How About The-M’s Apples?

Happy Memorial Day Weekend Saturday Cougar fans!

Hoepfully all of you are doing something fun this weekend, and therefore nobody should even read this post.

Last night I took in my first Mariners game of the season, and boy, I’ve got to admit, this is actually a pretty damned fun team to watch right now!  Read on for more of my thoughts.  But if you’re looking for a FanGraphs or Sabermetrics post, you won’t be getting that from me.

Heading into Spring Training, I was sold this team could not win more than 55 games.  Coming off a 100+ loss season in 2010, for the second time in three seasons, one only had to glance up and down the lineup, to know this offense would be anemic.

Let’s not kid ourselves, the lineup is AWFUL.  My least favorite player, Ichiro, is leading the regulars with a .285 batting average, and behind him a few others are hitting above .250, but this team as a whole is hovering just above the Mendoza Line.  In most situations, that would result in a lot more losses than wins.

But a funny thing has happened with this team.

An absolutely fantastic starting rotation has really given these guys a jolt!  Behind the steady arm of King Felix, Jason Vargas has been outstanding, Eric BEdard has bounced back in unbelievable fashion after his first four starts this season (which were his first four starts in nearly two years), and rookie Michael Pineda has to be a front-runner for AL Rookie of the Year with a 6-2 record, a 0.99 WHIP, 2.42 ERA and and nearly 10K/9IP!!

Not only has the Starting Five been fantastic, but the bullpen has been nearly unhittable.  If it were not for a rough four game stretch in early May, that saw Brandon League blow four saves in five games, the Mariners would be in first place heading into June!

Last night started with Pineda retiring the first two Yankees, before giving up a moonshot to Mark Teixiera down the right field line.  I’ll be honest, I’ve seen the Yanks play three times in the last two seasons and Tex has five bombs in those games.  He might have one of the sweetest longball strokes that I’ve ever seen (other than Griffey of course.)  Things got shakey for Pineda after the HR, as he went on to issue a handful of walks, while giving up three earned runs in his shortest outting (5IP) this season.

After falling behind, the M’s scored four straight runs (all on ground outs btw) and the ever steady bullpen shut the Yankees out over the final four innings!  Man it was great to see a raucus Safceo crowd razzling the “Yankee fans” with chants of “Yankees Suck!”

Even better than hearing those chants, is the thought of a Pennant Race in the Great Northwest!  AS of this morning, we’re sitting only 1/2 Game out of first place in the NFL West (yep, the AL West is that wide open).  If the Starting Pitchers can keep it up, which in my mind hinges on the health of Bedard (he’s never pitched 200 innings in a season), this could be a fun Summer!

Have a great Saturday!