I've been a sports fan most of my life. Once in a while things just click and a team plays beyond expectations. I'll never forget being at the last game of the NBA Championship series when Bill Walton & the Blazers upset the 76's for the title. Awesome! And I was on the edge of my seat tonight wanting and getting to see the Sixers upset the Lakers. I know basketball much better than I know baseball. I can somewhat see why Philly has overachieved their expectations. But I can't see why the Mariners have this unbelievable start, continuing to grow. ....

They lose Johnson, Griffey, and Rodriguez yet come up with the major league's all time greatest start. Switching over after the NBA game they were up 1 to zip in the top of the 8th and then go on 7-3 to sweep Texas and A-Rod. So how are they doing this! Joe and I were talking about this last night. They have likely back to back rookies of the year and great overall chemistry and effort with the better than expected pitching. But there must be more to it than that and I don't know what it is. Someone educate us baseball non-experts as to whazzup with this cool thing. Thanks. I sure hope they can keep it rolling to a title for Seattle! - RT

Dont forget Randy Johnson, he is a solid 18 game winner, I wish they still had him instead of Halama!

How do the Mariners do it, you ask?

I'll tell ya why....it's because they're not from Oregon! Doh!!! Bring on the OR hatemail.

Just kidding, OR boyz. They are awesome I just wish my folks would've forked over their tickets for tonight's game so I could've been there to whoop and holler.

Peace

Wait'll they play the Dodgers! I like the Mariners and hope they do well but the LA Dodgers are my sports passion and I'm calling out any of you with this offer if the Dodgers don't take two out of three from the Mariners at Dodger Stadium RT will strip naked paint himself blue with a big white "LA" on his ass. I'll be there to take pictures! Any takers?

Geez, ask a serious question and ... ya get some funny answers. Cool, I like that. But I still wdant some knowledgable opinions about the M's unprecedented success; I don't get the Seattle papers. ... I can't believe you spilled it that your parents have Mariner tickets Kid! Now everyone might be after ya for some tickets dude. run, hide. ...

And Steelie Stew, don't be going around offering up my 'advertising' back space without asking me first. That's a lot of area to put up advertising on (ha, beat ya to it) and it don't come cheap bud. And it sure as h*ll won't ever have L.A. painted on it. - Go Mariners!

Lifelong diehard Mariner fan = me

Thank god for Fox sports Northwest, or I'd have to be crossing the hill at least once a week. Here is the reason I think the Mariner's are so good;

Attitude. Not cockiness, though. You see, once upon a time, the king(Griffey) and his men(Buhner, Edgar, A-Wad, Tino M., etc.) use to knock the cover off the ball on a regular basis. The team was built for power, and so was there home field. So this is how it was all through the 90's, and man was it a blast to watch. Sometimes('95,'97,'00) the results were good, sometimes they were bad, but it was ALWAYS fun to watch.
Well, money talks, and players walk. First, Randy is traded(after quite the temper tantrum the first 14 games that year). Smart move, M's. No way to know how he would recover from the back injury. Plus, we get three starters(now) in the deal.
Safeco Field opens.
Then, "I want to be closer to my family" Griffey defects. The guy lives in Orlando for crying out loud, where does Cincinnati fit into this? Anyway, we lose some power, but still have A-Pud, Edgar, and Jay. Plenty of pop, for sure. Next year it's A-Clod's turn. Too much money to turn down, if you ask me. I don't blame him, but it's still fun watching the fans razz him a little. All the while the big boppers are defecting, Woody Woodward, and now "wizard"Pat are replacing the defectors with people a little more suited to playing BASEBALL instead of Home Run Derby. Not sexy, but more effective.
So, I've rambled on and on, here's my point. With the loss of the last really big gun, all of the sudden the Mariner's look at themselves and realize the days of waiting for the three run homer from the 3-4-5 spots in the line-up are over. Plus(and I think this is the real key), the media went out of there way to make it perfectly clear they thought the Mariners would not score any runs this year. It started the moment A-Wus signed with Texas. After they had realized it themselves, they get bombarded for the next four months with, "how are you gonna score runs", "what will you do without A-Puss", etc.. Soooooo, when Sweet Lou gathers the troops this spring, he informs them that with the bats they have, it's more important than ever to play little ball. Bunt, steal, hit and run, whenever possible. That's the ONLY way they can have a good year.

TOTAL BUY IN. Everyone bought it. Those with ego's have dumped them. Nobody's playin' selfish, everyone's contributing, no one's *****in'. I think it snowballed from the fast start. Every move Pinella has made this year has worked. It's amazing the faith your players develop in you when you demonstrate your ability to lead, and make the right call. I'm having as much fun watching these guys have fun while they're playing, as I am knowing my M's are very possibly Series bound.

That's the #1 reason, along with some of the finest GM'ing ever seen. Woodward had his share of this(making up for stupid deals from seasons gone by), but Pat Gillick is the best in the business. In two years, we've acquired THREE guys in the bullpen that could be the closer for just about anybody. A starting pitching staff that is very, very solid. And just think, Meche is back in a month, Ryan Anderson WILL be in the rotation next year, WOW!! I think I just made a mess in my jeans

There, I spilled my guts, 'ya happy now?

[ 06-07-2001: Message edited by: backlash2 ]

Hey RT. I agree. It isn't anything different than what is going on with the Twins this year. (oh by the way, you spelled want incorrectly in your previous post, (wdant)). Hooray I get my egg cure.


I think alot of it has to do with chemistry, sense of pride, and ego. The Twins have a fairly low payroll in comparision to many teams, but for some reason, they are getting it done. It's refreshing to see a bunch of young guys playing hard, getting along, and reaping the rewards. Not a whole lot different than the "Cinderella" teams in the NCAA tourney. That's what makes the NCAA College Basketball Tournament the best show in sports.

RT, I think the great thing is they are a team and don't have a true superstar. It is fun to watch great baseball. They don't need Arod or Griffey, Safeco isnt really a power hitters park and suits this team a lot better. Go M's

The Mariners are a team that Lou can "Manage", pitching, speed, and defense. The old Mariners were built for the Kingdome, lot's of home run hitters, the new Mariners are built around the new park, when they moved to Safeco it was obvious that they would have to change. The addition of Ichiro was a coup that has payed off with bigger benifits than was expected. Bret Boone is having a beyond carrer year and letting Russ "I can't play any defense" Davis go was another smooth move. I think the biggest difference in the team is the middle relief, last two years they were like a bad sieve, this year they go out and hold a lead, getting Jeff Nelson back and the emergence of Paniagua and Arthur Roades has filled that void. That and some early season timely hitting that has given them a confidence and team chenistry that has continued to grow as the season has progressed. How can you explain all of the 2 out rallies, you can't it's just happening. It is fun to watch the Mariners play, this being said from a die-hard A's fan that can only hope my guys regroup and make it to the play offs via the wild card. Stew, forget the Dodgers, they don't even come close to matching what the Mariners have this season. I'll take your bet, but if you lose you have to run around nakid with one of those silly M's hats on!!! LOL
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff

Dodgers take 2 out of 3 against the mariners ...Someones smokin crack

Whats up with the M's
G.M. Pat Gillick gets my vote.
bullpen and Defense wins ballgames
The M's have scored more runs in the 8th inning this year than any other team for any other inning all year,too bad we lost all that power when Pay-Rod and Jr left....HUh

Imagine Loosing Jr. Randy and Alex and winning like this......Kinda like the Beatles loosing John ,Paul and George and still recording.......amazing

And as for you "soon to have my Butt painted Blue Stew"
I'll take that Pic for ya


Hawk It's a great job up there in minnehahha(Since I'm a Viking Fan I can say that)
considering the Twinkies entire annaul payroll is still less than Pay-Rods annual contract

Just ordered my tickets for the A's series can't wait,I watched most of these guys play aaa in Tacoma,but I still get to boooo em.

.....................Os

NWO
Have Blue Spray paint & Duct Tape will travel

Stew, besides Prokopec, Green, and da man: Chan Ho Park, the Dodgers are just getting lucky. Hell they got lucky with Prokopec, but Park and Green are producers.

The Mariners are coming together because they know no one expected them to do any good. Kinda like that movie "A League of Their Own." Oh no wait, sorry, I had Madonna on the brain. They are coming together like that Baseball movie with Charlie Sheen in it.

O's, you'll have a great time at the game watching them play.

4 words that sum up why they are doing so good: Ichiro Suzuki or "Death to Flying Things" is what his name translates to.

I think he's what has brought the team together because he takes so much pressure off of the pitchers, and his stick motivates the other batters. The guy is a freakin' ninja on a baseball field. See him play in person, and thank God that you got to see this hall of famer play. Jay Buhner? Who the hell is that guy? :p If Jay starts playing again, they'll start losing. Hopefully Edgrrrrrrr won't bruise his toe anymore and sit out, but at least he's not a big pussy like mcgwire who plays only when the sun is shining just right.

They got the Quan baby!!!

SRBC

It's a great thing when you can see a team that's been kicked around over the years for it's high profile super stars that can blast a homer with little effort get back to the basics of base in and out hitting. As much as Seattle needed those players of the past it's truly great to watch a team pull together and have the success there obviously experiencing. Besides Seattle needs that to pay off the new stadium. Keep up the great ball M's we are are all counting on you!!

I think it's Pineilla that's the difference. He gets these guys looking to move the runners along instead of constantly looking for the three run home run etc in other words team baseball. You'll also notice that there are not any "stat" happy players on this team either. The only team in the AL that worries me is of course the damn Yankees! Again an unselfish ballclub with a great manager.
Now back to the Dodgers. They are lucky to be competing especially with Sheffield,Karros,Brown and Ashby on the DL. Prokopec is doing well and so is Park. Forget Gagne though. I still take the Dodgers in three at Dodgr Stadium! Any bets?
Pound of eggs or some kind of thing like that? Come guys put your money where your mouth is.

[ 06-08-2001: Message edited by: Steelhead Stew ]

On a side note, I do have a partial ownership of season tickets to the M's Games.

I can't use my tickets on the 23rd, against the Angels? Anyone interested in purchasing the tickets? The tickets are face-valued at (I believe) $34 each....or could be $32. I'll get exact numbers for serious inquiries.

Without looking at the tickets, the rough estimate of where they are would be:

On the thrid base side. About 20 rows up from the field. Just to the right side of the dug out. It's the first two seats next to the isle.

To date, Ichiro has hit about a million foul balls in my section. I've come sooooo close to catching a foul ball a million times! Haven't got one yet, but it's only a matter of time. Matter of fact, just about any left handed hitter sends a ball or two near these seats. Bring a glove.

Serious inquiries ONLY. Send all inquires to parker@u.washington.edu, and *NOT* this board.

I'll take that bet, Stew

And the pound of eggs, too

And we're talking SALMON eggs, not a dozen AA's from the local Albertson's

Lou Pinella is the key??!! Dude, now I am joining in on the chant, "Stew, put down the pipe!" :P

He has the brains and coaching skill of a fresh produce stand operator. It's the guys, not the coach. Think about it, most major league'rs have been playing ball since they were sperm, so you can only coach guys so far. They usually move into advanced baseball strategy in junior high.

This is the same guy that kept Bobby Ieieieieolla around. I think Bobby had something to pin on Lou, personally.

Same with this Rhodes guy, and Halama, well.... let's not go there and say we did.

2/3 Dodgers over the M's at Dodger stadium? Dude, name the bet and I'm on it like stank on sh!t.

Went to Safeco on Sunday and enjoyed everything about the day except for taking my stepson into the john. Man what a pigpen. Besides wading through the aftermath of everyones poor aim and hygene, there was tp and towels all over the floor. I debated burning my shoes when I got home, but remembrered I had some of RT's secret egg cure in the garage...that stuff kills everything (explains the dazed and dying fish everyone floating by when RT is upriver...well, that might just be the jockey short fumes leaking through his neoprenes) JK. Anyhow, there must be an influx of Blazer fans into the Safe, I've never seen bathrooms that foul outside of Portland!!!!

Amazing!

Best start since 1939?!?

I love it. I remember those days in the Dome when me and 12 or 13 :p other people were at a game. I am glad those days are gone.

It almost feels as electric as fall of '95.

Come on Y'all don't be razzin Lou. You know what it was that WhyIayala had on Lou? Remember when Griffey filled his office up with sheep ... Bobby had the pictures.

PS Do not set those plastic beers on the top of the Urinal. When anyone flushes the friggin thing will rattle and your beer will fall off. Thats abuse of alcohol!

GutZ