Post #50- A tribute post

Since I have already made it to 50 posts, I thought I would pay tribute to a good pitcher and a great man. None other than the Mariners pitcher with the most wins in club history- Jamie Moyer. Who in their right minds thinks a guy will still be pitching at 47 years old? He is on his sixth team, that's 20% of the league he's played for. He and his wife Karen have done great work for kids with their Moyer Foundation. I'm proud that he was a Mariner and want to wish him continued success. It is hard to believe that a guy they thought wouldn't make it in the majors is going strong at 47 years old. Leftys never quit, they just get better with age.

Why do I keep posting about blue??

I've noticed a theme lately in my posts. It seems to be about the blues about the Mariners and their play. I've tried to sprinkle in some old blue uniforms. I truly love the old baby blues for the M's and other teams. But can someone explain to me why home teams now wear the old road blues at home?? The Royals did it yesterday against the M's and I've the Jays do it at home too. I do like the Padres though. The do a retro day once in a while and they put both teams in the correct uniforms. They did a few years ago against the M's and did it on Jackie Robinson day against the Braves. I guess I'm obsessed with the color blue, especially when the sky is that color.

Be on the lookout!!!

Keep an eye out for these people.

1. Prince Fielder(Milwaukee)
8. Mauer/Ichiro/Jeter(AL Avg)
51. Eric Young Jr.(Colorado)
79. Fransisco Cordero(Cincinnati)
109. Justin Masterson(Boston)
171. Feliz/CC/Verlander(AL Wins)

These are the few cards I need to finish of Topps Series 1 before Series 2 comes out. If you can be of help, let me know. Thanks all!!

Thank goodness for...

The god awful pitch count. Normally I hate them, but thanks to Trey Hillman keeping Zach Greinke on one. He was filthy last night, but after 114 pitches in 7 innings, it went to the pen and we were able to get to them. It sure feel good to get a win. Here's to hoping the big Aussie, Ryan Rowland-Smith can keep it going today against former Mariner Gil Meche.

More blue days...

As the losses continue to pile up and the offense continues to look anemic, I'm starting feel like old Joe Simpson here. I getting more and more mad and my face is looking like his. King Felix actually pitched well but we can't get a hit to save our lives. We have some players on this team that really need to retire. I know the fans love him, but his production is horrible. I guess I'm hoping for a win today, but doubt we will be getting one against Mr. Greinke. Oh well, Go M's.....

Blue Monday

I feel like the color of the jersey. Three games in a row with two walk off homers in the ninth, and a homer in the eighth and the White Sox sweep us. I hope we can get in together in Kansas City starting today....

Retro Mariner Sunday 4/25/10

Time to jump in the time machine and look back at another former Mariner. This one goes way back to the second year of the franchise. He has spent time in the organization as a player, coach, and manager. He is the only player that I know of to pull off all three for the team.

After graduating from Union High School in Anderson, CA Bill attended Shasta Junior College. During his time there he was signed as a free agent by the St. Louis Cardinals. After spending time with the Florida Cardinals of the rookie league, Bill was moved up to the Cedar Rapids Cardinals of the Midwest League in 1965. 1966 saw him move up to the Eugene Emeralds of the Northwest league, and 1967 moved him up again to the Modesto Reds of California League. in November of 1967 Bill was selected by the Chicago Cubs as a Rule 5 draft player. He had to spend the whole year on the Cubs roster or be sold back to the Cardinals. He made his MLB debut as a pinch hitter on April 19, 1968 as a pinch hitter for pitcher Chuck Hartenstein. He unfortunately we was struck out by Hal Gilson. The only other action he would see that year was as a defensive replacement for Randy Hundley on May 12th. In January of 1969, Bill was traded along with Ken Myette and Clarence Jones to the Cicncinnati Reds for submarine pitcher Ted Abernathy.

After spending 1969 and 1970 with the Indianapolis Indians in AAA, Bill was rewarded with a call-up to the Reds at the end of the 1970 season. 1971 again saw him spend the season at AAA Indianapolis with a September call up to the Reds again. From 1972 to 1977 Bill saw limited action as a back-up catcher to a guy you might have heard of: Johnny Bench. Nothing like learning from the best. Nothing better than getting two World Series rings for sitting on the bench. At the end of spring training in 1978, Bill was released by the Reds. He didn't spend much time unemployed. He was signed by the Mariners on April 6, 1978. After spending a short time with the AAA San Jose Missions, he was recalled to play with the Mariners. While only seeing action in 43 games, he had his third best hitting season finishing with a .215 average. In 1979 he was a player manager with the AAA Spokane Indians of the Mariners system. He was released by the Mariners in October of 1979, effectively ending his career as a player.

In 1980, Bill was named the manager of the A San Jose Missions in the M's system. He was moved up to the high A Wausau Timbers in 1981 and managed that team to a league title. 1982 saw the Mariners with a new manager in Rene Lachemann. Lache decided to bring in Bill to be his bullpen coach. He remained in that position until Rene and his staff was fired halfway through the 1983 season. For in 1984 and 1985, he was back to managing in the M's minors with the AA Chattanooga Lookouts. For 1986 and 87 he was promoted to manager of the AAA Calgary Cannons. He remained with the Cannons in 1988 until M's manager Dick Williams was fired and Bill was brought in to be the third base coach for new manager Jim Snyder. After Snyder left, the Mariners hired Jim Lefebvre to manage the team. Jim retained Bill as his bullpen coach from 1989 until 1991. During 1991Bill also spent time as the third base coach again. After guiding the M's to their first winning season, Lefebvre was let go, and Bill Plummer was named the manger of the Mariners.

Unfortunately 1992 didn't go the way Bill would have liked in the majors. Not only did the team have many injuries, they had a record that was 19 games worse than last year finishing 64-98. The calamities were often that year including presenting a line-up card on April 16th that listed both Pete O'Brien and Tino Martinez as first basemen, meaning there would be no DH that day and the pitchers would have to hit. The Mariners ended up losing that day to the White Sox 5-4. After being fired and replaced by Lou Piniella, he was named the bullpen coach of the expansion Colorado Rockies by manager Don Baylor.

After spending 1993 and 94 with the Rockies, he was hired as manager of the AA Jacksonville Suns in the Detroit Tigers organization in 1995. He was replaced on June 20th of 1996 by Larry Parrish. He was named the manager of the Billings Mustangs on July 26, 1996. From 1997 to 1999, Bill managed the Chico Heat of the independent Western League. In his first year with the Heat, he guided them to a league title. For 2000 and 2001, he was the manager of the Yuma Bullfrogs of the Western League. 2002 saw Bill become the manger of the A Lancaster JetHawks of the California League in the Arizona Diamondbacks system. He then moved down to the Yakima Bears of the Northwest League to manage in 2003 and 2004. In 2005, he moved back up to manage Lancaster again. The next year was similar to a player where Bill made the progression to AA Tennessee to manage the Smokies in 2006. the progression continued in 2007, with Bill now managing the AAA Tucson Sidewinders. After managing the Sidewinders in 2007 and 2008, he moved on to be the minor league catching coordinator for the Diamondbacks. In 2010, he currently still holds that position with the D-backs.

Big thank yous to many!!

I have been holding on to this post for a couple days, but it is a good one. I have recently gotten about five trades in the mail and I am so thankful for all of them.

First off, I want to thank the Collective Troll. We exchanged e-mails and he said he had a couple of Phil Bradley autos, and an Alvin Davis auto that he would send me for being an M's fan. I got these in the mail from him, and I sent him whatever Rays cards I had laying around. Thanks Troll, you are top-notch!


Also, one of his readers Noah sent me an unsolicited e-mail saying that he had some Mariners cards if I would like them. I decided to send him a package of Mets cards from many different years. In turn, he sends me this box of cards, that not only contains almost all my needs for the 89 Fleer cards, but also this beauty of Doug Fister. Thanks again, Noah!


Next on the thank you list would be Greg at Night Owl Cards. We agreed to exchange some Dodgers for him and of course Mariners for me. He comes through with this little dandy of cards.


Also hidden the bubble mailer was this cool thing I had never seen, but really like it!


The next person on the list would be Rob at Texas Rangers Cards. We decided to exchange Rangers for M's. I sent him a box of assorted Rangers cards from all kinds of years, and he send me this box of beauty.


These cards are all current or former major league guys. They are from the AA Jacksonville Suns, AAA Calgary Cannons, and A Wisconsin TimberRattlers. Way too cool! Thanks Rob!

Last, and by far not least is a stack of cards from Community Gum. They recently bought a huge box of 81-85 Fleer. I said that I would love to get any Mariners cards out of that for the massive Super Set. I received this stack of 81, 82, and 83 Fleers to add to the collection. Definitely way too cool. Thanks Andy!


In the end, this is what I was able to figure will be added to the Super Set. Thanks again to all the readers and fellow bloggers for making me feel so welcome. I am humbled by your generosity. THANKS EVERYONE!!!

Card from the box

I think I need quick post, so here it goes. Reaching into a different box of cards to see what we get. I try to sound dramatic, but I already know what is coming. Do you?

What a beautiful card from my favorite player. I currently own about 75 Tony Gwynn cards, but am always looking for more. I always liked the 85 Topps set. Enjoy the Friday everyone!

I need more time in the day...

Just so everyone knows, I have received some trade packages in the mail. Once I can find a few extra minutes proper pictures and thank yous will go out to everyone that has been willing to send me their junk wax. I'm still looking for more junk, but I need to finish the wantlist and get it in order for more trades. If you have any Donruss, Fleer, Score, or Upper Deck Mariners you don't want, shoot me an e-mail and I'm sure we can work something out.

Also, I would like to thank MLB for rescinding Cliff Lee's 5 game suspension. He scheduled to get his first start on May 2nd against the Rangers. GO M's!!

Retro Mariner Sunday 4/18/10

Today we look back at a player that thought to be the first great thing to come out of Japan. When he was first brought into the Mariners farm system, everyone thought he was a sure fire hit that would blow away the majors. Unfortunately, Makoto Suzuki never lived up to the hype.




Mac started in 1993 with the A San Bernadino Spirit. For 1994, he was ranked as the #2 prospect in the Mariners system behind only Alex Rodriguez. It was believed that he was a sure fire MLB star waiting to happen because he had a 95 MPH fastball at 18 years old. While with the AA Jacksonville Suns in 1994, he spent more time injured than healthy and slipped to #5 on the prospect list. 1995 saw him stay at #5 , but saw him injured again and spending time with the rookie league Arizona Mariners, and the A Riverside Pilots. He got healthy again for 1996, and progressed through the AA Port City Roosters, AAA Tacoma Rainiers, and finally appeared with the Mariners in 1996. He didn't fare well on July 7, 1996 at the ballpark in Arlington against the Rangers. In 1 1/3 inning, he gave up 2 hits, 3 runs, all earned, 2 walks, and 1 strikeout. After that disaster it was back to Tacoma for the rest of the year and all of 1997.



In 1998, his struggles continued at the major league level. While spending time between both Tacoma and Seattle, he was getting hit hard in the big leagues. He was part of history on May 7, 1999 in Yankee Stadium when he faced off against Hideki Irabu in what is believed to be the first game with two Japanese starters facing each other. As usual, he didn't fare well, while Irabu looked like Cy Young. About a month later, he was traded to the Mets, but was waived before pitching for the Mets. He was signed by the Kansas City Royals, and finished the season with them. After spending all of 2000 with the Royals, he split time in 2001 with the Royals, Colorado Rockies, and Milwaukee Brewers. For 2002, he went back to the Royals system, and saw time in AA Wichita, AAA Omaha, and back with the Royals. His numbers with the Mariners show that he really didn't have the goods to be a good major league pitcher. In parts of 3 seasons, he compiled a record of 1-4 in 23 games, starting nine of those games. Mac had a 8.78 ERA in 69 2/3 innings while giving up 83 hits, for 73 runs, 68 of those being earned. His walk to strikeout ratio wasn't great either with 51 walks and 52 strikeouts. For his MLB career, he ended up at 16-31 in 117 games, starting 67. He did get 1 shutout, but ended with a 5.72 ERA in 465 2/3 innings. In that time he gave up 501 hits, 326 runs, 296 of those being earned, 265 walks and only 327 strikeouts.




After 2002, Mac made his debut in Japan spending 2003 and 2004 with the Orix Blue Wave. Because of his struggles in the Nippon Pro League, he was sent to Orix's minor league team in 2005, the Surpass Kobe. He was hit hard in minors in Japan also. In the 2005 off-season, he signed a minor league deal with the Oakland A's for the 2006 season. Mac was released at the end of spring training. 2006 saw Mac become a more international player. He spent time with the Tijuana Colts of the Mexican League. From there he was signed by the Chicago cubs, and spent time with AAA Iowa. In the fall of 2006, he pitched for the Mexicali Aguilas. In 2007, he went even more international, spending the season with the Tabasco Olmecas in Mexico, and the La New Bears in Taiwan. While starting the 2008 season with the Bears in Taiwan, he split the season between the Chihuahua Dorados in Mexico, and the Calgary Vipers in the Golden Baseball League. In the fall of 2008, Mac pitched for the Culiacan Tomateros in the Mexican Pacific League.



2009 saw Mac spend time again in minor league games trying to keep the dream alive. While starting the year with the Vipers in Calgary, he finished the year with the South Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League. In the winter of this year, he took a position as the Pitching Instructor in the California Winter League based in Palm Springs, CA. While doing mostly teaching(?), he did pitch for the Palm Springs Chill and the Coachella Valley SnowBirds.


Mac has just signed recently to return to the Chihuahua Dorados of the Mexican League for the 2010 season. Here's to hoping he can keep the dream alive, but that's all it will be. I don't see him getting anywhere with any major league team on any level.

Airbrush me please...

As we all know, Topps has a habit of airbrush guys on to new teams before they play for those teams. This year's Mariners are no exception. With GM Jack Zduriencik makes many moves in the off-season Topps had to keep up with all the new players. First, the one player that has been with the Mariners, Adam Moore:

Series 1 card #33, and team set #SEA17. The team set is on top, and series 1 on the bottom

Even the side photo on the back is different.

Next is our new second baseman Chone Figgins. On the left series 1 #141, and on the right team set #SEA16. Just a simple airbrush change of the uniforms.

Now we have our pitcher that everyone is waiting to see, Cliff Lee. His cards are the same as Figgins, simple uni change. On the left #SEA15, and on the right series 1 #132.

Our temperamental left fielder was the subject of the not so hidden Abe Lincoln this year. He also had his uniform airbrushed to look like he has played for the M's. On the top is series 1 card #306, and on the bottom is #SEA4.

The last player that has a card in series 1 that was airbrushed is catcher Josh Bard. Josh is currently with AAA Tacoma, so I'm not totally sure what Topps was thinking on him. I guess they thought he was going to be the starting catcher? On the left #SEA6, and on the right series 1 #63. Just another simple uni change.

Last card we have that is different is first baseman Casey Kotchman. This card I don't like at all! If you look in the background you can see his Red Sox teammates from last year, and the Mainers road grays look awful. Casey is scheduled to appear in series 2 with card #634. I'm assuming they will be using a picture from spring training to make it look real, or will he still be on a Red Sox card?? This is the card from the team set #SEA8.

Hope you enjoyed seeing the differences, and look for the changes to your team's Topps cards this year for some fun.

Blog Bat Around

As you may or may not know, Gellman over at Sports Card Uncensored has decided to start up the bat around again. The question this time is: if you had $50,000 and 15 minutes on eBay, what would you blow it on? I don't know if I could do it in 15 minutes, but here's what I'm looking to buy with the free money.


First I needed to but the 3 RC's from my favorite all-time player:

1983 Topps Tony Gwynn RC 9.5 BGS $49.99

This card would be the crown jewel of my collection. I have always liked Tony, and to own his RC's would be a dream come true.


1983 Donruss Tony Gwynn RC 9.5 BGS $49.99

The second of the RC's from 1983. Who knew then that a skinny little guy like that would be one of the greatest hitters of our time.


1983 Fleer Tony Gwynn Rc 9 BGS $44.99

I don't normally buy graded cards, nor do I own one but I needed to get big dollars and blow the 50k. The Tony trifecta would be complete.


Tony Gwynn Auto Jersey $110.00

While it is not a GU jersey, I don't care. I want an autographed jersey to go with the RC's. Just look at that sweet, fluid autograph. AWESOME!!


Tony Gwynn Auto bat from hit #2997 $9900.00

This is the bat that got hit 2997. One of only three grand slams in Tony's career. It would like look so sweet next to the autographed ball I already own.


Auto Ken Griffey Jr/ Sr Jersey $3850.00

Although I am not a big Griffey fan, I figured I had to go with something from the Mariners. Why not get something I can turn around and sell to a Griffey fan.


Seattle Pilots Home Game one Ticket Stub $275.00

As a history fan, and a baseball fan I think it would be cool to have a ticket from the first MLB game in Seattle. I wasn't alive yet, but very much like the history of it.

99 card set of 69, 70 Topps, and Renata Galasso Pilots team sets $5.51

I decided since I added the Pilots to the super set, I might as well get all the Pilots cards I can get.


1954 Topps Hank Aaron graded 9 $6600.00

I decided I had to go with a little vintage, and why not a card from the greatest home run hitter of all time( not you, Barry Bonds!!).


Auto Derek Jeter 2008 Jersey $899.99

Although I do not like the Yankees, my son is a big Derek Jeter fan. I think this would look good hanging up framed in his bedroom.



Nolan Ryan GU jersey $12499.99


I liked the Ryan Express. I know I over payed big time on this thing, but I was distracted by the pretty colors. I did like this uni's back in the day.



Original home dugout from the Kingdome $8999.99


Don't ask me why I would buy this, or where the heck I would put it. It just brings back many memories of games in that old building for me.


Patrick Marleau auto jersey $299.99


I really have to have something from my favorite hockey team. Why not a jersey from my favorite player. GO SHARKS!!




Autographed 2009 Saints helmet $1924.99


This helmet is signed by over 50 players and coaches from last year's Super Bowl winning team. Having a friend that once played for the Saints, and knowing a lot of the players still on the team, this would be special.


Autographed Pearl Jam Guitar $3499.99


This thing is signed by all 5 members of the band. not an easy thing to accomplish. As a huge PJ fan, I would love this. Whether you like their music or not, this is too cool.



All in all, my grand total only comes to $49010.42. I think I will use the other $990 to take my wife out for a night on the town. I can't leave her out of this whole thing. That was a fun little shopping spree.