Manager Jim Riggleman has little say over what trades do or don't get made, but he's clear enough about sending signals to his players.
SS Yuniesky Betancout, who simply whiffed on a fastball during a squeeze situation on Tuesday finds himself on the bench tonight in favor of Willie Bloomquist.
Riggleman's message is straight forward: Do the little things right or feel free to watch the game from over here.
Good for Riggleman. ...

Pinch-hitting 101 ...
When the Mariners pinch-hit Kenji Johjima in the ninth inning Tuesday for rookie Bryan LaHair, it raised a few eyebrows.
Riggleman's thinking: Lefty LaHair would have more trouble bunting vs. LHP C.J. Box than right-handed hitting Johjima. And if the count went to 0-2 and the bunt sign was lifted, Joh's chances vs. a lefty were considerably better than LaHair's. ...

Hold On ...
Score to take a lead and teams want their pitcher to hold the opposition the next inning. So after the Mariners cobble together a four-hit, two-run rally with two outs for a 2-0 lead, Miguel Batista gives up two home runs and the game is tied.
In Texas, that's Rangers baseball. They don't mind giving up runs, they just can't wait to get their at-bats in. ...

The Deadline Looms ...
By 1 p.m. in Seattle tomorrow, the trading deadline will have passed, and it doesn't look like there's a huge deal on the Mariners horizon.
Without much to offer, and with the interest out there extremely limited, the Mariners aren't in a position to vastly improve their team.
Yes, they could have moved Jarrod Washburn for nothing. And twice, they could have traded Raul Ibanez for a minor leaguer of little interest.
Teams don't see much value in Seattle players. If there's a likely deal, it might be sending Arthur Rhodes to a team - Florida, Milwaukee and even the Mets have inquired - for a mid-level prospect. ...

Streaking On ...
Jose Lopez singles home a run for a 3-2 lead and pushes his hitting streak to 16 consecutive games.
With two months left in the season, Lopez now has 59 RBI.
Last season, he finished with 64. ...

How Many Base Runners Does It Take To Score A Run? ...
More than three. The Mariners loaded the bases with no one out in the seventh inning of a tie game and did not score.
Raul Ibanez flied into a double play, with David Murphy making the catch and throwing Willie Bloomquist out at the plate.
Adrian Beltre then took a third strike. ...

Balls & Strikes ...
Arthur Rhodes appeared to have struck out Marlon Byrd for the second out of the eighth inning, but plate umpire Paul Nauert didn't see the pitch that way, so Byrd walked.
Next batter, Michal Young, flies out - for what would have been the third out - to get home the go-ahead run.
At that point, Mr. Rhodes let Nauert have it and was ejected.
Mariners should have had a lead long before the call or the ejection.
Texas 4, Seattle 3 ...

From ESPN's trade deadline blog, Jayson Stark is reporting that the Mets possible deal for Raul Ibanez is dead because the Mariners were asking for too much.

We have a big all-staff meeting right now, so more links coming soon.

The Mariners made a move and acquired a pitcher today, claiming Luis Munoz off of waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates. I really have nothing to say about this. But if the guy couldn't cut it in the Pirates organization, what makes him able to make it with the Mariners. Lee Pelekoudas called it "low-cost, low-risk" which means low interest to me.

Here's the press release.

MARINERS CLAIM RHP LUIS MUNOZ FROM PITTSBURGH

Munoz will report to Double-A West Tennessee

ARLINGTON, Texas. -- Seattle Mariners Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Lee Pelekoudas announced today that the Mariners have claimed right-handed pitcher Luis Munoz off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates and optioned him to double-A West Tennessee.

"One of our scouts saw him and liked him a little bit, so we thought it made sense to add him to our inventory," Pelekoudas said. "It is a low-cost, low-risk addition to our group of minor league arms."

Munoz, 26, was claimed by the Mariners after being designated for assignment by Pittsburgh on July 27. The right-hander was 4-7 with a 6.03 ERA in 20 games, 19 starts, combined between triple-A Indianapolis and double-A Altoona. He struck out 56, walked 42, while opponents are batting .300 (119x396) against him.

Originally signed by Pittsburgh as a non-drafted free agent on July 3, 2000, Munoz has spent his entire career in the Pirates organization. In eight minor league seasons, Munoz has combined to go 41-32 with 1 save and a 4.14 ERA (305 ER/663.0 IP). In 2007 he led all Pittsburgh farmhands in wins (14), ranked second in ERA (3.57) and third in strikeouts (105).

With the addition of Munoz, the Mariners now have 40 players on the Major League 40-man roster.