As usual, if you want a game log, visit USS Mariner or Lookout Landing. Trying to compete with those fellas is like the Royals trying to hit King Felix. Plus, it's late, I'm tired, and I still have some writing to do for the September issue of The Grand Salami, so I'm going to take the easy way out for a re-cap of tonight's events...

10 Things about M's vs. Royals on 8/15...

1) I met up with the USS Mariner crew again at the King Street Bar and Oven. Jeff was there this time, and he's one cool guy. I wish I could talk to Jeff more often, because he's really funny and always has good stories. He's going to be one cool grandpa! (I bet *that's* a compliment he hasn't heard before!)

2) I know this isn't shocking, but I just can't put it any other way: Felix is sooooo good! Man, he's fun to watch! I'm going to try my best to make it to as many of his home starts as I can. I can't believe only one other team tried to pick him up in my fantasy league (which happens to be a keeper league!) Suckers...

3) Thanks to Jon Wells (who was apparently on the Royals MLB.tv broadcast - which means I might have been too!), I was sitting 8 rows behind the Royals dugout. Jose Lima doesn't even watch the game, all he does is throw balls to people in the stands. As if he doesn't give away too many balls already with the multitude of HRs he allows! He also gave away three bats, which is fine because, with Felix on the mound, the Royals didn't really know what to do with them anyway.

4) You'd think that with Felix on the mound, Hargrove would have gone with the best defensive infield possible. Hernandez is a groundball machine, and Grover puts Bloomquist at 3B, Morse at 2B and Betancourt at 2B. Plus, Felix had to pitch to Torrealba for the first time. I guess you can't argue with the results, but in the future I'd like to see Beltre at 3B, Betancourt at SS, and if he *must* play every freaking game, stick Bloomquist at 2B. Morse should be playing more often, but I think we should stick him at DH. He's not a good shortstop.

5) I haven't seen my TiVoed "Baseball Tonight" yet, but Betancourt's play has to be one of the "Web Gems." That kid has RANGE! I just hope he can show a little more discipline at the plate, or at least start hitting a little better.

6) The Royals have now lost 16 games in a row. (Cue Nelson from The Simpsons...) Hah Hah!

7) I'm sorry, I just can't get over how sweet Felix is. Wow. During his first three MLB starts, he's gone 21 innings, given up only 11 hits (ALL SINGLES!), 2 earned runs (0.86 ERA!), 3 walks and 21 strikeouts! The reason he's only allowed singles is because he's getting 4.33 groundballs for every fly ball! Granted, he's faced some pretty easy lineups, but the kid is phenomenal! Hopefully it will hold up. It looks like he'll be facing the Twinkies again - in Minnesota this time. After that, things will be a little tougher. It's hard to predict too far down the line, but it looks like his next couple of starts will be the White Sox at home and then the Yankees at home (That will draw some fans!). Then, he might get the red-hot A's in Oakland, Baltimore at home and then the Rangers at the hitter-friendly Ballpark in Arlington, or whatever it's called now. Whatever happens, I'll be watching. I haven't been this excited to watch the Mariners in a loooooonnnnnnggggg time.

8) Ok sorry, one more about Felix (he *is* the King, afterall!): I really can't wait to get a Felix jersey, but I would bet money that he won't be wearing #59 next season. Here's a vote for Bryan Price giving up #34 for The King...with the caveat that that's as far as the Freddy Garcia imitating goes!

9) It was nice to see Andy Sisco pitch. If you've read this blog at all, you know that I'm a big Sisco fan. He did, however, get roughed up in his first MLB appearance in Seattle. Sisco went 2/3 of an inning, giving up 3 hits, including Richie Sexson's 29th HR of the season. Sisco's ERA went up, but he's still at a very respectable 2.72.

10) Speaking of Sexson, he's on-pace for 178 strikeouts, which would break Mike Cameron's club record of 176 in 2002. Incidentally, if Sexson strikes out 178 times, he would tie himself for 15th most in a single season. Richie struck out 178 times in 2001 with the Brewers. However, Sexson is also on pace to hit 40 home runs (which would make him the first Mariner w/ 40 bombs since A-Rod in 2000), so I'll take it...

I went to the game today with my dad and, as expected, the M's got rocked. It was surprising that nobody heckled Franklin while he was warming up in the bullpen, and he didn't really even get booed. Mariners fans are way too polite. The game was pretty dull...except for when my dad got hit on by two prostitutes hanging out in centerfield. No joke! It reminded me of the less-famous Abbott and Costello sketch, "Whores on First." It's times like this that I wish I had a digital camera...

M's trivia for the day: So, my girlfriend's stepdad, Jean, went to see the Nationals play the Astros when he was in Houston the other day. The Nats won, 6-5 and scored all 6 of their runs by blasting 5 home runs. I asked Jean, "When's the last time the M's hit 5 home runs in a game?!," to which he responded, "Yeah, they're lucky to hit 5 in a week!" Anyway, the last time the M's hit 5 in a game was on August 27, 2004 against the Kansas City Royals. Miguel Olivo hit two and Bocachica, Jose Lopez, Boonie and Spiezio all hit one apiece.

 

This is just a quick post to wish my favorite player, Mike Cameron, a speedy recovery. For those who don't know, Cammy collided with Carlos Beltran during yesterday's Mets-Padres game in San Diego. It was brutal...easily the worst baseball collision I've seen. Cameron broke his nose, shattered both of his cheekbones and suffered a concussion. The accident stopped play for 14 minutes, Cammy was taken off the field in the cart and apparently didn't know where he was. Best of luck, Mike. I'm rooting for you!

It's a good thing that I'm getting a bonus from work this week, because I'm hoping to win an eBay auction for a 1/1 Mike Cameron card. If I win, it will be the second 1/1 in my collection. But damn...I should really start selling some of my other cards to help support my Cammy collection, which is at about 300 different cards, and counting!

Also, best of luck to Chris "Doyle" Snelling, and thanks to Kelly for updating my page. Both of the people who read this page think it looks nice! :)

Yesterday on KJR, Willie Bloomquist said that he loves proving people wrong. So, for all of you who think Willie is a good player, he tried his best last night to prove you wrong...and, apparently, loved every second of it!

Ok, so I had a longer, cooler post with links and pictures, but it wasn't working. After a month of inactivity, I think my blog has turned against me. So, here...the third try's a charm, and here's a basic post with text only. Let's hope it works this time!

If ConorGlassey.com was a child, CPS would have had me arrested by now. Wow, I knew I was neglecting my blog, but I didn't know it had been so long! Sorry for the inactivity, the usual excuses apply, lots of work, vacations with no internet, yada, yada, yada. Anyway, let's talk about some baseball!

Change Change Change!
During my month-long absence, the Mariners made more than a dozen transactions, including a stretch where they made at least one transaction for nine straight days. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the moves. I don't understand why the Giants wanted Randy Winn, but hey...good riddance! Ron Villone? Adios! See you at Azteca. (http://ussmariner.com/?p=1862) I was a little bummed that the M's gave up on Miguel Olivo (he was one of "My Guys"), but I understand and think we got a decent return for him. It's been really fun watching some of the other young players that the M's have brought up. Yuniesky Betancourt has been exciting, Snelling is finally back in Seattle (!), and I can't remember a time when I was more excited to go to a M's game in Seattle than I am for tonight's game featuring King Felix. Hernandez brings an excitement to Seattle that we haven't seen in quite some time. He was born the same year that "Goose" was flying with "Maverick," and he's definitely the Mariners' "Top Gun."
I was a little disappointed that the team didn't trade Eddie Guardado (but you'll read more about that later). Speaking of the bullpen, he's been difficult to watch for most of the season, and a lot of people have been really hard on him, but I really think this team should keep Matt Thornton. The season's lost, and if they've kept him for this long, they should just hang onto him for a few more months. While he's making close to the league minimum, he's a good gamble. If he can ever harness some control, he could be very effective. Thornton had a great outing last night and (small sample-size alert!) has cut his walks in more than half since the All-Star break.

Parity is Pathetic
Because of last night's Hall of Fame game, there was talk on KJR this morning about football being better than baseball. One of the main arguments was that, because so many teams have a chance of making the playoffs, football is more exciting. But, I have to disagree. Parity isn't exciting, it's pathetic. The Seahawks won their divison last season with a record of 9-7 and played the Wild Card team, the St. Louis Rams who were 8-8. I'm sorry, but that's not exciting, that's lame.

Cammy's Ride
If you know me, or read the site enough, you'll know that my favorite ballplayer is Mike Cameron. I collect Cameron's baseball cards and often search eBay for new and rare cards that I don't have. The other day I was dinking around and came across someone selling a Lexus SUV that used to belong to Cammy. Man, that would be pretty cool.

It's Official...
My friends and I used to hang in the QFC parking lot practically every day in high school. I probably spent more time in that parking lot than I did in class. So, I've always loved QFC, but it's now official...QFC is my favorite grocery store. I mean, seriously, does *your* favorite grocery store sell Baseball Prospectus? Mine does!

Alright, it's time to play a little XBox before heading downtown to check out the new Grand Salami, say hi to Derek and Jonah and watch the Safeco Field debut of KING FELIX HERNANDEZ! All hail The King! But, stay tuned, I promise not to neglect this baby anymore. Coming soon: Updated links and an interview with Micah Owings that I forgot was in my inbox.