Hey Mariners… even YOU can score off of Joe Saunders

I am serious Seattle… I know you have NO bats right now.
I know that Ken Griffey SENIOR could probably crack this line up now.

I know you’ve scored 9 runs all month (and none since Wednesday).

I know you are in a 7 game slide and suddenly that whole “We have Two Aces! We’re going to win the West!” sentiment has started to give way to “I hope we can get some good prospects for Cliff Lee” resignation.

But COME ON! You are facing Joe Saunders tonight.
Yeah I know Joe was an All Star in 2008 and a 16 game winner last year. But in 2010 he is one the main culprits why the three time defending division champion Angels look so pathetic right now.

He’s let up 5 or more runs in 3 of his 6 starts, is a 1-5 pitcher with a 7.04 ERA.
And his lone win (and only solid outing) was a game on April 17th when he threw 8 innings with no earned runs against a Blue Jays team that was in a horrible slump.

How horrible? Joe Saunders shut them down!

Take out that one game and he is 0-5 with a 9.52 ERA.
That’s a run an inning.

You can do it, Mariners. You can score some runs tonight. I bet even the Mariner Moose could go 1-4 against Saunders.

A Mariner win would put the Angels in last place in the loss column.

Let’s see what you’ve got Mariners.

It’s Joe Saunders.

Score a run.

Hey my fellow Red Sox fans… turn off the game

I have some thoughts about the 2010 season, some good and some bad… but right now there is nothing good that can come about from watching this game.

Yeah I know they could come back and win today and it would be one of those great Red Sox wins against the Yankees.

But that is a risk we’ll have to take.

This year is turning into that strange type of season that kids in Boston 15 years or younger probably can’t even comprehend… and that every other fan base (save for the Yankees) experiences so often:

A transition year.

A year between the great ones.

I grew up in transitions years.
Between 1979 and 1985, the years when I was 7 to 13 years old and really beginning to understand the game, the Red Sox never really contended. They put winning teams on the field, but they weren’t contenders.

I wrote about that already and I will bring it up again later when I dissect this edition of the Sox. But right now, stop obsessing. Oh be a good fan… but for today, go outside or do some chores.

You’ll only be angry at the end of the day that you spent so much time watching the game.

Can the Nationals have their cake and eat it too?

For the first time that I can recall, the Washington Nationals were a big topic on XM Radio baseball talk… and most of it was trashing the Nats management for keeping Stephen Strasburg in the minor leagues for financial reasons while the team is having a surprisingly strong start.

They are keeping him from the parent club until June or July to prevent his service time in the bigs from starting… and allowing the Nationals to have him for another year or so at a lower rate before he’s eligible for free agency.

It’s odd that they spend $15.1 million to sign him and THEN get frugal!

The critics point of view, that I happen to agree with, is the Nats might not be contending for very long… but having Strasburg plugged into the rotation could give the team another solid starter (arguably better than anyone they currently have) and the fans would have reason to get excited over the debut of the future and the surprising start. And of course that could also mean increased attendance, increased ad revenue and merchandise sales.

And if the Nationals tank in the second half, they can send Strasburg back down, claim it is to save his arm, when in reality it is to save some dough.

Well an interesting thing might be happening in Washington:
They might be able to have their cake and eat it too.

The Nats are continuing to win.
They’ve won 6 of their last 10 including today against Florida. And vulture reliver Tyler Clippard is now 5-0. He had 8 career wins before this year.

Matt Capps is closing out games and Ryan Zimmerman is the All Star worthy face of their line up.

I don’t think anyone thought Washington would have a winning record on April 8, let alone May 8. A 16-14 record won’t make people forget the Big Red Machine… but this is Washington.

This is the home of the most underrated suffering of any baseball fanbase.

They’ve been waiting since 1924 for a World Series title.

They’ve been waiting since 1933 for post season baseball.

That was three franchises ago!

Just imagine if they can have a .500 month, remain around a game or so above .500…
Then on June 7th, use the first pick in the draft to select their next big star (probably Bryce Harper)

Then a week later Strasburg gets called up and the hovering around .500 Nationals get a huge boost.

And the Nationals STILL get to save some money… which they can use to sign Harper… and then keep HIM in the minor leagues too long to save money.

It’s the circle of life.