July 2nd
The Mariners make a trade with the Mets
John Marzano (33, C) <-> Brent Mayne (28, C)
Not quite sure why the Mets agreed to this but it helps us out for sure.

July 7th
All-Star Voting Ends: Edgar Martinez, Wil Cordero, ARod, Greffey Jr & Johnson are all selected to take part. In fact, ARod received the most Fan Votes, Martinez second most, and Griffey third most.
However dissapointingly no Mariners are in the Home Run Derby.

NL wins the All-Star Game 3-0. Honestly, this was a super dull match.

July 15th
ARod hurts his shoulder and will miss a week.

July 19th
It was a quick week and Arod is already back in the line-up!

July 22nd
ARod wins Player of the Week, hitting at .533avg for 12 RBI.
He's on a 22-game Hit Streak and the clear favourite for MVP already.

July 24th.
Mariners win 4-2 vs Brewers, but ARod's steak is ended at 23-games.

July 25th
The Mariners make a trade with the Mets
Doug Strange (32, LF) <-> Ramiro Torres (23, CL)
Trading a rotation player for a prospect isn't what you'd expect a playoff hunting team to do, but we ask the fans for trust.

The Mariners also make a trade with the Bewers
Emanuel Almeida (25, SP) <-> Jorge Posada (24, C)
Giving up an ok Pitching prospect for a good Catcher prospect.

July 28th
The Mariners make a trade with the Yankees
Fernando Rodriguez (21, SP) <-> Ricardo Rodriguez (21, RP) & Nick McCoy (21, 1B)
Giving up one of our best Pitching prospects is a risk and leaves us very short of Starting Pitchers in our system. But Ricardo isn't too bad, and we think McCoy could be useful. Plus our main roster Pitchers are all under-26 apart from Johnson.

July 31st
The Mariners make a trade with the Giants
Luis Sojo (31, 2B) <-> Jeff Juden (25, RP)
Luis wanted out, we needed a bit more Pitcher depth so getting this one in on deadline day was very good business!

End of Month Summary
Matt Wagner (24, SP) showed big steps forwards this month. However Jay Buhner (31, RF) doesn't quite look as sharp.

67-39 is our current record. We've extended the lead in the AL West out to 7 1/2 games over the Athletics. ARod still leads in batting with a .365avg and 109 RBI. Griffey has got 32 Home Runs. About the only areas the team is lacking in are Stolen Bases & Base Running, where rank outside the Top10.
We went 19-8 for July, with a 6-game win streak nestled around the All-Star Break. We were involved in zero shutouts, and swept the RAngers in a 4-game series in the Kingdome.

Brian Giles wins his thrid Rookie of the Month in a row! We took a risk on the Left Fielder but he's paying off in the biggest way so far.

August 1st
Big News! Alex Rodriguez signs a 3-year contract extension. He'll earn 2.35mil per year through the '99 season. These negotiations had been ongoing for the best part of a month, eventually the Mariners agreeing to the short term length, with ARod agreeing to the lower wage.
Jersey sales spike in response and the Fans and Media love the move. However his next contract at about Age 25 could be stratospheric in size.

August 5th
Edgar Martinez wins Player of the Week, racking up 16hits, 3 home-runs and 13 RBI. A truly dominant week.

August 11th
Russ Davis (26, 3B) falls down the stairs moving furnitute at home. He'll miss a week with bruising, and suffer as the buff of most jokes until the end of the season.

August 12th
Jay Buhner (31, RF) wins Player of the Week with 14 hits, 3 home-runs and 8 RBI. Maybe reports of his decline were premature.

August 13th
Mariners lose 0-10 vs the Royals, in the Kingdome. It's deeply embarassing for all involved and real low point of the season.

August 14th
Revenge is achieved in a wild 15-14 game, with Edgar Martinez in a staring role He smashed a Grand Slam [home run with all three bases loaded] and added another run of his own whilst also getting another 3 RBI.

August 22nd
Ken Griffey Jr puts on his own show in a 10-5 win at the Orioles. He smashed three home runs, ran in for two more and even took a Hit-by-Pitch walk which pushed in another run.

End of Month Summary
Bobby Ayala (27, RP) looked strong in trainings all month long.

Overall the Mariners move onto 84-51, and hold a slender 3 1/2 game lead over the A's in the AL West.
For August we went 18-12, adding two other shutouts to that game against the Royals. Not good for a team built around it's ability to hit rather than pitch. In fact our Defence rankings dropped three/four places. But with 27-games left, and 8 vs the A's, we still very much control out own destiny.

Edgar Martinez (33, 1B) wins Batter of the Month! 9 home runs, 35 RBI for 32 total runs and a .400 avg.

September 2nd
Fight!!! Brian Giles gets handed a 4-game suspension for rushing the mound. During an 11-10 win vs Red Sox tempers were fired up. Tom Gordon pitched a ball to make direct contact with Brian. For instigating Tom did pick-up a 9-game suspension.

September 8th
Tonights game is dedicated to Tim Davis (26, RP)! He is honored for his tireless charity work in the Seattle community

September 11th
The organization agrees to make a one-off donation to Tim's charity, as a sign of support in his work and of our commitment to this city.

September 18th
Mariners win 3-0 vs Rangers. This confirms Seattle into the Playoffs!!!

September 27th
Mariners win 11-3 at the Athletics. This win over our closes threat seals the AL West with just a couple of games to spare. They have pushed us all season long.

End of Regular Season Summary
Seattle finish at 101-61, to win the AL West and set a new franchise record. September finished stronger at 17-10, tidying up after a wobble in late summer.
Griffey Jr hit 47 Home Runs. ARod has 161 RBI. Randy Johnson leads the pitchers with a 3.68 ERA, and leads the League with 224 strikeouts.
As a team we were Top5 is near enough every catagory. However we only rank 13th in Errors, which could be a minor concern for the playoffs.

Mariners will play Athletics in the ALDS. Yankees vs Brewers, Braves vs Marlins and Cubs vs Padres are the other matchups.

October 2nd
Game 1 of the '96 ALDS vs Oakland Athletics. It's poor day all-round, with the A's coming out 0-2 winners. Wil Cordero (24, 2B) hurts his back part way through and will miss the next two games.

October 3rd
Game 2 is a much better game of baseball, however Mariners still lose 4-9. The team looks shellshocked and being down 0-2 in the Series are on the verge of elimination!

October 5th
Game 3, and we are now in Oakland for the two game away stretch. Mariners must win to stay alive in the playoffs.
It starts badly, going down 0-1 after the 1st Inning. Bill Pulsipher's pitching was not up to par, and neither was the batting.

2nd Inning, Brian Giles hits a deep split to right field. This allows Jay Buhner to run in and tie the game 1-1. Dan Wilson joins in, pumping a ball long long long to centre... and it bounces only 2" shy of the top of the wall. No homer, but and easy double as Giles runs in. Mariners take an early 2-1 lead. Then the A's Catcher makes an error, allowing Wilson to scamper home and extend the lead to 3-1. Pulsipher is now firing and ends the 2nd without giving up a hit.

Momentum swings again in the 3rd. Back-to-back Homers from Brosius and McGwire pull the A's back to 3-3.
Momentum switches again in the 4th! Edgar Martinez knocks a double to centre, for King to run in., 4-3. ARod then hits his own 2-Run Homer, 6-3!

Finally things settle as the 5th goes without a score for either team. And into the 6th, Martinez scores again off an ARod RBI-double, 7-3. Mariners are firmly in control now, as short shot to left field from Buhner sees Griffey & ARod score to go up 9-3. Giles joins the back-wall club, allowin Buhner in, 10-3. King fires his own 2-score Home Run, 12-3. The A's have collapsed completely in the 6th! A 6 Run Inning has surely settled this game for the Mariners.

The A's dig out one more run in the 7th, before Dan Wilson gets another 2-run Homer in the 8th to seal the game 14-4. Mariners win, 1-2 in the Series and are still alive.

October 6th
Game 4. Still a must win game for the Mariners, and still away from home. But based on last nights game that might be a good thing.

The A's get off to about the worst possible start. Pitcher Reyes loads the bases the first three at-bats. It doesn't get better as the next three at-bats all score for a 3-0 lead and zero outs. By the time the A's scramble three outs the Mariners have taken a 5-0 lead at the Top of the 1st. The crowd is silent, the A's look utterly broken.

The A's try to get back into this with multiple pitcher changes, and whilst it slows the Mariners, by the 5th Inning the score has gone out to 7-1. Into the back stretch of the game the A's fade away. By the end of the 8th it's now 8-1.

9th and final Inning, Mariners are just having fun. King gets yet another Home Run, 9-1. Lewis runs home off a Martinez sac-fly, 10-1. The A's then can't even get a hit. Mariners win in dominant fashion 10-1. Series tied 2-2. We head back to the Kingdome!

October 8th
Game 5 of the '95 ALDS. With the series tied at 2-2 we're back under the Kingdome for this winner takes all showdown. When the chips are down and it's all on the line, naturally the Mariners turn to Randy Johnson to pitch.

It's a perfect start, three up and three down on the arm of Johnson. That said the M's only do slightly better, with Darrne Lewis recording a single before being caught stealing second base. Into the 2nd Inning we see maybe the play of ther series!

A pop-up from Giambi drifts away towards the benches, and Mariners Catcher Dan Wilson hustles across. He makes a tremendous catch on the run, falls over the railing into the M's bench, and holds onto the ball. A truly remarkable Out!

However on through the 3rd and it's still 0-0, pitchers duel forming out on the mound. That is until Ken Griffey Jr steps up in the bottom of the 4th. He brings the Kingdome to it's feet with a 2-Run Homer to right field. Randy Johnson holds up his end of the deal, keeping the A's scoreless in the 5th.

Mark McGwire is finally able to make a breakthrough, running home to halve the gap to 2-1 in the 6th. It's getting ever more tense as Steinbach gets the tieing run in the 7th, 2-2. Jeff King, who's almost certain to be series MVP at this rate slaps a ball to centre right and give Seattle back the lead 3-2.

Moving into the 8th Inning, Pinella pulls Johnson. The big mans arm is spent, and on comes Omar Daal in relief. Brian Giles makes his own spectacular catch, flinging himself backwards at the warning track to snag a ball. He ends up in a pile against the wall but the ball is secure. The Mariners can't take advantage and we go to the 9th Inning 3-2 up.

Daal opens with a strikeout. Mariners are two outs from victory. Lewis makes a catch in left field. Mariners are one out from victory.

Steinbach singles. Brosius singles, and Steinbach is able to beat the throw to third. Daal walks McGwire, loading the bases with two outs. Almost any play by the Mariners here will seal the game, as long as Daal doesn't throw an unintentional walk.

Daal fires a pitch, called a ball. It's close but ok. Second pitch is called a ball, Daal can't believe it! He's convinced that was in the strike zone! Third pitch is a Strike. Fourth is a Strike. Mariners stand one Pitch from victory!

It's called a Ball! The swing came late and the Home Base Ump signals ball, surely not! Steinbach is waved in, 3-3 tie game. Bases still loaded on two outs. Pinella looks like he blow an artery... He sends out Tim Davis to replace Daal.

Strike one. Ball one. Ball two. Ball three. The fans cannot believe it. Looking on replay at least two of those were inside the edge of strike zone! And the Umpire calls Ball Four. Brosius jogs home, A's take the lead 3-4 on the back of two unintentional walks. This is unbelievable.

Ball one. Ball two. Strike one. Ball three. Ball four. A third unintentional walk in a row is called by the Umpire. McGwire scores, A's lead 3-5. Pinella storms out of the dugout, screaming in the Umpires face. The Mariners bench is ready to rush the field. Ken Griffey is sitting on the grass, head in his hands. The fans are booing, some are pushing forwards and the stewards are only just about keeping them off the field.

Eventually Pinella is dragged away. Davis throws three strikes in three pitches to get the third out. Still the fans boo louder than ever, the atmosphere has gone tense to downright dangerous. If the Mariners can pull off a shock 9th Inning we might just avoid all-out riots.

Jay Buhner is walked. Joey Cora singles, but the A's throw out Buhner at second. Wilson grounds out. King grounds out. A's win 3-5 in the most controversial of circumstances. Three unintential walks to win a game, this has never happened in MLB history!

Hundreds of Mariner fans crowd the fences and throw hotdogs, beer, hats, anything they can find as the Umpires leave the field under police escort. The Mariners plays look broken, they stand around looking lost. Pinella is chasing the Umps down the tunnel, still screaming blue murder.

Athletics win the ALDS 2-3.

October 9th
There is only one story in all the sports sections of the media today. Local Seattle media is craying foul, calling for the heads of the Umpires to be stuck atop the Space Needle. Nationl media isn't quite as furious, but the general feeling is that the Mariners were screwed over.

The End-of-Season team meeting is depressing. Tim Davis is barely consolable. Jay Buhner is throwing anything not bolted down. Griffey sits silently at the back of the room. We all just need a break.

Oct 14th
The Athletics sweep the Yankees, to face the Padres in the World Series.

Oct 25th
Karma does exist! The Padres dominate the Athletics, winning the World Series 4-1

Oct 26th
Brian Giles (25, LF) signs a massive 9-year contract extension. He has a Player-Opt-Out after 3 years, and after 6 years. He'll make an average of $3mil per year, but the deal is loaded towards those final 3 years.
This is burst of good news that seems to perk up a number of the team. We might be down, but already our bounce back is reinforced.

The Owner offers GM TheManxMissile a 4-year extension worth $140kp.a. Naturally this is accepted as the ballclub works hard to show we are not broken by the events of 1996.

October 27th
Mariners trade with Reds
Mike Jackson (31, RP) <-> Bret Boone (27, 2B)
Another signal of intent to come back stronger! Bret's a big hitter and it cost us almost nothing to bring him over from the Reds.

October 28th
The Mariners make a trade with the Marlins
Dave Nelson (24, SP) <-> Matt Mantei (23, RP)
Nelson is passable as an MLB pitcher, but Mantei has real talent. This is a move for the future, although again continues to leave us stretched for Starting Pitcher options/talent.

November 2nd
Jonathan Rodgers signs as a new Pitching Coach, with Dave Meyes being let go. The end of season wasn't Dave's fault, but he's the unfortunate casualty.

Nov 5th
Ken Griffey Jr wins a Golden Glove [Award for best Fielding]
Edgar Martinez & Alex Rodriguez win Platinum Sticks [Award for Batting]
Brian Giles wins Rookie of the Year!
Lou Piniella wins Manager of the Year!
Alex Rodriguez wins the MVP!!! An incredible acheivment for someone so young, in fact he's the youngest player to ever win the award, a truly staggering moment for Mariners baseball!

November 18th
It's the start of Free Agency. The Mariners are focusing on bringing in a new Closer, we will not let such a farce happen again.

Nov 27th
Mariners sign Roberto Hernandez (32, RP) from Free Agency. The best Closer on the market signs a 2-year deal worth $3mil a season.
Leaves about 1 to 1.3mil left for signings.

December 5th
Mariners trade with the Phillies
Bob Wells (30, RP) <-> Lee Tinsley (27, CF)
Just a move around for depth options in the outfield.

December 22nd
Mariners trade with Pirates
Dave Conley (28, CF) <-> Tom Goodwin (28, LF)

December 27th
Mariners trade with Pirates
Mike Merk (25, RF) <-> Chris Peters (24, RP)

January 3rd
Mariners trade with Phillies
Joey Cora (31, 2B), Jay Buhner (32, RF), Jesus Gonzalez (22, C) <-> Gregg Jeffries (29, LF), Gustavo Perez (20, LF), Scott Rolen (21, 3B)
A big trade that helps our wage figures, improves our Left Field with a former All-Star. Re-affirms our commitment to young talents.

January 5th
Mariners sign Free Agent, Derek Bell (28, RF)
Trainer, Jim Wilson, signs a 4-year extension
Wil Cordero (25, 2B) signs a 5-year extension, averging $3mil a year in a slightly front loaded deal.

baseballlover312 wrote:
Devestating way to end the season, but I'm not sure I trust Lou Pinella's recounting of the calls.

Staff:-

Lou Piniella, Manager
53, from Tampa, FL. Lou was crowned 'Manager of the Year' for '95 & now '96. His task with the Mariners is very simple, get us over the line and into the World Series. Still popular with the players and fans, not sure why the Owner seems to dislike him

Bill Trzcinski, Bench Coach
32, from Church Point, LA. Onto his 2nd year working in the MLB. As Bench Coach his job is just to support Lou Pinella

Jonathan Rodgers, Pitching Coach
59, from Leesburg, GA. A true baseball verteren with 27 years of experience! Last year he was part of the Colorado Rockies who had the 3rd best pitching room in the league. We hope he can turn all that knowledge and push our pitches from Top 10 to amongst the very best.

Ronan Lizotte, Batting Coach
31, from Detroit, MO. Ronan proved his power last year as the Mariners were by far the strongest team at the plate. The youthful energy meshing perfectly with the younthful squad.

Jim Wilson, Head Trainer
47, from Huntington Beach, CA. Jim is a well rounded Trainer with 15 years MLB experience. He specializes in treatment, but is very capable at prevention. The weakness comes in recovery, which will have knock-on to our Pitchers arms

Pitchers:-

Randy Johnson, Starting Pitcher (Left Handed)
33, from Walnut Creek, CA. In 1996 Randy was an All-Star and he led the league in Strikeouts. He's still an absolute boss.

Sterling Hitchcock, Starting Pitcher (Left Handed)
25, from Fayetteville, NC. Sterling had the most Wins on the team last year with 16. He's developing very nicely into a real quality pitcher, and is closing in a new contract.

Bill Pulsipher, Start Pitcher (Left Handed)
23, from USA. Signed from Free Agency last year, Bill emerged as a reliable workhorse. His 10-10 record doesn't do justice to his development through the year. Keep an eye out, he's poised for breakout season.

Kerry Ligtenberg, Relief Pitcher (Right Handed)
25, from Rapid City, SD. Picked-up in the Draft but already showing signs of being a real strong pitcher. We'll monitor him through Spring Training, but Kerry is already pushing for an Opening Day role.

Roberto Hernandez, Closer (Right Handed)
32, from PR. Our big Free Agency signing to prevent a repeat of the farcical ALDS. He's one of the leagues best finishers, racking up 35 Saves for the White Sox in '96.

Omar Daal, Relief Pitcher (Left Handed)
24, from Maracibo, VEN. Picked up in a trade last year from the Expos. His ERA of 3.0 was very impressive across limited innings. If he can keep developing we'll have one of the most feared final innings units around.

Batters:-

Edgar Martinez, 3rd Base/Designated Hitter (Right Handed)
34, from New York, NY. Edgar has now won a Platinum Stick award at three different positions! There's a reason he's one of the highest paid players in the League, and a true club legend.

David Ortiz, 1st Base (Left Handed)
21, from Santo Domingo, DIS. David did everything asked of him in the Minors and training. He's ready and deserving of a main roster spot, even moving the legend Martinez around to 3rd.

Alex Rodriguez, Shortstop (Right Handed)
21, from New York, NY. The reigning MVP! We said he was going to breakout in 1996. We got a medium-term extension signed last season so the kid can just relax and play ball.

Ken Griffey Jr, Centre Field (Left Handed)
27, from Donora, PA. The face of Seattle baseball saw 1996 as return to his best form after injuries. We you Jr, we do! Oh Jr we love you!

Brian Giles, Right Field (Left Handed)
26, from El Cajon, CA. Another trade-in last season, Brian went on to win Rookie of the Year! Plus we signed him to a long-term deal without breaking the bank. We hit the jackpot in this deal, sorry not sorry Cleveland.

Prospects:-

Jose Cruz, Centre Field (Switch)
22, from Arroyo, PR. Jose has moved his way up our farm system. He's knocking on the door of the main roster, ready to go in case of injury to our outfielders. His best strength is his ultility and flexiblity.

Matt Mantei, Relief Pitcher (Right Handed)
23, from Tampa, FL. Another trade pick-up, Matt has a high ceilingif he really buckles down and works hard this season. He could be a star, hopefully he won't flame out.

Ramiro Torres, Relief Pitcher (Left Handed)
24, from Anaco, VEN. Ramiro is on the verge of making the main roster and has played well in the Mets farm system before moving to us. We hope he can push into the roster soon, otherwise he does make a perfect trade option.

Nick McCoy, 1st Base (Right Handed)
21, from Ocean Township, NJ. He can hit almost as well as anyone, but can't do much else yet. A few more years work in the Minors to add those secondary skills.

Scott Rolen, 3rd Base (Right Handed)
21, from Evansville, IN. A well rounded infielder who has all the tools to be a perfect team player. Some scouts say his ceiling is capped, but we believe his high floor will compensate as a injury back-up. Plus there's always hope we'll push onwards.

January 25th
Sterling Hitchock (25, SP) signs a 5-year extension for 800k per year. We think this will be a terrific deal if he keeps developing!

January 31st
The official start of Pre-season. The Owner gives us a budget raise from $57mil up to $65mil. A chunk of this is based on a 30% increase in ticket sales, despite a 20% increase in ticket prices. 1997 is also the final year of our current media deals, and several sponsor contracts. So expect another bump come season end.
$1mil is immediately added to our development budget, and $500k towards Scouting improvements. This team is all about young and exciting talent.

February 5th
Rumours swirl about a trade of Ken Griffey Jr! The Phillies represnetitve were seen talking to Ken, but any offers are sharply rejected.

February 21st
It's the start of Spring Training, and new Owner Goals!
Reach the Playoffs
Improve our Stolen Bases
Acquire an All-Star - Already ticked off via Gregg Jeffries
Bring in a new Manager with a better reputation
Reach the World Series in 6-years (by end of '02)

And my own Goals;
Win the World Series in 4 years (by end of '00)
Improve our Relief Pitching - Already ticked off with Roberto Hernandez
Work with the Owner to keep growing our financial power
Build our Pitcher Prospects
Win the AL West, again

March 4th
The Tigers join those circling around Ken Griffey Jr, but again any offer is thrown into the garbage.
I call Griffey into the office for a chat. He's talked to the Phillies out of courtesy being his "home" MLB team. But as long as we can keep fighting for the biggest prize Ken will stay a dedicated Mariner.

March 30th
Spring Training ends. Seattle go 20-10 for the best AL West record. Signs are all there for another strong season!

April 1st
It's Opening Day! We welcome the Yankess to the Kingdome. Brett Boone & Gregg Jeffries make their debuts for the Mariners, and Randy Johnson gets to Pitch. The tall man gets off to a good start with 3 strikeouts for 1 hit. But the Yankees are equally ready, surrendering just 1 hit as well. In fact it's a proper pitcing duel, as the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Innings all remain scoreless!
Bottom of the 6th and a rare Derek Jetter error allows the Mariners to load the bases on just one out. A perfect chance to take the lead... until the Yankees sort themselves out and throw back to back strikeouts.
In the 7th the game finally opens up, as Duncan and Valverde score for the Yankees, and Johnson gets pulled for Graves. Unfortunately we cannot retaliate, and even the 8th goes scoreless again.
Graves holds the Yankees at just the 0-2 lead through the 9th, giving the M's a chance to pull off the comeback... which goes begging on a quick fire three up, three down. An 0-2 losing start to the year for Seattle.

April 2nd
Bill Pulsipher clearly took it personally, throwing his own shutout in return as the Mariners bats come alive to win 5-0!

April 28th
Dan Wilson puts up 5 hits as part of a rampant 13-2 win at the Blue Jays

End of April Summary
The Mariners end the first month at 12-15, recording the worst month of this new era. Still, we sit 2nd in the AL West just two games behind the Angles and 4 behind the Wildcard spot. An up and down month without much rythm or pattern, some games winning by ten or more, others only hitting for one. Long way to go in the season and still very much in a good shape to compete.

Why does the Owner hate Lou Piniella?
It's been a running theme for GM TheManxMissile, as the Owner has constantly pushed to fire Manager Piniella and replace him with a manager of a higher reputation. Now we're not sure how you can have a high reputation than a back-to-back Manager of the Year winner. Hence some investigation behind the scenes...
Lou is known to have a short temper, especially with those he doesn't like. Rumours abound that there was a bust-up between the two during the hiring process of GM TMM! Piniella wanted the young forward thinking GM, who meshes well with Piniellas desire to use more analytics and drive a young team onwards. However ownership was much more split, favouring an established and proven name to turn Seattle into a winning team.
Things came to a head with Piniella and his staff threatening to walk, just as the team's new stadium was funded - throwing Seattle baseballs place into question.
Ultimately ownership took a flyer, which so far is paying off. But that argument and resentment has simmered below the surface ever since, with the Owner working to try and claw back control of the team. As long as the Mariners keep winning expect the truce to hold, but this story is far from concluded.

May 11th
Roberto Hernandez (32, CL) has a sore shoulder and will miss 2 weeks. It's the risk when you sign a slightly older pitcher.

May 12th
ARod gets 5 hits in a 7-4 win at the Orioles. With this win the Mariners are now at 18-18, just half a game behind the Angles.

May 13th
Randy Johnson throws a complete shutout game in a 3-0 win at the Brewers. Mariners move to 19-18 and a winning record, tieing the lead of the AL West.

May 16th
ARod hits 3 Home Runs in one game! A dominant 14-1 win vs the White Sox. Up to 21-19, and for the first time this season we lead the AL West alone. It's been a big week for the club, and at last everything seems to have clicked into place.

End of May Summary
Overall the Mariners are up to 33-22, and have scorched ahead to a 6-game lead in the AL West. The Angles really fell off towards the end of the month.
ARod's stong month keeps him at a .361 Avg, but Griffey is arguably the top Batter with 14 Home Runs and 49 RBI. On the other side the pitchers could still improve. Wagner has the best ERA, but it's 4.19, decidedly average. Randy Johnsons 76 strikeouts lead the league.
We can bat any team clean off the park, but if we pitch and defend at this level we will exit the playoffs very quickly again.

June 4th
Hernandez finally returns from Injury, and we need his skills desparately.

June 8th
Ken Griffey Jr gets a 3-game suspension. During a 3-4 loss at the Tigers, Griffey got into a fight with Tigers pitcher Glendon Rusch. Rusch picked up a 7-game suspension for deliberately hitting Griffey with multiple pitches.

June 11th
Derek Bell (28, RF) puts in one heck of a super-sub performance! He gets 5 hits as part of a 17-3 win at the Blue Jays, which included two 2-run Doubles. The utility back-up player shining bright in Kens absence.

June 23rd
Bret Boone (28, 2B) wins AL Player of the Week, with 8 hits, 2 homers and 8 RBI

End of June Summary
Mariners have pushed hard ahead to 52-30. Now 13 games clear in the AL West, ahead of the Rangers. Wagner has dropped his ERA from a mediocre 4.19, down to a solid 3.53. Johnson still leads the league with 120 strikeouts. Griffey has 22 home runs, and is chasing hard to lead the league in this catagory.
Matt Wager wins AL Pitcher of the Month, with a 2.47 ERA and 40 strikeouts. Momentum is building fast for the Mariners and we look like real contenders now.

The Owner sits down for a mid-season review. His main issues are our continued lack of base stealing, and that we refuse to sack Lou Piniella. But as long as we keep winning games and filling the stadium my job as GM is secure.

baseballlover312 wrote:
Junior getting a three game suspension isn't good. Obviously he didn't start it, but you want your stars to keep their cool. Losing hi for 3 games hurts more for the Mariners than a bigger suspension for the pitcher, so if you react, they win.

Amazing two months after the slow start!

July 6th
Randy Johnson, ARod and Griffey are all selected as All-Star Starters. Dan Wilson, Brian Giles and Edgar Martinez are also on the roster.

July 7th
Edgar Martinez (34, 3B) wins Player of the Week with 16 hits and 10 RBI.
For the second year no Mariners are selected for home run derby.

July 8th
The AL wins 6-5! Edgar Martinez wins game MVP, thanks to a walk off 2-run Double, and another RBI single.

July 23rd
Gregg Jeffires (29, LF) puts up 5 hits in a 15-9 win at the Indians

End of July Summary
Mariners are up to 70-38, and have gone 20 games clear in the AL West. ARod is pushing for back-to-back MVP's with a .346avg and 97RBI. Johnson is our best pitcher with a 3.76ERA and league leading 143 strikeouts.
For July we were 18-8 and are showing all the signs of being a real contender again.
Edgar Martinez wins Player of the Month, with a .425avg, 6 HR and 28 RBI. The verteran is still one of the bets hitters in the MLB.

August 7th
We open contract talks with Derek Bell (28, RF), but are the best part $1mil apart in valuation. The odds are he'll hit Free Agency, despite how much we and the fans like him.

August 29th
Both the Angles and Athletics are eliminated from the Playoff race. There's no small pride in destroying the Athletics in this way after last years ALDS.

End of August Summary
Miguel Gutierrez (21, 2B) has been showing good development.
A 91-46 record leads the entire MLB. Griffey has 40 HR and 12 RBI, making his own MVP case!
In a month where we went 21-8 it's hard to find low points. However we did conceed a three-game sweep by the Yankees. So we're not a perfect team.
Sterling Hitchcock (26, SP) wins Pitcher of the Month on a 3.60ERA and 6-0 record.

September 2nd
Mariners win 15-5 vs the Padres. This moves us to 92-46, and seals the AL West for a third straight year.

September 7th
Wil Cordero (25, 2B) has developed back spasms, and will miss a week resting. Since signing his new contract, Wil has not progressed or played as we hoped. For the money we will be needing more from him in the Playoffs.

September 10th
Edwin Hurtado (27, SP) brings up his own 11-game win streak as a Pitcher. He's quietly been putting together a strong season, and luckily his contract runs through '98.

September 18th
Mariners win 5-3 at the Rangers. Win #101 ties the franchise record from last year with 9 games to play.

September 22nd
Edgar Martinez wins Player of the Week. A .500avg, 10 hits, 6 homers and 12 RBI is truly staggering.

End of Regular Season Summary
109-53. A new franchise record for wins, and a threepeat of the AL West. Griffey lead the team in batting, recording 46 HR and 149 RBI, one of his best ever years. Bill Pulsipher leads the league in wins with 22, whilst Randy Johnson leads the league in Strikeouts with 221.
The final month we went 18-7. Our only weaknesses remain stealing bases, where we rank in the bottom half, and Errors, being 12th in total number. Fingers crossed neither of those will derail our World Series push.

We face the Brewers in the ALDS. Not ideal as we've struggled against them more than any team bar the Yankees this year.
The Blue Jays face the White Sox. Expos against the Dodgers. Reds versus the Dodgers.

October 1st
Game 1 at the Kingdome. Today should be a pitchers battle between Johnson and Mussina.
Expect no-one told the Brewers batters! Jaha and Fullmer score 1st Innings runs to jump out to a very early 0-2 lead. The Mariners batters cannot respond, but do record two hits at least.
From the 2nd the pitchers are firing properly. The 3rd and 4th innings are also scoreless. A sign of hope in the 5th as Gregg Jeffires gets a home run for the Ms, 1-2. The 6th and 7th also go scoreless. We have indeed got our pitchers duel.
Dave Nilsson lands a big blow for the Brewers, as he scores in the 8th to open the lead back out to 1-3. The excitment has drained from the fans, feeling like this may be too much to claw back so late in the game.
Randy Johnson has held up his end of the bargain, pitching out all 9 innings and recording 10 strikeouts. But there's no help from Mariners bats.
Brewer take Game 1, 1-3.

October 2nd
Game 2. Tonight the pendulum swings hard the other way. Pulsipher pitches a strong game, and the Mariners bats get themselves an early lead. In fact Brian Giles, Dan Wilson and Gregg Jeffries all hit home runs in a confident 5-1 victory. The series is level 1-1 as we head across country to Milwaukee.

October 5th
Game 3 here in Milwaukee. Forget a pitching duel, the Brewers demolished from the plate to win 16-4 in a crushing fashion. Those errors are creeping into the Mariners defence, and we do not seem to have the cluth pitching depth. This series might be another nail biter.