The Rainy Field of Daydreams

Thornton Traded!!

2006-04-01T01:20:00.000-08:00

Originally posted on March 20th

Wow, I've never thought this would actually happen. Matt Thornton the hard throwing (but essentially useless) lefty got traded to the White Sox for Joe Borchard, a switch hitting outfielder with some power. Borchard is probably going to have to fight for a bench spot but this should mean the bench could be improved from being more or less mediocre....

Moves were also made in my fantasy league. Somehow Travis Hefner and Pat Burrell were cut from another team, and while I held the 2nd position on the waiver wire... for some strange reason I decided against claiming either of them. (The teams 4th and 6th in line ended up picking them up.) This is a non-move that I'm probably going to regret soon enough....

Another attempt of a comeback

2006-03-18T02:21:00.000-08:00

It's been yet another long time since I last posted. I just haven't had the motivation for quite a while.... plus I felt that I had little to contribute about the Mariners that the other more serious blogs wouldn't have covered already. Not to mention the team had been rather difficult to get behind in the past year. Though there were glimpses of hope and I do look forward to another season. Perhaps I'll just try harder to post casual thoughts and reactions like I did before.

This year I'm playing fantasy baseball in the yahoo public leagues again. (See: St. Wong Utd.) Last year I was dragged down by Bret Boone's downfall and Beltre's down year and ended up 4th. This time I hope for better luck. I tried to get the more productive Mariners onto my team and ended up with Ichiro, Big Richie, King Felix, Every(few?)day(s) Eddie, and JoMAMA. (I hoped for a rebound year from Beltre but he was snatched up by someone else.)

Also, it's old news by now, but the 2006 Mariners commercials are out. I thoroughly enjoyed watching "Big Richie", and "Wall of Adrian" was a nice idea that unfortunately lacked decent delivery. (Though the very end of it was kind of cute.) I'd also like to give special mention to "Epidemic" because it managed to capture the essence of Ichiro while he didn't actually make an appearance. (I assumed that he's away on WBC duty with the Japanese team and wasn't around for a commercial shoot.)

Well, here's to another comeback attempt. I'm probably going to talk about some more old news soon (such as the Winter Olympics and the soon to be over World Baseball Classic).

Season of changes!

2005-01-31T20:27:00.000-08:00

Once again I haven't posted for a while. There've been plenty of moves made by the M's this off-season, with some highly welcomed news and some other ho-hum signings, but I'm glad that generally people are feeling rather optimistic about this year's team. We should really have fun watching Beltre and Sexson in the middle of the lineup. Spring training can't come soon enough!

In the blogsphere there has been some changes too. I'll update my links soon. Congrats to Lookout Landing (formerly Leone for Third) for their move! And also, I'll definitely miss Mariners Wheelhouse.

The past month was just quite chaotic with the holiday season, working on anime episodes (Galaxy Angel Season 4) at the Anime Haven, watching the Australian Open, and every bits and pieces of life happenings. Hopefully I'll post more regularly now that the baseball season is approaching. Once again, thank you for everyone who has stopped by, and I hope there'll be more content worthy of visits! :-)

First big contract FA signing for the M's

2004-12-15T16:10:00.000-08:00

So after all the fuss and drama, it's now official. Richie Sexson signs! I've heard much about the cons of this signing, and it's a lot of money committed to a player with big risks and good but not great returns, but since it's already happened, I might as well take it one step at a time. At least it wasn't a Renteria signing. At least it's a start for the club which never had any significant FA signings for years. If he stays healthy Sexson should be a reasonable contributor. Now hopefully this doesn't have to be a negative thing should we land Beltre to man the other corner. Just please, no Carlos Delgado now! For left-handed power, try trading Winn and signing J.D. Drew instead. Drew, though a Boras client, is much younger and will definitely not command as much as Delgado who also clashes position with Sexson.

In addition to being local (Brush Prairie, WA, which is just about 15 minutes from where I am), Sexson will reunite with new M's manager Mike Hargrove. As for the new manager bringing in his own guy, Sexson is obviously much better than McCracken and Cobrunn. (On a somewhat related note, the AP should proof-read their articles better... than to confuse the M's with the Seahawks!)

Holiday Wishes

2004-12-10T10:26:00.000-08:00

I know I said that I'm going to be back posting regularly... I really will. It's just that lately I've been caught up in a choir for a Christmas performance. It's a church choir (even though I don't belong to the church) and the performance will be this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, at 7pm Pacific time. It'll be broadcasted live online! I'm not sure if there'll be video broadcast at the website, but I certainly would welcome people to listen to us. The theme of music is mostly of the classical type, and I'm challanging my limits in singing first tenor (which pounds on the higher end of my voice range a lot).

Ok, back to sports. The baseball winter meetings starts today, with no news to report so far. However, the FA signings have already picked up after the arbitration deadline. My opinion is pretty much in tune with most bloggers. With Glaus signed and Kent using up part of the Dodgers' available budget, I'm hoping for Adrian Beltre. There're mentionings and rumors all over about this, including the Seattle newspapers, but I'll stick to my general take on such matters (which also is in tune with other bloggers) -- to be patient. So far only one signing has been made by the M's -- re-signing Dan Wilson, which is a move that I liked. Signing him as a backup at a decent price is much better than bringing in someone else from the outside for a similar amount. At least Dan is good defensively and already knows the pitching staff well. I'm also hoping that Olivo will be able to learn how to block pitches and call games from him. As for Villone, I'd like to see another team signing him. It's probably better to have a draft pick than to have him pitch for the M's.

The Sonics... who would've thought at the beginning of the season? The young players are improving, Rick Sund made a fantastic trade that actually helped the team, and Mcmillan also have improved on his coaching. At this rate they will probably make the playoffs. (While having the league's best record is cool and all, I'd still like to have a somewhat higher draft choice for next year, and realistically this team probably won't finish the season with the best record anyway.) The return of Murray should help the team as a whole with Allen being able to rest more, but I'm somewhat worried about Potapenko coming back. He is a force inside, but he's relatively immobile and sets terrible screens, if we can call them that. (His poor "screens" allow the defender to simply go around him, while his marker also chases down the player with the ball, hence creating a double-team instead of brushing off a defender.) Anyway, while it's fun during the season, it's going to be very interesting to see what will happen in the off-season, with many key players and the coach on the last year of their contracts.
Before I call it a post, I have to vent some: I thought I heard somewhere that FSN NW was going to broadcast Sonics games at the Portland area as well when the Blazers are not playing, but so far all the games have been blacked out. Truly local/regional coverage at its best!!

Sonics can start scouting for lottery

2004-11-05T16:54:00.000-08:00

I was going to make a post about this after seeing the Sonics' last preseason game (despite coming away with a win against Portland) and learning that they lost to the Clippers by 30 in the opener, but Art Thiel beats me to it. It's simply unrealistic for the management to expect the team to compete for a playoff spot this year with this year's cast. I have to feel for Nate McMillan, who most probably will get the marching orders sooner or later. He might not be all that good a coach, but even the likes of Phil Jackson or Larry Brown etc. won't be able to do much with this team. I do genuinely hope for a high draft choice for next year, for it seems to be the only way this team is going to acquire a truly good player with the lack of meaningful trades and signings in recent years.

The return of the posts!

2004-11-01T18:52:00.000-08:00

How time flies! It's been more than two months that I haven't posted anything. The past months have not gone by quietly, of course, but I somehow found myself enjoying reading other bloggers (particularly the wonderful M's blogsphere) than just voicing personal opinions here. Though I understand that I should put in more efforts to keep this blog going. Afterall, I made the decision to start this and should be more responsible in maintaining it. I thank all the visitors who would take the time to check back periodically (if any), and I apologize for not putting up anything worth reading for quite some time. I'll soon check and update the links to the other blogs and my favorites list, too. (Btw, welcome back, Optimist, and congrats to the Red Sox for finally winning it all after 86 years!) I also want thank the other bloggers who kept the links to this site on their blogs.

It's now the off season in baseball but there should still be plenty to talk about sooner or later about the M's as we anticipate the club being more active than ever to try to rebuild/rebound from the near 100-loss season, and of course I'll also post about other things, perhaps including the Sonics (can they out-do the 2004 M's??) and such. I hope that I can still put up things that are worth some time of my visitors/readers!

but please promise me, that sometimes, you will think of me!

Let the Games begin!!!

2004-08-14T06:38:00.000-07:00

If one thing's good about the disappointing season the Mariners are having this year, it's that I can focus on watching the Olympic Games without having to follow my favorite team's play-off hunt.

It's a wonderful feeling that the Games get to return to its origin, Athens, after more than a century. I planned ahead to make sure that I would get to watch the opening ceremony last night (which was tape-delayed and there was no live broadcast at all in the NBC network.... Works for a prime-time rating, but truly odd for something this big and this important for the whole world...). For all the negative feelings I had and might have in the future for NBC, I'd have to at least thank them for showing the ceremony in its entity, especially during the Parade of Nations. Even though commercial breaks were frequent, I could take a step back and say that at least they kept the breaks relatively short instead of having us all wait around for a long time whenever they came on.... (I know, it's still too many commercials altogether, but I'm just seeing it in a realistic angle here... they're unavoidable in the current setup for TV broadcasting....)

The ceremony itself was very good to look at, with a wonderful display of drumming to start off. The rhythm that supposedly resembles heartbeat worked out great and it was rather involving. It was a nice touch in displaying a drummer at the historic site of where the first modern games took place on the big screen in the stadium and then have a drummer to respond to him, as if to relay the message and the spirit of competition to link up the past and the present.
Next came some symbolic theatrical performances with lots of extremely well controlled wire work, having objects and performers floated about in mid-air gracefully. Then, there was a parade that presented the gradual visual documentation of greek mythology and history of the culture and the Games. The makeup for the people were simply breath-taking, as they looked very much like statues, puppets, and still pictures coming to life, even from a close distance view. It's as if we saw a moving picture book that told the tale of how things went as years progressed.
After the fantastic theater and some well received lazer showings to compliment the presentation along the way, finally it was time for the Parade of Nations. The athletes from 202 participating countries took quite a while to enter the stadium, this time in an order that's different from most of the past Games. Instead of in English alphabetic order, they used the Greek alphabet instead. That made the US much closer to the front than the back, and somewhat difficult to keep track of who we were still yet to see, though it was nice in its own way. Just by itself, the Parade actually would tell us about how history has changed throughout the years, realizing the frequent thought in my mind of "another former Soviet Union/Yugoslavian State" represented some political changes and wars.... (14 countries from the former U.S.S.R. and 5 from former Yugoslavia) On the other hand it was interesting to see a unified Korean team with 2 flag-bearers -- one from the North and one from the South. I could also feel some national pride when the long awaited moment for me finally came. The 25 athelets from Hong Kong (where I'm originally from) made their entrance as the second last "nation" in front of host nation Greece. Even though they're not medal hopefuls, it was a heart-warming feeling to see that "my country" got represented in the game. (Maybe a bit similar to how the Bremertonians feel about the Kirk sisters, but without the chance for glory.)
The ceremony concluded after the lighting of the torch. (I feel for the last guy to have lit the flame as the last leg of the relay... all those people in front of him only had to run a short distance while he had to cut through the stadium from the far end, and then run up quite a few steps on the stairway to reach his destination!) I'm very happy to have witnessed something incredible as such. Beijing will be hard pressed to produce in 4 years' time to at least meet the standards of display we saw the previous day.

It's yesterday's news, but...

2004-08-14T06:08:00.000-07:00

Even though I skipped a few days on posting yet again, I believe I should at least say something about the two big news about the M's that came out last week.

First, Edgar's retiring at the end of the season. Since I only came to the States in the summer of 96 and only started following baseball in 97, I wasn't fortunate enough to have witnessed the magic of 95 and the defining double that highlights Edgar's career. Though it's easy to see how much Edgar has done for this team, has meant for this team, and that "he is the Seattle Mariners" for almost 2 decades. I suppose his achievements and value to the baseball world have already been well covered by everyone, so I don't think I need to say any more about that. I do have a couple of things I'd like to say though, and these are by no means meant to be negatively taken....
Seeing how Edgar's performances are this season after posting fantastic and consistent career numbers year to year, it seems like maybe time and age has finally caught up with him, and it seems to be a good time at the end of this season for such a stellar career to conclude. Considering the aspect of him being a player this year alone, I actually believed that it might've been good for him to call it quits after last year. Though it made sense (and I wasn't aware of) that he would play on, and go on to collect milestone hits like his 300th HR and 500th double. It's just highly unfortunate that he has to play his last year on such a lousy team, while also seeing his numbers not measuring up to the "usual Edgar", as a way many has put. When all's said and done, I'm hoping hard that he'll be inducted to the Hall of Fame. Edgar Martinez is truly a special and unique player. I'm glad that I have the chance to have been able to root for one such as he on my favorite team in my time.

The other piece of news was also bad news for the M's, as both Eddie Guardado and Rafael Soriano will go under the knife and miss considerable time. This topic has also been well documented as well, so no need for me to say much more. I only wonder out of the group of "youth" arms getting called up, if when Aaron Taylor pitches well with his comeback and if he gets called up in September, if he'd get some consideration for the closer role, since I believe he spent quite some time doing that in the minors....

Game of inches? Game of controversy!

2004-08-07T01:02:00.000-07:00

The first thing we think of regarding today's Mariners game must be the last play/call that ended the game, right? Well, I'm going to start off with the first at bat of the game. With the benefits of replays, we can clearly see Ichiro's fly to right was trapped by Jose Cruz Jr. The ball landed on a short hop about a foot or more before hitting Cruz's glove, but the umpire called it an out....
In the last play of the game, Carl Crawford was sent home because of obstruction by young shortstop Jose Lopez. After seeing the replay quite a few times, on both ESPN and FSNNW, it was evident that Crawford had a "fake going" type of a thing, breaking for home for a few steps and then retreating because he wasn't tryly trying to score on the not-quite-deep-enough-fly. (Tampa Bay's third base coach said after the game, "(Crawford) was going to bluff it, go down the line and the throw came in and he wasn't going. All of a sudden Paul (third base umpire Paul Emmel) yelled out obstruction.") He tagged up and took off from third the exact moment Ibanez caught the ball, which meant his view wasn't obstructed at all. That being said, I totally believe that it was a mental mistake by Lopez, who rushed over to third base from deep short while having no play at the ball and while there was already Bloomquist covering third base if the ball was to be thrown that way. (Jose said after the game, "I was doing everything all at once. I was looking at Raul, looking at home, seeing what was going to happen. I looked back and the umpires pointed at me. Everybody was in shock to see what happened." No way, Jose. Sounds like he looked everywhere but where he was going as he obviously "didn't see/notice" Bloomquist.) It was inexcusable, just like the other scoring play in the game where he ran into left field to catch a ball that Ibanez would've gotten to routinely, and which Raul would've had the momentum towards home to make a decent throw to prevent the runner on third from scoring. I think our young shortstop was somehow trying too hard, so much that it crossed the line between hustling and thoughtless play.... Good thing that this happened in an already lost season though.

Today was also a somewhat busy day on the trading front after the non-waiver trade deadline. Mike Myers was traded to Boston for a PTBNL or cash, while Larry Walker went to St. Louis for 3 minor leagers. The Walker trade was probably what we would've liked to see our team do back when the M's were contending (seems so long ago now...?), adding a big bat to win now.

Catch the Mads-ness!

2004-08-05T20:28:00.000-07:00

A wonderful job by Bobby Madritsch in this first Major League start! He looks the most confident and mentally ready for the big leagues out of all the Tacoma call-ups this year. He also seems to have the best command out of the bunch as of right now. He should be here to stay in the rotation for a while. Good for him, after all the waiting he's done!

He may have his flaws, his bad moments, and may lean towards praising the team more than anything, but I'll take Bill Krueger in the broadcast booth over Dave Henderson or Dave Valle any day of the year. He's a lot easier to the ears, and when he's wrong about his analysis, the errors of ways are more techinical rather than plain stupidity that we've come to expect out of the other guys.
One thing for sure though. Today he had a comment that was in tune will what the USS Mariner talked about, power score runs. They had a list of the teams in the AL with the lowest batting averages, and the Yankees were 5th. (The M's were 3rd, while Tampa Bay were 1st.)

"It's strange to see the New York Yankess on this list..."
"When they get their hits, they get them in the 3-run homerun variety. That's how you score runs."

Finally, we get to hear it during a Mariners broadcast.

But he already has a nickname!

2004-08-03T01:56:00.000-07:00

Looking at the piece by Joe Kaiser in the P-I today, seems like Felix Hernandez is making believers out of everyone. Though "King Felix," as touted by the USS Mariner (congrats on the new site and domain, btw!) has been used as reference to Hernandez by multiple bloggers already. I'll be looking forward to King Felix's reign in Seattle to begin in the not too distant future!

As the trade deadline passes, the roster should be generally set for the rest of the season. We get to see some of the "future" of the ballclub in the form of Leone, Bucky, Nageotte, Blackley, Thornton (*cough* walks!), Sherrill, Lopez, and even Atchison getting their chances in the bigs. Hopefully, A.J. Zapp and Jamal Strong will also have a chance in September, as I believe they've done enough in AAA to show that they at least deserve a chance. (Will we also see Luis Ugueto, the name that we dread but the club loves??) As for Jeremy Reed, I've only gotten to know him through reading the blogs, it sounds to me that the general take on him is that he should stay for the full season in Tacoma and then maybe compete for a job next Spring. Anyways, it's always good to have things to look forward to for the future.

I hope the M's AAA affiliate will move to Portland. Then I might even try to be a season ticket holder there and try to learn/practise to be a casual scout! Hehe.

My version of memory loss....

2004-07-25T03:34:00.000-07:00

And I was hard on Ron Fairly's comment! How on Earth did I forget something such as this in a game that I attended?!

It was wrong to say Tim Christman went through an "uneventful 9th" in the Rainiers' game in Portland on Thursday. Well, unless we strictly only talk of baseball runs of play, then there really wasn't much going on.... Right after the first pitch was thrown to the second batter in the inning, a streaker appeared on the field, making his entrance by jumping off the top of the Rainiers' dugout. He took the security guards for a nice ride around the bases and into the outfield before finally being tackled and "escorted" off the field. Given that it was a blown out loss for the home team, it was the last thing for the fans to make some noise for before calling it a night.

A look at the future....

2004-07-23T01:32:00.000-07:00

Here's my first (and only, at least for a long while) minor league report! As I had hoped, I went to see the Tacoma Rainiers game at Portland. This was my first time going to an away game, as all the previous games I went to (M's and Sonics) took place in Seattle. It sure was a little funny when I was like the lone voice rooting for the M's prospects (while most everyone around me had weird looks at me). I had a pretty good seat, just 3 rows back from 3rd base. However, it was rather difficult to judge inside and outside pitches from that angle. I also got to the game a little late, but just in time for the last part of the big scoring 2nd inning the Rainiers put up. The bases were loaded with Jeremy Reed at bat. Then came a wild pitch to score a run and advancing all runners, and after that a single to center by Reed to score two more to cap a 4-run frame. I don't claim to be a scout, and I simply lack the experience to be one. I just enjoyed watching the game and soon enough forgot about assessing players. Though I did manage to remember some details of certain performances I saw. So, without further ado, here goes nothing. (My version of game wrap)

Tacoma 9R, 12H, 0E, Portland (SD) 3R, 8H, 3E

pitchers:
Clint Nageotte: 6IP, 6H, 3ER, BB, 4K, HR (W 5-6, 4.89)
He was perfect through 3, then gave up a lead-off single in the 4th on a full-count fastball. His real problems came in the 5th when the lead-off man got aboard again, and then suddenly he lost his command just enough to be hittable. The first run scored on an infield single to 3rd base, but nothing after that as he got out of a bases loaded jam. In the 6th he might've run out of gas a little, giving up a single then a HR, but that's about it. It seemed like a decent outing for him, especially the beginning part of the game when he dominated.

Randy Williams: 2IP, H, BB, 3K (3.27)
A strong throwing lefty who was slightly wild, falling behind hitters quite often, but only gave up 1 walk. He was hard to hit with 3 Ks.

Tim Christman: IP, H, K (4.50)
As most of the crowd in the stands left by then, he went through a quiet and uneventful ninth to close out the game.

batters:
Jamal Strong, LF: 3-4, 2R, BB, 2SB (.313)
His speed was surely a huge asset, as he stole two bases and forced two throwing errors. (One by catcher Ramon Hernandez when he stole 2nd, and the other had "Ichiro!" written all over it; beating out an infield single to the first baseman who threw it away with the pitcher covering late at the bag. Both times the Rainiers ended up scoring a run during the play.) His defense out in LF looked a little suspect, however. There was a foul ball to LF into the Portland bullpen area just outside of the LF line that looked catchable, but somehow he couldn't get it. (My view was obstructed so I didn't know if he dropped the ball or plainly missed the catch.) And then there was another play that should've been an error if there wasn't a runner on first. It was a shallow fly to left, he came in for the ball but it hit the heel of his glove and dropped to the ground. He then quickly picked up the ball and fired it to second base for the force out. A terrible catch, but heads up play by Strong to erase a runner (and an error). I understand that he's probably a good defensive outfielder who's just having a bad day though.

Micky Lopez, 2B: 0-3, R, BB, K, HBP (.264)
Nothing much doing with his bat, while unspectacular but effective on the field.

Jeremy Reed, CF: 1-4, 2RBI, BB, 2K (.262)
He delivered with 2 outs in the 2nd for his 2 RBIs, and walked once. But he also struck out looking and swinging. He didn't agree with the call for his looking K and discussed it with the umpire some... all the while the ball was in play. (The same play as the previously mentioned Hernandez throwing error.) In this particular game he wasn't very impressive at the plate, but then he never looked overmatched either. On the defensive end he seemed to have some decent routes to the balls and he made all the plays that he should have, and he surely doesn't have Randy Winn's arm.

Jose Lopez, SS: 1-5, 2B, RBI, K (.285)
Since he hit his double in the first inning, I missed it and only saw him going 0-4 the rest of the night. His defense looked alright too except for one play which he bobbled the ball a little but recovered to make a throw to first in time. (The runner on 2nd advanced to 3rd on the play, however.)

AJ Zapp, 1B: 2-5, HR, 2R, RBI, 2K (.292)
He showed power, hitting a shot of about 380-feet to RF. (My distance estimation could be wrong as it was the opposite side from me.) He looked like a dead pull hitter somehow, with all three balls in play going to the right side. His second K was ouch because it was with 2 outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd. He played steady defense on first, but he was no John Olerud.

Ryan Christianson, DH: 1-5 (.188)
Nothing much going for him tonight other than singling to left with a ground ball through the hole. Didn't look like having much power on his swings, especially on the one swing he had that hit a weak liner/pop up to 3rd base that didn't leave the diamond. (Looked like typical M's baseball in the first half.) He may still be facing a long road to reestablishing himself?

Greg Dobbs, 3B: 1-5, 2B, R (.293)
Much like Jose Lopez's case, I didn't get to see his hit. He didn't look like drawing walks all night because he usually had 2-strike counts (as he fouled off pitches and such, kind of like Jolbert Cabrera in this one aspect). There wasn't much for him to do defensively at third, other than the one run-scoring play in the 5th when he dove to his left, cutting off the ground ball headed into the hole, got up and threw to first just a tad late to get the runner.

Brian Moon, C: 0-5, 2K (.250)
Other than pulling one deep but just outside of the LF foul pole, there was nothing to account for offensively for him. He seemed to be an alright defensive catcher though, handling the sometimes wild looking pitching staff just fine. Dan Wilson II??

Greg Jacobs, RF: 3-3, 3R, 2RBI, SB, HBP (.270)
Put in a wonderful performance tonight, even though all his hits were singles. The M's announcers (or at least Rick Rizz and Dave Valle) should like him lots... "he hustles, always looking to take the extra base." He had virtually no chance to show what he can do defensively though.

Well that's all for the report, folks! I hope I did ok on this.

It was also interesting to see some familiar names in the Portland lineup, including Ramon Vasquez, Ramon Hernandez, Kerry Robinson, and Jose Nieves. With the family discount tickets of $2.99 being such good seats, I'll be seriously considering going again when the Rainiers roll into town again! Though I wonder how different the lineup would be by then.

Another step forward

2004-07-18T16:49:00.000-07:00

Wow. First Leone homered in 2 consecutive games, and now it's Bucky's turn. Could we be seeing A.J. Zapp as well later this year? I only caught the last part of the game today, but I got to see Bocachica's great catch in center to bring back a HR. Though I wonder just how many more times we'd have to see Hasegawa in a ball game protecting a one-run lead, as I don't even remember when the last time he successfully held the lead was....

Onto a different subject. Cory Violette's name sneaked up on me, as he's taking a chance with the Atlanta Hawks' summer league team. I wish him luck!

The 2nd half begins....

2004-07-17T01:16:00.000-07:00

The past two days I was busy with timing the last two episodes of Galaxy Angels Season 3 for the fansub group Anime Haven. Seems like once again I've missed some action of the M's. Justin Leone homered in consecutive games! Bucky and Sherill also made their ML debut. Fans can now at least have something to look forward to seeing in this already lost season, instead of seeing the same ol' decline of a team as a whole.

It was a very unclassy move for the M's, however, designating Olerud for assignment. Ole specifically pointed out that he refused trades because of his concern for his family. The M's in their own way went completely against the image they were trying to sell.... They've casted off a family oriented all-round nice guy. IMO, Olerud deserved to play out this season with the M's, even if it meant he'd be on the bench most of the time. He's done plenty of good things for the team and the community for the past few years and he should've been sent off with an ovation from the fans as he went towards his likely retirement (along with Edgar). Not like this....

There'll probably be a second half decline... for Tacoma!

2004-07-14T17:23:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Bucky and George Sherrill! So the "youth movement" goes on, and there're rumors/deductions of another imminent trade. It might be a more interesting second half this time around comparing to the past two years, even though the team isn't in contention.

Memory loss

2004-07-09T18:13:00.000-07:00

Joel Pineiro threw side-armed on a 2-2 pitch to Sandy Alomar Jr. and ended up hitting him.

Ron Fairly: Joel did something that he didn't do all year long, doing something fancy and ended up hitting the batter.... Do you remember when Joel threw side-armed? I don't think he had all year.

Well, the answer would be yes, in a game in Boston, when he faced Manny Ramirez I believe. That time Joel struck him out with a side-armed slider to end the inning. That move had 2 runners stranded on base if I remember correctly. It was also the game which the M's scored some runs off of Pedro Martinez and then ended up losing.

Wednesday's child is a child of woe....

2004-07-07T20:18:00.000-07:00

After today's loss in Toronto, the Mariners are 1-13 on Wednesdays, and began the second half of the season (the 82nd game of the year) being blown out. Seems like it'll take a bit of time for Travis Blackley to settle in, though perhaps starting back to back with Jamie Moyer, who has a similar pitching style, might've contributed some to the rocky times.
On to a brighter note. Congratulations to Justin Leone on his first Major League hit! Nice job coming back from an 0-2 count, working the count full, fouling off some pitches, and then finally driving one into left-center.

What difference two weeks make!

2004-07-05T15:11:00.000-07:00

I never would've thought that I "picked" such a good time to disappear for a while. (It was due to moving across the state. I was too preoccupied to even do anything on my birthday, the 27th.) It had to be the most eventful weeks in the sports world this year, barring major out-of-the-ordinary happenings at the Olympics later this summer.

I'll start with the Mariners. I got to watch a few games here and there on TV whlie packing and unpacking, and saw some interesting things. First, the return of Cirillo to Safeco. I was actually expecting him to do something significant during the 3-game series, and boy, did he ever. While not appearing at all in the first game, he got into a nice setup in the 2nd game, entering as a pinch hitter with 2 on and 2 outs with the Padres down two. I was actually rooting for him to hit a HR, but at least he didn't make an out (and walked instead). Though it did happen the next day, when he started against Jamie Moyer. He hammered a first pitch fastball to give the Padres a 3-0 lead, which also turned out to be the winning hit, on my birthday! It felt pretty good. And then later on, something even more significant happened, as the game went into the 7th inning. It was the announcement of the Freddy Garcia trade to the White Sox. I had to admit that I have little knowledge of minor league players outside of the M's system so I didn't know how to take it at the time, but I'm pleased to see that the entire blogsphere praised the team (in making such move) in unity, which never happened at all this season. I'm looking forward to seeing Jeremy Reed now, later in the month when the Rainiers play the Beavers in Portland. (I forgot to mention that I moved to Vancouver, just across the Columbia River from there.) I originally thought I might get to see Travis Blackley and Justin Leone, but they got called up on the day that I wasn't looking, thus missing out on Blackley's first start. I did watch Leone's first start at SS, however. He was visibly nervous, but in the second at-bat I believe the umpire gave Suppan the outside corner all the way. It was predictable but disappointing to see he got pinch-hit for by Edgar in the 7th, but hopefully we'll still see Leone in the lineup for a while.

Next, the European Championships concluded. It was an endless story of upsets and surprises as the two finalists were both reaching the final of major tournaments for the first time, and it's also a historical first for a foreign coach to lead a country to win the trophie since both teams had foreign coaches. Greece made up an absolute fairy tale, upsetting hosts Portugal, France, and the red hot Czech Republic to reach the final, just to beat Portugal again to steal the tournament. Portugal had most of the game in control with lots of shot attempts but they failed to break down the well organized Greek defense, while Greece scored on their only shot on target, a headed in corner, which proved to be enough of a difference maker. With them hosting the Olympics too, I wonder if they'd have some pleasant results there as well.

At the same time, Wimbledon also came to a close with Maria Sharapova being the surprised winner in women's singles. In a very overlooked event, Todd Woodbridge made history by winning his 9th men's doubles title.

Phew... anyway, as things settle down, I'll be back posting regularly. I might have something to write that's totally not sports related too, on my birthday thoughts/wishes.

Note to Kurau Fans: The show is now licensed by ADV films. As quickly as it was picked up, there're only 2 episodes that are subbed by fan-sub groups. You can stop searching for its bit torrents now!

The future looks....

2004-06-25T01:38:00.000-07:00

The Mariners were swept by the Rangers, losing in 18 innings. I think it's already been well documented about Bob Melvin's poor bullpen management, lineup (what is Cabrera doing batting 3rd??!! Hear me now: LEONE FOR THIRD!!!), strategy and such. I have nothing new to say about it. I just wonder who's going to spot start after Garcia being moved up to start Friday's game. It would be nice to see Blackley, but it'd probably be better if he can stay for a longer time when he does get called up.

The first quarter final of Euro 2004 took place. The hosts Portugal edged England 6-5 in penalty shootout after playing to a 2-2 draw after extra time. Beckham missed yet another penalty (as the English lost once again on penalties, almost setting a trend if not for the lone victory against Spain back in 1996). Mixed feelings for me as I saw little used Tottenham reserve striker Helder Postiga scoring for his country on home soil to force extra time. Hopefully he'll get to play more come next season. (Though he seems quite behind in the packing order after Robbie Keane, Jermaine Defoe, and Fredrick Kanoute for the 2 forward positions.)

Meanwhile at Wimbledon, Venus Williams was taken out in the 2nd round by Croatian teen Karolina Sprem. A blunder by the chair umpire undeniably sped up the process, but the 3rd seed of the ladies' draw was basically outplayed by her lower ranked opponent for most of the match. Also, Navratilova's amazing comeback journey in singles came to an end. She actually looked like the more probable winner in the first set as she generally dominated and rarely looked troubled. However, 19-yo Gisela Dulko, who also won against Martina in the French Open just a few weeks ago, settled down and worked the aged veteran around the court and wore her down. Despite the tough loss, it was nothing short of an incredible show of resilience and great conditioning of the 47-yo legend. (In other news, Alicia Molik also won her 2nd round match in straight sets.)

Making it even more eventful a day, the NBA draft also took place. The Sonics finally landed a decent center prospect. Unfortunately, he doesn't look liek he's ready to contribute right away, meaning we're still stuck with the mediocre three headed monster for at least another year.... Well, at least I guess it's not all bad as long as they didn't draft another small forward.
In related news, Northwest college stars Luke Jackson and Blake Stepp both got drafted. Jackson ended up being a lottery pick at #10 by the Cavaliers and will probably form a dynamic one-two punch with Lebron, while Stepp barely avoided being undrafted, being chosen by the Timberwolves with the second to last pick, 58th overall. Washington State PG Marcus Moore and Gonzaga C/F Corey Violette were both undrafted.

So close, yet so far....

2004-06-23T00:53:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't we know it? Just when current results almost brought out the Optimist in us (even though against weak opposition), the Mariners had to remind us in a big way how the team is bad. Might as well, since even the M's management must have to realize it at some point, right?
Weirdly, after about 3 innings, the local station (in Spokane) that carried the broadcast of today's game somehow went through techinical difficulties and I couldn't catch the game live from then on. Fortunately (*ahem*), Fox Sports Northwest came to the rescue with Mariners Double Play! That's right! When the team is this bad, people simply need a second chance to see it to believe... not to mention, to Get All Of It!!
Anyway, instead of talking about how the Rangers came out on top by a score of 10-2, there're better things in life. (ok that's a little bit too serious there. hehe) What I meant to say is, it's time for me to rumble about my random thoughts on other sports happenings on the day! Yeah! (If only the M's could get me this excited....)

Since I couldn't watch the M's game, I looked for something else on TV and stumbled upon seeing the Seattle Storm. They ended up losing too but at least it was a good fight, and seemingly the team really have some talent (outside of Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird, even). One thing I didn't understand, however. As much as I love rooting for Lauren Jackson, I wonder why the coach kept on giving her the ball from every set play in the last two minutes or so. Granted, she's tall, pretty strong in the post, and talented, but it wasn't like she was scoring at will since she was almost always double or triple teamed when she touches the ball inside. I don't oppose having her as the go-to player. It's just that, isn't it obvious for the other team to mark her tightly when the ball only kept going to her every single time?

Now for my Euro 2004 portion of the post.... Italy is out! Whoo-hoo! Denmark and Sweden played a thrilling match, it seems, that ended 2-2 which put them both through. Both teams vowed to go for victory but it turned out better this way as the neighbors both qualified for the next round. Also, after losing to Italy, Bulgaria became the only team in this tournament to lose all three games.

More from Europe! Wimbledon is underway and ran into rain delays again just like they would traditionally. I haven't been watching much tennis for years but some random things still caught my eyes for picking out players to support. As of this time (in women's tennis), it's Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia. I actually haven't seen her play yet, but hey, she shares my birthday! :-p (Good enough a reason for me. Since I usually don't jump on bandwagons, I seldom support the already well known players. It's much more fun to cheer on the underdogs!) Unfortunately, against a certain prediction, she was knocked out in the first round in 3 sets.... Eyes on Navratilova then, to see just how far she can go in singles at the advanced age of 47.... (And maybe quick checks on Alicia Molik, who probably won't make any significant noise....)

No surprise in Portugal

2004-06-21T20:58:00.000-07:00

In group B of Euro 2004, the supposed stronger teams took care of business. England got by Croatia 4-2 with Wayne Rooney leading the way as the leading scorer of the tournament so far, joining group winner France in the quarter finals. They'll take on the hosts, whereas France will do battle with Greece. The French team once again didn't bring their A game and struggled some against Switzerland, though they came out on top with a little spark provided by substitute Louis Saha and proved to be the team with more quality as they won 3-1 in the end. Though I'm sure they'll need to improve on their well less-than-impressive performance to have any chance at all to retain the championship....

They've done it! It's 4 in a row!

2004-06-20T14:31:00.000-07:00

The Mariners defied track record and helped Garcia to his 4th victory for the year, and have a 4-game winning streak for the first time this season. Just one more to go! Just one more! Bring back the Optimist! (Oh well. With the day off we'll have to wait for at least another day.)

So Greece didn't breeze by Russia afterall... they actually lost. Though it's all good in the end as they still manage to qualify for the second stage, with hosts Portugal also booking a place in the last 8 by defeating their neighbor, Spain. The Spanish once again had a flying start but couldn't live up to expectations, remaining as underachievers. England and France tomorrow, playing against Croatia and Switzerland, respectively. Should be interesting as all four teams still have chances to advance. Go England!!

Here we go again!

2004-06-19T23:01:00.000-07:00

The Mariners once again built up a winning streak of 3! Jo~el seemingly recovered his good self lately and dominated. It's good to see him staying healthy after a heavy work load last season when so many young pitchers within the organization have set-backs at least at some point of time. The M's probably had luck on their side too to have Awe-really-ah, of all people, driving in 3 runs. Hopefully they'll bust out of their "track record" tomorrow and win the 4th game in a row for the first time this season, by putting up decent run support for Garcia.... (Will they now? Tsk tsk tsk....)

Just like I had hoped, Latvia stayed alive in Euro 2004, holding Germany to a 0-0 draw. With the Netherlands losing their 2-0 lead and the game altogether to the Czechs, Latvia can actually advance to the next round if they somehow beat the Netherlands (not really likely, but...) and hope for the Germans to not defeat the Czechs.
May Greece breeze through Russia and confirm their place in the quarter finals tomorrow! Then we'd get to see two powerhouses Spain and Portugal battling for their lives in a hopefully high standard encounter.

Getting it done by oneself

2004-06-18T19:43:00.000-07:00

Moyer pitched 6 innings of 1 run (HR) ball while going 1-for-2, driving in 2 at the plate, and the Mariners won by 1 run in the end. Ichiro went hitless for the 2nd time in 6 games that he's batting 3rd....

Meanwhile, Bulgaria became the second team to be ousted from Euro 2004 after losing to Denmark. I'm curious to see if Latvia can somehow stay alive tomorrow, playing against an experienced team in the form of Germany.

And the beat(en) goes on

2004-06-16T20:36:00.000-07:00

The Mariners almost got shut out by Doug Davis and lost their 2nd straight to the Brewers. Once again they out-hit their opponents but scoring a lot fewer runs. (1 run on a HR... so long balls aren't useful?) Nageotte was shaky at the beginning but settled in a groove not long after. He's now gotten hurt though and don't know if he's going to miss time. It's a pity, since he's started decently in the big leagues. If he ended up on the shelf for a while, maybe we'd get to see the dreaded move of having Villone start... unless it means George Sherill gets called up to restock the left side of the pen, then it might be a good thing afterall....

On the other side of the earth, Russia became the first team to be eliminated from the European Championship. It would be really strange if Latvia still stay in the mix after their second game. That'd be like in the Olympics that one time (was it 1992?) when Lithuania defeated Russia to win the basketball bronze....

Just a brief post....

2004-06-15T23:10:00.000-07:00

The Lakers lost! Still no rings for Payton and Malone, yay!! The Detroit Pistons are the NBA champs. Finally, it's time to speculate the draft....
Germany and the Netherlands drew! (Ruud Van Nistelrooy's equaliser looked awfully similar to Van Basten's winner in the semis against W.Germany back in 1988)
The Mariners' win streak snapped at 3 once again and the offense got shut out by a nowhere-near-stellar pitcher, again. Bocachica made another nice catch in center, and Ichiro's getting-on-base streak is snapped. I lost count long ago though.

Chances are scarce

2004-06-14T12:01:00.000-07:00

Ok so maybe there are a few countable games of Euro 2004 on Fox Sports World. Most of them involve Italy, which makes me wonder why. (It's not like they're the favs of North America.) Though I can't complain too much about being able to see a game live. It was a stalement between Italy and Denmark. Truth be told, regardless of what the match report may suggest, the Danes for the most part outplayed the Italians who turned in a poor performance as one of the favorites to win the tournament. Star players Francesco Totti and Christian Vieri were mediocre at best and it was their defense and goalkeeping that were up to standards just to scrape out the draw. The Danes dominated possession in midfield, but had little to show for in the end as Italy held up in defense, limiting shots to mostly long range efforts. Italy actually looked more likely to score given their far and in between chances when they did get them. Thomas Sorensen was good in goal for Denmark as he made a few nice saves. It was not a good game for the traditional number 10 on both ends with the fore mentioned Totti and Martin Jorgensen also almost non-existent before being substituted. In the end, the result was satisfactory for Denmark who're unlucky not to come away with 3 points, but a poor outing for Italy as they need to regroup and pick up their game for the next match.

Eventful summer in Europe

2004-06-14T04:33:00.000-07:00

The M's win! Jo~el finally got a win in two months! Against... the Expos! The M's once again piled up half a win streak needed to bring the Optimist back. Well, that's all I'm going to say about that for now. :-p

There're bigger things happening this summer in Europe, with the European Championship (soccer -- a big deal to everyone outside of the U.S.) underway in Portugal and the Olympic Games in Greece not long after. Greece grabbed the headlines in Portugal though, by upsetting the hosts 2-1 in the opening match. Then yesterday, the highest profile match to have taken place so far, France came from behind in the dying minutes (2 goals in injury time) to see off England -- my favorite national team, 2-1. Beckham's missed penalty has to be a key turning point as England would probably have sealed the match at that point. Though the team I like lost, there's a mixed feeling for me because the French team's coach, Jacques Santini, will take the helm at my favorite team Tottenham Hotspur after the tournament. I'm hopeful that he will lead Spurs to contend after what seemed like an eternity of underachievements. That being said, even though I'm not a France supporter, I do hope to see them do reasonably well.
It's too bad that all the coverage I can get of the tournament is only what I read from the official web site. There's no TV broadcast of the event other than pay-per-view. I wonder if the Mariners one day become a dynasty like the Yankees, would the money-hungry management make a lot of the M's games on pay-per-view only?

Scoreless streak snapped; so did my "postless" streak!

2004-06-13T00:24:00.000-07:00

I'm finally back after a few days' absense. I fell sick for the past week. Needless to say I didn't follow the M's. Though as I feel better the offense also woke up, even though it shouldn't be much of a shock to win against the Expos. Ichiro batting 3rd is an interesting idea, but I agree with everyone that Melvin shouldn't put Aurilia in the 2-hole at least. Winn leading off isn't all that great either but there really isn't any other options... unless we have Jamal Strong, that is.

Lately I'm also involved in an anime fan-subbing group, Anime Haven. Before I got sick, I managed to finish the timing of subtitles for Galaxy Angel Season 3 43-44. It's been a very nice experience to try out something new and being able to contribute to a product that I enjoyed. I should be timing episode 45-46 soon as well. Those who're interested in anime should really give this show a shot! It's a very funny comedy. Season 1 and 2 are already licenced in North America and the first season is released on DVD available in most video stores. Meanwhile one can try getting some episodes of the 3rd season through bit torrent at animesuki.com.
Later on, I'm going to typeset (setting fonts and effects for the subtitles) for a new anime that's just newly coming out in Japan! It's called Phantom Memory Kurau. It's a futuristic show, but so far I don't know much about it yet. I'm just happy to be in charge of an aspect of a fan-sub release at this point. :-)

Powered by the Rocket, the Astros take flight

2004-06-08T22:29:00.000-07:00

A sac fly the difference in the ball game as the M's offense was shut out by a great pitcher. Jo~el pitched very well, giving up only 1 run in 8 innings but see his record fall to 1-8. Seems like he's the most unlucky one with matchups this year, having faced Pedro and the Rocket. Ichiro had his 14-game hitting streak snapped but walked to keep his streak of reaching base alive. Bocachica started in CF again and did a fine job defensively.
Anyway, it seems like maybe I should keep slamming the M's as they generally had better success the following days when I did. Hehe.

Clint up the Meche!

2004-06-07T23:52:00.000-07:00

Ok, it's late in the night and my mind is going blank as to what title I should give this post. hehe. Anyway, Nageotte had a nice outing as a starter, going six shutout innings with 8 Ks and 3 walks. Mateo also seems to have come around, recording 3 scoreless frames for his first save of the season. The M's have now quietly piled up half of a win streak that would bring back the Optimist! But with Jo~el going against the Rocket tomorrow... well, one can only hope for a similar type of luck that saw us scoring runs off of Pedro to happen again....

We had a good Winn for once!

2004-06-07T05:12:00.000-07:00

It's almost as if responding to my last post, the M's won again right away, coming from behind to chase White Sox closer Billy Koch. Randy Winn had a good game at the plate going 4-5 and hitting his first HR of the season. Perhaps the move to LF has somehow "rejuvenated" him? Hopefully he won't be back in CF again and spare us of his terrible routes to the ball and rubber arm. Bocachica stayed in the lineup, which puts him in front of Bloomquist and probably Cabrera in the packing order. With hits in both his starts, hopefully he'll turn out to be useful.
Interleague play starts today and Clint Nageotte makes his debut as a starter. I hope that this time his command and control will be better than his first outing out of the pen, since he had days to prepare for the start. It's good to see him getting a chance though.

We won today, somehow!

2004-06-05T16:16:00.000-07:00

Franklin started the game terribly and gave up two runs in the 1st, but settled down and did a good job the rest of the way to tally 7 innings without any more runs. As I was watching the 1st I thought "uh-oh", but I guess luck was on Ryan's side today. The bullpen almost coughed it up, walking 4 in the last 2 innings, but squeaked by without giving up any hits. When Mateo was warming in the 7th I thought he'd start the 8th, but instead it was J.J. Putz who went in and walked the only two batters he faced. Mateo then came in and did a great job on Frank Thomas and Carlos Lee, then Guardado uncharacteristically struggled finding the strike zone but still managed the save.
Bret Boone won the game with his bat flip making a rare appearance of late (2nd hit in his last 20 ABs)... what a rally killer, right Bob?? Otherwise, the offense didn't look particularly good... at least now the whole country got to see some of our agony on offense with Willie Bloomquist and Pat Borders both starting, making up the bottom of the batting order. (I wonder if the Fox network would demand a money-back from the M's for featuring such quality [or lack thereof] in a nationally televised game?)
Anyway, it was good to get a win. Hey now, get all of it!! (Because who knows when our next win would be? It could take a while!)

Winn in LF again finally!

2004-06-05T12:58:00.000-07:00

Unless the yahoo box score is wrong in showing the starting lineup, Melvin seems to have finally heard some of our fellow bloggers' voices or come to some senses. Randy Winn has been moved to LF while Hiram Bocachica starts for the M's for the first time, taking over in CF. Hopefully this is one of the baby steps Melvin would make (like utilizing Everyday Eddie comparatively better), even though it's way overdue.

Another loss for the Mariners (blogsphere)

2004-06-05T01:32:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a while now that I haven't even been able to comment on how games went because I'm reduced to sporadically peek at a TV broadcasted game to check the score. As the M's losses pile up, they are losing fans, or at least the enthusiasm of the fans. It's simply sad to see that the M's blogsphere took another big loss. It will certainly take a long time (and big personnel changes, especially at the top) to retain the fan base already lost.

So Ramon Santiago, who slugs less than .200 in AAA, is the one called up to take our cleanup hitter's roster spot....
I think we should brace ourselves for the second half of the season.... It could still get worse yet!

More from the Times!

2004-06-03T03:38:00.000-07:00

On a day that I don't have much to say about an M's game the previous night since I didn't watch it, the Times saved me by letting me link to a couple of articles. This time Larry Stone talks about how we probably shouldn't expect too much if we do end up trading Garcia, and quotes from Melvin suggesting that we probably wouldn't have to see Villone taking Meche's spot in the rotation. All in all, realizing who our current GM is, I wouldn't say that I had high hopes in the trading front. Though I'd welcome the news if Nageotte does end up starting regularly. Even if he doesn't perform all that well, he won't be missing "developement time" he would've gotten in Tacoma versus sitting in the Seattle bullpen.
Now that it looks like Ibanez will head to the DL, here's hoping that the M's would bring up someone actually good from AAA, which means they probably won't.... Meanwhile, I'll be making use of my voice here, no matter how small it is, to root for Justin Leone in Jeff's absense.

Leone for 3B/LF/SS, or wherever he can play, in Seattle!!

Final Fantasy... A+!!

2004-06-03T01:33:00.000-07:00

For all Final Fantasy fans out there, check this out! I think it's a very well made little piece for a project.

Similar to 20 years ago?

2004-06-01T08:42:00.000-07:00

There's a piece in the Seattle Times today mentioning the similarities between the current prospects of Leone/Dobbs and then Jim Presley/Edgar from years ago. Since I only started watching/getting to know the M's in 1997, I have absolutely no idea how things were back in the earlier days. Though I believe it might be an interesting comparison. (And I hope Justin will fare much better than Presley, as what I read from other blogs seems to tell me the latter turned out to be a less than satisfactory player for the M's.)

Unbelievably, maybe it is better this way....

2004-05-28T18:48:00.000-07:00

4 runs off Pedro! Aurilia homered! Talking about out of the ordinary. Though maybe even occurances like these still won't be enough to overcome the doom and gloom, as Joel suddenly lost his control and now it's 6-4 Boston. It's really too bad for him, but perhaps this is better for the team in the long run. If we're going to get a win against Pedro, we might as well do it in a season which the game would actually make a difference. Winning today would've meant nothing but let the M's management feel good about their moves in constructing the roster.... Because it's probably not beyond Bavasi to say something like "we've done a good job on the team's offense this year as they've achieved something that the teams in the past few years couldn't. All it takes for things to come together and turn around this season is to have our veterans start hitting again like they did today." etc, etc.

Something good happened! (for the time being)

2004-05-28T17:59:00.000-07:00

The M's leading the Red Sox 2-1, top of the 3rd, with Pedro pitching? Unbelievable... I mean, on average the M's only score one earned run per 9 innings off Pedro. Oh well, at least we can say that we had a lead against him this time.
In other news, the M's finally starting to make a move. It looks like Nageotte does end up in the bullpen afterall, at least for now. Unless he takes Meche's spot later on?

One more on the road; is it in the numbers?

2004-05-26T20:04:00.000-07:00

Quite possibly coming as somewhat of a shock to some of us, the Mariners knocked around C.C. Sabathia some and now are on a winning streak of 3. With that result, Freddy Garcia is now the ERA leader in the AL! That should help some with a possible trade involving the Chief. (Does anyone still call him that, btw?) A couple of question marks for Melvin on today's game though. Why would he rest Bret Boone with a lefty on the mound while Olerud starts? And in the 9th, when Guardado was warming up for the save situation, why was Hasegawa also up and throwing?
Another thing that I just noticed (it took me two months to see that). Could Aurilia also be "responsible" for the bullpen's collapse this year on top of being an offensive/defensive black hole? Pitching coach Bryan Price always did a pretty good job on the pitching staff ever since he came in, but this year is a bit different. Granted, the arms in the pen are comparatively worse (Myers, Villone, Hasegawa back to earth...), but the number on Price's back also has changed. He now wears a #27 jersey and left #35 for Rich. It's probably a coincidence, but it's interesting how some things come together.

Yay, M's win. Bring on the NBA draft lottery!

2004-05-26T01:25:00.000-07:00

Even though the game was basically granted by the opposing pitcher's misplays, it's nice to see the M's not bunt themselves out of a game and won. (Yes I know Melvin still had Spiezio bunt, but Scott did a "great" job in fouling off bunts so he could swing away, and "positive" news of the M's come by only so often... let's enjoy the moment for now.)
With that, I'll now gladly turn my attention to the Sonics in the draft lottery. I realize this is my first post concerning the Sonics. It's late, but I suppose now is as good a time to start as any! Generally I just hope the Sonics would be able to pick a decent center prospect in the draft, and there might be a few available from overseas... Pavel Podkolzine or Kosta Perovic perhaps? Come draft day I'll also be keeping a close eye on fellow NW stars Blake Stepp and Luke Jackson as well.

Lastly, another result of a personality test thing for me. It sounds quite accurate. It is also an interesting result though, in that I once played the role of one of the gypsies hunted down by Frollo in a choir performance.

I took the most accurate villain personality test
created by: The Arch Villainess Gracie

When hope is gone, we should all sing a song!

2004-05-23T03:00:00.000-07:00

After a nice blowout win, the M's came right back down to earth with another series loss. It's such a trying time that even the optimist among us goes on strike. Though we shouldn't forget what the life of Brian taught us -- even when facing crucifixion, one should always look on the bright side of life!
Ok, ok, maybe it's just me being cynical, but it's a really funny movie. Go watch it if you haven't already!

The streak is snapped!!

2004-05-21T01:23:00.000-07:00

Finally the Mariners won a game that I tuned in to watch! 11 runs... I wonder how many games' offense quota they've used up in just this one game already.

And now, here's a showing of my ridiculous habit/interest/obssession: picking on technicalities of wordings of what people say to "interpret" hidden meanings that might not even be there!

The last-place Mariners are 14-26 and 11 1/2 games behind Anaheim in the AL West.

Suzuki is leading the Mariners with a .324 batting average. Speaking through a translator, Suzuki said he wasn't overly concerned about his team's slow start.

``We have a lot of games left,'' said the three-time All-Star, who has raised his average 66 points by hitting in 17 of the last 18 games since April 29. ``If there were two games left in the season, it might be a little different.''

With two games left and being 11 1/2 games behind the division leader, it's impossible to overtake them. As for the situation right now, Ichiro thinks that it's only maybe a little different from absolutely impossible to catch the leaders, and the small difference might as well be the number of games left! So there you have it, folks! It's "official" that even Ichiro thinks the M's season is already over!! (Ok, this is really extreme, but then again, is there anyone of us who actually doesn't think the season is pretty much done for?)

And again....

2004-05-19T02:30:00.000-07:00

For the 7th straight time I tuned in to a game and the M's lost. Though it's the first time that the moment I started watching wasn't a significant turning point. Instead, it was when Tejada let the ball go through under his glove for an error. Maybe my luck is finally changing for the better, if only for a little bit.

"Now he's the Perfect Unit."

2004-05-19T02:19:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Randy Johnson on his perfect game! At this rate he probably would still be pitching for the Diamondbacks after the last of the 3 players the M's got from his trade leaves, as the possibility of Freddy Garcia being traded increases each time the team loses, and they're losing a lot this year. Now the trade that was supposed to secure the Mariners' future doesn't look as good anymore. I still remember a radio ad from years ago that mentioned "the Chief would collect victories well into the 21st century," and from the looks of things now he might as well fulfill that prediction -- on another team, much like the Big Unit did.

The one that we gave up on

2004-05-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

Seems like Carlos Guillen is having a good time in Detroit. Even though he has a reputation of being prone to injuries, strangely it's not all that difficult for me to imagine that he could stay healthy for most of the season and not miss considerable playing time this year. No I have no data or logic to back myself up, but maybe, just maybe, the less than satisfactory medical staff of the Mariners, as pointed out by Steve of the Mariners Wheelhouse could have had something to do with it? In that case, the Guillen trade would be a good move -- for the player himself.

I did it again....

2004-05-18T10:17:00.000-07:00

I caught the conclusion of the Yankee game on Sunday. Though this time it might not have been a pivotal moment... or was it? With a runner on first with no outs against a closer who'd always been dominant, once again Bob employed the bunt tactic. Therefore instead of having 3 outs to try for hits there were only 2 chances. Did we need to give up an out while the pitcher has been making them easily already? I wonder. (Though of course there was always a possibility of Aurilia to GIDP.)

If someone else were the GM of the M's....

2004-05-16T01:05:00.000-07:00

The USS Mariner has a wonderful piece that should statisfy any M's fan who dares to dream. The joy of it! If only it could become reality.... (Yeah I know that things as good as this simply won't happen in real life, but one can only hope.)

Just as I thought....

2004-05-16T00:56:00.000-07:00

The day that I don't watch/listen to/check out an M's game, they actually managed to win! Perhaps I really should just check boxscores after the games from now on? :-p

The fateful 5th (and counting)

2004-05-14T22:20:00.000-07:00

I've done it again! It was 5-5, bottom of the 5th. Tuned in just in time to see Villone throwing away a pick off move and moved the runner into scoring position, who promptly scored on a single. 5 times/games in a row! This is starting to get scary.... (But then again I suppose this was bound to happen when the M's keep their losing streak alive like this.)

My "luck" continues...

2004-05-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

Given that there's no TV broadcast of the M's game today, I tuned into "game day", a real-time java applet available during the game at the Mariners' homepage. It was the top of the 8th, the Twins leading 1-0, the M's had the bases loaded with one out, Raul Ibanez at bat....

Top 8th B:2 S: 2 O: 2
Raul Ibanez grounds into a force out, third baseman Michael Cuddyer to catcher Henry Blanco. Ramon Santiago out at home. Ichiro Suzuki to 3rd. Edgar Martinez to 2nd. Raul Ibanez to 1st.

Top 8th B:2 S: 3 O: 3
Scott Spiezio strikes out swinging.

Figures....

Coincidence?

2004-05-12T23:24:00.000-07:00

Recently I only caught the later parts of Mariners games on TV. For three consecutive games I suppose I tuned in at the exact wrong moments. (Saturday: Meche giving up the first run of the game. Sunday: Right after Wilson's HR, witnessing the start of the M's bats going to sleep and eventually losing the game. Tuesday: Right after Myers beaned Jacque Jones and J.J. Putz giving up game-tying hits for a blown save [or does the blown save belong to Hasegawa instead?].) How Tuesday's game winning run scored reminded me of a certain play at the Metrodome 2 years ago, when defensive sub Charles Gipson gunned down the would be tying run at the plate on a single to center, throwing a one-hopper to Tom Lampkin, as the M's held on to the lead and won the game. It seemed a lot different when the throw came in from Randy Winn, even though his throw seemed to have beaten the runner but Wilson couldn't hang on to the ball. Anyway, many may disagree with me here on the latter, but it's obvious that the M's defense is bad when I'm starting to miss "Sir Charles" in the outfield.
Congrats to Edgar on his 300th career home run, the only bright spot of today's game.

Update: J.J. Putz did get the blown save.

When you become my memory....

2004-05-06T00:22:00.000-07:00

The Memories Off game I talked about (which is also on the top of my games list) has finally arrived! The M's struggles seemed like distant memories now that I'm indulging in playing this game. (i.e. sorry for not posting regularly in the near future.)
I really feel for the game's player character, in how he had a significant someone suddenly left his life without a trace, for I've been through some of the same. How I wish to see you again! Anyway, the game has very deep storylines and I've only finished 1 out of 18 possible endings. It does seem a lot more attractive for my attention than how the M's are doing right now. On a side note, I'm glad to see J.J. Putz still with the big league team though.

Willie to the DL

2004-05-05T23:53:00.000-07:00

Wow. When I wrote my last post mentioning about Bloomquist, I didn't really expect it to happen. Though I was only half right, on Willie's placement on the DL, while the M's called up a pitcher instead. (I forgot it was about time that Soriano would return.) Still, it feels pretty good to have "predicted" a move. Hehe.

May the cellar party continue

2004-05-01T18:22:00.000-07:00

So the second month of the season didn't start out all that well after a month that's easily (un?)forgettable. Strangely, once the "toughest to double up" player, Ichiro had GIDP 3 times in April, matching his total of last year for the entire season. He then started off May with another one, to exceed his last year's total. It doesn't seem like he got to steal many bases this year either. Bloomquist with an injury and listed as day-to-day? I wonder if it's workable to just place him on the 15-day DL and let someone else from AAA (e.g. Justin Leone) try his luck. (Wishful thinking again here, I know.)
Anyway, as much as we know the M's weren't going to do well, did anyone expect the Rangers to lead the AL West come May 1st?

Nice guys may have to struggle just to finish third...?

2004-04-29T03:11:00.000-07:00

Fellow M's blogger Paul of the SS Mariner has moved to a new location, his own domain. Congrats on the move in and things finally working out for the site! Hehe. I'll update my links too.
Btw, just a point of reference, while Paul is an Arsenal fan, I've been a long term supporter of Tottenham (since 1987 -- I was 8 then). As much as I dislike making this statement, I believe they deserve congratulations on winning the Championship multiple times in the recent years. It's been tough to endure all the mediocrity and underachievements Spurs have put up through the years, but at least the team have some quality young players and the future is on the optimistic side, once a suitable new manager is appointed.
As for the M's... it's towards the end of the month now and the cellar party is still going. It's probably a good idea to start feeling comfortable there because we could be there for quite a while. It's strange that, though I'm a pessimist, I really haven't felt any sadness about losing. Maybe I gave up before it even began? Oh well. It's a long shot with the current management, but I hope that the team will stay down for the majority of the season so we can finally be rid of some older players and see some farm hands called up before the end of the year. It's probably just me, but somehow I'd feel more comfortable seeing Tacoma's starting lineup of position players than the current M's. Ok maybe that's a bit extreme. Maybe half of it then. :-p

Missing you... already!

2004-04-23T03:01:00.000-07:00

Finally the 3rd installment of my favorite game series (well, for now anyway) is out in Chinese! Though I'm a month late in realizing its release. Stupid me! I could've been playing it by now!
In related news, about two weeks ago I impulsively left a message at my favorite voice actress Atsuko-san's website, twice. I asked whether she'd be involved in the up-coming installment of MO which is in production. I never got a reply so I'm assuming that either she's extremely busy (as celebrities should be) or that she (and her manager, perhaps) doesn't know English. If only I knew Japanese! Though I was happy to find out that she is indeed going to be appearing in the game. Can't wait for "what comes after" to come out on the PC in Chinese too!

No family reunion?

2004-04-13T01:58:00.000-07:00

According to Mariner Minors, the Mariners are now down to one Boone in the organization. I once thought, with no regards to talent levels, it would've been fun (and strange) to have all 3 Boone brothers in the same team. Guess it's not to be afterall. So just where did the family friendliness of the M's go? (Of course I'm kidding. hehe.)

Welcome to the cellar!

2004-04-08T23:06:00.000-07:00

Join in the cellar party!! Brought to you by the "world class human beings/contending team"!! Who would've thought, that I'd actually feel some excitement towards the failure of my favorite team? The Seattle Mariners -- out to prove the more pessimistic bloggers right -- GET ALL OF IT!

Celebrity sighting!

2004-04-08T22:49:00.000-07:00

It was very cool to have met one of the writers of the USS Mariner, the best regarded Mariners blog! Derek Zumsteg, also one of the writers of Baseball Prospectus, held a very nice book signing/discussion at a nearby Barnes and Noble. It's always neat to have a visual image of a person to go with the name, and he certainly was as wonderful a person as one can ever meet! It absolutely made my day. Oh, and thank you very much for the free pizza too, hehehehe!

Opening day... the Angels got all of it!

2004-04-07T16:11:00.000-07:00

Finally the season of the Mariners is underway. I'm posting this late, after I visited the usual M's blogs. The M's sure didn't disappoint! All the concerns about Raaaaaaul's defense and offense, all-REAlly-ah's defense (though he did alright at the plate I think), and the pitcher found in a trash can's garbage-ness (look at that 40.50 ERA!! haha!) were perfectly demonstrated in just one game. Truly, us Mariner fans are going to get all of it and then some for the rest of the season.
It also doesn't get old of saying how Troy Glaus and Jose Molina got all of it!

Losing sleep over it...

2004-04-04T09:28:00.000-07:00

The day of the year that only has 23 hours is here! I'm glad to say that losing an hour of sleep didn't leave me any ill effects, but this trade made by the Mariners kind of did. Just what is it about one year wonders that turns our GM into a brainless broad? Oh wait, it should be the norm instead of the exception, as he's done it before. (See Q and a pitcher found in a trash can)

On an unrelated note, happy birthday Karen and Stephen!!

Baseball season has started!!

2004-03-30T08:40:00.000-08:00

March 30th is a big day this year! Hehe. First, a happy birthday wish! Next, the baseball season started with the opening game taking place in Japan, where the "best team in baseball" a.k.a. the biggest spenders, the New York Yankees, take on the lowly team budget, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. I know it's only one game out of 162, but there was great rejoicing!!

In the spring... becomes the Rose!

2004-03-29T05:43:00.000-08:00

Interesting little test. I'd say it's somewhat right (except for one incident that's enough to be the biggest regret of my life....)

YOU ARE A WHITE ROSE!

You are a pure and innocent person. You strive for
the best in all things and shy away from
anything that seems morally wrong or indecent.
You are simply too good of a person to engage
in those sorts of behaviors. You are quite shy
and tend to have few friends. However, the
friends you do have regard you with love and
fondness. You are extremely loyal to both your
morals and your friends who support you. You
can feel lonely at times, but it's a small
price to pay for sticking to what you believe
in. You are one of the few real innocents in
the world - Congratulations!

What color Rose are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Get all of it!!!

2004-03-24T03:56:00.000-08:00

Yup. Gotta watch the Mariners telecast to get all of it. Anyone not watching the game against the Rockies has missed out on this goodie -- Ramon Santiago and his 2 base running blunders after entering the game as a defensive replacement!! He certainly didn't see the 3B umpire calling him safe (as he was entitled to third base, not advancing in the play) and then calling the other runner out. What a mental mistake that was! Even if the rules to this sort of weird plays are too complicated to remember off the top of his head, he still should've paid attention to what's happening on the field. Instead he resigned himself in thinking he was out and walked towards the dugout. Such dedication from a young player! Then later on he was picked off at first base. Sheesh, just where was his mind? Maybe he needs Edgar to give him some local language lessons. (The old commercials from years past were simply much funnier than the current ones.... "How 'bout them Cougs?" "I took my geoduck to Puyallup!") Mariners baseball - hey now (???) - GET ALL OF IT!!!!!

There'll be a deadline deal this year for the M's!!

2004-03-22T09:17:00.000-08:00

Yup. By the time the deadline comes around, the Mariners would be out of playoff contention, so I expect Silly Bavasi to accept a trade that would send Bret Boone to the Yankees (who'd finally fill the hole at 2B by trading for the best) for a couple of toolsy trash players no one else would want. As for Boonie's successor? Why, Boone would still be here! (Aaron, that is.) He played 2B for the Reds before so he can handle it full-time no problem. (Just like Spiezio, right? Haha.) Our GM can then also claim that the team got younger without losing any quality. *eyes roll* How probable is this? All I know is we have a GM who doesn't make any sense, and he was quick to decline interest on players he didn't try to sign, so we shall see, since he only "declined to comment" about Aaron at this point.
Btw, it would be good for Hiram Bocachica to know that even Charles Gipson hit a HR during ST once!

This is getting old... (literally!)

2004-03-22T08:25:00.000-08:00

Wow. Didn't really notice it before, but is there going to be another baseball team at all who would field an entire starting team of 30+yos on opening day? (Age as of opening day)

SP: Jamie Moyer (41)
C: Dan Wilson (35)
1B: John Olerud (35)
2B: Bret Boone (35, uh, happy birthday on opening day?)
3B: Scott Spiezio (31)
SS: Rich Aurilia (32)
LF: Raul Ibanez (31)
CF: Randy Winn (29 -- ok, but just two months off. Perhaps Jr. will be back by then, and he's 34!)
RF: Ichiro! (30)
DH: Edgar Martinez (41)

Simply unbelievable. Only our beloved Mariners. Was there any pro teams with only 30+yo starters ever win it all? Anyone?

Mad mad March!

2004-03-22T07:50:00.000-08:00

After four straight days of basketball action, it's time to take a break from March Madness. So much for the perfect record the Zags had at the Key. The Huskies lost a close one in the first round, but I wonder if they could've done the same thing if they had won? The Eagles did themselves proud to join in the dance. It's too bad they had to face such a strong team in Oklahoma State. All of a sudden it feels like there's no particular reason for me to keep following the tournament this year anymore, with all the Northwest links gone. Sure wasn't how I anticipated just a few days ago....

There's a beginning to everything

2004-03-22T02:35:00.000-08:00

Can't believe I'm actually doing this! Well, I believe this works better than keeping a homepage that I never feel like updating (or remodeling, actually), and I've simply been enjoying visiting blogs for quite a while, especially the ones about the Seattle Mariners. I've thought of starting one of those, but I don't think I'll have enough news and info to be interesting. Though it'd be good to have a place to write about my thoughts I suppose. Anyway, here is a try out and I hope it works!