NorthWest Sports Blog brings you daily features on Oregon, Washington State, and BC amateur and pro sports teams.
NWSB Insider Brandon Choate brings us his weekly Fantasy Baseball recap of your Seattle Mariners. The pitchers headlined the dominant performances this week, with Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma combining for 4 wins and Tom Wilhelmsen adding 2 saves. Michael Saunders and Kyle Seager did their part at the plate while many did not.
NWSB Insider and Seattle Mariners blogger Clinton Bell tells us to him the best “MY oh MY” play of the fifth week of the year had to be the all around play of the Mariners for the week. The M’s took 4 out of 6 games, en route to a series win against both the Orioles and Blue Jays. Welcome back Michael Saunders, great pitching, a triple by Jesus Montero, a slam by Dustin Ackley, and Jason Bay is hitting the ball well. A great week by our Mariners all around.
NWSB Editor and Insider Chris Anderson talks about the overachievers and underachievers for the Seattle Mariners during their early campaign in 2013. Not having won a series in 2013, dropping 4-of-6 to the Astros (THE ASTROS) early on, and a team batting average of .228 have what fans were thinking about attending a game trying to figure out what else they can do on that particular day. One of the reasons this has occurred are several players not living up to their potential.
NWSB Insider and Seattle Mariners’ blogger Jeff Budke talks about the Seattle Mariners trends and aberrations of the young season. With Felix Hernandez on the mound, you can expect a low scoring output by the opposing team. But you can normally expect one from the M’s too. That wasn’t the case Monday night. The M’s exploded for 7 runs, including HR’s by Kyle Seager, Kendrys Morales, and Jesus Montero. Maybe the tides are turning for the SS Mariner.
NWSB Insider and Seattle Mariners blogger Clinton Bell tells us to him the best “MY oh MY” play of the third week of the year had to be Felix Hernandez finally getting his 100th career win against the Houston Astros. What a difference. The Mariners scored as many runs in three innings tonight as they did in three games up in Arlington. Felix finally gets to the century mark, and the M’s unleashed the bats for 7 runs.
NWSB Insider and Seattle Mariners blogger Jeff Budke brings us a question for the ages; Shoppach, or Montero? Kelly Shoppach has been the more productive hitter between the two this year, but Montero is supposed to be the go to guy at the plate for the M’s. Shoppach is the better of the two behind the plate as well. Should Wedge make a move? We are still very early in the season, but, wins may be at stake here.
NWSB Insider Brandon Choate brings us his weekly Fantasy Baseball recap of your Seattle Mariners. Felix Hernandez is always your best bet, but there are more MAriners in the mix this year. Hisashi Iwakuma has pitched like Felix this season (so far) and Michael Morse and Kendrys Morales have been doing what they were brougth in to do – produce runs. Last year’s scapegoats, sans Chone Figgins, are already on the hot seat this season – Justin Smoak, Dustin Ackley, Brendan Ryan
NWSB Insider and Seattle Mariners blogger Jeff Budke reports on the fifteenth game of the season versus the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers have a pretty impressive offensive lineup Jeff states, but he also says that the worst may not be here yet. He’s talking about the next two pitchers the M’s will face; Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. Ex Mariner deck hand Doug Fister took it to the M’s Tuesday night, leaving the fans wondering why exactly Jack Z made that trade.
NWSB Insider and Seattle Mariners blogger Jeff Budke reports on the tenth game of the season versus the Houston Astros. Jeff points out pitching is a major problem with this M’s team right now. He says a pitcher should be evaluated over time, perhaps every month within a season, but it is hard to avoid that when Brandon Maurer & then Blake Beavan put the bullpen and the offense in bad positions playing with different mindsets. Is Aaron Harang the answer?
NWSB Insider and Seattle Mariners blogger Jeff Budke brings us his top five most positive aspects of the Jack Zduriencik & Eric Wedge era here in Seattle. Of course you can’t mention these two guys, and the Mariners in the same sentence without bringing up the great rebuild of the century. There sure have been plenty of moves, but it seems that we are finally on the right path here in Seattle. From the farm system to the trades, Jack Z has us on our way.
NWSB insider and Mariners blogger Jon Irwin gives his rundown of the Seattle Mariner’s defensive lineup in 2013. For a team like Seattle, defense is imperative. The team enters 2013 with an improved lineup, but pitching remains the biggest competitive advantage; meaning it needs a good defense. Headlining this year’s group of gloves is Brendan Ryan and Franklin Gutierrez.
NWSB inside and Mariners blogger Jon Irwin gives us his look at the upcoming 2013 MLB season, with four Mariners facing make-or-break seasons. Among the names are second baseman Dustin Ackley, outfielder Michael Saunders and closer Tom Wilhelmsen. He says in 2012, the Mariners saw breakout seasons from guys like Kyle Seager, Hisashi Iwakuma and Tom Wilhelmsen. It also saw the departure of guys like Brandon League and Jason Vargas.
