April 23; Game Thread

Time for another Game Thread. Yesterday's can be viewed here. It's the top of the seventh, Sean Green is pitching for the Mariners and the score is 2-2.

8:49 - Sean Green strikes out Adam Jones. One down.

8:51 - Green strikes out Ramon Hernendez, two down

8:52 - Green walks Luis Hernendez. Brian Roberts steps in

8:58 - In an 11 pitch epic battle, Roberts grounds out to end the inning.

9:02 - We find out that Carlos Silva leaves the game with an injured leg. I found it funny that he only threw 85 pitches. Richie Sexson struck out again, something different.

9:03 - Joh follows Sexson's suit and strikesout, two down

9:04 - Willie Bloomquist flied out to Nick Markakis to end the inning

9:09 - After an eight pitch battle with Melvin Mora, Green draws the ground out to K-Man (sexson)

9:11 - RRS replaces Sean Green

9:12 - Didn't take long. First pitch seen by Markakis is taken over the right field wall. 3-2 for the O's

9:13 - Kevin Millar grounds out, two down for RRS

9:16 - Luke Scott will strikeout swinging to end the top half of the eighth inning

9:20 - Yuni flies out, Ichiro pops out, two down

9:22 - Jose Lopez flied out to end the inning

9:24 - Huff grounds out, and the coach is visiting RRS

9:27 - Brandon Morrow replaces RRS

9:29 - Morrow strikes out Jones, two out

9:30 - Hernendez grounds out, three down. Mariners losing 3-2 going in to the bottem of the ninth

9:33 - Our old buddy George Sherrill comes in for the save.

9:35 - Raul hits a single. One on for Beltre

9:38 - Beltre lines out, one down

9:40 - Jose Vidro or Pepe struck out, two down

9:42 - That's all folks. Sexson pops out to end the game. Mariners lose 3-2 to the Orioles.

Daniel Cabrera W, 2-0, RRS L, 0-1, George Sherrill S, 7

Morse Done for Season

Mike Morse had "shoulder reconstruction" surgery yesterday morning to repair his shoulder, after getting injured on April 13.

In the meantime, Brad Wilkerson and Willie Bloomquist will split the right field duties for the time being. However, Wilkerson is a little dinged up, meaning that Willie will be getting more playing time. Nothing yet on who will take Morse's roster spot.

Silva Leaves Game

Carlos Silva left his start Wednesday after seven innings and 85 pitches, with tightness in his right thigh. We won't find out untill after the game as to the extent of the injury.

Latest On Thomas

The biggest reason that we've been discussing Frank Thomas so much here, is not only because the A's were close to signing him, but rather the Mariners could be a mystery team with an offer extended to Thomas. This may be cleared up by the morning.

Johjima vs. Clement

Time for another player battle. A while ago, we looked at Wladimir Balentien and Jeff Clement to see who was a better prospect. I came to the conclusion that Clement would ultimately become the better player. Now that Jeff Clement has proved himself down in AAA, it's time to look at if it will be better to have him up here catching, or to stick with Kenji Johjima.

Jeff Clement is one of the better catching prospects in baseball right now. He is starting to prove that he is good enough defensively to be an everyday catcher in the MLB, but might not be quite ready to take that leap. He is good defensively, but you'd want him to be great defensively, wouldn't you? I wouldn't expect Clement to win the Gold Glove every year, but I'd like him to be better than average. He has a decent arm, and can get down and block the plate pretty well, but I might be being too critical of the situation.

Kenji Johjima has proven during his two years in the bigs that he is a top end catcher. He has comunicated terrifically with the Mariners pitching staff, been a solid consistant hitter, and played solid defence. Joh is pretty much the complete package. He can't run that well, but how many catchers can?

Clement is hitting the cover off of the ball so far this year at AAA. He's hitting .367 in 60 ABs with four HR and 13 RBIs. Joh is hitting .205 with no HR and 5 RBIs in 58 ABs with the Mariners to start the season. Obviously Clement would be the better choice offensively, but the other element, communication is a factor. Joh has worked with the majority of the Mariners pitching staff for the better part of two years now. Clement hasn't. If the Mariners wanted him to catch everyday come tomorrow, then they would be out of luck. Clement has limited catching experience with anyone on the Mariners staff. I know that if you give it a few minutes then he'd be able to pick up on what the pitchers are doing, but why break up what Joh has going with the Mariners pitchers?

The other element that I've mentioned was defence. As I said, Clement is improving and will hopefully become a solid defensive catcher for the M's. Right now, Joh has the upper hand in the defensive category. Now time to debate.

The fact is this: Jeff Clement is ready to play in the Majors. Kenji Johjima is currently struggling. Calling up Clement makes sense, but what will happen once he's up here? Maybe he comes out and is lights out. Which would be a good thing, but would Joh be happy with a backup role? I doubt it. And what if Clement does terrible? What would that do for his confidence? Keeping him at AAA for the time being is probably the best choice for now. Come August/September he should get a call-up, but for now the Mariners should stick with Joh and hope for the best.

April 22; Game Thread

Got a little time on my hands here so time for a little bit of a game thread from the seventh inning on for today's game.

9:06 - Kenji Johjima up, tied 2-2, with two outs
Joe grounds out to end the inning

9:08 - Pitching change for the M's. Author Rhodes in for Felix Hernendez. He's facing Nick Markakis to start the top of the eighth inning.

9:12 - Millar lined in to a double play, two down for Rhodes

9:16 - Rhodes strikes out Luke Scott to end the inning

9:19 - Yuni hits a double, Ichiro is at the plate

9:21 - Ichiro pops out, one down

9:23 - Lopez flies out to, guess who, Adam Jones. Two out

9:25 - Raul intentially walked, two on, two out

9:27 - Beltre walks, bases juiced for, ugggggggh, Jose Vidro

9:29 - Vidro, or mabye Pepe, to score Raul and Yuni. M's up 4-2

9:31 - New pitcher for O's. Dennis Sarfate

9:33 - Richie Sexson, what else is new, strikes out swinging. End of 8th

9:34 - Sound the AC/DC, JJ Putz is in the game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

9:37 - Putz gives up a double to Aubrey Huff, cue the AC/DC again, maybe this time it'll help....

9:39 - THUNDER!!!!!!!!!!!! Putz strikes out Adam Jones in their first meeting ever.

9:40 - Nanananaaaaaaananana THUNDER!!!!!!!!!! Ramon Hernendez strikes out swinging

9:44 - After a battle with Jay Payton, Putz draws a groundout. Game Over

Author Rhodes gets the Win, Guthrie takes the Loss for the O's, and JJ got his second Save of the season.

Wilkerson Leaves Game in Fourth

Brad Wilkerson left the game in the fourth inning with a tight hamstring. He was replaced by Willie Bloomquist. This should be minor, but if it's not, Wlad Balentien should be getting a call.

Putz Coming Back

JJ Putz has been activated off of the DL and to make room for JJ, the Mariners sent down RA Dickey.

Putz caming back is great, but why is RA Dickey getting sent down might not be the best idea. Cha Seung Baek has done even less then Dickey has so far this year. Dickey had a pretty bad replacement start for Erik Bedard, but is that enough to base your decision on? Obviously it is. Maybe the M's are still to scared to try seding Baek through waivers. Maybe trading him would make sense.

Bavasi Talking About Thomas

Although it might not make sense to some, and makes perfect sense to others, Billy Bavasi will be talking to his scouts about Frank Thomas, one day after his release.

With Jeff Clement tearing it up at AAA with the Rainers, and Jose Vidro (and whatever his twin's name was from the stupid commercial), Richie Sexson (I don't think he has a twin) and Kenji Johjima (He probably doesn't have a secret twin either) blocking all three positions that Clement would probably be playing at with the M's, Thomas doesn't seem like that great of a fit.

Thomas can't play in the field, nor can he run. All he is is a DH. He wouldn't have the same baggage that Barry Bonds would have, but has to be carrying something after what happened with the Jays. I don't think that the money thing would be an issue at all. He gets $8M from the Jays for his release, so he'd come pretty cheaply. Maybe $3-6M for the rest of the season. He wouldn't be happy as a pinch hitter extroadinare, and there isn't anywhere to move Jose Vidro either. If Thomas could do the littlest bit in the field, he might be able to get Richie Sexson going with a little bit of pressure that would come on him. Personally, I don't see him coming here. If he does, that's great, but I just don't see it. Clement is too close and where would the Mariners be able to use him?

Series Preview: O's @ M's April 22-24

The Mariners open a three game set at home against the Orioles.

April 22
BAL: Jeremy Guthrie, RHP, 0-1, 4.38 ERA
SEA: Felix Hernendez, 2-0, 1.47 ERA

Scouting Report:

Orioles: Guthrie has worked to three straight no-decisions, and he's been bailed out of losses by a pair of late Baltimore comebacks. The right-hander worked into the seventh inning for his third straight start his last time out. Guthrie allowed two home runs in his last start and has allowed five this year, the second-highest total in the league.

Mariners: The 22-year-old right-hander became the first starter to pitch a complete game, throwing 115 pitches in a victory over the Athletics. He threw first-pitch strikes with his fastball and retired 13 of 14 batters he faced from the second through sixth innings. His two-seamer has been his bread-and-butter pitch this season.

April 23
BAL: Daniel Cabrera, RHP, 1-0, 5.16 ERA
SEA: Carlos Silva, RHP, 2-0, 2.79 ERA

Scouting Report:

Orioles: Cabrera has pitched to contact much better in his past two starts, allowing hitters to put his heavy fastball in play. The right-hander has also streamlined his delivery and added a slider to complement his curveball and changeup. Cabrera has pitched into the seventh inning in each of his past two starts, winning one and taking a no-decision.

Mariners: The veteran right-hander has been everything the Mariners had hoped for when they signed him to a lucrative multiyear contract during the offseason. He has won his first three decisions and looked especially sharp in his last start, holding the Athletics to four hits and one run over seven innings. He has worked at least seven full innings in all four of his starts this season.

April 24
BAL: Adam Loewan, LHP, 0-1, 6.23 ERA
SEA: TBA (Erik Bedard's Spot)

Scouting Report:
Orioles: Loewen allowed a three-run home run in the first inning of his last start but calmed down to throw five scoreless innings after that. The southpaw has made it through six innings just once in three starts and has walked more batters (12) than he's struck out (11). Loewen made just six starts before an injury wiped out his 2007 season.

Series Review: M's @ Angels 04/18-20/08

Time to look back and reflect.

April 18
April 19
April 20

The Starting Pitching
Was alright, maybe less so. Miguel Batista pitched a solid 7.2 innings of scoreless work on Sunday. Probably his best start of the season. The rest of the pitching was crap. Maybe that's why the Mariners lost the other two games; THEIR STARTING PITCHING SUCKED!!!!

The Bullpen
The bullpen was too inconsistant these last few games. Yesterday's effort wasn't even worth coming out for. RRS and Aurthor Rhodes each struck out the batter that they each faced. RRS got the save. On Saturday the bullpen was decent. Roy Corcaron has been amazing so far this year. Friday's two innings of relief were fine, if RA Dickey didn't Dickey everything up.

The Offence
Sexson and Beltre showed some rare power. The bats didn't come out, but were allright. They'll need more if they hope to beat the powerfull Angels' bats.

The Defence
Mediocre. Good enough to get through without much difficulty. Nothing overthetop, but nothing underthetop either.

Frank Thomas Released

Time for a non-Mariner story here. The Toronto Blue Jays released slugger Frank Thomas, a day after being benched because of 'lack of production'.

Can we honestly call it 'lack of run production'? It's too bad the Riccardi had to do this. It will leave a black mark on the big guy's Hall of Fame career. I hope he catches on somewhere. Could the Mariners use him as a DH? Yes, I think that they probably could. Why not? Throw a couple million bucks at him. Sounds good. If he is still fit enough to play firstbase, then maybe he could light a fire under Richie Sexson's backside. Maybe DFA Vidro and then sign Thomas? What do you think?

Former Catcher Dies

Former Mariners catcher John Marzano was found dead today at the bottem of the stairs in his South Philadelphia home. There has been no known cause of death yet. Many members of the Seattle Mariners organization has been upset by the loss.

Putz Getting Closer

JJ Putz is getting closer to returning to the bullpen, as he threw 41 pitches in a simulated game on Saturday. Putz hopes he can return on Tuesday when he is eligable to return from the disabled list.

Putz had been sidelined with costochondritis, which is inflammation where cartilage attacthes to a rib.

April 19; Poooooooooooooooor

Wow. Two down to the Angels. It's still early in the season, but these games still count. Especially when the Angels are banged up.

Boxscore.

The Good
What was good? Can Adrian Beltre's homer disguise the fact that the Mariners couldn't do anything offensively? Ray Corcaron pitched two scoreless innings. He walked two and stuck out one. Corcaron has been the best Mariner reliever so far this season in my opinion. Other than those two things, it was pretty much all bad/ugly.

The Bad/Ugly
Jarrod Washburn wasn't ugly, but wasn't good. Four runs over six innings of work isn't what the Mariners needed out of Wash. Ichiro had another 0-for day. The Mariners need more out of him. Same with Ibanez, who has cooled off as of late. There isn't anything else really for me to say. It wasn't good. End of story, or rather, end of post.