Seattle/Detroit

[TTown]

Forgot about the early game today.

lol @ Olivo's HR... though to be fair, he was due for a little luck.

[TTown]

3-1 M's, top 4

Smoak drills a 2-run shot over the left field wall in the 4th, good to have him back.

[TTown]

7-3 M's, bot 5

3 runs on 4 hits in the 5th, as we chase Phil Coke. If only we could face Coke every game... Figgins with a big 2-run triple.

Felix doesn't have his best stuff and he's laboring, but damnit, get through a couple more innings and get yourself a win. 7 runs is more run support than you got in a six week span last summer.

[TTown]

David Pauley is not awful.

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

Justin Smoak is really f'n solid. Good stroke, switch-hitter, nice power, and a good glove. I like that kid. Yep yep.

Nice win. Figured Felix was in for a rough outing after that 3rd inning but he pulled through and went beast-mode.

[Sweezo]

Forgot about the early game today.

lol @ Olivo's HR... though to be fair, he was due for a little luck.

What a crazy HR...I could watch that clip for hours.

I wonder what Cust is thinking now that he's been dropped in the order and is hitting behind a catcher?

[TTown]

One team is up 10-1 over the other in the 9th, and the starting pitchers were Justin Verlander and Erik Bedard. Not surprising, eh?

Fake out! The M's got 4 off Verlander and then put up 6 in the 9th against Detroit's pen; Bedard was quietly awesome today, 7 IP/5 H/ 1 R.

Smoak with another HR, and 5 (!) RBIs total today.

[Sweezo]

What hell is going on? Offense?!

That middle combo of Olivo and Smoak is actually working. Every time I read an article in the offseason about how good Jesus Montero looks I kept wondering if the Lee trade was really the best deal out there us. Watching Smoak this far has me convinced that it was. He hit an opposite field homer to center tonight. Amazing.

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

Smoak = Beast.

Now if only Figgins could keep giving us 2-hit games.

[TTown]

Brunch with Pineda? Don't mind if I do.

3-2 in the top of the 4th. Two insanely easy innings for Pineda bookend a somewhat rough 2nd.

Mariners bounce right back with singles by Saunders and Wilson, then Ichiro hits a double that scores Saunders. RBI groundout for Figgins the next batter. In the 4th, Olivo gets on with a single, then Smoak smashes an RBI double to the deepest part of center field. Gotta imagine that goes yard in just about any other ballpark / but, it gets the lead.

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

Mariners up 3-2 in the 4th on a RBI double by Smoak.

Unstoppable! Just give that man the MVP already.

[TTown]

Olivo with a bomb to left, 4-2 M's. What was he, 0/10 against Oakland? What a turnaround this series.

[TTown]

7-2 M's, top 8

3-run HR for Luis Rodriguez? Just one of those series.

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE!

First time I've been able to officially bring this out, and barring my possible jinx:






Also; 9 K's for Pineda in 6? Money.

[TTown]

24 runs on 35 hits this series. Do we have to leave Detroit?

[Bulltalk]

It's so gratifying to see Smoak doing so well so far this year. We need him to pan-out as one of our key position-player building blocks. Hopefully along with Ackley, Rendon, and Prince Fielder.

[TTown]

I'm hoping Franklin pans out through the system. I've got Smoak, Ackley, Franklin, and Rendon going around the diamond potentially as early as 2013.

[Bulltalk]

I'm hoping Franklin pans out through the system. I've got Smoak, Ackley, Franklin, and Rendon going around the diamond potentially as early as 2013.

That certainly looks delicious on-paper and in my imagination now. Franklin is real young, and they are high on him so far; but he is still quite young, drafted out of HS, I believe. I suppose 2013 is a possibility for him if he continues to develop. We'll see.

I do think that if we are going to keep Felix around while we continue to rebuild, then our management/ownership needs to make a sincere run at a top flight FA talent like Fielder. This organization needs to give the franchise a shot of adrenalin this off-season, methinks.

One thing we do know about this summer's draft. We are going to walk away with either Rendon or the best pitching prospect in the draft. Pittsburgh makes our decision for us.