Mariners Quiet at Trade Deadline

For a team that has arguably passed expectations for this season, and finds themselves firmly entrenched in the postseason race, the Seattle Mariners were conspicuously docile as yesterday's trade deadline approached and passed.

Yes, the Mariners managed to move Julio Mateo, but he has spent most of the season in AAA Tacoma or suspended. Not a big surprise, as the Mariners made it clear to Mateo that he would never pitch in Seattle again (nor is it a surprise that Phillies' GM, and former Mariners' GM, Pat Gillick, would swoop in and take him). Also, Seattle's bullpen has been lights out this season without him - J.J. Putz and George Sherrill have been nearly unhittable.

But why didn't the Mariners pick up another bat? Only two everyday players are hitting over .300, and much as it pains me to say it, Adrian Beltre (especially after his breakout 2004)and Richie Sexson haven't exactly been as good as advertised at the plate, although nobody can deny Beltre's value on defense. Sexson has power, but it seems like he's all or nothing at the plate.

The Mariners' starting pitching has been somewhat of a mystery, too. It seems like everybody has been struggling all year, but most everybody has at least a .500 record, even with some high ERAs (Can Jeff Weaver - who in his two wins looked like a Hall-of-Famer - figure out who the hell he's going to be?). How is Horacio Ramirez 6-3 with an ERA approaching 6.5? And poor King Felix, who just hasn't been the same since a stint on the disabled list early this season, is only 7-6 with a 3.85 ERA - he just can't get much run support.

It's a shame the Mariners' brass couldn't figure out something to try to improve this ball club, who is only 4 games back of the Angels in the division and only 1.5 games back of the Indians for the Wild Card. While most teams in that position would try to make some type of move to get themselves over the hump, the Mariners have a history of standing pat at the trade deadline, watching the teams around them make deals instead.

Although, I guess M's fans shouldn't be too disappointed - they weren't supposed to be this close to begin with. Consider yourselves lucky?

Is $90million investment really comprehensible?

Three days later of the All-star game, Ichiro made a five-year contract extension for $90million with Seattle Mariners. He breaks the most expensive contraction record among Asian major leagers, which was held by Chanho, Park. Seattle Mariners will pay part of his salary, because of their budget limits.
He did enough jobs for 4 years. He has dedicated with his great records. Overall, his batting AVG is .332. Some journalist said that for last 4year, compared with other team’s first betters, his record represents that he almost did a volunteer job for Seattle Mariners.
However, the curious point is that he really can do well for rest 5 years. He is already 34years old. It means that his speed could not be as fast as these days. When we look at his OBP(on-base percentage), it is not very high compared with his AVG(batting average). If his speed cannot work well, he probably could not make as many hits as last 4 years.
I do not doubt his outstanding ability. We will see follow five years whether he will satisfy mariners fan or not.

Japan Night

The official "Japan Night" at Safeco Firld is not for another month, but it might as well have been Wed, June 27, when the visiting Boston Red Sox faced off against the Seattle Mariners. More than 43,000 fans came out for the main attraction: the Red Sox's new pitching ace Daisuke "Dice-K" Matsuzaka vs. the Mariner's superstar, Ichiro Suzuki.

The game marked the first time the two had met in Seattle, and the third time since Matsuzaka joined the major leagues this year. In a now-famous quote give to the Seattle Times earlier this season, Ichiro said, "I hope he arouses the fire that's dormant in the innermost recesses of my soul. I plan to face him with the zeal of a challenger." However, Matsuzaka clearly had gotten the better of Ichiro in the previous meeting, holding him to 0-for-5 with two walks and strikeout.

Ichiro showed why he is considered a great defensive player, using his exceptional speed to catch eleven balls in center field. He generated a third of the total outs recorded against Boston over the course of the game, including all three in the seventh inning.

Ichiro and the Mariners ended up the winners on this day over Matsuzaka and the Red Sox, with a hard-fought 2-1 victory three-game series. Yet the real winners were surely the fans on hand, who witnessed an unforgettable game from two great Japanese players.

Both of them are excellent players, but of course I favor Ichiro much more than Matsuzaka. Now, Ichiro is at in a center of attraction. Ichiro's sharp fielding, speedy base running and skillful batting have helped baseball fan appreciate that there is more to baseball than just home runs.
I think about the key to Ichiro's success. One is his stance of humility. He never became bigheaded. Another one is his sensible diet. My friend who is in Seattle said she sometimes see Ichiro's wife in Uwajimaya( a big famous Asian grocery store.) She always buy many fresh Japanese stuff. Maybe Ichiro's wife support him physically by serving nourishing meals.

Moreover, I am happy about Ichiro Suzuki signing a five-year contract extension!

The surprising end that stuns all.

The Seattle Mariners had been in a downfall since their amazing season with 116 wins. Each year since, they had only gotten worse. The team had gone through a couple managers, the most recent Mike Hargrove. It did not take fans long before they were already asking for his head. The team had a huge payroll with players that were not even coming close to their contracts worth such as Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson. Last season the Mariners finished with a record of 78 wins and 84 losses, good for last place in the AL west again. Many fans didn’t assume that he would be fired during the off-season; they expected it. Then came opening day of the 2007 season and Hargrove was still the man calling the shots, that was until a few days ago.

The Mariners got off to a good but somewhat slow start due to many snow and rain outs at the start of the season that halted an entire series in Cleveland that yet has to be completely made up. Still the Mariners started to rise. They finally started to win again and actually put themselves in the race once again for the playoffs. Riding a 7 game winning streak that included a sweep of the Boston Red Sox came an announcement that surprised the baseball world. Mike Hargrove decided to resign. With his club the hottest team in all of Major League Baseball, Hargrove stated he had simply lost his passion for the game of baseball and didn't want to bring the club down.

As a Mariners fan myself that was completely stunned with the announcement and timing, am not all that upset. I only wish he would have made his decision before the season started so that this would not have become a distraction the way it did. Following the announcement the team lost 2 games to the Royals which I believe was do to them still in shock from the move. If Hargrove really lost his passion for the game, for the team, for what ever; that’s fine, get out like you did and go away so the team can move on. If you did not want to hurt the team you should have just kept this out of the public eye and dealt with it for the remainder of the season, that is already half over. It is never good for a team to lose a manager midseason, especially one that is winning. Managers normally leave because they are fired for the team not performing.

Now I wish the Mariners all the best luck on the rest of the season and hope to see them in October. As for Mike Hargrove, you had overstayed your welcome, I’m Glad your gone, Good Bye! Now the Mariners can continue on their path of success and will now hopefully have someone in charge that wants to be there and wants the team to win a World Series.