Happy New Year, Mariners fans! The offseason looks long and dark at this point in the year, but we only have to muddle through 41 more days until spring training begins—and once we’ve made it to that first intrasquad game, Opening Day won’t be far behind.

Needle Ball Needs You! — Needle Ball is always looking for new, talented writers to join us in covering the Mariners. If you’re interested, shoot us an email at westcoastfan@ymail.com for more information.

Edgar Martinez and the Career He Deserved — Patrick Dubuque reconfigures Edgar’s stats to see just how much of an impact he would’ve made if his minor league stats were adjusted and tacked onto his major league totals.

Jesus Montero New Year’s Resolutions — From basic life skills to basic baseball skills, Jesus has a lot to learn this year.

The M’s Top 10 Prospects for 2013: the National View — Last week, we linked to Baseball Prospectus’s list of the Top 10 Mariners Prospects. Today, U.S.S. Mariner compares the top prospect lists from BP, FanGraphs, and Baseball America.

Kendrys Morales and Partial Uselessness — Jeff Sullivan analyzes Morales’s handedness and the ways it affected his batting splits in 2012.

The Mariners 2012 in Review — Prospect Insider’s Alex Carson breaks down the 2012 Mariners season month by month, beginning with whispers of a Prince Fielder signing and ending with the acquisitions of Kendrys Morales and Raul Ibanez.

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

After sweeping the Kansas City Royals in four games, the Mariners now welcome the Toronto Blue Jays to town to finish up the longest homestand of the year. While the talk over the next few days around baseball will be understandably dominated by the upcoming trade deadline on Tuesday night, there will still be three games played at Safeco—three games that could either help the Mariners prove that they are improving or bring them back down to earth against a tougher opponent. Jose Bautista is still on the disabled list for Toronto—a lucky break for the Mariners.

Current record: 51-50

Last series: vs. Tigers. On Friday night the Blue Jays cashed in on some timely hitting with eight of their nine starters getting at least one hit. Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera both hit homers off of starter Carlos Villanueva, but the Jays’ offensive attack led to an 8-3 win. Saturday saw more of the same—Toronto knocked ten hits off of Anibal Sanchez, Brayan Villareal and Phil Coke, cruising to a 5-1 victory. They weren’t able to complete the sweep on Sunday, however, as Doug Fister gave up only one run over eight innings.

Last series against Seattle: April 27 – April 29, 2012. Remember that extra innings game where Michael Saunders hit his tenth inning grand slam to give the Mariners a 9-5 victory? Less memorable are probably the 7-0 drubbing at the hands of Brandon Morrow and the series finale in which Steve Delabar and Charlie Furbush gave up five runs over the final two innings. Hopefully the Mariners are able to reproduce the excitement they created in the first game and forget about the following days.

Familiar Faces: The Blue Jays’ roster has a couple of interesting names on it with ties to Seattle, with the most prolific by far being Omar Vizquel. Signed by Seattle as a 17-year-old free agent back in 1984, Vizquel broke into the big leagues with the Mariners on April 3, 1989, six months before I was born. He went on to play for the Mariners for five years, growing up with a young team that included Randy Johnson, Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner and Ken Griffey, Jr. Omar has won eleven gold gloves at shortstop, but his biggest impact for the Mariners came on April 22, 1993, when he flashed his defensive prowess to secure a no-hitter for Chris Bosio.

Tuesday’s starter, Aaron Laffey, played for the Mariners for part of 2011 and, for a few months, looked like he could become a mainstay in the Mariners bullpen for years to come. Through July 17th and over 34.1 innings, he had only given up seven runs, good for an ERA of 1.83. Ironically, the Mariners then went to Toronto and in 3.1 innings during that series, he gave up three runs, making his ERA jump to 2.39. Between July 19th and August 16th, Laffey made eight appearances for the Mariners and gave up 12 runs over 8.1 innings for an ERA of 12.96. Understandably, the Mariners waived Laffey, who was picked up by the Yankees and then the Royals, the last two opponents the Mariners faced.

There’s also Brandon Morrow, but he’s on the disabled list and I don’t want to talk about Brandon Morrow. Not one bit. » Continue reading “Series Preview: Toronto Blue Jays”

Final score: Tigers 6, Mariners 4

I’m not sure what to say here.

On most nights, I start scripting a recap as the game is in its final innings. Tonight, I decided to wait it out until the last pitch, because of the potential for a shift in narrative when the bases started to load in the 9th. First Mike Carp drew a walk, then Michael Saunders. Prince Fielder dropped an easy double play ball, keeping Chone Figgins on third. Ichiro walked. Jesus Montero arrived with the bases set for another RBI double, waited out six long pitches, then lifted a fly ball to right fielder Don Kelly, who tumbled into the stands to make the catch.

However, the loss can’t be credited simply to a failed rally in the 9th. Kevin Millwood made the shakiest start of his season so far, spreading 98 pitches over 5.0 IP and allowing 8 hits, 5 earned runs, and 5 walks to 27 batters. For all I’ve read in Millwood’s defense—how perfectly adequate he is, how necessary while the Big Three take their sweet time in Jackson—those rationalizations evaporated with Austin Jackson’s leadoff double and a 3-hit, 2-walk 1st inning.

It was not the Mariners’ finest hour. Still, it wasn’t their worst.

They snapped a 3-game winning streak, but remain 4-1 on the year against Detroit. Justin Smoak picked up his first hit since Sunday, a pop up to left field that narrowly avoided foul territory. Shawn Kelley served a slider to Fielder for a home run, but struck out 4 of 7 batters faced in 2.0 IP. Kyle Seager went 2-for-3 with a double and 2-RBI single. Even Brendan Ryan had a productive night, taking one walk and driving in Saunders for the M’s fourth run of the game.

Against Justin Verlander (AL MVP, Cy Young Award winner, and pitcher extraordinaire), the Mariners managed a decent 7 hits and 3 earned runs. What was not so decent was the amount of runners left sitting on base, with 23 stranded overall and 11 in scoring position.

Instead of harping on the rest of this game, here are a couple “keys to success” as we look ahead to tomorrow’s series finale:

Take more walks than you allow the other team. Hey, I didn’t say these would be brilliant insights; just necessary ones. Hector Noesi walked 3 batters in his last start, while the Mariners took 4 walks, leading them to a 5-2 win over the Twins. Although taking walks does not directly translate to winning games, it’s not a bad place to start.

RISP: Move them around the bases. Listen up, Mariners: I don’t care if you draw walks, hit bloop singles, or advance on errors. You don’t have to put up another 13-homer streak. Just get the runs in early and often, so that when I look at the acronym RISP, it will not make me want to scream at you.

Next game: vs. Tigers | May 9 | 7:10pm

Final score: Mariners 3, Tigers 2

To say I was nervous for the Mariners at the start of this series would be a bit of an understatement. To say that I was concerned for them going into the 9th inning would be a severe understatement.

Miguel Cabrera, Most Successful Tiger In Seattle, ended the 3rd inning by plunking Blake Beavan on the back with a line drive. After Kyle Seager turned the double play, Beavan left the game with a right elbow contusion—according to Geoff Baker, the ball nicked his elbow as he turned to avoid it.

With a benched starter after three innings, a good portion of the ‘pen showed up to carry the Mariners: Hisashi Iwakuma in the 4th, Shawn Kelley in the 7th, Charlie Furbush in the 7th, and Steve Delabar in the 9th. Of the four, Iwakuma made his most impressive appearance for the Mariners so far this season, striking out 5 of 12 batters and allowing just 3 hits and 1 earned run in 3 IP.

With former teammate Doug Fister on the mound, what little offense the Mariners managed to muster up this weekend evaporated. Even ugly RISP numbers sunk to a respectable 0-for-2, as they seemed incapable of even reaching base.

Fortunately, Detroit closer Octavio Dotel took pity on the struggling team. In the 9th, he served back-to-back walks to Brendan Ryan and Ichiro, awarding them RISP status with a wild pitch to Jesus Montero. Another wild pitch, a double lashed to center field, another run scored, and with no outs, the Mariners had a tie ballgame.

The cherry on top? After a game where the Mariners forgot how to swing a baseball bat, after losing Blake Beavan and trusting the bullpen to pick up the pieces, after facing Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder… John Jaso lifted a sacrifice fly to score Munenori Kawasaki and win the ballgame in a one-inning comeback.

To say that I am anxious about the state of the Mariners following this game would be anything but an understatement.

Next game: vs. Tigers | May 8 | 7:10pm

After a satisfying series win against Minnesota, the Mariners return to playing more formidable AL opponents, beginning with the visiting Detroit Tigers. Let’s see what’s new since Seattle’s last duel with Prince Fielder and his compadres.

Current record: 14-13

Last game: vs. White Sox. The Tigers took the series with yesterday’s 3-2 win, going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, but belting out three home runs by Austin Jackson, Prince Fielder, and Andy Dirks. Over the last ten games, the Tigers have maintained a 4-6 record with one series loss, one split, and one win.

Last series against Seattle: April 24 – 26, 2012. This was Seattle’s first three-game sweep of the season, culminating in a 9-1 win backed by a 4-hit outing from Felix Hernandez. It remains the only series in which the Tigers have been swept this year, both at home and on the road.

Since 2008, the Mariners have maintained a 21-19 record against the Tigers, with a 12-10 split at Comerica Park and 9-9 split at Safeco Field. The last time Detroit played at Safeco was in April 2011, when they took 2 of 3 games, losing Game #2 to a 7-strikeout performance by former Mariner Doug Fister.

Toughest player: Miguel Cabrera. According to today’s game notes, Cabrera is the most successful Tiger to face the Mariners, with 50 hits, 6 home runs, and 23 RBIs in 40 games and 146 AB.

Of course, this isn’t to say you shouldn’t be looking out for the rest of the lineup: Prince Fielder, Alex Avila, and Jhonny Peralta collected 9 home runs in 6 games, 3 of which were delivered against the White Sox this weekend.

Weakest link: Ryan Raburn. Not much has changed from the last series preview—Raburn is still batting just .143/.203/.179 in 22 games and 75 PA. He went 1-for-13 in the past five games, picking up a double on Saturday and his first extra base hit since April 24.

Expected result: I’m nowhere near optimistic enough to predict another sweep, especially given that the only pitcher who will be making a repeat performance (for both teams) is Jason Vargas. Tonight, the Mariners may have a slight advantage as they face Doug Fister, who will be making his first appearance against the Mariners since he was traded to Detroit last July. It will also be Fister’s first start since April 7, when he exited with an injured rib cage after just 3.2 IP.

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For up-to-date news on the Tigers, check out Motown Lowdown.

After last night’s gorgeous one-hitter by King Felix (and, to a lesser extent, Steve Delabar), the Mariners clinched the series with a 5-2 win over the Twins this afternoon.

Hector Noesi pitched his longest start since April 14, going 7.0 innings for 4 hits, 1 earned run, 3 walks, and 5 strikeouts in 27 batters faced. His replacements, Lucas Luetge and Tom Wilhelmsen, allowed Ryan Doumit his second home run of the day, but shut down the other seven batters with relative ease, putting up a walk and 3 strikeouts in 2 IP.

As daunting as Doumit looked at the plate, his were the only runs the Twins managed against the Seattle. Brendan Ryan, whom Wedge is experimenting with in the No. 2 spot (something I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to), went 1-for-4 with a base hit and a sacrifice fly. The hero of the day, however, was Mike Carp, coming through with a solo shot off RHP Nick Blackburn’s curveball.

As a whole, the team took zero walks from Blackburn and Minnesota’s ‘pen, but went 3-for-6 with runners in scoring position—a much lower and more satisfactory number than those we saw from Seattle on the road last week.

With the first series win since April 26 under their belts, the Mariners look to the Tigers for a repeat of their last matchup: three straight wins. On Monday, Blake Beavan will go head-to-head with RHP Doug Fister. Tuesday features Kevin Millwood vs. RHP Justin Verlander, and Wednesday, Jason Vargas takes the mound against LHP Drew Smyly. Can the Mariners pull out another sweep against Detroit, or will Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera finally do some damage in Seattle?

Next game: vs. Tigers | May 7 | 7:10pm

I’m just going to come out and say it: the Mariners did not look like themselves tonight. Perhaps I can credit the Tigers for their 3 errors over the past two games, or the wind blowing to left field, or a long overdue lucky break. Whatever the reason, the longer the Mariners can go without looking like the team I saw at Safeco last week, the better.

Because I’m struggling to find ways to rationalize this win, here are 9 fun facts about tonight’s game:

• It took Felix 28 pitches to escape the 1st inning, and only 6 pitches to make it through the 4th. He waited until the 6th inning to record his first strikeout on a changeup to Prince Fielder.
• Felix sent Brennan Boesch the Tigers’ lone run of the night, a 90 MPH changeup pulled over the right field fence. He gave up 3 more hits and 3 walks in 7.0 IP.
• Detroit starter Adam Wilk handed Alex Liddi a fastball for Liddi’s second home run of the series—and the season.
• Every Mariner reached base at least once. Every Mariner but Justin Smoak and Brendan Ryan had a hit.
• Speaking of Brendan Ryan, he went 0-for-4 in the No. 2 spot with an RBI sacrifice fly and a walk.
• Seattle struck out only five times, the lowest number of strikeouts per nine innings they’ve put up since last Wednesday’s 3-strikeout game against Cleveland.
• Ichiro enjoyed his second 3-hit night in a row, going 3-for-5 with two singles and a leadoff double in the 6th.
• Despite tweets clamoring for Tom Wilhelmsen to close out the game, Erasmo Ramirez came in to pitch the 9th. He allowed two base hits to Fielder and Ramon Santiago, walked Jhonny Peralta, and escaped a bases-loaded jam with a pop-up by Don Kelly.
• Tonight was the highest-scoring game by the Mariners since their 12-6 makeup game against the Indians on September 19, 2011. The last time they collected 15 hits, however, was just last night.

Next game: @ Tigers | April 26 | 10:05am

Hello, Detroit. Goodbye, losing streak.

It had to happen someday, and thankfully for the Mariners, someday was not an extra 13 losses away. After a weekend sweep by the White Sox and a 3-6 homestand, Seattle regained a little confidence against the Tigers in tonight’s 7-4 win.

Jason Vargas picked up his third win of the season, handing over 6 hits, 4 runs, and a walk in 6 IP. In the 4th, with two outs and Prince Fielder standing on first, Alex Avila launched a fastball to center field to bring the Tigers within a run of tying the game. One inning later, Miguel Cabrera shot Vargas’s cutter to left field, again bringing the Tigers up to a one-run deficit.

Fortunately for Seattle, Cabrera’s fifth home run of the season was also the last run Detroit saw during this game. In the remaining three innings, Steve Delabar, Tom Wilhelmsen, and Brandon League combined for 2 hits, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts. The Tigers’ last chance to score came in the 8th on back-to-back singles from Cabrera and Fielder. With a passed ball by Olivo putting the tying run on second, Wilhelmsen struck out Jhonny Peralta and Alex Avila to end the inning.

At the plate, the Mariners continued to battle. Chone Figgins started the game with a leadoff walk off RHP Max Scherzer, coming around to score on Jesus Montero’s RBI single. Every other Mariner caught at least one hit, from Michael Saunders’ two RBI doubles to Alex Liddi’s first home run of the season. I would devote more time to writing about the wonderful surge of offense from the team, but I don’t want them to get the idea that this is anything special. You should already be putting up these kinds of performances, Mariners.

Tomorrow, the M’s will try for win #2 against Detroit’s LHP Adam Wilk. I don’t know who Adam Wilk is, but I know who King Felix is, and I have enough confidence that should Seattle forget to bring an offense with them, Felix will handle the likes of Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder just fine.

Next game: @ Tigers | April 25 | 4:10pm

This afternoon, the Mariners face off against the Detroit Tigers, defending ALDS champs and home team to Mariner-wannabe Prince Fielder.

Current record: 10-6

Last game: vs. Rangers. Texas clinched the four-game series with a 3-2 win, when Detroit closer Thad Weber entered the 11th and loaded the bases, handing a bunt single to third baseman Alberto Gonzalez for the tie-breaking run.

Last series against Seattle: June 9 – 12, 2011. Seattle split the series 2-2, managing only a single run in each loss. Three of the four games were started by former Mariners—Michael Pineda, Erik Bedard, and current Tiger Doug Fister.

Over two road trips and one homestand, the M’s went 6-4 against the Tigers: 5-2 at Comerica Park, and 1-2 in Safeco Field.

Toughest player: Prince Fielder. He may not be the most formidable at the plate, but with a shiny 9-year, $214M contract, he bought the spotlight for this series. To date, he’s 19-for-68 with a 0.55 BB/K rate and 4 extra-base hits.

Weakest link: Ryan Raburn. Batting a weak .073/.174/.098 through 14 games, he has gone 3-for-41, hitless since April 17 and unable to reach base in his last three games. Although Raburn made late-inning replacements in the past two match-ups against the Rangers, he hasn’t seen a plate appearance since the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader.

Expected result: This week, my concern lies more with the Mariners’ four-game losing streak than the Tigers’ power-hitting corner infielders. Seattle’s offense looked slightly more competent on Sunday than it did on Saturday (of course, anything is an improvement over being no-hit), but whether they can successfully channel that frustration into sufficient production at the plate remains to be seen.

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For up-to-date news on the Tigers, check out Motown Lowdown.

Credit: Dan/Flickr

On the heels of a bitter loss to the Hanshin Tigers, the Mariners will battle the Yomiuri Giants, rivals of the Tigers and the most successful team in Nippon Professional Baseball.

The Giants have played the most international openers of any Japanese team, going 2-7 in their record against the Cubs, Mets, Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, and Athletics. They have not won a game against an MLB team since 2000.

Here are a few more facts about the most hated and most loved team in Japan:

In 1935, they were named the “Tokyo Giants” by San Francisco’s Lefty O’Doul.

Considering that the Yomiuri Giants borrowed their cap insignia, uniforms, and team colors from their MLB counterparts, it only makes sense that an esteemed San Francisco Giant would name them. In 1947, however, the national Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun bought the team, and they have remained the Yomiuri Giants ever since.

The Giants are to NPB as the Yankees are to MLB.

The favorites, the privileged, the wealthy. In 78 years, they’ve collected 21 Japan Series titles and 33 Central League Pennants. Giants fans make up 37% of all NPB fans, according to a survey from Yomiuri Shimbun (circa 2005). They are still the only Japanese team to have all 130 regular season games televised.

» Continue reading “Five Facts About The Yomiuri Giants”