Tagged: Batista
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
Revenge is sweet…
…only when you’re the one that’s giving it. 
Unfortunately we’re on the receiving end of it and the Angels (and Angels fans I’m sure) are having a field day.
Here are the series results so far:
09/08/09: 2-3 Angels F/10
09/09/09: 3-6 Angels
09/10/09: 72-0 Mariners
Ok, I’m obviously joking about the last game of the series consdering it hasn’t even been played quite yet but that’s the result I’m hoping for. 72 runs might be too much but 40 isn’t asking for too much, is it? Crossing my fingers! :]
Oh Angels, Angels, Angels…how I loathe you. Never in a million years would I boycott the Mariners to become an Angels fan (never, I tell you, never!) but I can at least admit that I loathe you due to the fact that I’m really jealous and bitter of how amazing of the team you Angels are.
The first game of the series, the Angels decided they were tired and wanted to go home. They took advantage of a crumbling Batista and indeed finished the game in the bottom 10th.
Then the next day, the Angels figured they would set themselves apart early in the game so they scored 4 runs in the first inning….then a couple insurance runs here and there later on just in case, even though they didn’t need it.
Now today, however, will be different. I can just feel it. I feel empowered and I’m sending this vibe all the way from Detroit to L.A. Teehee ♥
How can I possibly end an entry nowadays without this:
ICHIRO HIT COUNT:
196
My selfish wish is that he reaches hit # 200 at home, but the boys still have 4 games ahead of them before coming home. At the rate he’s going, I’m assuming he’ll be hitting #200 down south in Texas! All you Texas fans, go witness history being made at the Rangers Ballpark (what a simple name, love it!)!
Toodles!
xoxo
P.S. What I especially love about the Angels:
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. ♥
This is what the girl thinks.... 