The New Era - Seattle Mariners -

[K0ZZ]

Mariners move Noesi before finishing off Devil Rays

SEA (12-13) 0
TB (9-16) 2
WP: Jake McGee (2-2) 5.4 ERA 12 K 2 BB 1.2 WHIP
LP: Tom Wilhelmsen (0-1) 4.11 ERA 13 K 2 BB 0.98 WHIP

SEA (13-13) 12
TB (9-17) 6
WP: Felix Hernandez (4-1) 4.69 ERA 38 K 9 BB 1.26 WHIP
LP: David Price (2-3) 3.72 ERA 36 K 18 BB 1.24 WHIP

The Mariners would continue trying to keep up with the Rangers who now sit 3.5 games ahead of them but luckily the Angels are just drifting slightly past the Mariners only 1 game higher. If the Mariners manage to finish this season in second, that would be a huge success and a huge blow to someone's fanbase. The Angels after their spending spree or the Rangers after two consecutive world series runner ups finishing under a team that barely won sixty games a year ago and made no big moves, would be insane.

The bats came alive in a big way for the Mariners in this series, something they would love to consistently be capable of doing but there is no signs that this will be a persistent showing. The Devil Rays are off to a terrible start and the Mariners going 3-1 on them in Tampa just proves it even more that things are getting difficult for one of the teams in Florida.

Hector Noesi a National

The Nationals decided to bring in a more rounded prospect as they send Alex Meyer to the Mariners for Noesi. The Mariners had been shipping around Noesi for a slightly younger player not finding Noesi to be the kind of pitcher they were hoping for. Meyer comes in fresh out of the University of Kentucky and will see playing time at AAA and MLB levels, mainly in the relief slot for the Mariners and starting for the Rainiers.

Meyer has been quiet most of the season as has Noesi who was largely unimpressive in terms of keeping batters off the bases and was never too consistently involved in team activities. "We are happy with the roster we have now, we will entertain trade talks, but we will not be active in pursuing anything unless we feel a need arise" said manager Eric Wedge.

[K0ZZ]

Twins at Mariners |
May 4, 2012	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Extras	R	H	E
Minnesota (11-15)	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	11	0
Seattle (14-13)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	3	11	2
W: Alex Meyer (1-0) L: Alex Burnett (2-1)

Scoring Summary
SCORING DETAILS			MIN	SEA

Minnesota Twins
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Carroll, SS	5	0	1	0	0	2	0	.320
Span, CF	5	0	2	0	0	1	0	.193
Mauer, C	5	0	3	0	0	0	0	.415
Parmelee, 1B	5	0	0	0	0	2	0	.205
Willingham, LF	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.243
Doumit, DH	4	0	0	0	0	2	0	.204
Valencia, 3B	4	1	2	0	0	1	0	.193
Revere, RF	4	0	2	0	0	1	0	.148
Casilla, 2B	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	.239

Seattle Mariners
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Suzuki, RF	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.217
Ackley, 2B	4	1	2	1	0	0	1	.345
Montero, C	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	.272
Fuld, LF	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.300
Wells, LF	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.247
Smoak, 1B	4	0	2	0	0	1	0	.313
LaRoche, 3B	4	1	2	0	0	1	0	.293
Kawasaki, SS	4	1	1	2	0	0	1	.312
Gutierrez, CF	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	.247
Seager, DH	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	.314

Minnesota Twins
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Pavano	7.0	8	0	0	1	3	0	2.59
Burton (H,5)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7.26
Capps (BS,1)	1.0	1	1	1	0	0	1	2.57
Burnett (L, 2-1)	0.0	2	2	2	0	0	1	9.31

Seattle Mariners
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Oswalt	9.0	10	1	0	0	7	0	6.31
Meyer (W, 1-0)	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0.00

Minnesota Twins at Seattle Mariners
Jan 1,	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Minnesota (12-15)	1	0	0	1	1	0	5	0	1	9	17	1
Seattle (14-14)	0	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	5	9	1
W: Matt Maloney (2-0) L: Lucas Luetge (1-1) S: Capps (7)

Minnesota Twins at Seattle Mariners
Jan 1,	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Minnesota (12-16)	0	0	1	0	0	3	1	0	0	5	11	0
Seattle (15-14)	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	3	6	9	1
W: Shawn Kelley (1-0) L: Matt Capps (0-1)

Detroit Tigers at Seattle Mariners
Jan 1,	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Detroit (20-9)	0	1	0	0	1	0	2	0	1	5	13	0
Seattle (15-15)	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	8	1
W: Rick Procello (4-2) L: Jason Vargas (1-3) S: Valverde (13)

Tigers at Mariners |
Jan 1,	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Extras	R	H	E
Detroit (20-10)	1	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0-0-0	4	7	0
Seattle (16-15)	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	0-0-1	5	11	0
W: Erasmo Ramirez (2-0) L: Phil Coke (1-2)

Tigers at Mariners |
Jan 1,	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Extras	R	H	E
Detroit (20-11)	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0-0-0	3	11	0
Seattle (17-15)	0	0	3	0	0	1	0	0	X	0-0-1	4	7	0
W: Roy Oswalt (1-2) L: Justin Verlander (2-2) S: League (8)

Mariners finish off midwest at 4-2

The Mariners opened up with a win against a Minnesota team that had the game throughout the entire duration but just could not pull things together. Forcing Capps into his first blown save of the season when Dustin Ackley kept the game alive with a one out home run smash to right field. Things would only get worse for the Twins, after Alex Meyer in his MLB debut struck out two and retired the side, the first two batters would get a double than Kawasaki the rookie short stop playing to give Brendan Ryan a breather, would smash a ball back out right field for another home run, giving a 3-1 victory to close out the game.

Minnesota would come back to knock off Seattle 5-9 on the following night where Joe Mauer continued his insane pace with a 5-5 batting day and four RBI's, keeping the Mariners down. Joe Mauer would be quieted enough for the Mariners to force Matt Capps to blow save number two, his first two of the season coming up to be huge wins for the Mariners.

Traveling to Detroit which previously had swept the Mariners, things looked like they would continue on that pace with the Tigers out batting and out performing the Mariners in the opening game in Seattle, but in the final two games, the Mariners managed to outscore the Tigers despite generally being out played. "It was a great effort, we played well.. we pulled together when we needed to" Spoke Roy Oswalt who in his fourth pitching appearance would get his first win.

The Mariners improve to 17-15 an are three games behind the Rangers for first in the West, sitting a whole game above the Angels and 3.5 in front of the A's. This season could quietly be a major stepping stone forward for this club.

[K0ZZ]

Seattle Mariners at New York Yankees
Jan 1,	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Seattle (18-15)	0	0	3	2	1	0	0	3	2	11	17	0
New York (19-15)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2
W: Jeff Smardzija (4-1) L: Phil Hughes (5-2)

Seattle Mariners at New York Yankees
Jan 1,	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Seattle (18-16)	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	3	8	0
New York (20-15)	0	0	0	3	0	4	0	2	X	9	12	0
W: Ivan Nova (3-4) L: Scott Kazmir (2-2)

Seattle Mariners at New York Yankees
Jan 1,	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Seattle (18-16)	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	3	8	0
New York (20-15)	0	0	0	3	0	4	0	2	X	9	12	0
W: Freddy Garcia (2-2) L: Jason Vargas (1-4) S: Mariano Rivera (12)

Seattle Mariners at Boston Red Sox
Jan 1,	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Seattle (18-18)	1	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	1	7	0
Boston (19-18)	0	0	4	5	0	0	0	0	X	9	13	0
W: Josh Beckett (4-2) L: Felix Hernandez (4-2)

Seattle Mariners at Boston Red Sox
Jan 1,	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Seattle (18-19)	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	5	0
Boston (20-18)	3	0	4	5	0	0	1	0	X	4	5	0
W: Clay Buchholz (4-3) L: Roy Oswalt (1-3)

Mariners struggle in big way against the Northeast

After finally managing to pull firmly above .500, the Mariners sit two games under .500 and a full game beneath the Angels and 8 games beyond the streaking Rangers. Winning the series against the Mariners helped move the Yankees into first place in the AL East, with Boston still drifting in third sitting 2 games out of first.

The Mariners has shown that they do not have the strength in their bats to be consistent against good pitchers, their gaudy numbers coming against poorer matchups excluding a rare gem of a batting performance against Phil Hughes in New York.

The Mariners are on a four game skid, after losing the series to the Yankees and getting swept in their two game series against the Yankees, having difficulties against the top half of the AL East as has been the trend for the Mariners.

[K0ZZ]

Mariners ink Soler

The Rangers signed Yu Davish, The A's signed Yoenis Cespedes, the Mariners now have nineteen year old Jorge Soler. Soler a Cuban defect had to get residency in the Dominican Republic before the MLB would allow him to sign with a team, as soon as that cleared the Mariners had a contract ready to go.

The deal which is on the short term with only three years for 5.45M, will allow Soler into the MLB, giving the Mariners a tremendous young athlete in the outfield and still leave maneuverability in the cap room. Soler was officially signed two days ago but was pending acceptance by the MLB and physicals. With everything cleared and Soler in shape to play, he will start on the bench with an established outfield already in place for the Mariners.

Soler's scout profile reads "Soler has explosive bat speed and power potential. He also has plus speed and arm strength and profiles as a classic right fielder, though he runs well enough to play center. Because of his youth, he'll need some time to develop, but he should be worth the wait." The most likely position for him could end up being center or being the immediate replacement for Ichiro next season, but as it has been said he is young and raw, he isn't ready to start this season and should gravitate between the majors and minors on a need basis.

Spoiler

Scout profileQuote

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Mariners are building young power house

Following the signing of Jorge Soler, the Mariners are poised for dominance in the West for years. Deals like the mega deal for Albert Pujols are limited and highly damaging for a franchise, however the deals the Mariners have been making have been greatly improving the team from top to bottom. The talent is spread across four levels but the youth movement is in full swing.

Jesus Montero (C) - 22
Montero is considered one of the front runners for AL Rookie of the year. Starting from day 1 can hardly be considered bad, he was off to a very slow start from the bats with no hits through the first two series, but he has picked up in a big way getting his average up to .258. He is poised for a 28 home run season, which should benefit the team, the totals would liked to have been a little higher but for a rookie, 28 home runs and if he could get the batting average over .300 would be huge.

Dustin Ackley (2B) - 24
Ackley is barely considered a prospect, having already started to make a name for himself in the MLB but the fact remains he will be around for a long time. He has the spot at second on lock. Last season was his rookie year and with a .344 batting average and with nearly half the RBI's he had last year with only a third of the total at bats, he is poised for a break out year, having not even one full MLB season under his belt.

Jorge Soler (CF) - 19
Soler is MLB ready, yet will spend this season coming in off the bench to get to his paces. After their success with Ichiro, the Mariners are not shy to look to foreign players for an opportunity to bolster their roster and it showed. Soler has tremendous speed and his bat is strong, he is just an average batter at this point in his career, but being average at 19 in the MLB is a massive accomplishment.

Blake Beavan (SP) - 23
Beavan finished last season 5-6 and he is still looking for his first win this season after being taken out of the starting rotation for a 0-3 start to accommodate an equally struggling Roy Oswalt into the starting rotation. Beavan has good control over his fast ball and his slider is average he has a good amount of upside and they are hoping he will be able to develop into an everyday starter.

Alex Meyer (SP) - 21
Meyer at this point in his career, fresh out of Kentucky isn't ready to be an every day starter. He doesn't have the stamina to go every day and his control of his pitches is awful but his velocity is top notch and he should make some noise later on in his career. He does have his first win with a 1.8 ERA and 6 strike outs this season, its not as if he is playing terribly.

Erasmo Ramirez (RP) - 21
Erasmo is quietly working towards being a large role on this squad with 2 wins this season out of the relief spot he has been strong with 18 strike outs even managing one save in an extra inning game. His 3.13 ERA is pretty good for a rookie as well, his fast ball is his goto pitch with little control over the rest of his pitches, he needs to work on his variety.

Tyler Goeddel (3B) - 19
Goeddel will most likely usurp Andy LaRoche next year or the season after, his fielding is much better than his batting, his upside isn't huge but if he works at developing his talents he could be a consistent every day starter on the corner. His batting and reaction times are his weakest points with his general fielding and arm abilities being his strong point.

Grant Long (RF) - 21
Long is a field that the Mariners are putting a lot of stock into. Long at 21 isn't ready to start in the MLB mainly because he is weak defensively, he could DH at this point in his career but it may be best to move him around the minors to get work on his fielding. He also isn't very fast for an outfielder. Being a switch hitter also raises his value in the MLB.

Taijuan Walker (SP) - 19
Walker is a prize in the farm system, his talents are tremendous and boasting pitches like the Circle Change and the 12-6 Curve, he has the potential to be deadly, scouts expect him to be a starter as early as next year and an All-Star before he is 25, talk about talent, this kid has it.

James Paxton (SP) - 23
A call up could be in the works in the near future for Paxton. His stamina is pretty good as is his velocity and movement but he does have some issues with his two seam fast ball and circle change and his curve ball has limited movement which explains why he is still in the minors.

Fringe Talents
Nick Franklin (SS) - 21
Kyle Seager (3B) - 24
Jae-Hoon Ha (RF) - 21
Fransisco Martinez (3B) - 21
Trayvon Robinson (LF) - 24
Guillermo Pimentel (LF) - 19
Danny Hultzen (SP) - 22
Stephen Pryor (CP) - 22
Vinnie Catricala (3B) - 23
Phillips Castillo (LF) - 18
Alex Liddi (3B) - 23

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Not so perfect marriage

A ten year deal guaranteeing that he would finish his career in a singular location seemed like a good deal, yet just a month and a half into the initial season and the Angels have already put Albert Pujols on the trading block. It's difficult to see what team would burden themselves with that kind of contract, but this just continues to show the Angels collapse.

Pujols and the Angels sit at 19-19, a far cry from the monstrous season that expectations had of them and slinking out to a 4-5 record in the division (it can be said that the 26-12 Rangers is the only team with a winning divisional record). Still it's difficult to be jumping ship already on this team, which has had it's share of problems early into the season.

Pujols is sitting at 33rd in the AL with a .281 batting average, not even in the top 50 for extra base hits, and tied for 24th in the AL with 6 home runs which is 8 shy of fellow free agent Prince Fielder who has generally been tearing things up for the Tigers. Pujols is at least relevant in RBI's with 23 which is tied for 15th but otherwise his totals continue to drop and be well below his career average some concern for Angels fans to look at as the season progresses.

[ch1088]

Looking good - in depth, etc. make sure to check out mine (this time with natitude)!

[K0ZZ]

Might need to be put on break, because of the potential glitch with scheduling.