Seattle Mariners

So you wanted more for Aaron Harang. So did the Dodgers. Heck, so did the Colorado Rockies. But the market is what the market is, and apparently it wasn't much. The Rockies sent the recently acquired Harang to the Seattle Mariners on Thursday. The right-hander never made a pitch for Colorado. Look at his very serviceable 10-10 record with a 3.61 ERA with the Dodgers in 2012, and you could well think maybe they could have done better. Going to go out on a limb here and say they tried.

Midnight was fast approaching when Tom Wilhelmsen and his girlfriend stumbled into Venice. The backpackers were tired and hungry and, truth be told, a little smelly. This was another new city on a trip full of them. They found a cheap room in a seedy hotel, a couple of slices of pizza and a bottle of wine. Then they crashed. "And then we woke up on the canal," he said. "You put your head out the window and, sure enough, there are all the gondolas and the clothes drying, just like in all the pictures.

The Seattle Mariners have traveled 6,500 miles in the last nine days. They have faced elimination four times, and have won four nerve-racking games to keep their season alive, coming from behind in the final three games against the New York Yankees to win a best-of-five division series they trailed, 2-0.

Josh Hamilton stood alone in the far corner of the Angels' clubhouse early Wednesday evening, looking far too frustrated for a guy whose batting average is higher than it has been in nearly a month and whose team is on its longest winning streak in nearly a year. For the first six weeks of the season, Hamilton had reason to be frustrated. He was one of the worst hitters in baseball, batting .207 with 44 strikeouts for an underperforming team that was eight games under .500. But over the last 10 games he has hit nearly 100 points higher.

Mike Marshall, the former Dodger, sits in the Seattle Mariners' clubhouse with no guarantees. He is 33, back from a bad experience in Japan, and trying to win a job as the Mariners' right-handed designated hitter, his onetime promise rubbed out on too many trainer's tables. "I'd by lying if I said it wasn't frustrating," Marshall said of the misplaced opportunities. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't think I could be sitting here with 2,000 hits, 300 home runs and a $5-million contract.

It has been two weeks now since Newport Beach developer George Argyros made his move to buy the San Diego Padres, in effect telling the Seattle Mariners that they were geographically undesirable. Argyros, the Mariners' owner for the past six years, said the Padres' purchase was appealing because it would allow him to be closer to his home and other business interests.

Chuck Finley's forkball returned from an extended spring break, and so did Finley's winning form. After flailing through a dismal spring, the Angels' left-hander on Tuesday night pitched with the command and control that enabled him to win a career-high 18 games last season. Making his first opening-day start a successful one, Finley pitched 7 1/3 strong innings as the Angels held off the Seattle Mariners, 3-2, in front of a crowd of 53,671 at the Kingdome.

The leadership of Major League Baseball is rethinking a recently adopted prohibition against foreign ownership of franchises, Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent said Tuesday, in light of the controversy over a Japanese-backed offer to buy the Seattle Mariners. Vincent said it will be "difficult" for the proposed sale of the team to be approved under current rules that were quietly adopted by an ownership committee in December.

The Kroc Era in San Diego baseball drew to a close Thursday when it was announced that Joan Kroc had accepted an offer from Orange County developer George Argyros to purchase the Padres. A purchase price was not divulged, but Kroc was reportedly asking between $50 million and $65 million for the National League club that her late husband, Ray, purchased for $12 million in 1974.

He was their Ray of hope, and of sunshine. On a dim opening night, Johnny Ray was a point of light for the Angels--one of far too few. The Angels managed only five hits in a 7-4 loss to Seattle at Anaheim Stadium. Ray had two. They scored four runs. Ray scored three, and the one he didn't score, he drove in with a sacrifice fly. The Angels' season at the plate began with a strikeout by Devon White. Up stepped Ray, who drove the second pitch over the right-center field wall for a homer.

The Angels broke out the disco ball in the clubhouse, and why not? That was quite a party. Mike Trout, the guest of honor, became the youngest player in American League history to hit for the cycle. Josh Hamilton, the birthday boy, enjoyed two rounds of serenades from the crowd. The Angels posted their most lopsided victory of the season, a 12-0 rout of the Seattle Mariners. The fans even went home with party favors - Mike Trout pint glasses, in honor of a player of legal drinking age for all of nine months.

MILWAUKEE - Asked on Tuesday who was the Dodgers' closer, Manager Don Mattingly replied, "I don't know. " Brandon League, who started the season in that role, is foundering. League has blown two saves and lost two other games in his last nine appearances. His earned-run average in that span was 7.71 and opponents batted .378 against him. But League said his problems aren't similar to the ones that cost him his job as the Seattle Mariners' closer early last season.

ATLANTA - Will Don Mattingly be the Dodgers manager for the remainder of the season? Team President Stan Kasten wouldn't say. "I don't discuss the manager and I never do," Kasten said. "Ever since spring training, we said that, when you wanted to talk about him every day. We had a rough start but we expect to get through this. " Kasten was reminded he was asked a yes-or-no question. "What was the question again?" Kasten asked. Will Don Mattingly be your manager for the rest of the year?

Josh Beckett has changed. The flamethrower has turned into a finesse pitcher. The cocky kid has become polite, even warm. This would all make for a nice story about a former phenom who is maturing and learning to deal with his age-inflicted limitations. Except for one thing: This 32-year-old version of Beckett has trouble getting hitters out. Beckett has failed to complete six innings in four of his six starts this season, including Wednesday night in the Dodgers' 7-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium.

SEATTLE - Brandon Maurer was the No. 3 starter in a superb 2008 Orange Lutheran High rotation that was led by Gerrit Cole, who went on to star at UCLA and was the first overall selection of the 2011 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Aaron Gates, who pitched at Pepperdine. Maurer was also the least-touted of the "Big Three" pitching prospects the Seattle Mariners had at double-A Jackson (Tenn.) last season, a group that included Danny Hultzen, the second overall pick in 2011, and Taijuan Walker, a supplemental pick in 2010.

So you wanted more for Aaron Harang. So did the Dodgers. Heck, so did the Colorado Rockies. But the market is what the market is, and apparently it wasn't much. The Rockies sent the recently acquired Harang to the Seattle Mariners on Thursday. The right-hander never made a pitch for Colorado. Look at his very serviceable 10-10 record with a 3.61 ERA with the Dodgers in 2012, and you could well think maybe they could have done better. Going to go out on a limb here and say they tried.

Lou Piniella rubbed his chin as he paused to ponder the question of how good would his Seattle Mariners be if they hadn't lost Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson. "In baseball you can't think that way," Piniella said. "A manager can only concern himself with the guys he has." None of the guys Piniella does have are as accomplished as the three future Hall of Famers who left Seattle in less than three years.

When Newport Beach businessman George Argyros said goodby to major league baseball, he said hello to major league profits. At a tearful news conference Tuesday in Seattle, Argyros announced that he plans to sell the beleaguered Seattle Mariners to two Indiana businessmen. He bought the team in 1981 for $13 million; it was appraised in June at $76.1 million, which is believed to be the purchase price.

Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners are working on a seven-year, $175-million contract that would make him the highest paid pitcher in baseball, the Associated Press reports. Seattle would add $134.5 million of guaranteed money over five years to the contract of the 2010 AL Cy Young Award winner, whose current agreement calls for him to receive $40.5 million over the next two seasons. Hernandez, 26, became the first Seattle pitcher to throw a perfect game in a 1-0 win over Tampa Bay last August.

The Dodgers re-signed free agent Brandon League on Tuesday with the intention of making him their closer. League's salary will reflect his role, as the Dodgers are committed to paying him $22.5 million over the next three seasons. The contract also includes an option for a fourth season at $7.5 million that will become guaranteed if League finishes 55 games in 2015. "We think that after what he did the last two or three weeks, that closing is the role," General Manager Ned Colletti said.