RealGM

Tue, Jun 23 10:10 pm EDT G. Olson (2-1, 4.30) vs. C. Gaudin (2-6, 5.98)
Wed, Jun 24 10:10 pm EDT B. Morrow (0-3, 5.68) vs. J. Geer (1-2, 5.98)
Thu, Jun 25 4:40 pm EDT J. Washburn (3-5, 3.24) vs. W. LeBlanc (0-0, 9.00)

I will be disappointed if we don't sweep the Padres as we need to sweep them before our tough schedule that is coming up.

Sweeps are always tough, no matter the opponent.

With that said; Anything less than a series win is a HUGE letdown.

We don't need to, but winning the first game of this series is key IMO. It would be disappointing to end this homestand with anything worse than a 37-35 record. We have a murderous 9 game road trip coming up against the Red Sox, Dodgers, and Yankees. Going, say, 3-6 on this road trip seems like a fair prognostication at this point. If we head off on this road trip at 37-35 or 38-34, then we could afford to go something like 3-6 on it, and return from it with a 40-41 or 41-40 record. That wouldn't be a bad record at all for this team at the half-way point, IMO.

Kind of the way I'm thinking about things now.

I'd love back to back sweeps though.

Bases loaded, 0 out, Johnson strikes out.

Come on Yuni get a couple home!

Yuni strikes out.

Come on Cedeno.

Gonzalez hits a two run homer.

Down 3-1 now.

Not looking so good.

How do you walk Blanco with the bases loaded? Corcoran's awful.

Losing 4-1 now.

Sweezo wrote:How do you walk Blanco with the bases loaded? Corcoran's awful.

This is shocking.

M's are making Gaudin look like an ace.

This really sucks.

We only ended up losing by 2 but it still sucks.

That 1st inning tonight was pathetic for the Mariners, and really sums up their toothlessness at the plate. Bases loaded, one out, a pitcher on the mound who can't find the strike zone and appears ripe to be slaughtered, and they get nothing. Zero. Nada.

Oh how I love Russell Branyan...and hate umpires. That botched "foul ball over the bag" call last night might have cost us the game, and tonight we've borne witness to a missed call at home that cost us a run and Junior getting rung up on a pitch about six inches inside. **** tradition...I want a system that gets us correct calls.

Holy cow, Aardsma just destroyed Gonzales. That was impressive.

Russell Branyan is amazing. He's so strong and his plate discipline has been fantastic. I can't say enough about how wonderful he has been for us.

And the DA is just a God amongst men. He made Gonzalez his bitch last night. 15/16 in saves. He's basically behind Heath Bell for best closer in baseball so far. Woooo.

Nice win, though it shouldn't have been quite as close as it was. We need a win today now. I will be surprised if the M's do any better than 4-5 on this upcoming road trip against the Dodgers, Yankees, and Red Sox.

If the M's can get to 37-35 with a win today, and then manage to go 4-5 on this road trip, they will hit the halfway point of the season at 41-40. If such a scenario came to be, I'd have to be pleased, all things considered. On the other hand, if they lose today, go 3-6 or 2-7 on the trip, for instance, and hit the halfway point with a 39-42 or 38-43 record (quite possible), then I think the M's management would find it much easier to start aggressively looking to make any personnel moves on the trade market that might be available to them.

That's the M's this year. They are a team with almost no margin for error in terms of continuing to remain competitive in their division. So far they have been remarkably pesky and stubborn about remaining within such a slim margin of error. I must say that they've been a pleasant surprise to me in this way this season. I keep expecting them to drop from sight in their division, and I think the great majority of a least somewhat knowledgeable fans share the same perspective.

The nice thing about such a perspective is that with such low expectations, the disappointment factor is held in-check, and the surprise factor is more easily engaged. After all, how could one possibly expect much out of a team that's dead last in the league in runs scored, first in the league in fewest runs allowed (how did this happen?), a run differential of -21 (5th worst in the league), yet astoundingly possess a 36-35 record, and be only 2 1/2 games out of first place? Surely this thing has to collapse.

What a strange season.

Lets go M's!

Up 4-0 so we shouldn't lose this one.