Wilson Stays In Town Three Mariners Leave

A busy day in Seattle in the last twenty-four hours; it started with Dustin Ackley being traded to the New York Yankees by the Mariners. We then learned Friday morning that Russell Wilson signed a four year contract extension which will keep him with the Seahawks for five more years. Later in the day the Mariners traded Mark Lowe to Toronto Blue Jays and J.A. Happ to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The signing of Russell Wilson was expected to be signed by today or they would put it on the shelf until next season; however, neither did the Seahawks or Wilson wanted to wait. A major reason the Seahawks wanted to sign Wilson now they are looking to give an extension to middle linebacker Bobbie Wagner as well, and they need to know how much money would still need to sign him under the salary cap. At this point hard to know if the Seahawks will sign in the days ahead or put him off until next year. The problem is how many top players the Seahawks can keep around because of the salary cap.

The reason the Seahawks and Wilson wanted to take care of the signing now because Friday July 31 is the beginning of training camp, and he wanted to concentrate on playing football. He will play this season on the final year of the current contract; however, a part of the new contract is a $30 million signing bonus. He is getting $20 of it now and the remaining next April.

Another part of opening of training camp is that strong safety Cam Chancellor did not report; he is staying away because he is not happy with the amount of his contract. The problem though he has three years remaining on the contract, and the Seahawks don’t renegotiate with that much left on the contract. He will be fined seventy thousand dollars a day for each day he misses camp, however, the Seahawks like him so much likely they won’t have him pay it. I am sure he will be in camp eventually after getting his point across.

The trading of Dustin Ackley to the Yankees means the Mariners finally gave up on him. He was a second overall pick in the draft and never lived up his expectations. He is a really nice guy so we can hope that he will become a good Yankee player. He may be playing second base again with Yankees and some outfield as well. Since he has been in the major leagues for five years likely he won’t be the player the Mariners drafted. The Mariners got two minor league players for Ackley. They receive a left handed hitting outfielder who will go to Tacoma, and right handed reliever Ramirez who will report to the Mariners because of the trading of Lowe and J.A. Happ. One of the three left handed relievers the Mariners got back from Toronto Rob Rasmussen will report to the Mariners. One of the two Ramirez and Rasmussen will report to Tacoma when it is the spot in the rotation where J.A. Happ was pitching. At that point Elias will be brought back up to take Happ’s spot in the rotation. The Mariners also made  other moves bringing up young shortstop Katel Marte who will also play second while Cano is out and most likely play some shortstop and may see him in center field when they want to give Austin Jackson a day off. Also, Jesus Montero came back up to replace Dustin Ackley. He will play first base and dh. According to Lloyd McClendon they expect to play him a lot so they can see what he can do.

For the remaining of the summer we can see what the Mariners have left in them. It could be they may relax and win more ball games while we get to watch the Seahawks to see what they can do to prepare going after another Super Bowl. Go Mariners and Seahawks!

The Mariners Make Me Shake My Head

Over the weekend the Mariners beat Toronto two out of three games when it could have been a sweep. I figured going into the series with the Diamondbacks the Mariners would do the same or maybe sweep instead they could be swept themselves. The bright star this afternoon is that King Felix is pitching. So the chances are good the Mariners will win but with this team who knows at all. It is the reason my head is shaking.

Going into this season everyone except maybe Lloyd and Jack Z thought the Mariners would make the playoffs and possibly when the World Series. Now we are wondering what we thinking at all. At this point the Mariners will be lucky to break even. Lloyd believes there is a run in this team but I don’t see it anymore. There is a possibility they could win some series but to go on a run of five to seven wins in a row I don’t see happening at all. They could surprise us which would make head shake again which would be OK with me.

The thing about this series with the Diamondbacks is that the Mariners had to chance to win the first game but got blown out in the second game by a team I thought was below the Mariners. I understand that they have good hitting however with their record the pitching must be subpar which right now is where the Mariners are at. We can only hope the pitching can straighten itself out while the offense continues to improve.

Something I realized though Jack Z brought in more pieces for this season to make the team better. On paper it does look talented but it is not working on the field. I could say it may be on par with the 2001 Mariners team that won those 116 games. So why is the 2015 version of the Mariners not working at all right now? The answer I believe is that you can’t win on talent alone you have to work together as a team and the Mariners are not doing that. I am not whose fault it is exactly whether it is just the players or it is the manager. It could be the combination of both. I am not sure whether the Mariners should let go of Lloyd after the season or not; however, I believe the management of the team whether it includes Jack Z or not they have to reevaluate after the season for next season. They have to go out and get players who work well together. I am sure they may think they are but it is obvious they are not.

I think back to the Chicago Cubs who had four hall of fame players on their team Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Billy Williams, and Ferguson Jenkins. They even had some other good players like Glenn Beckert, and Don Kessinger who were a very good double play combination; however, the Cubs were always among the worst teams in baseball. Those names you can see gave the Cubs as good of talent in the major leagues at the time. I believe the problem they didn’t play as a team, and it likely had to do with attitude as well since they were accustomed to losing. I think you could say the same thing about the Mariners. In the last decade they have had a few good teams but most of the time the team keeps on losing. The Mariners need to put a team together that knows they can win.

Training Camp For Seahawks Begins on Friday

The time of the year for football begins this Friday. It is amazing that is here now which means summer only has about a month to go. Real avid footballs are ready to go all the time and I am sure happy training camp starts on Friday.

I wonder if the media will keep asking about Russell Wilson’s contract until it is signed or not signed. It is possible if not signed by Friday or more likely when exhibition season (pre-season) games start. It is any one’s guess if he will sign or wait until next season.

Now for the real important things going on during training camp; who will play center and left guard on offense along with who will make it as receivers. It will be an exciting time to see how it all settles when season starts out. I believe the receiving chore will be better than last year especially adding Jimmy Graham at tight end along with Tyler Lockett who likely will return punts.  Both of them will make those spots much stronger than last season. Graham will help in the red zone so much for his height and leaping ability, and Lockett should put them in a better spot after getting the ball back on punts. Those two things alone should improve add seven point average this season over last season.

On the defense side of the ball could have more questions because of injuries in the secondary and replacing Byron Maxwell at cornerback across from Richard Sherman. Though he had no surgery no one knows right now if Sherman will be ready by opening of the season which we hope so since Earl Thomas says that he may not be ready for opening day. Thomas could be the player the Seahawks least afford to lose. We can hope that he does not try to come back to soon since the Seahawks could miss him for a few games instead of the season.

The depth of the defensive line is another question mark; however, I am sure Pete Carroll feels that everything will be alright because how he likes to have competition at every position.

We can hope that Wilson’s contract will be taken care of one way or another. The receivers are the  best in a long time, the offensive line will be better this year, and Earl Thomas will be ready for opening of the season or miss a handful of games. So Let’s Go Seahawks!

Here Comes the Diamondbacks

The Mariners start a three game series beginning tonight July 27 before going back on the road. The Diamondbacks are playing this season under par just like the Mariners so this could be a time to have a sweep in a series at home.

The Mariners should have had a sweep against Toronto over the weekend; however, the bullpen blew the lead. I was disappointed because I really thought they had it in the bag but I forgot the bullpen this season is different than the 2014 version. This is really true in regards to Fernando Rodney who gave up a two run homerun to tie the game at 6. We are not sure what will be happening with Rodney for the rest of the season. It looks like he will not be put into any situations that the Mariners have a chance to win the game. He may get into an extra inning game when no one else is available like yesterday when we were saved by a home run by Franklin Gutierrez in the 10^th inning. The reason we don’t know how Rodney will be used because Lloyd did not share with the fans and media. I am sure we will know in the days ahead. It is amazing how fast a lot of closers lose it so fast, and I am sure Rodney won’t be last. What I miss though is that we probably never see the shooting of the arrow again.

I have to admit that I don’t know much about the Diamondbacks except that they are below 500 like the Mariners. They are in a division that have the Dodgers and Giants are in which can’t be easy; however, they do face the Padres and the Rockies so that should make it 500 within the division. The Diamondbacks have a history of going up and down throughout the years not like the Mariners who seem to be down most years.

I heard on KIRO AM radio this morning that the Mariners should do some catch up from now until the end of August because Minnesota Twins are the only team they face that is over 500.  You would think the Mariners have more talent than any of those teams; however, like they say it is the reason we play the games. The hitting seems to be going good right now and could keeping going the rest of the season but the pitching especially the bullpen needs to be corrected. You wonder if the Mariners will go out this week and get another pitcher along with a backup catcher. I hope if the Mariners do get a backup catcher it will be a solid one who can do some hitting to relieve Zunino. The past week Zunino has been hitting pretty good so the work with him by Edgar Martinez is paying off but no one really knows if the workload behind the plate will affect him the rest of the way. It would be nice to have a catcher that could play twice a week at least. Zunino still could go into the game as a defensive replacement late in the games.

We can hope to that the Mariners can get Montgomery and Happ straighten out. It will help the bullpen from having to pitch too many innings.

I expect that I will have more knowledge of the Diamondbacks after tonight so I will give out. Anyways Go Mariners!

#23 Nelson Cruz

 When the baseball season started we figured the Mariners would be in the hunt for the playoffs and even a chance to win the World Series. This is especially true with the season that Nelson Cruz is having.

I figured that Cruz would add at least two wins to the Mariners season of last year because of what he has done against the Mariners in seasons past; however I was wrong along with every expert and Mariner fan.

There was a possibility that the Mariners would not do as well as we expected but I am sure no one would think after the all-star break they would be in last place in their division just below Oakland. Like they say it is the reason the season is played because what shows on paper does not happen which in the case of the Mariners is very true.

We all figured that if Cruz played about the same or even a little below what he did in the past including last season with the Baltimore Orioles the Mariner would be in very good shape; however, Cruz has done better this first season under a four year contract than we expected, and the Mariners look more like the team of 2013 and several years before. In fact, he hit two runs on July 22 but the Mariners still got beat badly.

We can’t predict what Cruz will do in the next three years since he is now 35 years old; however, I am sure he will do Ok since he keeps himself in pretty good shape, and we can hope that he does not come down with injuries. We can see the Mariners will need to add at least one more piece to the puzzle next season either a left fielder or first baseman. Unless we are surprised there does not seem to be anyone ready to go in the Mariners farm system besides maybe Jesus Montero who looks like he could take his place on the team playing both first base and designated hitter against left handed pitchers. The only thing though the next three years Cruz most likely will DH more often than this year. The last two years of his contract, and I am sure the last year of the contract he will be full time DH only playing a hand full games in the outfield. Of course, the Mariners could play him at first base as well when resting other players.

If the season continues the way it is going despite what Cruz is hitting it looks to me like we may see the end of both Lloyd McClendon and Jack Z. It is nice to see who Jack Z brought in this season especially Cruz, Seth, and JA Happ; however, it only makes sense if Lloyd is dismissed so will Jack. He has gone through four managers so a whole overhaul will be needed. I hope things will turn around that this will not happen. Outside of Cruz, Felix, and a few other players the trouble has to be on the team. We all thought what Jack did was going to make the team a winner, and it has not happened.

For the Mariners to come through the next two months not only does Cruz keep doing what he has done the Mariners need to have Cano continue what he has done in July, and see improvement from Seager along with other players. Coming out of the break things have not been happening any better so time for a change to happen. I will write next time what I think they need to do. Last week I wrote the players need to go out and have fun. Of course, that is still not happening they are still pressing especially during crucial times. Anyway Go Mariners!

Gold Glove Kyle Seager

This season so far I believe that Kyle Seager is having a good season.  His defense is solid; however, I am not sure if as good a season as last year when he won the gold glove playing third base. His offense has been good but it still hard to know whether it is as good at this time as last year.

The reason it hard to tell about Seager’s season on both offense and defense is that the Mariners have not had a good season at all. We know that Nelson Cruz has played well but not Seager. I believe the thing about Seager is that he plays consistently without any real fanfare. The only time we tell about Seager’s play is when he hits a home run to tie, go ahead run, or winning the game. When I think of Seager I think of former Mariner and now hitting coach Edgar Martinez. The only real difference in the two players is that Seager bats left and Edgar batted right handed.  They both play with solid hitting with power; however, they both are not home hitters except when the opport-unity happens. What I am saying is that they hit home runs when a home run was or is needed.  Where they a lot alike is they both work hard on their craft. I am sure no one works harder on the Mariners right now than Seager. I am not saying that other players are not working hard I just think that Seager works at whole other level. He knows where he wants to be and is going to work very hard to get there. One other area that Seager is like Edgar he is a quiet leader.  He does real hard to set an example for other players especially the younger players. It is funny to say that because he still is a young player himself in my ways.

When Kyle Seager began his major league career as a Mariner he actually had very little experience as a third baseman.  The first game he actually was considered the utility player. He played most of his minor career at second base; however, Dustin Ackley was already playing the position so the chance of him playing the position was likely not going to happen. The first game of his first season Chone Figgins was the third baseman; however, the player who was in left field was injured in the first game. I am not really remember who it was at the time so the Mariners switched Figgins to left field and that began the day Seager became the Mariners third baseman. He had to work on being the third baseman since he had little experience up to that point. I have to say very few Mariners have ever taken advantage of a situation like that.  The injury to the left fielder turned out to be a blessing in disguise.   

During the last off-season Seager was awarded for his hard work by signing a seven year contract for over $100 million. We can only hope the Mariners can get to the World Series during his time, Felix, Cano, and we can hope Nelson Cruz. We all thought this could be the year. At this point it does not look like it will happen. It looks like the Mariners will need to go and get another key player whether in a trade or free agency. I see most likely would be a left fielder or first baseman. Who knows maybe another player out of the Mariners farm system will turn out like Seager. At this time we have no idea who that player will be; however, it would be nice to have a surprise like Seager. For the rest of this season we hope that Seager, Cano and Cruz can get hot at the same time and the Mariners can win several games in a row. Though the odds are against it the possibility could still happen but those three players are the key along with maybe one other player raising up to a new level. Let’s Go Mariners!

Any Tiger Still in Woods

Any Tiger Still in Woods

Everyone is wondering if anything is left in Tiger Woods.
Do we think he feels like he can be competitive or not. The British Open started out not so good for him. At least a little better than the U. S. Open.

At this point no one seems that interested in Tiger unless it is taking shots (sorry about the pun) at him.  I think it is something when AARP makes fun of you especially. Though he isn’t the Tiger Woods we used to know he still among the top two hundred in the world so I think that is something; however, everyone is looking at him to recover.

I wonder if he has lost confidence after his back injury. Maybe he is still unsure how to golf and whether he will come down with another injury. I am sure no one knows except Tiger himself. It is possible he may not know either. Whatever the case is golf still needs Tiger Woods though there are rising stars in golf. The thing about Tiger he has the wonderful smile, and I am not sure whether any of the young golfers have his personality. I am sure there are those who think personality isn’t needed in golf but I think it really helps when you have people who only watch the big golfing tournaments like me. I am watching a little bit of the British Open because I am interested to see whether Jordan Spieth can win the third major and go for the sweep; however, if Tiger was in the hunt I would be more interested in watching the Open.

I said in my previous writing about Tiger during the U.S. Open that he may need to take some time off.  I would say more for his head to get back into the game than his past injuries. Like many professional athletes who struggle I would say Tiger make it fun again. Go out and have a good time. Don’t worry how you play. With the fun I am sure your game will come back again. Remember Phil Mickelson is still playing and he is a few years older than you.  Don’t listen to the naysayers. What do the so-called experts really know any way? They just spit out what they think. You don’t have to listen to either but please go out and have some fun.

At the British Open was farewell to Tom Watson and Nic Faldo. We can only hope we can still see both these great men of golf around the game. I am sure we well thinking about it. What makes them great to his they are great gentlemen as well.

Anyway get those competitive juices out there once again. We want to see more good action between you and Phil. Also, we want you not to take it easy on the young pups as well. Look forward to see you on the greens again.

 

     

Mariners Second Half Begins

Tonight the Mariners un-official second half begins. They actually have only 73 games remaining. For the Mariners to make it to eight-one wins to make it five hundred they have to win 40 of those games. For them to match last season’s record of 87 wins they will have to go 46-27. It is a tall order; however, it can be accomplished. Also, for them to make the playoffs 87 wins is likely what they have to come up.

The question is what they must have to do to improve the rest of the way.  I am sure most of us know the answer since it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out. I am sure you have heard this many a time.

The number one answer for the Mariners to do is hit, hit, and hit. So far they have the lowest team batting average in the major leagues. Not only do the Mariners need to get runners on base they have to find a way to get them home as well. Actually they have gotten some runners on base despite a low average the problem is hitting with runners in scoring position. It is so hard to believe how many times the Mariners have had runners on third base with either no outs or one out. In most cases they have not driven those runners home.  All it really takes is a sacrifice fly if not a hit. In a few cases they have scored on a wild pitch but it is funny way to count on scoring.

When it comes to having runners on third base it seems to me I see Austin Jackson there a whole lot. It has to be frustrating for him because almost every time on the third out he is still standing on third base. I am sure you can count on one hand how many times Jackson has actually scored from third base. One thing Edgar Martinez can do is remind each batter when the runner is on third base what he would do in the situation. They being professionals playing the game for a long time they should not have to be reminded but this team seems to be told so.

Another part of hitting with runners on base in scoring position is how little the Mariners are able to hit with two outs. The successful teams are able to do so, and the unsuccessful teams do not. The Mariners seem to be in the position on several occasions during a game at least that I can see anyways. If they could get one hit with two outs one more time each game likely they will win more games. It is the little things that can help them be successful. The Mariners don’t have to be increase the team batting average a lot just hit in the key situations and use little ball.

Manager Lloyd McClendon says that he is going to make changes starting tonight. I really hope we can see those changes even if it is only one thing. Most of the time they are in the games so a little adjustments will go a long ways. I see the main adjustment would be in attitude. This would go for the manager as well as the players. I just thought what can go a long ways is go out and have fun. At this point of the season I don’t really think anyone is expecting to put a light under them and be a different team so why not have some fun.  

Another area for improve-ment of the Mariners is the bullpen. Outside of Furbish, Beimel, Mark Lowe and Carson Smith all the rest of the bullpen have had a long season of struggle. All we need to see is those four pitchers the same way they have all season, and the others have some improve-ment.

The starting pitching only thing they have to do is keep what they have been doing most of the season. They have had their downs on occasions but most part done very well. It is possible the Mariners may need to trade one of the starters to get another bat. Most likely the trade would be either Happ or Iwakuma since they are both veterans and they will be free agents at the end of the season. It is hard to say whether the Mariners plan to sign either when the season is over. Iwakuma is the most likely one to stay.

I am sure I can go on and on what could turn around the Mariners season but I think these changes would help a lot especially the part of having fun. If they take anything from the team that made the first playoff in team history the 1995 team would be for different players make the outstand-ing play to win the game. No one should have the burden that they have to win the game on their own. Like I already said have some fun guys. Go Mariners!

The Mariners All-Star Break Report Card

Coming into the All-Star break the Mariners are a disappointment having a record 41-48. Everyone expected to compete and have a winning record at this point. I know I expected to see a record more like 48-41 coming into the break.

The report card for the Mariners as a team at this point would have to be a D. We can only hope the report card will improve the rest of the season. Next I will do a breakdown of each player on the Mariners by position.

I first start out at catcher since it is listed first by number. I would give Mike Zunino a C-. I am somewhat be generous; I would give him an A for his defense being one of the best in the major leagues but an F for his hitting. Anyone who is batting around .160 deserves a failing grade. There is hope after the break because of his work with Edgar Martinez. The backup catcher most of the season has been Jesus Sucre. I would give a D. I am probably generous here but he is hitting less than Zunino and doing OK behind the plate. Of  course, it is hard to do anything when you are playing once a week. I know there are those who think Zunino should be sent down to Triple-A work on his hitting but do you replace him with Sucre. No one else adequate in Triple-A so the only idea would be to go out and trade for a catcher. I would say most likely not going to happen this year for the Mariners unless included in a multi-player trade.

The next position is first base. I would give Logan Morrison a C. In most every way he has been average. His defense has been above average but I leave the grade where it is at. He has played almost every day. In the second half of the season he could be having more time off allowing Mark Trumbo to play first base depending whether his play goes up and who may play outfield against lefties.

Second base is played by Robinson Cano. I would have to give him a D at this point. We expect more from a superstar. His hitting and defense have both been below par for a player of his stature. If the Mariners can make any move up in the standings and still make the playoffs Cano must have an A for second half. He does look recently like he is breaking out of the season slump.

Next on the list is Kyle Seager at third base. I would give him a C+ or maybe a B-. In most part his defense has been another high caliber season so far. His hitting has been good and sometimes outstanding but for the Mariners to recover the second half he has to do better along with Cano and help out Cruz. On a better team he would have a solid B.

Shortstop has been position that has had some change throughout the season. I would give an overall grade of C-. Brad Miller has been pretty solid since returning to being the starting shortstop after the Mariners gave the position to Christ Taylor for about a month and made Miller the super sub. Now with Taylor back on the team after spending some time back down in Triple- A I still see Miller the starting shortstop. Depending on the left handed pitcher Chris Taylor will likely be in the lineup. This last weekend before the break Miller did start two games against left handers who started for the Angels. How much Taylor plays does depend on how Miller plays on defense. In the long run it looks like Miller could move to the outfield or be that super sub. Whether Taylor can hit enough to be the regular shortstop we don’t know at this time. It is possible the Mariners could go out and get an experience shortstop.

Next is left field. I find a position the Mariners should upgrade at. It may not happen this year but must going forward to next season. It is one position have had little success at over the years. Seth Smith has played good out in left field, however, the Mariners expected him to play more right field. Dustin Ackley had a down first half like he usually does though he is hitting better going into the break. It is not worth the mention the right handed hitters spent some time in left field. Most likely Ackley will spend a lot of the second half being a defensive replacement unless he is traded within two weeks. So I would give the position a D. The only reason not lower is the play of Seth Smith.

Austin Jackson playing center field I would give a C+. He has played solid centerfield and has done better after coming off the disabled list. Like Seager he would have a better grade on a better team. His main downfall is as a leadoff hitter.  His on-base percentage is lower than expected for being a leadoff hitter; however, Jackson has done well batting second or lower in the batting order. The big question will he be back next season or be traded stay tuned. Right now Ackley is his backup unless Ruggiano returns sometime in the second half.

Right field is an interesting story because Nelson Cruz has played the position more than designated hitter. I believe he may DH more in the second half. Cruz has been as much or more than we expected. He made the all-star team so he gets an A just like Felix Hernandez. Mark Trumbo looks like he is starting to come out of his slump since coming to the Mariners from Arizona. The rest of the way he likely spend time in left, right, first base, and DH. For the first half I would give him an incomplete since he was not here the whole first half. I am hoping that the second half he will come up with a B. If so this will help the Mariners recover and have a winning record.

The bench I would give a D-. I am being kind. The only reason not a F is the hitting of Seth Smith when he pinch hits. We can hope that Franklin Gutierrez and Chris Taylor will improve the bench the second half. I know it will because they both will play good defense, and hit at least OK.

Manager Lloyd McClendon I have to give a D just like the grade for the team. We all know it is not all his fault; however, he is the one who decides who plays. Of course Jackie Z holds the same grade for the same reason. The major flaw I have seen in his managing this season is platooning too much along with the pinch hitting. We can only hope both happen less in the second half.  I would still like seeing Frankie playing in left field against left handers and Chris Taylor at short against some lefties as well. Outside of Seth Smith when he is on the bench Lloyd should stop pinch hitting in most cases. It has not worked except with Smith. Depending on the situation Frankie could pinch hit as well. Both of them being veteran hitters will really help the second half.

Now onto the pitching; to be honest I almost forgot to mention the pitching. The starting pitching I would give a solid B. Like I mentioned earlier King Felix gets an A. The rest of the starters have been good though they each have struggled at times. The relief pitching I would give a D. I am probably being generous here. Charlie Furbush, Mark Lowe, and Carson Smith have all been good. The rest of the bullpen has been done a very bad job with occasional success. They have blown a number of games as much as the hitting has not produced runs.

I suppose I could go on and on; however, I think this a good report card. We can only hope the second half will be great improved or we will see a lot of changes over the off-season. If the Mariner stays on the course they are on so far we could see changes at GM and manager. Anyway Go Mariners!  

QB Russell Wilson

I decided to take a break on the Mariners since they are on a break themselves this week so I decided to go with Seahawk quarterback Russell Wilson.

The talk on local sports radio when they speak about the Seahawks during this off-season primarily about his contract or lack of a new one that is; he is now on the last year of the original rookie contract he signed. We can all agree that Russell has been a bargain for the Seahawks being paid around $1 million per season especially since all three years he has been the starting quarterback they have been in playoffs winning one Super Bowl while being in two. Of course, we all thought the Seahawks would win the last Super Bowl as well. I won’t get into the last offensive play of the game for the Seahawks whether a good or bad choice.

The choice that Russell Wilson has is to sign a new contract now or wait for another season. The choice the Seahawks have is to either tear up the last year of current contract or give a contract for like five years or to add on an extension for the following years. Either way Russell Wilson will be quite a wealthy man; however, the way the contract ends will depend how much he actually gets in the end.

The contracts in the NFL can be quite complicated because the amount that will be reported will not necessarily be the amount he gets. Also, the NFL has a salary cap unlike baseball, and the contracts are not in most cases guaranteed. The value of Russell Wilson the Seahawks could choose to guarantee it all or not. If they choose to do so it will set a new standard.

Regardless of the salary cap Russell Wilson will get his money; however, the way the two sides decide in the end how it applies to the cap. For the Seahawks to throw out the last year of current contract and be part of the new contract will change the amount the Seahawks have in the cap for the upcoming season, and what they can do with other player contracts. If they add an extension the future salary caps will be the ones affected.

Another issue is whether the Seahawks want to pay Russell Wilson more than Aaron Rodgers the current highest paid player or not.  A lot depends whether Wilson believes he should be the highest paid player or not. We all know though that it will be short lived because in another year or even sooner another player will sign even a larger contract most likely Andrew Luck.

We all know that Russell Wilson is an elite quarterback but where he actually positioned is a story in itself. Any way next time I write about Russell Wilson he will have a contract and I can speak about him playing quarterback. Hopefully I have to say.

Coming of the All-Star Break

 

The all-star break is coming up in baseball at the end of this weekend. It is known unofficially the half way mark of the baseball season though the teams have played a little over half their games.

Besides enjoying the all-star game along with the homerun derby and everything that goes along with it the teams will evaluate what they need to do have a successful second half of the season. Of course, evaluation has been going on for a while especially with the fans.

My home team the Seattle Mariners most everyone knows that the team needs more hitting. The team is last in batting average in the major leagues. The biggest problem is scoring with runners in scoring position. The Mariners do not lack on getting runners on base it is getting them home.

Thursday night’s game against the Angels was another example the problems have had though they did win 7-2. There was at least one instance where they had a runner on third with one out and could not get the guy home. Actually they had a runner on second as well. I thought maybe they would get at least one run in but I was wrong again. You think I would have learned by now. The Mariners also had two runners who out at home plate as well. It is another problem making running mistakes throughout the season.

The Mariners picked up Mark Trumbo in late May because of the problems with hitting. So far he hasn’t done the job the Mariners traded for him, however, he is doing better lately. In fact, the last few days the Mariners do look like the second half could be different than the first half in scoring runs. Though they are making same mistakes as I recalled the opportunities are happening more and they are scoring more runs lately. We can only hope things will be different.

The thing the Mariners could do is pick up another bat to play left field. Right now they have Seth Smith and Franklin Gutierrez platooning in left but they could use a full time player in the position. Right field is being shared by Mark Trumbo and Nelson Cruz with one of them at designated hitter at the same time. If they could have a full time left fielder than Nelson Cruz could be at designated hitter most of the time. It would be OK if he were in right field a couple times a week but no more. It would be nice to have Seth Smith playing in right field in a platoon situation which was planned when the season started. Right now Dustin Ackley would be OK to play in center field occasionally to give Austin Jackson a day off.

Regardless who plays in the field the problem is still with the hitting.  It does look like Robinson Cano is coming out of his season long slump. If he does the second half could look a lot different for the Mariners especially if you see Mark Trumbo improving as well. If it wasn’t for Nelson Cruz the hitting would even be far worse. You sort of wonder how many games the Mariners would have won if they didn’t have him.

The pitching has been the strong point for the season especially the starting despite having Iwakuma and Paxton being out most of the first half. Iwakuma just returned last Monday; however, his first outing was not good. We can only hope that he improves the rest of the way; however, they do have the depth with Elias pitching now down in Triple A. No one knows really when Paxton will return; however, he will be an added plus if the Mariners get back in the race by the end of August or in September.

The bullpen on the other hand has had its up and downs. If it wasn’t for Mark Lowe and Carson Smith things would be a lot worse. Other than Charlie Furbush the other members of the bullpen besides Lowe and Smith have had their challenges. In fact, two pitchers they were going to count on from last year were traded along with a couple others being sent to Triple A. We can only hope things will be straighten out in the bullpen along with Lowe and Smith continuing having a good season.

The good thing with the pitching the Mariners have depth. It would be nice if the everyday players and the bench would have the same thing. We can only hope that what Edgar Martinez new batting coach is giving them will materialize. In the end Go Mariners!

AJ Centerfield

Ever since he got off the disabled list Austin Jackson has been one of the better players on the Mariners.

He is another line of really good centerfielders the Mariners have had. With the list of who’s who in the history of the Mariners we would say he is steady instead of outstanding like Junior, Mike Cameron, and Franklin Gutierrez. He will make the plays any centerfielder should make. He will seldom make a mistake. Like the other three guys listed he isn’t the hitter any of them were. I would say closer to Gutierrez though. He doesn’t have the arm of the three but is able to cover centerfield with ease.

Austin Jackson will show off some power occasionally like hitting a grand slam homer against his former team the Detroit Tigers tonight (July 7). He will steal some bases as well; however, he is not the lead-off hitter the Mariners hoped for when they traded for him about a year ago. I would say he would be better batting second which he has done more recently or down in sixth or seventh in the batting order. Right now he maybe the best choice in leading off though the Mariners had Logan Morrison doing so against right handed pitchers.

When the season ends AJ will become a free agent if he isn’t resigned by the Mariners before the season ends. We haven’t heard anything about him staying with the Mariners beyond this season. Depending on what the Mariners do for the rest of July could decide whether to trade AJ or not. With amount of depth the Mariners have in pitching they could get involved in a multi-player trade; however, I likely not see that coming. The more likely-hood would be a three team trade in the same manner they got AJ last season.

I was looking to see what may be out there for the Mariners to sign as a free agent centerfielder. I did not really see much the idea would be resign AJ, go via a trade for another centerfielder, or promote within. The only centerfielder in the organization would be James Jones, and I don’t see him as an everyday player. Signing AJ to another contract would depend how much he is asking for and what the market bares. I don’t think the Mariners would look at signing him for more than what he is paying now around $8 million, and I would only sign him for two years, and maybe an option for a third year.

The Mariners do have questions as well in other places in the order as well especially in left fielder. The Mariners need a full time left fielder or a good right handed bat to split time with Seth Smith. I will bring up that issue another time. We can only hope that AJ continues on the improvement he has done since coming off the disabled list. I could see the Mariners sticking with him for a couple more years.

The next addition will be the all-star break and what the Mariners may do the rest of the season going forward.

The Mariners Beginning with A

I know this title may sound sort of strange, however, I have decided to start writing about different players on the Mariners and I will do the same with the Seahawks. It is so easy to write about how the team is doing whether good or bad or somewhere in between but I like when I first started this blog I wanted to write a little bit different than other writers.

 So the A comes in to write about Dustin Ackley. I know there is a difference of opinions about Ackley but I am sure most Mariner fans feel the same way as I do.  I am sure beginning with why he still has the beard. I am sure it comes down to the fact his wife likes it. It is my only reason I think he still has it. Maybe other women beside his wife like it as well. It is possible his mother likes it as much as much as his wife. I am sure most fans would like him to get rid of the beard all together or at least trim it. Of course, if he was playing better it would really matter at all.

The second thing on my mind why is Ackley still wearing number thirteen; it is obviously not helping him out at all. It would be a good reason for him to change to another number. Also, wasn’t it Alex Rodriguez number as well which is another good reason to change.  Anyway Ackley it could be a good reason now since you have been here for several seasons.

I am sure the main reason that Ackley is still on the team is that he was a second overall pick in the draft. If he was a lower pick he would be gone. I am sure we all wish he would be where his longtime friend and teammate Kyle Seager is at who was a third round pick. Seager is everything that we would like Ackley be at. I am sure the Mariners feel the same way and are hoping he would snap out of it.

It is possible that Ackley will have a good second half of the season this year like he has had in other seasons like last year, however, he likely will not have the opportunity to do so. I am sure the Mariners will start him maybe a couple times a week like they are tonight against the Detroit Tigers. What makes it this hard is that he is such a nice guy, and he comes over very well when they interview him either on radio or television. How much he plays will depend whether Mark Trumbo continues to struggle or not. Of course, we hope that Trumbo will snap out of it. I mostly see Ackley coming in as a defensive replacement the rest of the season except those two games he may start each week. Injuries maybe something that could change things unless he is traded by the end of July.

I really don’t think that Ackley will be traded before the season ends unless he is involved among multiple players. It is most likely he will follow Justin Smoak and Michael Saunders out of town during the off-season. I am sure we will root for him wherever he lands since he is such a nice guy that he has a better career. It is the possibility that the second over-all pick in the draft was too much pressure on him. It could be he came up too early to the majors as well. We can only guess on it. As long he is a Mariner I will root for him though I wish he was elsewhere all ready.

San Diego What the Doctor Ordered

It is really nice to write something positive for a change concerning the Mariners. The Mariners rolled into San Diego and shut out the Padres in two games. We can wonder if this is what the doctor ordered and revive the Mariners.

The pitching in the series was outstanding with both Mike Montgomery and TaiJuan Walking giving up no runs. It was the second game in a row that Montgomery went the distance and had shut outs in both. What makes Montgomery special at least that we can see now is that when he struggles he finds a way to get out of the situation. He had several walks but only gave up one hit to the Padres. He had a no-hitter going into the eighth inning. Also, Walker continues having outstanding outings. He looks like the pitcher that came out of spring training.

Though the pitching was outstanding it is the hitting that makes us excited. The Mariners scored twelve runs in the two games. It looks like Cano is back into his groove especially hitting two home runs and a total of four hits in the second game of the series. Also, it is really nice to see that Mike Zunino is starting to hit under the teaching of Edgar Martinez.

 

 

What impresses me the most is what they are doing with situational hitting. They are moving runs along with good base running and bringing in runs with sacrifice flies. Other words they are doing the little things to win ball games which they have done very seldom this season. We can hope this will become a regular habit as the season moves forward. I don’t really want to write again what has happened before now.

The Mariners now go into Oakland having a winning record on the road trip. Not significant but gives us hope. The A’s are not far behind the Mariners but they have not fared will against our team so far this season so we can hope it continues.

The Mariners have called Chris Taylor back up to the club. He was pulled from Tacoma’s game on Wednesday. No announced who he will replace on the roster as of yet. I guess we will see. The play of Brad Miller I would not think that Taylor will resume his spot as the starting shortstop. Who he replaces we will see; I guess we can speculate but the answer will happen at least in a few hours. Most likely I see him replacing either Willie Bloomquist or Dustin Ackley.  In either case he would backup Miller at short and he when inserted in the lineup Miller would play another infield or outfield position on less there is an off day for Miller. The only other position I would see Taylor playing besides shortstop would be second base, however, I don’t see that happening unless Cano gets hurt or he is designated hitter sometimes.

Anyway the Mariners keep up the good work that you did against the Padres. Realize what you did the last two games you can do the rest of the season. We can hope for continue improvement. Go Mariners!