Jim Riggleman

e had to leave the game--and will likely miss even more time--which presented a problem for manager Jim Riggleman, whose bench was empty. He brought in Jarrod Washburn to pinch run, but if Seattle failed to score, it would mean that a pitcher would have to play the field, or Seattle would lose the DH. It was a real do-or-die (or at least do-or-die-slowly) situation.

Continue reading "Rollicking Ride Against the Rays"

As I expected, Richie Sexson was signed by the one team in major league baseball who signs every single castoff, just in case he might turn it around in pinstripes: the Yankees. The temptation of that short porch in Yankee Stadium right field, combined with Sexson’s power potential, was too tempting to the team that claimed Jose Canseco off waivers in 2000, just to be sure he didn’t go to a division rival.

Continue reading "Sexson a Yankee; LaHair a Mariner"

For my loyal readers, sorry for the hiatus, as I was out of town at a trade show.

So much to cover from while I was gone, including the two big NL Central pitcher trades (you might be surprised as to which one I think will have the bigger impact) and Tampa Bay suddenly falling into the tank (are Rays fans scared yet?). But I want to start with something near and dear to Mariners fans, especially those on this blog.

Continue reading "Sexson Becomes Ex-Son"

Don’t look now, but the Mariners have suddenly won two series in a row, sparked by Jeff Clement’s two-dinger performance last night. They’ve got a huge hike just to get back to respectability and avoid the specter of being the first team with a $100M+ payroll to lose 100 games—hey, I’d take $1M to lose a game, wouldn’t you? —but the signs are there. Some of them, anyway.

Continue reading "Clement and M’s Show Some Life"

Jim Riggleman: The Key to the Mariners Success? Since Jim Riggleman took over, the Mariners are 9-5 and have won 6 out of their last 8. Here is some analysis on why the team is having more success.

Continue reading "Mariners Learning How To Riggle Out Some Wins"

I'm going to deliberately provoke the ire of my easily ire-provokable friend/reader Drano by using horse racing once again as a blog segue (blogue? Have I created a word here?) For those who aren't privy to our emails--which is anyone outside of the NSA, I suppose--Drano doesn't like that I've mentioned a failed Triple Crown in horse racing while utterly failing to mention the victory of his team in the exciting Stanley Cup that happened a few weeks back. His team . . . the Stanley Cup . . . darned if I can't remember the name of his team or the sport he follows so avidly . . . but anyway, on to horse racing and baseball . . .

Continue reading "Rebuild!"

Pelekoudas promoted bench coach Jim Riggleman to McLaren’s position, relying on his tougher style to whip the Mariners into a facsimile of a team that cares whether they win or lose. Owners often start at the top with firings, and so do GMs, so McLaren should have known his job security was ebbing.

Continue reading "Down Goes McLaren"