Random Mariners Ramblings- The Season.

[Porter]

Here is your random ramblings of 2006.

Why could have we dealt JJ Putz?

[Porter]

That was a big time series win over the Angels. I wonder if we can do the same to the A's, but the A's looked damn good too.

[Porter]

New catcher gaining notice after first week in Majors

Link

SEATTLE -- The respect and admiration for the job Kenji Johjima does behind the plate is nothing new to the Mariners, who have been watching their highly touted Japanese import all spring and consider him a huge part of their planned improvement in 2006.

But after his first week in the Majors, opposing teams and expert observers of the game are noticing things about Johjima, too.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia was the first opposing skipper to take a look at Johjima, and when it comes to catchers, Scioscia knows a thing or two. Scioscia is the Los Angeles Dodgers' all-time leader in games behind the plate and was a two-time All-Star in a 13-year playing career.

"I think he looks very smooth back there, and it's obvious that he works well with the pitching staff," Scioscia said. "He's mobile, he's got a quick release, and I think his arm is solid."

Scioscia's team was stung by Johjima's bat, too. Johjima homered in his first two games, both against the Angels.

"It's too early to really know how to pitch him, and I think you saw that with our pitchers," Scioscia said.

One veteran American League scout who's been in Seattle this week said he likes Johjima as a receiver but agrees with Scioscia that it's too early to say he'll be a good or great Major League hitter.

"He's been getting a lot of pitches he likes, so it'll be interesting to see what he does when pitchers figure out what he doesn't like," the scout said. "He swings at a lot of pitches."

A's manager Ken Macha, a former big-league catcher who also played four seasons in Japan, said Johjima is doing well so far considering he's facing a major challenge.

"Coming over as a catcher is probably the most difficult thing to do," Macha said. "This guy's got to learn three things: the pitchers he's catching, the pitchers he's hitting against and the hitters on the other teams.

"That's not easy."

Hardly every day: Closer Eddie Guardado has only appeared in two of the Mariners' first six games and neither were in save situations. He admitted Sunday morning that it's made him a bit antsy.

"It's gonna come," he said. "And when [save situations] come, they come in bunches. When they don't come, they don't come for a while."

Guardado was brought into the Mariners' first win of the season, on Tuesday, with Seattle up five runs on the Angels. He gave up three runs in an arduous 41-pitch inning.

"I threw nine innings in one inning," Guardado said. "I didn't know if that was possible."

In Saturday night's 3-0 loss to the A's, Guardado got another inning of work and got out of it unscathed.

He said he's eagerly awaiting that first time he's called into the ninth inning of a tight game to shut down the opposing team.

"That's my job, man," Guardado said. "That's what I get paid to do. And I'll be ready."

Lineup flip-flop: Mariners manager Mike Hargrove pulled a slight switcheroo in Sunday's lineup, flip-flopping the regular No. 5 hitter, third baseman Adrian Beltre, and the No. 6 hitter, designated hitter Carl Everett.

Beltre tore up the World Baseball Classic with four home runs in five games but was hitting .136 with no homers and no RBIs through the first six games. Everett had a homer and two RBIs but was batting .158.

By pulling the switch, Hargrove gets more of an alternating lefty-righty lineup. He said there wasn't any specific reason for the move.

"It's just a little different look," Hargrove said. "It's not a huge deal."

Joh has been money so far this season.

[Porter]

Anyone else want to use this tread but myself? *looks at MF, Ele and DK* so i dont feel like im padding posts here.

[MarinersFan87]

Jose Lopez…a star is born (Ms deserve some credit)

The Lopez we all saw last year looked…uninspiring.

Those of you who are honest will admit that Lopez was pulling off the ball and trying to crush everything he liked to left field. He did this often enough that there was a "book" on how to get him out.

1) Pound him mercilessly inside early in games and at bats.

2) Get him out with sliders and change-ups away and out of the strikezone.

3) Never go inside with offspeed pitches.

4) Never go away with the fastball

5) For the love of the almighty, if you're going inside, keep the ball up!

Lopez showed…essentially…no desire to work on his hitting or his fielding through most of his young career. Deny it all you want, but he WAS lazy. For all of Dr. D's rantings on failing to use Lopez because he didn't fit the Mariners' definition of a hard worker, Lopez' lack of work ethic was beginning to make a LOT of scouts wonder if he would ever have what it took to adjust to the major leagues, or at the very least…to play adequate defense up the middle (because if you move his bat to LF, he goes from being an A prospect to a C+ in a huge hurry even if he can adjust).

What the Mariners wanted to see from Lopez was a desire to attack the game and make the most of his enormous potential. To motivate him, their tactic was to tell him he wasn't going to be handed a job and he had to go out there and work his tail off. The good Doc was very concerned Seattle would opt to start Willie *bleepin* Bloomquist rather than a power-hitting young stud in the making based solely on attitude. I would argue that if they hadn't pressured Lopez into changing his attitude, they might well have had another Rey Quinones on their hands. Yeah…remember him? The slick fielder with a brilliant future cut miserably short by his life's dream…owning a liquer store in Tijuana? That Rey Quinones?

Obviously, Lopez is a more talented hitter than Quinones, but let's be sure we remember when we scoff at Seattle's preference for hard workers that a lot of minor league prospects fail specifically because they don't work hard enough…and let's try not to revise history when we look back at this ST. Lopez was a failure early on specifically because he refused to work on adjusting to the new level and because he let himself get a little overweight.

Apparently…despite Dr. D's fears, the Mariners' decision to motivate Lopez at gunpoint worked perfectly. He dedicated the spring to learning to hit to the opposite field (you go Pentland!), and conditioning himself better to play defense.

Now we're all giddy because he's on pace to hit about 30 HRs and run a line of .290/.340/.520 with above average defense at 2B…a star is being born in Seattle.

Give the Mariners some of the credit.

Best Mariner Blog on the Net

[Porter]

Lopez is a changed man this season. His confidence is also at an all time high right now as well.

[MarinersFan87]

Rank your favorite M's 1-25 time!

1a. Jose Lopez
1b. Felix Hernandez
3. Rafael Soriano
4. Richie Sexson
5. Ichiro Suzuki
6. Adrian Beltre
7. Kenji Johjima
8. Yuniesky Betancourt
9. Jeremy Reed
10. Jamie Moyer
11. George Sherrill
12. Joel Pineiro
13. Jarrod Washburn
14. Raul Ibanez
15. Roberto Petagine
16. Rene Rivera
17. Jake Woods
18. Eddie Guardado
19. JJ Putz
20. Matt Lawton
21. Gil Meche
22. Joe Borchard
23. Julio Mateo
24. Willie Bloomquist
25. Carl Everett

Grover + Willie + Jurassic Carl =

[GroverMustGo]

It's time for Mike Hargrove to go. He is an idiot. A monkey can manage better than him.

[MarinersFan87]

It's time for Mike Hargrove to go. He is an idiot. A monkey can manage better than him.

^^^

I'm with this guy.

[GroverMustGo]

I personally think he is a fool.

He is in love with veterans. He has no idea how to use his relievers. He just sucks.

[MarinersFan87]

The relievers is the part that most bugs me now that he has seemed to gotten better with giving jobs to the young guys.

Mateo has been horrible and he keeps getting put into pressure situations. Raffy is the best reliever and should be used exclusively in close games, preferably in the 8th and 9th. Grover has a love affair with having Putz being the set up.

[GroverMustGo]

You know and I know that Bavasi and Ownership told Grover to play the young guys. They had to because you know Grover couldn't do it.

[MarinersFan87]

Probably. Grover isn't the right manager for a guy like Bavasi. I think Bill has done a good job building the system up and putting talented, young guys on the team, but Grover won't develop them. It's going to end up costing both of them their jobs.

[GroverMustGo]

The bottom line is that Bavasi wanted Joe Maddon, who manages the Devil Rays. Remember those two worked together in Anaheim. Unfortunately, that stupid ownership of ours wanted a name manager because we did not had success with Bob Melvin so we hired a loser in Hargrove.

[Porter]

Grover has managed good teams in the past which is the reason why we hired him. But after seeing the great Eddie G give up a winner to Nixon. Its time to close with Soriano.