by Jeff Lippman | CBSSports.com (5/18/2013) Mariners outfielder Michael Morse overcame an eye irritation to play Saturday in Cleveland. He went 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Morse, hitting .254, had his four-game hitting streak snapped. He had at least two hits in each of those games.
Michael Morse back in lineup
by Jeff Lippman | CBSSports.com (5/18/2013) Mariners outfielder Michael Morse returned to the starting lineup Saturday in Cleveland. Morse missed Friday's game due to eye irritation.
Morse, who has gone 9 for 15 with a home run and two doubles over his last four games, is hitting .261 with 10 home runs and 17 RBI in 151 at-bats. He is listed as day to day.
BABIP victim Michael Morse coming around
by Scott White | Senior Fantasy Writer (5/17/2013) As a .296 hitter with a high strikeout rate over the last three seasons, the Mariners' Michael Morse is used to having a high BABIP. But entering play Friday, his BABIP was only .292, which is below the league average.
And just a few days ago, it was significantly lower than that. Over his last four games, Morse is 9 for 15 with a homer and two doubles, raising his season batting average from .220 to .261.
What we're seeing form him now is a long overdue course correction, and judging by his numbers the last few years, it's just the beginning. Though most Fantasy owners see him as a big, hulking slugger, Morse is actually a safer bet for a .300 batting average than 30 home runs.
But he's fully capable of both.
Michael Morse reaches double digits in home runs
by R.J. White | CBSSports.com (5/16/2013) Mariners left fielder Michael Morse hit his 10th home run of the season Thursday, a crucial sixth-inning blast that would prove to be the difference in his team's 3-2 win over the Yankees. He finished the game 2 for 3 with one walk and two runs scored as well as the solo home run.
Morse has hit .261/.325/.507 in 151 plate appearances. His 10 home runs leave him one off the American League lead.
Fifth spot in lineup working out for Michael Morse
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com (5/16/2013) Mariners outfielder Michael Morse has put together a three-game hitting streak since being moved from the cleanup spot to fifth in the lineup. Morse is batting .583 (7 for 12) with an RBI, two walks, two doubles and three runs since the lineup change.
His batting average has gone from .220 to .252.
Michael Morse notches three hits against Yankees
by Jack Moore | CBSSports.com (5/15/2013) Mariners outfielder Michael Morse went 3 for 5 with a double in Tuesday's loss to the Yankees.
Morse was stranded all three times he was on base and didn't record an RBI either. Morse continues to hit for as much power as he ever has -- his .237 ISO is just below his .247 mark from 2010, when he hit 15 home runs and 12 doubles in 98 games for Washington. Morse already has nine home runs to go with four doubles in 33 games in 2013.
Manager trying to take pressure off Michael Morse
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com (5/12/2013) Mariners manager Eric Wedge made a change to his lineup Sunday against the Athletics, moving Kyle Seager into the third spot in the batting order. Wedge made the move to alleviate some of the pressure felt by Kendrys Morales and Michael Morse, who moved down to fourth and fifth in the lineup, respectively.
"I’m playing around with it a little bit," Wedge said, per MLB.com. "I still stand by the fact that Morales and Morse are just trying to do too much. They know they’re the guys here and I think with that sometimes you put a little too much pressure on yourself to do too much. You see both of them chasing more than they should."
Morse came into play Sunday mired in a 3-for-25 slump, which dropped his season average from .245 to .220.
"With Morales and Morse, they’re they keys. Once we figure out where they belong, we can work everybody else off that," Wedge said. "So it’s a matter of who works off who better. Morse-Morales? Morales-Morse? How does Seager play into that? How does [Justin] Smoak play into that? We have to figure all that out."
Low BABIP holding Michael Morse's numbers down
by R.J. White | CBSSports.com (5/9/2013) Mariners left fielder Michael Morse has brought a power presence to the team's lineup. However, his unfortunate .236 batting average on balls in play has led to a .226/.288/.478 line in 125 plate appearances this season.
Morse has particularly struggled on the road, hitting just .209/.264/.448 in 72 plate appearances while being bogged down with a .225 BABIP. Morse has a .338 BABIP in 1,815 career plate appearances and a .333 BABIP on the road, so it's possible his overall line rises in the coming weeks.
Mike Morse fighting through hand injury
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com (5/2/2013) Mariners outfielder Michael Morse said the three non-displaced fractures he suffered in his right pinkie finger after getting hit by a pitch April 11 doesn't affect him at the plate.
"I mean, it doesn't affect my hitting one bit," Morse said Wednesday, per MLB.com. "It's a pinkie, you know?"
After a bit of a mid-April lull, Morse is batting .323 (10 for 31) with three home runs and four RBI in his last eight games. Morse hit his ninth home run Wednesday against the Orioles and became the seventh player in franchise history to hit at least nine home runs in the team's first 30 games.
"He's had to fight through it, but he's headed to the end of it, I think," Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. "He's obviously been noticeably better."
Michael Morse homers in loss
by Jack Moore | CBSSports.com (5/1/2013) Mariners outfielder Michael Morse hit his eighth homer in Tuesday's loss to Baltimore.
Morse finished 2 for 4 with the solo shot. He's been all power so far, as he owns a sharp .510 slugging percentage but just a .288 on-base percentage.
Michael Morse back in HR column
by Ed Gauna | CBSSports.com (4/28/2013) Mariners outfielder Michael Morse entered Sunday's series finale against the Angels having not hit a home run in 12 games. He finally broke out of that slump, going 2 for 4 with a homer in the 2-1 win.
After singling off starter Jason Vargas in the sixth inning, he took the left-hander deep for a solo shot in the eighth for his seventh long ball of the year.
Morse is batting just .212 (11 for 52) in the past 13 games with two RBI and 16 strikeouts.
Michael Morse out of starting lineup Thursday
by R.J. White | CBSSports.com (4/25/2013) Mariners left fielder Michael Morse was not in the team's starting lineup Thursday. It's likely a routine day off for Morse after starting each of the past nine days, during which he's 6 for 37 with no home runs.
Mariners slumping since Michael Morse's injury
by Jeff Lippman | CBSSports.com (4/21/2013) The Mariners' offense has slumped since outfielder Michael Morse suffered a broken little finger on his right hand last week, MLB.com reports Sunday.
Entering Sunday's game against Texas, Seattle had scored just 13 runs in seven games since the injury happened.
Morse was hitting .293 with six homers and nine RBI in his first 10 games before the injury. He sat out two games and returned to go 2 for 20 with no homers and one RBI in five games since. His average has fallen to .246 after taking an 0 for 4 Saturday in a loss.
"No excuses. No excuses. It's all me," Morse said prior to Sunday's game. "I feel good. I feel all right. I just need to start hitting."
Manager Eric Wedge has acknowledged the injury impacting Morse's performance, but he doesn't blame the injury itself.
"I think his timing has been a little bit off," Wedge said. "I don't think he's too far away though. Obviously that bump in the road has affected him. I don't think the finger is too much of an issue, but the timing has been a real thing. But, hey, it's not supposed to be that easy. When you lose three to four days in baseball, it's a long time. But he'll get it back."
Michael Morse returns with 10th RBI
by Jeff Lippman | CBSSports.com (4/17/2013) Mariners outfielder Michael Morse picked up his 10th RBI in his return from a fracture in his hand Tuesday against the Tigers.
Morse singled home Kendrys Morales in the fourth inning in a 6-2 loss. Hitting fourth, Morse went 1 for 4 and is batting .289 with six home runs.
Michael Morse gets back in order
by Jeff Lippman | CBSSports.com (4/16/2013) The Mariners received good news Tuesday with outfielder Michael Morse (hand) returning to the starting lineup. He was joined by Franklin Gutierrez, who had also missed time.
Morse, who had not played since April 11 against Texas, was dealing with a small, undisplaced fracture in his right hand. He entered Tuesday tied for the American League lead in home runs with six.
Michael Morse needs more time
by Jeff Lippman | CBSSports.com (4/14/2013) Seattle outfielder Michael Morse continued to sit out Sunday against the Rangers as he'd been expected to miss the rest of the series due to the small, undisplaced fracture in his right hand, the Seattle Times reports.
Mariners skipper Eric Wedge has continued to say he doesn't believe the injury is too serious and Morse appears to be avoiding the disabled list, for now. That said, he hasn't played since suffering the injury in Thursday's game.
Morse, who continues to be tied for the major-league lead in home runs with six after 10 games, just wants to make sure he's healthy before returning to action.
"We still have a lot of games left," he said Sunday. "I’ve got to get all the inflammation out first."
Michael Morse out with hand injury
by Bill Passonno | CBSSports.com (4/12/2013) Mariners outfielder Michael Morse is expected to be sidelined the next three to seven days after suffering a small, undisplaced fracture in his right hand, MLB.com reports. Seattle manager Eric Wedge said he does not believe the issue is serious after the slugger suffered the injury during Thursday's game against Texas when he was hit with a pitch as he checked his swing.
Morse, who leads the majors with six home runs, went 2 for 3 with a strikeout before departing in the seventh inning. Jason Bay took his spot in the lineup against the Rangers.
Michael Morse keeps hitting home runs
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com (4/10/2013) Mariners outfielder Michael Morse hit his AL-leading sixth home run Tuesday against the Astros. Morse followed Raul Ibanez's solo home run to lead off the eighth inning with his second home run in three games.
Morse is batting .263 (10 for 38) with a .737 slugging percentage in nine games. He also has nine RBI and 11 strikeouts.
Michael Morse slugging .828
by Ed Gauna | CBSSports.com (4/7/2013) Mariners outfielder Michael Morse continued his early power surge in Sunday's series finale against the White Sox. He went 1 for 5 with a home run in a 4-3 loss.
The 31-year-old launched a two-run shot off starter Chris Sale in the first inning for his fifth homer.
Morse is batting .310 (9 for 29) with eight RBI and an impressive .828 slugging percentage through seven games. He has also struck out 10 times.
"They're feeding off my aggressiveness right now," Morse told MLB.com. "I just need to relax a little bit and zone up a little more. Stay aggressive, but under control. I'm kind of swinging out of the zone a little bit. But like I said, it's way early and there's a lot of baseball left."
Trusting in Michael Morse again
by Scott White | Senior Fantasy Writer (4/5/2013) Coming into 2013, my reasons for ranking the Mariners' Michael Morse outside the top 30 outfielders were twofold.
One, I couldn't trust him to stay healthy. Two, I couldn't be sure that his .910 OPS from 2011 was any more legitimate than his .791 OPS from last year.
After watching him hit nine home runs in spring training and four in four games to start the regular season, I'm confident in saying the first is no longer a valid concern.
Morse still has to overcome a less-than-encouraging injury history and a pathetic walk rate, but given what I expect his batting average and slugging percentage to look like at year's end, I've decided to move him up my rankings. He's now 28th among outfielders, ahead of Shane Victorino and Josh Willingham but behind Austin Jackson, Michael Bourn and Melky Cabrera.
Michael Morse hits his fourth home run in three days
by R.J. White | CBSSports.com (4/4/2013) Mariners left fielder Michael Morse was the lone bright spot in his team's 8-2 loss to the A's Thursday, hitting his fourth home run in three days to give him the major-league lead in home runs. He also added a single to bump his average to .375 on the year.
Morse will attempt to keep his home run streak alive in Chicago against the White Sox this weekend.
Michael Morse takes early lead in home run race
by R.J. White | CBSSports.com (4/4/2013) Mariners left fielder Michael Morse hit his third home run in as many games Wednesday to take the early lead on the year's home run leaderboard. Morse's first-inning home run was his only hit of the game, leaving him 4 for 12 with three home runs and five RBI this season.
Michael Morse carries power over from spring
by Ed Gauna | CBSSports.com (4/3/2013) Mariners outfielder Michael Morse had a powerful night against the A's on Tuesday. He went 2 for 4 with a pair of home runs in the 7-1 win. Morse launched a three-run shot off starter Jarrod Parker in the third inning before leading off the ninth with a solo bomb off closer Grant Balfour.
Morse, who hit nine homers in spring training, is 3 for 8 (.375) through two games.
Michael Morse kept inside park
by Bill Passonno | CBSSports.com (4/2/2013) Mariners outfielder Michael Morse was one of only five players to record a hit in Seattle's season opener Monday night, finishing 1 for 4 during a 2-0 win over Oakland. Morse, who paced the majors with nine home runs in spring training, also struck out once during his first game with the Mariners after arriving in a trade with Washington this past offseason.
by Igor Mello | CBSSports.com (3/28/2013) Mariners outfielder Michael Morse hit his league-leading ninth home run of the spring in Thursday's Cactus League game against the Cubs. Morse took Carlos Villanueva deep in the second inning with a solo shot. He was 1 for 2 with a run scored and an RBI in a 6-4 win.
Morse is batting .370/.453/.926 with nine home runs and 15 RBI in 54 at-bats this spring.
Domonic Brown not quite at Michael Morse's level
by Scott White | Senior Fantasy Writer (3/28/2013) I faced a gut-wrenching decision in the 15th round of a Head-to-Head points draft Wednesday night: Michael Morse or Domonic Brown?
Morse, as I recently wrote, is getting overhyped because of his spring performance, and of course, I've made pretty clear Brown is my top sleeper choice this year -- so much so that I'm routinely taking him in Round 15 in most drafts.
So why did I go with Morse this time? Well, he's usually not even an option at that point. The hype often pushes him up to Round 9 or 10. It's not like I'm down on him as a player. I think he's closer to being the hitter he was in 2011 than not. I just see him more as somone else's guy than my guy.
Of course, reaching for pet players has hurt me as much as it's helped in the past, and seeing as I got Morse at a discount, sacrificing Brown is, objectively speaking, a small concession. Still, I can't help but think that if Brown is who I think he is, he'll be even better than the 2011 Morse.
Michael Morse homers again for share of lead
by R.J. White | CBSSports.com (3/27/2013) Mariners left fielder Michael Morse reached base in all three plate appearances against the Dodgers Wednesday, recording two walks and hitting his eighth home run of the spring. The eight homers ties Morse for the spring-training lead with Giants first baseman Brandon Belt. Morse is hitting .365/.452/.885 in 62 plate appearances this spring
Don't overvalue Michael Morse's spring performance
by Scott White | Senior Fantasy Writer (3/27/2013) I realize the Mariners' Michael Morse has seven home runs in the Cactus League, but to me, that's the kind of spring performance that shouldn't even register for Fantasy owners.
We already knew he could hit home runs. He hit 31 in about five months' time in 2011. Just because he's hitting a few more against Triple-A pitchers in an extremely hitter-friendly environment doesn't mean I should change my assessment of him.
Now, that doesn't mean I don't like Morse. I always thought he was a candidate for a bounce-back season, provided he's healthy. But if someone else reaches for him in the seventh round because of spring performance, it won't break my heart.
Michael Morse launches seventh spring HR
by Ed Gauna | CBSSports.com (3/26/2013) Mariners outfielder Michael Morse continued his torrid spring in Tuesday's Cactus League contest against the Royals. He went 3 for 4 with a home run in a 11-6 loss. Morse singed for his first two hits before launching a solo shot off Tim Collins in the seventh inning.
Morse is batting .353 through 17 spring games with seven homers, 12 RBI and an .824 slugging percentage. According to MLB.com, the 31-year-old is one long ball away from tying the Mariners' individual record of eight by Mike Wilson in '09.
"He's a strong young man," manager Eric Wedge said. "For him to stay through that baseball and hit it that far, there's not a whole lot of people that can do that. The guy takes a lot of pride in his work and batting practice. He was working on some things today, particularly shooting the ball the other way. You saw that happen. And obviously staying through that ball, too, is impressive."
Move Mike Morse up draft boards
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com (3/24/2013) Fantasy owners need to start turning their attention to Mariners outfielder Michael Morse. The 31-year-old slugger definitely seems settled in with his new/old team. Morse is batting .349 (15 for 43) with three doubles, six homers and 11 RBI in 15 spring games.
Fantasy owners have been letting Morse slip on Draft Day because he's coming off a down season with the Nationals. But you can't forget he was hurt at the beginning of last season and missed pretty much the entire spring schedule.
Once he got back into action, he had his adjustment period, but folks are forgetting the second half Morse produced in 2012.
In his final 67 regular-season games, Morse hit .300 with a .506 slugging percentage, .841 OPS, 10 doubles, 14 homers and 46 RBI. The fact he's having a torrid spring is only reaffirming Morse has regained his form.
I would like to point out Morse hit .364 with nine homers and 18 RBI in 21 spring games in 2011 before hitting .303 with 31 homers, 36 doubles and 95 RBI during the regular season.
Right now, Morse is being drafted on average in the 12th round of Rotisserie formats and the 15th round in Head-to-Head leagues, but I think it's time to make the argument you can start reaching even earlier for Morse.
Michael Morse hits sixth spring home run
by Jeff Lippman | CBSSports.com (3/18/2013) Outfielder Michael Morse has shown the Mariners they made a good decision in bringing him back to the team. Morse homered again on Monday in a Cactus League game.
Morse broke a sixth-inning tie with his sixth home run of the spring, and Seattle defeated the Oakland A's Monday. Morse homered off starter A.J. Griffin for a 4-3 lead.
The slugger was reacquired from Washington as part of a three-way deal with Oakland during the offseason.
"Morse has had a good spring for us," Seattle manager Eric Wedge said. "He knows what he wants to do. He's smart and strong. That is why he is in the middle of our lineup."
Morse gets a look at 1B
(3/11/2013) Mariners outfielder Michael Morse received his first start of the Cactus League at first base on Sunday against the White Sox. He went 1 for 3 with a home run in the 11-7 loss. Morse has gone 8 for 26 (.308) with three homers and five RBI through nine spring games. “I just want it to be an option for us,” manager Eric Wedge told the Seattle Times of Morse playing first. “I mean, obviously, Justin Smoak is having a real good spring. With Morse, we’ve been playing him in left field and right field, and he’s very comfortable at first base, too, so we just want to be as versatile as we can. He’s comfortable regardless of where he plays. We just want to make sure his bat’s in the lineup.”
Morse powering up in BP
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com (2/19/2013)Michael Morse figures to bat in the middle of the Mariners order and hopes to unleash plenty of the power he has displayed at spring training in batting practice. "I was in the same spot in D.C., I was batting fourth or fifth," Morse said. "I'm comfortable there and I'm happy to come back here and do the same thing." The Mariners are also glad to have Morse in the middle of their lineup. "From what I can see early on here, he cares about his teammates and he is a good teammate," Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. "He enjoys the game and has fun playing the game but yet when it's time to work, he works. It's serious to him. He's experienced a lot in a short period of time, for a guy that's five years into his big-league career. All that bodes well for him and for us."
Morse headed to Seattle
by Chris Towers | CBSSports.com (1/16/2013) The Nationals have agreed to a deal that would send outfielder Michael Morse to the Mariners, in a three-team deal also including the Athletics. The Nationals will receive pitching prospects A.J. Cole and Blake Treinen along with a player to be named in return from Oakland, while the Mariners send catcher John Jaso to the A’s to complete the deal.
Morse goes on trading block
by Al Melchior | Data Analyst (1/8/2013) Having agreed to sign free agent first baseman Adam LaRoche on Tuesday, the Nationals will now try to deal first baseman/outfielder Michael Morse, according to CSNWashington.com. Morse was the Nationals' fallback plan for first base, had they not been able to re-sign LaRoche. Now that the Nationals have no openings in their lineup for Morse, they will try to trade him for a starting pitcher or a left-handed reliever. FOXSports.com reports that the Nationals have already spoken to five or six teams about a possible Morse deal. “There’s not going to be a time limit when we’re going to do it and if we’re going to do it,” general manager Mike Rizzo said, per the Washington Post. “If we can get the right deal for Mike, we’ll certainly think about trading him. We’re not going to make a bad deal just to move the player out of town. We don’t have to do it financially.”
