Preview: Seattle Mariners (20-26) vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (18-27)

Source: Lookout Landing by Kyle Davis

Well, it was enjoyable to make fun of the Angels there for a second, and I guess, considering the standings, it still is. Last night, however, didn't do much to further the cause, and hopefully some time in the very near future, the ill-fated Aaron Harang experiment will be over. It was a good try, kind of, and sort of worth a shot if you're able to wipe your mind clean of all the confounding roster movement that it was preceded by. You may or may not have that particular skill and if you do could you please teach it to me? But we can be done now.

Aaron Harang, it should be noted, is not starting

Cycling Through the Closers (Rotoworld)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

On the heels of a cycle, Saves and Steals burns through the closer rankings.

Cleveland Indians Need to Send Scott Kazmir to Minors (Yahoo! Contributor Network)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

COMMENTARY | When a team overhauls its roster in the offseason as dramatically as the Cleveland Indians did over the winter, fans can only hope the new additions work out more often than not. Fortunately, that has been the case for the Tribe thus far as offseason acquisitions Michael Bourn, Mark Reynolds and Nick Swisher have all played well in 2013.

Over/Under: Hot in Cleveland, Kipnis making case for No. 2 (Roto Arcade)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

Fantasy is a speculative game. Predict the future, and you look like a genius. Don't, and you're painfully human. Gazing into the crystal ball, here's our view on 10 intriguing over/unders this week. If redrafting today, what second basemen should go after Robinson Cano: Jason Kipnis, Dustin Pedroia, Ben Zobrist, Brandon Philips, Ian Kinsler or OTHER. Dalton – PEDROIA. It makes it easier with Kinsler hurt, and others certainly have a case as well. I know Pedroia has just two home runs, but he currently sports a 11.8 K% and a 13.3 BB%, showing his .333 BA is no fluke. More homers will come. Brandon – PEDROIA. I had Pedroia at No. 2 and Kipnis at No. 3 on my final preseason rankings for second base, and nothing has knocked me off that stance yet. Brad – KIPNIS. After being locked in cold storage for most of April the Indian has thumped the drum in recent weeks slashing a .346-4-13-12-3 line since May 7, the best overall output of any player in Y! fantasy. With his ISO hovering around .235, it would be no surprise if he flirted with 30/30 territory.

FAME, the Mariners, and the Fame of Various Mariners

Source: Lookout Landing by Patrick Dubuque

One of the rites of passage to be a successful or quixotic baseball writer is to invent a new statistic. Last fall, I joined this exclusive and imagined inner circle by crafting, in tandem with my colleague Joel (twitter: @CajoleJuiceEsq), a statistic called FAME. It's inspired by Bill James's Blank Ink, a neat little stat that collates the number of times a player has led the league in various categories, and thus how dominant a player was in his era. Black Ink is often one of the tools used to gauge a player's Hall of Fame candidacy.

If Black Ink is a descriptive statistic, FAME (or:

Hey, about Mike Trout’s cycle: He appeared to be out on the single (Big League Stew)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

In becoming the youngest person in American League history and the sixth player ever from the Los Angeles Angels to hit for the cycle, Mike Trout required skill, preparation and timing to converge Tuesday night. A favorable call by an umpire didn't hurt, either. Trout hit a home run in the eighth inning to cap a historic night for himself, but it was his second at-bat against the Seattle Mariners — which resulted with an infield single — that got Trout's cycle started in the third inning. Only, a close look at one of the replay angles shows that Trout didn't beat lumbering pitcher Aaron Harang to the first-base bag after a grounder to Justin Smoak:

Poll: The Next 2012 First-Rounder To Be Called Up

Source: MLB Trade Rumors by Steve Adams

The Orioles made headlines last night by announcing the promotion of Kevin Gausman to the Majors. Gausman, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2012 draft, reached Double-A as a 22-year-old and posted a 3.11 ERA with a 49-to-5 K/BB ratio in 46 1/3 innings there. With that promotion, Gausman becomes the first member of last year's first round to make it to the Majors. Among 2012 first-rounders, only four other players have even reached the

Kendrys’ Offensive Reversal

Source: SoDo Mojo by JJ Keller

When 1B/DH Kendrys Morales was brought in this offseason, he was generally thought of as a power first bat, and for good reason. His OBP the year before was just .320, despite having a .273 average. .260 is a roughly average average, and .320 is about an average OBP. So his average was 13 points above “average”, but his OBP remained, due to a low walk rate.

Thus, it is easy to see why he is considered the way he is. Roughly 60% of his career .820 OPS has come from his slugging percentage, leaving about 40% to come from average. On average over

Podcast: Mariners season hits crucial point

Source: The Seattle Times

Needless to say, the Mariners could use a victory later this afternon in this finale of a road trip that began so well and then went south on the team in a hurry. The Mariners are 2-6 on the trip after losing five straight, the most recent of those defeats a 12-0 thrashing last night.

This is where a coaching staff becomes so important. The Mariners simply cannot allow this recent string of setbacks to ruin everything they've built up over the past month. But for a few breaks, they'd have won most of the games in Cleveland and then last night's Aaron Harang debacle would not seem to be as catastrophic as it does.

The coaching staff has to communicate what Raul Ibanez

Angels get better of Harang, Mariners early in rout

Source: The News Tribune

Mariners’ starter booted from game in 4th inning with a 7-0 Los Angeles lead; Angels’ Trout hits for cycle | ANAHEIM, Calif. — Well, at least the Seattle Mariners didn’t lose on walk-off hit. In a quest for optimism, that might be the only one from Tuesday night at Angels Stadium.

Storms stir Brown's memories

Source: The News Tribune

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Daren Brown remembers as a child, heading with his mother, father and sisters into the storm cellar of their ranch in Enid, Okla., when the funnel clouds were coming.

Angels get better of Harang early in rout

Source: The News Tribune

Mariners’ starter booted from game in 4th inning with a 7-0 Los Angeles lead; Angels’ Trout hits for cycle | ANAHEIM, Calif. — Well, at least the Seattle Mariners didn’t lose on walk-off hit. In a quest for optimism, that might be the only one from Tuesday night at Angels Stadium.

Mariners-Angels Preview (The Associated Press)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

The Los Angeles Angels have a chance to record their longest winning streak of 2013 and extend the Seattle Mariners' worst skid of the season.

MLB Scores: Mariners All Kinds Of Beaten By Angels, 12-0

Source: Lookout Landing by Nathan Bishop

Harang gives up 2 HRs in M's 12-0 loss to Angels

Source: SeattlePi.com by By JOE RESNICK, Associated Press

Harang gives up 2 HRs in M's 12-0 loss to Angels Associated Press Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Published 11:50 pm, Tuesday, May 21, 2013 Trout became the youngest AL player to hit for the cycle and also drove in five runs, leading the Angels to a 12-0 rout on Tuesday night and extending Seattle's losing streak to a season-worst five games. The 35-year-old right-hander, who missed his previous turn in the rotation because of stiffness in his lower back, has yet to go

Mariners need to help themselves out this time

Source: The Seattle Times

Sometimes, as in what happened this past weekend in Cleveland, there isn't much a coaching staff or front office can do. Players are the ones who play and when they lose games because of walkoff home runs, or dropped balls, or whatever, that falls under the guise of on-field stuff and we all know that stuff happens.

But sometimes, there are things a team can do to help. The back end of this Mariners starting rotation has been a shaky loose link for most of the season with a few points of stability. Tonight wasn't one of those stable moments. The Mariners lost 12-0 and were down 7-0 by the fourth inning when starting pitcher Aaron Harang gave an extra-base hit clinic -- and not from the side you want to be giving one of

20-26: Mariners All Kinds Of Beaten By Angels

Source: Lookout Landing by Nathan Bishop

Trout hits for the cycle as Angels thump Mariners (Reuters)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

(Reuters) - Mike Trout became the youngest player in the American League ever to hit for the cycle in the Los Angeles Angels' 12-0 rout of the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday. The reigning AL rookie of the year singled in the third inning, tripled in the fourth, doubled in the sixth before completing the feat with a home run in the eighth. The 21-year-old finished with five RBIs while starter Jerome Williams pitched eight scoreless innings to get the win. Alex Rodriguez previously held the record when he hit for the cycle in 1997. ...

Baseball-Trout hits for the cycle as Angels thump Mariners (Reuters)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

May 21 (Reuters) - Mike Trout became the youngest player in the American League ever to hit for the cycle in the Los Angeles Angels' 12-0 rout of the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday. The reigning AL rookie of the year singled in the third inning, tripled in the fourth, doubled in the sixth before completing the feat with a home run in the eighth. The 21-year-old finished with five RBIs while starter Jerome Williams pitched eight scoreless innings to get the win. Alex Rodriguez previously held the record when he hit for the cycle in 1997. ...

Mike Trout hits for the cycle, becomes youngest player in AL history to do so (Big League Stew)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

Your browser does not support iframes. After Mike Trout's monster rookie season in 2012, many believed it wasn't a matter of if, but when he would achieve some of baseball's most distinguished feats. Like, for instance, hitting for the cycle. Trout can check that off his to-do list after Tuesday night's Los Angeles Angels game. All told, he was 4-for-5 with two runs, five RBIs and a stolen base. His at-bats went like this: strikeout in the first inning, single in the third, triple in the fourth, double in the sixth and in the eighth inning — with everyone watching to see if he could do it — a home run to complete the cycle. A few notes of historical context: • Trout is the youngest player in American League history — at 21

Maurer returns home in finale with Halos

Source: MLB.com by Austin Laymance

Brandon Maurer takes the mound in a homecoming of sorts for the Southern California native as the Mariners look to earn a split of a two-game series against the red-hot Angels, who will send C.J. Wilson to the hill in Anaheim.

5/21: Chart

Source: Lookout Landing by Nathan Bishop

(animated version in case the above doesn't work)

(Source: FanGraphs)

Most embarrassed: Aaron Harang (-.313 WPA)

Least embarrassed: Robert Andino (.033 WPA)

Feel free to discuss how refreshingly stress free and relaxing tonight's defeat was below. To me it was what I imagine dying from carbon monoxide poisoning while sleeping in my bed might feel like.

Harang, bullpen knocked around in Anaheim

Source: MLB.com by Greg Johns

Aaron Harang got knocked around to the tune of seven runs on nine hits in 3 2/3 innings Tuesday in Anaheim, a 12-0 loss to the Angels.

Trout hits for cycle, drives in 5, Angels rout M's

Source: SeattlePi.com by By JOE RESNICK, Associated Press

Trout hits for cycle, drives in 5, Angels rout M's Associated Press Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Updated 10:07 pm, Tuesday, May 21, 2013

After taking a called third strike his first time up, Trout reached on an infield single in the third inning, hit an RBI triple in the fourth and added a three-run double in the sixth before homering in the eighth on a 2-0 pitch from Lucas Luetge.

Recap: LA Angels vs. Seattle

Source: The News Tribune

Mike Trout hit for the cycle and drove in five runs and Jerome Williams tossed eight scoreless innings to lead the LA Angels of Anaheim to a 12-0 dismantling of the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday.

20-26: Chart

Source: Lookout Landing by Nathan Bishop

Source: FanGraphs

Most embarrassed: Aaron Harang (-.313 WPA)

Least embarrassed: Robert Andino (.033 WPA)

Feel free to discuss how refreshingly stress free and relaxing tonight's defeat was below. To me it was what I imagine dying from carbon monoxide poisoning while sleeping in my bed might feel like.

Trout hits for cycle as Angels rout Mariners (The SportsXchange)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Mike Trout became the sixth player in Angels history to hit for the cycle, leading Los Angeles to a 12-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium.

Trout hits for cycle, drives in 5, Angels rout M's (The Associated Press)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Mike Trout hit for the cycle and drove in five runs, Josh Hamilton celebrated his 32nd birthday with a homer and a triple, and Howie Kendrick also went deep in the Los Angeles Angels' 12-0 rout of the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.

Mike Trout hits for cycle; Mariners hit rock bottom...again

Source: The Seattle Times

Start spreading the news...we're not in New York City anyore. Tales of the Mariners' exploits in the Big Apple have been long forgotten and the Mariners now face a brand new crisis in both confidence and their season.

This 11-0 loss tonight to the Angels was just one game. But the Mariners have now lost five in a row, play here again tomorrow and then face the Rangers this weekend. In other words, yeah, a long, long losing streak could be just around the corner if the Mariners don't figure some things out.

Some of it, the players can control. They did nothing offensively tonight, again, though, in their defense, the pitching by Aaron Harang was brutal and left them little chance in the game.

Other changes are

Quintana loses no-no, but White Sox top Red Sox (The SportsXchange)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

CHICAGO -- Jose Quintana needed some help to finish it off, but his impressive outing for the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night didn't go to waste.

Game thread: Angels 11, Mariners 0, top 5th

Source: The Seattle Times

 

Honestly, who cares how the Angels got four more runs? There should be some good OTA coverage on TV from Seahawks camp. I'm going to find me a souvenir Mike Trout pint glass.

8:33 p.m.: That could be the last we see of Aaron Harang, who just walked off the mound -- and maybe into the sunset -- in the fourth inning after allowing a home run, two triples and two doubles to fall behind 7-0. The Mariners are getting what they paid for here and it isn't much. Time to look at Plans B and C rather than continue to toss games away like this.

Hector Noesi should probaly get another look in the rotation. Jeremy Bonderman is in Class AAA as

Game thread: Angels 7, Mariners 0, top 5th

Source: The Seattle Times

 

That could be the last we see of Aaron Harang, who just walked off the mound -- and maybe into the sunset -- in the fourth inning after allowing a home run, two triples and two doubles to fall behind 7-0. The Mariners are getting what they paid for here and it isn't much. Time to look at Plans B and C rather than continue to toss games away like this.

Hector Noesi should probaly get another look in the rotation. Jeremy Bonderman is in Class AAA as well and  could take Harang's roster spot if the latter is DFA.

7:39 p.m.: Aaron Harang is single-handedly reviving the Angels offense and trails 3-0 after an inning of play. Harang yielded a leadoff

The Woes Of Safeco Joe

Source: Yardbarker

The one word that best describes the career of Joe Saunders is solid. He’s an eight-year MLB veteran who has an average career stat line, but has always given his team a chance to win ballgames. In his glory days with the Los Angeles Angels, he won 33 games over two seasons, a stretch in which almost every number he posted was completely average. He has never struck out more than 114 batters in a season, allows 1.38 base runners per inning and has a career ERA of 4.21. The fact that he averages 6.13 innings per start supports the claim that for all intents and purposes, Saunders’ career is the epitome of a borderline quality start. In a career defined by solid mediocrity, Saunders is having himself an anomaly of a season so far in 2013. Quite simply, he is a Cy Young candidate when he pitches at Safeco Field, but on the road he couldn’t buy a win even with a more lucrative contract than Albert Pujols’. In Seattle, Saunders is 3-0 with a 0.94 ERA and is averaging over seven...

Game thread: Angels 3, Mariners 0, top 2nd

Source: The Seattle Times

Aaron Harang is single-handedly reviving the Angels offense and trails 3-0 after an inning of play. Harang yielded a leadoff double to Erick Aybar on a pitch up in the zone and saw shortstop Robert Andino forget to cover second base on what might have been a close play. Albert Pujols collected the one-out RBI single shortly after, followed by a two-out, two-run homer to left by Josh Hamilton.

Yep, not the start the Mariners were looking for

Davis will represent Mariners at '13 Draft

Source: MLB.com by Greg Johns

Mariners Hall of Famer Alvin Davis has been selected to represent the club at the 2013 First-Year Player Draft on June 6 at MLB Network's Studio 42 in Secaucus, N.J.

Smoak on fire over past month

Source: MLB.com by Greg Johns

Over the past 30 days, Justin Smoak ranks second among American League first baseman in on-base percentage (.422), fourth in batting average (.297), sixth in OPS (.922) and eighth in slugging percentage (.500).

Endy contributing when name is called

Source: MLB.com by Greg Johns

Endy Chavez has seen his playing time dip since Michael Saunders returned from the disabled list, but the veteran outfielder has still found ways to contribute.

Game thread: Aaron Harang tries to halt Mariners slide

Source: The Seattle Times

Aaron Harang isn't quite the stopper you want out there when trying to snap a string of four consecutive losses. Then again, he's making his "return" to the Los Angeles area, where he pitched for the Dodgers, and at least is making his start this time -- period.

Harang skipped his last start in New York with lower back stiffness. Hector Noesi filled in admirably in that contest against the Yankees. So, if Harang gets lit up tonight, it should make for some interesting discussion about what happens next.

Game 46, Mariners at Angels

Source: SeattlePi.com by marc w

Aaron Harang vs. Jerome Williams, 7:05pm Aaron Harang’s ailing back is all better, so he’s back in the rotation tonight in Anaheim. That’s great news for Aaron Harang, I guess. Opposing him is Jerome Williams, meaning I’m obliged to link to thi...

Current Justin Smoak Alert Level: Advisory

Source: SeattlePi.com by Jeff Sullivan

The usual course of these things is to present facts, followed by interpretations. Let’s begin with some facts. Fact Justin Smoak hit a home run against the Indians on Monday. Fact According to the ESPN Home Run Tracker, said home run left the bat at...

Pregame news and notes, Angels 5/21

Source: SoDo Mojo by Patrick Leary

After pretty much the worst possible result in a four-game set in Cleveland, the 20-25 Mariners return west to play two games in Anaheim against the Los Angeles Angels. The Angels (17-27) have struggled mightily in 2013, and lost three of four at Safeco Field a few weeks ago. Before the game, here are some news and notes to digest.

Harang back on the mound

Aaron Harang will toe the rubber tonight for the first time since May 7, after he missed his last start with back stiffness. Harang had strung together consecutive quality starts for the first time in 2013 in his two previous starts. Hector Noesi made the start for him in New York last Thursday and helped the Mariners to a victory. It was the Mariners

Mariners hitting coach Dave Hansen on all those strikeouts

Source: The Seattle Times

Tough not to notice all the strikeouts the Mariners have taken of late. Hitting coach Dave Hansen is hard to pin down, but we got him for a few moments today and one of the topics that came up was the team's strikeout rate. The Mariners have struck out at least 11 times in four of the first seven games on this 2-5 trip.

They have struck out 13 times on three occasions and are averaging 9.3 strikeouts per contest.

Then again, if you crunch the date, the Mariners also have a .348 on-base-percentage and a .474 slugging mark during those seven games for an .814 OPS and are averaging 4.7 runs per contest. The team's walk rate has also gone up. So, on the surface of it, the team is still putting up some

Game 46, Mariners at Angels

Source: U.S.S. Mariner by marc w

Aaron Harang vs. Jerome Williams, 7:05pm

Aaron Harang’s ailing back is all better, so he’s back in the rotation tonight in Anaheim. That’s great news for Aaron Harang, I guess. Opposing him is Jerome Williams, meaning I’m obliged to link to this, from back when he first completed his journey from broken/ex-ballplayer to MLB swingman.

Scott Kazmir’s in the major leagues, and Ubaldo Jimenez is suddenly kind of good again, so it’s not like baseball’s short on these longshot comeback stories, but there’s still something about Williams that makes me do a double-take every time I see his name in the

Late home runs? Mariners OF Endy Chavez has been there, done that

Source: The Seattle Times

Several jokes were flying yesterday about Cleveland Indians closer Chris Perez after 170-pound Endy Chavez popped a ninth-inning, go-ahead homer off him. It was the first homer of the season by Chavez and the fact it came in a pinch-hit appearance was even more impressive.

According to Mariners PR and history maven Jeff Evans, the last Mariners pinch-hit home run was by Franklin Gutierrez on June 20 of last year. It was the first pinch-hit home run to give the Mariners a lead by

Current Justin Smoak Alert Level: Advisory

Source: U.S.S. Mariner by Jeff Sullivan

The usual course of these things is to present facts, followed by interpretations. Let’s begin with some facts.

Fact
Justin Smoak hit a home run against the Indians on Monday.

Fact
According to the ESPN Home Run Tracker, said home run left the bat at 113.0 miles per hour.

Fact
According to same, that is the hardest-hit home run of Smoak’s big-league career, beating out a 111.5 from May 2010. His previous fastest as a Mariner was 110.4. The league average is about 103 or 104. Smoak’s career average is 104.

Naturally, there are some caveats. First of all, the Home Run Tracker calculations are somewhat inexact. It’s not that they’re not

Indians' Perez deletes Twitter account (The Associated Press)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Indians closer Chris Perez deactivated his Twitter account following two rough outings, and after receiving a slew of negative comments.

Afternoon Links, 5/21

Source: SoDo Mojo by Patrick Leary

It’s been a rough few days for the Mariners, as their once-promising rise to possibly getting above .500 has tailspinned into a hapless 20-25. Is there hope for the M’s? I scoured to the blogosphere to try and find some.

Lookout NW’s Jon Shields found some in Justin Smoak’s huge tenth inning dinger yesterday. Or did he? I think he did. Well, read the article and decide for yourself. The same blog’s Scott Weber pointed out something that Anthony Davis immediately alerted

Today's MLB starting lineups: May 21

Source: MLB.com

Every lineup, every day, as they are made public by the clubs.

Huzzah, More Baseball as Mariners Travel to Anaheim

Source: SeattlePi.com by Matthew Carruth

MARINERS (20-25) ΔMs ANGELS (17-27) EDGE HITTING (wOBA*) -5.6 (19th) 1.4 4.4 (14th) Angels FIELDING (RBBIP) 2.3 (16th) -5.6 -17.1 (27th) Mariners ROTATION (xRA) 11.0 (7th) -2.6 -24.4 (29th) Mariners BULLPEN (xRA) 5.6 (8th) 1.2 -7.5 (28th) Mariners OVE...

Mariners preview: Looking ahead to the next 5 matchups

Source: NWSportsBeat.com by Chris Anderson

Redemption Road

The Mariners had a tough go-of-it in Cleveland. After heading to face the Indians as one of the hottest teams in the league and just a game under .500, the Mariners were swept in gut-wrenching fashion, losing three games by way of a walk-off.

The last game essentially defining how the series went for the Seattle Mariners (coughing up a lead on an error in the ninth before taking a lead in the tenth only to have a three-run home run by Cleveland end it), Mariners fans are getting that uneasy feeling in their gut