A cotton-candy putdown and Mariners notes
Monday, September 12, 2011 | 5:24 pm
Before we dive into the Mariners' news of the day -- and there are snippets -- I share this moment of utter humility.
As I rode the elevator back to the Safeco Field press box this afternoon after talking with players and manager Eric Wedge, it stopped at the main concourse. To my absolute delight, a young woman rolled into the elevator a large rack filled with dozens of bags of cotton candy. Some of it is pink, some blue and, to me, all of it a sugary delight.
I think I made some sort of Homer Simpson guttural noise at the sight of all that cotton candy.
So I asked the young woman what I thought was a very legitimate question: “Which cotton candy is better? Pink or blue?”
She looked me and, without smiling and apparently without humor, stabbed me with this reply:
“Well, it just depends on the child.”
Amid the pain of that putdown, I offer these notes before the Mariners face the Yankees in the first of a three-game series:
• Rookie Kyle Seager is making his 33rd start at third base tonight, but it'll be his first time to bat second in the order. Part of the reason is for the Mariners to see how he handles that spot and part is because Brendan Ryan is really struggling and has been bumped to eighth in the order. Ryan is batting just .147 since he came off the disabled list Aug. 19 after a left shoulder injury.
As for Seager hitting second, it's another move to gauge how a young player handles a new situation as the Mariners evaluate their talent.
“We'll see how it works,” manager Eric Wedge said. “He puts up good at-bats and it's a good opportunity to see him up there.”
• As for Ryan, Wedge said his high-strung shortstop needs to be a little less harsh on himself when he struggles. Actually, Ryan needs to be a lot less harsh.
“He gets frustrated with himself and drives himself crazy,” Wedge said. “He drives me crazy. Maybe that should be part of his offseason program: manage frustration.”
Wedge then realized he could have been describing himself with that statement.
“My wife is going to hear about this and (“manage frustration”) will be on my refrigerator tomorrow,” Wedge said.
• Felix Hernandez, tonight's starter for the Mariners, is 5-0 with a 1.29 ERA against the Yankees since the start of the 2009 season. No other pitcher with at least six starts against the Yankees in that time comes close to that 1.29 ERA. Justin Verlander is at 2.63, James Shields 3.15, Francisco Liriano 3.22 and Jon Lester 3.57.
• From the wish-we-had-a-photo dept., Mariners pitcher Blake Beavan said he weighed 10 pounds at birth (Jan. 17, 1989). “I was a little Michelin Man,” Beavan said. “I was a chunky kid until I got to seventh or eighth grade. When I played football as a kid (at age 9), they made me put an X on my helmet and wouldn't let me play quarterback because I was over the weight limit.” He's now 6-foot-7, 240 pounds and there's no hint of that Michelin Man or even a spare tire.
• Roger Hansen, the Mariners' longtime minor league catching coordinator, has been promoted to a special assistant role under general manager Jack Zduriencik with an emphasis on the minor league system. The 50-year-old Hansen, who lives in Stanwood, has seen his duties on the minor league side expand beyond catching in recent years. He has spent 18 years in player development with the Mariners, plus three years as a minor league player.
As I rode the elevator back to the Safeco Field press box this afternoon after talking with players and manager Eric Wedge, it stopped at the main concourse. To my absolute delight, a young woman rolled into the elevator a large rack filled with dozens of bags of cotton candy. Some of it is pink, some blue and, to me, all of it a sugary delight.
I think I made some sort of Homer Simpson guttural noise at the sight of all that cotton candy.
So I asked the young woman what I thought was a very legitimate question: “Which cotton candy is better? Pink or blue?”
She looked me and, without smiling and apparently without humor, stabbed me with this reply:
“Well, it just depends on the child.”
Amid the pain of that putdown, I offer these notes before the Mariners face the Yankees in the first of a three-game series:
• Rookie Kyle Seager is making his 33rd start at third base tonight, but it'll be his first time to bat second in the order. Part of the reason is for the Mariners to see how he handles that spot and part is because Brendan Ryan is really struggling and has been bumped to eighth in the order. Ryan is batting just .147 since he came off the disabled list Aug. 19 after a left shoulder injury.
As for Seager hitting second, it's another move to gauge how a young player handles a new situation as the Mariners evaluate their talent.
“We'll see how it works,” manager Eric Wedge said. “He puts up good at-bats and it's a good opportunity to see him up there.”
• As for Ryan, Wedge said his high-strung shortstop needs to be a little less harsh on himself when he struggles. Actually, Ryan needs to be a lot less harsh.
“He gets frustrated with himself and drives himself crazy,” Wedge said. “He drives me crazy. Maybe that should be part of his offseason program: manage frustration.”
Wedge then realized he could have been describing himself with that statement.
“My wife is going to hear about this and (“manage frustration”) will be on my refrigerator tomorrow,” Wedge said.
• Felix Hernandez, tonight's starter for the Mariners, is 5-0 with a 1.29 ERA against the Yankees since the start of the 2009 season. No other pitcher with at least six starts against the Yankees in that time comes close to that 1.29 ERA. Justin Verlander is at 2.63, James Shields 3.15, Francisco Liriano 3.22 and Jon Lester 3.57.
• From the wish-we-had-a-photo dept., Mariners pitcher Blake Beavan said he weighed 10 pounds at birth (Jan. 17, 1989). “I was a little Michelin Man,” Beavan said. “I was a chunky kid until I got to seventh or eighth grade. When I played football as a kid (at age 9), they made me put an X on my helmet and wouldn't let me play quarterback because I was over the weight limit.” He's now 6-foot-7, 240 pounds and there's no hint of that Michelin Man or even a spare tire.
• Roger Hansen, the Mariners' longtime minor league catching coordinator, has been promoted to a special assistant role under general manager Jack Zduriencik with an emphasis on the minor league system. The 50-year-old Hansen, who lives in Stanwood, has seen his duties on the minor league side expand beyond catching in recent years. He has spent 18 years in player development with the Mariners, plus three years as a minor league player.
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