MLB Seattle

There's a long history of position players coming in to pitch during major league games. It's often seen during total routs when a comeback is beyond reach and the actual pitchers are better off getting rest than work. Yesterday in Seattle, though, backup catcher Jamie Burke came into pitch during the 15th inning of a tie game between the Mariners and Tigers.

Burke didn't embarrass himself but still picked up the loss when Marcus Thames hit a sacrifice fly to win the game. He got Ivan Rodriguez and Edgar Renteria to close out the inning and didn't look bad doing it. Still, how does Burke end up on the mound in that spot? Jim Riggleman didn't have many options after exhausting his bullpen.

Reliever Arthur Rhodes woke up with a sore arm and couldn't get loose. Brandon Morrow had pitched four of the previous five days and Riggleman wanted to give him a day off. Tuesday's scheduled starter, Carlos Silva, had thrown on the side earlier Sunday. Saturday's starter, R.A. Dickey, volunteered to throw, but had tossed more than 100 pitches in his start.

You don't use someone who's hurting and Morrow is probably too valuable to the franchise's future to throw out in those circumstances. Why not use Dickey, though? He throws a knuckleball, which would surely be harder for the Tigers to master than the slider of a catcher. I realize the Mariners season is going nowhere fast but just giving away games hardly seems like the best solution.

We're only halfway through the 2008 season, and already the Seattle Mariners have undergone quite a few changes. First and foremost this year, they went from being a team that was supposed to contend for a divisional title or playoff appearance to being the worst team in baseball.

As is often the case when your horrible, people start to lose their jobs, and that's exactly what happened to general manager Bill Bavasi and manager John McLaren. Still, there's another change on the horizon in Seattle, as controlling owner Hiroshi Yamauchi (the former president of Nintendo) is rumored to be trying to sell off his stake in the team.

It's being said that minority owner Chris Larson is interested in buying Yamauchi's share in the team, and he'll be bringing in a familiar face as one of his partners.

One fascinating rumor making the industry rounds has an investment group led by Microsoft executive and current Mariners minority owner Chris Larson and former Seattle GM Pat Gillick taking control of the Mariners sometime in the near future, with Gillick running the baseball operation and naming the new GM.

Gillick is currently the general manager in Philadelphia, but he's gone on record as saying that he plans to retire at the end of the season, so it would seem the timing is right. It should also be noted that Gillick (who is Canadian) has sold his home in Toronto, and that his wife has sold the Toronto art gallery that she owned.

So if you've got a mansion in the Seattle area you'd like to part ways with, maybe you should give Mr. Gillick a call.

That ankle sprain that Felix Hernandez suffered at Shea Stadium last Monday is taking a little too long to heal for the Mariners' liking. So the young ace is going to take some extra time off and take a trip to the disabled list, keeping him out for at least another week.

Hernandez was examined by team physicians Monday as the Mariners returned from a nine-game road trip. Manager Jim Riggleman said nothing significant was found, but since Hernandez was going to miss his next start anyway, the team decided to give his ankle a few more days of rest and put him on the disabled list.

"His landing foot is still not really right, (and) we're not going to put him out there till it is right," Riggleman said.

At 31-51, the M's would be silly to let King Felix get out of bed until he's at full strength. Until then, Hernandez can close his eyes and keep dreaming about that grand slam off Johan Santana.

For me, one of the few things left about interleague play that I really enjoy is seeing American League pitchers step into a batter's box. There are times when I'm watching an American League pitcher hit when I can honestly say, "Man, I could do better than that," and actually be telling the truth (not saying I could make contact, just saying I can look like I know how to).

I saw Bartolo Colon hit last week, and the fat man swung so hard that his helmet fell off and his back foot was generally corkscrewed a foot into the dirt after every swing. It was hilarious. Still, just because the majority of pitchers from the junior circuit make fools of themselves at the dish, some of them actually look like big league hitters. C.C. Sabathia, for instance, has a career average of .300 and hit a 450-foot bomb at Dodger Stadium over the weekend (which could add to his value should an NL team hope to trade for him).

Just yesterday, Seattle's Felix Hernandez hit a grand slam on the first pitch he saw from Johan Santana that supplied the Mariners with all the runs they'd need to pick up a win. Felix wasn't able to finish the game after hurting his ankle while covering the plate in the 5th inning (don't worry, x-rays are negative and he won't miss a start), but after the game he did share his unique approach to hitting.

"My approach? Just swing. I closed my eyes. I was happy and I was thinking that's all I need -- four runs."

Now, before all you other American League pitcher goes out there and adopt this philosophy as your own, I should warn you that this grand slam was the first home run Felix has hit since Little League. So it's not exactly fool proof.

"It's your fault. It's all your fault."

Later, Willie, John, John, and not Ozzie. You were all bums.

Baseball parks have long been a great place to meet somebody, whether you're a man or a woman. If you meet somebody at a game, you already know you have a common interest with them, so you've got your icebreaker right there. The seemingly never ending flow of beer doesn't hurt much either, of course.

If you're single and still looking for that special someone, or even that special person for the next few hours, I highly recommend going to a baseball game to find them. Just make sure you aren't going to SafeCo Field. Don't be fooled by the lesbian make-out sessions, because that place is a ghost town these days.

Among the several casualties of this dismal Mariners season -- Jeff Pentland's job, Richie Sexson's career, the fantasy team of anyone who drafted J.J. Putz -- is the singles scene at Safeco Field.

The scene is dead for one simple reason (which is practically a natural law): Women don't like losers.

I say this with the certainty of someone who went on several dates while unemployed and living at my parents' house. Eventually the girl would learn the gravity of my situation, and then (evidently) lose my phone number.

The Mariners -- who also live in the basement and rarely score -- are just as unattractive to women. At least that's what I conclude from the looks of Safeco Field's Hit It Here Cafe on a couple of recent nights.

Baseball, not too shockingly, has never had a female general manger. Ever. Even in the 1930's! But Kim Ng, an assistant GM with the Los Angeles Dodgers, has been given permission by Ned Colletti to speak to the Seattle Mariners (note: should they actually ask), so sayeth the L.A. Times.

As has Logan White (not a female, but also a Dodger employee).

"They're both worthy," Colletti said.

Ng is believed to be interested in the Seattle job but declined to comment. White, who played in the Mariners' minor league system and scouted for the team, said he would be interested in discussing the position.

I back the no comment on this one as well -- there's no need for starting any sort of media firestorm (a.k.a. getting asked how she felt about being the first female GM in MLB history 1,000 times a day) before actually applying/interviewing for or getting the job. Or before the M's show some reciprocal interest.

As the Times notes, Ng interviewed with the Dodgers for the job that Colletti eventually received. And there is probably a lengthy process in store for the M's before they permanently replace Bill Bavisi, but if Colletti is making a capable female member of his staff available, I'd be shocked if Seattle did not at least interview her or include her on the short list of candidates.

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups.

Seattle Mariners (26-49) at New York Mets (37-37) - 7:10 PM ET

It's a great pitching matchup - Felix Hernandez vs. Johan Santana - but that's not why this game leads off our list of Monday baseball. No, it's because Jerry Manuel will be managing his first home game at Shea Stadium since taking over for Willie Randolph. The nature of that dismissal has been debated to death in New York since then but it will still be interesting to see how the hometown faithful react in their first look at the team since Black early Tuesday morning. Manuel's fertilizer comments, which seem like little more than a tabloid trying to make a stink where none exists, could also play a role in how he's greeted. If Santana pitches well, and no reason he shouldn't against the Mariners, it should all end up as a lovefest by the end of the night.

It wasn't exactly a "Ball Four" type expose of a major league clubhouse, but the recently deposed John McLaren had some interesting things to say regarding the problems in the Mariners clubhouse which may have resulted in their bad record (and perhaps his own firing along the way).

"There is tension, friction and a little jealousy," McLaren said in the course of a 30-minute interview via conference call. "We (the staff) tried to deal with it, but they got to do it on their own."

McLaren said he wasn't trying to be critical but rather constructive.

"The tension and jealousy has been there, and crystal clear," he said. "The only reason I mention that, not to deter any criticism from myself, but to make this team better.

"If they can get in that room and work some issues out, they'll be better off. Sometimes we get caught up in own world (...) I am not calling anybody out. I'm not bashing them. Its hard to come to the park when you lose for gosh's sake. But we've had a divide, hitters vs. pitchers. On a good team, those things are overlooked. But (not when) you're losing."

Maybe that yellow strip of tape in the clubhouse that separates the hitters from the pitchers was the first clue that there was a divide. (I heard Felix Hernandez crossed it to get his shoulder taped and it wasn't a good scene.) Or perhaps it was that sign that reads "He-Man Pitcher Haters Club" over Richie Sexson's locker. Could all of those "how many hitters does it take to screw in a light bulb" jokes that J.J. Putz was telling lately have been a sign?*

*Hopefully you've figured out by now that none of this is actually true.

John McLaren finally has a real reason to throw a temper tantrum. Expected by some to play for the AL West title, the Mariners have been the worst team in baseball and McLaren paid for that failing with his job today. His firing comes on the heels of GM Bill Bavasi's ouster on Monday and a little more than a week after hitting coach Jeff Pentland was sent packing. The bloodletting is now complete and the Mariners can fully turn their focus to 2009 and beyond.

McLaren is certainly taking the fall for the sins of Bavasi but he didn't do much to help himself stay in the job. The easiest case to cite is that of Jose Vidro. With no power and little else of offensive use, Vidro found himself batting fifth or better in 44 of his 54 starts this season. Note to Omar Minaya: At least the team had the decency to do it on an off-day before a road trip.

He'll be replaced by his bench coach Jim Riggleman. Riggleman had a 486-598 record as the manager of the Padres and Cubs in the 90's. He's almost certainly an interim choice who will keep the spot warm until the team's new general manager, whoever that may end up being, hires the man he wants in charge. Whoever that man turns out to be, they'll have to hope that they are handed a better roster than McLaren. The cupboard is bare in Seattle.