Oakland

Weekend movie preview: Robots battling monsters battling grown ups

Well, here we are: It's finally Friday, and guess what that means? Yes, it's time for the latest installment in What's In Theaters This Weekend and I've got to say, anyone who can't find at least one film currently playing to see well, you'll never be happy with anything. Ever. Seriously we've got action movies with robots and monsters, an Adam Sandler sequel (more on that in a minute), two solid animated family films and a few decent comedies, too. See my point?

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Mariners Minor League Game Action Spotlight for July 8

Jeremy Bonderman was sent into DFA exile to make room for Lucas Luetge to shore up the MLB pen.

Leaving a space in the rotation for ...

Well, they aren't saying. But they are saying that Bondo was moved not because he was hopelessly mediocre [though he predictably was], but because of "who's coming."

RUNDOWN: Jeremy Bonderman

Another big win for Bonderman, er, for his team on Sunday. He locks down a team, Oakland, that has just whupped Hisashi Iwakuma twice in a row.

Also to Bonderman's credit: a 4-1 win over the Yankee$ and a 3-2 win* over the Angels, who detonated Felix Hernandez two days later. All this in Bonderman's first five starts back from dry dock.

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WHEEL AROUND, RH PICKOFF MOVE CATCHES ICHIRO FLATFOOTED: Bonderman had not pitched since 2010 ... who knew who he was? He returned in 2013, and in 5 starts since, has run a celery-crisp ERA of 3.30.

Even worse -- for Seattle's enemies, that is -- Bonderman took his first mulligan (five innings, seven runs) and since then, has ripped off four lockdowns. Back to back to back to back, baby. What comes after three-peat?

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ICHIRO JUKES SECOND BASEMAN, IS DIVING INTO 2B: But Jeremy Bonderman's control ratio is 10:10 ... in 30 innings. Nothing but pure, 10:1 distilled luck(TM)?

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Dr. D SCURRIES FOR THE 2B BAG TO TAKE THE THROW: In his first incarnation, Bonderman was the league's ultimate Stupid Pitcher. He had great stuff, with horrible pitchability, an ERA much higher than his K/BB/HR predicted, and a long string of stubborn 3-1 fastballs on his resume.

RUNDOWN: the M's Pennant Chances

Photo credit: when Shaun T. meets neo-barbarism

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MONTERO STEALING, THEY NOTICE THE FACT, THROW to 2B, SO HE PULLS UP HALFWAY: the M's chances of making the playoffs are 1%.

I just made that up. And it is certainly very near the facts.

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SHORTSTOP, LAUGHING INTO HIS GLOVE, HAS THE THROW SAIL PAST HIM: The Mariners have won 8 and lost 5 against -- wait for it -- the Oakland A's. One eye swelled shut and their nose all over their face, they took on this AL West trip and ... won 7, losing 6. Yo Adrian -

Closer By Committee

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Felix Is Ours and You Can't Have Him

Oakland, having gone 102-60 over the last calendar year (!!) threw out a rawhide-tough lefty lineup. Their 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, and 9 batters hit southpaw against the King, and the strategy was perfectly obvious. Force the M's ace out of the game after 6 innings, behind no more than 1-0 or 2-1. Get to the M's ragtag pen.

After two-plus innings, the A's scripted win looked like a foregone conclusion. Felix lacked his usual command, and had tossed 53 pitches with only 2.1 innings gone. Uh-oh...

Realizing that the A's were passive, Felix took a page out of Iwakuma's book and busted them with fastballs. They took a blizzard of called strikes and, after 7 innings, had fanned 8 times and scored 0 times.

Here came the 8th, this time with a comfortable M's lead...

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Last Call! :- )

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1. It doesn't matter! whether you, as a fan, quit on the season, or whether you do not. Your emotions mean nothing to anybody other than to one person.

In July, the M's will go on a 20-for-26 streak or they won't. If you quit, they could still go on a tear. Teams do. If you quit and the M's surge -- as young, talented teams can -- you can hop back on at any time.

It is unlikely, but not farfetched, that the M's could have a big second half. Right now they're not looking like it. In the immortal words of Brian Bosworth, their offense blows chunks. Like, it totally sicks you out, man.

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2. For Dr. D, this road trip is Last Call. If the M's don't rip off a series of wins against the A's and Angels, he goes into his Can You Win Your Next Pennant With This Player mode. Just so you know.

It's an intensely personal decision, you know. I've come to face my own identity.

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Mariners Minor League Game Action Recap for June 9

As you may have seen in the Shout Box, the original MarinersTalk.com Hero, Vinnie Catricala (Talk40 #10), is gone ... to the Oakland A's of all places.

Stealing never felt so sweet

It always feels good to sign a great free agent in the offseason. It makes that signing even better if the free agent was tempted away from a known conference rival. This is exactly what Denver did this week in signing free agent defender Quenten jammer.

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Big Fun, Dept.

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The least trite thing you could do, at this particular moment, is to ask what is good. We're sure that other blogs are giving you everything else. Okay, then... reasons to buy a ticket Friday, to take a sip of lemon water as it were, and to take a bite of spaghetti tasting it freshly?

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The 2012 Oakland A's, who won the division ahead of Texas and Oakland, had a 9-game losing streak in late May. It took them to 22-30 ... and they didn't start winning immediately after that, either. They parlayed their record into a 26-35 on June 10, and they were still well under .500 as the All-Star break approached.

162 games is a long time. It's a cliche, and it's also a relevant point. Memphis was down 18 in the 3rd quarter in game two, and they didn't sit down and calculate their chances of winning. They ignored their calculators and played ball.

That's what the M's, and M's fans, should do. Take focus off the standings, and put focus on the Texas series. It's a cliche: it's also the Zen thing to do. You are in control of exactly one thing: what you pay attention to. The world turns on the fact that [what is in your mind at this moment] is 100% free will. You can use that.

I was told about a Buddhist monk (yes, really) who set himself on fire, burned to death, and didn't move while doing so. Personally, I did not achieve motionlessness during the last six games. But the Buddhist had nominally more practice than I've had.

... Obviously the 4-game conflagration in Cleveland left the M's in triage, and they barely rolled over while the Angels administered the mercy impalement. What the patient M's fan is waiting for, is a winning streak, a hot roll. It's not like this team doesn't have talent.

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Looking around the AL ... personally, I'll grant Texas the division at this point, but am not overwhelmed with the other teams in the division; either could finish under .500.

Supposing that Boston is for real ... you've still got openings. Either Detroit or Cleveland, probably Cleveland, looks likely to win fewer than 90 games. Baltimore of course was a Pythagorean fluke last year. As to the Wild Card being out of reach, if the M's start winning, get to +10 over .500, they'll be in it. Wayyyy too early to panic. It's May, not July.

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CAN the M's get it rolling?

Will Woodson become a Bronco?

While starting at the University of Michigan, Charles Woodson became one of the first and only primarily defensive players to win the Heisman Trophy. This, of course, was a huge feat. To get that Heisman Trophy award, he beat out second-placer Peyton Manning by 282 votes. Now, after a successful run with the Green Bay Packers, Charles Woodson finds himself as a coveted free agent looking for a suitor. Will Woodson end up playing on the same team as the player he beat out so many years ago to become the Heisman Trophy winner?

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