What a ride...

We all know that September is the time for call ups of guys that have a future in the bigs. It also is a time to give what might be the one opportunity to show up in the majors and possibly never been heard from again. I'm not sure where this guy will fit in, but he does have a pretty amazing story.

This spring, when Steve Delabar was coaching high school baseball and working as a substitute teacher in Elizabethtown, Ky., playing Major League ball was the furthest thing from his mind. At 28, he'd never pitched above Class A ball in the Padres' organization before he wound up throwing in an Independent League and fracturing a bone in his elbow that by all rights should have ended a career that really wasn't going anywhere at the time.

So Delabar had surgery on his elbow, with doctors inserting a plate and nine screws, then fed his competitive fever by playing slow-pitch softball while taking classes at the University of Louisville and working as a part-time teacher. Mariner manager Eric Wedge said Steve Delabar wouldn't have a set role in the Mariners' bullpen, but he's eager to see him pitch. Now here was Delabar on Tuesday, putting on a Mariners uniform after being promoted to the Major Leagues following a whirlwind season in which he climbed from Class A for a September call-up. Delabar missed all of last year after doctors wired his elbow back together following two seasons of Independent League action with the Brockton Rox in the Canadian-American Association.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pounder was coaching at John Hardin High School when he got a tryout with a scout, who recommended the Mariners give him a look. Next thing he knew, Delabar was working his way up through the Minor League system, first at Class A High Desert, then Double-A Jackson and finally Triple-A Tacoma a few weeks ago. "There was a point when I first broke with the High A team, and I'd given up a couple runs in a game and I was the oldest player in the league, and I was thinking, 'What am I really doing here? Am I wasting my time?'" he said. "Then I had a few good outings in a row and I got promoted. I said, I can go with this. I'd never played in Double-A before."

Delabar opened eyes at each level, winding up with a combined 2.25 ERA and concluding things with a 0.69 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 13 innings with the Rainiers. Now he finds himself in the Majors with a Mariners squad that has 13 other rookies on the current 31-man roster.

What's worked this year? "Everything," Delabar said. "Everything has been in place. My velocity is good, and that helped a lot. But just being in the right place at the right time and having the right people see you is a huge thing. Timing is everything." Delabar got word after Monday's Triple-A finale in Tacoma that he was going to the big leagues. The news stunned him so much he could barely speak when he phoned his family.
"I called my wife and couldn't even talk," Delabar said. "I called my dad and I couldn't even put a sentence together. I was just torn up. It's a pretty good feeling." "All the reports are that he has a great arm, his secondary stuff is very good and he's been very consistent," Wedge said. "He's the one who pushed himself up here by the way he pitched down there."

All quotes used from story that appeared on seattlemariners.com

Is it over?

This has been another down year for the Mariners. It has also been a down year for their right fielder. He has not made the plays in the field that he would normally make. He is not as consistent at the plate like he normally would be. This year he is at his lowest average since coming to the states hitting .275 this year. I still wonder if he is injured and not saying anything.

I also wonder with only 28 games remaining in the Mariners schedule, and I'm assuming young players to be called up, can he do it? For his first ten consecutive seasons Ichiro has been able to amass more than 200 hits for all 10 years. Right now he only has 154 hits this season. His strikeout totals are up, and he can't beat out the infield hit like he used to. What do you think:
Is it possible to get 46 hits in the next 28 games to reach 200 for the season??

A perfect? 10

OK, so that was a cheap ploy to get you to read this entry but obviously it worked. I'm not sure this is a number you want your baseball team to have. So far before we have even got to the September call-ups, the Seattle Mariners have already had 10 players make their MLB debut this season. Here's how the debuts have gone so far this year.

Josh Lueke: April 3rd

Tom Wilhelmsen: April 3rd

Michael Pineda: April 5th

Carlos Peguero: April 19th

Mike Wilson: May 10th

Dustin Ackley: June 17th

Blake Beavan: July 3rd

Kyle Seager: July 7th

Trayvon Robinson: August 5th

Anthony Vasquez: August 23rd

I expect the Mariners to probably bring in this year's #1 draft pick in September with the recent DFA of reliever Chris Ray. Could this be a foreshadowing come September 1?

Danny Hultzen: September 1??

It will be happy days in my head if the Mariners can ever get good again and stop with the debut carousel.

Are you ready??

It is that time of year. Except for those of us who are hardcore baseball fans, everyone will turn to football. While I will be watching it too, I still love baseball first. It will be fun to watch the Seahawks start out tonight in San Diego. We will get to see our first glimpses of Tarvaris Jackson on the field as  the Hawks QB.

While I know that Tarvaris was not too well thought of for his time in Minnesota, I think given a new chance in Seattle he might be alright. The kid was thrown into the fire, told to sit behind Mr. Sexter in Favre, and was supposed to get better. With his old offensive coordinator here and knowing the system he might shine. I trust him more than Clipboard Jesus Charlie Whitehurst.

Oh yeah, the Mariners stole a victory from the Rangers last night. We should have won 2 of 3, but what else can we do? Just keep going out there, and let's see what happens.

Here's looking at you, and the start of the football season.

Coming Attractions

We all know when we go to the movies we see the previews. Some look good, some are duds. If this attraction is coming to your town, you might want to go see him.

Here is a nice catch he makes in his very first game, robbing Torii Hunter of a homer:

The next night in game 2 of his big league career he hits his first jack.

Thank you the Dodgers organization for giving up on this kid, and also thanks to the Red Sox for shipping him over in the three way.

Movin' on up

The Mariners had a day off yesterday. Today starts a series at the happiest place on earth.

It seems by all reports that Trayvon Robinson's time in AAA Tacoma was short. He only got 4 games with the Rainiers, but with Greg Halman going back down to Tacoma, it seems the kid is coming up. And it won't be too far from his hometown.

It has been thought that another guy could go down too, and Wily Mo Pena would come up too. I don't see why we would bring up two outfielders. It will be fun to see Trayvon make his MLB debut if it's him coming up today.

New Kids On The Block

No, no, no I'm not talking about that super group of talanted musicians. Although, if you check them out, they are kind of cute...

Oh yeah, where was I? That's right, new kids. The first new kid I want to introduce you to, is a new blog on the block. The guy in charge, Bryan is a Pirates fan. He also does great trades. We had one way back earlier in the year, and he wrote me yesterday to check out his new blog. Go see what kind of booty you can find in the Pirates Treasure Room. Show him and his team some love.

Also, my favorite new kid has got to be Casper Wells. This kid had gone 5 for 11 in his first three games witht the M's, including a homer, 4 RBI's, and a stolen base. I'm hoping he can keep up the hitting, and good defense in left field.

I also liked what I saw yesterday out of new starter, Charlie Furbush. The kid has a funky delivery, but has able to get through 5 innings the first time out and get the Mariners a win. I can help but giggle like a 12 year old boy eveytime I hear his last name though, Furbush(he he). He could be another piece to the puzzle of our rotation for the next years.

Time Traveling

I continue to watch my beloved Mariners day after day because I love my team. I remember a series at the end of the 2008 season with the Oakland A's. I told myself, all they have to do is get swept and we will wrangle the #1 pick away from the Nationals in 2009. The #1 pick will net us Steven Strasburg. Instead, the Mariners went on to sweep the A's and ended up at 61-101 getting the #2 pick. Who can we get at #2, everybody has said it is Strasburg and a bunch of other guys.

On that June day in 2009, Jack Z decides to draft a outfielder from the University of North Carolina. Dustin Ackley was the Mariners pick at #2. I had never heard of him, and didn't know a thing about him. The M's decided to move Dustin out of his comfortable outfield position and convert him to a second baseman. While he is still working on the fine details of playing the position, he is impressive. The kid is .311 right now, can hit for power, has great speed, and his glove work is improving.

Question of the day: in hindsight, which would rather, Strasburg at #1, or Dustin Ackley with the #2?

True Blue fans--Hello??

Dodgers fans and/or prospectors, can you tell me some more about this kid??

I hear some quick numbers on him this year, and they sound promising. It doesn't hurt my feelings to give up what we got in this three way deal. I was glad to see Bedard go, I wish it would have been Jason Vargas instead of Doug Fister that went to Detroit. I was really surprised how quiet a lot of teams were at the deadline this year. I guess we are starting to load up for 2013 or 2014. I think we still have some work to do to have a decent year this year or in 2012.

Will we see this switch hitting outfielder in Seattle this year? What does his future hold for us Dodger fans?

On the move

The first deal of the day belongs to the Mariners. Leaving the Emerald City are Doug Fister:

And David Pauley:

In return from the Detroit Tigers we will see Charlie Furbush (ha ha, nice name):

And Casper Wells (another great name):

I would have rather kept Fister and let Jason Vargas go, but we will see what the two guys with funny names can do to help this team out.

Coming soon??

Signed to a minor league deal, and soon to report to AAA Tacoma--

Wily Mo Pena is now in the Mariners organization. I'm not sure what to think on this one. I do know that BP at Cheney Stadium will be a sight to see when Wily Mo steps up to swing.

It will be interesting to see what develops out of this move.

It had to happen

Dear fans of American League teams,

If you are having trouble with your offense, and/or on a losing streak just play the Yankees and have this pitching against you:

Phil Hughes is good for what ails your ballclub. They beat up on this guy like a rented mule. The Mariners were able to put the 17 game losing streak behind them. Now the Mariners can have a celebration to remember the green and gold on Friday on a positive note. Many former SuperSonics players will be on hand at Safeco Field that night.

Just keep them coming

This is just getting to be hilarious now. I'm starting to enjoy watching the new ways to blow it.
17 LOSSES!!!

Worse yet, was the 18 total strikeouts by the Mariners during 9 innings. That's 2/3 of the outs via K. Bring it home at 18 and let's see if we can build on the streak to make it into the top 5 on the loss chart.

We can drive

That's right, the Mariners are 16!! We are legal to drive this bad boy. How has this team gotten so bad?? I can't answer it and I don't anyone else can either. I see 17 coming tonight with CC on the hill for the Bombers. I'm glad that we were able to help out Red Sox fans by being swept this past weekend, but I don't think we can help you by beating the Yankees. Maybe after we come home and get swept by the Rays, maybe we can steal a game from the Athletics, but maybe not. In your opinion, how long will the Mariners continue to lose??

What's next?

OK, that didn't work. Eric Wedge tried yesterday to exercise the demons this team has been facing by shaving the moustache. Maybe we need to sacrifice one of our under .200 hitters to the baseball gods at home plate in Yankee Stadium today.

That didn't work even though we were able to put up 8 runs. How do you continue to put up 5 to 8 runs and still get your butts handed to you? Have they given up and are just going through the motions? I don't see it getting any better now going into the Bronx and then home to take on the Rays. I wonder how much longer they hold onto Wedge? I'm sure the heat on the Hot Seat is cranking up. This getting kind of depressing. Hey Yankees fans, do you think you could spare a win out of pity for this team??

This is bad news kids

This team has fallen on hard times. I know that we aren't ready to compete yet, but at least put up a fight. I didn't know that the Rangers had a bunch of Cy Young in their rotation. The Mariners bats have gone silent, and can't get a hit to save their lives. They look like they are defeated already and given up before they get there.

It is hard to fathom only scoring 2 runs in the span of four games. It's not going to get any easier on the road. It's off to Toronto, Boston, and New York. While we are mired in a nine game losing streak, it could be a big one when they get home if they don't start to get it together. One team that I'm really starting to root for is the Pirates.

They have been down for so long. I don't know if they can sustain it, but it is fun. I'm not jumping on their bandwagon, but I will be watching to see if they continue to win, and do well. It is fun to see the Buccos be relevant again, instead of a laughing stock of a franchise.

Cool card and hard times

If you haven't seen it today, Jordan of Mint Condition put up this awesome looking custom of Big Mike Pineda.

 I like the use of the '76 design, even though the team wasn't around yet. I love the look of his customs and really want to see them on cardboard.

It is sad to see my Mariners struggling so mightily lately. It was in to the 31st inning before the Mariners had scored their last run. The offense has really started to struggle to even get hits, let alone runs. I won't get any easier after the Rangers, on a long east coast road trip. Let's start to be a little more like the Pirates and get back in it...

At home on the road

Or is it on the road at home? Either way, Seattle is the home of a two time World Series winning team. See, we have to rings to prove it.

It will be nice to come home, after three disappointing losses, all by 1 run to the Nationals in our nation's capital. If you have any way to watch the games from here in Seattle this weekend, I suggest you do so. The Marlins were booted out of their home stadium this weekend for a U2 concert. That means for the first time in the 15 years of Interleague play, the the home stadium will have it's regular tenant be the visiting team or something like that.  New Marlins manager Jack McKeon, Hanley Ramirez, and the Marlins will be the home team in Seattle this weekend.

The game will played under National League rules with the pitchers hitting, and the Marlins will bat last. They decided not to bring their home whites, so they will be in grays, and the M's in white but being the visitors. I'm going to try and get to the game this weekend to see some history. This should be a fun sight to see.

Also, it was weird to see another former Mariner manager just up and quit. Mike Hargrove did here a few years ago. Now, after beating the M's again in a 1 run game, Jim Riggleman walked away from his team.

"Well guys, that's it I quit!"