Bleacher Report - Articles by Braden Moore

Adrian Beltre Hits for the Cycle in Rare Bright Spot for Mariners

Braden Moore — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 04:43:13 -0400

Adrian Beltre became the fourth Mariner of all-time to hit for the cycle on Monday. The last player to do so was John Olerued in 2001.

Beltre started off his night going 5-for-5 before grounding out in his final at-bat. On Labor Day, Beltre said his bat was dragging and he had nothing else to give.

Beltre also claimed that he had no idea about the historic feat in the dugout until after it was over. He said that his teammates were afraid of talking to him about it, and risk jinxing the whole situation.

In addition to Beltre, Arizona's Stephen Drew also hit for the cycle on the same day. This was the first time since 1920 that two players hit for the cycle on the same day.

Most importantly, the cycle helped propel the Mariners to the victory, which also happened to be their fifth straight.

Adrian Beltre came over from the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2005. While he has been solid, he has not quite lived up to expectations. There has been speculation of him being traded to another club recently with his five-year contract beginning to wind down.

Ibanez Breaks Club Record, Knocks in 6 RBI's in One Inning

Braden Moore — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 06:38:05 -0400

Seattle outfielder Raul Ibanez broke a club record when he drove in six runs in the incredible 11 run seventh inning last night. The previous record was held by Ken Griffey Jr. who he drove in five runs in an inning.

Ibanez came up with a huge grand slam early in the inning, only to find himself to come up again with the bases loaded. This time he "only" could come up with a two run single.

The only person to hit two grand slams in the same inning was Fernando Tatis back in 1999. Ibanez said that this time up he was simply trying to keep it in the park, as the likelihood of hitting another grand slam was "not very likely."

The 11 runs in an inning was also a season high for the team. The previous record was five runs, which the club had managed to do several times in 2008.

All of this came from a team that has been deemed a huge disappointment. Widely considered to contend for a division title, there has been few bright spots this season for the last place M's.

Deal Or No Deal: Seattle Mariners

Braden Moore — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 07:01:20 -0400

It is no secret that the 2008 season is lost for the Seattle Mariners. Not even the best finish in baseball history would be able to save them at this point.

Around this time, a team needs to decide what to do with all its aging players and expiring contracts. The Mariners are no different and have several exciting pieces to consider moving as the trade deadline approaches. Here is a look at some of the most likely trade targets on the Mariners' roster.

Arthur Rhodes - LHP

Arthur is a left handed (aging) reliever. The team has no real use for him as they will have minimal situations where they must get a left handed batter out. Left handed relievers are a precious commodity for pennant races, but his age means that these opportunities won't come in Seattle. DEAL

Adrian Beltre - 3B

Beltre's name has come up a bunch in trade discussions recently with the Minnesota Twins. Many people want to see him moved as he has not lived up to his monster 2004 season. However, I think he has been underrated as a Mariner. His defense has been outstanding, even winning a Gold Glove last year. Also, his offensive numbers have been in line with his career averages, pointing to 2004 as an aberration instead of a true measure of his skill. If possible, I want to see the M's hold onto Beltre as long as possible. NO DEAL

Raul Ibanez - LF

Ibanez has been the Mariners' best and most consistent batter thus far this season, and that is the exact reason he should be moved. Ibanez is getting older, and there is no guarantee how long he will be able to keep competing at this level. He has next to no value defensively any more but there are plenty of teams that covet his bat. I would like to see him moved quickly as to prevent his value from dropping. DEAL

Ichiro Suzuki - RF

Suzuki is the face of the franchise. Even though his production is down, and he is drastically overpaid, the team should not move him. In a purely business decision, the amount of money he brings in from the Japanese market is obscene. He keeps the franchise financially viable. NO DEAL

Jarrod Washburn - LHP

Washburn has been much improved lately, and plenty of teams can use more pitching. However, I do not see any players in the minors ready to come up and be a starter, so moving Washburn would leave a gigantic hole in the roster. Because of this, I do not think he should be moved. NO DEAL

Jose Vidro - DH/2B/1B

Vidro is terrible. Put him out on the block, asking for a ham sandwich in return. DEAL

At the end of the day, it takes two to tango. For every player that the team wants to move, there needs to be a partner willing to give up enough in return. At the end of the day though, interim GM Lee Pelekoudas needs to improve this team.

Seattle Mariners: Felix Hernandez Placed On DL

Braden Moore — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:37:05 -0400

A bad season just got worse for the Seattle Mariners, as they placed Felix Hernandez on the disabled list.

Despite what was been previously reported, Felix is unable to make his next start, tonight, against the Toronto Blue Jays.

No further damage was found. However, he was still having trouble planting on his bad ankle. Manager Jim Riggleman said that the move will be retroactive from when he was hurt. It simply made more sense to do the move now, and call somebody up instead of playing a man short until Hernandez is ready to return to action.

Cesar Jiminez was the player who recieved the call to move from AAA Tacoma up to the majors. Jiminez is a relief pitcher, who is 1-3 and has 5 saves on the year.

Reliever Ryan Rowland-Smith will take the bump in Felix's place. There is no upper limit on the number of innings RRS will see, but the club is hoping to get between three and five innings of work from him.

Open Mic: If I Were Kevin Pritchard

Braden Moore — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 07:30:36 -0400

Portland Trailblazer GM Kevin Pritchard is one of the NBA's premier general managing talents. In three plus years, he has turned the Blazers from a laughing stock to one of the fastest rising teams in the league.

To accomplish this feat, he built his team through the draft. He has orchestrated countless draft day trades and has built a solid core of young players.

With the draft a mere day away, I thought about what I would do if I had the chance to take over for Mr. Pritchard.

Obviously, I could not be Pritchard for a day without some wheeling and dealing in the war room.

When looking at the Blazers' roster for this year, the obvious weakness is at point guard. Steve Blake is a great backup, Sergio Rodriguez still has some developing to do, and Jarret Jack's style does not suit the team well.

I would immediately then try to package Jack and some of the club's second round picks for a point guard. The three that I would look at are Leandro Barbosa, Kirk Hinrich, and TJ Ford.

However, I would not take any of those players at a steep price. All tend to look for their own shot instead of distributing. With Brandon Roy, Lamarcus Aldridge, and Greg Oden already on the team, scoring is not something I would be looking for from a PG.

I would also inquire about moving up in the draft. With Raef Lafrenz' expiring contract, two first rounders, and several early second round picks available, I should be able to move up from pick number 13. The reason I would do this would be to target two players: Russell Westbrook or DJ Augustin.

Both of these PG's are pass first players. I would prefer to get Westbrook as he is more athletic, and a tenacious defender. However, the price may be too steep as his stock seems to be skyrocketing. Augustin on the other hand may be just the right price.

That is what I would do entering the draft. Other moves would arise depending on how the draft shakes out, so I cannot say what else I would aim to do.

Oh, finally, in my last hour as general manager, I would try to convince owner Paul Allen that buying me a mansion would benefit the team in some way.

However, I won’t get to be GM for the day. Probably a good thing for the club as Pritchard is brilliant and almost certainly as a master scheme worked out.

Seattle Mariners: Hernandez Hurt, Prognosis Positive

Braden Moore — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:15:11 -0400

Seattle Mariner pitcher Felix Hernandez was pulled in the fourth inning in his last start after spraining his ankle.

Hernandez was covering home plate after a wild pitch. He blocked the plate with his left ankle, and it rolled when Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran slid in cleats up. Hernandez attempted to finish the inning, but was simply in too much pain. Hernandez left the game one strike from being eligible to pick up the win.

At the time of his departure, the M's were leading 4-1, with all four runs coming from a grand slam from Hernandez himself. It was his first career hit, and the first home run from a pitcher in Mariners history.

Despite the nature of the injury, the play did not appear dirty. Beltran also called the visitors clubhouse to check up on King Felix after the game.

In interviews, Hernandez promises to make his next start. Manager Jim Riggleman seemed hopeful as well. However, he would not promise that Felix would make his next start. Instead, he hinted that there is almost no chance of Hernandez landing on the disabled list.

Riggleman and Hernandez can speak with such optimism as X-rays taken at the hospital after the game were negative (no break, so a positive outcome for Hernandez).

No matter the amount of time Felix misses, it is another tough break in a forgettable season for Seattle.

Seattle Mariners: On Pace to Make History

Braden Moore — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 07:11:01 -0400

The Seattle Mariners are on pace to make history. Yes, that's right, the last place Seattle Mariners are on pace to make history.

Unfortunately, it is not the kind of record that any team would like to hold. The M's are on pace to become the first 100 loss team with a payroll over $100 million.

This is a feat that was not easily accomplished, and was a product of an accumulation of bad personnel moves, that eerily (or obviously, take your pick) parallels Bill Bavasi's tenure with the club.

The foundation for this team was laid with the signings of Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson in 2004. While Beltre has won a Gold Glove with the team, neither player has managed to live up the the lofty offensive expectations that came with their contracts.

Next, Bavasi set himself up for failure as he assumed the offense was sufficient, and went to improve the pitching staff. So of course, the logical solution was to throw a huge contracts at Jarrod Washburn and Miguel Batista. Luckily, he also had the foresight to acquire the train wreck known as Horacio Ramirez.

Then, possibly the worst thing happened for the future of the club. They won some games. The 2007 Seattle Mariners stayed in the race, thanks mostly to smoke and mirrors. The team was not ready to contend on a yearly basis, but the record suggested otherwise. Bavasi was under pressure from the fans and management to repeat 2007.

Enter Erik Bedard. Bavasi morgatged the future of the club for this "ace" who turned out to be less than advertised. Bavasi dealt a major league ready prospect (Adam Jones), a dominant reliever (George Sherrill), and a furture star (Chris Tillman).

Bedard has been injury prone and inconsistent, while Sherrill has over 20 saves, and Jones looks like a stalwart for the future in Baltimore's right field.

But the fun doesn't stop there. Bavasi also managed to hand Carlos Silva a $48 million dollar deal. That $48 million also happened to be approximately $20 million more than any other team was offering him. After a great start that made Bavasi look smart, Silva has lost his last nine starts, and now has a ERA over 7.00.

Bavasi's recent firing was the conclusion to an ugly chapter for the Seattle Mariners baseball club. No team has ever been this expensive and played this poorly for a full 162 game season. What Bavasi managed to do is truly incredible.

He managed to create one of the most embarrassing teams in Major League history over the course of four years, and managed not to get fired before now.

This Mariners team has the chance to do something never done before, and I, for one, cannot feel more let down.

Seattle Mariners: John McLaren Out, Jim Riggelman In

Braden Moore — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:59:03 -0400

As long expected, the Seattle Mariners have fired manager John McLaren. Bench coach Jim Riggleman was promoted to take his place.

To say that the 2008 Mariners have struggled would be an understatement. This was a team with playoff aspirations, and as of June 19, they find themselves with the worst record in Major League Baseball.

This is just the next progression in a series of moves that began when the ownership decided that the team's performance has been unacceptable. In the last two weeks the manager, hitting coach, and general manager have all been fired.

None of these moves have seemed to inspire the struggling M's. They have lost 12 of their last 16 and nine of their last 10 home games.

Riggleman has some experience at managing in the majors, as he led the Chicago Cubs from 1995 to 1998, including a Wild Card appearance in his last season.

Seattle Mariners: Hitting Coach Jeff Pentland Fired

Braden Moore — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:47:30 -0400

Heads have begun to roll in the Seattle Mariners organization.

The front office started to hold some of their coaches accountable for their disappointing season as they fired hitting coach Jeff Pentland.

The Mariners' offense has struggled all year, hitting around .250 as a team.

The Mariners' offense, while not expected to carry the team, was expected to be potent enough to be competitive.

To replace Pentland, the Mariners will look to 70-year-old Lee Elia.

While Elia is excited for the promotion, he understands that hitting coaches are one of the most expendable parts of a coaching staff. "You can't teach old dogs new tricks," said Elia, "A hitter is who he is, you can refine their skills over time, but you cannot change who they are."

This could be the first in a long line of changes for the coaching and front office side of the organization. There has been much speculation about the job security of both manager John McLaren and GM Bill Bavasi.

In addition, the bullpen has been struggling, and new coach Norm Charlton may begin to feel some heat as well.

While this move may appear like the team is addressing its problems, it is more like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. There are deeper fundamental problems that need to be addressed before the ballclub begins to turn the corner.

Seattle Mariners: It's Time for John McLaren to Go

Braden Moore — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:32:37 -0400

With their loss to the Angels on June 2nd, the Seattle Mariners sit with a record of 21-37—a huge 13.5 games behind those same Halos.

Somebody needs to take responsibility for the complete and utter failure of this team, and that man is manager, John McLaren.

This is a team that had just started to turn the corner when McLaren took over for Mike Hargrove midway through the 2007 season. They played well for a while, then the wheels completely fell off, and the team failed to make the playoffs.

Since the last month of the 2007 season through today, the Mariners have been the worst team in the majors, playing around .350 ball.

The job of a manager is to motivate his team and position his players so they have the best chance to succeed. Looking at the Mariners' record of late, it is apparent that John McLaren is failing at the most basic of managerial duties.

Now, one might argue that McLaren's hands are tied. If the front office, namely GM Bill Bavasi, does not provide him with good players, even the best manager in the world could not lead them to victory.

While this is a valid argument in principle, it does not apply to the 2008 Mariners. This team has talent.

Last year this team won 88 games, traded for arguably the best pitcher in the American League, and only lost one contributer from the year before (Jose Guillen). Yet, this team is still on pace to lose over 100 games.

Even if you argue that the 2007 team was lucky, and that their win total was an aberration—meaning that the so called "collapse" at the end of last year was more of a regression to the mean instead of a true collapse—then you are arguing that the Mariners have one of the least, if not the least, talented rosters in the majors.

There is absolutely no way that the 2008 Mariners have the least talented roster in the game. In fact, I would argue that they do not even have the least talented roster in their division.

On paper, they should blow both the Oakland A's and the Texas Rangers out of the water.

At the end of the day, you need to know when to cut your losses. At this point, keeping John McLaren at the helm of the ship is a mistake—a mistake that needs to be taken care of immediately.

The 2008 season is already a lost cause, but that is no excuse for Bavasi to sit and not try to improve this team.

Jeremy Reed Called Up, Jeff Clement Sent Down: Seattle Mariners Make Changes

Braden Moore — Tue, 20 May 2008 13:04:06 -0400

On Sunday afternoon, the Seattle Mariners sent down catcher Jeff Clement and called up outfielder Jeremy Reed.

Manager John McLaren has said that Jose Vidro would move back to DH and Raul Ibanez would remain in left field.

Jeremy Reed has been absoultely mashing down in AAA and has shown he is ready for a call up. At the same time, Clement has struggled handling major league pitching since his promotion about a couple weeks ago.

On paper, this move looks like a no brainer, and appears that Bill Bavasi and the front office did their job. However, this is simply not the case.

Jeff Clement proved, as a September call up last year, that he belongs in the majors. At the same time, Jose Vidro and Miguel Cairo have shown that they do not.

So, instead of cutting ties with aging players with no upside and easing young players in so that they feel comfortable, the Mariners have done the opposite.

If there is any bright spot in sending Clement down to the minors, it is that they will postpone his free agency by a year.

The smart decision here would be to let Clement remain in Seattle and spot start here and there at catcher, first, and DH. Then, move Reed to left field, and Ibanez to DH primarily.

Having another catcher available to the pitchers would be huge. There have been more and more grumblings over the staff's satisfaction (or lack there of) with the job that Kenji Johjima has done.

This move would allow the team to get their most talented group on the lineup card, offensively and defensively. This would be the smart move, the savvy move.

However, as Bavasi and the Mariners' braintrust has proven time and time again, the smart move is not the move they will take.

Seattle Mariners: A Fan's Take on Jarrod Washburn

Braden Moore — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:39:27 -0400

For those of you who haven't been reading the Seattle Times in the last week, you may have missed this little gem dropped by Seattle Mariners pitcher Jarrod Washburn:

Asked about some apparent situations during his start Saturday when he and catcher Kenji Johjima weren’t in concert, Washburn didn’t deny it.

“There’s times when you’re not always on the same page,” he said. “It happens.”

Washburn was asked if there was any more of it than normal.

“With Kenji? No,” he said. “Read into that what you want.”

Washburn has made prior reference to some difficulty working with Johjima. On Saturday, he appeared to bark at his catcher after one White Sox at-bat.

“It’s a work in progress,” said Washburn. “When he comes over from Japan, you know there are going to be communications issues with the language barrier, and him learning an entirely different league and a whole new pitching staff. And also, he has to learn the umpires and opposing pitchers. He’s got a lot to handle. I would never want to have to do what he’s doing. He’s got a tough job, a lot of hurdles.”

As for whether it’s more complicated than merely different pitch preferences in particular situations, Washburn said: “I don’t know how exactly to word it. It’s more like a consistency issue, I guess. Sometimes you click and sometimes you don’t.”

Now personally I think that this was absolutely uncalled for. Washburn had just come off of another poor outing, and completely threw catcher Kenji Johjima under the bus.

I will admit that I did quit playing baseball in the fourth grade, but I still think I learned that the pitcher has ultimate control over what he throws. If a catcher calls a pitch that the pitcher does not want to throw, he can simply shake him off.

While Washburn partially blames their problems on Johjima's lack of command of the English language, I'm fairly confident that one finger means fastball in every language.

After watching Washburn pitch for over two years now, I'm not convinced that Johjima was calling a poor game. Washburn may have agreed with every single call, yet lacked the talent to get anybody out.

When Johjima calls for Washburn's best pitch, and that best pitch is either a fat fastball, or a hanging breaking ball, it's going to get hammered, no matter what.

I'm tired of listening to Washburn complain and make excuses about why he has failed to succeed as a Mariner. He needs to man up, take responsibility, and acknowledge that he has not earned his money since coming over from the Angels.

It is really too bad that Johjima lacks a command of the English language and cannot stand up for himself. If he could, we could both tell Washburn to shut up, take the mound and get some outs.

Open Mic: Can The NCAA Fix Its Problem?

Braden Moore — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:23:02 -0400

With the recent news of OJ Mayo receiving gifts and breaking NCAA regulations, one must ask themselves if this problem is one that has the possibility of being solved.

In one word, the answer is, "no."

As long as college athletics continue to be a big business (and yes it is a business), regulations will continue to be broken. With so much money at stake, there will always be boosters and administrators that view the reward of landing a prized athlete to outweigh the risk of getting caught.

So, a reasonable person may then ask, "If college sports as a business is the problem, why don't we pull money out of it?"

This is entirely unrealistic. If the NCAA pulled down the scholarship number, that would only accentuate the problem, as the top athletes become more and more precious. There would be an increase in the gifts given to athletes.

Another possible idea would be to increase surveillance and effectiveness of investigating possible digressions. Again, this is not a workable solution.

If you look closely at the OJ Mayo story, NCAA officials were tipped off by a former confidant of Mayo's. In essence, the NCAA did no work finding it out on its own. In the Reggie Bush case, it took a months-long investigation by Yahoo! Sports to uncover the Bush family's dirty laundry.

The NCAA does not have the manpower or the resources to patrol itself effectively to the point where it could ensure that no transgressions were taking place.

If by some miracle the NCAA figured out a way to police itself, the boosters and athletes would simply become more careful or develop new techniques of offering gifts.

A good parallel of this dichotomy, albeit a very dark and gloomy parallel, is the war on drugs in America. Drug dealers (the boosters) have something that they are trying to distribute to people (gifts, money) under the noses of those in charge (NCAA officials, athletic directors). Not to get too political here, but the war on drugs is not one that the government is winning. It has been going on for over twenty years, and has no end in sight.

In conclusion, this is a problem that will not be solved. Boosters will always have too much disposable money, and have too much passion for their alma maters. Student athletes are too poor and too young to really understand the consequences of accepting said gifts (and if anybody thinks that they would do any differently they need to get off of their high horse).

College sports will forever be a business, and while the NCAA cannot turn a blind eye on these transgressions, they cannot expect to prevent them from ever happening.

Obituary: Seattle Mariners' 2008 Season Dies Young

Braden Moore — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:16:31 -0400

The 2008 Seattle Mariners' season died late on Monday in Arlington, at the young age of six weeks. It was a tragic loss, as the young season barely had begun to embark on its journey of life.

The cause of death was a combination of many factors, and doctors will not pinpoint the precise cause of death until a full autospy has been performed. However, many others have speculated on the true cause of death, and rumors include:

Complications from old age(d players)
Inflated expectations
Rib and back injuries
Cancer(ous clubhouse members)
Lack of skill
Brain (trust) disease

The city of Seattle has taken the news pretty hard, and will hold public memorial services throughout the summer at Safeco Field.

The 2008 Seattle Mariners should be a reminder to us all that life is fleeting and can be taken away when least expected. They are a reminder to us all to play every game like it is our last.

The 2008 Seattle Mariners were survived by the expectations for 2009, campaigns to fire Bill Bavasi, and the chance to spoil rivals' seasons.

Seattle Mariners: Time to Get Rid Of Cha Seung Baek

Braden Moore — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:14:30 -0400

It's no secret that the Mariners front office feels strongly in pitcher Cha Seung Baek.

He has been used frequently as the team's fill-in starter and long relief man. They have been reluctant to send him down to Tacoma as they feel there are teams out there that would enjoy his services.

After watching him pitch again this season, I believe that I would enjoy sending his "services" go to another team.

It is time for Cha Seung Baek to go.

Cha Seung Baek has been largely ineffective for his entire career. His career ERA is 4.94, and he has posted an ERA of over 5.50 in two of his four major league seasons.

This year, his role on the team has largely been to be the long relief guy. He is in charge of coming in, eating up innings, and not letting games get more out of control.

Baek has been an utter failure at that so far this year.

In his latest outing against the Texas Rangers, he came in and promptly gave up four runs in his first inning of work.

Right now, Baek is 27-years-old and will be turning 28 at the end of the month. He is not getting any younger. His skill set will not be progressing any further. It makes much more sense for the Mariners to find these so-called teams that are so interested in Baek and get something for him.

It makes much more sense for the team to call up R.A. Dickey, the knuckleballer. Dickey is perfect to be a long relief guy. The knuckleball puts relatively little strain on a pitcher's shoulder, so Dickey would be perfect to come in and eat up innings, even on successive days.

Or, if the Mariners would rather, getting rid of Baek would allow them to bring up a young prospect and let him get his feet wet in the majors. At least with a young guy, the possibility of improvement is still there, and letting him pitch might do the player and the team some good.

Right now, Cha Seung Baek is not giving the Mariners any value. He is eating up a roster spot instead of innings. The Mariners need to open their eyes and realize that he is attributing next to nothing to the team in the grand scheme of things and that they need to ship him out of town.

Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Wilkerson, Norton Sent To Minors; Balentein and Clement Come To The Show

Braden Moore — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:45:28 -0400

Today the Seattle Mariners have called up their two most promising position players, Jeff Clement and Wladimir Balentien. To make room on the roster, they designated under performing RF Brad Wilkerson and seldom used bench player Greg Norton for assignment.

Finally, after weeks of terrible play and fan frustration, the Seattle Mariners have decided the Brad Wilkerson experiment was a failure. Fans have been clamering for the front office to make such a move for a very long time.

Wilkerson was signed to try to replace the hole in the outfield that Adam Jones left with the Erik Bedard trade. Wilkerson's stats rivaled that of what a ham sandwich would produce. He was hitting a meek .232 with no home runs over the course of the year.

There was some concern over Balentien's health after he injured his knee a little over a week ago. However, those concerns were alleviated as he returned and hit three home runs in his first game back.

Clement has also shown that he is a viable major league hitter, hitting .375 with two home runs in limited duty last year as a September call up.

After designating Norton and Wilkerson, the Mariners have ten days to either trade, release or send them both down to the minors. Because both players qualify as veterans, they have the right to refuse to go to the minors and become free agents instead.

Mariners Beat the Indians; Carlos Silva Impresses Again

Braden Moore — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:48:31 -0400

The Seattle Mariners stopped their recent slide, defeating the Cleveland Indians 7-2. The game, however, was closer than the score would indicate, as the M's tacked on five runs in the decisive ninth inning.

Adrian Beltre broke a 2-2 tie with a three-run shot off Indians pitcher Rafael Betancourt in the ninth inning. From then on the Indians did not stand a chance.

Despite Beltre's heroics, the real story of the game was the pitching of Carlos Silva. The Mariners starter put together another outstanding start, going seven innings and allowing a mere two runs.

Silva's performance was huge as his counterpart, Fausto Carmona was equally effective. Carmona only went 6.2 innings, and also allowed two runs.

Silva was brought in this season from Minnesota to help shore up the middle to back of the rotation, and to eat up innings. Silva has met and exceeded all those expectations, arguably performing the best of all Mariner pitchers this year.

With the victory, Seattle improved its record to 13-14, which is good enough for third place. They currently sit three-and-a-half games behind both the Angels and Athletics.

The two teams meet again tomorrow, with Jarrod Washburn pitching for the Mariners and Cliff Lee taking the mound for the home Indians.

Seattle Mariners Extend Catcher Kenji Johjima

Braden Moore — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:33:48 -0400

The Seattle Mariners have announced that they have extended Catcher Kenji Johjima's contract through the 2011 season.

Johjima has been solid in his 2+ seasons for the club. In the Major Leagues he has hit .283 with 32 home runs and 142 RBI's.

Although so far this year he has struggled to find his stroke as he is batting a paltry .200.

Kenji has also been known to contribute with his glove as well as his bat, frequently being among the league leaders in throwing base runners out.

This deal may come as a surprise as former No. 3 overall pick Jeff Clement is also a catcher and has shown in AAA Tacoma that he is primed and ready to be called up to the show.

No financial terms of the deal were disclosed.

Brett Favre: The Next Madden Cover Guy

Braden Moore — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:09:17 -0400

EA Sports has announced that recently retired quarterback Brett Favre will grace the cover of the twentieth anniversary edition of Madden NFL Football.

This news was confirmed on the official blog of EA Sports head, Peter Moore.

"It is with great pride that we take the bold step of featuring a retired player on the front of packaging, an honor normally reserved for a player at the peak of his game. I say with great pride, because some may question the marketing strategy behind this (and many at EA did just that, quite frankly). I don't for one minute."

Moore continued, "In this, the 20th year of this storied game franchise, as far as I was concerned there was only one choice. As we look back over the past couple of decades in the NFL, Brett stands out to me personally as a beacon for everything that made me a huge fan of this great game from almost the moment I arrived from the UK in the early eighties..."

While I cannot comment yet on the game's quality, I can say for a fact that the so called "Madden Cover Jinx" will not come into play for the 2009 NFL season.

Why Americans Have Not Embraced Soccer

Braden Moore — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 08:54:44 -0400

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world.

The World Cup is the largest sporting event each year it is held. The 2006 finals averaged 260 million viewers. For comparison, the Super Bowl that year only averaged 90.7 million.

In Europe, fans live and die with their favorite teams. In fact, they get so fanatical the crowds frequently turn violent. They even have a name for these unruly people: hooligans.

Despite its outrageous popularity across the globe, soccer has failed to grab a foothold here in the United States.

This has to be attributed to what our society values in its athletes.

The three most popular sports in the US are football, basketball and baseball. All these sports rely on extreme hand-eye coordination and precision.

We ask our pitchers to throw a ball into a tiny strike zone, and our batters are given an equally difficult task of hitting it square with a small bat.

Basketball players are expected to throw a ball through a hoop much higher than they are. Often, if they cannot do this 50 percent of the time, we see it as a failure.

Football teams execute choreographed plays with extreme precision. Passes are expected to hit players in stride, and wide-outs are expected to have perfect timing.

Meanwhile, soccer is completely free-flowing.

Possession changes quickly and often. Players are not able to keep control of the ball for much more than a few seconds at a time. Also, kicking a ball is so much more inaccurate than what we as Americans have come to expect in sports.

When an American stumbles across a soccer game on television, they are not able to see the greater grace and skill involved. They see people who nine times out of 10 are failing.

This of course only applies to uneducated fans. There are soccer enthusiasts here in this country. The sport simply holds more of a cult following instead of mass-market appeal.

Because of this, I do not see soccer in this country catching up in popularity with the other major sports.

Our values are too ingrained into us to change.

The skill needed to succeed in soccer just does not compare to the skills we admire in athletes.

San Antonio Spurs: Bruce Bowen Strikes Again

Braden Moore — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:52:43 -0400

Bruce Bowen of the San Antonio Spurs is known for three things.

He is known as one of the premier shutdown defenders in the NBA, a deadly three-point shooter, and, most infamously, as the dirtiest player in the league.

Last night in the fourth quarter of a game versus the Phoenix Suns, Bowen let his frustration get the best of him and proceeded to give Suns center Amare Stoudemire a forearm shiver to the chest.

A video of the event can be found here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=2gQYpdOjjQA

After a couple seconds in which Stoudemire was able to gather himself, he came up looking for blood. Luckily, the Suns knew that if Stoudemire were to retaliate, he would be harshly reprimanded by the league offices.

Bowen got off with a simple personal foul.

Stoudemire could later be heard in the locker room proclaiming that Bowen has a "glass jaw" after watching replays of the incident.

Bowen is the embodiment of exactly what is wrong with the NBA.

It is not like he has been a choir boy during his NBA career. In fact, earlier this year he was suspended one game for kicking New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul.

He is also known for purposely sticking his foot under jump shooters with the intention of rolling their ankles. Oh, and don't forget the time he jump kicked a player in the face.

Despite all of this, NBA Commissioner David Stern continues to let Bowen off with nothing more than slaps on the wrist.

Bowen is a master of these "dirty" plays. He does them discreetly so that nobody will notice unless they see a replay, and are looking explicitly for what he did.

His ability to attack unnoticed by the referees means that if he is ever retaliated against, his victim will be the player to be reprimanded.

David Stern needs to act now before Bowen opens a can of worms.

We all remember how last year’s Western Conference Semifinals were decided by the Phoenix Suns reacting to a cheap shot from a member of the San Antonio Spurs. If Stern does not take matters into his own hands, one of two events is certain to happen:

1. Bowen enacts one of his cheap shots and seriously hurts somebody. Stern is then faced with questions of why he did not stop Bowen when he could have.

2. Bowen enacts one of his cheap shots, and then is seriously hurt when the player attacks him viciously. See Kermit Washington and Rudy Tomjanovich.

Stern again is faced with questions of why he did not stop Bowen when he could have.

In both of these scenarios, the league's public image takes a hit. Much of the general public already views the NBA as a league full of thugs and gang bangers. If that stereotype is then perpetuated, the NBA will feel a financial crunch as advertisers do not wish to be associated with such a group of people.

The 2007-08 NBA season has been the greatest season in recent memory. As a fan of the sport, the last thing I want is the memory of this season tarnished by Stern's lack of initiative in stopping Bowen when he had the chance.

Please, Mr. Stern, please let me remember this season for all the amazing games I've seen, and not the chaos caused by a rogue player.

Whats Wrong with the Seattle Mariners?

Braden Moore — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:55:40 -0400

Coming into the 2008 season, it seemed like everybody was high on the Seattle Mariners. They had acquired Erik Bedard, one of the best pitchers in the American League, and was returning a majority of a roster that made a strong playoff push in 2007.

Now, fast forward a little over a week into the season, fresh off a sweep at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles, panic has began to set in. What is wrong with this team? Was the Bedard trade worth it?

Simply put, the Mariners will be fine. All of the Mariners troubles can be traced back to a single pitch in the second game of the season. All-Star closer JJ Putz had been called in to save his second game in two days against the Texas Rangers.

While facing shortstop Michael Young, Putz injured his ribs. A pain that was described as having "an icepick stabbed into your side." Young ended up reaching base, and the next batter, Josh Hamilton, launched a ball over the fence giving the Rangers a lead they would not lose. The next day Putz was placed on the fifteen-day disabled list, and the Mariners have gone 1-4 since.

Despite the current rough patch, this team will be fine. If you look closely at the games since the injury, the bullpen has been the problem. The greatest strength of the 2007 Mariners has suddenly become its greatest problem in 2008. The starting pitching has kept the team in the game, while the bullpen has been terrible, including blowing leads late in their last two games.

However, one should expect this. The bullpen is young, and lacks many players with experience. Putz was their leader, the one who held them together as a group. He led by example with his work ethic and was a rock. Whenever somebody struggled, they knew that Putz would be there to come through in the highest-pressure situations.

So while the recent losing streak should be some cause for concern, it is not in any means a reason to begin panicking. The baseball season is a 162-game marathon, not a sprint. If the starting pitching continues to be as good as advertised, and Putz comes off the disabled list, it should be a good summer in the Pacific Northwest.