The Mariner Memorandum – Mariners links

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August 20, 2013; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Ichiro Suzuki bats in the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Munson/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports

While it might not be the most exciting time to be a Mariners fan, there’s still some things that can pique a fan’s interest. Felix continues to factor in Cy-Young discussions, Raul is amazing us all with his geriatric power, and Ackley is channeling Grizzly Adams with a beard to make any man jealous. Even though the Mariners aren’t going to factor in the playoffs this year, that doesn’t mean there isn’t any Mariners news out there. In this article I will be gathering Mariners news and opinions from around the internet. My hope is that I can bring some new and different perspectives to your baseball browsing, or at the very least to help you pass some time while you procrastinate at work.

The Mariners are coming off of back-to-back series wins against division rivals Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics. Sometimes it’s nice to remind ourselves that we can still keep up with the big boys. Poor Felix Hernandez is coming off of a rough start in Texas where he was romped for five earned runs and went only five innings. Felix gets the ball tonight in the series opener against the Angels and will be looking to keep the Mariners hot.

But that wasn’t the biggest news in Mariners baseball this week:

Ichiro Links

Mr. 4,000: Ichiro reaches career milestone with classic base hit – Big League Stew

Ichiro is all the rage this week, as he slapped his 4,000th career hit this week. Ever since Ichiro went over to the Dark Side, I’ve had a hard time keeping up the same hate I used to have for the Yankees (until A-Rod came back). While I still don’t want the Yanks to win anything, I find myself excited to see Ichiro come up to bat.

4,000 – U.S.S. Mariner 

There’s been a lot of discussion on whether or not Ichiro’s hits from Japan should count or not, but it also seems like everyone is still discounting the fact that he has 4 thousand hits. Jeff Sullivan at USS Mariner wrote a great article about whether or not his Japanese hits should count, and then goes on to say that it doesn’t actually matter at all, because we still all love Ichiro.

How many hits would Ichiro have if he came up in 1992? – Baseball Nation

Grant Brisbee takes a look at how many hits we could have expected from him if he had played all of his career in the MLB. (Spoiler alert: its still a lot.)

Mariners Links

Coast is now clear for Mariners to announce Zduriencik extension – Mariners Blog

After tons of speculation last week as to whether or not Mariners GM Zduriencik would be brought back next season, the Mariners went ahead and announced that he was coming back anyways. Zduriencik was actually signed to a one year extension last summer. I’m not sure why they waited for so long to announce it, maybe they were hoping that the M’s would be well on their way to the pennant by now and it would seem like a good idea.

Philadelphia Daily News columnist Marcus Hayes accuses Ken Griffey Jr. of using PEDs – Hardball Talk

Only a week after we all stood and celebrated Ken Griffey Jr.’s admittance to the Mariners Hall of Fame, the PED allegations have started up. Hayes’ argument centers around the fact that ‘he was so good and then suddenly was so bad’ as his basis for being on PEDs and then going off of them. Which sounds pretty baseless to me.

With Replay, Seattle Mariners’ Combined No-Hitter Likely Wouldn’t Have Happened – Yahoo Contributor Network

The announcement that the MLB is trying to bring in video replay next year is being lauded by some as a great idea, but perhaps it wouldn’t work out as well as we all hope. Apparently, the replay rules would have ended the Mariners’ combined no-hitter bid in the fourth inning, and again in the ninth.

Relief Pitching is Sometimes Devoid of Relief – Broken Baseball Services

The poor, poor bullpen has had its fair share of ups and downs this year, but probably more downs than ups. The Mariners have given up a lot of homeruns this season, and the bullpen is giving up an average of 1.10HR/9IP. While it always sucks to give up home runs, here’s a reminder of some of the worst ones (maybe this isn’t one you want to read after all).