Getting Caught Up

Spent a long holiday weekend in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest away from all technology, which is a very strange thing for a man accustomed to being on or near a computer or cell phone for about 17 hours a day. I know there are people out there who try to take technology breaks from time to time. Breaks to serve as a reminder that there are more important things in the world than what's going on on the internet. I've tried that before. This one worked. You can't take a break by going out to a show or staying in a hotel. If you want to take a break, really take a break. When you know for a fact that you can't get cellular service, it is exactly as refreshing and liberating as you want it to be.

Anyway, I'm not going to bore or amaze you with the details of our trip. Just know that Mount Adams is awesome, Mount St. Helens is awesomer, and you can start a campfire with tortilla chips.

• The Mariners lost three games and won with Cliff Lee. It's like I didn't miss anything at all. Perhaps my favorite fun fact of the year right now is that Lee has walked one batter in each of his last two starts, and his K/BB has gotten worse both times. The M's are 9-4 in his starts. In their four losses, he's allowed ten runs in 30 innings, with one homer, one walk, and 26 strikeouts. Christ. I think Cliff Lee might be Christ.
  
  And Brandon League got beat up yesterday because he kept throwing his fastball. His strikeout rate has dropped more than a quarter from where it was a year ago. I know, crazy!


• Mark Worrell! A curious signing, but I like it. In my younger days, I used to root for the Seahawks and the Jaguars, At least I could count on one of them to make the playoffs for a little while. He didn't have the greatest arm in the world, but a QB who can run introduces a whole new dimension to an offense, and it's like that team was built on bootlegs and bombs to Jimmy Smith. He's gotten up there in years, but all that running tells me he's athletic and is probably going to age pretty well.


• Cliff Lee is still a Mariner, but not for much longer. I was just getting home when those Twitter rumors started circulating. This is getting sad. None of us wants to say goodbye, but we're all aware of the inevitable. It's like hovering over grandma in the hospital. Me, I'm waiting for the acceptance stage. I know about the Twins rumors, and I know about the Rays rumors, but I also know about this front office's history with trade rumors, so I'm trying to stay out of it and just get used to the fact that Cliff Lee won't be a Mariner in a month. It isn't the easiest thing I've ever done. If Lee were to get traded for Wilson Ramos and Aaron Hicks, then I don't think I could ever be satisfied with anything less than brilliance on each of their parts. WE TRADED CLIFF LEE FOR YOU WORTHLESS SONS OF BITCHES LIVE UP TO YOUR PROMISE
  
  There are currently 17 teams within five games of the playoffs. All of them could use Lee, because Lee is easily the best pitcher on the market, and all of them are likely to inquire about Lee, because, why wouldn't they? Lee's the kind of arm that could win a team a Series. It'll be interesting to see, then, if some team gets tired of the gradual one-upsmanship and decides to blow everyone else out of the water with a mammoth bid to end this auction quickly. Sometimes, overpaying can be the right move for an organization to make, and that's what I'm hoping for.


• Erik Bedard is probably never coming back. I think this makes him more likable, actually. I'm gonna need some time to develop this hypothesis. Check back soon!


• Jack Wilson ranked third in a player poll of shortstop range. Elvis Andrus came in first, at 16%, with Jimmy Rollins second at 14% and Wilson third at 12%. Not in the top five: Derek Jeter. Also not in the top five: Yuniesky Betancourt. Those scouts were right. They do have an awful lot in common.