This is awesome! The M's should totally do this (and put 7-11 concession stands at Safeco, so I can drink pina colada / blue raspberry Slurpees while I watch games)! Apparently, FOX is lobbying really hard to get the MLB roster size cut down to 24...

The playoffs are a time when fans become very divided. However, today is an extremely sad day for all fans of the game, regardless of your rooting interest. In case you didn't hear, Buck O'Neil passed away today. I was fortunate enough to meet O'Neil in April of 2005 and he is one of the warmest individuals to grace this earth. I interviewed him for The Grand Salami and, as you can tell from the photo, he was an absolute joy to chat with. I also rode the elevator with him from the field level up to the press cafeteria and it was amazing watching him interact with the staff at Kauffman Stadium. It was apparent that just being in the presence of Buck certainly brightened the day of others. He always had a smile on his face and something nice to say to anyone he passed. He even told me he was going to play golf later that day.

It's an absolute shame that he didn't get elected into the Hall of Fame. Buck was an ambassador for the game of baseball. Not a day goes by when I don't think about Buck. He was such a good person and an inspiration to me. This world would be a lot better if everyone tried to be a little bit more like Buck O'Neil.

Here are some other articles to read...
Kansas City Star
New York Times
LA Times
Seattle PI

Here’s a nice mix of current events and random, funny or interesting baseball videos. Enjoy & have a great weekend!

Travis Blackley getting married! I'm not a stalker, I swear. I just found this by searching for Seattle + Mariners on YouTube. Congrats Travis! :)


Jeff Kent and J.D. Drew both getting thrown out at the plate. This is stupid crazy!


Mark Kotsay’s inside-the-park homerun (Assist: Hunter)


Am I a pig for laughing at this? The caption for this clip said, "classy applause by giants fan, or nefarious sexual harassment?" You be the judge...


Chien-Ming Wang’s sinker is just awesome. Here it is against Ichiro…watch how far the hit goes!

Doug Fister was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 7th round of the 2006 draft. Before being drafted, the 6’8” RHP was named the second-best NCAA senior by Baseball America. Fister threw 116.1 innings for Fresno State this season, posting an 8-6 record with 108 strikeouts, 47 walks and an ERA of 4.10. He made his professional debut with the Everett Aquasox in the Northwest League, pitching 40 innings while striking out 35, walking 11 and posting an ERA of 2.25. 53.7% of the balls Fister allowed in play resulted in groundballs – an extremely good percentage. That, along with his happy-go-lucky attitude, quickly made Fister my favorite player on the Aquasox team this season and I wish him the best for his professional career – I’ll certainly be following it! Doug was generous enough to spend a few minutes with me before the final home game of the Aquasox season and here is the conversation that took place…


Aquasox.com

StopTheWave: Ok, first off, just talk a little bit about yourself. Where did you grow up? When did you start playing baseball? What was your prep career like?
Doug Fister: You know, I grew up in California – in Merced. I was just a regular old kid in the suburbs. I started playing ball when I was about six or seven and then it just kind of evolved from there.

StopTheWave: Did you play other sports growing up?
Doug Fister: Yeah, I loved playing soccer, football, basketball – pretty much everything. I just liked staying active.

StopTheWave: You were highly recruited in high school by some big-time schools, such as Oklahoma State, Long Beach State & Pepperdine. What made you choose Fresno State?
Doug Fister: Well, it was really close to home, the coaching staff there was excellent to interview with and it turned out to be the best for me.

StopTheWave: How did you develop as a pitcher there?
Doug Fister: Well, I had a great coach – Coach (Tim) Montez and then, this past year, Coach (Bobby) Jones. They taught me a ton of stuff – both physically and mentally. They taught me how to pitch.

StopTheWave: What did you study at Fresno State, and if you weren’t playing baseball, what would you be doing?
Doug Fister: I was going to get my liberal studies degree and I still am pursuing that. And, if I wasn’t playing baseball, I would want to be an elementary school teacher.

StopTheWave: You were drafted in the 6th round of the 2005 draft by the Yankees. What made you return for your senior year with the Bulldogs?
Doug Fister: I thought there were still some things I needed to learn, some things I needed to work out for myself. I did that and now I feel more prepared for this.

StopTheWave: How did it feel when you were drafted by the Mariners?
Doug Fister: Oh, it felt great! I was talking to my agent at the time and he said, “It’s a great pick, they’re a great organization.” And, it turns out to be a great organization. I love the coaching staff and everybody involved.

StopTheWave: How did you find out that the Mariners selected you?
Doug Fister: I was called previous to my selection and asked if I would take it. I said sure, you know? It was a good choice.

StopTheWave: How did you feel about your first pro season?
Doug Fister: I felt it went OK. There were some rough spells with the team – as far as wins and losses, but guys came together well and played. There’s a lot of things to be learned in pro ball and this is a good step forward.

StopTheWave: Moving to relief – was that just to protect your arm because you already had a full college season under your belt?
Doug Fister: Yeah, I came in throwing 120 innings and they wanted to protect my arm. But, they also wanted to teach me another aspect of the game in case, somewhere down the road, they want to move me into the bullpen. But, at this point next year, hopefully I’ll still be in the starting rotation.

StopTheWave: How’s the camaraderie on this team?
Doug Fister: It’s great. Everybody works well together and being able to come together from all parts of the world and connect as one – I think it’s turned out pretty well.

StopTheWave: Of your teammates, who has impressed you so far?
Doug Fister: You know, there are a lot of different guys. Bryan Sabatella – I met him for the first time this year and we’ve actually become very good friends. There’s a lot of guys like that. Mike Schilling – he’s a great pitcher and one of my best friends now. We have a lot of talent and it’s showing.

StopTheWave: Tell me a little bit about your repertoire. What do you throw?
Doug Fister: Well, I basically throw a two-seam fastball, a changeup and a curveball. I try to spot ‘em with a fastball, keep ‘em off-speed with a changeup and then throw ‘em a curveball every once in a while.

StopTheWave: You’ve gotten a lot of groundballs this year. Is that something you’ve always been doing?
Doug Fister: Yeah, for the most part. Growing up, I was always taught to throw the ball down in the zone and if you keep the ball down, you’re going to get a lot of groundballs. So, that’s always been my goal as a pitcher – to get groundballs.

StopTheWave: How has it been, working with Juan Alvarez?
Doug Fister: Oh, Juan’s a great coach. He knows a lot of stuff. You know, he’s played the game, he knows what he’s got to do and knows what we have to do and he’s taught me a lot.

StopTheWave: Has there been anything specific that you’ve been working on with him?
Doug Fister: Fine tuning things – being able to correct in the middle of the game, stepping off, taking time out and just being able to readjust.

StopTheWave: Have you worked with Norm Charlton at all?
Doug Fister: Yeah, I’ve talked to him for quite a bit of time – during BP and things like that. He’s given me a lot of insight on pitching and moving to the bullpen. I’ve asked him tons of questions about what to do, how to prepare for the game, a bunch of different things like that.

StopTheWave: Tell me a little bit about the life of a minor leaguer. What’s the average day like when you have a home game?
Doug Fister: Well on an average day – the previous night you’re coming home late, so you’re staying up late. So, you try to sleep in a little bit, try and get a little extra rest in there. A couple days a week we have to go lift and pitchers run everyday. We get to the ballpark about an hour before position players. We get the running done, we get up in the clubhouse, get prepared for batting practice, go take batting practice and get back up in the clubhouse, grab a quick bite to eat and then head back out for the game.

StopTheWave: What’s it like living with a host family?
Doug Fister: Well, it’s not really new to me. I’ve done it a couple times before, so it really wasn’t that bad. But, it’s a little different – it takes some getting used to, not really having an idea what the family’s going to be like, you definitely have questions and you sit down with the family and discuss some of the ins and outs of their family and your personalities.

StopTheWave: Have you been up to Seattle yet?
Doug Fister: Yeah, a couple times. I’ve actually gone to a couple different Mariners games. My host family took us up there and showed us around the city. It’s a great, fun city.

StopTheWave: Alright, now I have just a few random questions for you. Were you always the tallest kid in your class?
Doug Fister: Yeah, for the most part. Growing up, the girls still had the height advantage when we were really young. But then I started spurting and I was always the tallest.

StopTheWave: Your middle name, Wildes, is unique. Is there a story behind that?
Doug Fister: It’s just a family name. My dad’s had it, my great grandfather had it…all the way up, it’s just part of our family tradition.

StopTheWave: What is your favorite food?
Doug Fister: Pretty much everything, but probably lasagna or pasta.

StopTheWave: Favorite movie?
Doug Fister: I’d probably have to say “Caddyshack.”

StopTheWave: Favorite book?
Doug Fister: Probably Flags of Our Fathers. It’s an old war book.

StopTheWave: What about your favorite band, or favorite type of music?
Doug Fister: I listen to everything! I’ve grown up on country, but if I’m in the mood for something, I’ll listen to it.

StopTheWave: Do you have a favorite TV show?
Doug Fister: Probably “Overhaulin'.” I love to working on cars and fixing things.

StopTheWave: And, finally, what are your off-season plans?
Doug Fister: Just getting to work and hitting the weight room!

I haven’t nitpicked any articles in a long time, but Larry LaRue’s piece titled "Are M's close to contention?" in yesterday’s News Tribune left a bad taste in my mouth. It doesn’t take a genius to say that Joel Pineiro sucks or that Oakland killed us this year and when LaRue strays from the obvious – he strikes out. Here are the parts that bothered me…

A year ago, the Seattle Mariners won 69 games, and only four teams in major league baseball won fewer. This season, they won 78 times, a higher total than 10 other teams.

How is it relevant that 8 teams in the National League played worse than the Mariners this year? How does that have anything to do with whether or not they’ll contend in 2007?

The heart of the lineup failed to hit early, and when Richie Sexson (.213), Adrian Beltre (.189) and Carl Everett (.220) failed to produce in April, the Mariners went 11-15. They didn’t get back to .500 until June 27.

San Diego and Minnesota went 9-15 this April. Oakland was 12-12, the Dodgers went 12-13, and the Yankees were just 13-10. Teams can have a bad month (especially April) and still be fine.

Injuries. All teams have them, but the final two months of their season the Mariners lost the strongest part of their team – the bullpen. Rafael Soriano, Julio Mateo, rookie Derek Lowe, all late-inning right-handers, were lost. Leads were lost and close games got away between the sixth and eighth innings.

Where do I start with this one? Saying “the final two months” isn’t accurate. MARK Lowe went on the DL on August 20th (42 days before the end of the season), Mateo’s season ended on August 28th (34 days before the season ended) & Rafael Soriano was struck by Vlad’s comebacker on August 29th (33 days before the season ended) – so that’s not exactly two months. Furthermore, losing Mateo was addition by subtraction and they still had the most important piece, J.J. Putz, a solid lefty in George Sherrill and a few youngsters that came up and pitched out of the ‘pen admirably. Relief pitchers are the most easily-replaceable parts of a Major League team.

Really, in the grand scheme of things - injuries didn't hurt us that much at all. 3 bullpen arms go out in late August and we can blame injuries for the reason we didn't contend this year? Really? Look at the teams in the playoffs...just off the top of my head: The Yankees lost Matsui and Sheffield, the A's lost Eric Chavez, Bobby Crosby & Rich Harden, the Twins lost Liriano & Kubel, the Padres lost Khalil Greene, Pedro and Cliff Floyd weren't healthy for the Mets....honestly, I'd be willing to bet that the M's were one of the *healthiest* teams this season!

Hargrove and his staff need a leaner, meaner approach to winning, one that demands aggressiveness and the willingness to make outs to score runs.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yuniesky Betancourt, Jose Lopez and players like Chris Snelling, Mike Morse and Bloomquist can be factors in that kind of game.

Larry, this is a warning: Don’t you dare lump Snelling in with Bloomquist and Morse ever again! Sometimes I wonder why I even bother reading the fishwrap…

So, I went to the M's game with Cheryl tonight. Here is a (very) brief rundown...
-Got in at about 6:30 and met up with Deanna. She showed us some pictures from her recent trip to Japan and we talked until the game was about to start.
-Snelling is the man. We were in the first row in section 108 - right behind him. That's a section I've always wanted to sit in, and it was really awesome. I won the tickets on eBay and they were for seats 3&4. But, after I bought the tickets, I thought to myself, "Damn...why didn't I bid on the aisle tickets?" Those were also for sale, from the same bidder - and I would have preferred those over seats 3&4. Well, tonight was Fan Appreciation Night - so there were giveaways between each half inning. Sometime in the middle of the game - they called out a ticket number: "Section 108, Row 23, Seat 1!" Then I was really bummed that I didn't win the aisle words...until I found out what the prize was! Was it the 42" flat-screen, plasma TV? Nope... How about the remote control vacuum cleaner? Nope, not that either. And it wasn't the trip to Cancun or 2007 season tickets. Nope, the "winner" of this drawing got an autographed Joel Pineiro jersey. Phew...good thing I dodged that one!
-Some kids in the section next to mine had a sign that said "Doyle's Mates" on one side and "Fire Mike Hargrove" on the other. Amen! They got the "Fire Mike Hargrove" sign on the big screen for a second - until the camera operator realized what it said.

Alright, on to the videos for the week! Have a great weekend!

This is what happens when you're a Red Sox fan in the bleachers at Yankee Stadium.


Here's the Pujols HR that Churchill was talking about the other day. Albert Pujols vs. Cla Meredith…WHO YA GOT?


Honestly...this never gets old!


Don't run on the field at the Metrodome!


This is awesome – especially for those who never saw Phil Niekro (myself included)! Man, I love knuckleballers!

Currently, Grady Sizemore has 52 2B and 28 HR. If he manages to hit 2 more dingers before the season ends, he would be only the 17th player to hit at least 50 doubles and 30 homeruns in a season. He would join some pretty elite company, too. Check out the list of players who have had 50/30 seasons…

- Stan Musial
- Derrek Lee
- Chuck Klein
- Hank Greenberg
- Juan Gonzalez
- Alfonso Soriano
- Frank Robinson
- Albert Pujols (twice)
- Lou Gehrig
- Albert Belle (52 2B & 50 HR in 1995 – OMGVOOOOORP!)
- Don Mattingly
- Alex Rodriguez
- Todd Helton (twice – and he came within one double in both 2003 & 2004!)
- Lance Berkman
- Joe “Ducky” Medwick
- Carlos Delgado

What a group! 6 Hall of Famers – and Mattingly, Gonzalez and Belle all have valid cases. Of the current players, Pujols and Rodriguez will almost surely get in and Helton, Delgado, Berkman and Soriano all have a decent shot. And, for what it’s worth, Edgar came 1 HR away from making this list in 1995.

But – here’s the thing – if Sizemore makes the list, there is only one player who has done it at a younger age: Albert Pujols. (A-Rod and Gehrig also joined the 50/30 club at the age of 24). Combined with the fact that Sizemore has 11 triples and 22 stolen bases (with a few games left to play), and you’re talking about a very special player.

Go Grady!

Yogi Berra once said, "It's like deja vu, all over again!" Well, Yogi, sometimes, deja vu sucks...

The M's are in last place and Hootie & The Blowfish have a link at the top of the M's web site. Gross.

Smart teams are always looking for ways to improve – even if it’s only a marginal improvement. To do this, you need to be looking everywhere, leaving no stone unturned. One place to look is the independent leagues. In North America, there are seven different professional baseball leagues where the teams have no affiliation with Major League clubs. The independent leagues are mostly filled with has-beens and never-weres, but some players come out of the independent leagues and have solid MLB careers. For example, Angels reliever Brendan Donnelly and Mariners reliever George Sherrill both came from independent leagues, and Marlins closer Joe Borowski got a second chance at a Major League career by pitching in the independent leagues.

However, one player that I would like to see back in a Major League organization is Santos Hernandez. Here is some information on Hernandez…



Full Name: Santos Hernandez
POS: P
B/T: R/R
HT/WT 6’3” / 190 lbs.
DOB: 1/19/1984 in Santo Domingo, DR

Hernandez’s Baseball Cube page appears to be messed up. There must have been another Santos Hernandez that pitched in the Giants system in the late 90’s. However, this Santos Hernandez was signed by the Colorado Rockies in 2000. That would have made him 16 years old and his Baseball Cube page doesn’t show anything for two more years, so he was probably in the Dominican League or an instructional league. He made his stateside debut for the Casper Rockies in 2002, where he was a Pioneer League All-Star, posting an 8-1 record through 14 starts with a 3.50 ERA. However, his peripherals weren’t that impressive. Through 72 innings, he struck out 39 and walked 32. However, 2002 would be his only season in the Rockies organization. He doesn’t have any statistics for 2003, so perhaps it was an injury that led to his release. But, even though the Rockies gave up on Hernandez, he didn’t give up on baseball. He resurfaced in 2004 and pitched for the Pensacola Pelicans of the American Association for a year and a half before switching to the Mexican League to pitch for the Puebla Pericos and Tabasco Olmecas for the second half of the 2005 season.

This season, Hernandez led the Alexandria Aces to a United League title. He started 19 games, pitched 121 innings, gave up 108 hits, 11 HR, struck out 105 and walked 51. That’s a K-rate of 7.80 and a BB-rate of 3.79. Sure, the walks are high – as they have always been with Hernandez, but he struck out the second-most batters in the league. So, while he might not work out a starter in a Major-League organization, it never hurts to have live arms that can compete for Big League bullpen spots.

While I don’t know what kind of repertoire Hernandez has, it sounds like it’s pretty good and it also sounds like he has a good approach to pitching. He threw a one-hitter in the United League playoffs this year, and here is a quote from Bob Tompkins’ recap from The Town Talk…

"I was really concentrating on trying to throw the ball down and get as many ground balls as I can," said Hernandez, who allowed only four Edinburg batters to reach base -- one on a walk and two on errors.

The only hit he allowed was a two-out double lined to right by Rodney Medina in the sixth. Only five of the 24 outs in his eighth innings made it to the outfield.

So, while he has put up decent stats and seems to have a groundball mentality, the main reason I want to see Hernandez get another chance is that he’s still only 23 years old! The Major Leaguers that have had success out of the independent leagues have been in their late 20s. I’m sure there are plenty of Major League organizations out there that could use a 23-year-old that can get nearly 8 Ks per 9 innings. Those numbers would probably decline if he got another shot with a MLB organization, but you never know…maybe working with a better pitching coach would help him cut down on his walks. Maybe a teammate would teach him a new pitch that would allow him to get more hitters to swing and miss. Or maybe, just moving to the bullpen would allow him to let it fly and he could be a solid reliever. Or, maybe he gets picked up by a MLB organization and just can't cut it. But, hopefully we’ll get the chance to find out!