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2008.08.05 Tue

The only highlight of this season?

Back to back wins in exciting fashions warrant a rare post about the M's. They actually beat a good team, the Minnesota Twins, and did it with flair. Twice. More importantly, Ichiro's finally starting to to heat up and collect his hits like he's capable of. He went 2-4 with 3 runs in tonight's game and brought his average up to .307. Let's keep it going, Ichi!

The M's will play the Twins tomorrow at 1:40PM PDT to wrap up the 3-game series. Will they accomplish the improbable and sweep the red hot Twins? I doubt it, but after the first two games, I have hope that they might not suck as bad as usual.

Go Ichiro!

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2008.04.09 Wed

Back to back win!

The M's are finally playing like a competent Major League team, beating the Rays 7-1 in the second game of the series. Ichiro went only 1 for 5 but his double in the third inning was the first RBI of the game. He's average's back down to .308.

Will the Mariners sweep the Rays? Stay tuned for the series finality at 9:40AM PT tomorrow.

Go Ichiro!

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2008.04.08 Tue

A win!

Mariners beat the Rays 6-5. I wasn't able to watch the game on TV but it seemed like an exciting one. It was a good night for Ichiro, who went 3-5 with 2 runs. His batting average has climbed to .324 after tonight's game.

Hopefully this win is the beginning of something more encouraging from the Mariners. We shall see.

The second game of the series starts at 4:10PM PDT tomorrow as well.

Go Ichiro!

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2008.04.07 Mon

Swept

The Mariners got swept by the Orioles. Pathetic.

Ichiro hit his first homer this season, so I guess the game wasn't a complete waste. Ichi went 2 for 5 and raised his average to .276. His homer was also his 1,600th hit in the Major League.

The Mariners are playing the Tampa Bay Rays tomorrow at 4:10PM PDT. Tune in for Ichiro because the M's are probably gonna be anything but watchable.

Go Ichiro!

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2008.04.06 Sun

The same old Mariners

Baltimore 3, Seattle 2

Oh wow, that was a terrible game. The M's were leading 2-0 on Felix's good outing until the 9th when our temp closer gave it all up to the Orioles.. I would have been mad if I weren't used to low expectations and disappointments. As it is, I just feel bad for Felix, who has nothing to show for his efforts.

Ichiro went 1-4 with one run. He's hitting .250 right now. I expect the average to go up soon though.

The final game of the 4-game series tomorrow at 12:05PM PDT. It can't be over soon enough.

Go Ichiro!

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2007.08.10 Fri

M's the wildcard leader!

I can't seem to keep updating regularly can I? Anyway, I'm back in Canada right now for the summer, and it's so nice to be able to watch the M's on TV again. After losing the series to the Boston Red Sox, the M's swept the awful Baltimore Orioles. Now they are the front runner in the wild card chase for the very first time this season. After going 9 for 16 in this series, Ichiro's .350 current batting average is the best in the league. It'd be awesome if he could keep this up and get another batting title under his belt.

The M's are playing the White Sox next. They need to capitalize playing crappy teams and keep up the winning streak. It's going to be a close race up to the very end. Baseball is fun again.

Go Mariners!

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2007.07.19 Thu

Ka-ching

It's nice being Ichiro.

From MLB.com:

the report said the Major League's all-time single-season hits record holder received a $5 million signing bonus, plus yearly salaries of $17 million from 2008 through 2012, of which $5 million is deferred at 5.5 percent interest. The $25 million deferred money will be paid out in annual installments each Jan, 30, beginning with the first year of his retirement from MLB until at least 2032.

He also receives a $32,000 annual housing allowance next season, and $1,000 yearly increases through the life of the new contract. Ichiro also receives four first-class round-trip tickets between Japan and Seattle each year, a personal trainer and an interpreter. >> More

More at SeattlePI and Yahoo News.

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2007.07.19 Thu

No sweep but good enough

M's won the series against the Orioles and pulled within 1 game behind the division leader L.A. Angels and wildcard leader Cleveland Indians. Ichiro is back to form, going 2-4 with 1 run a 1 RBI in today's game. It doesn't seem like the injury was anything series, and Ichi got to regroup and started hitting again, so all is well.

The M's are playing the Toronto Blue Jays next. Let's take another series from a mediocre team.

Go Mariners!

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2007.07.16 Mon

Ichiro injured in Mariners loss to Tigers

I wasn't able to watch this game, so imagine my shock when I saw the headline at MLB.com. Ichiro injured? It would have been the most devastating news for the M's and the fans if he was hurt really bad. Apparently Ichiro had to leave the game in the fifth inning after being hit by a pitch around his right knee. The X-rate afterwards showed it wasn't anything too serious, but Ichiro is listed as day-to-day as of now. I sure hope it really isn't something serious, but either way, Ichi is gonna feel the effect of it for the next few games. Too bad this happened after he went 1-2 and had an RBI in today's game. It seemed like he was ready to get out of his slump.

The M's lost the last game of the series to the Tigers. Let's hope they'll bounce back tomorrow against the Orioles. It'd be heartening if Ichiro gets to play tomorrow too. We'll see.

Gett better soon, Ichi!

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2007.07.15 Sun

6-4 M's win!

Thanks to Johjima's grand slam, the M's will not lost this 4-game series against the Detroit Tigers no matter what happens tomorrow. Ichiro, on the other hand, had one of his most terrible games, both offensively and defensively. I don't know what the matter is with him ... it seemed like he was distracted this series. It just seems like he's not doing his best lately. Whatever is bothering him, I hope he gets back on track soon, preferably tomorrow. I want the good Ichiro back.