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Lee Pelekoudas, whose 30 years with the Seattle Mariners began as a traveling secretary and included a term as interim general manager, resigned today.
The son of a major league umpire, Chris Pelekoudas, Lee has been with Seattle since 1979, most recently as the associate general manager.
Over his [...]
The Angels are in tune up mode for the post-season, looking a little ahead and not paying much attention to the Seattle Mariners of the world.
The Mariners would love to change that in the next three games, but they'll have to do it without their best lineup tonight.
No Ichiro, no' [...]
Carlos Silva will pitch an inning or so of relief today - his first since April - but he's going to be a Frog, not a Rainier.
The Mariners are sending Silva to Everett, not Tacoma, in part because they don't want to jeopardize the Rainiers run for the post-season.
"In Everett,'" [...]
The lineup is up and Ichiro isn't in it, though the team says tomorrow is the day he'll play.
No Ken Griffey Jr., no Adrian Beltre, who are both taking batting practice - as is top draft pick Dusin Ackley, who formally OKed his contract today.
Ackley took fly balls in the [...]
Ichiro is stretching and running in right field, with manager Don Wakamatsu, a trainer and translator on hand should he suddenly need mouth-to-mouth.
On the sidelines, some 30 yards away, are six Japanese photographers and a couple of television camera crews, recording each smile, wince and wink.
We forget, occasionally, that Ichiro [...]
A few weeks ago, it seemed impossible to think the Tacoma Rainiers were a postseason caliber team. They were 7 1/2 games out of the Pacific North Division of the PCL and any playoff chances were fading with each game. To make matters worse they were embarking [...]
Seattle comes in with a 10-game home-run hitting streak, having hit 18 homers in that span and the question is: how?
Franklin Gutierrez has 14 home runs and Jose Lopez 20. Combined, the rest of today's Mariners lineup has 19.
What's amazing is that in the last six games, the Mariners have [...]
Yes, Virginia, it's slim pickings trying to put together a formidible attack for Seattle, these days.
Ichiro remains out with a strained calf.
Ken Griffey Jr. misses a third game with a tender knee.
Adrian Beltre has a bruised cajone.
Russell Branyan, herniated disk.
The good news is, Ichiro could return Mondoay when the Angels [...]
Russell Branyan watched the Seattle Mariners win their 68th of the season tonight, then dressed and brushed his teeth.
"I can still do that," he said.
What Branyan cannot do is swing a bat or play the game, not with a herniated disk in his back, discovered during an MRI Saturday.
The Mariners [...]
Ichiro is still out, Adrian Beltre still swollen - and you know where! - and now Russell Branyan is on the disabled list with a herniated disk.
That leaves the team with no one with 20 home runs and only one player, Jose Lopez, with more than 55 RBI.
A team that's' [...]
Russell Branyan, who has fought persistent back pain much of his career and all of this season, was pulled from the lineup Friday - and placed on the 15-day disabled list tonight.
Branyan has a herniated disc in his back and the team hopes their leading home run [...]
Loosely translated - toma means "take that" in Spanish and that's what the Mariners dugout was screaming at the Oakland A's when Ken Griffey Jr hit his two-run laser of a homer in the fifth inning.
Let's go through it quickly.
Jose Lopez hits a first-inning double [...]
Quickly before we get to the game updates, here's a few other notes from the pregame meeting with manager Don Wakamatsu.
* Carlos Silva will throw a simulated game on Wednesday. He will throw approximately 35 to 40 pitches.
"If everything goes well, we’ll probably send him out (on a" [...]
Adrian Beltre was back in the Mariners clubhouse and seemed in good spirits.
As I'm typing this, he's taking out at third base taking ground balls. He took batting practice earlier.
Manager Don Wakamatsu said that because Beltre was able to do some light activities that he may indeed be' [...]
UPDATE 4:24 -- Officially Ichiro has tightness in his left calf. It's been bothering him the last week and it "grabbed on him" a little at the end of yesterday's game. Manager Don Wakamatsu said Ichiro said the calf is much better today. But Wakamatsu indicated that Ichiro probably won't' [...]
Felix Hernandez hasn't won a game since Aug. 1, which hasn't helped his Cy Young Award candidacy - or his luck.
In his last two starts, for instance, Felix has allowed one run in 14 innings and come away with a pair of no-decisions. Even for Seattle, that's tough to do.
Today [...]
Ken Griffey Jr. took one look at infielder Josh Wilson's baby face and dubbed him 'The Paper Boy' - as in, "The Paper Boy got 'em again!"
Then, Wilson made eight consecutive starts in place of shortstop Jack Wilson, and hit three home runs.
Now, Junior calls him "Hack'" [...]
Tacoma closer Randy Messenger, who saved 25 games and compiled a 2.25 in the hitting-rich Pacific Coast League, will join the Seattle Mariners bullpen tonight.
Chris Jakubauskas, who was unavailable the last few days because of cramping in his right shoulder, was optioned to Class AAA - and will return to [...]
The Mariners saw the Indians about a month ago, but this isn't the same Cleveland team that one was.
Now 52-68, these Indians are without Victor Martinez and have largely rebuilt their pitching staff. Put simply, they're going young.
Seattle is starting Luke French, who's coming off a game in which he [...]
If you don't read Jim Caple, you should - he's one of the Northwest's own writing treasures.
Mr. Caple has wit and a good humor that's never mean-spirited, along with a journalistic curiosity that makes him ask the right questions.
He's done a piece on Adrian Beltre and his stunning stance of' [...]
Three weeks ago, it would have been hard to find a more popular guy in the Seattle clubhouse than Jarrod Washburn, who's now standing between the Mariners and their 63rd victory of the year.
Ichiro nodded before stepping into the box, then extended his hitting streak to 11 consecutive games with [...]
Bill Hall arrived, left-hander Garrett Olson headed for Tacoma and the Seattle Mariners clubhouse was as loud and happy as ever.
"Stay away from Junior," manager Don Wakamatsu told his newest player.
Too late.
"We talked on the bus this morning. I wanted to be like Ken Griffey Jr.," Hall said. "He was" [...]
If you're a betting type, this game might be off the boards - Detroit's Justin Verlander, a Cy Young Award candidate, against Seattle's Ian Snell, who is not.
What precisely Snell is remains a question for the Mariners, who have seen him start three times and allowed 13 runs in 13' [...]
Bill Hall, a 29-year-old third baseman with the Milwaukee Brewers, has been acquired by the Seattle Mariners for minor league pitcher Ruben Flores.
"We value Bill as a versatile player who can play the outfield and three infield positions," GM Jack Zduriencik said. "Billy has been a starting shortstop, third baseman" [...]
For general manager Jack Zduriencik, now that his first draft with the Seattle Mariners is final - now that he and the front office have signed everyone they can - the franchise has taken another large step toward its future.
Call it the Class of '09, but the' [...]
Felix Hernandez is pitching for his 13th win of the season, and more importantly for the team, he's shooting for Seattle's 62nd victory.
That would officially push the '09 Mariners past the win total of the '08 Mariners - a team and year the franchise would like to put behind it.
The [...]
Tortured pitcher Carlos Silva, trying to come back from shoulder problems - and mound issues - threw 53 pitches in a pre-game bullpen session today.
"I threw six changeups, two sliders and a lot of fastballs," Silva said. "I felt great."
If that's not enough, listen to pitching coach [...]
Well, Erik Bedard had an MRI today, and the results of which are in the hands of the Mariners medical staff along with the original MRI results Bedard had a few months ago in Los Angeles.
So what is the diagnosis?
Well according to Don Wakamatsu:
"They found some issues in" [...]
Rays (60-48)
Jason Bartlett SS
Carl Crawford LF
Evan Longoria 3B
Ben Zobrist RF
Carlos Pena 1B
Pat Burrell DH
Willy Aybar 2B
BJ Upton CF
Dioner Navarro C
------------
RHP Jeff Niemann (10-5, 3.62 ERA)
Mariners (56-52)
Ichiro RF
Russell Branyan 1B
Jose Lopez 2B
Ken Griffey Jr. DH
Adrian [...]
Well, it was thought that Doug Fister's removal from the game last night was precautionary when Jason Vargas blew up early, but it was something more.
Vargas was optioned to Triple A Tacoma, and the Mariners have selected Fister from Tacoma. Fister is technically "selected" because he's not on [...]
In the past few years with the slumping economy, the dwindling circulation numbers in newspapers, the poor business plans that most had when it came to the on-line product, the invention of Craig's List that killed classified advertising and slumping ad buys, we have watched as coverage [...]
Russell Branyan's breakout first half - when he batted .280 with 24 home runs and 49 RBI - made him one of the most dangerous hitters in the Seattle lineup.
Branyan's back, and the tightness that's plagued him for more than two weeks, is ruining his second [...]
Closer David Aardsma, the Mariners said today, is available in an emergency - but not really.
That lanced boil on his backside is one ugly wound (trust me, I saw it!). Imagine an open hole low and centered on your bum, then imagine pitching with it.
They didn't' [...]
Chris Shelton, who appeared in nine games with Seattle before being designated for assignment to make room for pitcher Luke French, has beedn outrighted to the Tacoma Rainiers.
Shelton, a 29-year-old right-handed hitting first base - who has played third base only in the minor leagues - [...]
Left-hander Erik Bedard, the soft-spoken, oft-injured pitcher, almost certainly won't throw another pitch for the Seattle Mariners.
On a one-year contract after pitching half the season last year, Bedard has made only four starts since June because of persistent pain in his left shoulder.
It's similar, Bedard said, to what he felt' [...]
Luke French, the 23-year-old left-handed pitcher who came to Seattle in the Jarrod Washgburn trade, will make the sixth start of his major league career tonight - and his first as a Mariner.
Oddly enough, he'll face a Kansas City team he beat July 8, 3-1, as a member of the' [...]
Erik Bedard's inflamed left shoulder continues to cause discomfort and, one day after throwing a light bullpen, the Seattle Mariners say he is "back to square one."
Bedard has been shut down from throwing and will undergo an MRI exam in Seattle on Friday, and have it compared [...]
Closer David Aardsma won't be available tonight in Kansas City because a boil on his butt has done what hitters usually can't - knocked him out of the game.
The boil has been bothering Aardsma for days, but Wednesday it reached the point where the pain of [...]
As the Mariners return to the Kansas City Royals, they will see some former teammates, including Gil Meche, who got a $55 million contract - wow, just, wow on that, Miguel Olivo, who was part of the forgettable Freddy Garcia trade, Willie Bloomquist, who [...]
The Mariners are as excited to see Ian Snell pitch as their fans, since most of them haven't seen him.
What they're hoping to see tonight is not just stuff but the ability to throw it deeper into games than, say, the fifth inning.
For a team built on pitching and defense, [...]
Erik Bedard passed one small test today and will face a larger one Tuesday, when he throws his first bullpen since going on the disabled with shoulder inflammation.
"Today is a big day to see where he’s at," manager Don Wakamatsu said. "We'll try to push him a little. If he'" [...]
Seattle has stumbled into August, losing six of its last 10 games, and Felix Hernandez could deliver a huge feel-good victory for his team tonight.
Already an 11-game winner and the ace of a young, retooled rotation, Henandez has never had consistent success against Texas - he's 5-9 against the Rangers [...]
Luke French knew what he wanted in life by the time he was in fifth grade - when he wrote out a timeline that had him pitching for the Seattle Mariners.
"They were my favorite team, they had Griffey and Randy Johnson and Jay Buhner," French said today. "When the Tigers" [...]
Ichiro Suzuki likely has had this game circled on his calendar since he heard that Vincente Padilla was starting for Texas.
For good reason.
Ichiro has a career batting average of .526 against Padilla in 38 lifetime at-bats - his highest average against any pitcher he's ever faced more than once.
Similarly, [...]
Ian Snell never quite made it to Tacoma, and the right-handed pitcher will step into Seattle's starting rotation Sunday against Texas.
"He's going to take Jarrod's spot in the rotation," manager Don Wakamatsu said. "Starting tonight, our rotation is Jason Vargas, Felix Hernandez, Snell, Ryan Rowland-Smith and Luke French or Garrett" [...]
Look we know the Mariners need a shorstop, unless some of you want to see Ronny Cedeno and his .174 batting average back in a Seattle uniform next season. The Mariners have few legitimate shortstop prospects in the minor leagues. Their best prospect Carlos Triunfel has missed [...]
Not the Mariners, apparently.
Two minutes into their 98th game, Grady Sizemore homered and, yes, Cleveland is ahead yet again.
The Indians haven't trailed in this series, and the only ties have been scoreless ties, since they've outscored the Mariners, 20-3.
Jason Vargas vs. Cliff Lee, with Mike Sweeney as the Mariners [...]
Erik Bedard, the talented but often-injured left-hander who might have drawn interest at the trading deadline next week, has once again landed on the Seattle Mariners disabled list.
Bedard's left shoulder inflammation, which limited him to four starts since June 6, is a puzzle to the pitcher and [...]
Rookie Michael Saunders becomes the sixth man to start in left field for Seattle this season - joining the ranks that include Wladimir Balentien, Ronny Cedeno, Endy Chavez, Ken Griffey Jr. and Ryan Langerhans.
He'll start behind lefty Erik Bedard, who hasn't won a game since June 7 - not the [...]
The new left fielder of the future, 22-year-old Michael Saunders, was in the Seattle Mariners lineup today - and the expense of the former left fielder of the future, Wladimir Balentien.
Saunders was recalled from Tacoma to make his big-league debut today, adding a bat with power potential to a batting [...]
Back in May, he thought he'd be back in the Mariners rotation within a few weeks, so what happened to Ryan Rowland-Smith was more than a little surprising.
He was forced to grow up - in baseball, anyway - and re-learn to trust the pitches he threw and' [...]
A warm welcome back to Franklin Gutierrez back to the Mariners line-up and the confines of Safeco Field where all the walls were padded. Chris Shelton not only survives the roster cut, but he also gets the start at DH.
Indians (38-58)
Sizemore, cf
Cabrera, ss
Choo, [...]
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Roy Corcoran, the right-hander who had a career season for the Seattle Mariners last season, has been designated for assignment to make room for tonight's starting pitcher, Ryan Rowland-Smith.
p>Corcoran, 29, can be claimed on waivers before the team asks him to accept an assignment to [...]
I'll be going on with Ian Furness at 1:40ish on KJR for my weekly segment and also I've fooling around with a twitter account against my better judgement, which you can get to at twitter.com/tntmariners.\
[...]
Unfortunately, I'm not talking about the Mariners, though they've won every game after the break that Garrett Olson didn't start. So with him out the rotation, they should be money.
No the "these guys" I was referring to is the Los Angeles Angels, who won yet' [...]
Well, I made my flight, after taking possibly one of the scariest, most expensive cab rides ever. I'm not certain, but I think I may have similar pain in my neck that Franklin Gutierrez is experiencing after my cab driver used his breaks in the jump on' [...]
Well, first pitch was 1:31, so it was a 26 minute delay.
The Mariners will be facing lefty Luke French, who to be honest. I don't know much about. He's 1-0 with 1.89 ERA. He's appeared in five games and started three. He was 4-4 at Triple A
According to the' [...]
It appears that the hapless Kansas City Royals, who blew a 6-2 lead in a 9-6 loss to the Angels, will do no favors for the Mariners, so Seattle simply can't afford to lose any games right now. And they certainly can't lose a [...]
Well, we had a rain delay of 32 minutes. It's better than an hour and 32 minutes.
First Inning
Not exactly a productive first inning for the Mariners at the plate, as Armando Galaragga needs just nine pitches to get out.
Felix Hernandez needed a few more than that. As [...]
UPDATE: as you can see from the photo above, the tarp is coming off the field. Approximate start time is 7:40 p.m. in Detroit and 4:40 p.m. in the Northwest.
Well, we have ourselves a bit of precipitation.
Not exactly a Motown flavor, but [...]
Manager Don Wakamatsu confirmed that Ryan Rowland-Smith will indeed be the starter on Friday. Erik Bedard will be pushed back to Saturday and Garrett Olson will not start on Sunday, and the final decision on who will make that start hasn't been determined.
Wakamatsu gave two reasons' [...]
Grrrrr, that's the Tiger in front of Comerica Park.
As we go into today's game obviously two things stand out:
1. The status of Franklin Gutierrez.
2. The status of the rotation
UPDATE: Manager Don Wakamatsu also mentioned to us that Gutierrez is bothered by a [...]
Where exactly do you start with this game. Perhaps, it's instructive to go with what everybody's talking about and going to be talking about - Gutierrez and the scare he gave everybody.
Here's another reason why you should love Gutierrez. He was asked postgame if he knew [...]
We have the report on Gutierrez, and it's actually pretty good news considering the collision with the wall.
Gutierrez left the game with what they labeled "left knee and left elbow contusions." X-rays on his elbow were negative. He's also got an abrasion on the knee. We don't know the' [...]
Greetings from the Cleveland Airport, where a handful of writers - myself, Larry Stone and a few of the Japanese media - await flight 2541 to Detroit, which has been delayed by about an hour. So that means the delay will actually be longer than the flight. [...]
Greetings on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Cleveland, the Mariners will be looking to take three of four from the Indians today facing the likes of Aaron Laffey.
No familiar with the lefty Laffey. Well, he was a 16th round pick in the 2003 draft out of Allegany, MD. He's' [...]
Well after writing today that Russell Branyan was going to get the day off - based on what manager Don Wakamatsu told us yesterday day - low and behold Branyan is in his usual spot in the order and playing first base.
"We talked about Russell getting" [...]
Ok, so in the midst of finishing my Sunday baseball column and pregame notebook, the game thread got ignored a little to which I apologize.
But here's the highlights thus far.
First inning
Franklin Gutierrez makes another stellar leaping catch against the wall. I'm sure Indians fans cringe a little' [...]
Russell Branyan will get tomorrow off. The tweaked back that he suffered on Thursday still isn't exactly 100 percent. And while it isn't hurting him, it's uncomfortable enough to where he's afraid to do some things to make it worse - a perfect example would be the [...]
Mariners (47-43)
Ichiro RF
Branyan 1B
Lopez 2B
Griffey DH
Gutierrez CF
Johnson C
Hannahan 3B
Balentien RF
Cedeno SS
----------
LHP Washburn
Indians
Sizemore CF
Cabrera SS
Choo RF
Martinez C
Hafner DH
Peralta 3B
Garko 1B
Carroll 2B
Francisco LF
------------
RHP Ohka
Kind of an interesting graphic for when they announce Mariners hitters. I wonder how big the license plate is when Jarrod Saltalamacchia steps into the box.
Well, I will say that David Huff's warm-up music wasn't bad. He decided to go with "The Stroke" by Billy Squier.' [...]
Perhaps Don Wakamatsu is reading what the writers and the bloggers have posted on the possibility of Garrett Olson being replaced in his start on Tuesday in Detroit because that was the second thing he mentioned in the pregame meeting with him today.
"As of right now," [...]
Pretty typical line-up for the M's. It may seem strange to have Griffey, Langerhans and Hannahan all in against the lefty David Huff. But lefties are hitting .395 (34-for-86) against him and slugging .640 against him.
As for Felix against Cleveland -- he's 2-1 with a 3.94 ERA in five' [...]
... maybe Cleveland isn't quite so boring.
If you look at these pics, you'll see it is raining in Cleveland. The tarp is on at Progressive Field.
Here's the view out the hotel lobby, the thunder and lightning that came with the downpour were [...]
Still no laptop as of yet. I'm using one of the copy desk's computers to type this. The laptop situation needs to be rectified soon since I'm flying out tomorrow noon.
I'm hoping to get it by tonight so I can post a couple things.
Obviously the' [...]
... for my laptop computer which appears to have expired after a few solid years of work. Because of that I could not post the links to Jim Riggleman to becoming the Nationals manager or my embarrassing appearance on Q it up Sports. This post is via blackberry.
Just a [...]
When Don Wakamatsu insisted in spring training that he and his staff would be satisfied - no matter what the Seattle Mariners record - with a season in which they helped players improved, he was viewed as something of a naive maniac.
Today, it makes a lot more sense.
What the [...]
They open the final game before the All-Star break 45-42 and four games out in the American League West.
Winning today might not reduce that number - the Angels could win, too. But winning would inch the Seattle Mariners to within 2 1/2 games of Texas and second place. A loss [...]
When the Mariners take the field tonight, six of the nine men in their lineup will be players who weren't here last season - as will eight other players on the roster.
That's not a bad thing, apparently.
After 86 games last season, this team was 34-52, not 44-42. Oh, and they' [...]
The roster move made to get third baseman Jack Hannahan on the team came as a surprise to pitcher Brandon Morrow - because it was Morrow sent out.
After six starts, Morrow will stay with the Mariners through the All-Star break, then step into the Rainiers starting rotation.
There, he'll join Ryan' [...]
Jack Zduriencik was at it again today, moving a Class AA pitcher to Oakland for a slick-fielding third baseman that should improve Seattle's infield defense.
Jack Hannahan, 29, isn't a third baseman who'll make anyone forget Mike Schmidt or George Brett, but he's better than the .193 [...]
I'm on my blackberry but here's the release
SEATTLE, Wash. - Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jack Zduriencik announced today that the Mariners have acquired third baseman Jack Hannahan from the Oakland A's in exchange for minor league right-hander Justin Souza.Hannahan will be in uniform' [...]
High Desert outfielder James McOwen had his 45-game hitting streak snapped on Friday night by the Modesto Nuts. McOwen went 0-for-3 with a walk. In his first at-bat, McOwen struck out. In his second, he walked. In his third at-bat, he grounded into a double play. McOwen came up in [...]
Adrian Beltre is home in Los Angeles, recuperatng from shoulder surgery, Chris Woodward is at thid base and the Seattle Mariners have all but cancelled the Wladimir Balentien-is-the-regular-left fielder experiement.
Ken Griffey Jr. is out there tonight, with Mike Sweeney the designated hitter.
With Endy Chavez on the disabled list, the Mariners [...]
The Seattle Mariners have come up with an intriguing possibility to rework their patchwork infield next weeek - make a second baseman of Yuniesky Betancourt.
With that one move, they could free Jose Lopez to play third in the absence of Adrian Beltre and keep Ronny Cedeno at shortstop.
Betancourt [...]
It's raining in New York, so no batting practice on the field for the Mariners - but lots of tidbits fromt the clubhouse.
The game is now scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. (EST).
Outfielder Ryan Langerhans, as expected, is here and in uniform, taking the roster space of Adrian Beltre.Beltre [...]
Look we all know about the greatness of Felix Hernandez. And we've seen him make the leap to another level this season. But of course, this being the Northwest and the fact that the four-letter network seems to think the world revolves around the American League East,' [...]
Adrian Beltre has a home in Los Angeles, and since he's not going to New York with the Mariners - and won't have shoulder surgery until Tuesday - he decided to play one more game.
The opportunity today: steal a series from the first-place Dodgers and flee to the east coast.
It's [...]
As they try to make up for the loss of Endy Chavez, the Seattle Mariners acquired outfielder Ryan Langerhans from the Washington Nationals in exchange for AAA utilityman Mike Morse.
It's likely Langerhans, 29, will join the Mariners in New York before Tuesday's game there to give manager Don Wakamatsu more [...]
If you've ever wondered how Felix Hernandez would do in the National League, where he'd face a pitcher evey few innings, read on - it's Felix vs. the Dodgers tonight.
Yes, it's Adrian Beltre's last game for 6-8 weeks, but the Mariners badly need a dose of good news. The kind [...]
The Seattle Mariners are making another of their many roster moves today, activating catcher Kenji Johjima from the disabled list.
That means someone must make room for him, so for the third time this season, veteran Jamie Burke has been designated for assignment.
Life on the bubble? Over the [...]
No wonder Randy Newman loves this place - no matter what happens in the rest of the world, L.A. remains an island unto itself.
Recession?
At the rental car counter, where the News Tribune in its wisdom had reserved a Saturn vehicle, the clerk tried to pitch mne a yellow Corvette [...]
The Mariners finish the homestand 6-1 and and win the series with the Padres. And apparently it was all hugs and kisses afterward. Well, at least we know Carlos Silva is useful for something. The Mariners are now 4-2 against the Pads, 2-1 against the Giants, 3-0 [...]
It's the final meeting between the two bitter rivals. The tension is palpable. It's like Average Joes vs. Globo-Gym ... yes, I watched Dodgeball yesterday --- Oh, I don't think I'm a lot dumber than you thought that I think that I thought that I was once.
Anyway lets [...]
