The Mariners are physically impressive.   Blake Beaven is a beast; he looks like he is 6-7, and his shoulders are huge.  (He is 6-7, listed at 240).  Saunders, Smoak and Seager are all physically very impressive—big, strong kids, Carp and Ackley to an extent as well. 

                David Ortiz—running better now than he did his first year with the Red Sox, 2003—manufactured a run in the fifth inning.   Ortiz bunted for a hit (beating the shift), took second base on a ground out, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single.   We count Manufactured Runs; that’s a Manufactured Run.  

                We had a discussion on this site last week about unfortunate names for baseball players, but Mariners pitcher Charlie Furbush’ name appears on the back of his uniform as if it was two words, Fur Bush.    That’s a bad one.  

                But not necessarily worse than his delivery.    Fur Bush, a left-hander, plants his lead foot (his right foot) about 18 inches toward first base and to the first-base side of his entire body, then tilts toward third and flings his body over his left foot so that he has no base whatsoever—no weight on the ground--at the moment of his delivery.   It does give him a really good downhill plane with what is in essence a sidearm short-arm delivery, but I’ll be amazed if he can stay healthy and throw strikes with that delivery.  

                Mariners first baseman Justin Smoak has now made FOUR absolutely horrendous defensive plays in three innings.   In the fourth inning Daniel Nava grounded a ball to his right, maybe three to four feet to his right and not hard-hit.     I don’t know if his weight was moving the wrong way or he didn’t pick up the ball or what, but Smoak just watched the ball roll past him, as if nobody could possibly expect him to field a softly-hit ground ball four feet from him.     In the fifth inning there was a ground ball to him with a runner on first; he threw off-line to second, David Ortiz safe at second, resulting in a 3-6-3 fielder’s choice at first base.    Two batters later Will Middlebrooks was picked off first base; Smoak made a yet worse throw to second, and Middlebrooks was safe at second, credited with a stolen base (I thought it should have been an E-3.)  In the sixth inning Daniel Nava popped the ball up behind first base, not a super easy play with a light rain falling but an obviously catchable ball.   Smoak overran the ball, staggered, allowed it fall two feet behind him, then looked around at the other infielders as if somebody else should have caught the ball for him.    This is a kid who has a thousand-plus major league plate appearances and it hitting .225 with a .685 OPS.    Wow.   How long can you ride a hot prospect reputation and a cool name?  

                Breaking news. . ..Smoak made it through the seventh without screwing up a play in the field. 

                This is now Josh Beckett’s fifth good outing in six starts, not that you would necessarily know that by reading the newspapers.    His Game Scores are 55, 56, 57, 68, 24 and 76.