It's late, I'm tired and that game totally sucked - but I had to get something off of my chest: John McLaren is an idiot. As if getting tossed in the first inning wasn't bad enough, it happened in one of the most important games the M's have seen in years. Plus, the whole thing looked so trite and over-the-top. Way to get the team fired up there, John.

Next...

Mariners Cup
I’m sorry there hasn’t been a lot of content here lately. I’m very thankful to have found a job, but it’s been keeping me busy. If you haven’t heard, I got a job as a reporter for the Snohomish County/Mukilteo/Everett Tribune. My company puts out three different newspapers and I’m covering the Everett and Mukilteo beats. Most of my work involves covering local government issue and city happenings, but I did get the chance to cover the Mariners Cup in Everett a couple weeks ago, and it was awesome. The Mariners Cup is a high school showcase tournament that is the brainchild of Scouting Director Bob Fontaine. The Mariners used to send a team to the Area Code Games in Long Beach, Calif., but now host the Mariners Cup right here in Seattle and Everett. It was great to see some of the top local talent, as well as teams comprised of players from California and the Midwest. I’m excited to follow local players like Danny Oh from Jackson High School and Derek Jones from Snohomish High School this spring.

Bugs and Cranks
I found a pretty good new Web site today — www.BugsAndCranks.com. It’s a site that features more than 30 different writers — one covering each team. I thought Brandon Vogel’s little bio was pretty funny: “Brandon Vogel loves the Chicago Cubs and old country music, allowing him to make two unsubstantiated claims as: 1) the saddest person alive at any given moment, and 2) the only living sportswriter with a tattoo of Johnny Cash on his arm.” Check it out!

Neftali Feliz
Last night in Everett, I got a chance to see Neftali Feliz, one of the pitchers the Rangers acquired from the Braves in the Mark Teixeira deal and I was pretty impressed. His secondary stuff looks to be a work in progress, but the arm is legit. Feliz was popping the glove at 94-95 MPH and has a good presence on the mound. The Spokane Indians are using him in relief, but I’m not sure why. In general, I’m not a fan of guys moving to the bullpen until they’ve shown they can’t succeed in the rotation. Feliz is definitely a player I will be following.

Wes Littleton deserves an asterisk
Is there anything more ridiculous than a pitcher getting a save when his team wins 30-3? One more reason why the save statistic is pointless and outdated. If you haven’t already, read David Pinto’s recent articles on Baseball Prospectus about revamping the rules regarding issuing a save. Someone should issue an error to the official scorer of that game. I’m pretty sure I could have protected a 27-run lead for three innings…

Legos
I found the next site because the artist made a life-size model of Stephen Colbert, but you should really head over to www.brickartist.com and check out the work of Nathan Sawaya. There are some baseball-related pieces in there and it’s just amazing. Nathan does custom work and if I had money to blow, I think it would be awesome to have a Lego Safeco Field!

Tim Lincecum and Troy Tulowitzki...brothers from another mother.
          

I'm sorry I haven't posted since the last time Mangini played (we're linked somehow, I swear). Sometimes life gets in the way of blogging and my new job has been keeping me awfully busy lately. However, I should soon get into the swing of things a little more and I can't wait to start posting here more frequently. I really need to, being that I'm, you know, a professional writer now. Yeah...still getting used to that...
Anyway, here are some videos I've found over the past couple of weeks. Have a great weekend - I'll be at the game tonight, thanks to an awesome anniversary gift (Felix, woo!). Hopefully the M's can pull their heads out. And, if you're going to be at the Prospect Insider get together tomorrow, I'll see you there! On to the vids...

A stupid cartoon for a really funny bit on baseball by comedian Brian Reagan.


Scott Barnes went 7-2 for St. John’s this year as a sophomore. He threw 95.1 innings, struck out 99 and walked 34 while posting an ERA of 2.93. The 6’3” lefty threw a no-hitter against Georgetown on April 20th. Right now, he’s pitching for the Harwich Mariners in the Cape Cod League and here is some video footage of him out there…


Here’s the number one HS prospect in the state of WA for 2008, Danny Oh out of Jackson High. This footage is actually from 4/21/2007.


I haven’t seen much of him, but after watching the Futures Game and reading more about him, I have come to the conclusion that Justin Upton is awesome. Here he is taking a few cuts in BP…


The Phillies aren’t above helping out during a rain delay!

I think I jinxed Matt Mangini. Since I professed my non-sexual man crush, the guy's gone 0-15. Blame me, Matt...

I'm sorry it's been a while since I've posted here. But, for once, I have good reasons! 1) I got a new job! I'm finally putting my degree to use as I'm now a reporter for the Tribune newspapers in Snohomish County. I just started last Monday, so it's very exciting and is keeping me very busy. As a side note, it was awesome to find out that the reporter I’m replacing is almost as obsessed as I am with USSMariner. 2) Cheryl and I celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary on Sunday. So, needless to say, it's been an eventful week for me. I've got some post ideas that I've been kicking around, that I'll get to soon, but here are a few random things that I've been thinking about lately...

1) How freaking awesome is it that the M’s are on the verge of re-signing Ichiro? A lot of people rag on Ichiro and fill column space or bar conversations with stupid, straw-man arguments. He’s not a leader, he doesn’t talk to the media, he doesn’t hit for enough power, he’s only concerned with his own stats, he doesn’t dive for balls, blah blah blah. And, I’ll admit, I’ve felt a little frustration from time to time while watching Ichiro over the past seven seasons. But, I’ve put all that behind me and come to the realization that he is what he is — and he’s just awesome. Sure, $20 million per season is an awful lot for any player, especially for a player’s 34-38-year-old seasons. But, Ichiro is such a unique player. He’s had exceptional health and I think that even if he loses a step or two, he has the bat control and the skills to continue doing what he’s been doing. He’s also unique in the fact that he brings so much to the team off the field, and that has to be considered. To top it all off, he goes 3-for-3 in the All Star game, with the first inside-the-park HR in All-Star game history. Icing on the cake. Ichiro’s the face of this franchise and I’m so excited that he’s going to be a Mariner for at least another five seasons. Cooperstown is calling.

2) Adam Jones will be in Seattle soon! Boo yeah! Serioulsy…could this day get any better for M’s fans?

3) If you have Comcast, MLB Extra Innings is having a free preview week. According to the message I got, "Simply tune to channels 457-470 from July 12th through July 18th to see your favorite out-of-market baseball teams in action." They’re also offering the Extra Innings package for the second-half of the season for $99.

4) I love Matt Mangini. He's tearing up the Northwest League, hitting .354/.452/.508 and probably won't be in Everett too much longer. Luckily, I was able to see him hit his second professional home run on Saturday. A pitcher I really like on the Aquasox this season is Ryan Moorer, out of Maryland.

5) I don’t mean to brag, I don’t mean to boast, but…did you notice how close my All-Star break standings prediction was? One game off for the Angels, the M’s and the A’s. The Rangers got a little hotter than I anticipated, but still…as Larry David would say, “Pretty, pretty good!”

6) Sean Green-as-a-sidearmer update: 18.1 IP, 19 H, 18 K, 6 BB, 1.96 ERA. Ah yeah!

7) Cheryl got me “The Bigs” for our Wii as an anniversary present. It’s pretty sweet and I’ll have a more detailed review up soon, but you should check it out if you’re into baseball video games.

Did you know that, since dropping down to his sidearm slot, Sean Green has thrown 14.1 innings, striking out 14, walking 6 and posting an ERA of 1.88? Small sample? Yeah - but I'm liking the new & improved Sean Green. Sidearmers rule!

YouTube Friday…better late than never!

“The Bigs” came out this week and I hope to get it soon. When I do, look for a review. Until then, check out the trailer!


Another commercial for something I want to buy. Check out that curveball!


An awesome, old Griffey commercial…


I’m stoked that Oregon State won back-to-back National Championships! Here is some inside footage from SS Darwin Barney…


Alright…one more commercial, but I think I might have saved the best for last. Can your blender handle a baseball? LOL – why is this a selling point?

Working right down by Safeco Field the past couple days has made me realize how lame Mariners fans really are. Between the fact that they do the wave during critical situations, complain about people cheering too loudly, that the biggest roars from the stadium come from the hydroplane races and all the love for Bloomquist, I already knew most M's fans were lame, but watching this series against the Red Sox really cemented my beliefs. The M's were about to sweep the Boston Red Sox this afternoon. It was about 4:30 and the game was tied in the 8th inning, but people were flooding out of Safeco like the place was on fire. I couldn't believe it. How can you even call yourself a fan? Why even bother going to the game if you're going to leave when it's tied, so you can go sit in rush-hour traffic?

Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled the M's swept the Sox and have won 5 in a row. They're one of the hottest teams right now and they're only five games out of first and two games back in the Wild Card. It's going to be a fun summer - but it would be better if Mariners fans weren't so pathetic!

Let's do a quick comparison between typical Red Sox fans and typical Mariners fans...

Red Sox fans get decked out for games. Almost every Sox fan wears at least three team-related items to the ballpark. You can tell who they're rooting for because they're all wearing shirts, jerseys, hats, jackets and red socks. Mariners fans, on the other hand, look like they're going to a PTSA meeting. Jeans, a polo shirt tucked in, sandals (with socks) and a North Face fleece? Yep...there's your typical Mariners fan.

Red Sox fans know what they're talking about. They know Kevin Youkilis is a beast and that he's hitting .330/.415/.498. They come to the ballpark to watch baseball and they cheer louder for a single than M's fans cheer for a home run. Mariners fans show up late, drink a few microbrews, eat some $8 strawberries on a stick, talk about their portfolios and their kids' soccer teams and leave in the 8th inning of a tie ballgame.

It just pisses me off that Mariners fans are so boring. If they were more passionate, there would be more pressure on the front office and we'd presumably have a better product on the field. Instead, we're stuck with Raul Ibanez: Mariner For Life. Do you think Red Sox fans would put up with a DH that has a .716 OPS? How about a $13 million 1B hitting .209? Of course they wouldn't - they'd be screaming bloody muder because they wouldn't put up with that crap. But, if you go to Safeco Field, it's obvious that 80% of the people there just don't care. They're there for a fun night out with the family or to impress some clients.It's not a library, folks. You don't have to use your 12" voices at the ballpark. Get rowdy! Show some pride in your team and in this city! Please - the next time you go to Safeco Field, make a point to do something you don't normally do. Buy a jersey and wear it to the ballgame. Cheer for your favorite Mariner - even if the big screen isn't flashing "Make Some Noise!" and your section has the vibe of a funeral parlor. Make a sign. Paint your face. Let's get behind this team, so it doesn't feel like Fenway Park everytime the Red Sox come to town!

That's all just a long rant, when all I really needed to say was that I wish every Mariners fan was a little bit more like Red.