Tag Archives: Chavez

from the grief of the grid iron to the dream of the diamond . . .

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Being SO close to feeling, for a second time, the euphoria still simmering from the first championship only to have it abruptly snatched away in the final seconds was pretty brutal (to put it mildly). It’s going to take some time.

Luckily, there’s a cure . . .

the delicious distraction that is BASEBALL 🙂 – some catchin’ up to do . . .

The CY Award that wasn’t

Felix Facts | From the Corner of Edgar and Dave

Why Felix Hernandez (unexpectedly) lost the Cy Young Award | Ryan Divish, The Seattle Times

Mariners Ace Felix Hernandez not winning Cy Young Award is a Stunner | Larry Stone, The Seattle Times

 “Yeah, I did,” he said. “It was a great year. I think I pitched way better than 2010.”

Goodbye to some old friends, hello to the new

  • 1B Justin Smoak claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays
  • RF Michael Sauders traded to the Blue Jays for LHP J.A. Happ
  • Signed free agent LF Nelson Cruz
  • RHP Matt Brazis traded to the Cubs for RF Justin Ruggiano
  • RHP Brandon Maurer traded to the Padres for LF Seth Smith
  • Signed Guti and Endy to minor league deals with invites to Spring Training
  • Signed free agaFA 2B Rickie Weeks

A message from Michael Saunders to Mariners fams | Ryan Divish, Mariners Blog

Mariners sign Nelson Cruz to 4-year deal | ESPN.com

nelson

Gar continues to garner high profile support

Randy Johnson endorses Edgar for HoF | ESPN.com

tweets of the off-season

PLAY BALL!!!!

g147 | encouraging full house, discouraging loss . . .

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Treated myself to Terrace Club Seats for “NIGHT COURT”

 

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So great to see and be in a FULL HOUSE

 

Mariners 2 | Athletics 3

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ON the MOUND
Felix, backed by his “Night Court”, pitched a very Felix-like game thru SIX . . .
in which he gave up only FOUR scattered singles. In the 6th, a mistake to Donaldson allows the tying run to score via a solo shot. Things got a bit ugly in the 7th: even though he ended up striking out the side, TWO wild pitches and a single (that sailed inches above Chris T’s glove) allowed the go-ahead run to score.
SEVEN innings ~ SEVEN hits ~ TWO earned runs ~ ZERO walks ~ EIGHT strikeouts

 

 

} Compare and contrast the top of the 1st and the top of the 8th . . .
^ top of the 1st – despite a lead-off single, Felix needed only FIVE pitches to get THREE outs
^ top of the 8th – it took FOUR relievers (Joe, Tom, Charlie and Danny) to get THREE outs (ZERO runs scored)
} Danny stayed in for the 9th and kept it tied via a couple of ground outs and a CS (in which the runner was originally called safe but, call overturned on challenge)
} Nando’s outing was a rare 10+ on the quiver meter 😦
FOUR walks which, of course included one of the bases-loaded variety

I’m convinced I jinxed the BP/caused the melt-down was due to the fact that I explained the ‘stellar-ness’ of the M’s bullpen (and the occasional FRE) to a St Louis fan sitting beside me 😉

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Our view of the press box

AT the PLATE
Started out kinda fun – when a couple of rooks combine for the first run of a tight game . . .
~ JJ led off the 3rd with a triple (man, can that boy run!) and Chris T knocks him in with a solid single
~ Robbie tied the game in the 7th with a lead-off homer (his second in as many games)
~ Zu hit one “Space Needle high” – and we held our breath – but, ‘t was the last out instead of the tying run
But – can’t expect to win w/only FIVE total hits (even though TWO were for extra-bases)

 

IN the FIELD
DEE was solid, though ZERO DP’s turned (compared to THREE turned against them)
* JJ and Endy w/nice running OF grabs
* Kyle with a running, stretching grab on the line
* Chris T w/a snare of a smash liner to end the 10th (ultimately too little, too late but, easily saved TWO runs)
* LoMo made a couple of nice snares at 1B but, also muffed one and then his throw to Felix covering was WAY too hard (went all the way to home plate)

tweets of the game . . .

 

g137 | half a dozen was J U S T enough . . .

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“This young man’s go greatness written all over him. He’s just gotta stay healthy.”
—Lloyd McClendon

Mariners 6 | Athletics 5

half dozen

 

ON the MOUND
wOw, James!!!
The A’s didn’t have a runner as far as 2B until the 8th inning (prior to which, they only had THREE hits and ONE walk) and then he made it to 3B after a hit and a GIDP. James posted a career high 7 2/3 innings (only 92 pitches – SEVENTEEN of them came in the 8th inning)

Powerful, effective, efficient . . .
SEVEN.TWO innings ~ FOUR hits ~ TWO earned runs ~ THREE walks ~ TWO strikeouts

The bullpen made it a little too interesting tonight . . .
} Yourvis gave up TWO inherited runners and ONE of his own and, after striking out the first TWO batters
} Nando allowed not ONE, not TWO but, THREE doubles and TWO runs – thankfully, a ground out came next for his 4oth save

AT the PLATE
Only EIGHT hits but, they made ’em count ~ duces wild in the middle innings  . . .
~ Austin with TWO-run single in the 3rd
~ Endy with a TWO run (hustle!) double in the 4th
~ Kyle with his 21st homer – a TWO-run shot in the 5th
~ Stefen picked off 2B for the third out of the 8th was  a bit deflating – but, it mattered not

IN the FIELD
Sparkling DEE all.night.long  . . .
* Jesus with a great caught stealing throw
* James made a play (that he didn’t make last time out) off his glove, chased it throw to LoMo at 1B
* Kyle with a nifty leaping catch of a chopper and strong throw to 1B
* THREE, count ’em THREE, double plays!

tweets of the game . . .

 

g136 | oy . . .

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::: The good news: M’s pitching held the A’s to ONE run over 7.1 innings 🙂
::: The bad news: the A’s scored FIVE runs in the first .2 innings 😦

ON the MOUND
To say it wasn’t Chris’s day (again) is a bit of an understatement . . .
This was the shortest outing of his career (which was preceded by another very short outing)
.TWO inning ~ FOUR hits ~ FIVE earned runs ~ TWO walks ~ ZERO strikeouts

Here’s hoping the M’s starting staff, in general, can pick it up in the coming days and weeks – TOO MANY short outings of late.

The bright spot of the day was Taijuan’s outing of long relief . . .
at one point, he retired TEN straight and he through 89 pitches – 61 for strikes!
SIX innings ~ SIX hits (ONE double, the rest singles) ~ ONE earned run ~ TWO walks ~ SIX strikeouts

} Joe and Carson (major league debut) finished off the 8th (which, unfortunately, was the A’s final inning) by retiring the side in order.

AT the PLATE
Not much to see here . . .
I mean REALLY not much to see here . . .
Brad hit a solo shot – which accounted for ONE THIRD of the M’s hits (Kyle and Endy each hit singles). They actually had more walks (5) than hits (when does THAT ever happen?)

IN the FIELD
Only turned ONE DP and Zu had a PB

tweets of the game . . .

 

g127 | miracle in BeanTown

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and I missed it 😦

miracles

We were on the first leg of a road trip to Lake Tahoe (Seattle to Medford) and while I was able to catch MOST of the game on AtBat, the signal wasn’t always strong and, we were trying to check in on the Seahawks as well (yes – it’s only preseason football but, they ARE our World Champs). Anyhoo – once we finally got to our hotel, as we were in line to check in, I glanced at some tweets – and then DOUBLE checked – they had rallied in the 9th for FIVE runs to win!

Mariners 5 | Red Sox 3

ON the MOUND
Felix went less than SIX innings for the second straight start . . .
the struggle was the pitch count (100 through FIVE) not the runs (scoreless through FIVE). Felix retired the side in order and only allowed a single, a double and a HBP to that point. But, then came the 6th where he allowed a double, both walks, and the THREE-run homer to Cespedes
FIVE.TWO innings ~ FIVE hits ~ THREE earned runs ~ TWO walks ~ SEVEN strikeouts

} Brandon, Dom (6th W) and Nando (37th S) combined for THREE.ONE scoreless innings

AT the PLATE
‘t was looking pretty bleak and I was beating my “playing down to the competition drum” . . .
~ M’s sent the min to the plate in the first THREE frames as, Endy’s single in the 3rd was wiped out by Brad’s DP
~ despite THREE walks and a HBP over the course of the 4th and 5th, no runs
~ a double and THREE more walks from the 6th thru the 8th resulted in still no runs

and then came the miracle 9th ~ THREE different batters had them down to their LAST strike
and, since I missed it all, best described by the video evidence . . .

IN the FIELD

ONE double play turned and THIS SPECTACULAR ranging play by

 

tweets of the game . . .

 

g126 | ugh – playing down to their competition once again . . .

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I’ve been harping on it all since early on and now, 126 games into the season, the pattern is still holding . . .

  • M’s are 29-30 (.492) vs. teams under .500
  • M’s are 39-28 (.582) vs. team at or over .500

competition

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mariners 3 | Phillies 4

ON the MOUND
Let’s just say James has had better days – MUCH better days . . .
FOUR innings ~ SEVEN hits ~ FOUR runs ~ ONE  earned run ~ TWO walks ~ FIVE strikeouts

the bullpen were their usual stellar self . . .
but, Tom, Joe, Brandon and Danny’s combined scoreless FOUR came too little, too late

AT the PLATE
Despite out-hitting the Phills TWELVE to TEN w/FOUR extra-base hits . . .
~ doubles by LoMo, Endy and Jesus and a homer by Kendrys
~ the M’s came out on the shortest of ends – another ONE-run loss 😦 (now at 14-23 in ONE run games)

IN the FIELD
* LoMo and Brad with nice lunging/leaping grabs respectively
* James and Jesus (throwing error and passed ball) with costly muffs

tweets of the game . . .

 

g124 | too many cheese steaks?

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Mariners 1 | Phillies 4

ON the MOUND
Roenis seemed to be pitching in and out of trouble his entire outing which, no thanks to his unusual lack of control, was one of his shortest of the season. He’d been pitching well since the break (hadn’t given up more than TWO runs and kept his walks under control) but, had SEVERE control issues tonight and, despite only giving up the ONE run, he racked up 90 pitches and as a result, was out after FOUR innings.

FOUR innings ~ THREE hits ~ ONE earned run ~ SIX walks ~ FOUR strikeouts

} Leone’s outing was even worse – he gave up THREE runs in ONE of his TWO innings of work on a double, a walk and a homer
} Tom, Charlie and Nando combined for scoreless frames the rest of the way

AT the PLATE
Move along, not much to see here . . .
Phills pitching limited the M’s to only SIX hits, only ONE for extra bases – Ack’s RBI double

IN the FIELD
A double-play by each side and a nice spinning throw from Chris T . . .

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2014_08_18_seamlb_phimlb_1&mode=box#gid=2014_08_18_seamlb_phimlb_1&mode=video

tweets of the game . . .

g118 | Blue Jays “Thunderstruck”!

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Mariners 11 | Blue Jays 1

It’s never a walk in the park to go against Felix but, playing a NINETEEN inning game the day before and then having to fly cross-country probably doesn’t make it any easier. But, that’s baseball!

keep calm

 

ON the MOUND
Felix. King Feilx. Nuff said.
SEVENTEEN straight starts of SEVEN plus innings of TWO runs or less
SEVEN innings ~ THREE hits ~ ONE earned run ~ ZERO walks ~ EIGHT strikeouts

} Joe and Danny combined for TWO scoreless innings w/THREE strikeouts in mop up duty

 

AT the PLATE
Second game in less than a week that the M’s recorded more runs than hits – and when they are both in double-digits, that’s a good thing 🙂
~ Austin and Kyle were the only starters not to record a hit – but, the contributions were still there: Austin walked and scored, Kyle walked twice and scored twice and hit a sac-fly
~ Robbie had a night! A homer (his TENTH but, his first SOLO shot) an RBI double, a walk and TWO runs scored

that crazy 6th inning was epic – the RBI hits were as follows . . . 
a homer (Robbie), TWO triples (Mike and Brad) TWO doubles (Endy and Robbie) and a single (Dustin) and, as if THAT wasn’t enough to create a spark . . . REAL thunder and lightening!

IN the FIELD
Talk about a complete game – we got the pitching, we got the hitting and, yes, we got the fielding . . .
* Robbie (one man’s ‘nonchalant’ is another man’s smooth) stellar in the field as usual – alertly gets the runner trying to advance to 3B (after a lead-off double) and makes a cool basket catch of a pop-up in the 5th
* a DP turned (after the lead-off double was thrown out at 3b
* Brad, back at SS, made a couple of nice plays
* Kyle made a great snare of a hard liner for the first out in the 9th

tweets of the game .  . .

g114 | whoa – lucky THIRTEEN!

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Mariners 13 | White Sox 3

It’s not often that the M’s record more RUNS than HITS but, this was one of those nights . . .
THIRTEEN runs on TWELVE hits

ON the MOUND
A very Roenis start – forget the pencil, you can almost ‘ink’ it . . .
Since the All Star Break, he’s been like clockwork (be nice if he could reduce his pitch count and get through another inning or two but, he’s a rookie who is learning on the job and getting the job done.

FIVE.TWO innings ~ TWO hits ~ TWO earned runs ~ TWO walks ~ FIVE strikeouts

} Brandon and Danny combined for THREE plus innings ONE run, FOUR strikeout relief to preserve Roenis’ NINTH victory and the M’s 60th victory (by the by – the Mariners didn’t record their 60th victory in 2013 until August 29th)

AT the PLATE
Every starter had at least ONE hit except Kendrys (but, he was HBP and scored a run) . . .
~ FIVE extra-base hits: LoMo double, homers by Ack, Robbie, Endy and Kyle
~ batters 5-8 scored EIGHT of the THIRTEEN runs
~ Ack and Robbie combined for SIX rbi
~ Kyle and Endy combined for FIVE rbi

IN the FIELD
No DP’s and ONE error (Chris T)

tweets of the game . . .

 

g103 | “Right now we’re just having a funk. We’ll come out of it.”

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I actually believe you, Lloyd. I really do. Gotta admire his consistency, he never waivers whether the team is on an up swing (he beats the drum for them to do better) or a down swing (he heaps encouragement on them).

Mariners 1 | Orioles 2 (10)

4 in a row

 

 

 

 

 

ON the MOUND
Felix being Felix ~ pitching out of his mind and getting another ND . . .
SEVEN innings ~ FIVE hits ~ ONE earned runs ~ ZERO walks ~ TEN strikeouts

} Brandon and Nando combined for TWO hitless/scoreless innings to keep the game tied at ONE after NINE
} Charlie gave up what was ultimately the game-winner for the O’s – a TWO strike homer on the FOURTH pitch of the 10th inning and then Danny retired all THREE batters he faced

AT the PLATE
The fourth loss in-a-row was yet another game of single-digit hits and TOO FEW RUNS (the M’s have scored 1, 2, 0, 1 during this losing streak)
~ Endy, Robbie and Kyle all had TWO hits (Kyle and Robbie with a double and a triple respectively)
~ And, the “new, old guy” . . . Kendrys had a sac-fly scoring Robbie after the triple for the only M’s run
~ Crazy 5th inning when Brad walked with ONE out and then was out due to being hit by ball on Endy’s single. Then Endy stole 2B but was thrown out at home, for the third out, on JJ’s single. So an inning with a walk, two singles and a stolen base but, NO runs :/
~ And then, the game ends on a play over-turned on challenge (Robbie initially called safe at 1B on a REALLY close play but, play over-turned, third out, game over)

IN the FIELD
* Brad and Kyle with some really nice plays in the infield
* Zu with a great caught stealing on Adam Jones
* the O’s made some nice plays as well (including a lazer shot by Pearce to nail Endy by plenty, he probably should not have been sent)

tweets of the game . . .