Seattle Mariners (2021 Daily Playthrough)

[jtsly2000]

Really enjoying this so far. Great read!

[pauwoo]

Originally Posted by jtsly2000

Really enjoying this so far. Great read!

Thanks! Much appreciated.

[pauwoo]

The flight to Love Field was a breeze, News of the World was the inflight movie, and I managed to pilfer a few extra mini bottles of whiskey without anyone noticing… life is good.


Elsewhere: Johan Camargo, of the Atlanta Braves, went 2 for 3 with a 3-run dinger off Max Scherzer in the 4th that, ultimately, put this one out of reach as the Braves dispatched the Nationals by a score of 8-5. So far this year, Mad Max is sitting on a 2-4 record with a 3.95 ERA, 112 ERA+, and 3.35 FIP – solid, unlucky, old...

Up Next: We’ll kick things off in Arlington against the current whiff king, Nate Lowe (58 Ks so far), and his Texas Rangers. Should be fun.

[pauwoo]

Seattle Mariners (21-11, .656, 2nd AL West) @ Texas Rangers (9-24, .273, 5th AL West)
Currently, the Texas Rangers find themselves in the most harrowing of battles – a no holds barred, Death Race 3000-ish race to the bottom against the Detroit Tigers (9-23, .281, 5th AL Central) and Colorado Rockies (10-21, .323, 5th NL West). Texas has been poor on both sides of the ball – offensively they are ranked 15th in bWar, 14th in AVG, and 13th everywhere else… And their pitching hasn’t been any better – 15th in Base Running, RA, Starters ERA, and Bullpen ERA. The situation is hardly surprising… their GM, Chris Young, announced as much when he told the media they would be starting a full-on rebuild. But this isn’t a rebuild – they’ve razed the castle, left widespread death and destruction in their wake, and have entered into a tanking effort so severe that it will be a surprise if they have much of a fan base left when all is said and done. It’s been said that winning cures all – and I have no reason to disagree with that notion, but how patient will the local Texas fanbase be with their baseball club when there are so many other sports entertainment choices in town?

33 of 162: Josh Lindblom (1-1, 4.97) @ Hyun-jong Yang (1-1, 4.67)
Win, 7-1. Here we came out like Erik the Viking and his men, pillaging every village we come across on our way to ask the Gods to end the Age of Ragnarok. Big Bat Bobby Dalbec did his best Sven the Berserk impression and contributed a nice 3 for 5 day with 2 homers, 3 RBI, and 3 runs, while Ty France played a little, “now you see me, now you don’t”, with a non-functioning invisibility cloak in an 0 for 4 performance that made him the only member of our starting lineup to not secure at least one hit. In total, the club would bash two doubles, four dingers, and bring in 7 runs despite leaving another ten on base. We were good defensively as well – OF assist for Haniger who caught Solak trying to making it home on a long fly ball, and Lindblom gave us 6 solid innings of work and allowed just 5 hits and 1 run while fanning 7.


Elsewhere: Some interleague silliness… New York’s DJ LeMahieu went 2 for 4 with 2 jacks, 5 RBI, and 2 runs, while teammate Aaron Judge went 3 for 4 with a double, 2 RBI, 3 runs, and a walk to help lead the Yankees to a 14-10 win over the Washington Nationals. Trea Turner and Starlin Castro each drove in 3 runs for the Nats in what turned out to be a real slobber knocker… a tough loss for Washington...

Record: 22-11
Up Next: We’ll spend the early part of the day tomorrow trying to scare up some good smoked brisket for lunch – we’ll need to fuel up proper so we can keep kicking tail.

[pauwoo]

An early one – by our PST standards… 4:05PST/6:05CST first pitch. Which begs the question, why oh why are Texas and Houston housed in the AL West? It’s time to get clubs in Portland, SLC, Vegas, Vancouver… I mean with a reduced travel budget maybe we’d be perennial contenders. Right? Yeah, right.

34 of 162: Matt Peacock (2-1, 2.45) @ Mike Foltynewicz (1-3, 5.81)
Loss, 6-5. Heart breaker… walked off, in the bottom of the 13th to the delight of the hometown faithful. While not an embarrassing result per se, it is unfortunate nonetheless – this was one of those games we were supposed to win, that a middling club like ours has to win should we give ourselves a shot at securing a ticket to the dance. Here we were undone by Solak – 2 for 5 with a double, a 3-run DING DONG, and a run – and Texas’ suspect bullpen who, for one night only, managed to hold an opposing club in check over the last 7.2 innings of this extra-inning extravaganza. For our part the offense was serviceable with only Trammell going hitless, we put three doubles in the books, a home run courtesy of our light-hitting catcher, Austin Hedges, and even managed to burgle a bag… of course, we also left 13 base runners stranded and committed an astounding FOUR FIELDING FLUBS… so forget everything that came before that last statement… I lost the plot for a second. The story here is that we sucked on defense and were unable to secure any hits with runners in scoring position.


Elsewhere: George Springer, on his image rehabilitation tour with the Toronto Blue Jays, went 3 for 5 with TWO DINGERS, 4 RBI, and 3 runs in his clubs 6-7 LOSS against… you guessed it (or not, I mean this does follow the 2021 schedule, so…), the Houston Astros. Correa was clutch for Houston, 2 for 2 with a 2-run homer and 3 runs, and Maldonado managed to drive a couple in. Also, Mike Soroka, of Hotlanta, threw an 8-inning, 2-hit shutout and fanned 10 in a 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies – with two of those Ks coming at Bryce Harper's expense. With the win, the Braves move to 23-10 on the year while the Phillies are making their hometown fans proud with a 15-20 record so far…

Record: 22-12
Up Next: We’ll finish this set up with a day game for the rubber match before heading to Los Angeles where we’ll have a day off on Monday followed by a 2-game parlay against the champs…

[pauwoo]

Ahh, the Mother’s Day game… where the MLB, with the help of New Era, does its level best to perpetuate the myth that Mom’s love PINK. Must say… this year’s lid is amazing… out of stock though.

25 of 162: Matt Manning (1-1, 3.29) @ Kohei Arihara (0-5, 16.11)
Win, 6-1. Matt Manning, Seattle’s Eminem if you must, the JR Ewing of the Seattle Mariners if you're a PNW lifer, gave us 7.2 innings of solid work today where he allowed only 4 total hits and one earned run while doling out one free pass to go along with his 7 Ks. He’d put it in cruise control after the 3rd when Big Bat Bobby Dalbec hit an early 3-run DING DONG that, ultimately, won this one for us. K-Lew drove two in, Haniger got a hit and scored, Fletcher did the same, and Kelenic stole his first base with the big club. Good stuff all around, save maybe our TWO FIELDING FLUBS that threatened to let Texas back into it – look, we’ll take it… it’s always nice to get caught looking and not have to pay for it.


Elsewhere: Tampa Bay’s Kevin Kiermaier, who is a regular on my Kanaga Volcanoes Bronze Tourney Team in PT as a pinch-runner / late defensive sub, went 3 for 4 with TWO HOMERS, 3 RBI, 3 runs, and a walk during the Rays’ dominant 8-4 win over the Oakland Athletics… in the postgame interview he thanked his mum for chauffeuring him to and from practice for all those years. Also, Rowdy Tellez hit a GRAND SLAM against the Houston Astros to secure a 12-11 win for his Blue Jays, and SP Brandon Woodruff, of the Milwaukee Micro Brewers, fanned 12 hapless hitters over 8 innings of work and secured a 6-2 win over the Miami Marlins in the process.

Other tidbits about Kevin Kiermaier... 1. His nickname is "outlaw". Which, for a grown man who is not a card-carrying member of a bonafide motorcycle gang, is silly. 2. His 'Player ID' in this save is 28666... sort of fits with the nickname, I guess... Why isn't his nickname K2? Like Inspector Kolbjørn Kristiansen?

Record: 23-12
Up Next: We’ll fly out west and get a little R&R in Los Angeles before picking things back up on Tuesday against the Dodgers. If all goes according to plan, I will be spending nearly as much time at the Blu Jam Cafe smashing migas as I do the ballpark.

Only $14.95 you say? SIGN. ME. UP. Wait, what? Soy, what? I'll need to find a different breakfast spot, y'all.

[pauwoo]

Our own Bobby Dalbec took home his first-ever Player of the Week award for his performance over the last 7 days… Bobby’s got some scraps it seems - .407 average with 5 homers and 10 RBI. For the year he’s hitting .295 with 12 dingers, 28 RBI, and 27 runs of his own. He may well be the best of all my preseason deals – kid looks good in a Mariners kit so far!

Also, though it is less exciting, we’ll spend a day off in the not-so-beautiful city of Los Angeles, taking in the sights and sounds as we recuperate with a little R&R before re-entering the slog for two against the defending champs. For my part, I’ll be looking for a record store, and whole foods (kidding), and a tip-top plate of migas.

The Weekly PR:

1. Atlanta Braves
2. San Francisco Giants (Wait. What?)
3. Tampa Bay Rays
4. Oakland Athletics
5. Seattle Mariners

The Dodgers are 6th, Mets 14th, Yankees 17th, Houston 20th, and Padres 27th. Right is left, up is down…

Elsewhere: Mike Trout, of that other LA-area team (does Anaheim count as the Los Angeles Area?), went 4 for 5 with a two-bagger, a dinger, 4 total RBI, and 2 runs, and former Mariner, JP Crawford, contributed to the cause with a 3 for 6 day that included a double, a homer, 4 RBI, and 2 runs as their Angels club clobbered the Astros by a score of 13-2. SP Zach Greinke has seen better days – 4 innings, 8 hits, 7 earned, and 2 home runs against for the all-timer today… that is, how you say – NO FUN.

Record: 23-12
Up Next: Back on that grind against the defending champs...

[pauwoo]

Seattle Mariners (23-12, .657, 2nd AL West) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (22-13, .629, t-1st NL West)
If win/loss records were everything, the ‘be all, end all’ if you will, then my assertion that we are, in fact, the better club here would be met with vigorous nodding of heads as a show of enthusiastic approval instead of the derision a misguided statement like that would surely inspire. For our part, we’ve been living on the ‘it’s better to be lucky than good’ side of the tracks where our #4 ranked AL offense has paired nicely with our #3 ranked pitching so far. Those are good rankings, sure, they just don’t necessarily hold water upon closer inspection – buoyed by an inflated BABIP and the poor defensive prowess of our opponents so far. On the other hand, Los Angeles is, was, and may always be quite good – their offense can be found at the top of the pops in the National League and their starters are ranked 2nd so far. The only area we can pick at – as far as I can tell – is their bullpen… if anything, they’ve shown a willingness to give up the ghost in critical moments late in games. Hopefully, our offense can stay focused long enough to get into the pen where we will, hopefully, have an opportunity to put in some work.

36 of 162: Marco Gonzales (4-2, 3.54) @ Walker Buehler (5-1, 1.96)
Loss, 5-1. Marco came out looking fabulous – his long (by his standards) and flowing locks were expertly conditioned and blown out to perfection. And, to be fair, whatever role he was auditioning for looked like it would be a lock for him… until the 3rd when AJ Pollock snuck a run-scoring single past the infield defense, and again in the 4th when Chris Taylor, who nobody likes, hit a 2-run jack to put the bad guys up by 3. Marco gave us 5 innings here – 7 scattered hits, 3 earned, 3 free passes, and 4 Ks for our former Ace – and the bullpen held firm until Montero unraveled late and allowed two more to get across. Offensively, we didn’t give the fans much to cheer about – J-Rod hit a double in a PH opportunity, Bobby D put one out, and none of our starters were able to secure more than a single hit with 5 of them unable to even do that.


Elsewhere: Yordan Alvarez, of the Houston Astros, went 3 for 3 with a homer, 6 RBI, and 3 runs in his clubs 8-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels. With the win, Houston improves to 16-20 (if you can call it that) while Anaheim drops back to .500 on the year at 19-19. Also, in this entrant to the multiverse, Albert Pujols took the day off today but went 3 for 4 with a double yesterday in Houston. For the year he is hitting .252/.280/.485 with 5 homers and 11 riblets.

Record: 23-13
Up Next: We’ll pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and take another crack at the Dodgers in LA proper.

[pauwoo]

What’s worse – a closely contested tilt featuring three Mariners home runs that get erased in the bottom of the 8th by a 3-run shot from a guy that hasn’t hit any dingers in 2021 or getting dressed down in a 5-1 rout that was over nearly as soon as it started? As a newly (sort of) registered resident of the Lone Star state, the best I could do last night was listening to some of the (real) game on the MLB radio app – I shut it down to get my beauty rest, confident in the Ms chances… and woke up to a Gavin Lux 3-run bomb?!? Bummer biscuits…

In fake news… I found a local, L.A. Area, Whole Foods close enough to the hotel, and still open, after the game last night and purchased a bottle of Red Field Blend Biodynamic (I have no idea what this means) wine and a 3oz bag of Louisville Vegan Jerky Co’s Smoky Carolina BBQ soy chews… when in Rome.

37 of 162: Matthew Boyd (2-3, 4.00) @ Julio Urias (3-2, 3.42)
Win, 9-6. We’d draw First Blood, during the top of the 3rd, as Ty came in from 2B on a well-hit Kelenic single, then it was First Blood: Part II, complete with exploding-tip arrows, in the next frame as we added 3 more to the mix, and finally, in, you guessed it, the very next frame we mounted a one-man rescue mission to free Colonel Trautman from the clutches of those pesky Russians with two more runs scored. Los Angeles wasn’t content to let sleeping dogs lie, of course, and came back with some Dolph Lungren-Esque bootleg action of their own in the 8th and 9th as they went on a home run spree (3 total, including B2B dingers in the bottom of the 8th) in an attempt to claw their way into box office gold. It was all for naught though as we acquitted ourselves nicely after yesterday’s fiasco. Dylan Moore drove two in on a 2 for 2 day as a mid-game sub for a mostly spent Kolten Wong, K-Lew scored twice and fanned thrice, Ty finished 3 for 5 with 2 RBI and 3 runs, and Kelenic got us started early with an RBI single in the 3rd. 4 doubles, an outfield assist, and a serviceable 8-inning, 7 hit, 4 earned performance from Boyd would round it out for us here – back on the horse, folks!

Record: 24-13
Up Next: We’ll head back to Seattle where we’ll meet up with Cleveland for a 4-game slog in T-Mo park… where the Marine Layer is thick and the pretentiousness from the Amazon bourgeoises is thicker. Let’s get it!

[pauwoo]

Cleveland Indians (18-17, .514, 4th AL Central) @ Seattle Mariners (24-13, .649, 2nd AL West)
It’s good to be home and better to be back in action at T-Mo Park against a club whose form is, seemingly, worse than ours. Cleveland stumbles into town on a 4-7 record so far this month with their fortunes, or lack thereof, tied to their dismal, 14th ranked offense. The pitching has been solid – they are ranked 6th in the AL overall and find themselves ranked 6th or better in Starters ERA, FIP, pWAR, defensive efficiency, and zR – which, for our ho-hum offense (ranked 4th overall in aggregate, but nowhere near that effective lately), will present the kind of challenge we aren’t looking forward to. Our form heading into this one is pedestrian at best, middling, average… we just don’t seem to have that swagger, that cocksureness that carried us through the early part of the season thus far. That edge, or whatever it was that we had in April, has dulled a bit. It’s in need of sharpening, some good old-fashioned blacksmithing to bring our broadsword up to, at least, medieval standards. There is an opportunity here for the taking – a chance to run roughshod over a club that comes in looking a bit shabbier than us, like they’ve been on one, long, perpetual walk of shame since this thing started last month, and really, an opportunity for us to get back to the top of the pops in the AL West and, finally, put those pesky A’s back into our rearview mirror…

38 of 162: Cal Quantrill (2-2, 4.62) @ Aaron Sanchez (2-0, 2.91)
Win, 7-2. Cleveland opened up the game/series with a bunt… for a hit. Which felt like an overly specific 'your momma' joke that hit a little too close to home – we’d answer back though, because, while we’re not the biggest bully on the block we got some girth on these guys, with a DP on a poorly hit ball down the 3rd baseline by the very next batter, Amed Rosario. After that, we’d settle into a conversation with Clarice – a little bit of that quid pro quo if you will – and trade runs back and forth… Ty with an RBI single that brought Wong home, Cleveland with a solo HR (do we care who hit it? No, we do not), and then Haniger came through with a 2-run shot during the bottom of the 5th. The conversation was a little more one-sided from there – we’d pour three more on to run this one up a little bit, regain some of that swagger, and give the hometown faithful something to feel good about. A double for Hedges, 2 dingers for Haniger, and another for Wong would round out the offensive highlights, while the defense was inspired with an early, tone-setting DP and a rip-roaring 8.1 inning, 9 hit, 2 earned performance from Sanchez that included 10 punchouts and kept our bullpen on ice for one more day. This was the win we were looking for.


Elsewhere: Washington’s Kyle Schwarber went 3 for 4 with THREE HOMERS, TEN RBI, and 3 RUNS during his clubs resounding 13-8 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Harper looked solid in defeat – 2 for 5 with a double, a triple, and 4 RBI, but it wasn’t enough to negate Kyle’s performance here. And, if you’re counting, and why wouldn’t you be, the performance is now ranked as this season’s best with an insane game performance score of 126 which is an astounding 12 points higher than Gio Urshela’s 7 RBI day back during the ides of April.

Record: 25-13
Up Next: It’s 70s night at the park as we’ll don our pitchfork kits and hand out free, Mariner-themed Lava Lamps and fake mustaches to the first 15,000 attendees. The Cleveland organization has promised us that they would be flexing their red pants of yesteryear but I don’t trust it… I’ll believe it when I see it.

[pauwoo]

Our 70s retro-theme for this Friday Night affair looked to be a success as ~15K customers were wearing fake mustaches like they belonged to a trio of Dunder Mifflin warehouse workers hellbent on gaffling an industrial copier from a rival branch and holding their mini–Lava Lamps aloft like the club was doing an acapella rendition of ‘Dream On’ during the 7th inning stretch. I have to say – when our marketing department gets it right, they really get it right. The only issue here was the pungent aroma of patchouli oil and an over-representation of guests wearing Evergreen State College gear.

39 of 162: Zach Plesac (3-3, 4.29) @ Matt Peacock (2-1, 2.95)
Loss, 8-0. Cleveland would strike first during the top of the 4th when Oscar Mercado scored on a Bobby Dalbec error at first, with two outs on the board, and on a play considered routine by beer league standards… and, that’s really all it took for us to lay down without a fight during what turned out to be an embarrassing night at the ballpark. We didn’t just get beat, decisively, by a midrange club here – NO – we got beat by an average, mid-range club wearing a gaudy kit, complete with tomato red pants, that was probably too much even during the GROOVY 70s. Peacock went 6 innings. Allowed 5 hits, 2 earned runs (and 2 unearned, but I digress), and doled out 1 free pass in the losing effort and our offense did nothing of note. Less than zero – like an unbridled Robert Downey Jr too hammed to remember his lines, we really mailed this one in. Like, at this point I don’t even know what to say – an 8-0 loss, at home? It’s unacceptable and someone will pay – I just don’t know who. Yet.

Also, question of the day, does Mitch Haniger fit in with my plans here in Seattle? I mean, he’s hitting .239 with only 3 dingers, and 18 total RBI. Is that enough? Can I get anything of value for him? Will his wife still bring in freshly baked oatmeal cookies for the team if I trade him? So many questions…


Elsewhere: Freddie Freeman, a local Atlanta favorite and Chipper Jones apologist, went 3 for 3 with 2 DING DONGS, 4 RBI, and 2 runs during the Braves’ tightly contested 7-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Atlanta managed to put four balls out of the park in this one with Albies and C Alex Jackson responsible for the moonshots. Also, former Mariner, and Seattle fan fave, Dan Vogelbach ground into a double play during his only AB on the day. I have half a mind to trade for him, go into god-mode, juice his contact ratings and turn him loose in this save – but, I won’t, because that’s sort of like cheating.


Even better – I’ll open up a new save and add him to an *** club, probably the Fighters, and post his exploits here… I can call it Dan-Zilla, or Mothra vs. Bootleg Babe, or Destroy All Baseball’s and talk about weird candy, cool Nissan’s that aren’t available in the US, pufferfish recipes, and, of course, some baseball. Yep… that’d do it. (Actually, it won’t – I tried… imported a 2020 Vogey, placed him on Hokkaido’s roster and the kid couldn’t even crack the lineup… best-laid plans, man).

Record: 25-14
Up Next: We’ll gear up for battle against the evil alien cyborg kaiju Gigan – OR - just continue playing baseball, at home, against the Cleveland Indians… again.

[pauwoo]

We’re 1-1 against Cleveland so far in this 4-game parlay after taking one to the teeth yesterday – thing is, with Shane Bieber all set to take the bump on Sunday, today is a must-win for us. Otherwise, we could be looking at our second series loss of the month (I’m counting the sweep against the Angels where game one was on the last day of April).

Also – got this gem in the ol’ inbox today… Ty France - Recovery Unclear: You have just been informed by your team trainer that Ty France is still suffering from a strained hip flexor and that it is not healing as fast as expected. He will require some rest to get back to 100%. So… I put him on the 10-day and called up 2B Sam Haggerty, who might do some pinch-running for us. Or not, maybe he just sits there and takes in the view - I dunno.


40 of 162: Adam Plutko (1-4, 7.39) @ Matt Manning (2-1, 2.53)
Win, 5-2. It’s the bottom of the 5th, we’re down by one to the Indians already, with Austin Hedges at the plate and three stacks of high society on the line… he’d come through gangbusters for us with a bases-clearing double that would put us up for good and secure, at worst, a split over this 4-game series. Hedges had a day – 2 for 3, two, two-baggers, and 4 RBI, and Manning put in some work over 7.2 innings where he’d only allow 3 hits and 2 runs while walking three and fanning six. Joc rounded things out for us here with his 8th dinger of the season. Fletcher swiped a bag on Roberto Perez (whose catcher ability of 80 & arm of 70 should've been equal to the attempt). Our pen locked this one up with Darwinzon Hernandez striking out the only batter he faced and David Robertson securing his 7th save by striking out the side before the curtains were pulled.

Elsewhere: Two multiple homerun games today and a GRAND SLAM… Houston’s Yordan Alvarez went 2 for 2 with 2 dingers, 3 RBI, and 3 runs during a 5-6 loss against the Rangers (take that Astros), New York’s Pete Alonso entered a 3 for 5 day with 2 jacks, 3 riblets, and 4 runs into the permanent record during a 10-3 win over the defending American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays, and, last but not least, Oakland’s Little Matty Olson (listed at 6'5", but I don't believe it - that's Sasquatch height). went 3 for 4 with a GRAND SALAMI, 5 total RBI, and a run in what would be an 11-5 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Record: WE’VE WON TWENTY-SIX GAMES SO FAR! 26-14.
Up Next: Shane will do his level best to cool our offense off and lead his team into the sunset and off to Los Angeles (by way of Anaheim)… I mean, look, they’re flying into the John Wayne Airport, like we all do, so, let’s just get real and rename the club they are traveling to play against the Orange County Angels. Maybe update the color scheme to something like this… a little Orange Cream/Sherbert thing.


"Let's all have another Orange Julius
This syrup standing in lines
The malls are the soon to be ghost towns
So long, farewell, good-bye"

[pauwoo]

We’ll close this one out with a day game against Shane Bieber and with Detroit on deck. A win here means we avoid the split and peel 3 out of 4 off these guys – a tall order, no matter what the standings say. And we couldn’t pick a better day for it – we’ll be enjoying temps in the low 70s with an ocean breeze blowing in from the west at about 5 MPH. Perfect day for a Mac & Jack’s African Amber, a plate of garlic fries, and a ballgame…

Oh, and one more thing… saw this on BNN this morning…


Albert Pujols Plans to Retire:

Albert Pujols said he will miss "leading the boys into battle" after this season. At 41 years old, the team leader of the Los Angeles Angels has announced he will retire at the season's end.

"I've always tried to be a guy that leads by example and I'd like to think I've been a good leader in my career," he said. "There's a lot of things I'm going to miss about the sport, but I think most of all is the camaraderie with the guys."

Pujols boasts a lifetime batting average of .298 with 3265 hits, 668 homers, 1857 runs scored, and 2113 RBIs.

41 of 162: Shane Bieber (4-2, 3.40) @ Marco Gonzales (4-3, 3.71)
Loss, 5-4. This one started out leisurely enough – we were out on a Sunday drive, the top was down, and the tank was full… with the game tied 2-2 after the second frame, Bobby Dalbec hit a 2-run dinger to put us up by that same margin. From there it was, mostly, smooth sailing – Joc Pederson went 3 for 4 with two, two-baggers, a homer, and a couple of runs, while Marco gave us 8 innings of 5 hit baseball where he’d only allow 3 runners to plate while fanning 5. Our problems, after such a beautiful drive through the Cascades, came late when Cleveland’s Eddie Rosario hit a 2-run dinger off Closer David Robertson, who falls to 0-1 on the year and blows a save opportunity for the first time this season, to put the Indians up for good. I fully understand that one game does not equal a trend – I get it – but, after this travesty, it’s hard not to feel like the wheels may be falling off.

Elsewhere: Minnesota’s Mitch Graver finished 3 for 5 with a HR, 6 RBI, and 2 runs in the Twins’ hard-earned 11-7 victory over our division rival, and our toughest competition in the AL West so far, Oakland Athletics. 3B Josh Donaldson also managed to drive 3 in and, in so doing, improved his batting average to a less than impressive .176 (69 OPS too… maybe he’ll join Pujols at the party once this season is in the books, who knows…).

Record: 26-15
Up Next: We’ll welcome the representatives from the Motor City to Seattle for a 3-game set who, like the Lions & Pistons, aren’t very good at the sport they claim to play. If it’s true that the hottest fires make the strongest steel like that super bowl ad from way back claimed, then we won’t have to worry about the Tigers building anything solid for a long time.

[pauwoo]

First, some housekeeping…

Houston’s Yordan Alvarez won player of the week in the AL – he hit .650 in 20 AB’s and sent 7 balls out of the park, the kid was on something of a hot streak – and Colorado’s Trevor Story took home that same prize in the NL after going 14 for 26 with 2 jacks and 8 RBI.

A BNN Stat: So, who is the active Major League Baseball leader in career hits?

Albert Pujols, LAA, 3265 (I’m hearing more about this guy than I have in years – IRL & here)
Miguel Cabrera, DET, 2892
Robinson Cano, NYM, 2624
Yadier Molina, STL, 2020
Melky Cabrera, JAC, 1962

The Weekly Power Ranking:
Teams (Total Points, Tendency)
1) Atlanta Braves (142.5, o)
2) San Francisco Giants (128.0, o)
3) Los Angeles Dodgers (126.0, ++)
4) New York Mets (124.4, ++)
5) St. Louis Cardinals (116.8, ++)
6) Chicago White Sox (115.2, +)
7) Seattle Mariners (113.1, -)
8) Oakland Athletics (112.7, --)
9) Arizona Diamondbacks (112.4, ++)
10) Cincinnati Reds (107.2, -)

The Angels are 14th, Astros 17th, Yankees 19th, and Padres 28th.

Detroit Tigers (14-27, .341, 5th AL Central) @ Seattle Mariners (26-15, .634, 2nd AL West)
The Tigers have displayed a marginally improved form thus far in May – nothing to get too excited about, but, as far as doormats go, they are a little more high-end than most. The problem here, though, is that their current form (6-4 over their last 10) is only good by their less-than-lofty standards, and the reality that they pair the AL’s 10th rated offense with its 12th rated staff is always, at worst, on the periphery, smiling, and waving to get your attention. See, despite the fact that they’ve recently managed to peel sets off the likes of the Minnesota Twins and Chicago Cubs, this is a poor club – poorly conceived, poorly constructed, and, without access to elaborate sign-stealing techniques, poorly managed. This is a set that we should navigate with aplomb, dignity – like some card counting savant primed to turn the house on its head. For the next three days – we play like champions. Also, this will be the first time we welcome Kyle Seager back to town after the pre-season trade with the Tigers that netted us our game one starter – Matthew Boyd.

42 of 162: Michael Fulmer (0-5, 6.75) @ Matthew Boyd (3-3, 4.08)
Win, 5-0. Boyd, in his first appearance against his old club, ran roughshod over all comers during an 8-inning, 3-hit, shutout performance that included 8 Ks, and Jarred Kelenic showed the hometown faithful why he’s a prospect held in such high regard with a 3 for 4 day that includes a solo homer. Fletch hit two, two-baggers, Joc hit a double of his own, Dalbec drove one in on a single, and we secured two masterful double plays on defense. Full steam ahead for the good ship lollipop as we treat our hometown fans to some expertly played baseball and send them home happy that they made it out to the park. Also, Kyle went 1 for 4 in his return to Seattle – if he intends to have his revenge, it will have to wait for at least one more day…


Elsewhere: While there were a couple of performances today that warrant some mention – like Khris Davis going 3 for 4 with a 2-run blast in what has been a tough slog through 2021 for him so far (.201/.275/.347, 6 HR, 15 RBI) – the only performance that mattered today came from our own Matthew Boyd who put it down something fierce against his old club on behalf of his new one. 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, and THE DOUBLE-U. Someone earned himself a $15 Starbucks gift card! Employee of the Day!

Record: 27-15
Up Next: More baseball against Detroit at home – AND – Seattle’s own, Macklemore will attempt to break Eminem’s rhyme-speed record during the 7th inning stretch. We think. His attendance has not been officially confirmed, so, you’ll have to show up to the park to find out for sure.

[pauwoo]

A Small Craft Advisory was issued this morning with an affected area of the Puget Sound and Hood Canal – so, not a great time for a rickety old schooner the likes of Detroit to be in town for a three-game set. Wind speeds of 21 to 33 knots threaten to topple their vessel with seas of 10 feet or higher all set to make the operation of their low-budget, value craft prohibitive – to be avoided at all costs. What I’m saying is that we are made for these conditions, unlike our unfortunate foes, with our copper-bottomed ship, impervious to shipworms and barnacle infestation, set to deliver a broadside attack against these jelly-legged goons from the Motor City. Better in every way from stem to stern – we’ll have our work cut out for us today, sure, but if we can just perform up to our pedigree it should be more than enough to secure the series victory today and position ourselves for a much-needed sweep.

43 of 162: Tyler Alexander (3-2, 7.58) @ Aaron Sanchez (3-0, 2.70)
Win, 4-2. Tyler Alexander, the man with two first names, was in prime form today and gave the visitors a rip-roaring 7.2 inning effort that included 10 hits for our club, with 4 earned, and 4 K’s. Okay, maybe not rip-roaring but a good, solid, professional performance, nonetheless. It just wouldn’t be his day as our guy, Aaron Sanchez, gave us 8 top-flight innings allowing just 3 hits, 1 run, and 2 walks while fanning 8 Tigers before exiting stage left. Fletch went 3 for 4 with an RBI, Wong drove one in, K-Lew brought one across as well, we hit 3 doubles, stole a bag (Kelenic with his 2nd as a Big Leaguer), and did an admirable job defensively despite the fact that K-Wong committed his 4th fielding flub of the season. Today we treated the 36,450 in attendance to some serviceable offense, lights out pitching, and a great, 3 K close-out appearance from David “the Petty Officer” Robertson who registered his 9th save of the year.

If Detroit wants to compete, they’re gonna need a bigger boat.



Elsewhere: Arizona’s Zac Gallen took a no-hitter into the 6th but left after the 7th with a 7-inning, 1-hit shutout with 11 K’s in his clubs win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the end, the D’backs would triumph by a score of 5-4 as their bullpen came out throwing beach balls after Gallen left the game – in all Devenski and Crichton, two guys I know nothing about, each gave up two runs as the Dodgers did their level best to mount a furious comeback at home, but, ultimately, came up short as Ryan Buchter (nope, never heard of him) and CL Yoan Lopez (sounds familiar) were lights out the rest of the way to secure a well-deserved road victory for the surprisingly competent Arizona-based ballclub. Also, because two grown men fighting over a kids game is always fun(ny), Cincinnati’s RF Nick “Flex” Castellanos and San Francisco’s Jose Alvarez were each suspended 4-games for their part in instigating an all-out donnybrook at the Great American Ballpark. Basically, Castellanos got pegged by a pitch, didn’t like it, rushed the mound like Bryce Harper with a better haircut, and got in a few bad ones before the benches cleared and cooler heads prevailed. I love hockey.

Record: 28-15.
Up Next: An opportunity to secure a home sweep against the Tigers – it’s a must-win in my view… we’re 9-7 on the month and registering a sweep before heading out on a road trip that will take us to San Diego, Oakland, and Arlington is crucial for our confidence. Look, San Diego is back to full strength, Oakland has been the class of our division so far, and Texas – well, they suck… we’ll need every ounce of confidence we can muster to navigate that trip in the image and the style that you’re used to…

[pauwoo]

I woke up this morning in a panic – stuck in a bad dream where we were no-hit for the second time in 13 days. It took a minute to get my bearings, to collect my thoughts, and I had downed no less than two cups of coffee before I was able to shake the cobwebs and situate myself, comfortably, back into reality. Here, we find ourselves on the precipice of low-key greatness, with an opportunity to sweep the Detroit Tigers unceremoniously out of town before taking a well-deserved day of rest. We’ll head out on the road after tonight’s game (well, we’re not leaving until tomorrow) for a quick, 6-game tour of California starting in beautiful San Diego and finishing up in not-as-beautiful Oakland. With a win here tonight, we’ll do so with a little extra pep in our step, a renewed vigor, and free from the ho-hum play that has plagued us so far in May.

Sidenote: I’ve asked my assistant to look at options for a new backup Catcher. Listen, I like Tom Murphy, the guy is a laugh riot, solid professional, and a good all-around dude…. But, there’s some value there and we might be able to flip him for some bullpen upgrades. If we do that, we’ll need a new backup – and, currently, it’s looking like Ali Sanchez might be that guy. He can play the position nearly as well as our starter, Austin Hedges, hits about the same (which is to say not particularly good), and could be available for table scraps as STL has him languishing down in Memphis at the moment… Hmm, some power moves may be in the works.

44 of 162: Keyvius Sampson (1-2, 4.76) @ Matt Peacock (2-2, 2.96)
Win, 3-0. Keyvius Sampson had his good stuff in this one – he fanned 10 batters, only gave up two runs, including a solo homer from Joc, and would’ve earned the win had our staff not been equal to his challenge tonight. Peacock could only muster 4.1 innings of work and left with an injury after allowing only 1 hit, no runs, and fanning 5. From there, our pen locked it down with Lindblom going 2.2 and Darwinzon Hernandez laying down another 2 to close this one out. Neither reliever allowed a single hit, preserving Peacock’s 1-hit shutout in the process. Offensively we were less than stellar but managed to plate enough runs to walk away with the sweep – Joc’s solo shot, a double from Dylan Moore, and a SAC FLY from Meetch round out all the highlights worth mentioning (and you could make an argument that only Joc’s longball deserved the ink). This was a good win and it’s nice to be able to rest on our pitching when the bats have gone cold – it’s funny though, we earned a sweep, and that feels good, just not as good as it would’ve felt had our offense sent these guys off with a bang. We’ll take it of course; beggars can’t be choosers and all that…

Peacock’s diagnosis is pending… if we are to go as far as I think we are capable of, we’ll need Matty Peacock out on the bump, strutting his stuff, and leading the charge. So… to say that I am nervously awaiting the diagnosis is something of an understatement. And, depending on the outcome, I may stop dilly-dallying and bolster the staff by trade, bring in a new backup Catcher, and let the chips fall where they may. What worries me about pulling the trigger on anything juicy, though, is this…



Elsewhere: Toronto’s Bo Bichette put two out in a 12-1 win over the Boston Red Sox – a great day at the plate for the young man, but… you know what? Who cares! Matt Peacock has a boo-boo and until we find out the severity of his injury, I’ll be over here with Baby, put in a corner, languishing in a state of stagnation & emptiness.

Record: 29-15, which is much, much better than I could have hoped really.
Up Next: We’ll take tomorrow off after arriving in San Diego and spend the day rubbernecking on the beach before getting back after it against the Padres on Friday. Everybody’s working for the weekend…

[pauwoo]

A much-needed day off and satisfactory respite from the grind… we’ve been fortunate so far this season – the wins are piling on, our esprit de corps is the best it has been in years, and we’ve managed to navigate this early stretch relatively unscathed. Until yesterday, when Matt Peacock, the cock of the walk as it were, went down with a mystery ailment that our physio has yet to solve. Like, the goon doesn’t even know what it is yet, how severe it will be, nothing. Our guy, Kyle Torgerson, has been a rock star so far this season, so, I should at least be patient with him. And he’s rated outstanding at rehabbing leg and back injuries, good at rehabbing arm injuries, and outstanding at fatigue recovery – so the guy has this whole team trainer thing on lock. What he’s not great at, in this game at least, is preventing arm injuries – so – we are here. What’s funny is I don’t even know where it hurts – like, I have no indication, or even a general idea, of what part of Matt’s body is bothering him. Not funny haha, funny peculiar, as in – will someone, anyone, communicate with the General Manager?

Heck, for all I know the guy may have just stubbed his toe out there yesterday…


Elsewhere: 3B Adam Duvall is 32 years old. He was born & raised in Louisville, Kentucky, is said to be something of a horse enthusiast, and wanted to be a Jockey until a growth spurt in high school put that dream in his rearview mirror. Now, standing in at 6’ 1” tall and weighing in at a svelte 215 lbs, he plies his trade in a ballpark near you as an official member of the Miami Marlins. And, well, today was his day – he went 3 for 5 for the Fish with 3 DING DONGS, 4 RBI, and 3 runs to help lift Miami up where she belongs and secure a 6-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. With the win, Miami improves to a 12-32 record overall, and Duvall improves his line to .188/.270/.396 with 4 doubles, a triplet, 8 dingers, and 23 RBI. His -0.2 WAR and OPS+ of 81 is nothing to be proud of, sure, but maybe he’s turned the corner here and will now go on a tear the likes of which we’ve not seen from him before.

Interestingly, or not depending on what you’re into, today’s 3 DINGER explosion from Duvall was only good enough to put him at 25th on the Top Game Performances table.

Record: 29-15, unchanged, obviously.
Up Next: After a day spent on the beach, trying not to creep out the locals while rubbernecking near the surf, we'll play a baseball game against the struggling, but finally at full strength, Padres.

And, well, CRAP: A blow for Matt Peacock, Seattle fans, and all of humanity today -- team doctors were able to determine the full extent of his recent injury. He will miss 7 months with shoulder inflammation. Peacock suffered the injury on 05/19/2021. The team will likely place Peacock on the injured list today. This year Peacock has posted a 2-2 mark in 9 starts and has a 2.72 ERA. A representative from Seattle’s marketing team indicated that they have no idea what to do with all the extra Peacock jerseys they recently ordered for the team store. And, yes, I've used Peacock 6 times, counting this one, mostly because I'll miss using it something fierce for the remainder of this thread...

Up Next, Part II… the Secret of the Ooze: After placing Peacock on the IL and moving Logan Gilbert into the rotation, I’ll be looking to make some power moves on the trade market.

[pauwoo]

If I’m honest, and why wouldn’t I be, Interleague silliness is my least favorite kind of silliness… but, we’re not charged with making the schedule, we’re charged with playing it so… it is what it is.

Seattle Mariners (29-15, .659, 1st AL West) @ San Diego Padres (14-30, .318, 5th NL West)
The Padres are stuck in some alternate reality, one where they weren’t a team on the precipice of greatness last year, where they didn’t restock their pantry with high-end ingredients, and one where they are nowhere near as good as the sum of their parts. It’s one, long perpetual Freaky Friday for these guys – they’re Jamie Lee Curtis, rocking that plaid mini and punky haircut, confused about who they are, their place in the world, and what they need to do to get back to reality while we’re happily playing the role of Lindsay Lohan’s character – experienced, all business, and relishing the opportunity to run it back one more time. There are several things you can point at to show where it has all went wrong for San Diego this season – the fact that Eric Hosmer is leading the team in AVG, HRs, and RBI comes to mind, but the only real answer, the only explanation that holds water, is the fact that after missing 4 weeks at the start of the season due to a strained oblique, Fernando Tatis Jr, one of our biggest and brightest young stars, tore his hammy in only his first game back during a rehab start against our Triple-A outfit in Tacoma. He’s their lynchpin, their difference-maker, and, without him, they’ve not been able to play at, or anywhere near, the level the preseason punditry believed they would. If we are this young season’s biggest surprise, then the San Diego Padres are its biggest disappointment.

45 of 162: Marco Gonzales (4-3, 3.67) @ Joe Musgrove (2-3, 4.26)
Loss, 1-0. San Diego is one of the most beautiful, scenic cities in the continental United States – its beaches are pristine, its citizenry toned and talented, the mood of its general populace congenial, pleasant. There is a lot to love about it here, and very little to hate. But, you can confidently put our performance in this one tonight onto the “hate” side of the scale, as we played down to the level of our competition, and then, competing in our own, imaginary limbo contest, found a way to dip a bit below that bar as well. Musgrove stifled our offense during 8 innings of work where he’d allow only 3 hits, and no earned runs while fanning 3 (he let his defense eat) and 2B Ha-Seong Kim gave them all the offense they’d need with a run-scoring double off Gonzo during the bottom of the 6th. For our part, Gonzo was fierce over 6.2 innings but was let down by an offense that could only muster the aforementioned three hits and only one EBH (a double for Kyle Lewis) while leaving 3 runners stranded. We even got wrecked on the basepaths as Dylan Moore got caught with his hand in the honeypot trying to make something happen for us at the top of the 7th despite not having the wheels to get it done. Not our finest moment here – so, we’ll shake it off and carry on.


Elsewhere: Wille Calhoun, the locally known Texas Ranger who’s built like a keg with a smile that can light up the room, went 4 for 4 today with a GRAND SLAM, and 2 runs to lead his club to a satisfying 9-5 win over their in-state rival Houston Astros. The Grand Salami came against RP Blake Taylor who was working in relief after Zach Greinke left the game – after the missed pitch, he sees his ERA balloon to an unacceptable 10.66 with an ERA+ of 45. Yikes.

Record: 29-16
Up Next: We’ll lather on the sunblock, get the board waxed, and try to catch a wave big enough to get a win in the 2nd of this 3 game set tomorrow.

[pauwoo]

It’s a scant 5.5 miles from the park to Kikos Place, home of the best spicy octopus tacos in all of San Dee-Ahh-Go. Our equipment manager has been tasked with making the run to grab me a few of them for lunch, so, regardless of our result here, I will be a happy camper. Provided, of course, that he gets them back to the park and into my hands while they are still warm. This is mission-critical – I need my spicy octopus tacos… how is a man of my stature supposed to perform at or near his peak without them?

46 of 162: Matt Manning (3-1, 2.48) @ Dinelson Lamet (1-5, 4.08)
Loss, 1-0. Third verse, same as the first… it’s almost as if we didn’t even play a baseball game today. Kept out of the cake for the second day in a row, despite our 7 total hits (4 of which belonged to Wong), and the SAC BUNT laid down by Hedges. Manning was OK – he gave us 4 innings, allowed three hits, and saw a run get charged to his account when Eric Hosmer hit a run-scoring double during the second inning. Lindblom, Graveman, and Middleton did an admirable job in relief and only allowed a scant two hits between them – but, as ever, the real story here is that we were, once again, let down by our suddenly anemic offense who were clearly too occupied by gawking at all the local talent in the stands to focus on, oh I don’t know, their job… Wong hit his 20th double, Haniger was one K short of earning his second Golden on the year, K-Lew was as well, we hit into two double plays, and left a grand total of 9 runners stranded. This kind of lackluster performance… it’s just not what we get all dressed up for, is it? The tacos were good though, so there is that.


Elsewhere: 3B Justin Turner, of the Los Angeles Dodgers, went 3 for 5, bashed three homers, drove in 4 runs, and scored 3 of his own (obviously) during his clubs systematic, 8-1, dismantling of their Bay Area rival. San Francisco, playing at home here, seemingly threw in the towel after going down 3-1 in the top of the second as they played like a team attempting to navigate the fire swamp only to get stuck in some quicksand while the rodents of unusual size waited in the shadows to strike when they least expected it. It’s a sad state of affairs, man.

Record: 29-17
Up Next: We’ll crank up the SPF on our sunscreen, refocus ourselves on the task at hand, and attempt to salvage some semblance of our dignity by avoiding a sweep in San Diego.

[pauwoo]

It’s our last chance to save some face while in San Diego – and I’m not even sure that a win is required to do it, I mean, hell, I’d be okay with just scoring some runs this time around. You know… because beggars can’t be choosers and all that. This set has easily been one of our worst so far – just lackadaisical in its execution, passionless, and played without any of the verve, the energy required to win ballgames at this level. What we’d like here is a win – a rip-roaring one, a lucky one, doesn’t matter – and the quickest exit out of town. And maybe a few more of those spicy octopus tacos.

47 of 162: Matthew Boyd (4-3, 3.54) @ Yu Darvish (3-3, 2.88)
Win, 6-3. We’d survive some vintage Machado – 3 for 4, 2 dinger, 2 RBI, and 3 runs for the misunderstood pseudo-superstar – and put more than enough runs on the board in support of our starter to exit stage left with the win tucked under our shirt and our escape route well-defined and all clear. Boyd was fierce for us here – 8 roughshod innings of excellence, 7 hits for the bad guys, 2 earned runs (you’re welcome, Manny), and 4 K’s – while the offense came through with, well, some offense. Meetch went 2 for 4 with a two-bagger, a jack, 3 riblets, and a couple of runs, we got 3 hits, a homer, and 2 RBI from Joc, Fletch and K-Lew both secured hits, and Boyd fanned our flames a bit with a run-scoring single of his own. Joc also swiped a bag for us, we fielded a nice, news-worthy, rally-killing double play late, and scored 4, 2-out RBI during the contest. A solid effort from the gang in this one – the type of effort and level of focus we could’ve used in the first two games – and a great way to close out a series where we were mostly mentally checked out. We’ve seemingly reset now – our collective head is screwed back on – and are ready to make the trek to Oakland.


Elsewhere: Houston’s Yordan Alvarez went 3 for 6 with 2 DING DONGS, 5 total RBI, and 3 runs during the Astros 19-8 dressing down of the Texas Rangers. Altuve contributed 5 RBI to the cause and Gurriel happily contributed 5 more as the most hated team in baseball sauntered into Arlington, merrily razed the castle, left Rangers players strewn about in their wake and reminded the division that, while they are down, it is, perhaps, a bit early to count them out.

Record: 30-17
Up Next: It is opposites day as we travel from beautiful San Diego to downtrodden Oakland for another 3-game set to cap off our jaunt through the Golden State. If nothing else, we're likely to find some really good Vietnamese restaurants while in town.