Seattle Seahawks Upcoming Free Agents

 The Seattle Seahawks have almost half of their roster who will become free agents. The total is twenty-four free agents and some of them are restricted while the rest are out there for any team to snag.

The big story though has to do with beastmode Marshawn Lynch. Though he is not a free agent the Seahawks will have to hear whether he wants to return or not. Will he retire or not. I am sure we will hear this story for several weeks ahead anyway. The Seahawks could release him as well to get some of his salary off the cap. Another story could be Kam Chancellor holding out again. If he is smart most likely not; a third big story could be Michael Bennet. He did not hold out last year though he wanted more money though he is still under contract. The chances are pretty good that the Seahawks will give him a bonus going into next season. Of course this all depends on how other things fall and who may come back.

Two of the top free agents are left tackle Russell Okung and receiver Jermaine Kearse who both could go elsewhere. Kearse says that he would like to come back however he won’t take a hometown discount. I can’t blame the guy because this is his best chance to get a big contract. I am sure if the Seahawks are within ten percent of any other teams offer Kearse he will decide to stay. I can’t think it would be worth him the difference to move on.

Another key free agent is cornerback Jeremy Lane. Like the other free agents that left who played across from Richard Sherman I am sure Lane will too. Someone out there will be willing to pay him more than the Seahawks can afford. Remember with so many free agents the Seahawks can’t afford to keep them all.

Russell Okung is planning to be his own agent which usually is not a good idea. We will see what happens there. At this point hard to know which way the Seahawks are leaning toward keeping his services. There are not a lot of left tackles out there so if the amount is reasonable and in the area the Seahawks are willing to pay he could return.

Yet another free agent the Seahawks will have to look at retaining or not is right guard J.R. Sweezy. It is hard to know where the Seahawks are thinking however he looks like a choice the Seahawks want to retain. In his case a lot will depend on what another team is willing to pay him.

Also punter Jon Ryan is a free agent. He will return likely unless another team needs a punter badly and wants to pay him more money.

The rest of the free agents could stay or more on. The Seahawks could look at signing some free agents themselves in those positions or draft some players. It will be an interesting off-season to see where the Seahawks roster will go. In the meantime let’s think beastmode.

Mariners Who’s on First?

The only player the Mariners are returning this spring training who played any at first base is Jesus Montero. He is my choice to be the right handed hitting platoon player to go along with Adam Lind who the Mariners picked up from the Milwaukee Brewers during the off-season. Lind likely will play the majority of games at first base being a left handed hitter. Lind has the power and on-base percentage the Mariners have been looking for some time. They have gone through disappointed players at first base. Depending upon his health Lind may be designated hitter on occasion as well though Nelson Cruz will be the primary designated hitter. Depending on his health Cruz may play some in right field too. I think it would be nice if the Mariners could try Cruz at first base however I have the feeling that won’t happen.

The Mariners primarily picked up Lind for his bat. I am not sure how good a first baseman he is because while in Toronto he mostly was the designated hitter although played occasionally at first base. If he can play first base as well as Mark Trumbo the Mariners will be OK.  Though Jesus Montero has limited range playing first base I believe he can improve. We will see this coming spring training. If Montero makes the ball club he may be the designated hitter when not playing first base. He is out of options so the Mariners will need to put him on waivers if he doesn’t make the ball club. I would not be surprised if another team picked him up especially one needing a designated hitter. The key for Montero is whether he can lay off the breaking pitches that gave him so much trouble with last season. I am sure we will see because a lot of pitchers are going to throw those to him during spring training. What I like about Montero is that he has power especially to the opposite field that the Mariners can use along with Nelson Cruz.

Another candidate the Mariners general manager mentioned will have a chance to play first base is Stefen Romero. Like Montero he has power as well and he can play the outfield along with the infield except short stop. Versatility for Romero may give him an advantage over the other candidates the Mariners have trying to be the right handed platoon player at first base. The Mariners could use someone that can play in the outfield as well. Romero has to show that he can hit major league pitching consistently.

Two other candidates are Gaby Sanchez who played in Japan last year and Ed Lucas. It is hard to know what chance either of them has however I am sure all the candidates the Mariners will give each a lot chances to be the one. It will be interesting to see how it works out along with the utility position. All the other positions are pretty well set. All the action starts in about three weeks. Go Mariners!

 

 

 

Mariners Pre-Spring Training Press Conference

On Thursday the Mariners management team had their pre-spring training press conference at Safeco field. Not only was General Manager Jerry Dipoto and Manager Scott Servais at the press conference also Andy McKay director of player development among others. So the press was able to meet all the guys in leading the Mariners this coming season.

What they primarily talked about was the mental side of the team along with how they felt the Mariners would be this coming season. Other than a few roster spots most of the players in the starting lineup have already been place.

The starting pitching rotation is in place except the fifth spot. Several guys will be going after that spot and one of the guys who do not make it likely will land in the bullpen. Speaking of the bullpen the spots are filled except a couple. One of them likely will be a second lefty who goes along with Charlie Furbush.

The Mariners will have several candidates who fight as the right handed hitter to platoon with Adam Lind at first base. Also, the utility player has three candidates for that position. They made it very clear that the utility player must be able to play short stop really well. At least two of the candidates Chris Taylor and Luis Sardinas have experience playing shortstop in the major leagues. This means the third candidate Sean O’Malley will have a battle to be the utility player. His best chance would be playing in the outfield which will be an upward battle.  If he doesn’t make the team he would be available to be on hand at Tacoma. I would see him playing some short stop with the Rainiers if that is the case. One of the other two players who are vying for the position will be at Tacoma too.

Dipoto feels the Mariners will be in the running for winning the western division. He feels the position the roster is in right now can win around the mid-80s. He is not speculating or predicting exactly the amount of wins the Mariners will have however they will be in contention with wins in mid-80s.

Andy McKay said that he plans to be on hands and has plans for every player in the organization. Every month he will have a report card for every player. Also, every player regardless where they play whether in the rookie A league all the way up to the major league team will be told the same thing. So when a player moves up from one level to another they will be told the same thing. Other words the pitchers and hitters will be hearing the same things from each of their coaches. He is looking at consistency throughout the organization which is a good thing.

Tomorrow will look at the first base position as the Mariners have some new candidates to compete as the right handed bat.

Change at Mariner’s Catching Position

Last season showed a lot why the Seattle Mariners had a bad year. I am not saying they were the only reason the Mariners were under five hundred and did not make the playoffs as most thought they would.

Mike Zunino had a super sophomore jinx batting way below the Mendoza line of two hundred. Also he hit a lot less home runs as well. The only thing going for him was his defense that was still exceptional.  The Mariners finally sent him down near the end of August when the season was over for the Mariners instead of doing so in May. They should have played Jesus Sucre once or twice more each week. Though he was not hitting that while Sucre plays pretty good defense too; he may have hit better playing more often than once in a while. We saw that somewhat in September when Sucre played more with Zunino being sent down to Tacoma and was not brought up again when the Triple A season was over. Zunino was sent instead to Arizona to work on his hitting.

The Seattle Mariners signed a free agent catcher and traded for another during the off-season under the new general Jerry Dipoto. This was one of a lot of transactions Dipoto has made so far before training camp starts in four weeks. Unfortunately Sucre was injured a couple weeks ago in winter ball back in his home country of Venezuela. He broke his leg and he will be out for most if not all of spring training. He likely will start the season in triple A though likely would have if he had not been injured anyway.

Though he still is considered the catcher of the future for the Mariners Mike Zunino likely will start this coming season with Tacoma. We can all agree that he was probably brought up too early to play for the Mariners. Zunino has worked a lot on his hitting in Arizona during September. He lives in Florida during the off-season so I am sure he has spent some time working on his hitting there as well. He could be called up sometime during the season if his hitting comes through in Tacoma. At least he does not have the pressure on him to perform this season. Likely he will be the Mariners number one catcher in 2017.

The first catcher the Mariners acquired was free agent Chris Iannetta who played with division rival the Angels. Last year he had an off year batting .188 however Dipoto is expecting him to recover this season. Dipoto though does not expect Iannetta play almost every day like Zunino did last season. The other catcher the Mariners got from the Baltimore Orioles Steve Clevenger in the trade from Mark Trumbo. He likely will catch a couple times a week against tough right handed pitchers since he bats left handed. He may play first base every once in a while as well although they have Adam Lind another left handed hitter who will play most of the time against right handed hitters. It is nice to have Clevenger to add depth to catcher and first base in case of injuries. He will be used sometimes as a pinch hitter as well.

With the acquisitions of Iannetta and Clevenger will give Mariners the depth at catcher they did not have last year. Along with the fact Zunino will be available at Tacoma. This is what I especially liked what Dipoto did with the roster this off-season was to increase the depth along with on base percentage. Most every position player acquired had a higher on base percentage than those they traded away.

This Weekend in Sports

The experience shows that NFL Championship series are more exciting than the Super Bowl is. At least this year the AFC was exciting compared to the NFC championship where the Panthers destroyed the Cardinals. My feeling is the Panthers will do the same to the Broncos in two weeks.

The Broncos certainly outplayed the Patriots on Sunday especially on the defense side. Von Miller sure had his way against the Patriots. The Patriots need to do something with the left tackle or guard. Miller had a step on him as soon the ball was snapped. It was amazing that Tom Brady was not injured in the game.

It will be nice that Peyton Manning will play in another Super Bowl however his mobility is not strong at all so the Panthers likely take him down like Carson Palmer did last night. Manning no longer has the arm he had before so I see the Panthers getting several pass interceptions happening in the Super Bowl. I am sure the game will be like last night where the Panthers will beat Broncos by a large margin. Likely the game will be over in the first quarter again.

In Pac-12 basketball the University of Washington lost to Utah in overtime on Sunday in Seattle. This now leaves the Huskies in a tie for first place. This week they will be playing UCLA and USC in Los Angeles. It would be nice if they could split those to two games at least. I don’t really understand why their pre-season schedule most of their games are at home. The Huskies need to schedule more of them on the road in the future. This way when they are on the road in the Pac-12 they have a better chance in winning. So what if you have a good pre-season record if you can’t win in conference on a regular basis on the road. Another thing I would schedule a tougher pre-season like Gonzaga does every year to prepare them more for the Pac-12. It is hard to know how the Huskies will play the rest of the way playing mostly freshmen along with senior guard Andrew Andrews who is leading the Pac-12 in scoring over 20 points a game. We can hope the Huskies continue their playing so we can see them in the NCAA tournament in March.

I find it interesting this time of the year when a lower seed knocks off the number one team in the nation. It really doesn’t matter who is number one at this point. The important thing is to make the tournament in March and playing your best basketball at this point.

We are now about four weeks from spring training for the Seattle Mariners. Again I am looking forward to another season. I expect with the overhaul of the roster this year it will be exciting. We hope the Mariners can make it to the playoffs this year. What makes it really nice there is no expectation on them this year. My next blog likely on Wednesday I will be writing about the catchers. This year the Mariners have to additional catchers on their roster.

As far as the Seahawks go it will be interesting to see if Marshawn returns, goes to another team or retires. I am sure we will be hearing a lot about that in the next few weeks. This week around the coffee shops the guys were talking at Marshawn going to the Oakland Raiders. We will see along with other moves since they have twenty-four free agents and how things will work under the salary cap. Until next time enjoy yourself.

Look at the Mariners Utility Players

Now that the Mariners are just under a month when the pitcher and catchers report for spring training I figure for us to look more at depth on the positions of the Mariners and the pitching. So I decided to start first at those who maybe the utility player since the Mariners traded Brad Miller to the Tampa Bay Rays.

First off look at Chris Taylor since he is the most familiar one to us; he has spent most of his time playing at shortstop since he was the Mariners starting shortstop for over a month last year starting in May after being injured in spring training. We saw that he was a good fielder however his bat was suspect. He spent most of the season with Tacoma in Triple A. He did play some second base as well. He was not called up in September instead he was sent to Arizona to work on his hitting along with Mike Zunino. He has spent most of the off-season working on his hitting though I am sure he has been doing some fielding as well. His upside has to do with his fielding and being on big league club playing regular for a month. How much he plays will depend on how Ketel Marte does on his second tour in the major leagues. We know the utility player will not play much at either second or third. Most likely how much at second base will be how Cano is doing after his off-season surgery and whether the Mariners will use him once in a while at designated hitter. Of course, Kyle Seager will be playing almost every day. Only an injury would keep him out of the lineup.

The next guy on the scene is another familiar face from last September call up is Sean O’Malley. What I like about him is speed and versatility. Not only will he be able to play any of the infield positions he can play in the outfield. The Mariners could use him in center or left field and have him as a pinch runner in the late innings. He would be my first choice as the utility player.

The next one is not as familiar with us and that is Luis Sardinas who the Mariners got in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers. He has more major league experience starting as the shortstop for the Brewers for a little while as well. I expect that he is a good fielder and has some speed. He may be able to play in the outfield too. Since the Mariners did get him in a trade he could be the frontrunner. I guess we will see.

Anyway the Mariners look like the utility position will be better than it was last season. I am sure the Mariners will have other guys competing in camp for this position. Let the best man win. Go Mariners!

Seahawks Taken Down By Panthers

Whether we thought the Seahawks were going to win on Sunday or not I do not think anyone expected them to be down 31-0 at half time. I can’t remember the last time they were that far behind in a game. What became even more amazing they scored 24 points in the second half to make a game of it. The Panthers didn’t score a point in the second half. Talk about a story of two halves.

If you were one that did not watch the game and saw the final score you would have thought the game was high scoring going back and forth. Of course, this was the farthest from the truth.

I predicted the Seahawks would win the game 14-10 and that was thrown out within the first three minutes of the game. The Panthers did not take long to score their first touchdown and then Russell Wilson threw an interception for another score. If you came in to watch after five minutes you wondered what happened to the Seahawks. However the real excitement happened where the Panthers scored another seventeen points without any trouble. The second half Tyler Lockett took the kickoff fifty yards plus a fifteen yard penalty to the Panthers 30-yard line. It didn’t take the Seahawks long to score the first touchdown of the second half. In fact I was driving home and the second touchdown occurred before I arrived home.  Anyway whatever happens with the Seahawks during the off-season we won’t forget this game for sure.

Speaking of the off-season the Seahawks have about two dozen free agents along with whether Marshawn Lynch will return next season. I am sure none of us would be surprised if Lynch doesn’t return because of the salary cap and all the free agents. This will be the biggest story at least for a while during the off-season. Another one would be Kam Chancellor. Will he hold out again, be released or come to camp without a problem. I guess we will see.

One thing for sure is that Pete Carroll and John Schneider will have a very busy off-season. I will get into those who will return and those that will not at a later date. Right now we should look and enjoy the season that just ended no matter how strange it seemed to be. Like many of the 12^th man I am sure we thought the season would lead the Seahawks back to the Super Bowl or at least NFC Championship. Oh well it makes life interesting to say the least.

Now I will start looking at the Seattle Mariners and the spring training coming up in a month from today. In the meantime I will still keep my eye on the Seahawks off-season. Who I will be rooting for during the conference championship games and the Super Bowl I don’t really know. It would be nice to see either the Panthers or Cardinals win the Super Bowl. It will be a nice change for sure. The AFC it would be nice to see someone else than the Broncos or Patriots but that is how it goes. Be rooting for the NFC in the Super Bowl for sure. Anyway enjoy your Seahawk off-season. Go Hawks!

Seahawks vs Panthers

Most experts expect this game today to be a close game like they have played over the history of their series.

In my mind I believe the game will be close as well however if the game turns out not be close I expect it on the favor of the Seahawks. The reason I say that is often the Seahawks surprise us and we can just go back to the game the Seahawks played two weeks ago against the Arizona Cardinals.

We hope the Seahawks will be the winning team and can face the Cardinals once again next week. If that is the case it will be much closer game than the one two weeks ago. The advantage of the Seahawks has to go back to the Super Bowl over either the Panthers or the Cardinals have to do with experience. Not only have the Seahawks have been to the Super Bowl the last two years neither the Panthers nor Cardinals been to the Super Bowl.

We can’t take for granted the Seahawks will make it to the Super Bowl however the experience certainly gives them the edge. Also, I believe Russell Wilson will play a better game than he did against the Vikings last week. The weather being warmer certainly will help them along with Marshawn Lynch. Speaking of beastmode we can only hope he will be back to his old self. He could be the difference in the game well as Russell Wilson. At this point we are not sure whether Marshawn will start or it will be Christine Michael. One thing we know that Marshawn will enter the game soon either in the first series or the second. How much he plays will depend on himself or Michael. I am sure Pete Carroll will go with the hot hand. The most important thing though is that Marshawn doesn’t get hurt again. It is nice though the Seahawks have the option between the two of them. Another thing is how many times Russell Wilson has to run or pass. I expect though Wilson will pass around thirty times in the game. The two key receivers will be Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett. Of course, another difference could be how Lockett does on kickoff and punt returns. It would be nice if he could run back one of them for touchdown.

Another key for the Seahawks will be the offensive line. We hope they can open holes for Lynch and Michael along with Wilson not being sacked too often. My score for the game will be the Seahawks winning 14-10. Actually I would like it to be 35-10 however I do not think that likely will happen. Anyway Go Hawks!

Looking at the Mariners Going into 2016

Though I am a member of the 12^th man and I like college basketball as well my favorite sport is baseball and the Seattle Mariners my favorite team. Though I have written some about the Seahawks this season and going into the playoffs I will look more at the Mariners going into spring training and the 2016.

If you are a Mariners fan you see that new general manager Jerry Dipoto has made a lot of changed during the off-season and many of the players that were on the roster at the end of the 2015 are no longer there. The Mariners still have the core group of Felix Hernandez, Nelson Cruz, Robinson Cano, and Kyle Seager along with a few other players like TaiJuan Walker, Iwakuma, Gutierrez, Seth Smith and Charlie Furbush.

During the off-season the Mariners have upgraded the bullpen at least we think they have. We will only know when the season is underway. Charlie Furbush is the only one returning who was on the 2014 season. The Mariners have a few others who ended the 2015 season but many of the bullpen is new either acquired in trades or free agency.

The Seattle Mariners acquired Adam Lind a power hitting first baseman from the Milwaukee Brewers while they traded away Logan Morrison to the Tampa Bay Rays and Mark Trumbo to the Baltimore Orioles. Though I like both Morrison and Trumbo I expected either or both being traded. Lind brings to the Mariners home run power from the left side; since Safeco Field is friendly to lefties he should have a good season for the Mariners.  The thing about Lind though is that he does not well against left handed pitching. I am sure he will face some lefties however the Mariners are looking at using someone else to start at first base against lefties. At this point the choice is Jesus Montero however he needs to do a better job hitting breaking pitches. If he does not make the team and is traded because he is out of options the Mariners will have to look elsewhere for right handed hitting from first base.

The Mariners also acquired a catcher in Steve Clevenger in the trade for Mark Trumbo along with signing Chris Iannetta as a free agent. Iannetta played last year with the Los Angeles Angels; though he had an off year Dipoto figures he will rebound this year just like several of the other players he acquired during the off-season. Mike Zunino who had a very poor season last season in his second year in the major leagues may start the season at triple-A even if he does well during training camp. This may depend on Clevenger or Jesus Sucre being the backup to Iannetta. Clevenger is a left handed hitter so he will likely catch against some tough right handers along with playing some first base and possibly DH.

In the outfield Seth Smith and Franklin Gutierrez will likely platoon in right field while new acquired free agent Nori Aoki will play in left field and Leonys Martin acquired from the Texas Rangers will occupy center field. Also Nelson Cruz will play some in right field when he is not DHing. A number of players will DH when Cruz is playing right field. How much Cruz plays in the field will depend on his health.

I look forward to sharing more about the Mariners going into spring training well as the regular season. Go Mariners!

Seahawks Keep Moving On

Sometimes it takes luck for a team to move on in the playoffs. In this case it was for the Seahawks winning with the last missed field goal  by the Vikings.

If the Seahawks make it back to the Super Bowl and win it this will be the point of break. The offense had a terrible game unto the fourth quarter when Russell Wilson threw the ball to Tyler Lockett after the ball went over Wilson’s head. It is the reason that Wilson is a winner because he never gives up under any circumstances.

We all know the reason the Seahawks won the game besides the missed field goal at the end of the game by the Vikings. It was the defense who played a fantastic game once again keeping Peterson to a lot less than one hundred yards. The reason the Vikings scored the three touchdowns in the Seahawks 10-9 game win was because of the offense and penalties. Actually the last penalty against Kam Chancellor for pass interference to get the Vikings into the position to win was a bogus call. The receiver initiated the contact so it should have been a no call. The action should have continued where the Vikings had the ball. At least the Seahawks won the game any way. There should be no penalties in the last two minutes of a playoff game especially unless it is obvious. In regards to penalties I believe most should not be called during kickoffs and punt returns. It is ridiculous they call them almost every time. Only a personal foul should be called. I recommend the rules committee look at what should be called during kickoff and punt returns. This way the game keeps moving on.

Like most people I was so surprised by the missed field goal at the end. I figured it was time for me to begin looking forward to spring training and baseball season. The great thing luck sometimes falls are way and it happened on Sunday. Now the Seahawks are bound to Carolina and we hope the Seahawks can win next Sunday. It will make up for the previous loss against the Panthers the Seahawks should have won. It is amazing to think how often the Seahawks play the Panthers. You would think they are in the same division. Again next season the Seahawks will play the Panthers again during the regular season along with the rest of their division.

I hope the Pittsburgh Steelers will continue to win in the playoffs so the Seahawks can meet and beat them in the Super Bowl this time. We can hope that Ben R. will be ready to go. So let’s Go Seahawks.

Almost Five Weeks Until Spring Training Mariners!

This week was something else with Junior being named to the Hall of Fame with all but three votes. We wonder what was wrong with those three writers anyway. On Friday Jan. 9 the Mariners had a press conference with Junior announcing that they were going to retire his number 24 on Aug. 7 along with other celebrations. This is two weeks after his induction into the hall of fame. Also, he will be throwing out the baseball on the opening night at Safeco Field.

It was announced this week to that the pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 19 at spring training which just over five weeks. In the meantime we hope that the Seahawks will win another Super Bowl. Many of the players are already working out in Peoria, Arizona however that is the official date when the pitchers and catchers are supposed to be there.

I was at spring training of the Mariners three years ago. I stayed at the home of my cousin Christy and her husband David. We went to four games the week I was there. They Mariners actually won all four games I saw however it did not work out for the season and that was the last season of Eric what’s his name the manager. It was a great time I enjoyed and I recommend anyone to go to see spring training. You can get up and personal with some of the players and coaches. I was able to spend a few minutes talking with Mr. Mariner Alvin Davis. It was his first spring training working with the Mariner minor leaguers. I hope to go back to spring training either next year or the year after. This would be a great year to go with a new manager and coaching staff besides Edgar Martinez. Also, there will be a lot of new players to watch as well.

Another thing to it doesn’t hurt having wonderful weather to be part of as well. I recommend going to the park in the morning before the games. You have a real chance in seeing players getting ready for the season. I was able to see King Felix trying to hit a baseball too. The other pitchers around him we laughing really loud; everything is so loose though they do take it serious as well getting ready for the season. I am sure with the new coaching staff this will be really serious camp working on fundamentals. It is possible that you may be able to see Junior along with Jay Buhner, Dan Wilson and Edgar.

In the meantime let’s go Seahawks and Mariners!

Welcome to the Hall Junior

It was announced a few minutes ago as expected that Ken Griffey Junior becoming a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was named on 99% of the ballots which broke the record previously by Tom Seaver. There were only three ballots that he was not named on. All I have to say is what was wrong with those three guys. They could have made history if they had voted for Junior as well.

I still remember when he was drafted overall by the Seattle Mariners in the first round. I was so happy because I remember his dad Ken Griffey Sr. playing for the red machine the Cincinnati Reds. In fact his dad was still playing in the major leagues when he was drafted. They became the first father and son to play together on the same team when the Mariners signed Senior. I enjoyed watching Senior playing for the Reds and was a favorite of mine though there was other players like Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, and Joe Morgan who were more familiar to the fans. As a little kid I had Joe Morgan’s card as a rookie when he was playing for the Houston Astros. Actually they may have been known as the Colt 45 at the time. I thought Griffey Senior played a really good right field for Reds.

Until I saw Junior play center field for the Mariners in the old Kingdome my favorite player was Willie Mays. In many ways Junior reminded me of Mays playing center field. The only difference was that Junior was left handed unlike Mays who was right handed. I got to see the best two center fielders ever to play. Of course, Junior was great because I was an adult unlike Mays who I saw as a little kid so I was able to appreciate Junior a lot more. Also, like Mays there was no one who could hit with power and had speed on the bases as well in the outfield. I am sure if Junior had played higher in the lineup instead of third or fourth in the order he would have stolen more bases than he did.

Though we saw many times Junior making great catches that included going into the wall of the Kingdome the greatest scene we ever saw and we will always remember was in 1995 when Edgar Martinez hit a double to drive Junior in from first base. I always have that look on Junior’s face when he slide into home base and all the Mariner players landed on him. That was the greatest scene I have ever seen. The only thing I will ever see better if the Mariners ever win the World Series. We hope that can happen in the real near future.

Congratulations Junior going to Cooperstown. I will look forward to going there again to see you in your Mariner uniform. I did get a chance to see Ichiro in Cooperstown however there will be nothing like seeing you there. Of course, I will see Randy Johnson at the hall as well. The only other year we remember here besides 1995 at this point in Mariner history is 2001 when the Mariners won 216 games. All hail to you Ken Griffey Junior the greatest player in Seattle Mariner history. We applaud you.

 

Seahawks Surprises Cardinals

Going into January 3, 2016 game against the Arizona Cardinals I do not think that anyone except maybe themselves expected the Seahawks to win 36-6.

I know I was only hoping the Seahawks would have a competitive game against the Cardinals but to beat them soundly was not what I was expecting. The game had no meaning for the Seahawks except to be ready for the upcoming playoffs and it meant more to the Cardinals who had a chance to have the best record in the NFC. The Seahawks took away the offense of the Cardinals at the same time had a great offensive game themselves.

I guess we should never be surprised by what the Seahawks do especially after the loss to the St. Louis Rams the week before. The Seahawks philosophy is to be competitive among themselves and let the best man win. This goes into the games as well when they face the opposition. I do not think that we expected the Seahawks be flat two weeks in a row however we expected the game to be more competitive than it was.

This coming Sunday the Seahawks take on the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the playoffs. We do expect the Seahawks to win this game and it would be nice if they can dominated the Vikings in the same manner they did only a few weeks earlier. We do know it is not easy to beat the same team twice in a season especially on their home field however we are talking about the Seahawks who do not fit into any logic pattern and by the way it is the playoffs where the Seahawks love to play. Not only that they want to get back to the big game we call the Super Bowl. They want to take back the crown that they should have had if it wasn’t for the last play on offense in the Super Bowl. I do not think I have to say anything more because we know what it was as much as they do.

Good news is that beastmode will be returning for the playoffs as well for the Seahawks. Yes Marshawn Lynch is ready to go and if the Seahawks do return and win the Super Bowl he will be worth the money he is owed for the season though only played in a handful of games. Of course, we do not look that far ahead. We want to enjoy every step of the way in the playoffs with Lynch and Wilson leading the way on offense. We do know the defense will take care of itself during the playoffs. I expect those things that went wrong during the season on the defense have been corrected.

Anyway we look forward to next game against the Vikings and we are hoping for some more surprises to see. Yes Seahawks we know that the playoffs are a different season and you are ready for it. So all we have to say is “Go Seahawks”. The 12^th man is behind you all the way.   

Sports Going Into 2016

First of all I want to wish you all a Happy New Year! We can hope that 2016 can be a better sports year in the northwest than 2015.

One clear thing we know is that either Clemson or Alabama will when the College Football championship after each won the semifinal games on New Year’s Eve. I don’t know much about either team since I do not follow them or their league very much. One thing for sure is that they can score a lot of points and did play some good defense. Who will win the game is anyone’s guess as far as I am concerned. It would be nice if the Clemson Tigers win and have an undefeated season plus who needs Alabama win another championship anyway.

In the NBA that I no longer follow it looks like the Warriors are on their way to another championship and the question is will they have fewer losses than the Philadelphia 76ers have wins.

On the local front in college basketball the University of Washington Huskies men’s team takes on the UCLA Bruins at home tonight. It is hard to know how good or bad they will be playing this season having seven freshmen playing most of the time. They have one returning starter from last year in Andrew Andrews who is having a very good senior season. We know the freshmen are talented; however, how many games will that lead the Huskies too this year. I have to say though likely will be better than last year’s team that started well went into the tank the second half of the season. Whatever happens though the future looks good in the Husky program.  The team should be even better in 2017.

The Seahawks who had a good season last season before ending it badly in the Super Bowl in February in a manner we want to forget. This season the team has had its ups and downs. We can only hope they can respond in the playoffs by going back to the Super Bowl. If they do it will certainly put in a good start to 2016.

The University of Washington Huskies and the Washington State Cougars ended their season in good fashion both winning bowl games. The regular season was OK for the Huskies having some downs along with the ups having a young team. We can see that the future looks good for them and the Cougars had a very good season. They showed in the Apple Cup though they need their starting quarterback to play to be successful. We can hope that concussions can be behind him.  I see 2016 along with 2017 both being really good seasons for them.

The Seattle Mariners had a poor season for all to see in 2015. So much that it cost the job of Jack Z first as general manager than Lloyd McClendon was not retained by the new general manager Jerry Dipoto; the season was so disappointing that Dipoto has turned over almost the whole roster going into 2016. Besides the core group of Cruz, Cano, Seager, and Hernandez most of the team is turned over. The Mariners only have one returning pitcher from the bullpen of 2014 in Charlie Furbush and he missed the second half of the 2015 season so who knows his status is truly going into 2016.

The Mariners did retain Iwakuma after everyone thought he was lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers who then changed their mind when he failed a physical. Actually they would have liked to keep him at fewer dollars.

The Mariners did retain by resigning outfielder Franklin Gutierrez who had an outstanding second of the season after spending the first half in Triple A. Also they retained outfielder Seth Smith who will share time platooning with Gutierrez in right field or designated hitter. Nelson Cruz who was the only regular player that had an outstanding season all the way through will play some in right field while spending more time at designated hitter.

The infield will stay the same except at first base where the Mariners now have Adam Lind who will play against right handed pitchers. The choice right now looks like Jesus Montero playing first base against left handed pitchers. This could change while we approach spring training in the middle of February. Also, the Mariners will have a new look at catcher as well. It looks like last year’s catcher Mike Zunino may start 2016 in Triple A.

We can only hope the Mariners will be a better team in 2016 instead of the team we saw in 2015. With a new manager as well we should see some better baseball in 2016.

In soccer the local team the Sounders FC had a good start in 2015 however the second half of the season was not so good. They did win one playoff game against the LA Galaxy. The team is expected to have the same type of turnover over as the Mariners and we hope that turns into a better season for them as well. Since the Sounders have the highest attendance in the MSL the fans deserve a really good team as well.

Now we will see how all things work out in 2016. I expect the teams here will be better in 2016. So let’s go all of them and again Happy New Year.