Tag: Seattle Mariners (Page 4 of 9)

      MLB Roundup: Red-hot Renteria, Lee’s bad news & the BoSox’s early woes

      April 10, 2010 /

      Giants 5, Braves 4
      Quick, name the team with the best record in baseball. The Yankees? Sorry – they’re currently only .500. The answer would be the Giants, who have begun the year 4-0 after coming from behind to the beat the Braves 5-4 in 13 innings on Friday. Quick, name the hottest hitter in the league right now. If you said Albert Pujols, then punch yourself in the ear because you’re wrong. If you said Edgar Renteria, you’re right, but you probably only said that to be a wiseass – so the jokes on you. Renteria is batting an astonishing .688 to start the year after going 3-for-5 with a game-tying two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, which helped San Fran erase a 4-2 deficit. I don’t know how Pablo Sandoval slimmed down and stole Renteria’s jersey without anyone seeing, but there’s no way that’s the real Edgar Renteria.

      Rangers 6, Mariners 2
      Nelson Cruz abused the Mariners on Friday, going 3-for-4 with a solo homer, two RBI and two runs scored in the Rangers’ 6-2 victory. Seattle is hitting .199 as a team and was 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position. It was the club’s fourth straight loss and making matters worse, it was revealed that Cliff Lee might not come off the disabled list until May now.

      Royals 4, Red Sox 3
      It’s early, but you know things are bad in Boston when they’re losing to Kansas City. Rick Ankiel (yes, that Rick Ankiel) hit a go-ahead two-run single off Daniel Bard in the eighth inning of the Royals’ 4-3 win over the BoSox on Friday night. It was the fourth hit of the night for Ankiel, who also hit a solo home run and drove in three runs. Not a bad night for the newcomer, who helped sent Boston spiraling to a 1-3 start.

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      Five new playoff contenders for the 2010 MLB season

      April 2, 2010 /

      While some enthusiasts will argue otherwise, there’s usually not a lot of change from one year to the next in baseball. Most pundits expect the Yankees, Phillies, Red Sox, Angels, Cardinals, Twins, Dodgers and Rockies (all eight teams that made the playoffs in 2009) to be good again this year. MLB isn’t like the NFL where teams make unexpected playoff runs every year.

      That said, that doesn’t mean there aren’t a couple of sleepers to watch out for in 2010. Below are five clubs that didn’t make the postseason last year that have the best odds (in my estimation) of making the playoffs this season.

      1. Chicago White Sox
      If you read the 2010 MLB season preview, you’re not surprised to see the White Sox at the top of this list. As long as Jake Peavy stays healthy, Chicago arguably has the best starting rotation one through five in the American League. (Boston fans may argue otherwise, but Boston fans can also shove off…just kidding…although not really.) But the key to the Chi Sox’s success this season lies in their offense. Yes, I’m banking on veterans Carlos Quentin, Alex Rios, Mark Teahen, Paul Konerko and Mark Kotsay to have productive years and yes, that may be asking a lot. But Gordon Beckham looks like a star in the making and the addition of Juan Pierre gives the Sox a solid leadoff hitter. I’m well aware that Chicago could finish third in a three-team race in the AL Central, but their pitching is going to keep them competitive all season and I’m willing to bet that their offense won’t be as bad as many believe.

      2. Seattle Mariners
      The Mariners have all the pieces in place to not only compete for the AL Wild Card, but also unseat the Angels in the AL West. Along with Felix Hernandez, the acquisition of Cliff Lee now gives Seattle the best 1-2 punch in the American League outside of Boston’s Josh Beckett and John Lackey. The problem is that the lineup lacks major punch. Chone Figgins and Ichiro give the M’s quality bats at the top of the order, but can this team score enough runs on a nightly basis? The club has been built on pitching and defense but if they want to make the postseason, the Mariners will have to prove that they can overcome a powerless lineup.

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      Quick, everyone start feeling bad for Milton Bradley

      March 25, 2010 /

      Milton Bradley is dealing with some rough issues these days. Apparently the poor guy feels as though he just has to accept his “bad guy” imagine in baseball.

      From ESPN.com:

      “If I was a musician, I’d be Kanye West. If I was in the NBA, I’d be Ron Artest,” the 31-year-old former Expo, Indian, Dodger, Athletic, Padre, Ranger and Cub said this week. “In baseball, they’ve got Milton Bradley. I’m that guy. You need people like me, so you can point your finger and go, ‘There goes the bad guy.”

      Here’s that “bad guy,” ejected twice in three Mariners spring games last week. The first ejection remains a joke to Bradley. He disagreed with another called third strike, then umpire Dan Bellino thought Bradley gave a demonstration immediately afterward at the plate.

      Bradley thought it was the third out, and said he was one move into taking off his batting glove to prepare to play the field.

      “Never dropped my glove. I pulled one strap off my glove, like this,” Bradley said, pulling off the velcro strap on his batting glove. “But if you read the paper, it will say I removed my gloves. It’s exaggerated, because that’s what the media does, you know? I pulled one strap.

      I don’t think I would be exaggerating if I wrote that Bradley played like crap in Chicago last year. In fact, if I were Lou Piniella I would have rather had a trash bin out in right field last year instead of Bradley. At least the trash bin can’t forget how many outs there are in an inning.

      I agree with Cubs’ GM Jim Hendry when he said that Bradley should take a look in the mirror and stop blaming everyone else for his problems. Perception is reality and no matter how much Bradley thinks the media is out to get him, its not. The media wants a story and Bradley provides one with his behavior. If he stopped acting like an overgrown child then the media would stop treating him like one.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

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      2010 MLB Preview: AL West

      March 24, 2010 /

      In order to help get you ready for the MLB season, we’re doing division-by-division rankings with quick overviews on how each club could fair in 2010. Next to each team, you’ll also find a corresponding number written in parenthesis, which indicates where we believe that club falls in a league-wide power ranking. Be sure to check back throughout the next two weeks leading up to the season, as we will be updating our content daily. Enjoy.

      All 2010 MLB Preview Content | AL East Preview | AL Central Preview | AL West Preview | NL East | NL Central | NL West

      Next up is the AL West.

      1. Los Angeles Angels (6)
      When I started to do the prep work for the AL West preview, I filled the top slot with the Angels without even giving it much thought. And why should I have? They’ve won the division six of the last seven years and baseball fans have just grown accustomed to the Halos being in the playoff mix every season. But immediately after I slotted them in the top spot, my stomach started to hurt and no, it wasn’t from the fish I ate last night. (Although hey, fish is still good even when it turns green right?) There’s no doubt that the Angels took a hit this offseason. They lost their ace (John Lackey), their leadoff man (Chone Figgins) and their top power source (Vladimir Guerrero), and usually when a team parts with that much talent, it suffers a setback. But this is why I’m not overly concerned about this club: the additions of Joel Pineiro and Hideki Matsui should pay dividends and if Scott Kazmir could ever stay healthy, he would ease the loss of Lackey. Plus, in Erick Aybar (their new leadoff hitter), Kendry Morales and Torri Hunter, the Halos still have a solid offensive core and their starting pitching is still in good shape with vets like Kazmir, Jered Weaver and Joe Saunders. Times are changing in L.A. and the Mariners and Rangers will push the Halos this season, but in the end they should be right back on top.

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      Mariners suspended Cliff Lee for first five games

      March 18, 2010 /

      The Mariners suspended ace Cliff Lee for the first five games of the season and fined him an undisclosed amount for throwing at Diamondbacks’ catcher Chris Snyder in a spring training game on Monday.

      From MLB.com:

      Pitcher Cliff Lee of the Seattle Mariners has received a five-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for intentionally throwing a pitch in the head area of Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Chris Snyder during the third inning of Seattle’s Spring Training game on Monday, March 15 at Tucson Electric Park in Tucson, Arizona. Bob Watson, Vice President of On-Field Operations for Major League Baseball, made the announcement.

      Unless appealed, Lee is scheduled to begin serving his suspension on Opening Day, Monday, April 5. If appealed, Lee’s suspension will be held in abeyance until the process is complete.

      At the end of the day, this suspension won’t affect Lee’s season much. He’ll miss one start and it’ll cost him some dough, but this incident will be forgot about soon enough.

      Still, this wasn’t the start the Mariners envisioned when they acquired Lee from the Phillies during the offseason.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

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