5/25/00---Last week Lou Pinella decided to remove Kaz Sasaki from the closer role and go with "bullpen by committee." The M's tried go by the best pitching match ups in save situations instead of just using 1 guy as a closer, but that has failed to work. So today Lou brought Kaz back to the closer role where he belongs. Kaz has been pitching better lately and should be closing out the game with more success.
4/20/00---The Mariners swept the Blue Jays in an offensive explosion. The Mariners scored a total of 47 runs in the series. The first game the M's scored a minuscule 11 runs. In the second game the M's scored 17 runs. Edgar Martinez hit a grand slam, it was also his 200th career home run. In the 3rd game the Mariners lit up the Jays for 19 runs off of 22 hits. Both were almost team records. Alex Rodriguez hit 3 home runs including a grand slam, he described that game as possibly his best ever. Then the M's traveled to windy city to face off with the White Sox. The first game the M's got lit up and lost 18-11. In the second game the Mariners couldn't get a break and lost 5-2. The series was originally scheduled for 3 but game 1 was postponed due to cold weather.
4/14/00---The M's placed injury-plagued Carlos Guillen on the disabled list. Carlos pulled his left hamstring in Wednesday's win over the Tigers. Guillen missed almost all of last year with a knee injury. The M's put him on the 15-day DL, and he should be back soon. Also, the M's activated Tom Lampkin from the 15-day DL. Lampkin suffered torn medial meniscus cartilage in his right knee during spring training with M's.
4/14/00---The Mariners took 2 of 3 in a home stand from the defending world champion Yankees, then lost 2 of 3 against the lowly Tigers. Kaz Sasaki got his second career save in the first game against the Yanks. Jose Mesa was pitching when the winning runs scored in 2 of the 3 losses. The Mariners have the lowest team era in the bigs with a 2.73.
4/07/00---The Mariners took 2 of 3 from the Boston Red Sox. The first game they were shut down to only 2 hits by defending Cy Young winner Pedro Martinez. In the second game, the bats came alive while Freddy Garcia had a solid start and got the 9-3 win over the bosox. The third game was a nail bitter until the 8th, where Cameron and Bell hit back-to-back jacks. That put the M's up 5-2. Then Japanese sensation, Kazuhiro Sasaki, came and stuck out the side for his first MLB save. Next up, the Yanks from New York.
4/02/00---Brett Tomko, a right-hander received in the Griffey trade, was optioned back to triple-A Tacoma today. Tomko was 0-2 with a 6.59 era in 3 starts for the M's this spring. He has been bothered by a sire Achilles tendon which maybe why he has struggled. Tomko won't be brought back up until he improves his pitching.
3/31/00---Today the Mariners named Kazuhiro Sasaki was named the Mariners new closer. The job did belong to Jose Mesa. This news comes right after Mesa blew an 11-5 lead over the Padres in the 9th inning. Mesa has struggled lately in spring training, while Sasaki has thrown the ball well. Sasaki has a 2.00 era in 9 innings of relief. Piniella said that he though Mesa wasn't throwing with confidence and wasn't handling the pressure well. He expects Mesa to pitch better without all the pressure of closing.
3/27/00---Last years American League stolen base champion, Brian Hunter, was released by the Mariners today. Last year, Hunter was the leadoff man for the M's and had 44 stolen bases, but his on-base percentage was a pathetic .277. This frees up about 2 million dollars in cap room for the M's. Mariners GM, Pat Gillick, said it came down to releasing Charles Gipson or Hunter, he thought that Gipson was more valuable then Hunter.
3/21/00---The Seattle Mariners just completed a deal sending catcher Carlos Maldanado to Houston for minor league infielder Carlos Hernandez. Hernandez, 24 years old, played 16 games with the 'stros and went 2 for 14 with 3 stolen bases. At triple-A New Orleans, he batted .293 with 43 RBI and 22 stolen bases.
3/20/00---The Mariners have sent left handed relief pitchers Steve Sinclair and Jordan Zimmerman to minor league camp. Zimmerman and Sinclair pitched pitched a total of 12 games with the Mariners last season. Now the only left hander in the 'pen is Arthur Rhodes.
3/18/00---Antonio Perez, a no name minor leaguer received in the Griffey deal made his first appearance for the Mariners in spring training. He played in place of a sick Alex Rodriguez. He went 3 for 4 with a 2 run double in a 16-8 spring training win over the Cubs.