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The Seattle Mariners appear to be confident that Mike Zunino is ready to be their everyday catcher. Whether or not the youngster is up to the challenge is yet to be seen.Look at what has unfolded over the last few weeks. Jesus Montero gets demoted. Jesus Sucre gets hurt. Brandon Bantz arrives, but is soon designated for assignment.And then...welcome to the show, Mike Zunino!Some of these circumstances just happened, while others were obviously orchestrated. But wait, the youngster is going to share time with Kelly Shoppach, right? The rookie is going to back up the veteran, correct?Nope.Kelly Shoppach has been designated for assignment, according to ESPN, and the Mariners have signed Henry Blanco. Now, the Mariners have essentially traded one poor-hitting veteran catcher for another.That may be the point.The path has clearly been for Mike Zunino to become the man, the myth and the legend. Now is the time for ...

As June continues to roll on, the call-ups are continuing as Mike Zunino was called up by the Seattle Mariners from Triple-A Tacoma. Got it confirmed from someone who would know: Mike Zunino has gotten the callup, catching a plane from Vegas to Seattle this afternoon— Larry Stone (@StoneLarry) June 11, 2013 Zunino is the first position player from the 2012 draft class to be called up. He follows pitchers Kevin Gausman (Baltimore Orioles), Alex Wood (Atlanta Braves) and Michael Wacha (St. Louis Cardinals).However, one has to wonder if his early call-up is going to hurt his development?Will Zunino be able to contribute at a decent level for the Mariners? Questionable PromotionAccording to Aaron Gleeman of NBCSports.com, it's a questionable promotion:As a college star Zunino was always expected to move quickly through the minors and indeed he’s the first position player from the 2012 draft class to ...

On July 30, 2011, it was announced that the Seattle Mariners were going to trade young starting pitcher Doug Fister and scrappy reliever David Pauley to the Detroit Tigers for a pile of prospects.  Those prospects ended up being outfielder Casper Wells, pitcher Charlie Furbush, third baseman Francisco Martinez and a player to be named who ended up being closer Chance Ruffin. At the time of the trade, Fister had a 3-12 record with a 3.33 earned run average for the Mariners.  Pauley had a 2.22 ERA in 39 games through 54.1 innings pitched.  The offense-heavy Tigers needed some bullpen depth and at least one more quality starter.  It seemed to them that they would be getting both from the Mariners.  The Mariners, already heavy in prospects, were getting what looked like a heavy sum for an up-and-coming starter and a good reliever.  Wells was slugging .451 in Triple-A Toledo, ...

The month of May wasn't the easiest for the Seattle Mariners. The highest highs were all but negated by the lowest lows, and multiple significant personnel changes occurred, drastically changing the look of the Mariners for the time being.If this team is going to fully turn things around and at least make a push at a winning record, improvements need to be made quickly. June will be friendlier, schedule-wise, as the Mariners play 18 of their 27 games at Safeco Field where they've played much better this season. The Mariners also play five teams that currently own losing records, so an improvement in the win column can be expected.If the M's continue their slumping ways, skipper Eric Wedge may find himself out of a job midseason.With a new month ready to begin, let's take a look at letter grades for every player for the month of May.All statistics current as ...

As earlier announced, Nick Franklin has been called up from Triple-A Tacoma to replace a struggling Dustin Ackley at second base for the Mariners.Franklin debuted for the Mariners as a defensive substitution in the Mariners 9-0 win over the San Diego Padres on Memorial Day, making two plays in the field and walking in his only at-bat. As reported by Greg Johns of MLB.com, Franklin will start on Tuesday night against the Padres, most likely at second base.Nick Franklin has hit at every stop on his road to the major leagues and was flourishing in Tacoma this season. Before being called up, Franklin was batting .325 with four home runs, 20 RBI and seven stolen bases on the season.Franklin's call-up isn't the only big development, however, as the demotion of former second-overall pick Dustin Ackley is just as noteworthy. Ackley struggled mightily this season, as he was batting only .205 with ...

With optimism higher for many Mariners fans after a series win against the AL East leading New York Yankees, fans are starting to think about bigger things for the 2013 Seattle Mariners.From individual performances to team goals, there just seems to be a different vibe surrounding this Mariners team than has been there in years past. The Mariners may still be a shade under .500, but they continue to battle against quality teams and show glimpses of what could be when everything starts to click.So what exactly could the Mariners do if everything clicks?Well, there are of course the individual statistics that could come from it, but there are also moves the Mariners could make to truly make a splash in the AL West. With that in mind, here are five radical predictions for the remainder of the Mariners' season.Begin Slideshow

Did you know that Saturday night at Safeco Field is Dustin Ackley Bat Night?All kids 14 and under will receive a full-sized Dustin Ackley Louisville Slugger, complements of Jack Link's Beef Jerky. Seriously, I can't make this stuff up.Don't believe me?Feel free to check the official 2013 promotions and special events schedule at Mariners.com.Honestly, sometimes you need to laugh to keep from crying with this team.However, if you've already given up all hope, feel free to simply take the bat home to smash your "Smoakamotive" (eBay) from last year to pieces with it to vent your frustration. That's assuming you will make the journey to Safeco in the first place.   If I had to venture a guess, I'd imagine that more people in the region probably watched the NFL draft the past two days to see who the Seahawks selected in their quest for a Super Bowl than any of the Mariners' ...

The Seattle Mariners are in a familiar position. They aren’t hitting.Haven’t we seen this movie before? As tweeted by Greg Johns of MLB.com: #Mariners shutout for second straight night in Texas, this one 5-0. Maurer pitched well (2H, 2R in 6 2/3), but no offensive help.— Greg Johns (@GregJohnsMLB) April 21, 2013 No offensive help. Shall we all utter an audible sigh?When are the Mariners going to start hitting on a regular basis? The team is ranked 29th in the league with a .220 team average. Unfortunately, this is a familiar statistical position.The Mariners have been here before.Michael Morse started out so hot. So did Franklin Gutierrez. Morse has cooled off and is now hitting .230 for the season. Gutierrez is starting to struggle with injuries—again.Audible sigh.There are also the hitters that are really struggling:Brendan Ryan: .152Dustin Ackley: .153Justin Smoak: .200Jesus Montero: .217The young core of hitters that was supposed to ...

Welcome to the big leagues Brandon Maurer.Thursday afternoon, fans of the Seattle Mariners had hoped to see the rookie hurler make the leap from Double-A to the majors unscathed following his impressive showing at spring training.  Unfortunately, the Oakland A's had other plans (Yahoo!Sports).Over the course of six innings, Oakland scored six runs on eight hits, two of which were home runs, against Maurer. Yet, what may have seemed like a step backward for the young Maurer, was actually an important step toward the future for the Seattle Mariners.After all, one bad outing does not make a season, and Maurer will likely have his fair share of ups and downs while in Seattle. More importantly, though Maurer's appearance should be the beginning of a new era for the Mariners, as they hope to move past a decade of mediocrity.Ever since general manager Jack Zduriencik took over the ballclub back in late 2008, ...

As the 2013 season begins, the Seattle Mariners, like many teams, have several story lines to monitor moving forward. Whether they are at the major league level now, or on the verge of being there, Mariners fans will have plenty to think about other than the win-loss record.It is far too soon for fans to start worrying about anything since it's only one series into the season, but there are still plenty of things that could be taken away after just four games in Oakland.With that in mind, here are the 10 story lines Mariners fans should be keeping an eye on early in the 2013 season.Follow @thejagepageBegin Slideshow