College Football Draft Begins Tonight

The Seattle Seahawks will be sitting out tonight as the college draft begins tonight. The Seahawks do not have a first round pick and it is the only round going tonight. The Seahawks could move up into the first round with a trade of a player or a couple lower draft picks. I am sure it would take the second rounder plus the third or fourth rounder.  I am sure the Seahawks are not interested; however, they could surprise us.

Outside the two quarterbacks that maybe taken one and two most of the players we will not know who they are unless they play for our favorite team or you watch a lot of college football.

Here in the Seattle we do have two such players who likely will go in the first round.  Danny Shelton defensive tackle for the University of Washington Huskies could be going in the top ten of the first round. Also expected in the first round is Marcus Peters cornerback who was kicked off the Huskies football team during last season because he broke team rules.

The Huskies have a few other players expected to be drafted as well. Most likely they will be taken on Friday in the second or third round. This is the highest rated draft of Husky players in sometime. At one time the Huskies had top quality players taken in every draft. Of course, looking at the team record during the early 2000s it was not a surprise since they had mostly losing records. Hopefully seeing Husky players again in the college draft will become a regular thing again.

Jameis Winston quarterback out of Florida State is expected to be the top pick in the draft by Tampa Bay. He has the talent but he has trouble with the law in the past so he has character issues. So it is a gamble by Tampa Bay; however, they are willing to take the chance on him. If he can mature he will be a gamble that will pay off otherwise he will be a big mistake.

Marcus Mariota of University of Oregon is expected to be the second pick in the draft as well as the second quarterback taken. The Tennessee Titans have the pick; they could draft Mariota or move down in the draft by trading with another team.

After these two quarterbacks where players get drafted is anyone’s guess. If you are watching the draft tonight, tomorrow night, and Saturday enjoy yourself. I hope your favorite team gets their players, and your favorite players get their team.

One thing we know for sure whoever the Seahawks draft will be surprises. It is one thing we can count on. They have a total of eleven draft picks at this time starting in the second round. The chances are that could all change. They could add more picks which is unlikely or trade a couple picks to move up.

 

Good Start to Road Trip

The Seattle Mariners have begun the ten game road trip thru Texas and then onto Los Angles.Good start by winning the first two games against the Texas Rangers.

TaiJuan Walker started out doing well in the first game on Monday with the Mariners winning 3-1. This was the second good game in row which Walker has pitched after having rough outings in his first two games. He thought his fastball was not good in the game; however, he was able to locate the pitch very well. He continues in same manner he should win a good amount of games.

On Tuesday night J.A. Happ continued his good start of the season going six and two-thirds of an inning, and the Mariners winning 2-1 on a triple by Nelson Cruz followed by an infield out to second base by Kyle Seager. Also, Rickie Weeks had a home run in the game.

The Mariners have a really good chance to sweep the Rangers with King Felix Hernandez pitching tonight (Wednesday). King Felix had an outstanding start in his last game after having to leave the game because of a small injury in the game the time before. If Felix continues his outstanding pitching he should win at least twenty games this season.

Right now on the offense the Mariners have been in a minor slump over the last several games with only Nelson Cruz really producing consistently. The Mariners need to figure something out in the top two positions in the batting order. Austin Jackson has been inconsistent at lead off and should be moved down in the batter order. Not sure who should be leading off on a regular basis because the Mariners have different lineups depending whether they are facing a right or left handed pitcher. Ruggiano would be a good choice if he was in the lineup more on a regular basis. He could be playing more regular being in center field against right handed pitching and in either left or right field against left handed pitching. Austin Jackson seems to be doing better against left handed pitching.

Other choices would be having Rickie Weeks in leadoff against left handed pitching. They have also tried Seth Smith and Dustin Ackley in the lead off position. Both Smith and Ruggiano have done well in lead off by making the pitcher throw a lot of pitches. The other problem is who hits second on a regular basis. Right now the guys being considered batting second are the same games for lead off as well.

On Tuesday night I was listening to the post game show on the Mariner radio broadcast. There was suggestion by manager Lloyd McClendon maybe trying Kyle Seager at leadoff. It could work, however, who would bat fifth where he has been in the lineup since the first game of the season. The only choices I see there would be Seth Smith, Ruggiano, or Rickie Weeks. The best choice would be Logan Morrison; however, he has been struggling hitting although behind Nelson Cruz he could get better pitches. One other choice would be to bat Brad Miller in the fifth spot since he is hitting good right now.

I spoke of who to bat second in the order as well. Seager and Miller would be good choices as well. The most important thing as far as the lineup is the Mariners need to stick to a consistent lineup. They could have one lineup against right handed pitching and another against left handed pitching. This could change as well depending on who is hitting good.

The nice thing the season is only about one month old so we can hope that in May things will get where everything will be normal. Besides the top of the batting order needing improvement the bottom of the order needs it too. Logan Morrison, Dustin Ackley, and Mike Zunino are all struggling at the plate. None of them need to have a high average but batting between .230 and .250 would be good. The Mariners need a little offense out of them.

Now the starting pitching seems to headed in the right direction besides straightening out James Paxton if the Mariners pitching and offense can work at the same time they should be winning at a regular clip. It would be nice to split the four games in Houston at least and win two out of three against the Angels in Los Angles. It would make the Mariners on a successful road trip and be a little over five hundred on the record. Currently the record is 9-11.

 

 

 

The Mets?

Before this weekend when the New York  Mets lost  two out of three to the Yankees the New they had won eleven games in arrow.

It was quite the surprise to me because the Mets have not been a winner for some time.  In fact so much I do not even remember the year they last had a winning season, and when they went to World Series. I am sure the Met fans are surprised as well.

Since I am a Seattle Mariner fan I do not follow the Mets or the National League for that matter very closely.  The San Diego Padres I know their roster somewhat because the Mariners play against them every year as a rival, and they share the same spring training facility. The only player that I am familiar to some degree is third baseman David Wright because he has played in several all-star games; however, he is injured right now.

What does that mean to me, and other people who follow teams in the American League? I will look closer at the standings of the National League East for a while to see if the Mets continue to win. Generally I remember it is the Atlanta Braves who usually wins the National League East.  Also, I know the Philadelphia Phillies who used to be a good team has become very old, and not expected to compete.

Actually I will like it very much if the Mets continue to win. Maybe we will have the Miracle Mets once again. I am sure that I will get back to the National League East at a later date.

They Are Not Angels

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim or whatever they call themselves now traded troublesome and injured player Josh Hamilton to the Texas Rangers for money only. The Angels are reported not to get any players in return.

Josh Hamilton signed a free agent contract with the Angels a couple years ago or so after having a very good career with the Rangers. He has not played up to expectations that the Angels wanted the day they signed him.  Of course, we have all seen players that have signed big contracts that did not live up to expectations. A lot of free agents who sign for big bucks are normally at the end of their prime time as far as being productive players.

In the case of Josh Hamilton it has been reported that not only he is recovering from shoulder problems he has gone back into drinking and possibly drugs. His wife also has filed for divorce. He has gone through these same problems before signing and playing for the Texas Rangers.

Looking from the outside it seems to me the Angels have not done a good job helping out one of their player. Instead of getting help for Josh Hamilton they decided to throw him away and let him go back to the team who helped him out in the first place. We can all hope that the Rangers will get Hamilton all the help that he needs. Maybe he will never be the player he wants was but maybe he can go back to being a productive person in society.

I wonder what the other players on the Angels are thinking. Are they glad the team got rid of a non-productive player or they hope that Hamilton gets the help he needs. Hopefully they feel the ladder. I would hate to be an Angel player who also maybe having some kind of problem wondering if he will be thrown away as well.

My view is that not only that Josh Hamilton needs some counseling the same can be said of the Angels management. Right now I see them as people who just want to win and it does not matter what the cost. I am sure glad that I am not an Angel fan and other teams will not follow their example. I do really hope what I see from afar is not really true but if it is the Angels need to make changes, and major league baseball will need them made accountable.

I am sure glad that I have friends if I went down the wrong path they would help me back up again.  

King Felix

Tonight we get to see Felix Hernandez pitch again this time against the Minnesota Twins. It is always special to see the King pitch because we have the chance to see something special.

I do not see too many teams have a section in their ballpark where fans can sit and see their star pitcher at work. Other teams would be smart to follow suit. Not only there is a section the fans can wear their King Felix t-shirt as well.

I do find it distracting sometimes when a batter is up and there are two strikes with the fans being noisy and shaking the signs but I can say I will live with it especially if the batter strikes out.  I find it most difficult is when they do it when the Mariners are behind which is not often when King Felix is pitching.

He is the best thing the Mariners have had since the Big Unit Randy Johnson. Some day we will see King Felix in Cooperstown as well. Of course, it will be for some time. Hopefully we will see King Felix pitching in the playoffs just like Big Unit. This time we can see him in the World Series which we never got a chance with the Big Unit.

What really makes Felix special besides being the best pitcher around he wants to be in Seattle. We now have the missing parts that can make it happen. We can only hope the rest of the pitching besides J.A. Happ and Felix can come alive.

The best part is that Felix is only twenty-nine years old so his best pitching maybe a head of him. This makes him special as well because most pitchers are starting to get going and he has been going for a long time. Remember the Big Unit had not figured it out when he was twenty-nine.

So King Felix we look forward to tonight and many starts in the future. We hope you can lead us to the promise land for many years. We know every night is a special night.

Marshawn

April 22 is beastmode today. Actually it is Marshawn Lynch the star running back of the Seahawks birthday. I believe he turns 29 today. They say that most running backs careers are over by 30 if not sooner; however, beastmode is another character in his own. He could go on for another two years if he wants to.

Why is Marshawn able to go longer than most running backs because he is not like most running backs.  Unlike other backs that get hit by defensive players he hits them. If you watch any of the Seahawk games you can find most of the time it takes at least five defensive players to bring him down.

What helps keep beastmode going is that he does not play a lot during the pre-season, and usually does not practice a lot during the week. He makes sure that his body stays in shape. He does have a problem with his back so if he retires after next season would be that he does not want his back to get into any more trouble. Like every other football player he needs to be sure that he can live a healthy life after football.

In other Seahawks news yesterday (Tuesday) the 2015 NFL football schedule came out. They have five prime time games and three of them are on the road. They start the season playing the St.Louis Rams on the road. Also, the football season is starting a little bit later. I figure it must because Labor Day is later as well. Usually the season starts a week after Labor Day. I guess we can all check our calendars.

Football season though is still a ways off. The season starts with the New England Patriots facing the Pittsburgh Steelers in 148 days. It is hard to imagine; however, we still have the college draft coming up next week and then voluntary practices.

For me though I will be watching baseball in the meantime.

Russell Wilson and Seahawks

On the local sport radio channels they have speaking about Russell Wilson a lot about his new contract that is being negotiated.

Actually his current contract does not run out until this coming season is over. 

He talked with Bryant Gumbel “Real Sports” on HBO which is supposed to air tonight April 21. He talks about football and the Seahawks along with playing baseball. He is thinking about playing baseball again which here in Seattle believe it is a negotiating ploy because it would take Wilson way to long get to the major league baseball, and he would take even longer to get the kind of money he would even have a chance to get like from the Seahawks.

I have to say that I agree with the local media. The amount of money Russell Wilson is likely asking for is around twenty-two million dollars per year though the Seahawks are looking more around twenty million dollars per year. Of course, a lot depends how many years and what is guaranteed along with a signing bonus.

Another part of the negotiations is whether the Seahawks will throw away the final year of current contract and begin the new contract immediately.

What makes things interesting is the salary cap. The Seahawks want to pay Russell Wilson what he really wants but has to be able to fit under the salary cap. It is quite tricky. I am not sure if any of us either fans or media totally understand how the salary cap works. In fact it is so difficult that the Seahawks have someone who all he does is working out the salary cap. I am sure he tells Coach Pete Carroll and General Manager John Schneider what they can do to be sure they can keep all the star players along with the other players on the roster. Also, they need enough money to pay the players that are new that are coming thru  the draft. I am sure the negotiating will take some time to be resolved. They have to consider signing linebacker Bobby Wagner to a new contract as well.

Next week April 30 thru May 2 will be the college football draft. The Seahawks  have eleven draft picks thru the seven rounds; however, it does not include any player in the first round since they traded away in getting tight end Jimmy Graham from New Orleans Saints.

Since Pete Carroll and John Schneider have been with the Seahawks the draft has been quite interesting. It does not have the same meaning it has like for other teams.  The last couple years the Seahawks have not had first round draft picks.  As fans we generally have to wait until the second round to see who the Seahawks come up with. Even with first round draft picks Carroll and Schneider always surprise us who they draft. In fact many of the best players the Seahawks have come up with have been in the later rounds along with free agents.

I look forward along with every 12^th man who the Seahawks will draft. It would likely be a surprise and could be someone we have never heard of before. Of course, usually most college football drafts we only know a handle full of players very well anyway.

Well I hope the Seahawks be able to sign Russell Wilson in the next several months and look forward to see who they come up with in the draft.

Early Season Comeback

On Sunday April 19 the Seattle Mariners faced the Texas Rangers for the third final game in their series in Seattle. They had split up the first two games the Mariners losing the first game and on Saturday Felix Hernandez pitching a gem and winning 3-1. King Felix pitched seven innings and struck out twelve batters ending a four game losing streak the Mariners were on.

The first two innings it looked like James Paxton was rolling along for a victory. The Mariners were leading 2-0 on home runs from Austin Jackson leading off the game and Nelson Cruz both in the first inning. The third inning became a new story. The inning led off with a bunt single by Martin for the Rangers followed by several light hits that could easily been outs. The Rangers tied the score 2-2. It looked like the Mariners should get out of the third inning; however, more hits happened that were much harder including a home run. The next thing we knew was the Rangers were leading 7-2. Just like that James Paxton was out of the game with two outs in the third inning, and replaced by reliever Tyler Olson. He got the final out of the third inning.

Going into the bottom of the third inning it did seem hopeless; however, Nelson Cruz hit his second home run of the game with two runners on base to get back into the game with the score being 7-5.

In the sixth inning the Rangers scored three runs to make the score 10-5; however, the Mariners were not done. In the seven inning they scored one run to make it 10-6. In the eighth the Mariners got the bases loaded with one out when the Rangers summoned their closer Feliz. He walked in a run to make it 10-7. With Nelson Cruz coming up to bat once again he struck him out. The next batter was Kyle Seager who had hit in the sixth run of the game. Seager hit a single to bring two more runs to make it 10-9. Feliz got out of the eighth inning with the one run lead. Reliever Medina came in and got the Rangers out in the top of the 9^th inning.

Going into the bottom of the 9^th inning Feliz had never given up a run to the Mariners. The final rally happens to finalize the comeback for the Mariners. Brad Miller led off the inning with a single. Logan Morrison followed with the first out of the inning flying out to center field. Then Seth Smith followed with a walk. With Miller on second and now Smith on first Austin Jackson came to bat. He fouled off several pitches and then finally hit a pitch to right field for a single that scored Miller to make it a tie at 10-10. At this point we knew the Mariners would at least go into extra inning; however, the decided they did not want to go into the tenth inning. Rickie Weeks flied out to center field but the ball was not deep enough to score Seth Smith. At that point Austin Jackson was on second base with Smith still at third base. The Rangers decided to walk Robinson Cano to load the bases. They wanted to face Nelson Cruz instead. I guess you could say the less of two evils; however, Cruz hit a hard single between 3^rd base and shortstop to win the game.

Though it was an exciting game and a great comeback by the Mariner batters the starting pitching obviously has some worries to correct. The Mariner relievers did a really good job to keep them in the game as well. Outside of Felix Hernandez and J.A. Happ the Mariners have some work to do with the other three starters. Hopefully tonight against the Houston Astros Iwakuma can correct himself and pitch a good game. He will be followed by TaiJuan Walker who has had two poor outings as well. That game will be very critical to see if Walker stays in the starting rotation. Of course, the Mariners will have to see what happens with James Paxton as well. He had a very short spring training with arm troubles and pitching a limited amount of innings. We will have to see if one of the pitchers will be replaced in the rotation. The Mariners have a day off on Thursday so there is a possibility either Paxton or Walker will miss a turn. At least the season is early so corrections still can happen. In the meantime Go Mariners!

Slow Start Continues For Mariners

The Seattle Mariners started a nine game home stand on Friday April 17 against the Texas Rangers. They follow up with a series against the Houston Astros and the Minnesota Twins. This is a good time for the Mariners to start hitting consistently and improving on starting pitching; however, last night they did get good pitching out of J.A. Happ who gave up two runs in seven innings before giving it over to the bullpen.

The final score ended up being 3-1. Happ gave up a double to Prince Fielder to score the first run in the first inning. Later he gave up a home run as well. Going into the ninth inning the Mariners still had a chance to win after scoring a run in the 8^th inning; however, after a throwing error by Zunino that allowed a runner to third the batter hit a ball down the third base line that looked like it would end the inning the ball hit the third base bag and Seager was unable to get the runner. Scoring the third run was crucial for the Ranger since Feliz came in the bottom of the ninth inning and closed the game. Feliz has never given up a run to the Mariner though Friday night there was a ball hit to the right field fence that was caught by Sin Soo Choo. The ball when hit did look like it would be the first run scored off of Feliz. If the ball had not hit the third base bag in the top of the ninth and the Mariners got a home run on the ball to Choo it would have been a tie game and gone into extra innings.

The Mariners did continue to get hits during the game. They had a total of eight hits including three by Nelson Cruz. The problem continues that the Mariners did not have any timely hits to drive in runs. I am sure though if J.A. Happ continues to pitch for the Mariners like he has in his first two starts he will have a successful season, and the Mariners will go to the playoffs. Hopefully the team will start getting the pitching and hitting together. We can only hope.  Tonight Felix Hernandez goes to the mound and can bounce back from his previous start where he had to leave after five innings because of a small injury. We hope to see the King Felix we are accustomed to and the Mariners bats can find some holes and get timely hitting. In the meantime Go Mariners!  

 

Rough Night TaiJuan

On Wednesday night TaiJuan Walker had another rough first inning to start the game for the Seattle Mariners. He gave up a total of five runs, and lasted four innings.

The big question is how many more times will the Mariners give Walker to start before taking him out of the starting lineup. Right now his next scheduled start would be next Tuesday since the Mariners have today (Thursday) off. Next Thursday the Mariners have off as well so depending on that start they could skip him in the following one.

Everyone who has watched Walker pitch know how talented he is. He had wonderful spring training; however, the first two starts of the regular season have not been so good. If he has a bad start next Tuesday do the Mariners skip the following one, put him in the bullpen, or send him down to Triple A.  Any of the options do not sound any good. For one thing the Mariners do not want to hurt his confidence; however, if he is not ready to pitch in the starting rotation what choices do they have.

The Mariners do not have much depth in starting pitching. The most likely replacement for Walker in the starting rotation would be Roenis Elias; however, last night he struggled in his outing for the Tacoma Rainiers. Another problem is that Iwakuma has started out struggling in his first two games as well. The thing about Iwakuma being a veteran the Mariners can hope he will work his way of trouble.

Last year the Mariners went through similar problems at the end of the rotation as well. It is a wonder what they will do this time if problems with Walker and Iwakuma continue. Of course, we are not sure about the rest of the rotation as well. Tomorrow night (Friday) we will see if Jay Happ can have another good game. Then there is James Paxton who will need to go further into the game as well. The only sure pitcher the Mariners can count on is Felix as long as he can be healthy. His last start he left after five innings because of health issues. He says now he is doing just fine.

It looks like the Mariners may have to go out and get another starting pitcher which is not easy to do. Not many teams are looking to trade any of their pitchers. Most teams are like the Mariners where there is little depth in the starting pitching. It is the reason I do not like a five man rotation. I prefer a four man rotation teams went through until the late 1970s. It is especially true through the early part of the season. With several off days in April teams could go with four man rotation to see how things go. The fifth man could be used out of the bullpen as long relief. Later in the season a team could go to a five man rotation if it is really necessary. The whole thing is that on most teams if not all the fifth starter ends up with a losing record. So what is the point of it all except to keep the other four starters rested?

Anyway we can only hope that Walker can correct things in his pitching starting off games. We do not want to lose out on a talented pitcher one that could someday be number two behind Felix or three behind James Paxton. The Mariners will have to think not only best for Walker but what the best for the team is as well. I guess we will see what happens. In the meantime let’s Go Mariners!

Long Ball Along with Poor Pitching

Starting the season out right now the Seattle Mariners are at 3-4 going into the second game in Los Angles against the Dodgers. I have seen through social media how much people are complaining how bad the Mariners have started out. It is early in the season so we still have to see what happens. The Mariners seem to start out of the gate slow each season. So I do not really want to complain either but we do see some areas that the Mariners do need to improve on though it is still very early.

On the positive side the home runs are coming early especially with Nelson Cruz. Also, Dustin Ackley is starting out good as well with three homes runs. He is one of the few that are batting good as well. His batting average is over .300. Nelson Cruz batting average is starting to climb as well. We still have to see the other batters averages to climb as well. Robinson Cano has a low average; however, he is hitting the ball hard. As long the Mariners keep scoring runs the team should get over the .500 mark. In fact if they end April around .500 it will be a good sign for the team.

The starting pitching has started off slow to some degree. Felix has started off well though he gave up three runs in his second start. I am not too concerned with him. James Paxton has had one good game and a bad one though the second game started good for the first few innings. Hopefully, Iwakuma and Walker can bounce back from their first outings. Happ had a very good first outing so we hope that he can continue. The bullpen has had some good outings and some not so well. The bullpen I am not so concerned with either as long the starters can go some longer innings. They need to since the Mariners have seven pitchers in the bullpen instead of eight like last season. It is important not over use the bullpen.

I wonder if the Mariners will stay with a seven man bullpen or increase to eight when Wihelmsen gets off the disable list. Right now the Mariners have Willie Bloomquist to back up at shortstop along with the other infield positions. I guess we will have to see if the Mariners will stay with six outfielders. Nelson Cruz is playing some in right field besides being the main designated hitter.  I would stay it depends how the other outfielders besides Cruz before over the next few weeks, a month or so perform. It seems right now that Ackley looks good playing mostly against right handed pitchers, and given time off against lefties. This might work out the best for him.

Hopefully we will get more answers in the weeks ahead and not more questions. I know that I haven’t given up on them as of yet. They are scoring enough runs in most of the games. The history of the Mariners always seems that when they are pitching well the hitting is not and vice versa as well. This season I think over the long run they will have both. We will see so Go Mariners!

Four Magical Days

He did it. Jordan Spieth led all through the Masters. Justin Rose was close a few times on Sunday; however, Spieth would make another terrific shot to be sure he was still in a good lead. They say it was the first time in thirty-nine years since the last time someone led all the way through. He is now the second youngest winner of the Masters. It was really a great day to watch. I was watching the Seattle Mariners game at the same time. I always switched back to the Masters when he was up.

 It was good to see Tiger Woods as well. He did seem a bit flat on Sunday, and you could see he was not happy at times which is understandable. The nice thing was that he looked healthy throughout the Masters so we should see him in some upcoming tournaments.

On the local front Spieth’s caddie Michael Greller lives here in my hometown of Gig Harbor. Before he became a full time caddie he was a math teacher in University Place, and his wife taught elementary school here in Gig Harbor.

The next major which is the U.S. Open is in sixty-four days, and takes place at Chamber’s Bay in University Place. So it means that Greller is very familiar with Chamber’s Bay since he has caddie there several times though the course will be a bit different for the U.S. Open.

University Place is not very far from Gig Harbor. I would say it is about fifteen minutes away. We would go over the Tacoma Narrows and take the first exit off the bridge and make a right. Nearby is the Narrows Airport. It is only about five minutes away from my place. Many of the golfers if not all of them will fly into Narrows Airport. It is made for small planes. Large planes do not fly into the Narrows Airport. Many people who will be coming to the U.S. Open will stay in Gig Harbor. According to the local realtors many local people are renting out their places for the week. The U.S. Open will be quite the boast to the economy. I am sure I will be seeing a lot of people from out of town leading up to the tournament.

I know several friends who will be working at the U.S. Open. For example, helping with the parking, security, and serving beverages to the golfers. I am not sure whether I will do anything; however, if the chance comes I will do so. I have never been in Chamber’s Bay; however, I have been by it a few times. I am sure in the next few weeks I will see if I can visit. The major problem is that the roads could be closed temporary.

Anyway, enough of golf for now; as I have said before I am a novice as far as watching golf and I have only played a couple times. If something good happens before the U.S. Open I will write about it. Have yourself a really good week.

Mastering the Course

Going into the third round of the Masters today (Saturday) in Augusta, Georgia Jordan Spieth broke the record for the first thirty second holes with a 14 under par 140. You would think that Spieth was a veteran of several seasons on the PGA tour but he actually is only twenty-one years old.

Spieth seems not only the face of the future in American golf but the present as well. What make it really exciting is the confidence and the way he acts on the golf course. I remember watching him the first time on television last year. I recall what tournament he was playing in but I knew then that he has quite the future in golf. With the declining of Tiger Woods, and the top golfers being outside United States it is nice to have an American coming to the head of the class. Going into the Masters Spieth is ranked fourth in the world. Not too bad for a twenty-one year old.

Though Spieth has the record for the first thirty-six holes he is still only five shots ahead of Charley Hoffman. Also, Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson, and Paul Casey are seven shots off the lead. So for Spieth to win the Masters he will to continue to play at a record pace or the other players falter. Justin Rose I figure has the best chance of overtaking Spieth because he has the most experience of those four golfers. Then there is Phil Mickelson who is another stroke behind at eight shots behind Spieth.

Speaking of Tiger Woods he made the cut. He is twelve shots behind Spieth. Chances are not great that Tiger will win the Masters but stranger things have happened. The best thing for American golf and the television ratings of course would be for Spieth to win the Masters, and for Tiger to come into the running.

The Masters is not over as of yet so let’s hold on see what happens. This weekend the Masters is what really going on. Baseball season is just beginning; the NBA and NHL seasons are coming to a close with the playoffs starting within a week so why not enjoy what could be history in the making at the Masters.

Just like seeing Tiger winning his first Masters it will be just as exciting to watch with hope Spieth winning his first. We can just think how many more he will win. Maybe he will pass Tiger and meet up with Jack Nicklaus records. Right now of course it is only a dream. Enjoy your weekend, and another thirty-six rounds of golf.

The Masters and More

Today Thursday April 9 begins the Master. It is easy to remember especially for us who are not big pro golf fans. I always know when it is because it follows March Madness NCAA men’s basketball tournament and the beginning of baseball season.

It is hard to know what the big story is for the Masters. I just figure to enjoy it when I tune in. I likely will not watch the whole thing but will keep an eye on the leader board. I know that we have one local professional golfer playing in the Masters named Ryan Moore. He has been playing pretty good golf as of late so hopefully he will have a good showing. He grew up in Puyallup, Washington and played college golf in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The story I am first going into the Masters which I am sure other people who generally watch the big tournaments is the return of Tiger Woods. How will he perform? Will he be among the leaders, somewhere in the middle, not making the cut on Friday, or will he have to bow out because of injury. This is the first tournament he will be playing in a few months.

I am sure those who are really into golf have other stories that may interest them than about Tiger Woods. I am sure the ratings will be really good at the beginning because the occas-ional fan is interested in Tiger Woods. I am sure they will stay tuned when additional stories service and how the top players are doing.

In other sport news the baseball season started off this week. Already there are some local fans that are being critical of the Seattle Mariners since they lost the last two games after winning the opening day game. It happens when the team starts at home, and they are not playing at the standard fans are hoping for. It is important to know it is a long season, and generally the early season the pitching is usually ahead of the hitting. The first three games of the Mariners against the Los Angeles Angels has been that way. The Mariners won the first game on Monday April 6 behind the pitching of Felix Hernandez winning 4-1. The following night they lost to C.J. Wilson and the angels 2-0. Of course, some fans start getting off the bandwagon complaining about the lack of hitting. They forget to remember that C.J. Wilson always pitches well against the Mariners. On Wednesday night they lost 5-3. Iwakuma who started the game gave up four runs in the first inning so it was something they had fight back from and though had opportunities lost in the end. It was amazing that Iwakuma lasted pitching six innings especially having thrown fifty pitches in the first two innings.

The Mariners now go out on the road to face the Oakland Athletics and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Last year they actually did better on the road than at home. Hopefully this will allow them to relax and they can win at least two games in both Oakland and Los Angeles. Maybe the next time home they will perform better.

It is amazing that fans forget real early that baseball season is like a marathon. It is a very long season, and the team will have its ups and downs. It will be nice if they can have a decent start during April. I remember someone saying that every team wins fifty games and loses fifty games it is what you do in the other sixty-two games that decide whether you have a good season or not; something really to think about.

Anyway for those who are watching enjoy the Masters, and the baseball fans enjoy your team now regardless the record they have started out so far.

What a Monday

I had to get up early on Monday April 6 go to Tacoma General Hospital for a cardiac procedure which was successful. According to the doctor I do not have to worry about in the future; however, there was some swelling in my groins so after I got out of recovery I went to my room they set up. Now what do I do for the next four hours since I can’t move. I can only watch television, have food, and drink. I was thinking I did not really want to watch day time television.

Of course, it is opening of baseball season. The Mariners do not play for another three hours. It was in my mind beforehand that I would watch the game either at hospital or at home. What do I do for the three hours though; oh yes should be another game on television so I checked out through the stations and found the Toronto Blue Jays against the New York Yankees. Sounds like a good game to watch. It had already started but it was only the first inning so I figured to watch until the pre-game of the Mariners start at noon in two hours.

It was really good game because the Blue Jays beat up on the Yankees for six runs and ended up winning six to one. It was about the seventh inning when the Mariner pre-game show started. I really enjoyed it and I would switch back to Blue Jay-Yankee game during commercials.

At noon I was able to start moving my left leg but my right leg I could not move for two more hours. Also, I had to keep my head from moving. Quite the experience; watching the games helped the time go by faster than just sitting in place.

Just before 1 pm they had the intro-ductions of the players which on opening day are fun to watch. The game started at 1:10; in the first inning Felix Hernandez gave up a home run to Mike Trout. Felix pitched six more innings and only gave up one other hit along with striking out ten batters. I had to walk a little around the hospital before I could go home. When I returned to the room the Mariners were now up 2-1.

I left for home around 2:45 pm with the Mariners ahead at the same score. When I arrived home a little after 3 pm it was the eighth inning and the Mariners were leading 4-1. I finished watching the game and seeing the postgame show as well. The Mariners won the game 4-1. This was the ninth time in a row they had won the opening game to the season.

I went and took a nap for a while since I was tired from the surgery. I woke up, and wanted to see the score of Duke vs Wisconsin in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. It was tied 31-31. I came back later with Wisconsin leading in the game. I thought all right it looks the Badgers will win. It was not true Duke came back near the end of the game to win by five points.

After the game I relaxed and then went back to bed for the rest of the night. Like I say what a Monday.

April Will Be a Month to Watch

April will be a busy month to watch whatever sport you are interested in. Today March 4 will be the final four in NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Since three of the four teams are number one seeds and then there is Michigan State who are quite familiar with the final four though there were not ranked near the top. I have said before I am rooting for them to make the upset today as they go against Duke. Kentucky will face off against Wisconsin. To make the final four memorable will be for both games to real close and go down to the wire for the winners. Whoever wins today should make the final championship game on Monday April 6 an exciting matchup.

Baseball season begins this week starting tomorrow with the St.Louis Cardinals facing the Chicago Cubs. This may be the biggest rivalry in baseball unless you are Boston Red Sox, and New York Yankee fans who would consider themselves the biggest rivalry or the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. This year though things could be different some so called experts say the World Series could be between my home team the Seattle Mariners and the Washington Nationals. This would be different and exciting for baseball because the Mariners and Nationals are the only two teams that have never played in a World Series.

It has been more than a decade since the Mariners have been in the playoffs though they just missed out by one game last year. Though a lot of the national media believe they can do it the Mariners themselves are just looking to go one step at a time by getting into the playoffs. If they do make the playoffs they will be dangerous having one of the top pitching staffs in baseball, and it is pitching that wins championships. Also, it is the reason the Nationals are favored to get into the World Series as well because of their pitching. They are another team with very good pitching. What makes baseball interesting is that it is like a marathon with a very long season so we could see a team come out as a surprise. The key is to start out with a very good April. It does not guarantee anything; however, it does not hurt at all. Injuries and poor seasons by key players could take a team that is expected to win to one that is not in the running for the playoffs.

Speaking of playoffs the NBA and NHL start their playoffs within the next two weeks. Though I am not a big fan of either I am sure the diehard fans will be excited to see how far their favorite team goes. The NBA is not quite the league it once was when I was a fan. I became very disinterested when the Seattle Sonics left for Oklahoma. In fact sport talk radio in Seattle they do not talk much about the NBA except when will there be another team coming to Seattle. I hope to see another team within the next five years. I may be interested then if the NBA does not become worse in the meantime.

A couple years ago while I was down in Arizona to spend time with cousins and going to the Seattle Mariners spring training games I got a chance to see my first hockey game between Vancouver Canucks and the Phoenix Coyotes. First thing I learned is that hockey fans are fanatic and passionate in the same way soccer fans are as well. Though both sports are low scoring usually a 1-0 can be exciting to those who enjoy either sport. So I am sure every hockey fan will be digging in their heels during the NHL playoffs. Most likely you will know a hockey fan they will have no voice left after the game.

So I end this by saying let the games begin and let the best teams win unless we are looking for some upsets.

April Means Baseball

Now that April is here means the beginning of baseball season. Most teams have their first game of the season beginning on Monday April 6. The only teams that start before April 6 are the St.Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs who play each other on April 5 on EPSN Sunday Night baseball.

Right now the teams are finishing up spring training games and deciding who will fill out their twenty-five man rosters. So there will be some players who will get the bad news that they have not made the team, and be sent to the minor leagues, or cut. The players cut will have to look for another team or possibly retire. There may be players that will be traded to another team as well. 

The Seattle Mariners are one team decided to make up their final roster early doing it last Sunday. One player pitcher Erasmo Ramirez who was out of options was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday. There were two players that were put on the dis-abled list including shortstop Chris Taylor.  Left hander reliever Tyler Olson is the last player making the roster. He is not officially on the team yet because he is not on the forty man roster; however, will add him on before Sunday. The reason he is not on yet is precautionary by the Mariners just in case he gets injured before Sunday. If you are confused there are two different types of rosters. The twenty-five man roster is the one the teams play throughout the season until September where they can extend the rosters. The forty man roster is more complicated. You have the twenty-five players that are on the twenty-five man roster plus fifteen players that are in the minor leagues. If you are a player that is added to the twenty-five man roster you must first be on the forty man roster or added to it. I hope that answers any questions. If not ask someone who is a big baseball fan to see if they can explain it in more detail. Unfortunately some things in baseball are complicated to explain without a lot of detail.

The reason the Mariners decided to have the twenty-five player roster settled a week before the season started so the players would feel comfortable and know who all the their fellow players would be. Also, they can become focused on the coming season.

What always makes the beginning of baseball season exciting is that all teams begin at 0-0. It gives the baseball fans hope that their favorite team has a chance to have a really good season. Of course, it will not happen for all teams. There can be different reasons for teams not to have a good season. Most likely the team is losing because they do not have the talent to play with other teams. It has been over a decade since the Seattle Mariners have had a real good team though last season they won eighty-seven games and missed the playoffs by one game. They added a few new players this season which should improve their record and get them into the playoffs.

Another reason a team may not have a good season is that they come up with injuries and are unable to come up with players to replace them. This happened last year with the Texas Rangers where they were expected to contend for their division and make the playoffs but they had so many injuries that they ended up with the worst record in baseball. Fortunately this does not happen very often. With the injuries the Rangers looked more like a minor league team. This year the Rangers hope to rebound to have a good season. It is hard to tell at this point if that will happen.

So to all you baseball fans I hope your teams start out good in April so you can enjoy a very good baseball season.