Mariners baseball is almost here.

Let that sink in for a moment. The hydro races, the piping hot garlic fries (or communal drumstick of the King’s Court, if that’s more to your taste), the crack of the bat and the frigid, could-be-December-but-no-it’s-April weather is all scheduled to return in just five days.

Reviewing The 2013 Seattle Mariners Commercials — As only he can, Jeff Sullivan psychoanalyzes the Mariners’ new batch of team commercials, from Brendan Ryan’s odd relationship with a buffalo to Kyle Seager’s stealth ability to hide silk pajamas from his teammates.

March Madness: Baseball Stats Edition — In case you need a last-minute distraction while NCAA basketball takes over the sports world (and before baseball reclaims its rightful position), have a crack at Matt Hunter’s baseball-themed bracket. It pits popular favorites—RBI, ERA, FP—against more involved stats like VORP, RE24, and (K-BB)/PA.

Coming to terms with Jason Bay: Seattle Mariner — Jason Bay is a nice guy, probably. Will he be a nice Mariner? Lookout Landing’s Kyle Davis is here to answer that question.

Breakout seasons often foreshadowed in spring training — Spring training stats can be fun to look at in hindsight. Take Buster Posey, for example. In his rookie year, he batted .305/.357/.505, heralded by a spring slash line of .315/.351/.444. Now, does this give us any insight into the Cactus League performances of the 2013 Mariners? We’ll have to wait until 2014 to find out.

What have you read this week? Share it with us on Twitter or in the comments below!

The Mariners’ 2013 25-man roster is far from finalized, but the media is already starting to buzz with possible starters for the season. Here’s the latest:

• Yesterday, Larry Stone revealed the 16 players he believes are locked into starting positions come April. Those who fall into the “probable, but not guaranteed” category are denoted with asterisks.

Catchers: Jesus Montero, Kelly Shoppach*

First basemen: Justin Smoak, Kendrys Morales

Second baseman: Dustin Ackley

Shortstop: Brendan Ryan

Third baseman: Kyle Seager

Utility infielder: Robert Andino

Outfielders: Michael Morse, Michael Saunders, Franklin Gutierrez, Raul Ibanez

Starting rotation: Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, Joe Saunders

Bullpen: Tom Wilhelmsen, Charlie Furbush, Oliver Perez*, Josh Kinney*

• As for the Big Four, they are still four question marks in the rotation. Stone thinks that Taijuan Walker is the furthest from claiming a spot, while Danny Hultzen has shown the most promise so far. Currently, Hultzen is sidelined with a minor hip strain, but is expected to bounce back within the week.
• Shannon Drayer reports that Michael Morse may see more time in right field than originally expected: “Despite saying that Morse would play mostly left this winter Wedge has had him in mostly right. He has been about what I think most of us expected out there.”
• Wedge has also been tinkering with the leadoff spot, slotting Franklin Gutierrez at the top of the lineup three times this week. “We have been messing around with him up top a bit and we will see how it plays out,” Wedge told Drayer on Saturday.

Next game: @ Rangers | March 1 | 12:05pm

Projected starters: James Paxton and Brandon Maurer.

The King is alive: Felix isn’t scheduled to appear in a spring training game until next week, but he’s keeping busy at camp in the meantime. So far, he’s tossed several 10-minute bullpens, and held his first session against live hitters yesterday afternoon. According to Greg Johns’ report, Jack Zduriencik and Eric Wedge like what they’ve been seeing.

Cactus League MVPs: Dustin Ackley and Brendan Ryan, who both sat out of the first few games recuperating from surgeries, have returned to the Mariners’ lineup this week. Ackley is 1-for-5 with a triple, while Brendan has a home run to his name, as well as a single in 4 PA. Gotta love spring training stats, right?

(Speaking of meaningless numbers, it may be worth pointing out that the Mariners are sporting a 6-1 record so far.)

Party like it’s Opening Day: Bud Selig and the baseball-powers-that-be favored Mariners fans this year, scheduling their opening game on a Monday evening. If you don’t already have plans to host your own party, sit on the couch and tweet, or catch the action at a local sports bar, the Mariners may have a suitable alternative in mind:

As baseball drags its feet this winter, trade rumors continue to pile up. Andre Ethier, Justin Upton, and Giancarlo Stanton have been linked to the Mariners in the past week, but as usual, Jack Zduriencik is keeping any future plans under wraps.

• The Mariners Caravan is taking off this Wednesday, beginning in Lacey and ending in Tukwila. Scheduled stops will be made in Longview, Yakima, Spokane, Walla Walla, and the Tri-Cities as well.
• Earlier this week, the Mariners signed Arizona first baseman Mike Jacobs to a minor league contract and spring training invite. Jacob earned a .849 OPS in 387 PA with the Triple-A Reno Aces, putting up 93 hits, 18 home runs, and 60 RBI in 101 games. He made his MLB appearances at the tail end of the Diamondbacks’ season, batting .211 with 4 hits, a double, and 2 RBI in 23 PA.
• According to Greg Johns, right-handed reliever D.J. Mitchell has been sent to Tacoma to clear a roster spot for Raul Ibanez.
• Eric Wedge and Jack Zduriencik will be making appearances at this year’s Mariners FanFest. They will be joined by the following lineup of players:
  • Blake Beavan
  • Jay Buhner
  • Nick Franklin
  • Jesus Montero
  • James Paxton
  • Stefen Romero
  • Brendan Ryan
  • Michael Saunders
  • Kyle Seager
  • Casper Wells
  • Tom Wilhelmsen
  • Dan Wilson
  • Mike Zunino

You can find more event information and ticket prices here.

Needle Ball wants you, random citizen Mariners fan!

As 2013 kicks off, we’re looking for the best and brightest fans to help us analyze and enjoy the upcoming season.

Our ideal Needle Baller possesses one or more of the following qualities:

• The precision of King Felix’s fastball
• The discipline of Ichiro Suzuki
• The creativity of Munenori Kawasaki’s baserunning
• The flexibility of Brendan Ryan’s defense
• The enthusiasm of the Mariner Moose
• The Twitter presence of Casper Wells

As a staff writer, you have the opportunity to contribute once or twice a week (or more!), on topics ranging from breaking news and trade speculation to opinion pieces and baseball poetry. If you have something to say about the Mariners, we want to hear it!

Interested? Excited? Ready to show off your Mariners mojo? Drop us a line on Twitter (@NeedleBall) or email us at westcoastfan@ymail.com.

With a quiet Hot Stove and another year almost in the books, here’s a look back at some of the more special moments from the Mariners’ 2012 season.

1. Felix Hernandez’s perfect game.
27 up, 27 down. 113 pitches. 12 strikeouts. An RBI single by Jesus Montero. A perfect summer afternoon.

Felix’s perfecto didn’t erase the Mariners’ 87 losses, but his moment in the sun will be one of the single moments remembered from their 2012 season.

2. A combined no-hitter featuring Kevin Millwood, Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Lucas Luetge, Brandon League, Tom Wilhelmsen and rookie catcher Jesus Montero.
Backed by sharp defense from Brendan Ryan and Kyle Seager, the Mariners snagged another gem that, incredibly enough, managed to be overshadowed by the first perfect game in franchise history.

It’s even stranger to think that the first Mariner to throw a solo no-hitter this year might’ve been Kevin Millwood, who was excused in the 6th inning with an untimely groin strain.

» Continue reading “Top 5 Mariners Moments In 2012″

Last night, Shannon Drayer, Matt Pitman, and the crew of the 710 ESPN Radio network broadcast a live Hot Stove League Show from the Alderwood Mall.

Their first two guests, Jack Zduriencik and Eric Wedge, were none too forthcoming about the Mariners’ hand in free agent dealings, but spoke candidly about their hopes for the team in the coming season. Wedge, who prank texted the GM during his segment, let slip that Brendan Ryan was not to so much as touch a bat during the offseason—a rule, he guessed, had been broken once or twice already.

Future live tapings of the Hot Stove League Show will resume on January 8, 2013. You can find Shannon’s rundown of the show on MyNorthwest.com, and upcoming events listed in the sidebar. On to today’s links!

Josh Hamilton Still Available, Mariners Still Looking — For you Hamilton hopefuls out there, here’s a whole lot of non-news. However, one remark Jack made during yesterday’s show is that players like to get deals made before the holidays. True, it’s a cryptic and meaningless comment, but read into it as much as you like.

Should M’s Make a Play for R.A. Dickey? — In the likely event that Texas manages to wrangle Hamilton from the Mariners’ shiny five-year offer (because really, how else would they lure him?), Dave Cameron suggests a non-detestable, quite affordable Plan B: R.A. Dickey.

Potential new developments — In light of the recent Indians-Reds-Diamondbacks blockbuster, Jason Churchill examines the remaining free agents and selects those that would fit well with Seattle. Here’s a hint: Josh Hamilton, Nick Swisher, and Justin Upton aren’t on that list.

Greinke signing highlights Mariners’ dilemma with Felix Hernandez — The asking price for starting pitchers, especially those of King Felix’s caliber, is going way, way up. Larry Stone looks at the recent extensions for top tier pitchers and imagines how the Mariners will need to handle Felix’s upcoming contract renewal.

We’ve officially entered a baseball age of prospect overdose — Geoff Baker ruminates on the perceived value of prospects, and how they affect the mentality of GMs when it comes to building toward a great future or preparing to win in the present.

What have you read this week? Share it with us on Twitter or in the comments below!

The Winter Meetings officially kick off tomorrow, but talks among the GMs should start to percolate this evening. What’s in store for the Mariners?

• As reported by Geoff Baker, the Mariners tendered contracts to John Jaso, Brendan Ryan, Jason Vargas, and Shawn Kelley last night. They signed Josh Kinney to a one-year deal, and non-tendered newly-acquired Robert Andino, releasing him at 9pm and signing him to a one-year contract fifteen minutes later.
• Catcher Jesus Sucre and RHP Jonathan Arias have signed minor league contracts with spring training invites, according to Greg Johns.
• Jack Zduriencik has a concrete game plan heading into the Winter Meetings today, and it’s one that involves taking more risks and, as he put it, “not going to be gun shy because of what happened with Chone Figgins.” I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not, but it’ll depend on whether the Mariners decide to ink Josh Hamilton for 5/$100 or Mike Napoli for 3/$80.
• Kidding, of course. Johns has a comprehensive list of the Mariners’ needs here, which includes a catcher, first baseman, starting pitcher, corner infielder, and right-handed bat. In return, the team can offer a plethora of prospects, including the Big Four, Nick Franklin, and Mike Zunino.

With the end of No Shave November approaching this weekend, another beloved tradition faces its final test: the Mariners’ Movember Madness. It’s time to take sides between the skipper’s handlebar mustache and Brendan Ryan’s facial topiary. You can cast your vote here, or simply enter to win a baseball autographed by Eric Wedge.

• As the winter meetings draw ever closer, Jack Zduriencik offers a glimpse at his offseason plan—and it’s not quite what you might expect. From Greg Johns:

“Offense would be a focal point, but if there are other avenues, if we could add a starting pitcher, who knows what might present itself both for this year and with the bigger picture in mind.”

While the Big Four (Danny Hultzen, Taijuan Walker, James Paxton, and Brandon Maurer) have shown considerable progress in the past season, Jack Z appears to be holding a short leash so far.

• Minor league Mariner and second baseman Stefen Romero was elected to Topps’ 2012 Double-A All Star Team. He joins the outstanding cast of Darin Ruf (PHI), Jurickson Profar (TEX), Mike Olt (TEX), Ali Solis (SD), Oswaldo Arcia (MIN), Alfredo Marte (ARI), Oscar Taveras (STL), and Chris Heston (SF).
• Three Mariners cracked the list of the 2012 AFL Top 25: catcher Mike Zunino (#3), shortstop Nick Franklin (#10), and lefty James Paxton (#25).
• The Mariners are officially on the hunt for a suitable Miguel Olivo replacement. Their latest target? Yankee backstop Russell Martin, who posted a slash line of .211/.311/.403 in 2012. Via MLB Trade Rumors:

“Free agent catcher Russell Martin is receiving significant interest from the Pirates and Mariners, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Yankees remain the favorites to sign Martin, but it appears that they’ll have to duke it out with the Bucs and M’s in addition to the Rangers.”

• Ken Rosenthal also appears fairly certain that the Mariners will make significant efforts to boost their offense, potentially including Mike Napoli and other, non-Josh Hamilton hitters. The biggest draw for Napoli, Rosenthal says, would be a legitimate shot at consistent playing time.
• The team released its 2013 spring training schedule yesterday, with pitchers and catchers slotted to begin workouts on February 13. The full list of Mariners’ Cactus League games can be found here.

This week, the Mariners take a look at some catching depth, Brendan Ryan is awarded another defensive title, and the Javelinas make a push for the playoffs.

• Hardball Talk reports that Hisashi Iwakuma will not represent Japan in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Instead, he intends to focus on the upcoming 2013 season in Seattle.
• From Jon Heyman’s Twitter account: “#mariners have reached out to russell martin & mike napoli. also looking at corner OF bats.” The Yankees and Red Sox have expressed interest in Napoli, while the Red Sox and Rangers are currently linked to Martin.
• John Dewan of the Fielding Bible named Brendan Ryan and Dustin Ackley the Best Double Play Combo in 2012, with a combined 38 DRS. Close on their heels were Darwin Barney and Starlin Castro with 31 DRS.
• With three games remaining before the AFL Championship on Saturday, the Peoria Javelinas are clinging to a half-game lead over their division rivals, the Surprise Saguaros. They are coming off of a three-game losing streak, punctuated by Carson Smith’s loss and Logan Bawcom’s blown save. The singular highlight of the Mariners’ performance was a banner day from Vinnie Catricala, who went 2-for-4 against the Mesa Solar Sox with an RBI double, single, and walk.