Can't agree more. And throwing a mediocre journeyman pitcher into important games is just one of the many head scratchers coming from the Seattle dugout recently. Example:Game three of the recent Texas series. Mariners are on a bit of a roll having won the first two games. Ichiro, who went 3 for 5 the night before, gets a rest day that he says that he doesn't want. Adam Jones, his rookie replacement comes up three times in crucial spots in the game with men on base and produces nothing. Fair bet that the M's win that game and keep their mojo alive if Ichiro plays. The Mariners are a lightly talented, streaky team and need to have their best players on the field night in and night out if they want to hang around in the wild card hunt.

Yeah, that last Rick White performance was just astonishing.

It's hard to believe the Mariners held on so long with a bunch of No. 5 starters. There isn't one stopper among the starting five. But they have had great relievers. White isn't one of them. The M's have the most come-from-behind wins of any team in baseball, for a good reason--they are always behind. But they come back with scrappy, hard players like Guillen, Beltre, Ibanez and Jojima (even though they insist on starting Dave Kingman at first base). And they win by holding the other team scoreless for the last three innings.

So what gives with this Rick White crap?