LATEST STORIES FROM SEATTLE TIMES
Hong-Chih Kuo relying more than ever on himself as he tries to revive career
Caught up with Hong-Chih Kuo, seen above in a photo from this morning's warmup stretch, inside the clubhouse. Kuo is only 30, but has a dozen years of professional baseball, five surgeries and two serious cases of "the yips" behind him already.
The most recent surgery on his elbow came just last October, after he'd mused openly to reporters in Los Angeles about...
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5 hours ago
Discuss
Hisashi Iwakuma throws first bullpen session
Hisashi Iwakuma had the cameras whirring and the flashbulbs popping as he stepped into the bullpen moments ago and threw for the first time in camp. To say it was a bit of a sideshow would be understating it.
Iwakuma got through the roughly five-minute session, then spoke briefly to pitching coach Carl Willis through his interpreter.
For those wondering why Iwakuma won't be pitching...
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10 hours ago
The trio bringing hope to Mariners fans everywhere
Talk all we want about reduced payrolls and lowered expectations -- and don't worry, we will eventually -- but there is still a trio of young arms bringing hope to Mariners fans everywhere. You can see them in the photo above, shot moments ago as the team warms up on the field ahead of today's workout.
That's Taijuan Walker in front, Danny Hultzen in the middle and James...
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11 hours ago
Mariners manager Eric Wedge says Jason Vargas will likely start second game in Japan
Mariners manager Eric Wedge stood and watched his pitchers and catchers go through their paces today. But he let pitching coach Carl Willis do most of the talking, including during an on-field scrum after the morning stretch.
Willis read out a list of which players would be heading to certain fields and at one point announced: "If you throw left-handed, you're going to throw...
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1 day ago
New pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma a huge draw as Mariners complete first workout
Quite the sideshow coming off the field this morning as Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma attempted to return to the clubhouse. Iwakuma was literally besieged by Japanese and American fans alike. He patiently signed each and every autograph requests, then posed for photos with Japanese fans. Some of the fans would get their pictures snapped with him, then run about 25 feet away to...
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1 day ago
Mariners pitchers and catchers take the field
Streaming live video by Ustream
Another sunny morning here in Peoria, Ariz., albeit slightly cooler than yesterday, as the Mariners see their pitchers and catchers take the field for the first time. The team is in a meeting with manager Eric Wedge right now, but should be out on the field by 8:30 a.m. PT. Keep your eyes on the screen above throughout the morning for footage of today...
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1 day ago
Mike Carp says he will look into making Greg Halman t-shirt available to the public
Mike Carp has gone through an emotional few months after the death of close friend Greg Halman. It was Halman who, in 2010 when in Class AAA, talked at length with Carp -- disappointed that Justin Smoak had bumped him out of his "future first baseman" role.
The Mariners had told Carp they were shifting him to an outfield role. Carp wasn't thrilled about it, but it was...
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2 days ago
Mariners pitching coach Carl Willis says mound hopefuls need to hit ground running
There are 35 pitchers in camp with the Mariners this spring, 19 of them on the 40-man roster and another 16 invites. That means the team has a whole lot of evaluation to do in a limited amount of time, given their March 22 departure for Japan and an early opening to the regular season.
Willis sounds excited and ready to go. And he suggested that anyone hoping to show something this...
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2 days ago
Plenty of early arrivals as Mariners begin spring training
Greetings from Peoria, Ariz., where we have a typically beautiful spring training morning full of sunshine and neither too much heat nor cold.
In the photo above, you can see members of the Japanese media contingent -- out in force today -- watching infielder Munenori Kawasaki take some batting practice in the indoor cage. Nearby, Justin Smoak was doing the same thing with Dustin...
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2 days ago
New TV deals won't guarantee everlasting success; that part will still take work by Mariners and others
Some readers in the comments thread of the last post brought up some very intelligent points about where the future of this whole regional sports network (RSN) cash giveaway could be leading.
One of them stated that if all teams cash in on new deals, that will simply lead to inflation and keep the status quo with players merely earning higher salaries.
Yes, that would be true if...
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3 days ago
USA Today further spells out how Mariners, handful of clubs next in line for huge cash windfall
We've been on this subject for a while, but a USA Today story published online last night by reporter Bob Nightengale provides an all-encompassing look at how the Mariners and a select handful of teams are about to win a local television lottery in just a couple of years.
The Mariners just started a 10-year, $450-million deal with ROOT Sports last season that was negotiated way...
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3 days ago
Study shows link between payroll and wins not as big as before, but teams like Mariners still face bigger obstacles than others
Read an interesting study by Dave Studeman over at The Hardball Times that shows the correlation between team payroll and wins has dwindled to the lowest it's been historically for quite some time in baseball.
Now, before any of you go planning World Series parades, it's important to take the study in its proper context and not read stuff into it that wasn't stated.
The study looked...
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5 days ago
Looking at the future: a Mariners, NBA, NHL sports network?
Plenty of buzz around the city about the possibility of an NHL and NBA team coming here within the next couple of years.
That potential arrival of two new sports franchises will also coincide with the Mariners getting their opt-out clause on their current TV deal with ROOT Sports in 2015. As we have seen in the past, you don't just start negotiating such deals on Dec. 31, 2014. The...
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6 days ago
Mariners gain some experience, back-end bullpen help with two signings
The Mariners not only added Taiwanese left-hander Kong-Chih Kuo to their midst, as expected, earlier today, but then tacked on veteran right hander Shawn Camp. Both have been given one-year major league deals by the Mariners, meaning they will very likely be on the squad that leaves spring training.
For a team that had no real southpaws in the bullpen when the winter began -- other...
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7 days ago
Leadoff spot and implications for rest of Mariners lineup
You'd have to be illiterate to take an extended glance at the tea leaves and come away with the impression Ichiro will be batting leadoff to start the 2012 season. The Mariners have been dropping none-too-subtle hints for a while now about moving Ichiro out of his customary No. 1 role and the implications will be felt elsewhere in the lineup.
For instance, the decision will...
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7 days ago
Will Kyle Seager automatically make the team this spring? Not guaranteed
Interesting decision the other day by the Mariners to sign onetime Seattle infielder and longtime Detroit Tigers stalwart Carlos Guillen to a minor league deal. The Mariners, as you'd know from reading our winter meetings coverage, have been in on Guillen for quite a while.
He'll earn $1 million in base salary if he makes the team plus an additional incentive bonus based...
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10 days ago
Mariners will be looking for better approach and discipline at the plate this season
Now that we know the Mariners will be staying young for the next little while, it may be best to explore some of the things to look for in 2012. Too many people will be focused on things like won-lost record while missing the bigger picture of what's going on.
The won-lost record won't tell you much until it starts approaching 90. I've seen too many teams soar past 80...
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11 days ago
Explaining my position on the Mariners and 2015...again
Some of you are livid with me for writing that I don't think the Mariners front office truly believes they will make the playoffs before 2015. You just can't understand why I would want to believe that. I've received emails from people suggesting I'm upset the Mariners did not get Prince Fielder.
No, that's not it.
My take on how the Mariners view their playoff chances has zero to...
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12 days ago
Would Mariners have tried to land Brett Lawrie instead of Jesus Montero? You betcha
Interesting report out of Toronto from old buddy Jeff Blair, who I used to work with all the way back in Montreal days in the early 1990s. Blair is pretty plugged in when it comes to the Blue Jays and their ownership, so I believe him when he says that the Mariners first tried to trade Michael Pineda to Toronto for third baseman Brett Lawrie.
The Blue Jays are said to have declined...
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13 days ago
Mariners have shown they are taking the long route
Great to be back in Seattle and looking forward to spring training after a nice couple of weeks off in South Africa and France. As usual, the Mariners timed all of their big moves and non-moves for the moment I left, giving colleague Larry Stone plenty to do. I'll schedule next year's vacation earlier, so that the team doesn't leave you hanging in suspense all winter...
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14 days ago
Photos from FanFest
Seattle Times photographer Alan Berner headed out to FanFest at Safeco Field today. Check out a gallery of his photos. FanFest continues Sunday from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. Check here for more details.
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16 days ago
Poll of the day: Should Ichiro lead off?
Here's another poll for Mariners fans to weigh in on, after manager Eric Wedge said Thursday he's leaning toward moving Ichiro out of the leadoff spot this season.
Should Ichiro be the Mariners' leadoff hitter this season?
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18 days ago
How the myth that cost-effectiveness means something in baseball helps all teams get richer on other people's cash
Just the other day, my wife and I were watching a Restaurant Impossible cooking show in which some poor widow restaurant owner had already sunk $350,000 of her own money into a sub-standard business and had to keep throwing in more in order for it to have a chance at succeeding.
Got me to thinking about how that would never happen in Major League Baseball.
After all, there are sub...
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January 11, 2012
Barry Larkin gets into Hall of Fame; Edgar Martinez notches 36.5 percent of vote
Many of you have asked me this past week about the Hall of Fame commitment I made last year and yes, I did indeed change my vote this time around.
I cast a vote for former Houston Astros first baseman Jeff Bagwell, but unfortunately, it was not enough to get him into Cooperstown. The one guy who did make it this year was longtime Reds shortstop Barry Larkin, who notched 86.4 percent...
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January 09, 2012
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