MLB: Branyan hits restaurant in center field at Yankee Stadium

9 bucks for a Yankee root beer float? I’d break a few windows too!

After going nearly two games without hitting a ball between the white lines at Yankee Stadium, Mariners first baseman Russell Branyan hit one where no else has gone.

Branyan took one of his husky swings at the first pitch he saw from right-handed reliever Alfredo Aceves in the ninth inning of the Mariners’ 8-4 win over the Yankees on Thursday night and drove the ball majestically to straightaway center field.

It had distance, it had height and it caromed off the dark glass protecting the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar, located above Monument Park, becoming the first player to hit the structure in the first season of the new stadium.

The Yankees apparently don’t measure opponent’s home runs, but this was a long one.

“That was majestic,” Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said. “[Alex Rodriguez’s] was measured at 439 feet and this one went way beyond that one.”

..."I think that one is going to be hard to top in this ballpark,” Wakamatsu said.

Scouting Mariners Draft Pick Dustin Ackley

Profiling the second pick of the 2009 draft…

Ackley does a good job of carrying his weight forward and moving his torso slightly in the opposite direction to create considerable torque.

He keeps his swing short — notice how the bat stays connected with the body as he strides forward — and uses a firm front leg as a base in which to turn on. His keeps his head still, making it easier for him to track the ball in from the pitcher’s hand.

Mike Morse traded for outfielder Ryan Langerhans

David Morse was in The Langoliers. Coincidence or not? You decide!

Jack Zduriencik just announced that the Mariners have acquired outfielder Ryan Langerhans from the Nationals for Mike Morse. Langerhans, a left-handed hitter, plays all three outfield positions as well as first base. Though Langerhans characterized it as a minor-league trade, all indications are that Langerhans will be joining the Mariners Tuesday in New York.

“This gives us a degree of flexibility,’’ Zduriencik said. “We thought it was important to add another guy like this.’’

The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Langerhans, 29, was hitting .278 (57x205) with 16 doubles, 9 home runs and 40 RBI in 64 games for Class AAA Syracuse.

Langerhans has appeared in the majors in parts of the past seven seasons with Atlanta (2002-2007), Oakland (2007) and Washington (2007-08), playing a total of 474 games. He is a career .233 hitter with 50 doubles, 10 triples, 24 home runs and 105 RBI in his big league career.

Baseball Musings: Pinto: Streaking Suzuki

Ichrio more than made up for it with his bat, however. He doubled and scored a run to extend his hit streak to 10 games. Impressively, his last seven games have all produced multiple hits, bring his batting average up to .375. The AL batting race is setting up to be a classic, with both Joe Mauer and Ichiro producing very high averages.

Since Ichrio came into the season with a higher career batting average than Mauer, .331 to .317, we should start watching Ichrio’s chance of hitting .400 as well. Like Joe, Ichiro missed some time at the start of the season, so we’ll also chart two probabilities, one for 162 games, one for 154 games.

Adrian Beltre decides upon surgery: It’s time

Wait, wait...I thought he plotted to be great this year.

Gold Glove third baseman Adrian Beltre is in the lineup tonight against the Dodgers, but he won’t play again until after undergoing surgery to remove bone chips from his left shoulder.

Just when hasn’t been decided, but within the next week Beltre will have surgery that will likely keep him out of the Seattle Mariners lineup 4-8 weeks.

“We’ve been bracing for this for awhile,” general manager Jack Zduriencik said. “It creates a dilemma, but it creates an opportunity, too.”

...Beltre, 30, is in the last year of his contract, and the surgery means he’s virtually untradeable before or at the July 31 deadline. In 71 games this season, Beltre is batting .260 with five home runs and 30 RBI.

“I’ve never been 100 per cent since surgery last year to fix this,” Beltre said. “They said there was a small chance the spur would grow back. My luck, I was one of those whose spur came back - and it’s bigger than last year. It hurts more.”

L.A. Times: Dodgers’ Andre Ethier has a giant night

Ethier hit his 12th, 13th and 14th homers and drove in a career-high six runs, becoming the first Dodger to hit three homers in a game since Hee-Seop Choi on June 12, 2005.

Ethier was mobbed by teammates in the dugout and took a curtain call after his third homer, a towering solo blast to right field against reliever Miguel Batista in the eighth inning.

“It’s definitely something I never dreamed about before, one of those unlikely things,” said Ethier, who had never accomplished the feat at any level.

He hit a three-run homer against Seattle starter Jason Vargas (3-3) in the second inning and added a two-run shot against Roy Corcoran in the sixth. He grounded into a 6-4-3 double play in the fourth.

Clayton Kershaw pitched six strong innings to help the Dodgers set a modern franchise record by going 74 games into a season without losing three straight.

“There’s no question if you go the rest of the year without losing three in a row, you’ll be in good shape,” Dodgers Manager Joe Torre said.

But the only team in the major leagues to avoid three straight defeats has a long way to go to catch the 2001 Mariners, who set the modern-era record by not losing three straight before their 147th, 148th and 149th games.

Judge clears the way for strip club near Safeco Field

When is that vote for SABR-vention 2011?

A King County Superior Court judge this morning cleared the way for a strip club to open within a home run’s distance of Safeco Field, rejecting arguments by the Seattle Mariners that the City of Seattle improperly issued a business permit to the club’s operators.

Judge John Erlick, who earlier was presented arguments by the parties, delivered his ruling from the bench and issued an 11-page written opinion.

Erlick said his ruling was not based on the desirability of strip clubs, which had previously been dealt with by a federal court, or the advisability of where to locate such businesses, which is the role of the Seattle City Council.

His ruling, he said, was based on the city’s application of its land-use rules.

The Mariners have vehemently objected to the club, conducting a yearlong battle with the city over the propriety of allowing nude female dancing to be featured near the stadium, particularly where millions of children have attended events since its opening in 1999.

Bleacher Report: The Coolest Tricks in All of Sports

This one begins and ends with baseball with a lot of other in between (some cool stuff, I had never seen the Jason Williams elbow pass) but this needs to be viewed by every living person who has ever seen a baseball game just to see Josh Womack’s trick to lead things off.  The description does not do it the smallest amount of justice:

Another recent addition to the inter-webs, minor leaguer Josh Womack is creating a huge stir with his famous bat trick.

In the video (below, left), as you can see, Womack starts his swinging motion, snaps his wrists to fling the bat around, then catches it and finishes his swing.

I’m sure this isn’t exactly what the Mariners had in mind when they drafted him in the second round in 2002, but hey, more people have seen this video than have seen the Mariners play this season.

That is just...I don’t know what it is, but it’s something.

Bleacher Report:  Hot Commodity: Los Angeles Dodgers Interested in Jarrod Washburn

Washburn’s stats are misleading (26-48 4.23 ERA), as he has something like the second lowest run support out of all AL pitchers in his tenure with the Mariners, something interested teams know.

Since the Mariners are not in a desperate situation (i.e. 30 games out and forced to sell for the future), and could either be buyers or sellers this season, it will drive the price for their players up. No matter what they decide to do, they are going to get top line young talent, or established MLB ready players.

With a confident, competent GM in Jack Zdurencik who has already shown his savvy in trades by grabbing guys like David Aardsma, Jason Vargas, Garret Olson, and Franklin Guiterrez, Mariners’ fans should feel good about what goes on at this years trade deadline. It has been a refreshing change from the Bavasi era when all of the best trade chips were given away on a silver platter. I know every trade deadline of late felt like a kick to the nuts for Mariners fans.

Name one Bavasi era trade import who is currently making any impact for the Mariners. That’s funny, because there are not any.

In regards to Washburn, a three prospect package containing two high rated prospects, and a mid to low level, is what can be expected. I would expect them to be looking for a SS with the lackadaisical Yuniesky Betancourt drawing the ire of many Mariners fans. I know I am not the only one wishing those Jack Wilson trade rumors had not fallen through.

A report from the Seattle Times had Dodgers OF Juan Pierre as a possible match for Washburn. Just what the Mariners need, another OF who cannot hit for power.

With JZ at the helm, just let this thing play itself out and the result should be positive Mariners fans.

Man, Bleacher Report is always good for a laugh.

Moore: Cerebral coach helps Mariners get ahold of themselves

Someday, everything is gonna be smooth like a jakubauskas
When I paint my amasterpeace…

This is why Steve Hecht is on his coaching staff. Hecht used to be a baseball player and a good one, talented enough to play eight years after being selected in the fifth round of the 1987 draft by the Giants. And he wears a baseball uniform in the dugout.

But he’s not really a baseball coach; he’s a “performance” coach who assists the players with mental training that will allow them to reach their full potential. Better put, he’s a sports psychologist and an interesting guy who has his own Web site, www.amasterpeace.com.

...Hecht tries to find the optimum “number” for each player on a scale of 1 to 100, with 1 being flat-lined and 100 being amped up beyond belief. That number represents the mental state of a player when he has had his best performances in the past. Hecht wants him to be at that number as much as possible.

Starting left-hander Jason Vargas estimates that his number is a 75.

“He talks about not letting yourself fluctuate, and how to keep grounded,” Vargas said. “He gives you little keys to get back to (75). What’s happened has happened. You can’t do anything about that. You’re always moving forward.”

Said Hecht: “Certain guys spike, and sometimes emotions affect performance. If your best command is at 75 percent, when you get too high, you lose command and it’s hard to compete.”

The Oregogian: Ken Griffey Jr. still delivering big hits for Mariners, just less often

Presence! Fear! Soul Glo!

But nobody in the clubhouse has disparaged Griffey’s contributions to the team’s surprising 35-34 start. He is credited for helping to improve the toxic atmosphere of a team that finished 61-101 last season and has provided star power and leadership to a roster rife with journeymen, underachieving youth and bloated contracts.

“He likes to have fun, he likes to joke around, he’s loose, he keeps everybody else loose,” Seattle pitcher Jarrod Washburn said. “As much as his (batting) numbers may not show it, he’s still a huge presence in the lineup. He gets walked an awful lot just because he’s Ken Griffey Jr. Whether he’s swinging the bat well or not.”

Washburn said opposing pitchers still fear Griffey, as evidenced by the lengthy mound conference the Diamondbacks held Friday before Griffey’s appearance, which drew a standing ovation before he entered the batter’s box. And that presence helps the rest of the team.

..."Every guy that gets outed just ads a little more to what he’s done in everybody’s eyes,” Washburn said. “I don’t think that anybody would argue the fact that if he would have stayed healthy back in the prime of his career that he’d be up there going after (Hank) Aaron and (Babe) Ruth and (Barry) Bonds’ home run records.”

Seattle Times: Endy Chavez done for year with torn ACL.

Just got the official word on Endy Chavez, who has a torn anterior cruciate ligament—which explains the thigh-to-ankle cast we mentioned earlier—and other internal damage that effectively finishes off his 2009 season. Chavez also apparently damaged other ligaments in the knee and may have fractured a bone as well, but the ACL is the primary concern.

The all-glove-love outfield goes the way of the dodo.

Seattle Times: Baker: The difference between real journalists and “basement bloggers”

Funny this comes up, why just last night Belth, Berg, Salfino and I were discussing this very matter...but then I spilled greasy Beer Can Game Hen juices on my lap. And I forgot everything. Sorry.

And that’s where we’re at. This is not about journalists “protecting their turf’’ against bloggers. We have some excellent bloggers in Seattle, who write all kinds of interesting statistical analysis, some correct and some a little out there. But it’s a good blogoshpere. And still, there is a serious distrust of these bloggers by players and teams themselves because of the accountability factor. Anyone can take shots from a distance. But can you look someone in the eye? And that’s what it boils down to.

Local bloggers have tried to gain access to the Mariners clubhouse. I’m obviously not out of touch with the local blogosphere. I see where it is, where it’s going, and as local BBWAA chairperson, I’m not entirely opposed to limited access even though some of my bretheren are. But there would have to be limits. In no way would I ever open the floodgates and let everyone with a “dot.com’’ address into specialized “press’’ areas as some sports have contemplated. I’d like to see some kind of formal training involved. Some bloggers are highly passionate and dedicated and might be considered “journalists’’ had they ever obtained some type of formal training. Heck, in the right circumstance, I might even hold the journalism classes for them, my past experience as a college lecturer being of use in this case.

But there is a training that has to occur. You either learn it in school, or learn it on-the-job at a paper before going out in the field. Or from me. But you have to get some training before you head out there. That way, you don’t embarrass yourself nationally, as this blogger just did, or risk ruining a ballplayer’s reputation when you may not be right.

Again, can you look somebody in the eye? It’s as simple as that.

Larry Larue (TNT): Lightning, thunder - and a shortstop who doesn’t get it

Mr Betancourt: Meet Mr. Pine.

Mr. Pine: Meet Mr. Betancourt

What manager Don Wakamatsu said is that he’s rewarding the hard work of Ronny Cedeno, who has ‘busted his butt’ even when not playing, Wakamatsu said.

What must Betancourt do to get back in the lineup?

“He has to show he’s prepared to play,” Wakamatsu said.

Betancourt, who has had meetings with his manager and coaches all season, insists he’s doing nothing different now than ever.

“I’ve been doing the same routine for years,” Betancourt said. “I can’t control the lineup. I’m doing whatever I’ve done in the past.”

That, of course, may well be the issue. Betancourt has never been a hard worker, and the past four days have not served him well.

Since being out of the lineup, his teammates say, Betancourt has not taken a single ground ball.

And Monday, when 12 position players showed up for early batting practice, Betancourt was not among them.

“I was asleep on the plane when they announced that,” Betancourt said.

Clearly, this management group - from general manager Jack Zduriencik to Wakamatsu and his coaches - have had enough of half-assed workouts and a failure to adjust.

The simple truth is, Betancourt has minor league options left, and one plan is to send him down and tell him he won’t be back until he shows his work ethic has changed.

“You can’t play a guy who doesn’t work hard on a team where everyone else busts their ass,” one Mariner said. “I don’t know why this never happened before, but no one in this clubhouse has any doubts about why it’s happened now.”

Mr. Morrow will be starting again soon - for the Rainiers

He’s just f***ing with the Mariners fanbase at this point.

The back-and forth career of Seattle right-hander Brandon Morrow – he’s a starter, no a reliever, no a starter – is about to take another turn.

It will land him, probably by the end of this week, in the starting rotation of the Tacoma Rainiers.

Morrow, the 24-year-old first-round draft pick in 2005, approached the team last month and told them he’d changed his mind about being a reliever. He wanted to be a starting pitcher.

What the Mariners want is a way to use Morrow and his 97 mph velocity, in a capacity that works for him and the team. This spring, when Morrow fell behind because of a tender elbow, he volunteered in the final week of camp to close.

Now that David Aardsma has seized that role, Morrow has used the last month to work on mechanics, especially driving his front foot toward the plate, not first base. After an adjustment period, Morrow seems to have taken to the change.

“It gives me more balance, better location,” Morrow said.

philly.com: Phillies have bargaining chips in search for pitching

There’s a chance the Phils could get to the postseason with the pitching they have. But they can’t take the chance of coming up short, not with this ripened nucleus of players. And beyond the regular season, the Phils have to think of what their postseason rotation might look like. Having a strong 1-2 combo at the top of the rotation is crucial in the postseason, and the Phils have been weakened by the loss of Brett Myers.

So the Phils are hunting for another pitcher, and from the sound of it, they’re not just looking for an off-the-rack arm. They want someone that will make them better, an upgrade on what they have. Jake Peavy interests them, but he doesn’t want to leave San Diego. The Astros’ Roy Oswalt and the Blue Jays’ Roy Halladay would interest the Phils - if their teams were to make them available. Ditto for Erik Bedard, if the Mariners put up the “For Sale” sign.

MLB.com: Ichiro’s streak ends at 27 games.

Ichiro Suzuki’s franchise-record 27-game hitting streak came to an end Friday night at Safeco Field when the right fielder went 0-for-4 and reached base only once, on a walk in the third inning, in the Mariners’ 2-1 loss to Minnesota.

27 games? Zimmerman does that with his eyes closed.

Yuniesky Betancourt Scouting Report Using Only Sentences From Dictionary.com

Lookout Landing: producing, or capable of producing, a desired effect.

The player stationed in the field between the second and third bases. He is young for his age. A lackadaisical fellow. Indifferent to the sufferings of others. He’s flat on his back after a long succession of failures. A rose in full bloom? A player of great promise? This story is the work of an active imagination. They gradually began to back away from their earlier opinion. Let’s not talk of bygones. From a practical view, the situation presents several problems. A waste of talent. It is useless to reason with him. Can’t hit a slider. A bad spark plug. He is the limit of irresponsibility. He is inept at mechanical tasks. What do you make of it? In this business you either have it or you don’t. The truth is out at last. He’s the kind of person you pity but want to keep at arm’s length. Away with him! It can be done with ease.

True Blue L.A.: Claudio Vargas Makes Rehab Start For Inland Empire

Dodger righthander Claudio Vargas, on the 60-day disabled list since opening day, made his first rehabilitation start Tuesday night for the Inland Empire 66ers, on the road in Adelanto against the High Desert Mavericks.

Vargas, coming back from battling right elbow tendinitis, was sharp until he hit a rough patch in the fourth inning.  He had good command of both his curve and fastball, especially through the first three innings.  One of the pitchers from the 66ers was charting pitches from the stands behind home plate, and he reported Vargas was hitting 90 MPH on the gun.

After giving up one run on two hits in the first three innings, Vargas was hit harder in the fourth.  He allowed two doubles and a single, although to be fair one of the doubles seemed like a flyout off the bat that simply carried in the high elevation of Adelanto.

Vargas’s final line:  4 IP, 5 hits, 4 runs (3 earned), 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

The 66ers lost the game, 7-5
Among the other highlights of the game:

* Scott Van Slyke of the 66ers stole home on the back end of a double steal in the sixth inning
* Mariners’ #3 ranked prospect Phillippe Aumont came into the game with runners on in the eighth inning, with the Mavericks leading 7-5.  The 20-year old Aumont, an imposing 6’7” righthander, gave up a single to right field to pinch-hitter Alex Garabedian, but Christian Lara was thrown out at the plate by rightfielder Carlos Peguero, who uncorked a nice throw home.  Aumont was regularly hitting 94-97 MPH, and also featured a devastating curve, which he used to strike out two batters in the 9th to help complete the save.

True Blue is doing beat reporting at single-A San Bernardino throughout the season.

Divish: It’s time for Seattle fans to let Adam Jones go – the budding star doesn’t love you anymore

If he had any special feelings of nostalgia in his first trip back last season, they were minimal.

And now? They are nonexistent.

“Nothing,” he said flatly when asked if he had any special feelings coming back.

No sentimentality? Nothing?

“Nothing,” he said. “It’s just a regular city. We’re on the road. We just got to come here and do what our team tries to accomplish on the road.”

It sounds like cold words for a group of fans who feel like they’ve been robbed of something special by a bald-headed assailant named Bill Bavasi.

Didn’t the Bald-Headed Assailant take on Dr. Luther & Incubus one time?

Dave Cameron: Branyan Arrives

So far, he looks like a genius. Branyan entered the day hitting .306/.395/.590, and he just hit a Trevor Cahill fastball about 750 feet for his 11th home run of the season. Given a chance to hit against left-handed pitching for the first time, he’s responded by showing a fairly normal platoon split - .312/.407/.634 vs RHPs and .294/.373/.529 against LHPs.

Watching him play on a daily basis, and looking at his career performances, I have to wonder just what kind of career Branyan missed out on for no real reason. Starting in 2000, when he got some real playing time for the first time in his career as a 24-year-old, Branyan has never posted a wOBA below .326. His career wOBA is .350, and his wRAA of 43.0 in 2,487 PA paints the picture of a guy who was worth about 10 runs more than a league average hitter over each full season’s worth of playing time.

Brandon Morrow: A case study in arrested development

The saga of Brandon Morrow starts long before I got to Seattle. And because I haven’t been here from the beginning, I won’t rehash all the issues concerning his being drafted with the fifth overall pick in the 2006 Draft. Yes, I know Tim Lincecum has already won a Cy Young Award despite being picked five spots later. But let’s put that aside and focus on what Morrow could be as opposed to what he isn’t. Are the Tampa Bay Rays upset that they passed on Lincecum? Of course not! They picked Evan Longoria with the third pick and they’re perfectly content! The Mariners don’t need to care who they passed on - just who they still have!

So, how good could Morrow be? Really good....I think. But he’s never been given that opportunity to get there. And the reason is that his minor league development was stunted. He was never given the chance to learn how to be a major league pitcher where you’re supposed to learn it: in the minors!

To get a sense as to just how much his growth was stunted, let’s compare him to two other pitchers drafted later in that same first round. Clayton Kershaw was selected by the Dodgers at #7. Daniel Bard went to the Red Sox at #28. Here are their minor league and major league stats by season:

Mariners continue to come up short at short

First time I saw Yuniesky Betancourt, four years ago in spring training, the Cuban refugee was telling his Coming to America story with the help of a Spanish interpreter. Betancourt wasn’t expansive on the details of his boat ride to freedom – he feared for the safety of family and friends still in Cuba – but as I noticed the look of serene determination on his face, it occurred to me that anything was possible with this guy.

On Tuesday, Betancourt finally proved me right: Six days after what was supposed to be a wake-up-call benching in Texas, the lights upstairs were still dim – so dim that ever-tolerant Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu benched him again.

Yep, anything is possible with Yuniesky Betancourt.

Morgan misses third game

Morgan yesterday sat out his third consecutive game with a left hamstring injury

That’s the main part of this article.  Most shocked about the attendance in Washington (14,549 to see the Pirates-Nats on a Monday night!).  Also interesting:

In a busy weekend of acquiring former Yankees, just two days after trading for starter Eric Hacker, 26, the Pirates yesterday picked up on waivers another Scranton/Wilkes-Barre right-hander, reliever Steven Jackson, 27.

Joining Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens, Jose Tabata, and Andy Phillips as “former Yankees acquired in the past year”.

The Seattle Times reported on its blog, quoting unidentified sources, that Mariners officials have discussed with the Pirates a possible trade for shortstop Jack Wilson. It cited Mariners shortstop Yusniesky Betancourt as Seattle’s potential chip in such a deal

I really hate typos in actual Newspaper articles.  Regardless, I always had the notion of Betancourt as a decent hitter… until I looked at his bbref page.  He’s Jack Wilson without the defense and is only 4 years younger (according to his Cuban “birth certificate”, which is on butcher paper and written with crayon).  He’s cheaper right now, but he’s not a solution.  That would almost be a lateral move and would make sense if they had a monster in A-ball who was just a few years away and they needed a gap-filler.  Unfortunately, that’s not the case.  I’m more surpised that Wilson’s value has gone down that much.  Wasn’t the reasoning for not dealing Wilson last year/offseason that new management didn’t want to make deals just for the sake of making deals?  Watching Brian Bixler play SS when Wilson’s hurt only makes me like Captain Jack that much more!

Also of note:  Gorzelanny got into tonight’s game, first MLB action this season.

Jeff Sullivan (Lookout Landing) - Portrait of Lost Cause

As devout Mariners fans throughout the Northwest offer prayers and supplications to Saint Jude, patron saint of lost causes, to heal the Mariners middle infield:

Faced with more breaking stuff and more balls, Yuni has taken it upon himself to swing more often. And he’s not even swinging more often at everything - he’s just swinging more often at balls. His Z-Swing%/O-Swing% ratio has dropped from 2.4 to 2.3 to 2.1 to 1.6. Jeff Francoeur’s ratio hasn’t changed. Alfonso Soriano’s ratio hasn’t changed that much. Khalil Greene’s ratio hasn’t changed that much. Yuni’s done what precious few players have done, and that’s have his plate discipline seemingly decline as he approaches his peak.

There’s a reason why pitchers keep giving Yuni fewer and fewer pitches to hit: he hasn’t wised up. With a given hitter, you’d expect that opposing pitchers would eventually reach a balance between fastballs and non-fastballs, and strikes and stuff off the plate. They’ll get to the point where throwing more hittable pitches leads to more hits, and throwing fewer hittable pitches leads to more walks. There has been no such point for Yuni, though - not yet - because he hasn’t forced it. He’s just turned himself into an easier out, and as pitchers have searched for the balance point, Yuni has gone after more and more bad pitches, meaning that there is still more to be gained by pitching out of the zone. Yuni might explain away his slow start by pointing out how he hasn’t been given much to hit, but that’s his own fault, because he hasn’t done anything to earn those pitches. If you go after balls, then you’ll get more balls.

The Perpetual Post: Bader and Megdal: Early-Season Achiever Smackdown: Royals OR Mariners?

Or as my old pal, Sir Doug, might have sang..."Adios, Mexicutioner”.

By this standard, unfortunately, I think the Royals are due to fall well short of their early success, much as I hope I am wrong. It is the Seattle Mariners who have ample reason for optimism, building on a solid 16-16 start.

First, the Royal overachievers: Alberto Callaspo is probably tops on this list with a .340/.395/.544 line. I don’t think I’m telling secrets when I say that won’t last. Other Royals with OPS at or above .800: Mark Teahen, Billy Butler, Jose Guillen, Coco Crisp, Mike Jacobs. I only have any confidence in the first two to make a run at .800 OPS for the season, unfortunately.

On the pitching side, Zach Greinke is a revelation, and I believe a legit star. He will not, however, pitch to a 0.51 ERA. Worse for the Royals is Brian Bannister, who has a 1.48 ERA, but 14 strikeouts and 11 walks in 24 1/3 innings. Alas, we know which of these numbers is not like the others.

As for two of the brightest lights in the Kansas City skyline, Alex Gordon is out with an injury for the next two months. And more concerning still, the Mexicutioner, Joakim Soria, has not been himself all season, and recently went on the disabled list with shoulder soreness. So the young players most capable of supporting Greinke in making the leap to stardom are hamstrung from doing so due to injury.

Baker: Why casual Mariners fans and winning baseball teams don’t always mix

Or why in the name of Punchyless Delgado is Griffey still batting third?

If you thought Griffey’s performance prior to Sunday was good enough, then you must have been huge Jose Vidro fans. At one point last May, Vidro was hitting .239 with a .646 OPS—slightly better power with a better average, but fewer walks than Griffey prior to yesterday. No doubt, you shed tears when Vidro was let go.

And you were probably among the few giving Richie Sexson a standing ovation whenever he stepped to the plate. Like Griffey, Sexson also hit in the middle of the order. And a year ago yesterday morning, Sexson was hitting .209 with a .738 OPS. In other words, he was outperforming Griffey’s numbers as of yesterday morning.

Now, obviously, yes, there is a sentimental attachment to Griffey in the Pacific Northwest. I get it. But you can’t run a baseball team based on that. And believe me, Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik was well aware of that when he signed Griffey. Fans will have their bobblehead days and their Home Opener cheers during player intros. But what the team needs—and has always needed from Griffey—is middle-of-the-order production.

The Daily: Wagner: Why Yuniesky Betancourt’s career should end

Wooeee! I haven’t seen the University of Washington this ticked off...since “What the Bleep Do We Know!?” was filmed there!

Some of my colleagues already know that I despise Yuniesky Betancourt.

I often get asked why I dislike the Seattle Mariners shortstop; either that, or people give me curious looks that say: “He’s not that bad.”

Oh, but he is.

...It’s almost as if Betancourt doesn’t care enough about how good he could be.

He clearly doesn’t care about taking the right approach at the plate. Coaches have tried to teach him for several years now.

He clearly doesn’t care about making a full effort on the field. Errors have mounted, and his range has disappeared.

And he most certainly doesn’t care enough to live up to the expectations bestowed upon him a few seasons ago. He’s done just enough to stay in a major-league lineup, but never any more.

Betancourt is the epitome of a lazy, unconcerned major-league baseball player and, at this point, is more useful on the bench than on the field.

Passan: Ibanez is confounding his critics

All of which leads to the question: Has Ibanez, whose fielding caused plenty an eye roll in Seattle the last five seasons, really gotten that much better over the course of one offseason?

“What do you think?” he said. “I don’t want to get into this because I’ve been advised not to. But those ratings are flawed. There are factors that aren’t considered. Velocity of ball. Trajectory of ball. The people around you and their range and if they have priority over you. There’s a place for a lot of numbers. But just like scouting’s not the end-all, be-all, neither are numbers.”

...When the Phillies signed Ibanez, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said they considered Ibanez an average defender, perhaps a tick below average. Never did they bother with statistics that claimed Ibanez among the game’s worst fielders.

“I do not buy numbers defensively. At all,” Amaro said. “I look at fielding percentage. But that other business? I don’t buy it a lick. I think defense is subjective. You know, if you watch a guy, whether he has range or not. You can’t study a guy’s routes to the ball by the numbers. It doesn’t happen.

“We subscribe to what our guys see with their eyes, especially when it comes to defense.”

Which is why members of the Bristol Robotham Lord family are still given primo box seats to this day.

Danny Knobler: The A-Rod book: One thing’s wrong, for sure

I got to page 79, read that A-Rod was “hitting a dismal .105 . . . with April nearing its chilly end,” and that he then met with a guy named Jim Fannin “in a downtown Milwaukee hotel room.”

I wasn’t covering A-Rod in 1996, but I was covering baseball. And it seemed stunning that he could have been hitting .105 near the end of April. It took me all of three minutes on baseball-reference.com to find out that he wasn’t.

No, when A-Rod was hitting .105, it was April 7, six games into the season. And while the Mariners had just finished a series against Milwaukee, it was at the Kingdome, not at County Stadium. And while the Mariners then left on a road trip, they went to Detroit, not Milwaukee. The Mariners’ lone trip to Milwaukee that season was in late July, not late April.

Now, does any of this really matter?

Not really. We’ve all made sloppy mistakes like that, misreading our notes or trusting someone else’s faulty memory. But here’s the thing: An author who relies on innuendo, speculation, pop psychology and anonymous sources for her strongest accusations is also asking for our trust.

It’s possible that any or all of Roberts’ accusations—the repeated steroid use dating back to high school, the marital indiscretions, even the pitch-tipping—are true. In fact, with what we already know for sure about A-Rod, it’s not hard at all to believe that they’re true (well, maybe except for the pitch-tipping). But Roberts doesn’t exactly produce an air-tight case in support of any of them.

Thanks go to Shysterball.