Seattle Mariners @ Houston Astros

[Sweezo]

I didn't get to watch any of the game last night [although I was at SafeCo Field all night...it's very weird being there for a non-Mariners game] but furiously followed it on my phone. I rejoiced when I saw Miller hit his first career home run, and rejoiced again when I saw he hit #2 in the same. That first home run was an absolute cannon shot.

I was a little disappointed to see Zunino held hitless...until I noticed he got on base three times. As a hitter he's still developing, but he still saw 27 pitches over 5 plate appearances. He can work a count and make a pitcher work, and even if he's just surviving against breaking balls right now he's still flirting with a .300 OBP.

With that win, we're 8 games out of .500 and 10 out of a wild card spot.

[TTown]

4 runs on a whopping 1 hit? sure, why not. m's beat the astros 4-2 last night despite a less-than-stellar offensive output. our 23-game HR streak ends, 4 shy of the all-time record, but i believe 4 runs on 1 hit is a ML record in and of itself.

45-52, 7 under .500.

one more game @ houston, then a 7-game homestand at safeco (3 tribe, 4 twins). if we don't lay an egg against cleveland, where we'll won't have felix or kuma available, we should be in position to make a healthy stab at .500.

[Sweezo]

4 runs on a whopping 1 hit? sure, why not.

They did the "4 runs/1 hit" thing the old fashioned way today as Franklin just clobbered a grand slam to give the M's a 7 run lead. With Felix on the mound, I think this one's in the bag.

Cleveland's trouble but yeah...with the Twins in town, there's certainly a chance we could break .500. What a huge step turn that would be for the franchise. And if they get there, they deserve it. They've been playing some good baseball.

[TTown]

best young infield in baseball? sure playing like it. i love every single player we have around the diamond right now.

michael saunders took slumping to a dangerous level for awhile there, but he's currently on a 10-game hit streak where he's batting .351 (.486 OBP) w/ 11 RBIs. dude looks like the guy who started the season on fire before running into that fence into toronto.

add kendrys to the mix going forward and it's really exciting having a core group of guys who are playing well. outside of kendrys, i think smoak and saunders are the oldest 'core' players we have (26?).

i think the tribe series is the biggest of the year. we've won 6 straight (say what you will of houston, the angels were playing as well as anyone in the majors before they ran into us), and with those 4 games against minnesota looming, a series win against cleveland could put us 4-5 games out of the last WC spot this time next week IF things go right. the indians are a talented bunch and we won't have felix or kuma available; time to put up or shut up, imo.

[Sweezo]

i think the tribe series is the biggest of the year. we've won 6 straight (say what you will of houston, the angels were playing as well as anyone in the majors before they ran into us), and with those 4 games against minnesota looming, a series win against cleveland could put us 4-5 games out of the last WC spot this time next week IF things go right. the indians are a talented bunch and we won't have felix or kuma available; time to put up or shut up, imo.

I believe our season record against the Astros entering this last series was 4-5. They haven't been a good team all year but they'd given us a lot of trouble, and if a team like the Mariners has any designs on being an above average team it needs to be able to beat teams like Houston on a regular basis.

We may not have Felix/Kuma against the Indians but we're facing Jiminez, McAllister, and Kazmir. McAllister's had a decent season but this is his first start since June 2nd due to injury. The Indians are throwing three pitchers in a row that our offense should be able to handle.

This is a seriously exciting product taking the field on a nightly basis, and that combo of Miller/Franklin/Seager/Smoak is a damn exciting infield. I'm finding myself expecting them to win more often than not. With Saunders resurgence I'm finding myself wondering how many holes we'll really need to fill in the offseason. I really want a Romero callup to see if he can get enough at bats to see how he handles pitchers adjusting to him [like Franklin has] heading into next season.

[TTown]

agreed. with fewer holes to fill, we can really target and throw some money around at a few choice spots. depending what ackley does the rest of the way, and probably even then, another OF and some major bullpen help would go a long way.

[Sweezo]

agreed. with fewer holes to fill, we can really target and throw some money around at a few choice spots. depending what ackley does the rest of the way, and probably even then, another OF and some major bullpen help would go a long way.

I've already rambled on and on about my Ellsbury/Choo/Morales dream. What targets do you have in mind?

The bullpen's a tricky question. I will get frustrated with a bullpen very quickly over a short period of time if the bullpen cost the team wins, even if the months/weeks that preceded the implosion were above average. Do we keep Perez? See if Pryor is healthy? Overpay for a FA reliever like so many teams do? Remember Papelbon's 4 year/$50 million contact from two years ago? As good a pitcher as he is, I don't see the point in spending that kind of money on a bullpen guy ever. Same issue with middle of the pen guys...hand a guy a 3-4 year deal, and it seems like it's 50/50 whether he'll produce in line with expectations.

Too often I feel that leads to diminishing returns. A bullpen's important but there's only so much money to go around. I don't see Z spending a ton on a reliever...I think he sees them as dispensible given his trade history and willingness to move closers instead of giving them typical closer money.

[BayAreaMadSkill]

I am NEVER....NEVER....NEVER okay with overpaying for a relief pitcher. So, you probably know where I stand on that. I think we will be fine in that area. Pryor's injury hurt us a lot, and we have young arms in the minors we can call up late this year and next year.

I am super excited about the team right now. And it's not that false excitement we have all had over the past few years when we would win 3/4 and look decent; We have a SOLID TEAM. Yes, I'm saying it. Quality. I was amazed the other day when I looked at our 1-6 hitters and the worst batting average was about 264. Are you serious? When can any of us say we remember the last time we had 6 consecutive hitters swinging that well?

Would love to see us over .500, and I agree this Cleveland series is HUGE. Gotta win 2 out of 3. Please; This is a typical Mariners trap. I could see us getting swept with how they like to get us excited.

Go M's!!!!

[Sweezo]

And that's 7 in a row. Harang was in control, and the difference was a Zunino home run that he flat out killed. We're 5 under .500. Sadly, we've made zero progress in the wild card standings as Tampa Bay and Baltimore can't stop winning either.

[BayAreaMadSkill]

I'm not going to worry too much these days about where we stand in the wild card race. I just want the club playing well; That's all. 7 game winning streak makes me very happy.

Still don't like the Bartender as our closer. He's been overall too wild this year and his fastball is just begging to be hit out of the park everytime he leaves it over the plate.

How about our HR power though? WOOOOOO!! Love it.

Keep it up tomorrow, boys.

[Sweezo]

The list of things that irritate me as a baseball fan is a rather lengthy one. Like the Yankees. The Red Sox. A bullpen blowing a lead. Leadoff walks. A baserunner getting picked off. I could go on.

But at or near the top of that list? Jose Molina. That's right...a fat, journeyman catcher with a .238 batting average and a sub .300 career OBP.

Why?

Pitch framing. The ability of a catcher to position himself and catch a ball with subtle glove movement to make a borderline pitch earn a strike call. Molina's fantastic at it, and it's not uncommon to see a batter barking an umpire as call after call goes Tampa's way. There are others who have the skill but none better than Jose Molina.

But you know what's the opposite of irritating? Having a catcher on your team frame a pitch and earn that strike call. Watching the opposition batter lose his mind as a ball a couple inches off the plate gets a call from the umpire that send him back to the bench.

Zunino just perfectly framed a pitch that rung up Nick Swisher, and it's not the first time he's shown the ability to get that call. Swisher didn't know what to do with himself...he looked at the umpire, turned around, took his helmet off and yelled at the ump, walked around the catcher towards the dugout, and yelled at the ump some more. Perfectly choreographed baseball theater.

I really think he's going to be a special player. A good all-around catcher is exceptionally rare. And yet Zunino's shown a good ability to block pitches, frame pitches, and seems to work well with the pitching staff [contrast that to Montero's trips to the mound]. The offense is developing but he's sitting on a .240/.315/.344 line that's actually quite respectable. He's put together some marathon at bats and I love his approach at the plate. The power? That seems to be coming around too.

Of all the young players currently making their mark on this ball club, I think Zunino is the most exciting.

[Sweezo]

8 in a row!!! Delightful baserunning by the Indians to turn a FC into a double play, and Bourne strikes out...on ball four. On another pitch Zunino framed. Wilhelmson pumps his fist, Bourne hops around like his shoes are on fire, and that's how it ends.

10 games back in the division lead, 8.5 back of a WC spot [thanks to the top three WC contenders losing today]...why yes, I think I am entertained.

[BayAreaMadSkill]

and Bourne strikes out...on ball four. On another pitch Zunino framed.

That pitch was actually a strike! Haha. Although I didn't think it was when it happened Live.

First off; Wanna say I agree with you 100% about Zunina. How about those blocks behind the plate he had late in the game? Absolutely amazing. Never saw that from Montero or Olivo. He handles pitches well, and man, he can put together a quality at-bat. He rarely looks bad over multiple at bats in a row. He's definitely impressed and has that AVG and OBP rising.

Seager is my favorite player on the team though. Just what a player. Probably our most consistent player all year and he has already far exceeded my expectations. Plus he's just terrific at 3B.

And big ups to Medina on pitching a gem. And you know what else I loved? Robby Thompson leaving a PITCHER WHO IS PITCHING WELL in to face lefties. Love it. Don't see that enough in the game.

Lets get our THIRD sweep in a row tomorrow. Keep it going. Love our Mariners!!!

[BayAreaMadSkill]

3-0 Indians already in the 2nd.

We suck. Blow it up.


EDIT: Welp, that got out of hand quickly. Was fun while it lasted.

[Sweezo]

Well, if you're going to end a winning streak...I suppose that's one way to do it.

[BayAreaMadSkill]

Beyond happy about winning the series against Cleveland though. To be honest, hard to ask for a 3rd sweep.

Now, we have Minnesota with Kuma and Felix going in the first two games. This needs to be a series where we ATLEAST win 3 of 4. A split just will not do.

LETS DO THIS.