Remember 2001

I give up!

2004-07-09T08:15:00.000-07:00

Between school and work, I can't find the time and energy to keep this up.

If you'd like to follow the 2001 season on your own, check out the following links:

Retrosheet's 2001 Mariners page
Retrosheet's League Leaders for any given day (change the date in the URL to whatever date you want)
Recaps from the Seattle Times archives (search for Mariners, and the dates you want), CNNSI (again, you have to change the date and teams in the URL to the day you're looking for. This game, in which the M's clinched a playoff spot, has Tampa Bay Right Fielder Randy Winn throwing out Stan Javier in a force play at second), and ESPN.com (they changed their URL format in the middle of the season, but you can use this format, and it will forward you to the new page).
Finally, I used Baseball Reference for a ton of things, including Historical Standings for any date.

P.S. If anybody wants to take over this blog, let me know, and you can have the URL, and the few links already set up from Mariner Musings, Leone for Third, Dead Reckoning, and Monk Mojo's Mariner Link Machine. Post a comment, and it will be emailed to me.

Sunday, June 3, 2001 (W: SEA 8 - TB 4 43-12)

2004-06-22T22:48:00.000-07:00

The M's set a franchise record today with their 11th straight win, defeating Tampa Bay 8-4.

Most of their damage came against reliever Travis Phelps, against whom they scored five runs in the seventh inning.

Boone hit his eleventh HR, a two-run shot in the third, setting a new Mariner career record for HR's by a second baseman. This was his 27th of his M's career. The previous record holder...

...

...

Joey Cora!

Harold Reynolds only had 17 in Seattle.
Julio Cruz had 17 as a Mariner, although one was as a DH.
Luis Sojo had 14 with the M's, but six were as a shortstop, one was as third baseman, and there was even one as a left fielder.

Freddy pitched 7-1/3 innings to pick up the win. He's now 6-0. This was his 32nd career victory; he's tied with Baltimore's Sidney Ponson for most career wins among active pitchers under 25.

Kaz picked up his league leading 23rd save.

With Lou Piniella in Tampa until Friday because of the death of his father-in-law, interim manager (and regular bench coach) John McLaren rested Ichiro the only way he could: by DHing him. In the third inning, Ichiro showed he wasn't planning to rest, getting a hit, then stealing second before Boone's HR. Ichiro has now reached base in 37 straight games, tying Edgar (who didn't play today, sitting out with a bruised left foot, after fouling a ball off it last night) for the longest active streak in the majors.

Since it's Sunday, there's quite a few interesting articles in the Times I thought I'd point out:

Shigetoshi Hasegawa, the Japanese relief pitcher for the Angels, believes that pitchers from Japan face a significant risk of injury because of their Japanese workload and strength and conditioning regimes. I wonder what Kaz has to say about that.

Another article attempted to write down baseball's unwritten rules, which are in the news quite a bit lately, after San Diego catcher Ben Davis's bunt to break up Curt Schilling's perfect game. In my opinion, Davis was right, in a close game, to do whatever he could to get on base, and bring the tying run to the plate. And, as far as I can tell, he's not a very good hitter (.299 going into that game), so the bunt was the right move. He just better hope none of the D-Backs ever become his manager. I have a friend who was at that game. He was justifiably upset when Davis bunted.

It's also nice to see a fan cost index article in the mainstream media that says, "[I] discovered that $180 could cover a family of 14 if you stretched the dollar hard enough." I've probably been to 60 Mariner games in my life, and never paid for parking, and never sat in seats that cost more than $5. Of course, I've only been to Safeco twice. My dad always bought a big bag of peanuts across the street from the Kingdome (and he always would buy another nice warm bag from Rick the Peanut Man if he happened by). Now, I sit in $6 pavilion seats in LA (and I unfortunately have to pay $6 for parking unless I carpool and split it), I sit in $6 outfield seats in the big A; I love sitting behind the bullpen and messing with the players. I'll buy a (Super) Dodger Dog and a Coke, but I don't need a $6 beer! (And, I must admit I do usually buy a program once per stadium per season.)

Minor league updates:
Tacoma's Dennis Stark is second in the PCL in ERA (2.17)
Tacoma's Juan Thomas is second in the PCL in RBI (47)
San Antonio's Willie Bloomquist is struggling; his average is down to .249
First year San Bernardino pitcher (formerly an outfielder) Rafael Soriano went seven shutout innings Monday, giving up only three hits, one walk, and recording eleven strikeouts!
Wisconsin's Jamal Strong is hitting .353, third in the Midwest league, his OBP is first at .478, and he's second in SB's with 35. He was called up to San Bernardino on Friday.

Saturday, June 2, 2001 (W: SEA 7 - TB 4 42-12)

2004-06-20T23:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been so bad about posting. I have a midterm coming up, and I'm slipping behind on homework, and work sucks. But, that's no excuse. I'll try to catch up a day or two at a time.

The M's came from behind once again tonight, as Paul Abbott gave up two quick runs in the top of the first before the Mariners struck back with five in the bottom of the first off of Tampa Bay starter Ryan Rupe. Each team tacked on two more runs in later innings for a final score of 7-4.

The tenth win in a row for the Mariners, tying a franchise record set in 1996, started off ugly with a first inning two-out two-run home run by Greg Vaughn. However, the Mariners' first 7 batters reached base in the bottom of the inning, plating five runs.

Congratulations to Brian Fuentes for making his major league debut a success, coming on with two runners and no outs in the top of the seventh, and getting two quick outs before giving way to Jose Paniagua.

Kaz got his 22nd save.

In the sixth inning Hal McRae was ejected for arguing a fan interference call. Ichiro leaped for a Russ Johnson drive in foul territory, and probably would have caught it, if not for an idiot fan who reached out and caught the ball. The umpires called Johnson out, judging that Ichiro would have made the catch. McRae didn't agree. Some day, some fan will cost a team a big game due to something like this, and hopefully then fans will learn that they're paying to watch the game, not be a part of it. Anybody lucky (or wealthy) enough to score front row seats in any section should respect the game and it's friendly confines, or not get the privilege of sitting so close to the action.

Larry Stone wrote a good article in today's Times pointing out that the Mariners are not doing it by "Pitching and Defense" as many would have you believe. In fact, while their pitching is great, at third in the AL in runs allowed, their hitting is first. When people tell you that pitching and defense is what wins games, remind them that you still have to hit, and the M's are doing that pretty well. They're now leading the Twins by 6.5 games for the best record in the majors.

Former Mariner Glenallen Hill was waived yesterday by the Angels after hitting only .136 in 66 AB.

Friday, June 1, 2001 (W: SEA 8 - TB 4 41-12)

2004-06-09T22:50:00.000-07:00

Jamie Moyer picked up his 7th win tonight, leading the M's to an 8-4 victory of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Mariners have now won a season-high nine straight. The club record is ten in a row, set in September of 1996.

Seattle scored a quick two in the bottom of the first, on a double by Boone. Tampa Bay kept the game close, breaking up Moyer's no-hitter on a blooper that McLemore, playing left field, appeared to catch, and eventually scoring two in the fifth on a two-run double by their Right Fielder, Randy Winn.

The bullpen was the hero for the M's tonight, as Jose Paniagua, Arthur Rhodes, and Jeff Nelson combined for 4 shutout innings that allowed the Mariner bats to pull away from the D-Rays.

The crowd of 41,094 put Seattle's home attendance over 1 million in their 26th game, the fastest ever in Seattle. In 1997, the M's took 27 games to reach seven figures (and that was in the "ugly Kingdome that nobody wanted to see a game at").

Thursday, May 31, 2001 (W: SEA 2 - BAL 1 40-12)

2004-06-09T01:01:00.000-07:00

Aaron Sele won the 100th game of his career to extend his unbeaten record to 8-0 with a 2-1 victory over the Orioles.

Kaz got his 21st save.

Cal Ripken hit his third HR of the season off of Sele in the 7th, an upper-deck shot to left for the 420th of his career, earning a standing ovation from the M's crowd. (John: To be honest, I can't find anything online about someone throwing it back, but if they did, that was stupid!!!)

Al Martin robbed journeyman catcher Greg Myers of a HR with a leaping catch against the wall in front of the M's bullpen. Maybe Martin read my post about bringing in Matsui to play left in 2003 and decided to actually try on defense. He's no Gary Sheffield (whose surrounding area in LF should be named "The Laziest Place on Earth"), but I rarely see Martin go all out for a ball.

McLemore and Ichiro each got their 17th SB of the season tonight. McLemore, who started his first game in CF tonight (adding to his list of 2001 starts at LF, SS, 2B, and 3B), is 17 for 17 in SB attempts. Ichiro has been caught 5 times.

Most importantly tonight, it was the seventh Buhner Buzz Cut Night. I'm sure Jason Michael Barker of Strikethree.com was there in full regalia, along with 6,245 others who got in free by shaving their heads, including Helyn Nelson, 77, who was the oldest person to have her head shaved, and one of 122 women.

Cha Seung Baek, in single-A San Bernardino may need Tommy John surgery. Although he was signed as a free agent out of South Korea in 1998 (for first round money), he's the latest in Mariner minor league disappointments. Twelve of the past fourteen number one picks for the M's are still playing baseball, but none for the Mariners: Ken Griffey Jr. (1987), Tino Martinez (1988), Shawn Estes (1991), Ron Villone (1992), Alex Rodriguez (1993), Jason Varitek (1994) and Jose Cruz Jr. (1995) all play for other teams. Gil Meche (1996), Ryan Anderson (1997) and Baek are injured. Matt Thornton (1998) and Ryan Christianson (1999) are still in the minors. Sam Hays, taken last year in the third round with the team's first pick, has yet to play.

Screw the draft. Why pay these kids a ton to sign if they just end up getting hurt or sucking? I say we draft guys and don't sign them, or give away the picks as compensation for free agents who can help now. Or, sign fat guys who are no good but are cheap. Why waste money on draftees? Look at this 2001 team; we didn't need a draft for this!

Or we could draft better players.

Norm Charlton went on the DL yesterday after straining his groin on Tuesday. LHP Brian Fuentes was called up to replace him.

I'll keep trying to catch up with more posts tomorrow.

Wednesday, May 30, 2001 (W: SEA 12 - BAL 5 39-12)

2004-06-09T00:58:00.000-07:00

Another day, another win. Are we getting spoiled expecting this?

John Halama started for the M's and pitched a solid six innings for the win. That's good enough for me after his last start.

Bell, Olerud, and Boone all hit HR's for the M's, who broke the game open in the eighth against the young Ryan Kohlmeier. Baltimore had hoped Kohlmeier would develop into a closer, after picking up thirteen saves last season as a rookie and six more this season before BJ Ryan took over a few weeks ago. Kohlmeier gave up six runs in only one third of an inning tonight.

Cal Ripken was 1-4, with a sac fly in the top of the first to put the O's ahead.

McLemore had 4 SB's.

The M's are now 39-12. Griffey and A-Rod's teams, the Reds and the Rangers, have 39 wins combined.

A note of interest: For the first time, all three three-generation families were represented in today's game, with Bret Boone and David Bell on the field for the M's and Jerry Hairston, Jr. on the field for the O's. All three players' fathers and grandfathers played in the majors.

Jay Buhner ran for the first time in quite a while today; only about 60 yards, but it's a good first step on his rehab from plantar fasciitis.

Edgar's beard watch: It's starting to itch. His wife doesn't like it. I give it four more days before Edgar breaks out the razor.

A longer All-Star article in today's paper gives more voting details. Edgar's in 1st among DH's, Ichiro's 2nd among OF's (only 41 votes behind Manny Ramirez) with no Japanese votes counted, Olerud is 2nd at first, Boone is 2nd at 2B, Cameron's 6th among OF's.

Tuesday, May 29, 2001 (W: SEA 3 - BAL 2 38-12)

2004-06-09T00:33:00.000-07:00

I'm back. I apologize for going on vacation just as I was starting to get a few visitors. Hopefully some of you have returned.

Lesson learned: Never start a blog right before a vacation.

A sort-of related note: In doing this, I've gained quite a bit of respect for those who post daily. All you bloggers/journalists who have daily deadlines, wow! It's really nice to know I can quit this any time I get bored with it -- but I'll try not to. Unless my counter doesn't move for a few weeks at a time, I'll keep posting.

Back to the blog:

Another win tonight for the M's, as they beat the O's 3-2 behind a strong seven innings by Freddy Garcia. Garcia is now 5-0, one of only two opening day starters still unbeaten (the other is Philadelphia's Omar Daal, who went 4-19 last season, but is now 6-0).

Kaz picked up his 20th save. McLemore hit his 4th HR.

Ichiro got the GWRBI (I miss that stat from the back of my Topps baseball cards in the late-80's) with a single in the 5th to up the score to 2-1. He also made a few great catches to save runs, including one to end the game.

The first All-Star balloting results were released today. Ichiro is second among AL outfielders, behind Manny Ramirez (who went 0-4 last night to drop below .400 for the first time since May 4). However, Manny hasn't yet played in the field this season, so I'd argue he should be on the ballot as a DH, like Edgar.

Good article in today's Times about Ray Fosse, who played for the M's in 1977. The article discusses the infamous play in the 1970 All-Star game, when Pete Rose ran over Fosse in a play at the plate.

My opinion: Baseball's just a game. It's entertainment. The All-Star game doesn't mean anything. It's an exhibition. Go out, play hard, have fun, but don't end anybody's career. I think Rose crossed a line with this play. In the heat of competition, I don't know what I would have done, but the play, and Rose's subsequent comments, just don't sit well with me.

Remember: Baseball is entertainment. The players are entertainers. That's all it really is.

As long as I'm discussing my All-Star game opinions, here's another:

Every team should have a representative. If you're like me, a Mariners' fan, you endured a few years of poor teams. As a kid, if Harold Reynolds didn't have a chance to pinch run for somebody or Mark Langston didn't have a chance to come in as a LOOGY, I wasn't about to watch the game. As an adult, I've learned to appreciate the game no matter who the players are (I can go to the park down the street and watch a little league game and enjoy it), but as a 10-year old, I was watching for one thing: Harold Reynolds. This creates interest for the local fans in the local players, especially when the team sucks. I don't even care if they don't play. When I was a kid, I would watch just to see them sitting on the bench or in the bullpen.

Bob Finnigan has an article in today's times about the next Japanese star, Kazuo Matsui, who will be eligible to come across the Pacific for the 2003 season. He could become the first Japanese infielder to play in the majors, but scouts believe he projects better as an outfielder, with "the strongest arm in Japan." According to the article, he's as fast as Ichiro. Wouldn't you love to see a 2003 outfield of Matsui in left, Cameron in center, and Ichiro in right? They'd probably steal 150 bases, with an 80% success rate!

On vacation...be back soon

2004-06-02T00:02:00.000-07:00

Sorry everybody. I'm on vacation, and I thought I'd get a chance to post, and I haven't had one (or I'm just lazy, I'll let you decide). I'll try to make a monster post soon.

Monday, May 28, 2001 (W: SEA 13 - KC 3 37-12)

2004-05-28T23:08:00.000-07:00

If you had Paul Abbott in the "First Mariner Pitcher to Throw a Complete Game in 2001" Pool, you're a winner.

Paul Abbott pitched the first complete game of his career today, and the first of the M's season, as the Mariners won 13-3, to reach 25 games over .500 for the first time in their history. The Memorial Day Monday game completed the 4-game sweep of the Royals.

Ichiro robbed Mike Sweeney of a HR with a leaping catch in the bottom of the fourth. The next batter, Jermaine Dye, went the other way, with a HR over the wall in left. Later, Sweeney got his revenge, as he smashed a ball over Mike Cameron's head, out of the park in center. The Royals' final run was scored during a shaky ninth by Abbott. However, the veteran pitcher worked out of the jam, and completed the game in an economical 119 pitches.

The M's will be home tomorrow night, for the first game of a season-long twelve-game homestand. Cal Ripken and the Baltimore Orioles will start rookie Willis Roberts against Freddy Garcia.

Sunday, May 27, 2001 (W: SEA 5 - KC 4 36-12)

2004-05-27T22:52:00.000-07:00

The M's squeezed out another one tonight, as Sasaki blew a save in the bottom of the ninth, but the M's pulled it out 5-4 after an eleventh inning rally.

Former Mariner David McCarty hit a solo shot off of Sasaki with one out in the ninth to send the game into extra innings.

In the eleventh, the M's played small ball, as Edgar singled, pinch runner Charles Gipson advanced to 2nd on a John Olerud single, and Bret Boone sacrifice bunted the runners ahead. The Royals elected to walk Ichiro to load the bases, and Mike Cameron came through with a deep sacrifice fly to center that Gipson scored on.

Norm Charlton worked a perfect tenth and eleventh to tally the victory.

With the victory, the M's are now 24 games above .500 for the first time in team history, and they're 21-5 on the road (kinda makes you wish a ceiling tile would fall, so the M's could play on the road all the time -- sorry, I live in LA, I don't care if I get to see them live at Safeco).

Raul Ibanez watch: Sasaki K'ed Ibanez, pinch hitting for the catcher again, this time in the bottom of the 9th. Ibanez is now hitting .143.

The M's are now 4-0 since Wednesday, when I got my Sports Illustrated with Ichiro on the cover. Jinx? What Jinx?

Cleveland lost, Minnesota won, so we're now four games up over Minnesota for the majors' best record.

Bob Finnigan had an article in today's Sunday Times about Olympic Hero Ryan Franklin. Despite his great performance this season, including Friday's career high 5-inning stint, the team has no plans to move him to the rotation, since Gil Meche and Ryan Anderson are on track to join the starting staff next season.

The same article mentions a few more former Mariners playing for the Royals: the "orignal Suzuki," relief pitcher Mak(oto), and tonight's starting second baseman, Wilson Delgado, who was traded from the M's back in May of 1995, along with Shawn Estes, for Solomon Torres, who is now out of baseball after being released by the Expos in January.

Finally, the M's are #3 in MLB for attendance, behind league leader Colorado (in LAST place in the NL West) and the Giants.

Saturday, May 26, 2001 (W: SEA 7 - KC 2 35-12)

2004-05-26T22:52:00.000-07:00

No big comeback tonight, as the M's took an early lead and held it. Poulsbo native Aaron Sele is 7-0 after tonight's 7-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals. Only Pedro Martinez has won more games than Sele since the 1998 season!

Bret Boone hit his ninth HR of the season, a two-run shot in the seventh.

Al Martin's back. He went 1-4, with a walk, to raise his batting average to .171. Maybe concussions are what he needs to be effective. No word on whether he got married again while he had the concussion. His .171 average is still better than the M's backup left fielder from last year, Raul Ibanez. Ibanez pinch hit for Royals' catcher AJ Hinch both tonight and last night, failing to get a hit in either at bat, dropping his average to .147. Perspective is important when you're criticizing your own team's players. Ibanez's performance this year shows things could be much worse out there in left than Martin and Stan Javier (who's hitting .250).

Cleveland lost tonight, while Minnesota split a doubleheader with the A's. The M's are now 3.5 games ahead of Cleveland and 4 ahead of the Twins. Our AL West lead is 11.5 games over the A's. Eleven games back in May; I'd put the champagne on ice for the M's pennant celebration, if not for my fond memories of the 1995 M's, who were 12.5 games back on August 15th, yet came back to win the division! Just a little wake up call for everybody who thinks this season's a lock. 11.5 games back is NOTHING! The M's shouldn't rest until it's a 30 game lead over the A's, because they're sure not going to give up, and neither are their annoying fans or their front office!

Friday, May 25, 2001 (W: SEA 9 - KC 6 34-12)

2004-05-25T23:28:00.000-07:00

The M's came back from behind again tonight to beat the Royals 9-6.

After starter John Halama gave up five runs without getting an out in in the third inning, Olympic Hero Ryan Franklin came in and pitched five innings for the win, giving up only one run on four hits.

The M's only extra-base hit was a first inning solo HR by Edgar. They had thirteen more singles and four walks to score their other eight runs (in addition to two Mariners thrown out at home -- Dave Myers is getting a little aggressive as far as I'm concerned). Edgar also got his second stolen base of the season. Every time he runs, I get nervous.

Sasaki pitched another perfect ninth for the save, number nineteen for him.

Cleveland won, Minnesota lost (to Oakland), so the M's are up two and a half games over the AL Central leading Indians, and eleven games ahead of the A's.

Larry Stone wrote an interesting article in today's Times discussing the potential for a local rival for the M's in Portland. Apparently, MLB executives are pretty interested in moving either the Marlins, Twins, A's, or Expos in the next few years, and Portland's one of the top relocation candidates. There are several stadium bills in their state legistlature, and if they pass, we could see a Mariner/Beaver rivalry soon.

Thursday, May 24, 2001

2004-05-24T21:35:00.000-07:00

Another off day today for the M's.

Blaine Newnham wrote an article today about first base coach John Moses's perspective on Ichiro, calling Moses, "The Ichiro of his time." That's a poor comparison. To show how ridiculous that statement is, flip it around and call Ichiro "The Johnny Moses of today." I don't see that as the next M's commercial (although if anybody from the ad agency that makes the great Mariners commercials is reading this, and wants to use it, can I have some royalties? Are there royalties for commercials? Or anti-royalties? I don't want to have to help pay for the spots! Never mind. BTW, I love that commercial you're showing this season with Jamie Moyer and Dan Wilson telling scary stories about Edgar around the campfire).

The Indians won today to move into a tie in the AL Central, 2.5 games behind the M's.

Let's take a walk through the leaderboards, starting with the AL (to make it more fun, I added the leaders' approximate paces for the season in parentheses -- bold indicates a record pace).

Ichiro's leading the AL in hits with 76 (273) and stolen bases with 15 (54).

A-Rod's leading in HR's with 17 (59), no surprise after his defection to hitter-friendly Texas.

Manny Ramirez is first in RBI at 56 (201) and batting average at .405.

Oakland's Jason Giambi is number one in walks, with 44 (158). Edgar's second, only three back.

Russ Branyan and Greg Vaughn are tied for first in strikeouts, with 54 (198 and 190) each.

Dave Burba of Cleveland and Brad Radke are tied for the lead with 7 (25) wins each. Radke also has 3 (10) complete games.

Andy Pettite has pitched the most innings, at 76 (267).

Leading the league in ERA at 1.60, Pedro has 108 (388) strikouts, 43 ahead of second place Barry Zito.

Kaz Sasaki is leading the league in saves with 18 (64).

Kelly Wunsch, of the White Sox is out front in games pitched, with 24 (88), but Jeff Nelson and Sasaki are nipping at his heels with 23 each.

In the National League:

Rich Aurilia, having a career year at SS in San Francisco, is leading in hits, with 62 (213), and is 2nd in average at .371. That's what hitting in front of Barry Bonds, the league leader in HR's with 25 (86) will do. In a few years, some team will be really disappointed when they expect this kind of production out of Aurilia, while batting him in front of Ben Davis, Randy Winn, and Quinton McCracken (just to name three random major leaguers with no connection between them, except they can't hit).

Luis Castillo is leading the NL in stolen bases with 14 (50).

Todd Helton is first in RBI at 50 (172).

Houston's Moises Alou is leading in batting average at .392.

Sammy Sosa is at the top of the leaderboard in walks, with 41 (144).

Pat Burrell and Ray Lankford are tied for first in strikeouts, with 53 (190) each.

Curt Schilling has 7 (24) wins.

Randy Johnson has thown more innings than anybody else, with 78.2 (271), but is making them count, as he leads the league in strikeouts with 115 (396).

Kevin Brown of LA leads the league in ERA at 1.96. Mike Hampton is looking pretty good in 4th place at 2.80. I guess he really can pitch in Colorado.

His teammate, Jeff Shaw is first in saves with 14 (48).

After looking at all these numbers, I think there's an obvious reason hitters are hitting so many more HR's these days: They're swinging much harder for the fences. FOUR guys are on pace to break the single-season record for strikeouts, as teams are more willing to put up with K's to get the big HR (not to mention HR's bring more fans out to the ballpark, so team owners prefer them).

Wednesday, May 23, 2001 (W: SEA 5 - MIN 4 33-12)

2004-05-23T22:34:00.000-07:00

I had a whole post here, then Netscape 7.1 crashed on me (I...uh...I mean, Netscape 3.1, since it's 2001, and Netscape 7.1 hasn't been invented yet)!

Starting over...

Today was another exciting come from behind victory, as the M's exchanged leads with the Twins several times before emerging with a 5-4 win.

Sasaki looked great, as he came in with only one out in the 8th and the bases loaded to get two quick outs. He then pitched a perfect 9th for his 18th save of the season. He looks healthy again; this was the 4th time this year he's pitched more than an inning.

The game went back and forth several times. Edgar put the M's up early with a solo shot in the top of the first. Torii Hunter answered back with a 3-run HR in the bottom of the 2nd off of M's starter Freddy Garcia. The Mariners clawed back with single runs in the 4th and 6th, before going back ahead with another single run in the 7th. Minnesota's exciting 21-year old rookie Luis Rivas chased Freddy off the mound in the bottom of the 7th with a DEEP sacrifice fly to tie it up at four.

Struggling David Bell, hitting only .185 coming into the game, hit a HR in the top of the 8th to put the M's ahead for good.

The Twins tried to make it interesting, loading the bases in the 8th before Sasaki came in and shut the door.

On Saturday, I wrote that you'll know Al Martin isn't okay if he starts telling crazy football stories. Based on that diagnosis, I think he'll be out a bit longer, as he told Bob Finnigan a very interesting one. From today's Times:

Outfielder Al Martin said the last time he had his bell rung like it was Saturday, when shortstop Carlos Guillen inadvertently kicked him in the head, was in 1986.

Back then he was playing strong safety for USC in a football game against Michigan.

"For some reason, probably because I was young and dumb, I decided I could make a head-on stop of Leroy Hoard," Martin said. "I hit him, or rather he hit me. You remember those big tree-trunk legs Hoard had? That's what hit me."

I checked. USC didn't play Michigan in '86. They played in the Rose Bowl in '88 and '89, and Hoard ran for over 100 yards in both games (he didn't get any carries in their first '88 matchup). I guess Martin's still a little dizzy, and he got his years confused. What's interesting about Martin is, he was drafted in 1985 by the Braves, and was playing A-ball in '88 and '89. Why he risked his future major league career by playing college football at the same time, I don't know. I can't find a box score that shows USC stats, so I don't know if Martin ever actually brought Hoard down for a tackle.

I can't fault Martin for saying dumb things with a concussion. I met my girlfriend when I had a concussion from a college football practice. Talk about dumb! (She doesn't like baseball, so I'm not worried about her reading this.) We've been together 3-1/2 years, so maybe Al Martin will meet his next wife this week.

The M's get another day off tomorrow, before going to Kansas City for a four-game weekend series.

Tuesday, May 22, 2001 (L: MIN 12 - SEA 11 32-12)

2004-05-22T23:50:00.000-07:00

Yuck. Another ugly game tonight, as Paul Abbott gave up eight runs in only 2.2 innings. The M's made it exciting with 4 runs in the top of the 9th, the first 2 charged to Minnesota's setup man, "everyday Eddie" Guardado. Twins closer LaTroy Hawkins struggled, letting in both runners he inherited from Guardado, then giving up 2 more runs of his own before he struck out Mark McLemore to end the game. Final score: Minnesota 12, Seattle 11.

Minnesota is now only a game and a half back of the M's. (And, they're only one game back in the loss column. I've never understood why the loss column matters to anybody. Isn't it just an excuse to be lazy and not figure out how many "real" games a team is back of another? I've heard it's because "You can never get a loss back," but you can't "lose a win" either, right? Can anybody explain this?)

This game didn't look like the two best teams in the majors, as Minnesota almost blew two huge leads. Brad Radke, trying to become the first pitcher in the majors to eight wins, didn't make it through the 5th. Former Mariner Bob Wells picked up the win in relief.

Olympian Ryan Franklin pitched 3-1/3 innings of shutout relief to allow the M's offense to get back in the game. I like this kid.

With the bases loaded in the 7th, Piniella outsmarted Minnesota manager Tom Kelly, sending Al Martin out on deck to lure Kelly into calling for Guardado to replace Wells. When Kelly went to Wells, Piniella countered with David Bell. Piniella is like a chess player, always 2 steps ahead of the opposing manager. What Kelly didn't know is that Martin is likely out for at least another week with a concussion. David Bell then crushed a pitch from Guardado about 30 feet foul of being a home run before flying out.

You can't judge a manager for the results; only for the method. Remember, given the same situation five times, the very best hitters only succeed 1 time more often than the worst. It's up to the manager to maximize opportunity.

There was an interesting article in today's Times about Ichiro's monthly batting averages from his years in Japan. His worst two months were August (.343) and September (.323). Not exactly Mario Mendoza, but a bit worrisome, since the MLB season is 27 games longer than the season in Japan. Also, although I've read stories that said Ichiro was surprised by the ease of the Cactus League, he is quoted in the article as saying, "If I was in top condition on the first day [of the Japanese season], I would be tired by the end of season" because he never had to battle for a position. The article also had some smack talk from Jim Colborn, the first-year pitching coach for the Dodgers, who scouted and helped sign Ichiro for the M's, which reminds me that I need to buy tickets for the M's visit to Chavez Ravine in June. I live a lot closer to Dodger Stadium than the "Big Ed" in Anaheim. Plus, most of my friends down here are big Dodger fans; none of them care too much about the Angels. Colborn, who turns 55 today, thinks he knows some secrets on how to get Ichiro out, but he's not telling us what they are.

The All-Star game sold out today in 40 minutes. I forgot to try to buy tickets from work. Scalpers are already asking $1500 for a $275 ticket. I guess I won't make it.

The M's hope to earn a split of the 2-game series tomorrow afternoon.

Although I try to avoid discussion of politics here, an editorial in today's LA Times caught my eye, and I thought I'd pass it along. The Taliban government in Afghanistan has recently started cracking down on all things "against the will of God." This includes things like shaving, women's rights of any sort, and drug use. It's this last prohibition that has earned the respect of the Bush administration, who announced last week that they would give the Taliban $43 million to help them fight the drug war. The author, Robert Scheer points out that this gift runs counter to the U.N. sanctions against Afghanistan, which the U.S. requested to help persuade the Taliban to stop protecting terrorist Osama bin Laden, whose organization attacked U.S. embassies in 1998.

Now, I'm sure that the Bush administration understands much more than I do about the situation, and I'd love to see heroin eliminated from American cities, but I don't like seeing our U.S. government circumvent U.N. sanctions against terrorists because they feel the war on drugs is more important than the war on terrorism. In addition, we seem to be encouraging the repression of human rights with this money. In the next couple years, thousands of Afghan citizens' lives will likely be taken by the fundamentalist Taliban. What makes our drug users' lives more valuable than their citizens' lives?

I'm probably wrong. Three years from now, heroin prices will probably be so high that there will no longer be addicts on the streets. Hopefully, the Taliban government will see the financial value in American friendship and hand over Bin Laden next week. I just think this is a big risk, like signing Mo Vaughn to a 6-year contract (and having to try to replace him with 38-year old Wally Joyner, like the Angels are doing this year). Like Lou Piniella vs. Tom Kelly, we should maximize our opportunities to do good in the world, and not get single minded tunnel vision that blinds us to other options. Let's just hope if we did make a mistake, the Taliban will pull the ball 30 feet foul and fly out on the next pitch.

See, I was just trying to show the lessons that baseball teaches us with this political example. I'll try to avoid politics on this blog from now on. Go M's.

P.S. Changing the date manually to 2001 did screw up some things, so I'm going to switch the dates back and let blogger keep thinking it's 2004.

Monday, May 21, 2001

2004-05-21T22:58:00.000-07:00

Off day today.

Tomorrow brings in the mighty Twins, 2.5 games back in the AL standings.

Even after the series loss to the Yankees over the weekend, the M's current pace has them finishing the season 121-41, which would be a new record.

Brett Tomko was sent down to Tacoma yesterday; the M's called up Ed Sprague from Tacoma. They needed an extra bat off the bench after Al Martin's concussion Saturday.

All-Star game tickets go on sale tomorrow.

A humorous note in the paper today:

Chicago first baseman Julio Zuleta, a big fan of "Major League" movie character Pedro Serrano [sic], used chicken bones, fruit, burning newspapers and other assorted items on the Cubs' bats Saturday, and the offense has been on fire ever since. "We had nothing to lose," Zuleta said. "The bats got hot, and everyone started hitting."

I loved Cerrano and his Jobu voodoo; "Bats, they are sick. I cannot hit curveball. Straightball I hit it very much. Curveball, bats are afraid. I ask Jobu to come, take fear from bats. I offer him cigar, rum. He will come." What ever happened to that actor anyways? I know he was also in "Mr. Baseball," with Tom Selleck, and the "Major League" sequels, but he's disappeared since then.

President Bush held his first T-ball game at the White House yesterday, as two teams of 4- to 8-year olds battled it out on the South Lawn. Think what you want about the president, but he holds the important distinction of being the first Little Leaguer to ever become president.

And, yes, that other guy playing MLB.com's Beat the Streak game continued his streak through the weekend, so I'm no longer tied for first. I did get my name in an MLB.com article though. That was pretty cool.

A slight change in the format of the blog; I finally figured out how to fix the glitch that kept dating my entries from 2004. I'm not sure how that will affect my Atom Feed, (which you can add to My Yahoo!) so I may switch it back.

Sunday, May 20, 2001 (W: SEA 6 - NYY 2 32-11)

2004-05-20T19:17:00.000-07:00

The M's won 6-2 today, as Aaron Sele improved his record to 6-0, and the M's handed aging Roger Clemens his first loss of the season.

With one out in the bottom of the first, Clemens threw 12 straight balls, loading the bases, which Bret Boone quickly emptied with a double. Clemens eventually settled down and went 7 innings before being relieved by Friday's starter, Ted Lilly (who only threw 47 pitches in 1.1 innings two nights ago).

Odd play in the 4th, as Alfonso Soriano reached on an 8-6 double play fielder's choice. I'll let the Times article explain it:

With one out and Posada on second and Scott Brosius at first, Soriano hit a line drive to center fielder Mike Cameron. Cameron dropped the ball, but threw to shortstop Carlos Guillen, who tagged Posada out and touched second to force out Brosius.

This is a great example for all you little league coaches (and frustrated husbands) who need a way to explain how the infield fly rule actually reduces confusion among players.

Since it's Sunday, coverage was a little more extensive in this morning's paper.

There were a couple mentions in the Times about Gil Meche's rehab. The M's expect him to return as soon as August! Remember, no pitcher has ever returned from labrum surgery, so don't hold your breath.

There's another article about the M's single-A minor league team in San Bernardino, and how much worse they are this year compared to last year, juxtaposing players such as Willie Bloomquist, who hit .379 last year, and Justin Leone, who is only hitting .166 for the Stampede this year. A poor minor league season can end the career of a young kid; luckily for guys like Leone, the whole team is hitting poorly, so maybe he'll get another chance. The article does point to some rising stars in pitchers Rafael Soriano, a converted outfielder, and Julio Mateo, both of whom have 3.48 ERA's in a hitter's league.

There was a note today in Larry Stone's article that mentioned Baltimore trying to trade for a young third baseman. I wonder if Ripken will retire this year; if he does, his last game will be in New York on September 30th. I wonder if tickets are still available. I've never been to Yankee Stadium.

Although I try not to predict the future much on this blog, I predict that 3 years from now, there will be a very entertaining blog called "Mariner Musings," detailing the heroics of the M's 2004 season, as they go for their fourth straight World Series championship. Thanks for the kind words about this "happy place" Peter. You sent my hit counter into double digits, and I spent all day watching it rise.

Saturday, May 19, 2001 (L: NYY 2-SEA 1 31-11)

2004-05-19T20:23:00.000-07:00

Sasaki's back!!!

I still hate the Yankees!!!

Jamie Moyer was great tonight, facing one over the minimum in 7 innings (a Jeter single was his only blemish). Rhodes was electric in the 8th.

M's up, 1-0 in the 9th, Kazuhiro came in for his first appearance in six days, gave up a one out bloop single to Soriano, followed by a flyout. Then Kazu decided, "I just wanted to get [Jeter] out, I wasn't concerned about the runner at all," so Soriano stole 2nd, stole 3rd, and scored on a Jeter single.

That was the tying run Sasaki ignored! And, once Soriano got to third, Kazu couldn't throw the forkball in the dirt, so he hung one to Jeter up in the zone.

Then, in the 10th, Bernie Williams hit a leadoff double off Sasaki, and later scored on a groundout that could have been turned into a double play to end the inning.

To be honest, I think Kazu blew the save intentionally, trying to get his countryman Ichiro another at bat to try to continue his hitting streak, after El Duque plunked him in the 8th. Ichiro grounded out in the bottom of the 10th, ending his streak at 23 games, one short of Joey Cora's team record.

And, if you've been reading this blog, you'll realize that means my Beat the Streak entry at MLB.com has now ended. I've been tied for first, so I'll check in the morning to see if the guy I've been tied with also failed to get a hit. Is there an MLB.com interview jinx (kind of like the Sports Illustrated cover jinx)?

Tonight's game also guarantees the M's will lose the series, only the 2nd time it has happened all year.

Still no word on where Kazu's been for most of the week.

There was a scary moment in the top of the first, when Al Martin took a Carlos Guillen knee to the head making a diving catch to end the inning. He only suffered a mild concussion, and as my high school football coach once told me, "The most important thing is he held onto the ball." Sounds like Martin will be ok. We'll know he isn't if he starts telling crazy football stories.

Sele vs. Clemens tomorrow afternoon in the series finale.

Friday, May 18, 2001 (L: NYY 14-SEA 10 31-10)

2004-05-18T23:46:00.000-07:00

Well, at least Ichiro continued his hit streak. It's now 23, tying his personal best, from Japan, and one short of the Mariners' team record. It was also his 7th straight multi-hit game!

I hate the Yankees. Can I say that? I was beginning to think that this blog was the M's secret weapon, and they couldn't lose as long as I was posting. Boy was I wrong!

John Halama got spanked. Boy am I glad we gave up Randy Johnson for this guy!!! Of course, Randy will break down in a year or so, and Garcia, Halama, and Guillen will be well on their way to the Hall of Fame. But, I do miss the Randy of 1995 on nights like this. Can you believe it was almost 11 years ago Randy pitched that no-hitter against Detroit? Mike Heath struck out for the final out. The M's lineup that day was:

2B Harold Reynolds
LF Henry Cotto
1B Alvin Davis
DH Jeffrey Leonard
CF Ken Griffey, Jr.
3B Edgar Martinez
RF Jay Buhner
C Scott Bradley
SS Mike Brumley

For all the crap Randy gets for having an inconsistent beginning of his career, 1990 was really only his 2nd full major league season, and he was only 26!

Enough about the past. Tino Martinez was the star tonight, going 4-5 with a HR, 4 RBI, and 3 runs (remember when he was with the Mariners in 1995? That was a great season! Oh sorry...back to 2001). I feel guilty. I still root for Tino, even though he's with the Yankees. I just wish he played for the D-Rays or somebody, so I could root for him and know his team would still lose.

Halama gave up 7 runs in 3 innings. Then Tomko came in and gave up 6 more in 3 innings. At least we didn't give up anybody good to get Tomko! Ryan Franklin, Olympic Hero, pitched strongly for the final 3 innings, giving up only 1 run on 4 hits.

In the 2nd inning, Olerud was hit in the head by NY starter Ted Lilly's final pitch. Joe Torre then pulled Lilly for Ramiro Mendoza who threw 4.2 innings for the win.

David Bell sat out tonight with a sore knee. He's day-to-day after an MRI.

Although Luis Sojo (there I go again with the '95 M's references) didn't play tonight for the Yankees, he announced he will be holding the Luis Sojo All-Star Gala on July 9 at the DV8, the night before the All-Star Game. Playing at the event will be his 14-member salsa orchestra up from Venezuela for the event, for their first stateside performance. Sojo's first CD, recently released, is titled "Luis Sojo y Su Orquesta," if you want to pick it up. All proceeds from ticket sales will go to local charities.

Back to baseball: Minnesota lost too!

Thursday, May 17, 2001 (W: SEA 5-CWS 1 31-9)

2004-05-17T19:51:00.000-07:00

M's win again: completing the three-game sweep with a 5-1 over Chicago. That's eight straight, if you're counting.

Ichiro was the sparkplug once again, extending his hitting streak to 22 games (and my MLB.com Beat the Streak entry to 23 games), with a single in the first. He then stole 2nd and 3rd and scored on an Edgar single. He now has 13 SB's this season, tied for first in the majors with Chuck Knoblauch of the Yankees. The M's as a team are 35-41 in stolen bases, for a .854 success rate, best in the majors.

The M's never looked back as Boone hit a 3-run HR (his 8th of the season) in the third and Freddy pitched 7.2 innings, giving up only 6 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run to up his record to 4-0. Jeff Nelson got the final 4 outs for his 3rd save of the season. (Still no clue here what's up with Kaz.)

Anybody else read Larry Stone's column today? Calling Gillick a "productive tinkerer," he says the M's are actively pursuing another bat for their lineup, such as:

Mark Quinn
Greg Vaughn
Phil Nevin
Jose Cruz
Ivan Rodriguez

I'd love to get one of those guys and lock them up for a few more years. However, the article also points out that if Buhner returns and hits like we know he can, we may not go after anybody else.

And, yes...Minnesota won again. Isn't it nice to sit here and fret over whether your team can hold onto the best record in the majors? That's the luxury we have in the weak AL West (Anaheim, 12 games back in 2nd place, is 2 games below .500 at 19-21). October baseball, here we come!

Wednesday, May 16, 2001 (W: SEA 7-CWS 2 30-9)

2004-05-16T23:00:00.000-07:00

Mariners 7
White Sox 2

Paul Abbott struck out ten Chicago batters for his second career double-digit strikeout game (in his 57th career start). It was the Mariners' first 10-strikeout game of the season.

Ichiro's hitting streak is now 21 games. He's now only 3 games away from tying Joey Cora's 1997 franchise record.

Cameron made a great catch in the sixth to rob Carlos Lee of extra bases and ended up skidding across the cinder warning track face first. The Safeco crowd rewarded him with a standing ovation at the end of the inning.

Earlier in the day, Jose Paniagua was suspended for 3 games for not hitting Manny Ramirez back on May 9th. The M's appealed, and I think they've got a pretty good case. Paniagua wasn't even ejected from the game, as the umpires working the game didn't think the brush-back was intentional. Hopefully MLB will reduce the suspension to 1 or 2 games. Paniagua is really starting to look good out there; tonight he picked up the save for the 2nd straight game. I'm not sure what's wrong with Sasaki.

Jay Buhner took batting practice before the game. Hopefully we'll see him out there in left soon!

The M's are still showing some fire, as Mark McLemore was ejected in the 2nd inning after tossing his helmet and bat in protest of a called third strike.

The Twins won again to up their record to 27-11.

One last thing. I got an email today from someone at MLB.com who asked me about my Beat the Streak picks. For those of you who don't know, MLB.com has a fantasy game on their site where you pick a batter for each day during the season. The goal is to compile a batting streak of as long as possible. There's prizes, and the game's free. Check it out (or don't -- I'm in first place, and I don't want any more competition).

Anyways, he "interviewed" me via email for his column on MLB.com!!! He wanted to know my strategy. I told him: Pick Ichiro every day. So, if you notice any excessive rooting on this blog for Ichiro's hit streak, it's because I've got prizes riding on it! Oh yeah, he also wrote that they may try to get me on MLB radio for a few minutes. What will I say!? I'll let you know more if I hear it.

Tuesday, May 15, 2001 (W: SEA 4-CWS 3 29-9)

2004-05-15T22:08:00.001-07:00

The streak is now 6 for the Mariners, who beat the White Sox 4-3 tonight.

The streak is now 20 for Ichiro, who went 2-5.

The streak is now 2 for Mariners games that include a manager successfully argue a call. This time it was Jerry Manuel arguing. I'll let the Times article explain it:

With Chicago's Magglio Ordonez on first, Harold Baines hit a hard one-hopper off Mariner pitcher Aaron Sele, who deflected the ball toward the right side. The ball then hit Ordonez in the leg but was recovered by M's second baseman Bret Boone, who threw out Baines at first base.

When a batted ball hits a runner, the runner is automatically out, the ball is dead and the batter is awarded a single. That's what the umpires initially ruled.

However, this ball hit a fielder - Sele - before it hit the runner. That changed things, as White Sox Manager Jerry Manuel pointed out to the umpires, who conferred and reversed their ruling. When a ball is directed toward a runner by a fielder, then it remains in play. Ordonez was allowed to remain at second, but Baines was ruled out.

Boone hit another HR, and only needed a triple for the cycle (if you're counting, that's 3 straight games the M's have had a chance at the cycle -- I don't know what the record is; you'd have to ask Jayson Stark).

In the 9th, the Sox made it interesting off of Jose Paniagua (Lou was resting Sasaki -- I'm not sure why, after an off day. Sasaki hasn't shown signs of being fragile), but Ichiro threw out Josh Paul at third trying to stretch a double, Paul's second baserunning blunder of the game. In the top of the 7th, he pinch ran for Sandy Alomar, Jr. and got gunned down at third by Wilson. This, Mr. Paul, is why catchers don't run (because you're slow)!

Buehrle (whose name I spelled wrong yesterday) actually pitched pretty well for the 3nd time this season. Twice were against the M's. Go figure.

A couple side notes:

Chicago's future Hall of Famer Frank Thomas underwent season ending triceps surgery today. That's a big blow. Last year's MVP runner up, Thomas hit .328 last season with 43 HR's and 143 RBI! Of course, he was 0-9 vs. the M's in last year's ALDS. I predict he'll come back with a vengance next season. .340, 40 HR, 120 RBI. You heard it here first (I think he may sacrifice a little power for average in April because of the time off, but he'll cut loose in the 2nd half of the season).

Warren Moon threw out the first pitch. Cammie looked like Brian Blades pulling in a pass, as Moon's toss was quite a bit high and outside.

Tomorrow night's game has Paul Abbott going up against another rookie in Chicago's Rocky Biddle. Even though he's a rookie, Biddle is 0-3 with a 10.69 ERA in his career against the Mariners.

Monday, May 14, 2001

2004-05-14T20:34:00.001-07:00

Minnesota won today. They're only a game and a half back!

Off day for the M's today.

Tomorrow we play the White Sox at Safeco.

May 13, 2001 (W: SEA 7-TOR 5 28-9)

2004-05-13T23:43:00.000-07:00

Happy mother's day mom! (Sorry readers, I had to get that out of the way first.)

The M's wrapped up their 6-game road trip by winning their 5th straight game, beating the Blue Jays 7-5 today.

Ichiro extended his hitting streak to 19 games (tying Toronto's injured Jose Cruz, Jr. for the longest streak of the 2001 season) and had 3 out of the 4 legs of hitting for the cycle for the 2nd straight game! He's now hit in 35 of the M's first 37 games. I think he's the real deal! Toronto pitchers decided the only way to keep him from hitting is to hit him twice, keeping him from getting a shot at the HR he needed to complete the cycle. I'm keeping him in my MLB.com Beat the Streak team for the forseeable future (I would love that trip to the World Series to see the M's win their first title)!

Boone hit his 6th HR, a 2-run shot in the 3rd off of Esteban Loaiza, whose career is quickly fading. He gave up all 7 runs in his 6 innings.

Seattle's starter, Jaime Moyer didn't have a great game, giving up all 5 Blue Jay runs in only 6 innings, but a win's a win. Sasaki pitched the 9th for his 17th save. Seventeen saves in 37 games: Kaz is on pace for 74 saves this year. Of course, the M's are on pace to win 122 games; both those paces are likely to slow considerably. Since the M's and Blue Jays inagural season of 1977, only one AL team has won more than 104 games: the amazing 1998 Yankees.

It was nice to see Olympic hero Ryan Franklin bounce back from his 3-inning, 6-earned run stint last Sunday. He'd been great in his first 8 appearances this season, compiling a 0.90 ERA and striking out 18 in his first 20 innings. He pitched the 7th last night, striking another batter, bringing him to a total of 22 K's in 24 innings this season. Looks like another young power pitcher on the M's staff!

Toronto prospect Vernon Wells, called up yesterday for the former Mariner Cruz, hit his first HR of the season. He hit one in a September call up back in '99; this was his first since then. The kid's swing looks good! There was some talk the M's were trying to swing a 3-way trade for him and Phil Nevin this spring. I think he'd be better in left than Javier and Al Martin, especially in the future.

Lou worked his magic with the umpires in the 7th, SUCCESSFULLY arguing that Toronto third-baseman Tony Batista trapped what appeared to be the start of a triple play on a lineout by Dan Wilson. I guess all those tantrums of Lou's younger years finally paid off. The Blue Jays had already left the field, and had to come back out to finish the inning!

Buhner's still out indefinitely, but his veteran presence is keeping the clubhouse loose and professional.

Did anybody else see Bob Finnegan's note in the Times yesterday suggesting the M's pick up Vinny Castilla for just the pro-rated portion of $200k? I think it's a good idea in case David Bell goes down. However, Gillick and the M's scouts think his bat's too slow and he'll never hit like he did in Colorado. I understand Gillick's concern not wanting to pay a ton of money for a third baseman with Coors-inflated stats, but at the major league minimum, I argue it's worth the risk.

And, Steve Kelley wrote in this morning's Times that George W Bush is planning to get former M's owner George Argyros an ambassadorship! To Spain. Why does the US need an ambassador in Spain? I wonder if Bush thinks they speak "Mexican" there? Oh well, good riddance Argyros!

Bob Sherwin had an interesting article in this morning's Times about Rett Johnson, a 21-year old lefty pitching down in single-A Wisconsin. He's got a 1.85 ERA in his first 7 starts!

We're now 11 games up on the Angels (who won today) and only 2 up on the red-hot Twins (who also won).

Next game is Tuesday against the White Sox. Tickets are still available. Sele (5-0, 2.72) vs. some rookie (Buhrle: 1-3, 5.54).

Welcome to Remember 2001

2001-05-13T23:10:00.000-07:00

Remember 2001?

116-46

14 games ahead of Oakland in the AL

927 runs scored, 30 ahead of Cleveland in the AL (and 4 more than the Rockies)

627 runs allowed, 18 fewer than Oakland in the AL (and 16 fewer than Atlanta)

.986 fielding percentage, best in the majors

Ichiro: MVP, ROY, Gold Glove. Led the league in Hits, Batting Average, and Stolen Bases.
Boone: Led the league in RBI
Edgar: Top-10 in OBP and SLG
Jaime Moyer: 20 wins at age 38
Freddy: Led the league in ERA
Cammie: Gold Glove, 6th in the league in Stolen Bases
Mark McLemore: Played 6 positions, 4th in the league in Stolen Bases
Jeff Nelson: Back with the M's, slinging Frisbees from the mound

All-Stars: Bret Boone, Mike Cameron, Freddy Garcia, Edgar Martinez, Jeff Nelson, John Olerud, Kazuhiro Sasaki, and Ichiro

More veterans than any other team in the AL (oldest pitchers and the olders hitters).

That was an exciting team to watch!

Unfortunately, I lived in LA at the time, and had to enjoy the 2001 season from distance. Now, inspired by tigerblog.net, I'm going to enjoy the season from a distance again, this time from 3 years in the future. At this site, I'll relive the ups and downs (mostly ups) of the amazing 2001 season. Feel free to enjoy the ride with me.