Along with some of other new Sportswriter blogs Jeff mentioned the other day, Shannon Drayer has got one as well.  There hasn't been much news yet, but I am a fan of Shannon, so...

http://www.komoradio.com/marinersradio/shannon/5971691.html

Highlights from today include: Sexson trying to swing through Rene's head, Clement may have a minor finger injury. Vidro took some balls at third, may also see some time at first, but i bet that's all for Spring Training only.

Of course, this is Hargrove.

Well, I guess the echos of all those nasty letters must have reached all the way to the top.  Atleast enough to make Lincoln try and make a response through the press before Friday's game.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/baseball/287132_lincoln30.html

There's not really anything remarkably here in this article, but I do think it's notable there was a response.  The mere fact that the organization felt compelled to try and respond says that at least the fans' digust probably made a decent-sized stink.

Alan Schwarz and Gary Gillette spend a little time talking about Bavasi and the Mariners. Nothing ground-breaking, just your basic A. Soriano rumors, buyer/seller dilemma, Bavasi's job security.

But Schwarz does give some love to the Mariners' bullpen, calling Lowe "a young Brad Lidge, and I don't say that that often".

Here's the link to the ESPN's Podcast page, and then click on the Baseball Today audio link. If you download it, you can skip to the Mariners' segment, which begins at 10:50 or so.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnradio/podcast/index

From rotoworld.com:

"Nageotte had an 8/9 K/BB ratio while giving up nine runs -- seven earned -- in 16 1/3 innings for Tacoma. He'll be headed back to the bullpen now after starting games in Triple-A. If the Mariners would let him settle into a role, he might have better luck."

"Borchard hadn't received an at-bat in 12 days, as manager Mike Hargrove made it clear that he preferred Willie Bloomquist as the alternative to Jeremy Reed in center field. Borchard will have to report to Triple-A Tacoma if he clears waivers."

From seattlemariners.com:

"Catcher Guillermo Quiroz cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma on Monday. To make room for him on the Tacoma roster, the club released catcher Corky Miller."

http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060417&content_id=1404677& vkey=news_sea&fext=.jsp&c_id=sea

I guess this is okay. In the grand scale of things, its a pretty minor upgrade, especially with Johjima playing the way he is and Clement coming down the pipe.

It is my belief that the whole Rivera-to-the-minors deal, while Quiroz got one major league start, was all part of Bavasi's plan to get Quiroz through waivers. Which is pretty shrewd.

Guys like Koyie Hill, while no great shakes had the same thing happen with NY, so I think it was a pretty sound plan.

Quiroz over Miller -- sure, why not?

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=betweenthenumbers/ortiz/060405

Lawton ranks #5 on the all-time "clutch" hitters since 1972.

You know, if you believe in that sort of thing.

300 character fact of the day: German Karl Benz is credited with the invention of the automobile clutch in the late 19th century.

After Deanna of Marinerds mentioned the deal for 2 tickets for $22 on Tuesday games yesterday, I started thinking. For those of us that don't have season tickets or deep pockets but still want to see Felix pitch as often as possible, we should pool our cheap ticket acquisition knowledge.

I myself am a fan of picking up a centerfield bleacher ticket for $7 and then watching the game from the bullpen area.

What deals do you know about?

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5418188

This has the Mariners coming out a little better than I thought. Not blowing anyone out of the water, but considering how many players have been called up in recent years, hovering around the league average doesn't seem all that bad. Plus, we miss the King in all this:

"Speaking of players who had previously exhausted their rookie status, Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez, were he still a prospect, would've been a ridiculously easy choice for No. 1."

From John Hickey's PI Blog: "Center field prospect T.J. Bohn was optioned to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers before Friday afternoon's game with the San Diego Padres. Bohn, 26, was at his first big league camp after four years in the Seattle minor league system, and had been having a nice spring -- a .333 batting average in 21 at-bats with a .407 on-base percentage boosted by four walks."

From:
http://www.worldbaseballclassic.com/2006/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060308&content_id=1341351&vk ey=wbc_news&fext=.jsp

"As for Puerto Rico starter Joel Pineiro, he was in control from the get-go, pitching like the Pineiro of old. The right-hander stymied the Netherlands' offense by changing speeds and keeping virtually every hitter off balance.

...(Pineiro)finished the night with a respectable line: three hits, two strikeouts and one unearned run in the four-inning, 56-pitch outing."