Thursday Mariner goodness
M’s versus Japan in an exhibition game yesterday got a ton of press (PI 1, PI 2, Times ).
Moyer likes Johjima. (TNT)
Wednesday March Mariner News
Dan Wilson is retired. Beltre hit two home runs yesterday. That’s more than he hit in either June or September of last year.
Lots of people wrote angry columns about Barry Bonds. There’s no point to linking: you could click anywhere else on your monitor but this story and find four.
Save The Date
As a heads up, so we don’t have people complaining that we didn’t give them enough notice; Sunday, April 2nd, we’re having another USSM get together. Derek, Jason, Jeff, and I will all be in town, and barring Jeff getting any more communicable diseases, we’ll be hosting yet another awesome shindig at a really cool location with a pretty sweet special guest.
So, yea, that’s all the information you get right now. Stay tuned for more details, but April 2nd, you’re going to want to be available.
Baseball Poetry
One of the common shots leveled at statistical analysts of baseball is that they have no soul, no creativity, and that they’d rather stare at a sheet of numbers all day than enjoy the true beauty of baseball.
Keith Woolner gives that hypothesis the finger with a fantastic poem at Baseball Prospectus. It even gives Derek’s The Veteran a run for its money.
Mariner news of the day for Tuesday, March 7th
Deanna’s starting a baseball book club, which ties back into the review of Baseball Between the Numbers that ran here.
Horrible headline of the day: “Appier stops M’s bleeding” (PI, other versions at the TNT and in the weird world of Steve Kelley “The seasons in the sun are etched in the lines on his face.”). Also in the PI notebook: teams are getting into the supplement business (approved supplements).
Crasnick on Johjima
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick has a feature on Kenji Johjima’s transition to American baseball.
Speaking of Japanese players, how about Japan losing to Korea in the World Baseball Classic? Ichiro made the final out, no less. Japan still makes the second round, so let the fretting about potential fatigue in the Mariners’ star right fielder continue.
Not a lot to read on Monday
TNT: Meche’s injury puts him behind others in trying to get into the rotation.
“At this point it’s not a major injury, but with a baseball player, and particularly a pitcher, anything with an oblique or an intercostals muscle (which allows inner flexing of the chest wall), you’ve got to be very cautious and very conservative,†trainer Rick Griffin said.
“We’re not going to let him pick a ball up for three days, and then we’ll re-evaluate him. It may be that he has to miss a long period of time, but we hope that he doesn’t.â€Â
PI: Washburn pitched yesterday.
Sunday spring training news
Gil Meche is out indefinately with a strained oblique muscle.
News Tribune goodness:
Dobbs, Morse getting into swing of things
Ichiro auditions for lead role
Sunday is the Seattle Times day, as the PI guys (I presume) get to relax under the terms of the joint publishing agreement:
– Foppert!
– Kazu Sasaki’s a baseball analyst now
Update: M’s got stomped by the Padres again.
Saturday Spring Training haps
Blackley looked good.
M’s lose to the Padres, their hated rivals.
Choo wants to stick with the team (Times)
Pineiro had a couple good innings ahead of his participation in the WBC (Times)
Larry Stone admits he’s having trouble being enthusiastic about the WBC (Times)
The PI’s got a bunch of boring stuff on the WBC. Bleah.
Best Mariner ever deathmatch kick-off
Top ten advance to actual elimination polling. Feel free to debate criteria, make a case, stump for a guy, or suggest sadly overlooked alternates. This list was based on leaders in counting stats and outstanding season achievements (so Charlton’s on there as the saves leader). There’s no criteria by design: if you want to vote for Dan Wilson because you think he best exemplifies the qualities you want to see in a Mariner, so be it. If you want to vote for Harold Reynolds because he’s the sharpest-dressed, that’s fine too. I’m intersted to see how this sorts out.
You can vote for as many players as you want in this first round
Let the debate begin!