Game 7: 3-4 Cope

Chicago remains Chicago for the Mariners…. but there’s some hope in this extremely close series.

There were plenty of working parts we should be happy with today, and the last two games. Including these two dudes.

Some happy thoughts from today:

  • Morales. Checked in with 3 hits today, including a solo homer in the 6th that allowed the Mariners to take back the lead.
  • Another Morse jack, his 5th in 7 games… could get used to those kind of numbers.
  • Iwakuma looked good today, he gave up just 4 hits in 8 innings, unfortunately 2 of those were home runs, but so it goes in Chicago…
  • Saunders, who came in as a pinch-hitter in the 8th, extended his hitting streak to 5 games.
  • Our bullpen continues to impress. Perez, Capps, and Luetge combined to get us effortlessly through the 9th. Unfortunately Loe succumbed to homerun city.
  • …And the most very happiest thought of all. Tomorrow the Mariners COME HOME! Let’s see how these boys play in the (new?) Safeco!

Game 6: 3-3 Cope

Not the way we like our Felix days to go, but let’s try to find the good here…

  • Saunders looked great today, even coming through with an 8th inning 2-run homer to try to rally back the lead. Saunders’ homer was the first Mariners homer not hit by Guti or Morse so far this season. Let’s hope there’s plenty more to come!
  • Our bullpen was strong today, Furbush and Pryor pitched in the 8th and 9th and neither gave up any runs or hits.
  • Raul Ibanez finally checked in with his first hit of the season and it was a good-looking double that eventually became a run in the 2nd.
  • How about Brendan Ryan? Obviously still a stellar fielder, but his bat isn’t looking too bad either… he’s gotten hits in 4 out of 5 games he’s played this season. Not a huge sample size, but still looking good. Hoping some of our other guys can start checking in with consistency soon…
  • In the end… we lost by 1. The weather was crap and the umpires weren’t doing us (or Felix) any favors. Still have a chance to take this series! Go Mariners!

Game 5: 3-2 Celebrate!

Refuse to lose!

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This guy! Playing some sick defense tonight.

Other happy thoughts:

  • Guti! Went 3 for 5 with ANOTHER leadoff homer. I’ll take that.
  • It ended up a tight game, but that top 5th inning was some serious fun. It’s always great to see the Mariners offense blow up and this is hopefully an omen of things to come. A double by Jason Bay, RBI single by Ryan, RBI double by Guti, RBI triple by Saunders, and an RBI Morales single to top off the 5-run inning.
  • Thanks to the (freezing) cold weather and a so-so start from Beavan we got to see a lot of the bullpen tonight. Fun to see Capps and Pryor. And Loe had a perfect inning, too. 
  • After extras, Mariners offense heated up again to take back the lead. Was great to see Guti, Saunders, Morales and Montero battle for those runs. (Would have gotten more too, if Montero hadn’t been sent home on that Seager double…)
  • The Bartender almost gave us all heart attacks when he gave up a run in the 10th and loaded the bases, but he came through and got the outs.

MARINERS WIN!

BACK ABOVE .500 !!!

Game 2: 2-0 Celebrate!

Michael Morse has a bat. He is using it.

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Happy Thoughts:

  • SEVEN RUNS, in the SAME GAME
  • Great outing by Iwakuma; 7 Ks in 6 innings; held the A’s to 1 Cespedes homer
  • Morse hit two homeruns, one monster 3-run in the 3rd inning to take the lead and one solo in the 9th, just for good measure
  • Actually got some of those bats to work together, Seager, Morales, Smoak, and Morse all chalked up RBIs
  • Mariners offense took advantage of A’s bullpen, putting up one run in each of the 7th, 8th and 9th innings

GOOD GAME!

Morales, Morse, Bay, Ibanez, Saunders (Joe), and Shoppach. Six newbies that are gracing Mariners unis at Spring Training today. Six happy thoughts for 2013? There’s a lot that’s yet to be seen, but it’s OK to think that there’s some potential here…

Is This What Heaven Feels Like?

Is this Heaven? Is this the playoffs? Is this happening?

Mariners have now logged 7 Ws in a row. Seven.

Last night almost 40,000 people showed up to Safeco field. The stands were a sea of yellow. Felix wasn’t perfect, but he was Felix. We saw two homeruns (apparently we figured out how to deal with those pesky Safeco walls…), some great defense, and a team and a crowd fired up to be there, in August.

Happy Thoughts:

  • Eric Thames wasn’t friends with Cabrera was he? Holy god is that guy strong. All three of his homers for the M’s (just since Aug. 1, people) have just been smacked out of the yard. The dude is strong. And his twitter feed is hilarious. Example.
  • How about Montero coming through with a 3-run homer? Yes please. Please please please Montero, please be as good as the Yankees think you are. (Pineda’s recent DUI arrest gave the NY media more opportunity to whine about the trade.)
  • JASO! Bummer that the ball bounced over the wall, but hey, Montero took care of that baserunner anyway. Clutch Hitter (def: See John Jaso).
  • Trayvon’s defense anyone? Did you see this one? 
  • Lucas Luetge came in at the end of the 8th so Capitan Fi Fi (if you haven’t seen those shirts yet or heard the story, watch this) could enjoy a much-deserved Standing O, and then he pitched brilliantly to lock down the save. Through 1 1/3, he struck out 2 and only gave up 1 hit. Plus then he clearly enjoyed the Court continuing to cheer for him. He tweeted this after the game: Probably the most fun I’ve ever had pitching. What an awesome crowd!!! 
  • Felix is ours. Not for sale. Not going anywhere. He’s breathing life back into this team, loves the fans, loves his teammates. He made sure B. Ryan knew it was OK after he flubbed a play on his way out. He promised he was staying in Seattle. He dedicated the perfecto to us. 

Does baseball get better than this? We’ll see. This second-half of the season has been almost entirely one big highlight. Personally, I’d rather have a great half in the second than go big in the first half and flame out. This is a sign of very good things to come. Seattle knows it. 

Six in a Row? Could it Be?

Watch out! Mariners are streaking. Again. I can’t say enough how happy the second half of this season has made me. Whether or not we come within breathing distance of the Wild Card spot, the second half of this season has proven this team can and will be competitive next year. 

I’d put money on it. Then again, I’m the one with the positive thinking Mariners blog, so take that as you will. 

How about this game? 2 jacks from Saunders, one from Thames, 10 put-outs by Trayvon Robinson and Mariners have won 13 of the last 14 games played at Safeco. That’s a record, for the record. 

Goodbye Baseball.