Virtual Season: Gonzales wins 5th as M's beat Braves 7-2

Mallex Smith tripled in the bottom of the 1st inning to extend his hitting streak to 13 games and scored the first of seven Mariner runs as Seattle topped the Atlanta Braves at TMP.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Gonzales wins 5th as M's beat Braves 7-2"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 31, 2020 at 11:38pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Mariners outlast Atlanta, win 4-3 in extras

Tom Murphy singled home Carlos González in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Mariners a 4-3 walk-off victory over the Atlanta Braves tonight in Seattle.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Mariners outlast Atlanta, win 4-3 in extras"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 30, 2020 at 9:39pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Atlanta blows out Mariners 17-2

The Mariners had an early 1-0 lead, but before long the visiting Atlanta Braves showed the TMP crowd just what kind of game it was going to be. The Braves plated eight in the top of the 2nd inning and kept on going, eventually reaching 17 runs to crush the M's by a 15-run margin behind an excellent outing from pitcher Mike Foltynewicz.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Atlanta blows out Mariners 17-2"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 29, 2020 at 8:53pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Mariners take series in Detroit with 8-5 win

Miguel Cabrera went 5-for-5 today but that wasn't enough for the Detroit Tigers, as they fell to the Mariners 8-5. Nick Margevicius got the win with six innings of two-run ball while Dee Gordon led the offense with three hits and three runs scored.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Mariners take series in Detroit with 8-5 win"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 28, 2020 at 8:13pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: M's score four in extras to beat Tigers

Dee Gordon and Mallex Smith combined to score the tying and winning runs for the Mariners tonight as they came back to defeat the Tigers in Detroit, 4-2.

See full post: "Virtual Season: M's score four in extras to beat Tigers"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 27, 2020 at 10:37pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Mariners fire hitting coach Laker, hire Perry

Tim Laker has been fired as the batting coach for the Seattle Mariners as part of the team's efforts to change its offensive philosophy. Laker had been the team's batting coach since 2019. According to team officials, Laker's dismissal was tied to the on-field performance of Mariner hitters during his tenure, specifically the prevalence of strikeouts and a swing-for-the-fences mindset among some players.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Mariners fire hitting coach Laker, hire Perry"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 27, 2020 at 9:01pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Manfred, owners give themselves black eye in 2020 negotiations

Stop me if you've head this before, but Rob Manfred is incredibly bad at his job. I mean, picture the worst job you can imagine a commissioner of baseball doing, then multiply that by a factor of five and you might get close to just how bad the man is at the job he's contracted to hold until 2024.

See full post: "Manfred, owners give themselves black eye in 2020 negotiations"...

Posted in News, MLB; Tagged Rob Manfred, COVID-19  |   Posted on May 27, 2020 at 6:07pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Bullpen, offense fail Gonzales as M's lose to Detroit 4-2

Jonathan Schoop and Miguel Cabrera each hit RBI doubles in the bottom of the 8th inning tonight to give the Detroit Tigers a 4-2 victory over the Mariners, spoiling yet another winless quality start from Seattle ace Marco Gonzales.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Bullpen, offense fail Gonzales as M's lose to Detroit 4-2"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 26, 2020 at 11:32pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Mariners top Yanks in slugfest, split series

Playing through an intermittent drizzle at Yankee Stadium, the Mariners traded leads with the home team this evening, eventually prevailing over New York 10-8.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Mariners top Yanks in slugfest, split series"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 25, 2020 at 9:38pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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If I were Commissioner

There is a lot of disagreement among baseball fans. Is the DH a good thing? (Answer: no.) Is it better to hit 50 home runs or bat .350? (Answer: .350.) Do newfangled sabermetric stats like WAR mean anything? (Answer: sort of.) Views on these and many other topics big and small will differ and be fodder for arguments in the bleachers until the end of time.

See full post: "If I were Commissioner"...

Posted in Columns, Around the Horn, MLB; Tagged Rules, Rob Manfred  |   Posted on May 25, 2020 at 1:51am   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Yankees homer their way to another win over M's

Justus Sheffield was hoping for a better result against the team that traded him away. Despite a strong six innings, the Seattle rookie took the loss in a 5-2 comeback win by the Yankees in New York.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Yankees homer their way to another win over M's"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 24, 2020 at 5:53pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Yankees use homers to come back, beat M's 4-3

Luke Voit hit two home runs and Miguel Andújar added a solo shot of his own to account for all four runs scored by the New York Yankees today in their 4-3 defeat of the Mariners.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Yankees use homers to come back, beat M's 4-3"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 23, 2020 at 8:30pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Mariners club Cole, Yankees in 7-0 win

Daniel Vogelbach homered twice and Yusei Kikuchi struck out nine Yankees over seven innings as the Mariners shut out New York 7-0 tonight in the Bronx.

All seven of Seattle's runs scored via the longball. Vogelbach launched a two-run shot down the left-field line in the 1st off of Garret Cole (5-4), which Jake Fraley followed up with an opposite-field blast of his own to give a 3-0 lead to Kikuchi before he even took the hill.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Mariners club Cole, Yankees in 7-0 win"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 22, 2020 at 7:09pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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The next team to relocate

The Major Leagues have been pretty stable over the past few decades. Though there were plenty of threats by a few ownership groups, the only team to shift from one home to another in nearly 50 years was the Montréal Expos, who moved to Washington to become the Nationals in 2005. But for a stretch of time, teams were hopscotching all over the country.

See full post: "The next team to relocate"...

Posted in Columns, Around the Horn, MLB; Posted on May 21, 2020 at 11:52pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: M's use running game to give Gonzales a win vs. Nats

The Mariners broke with tradition and scored big in a game started by Marco Gonzales, starting with three runs in the 1st inning and ending in an 8-2 win over the defending World Champion Washington Nationals.

See full post: "Virtual Season: M's use running game to give Gonzales a win vs. Nats"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 20, 2020 at 10:01pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Mariners blow lead, come back to win at Washington

Carlos González delivered a clutch RBI single in the top of the 10th inning tonight to give the Mariners the winning margin in their 6-5 victory against the Washington Nationals.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Mariners blow lead, come back to win at Washington"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 19, 2020 at 7:00pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Social media, the virtual season, and the baseball-less summer

It's hard to keep a baseball website active when there's no baseball being played. There's not even the sort of offseason "hot stove" stuff going on, the only current events to cover are the latest dumb ideas coming out of the Commissioner's office.

See full post: "Social media, the virtual season, and the baseball-less summer"...

Posted in Site issues, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged COVID-19  |   Posted on May 18, 2020 at 8:13pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Bats come alive as Mariners beat Detroit 9-6

Jake Fraley, Dee Gordon, and Evan White each had three hits in a 9-6 Mariners win over the Detroit Tigers today in an offensive display that was a welcome sight for Seattle baseball fans.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Bats come alive as Mariners beat Detroit 9-6"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 18, 2020 at 2:04am   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Commissioner's Office issues another half-baked plan for 2020

Another week, another silly conversation about starting up the 2020 Major League Baseball season. It was already tiresome, but I guess we'll keep doing this.

See full post: "Commissioner's Office issues another half-baked plan for 2020"...

Posted in Columns, Around the Horn, MLB; Tagged COVID-19, Rob Manfred  |   Posted on May 17, 2020 at 9:19pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Mariners' comeback falls short as Tigers win 5-3

Jeimer Candelario hit two home runs to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 5-3 win tonight against the Mariners at TMP in Seattle. The Detroit third baseman, who now has seven longballs on the season, went deep to break a 1-1 tie in the 6th and hit a two-run shot in the 7th.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Mariners' comeback falls short as Tigers win 5-3"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 16, 2020 at 10:21pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Boyd, Tigers spoil fine outing from Kikuchi

Matthew Boyd has been a bright spot in a dark early season for the Detroit Tigers, and he showed why with 6²⁄₃ shutout innings against the Mariners tonight in Seattle. With help from relievers Buck Farmer and Joe Jimeñez, Boyd put an end to the Mariners' four-game winning streak as the Tigers took the opening game in the series, 4-0.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Boyd, Tigers spoil fine outing from Kikuchi"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 15, 2020 at 9:09pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Gonazales victorious in 2-1 pitchers' duel

The Mariners once again failed to give Marco Gonzales much in the way of run support, but this time Seattle's ace was able to make do with what he had. Thanks to Mallex Smith's 5th-inning double, the M's had just enough offense to give Gonzales a 2-1 win over the Oakland Athletics and a series sweep for Seattle.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Gonazales victorious in 2-1 pitchers' duel"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 14, 2020 at 11:05pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Gordon's four hits lead M's to 8-4 win vs. A's

Dee Gordon led the Mariners in a 14-hit attack as Seattle beat the Oakland A's tonight 8-4 at TMP. Gordon's four-hit, three-RBI performance helped make a winner out of Taijuan Walker (5-2), the Seattle starter who had fallen behind 4-3 when the A's mounted a three-run, two-out rally in the 5th inning. Walker survived the frame by getting Stephen Piscotty to ground out and breezed through the 6th and 7th before being relieved for the 8th.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Gordon's four hits lead M's to 8-4 win vs. A's"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 13, 2020 at 8:20pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Mariners win pitching duel with solo homers

Oakland's Frankie Montas and Seattle's Justus Sheffield took part in a good old-fashioned pitchers' duel tonight at TMP. Both hurlers were on their game, pitching efficiently and briskly as the A's and Mariners fought to put any runs on the board, with the Mariners emerging as 2-1 victors.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Mariners win pitching duel with solo homers"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 12, 2020 at 9:45pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Empty talk of starting season continues among owners

My screed from last week about the ridiculousness of these "plans" to start the 2020 season remains true, but the Commissioner's office and MLB ownership groups continue to put forth proposals to get things going. Today they formally approved this idea and have submitted it to the players' union.

See full post: "Empty talk of starting season continues among owners"...

Posted in News, MLB; Tagged COVID-19  |   Posted on May 11, 2020 at 7:39pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Murphy's three homers rescue M's in Houston

Tom Murphy capped a come-from-behind effort by the Mariners today by belting his third home run of the game into the left-field seats in the 9th inning against the Astros.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Murphy's three homers rescue M's in Houston"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 10, 2020 at 9:48pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Astros score late to beat M's 7-5

Designated hitter Abraham Toro blasted a two-run home run in the eighth inning at Minute Maid Park tonight to give the Astros the winning margin in a 7-5 defeat of the Mariners.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Astros score late to beat M's 7-5"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 9, 2020 at 8:16pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Greinke outduels Marco, gives Houston 1-0 win

Zack Greinke struck out 14 Mariners over eight innings tonight and George Springer provided a solo home run to give the Astros a 1-0 victory over Seattle tonight in Houston.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Greinke outduels Marco, gives Houston 1-0 win"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 8, 2020 at 11:10pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Mariners beat Osuna, Astros in 10

Patrick Wisdom hit a go-ahead solo home run and Daniel Vogelbach drove in a pair of insurance runs in the 10th inning tonight to give the Mariners a 6-3 victory in Houston.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Mariners beat Osuna, Astros in 10"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 7, 2020 at 7:52pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Plans for a new Opening Day are foolhardy

Sigh. It's like there's a new one every week now: A "plan" to start the Major League Baseball season in some fashion amid the coronavirus crisis.

See full post: "Plans for a new Opening Day are foolhardy"...

Posted in Columns, News, Around the Horn, MLB; Tagged COVID-19  |   Posted on May 6, 2020 at 10:07pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Oakland bats score 10, embarrass Mariners

Justus Sheffield did not have his good stuff this afternoon. The rookie southpaw served up eight runs on seven hits and five walks in just two innings against the A's in today's 10-4 loss in Oakland.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Oakland bats score 10, embarrass Mariners"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 6, 2020 at 3:32pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: A's clobber Graveman, beat Mariners 8-3

A thirteen-hit attack that included a mammoth 465-foot home run propelled the Oakland Athletics to an 8-3 victory over the Mariners at the Oakland Coliseum tonight. Seattle starter Kendall Graveman lasted four innings in taking his fourth loss.

See full post: "Virtual Season: A's clobber Graveman, beat Mariners 8-3"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 5, 2020 at 9:32pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Kikuchi leads Mariners over A's 5-1

Through eight innings, the M's and A's could get very little going at the plate with starters Yusei Kikuchi and Sean Manaea putting up zeroes except for single runs by each side in the 3rd. Seattle got on the board with a solo home run by catcher Tom Murphy, while the A's plated one when Marcus Semien singled in Stephen Piscotty from second base.Kikuchi (5-2) went the distance, giving the Mariners back-to-back complete games—a rare feat in today's game. He walked none and struck out seven, getting through the game with an economical pitch count of 109.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Kikuchi leads Mariners over A's 5-1"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 4, 2020 at 9:54pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Marco, Dee lead M's in 6-3 win over Astros

 Marco Gonzales has been a hard-luck starter for the Mariners this season, but not on this day. Staked to an early lead, Gonzales went the distance against a powerful Houston lineup to secure a series split with the Astros.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Marco, Dee lead M's in 6-3 win over Astros"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 3, 2020 at 10:45pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Astros' homers, defense beat Mariners 4-3

Carlos Correa robbed Dee Gordon of a base hit in the 9th inning tonight that would have tied up the Mariners' score against the Houston Astros. Instead, the Astros held on to win by a score of 4-3.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Astros' homers, defense beat Mariners 4-3"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 2, 2020 at 11:59pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Virtual Season: Mariners shut out Astros 3-0

The Houston Astros used a trio of homers to score all four of their runs and defeat the Mariners 4-3 in ten innings tonight in Seattle. Domestic abuser Roberto Osuna (1-1) got the win for Houston with two scoreless innings of relief.

See full post: "Virtual Season: Mariners shut out Astros 3-0"...

Posted in Mariners, Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 1, 2020 at 8:21pm   |   Permalink   |     |  
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Across the Parallel Universes

As regulars here at GrandSalami.net are well aware, we're running a virtual 2020 season (the GSAU), playing as the Mariners in a simulation taking place via the computer game Out of the Park Baseball 21. Well, it's not just us—plenty of people are using games like the Playstation game MLB The Show to play out fantasy 2020s, including some big-league players. But at least two other sites are running OOTP virtual 2020 sims, The Athletic and Baseball-Reference.com. How do they compare? Do OOTP sims differ much from one to the other?

See full post: "Across the Parallel Universes"...

Posted in Virtual Games, COVID-Void Alternate Universe; Tagged OOTP, COVID-19, GSAU  |   Posted on May 1, 2020 at 3:55am   |   Permalink   |     |  
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