John Hickey | Sportspress Northwest

John is a longtime West Coast-based baseball writer who covered the Oakland As for two decades with The (Hayward) Daily Review and the Oakland Tribune.

He headed north in 2000 to cover the Mariners for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, starting on the day Ken Griffey Jr. was traded to Cincinnati. After the print P-I closed in 2009, he joined the national sports staff of AOL FanHouse and contributes to Seattlepostglobe.org. He is a longtime baseball correspondent for the Tokyo Chunichi Press.

A member of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) for two-plus decades, Hickey is a Hall of Fame voter. When hes not covering baseball, he has written about pro football, college sports, tennis, golf and winter sports.

A University of California grad, Hickey is a fan of rock and jazz music, traveling, reading and cooking. He proved in high school that hes no athlete, but he does like to ski.

Hickey and his wife live in Seattle in a house ruled by two magnanimous cats.

Hickey: Mariners can afford to wait on Ackley

BY John Hickey 08:47PM 05/18/2011

There has been a flurry of excitement this week at Safeco Field when an internet report suggested that the Mariners were talking about promoting 2009 first-round draft pick Dustin Ackley to the big leagues.

They didnt. And they shouldnt. Not yet.

COMMENTS

Hickey: Did Aardsma news rattle Brandon League?

BY John Hickey 03:49PM 05/14/2011

It was just a week ago that the Mariners got the word that closer David Aardsma wasnt going to be back anytime soon.

Aardsma, a 30-saves guy the past two seasons, was on an injury rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Tacoma, normally the last step for an injured player before returning to full health and the big leagues.

COMMENTS

Hickey: Bradley was Zduriencik's albatross

BY John Hickey 03:01PM 05/09/2011

For every general manager, there is going to be a "worst trade."

The Mariners Jack Zduriencik can only hope that Milton Bradley is his.

Zduriencik sent disgruntled, unproductive and expensive pitcher Carlos Silva to the Chicago Cubs two years ago for the disgruntled, unproductive and even more expensive Bradley, hoping the outfielder would bring some offense to the northwest.

He didnt. Bradley did bring plenty of baggage, however. Monday the Mariners decided they didnt need the extra cargo anymore.

It was a good call, if belated. Bradley had a way of taking the oxygen out of a room. His presence in the Mariners clubhouse was not helping teammates. He kept to himself for the most part, wore earplugs to keep out the sounds of fans booing and always seemed angry.READ MORE»

COMMENTS

Hickey: Ichiro, Smoak . . . then what?

BY John Hickey 06:30PM 05/08/2011

There are some encouraging things about the Mariners of late.

They are winning more even after losing Sunday to the White Sox in 10 innings, 5-2, Seattle has won eight of its last 12 games.

They are getting good starting pitching. Erik Bedard threw five innings Sunday in which his struck out nine, giving up two runs, only one of which was earned. In the six games of the homestand the Mariners finished 3-3, the starters allowed two runs or less four times while striking out 31 and walking eight.

But the offense? In the homestand, the Mariners hit one home run and had precious few other hits. The team averaged .226 in the six games, scoring three runs or fewer the last five games. Take away the eight hits from first baseman Justin Smoak he hit the only Seattle homer and six hits from right fielder Ichiro , the team batting average from the six-game homestand falls to .195.READ MORE»

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Hickey: There's no one like Felix

BY John Hickey 10:38AM 05/07/2011

Some would say it's an exaggeration to suggest there's only two kinds of pitchers in the major leagues Felix Hernandez and everybody else. It doesn't seem that much of a stretch.

Hes 24. He has one Cy Young Award. He has a huge five-year, $78 million contract that links him to the Mariners through 2014. And he throws most every pitch this side of the knuckleball.

COMMENTS

Hickey: M's do right in giving Saunders a chance

BY John Hickey 09:00AM 05/06/2011

The Mariners outfield pecking order has undergone subtle change in the last three weeks.

Its playing out well for Michael Saunders, who seems to be getting groomed to stick around once the Mariners get back Franklin Guetierrez.

COMMENTS

Hickey: Pineda carving out big league reputation

BY John Hickey 08:11PM 05/03/2011

How does a Major League reputation develop?

Just by doing what Michael Pineda is doing.

The Mariner rookie starter was awarded the American League Rookie of the Month award for April Tuesday, just the third Mariner ever to win the award.

While thats nice, its not something you can build a reputation on. You build a reputation by putting together the kind of numbers that earn you such awards. In Pinedas case, that would be a 4-1 record, a fourth-in-the-AL 2.01 ERA and a four-game winning streak heading into Wednesdays start against Texas, making the AL West leaders the first team in the big leagues to face Pineda a second time.

COMMENTS

Hickey: Top of Mariners order at top of its game

BY John Hickey 04:51PM 05/02/2011

Each day of the Mariners five-game winning streak in Detroit and Boston Tuesday through Saturday had two things in common.

One was that the bullpen was bulletproof 13.1 innings, no runs allowed and, almost as important, no inherited runners allowed to score.

The other was that the top of the lineup was at the top of its game. Right fielder Ichiro Suzuki and Chone Figgins each hit in every game. Each had at least two hits in four of the five games.

COMMENTS

The case for Olivo batting cleanup

BY John Hickey 09:30PM 04/30/2011

Let me be the first to admit that I dismissed the insertion of Miguel Olivo into the cleanup spot Sunday by Mariners manager Eric Wedge as something akin to a panic move.

Let me further stipulate that the two games Olivo has now spent there dont mean anything in the course of 162 games.

But Im beginning to wonder if Wedges insertion of Olivo as the No. 4 hitter in the Seattle lineup wasnt a little inspired.

Not that I believe Olivo is anything close to the kind of hitter the Mariners need batting fourth. For the moment, however, its worth a thought that he might be an excellent short-term candidate.

There are several reasons why Ive come around to this line of thinking.

The first is that Olivo has been hitting the ball hard lately, something the nominal No. 4 guy, Jack Cust, who has much better career power numbers, hasnt done in the first four weeks of the season.READ MORE»

COMMENTS

Fister dodges bullets; Mariners win fifth straight

BY John Hickey 09:14PM 04/30/2011

Nothing like a five-game winning streak to put the fun back in the game for a baseball team that was floundering in the abyss.

Unless its doing it on the road.

And doing it against teams that have been trouble.

Then there's the knowledge that the ace is up next. Felix Hernandez is 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA in four career starts in Fenway Park, a place where the Mariners have losing records nine of the last 10 years. He goes Sunday morning to attempt the sweep of the Red Sox.

For as much fun as was Saturday nights 2-0 win in Fenway Park, nerves were put to the test inning after inning. From the first, when starter Doug Fister had to pitch out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam by getting out David Ortiz and J.D. Drew, to the seventh, when reliever Aaron Laffey faced Ortiz with men on second and third as the tying runs, it was high drama.

Laffey got an easy fly ball, stranding the runners.READ MORE»

COMMENTS

Vargas ends long losing streak in Fenway debut

BY John Hickey 09:21PM 04/29/2011

There arent many places that have been tougher on the Seattle Mariners over the last few years than Fenway Park.

The Mariners came into Friday with nine wins and 20 losses in Fenway in their last 29 games in Boston and have had just one winning season there since 2001.

For one night, anyway, the Mariners have a winning record in Fenway. Starter Jason Vargas, who knows something about long dry spells, pitched seven innings and picked up his first win since last Aug. 14, giving up four runs, but no runs in his final three innings. He came into the game with a nine-game losing streak.

"The last three innings were what was real impressive to me, manager Eric Wedge said. "The way he threw the last three, he really bowed his neck and gave us every opportunity to get back in the game.READ MORE»

COMMENTS

Pineda fans nine en route to fourth win

BY John Hickey 04:01PM 04/28/2011

Looking back on it now, its hard to believe that there was much question that right-handed rookie Michael Pineda should make the Seattle starting rotation.

True, hed only had about half a season at Triple-A last year. But hes been a winner everywhere hes pitched a 31-14 record and 2.49 ERA in the minor leagues and never a losing record and that has to count for something.

And hes a winner with Seattle. Pineda put on another power-tinged show Thursday afternoon in Comerica Park, striking out the first four batters he faced and striking out a career-best nine in six innings in leading Seattle to a 7-2 win over the Detroit Tigers.READ MORE»

COMMENTS

Bedard looks like, well, Bedard

BY John Hickey 09:08PM 04/27/2011

This one was a long time coming for Erik Bedard.

About 22 months, if youre counting.

At at the end, after 21 outs in what turned out to be a 10-1 Mariners win over the Detroit Tigers, Bedard was looking like the pitcher he was before three shoulder surgeries got sapped his arm.

The veteran left-hander allowed five hits, including an RBI double in the first inning to Miguel Cabrera in the first inning, but walked no one and kept the ball on the ground for the most part.

He did it by attacking with his fastball and finishing with his breaking pitches and change-up later. Eleven of the 21 outs he recorded were grounders and three more were strikeouts. Hed been 0-4 in his first four starts in part because opposing hitters were getting loft on the ball.READ MORE»

COMMENTS

Mariner offense gives Hernandez a boost

BY John Hickey 10:42PM 04/26/2011

Felix Hernandez spent much of the 2010 season seeing the Mariners let him down offensively.

Six games into the Cy Young Award winners 2011 season, the script doesnt appear to be quite the same.

Yes, Seattles hitters are still far from where theyd hoped to be. But twice now in Hernandezs six starts theyve come up big for him.

Back on April 11 Hernandez put Seattle in a 7-0 hole, but the hitters rallied to get an 8-7 win, although he didnt get the decision.

Tuesday, the Mariners came up with six extra-base hits, all of them while Hernandez was in the game, and they put together a four-run fifth inning rally that led to a 7-3 Seattle win in Detroit.

"I didnt have my good stuff today, Hernandez said afterward, "but I was battling, battling. I didnt have a good feel for my breaking ball. I had a good sinker, but my breaking ball wasnt there. I didnt throw even one strike in the bullpen.

"It was like, 'Whoa somethings going on. READ MORE»

COMMENTS

Seattle offense just plain offensive

BY John Hickey 04:23PM 04/24/2011

And the Mariners offensive shortcomings keep Seattle coming up short.

With starting pitcher Doug Fister giving the Mariners a chance to take three of four games from the Oakland As with a win Sunday, the Mariners hitters just never got on board in a 5-2 As win.

Seattle had eight chances with a man in scoring position to get a run home, and in all eight chances came up with nothing. In two of the cases a grounder by Milton Bradley in the first and a grounder by Ryan Langerhans in the seventh Seattle got a run home by hitting the ball so softly the Oakland defense could do nothing but watch the runner score from third.

What is needed is some robust hitting, however, and the Mariners dont seem to store any of that in their arsenal.READ MORE»

COMMENTS

Cust's April slump earns a day off

BY John Hickey 02:29PM 04/24/2011

For just the third time in 23 games, Jack Cust wasnt in the lineup as the Mariner designated hitter Sunday against Oakland.

Manager Eric Wedge has to be hoping the day off (Ichiro Suzuki served as the DH in Custs absence) will help Cust get his game together. Hes got a .171 batting average and has just one hit, a double back on April 8. His slugging percentage of .186 is the worst for any fulltime DH by more than 130 points.READ MORE»

COMMENTS

A's break loose against Vargas

BY John Hickey 07:13PM 04/23/2011

For the third time this season, the Mariners were in position to stretch a winning streak to three games.

For the third time, the Seattle pitching wasnt up to it, although in the case of Saturday starter Jason Vargas, the defense playing behind him both helped him, then torpedoed him in a 9-1 win for Oakland over the Mariners.

The cumulative score in the three games after two-game Seattle winning streaks has seen the Mariners on the short end to the tune of 24-5.

"We didn't play a very good game tonight,'' manager Eric Wedge said. "We need to do a better job.''

In the third inning, with one Oakland run already in, Vargas got a boost from right fielder Ichiro Suzuki, whose right arm is such a weapon that the fastest member of the As, Coco Crisp held up rather than test that arm.READ MORE»

COMMENTS

Gutierrez gets some clarity on stomach problem

BY John Hickey 06:23PM 04/23/2011

Once again, the Mariners believe they have Franklin Gutierrezs stomach issues under control.

They can only hope this time they are right. Finally.

A trip to the Mayo Clinic this week brought back the diagnosis that Gutierrezs problems are a form of IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). Gutierrez, who was back in the Seattle clubhouse before Saturdays game, said hes already started on the recommended medication.

The trouble is that Gutierrez, who began having stomach trouble last year, thought hed gotten the problem licked with diet and medication during the winter, and again in spring training. Neither was successful.READ MORE»

COMMENTS

Pineda, Kennedy turn back A's, 4-0

BY John Hickey 10:30PM 04/22/2011

Its less than a month into the season, and the Seattle Mariners are far from a finished product.

But if there is one lesson to be taken from the first 21 games of the season. Second baseman Jack Wilson says he knows what it is.

"If youve got to face Felix and Pineda back to back, that's a tough draw, Wilson said.

Felix Hernandez guided Seattle to a 1-0 win over Oakland Thursday with 7.2 shutout innings. Rookie Michael Pineda came back Friday and threw six shutout innings in a 4-0 Mariner victory over the As, the first back-to-back shutouts for Seattle pitching since last June.

Pitches of that quality are not just tough on the hitters. Theyre also a little tough on the Seattle defense.

"When you have Pineda coming out there throwing 97, 98 mph, you can throw the scouting report out the window, Wilson said. "Will guys be swinging early or will they be swinging late? You have to guess a little.READ MORE»

COMMENTS

Smoak due back with Mariners Tuesday

BY John Hickey 08:13PM 04/22/2011

The Mariners have been without their regular first baseman since Justin Smoak took a bereavement leave just before the death of his father Tuesday and will go the rest of the weekend filling in for Smoak.
Manager Eric Wedge, who has a "family comes first policy, talked to Smoak and told the 24-year-old infielder to take the time he needs to be with his family.

As a result, Smoak isnt expected to rejoin the team until Tuesday when Seattle starts a six-game road trip with the first of three games in Detroit.

Keith Smoak, 57, died of cancer in South Carolina.

"I talked to Justin yesterday and were going to give him the time with his family to have the closure he needs to have before he comes back, Wedge said.READ MORE»

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