No, just kidding. You weren't expecting the M's to have beaten the A's did you? Ah, silly M's fan....

I've pointed out on this blog before how the Mariners' season would be intruiging if only they could play the A's as they do the rest of baseball. I've made a list of prospective free agents with success against the A's that the M's better pursue. The 1-15 record versus the A's this season was the collective shovel that patted down the 2006 Mariners' grave.

It's maddening, but not just for Marienr fans. No, it's maddening for Angels fans, and for Rangers fans, as the Mariners have all but hand-delivered the AL West to the hands of their most hated divison rival. They might as well be whistling "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" while folding game after game versus Oakland.

And this ineptitude is not only maddening, its historical. A complete impotence against a divison rival on a scale like this hasn't been seen in nearly 40 years. The A's 15-game streak is the longest against a divisonal opponent since divisonal play started in 1969, matching the 15 that the Braves won in a row against the San Diego Padres. At least something historical is happening with the 2006 Mariners season.

If there is any solace for Marienrs fans, it's that the A's will be three-and-out in the first round of the play-offs. Why? Because they won't be playing the Mariners.

Oh, and Seattle got shut-out tonight. For, like, the 100th time. Here's a clue how to beat the A's: SCORE SOME FUCKING RUNS!

Beltre singled to left in the fifth, extending his streak to 12 games. Whoopee.

And as I called it, Joel Pineiro's ticket has offically been punched as he has been replaced in the rotation by Jake Woods, he of the 3-1 record and 39-36 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Woods is in line to make his starting debut- the first one not by Hargrove's "Furious Five" in the rotation this year- on Sunday against the Angels, so expect to see lots of red & white clutter the basepaths that day.

Yes, the Angels weekend trip. Four more games against a divison rival. Will the marienrs win one? Jamie Moyer attempts to halt the slide (ha!) tomorrow night. The Angels are one of two teams that Jamie has a career high in wins against (18, with the otehr being Baltimore) but his 152 runs allowed in 258.2 innings is by far the most. His 15 career losses versus the Angels is a career high as well, tying the same number against the A's. Leading the list of Angels who have success against Jamie is Vladimir Guerrero, no surprise, who has particualrly enjoyed facing Moyer, collecting 11 hits in 29 at-bats for a .379 average, with nine of those hits going for extra bases. In fact, looking for any Angels batters who have struggled against Jamie proved to be fruitless, so I quit looking.

Kelvim Escobar takes the mound for the Angels tomorrow, who after an eight-game losing streak has won three of his past four decisions. He threw a solid start against the Marienrs during that losing streak, giving up two earned run over eight inings in a 4-1 loss back in June. For his career, Escobar has a 4-6 record versus the M's with a 5.12 ERA over 91 innings. Raul Ibanez has enjoyed batting against Escobar, with a .400 average and 1.208 slugging in 20 at-bats. However, Escobar has shut down Ichiro to a tune of .257 in 35 at-bats, and Beltre has managed only one hit in 10 at-bats.

End result? 9-1, Angels. Ah, who am I kidding? 9-0, Angels.