Mariners Win Opening Game of Spring

The  Mariners beat the San Diego Padres 

Friday afternoon 7-4. 

Michael Arroyo was the hitting hero.

He hit a two-run homer in the 2nd inning.

The Mariners first home run of the 

season. In his second at bat he had 

a double.  Colt Emerson at this point

would be the first promising infielder

 to make the team but maybe Arroyo 

too.

Later in the game Leo Rivas hit a

home run too. Most likely won't 

see a lot of home runs out of him

this coming season whether in

Seattle or Tacoma. Both these 

two will see time this year in

Seattle. 

Luke Raley had a couple hits. He

will need to have a good camp

to make the team. It will be either

him or Canzone. The Mariners 

may need to trade him. 

Dane Dunning started however

went into the second inning getting

two outs. He didn't give up a run

however a hit and two walks.

Most of the pitchers Friday won't 

be on the team if any. 

Troy Taylor who last year was injured

when spring training never got it 

going in 2025 pitched an inning 

in this one. He gave up a home run

in the 6th. Importance he is healthy 

and can look something like the

pitcher in 2024. 

Emerson Hancock is scheduled to 

start Saturday against the San

Francisco Giants.

Mitch Garver Back With M'S

I really thought that Garver signed

with the Yankees. I guess not.

He signed a minor league contract 

with the Mariners just a few days ago.

Though he was a disappointment 

in his two years with the Mariners 

as far as hitting goes there is no

pressure on him now. 

To be honest the other candidates 

are not really any different than 

Mitch. The positive is he knows

most of the pitching staff. 

After the Mariners traded Harry

Ford to the Washington Nationals 

and the catchers in camp that

Cal will catch most of the time. 

I do hope that lefty Jose Ferrer

will work out the Mariner hope

for. What we do know the M's 

know how to work with pitching.

The Mariners do need a second

lefty to go with Gabe Speier 

in high leverage cases. We

hope that Speier can stay healthy 

again this season. As we know 

we can't count on a bullpen 

one season to the next. With

depth this really helps.

The Mariners need another high

leverage pitcher to go with Munoz

and Brash so a lefty in this spot 

would be good to whether Speier 

or Ferrer. 

The Mariners have a lot of relievers 

in training camp so if any one new

along with Ferrer be good too. 

I heard that Emerson Hancock 

might go back to be a starter.

I hope he is in the bullpen and

can be used in the rotation if

necessary. I believe the Mariners 

need at least one long reliever 

and he can fit that role. We will

find the answers during spring 

training as we will with the infield.

It will be nice to see Colt Emerson 

in the lineup at third base Friday 

along with Michael Arroyo at 

second.  Not sure that Arroyo 

is ready right now but he is

added depth. 

Enjoy Friday's game as well as the

rest of spring training. 

I do hope the Mariners games will

be found on one of the local stations

as the Kraken are. In fact the Kraken 

signed a new two year contract.

This shows success to me. 

Go M's. 

First Spring Training Game Friday

The Seattle Mariners opening game

is today in Peoria against the Padres.

The Mariners have a mixture of players 

starter. Cal Raleigh will start along with

Julio, Naylor and Arozarena. Julio will 

be at dh. Luke Raley will lead off and

be in center.  Colt Emerson will play 

at third and bat 9th.  Another youngster 

Michael Arroyo will play second and

hit 8th.  Dominic Canzone will be in

right field.

Former Ranger Dane Dunning in camp

on a minor league deal will start for

the Mariners. Expect him to go two 

or three innings. Dunning is one of

the guys to give depth to the starting 

rotation. 

Later we will let you know how it goes.

Go M'S 

What kind of Year will Cal Have

I know a lot of fans and media are

wondering how many home runs

he will have in 2026.

Likely he won't have 60 home runs

like last year. I see he could have 

a better year with a higher batting 

average and less strike outs. 

So many count on home runs 

however there is more to offensive 

baseball. If Cal can drive in almost

as many runs and how about more

walkoff hits. Maybe his on base

percentage increases so he score 

more runs. Right now Julio is

expected to bat behind him. What

if Julio drives in more runs  along

with Josh Naylor. The Mariners 

will have him for a full season we

hope. Maybe Randy Arozarena 

will drive in more too. If Cal can

drive in more runs with the bottom 

of the order getting on or Brenden 

Donovan at lead off. 

The importance is the Mariners 

offense be better on a whole.

A saw an improvement with

the Mariners scoring more times

with the bases loaded or runners

on third last year. What if that

increases more in 2026. 

The Mariners sometimes would 

score in the first couple innings 

than nothing until later in the

game. Be nice to see improvement 

there too. It doesn't have to be

with home runs.  Last September 

the Mariners showed they could

hit more doubles. This would be

be great to do so earlier on

especially at T Mobile park.

The Mariners pitching should be

better to with a healthier starting

rotation. The bullpen improve

with help for Munoz, Brash, Bazardo 

and Speier. 

So I can see Cal having a greater

season offensively with less home 

runs and a more mature Julio. 

Go M's. 

Gonzaga and Washington State Men Both Win

Gonzaga won easily beating San

Fransisco Dons 80-59.

The Zags shot 56.8 from the field.

Over half their points were made 

Inside with 46. On the other hand

the Dons shot 36.7 percent from

the field. 

It will be important that the Zags 

continue hitting well inside. When 

they get to the NCAA tournament 

they will need to shoot better from

the 3 point line especially if they 

make it to the later rounds.

The Zags went most of the way

with their starters with four of

the five scoring in double figures.

Another key to their success.

In fact the four combined for

59 points exactly what the Dons

scored.

The Zags have three games 

remaining on the regular season

They are at home against Pacific 

ln Saturday.  Go Zags!

The Washington State Cougars 

beat Pacific at home  87-70.

Going by their records this

would be an upset but it isn't 

never easy to win on the road.

The first half was where more points

were scored with the Cougars led

51-40. The  Cougars shot 56.7

from the field. The difference though

they made 50 percent from outside

the three point line going 14 of 28.

Pacific made  8 of 21. 

 

Rihards Vavers led the  Cougars with

21 points with four in double figures.

The Cougars will be home Saturday 

taking on St. Mary's which won't be 

an easy task.  Whether the Cougars

win or not they will have to play well.

The Cougars have had a tough season 

so they will need to play well in the

West Coast Conference tournament.

In fact to make the NCAA tournament 

they will need to win that tournament.

Go Cougars!

With the week off the Washington 

Huskies will play Maryland on the 

road. This is a winnable game though 

never easy on the road especially 

in the Big Ten. Every game remaining 

is important to win. Injuries have 

kept the Huskies from having a 

successful season. The could 

make the NCAA tournament however 

it will be a challenge. Go Dawgs!

Washington Huskies football: all-time Wide Receivers

The Washington Huskies have some

of the best wide receivers over time 

though it helps having some very

good quarterbacks throwing to them

Reggie Williams is listed as the number 

one receiver in yardage. Rome Odunze 

who was the team that made it to

the national championship game 

and now is with the Chicago Bears is 

number two.  

Denzel Boston who declared for the

NFL draft after the 2025 season is 

listed number 16 however if it wasn't 

the fact he missed a few games he 

be higher. If he did come back for

another season and stayed healthy 

he could move up to number four

if he had 1000 yards.

Jermaine Kearse who played with

the Seahawks among other NFL

teams is number three in yardage 

however holds the record in touch-

downs with 29.  It maybe difficult 

however Denzel Boston had 20

 touchdowns and he stayed could 

move up though passing Kearse 

might be difficult.

Dante Pettis is number four in 

yardage however he and Odunze 

are listed third with 24 touchdowns.  

Mario Bailey who was on some 

good Don James teams in the 90s 

is 7th in yardage however number 

two with 26 touchdowns. 

Jayden Mickens is fifth in yardage 

however third with 203 catches but 

had only 12  touchdowns. Among 

the receivers though he ran the ball 

more than any with 32.

Jalen McMillan who was on the team

team with DeBoer when they went to

National Championship game losing 

to Michigan after the 2023 season is 

sixth in yardage. He missed about 

half the games that season. Had he 

played the full season Jalen may have 

been number four behind Kearse. 

Mario Bailey was the Huskies best 

receiver in most categories until 

the 21st century when the guys 

above him came on the scene. He 

played between 1988 and 1991.

Jerome Pathon was next at eight 

and.he was the next best receiver 

to finish the 21st century. He had 

six less catches then Bailey and 

30 yards. The biggest difference 

was Bailey had 26 touchdowns 

while Pathon had 16.

These are the Huskies top right

receivers as far as catches, 

yardage  and touchdowns. Go 

Dawgs!

Mariners: Victor Robles and Ryan Bliss

This spring training these two Mariner 

players are back. They both missed 

most of the 2025.  Robles was back in

September however he didn't see

much playing time so made us realize 

he wasn't totally healthy yet.

Robles will be the everyday right

fielder. He is much like Josh Naylor 

as far as attitude and being great

in the locker room. He does have 

speed. He once was the Mariners 

lead off hitter however it looks like

newcomer Brendan Donovan will

be it this year. So Robles will be in

the second half of the batting order.

Where he will be will depend whether

Cole Young and Colt Emerson are

in the lineup.

Ryan Bliss did miss the season 

after being hurt early on in 2025.

Like Robles he has speed too.

He is in competition with Leo Rivas 

to make  the opening day roster. Being

a right handed hitter he may platoon 

with Cole Young starting against lefties 

it at least tough lefties that is. Rivas

on the other hand is a switch hitter

so he might have an edge.  Both players 

can play some third base as well as 

second along with shortstop. When 

not starting they both can be used

as pinch runners. The Mariners don't 

have many players to pinch run for

however opportunities will arise I

am sure. 

Starting pitcher Bryce Miller says he 

is healthy so if he can get back to

his 2024 level will improve the rotation 

for sure. We can say the same for Logan 

Gilbert and George Kirby. 

Again first game in spring training begins

this Friday against San Diego. Speaking

of the Padres Ty France is now back

with them after signing as a free agent.

Most likely he will be used as a pinch 

hitter most of the time. 

Go Mariners!