Vargas has now pitched 16 consecutive scoreless innings... he pitched 7 with only 4 hits, and matched a career high with 9 K as the Mariners won 3-0. He was pretty much flawless. His only issue that I can remember was the leadoff batter of the game, when the ball was hit back to him at the mound and he threw the ball away for an error. The dude doesn't get enough attention, he just quietly goes out there and gets things done, letting Felix and now Pineda take all the headlines.
Then, in the 8th Wright decided to load the bases and give all of us a heart attack, but he made it out unscathed. In the 9th League came out and nailed his 10th save. Is he back on track? Could be...
On Monday we scored runs in the first and the third (as well as 6th and 8th), and tonight we got bloop single by Cust to score Figgins in the 1st. That was all we would need. Then, in the 3rd after Smoak got an RBI 2B, Cust singled again to get his 2nd RBI of the night. It was his first multi-RBI game of the year. He's hitting the ball well and is definitely heating up. Hopefully his first of many HR is imminent. It is nice that we've been scoring early in the game, at the start of the year we only seemed to be scoring late in the game when it was too late.
Guti came back, he went 0-4 but it was nice to see him in the lineup and on the field. I think he only had one fly ball hit to him. Gut received a very warm welcome when his name was announced and his first AB, and many women in the crowd nearly fainted at the sight of him.
I ate my famous concoction of rice and peanuts. Smaller container than last year, but one of the best deals at the ballpark. I supplemented it with ballpark food of sunflower seeds and some kettle corn left over from yesterday.
My next game won't be for a couple of weeks, as the Yankees will be in down the 27-30 and I don't want to deal with obnoxious Yankee fans. I'm hoping with the warming weather our bats will start picking up (yeah right) to help our stellar starting rotation out. The three games I went to this week were outstanding. The last time I went to three games in a row I was weary and exhausted, this time I am exhilarated!
I won't be going to the day game tomorrow because of work so I went to 3/4 of the games on this short homestand. So out of their 23 home games I have been to 12, or 52%. This projects to 42 or 43 games on the year. The attendance was 16,992. Getting better!
The Mariners are now 7-5 when I attend and improved to 19-24 overall.
By the way, Happy 31st Anniversary of the St. Helens eruption!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Well, we just didn't get it done today. Felix Hernandez wasn't as sharp as he needed to be in the first inning, and it cost us. He gave up 2 runs and 1 hit in the first which led to 2 runs, and that's all Minnesota needed as we lost 2-1. In 8 of Felix's 10 starts he has given up 2 earned runs or less, and his record is 4-4. That's just a shame, all you can ask of any pitcher is to go 8 innings and give up a measly two runs... they shouldn't have to be perfect!
With a runner on 1st with one out, Olivo tried to break up the fielder's choice play at 2nd in the 9th. At this point we were down 1 and it was a huge play, could have been the difference between a win and a loss. Well, Wedge ejected. You could tell as soon as he got out there. There was a lot of gesturing and very close quarters, it looked like the brims of their caps were touching. After he got ejected he stuck around a few more moments. I was hoping for an exciting dirt kick or hat tossing, but they don't make managers like good ol' Lou anymore. Well Wedgie, congrats on your first ejection. Replays on the TV showed that it was a really close play, almost too close to call... in one angle Olivo was safe, in another he was out.
Sadly the flag was at half staff and a moment of silence before the game as Harmon Killebrew, MLB Hall of Famer and Legend, passed away this morning. He was one of the greats, without a doubt.
There is some good news to come out of the ballgame. Gutierrez will be activated tomorrow! He's been out the entire year because of an undiagnosed case of IBS. He had lost 10-15 pounds and all reports say he's pretty much full strength. We need this, defensively and offensively... and just in time for "Death to Flying Things" fly swatter day this Thursday.
Another positive, after allowing a walk to the first batter in the 9th, League got out of the inning with no damage by inducing a double play. After his disastrous previous 5 outings, let's hope he is on the way to turning things around.
I ate kettle corn and a hot dog.
The attendance was 16,015 and the Mariners are now 6-5 when I attend.
With a runner on 1st with one out, Olivo tried to break up the fielder's choice play at 2nd in the 9th. At this point we were down 1 and it was a huge play, could have been the difference between a win and a loss. Well, Wedge ejected. You could tell as soon as he got out there. There was a lot of gesturing and very close quarters, it looked like the brims of their caps were touching. After he got ejected he stuck around a few more moments. I was hoping for an exciting dirt kick or hat tossing, but they don't make managers like good ol' Lou anymore. Well Wedgie, congrats on your first ejection. Replays on the TV showed that it was a really close play, almost too close to call... in one angle Olivo was safe, in another he was out.
Sadly the flag was at half staff and a moment of silence before the game as Harmon Killebrew, MLB Hall of Famer and Legend, passed away this morning. He was one of the greats, without a doubt.
There is some good news to come out of the ballgame. Gutierrez will be activated tomorrow! He's been out the entire year because of an undiagnosed case of IBS. He had lost 10-15 pounds and all reports say he's pretty much full strength. We need this, defensively and offensively... and just in time for "Death to Flying Things" fly swatter day this Thursday.
Another positive, after allowing a walk to the first batter in the 9th, League got out of the inning with no damage by inducing a double play. After his disastrous previous 5 outings, let's hope he is on the way to turning things around.
I ate kettle corn and a hot dog.
The attendance was 16,015 and the Mariners are now 6-5 when I attend.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Three Peat
Wow, so much to talk about on this one. Since the last game I went to, the Mariners had gone 0-6 coming into the game including a disaster of a road trip in which they lost 4 out of the 5 games the final AB.... and 2 rain outs in Cleveland. The Twins came into the game having lost 8 in a row and the worst team in baseball. Someone had to win, I'm glad it was us... although we tried to make it interesting in the top of the ninth!
Pineda was scheduled to start yesterday but because of the postponement he was pushed back to today and Felix to tomorrow. It didn't faze him, in fact he had no-no type stuff through 2.2 innings. I was just starting to regret not bringing my scorebook when he gave up a single in the third. Overall he gave up three hits and hit a batter while striking out seven in 7 innings. The dude's composure is well behind his years. I keep waiting for him to falter, it will happen eventually, but right now he sure is fun to watch and brings excitement to the ballpark. As the late, great Niehaus said "DIABOLICAL!"
The only trouble he got into was in the sixth inning, through no fault of his own. With two out Luis Rodriguez committed and error, one of three in the game, which was followed by a single by Kubel (who sucks defensively, by the way) and then hit Morneau to load the bases. At that point it was a two run game after we'd scored single runs in the 1st and 3rd innings. But Pineda gathered himself and got Cuddyer to hit into a Fielder's Choice. The game was pretty much over at that point... all that was in his way from a win was our bullpen (at least League was sitting after blowing four consecutive outings... first time in Mariners history for a relief pitcher, by the way). It was our defense that almost failed us...
We got some insurance runs in the bottom of the 6th that we ended up needing, with the first back to back homers of the year for the Mariners by Kennedy and Peguero. It was Peguero's 2nd HR of his career. The first was Friday in Cleveland (which was last official game) so he has hit them in two consecutive games. I have never seen a homer like Peguero's... it was literally a line drive straight over the fence. It would have kept going if not for the stands. Kennedy also had a sacrifice in the 8th inning to make it 5-0. I won't mention his error in the 9th, it was a routine dribbler to him just a few few off of first (a little league play) and he simply bobbled it. Could have been because he had just moved over there due to Smoak being pulled for precautionary reasons?
Anyway, we almost threw the 9th away with two errors, the other was by Figgins which should have resulted in a game ending double play. They scored two runs but we hung on and ended our losing streak. Sure hope we can put together something on this homestand, tomorrow we're going for the sweep in the short two games series.
One annoying note, the radio was 5 seconds behind the action for the first five innings... which was REALLY weird and kind of off putting. Eventually it was fixed.
Attendance was 14,859 with the roof "extended" before the first pitch. The giveaway was yet another "bag of dirt", which means I now have three. I found out that you could "check-in" at Safeco and receive deals/specials so I was intrigued. I downloaded the free MLB at-bat application for my cellphone and used it for the first time tonight. The free version is sort of lacking in features but I was able to get $2 off a Torta. So I only paid $6.50 which is pretty good for ballpark fare. Too bad the torta still isn't that great.
The Mariners are Now 6-4 when I attend and are 17-23 overall.
Pineda was scheduled to start yesterday but because of the postponement he was pushed back to today and Felix to tomorrow. It didn't faze him, in fact he had no-no type stuff through 2.2 innings. I was just starting to regret not bringing my scorebook when he gave up a single in the third. Overall he gave up three hits and hit a batter while striking out seven in 7 innings. The dude's composure is well behind his years. I keep waiting for him to falter, it will happen eventually, but right now he sure is fun to watch and brings excitement to the ballpark. As the late, great Niehaus said "DIABOLICAL!"
The only trouble he got into was in the sixth inning, through no fault of his own. With two out Luis Rodriguez committed and error, one of three in the game, which was followed by a single by Kubel (who sucks defensively, by the way) and then hit Morneau to load the bases. At that point it was a two run game after we'd scored single runs in the 1st and 3rd innings. But Pineda gathered himself and got Cuddyer to hit into a Fielder's Choice. The game was pretty much over at that point... all that was in his way from a win was our bullpen (at least League was sitting after blowing four consecutive outings... first time in Mariners history for a relief pitcher, by the way). It was our defense that almost failed us...
We got some insurance runs in the bottom of the 6th that we ended up needing, with the first back to back homers of the year for the Mariners by Kennedy and Peguero. It was Peguero's 2nd HR of his career. The first was Friday in Cleveland (which was last official game) so he has hit them in two consecutive games. I have never seen a homer like Peguero's... it was literally a line drive straight over the fence. It would have kept going if not for the stands. Kennedy also had a sacrifice in the 8th inning to make it 5-0. I won't mention his error in the 9th, it was a routine dribbler to him just a few few off of first (a little league play) and he simply bobbled it. Could have been because he had just moved over there due to Smoak being pulled for precautionary reasons?
Anyway, we almost threw the 9th away with two errors, the other was by Figgins which should have resulted in a game ending double play. They scored two runs but we hung on and ended our losing streak. Sure hope we can put together something on this homestand, tomorrow we're going for the sweep in the short two games series.
One annoying note, the radio was 5 seconds behind the action for the first five innings... which was REALLY weird and kind of off putting. Eventually it was fixed.
Attendance was 14,859 with the roof "extended" before the first pitch. The giveaway was yet another "bag of dirt", which means I now have three. I found out that you could "check-in" at Safeco and receive deals/specials so I was intrigued. I downloaded the free MLB at-bat application for my cellphone and used it for the first time tonight. The free version is sort of lacking in features but I was able to get $2 off a Torta. So I only paid $6.50 which is pretty good for ballpark fare. Too bad the torta still isn't that great.
The Mariners are Now 6-4 when I attend and are 17-23 overall.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Felix Goes the Distance, M's Win Again!
I've been a bit sick this homestand, tonight was the first game I'd been to. Since the last game, they had gone 7-3 (including 5-1 on roadtrip) to enter the game at 15-17 and just three games behind Anaheim for the AL West lead. Okay, I know they are the LA Angels of Anaheim but sorry... they're not in Los Angeles! I can't believe I'm saying it but we are now 16-17!! Who would have thought!Let's talk about this game, it had a little of everything. My sister said "I've never seen that before" when referring to the 4th inning blunder by Jack Wilson. With a runner on first and no out, Ramirez sacrificed with a bunt up the first base line, but it turned into a base hit when Olivo picked it up and found no one covering first... which should have been the second baseman as Smoak was charging for the ball as well. This turned into a huge mistake as there should have been one out and instead runners on 1st and 2nd. Pierre, on 2nd, ended up coming around to score the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly which should have been the third out of the inning.
In the 8th We had a rundown! A runner was caught off third after taking too large of a lead on a groundball to the shortstop Ryan, who made a heads up play and threw to third. After a couple of throws the runner was out and it provided a lot of excitement 'cause at that point we were still tied.
There was a Bradley ejection in the 8th, he got into the face of the HP umpire on a called third strike as Figgins slid into third with a steal. Konerko had earlier had a few words, but Milton was tossed and Wedge had to run out and hold him back from the umpire or he would have been facing a suspension. He waved the bat around a little. That was exciting but was lacking in the fun of those classic Lou moments when he would kick dirt, toss his hat etc.
Felix was outstanding, went 9 innings on 5 hits and just 2 runs (1 shouldn't have happened). His last out he was so fired up, my sister commented that she had never seen him that excited, that he is usually so calm. Oh no, he gets excited... and tonight was the perfect example. He picked up his 4th win of the year already.
Brendan Ryan had the game winning hit up the middle with pinch runner Kennedy on 3rd. The bench emptied and the crowd went wild, we had won the game 3-2! He had come into the game on an 1-23 slump, so this was a huge hit for him. He also had our first hit, a double, earlier in the game.
Smoak continues to impress me... since coming back from the bereavement list he has hit .353 with 3 HR, 13 RBI and OPS of 1.127. He had another good game with a key 2B, RBI, and a BB.
Ichiro Bobblehead night, annoying! But, over 31,000 fans got to see a great, entertaining ballgame. My sister and I both got pizza (Pepperoni) from The Pen and enjoyed it, but we both agreed that it wasn't enough food as we were still hungry. An annoying aspect was that I asked for the white pizza but five minutes later it still wasn't ready, and I was starving so I gave up. About halfway through the game we got some Kettle Corn ($4.75) which was decent, but the stuff outside is cheaper and better!! We had fun and she reported that it was her third game this year already, which was more than all of last year. No Dancing Grounds Crew today, but they did do YMCA early in the game which I hadn't seen in a long time. Some famous skater dude named Rob Dyrdek threw out the first pitch and my sister tried to get his autograph but the line was too long.
This will probably be my only game of the homestand since I am under the weather and need to fully recover. However, I do feel the fresh air and great game helped me out. I will see, it will be very tempting to sacrifice my health since we're one win from .500! At one point we were 4-11.
Oh, the roof was closed and they wore those ugly teal tops as you can see in the celebration picture up top.
The Mariners are now 5-4 when I attend!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
April Games Recap
I thought I would sum up each month of the season year in one post.
Fri Apr 8: CLE L 12-3. Vargas, Pho, Sold Out
Sat Apr 9: CLE L 2-1, Fister, Beef Thai 30,309
Mon Apr 11: TOR W 8-7, Felix, Turkey Crepe & W Pizza 13,056 (LU)
Tue Apr 12: TOR W 3-2, Pineda, Torta, 15,500
Mon Apr 18: DET L 8-3, Vargas, Burger, Sushi, Crepe 12,774
Thu Apr 21: OAK W 1-0, Felix, Potato, Cookies, Rice Krispies 12,770
Fri Apr 22: OAK W 4-0 , Pineda, Gyro 17,798
Sat Apr 23: OAK L 9-1, Vargas, Garlic Chicken
Record by Starting Pitcher:
Vargas 0-3
Fister 0-1
Felix 2-0
Pineda 2-0
Record by Day:
Mon: 1-1
Tue: 1-0
Wed: N/A
Th: 1-0
Fri: 1-1
Sat: 0-2
Sun: N/A
Record by Food:
Pho 0-1, Thai 0-1, Crepe 1-1, Pizza 1-0, Burger 0-1, Sushi 0-1, Potato 1-0, Cookies 1-0, Gyro 1-0, Garlic Chicken 0-1
Record by Scoring: 1-0
Att:
Mon: 13,056, 12,774
Tue: 15,500
Thu: 12,770
Fri: 45,727 (SO), 17,798
Sat: 30,309, 23,355
Avg Attendance: 21,411
Overall score: Opponent 40 Mariners 24
Run Differential: 16
Avg Runs Scored:
Opponent 5
Mariners 3
Greatest Run Differential Win: 4
Greatest Run Differential Loss: 9
Mariners total Runs Record:
1: 1-2
3: 1-2
4: 1-0
8: 1-0
Opponent:
0: 2-0
2: 1-1
7: 1-0
8: 0-1
9: 0-1
12:0-1
Overall 4-4
One Run Games: 3-1
Fri Apr 8: CLE L 12-3. Vargas, Pho, Sold Out
Sat Apr 9: CLE L 2-1, Fister, Beef Thai 30,309
Mon Apr 11: TOR W 8-7, Felix, Turkey Crepe & W Pizza 13,056 (LU)
Tue Apr 12: TOR W 3-2, Pineda, Torta, 15,500
Mon Apr 18: DET L 8-3, Vargas, Burger, Sushi, Crepe 12,774
Thu Apr 21: OAK W 1-0, Felix, Potato, Cookies, Rice Krispies 12,770
Fri Apr 22: OAK W 4-0 , Pineda, Gyro 17,798
Sat Apr 23: OAK L 9-1, Vargas, Garlic Chicken
Record by Starting Pitcher:
Vargas 0-3
Fister 0-1
Felix 2-0
Pineda 2-0
Record by Day:
Mon: 1-1
Tue: 1-0
Wed: N/A
Th: 1-0
Fri: 1-1
Sat: 0-2
Sun: N/A
Record by Food:
Pho 0-1, Thai 0-1, Crepe 1-1, Pizza 1-0, Burger 0-1, Sushi 0-1, Potato 1-0, Cookies 1-0, Gyro 1-0, Garlic Chicken 0-1
Record by Scoring: 1-0
Att:
Mon: 13,056, 12,774
Tue: 15,500
Thu: 12,770
Fri: 45,727 (SO), 17,798
Sat: 30,309, 23,355
Avg Attendance: 21,411
Overall score: Opponent 40 Mariners 24
Run Differential: 16
Avg Runs Scored:
Opponent 5
Mariners 3
Greatest Run Differential Win: 4
Greatest Run Differential Loss: 9
Mariners total Runs Record:
1: 1-2
3: 1-2
4: 1-0
8: 1-0
Opponent:
0: 2-0
2: 1-1
7: 1-0
8: 0-1
9: 0-1
12:0-1
Overall 4-4
One Run Games: 3-1
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Weary and Exhausted
The title says it all... I'm weary and exhausted after three days straight of Mariners baseball. Or maybe I'm just that way because they were crushed today? It wasn't a very good game. We just didn't play well.
If only Saunders had caught that ball in the third (Guti, we need you back) we would have gotten out of the jam tied! If only... if only. Instead they scored three in the fourth and then five in the 6th. Vargas ran into trouble again and then Lueke came on and sucked as usual. We lost 9-1. I don't have anything more to say about the game, I'm just tired.
I had garlic chicken and fries ($9.75). The weather was beautiful, there were over 25,000 fans... but that's pretty much all I have to say. Oh, it was Military Appreciation night and they did God Bless America during the 7th inning stretch, which pissed me off. Sports should be religion free as they are public entities meant to represent a region.
Anyway, looking forward to a break, I can't imagine how the beat reporters feel, and they have to travel with them! It is such a grind. I torture myself, but I still love it. I went to 4 out of the 7 games this homestand... that makes it 8 out of 13. If I keep that rate up I'll go to 50 games. Don't think I can keep up this pace, it puts a toll on your body. Sleep patterns, eating patterns, excercise patterns have all changed! Six game roadtrip coming up, and I'm looking forward to it.
The Mariners are now 4-4 when I attend and dropped to 8-14 on the year.
If only Saunders had caught that ball in the third (Guti, we need you back) we would have gotten out of the jam tied! If only... if only. Instead they scored three in the fourth and then five in the 6th. Vargas ran into trouble again and then Lueke came on and sucked as usual. We lost 9-1. I don't have anything more to say about the game, I'm just tired.
I had garlic chicken and fries ($9.75). The weather was beautiful, there were over 25,000 fans... but that's pretty much all I have to say. Oh, it was Military Appreciation night and they did God Bless America during the 7th inning stretch, which pissed me off. Sports should be religion free as they are public entities meant to represent a region.
Anyway, looking forward to a break, I can't imagine how the beat reporters feel, and they have to travel with them! It is such a grind. I torture myself, but I still love it. I went to 4 out of the 7 games this homestand... that makes it 8 out of 13. If I keep that rate up I'll go to 50 games. Don't think I can keep up this pace, it puts a toll on your body. Sleep patterns, eating patterns, excercise patterns have all changed! Six game roadtrip coming up, and I'm looking forward to it.
The Mariners are now 4-4 when I attend and dropped to 8-14 on the year.
Friday, April 22, 2011
He is GOOD!
I like him, I really like him! Pineda was on the mound again tonight, the second time I've seen him in person. Seeing as how he's a rookie, you expect him to have a troubled outing now and then. 4 starts in and we haven't seen it yet. Sure he's run into a few bad innings here and there, but like all good pitchers he bounces back and makes the adjustments as needed. We saw this again in the second inning when he threw 30 pitches yet got out of the jam after walking the first two batters by striking out the next two and then getting a groundout to first. Then Pineda sat for a long time while the Mariners scored three runs in the 5th... so he had some issues in the top of the 6th but made it through. He now has a quality start in all of his games this year. A quality start is at least six innings with 3 earned runs or less. Still waiting for him to blow up...
As you can see from the picture I had a Gyro ($6.50). This is the first game of the year I scored. I went to Kinko's earlier and made some copies. It was a good game to score, only a few issues with the scoreboard failing to turn over statistics fast enough There were great plays turned in by Figgins in the 4th (sliding catch of a foul ball) and 8th (line drive). Kennedy had another couple of quality defensive plays including throwing out Kouzmanoff at home in the 5th inning, at that point the game was still 1-0. When you have pitchers sharp and dealing, same goes the defense. Both pitching and defense have been outstanding the last two games, and we've had just as much offense as we've needed!
Kennedy continues his hot streak. He led off the 2nd with a single and scored. Then in the 5th he had a 2 RBI single after we had loaded the bases on a single and three straight walks (Cust had walked in a run previous to Kennedy). So Kennedy went 2-4 with 2 RBI and 1 Run scored. Cust's bases loaded walk was his fourth of the season! He has 7 RBI total on the season and 4 have come via a bases loaded walk!
It got a little dicey in the 9th inning... Wright came in and loaded the bases with two consecutive singles and a walk after striking out the first batter. He'd been pretty much lights out this year (his last two appearances he needed only 2 pitches total). So we was pulled and in came Brandon League. The dude scares me, it seemed every time last year he had inherited runners he would have troubles. Well, with the tying run at the plate he picked up his 5th save of the year after inducing pinch hitter Conor Jackson to ground into a game ending double play. Until he proves otherwise on a consistent basis I will always have heart palpitations when he comes in to the game with runners on.
We're now 8-13 on the season and the Mariners are 4-3 when I attend! We've had two shutout wins in a row.
Oh, and since it was Earth Day we all got to take home another bag of dirt!
As you can see from the picture I had a Gyro ($6.50). This is the first game of the year I scored. I went to Kinko's earlier and made some copies. It was a good game to score, only a few issues with the scoreboard failing to turn over statistics fast enough There were great plays turned in by Figgins in the 4th (sliding catch of a foul ball) and 8th (line drive). Kennedy had another couple of quality defensive plays including throwing out Kouzmanoff at home in the 5th inning, at that point the game was still 1-0. When you have pitchers sharp and dealing, same goes the defense. Both pitching and defense have been outstanding the last two games, and we've had just as much offense as we've needed!Kennedy continues his hot streak. He led off the 2nd with a single and scored. Then in the 5th he had a 2 RBI single after we had loaded the bases on a single and three straight walks (Cust had walked in a run previous to Kennedy). So Kennedy went 2-4 with 2 RBI and 1 Run scored. Cust's bases loaded walk was his fourth of the season! He has 7 RBI total on the season and 4 have come via a bases loaded walk!
It got a little dicey in the 9th inning... Wright came in and loaded the bases with two consecutive singles and a walk after striking out the first batter. He'd been pretty much lights out this year (his last two appearances he needed only 2 pitches total). So we was pulled and in came Brandon League. The dude scares me, it seemed every time last year he had inherited runners he would have troubles. Well, with the tying run at the plate he picked up his 5th save of the year after inducing pinch hitter Conor Jackson to ground into a game ending double play. Until he proves otherwise on a consistent basis I will always have heart palpitations when he comes in to the game with runners on.
We're now 8-13 on the season and the Mariners are 4-3 when I attend! We've had two shutout wins in a row.
Oh, and since it was Earth Day we all got to take home another bag of dirt!
The No-No No-No.
Do you remember where you were on April 22, 1993? I do. I was one of 13,603 other fans at the Kingdome to watch the Mariners play the Boston Red Sox. I can't believe it has been 18 years. I was a month shy of turning twelve years old, it was a Thursday night and I had school the next day, in the sixth grade.
The lineups:
Boston
Ernie Riles 2B
Carlos Quintana RF
Mike Greenwell LF
Andre Dawson DH
Mo Vaughn 1B
Ivan Calderon CF
Scott Cooper 3B
John Valentin SS
Tony Pena C
Joe Hesketh P
Seattle
Mike Felder LF
Henry Cotto DH
Ken Griffey CF
Jay Buhner RF
Bret Boone 2B
Tino Martinez 1B
Mike Blowers 3B
Dave Valle C
Omar Vizquel SS
Chris Bosio P
You'll notice Edgar was not in there... he injured his leg at the end of spring training on bad turf in Vancouver, he was coming off winning the batting title in 1992 and this injury led to him becoming the best DH in the history of the game.
At that point we had our season tickets on the third base side, I believe in the third or fourth row. The angle was perfect to watch Omar work his magic on a daily basis (and eventually some young dude named Alex). In those days the Kingdome was often pretty empty. You could drive up and park on the street outside the North Lot with five minutes to spare, and get to your seats with no problem before the first pitch.
What I remember about the game is that it wasn't particularly entertaining, in fact I remember being a bit bored. In the top of the 6th (or was it the 7th?) we decided to leave because I was tired and had school the next day. Other season ticket holders asked "are you leaving!" and we shared that yes, it was a school night and I had to get to bed. If only they had said "look up at the scoreboard" instead of just letting us leave. We were probably the only people to leave that night early... it wasn't until we got back to the car and turned on the radio that we realized what a mistake we had made. It was the top of the 8th and Dave shared that Bosio still had not allowed a hit in the game. My mom and I both looked at each other with a "holy shit" look on our faces. It was too late to go back to the game, we hadn't gotten our hands stamped when we left. That was the first and only time I will ever leave a no-hitter.
We won the game 7-0, Bosio walked the first two batters and then was perfect the rest of the way.
On any given day... you may see something special at the ballpark... a triple play, a cycle, an amazing catch.... I did that day, just didn't know it until it was too late. How many people can say they left a no-hitter? I think this ends up being the better story. I was there, and I left... I'm not afraid to admit it. I've been to a few "almost" no-hitters over the years, each time hoping that "this will be the day!" Maybe April 22, 1993 was my chance. As of this writing it is the last no-hitter to have been thrown by a Mariner pitcher. We have all seen those replays of the final out, Omar bare-handing a chopper over 2nd. I would have had an awesome view.
The lineups:
Boston
Ernie Riles 2B
Carlos Quintana RF
Mike Greenwell LF
Andre Dawson DH
Mo Vaughn 1B
Ivan Calderon CF
Scott Cooper 3B
John Valentin SS
Tony Pena C
Joe Hesketh P
Seattle
Mike Felder LF
Henry Cotto DH
Ken Griffey CF
Jay Buhner RF
Bret Boone 2B
Tino Martinez 1B
Mike Blowers 3B
Dave Valle C
Omar Vizquel SS
Chris Bosio P
You'll notice Edgar was not in there... he injured his leg at the end of spring training on bad turf in Vancouver, he was coming off winning the batting title in 1992 and this injury led to him becoming the best DH in the history of the game.
At that point we had our season tickets on the third base side, I believe in the third or fourth row. The angle was perfect to watch Omar work his magic on a daily basis (and eventually some young dude named Alex). In those days the Kingdome was often pretty empty. You could drive up and park on the street outside the North Lot with five minutes to spare, and get to your seats with no problem before the first pitch.
What I remember about the game is that it wasn't particularly entertaining, in fact I remember being a bit bored. In the top of the 6th (or was it the 7th?) we decided to leave because I was tired and had school the next day. Other season ticket holders asked "are you leaving!" and we shared that yes, it was a school night and I had to get to bed. If only they had said "look up at the scoreboard" instead of just letting us leave. We were probably the only people to leave that night early... it wasn't until we got back to the car and turned on the radio that we realized what a mistake we had made. It was the top of the 8th and Dave shared that Bosio still had not allowed a hit in the game. My mom and I both looked at each other with a "holy shit" look on our faces. It was too late to go back to the game, we hadn't gotten our hands stamped when we left. That was the first and only time I will ever leave a no-hitter.
We won the game 7-0, Bosio walked the first two batters and then was perfect the rest of the way.
On any given day... you may see something special at the ballpark... a triple play, a cycle, an amazing catch.... I did that day, just didn't know it until it was too late. How many people can say they left a no-hitter? I think this ends up being the better story. I was there, and I left... I'm not afraid to admit it. I've been to a few "almost" no-hitters over the years, each time hoping that "this will be the day!" Maybe April 22, 1993 was my chance. As of this writing it is the last no-hitter to have been thrown by a Mariner pitcher. We have all seen those replays of the final out, Omar bare-handing a chopper over 2nd. I would have had an awesome view.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
This is Why I Love Baseball!
I know I've said it before, you never know what you're going to see at the ballpark on any given day and often will see something that has never happened. A few days ago, it was the first ball to hit the Safeco roof. Lately, it has been record breaking attendance (tonight third lowest ever with 12,770). Tonight we saw two firsts, a couple of OUTSTANDING defensive plays, a great pitching performance by King Felix, and a 1-0 win. I am so glad I taped this game 'cause I want to watch everything over again.
With the roof closed, Felix started off the game retiring the first eight batters he faced, then giving up a solid single in the third. He had a season high 8 ks against the Oakland A's... who believe it or not have scored fewer runs this year than the inept Mariners. He went 7.2 innings and got into a little trouble so Wedge brought in Wright, who has been LIGHTS OUT so far this year. He only needed one pitch to end the inning. League came in for a nail biting 9th and we pulled out the win. Everyone went home happy, and it was a quick game.
The defensive plays, a line drive snag above Figgins' head doubled off runner at first in the seventh... wow. Then later in the inning an amazing snag by Brendan Ryan at SS who somehow managed to get it off and Kennedy stretched out to snag the ball.
We got our lone run in the 4th when Kennedy, our 1B today, hit a solo shot. Smoak is on the bereavement list... his father passed away at the age of 54 from cancer. Truly sad for the young man, I wish him the best and hope he comes back soon. It seems like every year someone on the team loses a member of their family. That's just part of baseball, I guess, because of the long season and many many months they are away from family. It must be tough. But, Kennedy made several great defensive plays and he has pretty much done whatever Wedge has asked him to do (which is what is supposed to happen). He's been a pleasant surprise.
Let's get to the firsts... after Felix gave up his first hit he attempted to pick off the runner but threw the ball away, he was lucky in that the ball somehow ended up behind the tarp. Never before had we lost a ball in the tarp! So instead of the runner ending up on third (or scoring) he ending up on second! Another first, Carlo Peguero got his first ML hit with an infield hit in the third... he was then subsequently picked off two pitches later. Oops. Regardless, congrats on the milestone.
Interesting note... the Mariners have scored three runs the last two games after their 13 run outburst on Tuesday. Whenever we score that many runs I always say "save some for tomorrow!" Well, we lost 3-2 yesterday... today we only got 1 run but it was all we needed. It doesn't matter how much you score as long as you get the win!
My sister and her family were at the game today, one of her kids was at her first game! They gave me a ticket so I could join them in the terrace club, where they now have $8 credit on each ticket to go toward concessions. They also have special food you can't get anywhere else, like pasta and baked potatoes. I decided on a baked potato ($7.75) which was really good! My sister got nachos and was in heaven! I think they changed the concourse floor, although they may have changed it last year. I don't think I went to one game in the terrace club last year! Anyway, we ate together and then I wanted to go down to my seats to get closer to Felix. After three innings of fighting to see around the tall people in front of me, I decided to go back up to the terrace club. I actually had a better view of Felix, with no obstructions. I was able to see the tarp play unfold right in front of me, and didn't miss a single play as I walked around the concourse with no problem. Like I've said, I kind of like the small crowds, easy to get around! The kids an her husband left around then, and my sister and I enjoyed the rest of the game (after she helped the kids to the car and missed the only run of the game). We got a rice krispie treat and some mini chocolate chip cookies for dessert.
Best game of the year so far? Possibly! Ranks right up there with the Pineda outing. Speaking of which, tomorrow is Pineda day!
They are now back to .500 with me in attendance, at 3-3!
With the roof closed, Felix started off the game retiring the first eight batters he faced, then giving up a solid single in the third. He had a season high 8 ks against the Oakland A's... who believe it or not have scored fewer runs this year than the inept Mariners. He went 7.2 innings and got into a little trouble so Wedge brought in Wright, who has been LIGHTS OUT so far this year. He only needed one pitch to end the inning. League came in for a nail biting 9th and we pulled out the win. Everyone went home happy, and it was a quick game.
The defensive plays, a line drive snag above Figgins' head doubled off runner at first in the seventh... wow. Then later in the inning an amazing snag by Brendan Ryan at SS who somehow managed to get it off and Kennedy stretched out to snag the ball.
We got our lone run in the 4th when Kennedy, our 1B today, hit a solo shot. Smoak is on the bereavement list... his father passed away at the age of 54 from cancer. Truly sad for the young man, I wish him the best and hope he comes back soon. It seems like every year someone on the team loses a member of their family. That's just part of baseball, I guess, because of the long season and many many months they are away from family. It must be tough. But, Kennedy made several great defensive plays and he has pretty much done whatever Wedge has asked him to do (which is what is supposed to happen). He's been a pleasant surprise.
Let's get to the firsts... after Felix gave up his first hit he attempted to pick off the runner but threw the ball away, he was lucky in that the ball somehow ended up behind the tarp. Never before had we lost a ball in the tarp! So instead of the runner ending up on third (or scoring) he ending up on second! Another first, Carlo Peguero got his first ML hit with an infield hit in the third... he was then subsequently picked off two pitches later. Oops. Regardless, congrats on the milestone.
Interesting note... the Mariners have scored three runs the last two games after their 13 run outburst on Tuesday. Whenever we score that many runs I always say "save some for tomorrow!" Well, we lost 3-2 yesterday... today we only got 1 run but it was all we needed. It doesn't matter how much you score as long as you get the win!
My sister and her family were at the game today, one of her kids was at her first game! They gave me a ticket so I could join them in the terrace club, where they now have $8 credit on each ticket to go toward concessions. They also have special food you can't get anywhere else, like pasta and baked potatoes. I decided on a baked potato ($7.75) which was really good! My sister got nachos and was in heaven! I think they changed the concourse floor, although they may have changed it last year. I don't think I went to one game in the terrace club last year! Anyway, we ate together and then I wanted to go down to my seats to get closer to Felix. After three innings of fighting to see around the tall people in front of me, I decided to go back up to the terrace club. I actually had a better view of Felix, with no obstructions. I was able to see the tarp play unfold right in front of me, and didn't miss a single play as I walked around the concourse with no problem. Like I've said, I kind of like the small crowds, easy to get around! The kids an her husband left around then, and my sister and I enjoyed the rest of the game (after she helped the kids to the car and missed the only run of the game). We got a rice krispie treat and some mini chocolate chip cookies for dessert.Best game of the year so far? Possibly! Ranks right up there with the Pineda outing. Speaking of which, tomorrow is Pineda day!
They are now back to .500 with me in attendance, at 3-3!
Monday, April 18, 2011
And All I Got Was a Bag of Dirt
Well, it was another historic night at Safeco Field. 1 week ago today, I attended the lowest attended game at Safeco which was eclipsed two days later (12,407). Tonight, the second smallest crowd of 12,774. I have to say, it was kind of nice walking through the concourses without having to weave around the slow people. Food lines were short, no lines for the bathroom! On the other hand, it was depressing to see how far the team has fallen the last few years. It will take a long time to work their way back, I'm sure the attendance will improve with warmer weather, but it is still pathetic and must be noted.
We played the Detroit Tigers, Vargas was on the mound again. I thought he did a pretty good job, it was just his defense failing him again as we literally threw the ball away. The Tigers scored six runs in the seventh off a couple of "wild pitches" and just plain bad pitching by Lueke and Ray. Milton Bradley had a good game (batting wise, he had a huge error) going 2-3 with two walks, a homer, and 2 rbi. He put us up 2-1 in the third and then in the sixth he had a huge error that let the Tigers score the tying run. The next inning our bullpen fell apart. Smoak launched a solo homer in the 8th. And while that was the only thing he did hitting wise, I'm still liking what I am seeing and he has been our most consistent everyday player. Final score, 8-3.
One thing of note, the annoying Tigers pitcher in the 9th, Valverde, who had a very methodical way he went about things... his routine is ridiculous and when he struck out Bradley he was very demonstrative while he bowed. Yes, he bowed. To God, to himself... I don't know. But it was very unsportsmanlike and I can only imagine how insulted Bradley felt. According to my twitter feed he was pacing back and forth in the dugout giving him a staredown.
Stayed the whole game... I'm never leaving again! It was a very long game, over three and a half hours, and even though we lost there were several highlights. In the first inning, we had a Safeco Field first. The first ball to hit the extended roof (that's what they call it instead of closed)! They started closing the roof before the game because we got a few sprinkles. Anyway, that had never happened before, and it dropped in foul territory between Figgins and Olivo. I didn't see it hit, but I watched it go up, heard the reaction of the crowd, and watched it fall.
Another highlight, we saw somebody get escorted out of the game in the 9th inning. A dude a few rows in front of us and his buddies had been trying all game to get on TV with some signs they had made. Eventually with the sparse crowd they moved to a different section and I guess they got a little too close to the camera operators. Security told them to back off and a bird was flipped. A few minutes later they were escorted out. A kid behind said something, don't remember exact words, like "they don't censor in soccer!". Oh kid, you will soon learn that at Safeco they care more about being family friendly than fan friendly. Anyway, that's the first ejection of the year.
Okay, enough of the game... let's talk about the food. Went to the game with my sister who hadn't been in at least two seasons. We entered in The Pen entrance and I showed her the new food and the changes to the layout/view, also pointed out the out of town scoreboard from last year and new LED scoreboard this year. I think she was excited about those. Tonight was my turn to try the new burger... it took them a little while to figure out how to give me a burger minus the cheese, $8.50, and I didn't realize that the mayo wasn't going to be on the side... so I had to scrape as much off of it as I could. It came with pickles, onions, lettuce, and tomatoes. I squirt some ketchup and mustard (oops turns out a little too much as you can see from picture) and took a bite. I didn't "dress" my burger the way I usually do so maybe that had something to do with my enjoyment of it. Frankly it wasn't very good and was pretty much generic, and a little cold. I couldn't finish the whole thing. I will not be getting it again and instead if I want a burger will get the cheaper Kidd Valley one (which has its own temperature problems).
Then we were off to find my sister dinner. We headed to the healthy option behind home plate where I knew they had garden burgers. Guess what, they took them off the menu tonight. Are you kidding me? Who wants a veggie dog, those are gross! So then we walked a little more and found some new food choices this year... the have "potato fries" on a stick and buffalo tenders/wings. She didn't want fries. She ended up settling on a veggie roll at the sushi place for $9. I never realized that they had veggie sushi, wondering if this is a new thing the last couple of years. I had a few... and it was decent! I now know this is an option for me. This is also where they moved the teriyaki choice that used to be in the Bullpen Market. I was still hungry so we headed back to The Pen to share a dessert crepe. We went back and forth on the strawberry or banana one... and finally settled on the banana w/nutella. I'd never had nutella before so was excited to see what it was like. We waiting a couple of minutes as they made it fresh! It was okay... the nutella was too similar to chocolate for me and it got pretty messy in the end. For $6.50 it was a decent price for a ballpark dessert. I will give the strawberry one a shot at some point.
In other news, Guti still isn't okay and they are sending him to the Mayo Clinic. I'm starting to think it is psychological and hope it is nothing too serious. We really need him back, Langerhans let a ball drop that Guti probably would have gotten to. There have been many of those plays already this year.
I'm glad we stayed 'til the end, you never know what is going to happen and we got to see the Smoak homer and the ejection of the fan. There is always something to take away from every game, no matter how frustrating they can be. The Mariners are bad, really bad, but we have a few bright spots and you can always see history on any given day... like we did tonight. The first time a ball hit the roof! The second lowest attendance ever!
Most of the fans left in the disaster of the sixth inning... there was a giveaway tonight with bags of dirt made from compostable items from Safeco last year. When we left, there were still 3 remaining, and they only had 5000 total to give. I didn't get a foul ball, but I have my very own bag of Safeco garbage. Yee haw!
My record is now 2-3. The Mariners fell to 5-12 overall.
We played the Detroit Tigers, Vargas was on the mound again. I thought he did a pretty good job, it was just his defense failing him again as we literally threw the ball away. The Tigers scored six runs in the seventh off a couple of "wild pitches" and just plain bad pitching by Lueke and Ray. Milton Bradley had a good game (batting wise, he had a huge error) going 2-3 with two walks, a homer, and 2 rbi. He put us up 2-1 in the third and then in the sixth he had a huge error that let the Tigers score the tying run. The next inning our bullpen fell apart. Smoak launched a solo homer in the 8th. And while that was the only thing he did hitting wise, I'm still liking what I am seeing and he has been our most consistent everyday player. Final score, 8-3.
One thing of note, the annoying Tigers pitcher in the 9th, Valverde, who had a very methodical way he went about things... his routine is ridiculous and when he struck out Bradley he was very demonstrative while he bowed. Yes, he bowed. To God, to himself... I don't know. But it was very unsportsmanlike and I can only imagine how insulted Bradley felt. According to my twitter feed he was pacing back and forth in the dugout giving him a staredown.
Stayed the whole game... I'm never leaving again! It was a very long game, over three and a half hours, and even though we lost there were several highlights. In the first inning, we had a Safeco Field first. The first ball to hit the extended roof (that's what they call it instead of closed)! They started closing the roof before the game because we got a few sprinkles. Anyway, that had never happened before, and it dropped in foul territory between Figgins and Olivo. I didn't see it hit, but I watched it go up, heard the reaction of the crowd, and watched it fall.
Another highlight, we saw somebody get escorted out of the game in the 9th inning. A dude a few rows in front of us and his buddies had been trying all game to get on TV with some signs they had made. Eventually with the sparse crowd they moved to a different section and I guess they got a little too close to the camera operators. Security told them to back off and a bird was flipped. A few minutes later they were escorted out. A kid behind said something, don't remember exact words, like "they don't censor in soccer!". Oh kid, you will soon learn that at Safeco they care more about being family friendly than fan friendly. Anyway, that's the first ejection of the year.
Okay, enough of the game... let's talk about the food. Went to the game with my sister who hadn't been in at least two seasons. We entered in The Pen entrance and I showed her the new food and the changes to the layout/view, also pointed out the out of town scoreboard from last year and new LED scoreboard this year. I think she was excited about those. Tonight was my turn to try the new burger... it took them a little while to figure out how to give me a burger minus the cheese, $8.50, and I didn't realize that the mayo wasn't going to be on the side... so I had to scrape as much off of it as I could. It came with pickles, onions, lettuce, and tomatoes. I squirt some ketchup and mustard (oops turns out a little too much as you can see from picture) and took a bite. I didn't "dress" my burger the way I usually do so maybe that had something to do with my enjoyment of it. Frankly it wasn't very good and was pretty much generic, and a little cold. I couldn't finish the whole thing. I will not be getting it again and instead if I want a burger will get the cheaper Kidd Valley one (which has its own temperature problems). 
Then we were off to find my sister dinner. We headed to the healthy option behind home plate where I knew they had garden burgers. Guess what, they took them off the menu tonight. Are you kidding me? Who wants a veggie dog, those are gross! So then we walked a little more and found some new food choices this year... the have "potato fries" on a stick and buffalo tenders/wings. She didn't want fries. She ended up settling on a veggie roll at the sushi place for $9. I never realized that they had veggie sushi, wondering if this is a new thing the last couple of years. I had a few... and it was decent! I now know this is an option for me. This is also where they moved the teriyaki choice that used to be in the Bullpen Market. I was still hungry so we headed back to The Pen to share a dessert crepe. We went back and forth on the strawberry or banana one... and finally settled on the banana w/nutella. I'd never had nutella before so was excited to see what it was like. We waiting a couple of minutes as they made it fresh! It was okay... the nutella was too similar to chocolate for me and it got pretty messy in the end. For $6.50 it was a decent price for a ballpark dessert. I will give the strawberry one a shot at some point.
In other news, Guti still isn't okay and they are sending him to the Mayo Clinic. I'm starting to think it is psychological and hope it is nothing too serious. We really need him back, Langerhans let a ball drop that Guti probably would have gotten to. There have been many of those plays already this year.
I'm glad we stayed 'til the end, you never know what is going to happen and we got to see the Smoak homer and the ejection of the fan. There is always something to take away from every game, no matter how frustrating they can be. The Mariners are bad, really bad, but we have a few bright spots and you can always see history on any given day... like we did tonight. The first time a ball hit the roof! The second lowest attendance ever!
Most of the fans left in the disaster of the sixth inning... there was a giveaway tonight with bags of dirt made from compostable items from Safeco last year. When we left, there were still 3 remaining, and they only had 5000 total to give. I didn't get a foul ball, but I have my very own bag of Safeco garbage. Yee haw!
My record is now 2-3. The Mariners fell to 5-12 overall.
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