That whole Stuffed Crust Pizza diary got me sidetracked from the Ichiro community projection review I intended to write, so I'll push that to tomorrow, and in its stead see how this 1986 season chatter does on the front page.
Record: 3-3
Game 1: vs. Angels, 8-2 loss
Game 2: vs Angels, 5-4 loss (11)
Game 3: vs Angels, 5-3 win
Game 4: @Twins, 10-0 loss
Game 5: @Twins, 21-2 romance explosion
Game 6: @Twins, 8-4 win (circle that, Bert)
Coming up next week: 3 @Angels, 3 vs A's
It was a tough start for the Stormin' Gormans (for the record, Gorman Thomas has yet to see live action), but I've been thrilled to see the lads rise to the occasion these last few days. Thanks in large part to that legendary drubbing laid on Allan Anderson and the soft underbelly of the Twins' bullpen, the team's batting .319 with an .868 OPS through six games, with the middle of the order coming up huge. Ken Phelps in particular has been a godsend. Why'd we ever trade him, anyway?
Harold Reynolds remains hitless through 13 at bats. Even Domingo flipping Ramos is 3-7. I can't believe Reynolds is seriously the best option at second base. If there's one guy who's going to make me want to break my own rule about keeping the same roster all year long for the sake of realism, Reynolds is it.
I don't know how the pitching's going to hold up, but there's going to be a lot of pressure on Morgan, Langston, and Moore to keep us out of the bottom of the league barrel. The bullpen's a pile of crap. There is not a JJ Putz to be found. There's not even a Todd Jones.
The actual 1986 Mariners finished 67-95, so I've decided that I'll be happy with 70 wins, thrilled with 75, and impossibly ecstatic with 81. I don't know if that's even possible, but I've never played Strat-O-Matic before, so here's to a life of blissful, ignorant hope. And that's your Week One update. I'll probably do one of these every Sunday (either on the front page or as a diary), but if you're looking for more, I'm keeping an intermittently-updated running blog on the league's front page, and new box scores are available every night around 10 or 11pm PST.
Go Mariners. Because Phil Bradley rocked.