It's nice to see the Mariners in full "Wreck the rental" mode

It's safe to say nobody is monitoring Cliff Lee's innings.
The Mariners know they are putting their ace out there for the highest bidder and what better way to up the asking price than showing he can give 9 innings and kick some butt?

Well that's what he did in Yankee Stadium tonight.

That means 4 of his last 5 starts have been complete game victories. Hell, if the Mariners trade him to an American League team, he might wind up winning the AL Cy Young award.

The Mariners are going to squeeze every inning out of him. He's in full "What do we care? He's just a rental!" mode.

Ironically the last time I saw "wreck the rental" from a team, it was the Milwaukee Brewers when they had Cliff Lee's ex teammate and fellow Cy Young winning Indians lefty C.C. Sabathia and seemed to pitch him 5 times a week.

Enjoy the Pacific Northwest, Cliff. You'll be somewhere else in 3 weeks.

Next stop... Irrelevant-ville

If the Red Sox have any real aspirations for making the 2010 playoffs, then they need to do something right away.

And by something I don't mean a trade. They got back Beckett and Buchholz from the DL. Along with Dice-K, Lester and Lackey, all whom pitched well in Seattle, they finally have a terrific starting 5.

But there is another 5 staring them in the face.

They are 5 games back of Tampa.
Forget the Yankees... they are more than a week ahead of the Sox and playing a different level of baseball.

But the Red Sox are a modest losing streak and a few Tampa wins from being more than a week out of the Wild Card race.

It isn't even August yet and the Red Sox could very well be in "Christ, let's see what we have in Pawtucket" mode.

It's still July and I am thinking things like "Pedroia... take your time in rehab and be healthy for spring training."

But we're not there yet... and I will dutifully update the tally.

DODGED A BULLET GAMES - 30

April 4 - 9-7 win against Yankees (On Opening Night, the Red Sox overcome a 5-1 Yankee lead with a game tying HR by Pedroia and a go ahead passed ball.)
April 10 - 8-3 win against Kansas City (Beckett out pitches Zack Greinke and nearly gets decapitated by a line drive.)
April 14 - 6-3 win in Minnesota. (Okajima gets Morneau to pop up with the bases loaded in the 7th and Papelbon wiggled out of a 9th inning jam.)
April 20 - 7-6 win against Texas. (Darnell McDonald introduces himself to Boston with an 8th inning game tying homer and a walk off hit in the 9th.)
April 21 - 8-7 win against Texas. (The Red Sox were down 4-0 early only to win it on Youk's 2 out 11th inning double.)
April 23 - 4-3 win against Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 3-0 lead but win it on Adrian Beltre's bases loaded walk.)

April 24 - 7-6 win against Baltimore. (The Red Sox score 6 in the 7th and hold off a late Baltimore comeback attempt.)
April 26 - 13-12 win at Toronto. (The Sox blow an early 5-0 lead but hang on for dear life in a slugfest.)
April 27 - 2-1 win at Toronto. (Buchholz holds the Jays down for 8 but it takes a bases loaded walk in the 8th to go ahead.)
April 28 - 2-0 win at Toronto. (Daniel Bard wiggles out of trouble in the 8th to help Lester shut down the Blue Jays and finish the sweep.)
May 4 - 5-1 win against the Angels. (Juan Rivera misplays Jeremy Hermedia's 2 out flyball into a 3 run game winning double)
May 5 - 3-1 win against the Angels. (Papi and Beltre homer and the Sox hang on despite squandering many potential rallies.)
May 6 - 11-6 win against the Angels. (Dice-K puts the Red Sox in a 4-0 hole before they even bat. The Sox bats respond.)
May 10 - 7-6 win against the Blue Jays. (Sox blow an early 2-0 lead, take advantage of some errors and hang on.)
May 18 - 7-5 win in New York. (Sox climb back from a 5-1 hole. A day after hitting a walk off homer, Marcus Thames drops a fly ball to start the winning rally for the Sox.)
May 25 - 2-0 win in Tampa. (Big Papi supplies all the offense as Papelbon wiggles out of a 9th inning jam.)
May 29 - 1-0 win against Kansas City. (Zack Greinke holds the Sox to one run, but they make it stick)

June 1 - 9-4 win against Oakland. (Lackey puts the Sox in a 4-0 hole but Victor Martinez goes 5-5 and the Sox score 9 runs late.)
June 2 - 6-4 win against Oakland. (Dice-K puts the Sox in a 3-0 hole before they come to bat, but come back thanks to Papi's homer.)

June 8 - 3-2 win at Cleveland. (With Papelbon unavailable, Okajima, Ramirez and Bard hang on to make a winner out of Wakefield.)

June 19 - 5-4 win against the Dodgers. (Sox make 4 errors, blow a late lead and let Manny homer, but they win it in the bottom of the 9th on a Pedroia single.)
June 20 - 2-0 win against the Dodgers. (Dodgers blow an early bases loaded scoring opportunity and allow Buchholz to settle down for the win.)

June 24 - 13-11 win in Colorado. (The bullpen lets up 9 runs in 5 innings, but Pedroia homers 3 times including with 2 outs in the 10th to win a wild and stupid game.)
June 26 - 4-2 win in San Francisco. (An injury running the bases takes Buchholz out in the second, but the bullpen and Mike Cameron's bat and glove win the game.)
July 2 - 3-2 win against the Orioles. (Wakefield gets the win and J.D. Drew homers twice, but it is Nava's 2 out 8th inning bloop that landed between three fielders that breaks the tie.)

July 11 - 3-2 win in Toronto. (Jesse Litch took a no hitter into the 6th but back to back homers by McDonald and Big Papi win the game.)
July 17 - 3-2 win against Texas. (Youk ties the game in the 9th off of Cliff Lee and wins it in the 11th with a sacrifuce fly)
July 19 - 2-1 win at Oakland. (Beltre homers and Dice-K holds on to the win.)
July 22 - 8-6 win at Seattle. (Lackey lost a no hit bid in the 8th and the Mariners scored 5 in the 9th to tie before the Sox won in 13)
July 23 - 2-1 win at Seattle. (Bill Hall's barely fair homer gives the Sox the win on Beckett's return.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 31

April 6 - 6-4 loss against the Yankees. (Scutaro's error leads to the winning run.)
April 7 - 3-1 loss against the Yankees. (Sox leave the winning run on in the 9th only to lose on Granderson's 10th inning homer)
April 9 - 4-3 loss in Kansas City. (Bard coughs up the lead, denying Wakefield a win.)
April 17 - 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Sox can't score with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 11th... lost it in the 12th.)
April 17 - 6-5 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Red Sox comeback falls a run short, leaving two on in the 8th)
April 25 - 7-6 loss to Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 4-1 lead, leave the winning run on second in the 9th, let up 3 in the 10th and could only score 2 in the bottom of the 10th)
April 30 - 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (Tejada ties the game with a 2 out 8th inning homer and wins it with a bloop in the 10th)
May 1 - 12-9 loss in Baltimore. (Dice-K and Wakes get pounded, wasting 2 homers from Ortiz and an early 4-1 lead.)
May 2 - 3-2 loss in Baltimore. (Varitek is thrown at home trying to score with 2 outs in the 8th. Sox get swept in the 10th.
May 12 - 3-2 loss against the Blue Jays. (The Sox rally in the 9th comes up a run short and Kevin Gregg gets an ugly save.)
May 15 - 7-6 loss in Detroit. (The Sox blow a 6-1 lead and lose it on a 2 out bases loaded walk in the 12th.)
May 17 - 11-9 loss in New York. (The Sox come all the way back from a 5-0 first inning hole to take a 9-7 lead in the 9th... but Papelbon lets up a 2 run game tying shot to A-Rod and a 2 run walk off shot to Marcus Thames.)
May 21 - 5-1 loss in Philadelphia. (Big Papi's bid for a game tying 9th inning grand slam is caught at the warning track.)
May 27 - 4-3 loss to Kansas City. (Dice-K walks the go ahead run in and lets another score on a wild pitch as the Royals no name bullpen shut down the Hot Sox.)
May 28 - 12-5 loss to Kansas City. (Sox blow a 3-0 first inning lead to be blown out in Fenway.)
June 3 - 9-8 loss to Oakland. (Sox lose a slugfest where two Boston runners are thrown out at home.)

June 6 - 4-3 loss in Baltimore. (Sox rally to tie the game in the 9th only to lose it on a small ball rally in the 11th.)
June 10 - 8-7 loss in Cleveland. (Sox blow an early 5-0 lead and then after rallying in the 9th to take the lead coughed it up with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th)
June 13 - 5-3 loss to Philadelphia. (Sox 9th inning rally comes up short)
June 22 - 2-1 loss in Colorado. (The Sox waste a solid Lester start and twice leave the bases loaded.)
June 23 - 8-6 loss in Colorado. (The Sox batter Ubaldo Jimenez around but Papelbon lets up 2 homers in the 9th to lose it.)
June 25 - 5-4 loss in San Francisco. (The Sox strand 11 runners in the last 4 innings wasting a solid Wakefield performance.)
July 5 - 6-5 loss in Tampa Bay. (Sox spoil a 5-1 lead and 2 homers by Eric Patterson when Dice-K and the bullpen couldn't hold down the Rays.)
July 6 - 3-2 loss in Tampa Bay. (Sox bats go dead and Kevin Youkilis goes down to injury.)
July 7 - 6-4 loss in Tampa Bay. (Matt Garza comes out of the pen, shuts down a late rally as the Rays sweep the Sox.)
July 10 - 9-5 loss in Toronto. (The Sox give Lackey an early 5-3 lead that he couldn't hold.)
July 18 - 4-2 loss to the Rangers. (Lester loses a rare game at home that included a Rangers steal of home.)

July 20 - 5-4 loss in Oakland. (The Sox go up 4-0 after 2 but don't score again and lose it in the 10th)
July 21 - 6-4 loss in Oakland. (Buchholz can't hold on to an early lead as the Sox lose the series.)
July 24 - 5-1 loss in Seattle. (Lester's perfect game is foiled and the Red Sox bats die.)
July 25 - 4-2 loss in Seattle. (Okajima misplays a sacrifice bunt and the Mariners rally in the 8th to win.)


-1 and sinking fast.

Off to Anaheim, right down the street from me.
(Actually it is 35 miles from me, but who is counting?

Hey Dodgers... what is wrong with this picture?

On July 21, 2009... less than a year ago, Cliff Lee was a pitcher for the Indians.
He threw a complete game 2-1 victory for the lowly Indians and as the defending Cy Young winner was on the trade block.

And the Dodgers, who made it to the 2008 NLCS, desperately needed an ace pitcher. They had some decent pitching but were also leaning on the Clayton Kershaws and Chad Billingsleys too much. They needed a stud to put them over the top.

He was traded to the Phillies 10 days later... and threw 8 shutout innings in the NLCS against the Dodgers.

He's been traded three times in the past year.

The Dodgers still desperately need a #1 starter.
Cliff Lee would have been PERFECT ace for the Dodgers. They may have won the 2009 NL Pennant and probably would be in first place as I type this instead of being in 4th place, 6 games back of the Padres in the loss column.

And yet with the need for Lee, the minor leaguers to trade, the pitchers park for him to thrive and the big market to resign him.

And how many proposed trades did we hear involving the Dodgers?
That would be ZERO!!!

Hey Frank McCourt... remind us how your divorce isn't affecting how the team is put together again?

It's my fault that Lester lost his perfect game.

I was going to write a quick blog post to say "HEY! SOX FANS! JON LESTER IS THROWING A PERFECT GAME!"

I had no thoughts about me spoiling it because... well... I don't believe that I affect the game being played in Seattle while sitting in my kitchen in South Pasadena, California.

Just as I was typing, center fielder Eric Patterson dropped a fly ball to spoil the perfect game.

Then Michael Saunders hit a 2 run homer to spoil the no hitter, the shutout AND the lead.

Maybe I do have some effect.

I apologize to Jon and his family.

Where there is Smoak there is fire

It looks like the Rangers pulled the trade off.

I've checked a few different sites and they are all saying the Rangers top young hitter, Justin Smoak, will be heading to Seattle and difference making ace Cliff Lee is going to the sauna known as Arlington.

And it looks like the Mariners don't give a damn about my advice.

It will be odd to see Cliff Lee wear a Rangers uniform for the first time in the All Star Game... but this is a strange time of year.

So now we see if Texas is for real.

I wasn't buying them last month... and I still won't believe this team until they are STILL in first place after Labor Day.

But color me impressed.

The Rangers are going for it.

Astros and Roy Oswalt... you are on the clock.

Hey Mariners... how about waiting until Thursday to make a deal?

It appears that Cliff Lee might not be heading to the Yankees after all.
It is a shame because so many columnists and bloggers had their stories already written talking about how this means we NEED a salary cap and it isn't fair and blah blah blah.

I admit, I threw up in my mouth a little when I heard the Yankees were on the verge of getting him, but that had nothing to do with payroll. That had to do with me being unhappy when ANYTHING positive happens with the Yankees.

Is Cliff Lee heading to Minnesota for Wilson Ramos?

Is Cliff Lee heading to Texas for Justin Smoak?

Will Cliff Lee join LeBron, Wade and Bosh with the Heat?

First of all, hold off on the deal until after the All Star Game.

Why?

Well first of all it means that Cliff Lee gets to face the Yankees (and hopefully beat them) tonight.

Secondly, Lee is going to the All Star Game. If he gets traded now, he will be making his first appearance in a Twins/Rangers/Yankees/Mets/Bridgeport Blue Fish uniform at the All Star Game.

That's just strange. Have his regular season farewell to the Mariners be a win against the Yankees and the last time the baseball fans see him as a Mariner in Anaheim this week.

Yeah the season hasn't gone as GM Jack Zduriencik planned... but at least he'll be able to say "I acquired an All Star."

Last night I did the unthinkable... I went to bed without knowing the final score of a Red Sox game

When I left work after pulling a late night last night, I heard that John Lackey had a no hitter going into the 8th.

I admit, I perked up. I had a good 30 minute drive home and I thought "Could I hear yet ANOTHER Red Sox no hitter?" Since 2001, we've had Hideo Nomo, Derek Lowe, Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester all throwing no nos.

Why not Lackey?

Then I started thinking "Wait a second! With Beckett and Buchholz both coming back from the DL and Dice K throwing well and Lackey on the verge of a no no... maybe THIS could be the rallying point for the Red Sox!"

He coughed up a hit with 2 outs and 2 strikes in the 8th. And with the Sox up by 5 in the 9th, I was thinking while driving in the car "Have Lackey finish the game. He's had an up and down year and finishing a complete game shutdown could boost his confidence with the Sox. Plus with Beckett coming off the DL, who knows how many relievers you will need? So have a rested and ready bullpen."

When I heard DelCarmen was in the game, I swear I yelled at my XM Radio NO! NO!

When the 6-1 lead turned into a 6-3 lead before you could say "teeth grinder" I knew we were in trouble. By the time I got home, it was a 6-4 lead, and Papelbon, who no doubt was taking a nap when the game was 6-1, was thrown into the game.

I heard the Mariners tie the game. And I turned off the XM.
I didn't check the sports ticker.

There was no way I was going to either

a) Watch them lose in the bottom of the 9th

or

b) sit through extra innings.

Wifey and I watched an episode of Mad Men and went to bed.

You understand I NEVER do that. I NEVER go to bed without knowing how the Red Sox game ended. It's easy on the West Coast because many times the games start around 4PM out there. But I always like to check to see how my boys did... even when they are out of it... before I call it a night.

Not this night.
Even if they won, I felt like they lost.
A team that has playoff aspirations doesn't let a team like the Mariners score 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th.

Evidently the Red Sox won. Instead of having a rested bullpen, they have a pen that had to throw 5 innings.

I saw that they won and didn't feel elation. I just felt like they didn't lose.

BUT it is worth it to update the tally.

DODGED A BULLET GAMES - 29

April 4 - 9-7 win against Yankees (On Opening Night, the Red Sox overcome a 5-1 Yankee lead with a game tying HR by Pedroia and a go ahead passed ball.)
April 10 - 8-3 win against Kansas City (Beckett out pitches Zack Greinke and nearly gets decapitated by a line drive.)
April 14 - 6-3 win in Minnesota. (Okajima gets Morneau to pop up with the bases loaded in the 7th and Papelbon wiggled out of a 9th inning jam.)
April 20 - 7-6 win against Texas. (Darnell McDonald introduces himself to Boston with an 8th inning game tying homer and a walk off hit in the 9th.)
April 21 - 8-7 win against Texas. (The Red Sox were down 4-0 early only to win it on Youk's 2 out 11th inning double.)
April 23 - 4-3 win against Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 3-0 lead but win it on Adrian Beltre's bases loaded walk.)

April 24 - 7-6 win against Baltimore. (The Red Sox score 6 in the 7th and hold off a late Baltimore comeback attempt.)
April 26 - 13-12 win at Toronto. (The Sox blow an early 5-0 lead but hang on for dear life in a slugfest.)
April 27 - 2-1 win at Toronto. (Buchholz holds the Jays down for 8 but it takes a bases loaded walk in the 8th to go ahead.)
April 28 - 2-0 win at Toronto. (Daniel Bard wiggles out of trouble in the 8th to help Lester shut down the Blue Jays and finish the sweep.)
May 4 - 5-1 win against the Angels. (Juan Rivera misplays Jeremy Hermedia's 2 out flyball into a 3 run game winning double)
May 5 - 3-1 win against the Angels. (Papi and Beltre homer and the Sox hang on despite squandering many potential rallies.)
May 6 - 11-6 win against the Angels. (Dice-K puts the Red Sox in a 4-0 hole before they even bat. The Sox bats respond.)
May 10 - 7-6 win against the Blue Jays. (Sox blow an early 2-0 lead, take advantage of some errors and hang on.)
May 18 - 7-5 win in New York. (Sox climb back from a 5-1 hole. A day after hitting a walk off homer, Marcus Thames drops a fly ball to start the winning rally for the Sox.)
May 25 - 2-0 win in Tampa. (Big Papi supplies all the offense as Papelbon wiggles out of a 9th inning jam.)
May 29 - 1-0 win against Kansas City. (Zack Greinke holds the Sox to one run, but they make it stick)

June 1 - 9-4 win against Oakland. (Lackey puts the Sox in a 4-0 hole but Victor Martinez goes 5-5 and the Sox score 9 runs late.)
June 2 - 6-4 win against Oakland. (Dice-K puts the Sox in a 3-0 hole before they come to bat, but come back thanks to Papi's homer.)

June 8 - 3-2 win at Cleveland. (With Papelbon unavailable, Okajima, Ramirez and Bard hang on to make a winner out of Wakefield.)

June 19 - 5-4 win against the Dodgers. (Sox make 4 errors, blow a late lead and let Manny homer, but they win it in the bottom of the 9th on a Pedroia single.)
June 20 - 2-0 win against the Dodgers. (Dodgers blow an early bases loaded scoring opportunity and allow Buchholz to settle down for the win.)

June 24 - 13-11 win in Colorado. (The bullpen lets up 9 runs in 5 innings, but Pedroia homers 3 times including with 2 outs in the 10th to win a wild and stupid game.)
June 26 - 4-2 win in San Francisco. (An injury running the bases takes Buchholz out in the second, but the bullpen and Mike Cameron's bat and glove win the game.)
July 2 - 3-2 win against the Orioles. (Wakefield gets the win and J.D. Drew homers twice, but it is Nava's 2 out 8th inning bloop that landed between three fielders that breaks the tie.)

July 11 - 3-2 win in Toronto. (Jesse Litch took a no hitter into the 6th but back to back homers by McDonald and Big Papi win the game.)
July 17 - 3-2 win against Texas. (Youk ties the game in the 9th off of Cliff Lee and wins it in the 11th with a sacrifuce fly)
July 19 - 2-1 win at Oakland. (Beltre homers and Dice-K holds on to the win.)
July 22 - 8-6 win at Seattle. (Lackey lost a no hit bid in the 8th and the Mariners scored 5 in the 9th to tie before the Sox won in 13)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 29

April 6 - 6-4 loss against the Yankees. (Scutaro's error leads to the winning run.)
April 7 - 3-1 loss against the Yankees. (Sox leave the winning run on in the 9th only to lose on Granderson's 10th inning homer)
April 9 - 4-3 loss in Kansas City. (Bard coughs up the lead, denying Wakefield a win.)
April 17 - 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Sox can't score with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 11th... lost it in the 12th.)
April 17 - 6-5 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Red Sox comeback falls a run short, leaving two on in the 8th)
April 25 - 7-6 loss to Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 4-1 lead, leave the winning run on second in the 9th, let up 3 in the 10th and could only score 2 in the bottom of the 10th)
April 30 - 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (Tejada ties the game with a 2 out 8th inning homer and wins it with a bloop in the 10th)
May 1 - 12-9 loss in Baltimore. (Dice-K and Wakes get pounded, wasting 2 homers from Ortiz and an early 4-1 lead.)
May 2 - 3-2 loss in Baltimore. (Varitek is thrown at home trying to score with 2 outs in the 8th. Sox get swept in the 10th.
May 12 - 3-2 loss against the Blue Jays. (The Sox rally in the 9th comes up a run short and Kevin Gregg gets an ugly save.)
May 15 - 7-6 loss in Detroit. (The Sox blow a 6-1 lead and lose it on a 2 out bases loaded walk in the 12th.)
May 17 - 11-9 loss in New York. (The Sox come all the way back from a 5-0 first inning hole to take a 9-7 lead in the 9th... but Papelbon lets up a 2 run game tying shot to A-Rod and a 2 run walk off shot to Marcus Thames.)
May 21 - 5-1 loss in Philadelphia. (Big Papi's bid for a game tying 9th inning grand slam is caught at the warning track.)
May 27 - 4-3 loss to Kansas City. (Dice-K walks the go ahead run in and lets another score on a wild pitch as the Royals no name bullpen shut down the Hot Sox.)
May 28 - 12-5 loss to Kansas City. (Sox blow a 3-0 first inning lead to be blown out in Fenway.)
June 3 - 9-8 loss to Oakland. (Sox lose a slugfest where two Boston runners are thrown out at home.)

June 6 - 4-3 loss in Baltimore. (Sox rally to tie the game in the 9th only to lose it on a small ball rally in the 11th.)
June 10 - 8-7 loss in Cleveland. (Sox blow an early 5-0 lead and then after rallying in the 9th to take the lead coughed it up with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th)
June 13 - 5-3 loss to Philadelphia. (Sox 9th inning rally comes up short)
June 22 - 2-1 loss in Colorado. (The Sox waste a solid Lester start and twice leave the bases loaded.)
June 23 - 8-6 loss in Colorado. (The Sox batter Ubaldo Jimenez around but Papelbon lets up 2 homers in the 9th to lose it.)
June 25 - 5-4 loss in San Francisco. (The Sox strand 11 runners in the last 4 innings wasting a solid Wakefield performance.)
July 5 - 6-5 loss in Tampa Bay. (Sox spoil a 5-1 lead and 2 homers by Eric Patterson when Dice-K and the bullpen couldn't hold down the Rays.)
July 6 - 3-2 loss in Tampa Bay. (Sox bats go dead and Kevin Youkilis goes down to injury.)
July 7 - 6-4 loss in Tampa Bay. (Matt Garza comes out of the pen, shuts down a late rally as the Rays sweep the Sox.)
July 10 - 9-5 loss in Toronto. (The Sox give Lackey an early 5-3 lead that he couldn't hold.)
July 18 - 4-2 loss to the Rangers. (Lester loses a rare game at home that included a Rangers steal of home.)

July 20 - 5-4 loss in Oakland. (The Sox go up 4-0 after 2 but don't score again and lose it in the 10th)
July 21 - 6-4 loss in Oakland. (Buchholz can't hold on to an early lead as the Sox lose the series.)


Back to break even and may that is appropriate.
The team won... and technically it means the same in the standings as a no hitter. It just doesn't feel like it.

It feels like they barely snuck by a team that has already called it quits for the year.

Beckett tonight... buckle up.

Can the Mariners take advantage of the Phillies and Red Sox misfortune?

As Jeff Passan pointed out in his column, both the Phillies and the Red Sox have gaping holes at second base and in their clubhouses with the losses of Chase Utley and Dustin Pedroia.

They have lost some spark, some intangibles and in many ways the heart and soul of their teams for the time being. And the Phillies and Red Sox each have big expectations this year and can't afford to fall to far off the pace.

And as anyone can tell you, there is no better time to take advantage of someone then when they have had a little misfortune.

Which brings us to the Mariners.

The little team that could have but didn't is going to unload Cliff Lee soon and make a contender happy.

But what about Chone Figgins?

He's got 3 years and $27 million left on his contract and could fill in at second base.
Granted he's having a lousy year in Seattle... but SEATTLE is having a lousy year and maybe it is rubbing off on him.

Perhaps going to a winning team and feeling reenergized is what he needs to do.

Maybe they can convince teams "He's bound to have a better second half, and wouldn't it be better if he has a better second half with YOU?"

Either way this is a guy who finished in the top 10 if the AL MVP vote in 2009. He is a switch hitter with a lot of speed and post season experience.

If Pedroia or Utley come back from their injury, he can fill in to another spot on the infield or outfield with ease.

And if he gets the spark back and fits like a glove with his new team, he will be under contract for the next few seasons.

I'm not saying it is GOING to happen... but it would behoove the Mariners to see if they'll go along.

Cliff Lee is holding up his end of the bargain

If the Mariners want to get top value for Cliff Lee, then they need Lee to pitch like an elite ace. Well pitching a complete game shutout against a team that started in night in first place should do the trick.

It was a 1-0 complete game shutout... as in he was able to pitch the whole game even though it was a save situation! I didn't know managers were allowed to do that anymore!

Lee should fetch a nice ransom. Whether it will match what Seattle gave up to get Cliff Lee is up in the air.

The deal that sent Roy Halladay to the Phillies and Cliff Lee to the Mariners was so complicated that I think A.C. Milan and the Republic of Ghana were somehow involved.

But in terms of players surrendered, the Mariners gave up three 21 year old players to acquire Lee.

Starting pitcher Phillippe Aumont, who currently is not doing well at AA Reading.
Starting pitcher Juan Ramirez, who is having a mediocre year in A Clearwater.
Outfielder Tyson Gillies, who isn't exactly tearing up AA Reading.

If the Philles offered those three guys back for Lee, I wouldn't make the deal.

So if the Mariners could flip Lee for a better big league bet than the law firm of Aumont, Ramirez and Gillies, then in the end the Lee deal would have been a good one.

They need a buyer and they need to have a kick ass product.

And Lee has done HIS part.