U.S.S. Mariner

Hey, if you haven’t picked up the book already, the latest Sports Weekly’s got a review, and they loved it.
This book offers a complete, well-researched and entertaining look at every single kind of cheating. It offers both a historical perspective and a practical guide for both players and fans who want to learn to cheat [...]

With the M’s having the day off, we can once again spend the day focusing on the minor leagues. Through the first month of the season, there are a lot of interesting things happening on the farm, with several breakthrough performances worth pointing out. The Future Forty update for May is one of [...]

1B, by 2007 salary
–
Helton $16.6m
Pujols $15m
Berkman $14.5m
Delgado $14.5m
Sexson $14m
Lee $13m
Konerko $12m
Teixeira $9m
Garciaparra $7.5m
Young + Johnson $6m
Johnson (Nick) $5.5m
Morneau $4.5m
Huff $4m
Casey $4m
Aurilia $3.5m
Mientkiewicz/Phelps ~$2m
Hatteberg $1.5m (+Conine 2m)
Howard $.9m
Pena $.8m
Gonzalez (Adrian) $.5m
Young (Dmitri) $.5m
Shealy $.4m
Youkilis $.4m
Garko $.4m
Jacobs $.4m
Overbay $.4m
Jackson $.4m
Thorman $.4m (+ Wilson $2m)
Johnson (Dan) $0 (Swisher $0)
Morales/Kotchman/etc $0
Fielder $0
LaRoche (Adam) $0

Vidro, so far: .333/.372/.420
One of the better hitters on the M’s so far, for what that’s worth. I’ve mentioned this in comments a couple of times, but the taking-a-good-cut Vidro who puts th ball in the air is far, far more effective than the ground-ball Vidro. You can’t beat those out any more, Turbo. Take [...]

Brian Bannister v Baek. 1:05, FSN.
After that Weaver start, there’s no place to go but up, right?
M’s lineup, with VORP (Value Over Replacement Player)
CF-L Ichiro! +6
3B-R Beltre -1.2
DH-B Vidro +4.4
LF-L Ibanez +.3
1B-R Sexson -2.9
RF-R Guillen +.6
SS-R Betancourt -1.1
C-R Burke +2
2B-R Willie “The Ignitor” Bloomquist -2.3
Also:
Broussard +.8
2B-R Lopez +4
C-R Johjima +6.8
Standard-issue Royals lineup:
CF DeJesus
2B Grudzielanek
RF [...]

Meche vs Weaver, 6:05 pm.
The M’s are exactly the kind of team Meche should thrive against, since they’ll chase his breaking ball out of the zone and not make him work deep into counts and run up his pitch count. The Royals are exactly the kind of team Weaver should thrive against because [...]

Come on down. Argue bullpen usage, or the 1968 Regan-Pelekoudas controversy, on your way to see “Dream” Weaver try to get you through this niiii-iiiiiiiigggggghhhhtttt!

Geoff Baker, in the Times blog:
There were plenty of congratulations thrown Mike Hargrove’s way by his bullpen critics after he used his relievers outside their normal roles in that series finale in Oakland. Nice to see the critics try to give credit when something goes right for a guy, but I think they might have [...]

De la Rosa vs Ramirez, 7:05 pm.
Jorge De la Rosa was famously once described by Dan Duquette as “the Mexican John Rocker”. He’s been pretty horrible in the majors up until this year, but at age 25, he’s finally showing why his arm used to get scouts pretty excited. He tossed 8 scoreless [...]

Yesterday, Mike Hargrove asked J.J. Putz to get five outs to save the game. In his last appearance, he was asked to get four outs. Both times, he succeeded without any problem, shutting the door and ensuring the Mariners get a win against a divisional rival. For his part, J.J.’s willing to [...]