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RHP Brandon Beechy (2-1, 3.22) vs. LHP Erik Bedard (4-5, 2.93)
RHP Tommy Hanson (8-4, 2.48) vs. RHP Michael Pineda (7-4, 2.45)
RHP Derek Lowe (3-6, 4.33) vs. RHP Felix Hernandez (8-6, 3.19)

Potential for some real pitching gems over the next three days. If our anemic offense bugs you, you may want to take a small Mariner vacation. Day game on Wednesday.

Dustin Ackley to date: 9 games, .300/.364/.930. He's hit safely in 7 of his 9 games. 1 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR. 3 K's/3 BB in 30 ABs.

If we can hit and score runs, this is a sweep series. The Braves are facing our best on the mound, bang, bang, bang. We need to score 4 runs a game to be a winning team. We cannot count on winning 1-0 and 2-1 games. We need to start hitting the effing ball now. And we need to trade some prospects and/or one of our pitchers for another good hitter.

I know the M's were interested in Ryan Ludwick as of a week ago. I wouldn't want to give up anything substantial for him, but he would do better at the plate than any of the other AAA LFers we've been trying out. He's .254/9/47 this year in PetCo, which isn't too shabby. Not a splashy move nor a long-term fix, but it'd be something. I don't think the trade market is really open yet, so I'm not sure what else is available.

Or we could just start Carp in left every stinking day and let him try to find his rhythm. I don't think his Tacoma numbers were a fluke, I think only playing him 3 days a week is a disservice.

If we're going to trade for a bat, I want it to be sooner, rather than later. I don't want a July 30th deal. I want a July 1st deal.

As for whom...I'd have to leave that up to our general management. I want a .280-.285 hitter, or better. I don't want another sub .250 hitter. We're loaded with those. If we have to pay up for it, then so be it. This division seems there for the taking this year as of now.

This franchise desperately needs a shot in the arm, a run for a division title after so many lousy years. Fans really started losing interest in this team, and that costs this team money, which means less money to pay for players. This year just improbably became a possibility for us. Go with it, I say.

Bulltalk wrote:If we can hit and score runs, this is a sweep series. The Braves are facing our best on the mound, bang, bang, bang. We need to score 4 runs a game to be a winning team. We cannot count on winning 1-0 and 2-1 games. We need to start hitting the effing ball now. And we need to trade some prospects and/or one of our pitchers for another good hitter.

As far as a trades i think we can probably eliminate Cust and Figgins because i doubt anyone would want them, even if much of their salary would be covered by the Ms. I think the team would probably take advantage of Bedard's stock being as high as it probably is ever going to be and add one of the trio of LFs/DHs in Peguero, Halman and Carp.

jumanji wrote:

Bulltalk wrote:If we can hit and score runs, this is a sweep series. The Braves are facing our best on the mound, bang, bang, bang. We need to score 4 runs a game to be a winning team. We cannot count on winning 1-0 and 2-1 games. We need to start hitting the effing ball now. And we need to trade some prospects and/or one of our pitchers for another good hitter.

As far as a trades i think we can probably eliminate Cust and Figgins because i doubt anyone would want them, even if much of their salary would be covered by the Ms. I think the team would probably take advantage of Bedard's stock being as high as it probably is ever going to be and add one of the trio of LFs/DHs in Peguero, Halman and Carp.

I'd trade Fister or Vargas before I'd trade Bedard. To me, it kind of defeats the purpose of breaking up the big 3 of Felix, Pineda, and Bedard. That's what's making us special now.

Possible trade bait for me:

--Fister
--Vargas
--Halman
--Peg
--just about any other minor league prospect

Something like that seems a start for me. I don't know. I do know that we need more hitting. That's obvious. Sure, we could come alive in that department, but the odds are against it without some addition.

I

hate

hearing opposing fans cheer and boo in Safeco. Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, now the Braves. Mariners have a fairly decent product this year with a lot of young talent on display, I wish we'd go out and support them.

TTown wrote:I

hate

hearing opposing fans cheer and boo in Safeco. Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, now the Braves. Mariners have a fairly decent product this year with a lot of young talent on display, I wish we'd go out and support them.

If you win in Seattle, you get great support here. Seattle fans will even tolerate a few down years. But if you take advantage of the fan base here, put a poor product out there year after year, they will leave, as in the case of the Mariners and Husky football team of recent years. And it's harder to get them back.

Seattle is a decent sports town with a fair fan base. Even the Sonics had good support. It wasn't the fans failing to show up when there was a decent product out there. This now OKC team would have packed the Key Arena to capacity near every night had the money thing been able to have been worked out.

Let's start hitting the ball now, get some damn runs. Even our rather pathetic hitting lineup is overdue for some production.

Guti, swing the bat. Don't watch 3rd strike right down the pike.

Re-sign Bedard now. This guy has got incredible command of his pitches now. What's more, he doesn't have a lot of mileage on his arm, so he may well pitch strong into his later 30's. We could have like three #1 pitchers for at least the next three years. Throw in Hultzen in 2013, and we're looking good for some time.

Bottom of the 4th. This is our inning. Come on.

Just as I spoke...Kennedy HR! Yeah!

It's time for Carp to come alive, isn't it? This guy CAN hit. I think he's just having trouble clicking into the "big show" thing. Carp *may* start to surprise us. Just a hunch. Probably wrong.

Maybe we should go after Beltran. Hmm....

PS> Should the M's ever bunt with this lineup? Isn't that giving an automatic out-away when with our anemic batting lineup?

Friggin Figgens...pop out with a man on 3rd an 1 out. Ugh!

Screw Figgins. Tie game, Carp on third, 1 out, Figgins with a harmless flyout in foul territory.

TTown wrote:Screw Figgins. Tie game, Carp on third, 1 out, Figgins with a harmless flyout in foul territory.

Here we go again...another pitching gem being tossed by one of our starters, and we can't even get a lead. It's painful to watch.

Bedard is patching awesome. Pin-point control.

I don't want to lose this game with the way Bedard is pitching. If we can win, we're only 1 game back from 1st place, and we have Pineda and Felix going the next two games. This is the time to grab at least a share of first place. Right here, right now.

Damn. That's probably game. Us getting 2-3 more runs seems all but out of the question. One effing curve ball he left too high in the strike zone. And we pay for it.

Like I said, we need to score 4 runs a game against this team if we were going to sweep this series, or get 2 out of 3. Ugh!

Swing away M's. Nothing to lose now.