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Who stopped the rain? Seattle Mariners


Borgi

What should the Mariners do to the bottom of the pitching staff?  

4 members have voted

  1. 1.

    • Trade for a starter
      0
    • Call up young pitcher
      1
    • Move Brandon Morrow in
      3


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2 more to come against the Yankees, because this is a 4 game series. The Mariners are hoping to salvage at least a game, but evening the series is a real possibility as Felix Hernandez and Jarrod Washburn are both on the hill.

On another note; Jose Lopez is inching closer to a rehab in the minors, either AA or AAA from his hand injury. He still has another 3 weeks until he will be able to practice though. Richie Sexson is out at least a month from the concussion he suffered recently. Ruben Sierra has done a exellent job filling in for him. Damian Jackson has not been so fortunate playing for Lopez, hitting just above .210. Jackson's speed has made up for his weak hitting though.

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Around the Horn

Seattle Style

-Ichiro Suzuki and Raul Ibanez both looked like they could give Ted Williams a run for his money at .400 in April. May has cooled them both down, with Ichiro falling around .370 and Ibanez slowly dipping under .390. The offense as a whole has cooled off dramatically and maybe it is because of all the rain in Seattle.

-Ruben Sierra has joined this lineup for Richie Sexson and produced like he deserves the contract Sexson has. Sierra is making the veterans minimum with a minor league contract yet he is hitting over .300 and has 4 homeruns since Sexson went on the DL. Sierra may stick around all season for his performance.

-Damian Jackson was supposed to make the Mariners not miss Jose Lopez, but Jackson has struggled a bit, but the last two games he has picked it up a bit. He clocked his first homerun with the Mariners and is raising his average quickly back to a respectable area of .250. He will likely go back to the minors when Jose Lopez comes of the DL.

-Jose Lopez is expected to be back with the club in about 2 weeks. In a week he is expected to begin a rehab assignment with the minor league team, and then if all goes well get the call up. Richie Sexson still has a month to go until he begins his rehab assignment, but his presence has not been missed.

-The pitching as a whole has been pretty shaky. Felix Hernadez and Jarrod Washburn have been absolute studs for the ball club, while the bottom three of the rotation has been less than stellar. Jeff Weaver has been atrocious, going 1-4 right now with a ERA north of 8! Horacio Ramirez has been sub par, but acceptable for a number 4 starter, with his stat line reading 1 Win 2 Losses and a 5.40 ERA. Miguel Batista has been pretty great for a number five starter, getting all kinds of run support when he needs it. He has a 4.13 ERA and is 4-0. Hernadez is 6-1 with a 1.96 ERA while Washburn is 6-0 posting a stellar 1.65 ERA. JJ Putz has been the only serviceable arm in the bullpen, picking up 8 saves with a 1.32 ERA. All the other arms have struggled at times, especially young arm Brandon Morrow, who has an ERA that’s still going, over 15 now.

-The defense has been pretty well, not having errors in crucial times, or not making bonehead plays. The most disappointing defensive player so far has been Raul Ibanez, who at times makes questionable plays. He also lacks a strong arm, costing a few runs that other guys could have thrown out. Ichiro and Jose Guillen have absolute cannons in the outfield, so Ibanez has a tough crowd to follow.

Notes from our interview with GM Adam Stefanik

-It appears the Mariners are actively shopping Jeff Weaver for a younger, cheaper starting pitcher. Stefanik seemed very frustrated when I brought up Weavers name, and he made it clear he is on the hot seat. If no deal is made, expect young Brandon Morrow to get a start in the near future.

-I asked him about the play of the fill ins, Jackson and Sierra and he opened up with a big smile. He told me he was very pleased, and they look like they could stay with the club for the entirety of the season. I then asked who would get sent down, and he told me that is to be determined. If I had a bet I would say one of the bullpen arms who doesn’t throw much, like Green and Rowland-Smith.

-I asked him about his expectations for the season, and he expects nothing less than a playoff team. He told me with the talent they have, and the devoted payroll, they have no reason to not make it to the playoffs. He mentioned how it is a tough division, which I thought to myself that is not true, but he said he expects to win it or the wild card. He said there could be some big changes if Seattle misses the playoffs.

-The last thing we talked about was who he thinks has the most impact on the team leadership wise. He responded that although Ichiro is extremely important, he thinks it’s tough at times for Ichiro to truly be a leader because he cannot relate to the boys to well. He said he wouldn’t trade Ichiro for the world, but the player with the most team impact is Raul Ibanez. He said Raul is a great, polite leader who always delivers with his bat when they need him too. Already this season it has been demonstrated many times when he has a late inning hit to spark a win. Stefanik says there are no real captains, but Ibanez is a well respected man among the clubhouse.

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