That above is early work. Good early work. Tui at third taking grounders, Saunders in left getting work as well. This is exactly what I hoped to see when I posted this two weeks ago. We have seen other teams doing this on the road all year long. The fact that this was not going on earlier in the season I recently learned was a concern. It only makes sense. If a team heading to the post season like the Twins can do it why can't a team who has had base running errors, poor situational hitting, young players up, players new to positions do the same? Again, it was good to see today.

One of the teams we have seen recently that is big on early work is the Chicago White Sox. Of course bench coach Joey Cora was in the news today as Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reported that Cora has emerged as a "strong candidate" for the Seattle job. Interesting on a few fronts. First of all Jack Zduriencik has said that experience will be something he is looking for moving forward. Second, Cora was a strong candidate, possibly one of the top three for the manager job here the last time.

I don't know how important experience is. There are pitfalls that can be avoided by someone who has experience but I am not convinced that an inexperienced manager can't navigate around or completely avoid them. If the right experienced manager is not available wouldn't the best inexperienced candidate be the next best bet? The trick will be to find him.

What I like about Cora is that he has been coaching at the big league level for seven years, the last four as bench coach. His name has been out there for a couple of years now as someone who will be managing soon. He is smart as well as baseball smart. He is fiery and not afraid of confrontation or to get on a guy though he has mellowed somewhat since becoming bench coach. If he is indeed a candidate he would be a good one.

News and notes...Felix hit the 200 strikeout mark for the second straight year with his strikeout of Erick Aybar in the 7th inning tonight...Ichiro recorded his 500th infield hit with his single in the 2nd inning of the same game...To follow up on something I wrote yesterday, the Mariners released the names of players who will play along with Dustin Ackley in the Arizona Fall League this year.

- Maikel Cleto (RHP)

- Josh Fields (RHP)

- Josh Lueke (RHP)

- Tom Wilhelmsen (RHP)

- Matt Mangini (INF)

- Nate Tenbrink (OF)

- Eddie Tamez (Trainer)

Shawn Kelley is coming on to work the 9th.

By Matt Pitman

Leave it to me to create a blog post talking about Morrow not walking anyone and how he's cruised....to set up the only inning he had to deal with trouble.

He got the first two outs in the 8th, then walked the 7 and 8 hitters, hid first two walks of the night. He got Cliff Pennington to flu out to Ichiro to get out of the 8th. Morrow has thrown 105 pitches and it's looking like Wak might let him go out for the 9th...there is no one warming in the Mariners pen as I type this........

By Matt Pitman

Brandon Morrow tonight...wow! Granted it's against the A's who aren't a, how you say, juggernaut.

Still Morrow has been great and it all starts with a very simple, yet sometimes for him difficult key, and that's throwing strikes.

Through 7 Morrow has 9 strikeouts and ZERO walks. On only 80 pitches! I don't know what I'm more surprised/impressed with more. No walks, or that he's allowed only one baserunner (a Rajai Davis 4th inning single) and made it through 7 on only 80 pitches.

This has been a great night already for Brandon...I'm wondering if it could be a special night if he can go the distance?

By Matt Pitman

Congrats to Adam Moore, who just clubbed his first big league homerun, here is a route at Safeco Field.

Moore took it opposite field to right making it 7-0 Mariners in the 4th inning.

It also marked Mariners history, as Moore became the 22nd different Mariners player to homer this year.

That's a new club record!

By Matt Pitman

First let me get you caught up. Ichiro and Lopez doubles, and a Beltre single, lead to 2 first inning runs for the Mariners. Then a Kenji Johjima leadoff double in the second and a Langerhans sac fly make it 3-0.

Not to the fun part.

I googled Carp, and this big came up, and I just couldn't resist. That's a darn big big. Speaking of.............

New York Vinnie has taken to calling Mike Carp "The Big Fish." It must be working. Vinnie's been doing it the last couple of nights, and the last couple of nights "The Big Fish" has been killin it. An RBI single and a triple last night, and tonight his first big leaguer homerun! A solo shot in the bottom of the fourth, put the Mariners up 4-0.

Hilarious moment in the dugout, as his teammates gave him the quiet treatment. Where they are all sitting down like he just made an out, or nothing is going on, as he returns to the dugout following his trot around the bases. Then after a minute, they all get up and congratulate him, show him some love, and so on and so forth. That's funny.

THE BIG FISH....catch it! Is that the Mike Carp slogan of the future?

Ian Snell has a pattern of "the one bad inning." That inning (so far, and hopefully that last for the sake of the pace of this game) was the fourth.

He threw 20 pitches, giving up a lead off single, followed by a walk. Then Mark Kotsay drove in two with an RBI double.

Snell escapes trouble retiring the next three he faced after Kotsay.

My impression is that Ian is on a short leash with Don Wakamatsu who seems mildly fed up with him not being aggressive in tight situations, and showing little lapses in focus. We've seem him struggle with holding baserunners, and in the fourth tonight, he uncorked a wild pitch that put the two lead off runners on second and third with no one out for Kotsay.

Garrett Olson was warming up, and I have to think if Snell hits another rough spot, he's going to get the hook quickly. The Mariners lead this game 3 to 2, and Snell can't make it unwinnable with poor pitching.

By Matt Pitman

Ken Griffey Junior hammered a 3-2 Freddy Garcia pitch deep, way deep into the right centerfield seats for his 15th homerun of the season in the second inning. It gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead.

For Junior, it was his 626th career homerun. And Freddy Garcia becomes the 404th different pitcher Junior has homered off of.

While that may not be as sweet as the old school Griffey candy bars, which I bought in the store when they were out when I was a kid...it's still cool.

Kenji Johjima follows with a two out double, and he later scored on a Mike Carp RBI single, and it's 2-0 Mariners.

By Matt Pitman

I had a pretty cool pre game today. I met Ben Gibbard, lead singer of Death Cab For Cutie, and The Postal Service (my favorite of the two but whatevs).

He was on hand to throw out the first pitch at tonights game. He's from Bremerton and formed Death Cab while at Western Washington University in Bellingham.

Click here to listen to my interview with Ben Gibbard. Pardon any obvious geeky fandom, like I said, I dig his music. He's an incredible song writer.

I had Mariners team photographer Ben Van Houten take my pic with him, and I hope to have that up in a bit.

Oh wait, that's Jack in the Box. (Awesome taco's btw...big fan)

That's better. It's Jack Wilson! And Jack delivered a two out bases loaded single scoring the first two runs in the ballgame in the second.

It was impressive as the Mariners loaded the bases with two outs, started by a Bill Hall double. The walks to Carp and Johjima brought Jack to the dish, and he delivered.

Ichiro followed with hit #190, driving in Kenji. And the Mariners weren't done there, as Franklin Gutierrez (on the second pitch to him) singled to left scoring Jack.

For the second straight game, the Mariners put up a big 4 run inning early in the game, doing it in the 1st last night, and the 2nd tonight.

Lets see what RRS can do with a lead. Remember his last time out was the Grienke 1 hitter, where run support was as far away as the sandy Australian beaches.