Seattle Sounders Moving On

On Wednesday night Oct. 28 the Seattle Sounders beat the LA Galaxy 3-2 to move onto the next round.

I have to admit that I am not a big soccer or Sounders fan because of the experience I had with playing soccer as a kid. I won’t go into details but it didn’t put on good side of soccer. I expect if I had similar situation with baseball, basketball, and football I would likely feel the same. I am glad though I had more positive experience with those sports.

My nephew Danny has played a lot of soccer. In junior high he began playing club soccer which led to playing on his high school team along with continuing on with the club team. He currently is in college, and he is playing some club soccer. He may have been able to play small college soccer however wanted to concentrate on his education. I was able to see one of his tournament matches with his high school club team just after he graduated. I enjoyed watching him play though I wish there was more scoring happening in soccer. I do know that a lot of strategy happens in soccer though a lot of scoring happens by luck. OK I know that some of you pure soccer players and fans will say that I am full of it; however, I see that most scoring happens when the ball might hit off the goal or another player. I  do know that there are a lot of chances to score goals so strategy helps in the scoring even if it looks like luck.

When I was watching the last World Cup there seemed to be a lot more setups to make goals than I usually have seen the handful of games I have seen. Of course, I do know that World Cup is the highest level of soccer as well.

I know that the U.S.A. soccer team is important for the survival of soccer in the USA at least on the professional level I think it is ridiculous that MLS teams allow their top players to spend time away from their teams during the season. It would be like if the Seahawks allowed Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch to play on a football team that had all the top players in the league on it. Why should a team like the Sounders lose out in a situation like this? The Sounders almost did not make the playoffs, and would have won likely more games if Clint Dempsey was available for all games. If that is how the league wants to handle it fine but if I were a fan I would not be that happy about it. Soccer is played all year long so a player like Clint Dempsey could play on the national team when the MLS season is over.

As a native of Washington State I am really glad that the Sounders are in the playoffs, and I am rooting that they make to the championship round. Another thing I think is ridiculous is where they play two games and they have a stupid way of figuring the winner out to move on in the playoffs. I know generally the games are low scoring and close but would it not be better to play two out of three matches. Anyway for someone who doesn’t really watch much of soccer or the MLS if this is the way they want to do it no skin off my back but if I were a fan I would not be happy about it.

Being a native of Washington State I do like the fact the Sounders lead the MLS in attendance every year and breaks the records each year as well. I hope at some point to go to one of their games. I believe soccer is much better to see in person than on television. Another thing a like about soccer is that the action continues and there is very little stoppage in the game. Allows the fans to enjoy the game much more this way; it would be nice if football could do the same thing; however, we know it doesn’t because football is better on television and we must have advertising to keep the sport going.

Now that I have finished really what I feel about soccer and the MLS I root the Sounders onto the championship. Go Sounders!

Mariners New Brass Who Will Be On First Base

Coming up during this off-season one of many questions will be who is playing first base. Just like the well-known comic act “Who is on First”.

The Mariners have three candidates or maybe more that we can see right now to play first base. There is a possibility that at least two of them maybe traded if not three. Two of the candidates are Mark Trumbo who may be the favorite and Logan Morrison; however, there is a strong possibility that one if not both of them will be traded during the off-season. The main reason is that both of them have salaries of over $7 million each, and the Mariners will not share the position. GM Dipoto traded Trumbo while with the Angels so there may be a good chance trading him again. Logan Morrison has put up Smoak like numbers in the two seasons he has been in a Mariner uniform. Just like Smoak he fields the position pretty good but the Mariners need a higher batting average at first.

The third choice is Jesus Montero who played a lot at first base in September. He shows that he can play the position good though his batting average was low. He is out of options so the Mariners need to keep him on the roster or trade him. He may be the only one of the three to stay on the team. The one thing Montero needs to do during the off-season is working on hitting the breaking ball or at the least stay away from swinging  at the low pitch. Other words, he needs to be more selective at the plate.

It will be interesting to see if the Mariners will go out and acquire another first basemen; however, we again know those three will not be on the team together. New manager Scott Servais says that he will spend some time in the Dominican Republic speaking with Robinson Cano and go fishing with Nelson Cruz. He knows that Cruz will not play the outfield this season as he did in 2015. Wants to keep him healthy; however, he knows that Cruz does hit better when in the field. My idea is why not play Cruz some at first base. Since Montero has been able to play good first base and Cruz is more athletic than why not have him play some first base. It is only an idea in my mind if another first baseman is not added to the roster.

Another idea I have is if Brad Miller is still on the team and he is consider a super utility player why not have him play some first base as well. Another choice would be whoever the Mariners have as the backup catcher he plays some first base as well.

All my ideas are if the Mariners do not go out and pick up another first baseman. I am sure the team of Dipoto and Servais want to have one player primarily playing first base. Whoever that player turns out to be I am sure on occasion he will be the designated hitter when he needs a rest.

Mariners New Manager Had Press Conference

Today Monday Oct. 26 the Seattle Mariners new manager Scott Servais held a news conference with General Manager Jerry Dipoto. He made the rounds to different radio and TV stations in Seattle to answer questions on what he planned to as the new manager. His news conference was at 10:30 am and lasted over 30 minutes.

I found him to be very pleasant, and he was full of a lot of confidence. This was echoed by hitting coach and Mariner legend Edgar Martinez. Both he and Dipoto said that there previous experience working helps thinking along the same path which I agree. I mentioned before they could have the same similar arrangement that Seahawk head coach Pete Carroll and General Manager John Schneider who work real well together; like we know with the Seahawks that has not always worked between coach and general manager. Of course, Lou Piniella did not always get along with management so manager doesn’t always have to work together general manager; however, it really helps in this case since Servais has never been a manager before. He feels having no experience as a manager won’t hurt his chances of doing a good job and he plans to rely on his coaches especially bench coach Tim Bogar who originally was the front runner for manager before Servais made known he was interested in the position. Also, named Mel Stottlemyer, Jr as pitching coach; he previously worked for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He took the position to be closer to his father Mel Stottlemyer, Sr who pitched for the New York Yankees as well as their pitching coach along with being one with the Seattle Mariners under Lou Piniella. Stottlemyer, Jr became interested in the position to be closer to his father who is battling cancer and lives in Washington State. The Mariners are still looking into hiring a third base coach, and bullpen coach. There is a possibility that Dan Wilson could be named as a coach as well as Raul Ibanez. In the case of Ibanez he could be hired for a front office job as well.

  What I see now is that the success of the Mariners will be how all these guys work together as a team, and they bring in the players that would fit into their projections. We can see they plan to have more of an athletic outfield. According to Servais they will try to have Nelson Cruz be designated hitter more often than he was this last season. He is aware the Cruz hit better in the field but knows to that his health is the most important thing to stay in the lineup. If he is on the team Mark Trumbo likely will play first base along with occasion time at designated hitter; he may play once in a while in the outfield.

Servais said to that he plans to work with catcher Mike Zunino who was the best player in the country while at college. He knows Zunino is quite the defensive catcher but must hit better to stay in the lineup. We can hope that he will be help Zunino in the same manner he did with Nelson Cruz while working for the Texas Rangers.

In other baseball news the World Series starts on Tuesday Oct. 27 between the Kansas City Royals and the New York. Neither team is favored in the series so it is a tossup who will win. What makes this a great series is that the Royals and Mets have not won a World Series in many years though the Royals played in the series last year. I would not be surprised outside of New York that many people will be rooting for the Royals. Though the Mets are not the Yankees it is still New York. It will be really great series if it can go seven games. No other baseball news will be happening during the series because there is a media blackout outside of reporting on the series itself.

We look forward to see what happens with the Mariners as soon as the World Series ends. The off-season maybe one of the most interesting on record; we can hope on at least one free agent signing besides Iwakuma and several trades. Go Mariners!

Mariners Make Up Mind On New Manager

 On Friday the Mariners announced the hiring of their new manager Scott Servais, and they will have an official press conference on Monday name the coaches that will be coming on board to.

I know that writers and fans will all have different opinions about hiring someone who has no managing experience on any level, and he has little coaching experience as well. He did have the time to help Nelson Cruz become a major leaguer while working for the Texas Rangers.  I would say most managers are not successful who have had no experience; however, in my opinion has to do with the team and organization he is working for. The best example Mike Matheny of the St. Louis, Cardinals; he came into a situation where the team was successful under Tony LaRussa who won a  World Series in his last season. The thing about the St. Louis Cardinals is that they had a winning team before LaRussa showed up on the season. Next to the New York Yankees they have won more World Series than any other team.

What the Mariners need to do is become a team that has a winning culture. They have not been a winner since Lou Piniella, and they actually were not one before he came to the Mariners. We will have to see how Dipoto and Servais will do but it has to begin somewhere is what I see. It looks to that they will have some real good coaches in place as well.

We have to remember the Seahawks did not have a history of winning until Mike Holmgren came to down from Green Bay, and then the arrival of Pete Carroll and John Schneider. In fact, they went through a little losing between Holmgren and Carroll.

I believe the Mariners are going to use the same model to some extent to what the Seahawks did when Carroll and Schneider came to down. Outside of their high price core group I would not be surprise if the Mariners do a lot of overhaul. I am sure will take a couple years or more to do so. I am sure the bullpen will look different next season while the starting pitching likely won’t show many changes. They may add one veteran pitcher to the mix of the starters. I would not be surprised if the bullpen will be made up of at least one pitcher or possibly two that may start some games because of injuries that may happen to one of the starters.

I look forward to Monday the naming of the remaining coaches that will be added to the staff. There should be three positions open the bullpen coach, the pitching coach, and the third base coach unless Woodward goes over instead. That coach is added will be working with the outfielders as well.

I am looking forward to November after the World Series where additional changes will occur among the players. The staffs of the minor league teams most likely won’t be named until closer to spring training. It will be interesting to see if the Mariners add any free agents during the off-season or the new players will come through trades. Any way I look forward to see what happens. Go Mariners!

Seahawks and Thursday Night Football

The Seattle Seahawks have a big game tonight against the 49ers on the road. Both teams have 2-4 records, and it is important game for the Seahawks and 49ers. The winner will still have a good chance to make the playoffs while the loser though not out of it will have hard time making it.

The 49ers started the season playing awful, and now are playing better ball while the Seahawks are going the other direction. Actually the Seahawks are playing OK for three quarters of a game it is the fourth quarter they are having problems closing it out. In the games the Seahawks lost they had at least ten point lead in the fourth quarter when the opposition came back to win.

The problem lies on both sides of the ball. The defense is giving up big plays especially at the end of the game while the offense is unable to convert on third downs. For example, the end of the last game against the Panthers the Seahawks gave up a touchdown with less than a minute remaining in the ball game. It looked like the Panthers would settle to tie the game with a field goal instead threw a ball to their tight end Olsen who was wide open, and just had to walk in for the touchdown. After the game found there was a communication problem between Richard Sherman and the two safeties. Actually the safeties thought Sherman was going to play the same way as on the previous play; however, he let Olsen go for the safeties to cover. It wasn’t Sherman’s fault because he was following the play the coaches called on the sidelines while the safeties missed seeing the call. The other problem on the offensive side is the Seahawks converted only four out of fourteen plays on third down. In fact, on the two turnovers the defense made were on the Panthers side of the field and the Seahawks only made field goals in both situations because they could not move the ball.

We all know the offensive line is not doing their job protecting Russell Wilson. He is being sacked more often than any other quarterback in the NFL.  At this point the Seahawks need to take advantage of Wilson’s talent. In other words they need to set up plays where Wilson rolls out to pass the ball. Of course, they still will need for him to go back in the pocket but I would keep at a minimum until the offensive does a better job protecting him. On sports radio a couple days ago they were talking about whether the Seahawks offense is being too predictable. It is a very good question to ask because the other teams are able to stop the Seahawks in a manner they were unable to in the past, and the problem maybe more than the offensive line.

In the last game against the Panthers the Seahawks were finally able to use Jimmy Graham in the way they were hoping to when they acquired him from New Orleans. I would use him in different formations to take advantage of his height.

We can hope the Seahawks will correct things this week against the 49ers though it is a short week of practice. I am not sure who is favored; however, the Seahawks still have more talent than the 49ers they just have to use it. In his weekly press conference Pete Carroll seemed dumbfounded, and did not have any answers. We can only hope the players will find out the answers for themselves. No matter what the coaches say it is still up to the players. Let’s go guys and bring back Seahawk ball.

Getting Familiar Seahawks

I thought we had enough of this with the Mariners for six months and now the Seahawks are doing the same thing. They have little offense because of the offensive line, and then they can't close off games in the fourth quarter. Really doesn't feel the same.

I wish we could talk or write things different this time. At least on the positive side Jimmy Graham was able to catch some passes so hopefully this will be the beginning of good things on the offensive side of the ball. Of course, the line needs help for Wilson not to be sacked, and the third downs need to be more successful. They completed only four out of fourteen third downs against the Panthers. They still would have won the game if one of the field goals would have been a touchdown instead. Oh wait a minute a tie anyway going into overtime.

The defense was able to get a couple takeaways but the offense was not able to take advantage of them. The legion of boom looks like they have a communication problem that needs to cleaned up.

The Panthers were very physical in the game, and the Seahawks were unable to match it. The Seahawks need to become physical again to let the opposing team know who the better team and who is in charge. Though he is back and has played well the Seahawks need to see more of the old  Kam Chancellor. The one who puts fear in the opposing team; also, Richard Sherman needs to get back to his old self as well. The defense needs to play all four quarters, and the offense needs take over the fourth quarter where the defense is  not on the field so much.

It really seems that the offensive line is way to light. I know they are new to their positions but it is time to get going. It has to do more with the attitude where they say we are it, and we will not let the other teams run over us.

Playing on Thursday night this week it will be hard to change anything new; however, they will have to push through with the attitude. Last year we started a change in attitude  with the defense in the second half of the season but it looks like the Seahawks will need to start a little bit earlier to make the playoffs this year. We can hope things will turn around against the 49ers. Also, what is on the good side they have not faced the Arizona Cardinals as of yet so things can turn around pretty quickly for them.

OK Seahawks put your head on and let’s go for it and begin on Thursday. Hurrah! Go Seahawks!

Major League Championship Series

This year the major league championship series are going to be like no other in some time so I am sure more people besides the baseball fans like myself will be watching.

The American League championship will be starting tonight Oct. 16 and the National League tomorrow. Both series will be playing on the schedule tomorrow. The series between the Kansas City Royals and the Toronto Blue Jays will be quite interesting since the teams do not seem to like each other very well along with the fact Blue Jays are from Canada and have not been in the playoffs for some time. The Seattle Mariners now at fourteen years is the longest team in the major leagues not been in the playoffs. This really shows in recent times the change in which teams played in the playoffs. Of course, before the playoff system came into existence the Yankees, Dodgers, or Cardinals seem to be in the World Series almost every year.

If you go by experience the Kansas City Royals should be the team to beat in both the American League championships and the World Series. This year the San Francisco the winner of the World Series last year did not qualify for the playoffs. In recent years the Giants seem to win the World Series every other year. I am sure most people except their fans are glad the Yankees did not make it in this year after losing the wildcard game.

The Toronto Blue Jays have the better offense of the two American League teams but as we all know that in the playoffs usually the pitching beats the hitting. I think the Blue Jays have a little better pitching; however, I don’t follow either team that closely. I know only enough from when both teams faced the Mariners. If the games are close the Blue Jays may win because of their home run power. This is the same way the Mets beat the Dodgers in last night’s game.

So now to the national league championship that series will be quite interesting, and I am not sure if there is a sure favorite; I said at the beginning of the season that if the Cubs made it to the playoffs that Joe Madden should be named manager of the century, and I still stick to it. So under that theory the Cubs should go to World Series. If the Cubs win the World Series I now call Madden the greatest manager of all time. Remember Lou Piniella could not get the Cubs into the playoffs. This series should be exciting to watch for both cities. I am sure we will never have heard the loudness before like in baseball in both ball parks. I don’t know much about either team other than the Cubs do have Austin Jackson and Fernando Rodney; by the reasoning of Mariner fans the Cubs will win their first World Series in about one hundred years. The Cubs do have a young team so with Madden at the helm there is a possibility that the Cubs will win several World Series. Like I say he will be the greatest manager of all time.

Huskies vs Ducks

The University of Washington Huskies takes on the Oregon Ducks this Saturday in Seattle. The Huskies have lost to the Ducks eleven straight times, and this year looks like the right time to beat them since the Ducks have lost three games.

It will be a tough game for the Huskies since the Ducks will want to get a win very badly. Also, the Ducks need a win to be sure they are Bowl eligible. Last week the Huskies upset the USC Trojans in Los Angeles 17-12. It was not only a tough loss for the Trojans they ended up suspending first, and then firing Head Coach and former Huskie coach Steve Sarkisian. A very sad situation since Sarkisian apparently has a problem drinking and likely will go into rehab. We can only hope that he can get his life back into order. Never do we want anyone to live out a life that way even a coach that left Washington for USC.

The Huskies beating USC we see that they are up and coming team under the coaching of Chris Petersen who had a lot of success at Boise State. Though the Ducks seem to be on their way down this will be another big test for the young Husky team. At this point it is hard to know how the Huskies will do against the Ducks since they are a young team being made up of a lot of freshmen and sophomores. In fact the first and second strings there are twenty-five out of the forty-four players including freshmen starting quarterback Jake Browning. We can see that Browning has the ability to be an outstanding quarterback but like any freshman starting he will have his good times and bad times.

In other local sports news it looks like Marshawn Lynch will be back starting at running back for the Seattle Seahawks. He missed the last two games of injuries and played sparingly in the first three games. We can hope that we see the real Beast Mode against the Carolina Panthers. Speaking of the Panthers it is so weird to think that the Seahawks play them almost every year though they are not in the same division. I am sure the reason is that the Seahawk and Panthers play to about the same record each year.

The Washington State Cougars take on the Oregon State Beavers at home this Saturday after beating the Ducks in Eugene last week.  That game was amazing on the side of the Cougars because they were down by ten points with about five minutes remaining in the game. Because of the lead I decided to stop watching the game, and then I was surprised to learn the Cougars won in overtime. The Cougars should be favored over the Beavers this weekend since it is a home game and the Beavers are not that good of a team. Like the Huskies the Cougars have won three games so far. It should be another exciting Apple Cup in November.

The Seattle Mariners made news saying that they will be keeping the scouting staff and the assistant general manager Jeff Kingston who took over when Jack Z. was fired. General Manager Jerry Dipoto  is showing that he believes the problem has been with player development and not who the Mariners have drafted during the reign of Jack Z. We will continue to see what happens during the remaining of the off-season.

Anyway let’s go Seahawks, Huskies, and Cougars. We can hope all three win this weekend.

Seahawks Third Loss

The Seattle Seahawks on Sunday lost their third game of the season all on the road to set the record at 2-3 coming home to face Carolina on Sunday.

The Panthers come into Seattle with an undefeated record of 4-0. This coming game is an important game for the Seahawks to win. Though the Seahawks usually play well at home this game is not a sure win especially after playing not so well at home the week before against the Detroit Lions and only winning the game with Kam Chancellor breaking off a catch near the goal by Charlie Johnson. In fact the ball was hit into the back of the end zone, and by the rules the Lions should have still had the ball. You could say the Seahawks should be 1-4.

Early in the fourth quarter the Seahawks had a 24-7 lead after a fumble recovery by Bobby Wagner who ran it in for a touchdown. At that point it looked like the Seahawks were sailing for an easy win; however, the Seahawks started acting like the Seattle Mariners bullpen where they could not hold the lead.

I have to admit I did not watch most of the game though I did listen to some of it on the radio. Now I wonder maybe I gave them bad luck, and I should not have listen or watched any of the game. The series right after the fumble recovery that gave the Seahawks the lead of 24-7 they were able to stop the Bengals; however, the Seahawks were unable to convert a third down and 4 so they punted the ball where the Bengals were able to run back the ball to the Seahawks 35. At that point I thought Oh No they are not going to blow it now. I went into my pharmacy for a few minutes let them know the score which was probably bad on my part. I was only a few minutes from home so I decided to wait and watch the remaining of the game at home; however, when I turned on the Television to my surprise the Seahawks were leading just 24-21, and the Bengals had the ball where they could actually take the lead. Of course, the Seahawks still had a chance because the Bengals tied the score with a field goal to go into overtime. When I turned on the Television I though back to the series when I arrived at the Pharmacy where the Seahawks should have gotten at a first down or at the very least stopped the Bengals on the punt return.

I did not watch or listen to the overtime hoping the Seahawks would recover and win the game. I had to go to a memorial service that started at 2 pm. Before I arrived at my destination I turned on the radio hearing the Seahawks had lost 27-24. All I could do is shake my head. I thought of the person whose memorial service I was going to who battled and died of cancer. The last thing he did was watch the Seahawks game on television winning against the Chicago Bears. He died the Tuesday after that game. This game I figured he must been rolling in his grave, or shaking his head in heaven whichever the case. Though it was tough in many respects to go to his memorial service it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable occasions in my life. I was able to see those who I grew up with and I had not seen in a long time. Some of whom I had not seen since high school. Like myself humor, music, and sports made up a big part of his life so there was a lot of music and humor in the service along with the mention of sports.

I know we put a lot of blame in the loss on different aspects of the team I still go back to the series and the punt return that I heard before going into the pharmacy. On the positive side we can look at the things in the first three quarters that lead the Seahawks to the 24-7 score. We can only hope they will work hard this week in practice, and recover to beat the Panthers this Sunday. Go Seahawks!

Lloyd being axed and more

It took a few extra days for the Mariners say good bye to manager Lloyd. I like the fact that Pinoto decided to Chris Woodward as well as Edgar Martinez. I was surprised that they let Andy Van Slyke go I thought he was a good outfielder’s coach. The possibility is that he was to old school as much as Lloyd.

I am looking forward to the hiring of the next manager, and the changes in the front office along with the minor leagues. We can see that many of the minor leaguers are not ready for prime time; however, I look forward to seeing more of Marte, and Brad Miller; they give the mariners the needed speed in the lineup. I do hope that Miller can be used as what is being termed super utility player. I would like to see him lead off when Marte is not in the lineup. At this point I would like Marte be rested against tough pitchers that may give him trouble. What I like about Marte being the leadoff hitter besides his speed is willing to take walks especially at the beginning of the game. There is nothing like a leadoff batter getting on base at the beginning to get things going. Also, I like having speed in the ninth hole so it may seem strange but I would have Miller batting there when he is playing except when replacing Marte. If Zunino is back catching I would place him in the eighth position.

Well it was nice to see both the Huskies and Cougars win on Thursday and Saturday against the two teams the fans here in Washington despise the most. I was unable to see the Huskies on Thursday since I was out most of the evening; however, I was so surprised and happy when I turned the TV on for the last 90 seconds of the game. I am not sure what happened yet on the Cougars game because when I turned off the television with about five minutes the Ducks looked like they had a safe lead. I will next time keep watching the Cougars game at the end.

This Sunday morning at least here anyway the Seahawks will be without Marshawn Lynch once again. If you wish he could make a magical appearance he did not make the trip to Cincinnati. We can hope the offensive line will have some improvement over last week, or at the very least the Seahawks have plans to roll Wilson out of the pocket instead of being sacked so many times. We can hope that Rawls  get some success this week running the ball to help Wilson out as well. At least the Seahawks have a really good defense that should keep them in the game. It would be nice to get at least a couple turnovers, and that Lockett can put the Seahawks in good field position on kickoffs and punt returns. It would be great here if the Seahawks can win to sweep the weekend here for the three teams. Go Seahawks!

Mariners Need to Catch Up

During the off-season I am going to write what I think the Mariners will be looking at getting for this coming season, and the first position is catcher.

Looking at the rosters of the other 29 teams there are a few left handed and switch hitting catchers available. They are the type that the Mariners should go after especially if they plan to keep Mike Zunino.

I would really like the Mariners to have a left handed hitting catcher so he can play some first base and DH. The player can be at least a decent defensive catcher; however, primarily should be a hitter. In this way the Mariners can always install Zunino into the game defensive in the later innings.

I found that there is not a lot of left handed or switch hitting catchers available as far as free agency goes. New general manager Jerry Pinoto says that he prefers trading over free agency, and this is what it looks like at the catcher’s position. The two main free agency catchers are Matt Wieters  of the Baltimore Orioles and Alex Avila   of the Detroit Tigers . Both have come off subpar seasons; Matt Wieters played just over one hundred games while Avila was injured a good part of the season and played in 64 games with a batting average under two hundred. Wieters may resign with the Orioles; however, if he does not the Mariners would have to pay over ten million dollars a season for probably four years. The Mariners most likely won’t sign him to that much money because of how many players they are currently paying high, and resigning Iwakuma will cost them about the same as Wieters. Avila most likely is the better choice to sign because he likely won’t command as much money. There is a chance he may return to Detroit because his father is now the general manager of the Tigers. If the Mariners did sign him they likely will play him some at first base as well as DH. I would see him catching when the Mariners are facing a tough right handed pitcher.

Like I say the Mariners most likely will make a trade to get a left handed or switching catcher during the off-season. The mostly likely choice to partner in a trade would be the Chicago Cubs who currently are in the playoffs. In the wild card game that they beat the Pittsburgh Pirates they started two left hitting catchers Miguel Montero and Kyle Schwarber. Montero started at catcher while Schwarber in right field. There is a possibility they may stay that way in the future; however, if they did make a trade likely it would be Montero. Schwarber is a rookie catcher who has a lot of power in his bat. The Mariners or any other team would have to give up a lot to pry him away from the Cubs. Montero has been a starter for the Cubs but they may look at moving him along, and would not cost a team as much in value. In this case the Mariners likely would have to part ways with Zunino.

Another choice would be backup catcher, and switch hitter Dioner Navarro of the Toronto Blue Jays. He would be ideal since he can hit both ways. I am not sure if he has played any first base before; however, the Mariners could use him as the DH.

There are a few other catchers that could be available for trading. The Cincinnati Reds who need to make changes in their roster has four different catchers that bat either left handed or are switch hitters. So they could decide to be trade partners as well. Not sure which they are thinking of trading but would not take a lot for the Mariners take their hands off the Reds. None of them would replace Zunino as the regular catcher; however, may have some use as the backup catcher.

If you are looking for a veteran catcher my favorite would be Jarrod Saltalamacchia of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He has always been a favorite of mine primarily because of his name; however, he is a good hitter with some power though not a good defensive catcher so he could be used some as a DH, and backup Zunino. The only thing is that he likely cost more than the Mariners are willing to pay unless the Diamondbacks would pay part of his salary.

All I have to say is good luck for the Mariners to find another catcher to help or replace Zunino. Next I will look at first base though likely Trumbo will be the starter unless the Mariners look to trade him. Go Mariners!

Not Your Normal Monday Night Seahawks!

October 5, 2015 was not the typical outstanding football game the Seattle Seahawks play on Monday night’s or on prime time.

Usually the Seahawks are really up for these games and play real well. The defense generally played a good game except at the last drive where they came up lucky with Kam Chancellor hitting the ball out of Charlie Johnson’s hand, and the ball being hit through the end zone. According the lead of officials the Seahawks should have been penalized, and the Lions should have had the ball inside the one yard line; however, we will take the luck on our side this time.

Though he had a few good scramble plays including the one in which led the Seahawks only touchdown Russell Wilson and the offensive line had a poor game at the very best. You think with the horrible offense that Wilson was playing baseball with the Seattle Mariners against the Houston Astros that is how bad the Seahawks offense is playing right now.

We can only hope that Marshawn Lynch can be back next week against the Cincinnati Bengals, and that Freddie Jackson will be OK as well. Whether Lynch is back or not I really think that the Seahawks plan going into next week’s game is for Wilson to roll out of the pocket, and throw short passes along with running the ball if needed to open up the running game, and the long passes. Right now Wilson is either getting too much pressure in the pocket or he is taking too much time to throw the ball. In this game I think we do have to give the Lions defensive backs credit for not allowing the receivers to get open especially deep; however, the offense has to try something different since what they are doing now is not working.

I wonder how long the Seahawks will go with the way the offensive line is playing right now or make other new changes. It is possible Carroll and Cable figure they are on the learning curve and make take several weeks to get them playing good. I have an idea maybe the offensive line needs to hold on every play and see if they get caught or not. LOL. One thing for sure the line needs a lot of practice this week working on pass protection. When they get that down than work on run blocking. The Lions at times had an extra lineman in the game in place of the tight end on running plays. It did not really work for them; however, I wonder if the Seahawks need to do that on passing downs especially. I would put Jimmy Graham on the outside since he is not doing well at blocking and bring in additional lineman or tight end. I would use the fullback in some passing downs as well especially on third downs if Freddie Jackson is not available. I can only hope that the Seahawks think the same way I am. I guess we will see next week. Go Seahawks!

Is This It For M’s Lloyd

Today being the last day of major league baseball regular season I believe we should be hearing in a few hours or maybe a day or so what the fate of Seattle Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon.

In my mind it could go either way whether Lloyd will be retained or not. I think it is hard to know whether this season was Lloyd’s fault or not. Last year the Mariners won 87 games under Lloyd’s first year under the helm and now the Mariners win today they would have 76 wins which is a drop of eleven games. If the Mariners were at 87 wins this year they would be in a tie with the Texas Rangers going into the last game of the season.

Most everyone thought the Mariners would be in the playoffs coming out of spring training this year. Boy were we all wrong for sure. No one expected that everyone except Nelson Cruz in regular lineup would start off in such a horrible fashion. I am sure if Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager would have had a first half like they did in the second half the Mariners would have been closer to the 87 wins again. Of course, none of us thought the bullpen would have the very bad season they did especially after Charlie Furbush went down in July. The starting pitching had a poor start to the season but they did rebound in May and were OK the rest of the way.

How much of the poor season do we blame on Lloyd? It is hard to say but he still may take the fall since that is what happens to managers when a team has a bad season. We heard on several occasions Lloyd made us aware that the team should go on a run winning seven or eight games in a row, and we all know that did not happen at all. We had hope when they won four in a row; however, the team would go right back into the tank again. Was that the fault of the team or Lloyd’s? Again we know usually the manager takes the fall.

What I know is that the Mariners have the talent to be a real good team, or they would have not been picked by almost everyone to make the playoffs. I don’t think that no one expected the team to sink so low this season. In my opinion the team as a whole did not play a team is supposed to. We all know with the new general manager Jerry Dipoto coming in there will be changes going to happen. I believe the team has to change in attitude. The problem is not with the talent except maybe a few areas like say catcher, and the bullpen I believe it is with attitude. So is the attitude problem with the players or Lloyd or the combination. Another thing we do know and Dipoto addressed it when he was announced as the new general manger that this current team does not fit well playing in Safeco Field. So regardless of the problems we will be seeing players next season that will play well in Safeco Field.

It will be interesting to see who the new manager will be if Lloyd does not return.  I expect it will be a manager who will take advantage of playing in Safeco Field with a new attitude. When Pete Carroll and John Schneider came to Seattle to take over the Seahawks they made a lot of changes in the roster, and I hope the same thing happens with the Mariners. I am sure we will still see Felix, Cano, Cruz, and Seager still on the roster next season; however, everyone else could be up to going elsewhere. I am sure that some people will say the Mariners need to trade one of the four guys to get several players in return. I am not sure about Cruz but I am sure that Felix, Cano, and Seager all have no trade clauses. So the most likely candidate of the four to be traded would be Cruz. The Mariners do not have the investment in Cruz like they have in the other three. I am sure they could try trading Cano but I am sure the Mariners would have to eat some of his contract and I am not sure they are willing to do so. Felix likely would get the most in a trade; however, the history and the love he has for Seattle I would be shocked if he were traded. Seager being signed to a new contract before last season he likely won’t be traded either.

Most likely Marte will be the starter at shortstop next season so either or both Miller and Taylor could be traded but that likelihood would happen in a multiplayer trade. Neither them would get much in a single player trade. I can see the Mariners trading any of the other players on the roster. After today we will know more for sure, and the days ahead.

I don’t see any trades happening until after the World Series unless it is a multiplayer trade. I am sure we will see a few transactions in the days ahead. They would be likely players that would be released that Dipoto sees no value in, and the Mariners could not get anything for them. Those I see would probably be those who right now are in the Mariners’ bullpen.

So everyone enjoy the last game of the season, and look forward to the off-season. Go Mariners!