Though if Gillick gets involved he could throw a wrench in the whole thing.

What is USSMariner’s take on Cashman? I looked back at what was said, and it wasn’t much. He may be hard to judge because #1 He hasn’t had to build a farm, he just has to throw money at good players, and #2 We don’t know if his moves were his own, or the Boss’s.

* Don’t read “next” as in 2009, I mean the next time the M’s are competitive.

Hmmm…that really would be turning the clock ahead to about 2029, wouldn’t it?

…..but Ibanez’s defensive reputation grows.

Truer words have never been spoken!

….since rejoining the Mariners prior to the 2004 season, Ibanez has the second-most outfield assists (44) in the American League..

He has a lot of OF assists because he is very slow and ungainly getting to anything that requires him to move forward, backward or laterally. This leads to people constantly running on him. Once in awhile he’ll catch one (his arm at least is decent), but for every one he catches how many take an extra base that they wouldn’t have even tried taking against a better outfielder? Getting a lot of assists from LF usually isn’t an indication of being good.

Willie sacrificed the grand slam he could have easily hit himself in order to walk and give Raul the opportunity. That is what being the Igniter is all about.

through him I met Mark Arm

I was once elbowed by Mark Arm. Man, those are some pointy elbows.

* Don’t read “next” as in 2009, I mean the next time the M’s are competitive.

Hmmm, why is this an afternoon game on Saturday?

Such a question, of course, would be heresy when asked at Wrigley Field.

Actually, it was less torture being there today than it probably was listening on the radio…if for no other reason than it gave me a chance to work on my tan some more. Maybe the most ironic thing was Clement’s “retro” introduction — when he was announced as Jeff “Spicoli” Clement. That made me almost wish that the Indians would’ve started Weaver instead of Sowers.

Yeah, that was Megan Jasper, who rose from receptionist to VP of marketing for SubPop (undoubtedly helped by the fact that that prank made her the only widely-recognized SubPop employee beyond the founders, though SubPop itself claims it was due to other skills).

Wow, we need to chitchat at some point to find out if we were running into each other at shows. Funny.

Yeah, probably. The old Eagles hall, the Metro, Gorilla Gardens, some of the clubs in Pioneer Sq sometimes (Nirvana at the Central Tavern playing to you, me, and ten other people). I ran into Poneman while working at KCMU (and working shows at the HUB). Ed Fotheringham was dating a friend of a friend, and through him I met Mark Arm and Kim Thayil, and we used to hang out with Charles Peterson. Who was a pain in the ass, always dragging his camera along. Little did we know…

this game reminded me more of 1999 than 1989…

Except that at least in 1999 we were still in the vicinity of the .500 mark at the end of the season.

Did anyone ever come up with an answer to theraven’s question why Batista is still pitching? At ALL? Why he’s still on the roster?

Yes, it’s too bad really that, considering Batista was starting this afternoon, it couldn’t have been a “Turn Ahead The Clock” Day…

…To a future point in time following his DFA!

Gawd, if a pitcher puts the team in a sinkhole nearly every time he pitches and doesn’t even get to 5 innings, what good is he? Or as a reliever, puts the game beyond reach? (I could ask that about Bedard, too, but it might shatter his ego, or something more tangible)