The 2021 Seattle Mariners thread

IndyHawk":177ys2vp said:

I wasn't trying to beat you to it..I was waiting a while for someone else lol.
Anyway I too love Pax being back and we have a decent Starting rotation
hopefully the BP is good and we can hit ..I'm excited this year :2thumbs:

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sutz":1gy7z8on said:

Flyingsquad23":1gy7z8on said:

The M’s blow it again. They let him resign and then Stanton thanks him for his service...I have lost all faith in this organization. Pathetic

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Meh, firing someone that high in the organization is a messy business. This is the best and quickest way. Frankly, I think you lost faith in the M's many moons ago.

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Hawk-Lock":2pde4eyo said:

Another bad look for an awful franchise. I pay very little attention to this team now, can someone update me on what other trouble the front office has ran into? Didn’t they have some sexual harassment allegations? What else am I missing.

Just my opinion, but I think they should hire either a woman or a minority to take his place.

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sutz":1it5y3cl said:

Was thinking of doing it myself. I started it last year IIRC. You beat me to it. :mrgreen:

And in important news this week: The Big Maple is back. :mrgreen:

https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mar ... -rotation/

Analysis: What a healthy James Paxton could mean for the Mariners’ starting rotation

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James Paxton and Blake Snell stood chatting near the D1 gate of Sea-Tac airport, early Monday morning, waiting to board their flight to Phoenix. Neither the mass of people waiting in the boarding area nor the swarms of snow-stranded travelers shuffling by had any idea that two of baseball’s most talented left-handed pitchers were conversing.

Then again, only diehard baseball fans might have recognized them without the required masks. And with masks? Not so much.

While they share so many similarities – left arms seemingly touched by lightning bolts, blazing fastballs, devastating breaking pitches and unhittable stuff when healthy – the juxtaposition of where they are in their careers and where they are going beyond their immediate mutual destination of the Peoria Sports Complex for COVID-19 testing is palpable.

Snell, 28, was headed to the Padres’ side of the complex as the biggest acquisition in an offseason filled with them for San Diego. When we last saw him on a mound, he was dominating the Dodgers before being prematurely pulled by Kevin Cash in Game 6 of the World Series, which the Rays would ultimately lose. With a talented young Padres team, Snell still has great seasons ahead of him with the possibility of one more big contract possibly in his future as a free agent at age 31.

Meanwhile, Paxton, 32, is returning to where it all began for him – the Mariners’ side of the complex – where much has changed in the two seasons he was gone, other than the postseason drought. It was there on March 4, 2011 when he showed up as an awkward and overwhelmed 22-year-old, having just ended a protracted holdout for a larger signing bonus after being selected in the fourth round of the 2010 draft. A whole baseball career was still ahead of him.

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I'm excited about the return of Paxton. Could be a big boost to the rotation if he's healthy and back to his pre-Yankees form.

:2thumbs: :snack:

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‘It feels like just yesterday’: Mitch Haniger returns to Mariners lineup for the first time since injury in 2019



By Ryan Divish
Seattle Times staff reporter

PEORIA, Ariz. — Nine hundred, eleven thousand, five hundred, fifty minutes … how do you measure what was lost in almost two years?

In days?
In games?
In innings?
In at-bats?
In salary?
In sleepless nights?

With apologies to “Rent,” there is no uplifting song to be sung for Mitch Haniger’s “seasons of loss.”

But when he appeared from the dugout of Peoria Stadium with his Mariners teammates on a bright, but windy Sunday afternoon, jogging to his customary position of right field before the top of the first inning of the Cactus League opener against the Padres, the moment meant just a little more to him than his teammates.

It was the first time that he stepped on a baseball field to compete in a baseball game of any sort since June 6, 2019, when the Mariners played an afternoon getaway day game against the Astros at a sun-drenched T-Mobile Park.

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sutz":dm08wv67 said:

Good write up in the Times on Haniger, the forgotten man.

‘It feels like just yesterday’: Mitch Haniger returns to Mariners lineup for the first time since injury in 2019



By Ryan Divish
Seattle Times staff reporter

PEORIA, Ariz. — Nine hundred, eleven thousand, five hundred, fifty minutes … how do you measure what was lost in almost two years?

In days?
In games?
In innings?
In at-bats?
In salary?
In sleepless nights?

With apologies to “Rent,” there is no uplifting song to be sung for Mitch Haniger’s “seasons of loss.”

But when he appeared from the dugout of Peoria Stadium with his Mariners teammates on a bright, but windy Sunday afternoon, jogging to his customary position of right field before the top of the first inning of the Cactus League opener against the Padres, the moment meant just a little more to him than his teammates.

It was the first time that he stepped on a baseball field to compete in a baseball game of any sort since June 6, 2019, when the Mariners played an afternoon getaway day game against the Astros at a sun-drenched T-Mobile Park.

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I hope he can get back to his 2018 form. He was being mentioned in All Star talk that year.

https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mar ... y-in-2019/

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Sports Hernia":6g8vq0r0 said:

The Mariners have potentially 4 stud outfielders in the near future with Lewis, Kelenic, J-rod, and Trammel (sp?)
The first 3 can all play CF, not sure about Trammel.
You can play 3 in the field and rotate the 4th into the DH slot, and keep everyone fresh.

Haniger is a FA in 2023 so that’s about when J-rod, and Trammel should be ready.

If they all light up the minors and Mitch has a good healthy season this year, you might be able to flip him (Haniger) for a solid arm or 2.

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Hawk-Lock":mejlbdn5 said:

Anyone else agree with my sentiment this is a make it or break it season? Not that we need to make the playoffs, but the team needs to show some promise. Ideally the young guys play well, we improve upon last season.

My expectations this season is that we build a foundation to compete the next season.

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Thepeelsessions":2mfk1dsh said:

Sports Hernia":2mfk1dsh said:

The Mariners have potentially 4 stud outfielders in the near future with Lewis, Kelenic, J-rod, and Trammel (sp?)
The first 3 can all play CF, not sure about Trammel.
You can play 3 in the field and rotate the 4th into the DH slot, and keep everyone fresh.

Haniger is a FA in 2023 so that’s about when J-rod, and Trammel should be ready.

If they all light up the minors and Mitch has a good healthy season this year, you might be able to flip him (Haniger) for a solid arm or 2.

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Remember when the Ms outfield of the future was Mitch Haniger, Ben Gamel, and Guillermo Heredia? Those were the days.

Thank goodness Lewis was in the farm to bail that out.

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Maulbert":ohbyo7bk said:

.....aaaaaand Kelenic is hurt.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id...prospect-jarred-kelenic-sidelined-knee-strain

Say it with me now....

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Seattle Mariners to allow 9,000 fans on Opening Day, first time since 2019

The Seattle Mariners will join the list of sports teams allowing some fans in this upcoming season, the organization announced Thursday.

As Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced the state would be moving to Phase 3 of its most recent reopening plan, the Mariners rolled out a news release saying 9,000 fans would be allowed in T-Mobile Park on April 1 and the subsequent 10 games.

John Stanton, Seattle Mariners chairman and managing partner, said the Mariners had been working with state and local health officials for several months to get ready for the first fans at games since 2019. This included developing several safety measures, including cashless transactions, streamlined security lines, digital ticketing, sanitation protocols, and a requirement to wear masks at all times unless actively eating or drinking.

King County and Washington approved the plan to put fans back in the seats of T-Mobile Park.

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