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The Inspiring Story of Alex James: the Mariners’ real life Angel in the Outfield!
On August 3rd, 2011 the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 7 – 4 when Charlie Furbush was perfect into the fifth inning of his first start in a Seattle uniform, and Casper Wells, Josh Bard and Mike Carp each delivered two RBIs as the Mariners swept the Athletics. This MLB game was not won by the box score though…some say Angels in the Outfield really do exist…and on August 3rd Alex James was the Angel that the Mariners needed to pull off the sweep!
After catching a fly ball in the stands, Alex started the wave (only miles from where the original wave happened) in the stands at Safeco Field…the crowd started to join in…electrifying everyone in the entire stadium and maybe the whole city of Seattle…the home team started to feel the emotion of the fans run off their fingers as each wave came around and into the heart of every Mariner in the game…Alex James’ formation of the wave and his devotion to his favorite team earned the M’s a win that warm August night in Seattle.
Alex James you are real Angel in the Outfield…
Slow Start? What Slow Start?
OK, time to stop the MLB nonsense about whether the Indians are for real.
They’re as real as Justin Masterson’s sinker, Shin-Soo Choo’s right arm, Carlos Santana’s batting eye, Orlando Cabrera’s experience and Asdrubal Cabrera’s talent.
Try this for real: The Indians own a majors-best 66 run differential and an MLB best 18-4 home record. They’ve scored the second-most runs in the A.L. and have the fourth-best ERA. They’re 7-2 against the A.L. East with the revived Red Sox returning to Cleveland looking for revenge after that three-game sweep they absorbed in the season’s first week.
Ron Washington knows they’re for real. Asked if he knew the Indians would be in first place when in spring training he asked Manny Acta to be an MLB All-Star coach, the Rangers managed replied, “I knew the Indians would be tough. They have some talent.”
Washington might have been one of the few to believe that two months ago. But he’s no longer alone. The Indians sit atop the MLB Power Poll for the fourth consecutive week. The Poll is convinced.
1. Indians (1). You can ask the Reds if the Tribe is for real. The Indians’ weekend sweep was first over Reds since 2004.
2. Cardinals (14). When talking about N.L. MVP candidates, Matt Holliday would be the place to start. Unless you started with Lance Berkman.
3. Red Sox (13). About that 2-10 start, perhaps the Red Sox just wanted to play fair and give the rest of the league a head start.
Adrian Gonzalez has provided the offensive punch the Red Sox were hoping for when they traded for him this offseason. (AP Photo)
4. Giants (6). Latest wrist injury to Mark DeRosa could be the end, making his the saddest in a season that has seen more than its share of injuries.
5. Phillies (4). Chase Utley is back in time for rematch of last year’s divisional series against the Reds. Time for the rest of the Phillies’ offense to return, too.
6. Yankees (15). What a debut: Right-hander Hector Noesi gives Yankees four scoreless innings to win 15-inning marathon in Baltimore, providing the difference between a so-so and a good week for the club.
High Expectations – Get Your Gear Before The Team Takes Off at onthefield.com
Mark Ellis is the senior member of the A’s, going so far back with the organization that he shared an infield with a healthy Eric Chavez and Miguel Tejada, playing behind the Big Three of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito.
Ellis arrived midway through the A’s eight-year streak of winning baseball, and he has endured the subsequent four-year playoff drought.
That makes Ellis an authority when it comes to judging the spring training vibe around the A’s.
“This year is different, absolutely,” Ellis said Monday, the day of the club’s first full-squad workout of the spring. “This is as optimistic as I’ve been in spring training the past couple years. It’s exciting. If you look around, we are as good as anyone in our division, and that’s something we maybe haven’t been able to say the past couple years.”
Oh, any MLB team can say that in February. Convincing others is something else.
Before a single pitch of the Cactus League season, let alone the real season, the A’s have already convinced many around baseball that they are on the way back to contention. Like the retooled Brewers in the NL, the A’s are a chic pick to reach the playoffs.
“I think we finished on a high note last year, and because of that there is a sense that we can improve on that and narrow the gap between us and Texas,” said general manager Billy Beane, diplomatically adding that the Rangers are still “the team to beat.”
The Rangers won the division with 90 victories last season, while the A’s finished 81-81, snapping a three-year streak of finishing under .500. The Rangers lost Cliff Lee and Vladimir Guerrero and they may also trade Michael Young, while they’ve added Adrian Beltre and highly questionable Brandon Webb. On balance, it seems tough to make the case that the Rangers are better than they were in 2010.
The A’s are definitely better. The only question is how much.
Relatively Impressive Oakland Athletics
The names in the A’s new lineup don’t inspire much awe. Their three big acquisitions so far this winter have combined for a total of two MLB All-Star appearances, and none since 2004. It’s hard to look at their lineup in a vacuum and think they are going to be even a “good” offensive team.
Good, however, is a relative term. They are absolutely going to be better than they were last year.
Now that they’ve put Josh Willingham into their lineup as the left fielder, along with Hideki Matsui at DH and David DeJesus in right, the A’s have made an eye-opening improvement at one-third of their lineup spots.
Willingham had an .848 OPS last year. The A’s left fielders? .719
Matsui had an .820 OPS. The A’s DHs? .724.
DeJesus had an .827 OPS. The A’s right fielders? An unfathomable .628.
(How bad is a .628 OPS? If the A’s right fielders were one player, he would have ranked 69th out of 71 players in the AL who qualified for the batting title, just below Erick Aybar and ahead of Jose Lopez. And this is right field we’re talking about, a position that is supposed to be manned by a guy who can hit.)
Point is, the A’s lineup was flat-out horrendous in 2010. Look at some of the names they ran out there and some of the numbers they put up, and it’s a miracle they managed to get as high as 11th in the AL in runs.
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Vin Mazzaro was Off on the Right Foot
With Bob Green’s words, Vin Mazzaro’s career begun, as Geren called to the bench announcing “The future, is now.” With the young pitcher off on the right foot in his MLB debut win against the Chicago White Sox after two innings of loosening the butterflies and settling into the rotation. He had thrown 105 pitches, 60 of which were strikes and only walking four batters.
However his second debut was not so picturesque. Despite striking out 8 batters rookie pitcher Vin Mazzaro continued Oakland Athletics’ five game losing streak and Rockies first sweep of the A’s.
We’re swinging it pretty well, the ball’s just not dropping,” Mazzaro said after Oakland out-hit Colorado 11-9 at the Coliseum. “We’ve just got to go out and keep hacking.”
National Baseball Hall of Fame
Rickey Henderson visited the National Baseball Hall of Fame and put on an old glove and shoe a 1981 Brooks spikes that he wore with Oakland in his third MLB season, the wings of Mercury back then. It was the first time he touched the shoe since 28 years ago.
“They don’t make ‘em like this anymore,” Henderson said Friday, clad in black slacks and a white checkered shirt, and poring over artifacts from a big league life. “It makes you sad that not many guys steal bases today. You should be able to move to the next base, to get yourself in scoring position. I used to steal to get in scoring position because I wanted to be the person to score the most runs.”
Magical Day for Wakefield Red Sox
Tim Wakefield the Red Sox knuckleballer came five outs away from a no hitter in his 402nd major league start. Pitching the Boston Red Sox 8-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics. Wakefield has been with the Red Sox since 1995, longer than any other member of the team.
The first 15 batters were retired and after six innings, the righty had thrown 54 pitches, 42 for strikes. Wakefield has given the Red Sox no-hitters in three successive seasons.
The Red Sox were coming off a 12-inning loss that had the bullpen in the blues. The Red Sox were 2-6, which was the worst start since 1996.
Will this magic continue for Wakefield’s MLB career and the Red Sox?
Can San Jose Petition Its Own Fate?
San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed steps into recent talk about moving the Oakland A’s. Despite his desire to relocate the A’s since 1968 Athletics co-owner and managing partner, Lew Wolff had already abandoned his negotiations in February for making Fremont the A’s future home stemming from the opposition of many local area businesses and residents near the proposed stadium sites.
Reed’s recommendation hopes to influence the MLB’s decision making process in the interest of all parties involved, including San Jose, “indicating that San Jose supports MLB in the City and requests to be freed of restrictive territorial rights.”
Although San Jose is 50 miles down interstate 880 the Giants maintain their position and rights, describing San Jose as teh heart of their fan base. Already home of the San Jose Giants minor league team, the Giants major league team may in fact have some merit.
A’s staduim negotiations stepping on Giants toes
A’s owner, Lew Wolff again supported San Jose as new home for his MLB team but as the Oakland A’s have continued to struggle with its stadium dealings it was announced by the Major League Baseball Commissioner, Bud Selig, that a panel of ‘stadium experts’ would assist in the teams stadium search.
Declining to comment Wolf had told reporters that San Jose would be prime real estate, with an already approved stadium but did comment on the announcement of an assigned panel, “Ultimately it has to be determined by baseball, not by me.”
Issues have continued to surface as Wolf explored San Jose once before because of concerns taht the staduim would overlap San Francisco Giants’ territory.
“The A’s cannot and will not continue indefinitely in their current situation.” said MLB commissioner, Bud Selig.
Oakland A’s sign Manager
Bob Geren Oakland A’s manager was signed to a new one-year contract extension for the 2010 season with an option for 2011. Geren in entering his third season with the club and a 151-172 record over the past two seasons. Geren, 47, and San Diego, California native became the 28th manager in the A’s history and 17th in Oakland’s history.
Last year Geren led the A’s employing the disable list an Oakland A’s record 25 times to a 75-86 mark with his team finishing third place in the American League West. The team had a hot start with a 51-42 record after 93 games and in 2007 had nearly the same record, at 76-86.
Geren played professional baseball 15 seasons, 5 seasons in the Major Leagues with the Yankees and Padres as a catcher. Joining the organization in 1999 as manager at Class A Modesto and the next three years as the manager of Triple-A Sacramento, with a career record of 452-390 and 319 of those wins coming in the A’s organization.
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