Tagged: Aardsma
We still have 159 games, right?
Right? RIGHT?
I was trying to hold off on the blog until the Mariners started their winning streak but since that doesn’t seem like it’s happening anytime soon, I figure I’d give in and finally write an entry. It’s long overdue and I’ve missed this mlblogosphere and everyone in it.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am PSYCHED (I know, poor choice of vocabulary) that baseball season is underway.
Opening Day was marvelous, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. The Mariners were on the cover of ESPN, despite Cliff Lee’s placement on the DL everyone else seemed to be in tip top shape, I found a few friends to go to a sports bar with me to watch the game, I wore my new t-shirt, I had an amazing margarita and to top it all off, the Mariners won! They won against the Oakland Athletics 5-3. Ichiro got a hit (of course), Griffey had a hit, Kotchman was the MVP, Aardsma saved the game…..all in all it was a fantastic day for me.
However… (que depressing music)
That was basically the start and also end to my happy, Mariners victory days.
Will somebody please tell me (nicely) what happened to my boys?
Because it can’t possibly be that the Texas Rangers or Oakland Athletics (no less), are better than the Mariners! (I mean this in the nicest way, Rangers/A’s fans)
That’s just ludacris.
So does anyone else have any suggestions? I’m at a complete loss. It makes me want to hurl as I write this but we are looking at a 2-5 record in the face at the moment. We lost the series to the A’s and of course we lost the series to the Rangers. I honestly don’t even want to know how the Angels are doing because they can’t possibly be doing any worse than the Mariners. We are bottom and out, man.
Yes, yes I know we have 150-something games left and I should keep my chin up (blah, blah, blah) but the Mariners aren’t the Yankees, you know? They’re not really known for doing horribly the first half of the season and then magically start winning every single game post All-Star.
I’m pulling my hair out, people.
You know what? Enough negativity. I need to calm down, cross my fingers, pray to the baseball Gods and just be the #1 Mariners fan that I am.
Which brings me to great news.
Although I’m a little bitter about working all day and all night today which results in not being able to attend the Mariners Opening Day, I’m happy to say that this Friday I will not only be at Safeco Field with a friend I haven’t seen in years, but I will have a Ken Griffey Jr “The Kid” bobblehead in my hand…and hopefully some garlic fries, lemonade and shishkaberries (left).
So, if any of you reading this is going to be at the Mariners game on Friday, say hi if you see me! I’m nice and I don’t bite, I promise 🙂 I’ll be sporting this:
1. The picture quality is horrible and I realize this.
2. I’m not one to take self-portraits but it had to be done.
Also, I was recently given the opportunity to write for a fan-based sports website called Fanhuddle…of course, on the Seattle Mariners section. I believe Virginia, aka Southernbelle is also a writer on Fanhuddle but for the New York Yankees. It’s a very unique sports website run and written by dedicated fans so you should check it out sometime.
Click Here for Fanhuddle – Seattle Mariners
Well everyone, it’s been nice and I’ll be back more often now that baseball season is happening. If anything, I’ll be sure to update with fun pictures from Friday’s game.
Until then….
xoxo
Over here in the Emerald City….
It’s hard to sit with a cup of coffee, maybe a cookie and find time to write a new entry when your life is chaotic. I won’t bore you with my latest antics but we’ll leave it at this; my life has been crazy.
Even that sounds like an understatement. 
Over here in the rainy beautiful Emerald City, more specifically at 1st Ave and Edgar Martinez Dr, lots have been happening. The Mariners organization has been busy. Busy dealing with arbitrations, busy signing new and old players, busy inviting players to Spring Training, busy having photo shoots with new players, busy mourning the departure of Branyan and Johjima….
….ok the last one is just me.
Like I said on my Twitter, I have waited too long to update my blog that I have no idea where to start. I’m going to machine-gun my way through some Mariners updates but please note that they are in no particular order.
1. Felix Hernandez is staying! For FIVE more years! I expected 2 or 3, but 5? I’m beyond ecstatic and I’m sure a lot of other Mariners fans are too. The exact number for Felix’s raise is not disclosed, but I’m guessing it’ll be a chunky amount compared to his 3.8 million salary last season! When you’re a Cy Younger runner-up, you deserve it.
Wow, I’m pretty confident when I say we have the most vicious 1-2 punch for our starting rotation in the entire Major Leagues. Sorry Angels, we’ll be dethroning you this season.
2. Mariners closer David Aardsma and relief pitcher Derek Lowe signed a one-year extension and both a raise in their salaries. They certainly both deserved the raise after their outstanding (especially Aardsma) performances in the ’09 season. Aardsma was 38 for 42 save opportunities, and Lowe was one of the only consistently dependable RPs for us last season.
3. Say hello to our new 1st baseman Casey Kotchman from the Red Sox. Please don’t ask me how I feel about this or I’ll start crying. I would like to ask our GM one question; why wasn’t Branyan a good candidate? Sure, he was injured but he did his job as the team slugger hitting 31 HRs and manned 1st base extremely well. Ok fine, I guess the M’s offered him a 1 year deal and he rejected it. Let me pout for a few seconds.
…….
Ok I’m done. As a faithful Mariners fan, I should welcome Casey Kotchman with a smiling face and open arms. Casey, I wish you success in our amazing team but please don’t do anything that’ll make me regret the smiling face and open arms. Mmmkay?
Russell, I will miss you dearly and I wish you the best. I highly doubt that anyone in our lineup (so far) is going to blast 31 homeruns like you did last season. What are we going to do without a slugger like you? Eeep!
4. The Mariners welcome Brandon League as a result of a trade with Brandon Morrow. I don’t have much to say about this trade because it kind of feels like an even exchange. Both their ERA’s are kind of high, both had an unstable season. I do like his glasses though.
There you go, a quick update of what the 2010 AL West Champions Mariners have been up to. :] I can’t believe Spring Training is right around the corner; it feels like it’s been ages since I’ve watched baseball. Now that I’m back in the Pacific Northwest, I plan on going to a ridiculous amount of Mariners game this season. Besides, I have my game shirt ready and everything:
It was a gift from Santa! ♥
xoxoxoxoxoxo
Thank you boys…♥
I’m slowly adjusting back into the working girl life (thank you for the wishes, I got the job!) in the best coast…I mean, west coast, while I, together with my Grandpa, sulk that baseball season is practically over.
For Mariners fans anyway.
Now call me cheesy but I got teary-eyed watching the final game of the Mariners season. The boys won 4-3 against the Texas Rangers and so much happened in the game. Not one player gets honorable mention because practically everyone did. Felix got his 19th win this season while he vies for the Cy Young, David Aardsma closed the game, Ichiro had a hit and a run, Griffey had a hit, Guttierrez scored some runs, Lopez scored the winning run, Batista had a perfect 8th inning and Wakamatsu led the team for their 85th win of the season.
I cannot believe the Mariners had such a great rebound year after last year’s 101 game loss. With Bavasi gone, that should have been a good sign anyway, but when the new GM chose Wakamatsu, there were definitely some speculation as to how he was going to perform as the new skipper for a disconnected 40-man-40-cab team after the 2008 season. I hate to say it but the 2008 Mariners were plain sad to watch. No player chemistry or respect, no smiles or hugs….and of course barely any wins. I am a Mariners fan through thick and thin but no season was as tough as the ’08 season.
Hiring Jack Zduriencik (GM) and Don Wakamatsu was truly the best change the organization could have made.
Now only if they would hire me as the assistant coach, right? :] 
Actually, I’ve always wanted to organize a dance team for the Mariners. I admit, one of the many things I like about baseball is that there are no cheerleaders or dancers dressed in close-to-nothing making provocative moves. However, as a former dancer (jazz/hip hop) and a Mariners fanatic, I would have so much fun making up a dance team for the M’s! It would consist of dancers of all ages, we’d wear Mariners jerseys and have dance moves that everyone in the stadium can learn! Oh I wish ♥
Anyway……
As the Yankees and Phillies compete for the World Series Championship, I truly wish the best for both teams! I’m going to have to jump on the Phillies band-wagon though, because I’m assuming the Yankees have enough intense supporters and I think the Phillies can use some DG oomph ♥ Good luck to both teams, though!
Also, I’d like to say a special farewell to my favorite catcher, Kenji Johjima. The news came as a surprise when the fans were informed that he was breaking his 3 year contract to return to Japan. In a nutshell, there was some controversey with the reason of breaking the contract. Joh had told the Mariners he was leaving due to the fact that he wasn’t close to his family. However, Joh told the Japanese media that he was leaving because he wasn’t going to get any playing time next year with Johnson taking most of the spot-light this season. Joh had told them he wanted to be their main catcher, not their back-up. According to a Japanese article I read, you can’t opt out of a contract just because you aren’t satisfied with your position or playing time; yet you can opt out if it’s for a family issue. Apparently Mariners management are not happy with Johjima and his communication discrepancy between the Japanese media and the U.S media. Ah well. As a fan, none of that matters. I just have to say I’ll miss him and wish him the best back home in Japan. I’m sure he’ll continue to play amazing baseball.
But jeez, now I have to buy a new Mariners t-shirt. I’m starting to accumulate ex-Mariners t-shirts in my bottom drawer. It’s kind of a dilemma for a Mariners fan to choose whose t-shirt they should buy without it becoming unwearable after a season. I’m guessing I’m good to go for a few years if I buy an Ichiro t-shirt.
As far as next season….
……will the Mariners go for 85+ wins next season? Is Griffey returning for perhaps one more season? Is Johnson’s hip surgery going to affect his performance next season? Is Moore going to be a sufficient enough catcher to fill the shoes of a departing Johjima? Will Ichiro keep breaking his own record and go for 10 years in a row to hit 200+ hits? Will Felix get 20 wins? Will Aardsma have 45+ saves once again? Is Beltre coming back to man third base? Which J.Wilson (Jack or Josh) will rise above during the off-season to dominate as SS? Will Gutierrez continue to build on his successful season? Is Branyan signing with the Mariners and will he lead in HRs again despite his back? Will Zduriencik and Wakamatsu find an efficient third-base coach?
As you can see, fans and I have a lot of questions. Yet, all I want to do now is sit back and reminisce on the fantastic season the Mariners have given us this season.
Thank you boys for giving me a reason to be passionate!
Rest up though, because spring training will be here before you know it ♥
xoxo
Ichiro robs Royalty
Ok so a little bit of a false alarm. I didn’t think I was going to have any easy access to internet let alone from my own laptop but turns out my host has wireless internet and the first thing I thought?
Sweet, I can blog during down-time ♥
So here I am in beautiful Portland, Oregon. I have jetlag of +3 hours so I was wide awake on my vacation at 6:30am. Unfortunate but this gives me time to blog while my host sleeps in so it’s a wonderful thing! :]
I know this is off-topic but my flight from Detroit to Portland was hell. I had a great window-seat exit row but had an extremely obese woman sitting next to me and her muffin top was spilling over the arm-rest and into my seat. Not only that but she kept wanting to look outside the window and mercilessly leaned over me to do so. Couldn’t breathe! Although I’m used to flying 9+ hours on a plane back and forth from Tokyo to Seattle, this flight of a mere 4 hours seemed never ending. I’m sure you guys have had horrible flight experiences. Just thought I’d share.
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Back to baseball.
The most amazing thing that happened to me yesterday apart from the fact that I’m back home and spent the whole day with best friends, it was when I was scrolling down the comcast remote and when I selected “MLB Baseball“, it was the Mariners vs Royals game. Wow, how nice is it to be able to watch your favorite team on TV without having to log into GameDay or paying for MLB Extra Innings? Wow I’m going to be so spoiled for the next month. Sounds ridiculous I’m sure. :]
I didn’t watch the entire game; I actually started watching in the top 4th and the Mariners were down by 1. Rowland-Smith was our SP and definitely didn’t do a repeat on his last start where he went hitless for 6 innings. He struggled by giving up 5 runs within the first 4 innings and he was done. As I’ve mentioned before, the Mariners relief pitchers make me extremely nervous but Kelley, Batista and Lowe did a great job. Kelley gave up the 6th run to the Royals but ended up with the win. Aardsma came out to close the game and succeeded despite loading the bases for himself.
He had a little help from Ichiro. He blasted a homerun in the first inning, went 2 for 5 with 3 runs, but the biggest oomf that saved the Mariners was this…….
In the bottom 9th with 2 outs bases loaded, Buck hit a slicing foul ball towards right field, right in the corner where absolutely no one but Ichiro could see. It was quite a long dash for Ichiro but as soon as the ball dropped, we saw a blow of dust and a glove rising from the corner. Ichiro had caught that insanely difficult catch and rescued Aardsma from a blown save. Ichiro isn’t an 8 time Gold Glover for no reason, huh? I wonder if he was on the Web Gems last night? He should’ve! He’s amazing!
We definitely can’t forget the man that gave the Mariners the one run lead which ended up to be the only one we needed.
Russell Branyan! He’s been in a little slump as of late but turned that around for himself and for the team last night. Branyan hit a line drive between Butler and Callaspo scoring Jack Wilson. Branyan went 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs. Good job, Russ! :]
As far as watching the game (on TV, yay!), it’s always been so fun to watch the Mariners take on the Royals because of all the former Mariners players that they’ve acquired throughout the years.
Gil Meche*
Yuniesky Betancourt*
Willie Bloomquist*
Jose Guillen
Miguel Olivo
They were all great players for the Mariners and it’s always so nice to see their smiling faces. Not only that, but Olivo and Yuni both went 2 for 4 last night scoring half the runs that the Royals produced.
Miss you boys! So much! ♥
With all that said, I’m happy I managed to write up an entry this morning. Busy day ahead but turns out my friends are having a party for me at Buffalo Wild Wings where they have TVs in every corner, and at 4pm which is exactly when the Mariners start.
Am I completely ridiculous and horrible for thinking that?
Toodles!
xoxo
*=Missed the most by me. Hehe. ♥
The Unexpected Stars
I have to admit, I was more than surprised with last night’s win against the Toronto Blue Jays for three reasons: 
“He’s good. They don’t call him Doc Halladay for nothing”- Ken Griffey Jr. 
Just a personal opinion, but I will miss Ronny Cedeno. As far as I know, he was an extremely amiable guy and reading about how he was in tears in the clubhouse after the news came in, makes me want to cry too :[ Sure, he was in a 0-26 slump and this is the baseball business, but his hard-working, positive attitude and huge smile really came across to us M’s fans. Good luck in Pittsburgh Ronny, we’ll miss you! 5th Time’s the Charm
Congrats Ichiro! Omedetou gozaimasu! :]
Bring it on ♥
The bright side of all this though (because there’s always a silver lining), is that Ichiro (surprise surprise) went 3 for 5 with 2 runs raising his average to .362 and Gutierrez (who apparently is completely recovered from that painful slam into the CF wall back here in Detroit) went 3 for 5 also, raising his average to .300! Yay! 