Seattle Mariners

I'm in love with a man whom I've never met. My knowledge of his life is minimal, and he doesn't even know I exist. Yet he's affected my life in ways few have, and I preach his praises to any congregation that will listen.

I am, of course, referring to Chone Figgins.

After watching the Mariners blow game after game, it came as no surprise their hitting was amiss again Sunday.  Doug Fister’s great showing was all for nothing, and Ichiro’s stolen home run forgotten.

Buster Olney of ESPN spoke with the agent for Seattle Mariners pitcher Cliff Lee last night about the southpaw’s future plans, and apparently signing a contract extension with the M’s is not in it.

“We’re five months away from free agency,” said Braunecker, “so I think that’s the most likely scenario at this point.”

“We’ve not really had any significant discussions with Seattle. I wouldn’t anticipate a deal [with the Mariners].”

Finally. Or maybe that should read, "Final-Lee?"

The Seattle Mariners made a huge trade in the offseason to acquire the services of former Cy Young winner Cliff Lee, and tonight, a month into the season, he will make his first appearance on the mound.

Lee got off on the wrong foot this year. Literally. Literal-Lee. A couple of weeks prior to spring training, he needed a minor surgery on his foot and would miss the start of the exhibition season.

Milwaukee 20, Pittsburgh 0. I nearly dropped my laptop when I saw that score-line the other night. Almost right away, I wondered if it was time for Major League Baseball to implement the mercy rule.

The Milwaukee win isn't actually the best case of a reason to bring in this ruling, also known as the "Slaughter Rule." It was "only" 10-0 after six innings, before the Brewers piled on ten more. (A better example would be the Texas Rangers 30-3 win against the Baltimore Orioles during the 2007 season.)

On his way out of Chicago, Milton Bradley burned a number of bridges.

When asked about his lackluster season with the Chicago Cubs, Bradley didn’t refrain from playing the blame game. He blamed the coaching staff, the media and the fans for an unprecedented level of expectations and pressure.

Game No. 16 of 162 in Fantasy Baseball Insiders’ summer-long journey featured a pitcher’s duel between Randy Wells and Jonathan Niese, as well as Ike Davis ’ major league debut.

Game No. 16 – Chicago Cubs vs. New York Mets

Mariners 11, Tigers 3

The Good:

It only counts as one game in the standings.

The Bad:

No comeback this time. After giving up three runs in the third, it appeared that the Tigers were going to get right back in the game when they scored two in the fourth. But the comeback bid was stamped out by the M's answer of two runs in the bottom of the fourth and six runs in the fifth.

Swings and misses:

Milton Bradley is a hot head. He has some anger management issues that are well documented. Bradley is more likely to explode within his own head than have the ball explode off his bat, but he has the talent and potential to really contribute to a team’s offensive success.

Let's be honest. The first week of the Seattle Mariners season has been a massive disappointment.

Thus far, the offense has underwhelmed and the pitching has struggled. The defense has been stellar, but it can't swing a bat or strike a batter out; therefore it can't solve the current Mariners' dilemma.

As several fans and writers have correctly pointed out, it's too early to abandon ship. This team has talent at several key positions, the best young pitcher in the American League, and a ballpark that is built to accommodate its playing style.