After yesterday's demoralizing loss, the Mariners return to Kauffman Stadium to face the Royals with Erasmo Ramirez taking the hill. It still feels so bizarre that this will be only the second time the Mariners have faced the Royals all season, but at least they get to do it now with a sardine-filled dugout.
September baseball is really something. Just when the Mariners start making it difficult to keep tuning in every day, they open their pockets and dangle a bunch of shiny new toys named Taijuan Walker and James Paxton in front of our faces. I like this. I will watch this. I wonder what the Mariners will look like on the field today?
P. Erasmo Ramirez (R) P |
Alright. That's it. I'm done complaining about the Mariners roster. Over It. I am making that pledge to you today, here on September 3rd, 2013 during a game where Endy Chavez and Raul Ibanez are starting for some stupid reason Wait, I just complained. Okay, now I'm finished.
It does seem somewhat telling, though, that the Mariners are starting Abraham Almonte in CF over Franklin Gutierrez with Ackley getting a day off. With Ackley ostensibly the club's new starting centerfielder, it would only make sense for them to put, oh, I don't know, the club's gold-glove-winning former centerfielder in his spot, especially if said player is both still with the team and playing in the game. But no, they are looking to see what Almonte does instead, and I can't say I'm upset with that decision at all. And even Ackley has been juggling around a little bit, as Almonte pushed him over to LF yesterday. If Endy is going to be out there and Raul is going to be in the lineup, at least know that we have something tangible to pay attention to over this next month as the Mariners try to make sense of what they have in those pockets they've been unloading...well...pretty much all season.
Lefty Bruce Chen takes the mound for the Royals, and their lineup looks like:
P. Bruce Chen (L)