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July 2009
Categories
| It's happened. Adrian Beltre had surgery to fix his shoulder today. The doctor called it a success. He is officially on the disabled list. The Mariners then called up OF Ryan Langerhans. He was acquired a few days ago for Mike Morse. Plus, catcher Jamie Burke cleared waivers. He's back in Tacoma. The M's official release is after the jump. ...It's not a big one, but one-time promising prospect Mike Morse is gone. Morse was traded to the Nationals for OF Ryan Langerhans. He's got a little MLB experience. Right now, he's hitting .278 in AAA. As for Morse, he came over in the Freddy Garcia trade. Morse set an M's spring training record for batting average in 2008. He made the club, but then separated his shoulder. Morse had been playing the infield in Tacoma and hitting .312. But he wasn't on the MLB 40-man roster. Morse ran out of options last year. The M's official news release is after the jump. ...The Mariners will miss Adrian Beltre for 6-8 weeks. AB is going to have shoulder surgery after today's game with the LA Dodgers. He's got bone spurs in the same shoulder he had repaired in the off-season. Now Seattle has a tough decision ahead. Who's going to replace Beltre? They just put Yuniesky Betancourt on the DL with a bad hammy. Should they call up Chris Shelton (Rainiers starting 3B), Mike Morse, or move Russell Branyan to third and start Mike Carp? ...Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jack Zduriencik announced the following roster moves today: Infielder Jose Lopez has been re-instated from the bereavement list and Yuniesky Betancourt has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring. Lopez will be in uniform and available for today's 1:40 p.m. game vs. San Diego. Betancourt injured his right hamstring in the 8th inning of last night's game vs. the San Diego Padres. He pulled up running to first base on a fielders choice and was replaced by a pinch-runner. Betancourt is hitting .250, with 10 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs and 22 RBI this season. ...Ken Griffey Junior hit his 619th home run last night, which just happened to be the 5,000th HR in club history. The question now, can the 39-year-old catch Willie Mays on the all-time home run list. Willie Mays currently ranks 4th of the HR list with 660 career home runs. Griffey, who currently has 8 HR's this season is on pace to hit around 20 home runs this season. If he is too pass Willie Mays, I think he needs at least two more seasons with the M's to move up to 4th on the All-time list. I'd love to see it happen, just not sure if Griffey has two more seasons beyond this year left in the tank. What do you think? ...The Mariners have activated Ryan Rowland-Smith from the 15-Day DL and then sent him down to Tacoma. Either RRS's arm needs a little more time or the M's are waiting on other things shaking out, like a trade (or trade rumor). You can read the official M's news release after the jump. ...The Seattle Mariners enjoyed their day off by playing golf at Newcastle for a great cause. The M's were hosting their annual charity event which benefits the cystic fibrosis foundation. Before the team teed off, I had the chance to catch up with several of the guys inlcuding Ryan Rowland-Smith. Rowland-Smith who is slated to pitch for Tacoma on Tuesday and spent the past two months rehabilitating from a case of triceps tendinitis says he is ready to go, "I'm feeling 100 percent, my velocity is back up, I'm just feeling myself again, feels like I'm trusting myself as far as decision making and I'm ready to go, I'm ready to get my spot back." I asked General Manager Jack Zduriencik to give me an update on Rowland-Smith and Kenji Johjima and he said, "Kenji is ready to roll, he's a day or two away and Ryan Rowland-Smith is excited about getting back and what we have to do is let the next few days unfold and make some decisions." Sounds to me, that Rowland-Smith needs to have a good start tomorrow in Tacoma if he wants to get back with the Mariners. ...M's left fielder Endy Chavez tore his ACL on Friday. He collided with Yuni Betancourt on fly ball to shallow left. Yuni made the grab and then hit Endy's right leg. Chavez layed there in pain, before the strectcher took him off the field. The M's say they'll wait for the swelling to go down before the perform surgery. It's common for them to let the swelling subside before ACL reconstructive surgery. Most ACL surgeries take 4-6 months to heal. That means his season is over. You can read the M's official news release after the jump.
The M's make it official and select 1B/OF Dustin Ackley with the #2 overall pick in the draft. He'll likely play in the outfield. Ackley played first base this season because he was recovering from Tommy John Surgery.
The Mariners put Kenji Johjima on the 15-day disabled list with a broken toe. Everyone expected something like that. The surprise came in the form of his replacement. Instead of calling up veteran catcher Jamie Burke, C/DH/1B Jeff Clement, or even promising AA catcher Adam Moore, the M's went with Guillermo Quiroz. OK, Quiroz has MLB experience, but you gotta wonder why him? You can read the M's official news release after the jump. ...Before Friday nights Mariners-Giants game, M's manager Don Wakamatsu said Jarrod Washburn will not start tomorrow as planned. Wakamatsu says Washburn will be pushed back to Tuesday at Oakland due to some tightness above his left knee, the leg he pushes off to make his pitches. Wakamatsu said the injury bothered Washburn a little bit in his last start Monday against the Angels in which he got the loss. He said there is no concern of a major injury but that it's safer to hold him out for a few days and eliminate any chance of making it worse. Garrett Olson will get the start for the Mariners on Saturday, instead of Washburn.
For a second straight day, Brandon Morrow came in to close out a game and for a second straight day Morrow gave up a game winning hit to the Texas Rangers. M's manager Don Wakamatsu didn't second-guess his decision to send out Morrow for the ninth, "You can sit here and say the gamble was just as big not to put him in there, You have to find out about your players. You never want it to end that way, but he has to be in that situation." Erik Bedard will most likely miss his next start on Saturday. He has a tight right hamstring. The official decision will come tomorrow. Expect Garrett Olson to make the start against the Red Sox. ...The Mariners made a couple of moves today. They put pitcher Carlos Silva to the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his pitching shoulder. The M's then activated Brandon Morrow from the D.L. Seattle won't have to make a decision on Silva's spot in the rotation thanks to an off day on Monday. The M's official news release is after the jump.
The M's just moved closer Brandon Morrow to the 15-day disabled list with bicep tendinitis in his throwing arm. The Mariners called up pitcher Denny Stark. The official release is after the jump. ...The Mariners activated catcher Kenji Johjima off the disable list today. Seattle designated catcher Jamie Burke for assignment. The M's got 10 days to trade, release or outright him to the minors. My guess, he's heading back to Tacoma. Not too many teams are looking for a 37-year-old backup catcher. ...Forbes is calling Seattle the "Most Miserable Sports City" in 2009. Wow, I guess if we're going to suck, why not be the best at it. But I don't think we need Forbes to tell us that, we lived through it. I mean that's just rubbing salt on the wound. The Sonics leaving Seattle gave us the title, according to Forbes. Here are some stats to backup the magazine's claim. So do you think Seattle deserves that title? I guess it's only for one year, but I think things are turning around. Look at the Mariners. The Sounders look legit. The Huskies got some mojo going on Montlake with the basketball team and football team. Plus, the Seahawks can't have another injury-riddled season like last year. And if Lauren Jackson returns, Seattle has to be a contender for the WNBA title. So hopefully, last year's woes was just an anomaly.
The Mariners updated the health of top prospect Carlos Triunfel today. He's got ligament damage in his left ankle and broke his left fibula. Doctors performed surgery today to fix his left ankle. The M's official news release is after the jump. ...The Mariners, as expected, activated Ichiro off the 15-day disabled list. The M's then announced pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith was put on the 15-day D.L. retroactive to April 11th. RRS has triceps tendonitis. You can read the M's official news release after the jump. ...When Jack Zduriencik took over as the Mariners new General Manager, alot of sports fans across the NorthWest said, WHO? Not longer after Jack Z's arrival, he would hire a Manager by the name of Don Wakamatsu, and yes, sports fans across the NorthWest once again said, WHO? Eight games into the season and not too many people are asking who anymore, they're too busy cheering on their Mariners or jumping on the bandwagon. First off, I know it's very early into the season, but as a reporter who has covered the team for the past 8 years, this is one of the most enjoyable clubhouses i've had the pleasure working with. And yes, winning makes for easy clubhouses, but I picked up on this positive vibe from the first day of spring training and it has carried well into the beginning of the season. After today's 3-2 thrilling win over the Angels I asked Ken Griffey about his return, he talked about the team. I asked David Aardsma about not allowing a run yet this season and he referred to the team. Adrian Beltre said, "We have something special here, everybody is really coming together," WOW, What a welcome sight from a year ago. So, I I say thanks to Jack Z for bringing us a Manager that has his team playing disciplined ball. Thanks to Jack Z for bringing us veteran leaders like Ken Griffey Jr and Mike Sweeney, Thanks to Jack Z for bringing in new faces like Endy Chavez and Frankling Gutierrez. YES, I know it's still April, but so far so good! ...Ken Griffey Junior was scheduled to play right field in the M's season opener and in his first game back in Seattle as a Mariner. But a sore back spoiled that. Instead, Junior will DH today. By the way, they just did introductions. Junior got a rather loud and long applause when they called his name. There are plenty of signs in the stands for Jr., too. ...Tuesday is the Home Opener for the Mariners. It marks the first time we'll see Ken Griffey Junior in Seattle with a Mariner uniform since 1999. Ask most people who grew up or followed the M's in the 90's and they'll give stories upon stories about Junior. He changed fashion wearing his cap backwards. Junior was known as "The Kid". (maybe not so much anymore...he is 39) Now he returns to Seattle and it's been Ichiro's city since 2001. So here's my question, are you more of a Junior fan or an Ichiro fan? Or do you even pick? If you had to chose, would you wear a #24 jersery or #51? ...When Ichiro returns to the team on Monday and possibly plays on Wednesday, should he resume his leadoff duties? No one would disagree that he's earned to stay there. But what about Endy Chavez's case? He's batting .370. Unfortunately, he hasn't drawn a walk yet. Althought Chavez has two stolen bases. He's younger than Ichiro (31 vs. 35) and will have fresher legs than Ichi as the season goes on. Plus, then you can bat Ichi lower in the lineup to utilize his ability to make contact. For what it's worth, last season #51 hit .336 with runners on base. He hit .267 with runners in scoring position. But you could definitely use Ichi's experience lower in the lineup. Who do you think should bat leadoff when Area 51 returns? ...Yes, the Mariners must be collecting former closers or potential closers. Today, they announce they've signed Jeff Zimmerman. He closed for Texas back in 2001, his last season in the majors. He pitched two more season in minor league ball, but has been out of baseball since. "Jeff threw for us last week in Arizona and we were impressed. The ball came out of his hand nice and easy. Our doctors have checked him out and we've determined he's a guy worth taking a chance on." -- Jack Zduriencik - M's GM It's only a minor league deal, so Jack is right. It won't cost much to see if he'll pan out. At least the M's aren't wasting money on big name busts like Bill Bavasi use to do. You can read the M's official news release after the break. ...Ichiro went to the doctor today to see what's been causing the fatigue that's caused him to miss the last three days. Here's the update from the Mariners.
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