AL West

Gotta love the picture

At this time during the baseball season things are beginning to wind down before the All-Star break. The selections have largely been announced, and every team gets a much needed break, while a majority of the players get some time to ease off the tension and relax.

We obviously have seen just the beginning of the wheeling and dealing to commence before the trade deadline. 

One day after dealing Yuniesky Betancourt for a pair of minor leaguers the Mariners have struck again nabbing 3B Jack Hannahan from the Oakland Athletics for Double-A pitcher Justin Souza. 

We still have 20 full days until the trade deadline, and still have all of our trade chips intact like Jarrod Washburn, and Miguel Batista, both will be subject to plenty of Hot Stove rumors. 

The Mariners signed Guillermo Pimentel on Thursday, effectively stealing him from the Rangers.

It may have proved that the Mariners aren’t committed, at least not to the hell-or-high-water extent that the previous members of front office were committed to their own specialized recipe for success, to defense.

Actually, perhaps the proper characterization is that the team has actually acquired a philosophy and stopped hiding from the evolution of baseball scouting.

Looks like the apparent blunder of nixing a Washburn deal with the Minnesota Twins last year was not much of a mistake. 

This is a question that Mariners fans have been asking themselves and each other all season. So far, there really hasn't been a clear cut answer, but it's starting to look more and more like a yes.

As of now, the Seattle Mariners are sitting at 35-34, two-and-a-half games behind Texas and two behind LA.  On top of that, this upcoming series with San Diego presents an opportunity to gain even more ground, as our division rivals are facing much more challenging opponents.

Even as King Felix dominated Sunday's game, the Mariners offense slumbered. It took a crucial mistake from the opposing first baseman to seal a 3-2 Seattle win.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the game tied at two, Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Tony Clark flat-out dropped the throw from third baseman Mark Reynolds on a Franklin Gutierrez groundout.

It wasn't the ideal way to win a game, but I guess it sorta makes up for the one of the Brandon Morrow meltdowns in Texas.

When Endy Chavez and Yuniesky Betancourt collided in shallow left field, I had one reaction: “Endy’s career is over.”

Then, when he was rolling over on the grass holding his knee, I felt bad for prophesying the eventual end to his career. He’s a slap-hitting, speed-oriented outfielder, and serious knee injury is the equivalent to a motorcycle with a flat tire.

To begin this column, I’d like to extend a heartfelt sympathy to Russell Branyan, Jose Lopez and Rob Johnson, who have all been impacted by family illness or death in recent days.