Mariner Report
We went 5 and 1 this week and have won 11 of our last 12. We still have the best
record in baseball (42-19), which we share with the Atlanta Braves. Next week's
schedule may be toughest week we've had yet. We start with three against the
Montreal Expos (37-26) and then three with Atlanta. The Expos will be without
their star, Vladamir Guerrero, for the duration of the series. The pitching
matchups for the Braves series should stack up like this: Russ Ortiz v. Freddy
Garcia, Mike Hampton v. Jamie Moyer, and Greg Maddux v. Gil Meche. Ichiro and
Bret Boone continue to move up the AL leader board. Ichiro is 2nd in hits (81)
and 3rd in stolen bases (14). Boone is 3rd in home runs (17) and 4th in RBI's
(49). Jamie Moyer became the first pitcher in either league to win 10, and he's
now 3rd in AL ERA (2.93) and 5th in K's (64). As a whole the team is hitting
very well with four starters batting over .300 (Ichiro, Boone, Edgar Martinez,
Carlos Guillen) and two others not far behind (Randy Winn .295 and John Olerud
.294). Freddy Garcia has won three in a row and moved his record to .500 (6-6).
I was surprised the other day when I noticed Olerud only has two homers on the
season. That is definitely below his normal pace. A second left-hander will be
in the bullpen Tuesday night when we face the Expos. The relief corps became a
little more balanced Friday afternoon when we acquired left-hander Matt White
from the Boston Red Sox for minor league outfielder Sheldon Fulse. "We've been
looking for another left-hander to add to our bullpen depth and we think Matt
should fit in nicely," said M's GM Pat Gillick. Julio Mateo will likely be sent
back to Tacoma to make room for White.
Mariner of the Week: This week's choice is a no-brainer. Although Ichiro and
Boone continue to hit well, I just can't deny Jamie Moyer. Moyer went 2 and 0
with 14 scoreless innings pitched and 12 strikeouts. Moyer has the best record
in the game (10-2) and should finally be chosen for his first All-Star game. He
might even get the start. I guess Pat Gillick knew what he was doing when he
signed Moyer (40) to a three-year deal