Seattle’s case, however, the apparent number one and number three starters will not be practicing right away. Why is this? Well, Erik Bedard, the 3 starter, is still rehabbing from surgery and will not be returning until May at the earliest. The other delayed starter is Cliff Lee, the biggest (arguably) acquisition of any team around baseball. Lee arrived at Seattle’s camp in Arizona with a bandaged foot due to a Feb 5th surgery. He will likely require another week or so before he can begin pitching. Not to worry. Lee is confident the injury will not affect his productivity.