I didn't see it, but I heard about it, and hearing about it made me sad.

:(

No word on his condition as of 5:35.

5:36 update: Saw it. Pad your damn walls

5:41 update: If I heard Sims right, Guti is day-to-day with a contusion, and x-rays "may have been" negative, whatever that means. If true, our season lives on!

Later update: Confirmation from Stone at Baker's blog.

It doesn't sound as dire as it looked. He has a left elbow and left knee contusion, and x-rays on his knee were negative. He also has an abrasion on his left knee. He's listed as day to day. That's about as good an outcome as you could hope for. It sounds like nothing is broken or sprained.

Well, that didn't last long. Larry LaRue with the word:

Just when hasn't been decided, but within the next week Beltre will have surgery that will likely keep him out of the Seattle Mariners lineup 6-8 weeks.

According to reports, Beltre is under a severe amount of pain every time he lifts his arm above shoulder height. That he was going to try and play through that for three months and change is a testament to just how strong willed the man is. Unfortunately for him and for the team, he is not going to be able to make it.

Based on the timeline, do not expect to see Adrian back until around the middle to end of August.

WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS

The 2008 Seattle Mariners were world-renowned for their shitty plate discipline. Their O-Swing% of 28.5% ranked second-last in the league, as did their 6.9% walk rate. It was a team full of hackers, and their poor collective idea of the strike zone played a significant role in crippling the team's chances of competing.

Jack Zduriencik recognized this weakness during the offseason and brought in a group of players better able to identify strikes and balls and make the pitcher work. Ken Griffey Jr., Russell Branyan, Endy Chavez, and Franklin Gutierrez all came in with encouraging track records, and Mike Sweeney had a history of reasonable discipline. Only Ronny Cedeno looked like a free swinger, and he was slotted for the bench.

After 33 games, the 2009 Seattle Mariners have an O-Swing% of 29.6% and a walk rate of 6.9%. This despite the league average O-Swing% falling a point and the league average BB% jumping a point.

We've gotten worse. Despite the additions and the coaching staff saying all the right things during the spring, our plate discipline has gotten worse.

It hasn't been the fault of the additions. While Branyan's swung at more pitches out of the zone than usual (not that it's hurt him), here's everything you need to know:

It's those damn relics from the Bavasi era holding us back, as many of them seem to be hacking more than ever. The violators?

Beltre: O-Swing% increase of 6.8%
Betancourt: +10.3%
Lopez: +5.0%
Ichiro: +3.3%

I always trust that Ichiro knows what he's doing, but between Yuni, Lopez, and Beltre, we have three of the stupidest hitters in the world, and we're starting them every day. Somebody help us. I can't take much more of this.

Broken tibia.

It's always weird when a famous person dies. When I got into work and heard about the accident, my first reaction was one not of shock or grief, but of interest. I couldn't believe it had happened, and all I wanted to do was find out more information. Where did it happen? How did it happen? Did it really happen? It was such an atypical and inconceivable bit of news that for a while it didn't register that Nick Adenhart was dead, that he was no longer among the living. It just registered as something unusually captivating, and as such I spent the first hour of my day reading comments, tracking down stories, and waiting for updates. In a sick sort of way I almost found myself enjoying it - not in a way that brought me pleasure, but in the way that you can watch airplanes fly into skyscrapers and keep your eyes fixed while the TV shows replay after replay. Humans are mesmerized by this sort of thing, and while I feel disgusting for admitting it, it would be dishonest to say that I didn't get swept up.

But after a little while it did begin to sink in. Nick Adenhart had died. And though it's easy for someone in my position to see baseball players as nothing but machines that generate clumps of data, today's news issued a swift and forceful reminder that Adenhart was more than a left arm with three pitches and iffy control. Nick was a person as much as I am a person, as much as all of us are persons. Nick kept some of his favorite snacks in his kitchen. Nick had plans to hang out with friends when he got a little free time. Nick had guilty pleasures on TV. Nick had girls that he wanted to see naked. Nick had inside jokes. Nick had bills. Nick had messages he hadn't returned. Nick had memories of family get-togethers over the holidays where he'd have to explain to his grandparents why he wasn't in school. Nick had people he loved, and Nick had people who loved him.

And now, a week after he got to tell friends and family that he'd broken camp with the Angels, Nick is dead. And while I didn't know him, and while I didn't watch him as a fan, it still doesn't feel like just some guy dying, because he's not just some guy. Not for me. Baseball is my second life, and as such, the baseball community is like a giant circle of acquaintances that I got to know by watching them play. And just because I don't interact with the players face-to-face doesn't mean I don't develop connections to them. I make time to see them, I tell them to do things, they usually don't listen, sometimes I get annoyed. How different is that from any traditional relationship, really?

Nick Adenhart's passing has left me saddened. Not broken up, but upset, the way I imagine you feel when your regular waiter at the IHOP dies, or when you lose someone from your book club. That may not be the most touching or heartfelt of admissions, but then I imagine Nick's family takes some solace in hearing from everyone to whom Nick had any kind of meaning. All things considered, Nick didn't mean that much to me, but he meant enough that his passing caused me to stop in my tracks and give my girlfriend a hug.

Nick Adenhart died hours after pitching the best game of his life. If there's any silver lining here, it's that his death was preceded by his achieving an incredible feat. May he take that memory with him wherever he goes.

Nick Adenhart is dead. He was 22 years old. I wish all the best to his teammates, his friends, and his family.

According to California state law, buying a personal firearm comes with a ten-day waiting period.

The Mariners have abandoned, for now, any plans to have former No. 1 draft pick Phillippe Aumont continue in a starting role.
...

"We felt that this was a guy, who, if used in a relief role, could be on a real fast-track to the major leagues,'' he said. "And we're talking a real fast track.''

In the end, Zduriencik said, it came down to whether the team was willing to wait several more years for Aumont to develop as a potential front-end starter for the rotation -- never a guarantee -- or go the more likely route of becoming a top bullpen arm in a much shorter timeframe. (Baker)

Phillippe Aumont is 20 years old and just used his A-level heat and sharp breaking ball to sit down some excellent hitters in the WBC. Now, out of nowhere, it appears he's being moved from the rotation into the bullpen. After appearing in all of 15 minor league games.

This may not be permanent. Dave mentions that the front office has been talking about moving Aumont to the bullpen temporarily in an effort to manage his workload. But the way Zduriencik comes off in Baker's piece...I didn't hold the Morrow thing against the organization, because that was simply a matter of his body not being built for such a demanding role, but if this is true, and if this is permanent, then it's an unforgivably, unbelievably, irresponsibly short-sighted decision.

Phillippe Aumont is 20 years old. TWENTY YEARS OLD. There is absolutely no reason to do this.