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by **Sports Hernia** » Sun Mar 31, 2019 8:07 pm

What the heck is going on?

5-1 could have been easily 6-0.

Made one of the best starting pitching staffs in baseball look like little leaguers.

Bask in the first place glory while it lasts!

by **burrrton** » Sun Mar 31, 2019 9:11 pm

On pace for 135 wins. Mark it down now.

by **RiverDog** » Mon Apr 01, 2019 4:54 am

Yea, but they are torturous to watch. I watched their last 2 innings yesterday and they had a 3 run lead going into the 9th and their closer-by-committee issued 4 walks, and in the one game they lost, their bullpen couldn't hold a lead. They're going to have to solve their bullpen woes or else this team is going to end up just like previous editions have finished the season.

But they are bringing the wood. As a team, they already have 15 home runs, averaging over 2 per game. I finally caved in and got a cable subscription due in large part so I could watch them this season, but if they don't fix their bullpen, my TV is going to suffer a lot of damage.

by **burrrton** » Mon Apr 01, 2019 7:48 am

Yeah, I was being sarcastic (obv)- I think this start is an aberration.

We'll see, I guess.

by **RiverDog** » Mon Apr 01, 2019 8:22 am

burrrton wrote:Yeah, I was being sarcastic (obv)- I think this start is an aberration.

We'll see, I guess.

It's not unusual for hitters to start out strong, but as a rule, once their tendencies start to reveal themselves, pitching staffs will adjust and their numbers come back down to Earth.

I haven't followed the Mariners closely for nearly 15 years, and as a result, have lost touch with baseball in general. We used to go to 4-5 Mariners games a season, but I haven't been to a game in about 5 years. Now that I'm retired and that they appear to be fielding a competitive team, I've run out of excuses not to watch them.

But I still know a thing or two about the game having played it growing up, and there's absolutely no excuse for walking 4 batters in the 9th inning when protecting a 3 run lead. That first reliever in the 9th, Gearrain, reminded me of Bobby Ayala.

by **Aseahawkfan** » Mon Apr 01, 2019 3:06 pm

I don't see them getting far if they don't find a consistent closer. Offense always go cold. You need to be able to close tight games. I don't trust them to do that at all.

by **RiverDog** » Mon Apr 01, 2019 6:25 pm

Aseahawkfan wrote:I don't see them getting far if they don't find a consistent closer. Offense always go cold. You need to be able to close tight games. I don't trust them to do that at all.

They had to put Hunter Strickland, the guy they had penciled in as their closer, on the 10 day DL this weekend. Strickland had two saves in their first two games in Japan. But even if they get him back and he performs well, they still need some good setup pitchers in order to get to the 9th inning, and right now, that bullpen looks horrid. Like you said, bats will always go cold at some point. It's like relying on 3 point shooting in basketball.

by **RiverDog** » Tue Apr 02, 2019 5:02 am

The Mariners bullpen must have been reading our comments and took offense. I thought for sure that the lead we had in the middle of the game would never stand up, but the bullpen threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings to seal the win. Another double digit hitting performance, Bruce hit his 3rd home run in as many games.

by **burrrton** » Tue Apr 02, 2019 5:59 am

RiverDog wrote:The Mariners bullpen must have been reading our comments and took offense. I thought for sure that the lead we had in the middle of the game would never stand up, but the bullpen threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings to seal the win. Another double digit hitting performance, Bruce hit his 3rd home run in as many games.

A little encouraging at least to see the wheels stay on for another game, but let's remember- we're at the equivalent of being midway through the 3rd-quarter of the first game of an NFL season.

(I know they're not directly comparable, but just sayin')

by **RiverDog** » Tue Apr 02, 2019 11:30 am

burrrton wrote:A little encouraging at least to see the wheels stay on for another game, but let's remember- we're at the equivalent of being midway through the 3rd-quarter of the first game of an NFL season.

(I know they're not directly comparable, but just sayin')

Oh, I understand and agree. The Mariners are 6-1 in a 162-game season, which represents roughly 4% of their regular season schedule, and they have yet to play a game in an opposing team's ball park. But it is a lot better than being 1-6.

by **burrrton** » Tue Apr 02, 2019 3:26 pm

RiverDog wrote:But it is a lot better than being 1-6.

Oh, h3ll's to the yes.

by **RiverDog** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 7:29 am

Gotta keep bumping this thread so long as they keep winning.

Come on, bandwagoners! The Mariners won again last night, beating the Angels and their $435 million dollar man Mike Trout 2-1. Their record is now 7-1.

by **Sports Hernia** » Wed Apr 03, 2019 3:00 pm

RiverDog wrote:Gotta keep bumping this thread so long as they keep winning.

Come on, bandwagoners! The Mariners won again last night, beating the Angels and their $435 million dollar man Mike Trout 2-1. Their record is now 7-1.

Still basking in the first place glory!

by **RiverDog** » Sat Apr 06, 2019 11:40 am

RiverDog wrote:That first reliever in the 9th, Gearrain, reminded me of Bobby Ayala.

Man, what torture! They bring in this Gearrain bum again, with a 2 run lead to start the 7th, and he walks the bases loaded then hits a batter, forcing in a run. All totaled, Gearrain threw 14 pitches and not a one of them in the strike zone (one strike on a pitch way out of a strike zone, one a called strike outside the "box" as shown on TV.

This is the same guy they brought in that I referred to above. I don't know anything about the Mariners pitching coach, but if he doesn't know any better to notice that a pitcher has that bad of control, ie 0-14 pitches in the strike zone, some not even close such as the hit batter with the bases loaded pitch, at a time when you don't want to be walking batters, before he hands him the baseball, then he needs to get a new job.

by **RiverDog** » Sun Apr 07, 2019 12:10 pm

No bullpen meltdown yesterday. The Mariners are continuing to hammer the ball, hitting another 3 HR's. They have now hit 24 homers in 10 games and lead all MLB in that category.

I picked a good time to get reconnected to the game.

by **burrrton** » Sun Apr 07, 2019 4:03 pm

RiverDog wrote:I picked a good time to get reconnected to the game.

Want me to tell you what they do every year after the All-Star break, or let you experience it yourself?

by **RiverDog** » Sun Apr 07, 2019 6:02 pm

RiverDog wrote:I picked a good time to get reconnected to the game.

burrrton wrote:Want me to tell you what they do every year after the All-Star break, or let you experience it yourself?

There's several reasons why I haven't followed them for years, and you just hit on the root cause. The Mariners currently lead all major league sports in this country (MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL) in the longest playoff drought at 18 years.

Although I have no illusions of a World Series championship, I'm still going to enjoy it while I can. Today the only bad thing was that the Mariners missed two extra points in their 12-5 win over the Pale Hose. They are off to their best start in franchise history.

I saw a stat today that since 1908, the Mariners are one of just four teams to hit at least one home run in their first 11 games. They hit 3 again today.

by **burrrton** » Sun Apr 07, 2019 6:34 pm

Although I have no illusions of a World Series championship, I'm still going to enjoy it while I can.

Oh, don't get me wrong- I will, too. I count several former Ms among my (former) teammates, so my ties to the team are only usurped by the Hawks'.

by **RiverDog** » Sun Apr 07, 2019 7:31 pm

burrrton wrote:Oh, don't get me wrong- I will, too. I count several former Ms among my (former) teammates, so my ties to the team are only usurped by the Hawks'.

I wasn't questioning your loyalty. For my own validation, I listened to or watched just about every game of the only season played by the Seattle Pilots in 1969, so I'm damn sure a Mariners fan.

by **burrrton** » Sun Apr 07, 2019 8:12 pm

You needed no validation, but you got me on the Pilots for sure!

by **RiverDog** » Mon Apr 08, 2019 5:09 am

burrrton wrote:You needed no validation, but you got me on the Pilots for sure!

The pitcher that had the most wins in Seattle Pilots history had one of my favorite last names of all time: Gene Brabender..

by **RiverDog** » Wed Apr 10, 2019 12:07 pm

Boy, the Mariners are on the verge of breaking some century-old records. They have now scored 6 or more runs in all of their first 13 games. Since 1908, the only other team to achieve that feat was the 1932 Yankees, ie Ruth, Gehrig and company. Additionally, they are now tied for the second most consecutive games with a homer to start a season, one back of the Indians’ record of 14, set in 2002. Seattle is tied with the 1954 Cubs and 2017 Tigers with 13.

And if that's not enough, the Mariner's 33 homers ties the record for most in the first 13 games of a season, equaling the 2000 Cardinals.

All those numbers go back to 1908 when records of such things were being kept.

They truly are a heaven and hell team to watch as they can score tons of runs but their pitching and defense is frustratingly horrid.

by **burrrton** » Wed Apr 10, 2019 1:08 pm

They truly are a heaven and hell team to watch as they can score tons of runs but their pitching and defense is frustratingly horrid.

Yup! It's a little 'science of small numbers'-ish, but they have 50% more errors than the second worst fielding team in MLB (18 to 12).

It's feels like there should be circus music playing in the background at times.

by **RiverDog** » Wed Apr 10, 2019 1:56 pm

They truly are a heaven and hell team to watch as they can score tons of runs but their pitching and defense is frustratingly horrid.

burrrton wrote:Yup! It's a little 'science of small numbers'-ish, but they have 50% more errors than the second worst fielding team in MLB (18 to 12).

It's feels like there should be circus music playing in the background at times.

It's odd, too, because their ballpark is a pitcher-friendly, which means you'd think they would have built the team on pitching and defense rather than this Ruthian offense they've put together.

There are exceptions, though. Dee Gordon, their 2nd baseman, made some fabulous plays last night.

by **Aseahawkfan** » Wed Apr 10, 2019 3:04 pm

Crazy. They are blasting offense at an insane rate. I know it will fall off at some point, but who knows when. Crazy to watch scores like this. Some people are saying they need roid tests.

by **burrrton** » Wed Apr 10, 2019 3:36 pm

Dee Gordon, their 2nd baseman, made some fabulous plays last night.

Yeah, that backhanded flip to the shortstop covering, WITH THE GLOVE HAND, was *sick*.

by **RiverDog** » Thu Apr 11, 2019 6:06 am

And the beat goes on. Another 6 run performance, another homer...although they waited until the 9th inning for both. They just tied a record for hitting at least one home run in each of their first 14 games. They are now the only team since 1908 to have scored 6 or more runs in 12 of their first 14 games, having broken a record set by a couple of random guys named Ruth and Gehrig.

On a more pertinent note, the win last night guaranteed that the M's will win their first 5 series. They are now 10 games over .500. They've won 5 in a row, 9 out of the last 10, and 12 of their first 14 games.

by **burrrton** » Thu Apr 11, 2019 1:57 pm

Just pulled out another one in extra innings! Seven runs (one in the 9th, one in the 10th), two more HRs.

Yowza.

by **RiverDog** » Thu Apr 11, 2019 4:15 pm

burrrton wrote:Just pulled out another one in extra innings! Seven runs (one in the 9th, one in the 10th), two more HRs.

Yowza.

Damn! I thought that they were on at 5pm again or else I would have watched them. Oh, well....

by **Aseahawkfan** » Thu Apr 11, 2019 7:52 pm

Bats still live. Have they faced a strong group of pitchers yet?

by **RiverDog** » Fri Apr 12, 2019 6:58 am

Aseahawkfan wrote:Bats still live. Have they faced a strong group of pitchers yet?

Yes.

The Red Sox had the third best pitching staff in the league last season, and the M's would have executed a 4 game sweep had it not been for a bullpen meltdown. The M's tagged Rick Porcello, the Sox's 2016 Cy Young winner, for 9 earned runs in 2 2/3 innings. The Mariners hammered starters Porcello, Chris Sale, Nathan Eovaldi and Eduardo Rodriguez for a combined 22 earned runs on 27 hits in the four game series. Those were the top 4 starters for the Red Sox's world series championship club from last season and they went for a combined 58-23 last season, and only one of them made it as far as the 5th inning.

It's important to note that just about everybody has been b**** slapping the Red Sox pitching staff so far this season. It's a huge issue in Beantown right now.

It's way, way, way too early to call the upcoming series critical or even important, but the M's play the 2nd place Houston Astros, who are also off to a good start, in a 3 game set starting tonight.

by **RiverDog** » Sun Apr 14, 2019 3:59 am

Well, it's not a complete bubble burst yet, but after a fantastic road trip, the Mariners have lost their last two in a row, to the two time defending division champs and 2017 World Series champ Astros. Their streak of scoring 6 or more runs ended last night, but the M's clobbered another homer to continue that season starting streak.

Justin Verlander for the 'Stros looked fantastic last night, had a perfect game through the first 3 innings. The guy seems to be like Nolan Ryan, a freak of nature who ws throwing as hard last night on a cool evening and as a 32 year old as he's ever thrown in his career.

by **burrrton** » Sun Apr 14, 2019 8:46 am

Justin Verlander for the 'Stros looked fantastic last night, had a perfect game through the first 3 innings. The guy seems to be like Nolan Ryan, a freak of nature who ws throwing as hard last night on a cool evening and as a 32 year old as he's ever thrown in his career.

Yeah, I hadn't checked the stats, but I thought he'd been struggling a bit more this year. Until I saw how he threw last night.

Yikes.

by **RiverDog** » Sun Apr 14, 2019 9:06 am

Justin Verlander for the 'Stros looked fantastic last night, had a perfect game through the first 3 innings. The guy seems to be like Nolan Ryan, a freak of nature who ws throwing as hard last night on a cool evening and as a 32 year old as he's ever thrown in his career.

burrrton wrote:Yeah, I hadn't checked the stats, but I thought he'd been struggling a bit more this year. Until I saw how he threw last night.

Yikes.

Maybe a little, but he's gone at least 6 innings in 3 of his 4 starts this season and is 2-0 with a 3.52 ERA. But last night was by far his best performance.

What impressed me was his fastball. He pegged out at 99 mph and was consistently in the 95+ mph region. You don't expect to see that live of a fastball coming from a 32 year old on a 50 degree night at sea level. Heck, up until the 4th inning, only two Mariners actually put the ball in play.

by **burrrton** » Sun Apr 14, 2019 2:17 pm

That's what hopping in the sack with Kate Upton every night will do for a guy.

by **RiverDog** » Sun Apr 14, 2019 5:15 pm

burrrton wrote:That's what hopping in the sack with Kate Upton every night will do for a guy.

No kidding.

It's not at all unexpected, but the Mariner's bats have cooled off significantly, with one run on 4 hits last night and 2 runs on 4 hits today while losing their 3rd game in a row. However, their home run streak continues as they have now hit at least one home run in their first 18 games.

by **Aseahawkfan** » Wed Apr 17, 2019 5:44 pm

Bats are dead.

by **burrrton** » Wed Apr 17, 2019 6:14 pm

Holy sh*t- I anticipated a regression to the mean, but I didn't expect it to happen overnight.

Give up a single run on three hits... and everybody knew it was enough to beat you. Tough.

Prove me wrong, boys- I'll still be wearing my gear proudly and attending games as I always do.

by **RiverDog** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 6:25 am

burrrton wrote:Holy sh*t- I anticipated a regression to the mean, but I didn't expect it to happen overnight.

Give up a single run on three hits... and everybody knew it was enough to beat you. Tough.

Prove me wrong, boys- I'll still be wearing my gear proudly and attending games as I always do.

Yea, and I made the mistake of going over to Seattle yesterday to watch them. It's safe to say that the bubble has burst.

by **burrrton** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 7:18 am

RiverDog wrote:Yea, and I made the mistake of going over to Seattle yesterday to watch them. It's safe to say that the bubble has burst.

Did you at least get a nice day out of it?

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