The Mariners offense and defense were not particularly sharp on Sunday morning against the defending champion Ravens, and that is not a good combination to win a ball game.  In the end, the m's dropped their 2013 season opener, 5-3.  

Big surprise, the Ravens opened the season with Jeremy Thornton on the bump- the Thorn that has been in the Mariners side for the past 5 seasons.  Thor was his usual solid self, giving up just 4 base hits and 4 walks, while breaking at least 3 woodies.  The amazing part was that it is our first game out for the year, and he threw down 144 pitches!  Does that guys arm ever get tired??  Even with those numbers, the Mariners had their chances to do some damage.  In the 2nd, the Skip managed to get his old body down to 2nd base with nobody out after a leadoff walk and wild pitch.  But at 2nd base is where he stayed to watch two infield pop-ups and a strikeout. 

The M's were able to get on the board first in the 4th inning after some adventuresome baserunning by Ian McClure.  Another leadoff walk put Ian aboard.  He looked to be picked off after a fake bunt attempt, but the tag was not applied.  Then an errant throw on another pickoff attempt allowed Ian to take 2nd.  On a fairly shallow fly to right, Ian decided to tag and try to take third- the throw was right online but fortunately, glanced off Ian which allowed him to slide safely into 3rd.  DJ Pennick then plated the first Mariner run of the season with a ground ball to 2nd base. 

Meanwhile, after learning he was starting the game about 10 minutes prior to game time, Kyle Albertson (the most controversial player in the league last season) was quietly going about his business for the first 4 innings- allowing only one base runner via an error in the 4th.  After an out in the 5th, another M's error allowed his 2nd base runner to reach.  Finally, the Ravens were then able to touch Alby up for their first hit of the ball game.  Alby calmly induced the next Ravens hitter into a lazy fly ball to center for the 2nd out of the inning.  Another ground ball looked to be end of the inning, but it took a bad hop and handcuffed the M's shortstop and didn't allow him to get the force at 2nd.  Bases loaded and Alby says, "no problem, i will get the next guy."  Sure enough, another ground ball to 3rd and instead of firing across the diamond for the 3rd out, the ball went sailing to 2nd to an uncovered bag and allowed 2 runs to score.  Tack on another run with a line drive that just barely cleared a leaping effort at 2nd...and the Ravens took a 3-1 lead after 5. 

The M's did come back with another single tally in the 6th.  Mr On Base Percentage, David Gleb led off the inning with a walk and moved to 2nd on a Jeff Parnel single.  Isaiah gave himself up to sacrifice the runners up a station and then Shoogz looked to have his 2nd hit of the game on a sharp ground ball that looked like it was on its way through the infield until the 2nd baseman slid and made a great play to get up and throw Shoogz out at 1st while saving an additional run from scoring.  The M's stranded Parnel at 3rd to end the inning trailing 3-2. 

Mr Gasoline- El Flamethrower himself took over in the 6th after running out of gas on his way to the game.  Rado looked efficient early- 1, 2, 3 inning to start his season off right.  But in the 7th, a squibber to start the inning snuck past the 2nd baseman for the M's 4th error of the game.  Then a throw your hands at the ball bleeder down the right field line, an opposite field bloop gapper, and an infield single later...the Ravens had two more runs. 

DJ came back right away in the 8th and started the inning with a single and took 2nd on a mungous jump stolen base.  The Skip squared up his 2-2 pitch but basically just played catch with the Commish- a line drive straight to the CF.  Woodward reached on an error, Rindy singled to load the bases, and Gleb did what he do and earned his 2nd walk of the ballgame to force in the Mariners 3rd run.  But a pop up to 2nd and a grounder to short ended the M's threat in the 8th. 

Daniel Guajardo made his Mariners debut on the bump in the 9th and pitched an effective 1, 2, 3 eight-pitch eighth.  Great effort after sitting all game long waiting to get out there and show his stuff!  With their last chance in the 9th, the M's got their leadoff man aboard, but ended the game with a strikeout, comebacker to the pitcher, and grounder to short. 

Not a terrible first effort given their outside work has been limited to hardly any.  But it was a game of coulda-beens for the Mainers.  The good news is that Mariners pitchers all looked very good against a good hitting Ravens team.  So that bodes well for the season going forward.  Now if we can sharpen up our defense and get our bats going, we will be set.  The Mariners next game is against the Tigers next Tuesday.  Time to heat up the bats after investing in some quality composites.  No more firewood needed after game 1.  See y'all Tuesday night!         

The Skyway Mariners 2013 season is set to kick off this Sunday against the defending champion Ravens at 9am at Bellevue College.  The upcoming season will be an interesting one given that the M’s will have 6 new team members.  That is the highest turnover in Mariner history.  Two of the new guys the M’s are very familiar with, being former Mets in the Olympic Division, and actually have a connection to the Skipper in their own ways.  DJ Pennick, a long time Mariner nemesis will now be bringing his talents to Skyway Beach.  DJ and the Skip played together at Green River CC way back in the day and the M’s are hoping DJ’s 2012 .455 batting average carries over to this year (which we are sure it will as DJ is a natural hitting machine).  Garrett Davis, also a former Met, pitched for the Mariners in the 4^th of July Tournament a couple of years back, and is currently attending the Skipper’s alma mater- Willamette University.  G Davis and his .393 batting average plus 14 stolen bases should bring some speed that the M’s have been lacking in recent years and ultimately lead to more run production.  Both players can also expect to see some spot duty on the mound also.     

The Mariners also drafted 4 brand newbies to the team for 2013.  Mark Ohlsen, the Mariners GM, was able to work some draft day magic to line up 4 picks in a row…and with the 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, and 7^th picks, the M’s selected Alex Kelly, Ian McClure, Daniel Guajardo, and Isaiah Williams.  The Mariners had defense and pitching in mind with their draft selections, and pitching and defense is what we are hoping to get!  It would be nice if all 4 could contribute offensively as well.  One thing we do know about the 4 is that Danny G will not be stepping on the foul line on the way onto or off the field as evidently he is as superstitious as Cerrano in Major League.  Keep your chickens close, and your Allstate Auto Insurance closer!

Given that we have 6 new guys coming in, you would expect that we have lost some guys from last year as well- which is indeed the case.  Brent Clarke, the M’s leadoff hitter and utility man extraordinaire is out for 2013 with a torn PCL that forced Clarkey into having surgery.  Clarke was off to an MVP first half in 2012 until an oblique strain slowed him down for the 2^nd half.  The M’s will miss his bat at the top of the lineup, his ability to play multiple positions on defense, his nasty stuff on the bump, and his entertaining conversations in the dugout, on the field, and especially with the umpires. 

John Lee will also be missed in 2013.  Probably the best overall pitcher for the M’s in 2012 (4 wins in 7 games plus 2 more wins in the playoffs and a miniscule 2.18 ERA), J Lee was also 3^rd in batting average, 2^nd in on base percentage, and 1^st in being the nicest guy in the league!  His conversations out loud to himself on the mound, his exuberant outbursts, and his Big Sexy persona will be tough to replace. 

Mike Roe and Luke Farden were first time Mariners last year that unfortunately played a one and done role.  Mikey was the speed the Mariners never had…stealing bags and running down balls in the outfield.  Luke Farden was an intimidator on the mound and solid in the field.  Lil AP, Adin Pennington, always seemed to come up with a clutch hit no matter how long he had been out for…so the M’s will have to elsewhere for those clutch base knocks and off the wall comments as well.  Probably the hardest to replace from our 2012 roster will be Jason Salers.  0 for 6 with 5K’s and a broken bat comebacker to the pitcher…wherever can we can that kind of production?  ZING!

The M’s do have their core group coming back- Mark Ohlsen, Jeff Parnel, Tyler Abbott, Ryan Woodward, Dan Rickert, Mark Rindy, Matt Sugarbaker, David Gleb, and Jim Radovich are all long time Mariners that are another year older and another year savvier.  It should be noted that the Skip is coming off an Olympic Division MVP season even though I think the ballots were tallied by the same groups that counted votes in the 2000 Bush vs Gore presidential campaign.  Abby and Shoogz are coming into the season leaner and meaner than ever (both have lost some weight over the offseason), so let’s hope that means big things for both of them this year.  Parnel, Rindy, Wood, and Rickert are all dads hoping to live the dream for one more season before it becomes ALL about the kids!  Gleb, Mr. On Base himself, is hoping to make it less of an adventure on the basepaths this season since he finds himself there so often.  And Jimbo El Flame Thrower Radovich is looking to rekindle his youth and return to his dominant form of old instead of just getting old (although to reach that physical form, he may have to forego a beer or two and drop the banker 30 that has mysteriously appeared) .  Rado says he is ready to hunt some Ravens, slay some Tigers, defuse the Bombers, stifle the Cannons, and drink some Brewers (wait…I thought we wanted to avoid drinking the Brewers- 4 out 5 ain’t bad).  Priority number one on Rado’s agenda- no 0-2 laser beam knocks this year!

Season preview would not be complete without mentioning Mr. Controversy himself- the most controversial player in the entire league last season…the jumper, the lunger, the launcher…Kyle Abertson.  Kyle says he is bringing a new pitching delivery with him from George Fox University this season.  Let’s see how long it takes for an illegal pitch to be called.  If it is early, I can already feel Clarkey jumping straight out of his newly acquired knee brace!  Somebody go talk to that guy. 

All in all, the Mariners are primed and ready for a strong season.  This is the year the M’s hope to bring home the Olympic Division title that has eluded them the past 4 seasons.   With the added talent, the returning talent, and the talent on display in the stands, there should be no reason we can’t win this thing.  Be good to your bodies, get yer water, hit the flat one at the plate, use your legs on the mound, and always remember- thoughts are things boys.