Anybody seen my cards?

Not too long ago, I put out a request for help in collecting 2012 Topps Mariners. Unfortunately, I didn't have very good information on what cards were in Series 2 for my beloved losers. Here is the updated list of Mariners I still need for the Super Set:

#378 Brandon League
#397 Hector Noesi
#430a Felix Hernandez
#430b Felix-Larry Bernandez
#484 Hisashi Iwakuma
#526 Casper Wells
#537a Ichiro
#537b Ichiro- Sunglasses
#548 Charlie Furbush
#606 Mike Carp
#627 Justin Smoak
#645 Kyle Seager

If you have any extras of any of these cards I would appreciate them. This has worked well the last few years for me and has kept me from continuing to buy pack after pack hoping to get the few Mariners I need to keep me happy. Thanks in advance to all my fellow bloggers!!

Holy Freakin' Crap!!

I don't have much time, but I wanted to give a big shout out to Joe who runs Friars on Cardboard. I recently won a contest he was holding for a handmade 1/1 card. Do I care about Robert Fick? No not in the slightest. This card is beyond awesome!!

I borrowed TTG's photo

It is basically 3 or 4 cards cut and put together with a huge piece of Fick's jersey inside it. I must say I fully admire your dedication to above and beyond Joe. Also included were some cool Mariners cards, a couple of which I needed. They were even packaged in there own little cool case that was hand decorated. I can't say thank you enough, and I have a nice stack of Padres cards ready for you to hopefully go out in the next few days, if I can get off work and make it to the post office befor they close.

Thanks to the TTG!!

Got any spare chan..cards??

It is that time of year again. I decided to wait a little while for everyone to run to their local stores and card shops and get their fix of new Topps cards. As I have done since the 2010 run of cards, I'm asking/begging you for your extra Mariners in series 2. All I want to do is get the few that came out in base card form to add to the Super Set of Mariners cards. Could you help out a fan of a not very good team collect these cards:

#378 Brandon League
#397 Hector Noesi
#430a Felix Hernandez
#430b Felix- Larry Bernandez
#526 Casper Wells
#537a Ichiro
#537b Ichiro- Sunglasses
#548 Charlie Furbush
#627 Justin Smoak
#645 Kyle Seager

An early thank you to all the bloggers out there who I know will help out and make this happen. You pull me through every year and I appreciate it!!

A must for all of mankind

As we all know our friend, the great Fuji-San, is holding his annual contest. What card do you think is a must have? I came up with a couple. First off, I think you should own any card from my favorite set that I am blogging about:

Now you don't have to own Charlie's card here, but you have to have at least one from the 1979 Topps set. It is a classic, and my first set I ever saw. I'm also of the opinion that this is the greatest set ever made for a few colorful reasons. You had cards with black, blue, green, and red players names:

Another reason is the awesome team cards like this one:

I say go out and get yourself some 1979, and 1980 Topps cards today!!

Definitely not HOF'ers...

It is sad to say that probably is no one close to having even a sniff of the Hall of Fame in this Mariners lineup. These guys are more schizophrenic than Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. They have had a perfect game against them at home, scored 21 runs against the Rangers, just threw a no hitter at the Dodgers, and now this. That's right, they lost a Felix Hernandez start to the Padres, and get shut out last night for two losses in a row to a lowly team in the San Diego Padres (sorry Padres fans for the description).



I'm sure you see this and think this guy is a HOF'er, and he is. The reason why I took his picture is it is being used by our friend Matthew at Number 5 Type Collection. His blog has hit the 4 year mark and he is holding a contest. Click on the name of his blog to go there. While I admit I don't pimp too many contests because everybody does it and the blog world get overrun with pimp posts. I wanted to rant about the Mariners first anyways.

Also, for all of those who didn't stay up or were in bed out east, a big Congratulations to Matt Cain. Matt threw the first perfect game in Giants history last night. It was fun to flip back and forth to watch him pitch last night. It is a nice sight to see for the faithful that brave the weather at AT&T Park. Way to go to Matt Cain and the Giants!

HISTORY!!!

For those of you that don't live out here on the West Coast, you were asleep when it happened. That's right folks, that's the manual scoreboard from Safeco Field last night. The Mariners worked together to NO-HIT the team with the best record in baseball.

As I sat on my couch last night I decided to watch the game since I don't get to see the Dodgers very often. While Kevin Millwood has been up and down at best for the M's, I thought there was a chance for the hometown 9 since they weren't facing one of the top of the rotation guys. Millwood actually looked like he was special last night right out the gate. Kevin was perfect through 4 innings, but walked Juan Rivera to start the 5th. No big deal the no hitter was still intact. Kevin got out of that inning and cruised in the 6th. The replays look like he did something on the final strikeout of the 6th, and after the first warm up toss in the 7th he was done. There was a small scare with an error and a runner on 2nd in the 7th inning, but wiggle off the hook did the Mariners. In the bottom of the 7th the M's get two on, and my choice for the Mariners All Star this year gets a single off the shortstop's glove to give Seattle a 1-0 lead.

Two walks and a sacrifice fly get the Dodgers in business with 1 out and runners at 2nd and 3rd. Somehow the bullpen comes through and gets out of the inning with a little help by "Donkey" Chone Figgins making a nice catch in left. It was then "closing time for the Bartender" Tom Wilhelmsen. Tom throws 9 pitches, gets the 3 outs and the Mariners make history. Was Dee Gordon out on the play in the 9th? I still can't say for sure, but I guarantee you the umpire didn't want to be roasted like Jim Joyce for a close call either way in the last inning.

The Mariners combined to use six pitchers to get the no-no, and because Millwood didn't get the decision because of the right groin strain it went to an unlikely guy. Just one week ago on June 1st the Mariners called up rookie Stephen Pryor from AAA Tacoma. Because Pryor got the final out in the top of the 7th inning, his first MLB win comes in the form of a no hitter. Let's see what the Mariners can put together tonight against Clayton Kershaw. GO MARINERS!!!

The GREATEST 21 EVER!!

That's right folks I said the greatest ever! I know what you are thinking, how can some other guys that wore #21 not be the greatest? That's because they didn't play for the Mariners. I decided in honor of the Mariners scoring 21 runs on the Rangers the other night, I wanted to put up a card of the greatest #21 to wear Mariners colors. Here is the first card I pulled of Alvin from a pack of 1985 Topps:

While Alvin Davis never got the national recognition he deserved minus the 1984 Rookie of the Year, he was a great player and person. Alvin went to John W. North High School in Riverside, CA and then attended Arizona State. He quickly made his way to the Mariners and never looked back. AD would spent 8 seasons as the Mariners anchor at 1st base and was always a solid hitter in the lineup. He would spend a brief time with his hometown California Angels at the end of his time, but he will always be "Mr. Mariner." One Mariner I think is really coming into his own this year is Kyle Seager. I think this kid has a shot at the All-Star team in Kansas City soon.

Are they clueless?

Today the Mariners decided to activate Miguel Olivo from the DL.

 Someone had to be moved to make room for a third catcher. Can someone tell me why in the hell the move was to option to Casper Wells to AAA Tacoma? Casper has been doing pretty well in the field, and is hitting at a decent clip when he's given the chance.

Why not rid ourselves of the $9M albatross in Chone Figgins? Manager Eric Wedge said that at this time ridding ourselves of "Donkey" was not an option. The guy can't hit and does nothing but ride the pine. I thought this rebuilding thing was about seeing young guys and having them continue to develop. I hate to sound like a Debby Downer, but I'M TIRED OF WATCHING LOSING BASEBALL!! I know we have won 5 of our last 6, but this is a head scratcher. I hope this works and we can start a good series against the Halos.

Playing like Big Dawgs

Just a quick way to go to my son and his team. The FBC Dawgs are a 13U Sandy Koufax team this year. They had hit a bit of a rough road lately being on 8 game losing streak. My son got to take the bump for their second game yesterday. He hit a 325' RBI triple in the 4th inning and went 3 for 5 for the game. He did pitch a CG for 7 innings only going for 83 pitches. He gave up 4 runs on six hits, walked one and had 6 K's. In the bottom of the 7th with one out, he got a single, stole second, got to 3rd on a errant pick off attempt, stayed at third on a infield single, and scored the walk off run on a grounder to the shortstop.

Hopefully this is the momentum they need to finish the second half of the season strong. The Dawgs are on Twitter and Facebook. Yes folks, we are purple and gold like the Washington Huskies since our manager did play baseball for the UW.

GO DAWGS!!

Say Hey!! Say Willie!!

The cover man for this Time magazine in 1954 turns 81 today!

Willie started with the Giants in New York playing center field.





When the Giants went to San Francisco, Willie went with them.

Willie would go back to New York to finish off his career as a Met.

The Say Hey Kid is still very loved in the Bay Area to this day.



In my opinion, this is a must read for any fan of baseball.



Imagine these three in the same outfield, GREATEST EVER!!

While everyone will remember "The Catch,"

I still believe that Willie should be remembered as the face of West Coast Baseball. He was the first BIG star to come out in 1958.



Happy 81st Birthday to one of the greatest players in the history of the game.

SAY HEY!!

Throw me a life ring

It is getting bad in Marinersville. Every time you turn around the ugly just keeps piling up. First off the Mariners come home on a 6 game losing streak.  In four losses in Tampa Bay they were by a total of 5 runs. Last night you come home to the Minnesota Twins who just got no hit by Jared Weaver. You hold a 2-0 lead in the 7th, but the great 100 pitch count makes you pull your starter. The bullpen quickly proceeds to give up 3 runs and you lose 3-2. Who was the jackass that came up with the idea that pitchers are done after 100 pitches?? Jason Vargas was still looking good at 103 last night, but that's it he's done.

Secondly, I see an ugly scene coming with "Donkey" as I like to call him. Our $36 million bust Chone Figgins is up to his old tricks. For the first two years he hasn't done anything to help the M's. Granted, in 2010 he did hit .259 with a .340 OBP. Last year that slipped to .188 with a .241 OBP. Manager Eric Wedge thought that moving in to his "comfortable" lead off spot would get him kick started. In 2012, 18 for 95 equates to .189 with a .250 OBP. I'm sorry but I personally expect  ALOT more from my lead off guy. You have to get on to have your teammates get you in to score.

Wedge has now finally decided it is time to sit Figgins. We all know that the last time he disagreed with a manager in Seattle it led to a brawl in the dugout with Don Wakamatsu. I say we eat the salary and just let him go, admit your mistake and take your lumps from the fans. I think another change that needs to be made is at the hitting coach position. The M's are 4th in the AL in # of hits, but at .237 they are 13th in average. I know the players are young, but there is no patience at the plate. Our only hitter above .300 is a pinch hitter at best in John Jaso, even Ichiro slipped under .300 last night. The Mariners as a team see 3.85 pitches per at bat, gaining only 66 BB's so far, but putting up 216 K's. Instead of progress all I see is regression.

Another part of the game I don't understand why it has left us is putting the game in motion. Though these first 28 games, the Mariners have a total of 13 stolen bases! That's less than 1/2 a steal a game. I sit and watch most games, and think here's a spot to steal and the announcers say the same thing, but we see no movement. I know that sometimes they get caught stealing, but you can't get caught if you don't try. Maybe if guys are moving, we could score some runs so our pitchers don't have to be perfect all the time. Take King Felix this year. In six starts this year, the Mariners have scored 3 runs or less in 4 of his starts. He's only given up 11 runs with a 2.23 ERA but sits at a 2-1 record. Even Felix isn't immune to the dreaded pitch count. Most games he is cruising along, but it's 100 and done. except for one game at 126 pitches, he has gone 104, 102, 107, 92, and 106. This kid is a horse let him loose like the old days of Nolan Ryan, and Juan Marichal.

This ship has been sinking since the start of the 2004 season, and you would think could have repaired it and start to get it to float by now. I can honestly see it taking another 3-5 years before this team is even close to being competitive. The Mariners wonder why the fans won't come to Safeco Field anymore. I agree that it is still a beautiful park, but even I stay away. Why pay $20 to park against some random team(it's $35-50 for teams like New York and Boston), nearly $40 per ticket, $6 for a hot dog, and $4 for a pop or $9 for a beer to watch your team continue to lose? I can sit on my comfy couch and do it for a lot cheaper, and if I get bored I can change the channel. I hope they can get this disaster going before we lose our young stars like Felix, and Dustin Ackley to the big money teams that win like players wants to do. I am in my 30th year as a Mariners fan and will continue to support my team, but please give something back to me as a thank you. This love affair is like a marriage, it's give and take from both sides but all I get is me giving to you and and you take but don't give me anything back...

Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!

Maybe I'm becoming one of those grumpy old men. I couldn't have cared less about some 19 year old kid that worked the system to make the show last night. I couldn't bring myself to buy into the hype about Stephen Strasburg or Bryce Harper. It's not that I don't want the Nationals to be relevant I do.

Of course by the time that Harper actually got to play last night, the Topps money making machine was already up to full speed. They were all over Twitter and anywhere you can think of already getting collectors to give them all their money to find one of these:

We don't know if it will be a regular base card(HA HA! good luck with that), will they short print it, or make it the RARE #661 we never see but hear about?

I can't decide if I want them to go back the old days of one big set like the 70's and 80's and try to find the set and then Traded series. I know they make a tone more money continuing to sucker people into to buying all the dumb gimmicks they come up with. I for one am tired of it, and I'm not buying in. I will ask everybody for help with Mariners in Series 2 soon, but that's the only cards I will want.

Perfect in Pale

If you are a child of the 80's like me, you remember Pretty in Pink, right? Yesterday a tiny bit of the country got to see the "Perfect in Pale Hose." It was an awesome sight to watch my Mariners be on the wrong side of history at Safeco Field. While I agreed with most of the parents at my son's second game last night that you never want it to come against you, it is still an amazing sight. I didn't share their feeling of wanting to see it end before he was able to get the perfecto. This has only happened now 21 times in 10's of thousands of games, it is rare air people!

I was very honored that the 22,472 lucky people to be in the stadium yesterday did the right thing in the 8th and 9th innings. Even though our team was losing, they recognized history was being made and got behind Philip Humber. While you are a Mariner fan first, you are also a baseball fan and are honored to see something like that when it comes along. I know that the three of us had to listen to the 9th inning in the car to make his game, but all of us were nervous in the car without being able to see it. I've watch the video, did Brendan Ryan check his swing? I don't know, maybe. Do you honestly think any umpire wants to go through what Jim Joyce did when he cost Armando Gallaraga his perfect game after 26 outs, I think not.

Good to see the fans getting pictures of history, and getting behind an opposing player

I surely hope that the M's can get up off the mat today and do a little better. I can't say enough congratulations to Philip Humber though. I was a nice way to spend a couple hours on a Saturday to watch something that doesn't come along very often.

Swing and miss...

Have you ever put so much work into one of your personal collections that you are proud of yourself? You know that you have done research, made spreadsheets, and always have your checklists and want lists in order. For some reason as you read all the great blogs out there, you see something that you don't remember. I just did that the other day, and my world was turned upside down. I was reading the great Night Owl as I always do, and in part two of his report to the card show I saw a card that struck me.

This my friends is 1977 Topps #478. I never knew that this card contained a "Mariner" aka Dave Johnson. I thought I had 1977 all done and wrapped up in the binder long ago. Now I guess it is time again to try and find time in an already busy life to sit and re-check my collection. I wonder and hope there aren't many more cards that I missed. I guess that one card won't make too much of a difference since I only need 277(?) Mariners cards to have all the base and traded series from all five makers for my favorite team.

Mariners make memories

While it ended up being an UGLY night on the Safeco Field dirt for the hometown M's, plenty was positive. King Felix looked good the first inning, but who knew that his counterpart Bartolo Colon, would be freakin' Cy Young last night? I know the Mariners lineup can be anemic at times, but three hits against the A's? Last week in Oakland, we looked like the 1927 Yankees hitting the ball, and now nothing. Instead of me going all sad on them in game #9 of the season, let's check out the cool parts of last night's home opener.

It was the start of the 2000 season, and the Mariners had traded Ken Griffey Jr to Cincinnati. One of the players to come to Seattle was Mike Cameron. The kid had BIG shoes to fill because everybody loved Griffey. What does he do to start but rob Jeter of a HR in great fashion:


Cammy would patrol center field for the Mariners from 2000-2003 before leaving as a free agent. Mike was a big part of the 116 win team of 2001. One of the most lasting images in my mind was Mike and the team with the American flag at the mound after winning the AL West and honoring those lost in the 9-11 attacks.

Since leaving Seattle, Mike has been a Met, Padre, Brewer, Red Sox, and Marlin in those 8 years. He had signed with the Washington Nationals to play this season. Mike informed them before camp started that he was going to retire. Mike had not filed his paperwork with the league yet, and yesterday signed a one day contract to officially retire from baseball as a Seattle Mariner. While the Mariners had already announced that Mike would throw out the ceremonial first pitch last night, it was great to see the recently retired Mike have honor to throw the pitch to former teammate Ichiro Suzuki.

Another awesome sight to see at Safeco Field last night was a little tradition that the Mariners do at Friday home games. During the middle of an inning they do a promotion that let's a young kid run on the field, "steal" second base and run back off. Last night the young man to do the honor was 13 year old Kyle Smerer. As he pulled up second base, the umpire tried to scare him out of taking the base:

What Kyle didn't realize at first was that the umpire was no umpire at all. The man was none other that U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Steve Smerer--his dad. Sgt. Smerer had returned from Afghanistan from a 13 month deployment. The Mariners had planned this for the family but didn't tell Kyle. It really was a heart warming sight to watch last night considering nothing else was exciting on the field.

After last night's dismal performance, let's hope the hometown 9 can turn it around tonight. I don't know anything about the A's pitcher Tommy Milone tonight, but I want to see something out of Hector Noesi. We gave up a good young arm for him and he needs to step up and show us something.