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Saturday, July 15, 2006
In 25 words or less: Pretty much one of those games where I'm sitting there in extra innings praying for it to end.
This one featured Jamie Moyer going up against Roy Halladay. Toronto came in with a 29-18 home record and were 49-40 overall. The Mariners hoped to make it a series win with a second win after the All-Star break. A loss in this game would make it their eighth in 11 games. By the way, the Mariners came into this game two games under .500. They have been at or above .500 after fourteen (not cumulative) games this season. Mariner fans have awoken the morning after eight different games and have found their team above .500. Needless to say, the Mariners needed two more wins to climb back to .500, and a win in this game would get them halfway there. I should also note that my MLB.tv feed blacked me out because of the Fox broadcasts, so most of this piece is radio-dependent, and there's no way in hell I'm going back through and watching four hours and twenty-three minutes of rip-roaring baseball action, especially when I already know the result and my team didn't win and there wasn't anything crazy like a perfect game or one of the Mariners driving in fourteen runs or something.
Ichiro popped the second pitch to Overbay on the infield. Adrian Beltre popped to Overbay near first as well. Jose Lopez stroked a single into leftfield. Raul Ibañez whiffed on an 0-2 breaking ball. Halladay threw 11 pitches.
Reed Johnson popped a pitch near a dugout and Jamie Moyer went into the dugout in pursuit but couldn't come up with it. Johnson was hit on the leg with an 0-2 pitch, leaving Moyer none too pleased. Aaron Hill popped high to right on a 2-2 pitch. Vernon Wells rode a 2-0 pitch for a long fly ball to the rightfield track. Troy Glaus had the hitters' counts and walked on a 3-1 pitch outside, moving Johnson to second. Lyle Overbay was down 0-2 and popped high to shallow center on a 2-2 pitch. Moyer threw 21 pitches.
Richie Sexson bounced the second pitch over the mound to Hill at second. Carl Everett rolled along the first-base line to Overbay, who took the ball to the bag. Kenji Johjima two-hopped an 0-2 pitch to third. Halladay threw nine pitches and had 20 through two.
Bengie Molina worked a 1-2 count full before popping up to right. Eric Hinske fell behind 0-2 and tapped a 1-2 pitch back to the mound. Chad Mottola lined out to Ichiro on the first pitch. Moyer threw 14 pitches and had 35 through two.
Yuniesky Betancourt popped the second pitch to Molina near the plate in foul ground. Adam Jones fouled off the second pitch and had his bat fly over the Toronto dugout. Jones ended up whiffing on an 0-2 slider down and away. Ichiro pulled out a bunt attempt on the first pitch, but had it go foul. Ichiro ended up hitting a 2-2 pitch back to the mound. Halladay threw ten pitches and had 30 through three.
John McDonald flew out to right. Johnson dropped the second pitch into the gap in leftcenter for a double. Hill shot a grounder off of Moyer's glove and slowed it down as it ricocheted to Beltre behind the mound, who had no play, moving Johnson to third. Wells grounded the first pitch to third for a 5-4-3 double play as Moyer proved himself slippery. Moyer threw nine pitches and had 44 through three.
Beltre fell behind 0-2 and ended up whiffing on a 1-2 fastball inside. Lopez thought he had a walk on the 3-0 pitch but blistered the 3-1 pitch into leftcenter for another single anyway. Ibañez crushed a 2-0 pitch into the second deck in rightfield, scoring Lopez. Raul's homers are old enough to drink since he's up to 21. That amount eclipses his total from last year, which was 20.
Sexson rolled the second pitch up the middle for a single. Everett flew out to Glaus in foul ground on the left side on the first pitch. Johjima stroked the first pitch into leftcenter for a single, moving Sexson to second. Betancourt grounded the first pitch to short. Halladay threw 20 pitches and had 50 through four.
Glaus grounded to third on a 2-2 pitch. Overbay rode the first pitch and banged it off the centerfield wall for a double as Jones had turned twice to look for the ball instead of just sprinting back to the wall uninterrupted. Molina got the wood on a 2-2 pitch, homering to right to score Overbay.
Hinske grounded to first on the first pitch. Mottola did just about the same thing as Overbay, ringing the second pitch for a double off the wall as Jones gave chase. McDonald creamed an 0-2 pitch out of the yard to rightfield, scoring Mottola. Moyer had just yielded his 17th homer of the season.
Johnson lined the first pitch into right for what ended up being a double. Pitching coach Rafael Chaves came to the mound for a visit. Hill foul-tipped a 2-2 pitch into Johjima's glove behind the plate. Moyer threw 24 pitches and had 68 through four.
Jones rolled up the middle to short. Ichiro grounded a 2-2 pitch to second. Beltre crushed a 1-2 pitch off the wall in center, barely missing a homer but legging out a triple. Lopez walked on a 3-1 pitch. Ibañez roped the second pitch into the rightcenter gap and it rolled to the wall for a triple, scoring Beltre and Lopez and somehow tying the game.
Sexson took a 3-1 fastball down and in for a walk. Pitching coach Brad Arnsberg came to the mound for a visit. Everett fell behind 0-2 and dinking a 1-2 pitch to center that was caught by Wells. Halladay threw 29 pitches and had 79 through five.
Wells whiffed on a 1-2 pitch. Glaus fell behind 0-2 but clobbered a 2-2 pitch, sending it out of the yard to center.
Overbay foul-tipped a 2-2 pitch into Johjima's glove behind the plate. Molina rolled out to third. Moyer threw 20 pitches and had 88 through five.
Johjima grounded the second pitch hard to third, where Glaus had trouble coming up with the ball then threw wide to first as Johjima was credited with a single but couldn't advance further. Betancourt grounded an 0-2 pitch to short as Johjima was forced at second as Betancourt beat out the back end of the double play. Jones bounced the first pitch to first to start a 3-6-3 double play.
Halladay's line: 6 innings, 4 runs, 8 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, 85 pitches (57 strikes)
Hinske took an 0-2 breaking ball over the outside corner, much to his chagrin. Mottola stroked a single into leftcenter. McDonald flew out to right on an 0-2 pitch. Johnson flew out to Ichiro on the second pitch. Moyer threw 12 pitches and had 100 through six.
Justin Speier came in for Halladay. Ichiro whiffed on an 0-2 pitch in the dirt that got away from Molina, but he was thrown out (2-3 putout). Beltre dumped a 2-2 pitch into shallow rightcenter for a single. Lopez flew out to McDonald in shallow center on the first pitch.
Scott Schoeneweis came in for Speier. Ibañez popped an 0-2 pitch to Johnson barely fair along the leftfield line.
Speier's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 strikeouts, 9 pitches (7 strikes)
Schoeneweis' line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 3 pitches (3 strikes)
Hill looped a single to right on a 2-2 pitch. Wells singled up the middle on the second pitch, moving Hill to second. Glaus rolled the first pitch into the hole on the left side, where Betancourt made a sliding attempt to stop the ball but came up empty, scoring Hill and moving Wells to second.
Overbay broke his bat and tapped to the mound, and Moyer looked to second but threw to first for the out as Wells and Glaus moved to third and second.
Julio Mateo came in for Moyer. Molina popped the second pitch to Betancourt near the bag at second. Hinske was intentionally walked to load the bases. Mottola whiffed on a 1-2 pitch. Mateo threw 11 pitches.
Moyer's line: 6 1/3 innings, 6 runs, 12 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, 111 pitches (75 strikes)
Brandon League came in for Schoeneweis. Sexson put the barrel on a pitch, line driving a homer out to right.
Everett worked a 1-2 count full and hit a fly ball that just kept carrying until it ended up over the wall in centerfield. Odd, this game.
BJ Ryan came in for League. Johjima popped to Overbay in foul ground on the right side. Betancourt fell behind 0-2 and rolled a 2-2 pitch to short, where McDonald couldn't make the barehand-and-throw play. Jones popped an 0-2 pitch high to second. Ichiro watched as Betancourt was picked off of first (1-3-6-3 putout). Ryan threw 16 pitches.
League's line: 0 innings, 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 13 pitches (8 strikes)
McDonald lined out to left on the first pitch. Johnson popped to Sexson backing into shallow right. Hill whiffed on an 0-2 pitch. Mateo threw seven pitches and had 18 total.
Ichiro flew out to left on a 2-2 pitch. Beltre walked on four pitches. Lopez took the first pitch for a strike, fouled off the next three, then whiffed on the fifth pitch of the at-bat. Ibañez, 0-for-11 career against Ryan coming into the at-bat, grounded the second pitch to short.
Ryan's line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 32 pitches (23 strikes)
Wells rode a 2-0 pitch to deep center. Glaus blistered a ball into the gap in leftcenter, but Jones was able to cut it off and hold Glaus to a single.
George Sherrill came in for Mateo. Overbay fell behind 0-2 and popped a 2-2 pitch to Beltre in foul ground on the left side.
Mark Lowe came in for Sherrill. Molina got ahead 2-0 and dumped a single into shallow center, moving Glaus to second. Hinske fell behind 0-2 and was spun around and hit the deck on the next pitch, which was up and in. Hinske ended up whiffing on a 2-2 pitch. Lowe threw nine pitches.
Mateo's line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts, 24 pitches (16 strikes)
Sherrill's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 6 pitches (4 strikes)
Vinny Chulk came in for Ryan. Sexson dumped a single into shallow center. Everett slowly rolled the second pitch to the right side, where Hill had to move way to his right and got the out at first, moving Sexson to second. Willie Bloomquist was brought in to run for Sexson. Johjima air-bunted the second pitch to the left of the plate, where Molina easily caught it. Betancourt grounded the second pitch to Glaus behind the bag at third, who threw to first and the throw was picked by Overbay. Chulk threw ten pitches.
Bloomquist stayed in the game to play first. Frank Catalanotto, hitting for Mottola, flew out to center on the first pitch. McDonald fell behind 0-2 and took a 2-2 pitch for strike three. Johnson grounded a 2-2 pitch to second. Lowe threw 12 pitches and had 21 total.
Greg Dobbs, hitting for Jones, popped a full-count pitch to Glaus. Ichiro popped the second pitch high to Jognson in leftcenter. Beltre was down 0-2 and ended up whiffing on a 1-2 pitch.
Chulk's line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 23 pitches (15 strikes)
Bloomquist moved to center as Dobbs came in to play first. Hill got behind 0-2 before lining a 2-2 pitch into Beltre's glove in foul ground on the left side. Wells lined a 2-2 pitch to center for a single. Chaves came to the mound for a visit. Glaus grounded the second pitch right to short to start a 6-4-3 double play.
Lowe's line: 2 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 36 pitches (23 strikes)
Brian Tallet came in for Chulk. Lopez grounded a 2-2 pitch to short. Ibañez two-hopped a 2-2 pitch to second. Bloomquist took a 1-2 pitch off his left hip. Everett (who isn't Eduardo Perez) watched with a 1-2 count as Tallet was called for a balk, moving Bloomquist to second. Everett popped to center on another 1-2 pitch.
Tallet's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 20 pitches (13 strikes)
Rafael Soriano came in for Lowe. Overbay got ahead 2-0 and rolled out along the first-base line, where Soriano fielded it. Molina worked a 1-2 count full before flying out in front of the rightfield track. Hinske had the hitters' counts before walking on a full-count pitch down and in. Catalanotto got ahead 3-1, triggering a visit from Chaves. Catalanotto walked on the next pitch, moving Hinske to second. Gregg Zaun, hitting for McDonald, flew out to right on a 2-2 pitch with Ichiro making the running catch.
Soriano's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts, 30 pitches (15 strikes)
Shaun Marcum came in for Tallet, Hill moved to shortstop, and Russ Adams came in to play second. Johjima fell behind 0-2 and stroked a 1-2 pitch into leftcenter for a single. Betancourt missed a bunt on the first pitch as Johjima took off for second, but Molina's throw bounced past second and went into centerfield, which was good because Johjima would have been dead meat (he got credit for the stolen base). Betancourt nearly dumped a 2-2 pitch into right for a single, but Hinske made a diving catch to rob Betancourt. Dobbs lined the first pitch into shallow left, but Toronto came up with another freakin' diving catch, this one by Wells. Ichiro was intentionally walked. Beltre took a 3-1 pitch outside to load the bases. Lopez rolled an 0-2 pitch slowly to short, but Hill made the play on the run and got the out at first.
Marcum's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts, 24 pitches (13 strikes)
Emiliano Fruto came in for Soriano. Johnson took an 0-2 pitch down the pipe. Hill grounded the second pitch right to Beltre at third. Wells took a full-count pitch over the inside corner. Fruto threw 11 pitches.
Scott Downs came in for Marcum. Ibañez was up 3-1 and grounded right to short on a full count. Bloomquist tapped the first pitch back to the mound. Eduardo Perez, hitting for Everett, grounded to third, but Glaus hurried the throw and threw over the head of Overbay at first, enabling Perez to reach but not advance. Johjima lined out to short.
Downs' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 12 pitches (8 strikes)
Glaus popped out to Dobbs in foul ground on the right side. Overbay dumped an 0-2 pitch along the leftfield line for a double. Molina got ahead 2-0 and Chaves visited the mound. Molina got ahead 3-0 and rolled a 3-1 pitch just fair inside the leftfield line for a single, scoring Overbay.
Fruto's line: 1 1/3 innings, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 21 pitches (15 strikes)
Gameball: Richie Sexson.
He went 3-for-4 with a solo shot and a walk. He didn't strike out at all. Mike Hargrove was a bit odd in the tenth inning when Sexson got his third hit of the game. Sexson was on second with one out, and Hargrove put in Willie Bloomquist to pinch-run for him. Okay, so you want him to score for sure on a base hit or maybe if there's a wild pitch he can get to third and who knows what might happen then, I can deal with that. Kenji Johjima, whose batting average was a mere .290 after the game, was sent up there to bunt? Why? To move Bloomquist over to third and put the onus on Yuniesky Betancourt to deliver a two-out hit? It wasn't just bad that the bunt backfired and Johjima didn't get to swing the bat, it was made much worse by the fact that Bloomquist stayed in the game and Sexson's old spot in the lineup came up again not just once, but twice. I seem to remember Mitch Hedberg's old joke about signing a one-year lease with a crappy roommate. He said it was like writing a bad joke and having to keep telling it for a year. Willie Bloomquist's insertion into the game was the gift that kept on giving, and the giving wasn't good.
Goat: Ichiro.
He did get on base in this game, so I'll give him that. Of course, it was a 14-inning game and the only time he got on board, he walked. In a game the Mariners really should have won in spite of him, Ichiro went 0-for-6 with a strikeout. Ichiro had nine hitless games in his brutal April, four hitless games in his torrid May, three such games in his white-hot June, and five so far this month. Any notion that Ichiro isn't a huge part of the Seattle offense can be dispelled by this -- Ichiro has gone hitless in 21 games this season for the Mariners, and their record in those games is 4-17. Keep in mind this was a game where the second through fifth hitters in the Seattle lineup combined to go 9-for-22 with two triples, two homers, four walks, and five RBIs. In short, if Ichiro isn't hitting, a lot has to go right for the Mariners to win. By the way, I mentioned Ichiro has five hitless games so far this month -- the Mariners have only played ten games this so far in July, and Ichiro is hitting at a .244 clip (10-for-41). Though it means hardly anything, four of those ten hits are for extra bases.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
Hernandez. Burnett. Tomorrow.
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In 25 words or less: Score early, hold on, and keep the evil version of Gil Meche from reappearing. That's a recipe for winning.
This one featured Gil Meche going up against Casey Janssen. Meche hadn't lost since May 30th. Though the move was known over the break, it wasn't made official until today -- Luis Oliveros had his cup of coffee with the big club and was sent down to high-A Inland Empire, which sucks for him because they'd called him up from AA San Antonio. Shin-Soo Choo was sent back to AAA Tacoma. Coming back up to fill the spots were Greg Dobbs and Seattle's first pick in the 2003 draft, Adam Jones, who also plays a mean bass guitar for Tool but in this game would start in centerfield. Upon seeing him in batting practice, Toronto color man Pat Tabler said Jones' speed reminds him of Devon White. Originally listed on the Seattle roster as wearing uniform number 83, which really would be the ultimate initiation, Jones ended up with 25 on his back in Toronto. The Blue Jays came in with the league's highest batting average and was ranked third in the Majors in homers. Ichiro came in hitting .375 in his career against Toronto. The Mariners came in hitting .267 with runners in scoring position, only good for 10th in the American League.
Ichiro punched a 2-2 pitch through the middle for a single. Adrian Beltre dribbled a single through the mound and up the middle, moving Ichiro to second. Jose Lopez reached and scooped a single into shallow right to load the bases (Ichiro held at third). Blue Jay manager John Gibbons (yes, the manager) came to the mound for a visit. Raul Ibañez bounced the first pitch to second, where Adams threw to second for the out, scoring Ichiro and moving Beltre to third.
Richie Sexson grounded the second pitch hard to short, where Hill bobbled the ball, then threw weirdly to Adams at second (error), scoring Beltre and moving Ibañez to third.
Carl Everett dumped a single into shallow left to score Ibañez and move Sexson to second.
Kenji Johjima fell behind 0-2 and ended with a dribbler to short on a 1-2 pitch, moving Sexson to third and Everett to second. Yuniesky Betancourt reached and bounced the second pitch to third. Janssen threw 25 pitches.
Frank Catalanotto popped the second pitch high to leftcenter, testing Jones right away. Gregg Zaun (a catcher hitting second) whiffed on a 2-2 nasty curve down and in. Vernon Wells fell behind 0-2 and took a 1-2 pitch (I'll say tailing fastball) for strike three. Meche threw 13 pitches.
Adam Jones popped high on the first pitch to Adams backing into shallow right. Ichiro batted as a fire alarm went off at Rogers Centre, but the at-bat went on. The alarm was silenced and Ichiro got ahead 3-1 before rolling to second on a full count. Beltre shot an 0-2 pitch up the middle and almost for a single, but Adams got there in time and made the strong throw to first. Janssen threw 11 pitches and had 36 through two.
Troy Glaus looked like he got a lot of a 1-2 pitch, but flew out high to center. Lyle Overbay took two strikes and fouled the next three pitches before shooting a 1-2 pitch up the middle for a single and Toronto's first hit of the game. Shea Hillenbrand lined out to Jones just to the right of center. Eric Hinske popped the first pitch to Betancourt moving back into shallow left. Meche threw 14 pitches and had 27 through two.
Lopez grounded hard to first. Ibañez worked a 1-2 count and walked on a full-count curve barely inside. Sexson bounced the second pitch slowly to the left side, but Glaus came up empty on a barehand attempt and everyone was safe (Ibañez moved to second). Everett was very unfortunately green-lit on 3-0 and flew out to left. Johjima was ahead 3-1 and watched as Zaun tried picking but ended up trying to pick Ibañez off of second, but nearly threw into centerfield. Johjima ended up lining out to left on a full count. Janssen threw 23 pitches and had 59 through three.
Aaron Hill had the hitters' counts and grounded a full-count pitch to Lopez at second, who had it bounce off his left wrist and to his right (error) as Hill got aboard. Russ Adams fell behind 0-2 and Meche threw past Sexson on a pickoff throw on a 1-2 count, enabling Hill to move to second though he probably should have had third on the play. Gibbons came out to argue that Sexson blocked Hill at first before going in pursuit of the errant throw in foul territory. Adams took a devil of a 2-2 curve that probably crossed the plate at the belt. Catalanotto got ahead 3-1 and ended up whiffing over a wicked full-count curve. Zaun got ahead 3-1 but whiffed on a full-count fastball up and away. Meche struck out the side, but needed 26 pitches. He'd thrown 53 through three.
Betancourt popped the second pitch high to Glaus next to the mound. Jones got ahead 3-0 and walked on a 3-1 pitch inside. Ichiro watched during his at-bat as pitching coach Brad Arnsberg visited the mound. Ichiro bounced a 3-1 pitch to short as Hill charged, moving Jones to second. Beltre fell behind 0-2 and poked a 1-2 pitch that looked destined for a single into center, but Hill made a diving catch to rob the Mariners of a run.
Janssen's line: 4 innings, 3 runs (2 earned), 5 hits, 2 walks, 0 strikeouts, 75 pitches (43 strikes)
Wells grounded the first pitch to short, and Betancourt went to a knee and made a strong throw to first. Glaus got ahead 3-1 and took a full-count fastball way inside. Overbay grounded right to short on the second pitch, starting a 6-4-3 double play. Meche threw nine pitches and had 62 through four.
Brian Tallet came in for Janssen. popped high to third, but Glaus muffed the catch, having it go off the heel of his glove (error, Exhibit A of why you should use two hands to catch) as Lopez got all the way to second. Ibañez flew out deep to center on the second pitch, moving Lopez to third. Sexson got ahead 2-0 and was intentionally walked. Everett got ahead 2-0 and popped to shallow right on a full count, where Hinske was called to have caught the ball and then muffed it right before he threw it. Lopez saw the ball hit the ground and thought Hinske had dropped it, and he broke for the plate. Hinske gathered the ball and heeded the calls of teammates to get the ball back in, where a relay to third made it so Lopez was called out because he hadn't tagged up. Tallet threw 15 pitches.
Hillenbrand flew out to Ichiro in rightcenter. Hinske bounced a 2-2 pitch to second. Hill rode a long fly over Jones and off the track and wall in center for a double. Adams slapped a 1-2 high fastball (not a curve) just fair down the leftfield line for a double, scoring Hill.
Catalanotto slapped an 0-2 pitch into shallow left for a single, but Ibañez gunned straight home and one-hopped a throw to Johjima, who tagged Adams trying to score from second. Meche threw 22 pitches and had 84 through five.
Lloyd Moseby joined Jamie Campbell and Pat Tabler in the television booth. Johjima fell behind 0-2 and poked a 2-2 pitch into center for a single.
Shaun Marcum, previously scheduled to start for Toronto on Tuesday, came in for Tallet. Betancourt reached for an 0-2 pitch low and away and popped to first. Jones popped the first pitch to Wells in rightcenter. Ichiro slowly rolled a 2-0 pitch to third and legged out the single. Beltre creamed the second pitch to the LED-looking scoreboard thing in leftcenter to score Johjima and Ichiro.
Lopez fell behind 0-2 and chopped a 1-2 pitch back to the mound.
Tallet's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 1 hit, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 21 pitches (11 strikes)
Marcum's line: 1 inning, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 14 pitches (10 strikes)
Zaun got ahead 2-0 and two pitches later clobbered a fastball down and in for a homer into the second deck in right, just inside the foul pole.
Wells blistered the first-pitch fastball away off a facade above the centerfield wall for yet another homer to make the game a little too interesting. Pitching coach Rafael Chaves came to the mound for a visit.
Glaus bailed out Meche by grounding to short on a 3-0 pitch, then came up limping on a foot to the dugout. Overbay lined out to Ibañez on the leftfield track on the first pitch. Hillenbrand popped to Sexson near first.
Meche's line: 6 innings, 3 runs, 6 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, 97 pitches (62 strikes)
Scott Schoeneweis came in for Marcum. Ibañez popped high to shallow right on the second pitch. Sexson popped a 2-2 pitch to Overbay on the foul side of the rightfield line. Everett chopped an 0-2 pitch back to the mound.
Schoeneweis' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 10 pitches (8 strikes)
George Sherrill came in for Meche. Reed Johnson, hitting for Hinske, fell behind 0-2 and ended up smoking a hanging belt-high 1-2 curve into left for a single. Hill was up 3-0 and walked on a 3-1 pitch, moving Johnson to second. Adams bunted the second pitch back to the mound and Sherrill might have had a play at third (the infield pulled the wheel), but he threw to first for the out as Johnson and Hill moved to third and second.
Rafael Soriano came in for Sherrill. Bengie Molina, hitting for Catalanotto, was down 0-2 before whiffing on a 1-2 high heat. Zaun rolled the second pitch to second. Soriano threw seven pitches.
Sherrill's line: 1/3 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 11 pitches (6 strikes)
Brandon League came in for Schoeneweis, Johnson stayed in to play left for Catalanotto, and Chad Mottola came in to play right for Hinske. Johjima worked a 1-2 count full but foul-tipped an outside pitch into Molina's glove behind the plate. Betancourt bounced a ball over the mound and it was fielded by Adams, who backhanded in front of the bag at second and threw to first, but Betancourt legged it out. Jones rolled an 0-2 pitch to second to force out Betancourt, but Jones had the throw to first beat and Overbay didn't cleanly field the ball at first. Ichiro watched the second pitch and saw Jones get gunned down at second on his first Major League stolen base attempt. League threw 16 pitches.
Wells got under the first pitch flew out to Jones in deep leftcenter, who called off Ibañez after Ibañez originally called him off. Glaus fell behind 0-2 and whiffed on a 1-2 curve over the outside corner. Overbay ripped a 1-2 pitch down the rightfield line for a double. Hillenbrand fouled off the first three pitches and whiffed on the fourth, a curve (too slow to be a slider) off the plate outside.
Soriano's line: 1 2/3 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walk, 3 strikeouts, 20 pitches (16 strikes)
Ichiro bounced past the mound and to Adams, who charged and threw in time to first. Beltre grounded out to short. Lopez rolled a 1-2 pitch up the middle that Hill ranged way over to get, but then he failed to plant his left foot on the throw and it hit the wall in front of the camera well in foul ground, but it bounced back out quickly and Molina backed up, so Lopez couldn't advance past first. Ibañez rolled the first pitch to second for a 4-6 force on Lopez.
League's line: 2 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 27 pitches (18 strikes)
JJ Putz came in for Soriano. Johnson reached and broke his bat on the second pitch, popping to Lopez in shallow right. Hill was ahead 3-0 but ended up foul-tipping a full-count fastball into Johjima's glove behind the plate. Adams rolled along the first-base line, where Putz ran over to field it and threw to first.
Putz' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 11 pitches (7 strikes)
Gameball: Rafael Soriano.
He faced six hitters. He got five outs. Three of those were strikeouts. He seemed to be throwing more of a curve than a slider, but it was working just as well. Soriano sliced through the first through sixth hitters in the Toronto lineup, the first being a pinch-hitting Bengie Molina. He faced Vernon Wells, Troy Glaus, Lyle Overbay, and Shea Hillenbrand in the eighth. All that came out of that was a two-out double by Overbay. Them's some results right there. Needless to say, all Mariner fans hope the shoulder soreness that threw the bullpen a bit out of whack from before the break doesn't resurface. Soriano has allowed runs in only eight of his 39 appearances this season. He's walked 13 hitters against 54 strikeouts. That's more than a four-to-one ratio for the strikeouts there. It's kinda weird to imagine this team without him, except you can just remember the Mariners' last two seasons and it'll quickly come to mind just how screwed this team was without Soriano in the back end of the bullpen. Taking into mind how well he's thrown this year, sometimes I forget that 2003 was his last (and first) full season in the Majors.
Goat: George Sherrill.
All the Mariner hitters that were hitless managed to get on base, so it turns out Sherrill has the greatest crap-per-time ratio in this game, but such a thing comes with the territory for the role in which Hargrove has placed him. He came out for the seventh and John Gibbons put in Reed Johnson (righty), who singled for Eric Hinske (lefty). Aaron Hill (righty) walked. Russ Adams was the only lefty Sherrill faced, and he bunted back to Sherrill. So Sherrill got the lefty out, but the situation was a little icky. But the good thing about the Mariner bullpen is that if Sherrill doesn't turn out so well, there's a guy like Soriano behind him to pick him up. Even with this outing, he still didn't give up any runs and now has a 3.38 ERA. He has given up runs in eight of his 39 appearances this season as well, the same amount as Soriano. Of course, Sherrill faces less hitters than Soriano, which is why his ERA is higher than that of the righthanded flamethrower. Still, Sherrill is part of the Mariners' inexpensive but formidable bullpen. It's amazing what you can do when you're not shelling out money to Eddie Guardado, Ron Villone, or Shigetoshi Hasegawa. Sure, I went back more than a year for that, but this used to be a bullpen that had a lot of money put into it.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
Moyer. Halladay. Today.
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Thursday, July 13, 2006
No, I'm not talking about Anthrax.
But the 2005 Seattle Seahawks certainly "moshed" their way to a 13-3 record and a NFC Championship. On the surface, you can look at Shaun Alexander's MVP-season and say that he was the main reason why the 'Hawks went to the Super Bowl. In football, however, it's never about one guy.
See the 2005 Seahawks defense.
Lost in all the offensive shuffle is the defense of the 2005 Seahawks. Ray Rhodes suffers a stroke just prior to the season opener in Jacksonville and linebackers coach John Marshall takes over as interim defensive coordinator (he's now the full-time DC). A defense full of young talent and veteran leadership goes on to lead the NFL in sacks with 50 and allowed just 5 rushing touchdowns, best in the NFC.
Out of all the stats that were accumulated by the 2005 Seahawks, this was the most impressive one to me. The 2004 Seahawks allowed 17 rushing touchdowns, so for the 2005 team to allow just 5 was amazing. The incredible thing about this stat is that I didn't even realize it until a few days ago. That's how underrated the 2005 Seahawks defense was.
The 2005 schedule included the following running backs:
Fred Taylor (JAX), Warrick Dunn (ATL), Clinton Portis (WSH), Steven Jackson (STL), Tiki Barber (NYG), Edgerrin James (IND)
Those six running backs are considered to be in the NFL's Top 15. And how many of those backs scored against the Seahawks? Only Jackson was able to breakthrough into the end zone against the Seahawks defense.
Week 2 ATLANTA
(T.J. Duckett 1-yard run, 4th quarter 3:58)
Week 5 at St. Louis
(Steven Jackson 4-yard run, 3rd quarter 0:26)
Week 11 at San Francisco
(Maurice Hicks 1-yard run, 4th quarter 0:28)
Week 15 at Tennessee
(Jarrett Payton 3-yard run, 2nd quarter 6:05)
Week 17 at Green Bay
(Noah Herron 11-yard run, 2nd quarter 8:22)
Notice that just one of the five rushing touchdowns allowed by the Seahawks defense came at Qwest Field (Week 2, Atlanta). So, from September 25 (Week 3, Arizona) to January 22 (the day of the NFC Championship Game against Carolina), the Seahawks did not allow a rushing touchdown at home. In contrast, Alexander scored 15 touchdowns at Qwest Field during that span.
Yes, the Seahawks allowed 2 rushing touchdowns in the Super Bowl. But make no mistake, the Seahawks were as formidable against the run as any team in the National Football League. And to think, the Seahawks' run defense can only get better with the offseason acquisitions in LB Julian Peterson and DT Russell Davis.
Training camp is in two weeks. Time goes by so fast when I'm not posting nearly as much as I used to here. Heh.
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Sunday, July 09, 2006
[initial partial post]
In 25 words or less: For the Mariners, July before the All-Star break ends up as a Spinal Tap-approved S#!+ Sandwich. Also, Operation:Melt Meche's Arm.
This one featured Nate Robertson going up against Gil Meche. Thursday's off day gave the Mariners flexibility to bump Felix Hernandez from the Sunday start in an effort to keep his innings down this season. There's a possibility that Meche may start the first game after the All-Star break as well. There were a couple of news bits after Saturday's game. One was that Kenji Johjima was going to be allowed to fly home a day early to Japan to see his newly-born third child. The other bit was that little-used lefty off the bench Roberto Petagine was designated for assignment and catcher Luis Oliveros from San Antonio would be called up in his place. On this day, however, the Mariners wore the uniforms of the Seattle Pilots and the Tigers wore uniforms that look slightly older than the ones they usually wear. Much like the Pilots, the Mariners after today will be gone for a while, only this time they'll play again on Friday as opposed to skipping town forever.
Curtis Granderson flew out to center on a 2-2 pitch. Placido Polanco flew out to Bloomquist in rightcenter. Vance Wilson bounced a 1-2 pitch to third. Meche threw 13 pitches.
Ichiro rolled the first pitch to second. Adrian Beltre bounced up the middle to Guillen. Jose Lopez took two strikes and whiffed for a third on an outside pitch. Robertson threw seven pitches.
Magglio Ordoñez flew out to Bloomquist in rightcenter on a 1-2 pitch. Carlos Guillen got ahead 3-0 before whiffing on a full count. Craig Monroe flew out high to left on a full count. Meche threw 17 pitches and had 30 through two.
Raul Ibañez rolled a 2-2 pitch to second. Richie Sexson took a 2-2 pitch for strike three. Eduardo Perez fell behind 0-2 before bouncing to Inge down the line at third on a 1-2 pitch, but that turned out to be foul. Perez bounced the next pitch for a swinging bunt along the third-base line, but Inge had far enough to run that Perez was safe with the single. Willie Bloomquist bounced the second pitch to first. Robertson threw 17 pitches and had 24 through two.
Alexis Gomez popped the second pitch to Betancourt in shallow left. Chris Shelton whiffed on a 2-2 fastball. Brandon Inge worked an 0-2 count for a walk (nine pitches). Granderson fell behind 0-2 and rolled a 1-2 pitch to second. Meche threw 21 pitches and had 51 through three.
Rene Rivera got ahead 2-0 but ended up flying out to Granderson in leftcenter. Yuniesky Betancourt stung a 2-0 pitch over the mound and into center for a single. Ichiro rolled to Polanco plugging the right-side hole as Betancourt moved to second. Beltre popped very high to Wilson in front of the first-base dugout. Robertson threw 14 pitches and had 38 through three.
Polanco grounded a 1-2 pitch hard to a diving Sexson off of first, but Meche had trouble catching Sexson's toss to first and didn't get his foot on the bag in time (single). Wilson fell behind 0-2 and flew out to right on a 1-2 pitch. Ordoñez was down 0-2 and clubbed a thigh-high 1-2 pitch into the back of the Mariners' bullpen, scoring Polanco.
Guillen rolled the second pitch to short. Monroe rolled the second pitch up the middle for a single. Gomez looped a 2-2 pitch into shallow right for a single, moving Monroe to second. Pitching coach Rafael Chaves came to the mound for a visit. Shelton was up 2-0 but whiffed on the next three pitches, the final one being a slider. Meche threw 28 pitches and had 79 through four.
Lopez flew out to center on a 2-0 pitch. Ibañez tapped an 0-2 pitch in front of the plate, fielded by Wilson. Sexson popped very high to right. Robertson threw nine pitches and had 47 through four.
Inge took a 2-2 fastball over the inside corner. Granderson took a 2-2 fastball over the inside corner. Polanco popped the second pitch to Lopez in shallow right. Meche threw 12 pitches and had 91 through five.
Perez stroked the second pitch through the left side for a single. Bloomquist whiffed on the second pitch to muff the hit-and-run, and Perez was dead to rights between first and second. Bloomquist ended up bouncing a 1-2 pitch off the track and over the wall in center for a ground-rule double as Granderson didn't get the best jump on the ball. Rivera crushed the second pitch, depositing it into the Mariners' bullpen to score Bloomquist. Really.
Betancourt flew out to center on the second pitch. Ichiro broke his bat and looped the second pitch to second. Robertson threw 12 pitches and had 59 through five.
Wilson flew out to right. Bill Schonely, voice of the Seattle Pilots and later voice of the Portland Trail Blazers, was in the booth for a visit. Ordoñez got ahead 2-0 and walked on a full count. Guillen bounced a 2-0 pitch to first, where Sexson threw to second for the force, but Guillen beat the back end of the double play. Chaves visited the mound. Monroe watched as Guillen was nearly picked off of first. Monroe ended up whiffing on a 2-2 slider away. Meche threw 19 pitches and had 110 through six. In an odd note, Felix Hernandez was seen warming up in the bullpen during this half inning.
Beltre popped to shallow center on a 1-2 pitch. Lopez popped the first pitch to first. Ibañez fell behind 0-2 and took a 1-2 pitch for strike three. Robertson threw ten pitches and had 69 through six.
Gomez grounded a full-count pitch to Sexson behind the bag at first. Shelton was up 2-0 before whiffing on a 2-2 pitch over the outer half. Inge fell behind 0-2 whiffed on a 2-2 inside pitch that got away from Rivera (2-3 putout).
Meche's line: 7 innings, 2 runs, 4 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts, 126 pitches (80 strikes)
Sexson popped high to Granderson in rightcenter. Perez took a first-pitch strike followed by four straight balls. Bloomquist whiffed on a 1-2 pitch. Rivera roped a single into left, moving Perez to second. Betancourt rolled the second pitch to the left side, where it got under the glove of Inge and it somehow got through Guillen as well, enabling Perez to score. Rivera went to third on the play, but Betancourt was nailed trying to get to second. Robertson threw 19 pitches and had 88 through seven.
Rafael Soriano came in for Meche. Granderson whiffed on an 0-2 pitch. Polanco flew out to right on the second pitch. Wilson took a 2-2 slow slider over the outside corner.
Soriano's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 13 pitches (11 strikes)
Ichiro fell behind 0-2 and rolled a 2-2 pitch up the middle to a charging Polanco. Beltre slapped an 0-2 pitch along the rightfield line for a double, and it was a much easier double once Ordoñez misplayed it in the corner. Lopez looped the second pitch into left for a single, and for some reason Carlos Garcia sent Beltre all the way and Beltre was out by five feet on the relay from Gomez in left, though Wilson tagged Beltre as he went by as opposed to blocking the plate and creating a collision. Lopez went to second on the throw. Ibañez whiffed on an 0-2 breaking ball away.
Robertson's line: 8 innings, 3 runs, 9 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts, 101 pitches (71 strikes)
JJ Putz came in for Soriano. Ordoñez grounded hard to Beltre behind the bag at third, who stopped it and had it roll away before picking it up and making a strong throw from the third-base coaches' box in time to first. Guillen popped the second pitch high to Bloomquist in leftcenter. Monroe flew out to the rightfield track on the second pitch.
Putz' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 7 pitches (5 strikes)
Gameball: Rene Rivera.
With the day game coming after a night game, Rivera pretty much gets the start anyway even without Kenji Johjima flying back to Japan to see his newborn son. Still, rare is the game where Rivera goes 2-for-3 with a two-run homer. His efforts helped the 6-9 hitters in the Seattle lineup combine to go 7-for-11 to drive in and score all three of the Mariners' runs. The 2-for-3 day bumped Rivera's batting average all the way to .196. It's not just that, though. Rivera wasn't tagged for any passed balls, so that's good. Gil Meche worked in deep counts all day, which is what one can derive from his pitch count and the fact that he only walked two people, though he did strike out eight. Of course, Mike Hargrove was insane to bring him into the game for the seventh and even more so for letting Meche finish it. Rivera has started behind the plate for 14 of the Mariners' games this season, and the average line for a starting pitcher in those games is 7 innings, 2.6 runs (2.3 earned), 5.7 hits, 1.9 walks, 5.6 strikeouts, and 106 pitches (69 strikes).
Goat: Raul Ibañez.
The bad news for the Mariners was that the 1-5 hitters in the lineup combined to go 2-for-19. Ibañez chipped in with an 0-for-4 day, striking out twice. It's still been one hell of a first half for Ibañez. He goes into the break hitting .285 with an on-base mark of .352 and he's slugging .538. He's hit 20 homers and driven in 70 runs. His career high for homers is 24 (2002), which barring injury should be broken. Along with the homer mark, he has 73 games to collect 34 RBIs so he can break his career-high RBI mark from 2002 as well (103 RBIs). There were a lot of moves made in that offseason after the 2003 season that soured me on the Mariners, and when they came up empty with Miguel Tejada and threw a bunch of money at Ibañez, I was beside myself. I spent so long hoping that the Ibañez contract would blow up in the face of management, and while it still was too big of a contract at the time, one of the happier days I've had as a Mariner fan these last couple years was the day I admitted I was wrong about Raul Ibañez. This year, he's taken all of my Kansas City-was-a-hitters'-park arguments and shoved them right back into my face. Thanks, Raul. I couldn't be happier.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
LINEUP SINCE THE TWEAK (May 30th)
Ichiro 57-for-153 (.373), 4 doubles, 2 triples, 5 homers, 16 RBIs, 17 walks, 14 strikeouts
Beltre 44-for-149 (.295), 13 doubles, 2 triples, 5 homers, 21 RBIs, 13 walks, 26 strikeouts
Lopez 38-for-140 (.271), 10 doubles, 2 triples, 1 homer, 18 RBIs, 7 walks, 20 strikeouts
Ibañez 42-for-132 (.318), 7 doubles, 1 triple, 12 homers, 38 RBIs, 16 walks, 25 strikeouts
Sexson 32-for-136 (.235), 5 doubles, 10 homers, 32 RBIs, 13 walks, 31 strikeouts
Everett 18-for-92 (.196), 1 double, 3 homers, 7 RBIs, 7 walks, 23 strikeouts
Johjima 35-for-113 (.310), 8 doubles, 1 triple, 5 homers, 16 RBIs, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Choo 1-for-11 (.091), 1 double, 4 strikeouts
Betancourt 36-for-124 (.290), 3 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, 10 RBIs, 5 walks, 14 strikeouts
Some Mariner pitcher. Some Blue Jay pitcher. Friday.
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[initial partial post]
In 25 words or less: Can you really call it a pitchers' duel if neither of the starters get deep into the game?
This one featured Zach Miner going up against Jarrod Washburn. Possibly giving him a break for the All-Star Game, Ichiro was moved into the designated hitter slot. The bad thing about that was the accompanying move, since Hargrove started Carl Everett in rightfield instead. Absolute yuckdom. Willie Bloomquist made a start in centerfield, and there wasn't even a lefthander starting on the mound for Detroit. Someone needs to tell Hargrove that Washburn is a Mariner now and therefore Bloomquist can't hit well against him. The Mariners were trying to avoid losing their sixth straight game and their seventh of their last eight. I'd also like to bring up that the last time the Mariners won the first game of the month of July and lost all remaining games leading to the All-Star Game was only two years ago. Those mythical 2004 Mariners won the first game of July and lost the next nine up to the break. So far this July, the Mariners won the first game and have lost five straight since. They can only bottom out at seven straight losses heading into the break this season due to the All-Star Game being at an earlier date in the month. Also, the Mariners' opponents have gotten the first lead in six of the first seven games on this homestand. Finally, the news came that Gil Meche would start instead of Felix Hernandez on Sunday as a part of the whole keeping-his-innings-low thing for Felix. There are also rumblings that Meche may start the first game after the break as well.
Omar Infante bounced out to short. Placido Polanco chopped the second pitch to a charging Beltre at third. Ivan Rodriguez drilled a single over the glove of Betancourt at short. Magglio Ordoñez punched the second pitch for a single past a diving Lopez on the right side, moving Rodriguez to second. Carlos Guillen whiffed on a first-pitch breaking ball, but it got past Johjima behind the plate (passed ball) and Rodriguez and Ordoñez moved to third and second. Guillen chopped a 2-2 pitch high to short. Washburn threw 17 pitches.
Ichiro whiffed badly on an 0-2 breaking ball in the dirt. Adrian Beltre got ahead 2-0 and was jammed on a full-count and bounced to third. Jose Lopez rolled to the feet of Miner, who threw to first. Miner threw 13 pitches.
Craig Monroe grounded a 1-2 pitch hard behind the bag at third, but it ate up Beltre and went down the leftfield line for a double. Marcus Thames worked a 1-2 count full, fouled a ball off his left foot, then flew out to Bloomquist in leftcenter on the next pitch as the runners held. Chris Shelton nearly dropped a double down the rightfield line, but it went foul. Shelton ended up punching a 1-2 pitch into rightcenter for a single, scoring Monroe.
Brandon Inge foul-tipped a 2-2 pitch into Johjima's glove behind the plate. Infante rolled to short for a 6-4 force on Shelton at second. Washburn threw 26 pitches and had 43 through two.
Raul Ibañez golfed the first pitch just over the wall inside the rightfield foul pole. That's a round 20 for Ibañez.
Richie Sexson fouled the first pitch and it went off of Rodriguez' left knee behind the plate, necessitating a visit from the trainer. Sexson worked a 1-2 count full before bouncing to Shelton on the right side (3-1 putout). Carl Everett got ahead 2-0 but was horribly fooled, whiffing on a slow curve down and away. Kenji Johjima fell behind 0-2 and bounced a 2-2 pitch to short. Miner threw 19 pitches and had 32 through two.
Polanco lined out to left on the first pitch. Rodriguez took a 2-0 pitch and saw it fly to the backstop. Rodriguez walked on four pitches. Ordoñez grounded to short, but Betancourt bobbled it (error), but flipped to second thinking he'd get that out (looked like he did), but Rodriguez was called safe at second. Guillen shot the first pitch up the middle where Betancourt stopped it a bit, but it rolled into center for a single, scoring Rodriguez and moving Ordoñez to third.
Monroe grounded the second pitch deep into the hole on the right side, where Lopez threw to second to start a 4-6-3 double play. Lopez had to make a pretty long throw to start the twin killing. Washburn threw 11 pitches and had 54 through three.
Willie Bloomquist chopped to a charging Inge at third. Yuniesky Betancourt whiffed on a full-count pitch down and away. Ichiro worked a 1-2 count full and served a ball barely foul down the leftfield line that would have been a double. Ichiro walked on the next pitch, down and in. Beltre got ahead 3-1 but ended up foul-tipping a low pitch over the inside corner into Rodriguez' glove behind the plate. Miner threw 26 pitches and had 58 through three.
Thames bounced a 2-2 pitch to third. Shelton rode the first pitch to deep center, where it was apparent Bloomquist had trouble with it right away, turnning and getting too far to one side as the ball went off the end of his glove and off the track as Shelton ended up on third with a triple. There's no doubt in my mind that Jeremy Reed has that ball cleanly, but that'd be crying over spilled milk at this point. Inge fell behind 0-2 and ended up whiffing on a 2-2 fastball up and away. Infante popped the 0-2 pitch to Sexson in foul ground in front of the first-base dugout. Washburn threw 15 pitches and had 69 through four.
Lopez bounced an 0-2 pitch to the left side past Inge, but Guillen was backing up and made the backhand stop and hard throw to first to get Lopez. Ibañez roped a base hit into leftcenter that ended up being a double once Thames bobbled it, but it still went as a double. Sexson fouled off two pitches and whiffed on the third, a slider down and away that probably caught the corner. Everett whiffed on a 3-0 change before walking on the next pitch down and away. Johjima tapped a 3-1 pitch right back to the mound. Miner threw 19 pitches and had 77 through four.
Polanco got ahead 3-1 and walked on a full-count pitch up and away and to the backstop. Rodriguez slapped the second pitch into rightfield for a single, mvoing Polanco to second. Ordoñez popped the second pitch high to center and Bloomquist threw to third to try to catch Polanco tagging and going to third, and Polanco did get his left foot to the bag barely in time. Hargrove came out and had some words with third-base umpire Tim Tschida. Guillen popped foul to Johjima in front of the first-base dugout. Monroe flew out to Everett near the rightfield corner on the first pitch. Washburn threw 14 pitches and had 83 through five.
Bloomquist worked an 0-2 count full before lining out to center, the first flyout recorded in the game by Miner. Betancourt dumped a 1-2 pitch into left for a single, but Thames, who at this point is a zoo with the glove, had it go past him and to the wall and Betancourt got to third (ruled a single and a two-base error). Ichiro whiffed badly on a low 1-2 breaking ball that Ichiro thought he fouled, and then Ichiro argued with plate umpire Ted Barrett. Hargrove came out to argue as well, and the umpiring crew ended up conferring, but the call stood and Hargrove walked back to the dugout. Ichiro stood and glared at Barrett for a while, and Barrett glared back until Ichiro finally walked back to the dugout, and I'm kinda surprised Barrett didn't run him from the game. Beltre walked on four pitches. Detroit manager Jim Leyland came to the mound for a visit. Lopez rolled an 0-2 pitch to third for a 5-4 force at second on Beltre. Boos hailed down from the crowd.
Miner's line: 5 innings, 1 run, 3 hits, 3 walks, 6 strikeouts, 100 pitches (59 strikes)
Thames fell behind 0-2 count full before whiffing on the ninth pitch of the at-bat. Shelton dumped a 1-2 pitch into shallow center, but Bloomquist dove headfirst and made the catch. Inge flew out to deep center on a 3-1 pitch.
Washburn's line: 6 inning, 2 runs (1 earned), 7 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, 102 pitches (66 strikes)
Jamie Walker came in for Miner. Ibañez fell behind 0-2 and was ruled to have fouled a 2-2 breaking ball down and away into Rodriguez' glove as opposed to a checkswing, called ball, and a full count. Ibañez couldn't believe the call and Hargrove came out and was tossed in a close face-to-face argument with plate umpire Barrett. Not a bad ejection effort by Hargrove, probably the best thing he's done in months. Sexson popped the first pitch to Ordoñez in shallow right. Everett whiffed on a 2-2 pitch.
Walker's line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts, 12 pitches (8 strikes)
Rafael Soriano came in for Washburn. Infante whiffed on a 1-2 slider. Polanco rode a highish 1-2 pitch to the wall in center for a double, but he tried to stretch it into a triple, and the relay to third beat him by a few feet. Rodriguez bounced the second pitch to short. Soriano threw ten pitches.
Jason Grilli came in for Walker, Alexis Gomez came in to play left for Thames, and Curtis Granderson came in to play center for Infante. Johjima bounced the first pitch to third. Bloomquist bounced out to second. Betancourt lined the second pitch into left for a single. Rodriguez came to the mound for a visit to stall, then Leyland came to the mound.
Wilfredo Ledezma came in for Grilli. Ichiro bounced an 0-2 pitch through the middle for a single, snapping an 0-for-14 funk and moving Betancourt to second.
Fernando Rodney came in for Ledezma. Beltre threw a 1-2 pitch way outside and to the backstop, moving Betancourt and Ichiro to third and second. Beltre whiffed on the next pitch, a 2-2 breaking ball down and in. Rodney threw five pitches.
Grilli's line: 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 6 pitches (5 strikes)
Ledezma's line: 0 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 3 pitches (3 strikes)
Ordoñez rolled the first pitch to short. Guillen singled through the right side. Monroe popped the second pitch high to Lopez behind second and in shallow center. Granderson had the hitters' counts and walked on the 3-1 pitch, moving Guillen to second.
JJ Putz came in for Soriano. Shelton bounced a 3-1 pitch up the middle to Lopez, who tagged Granderson as he went by. Putz threw five pitches.
Soriano's line: 1 2/3 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout, 21 pitches (14 strikes)
Lopez ripped the first pitch into left for a single that was nicely cut off from the corner by Gomez. Ibañez reached a bit and popped the first pitch to right as Lopez held. Sexson popped to Polanco running just past the rightfield line. Everett popped the second pitch high to third.
Rodney's line: 1 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 12 pitches (9 strikes)
Inge tapped the second pitch back to the mound, where it hit Putz on the leg and bounced away, but Putz didn't find it right away. He found the ball between first base and the mound and quickly got to it and tossed barely in time to first. Gomez fouled off four straight 2-2 pitches before whiffing on the fifth, a low splitter. Polanco flew out to Everett in shallow right on the first pitch.
Putz' line: 1 1/3 innings, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, 17 pitches (11 strikes)
Todd Jones came in for Rodney. Johjima jumped on the second pitch, but didn't get enough of it and flew out to left. Roberto Petagine, hitting for Bloomquist, drove a 1-2 pitch to Granderson on the track in center. Betancourt got a bit too much under the second pitch, flying out high to Gomez on the track in left.
Jones' line: 1 inning, 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 strikeouts, 8 pitches (6 strikes)
Gameball: JJ Putz.
It wasn't a save opportunity for him tonight, but this isn't just about giving him the gameball, it's about reflecting on what he's done this season. He has stepped in as the closer and done so well, it made it that much easier to give Eddie Guardado the change of scenery that he so badly needed. The highlight of his season so far has undoubtedly been the strikeout of Barry Bonds to end the game against the Giants at the Safe last month. My, how the splitter can split! About the only question that has arisen from Putz taking over the closer role is who takes over Putz' old role, the eighth inning. For now, I'll guess that's more Rafael Soriano than anyone else. Julio Mateo's faltering of late raises more questions about the middle relief situation of the bullpen as well. All in all, we're nearing the All-Star break and JJ Putz is the most stable member of the bullpen for your Seattle Mariners. The closer role is solid, but some of the younger arms are going to have to fit into some roles here. No doubt about it, it's a bullpen in transition.
Goat: Kenji Johjima.
Afterward I found that the Mariners were letting him leave for Japan a day early so he could see his third child that was just delivered, so congratulations to him. Still, I hate to see a good goat entry go to waste, so it proceeds as planned... The seatwarmer for Jeff Clement has been a pretty solid hitter for the Mariners this season. Like quite a few of the Mariner hitters, he had a great month of June. He hit .345 with eight doubles, a triple, five homers, and 16 RBIs. He had a .382 on-base percentage and slugged .643. With the team-wide collapse so far this month, Johjima's hitting has gone by the wayside as well. Johjima is 3-for-20 for the month, good for a .150 average. He has exactly zero extra-base hits among his three hits, and he hasn't driven in a run this month. Of course, the Mariners as a whole have only scored 20 runs this month while the opposition has scored 44. The Mariners have played seven games this month, so they're getting outscored by an average of about 6-3 every game. Referring to a stat in the very first paragraph, the Mariners' opposition has scored the first run in seven of the last eight games. That's not a good way to spur up the crowd during a homestand. I'm so hung up about the team's performance that I don't feel like hammering on Johjima for his eighth passed ball this year or how Felix Hernandez usually sucks with him behind the plate.
Yr W-L Pct GB Stk
LINEUP SINCE THE TWEAK (May 30th)
Ichiro 57-for-149 (.383), 4 doubles, 2 triples, 5 homers, 16 RBIs, 17 walks, 14 strikeouts
Beltre 43-for-145 (.297), 13 doubles, 2 triples, 5 homers, 21 RBIs, 13 walks, 26 strikeouts
Lopez 37-for-136 (.272), 10 doubles, 2 triples, 1 homer, 18 RBIs, 7 walks, 19 strikeouts
Ibañez 42-for-128 (.328), 7 doubles, 1 triple, 12 homers, 38 RBIs, 16 walks, 23 strikeouts
Sexson 32-for-133 (.241), 5 doubles, 10 homers, 32 RBIs, 13 walks, 30 strikeouts
Everett 18-for-92 (.196), 1 double, 3 homers, 7 RBIs, 7 walks, 23 strikeouts
Johjima 35-for-113 (.310), 8 doubles, 1 triple, 5 homers, 16 RBIs, 5 walks, 8 strikeouts
Choo 1-for-11 (.091), 1 double, 4 strikeouts
Betancourt 34-for-121 (.281), 3 doubles, 2 triples, 2 homers, 9 RBIs, 5 walks, 14 strikeouts
Robertson. Meche. Today.


text:
Escape are -- Stanley Carr - sequencers and synthesizers Michael Schaffer - guitars and samples
Low is a third and last album from an album trilogy by Gintas K. The first one was Lovely Banalities (Crónica, 2009), second – Slow (Bascaru, 2013). In Low Gintas K continues to explore microgranulated textures, deconstruction of melodic elements, and sonic plasticities that are altogether melted into blurred colors of acidulous tonalities and dynamic mixtures of metallic sonic palettes. Eleven short melancholic reminiscent pieces are presented in the album.
On the debut album Lumbar Fist, Richard van Kruysdijk's solo Project Cut Worms playfully builds compositions from scratch without any prefab beats or loops, exploring the intersection of noise, dissonance and melody. Cut Worms's long, dark chords are dragged through gravel while sounds are reversed, mangled, chopped, and regenerated into new musical entities, fostering a stillness in harmony that slowly evolves through interacting layers of sound. The result is highly atmospheric, cinematic, intuitive drone music. Cut Worms is clearly not another ambient laptop act, but distinguishes itself by utilising only live generated and processed sounds, both acoustic and electronic. During concerts, the musical performance is underlined by sparse,atmospheric black & white imagery projected on a video installation. Musical references: Stephan Mathieu, Tim Hecker, Oren Ambarchi, Glenn Branca, Will Guthrie, Jim O'Rourke.Since his first solo release in 1993, Richard van Kruysdijk (NL) has released many albums with group-projects as well as solo-projects. Most notable are his works with German eclectic industrial band Phallus Dei, "trip noir" duo Sonar Lodge and downtempo trio Strange Attractor. These bands and other musical projects brought him on many stages throughout Europe playing drums and electronics, and in studios with many famous musicians from different musical realms: Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson (Coil, Psychic TV), Edward Ka-Spel & Niels van Hoorn (The Legendary Pink Dots), Graham Lewis (Wire), Jarboe (Swans), Gitane Demone, Daniel Johnston, Blaine L. Reininger & Winston Tong (Tuxedomoon), Richard Sinclair (Hatfield & The North), David J. (Bauhaus), Markus Stockhausen and many more. He is a founding member of Daisy Bell, an indietronics group with Dyane Donck and Evelien van den Broek. Since 2010, Richard also creates music for modern dance pieces, working intensively and internationally with choreographers Jens van Daele and Itamar Serussi. In 2000, Richard co-founded the record label Music for Speakers. Since then, Music for Speakers has reached a cult status amongst lovers of adventurous electronic music with a hint of melancholy and lust for genre defying experiment. Cut Worms previewed in the Netherlands at the World Minimal Music Festival in Muziekgebouw a/h IJ, Amsterdam and premiered at November Music festival,'s-Hertogenbosch.contact & information:www.richardvankruysdijk.com

subset: commoncrawl


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By Radio.com Staff
Panic! At The Disco fans know all to well the Las Vegas band covers Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' like no other. It's almost a staple in their live shows. Now, Panic! has finally released a proper recording of the 1975 smash hit as part of the Suicide Squad soundtrack.
Related: Brendon Urie Seduced in 'Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time' Video
"Oh man, I was just so ecstatic," Brendon Urie said to Zane Lowe of being asked to be part of the soundtrack. The film's producers had asked Urie to come to the studio and watch a few pieces of the movie after asking him to take part in the soundtrack. Urie explained that he watched about half of the film which pumped him up to record "Rhapsody." "All the scenes I saw were incredible and it just made me more inspired, and that was even before I record the studio version! So that fueled exactly how the studio version went. Man, it's just so epic!"
Listen to a portion of the track along with his interview with Zane Lowe below.


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VStv adds veteran meteorologist to weather team
Rockport — Ken McKinley made his debut Friday, Jan. 6, on the VStv Morning Report, joining Chief Meteorologist Tyler Southard and Meteorologist Paul Janus on the Midcoast Weather team.
McKinley is a resident of Rockport and a current sitting member of the Select Board. Along with his forecasting work with VStv, McKinley heads up the meteorological consulting firm Locus Weather, based in Camden.
McKinley graduated from Cornell University in 1980 with a degree in atmospheric science and went on to attend graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he researched the applied use of doppler radar in meteorology.
He was the voice of weather for the former Coast 102.5 from the early '90s to early 2000s.


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Spring Author Series: Tricia Jones
TJ: Thanks for having me on your Spring Author series, Stephanie.
SK: You are very welcome! I'm so pleased that you could join me. So let me just fire away!
SK: Are you a morning person or should others fear you when they cross your path in the am?
TJ: This would depend on who you ask. Me? I'd say I'm a perfectly reasonable sort at any time of the day, while my husband would say he has to stand well back, hand me a glass of hot lemon with water as I pass through the kitchen, let me catch the morning news, feed me breakfast and then, and only then, do I become the woman he knows and loves.
SK: Ha! I love it. Do you prefer coffee or tea? If so, which kind/brand/blend.
Following a bout of caffeine poisoning years ago, I have to avoid coffee. It happened when I was temping at a woefully boring job and the only saving grace was the frequent trips to the break room for the filter coffee they had on tap. It left me hyperactive with crippling headaches and sleepless nights. So it's tea for me, preferably decaf or better still, peppermint or lemon and ginger.
SK: How does a typical writing day shape up for you? Are you structured or write only when inspiration strikes?
Like many writers, there's no such thing as a typical day. I work part-time as an adult education coordinator, so on those days I have to fit in my word count during the evening. On the days I'm at home, I have a semi structure which consists of answering emails, checking websites, promo, etc., then I get down to the nitty gritty of writing. The internet gets switched off and I work for a couple of hours. Then it's lunch and a chat with hubby, before disappearing for another few hours. We're also puppy walkers for Guide Dogs, so a couple of walks and playtime with the pup needs to be factored in.
I never wait for inspiration or for a visit from that elusive muse—I'd probably be waiting forever. [SK-I understand that!]
SK: Describe your work approach. Do you work in total silence or with music, tv, etc.? If it's the latter, do you have a preference in music, tv, etc?
It has to be silence. I've tried music, but find it too much of a distraction. The only sound I enjoy hearing while I'm writing is the rattling of a tea tray when Mr Jones brings me refreshments. [SK-Excellent! Do you hire Mr. Jones out?]
SK:Tell me about something that inspires you.
When I'm in the zone I can write till I drop and woe betide anyone who tries to stop me. Happily that doesn't occur too often, but I think there could be the makings of a workaholic inside me should it be nurtured. I'm also like a dog with a bone if I'm battling with a pesky plot problem. Just can't seem to switch off until it's sorted.
As for being inspired? Well, a good looking man never goes amiss (LOL) but reading a fabulously good book inspires and motivates me to get to the keyboard, as does a lovely day out with hubby and the pup. Recharging the batteries by visiting somewhere beautiful really gives me a lift.
About the Author
Tricia lives in south west England where she's happily married to her wonderful husband of, ahem, let's just say several years. Tricia has been addicted to reading romance novels since her grandmother introduced her to 'love books' early in her teens. That addiction morphed into writing romance, especially contemporary stories with strong, alpha heroes and equally strong heroines who give their men as good as they get. Travel is high on Tricia's agenda and she's been known to pack a suitcase faster than a girl can sneeze. She also enjoys helping to raise puppies that will go on to become guide dogs.
Tricia is multi published with Samhain and The Wild Rose Press. Her latest contemporary romance, Bull at the Gate, is now available both digitally and in paperback.
12 thoughts on "Spring Author Series: Tricia Jones"
Love a good Alpha hero! Great interview ladies!
That pesky internet is certainly the bane of writers when working – all too easy to nip in and see what people are up to. Admire your discipline when writing in switching it off. Good thing our other halves are well trained with the tea cups! Am looking forward to your next book. You write such fabulous stories. Kit X
Another great post, Stephanie. Thanks.
Thanks Stephanie for inviting me to your blog. Unfortunately, Mr Jones works full time for me, so he's not available for hire 🙂
Yes, nothing like an alpha is there, Mandy? But probably only in books. Most of my heroes I'd deck at first meeting. Only joking. I've read that if you want to slap the hero of your book and kiss him at the same time, then your job as a romance writer is done.
Hi Kit, that discipline is hard won and can be a little shaky at times (LOL). Thanks for the lovely compliment … and right back at ya!
Hi Tricia, I can relate to mornings. I need me time when I first get up. Looking forward to you next story.
Hi Lavada, from one night owl to another 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
Great interview, Tricia and Stephanie! I didn't even know there was such a thing as caffeine poisoning but it sounds dreadful! I certainly need a jolt of caffeine in the mornings, otherwise people best not speak to me. I'm not a morning person either! And ooh I would love to hire out Mr Jones. Or perhaps he could write a manual for the husbands of other busy authors? XX Great job, ladies.
Hi Nicky, there seems to be a whole bunch of writers who aren't at their best in the mornings. Mr Jones, as it happens, is at his best at that time of day, hence the morning pampering of yours truly. Sadly, he is not for hire, but the manual idea might be worth considering 🙂
I'm perfectly fine first thing in the morning. It's everyone else. Ahem. I admire you for 'switching off', Tricia. Take a leaf…. We need discipline, people! Nice post. 🙂 xx
Well, that discipline has been hard won, Sheryl. I was once the world's biggest procrastinator and have been known to favour unblocking drains rather than sit at the keyboard. But one of those zero birthdays pulled me up short 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
Interesting interview, ladies. Well on you Tricia for being able to shut out the Internet when you're writing. I try to be disciplined like that but am not always successful.
Bet those puppies are marvellous company whilst you are writing Tricia. I loved 'Bull at the Gate' – love those strong heros!
Well, some days it's easier than others, Melanie, but my output shoots up when I'm strong enough to switch it off!
Thanks for the compliment, Linn. Yes, the pups are pretty good company, if a little distracting 🙂
Comments are closed.


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Sharkopedia is a full color children's encyclopedia all about sharks!
Who wrote it
Discovery Channel Books, especially Susan Knopf and Lori Stein.
Get it
You can get Sharkopedia from any major book retailer. At time of posting, it's $19.99 when bought directly from Discovery Channel
My impression
I love the amazing photos in Sharkopedia . I've never seen that many great shark pictures ever, let alone in one book. I have been learning about sea creatures since I was a kid on the west coast, so I was surprised that even I learned a lot from this book. It's definitely a book with broad age appeal. My 4 year old son loved seeing the picture and hearing about the different types of sharks, but I can also see it being valuable to a much older student for a report in biology class, or just for fun! My favorite feature was actually the appendix that listed what sharks are in which aquariums and zoos.
My 4-year-old-says
I like the scary sharks [great whites]! They look like ghosts! The pictures are so fun and scary!
The bottom line
Sharkopedia is a well done book I highly recommend to families who love animals and science. It'd be a great addition to any home or classroom library.


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Mister President, I rise today to introduce the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Education Center Bill. I am joined by my colleagues and fellow Vietnam veterans, Senators McCain and Kerry, in sponsoring this bill that would authorize the construction of an Education Center near the site of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Twenty-one years ago, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was built as a permanent testament to the sacrifice of over 58,000 veterans who died during the Vietnam War. It is a place of remembrance for Vietnam veterans and their families.
As the Vietnam War draws further into America's past, it is important for future generations to remember the sacrifices of those who gave their lives in Vietnam, and to understand the lessons learned in Vietnam.
Most visitors to the Wall today were not alive during the Vietnam War. The Education Center would serve as an access point for the next generation. By collecting historic documents, artifacts and the testimony of Vietnam veterans, the Education Center would provide visitors with a better understanding of the Memorial.
The Memorial was designed to accommodate expansion. Over the last two decades, the Wall's reach has extended; names of fallen soldiers have been added to the black granite. Building the Education Center underground would expand the memorial in a new direction - one that does not distract from the natural beauty of the Mall.
The names on the Wall must never become simple, empty etchings. Their individual and collective power must remain connected to the real human sacrifices of war. The Education Center would help preserve this bond. It would affirm the meaning of the Wall, not just as an acknowledgment of a war or a date to be remembered, but as a living memorial with lessons to offer those who come to learn.
Many educators, veterans, lawmakers and organizations have voiced strong support for the proposed Education Center. Like the Wall, the Center would be funded entirely by private donations - evidence of its broad-based public support. There would be no tax payer money involved in building the Center.
Building an Education Center at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial would affirm the belief that we can inspire peace by educating our young people about the consequences of war. For there is no stronger advocate for peace than one who knows war.
I am proud to sponsor this bill authorizing the construction of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Education Center. I ask my colleagues to join me and Senators Kerry and McCain in support of this effort.


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Sliding glass door roller assembly
A home owner from New Richmond WI says:
September 25, 2015
The markings on the roller assembly wheel are Kilian, Toronto, Can; Syracuse, NY and I believe a number 5. The length of the bracket (including screw mount holes) seems to be 4 11/16 ( 4 3/4?). The length of the top of the bracket is 2 15/16 (3"). The width of the unit is 5/8". There are 2 screw mounts on the assembly and a side screw (in picture) that is 4 1/8 inch long. Can you help me find a replacement?
Paul from SWISCO responded:
September 28, 2015
This is a very old assembly. I'm not sure if we will be able to replace. Could you get away with just swapping out the wheel for another one, or do you need the housing? If you can just replace the wheel, tell me its diameter and thickness and we can work from there.
A home owner from New Richmond, WI says:
September 29, 2015
Thank you for your reply, Paul. Being unable to find the whole assembly I did look at replacing the wheels. The current wheels are 1 5/8 inch diameter and 3/8 inch wide. The closest wheel size I could find was 1 1/2 inch diameter. I think that will work and plan to give it a try.
Paul from SWISCO responded:
September 30, 2015
Great, let me know how it works.


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SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent futures held above $111 a barrel on Tuesday on worries about a prolonged outage from OPEC member Libya, positioning the benchmark to end 2013 virtually unchanged.
Fears of supply disruptions in the Middle East and Africa have offset concerns during the year about weak global demand, keeping Brent trading in a $22 range from $96.75 to $119.17 a barrel.
But the U.S. benchmark looks set to end 8 percent higher for 2013, recouping a 7 percent loss the previous year and giving it gains in four of the past five years.
Brent crude rose 3 cents to $111.24 a barrel by 0731 GMT, after settling 97 cents lower in the previous session. U.S. oil slipped 9 cents to $99.20 after ending $1.03 down.
"I think we will see similar sideways trading in oil next year. Markets will be volatile, but prices will stay in range," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney. "Key factors for the market next year will be on the supply side and global economic growth."
Spooner expects Brent to trade between $90 and $120 a barrel next year, and the U.S. benchmark to hold an $85-$115 range. The spread between the two contracts may widen as much as it did this year, but should average about $5 a barrel for the year, he said.
The spread widened to as much as $23.45 a barrel this year and turned positive briefly, according to Reuters data. The trading range of the spread of $23.54 held near the highest level on record of $24.96 touched in 2011.
Growing unrest in key exporter Iraq, simmering tensions between Iran and the West over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme and outages in Libya towards the later part of the year, all helped to keep oil supported.
"There are quite a few factors worrying the market about the supply outlook for oil," said a trader with a north Asian trading house. "These will put a floor on the prices."
That offset worries of a weak demand outlook in industrialised nations and a slowdown in consumption in China, the world's second-biggest oil consumer.
The Hariga oil port, which officials had said was to open soon, remained shut on Monday, as the paralysis of Libya's oil sector continued. Hariga has been shut since August.
Militias, tribesmen and civil servants have seized ports and oilfields to press for political or financial demands, drying up output to less than 250,000 bpd from 1.4 million bpd in July.
In Iran, a breakthrough deal last month with world powers over a decade-long dispute over the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme have somewhat eased tensions, but its exports have fallen by more than half to 1 million barrels per day (bpd) due to tough sanctions imposed by the West.
Violence in Iraq has spiked this year as al Qaeda-linked militants target the government and anyone seen to be supporting it, raising fears of a return to the sectarian conflict of 2006-7 that killed tens of thousands, keeping investors worried about a disruption in shipments from the country.
"Further progress on improving relations with Iran, removal of more sanctions, unrests in Iraq and Libya restoring production capabilities are some of top issues for the market," said Spooner.
Investors are also watching for further developments on the United States tapering its monetary stimulus. While the tapering would suggest the world's biggest economy is gaining steam, it would also reduce the availability of the dollar, weighing on oil and other commodities that are priced in the currency.
Editing by Richard Pullin and Michael Perry


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We adopt the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages as a basis for our language programs and therefore our courses range from levels Beginner to C1. A camper's level in their chosen language is determined through a variety of carefully planned, informal, written and oral tests conducted on the first morning of camp. Classes are usually no bigger than 10 students. The small number of students in a class allows the teacher to create a close relationship with each student, thus enabling the teacher to identify the students' strengths and weaknesses in the language.
Our standard language programs include 15 hours per two-week session or 9 hours per one-week session of foreign language tuition.
For those looking for a more intensive language experience, private tuition as well as additional language workshops are available focusing on GCSE, IGCSE, A Level and IB curricula. Contact us for more details.
At the end of each camp session students are presented with an Award Certificate showing their level of language in relation to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Click here to read more in our interview with Head of Languages, Susana Molina. Please see also our blog-post on the benefits of learning a language.


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- select colour
it's an internet thing!
it's an internet thing!
12:21 16 March 2012
Coronation Street veteran Bill Roache has told Piers Morgan that hes slept with 1000 women.
The actor opened up about his love life, as well as rumours of a fling with former co-star Pat Phoenix.
The long-serving soap star, who plays Ken Barlow on the ITV1 soap, discussed the rumours during an episode of Morgan's Life Stories.
Speaking of his night with Phoenix, who played battleaxe Elsie Tanner, Roache said:
"It was just a one-off. It was just something that happened one night when we were together. We weren't right for each other.
"She invited me round to her flat and we had a few drinks, then one thing led to another. At that time, she had a reputation and I had a reputation, and she felt we should meet, as it were. It just happened."
The aged actor also claimed that he was given the nickname 'C**k Roache' because of his uncontrollable sex drive and revealed that he cheated on his former wife, Anna Cropper.
He initially said that he had slept with "more than 100" women, but when pressed by Morgan whether the number was closer to 1,000, he replied:
"Well, I'm not denying it."
Roache also discussed the fallout from his infidelity and breakdown of his marriage to Cropper in 1974 with the former newspaper boss, saying:
"There were plenty of girls around. I shouldn't have done it. I didn't have any control over my own sex drive. I didn't have the strength to control it.
"It depressed me. I'm so sorry for the things that I did. The hurt was the children. I'll always regret that. Every morning I woke up regretting and hurting."
Disclaimer: Supanet is not responsible for, and disclaims any and all liability for the content of comments written by contributors to this website


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How to Create Dashboard Widget
I would like to create a plugin to show something on dashboard. I have experience with creation of normal widgets, but the dashboard widgets does not work for me. I have even try examples like http://lesterchan.net/wordpress/2008/03/19/dashboard-widget-without-controls-sample-plugin/ but they do not work (at least at the latest 2.6). Working sample would be great.
P.S.: and no, i do not want to use Dashboard Editor plugin!
- The topic 'How to Create Dashboard Widget' is closed to new replies.


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If we are all children of 'god', assuming god exists, why are their prophets? Are some more worthy to hear the word of a deity, while the rest aren't?
sort by best latest
God controls all events , whether good or bad. Nothing happens in the universe without God willing and allowing it.
Man's life is as short as a shadow upon the earth. If you think that within your short life span, you know the truth to all of eternity? then all power to you. There is more under the heaven and the earth than our little minds could ever dream of comprehending.
You can help the HubPages community highlight top quality content by ranking this answer up or down.
God is father of all. God is the in-dweller of all. But there is a difference in the manifestation of God's power in everyone.
Though an ant and an elephant are children of God, and though God indwells in ant as well as in elephant, there is a difference in power between them. This concept of difference in power manifestation was frequently taught by Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.
Your science teacher who teaches Newton's law of motions is not equal to Newton. A priest who eloquently explains Bible is not equal to Jesus Christ. Leave alone knowledge. Even in expressing love, I am not equal to a 1 year old baby next doors.
You can help the HubPages community highlight top quality content by ranking this answer up or down.


text: Are you all aware that all mowers produce over 95 decibles. Anything over 85 decibles for over 8 hours WILL cause perminant hearing loss. I always wear my hearing protection when running the mowers and blowers, and hearing protection and safety glasses when running the trimmers. So, if you don't want to loose YOUR hearing, wear hearing protection. Do you?


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Parian is a type of "Bisque" pottery. It was named after Paros, a Greek island renowned for its fine-textured, white marble of the same name. Invented by Thomas Battam, Parian provided a lower cost alternative to carved Marble. A notable advantage was that it could be prepared in a liquid form and cast in a mold - a quality lending itself to mass production.
Parian ware was utilized mainly for busts and figurines, and occasionally for dishes and small vases such as might be carved from marble. Several English factories claimed credit for its development. The Staffordshire firm run by William Taylor Copeland and Thomas Garrett first produced and marketed it in 1842.
There are essentially 2 types of Parian pottery. The first is used in the making of statues or figures and is call "statuary". The second type is called Parian Ware and is used in the creation of small dishes and vases and the like.
This wonderful pitcher stands approximately 10" in height and is nearly 8" in width. The pitcher depicts two lovers holding hands in either a lush forest or perhaps on an island on one side; on the other side the man and the woman are seated next to one another while cradling either a bowl or a cup.
There are no cracks or chips in evidence.
There are lines in evidence (in the inner rear surface of the pitcher) that would seem to indicate that they were a end result of the manufacturing process of this piece. We also can definitely see a "mold seam" down the front of the pitcher; which again appears to be a result of it's manufacture. It does appear from our research that this manufacturing process may leave slight blemishes such as those described above. They do not however diminish the beauty / impact of the piece in any way.
A wonderful handcrafted piece that must be seen up close to be fully appreciated.


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Annual St. Mary Basilica and Assumption Church Event
Catholic Hill, Natchez City Cemetery
It all started in 1861. As the Civil War was beginning, Bishop Elder realized that Plot 1, was filling up--don't forget that our early church members from Spanish Days were being transferred from the graveyard where the basilica grounds are located. (The Catholic Board of Trustees bought this ground in 1823 just as The Natchez Cemetery opens.)
The 1861 church announcement reads: ."...the congregation gathered at the old Catholic cemetery, chanted vespers for the dead, processed to the new section reciting the litany of the saints, and then blessed the cross in the new section..."
J.E.Guercio November 6, 2011
Chairman for StMBA
Father David O'Connor and Louise Mulvihill sit in the newly renovated well house on Catholic Hill located in the Natchez City Cemetery. Parishioners look on as vespers for the dead are chanted.
The Revend Julian Mary Guillou died on the 7th instant at the residence of the Bishop of Natchez, aged 39 years. He was a native of the parish of Bignon near Nantes, and was one of a band of missionaries brought from France by Bishop Chanche in 1849. His last illness, says the Courier, was contracted from the consequence of exposure and privations endured at Corinth, while attending the wounded and sick after the Battle of Shiloh… View Slideshow
Quegles, Couillard, Profilet, Ferguson, and Sanguinetti
Monsignor Daniel J. O'Beirne, V.G.
Brothers of the Sacred Heart


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Editorial Zine
This zine looks at the controversy that parents face when deciding to vaccinate for MMR. An article posted by a British medical magazine blamed the vaccine for causing autism in infants, and as a result many parents refused to vaccinate their child. Below are spreads from the zine I created by distressing images and text with a copy machine.
Thank You!


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Make a membership contribution online or send to:
Friends of the Chicago River
411 South Wells Street, Suite 800
Chicago, Illinois 60607
Beautiful river wildlife notecards featuring turtle, osprey, catfish, and bat illustrations by artist Jen Pagnini are available for purchase here. One set of notecards contains eight cards with two of each kind. Each sale is eligible for a complimentary membership at the Prairie Dropseed level.
Help Friends of the Chicago River continue our award-winning efforts to protect and improve the river. From educational/field trip programs, to on-the-ground projects, to public policy and planning initiatives, your membership gift supports the continuing recovery and renaissance of the Chicago River.
Friends members and donors at the $10+ level receive
- Subscription to The River Reporter newsletter
- Volunteer bulletins, email action alerts, and other opportunities for hands-on involvement
- Invitations to Friends' special events
- Listing in Friends' Annual Report
Friends members and donors at the $35+ level receive
- Benefits stated above
- Subscription to The River Reporter newsletter
- Free general admission plus discounts on bridge lift events, tour tickets, and merchandise at Friends' McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum
- Discounts on our canoe trips
- A print and e-certificate for Business Members showing your employees, associates, and clients that you support Friends of the Chicago River
Business members of $100 and above, as well as individual/household members who give $250 and above, receive additional thank you benefits.
Most significantly, members and donors receive the reward of knowing that your membership contribution has a direct impact on improving the health and vitality of the Chicago River.
Your support can go even further if your workplace has a matching gift program. Request and complete the employee section of your company's form, then send it to Friends of the Chicago River to do the rest.
For information on The Otter Society - Friends' Major Donor Program, Friends' Endowment Fund, Tribute or Legacy Gifts, Planned Giving, Stock Gifts or Business Memberships and Opportunities, click on those you can to learn more or contact Kim Olsen-Clark at firstname.lastname@example.com or (312) 939-0490, ext. 19.


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Help to Buy
Help to Buy Scotland
By Marie Kemplay
Article 6 of 8
Put us to the test
Our Test Labs compare features and prices on a range of products. Try Which? to unlock our reviews. You'll instantly be able to compare our test scores, so you can make sure you don't get stuck with a Don't Buy.
Help to Buy Scotland
Help to Buy (Scotland) allows first-time buyers and home movers to buy new-build homes with deposits of just 5%. Find out how the scheme works with our expert guide.
The latest version of the Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme was launched in March 2016, with the aim of helping 7,500 home buyers over its three-year lifespan.
How does Help to Buy (Scotland) work?
The Help to Buy (Scotland): Affordable New Build Scheme, to give it its full name, offers interest-free equity loans of up to 15% of the value of a new-build home.
To use Help to Buy (Scotland), you'll need a deposit of at least 5%, and your combined mortgage and deposit will need to cover at least 85% of the total price of your desired property.
If you have a much larger deposit, you might not be eligible, as the mortgage you take out must make up at least 25% of the total purchase price.
- Mortgages for Help to Buy (Scotland) are only available from a few lenders. For independent, unbiased advice on getting a mortgage with this scheme, and guidance on the lenders who will be able to help, call Which? Mortgage Advisers on 0808 252 7987 for a free consultation.
What kind of home can I buy using Help to Buy (Scotland)?
You can only use this scheme to buy a new-build home.
The maximum value of the property you can buy changes each financial year, and if your application straddles two years, the limit applies to the date the transaction is completed, not the date the home is reserved. The limits are as follows:
- before 31 March 2017: £230,000
- before 31 March 2018: £200,000
- before 31 March 2019: £175,000.
A home purchased using Help to Buy (Scotland) must be used as your main residence, so if you're looking for a buy-to-let investment, this scheme won't be right for you.
How do I apply for Help to Buy (Scotland)?
To buy a home using Help to Buy (Scotland), you'll need to follow these steps:
- Get an accurate understanding of how much you can afford, ideally by talking to a mortgage adviser.
- Contact a participating house builder and view a show home.
- Speak to an independent financial adviser, who will put you in touch with one of the agents that administers the scheme.
- Request a Help to Buy (Scotland) application form from the agent.
- Reserve a property and obtain a reservation agreement.
- Submit the application form to the agent and await a decision.
Find out more: new-build homes – expert advice on buying a brand-new property
When will I need to pay back my Help to Buy (Scotland) equity loan?
There's no set deadline but, while you're paying it off, you will be limited in what you can do with your property.
There are strict rules about improving or extending homes bought using Help to Buy (Scotland), so if you wish to carry out any work, you'll need to receive written permission.
As the scheme is designed to help homebuyers get on to (or progress up) the ladder, the government is generally reluctant to allow changes that will increase the value of the property, so there's a good chance your request will be denied.
Can I increase my share?
You can increase your share of the home by buying up 'chunks' of the government's stake. This process is often referred to as 'tranching up'.
You can buy a minimum of 5% in any one year, but bear in mind you'll be buying the equity at market rate, so you'll need to get a valuation done before purchasing.
Are there any alternatives to Help to Buy (Scotland)?
If Help to Buy isn't right for you, you could consider buying a home using the Scottish government's Low Cost Initiative for First-Time Buyers (LIFT) scheme, which is split in to two parts.
The Open Market Shared Equity scheme (OMSE) allows first-time buyers to purchase a stake of between 60% and 90% of a property for sale on the open market with a modest deposit.
The New Supply Shared Equity scheme (NSSE) works in a similar way, although it's limited to new homes and buyers will usually purchase a stake of between 60% and 80%.
Priority is usually given to social renters, members of the armed forces and disabled people.
If you're interested in buying a home using NSSE, you can search for a project in your area on the Scottish government website.
- Last Updated: January 2017
- Updated by: Stephen Maunder


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The last time I wrote a post like this… plans changed.
I meant to take those birth control pills, I swear.
I am happy I never got around to it, though. If I had we wouldn't have been blessed with our little Novalee.
And who knows? Maybe we never would have had a little girl if I had went on those pills.
Maybe it was luck…or divine intervention.
Whatever it was, Matt and I had made a deal with each other when we found out we were expecting our fourth child.
If it was another boy, we would (eventually) try one more time for our elusive girl.
And if it was a girl, I'd let Matt get a vasectomy.
When the ultrasound revealed that we were having a daughter, the fate of Matt's sperm was sealed.
An hour after she was born, Matt was on the phone with the urologist's office, making an appointment.
Much to my dismay, four weeks later, I drove him to the clinic for the procedure.
Crazy as it may be, I tried to talk him out of it.
I know I should be relieved that I will never have to endure another rough pregnancy or another excruciating labor and delivery.
Actually I am, but…
there is this small part of me that is sad about closing this chapter of my life. I'm not even thirty yet. I don't feel like I should be finished having children already.
I don't feel like I am ready to be done.
Especially since little Novalee is growing so fast. It's bittersweet knowing that she is our last baby.
Then again, after spending the past five years in a sea of poopy diapers and spit up, a huge part of me is looking forward to what lies beyond the baby stage.
My husband is right. We have to be done.
After all, there is no more room for car seats in our van and I refuse to drive a bus.


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Original paper
Ultrahigh potassium content in the clinopyroxene structure: an X-ray single-crystal study
Bindi, Luca; Safonov, Oleg G.; Litvin, Yuriy A.; Perchuk, Leonid L.; Menchetti, Silvio
European Journal of Mineralogy Volume 14 Number 5 (2002), p. 929 - 934
published: Sep 27, 2002
ArtNo. ESP147051405007, Price: 29.00 €
The crystal structures and chemical compositions of two crystals of clinopyroxene (labelled K1 and K2) synthesized in the model system CaMgSi2O6 - KAlSi2O6 at 7 GPa, have been investigated. Quantitative analysis leads to the following formulae: (Ca0.75K0.23Mg0.02)(Mg0.73Al0.27)(Si1.97Al0.03)O6.00 and (Ca0.90K0.07Mg0.03)(Mg0.86Al0.14)(Si1.94Al0.06)O6.00, for K1 and K2 respectively. Lattice parameters are: a = 9.803(2), b = 8.985(2), c = 5.263(1) Å, β = 105.69(1)° for K1 and a = 9.744 (1), b = 8.904(2), c = 5.273(1) Å, β = 106.14(1)° for K2. The structures were refined to Rall = 1.16 and 2.02 %, respectively, using 982 independent reflections. Substitution of K for Ca causes strong modifications to the average structure, mainly a lengthening of the M2-O3C1 bond distance and a shortening of the T-O3A1 bond distance. The crystal K1 shows the largest volume for a M2 polyhedron ever reported for the clinopyroxene structure with divalent cations in this site. No evidence was found for a small cation such as Mg coexisting with Ca in the M2 site that might act as a structural stabilizer for the accommodation of K in the clinopyroxene structure.
potassium-bearing clinopyroxene • structure refinement • single-crystal x-ray diffraction • synthetic • crystals • chemical • analysis


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Bad thing to do, to starve yourself like that. Too many health problems come about because of that, please find a healthy alternative, like eating healthy and walking. Hope this helps.
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