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At My Northwest, we are reminded that the 29-man Rainiers Roster has its downside:

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While the moves have proved to be necessary, the conversations to send the players down are not fun.

“It’s hard,” manager Scott Servais said. “Unfortunately it’s not really their fault. It started with the bad outing and now the long guy has to wear it and often times he’s wearing it with a plane ticket back to Triple-A. It’s not a great conversation to have.

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This hadn't occurred to me.  The starter gets KO'ed early, and the bullpen phone rings, and they say your name - and hearning your name means that either (1) you're cut the next day, for succeeding in 3 IP, or (2) you fail in the game.  That would be a very real sports-psychology problem.

Drayer predicts the slowdown of this RP carousel after the MLB(TM) relievers are back, and relates that Scott Servais is looking forward to 4 bench players as soon as he can get them.  Goodie gumdrops.

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Matt was right when he bet the Over, Way Over on Mitch Haniger's oblique.  But the Mariners are suddenly getting happy totals from all corners of the training room.  Sudden Jean Segura's "high ankle sprain" is what I associate with the end of a YEAR when a Seahawk like Thomas Rawls gets it.  "High ankle sprain" often means the ligaments are torn up so badly that it hurts up to your knee.  But here we are planning for Sudden Jean next week, and I'm blinkin' likin' it.  Slap me silly do I ENJOY watching Jean Segura play hardball.

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The excellent Brent Stecker wonders where Kyle Seager's "hot streak" - read, All-Star stat line - is.  It doesn't matter in this case.  Seager of course hasn't lost anything, is not declining in any way.  Baseball is just up and down.

K-Swag's OPS+ sits at 102 and we're sure it will be back up around 117 by year's end, where it was in 2015.  But even if it weren't, a 102 third baseman with a terrific glove, in this lineup?  Sal Bando, in his thirties, alternated 98 years with 130 years.  He was a championship piece of the puzzle all along.

6 out of the last 7 World Series winners missed the playoffs.  Baseball is hard.  Relax.

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By the way here is a funny video of Chris Gimenez, RP, trash-talking K-Swag. 

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Don't forget about Jeff Sullivan's Friday chats.  This is just a fun baseball read, week after week.  Although at 9:43 he's got a baffling take on the M's 3-5 year scan.  There's a softball for you, Matty.  :- )  The M's outfield alone is *quite obviously* beyond what Jerry Dipoto ever dreamed of, when he first acquiesced to be a Seattle Mariner General Manager.  Other M's answers from Sully are similarly dour today (whereas usually they are not).  But like we sez, fun fun fun from start to finish with a Jeff Sullivan baseball chat.

By the way that was 10:56 in the chat, our line about Seager.

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Jeff Smoak is hitting .300/.350/.600 in fulltime play.

Logan Morrison is hitting .250/.350/.550 and has already exceeded last year's HR and RBI totals for himself.

Wade Miley is 2-4, 4.64 with 5 walks per nine innings.

Seth Smith, in Baltimore, is doing exactly what Seth Smith has always done.  He's got 45 full games in.  But he's on pace for less than 1 WAR, so his $7M salary is probably a wash.

Mark Trumbo, after those 47 homers last year, is slugging .395.

Ketel Marte is twisting in the wind, with a 68 OPS+ and a soul-crushing 18:84 EYE.  That doesn't mean the 22-year-old is done but it means that on the whole, I'd rather be in Philadelphia.  As it were.

Dustin Ackley is slugging .148 as a Yankee backup.  Eric Thames has fallen back to earth and has a 93 OPS+.  Brad Miller, who was raging in 1H last year, has an 80 OPS+.

Taijuan Walker is 5-3, 3.32 with an 8.0/3.2/0.6 slash line and I'm really glad the D-Backs received some value.  I hope he makes several All-Star teams for them.  You feel me?  They are in the NL and they never did anything to us.

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Here is the Paxton-Ross preview.  Play ball :- )

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Be well,

Jeff