A Seahawk Narrow Loss

 The Seattle Seahawks had a chance to win the game against the Saints in New Orleans with Russell Wilson throwing the ball to Jermaine Kearse that was too high for him to keep his feet in bounds. The Seahawks always find a way to win a game however this time it did not happen. They lost the game 25-20 even though did have a 14-3 lead in the first half. The Seahawks defense was not able to keep the lead. On the other hand can you blame it on the offense as well?

When you look at the statistics of the game you find that the Seahawks threw the ball twice as many times as they ran the ball. For a team that regularly runs the ball at least half of the time that is a wrong thing to do. I figure the problem is either they don’t believe in Christine Michael or the offensive line or the combination of the two. Michael ran the ball ten times getting forty yards. He had an easy average to figure out of 4.0 yards per carry. The chances are that the Seahawks don’t believe that Michael can carry the ball more than about ten times a game. Also it doesn’t look like they trust rookie Alex Collins either because he didn’t carry the ball even once in the game. The other rookie running back C.J. Prosise carried the ball four times for 23 times along with four catches that went for 80 yards. It included a forty-three yard throw from receiver Tanner McEvoy on a trick play who received a pass behind the line of scrimmage from Russell Wilson. McEvoy is a former quarterback from Wisconsin where Wilson played his final season in College.  Prosise job is primarily coming in on third downs to either run or receive depending how many yards for the Seahawks to get a first down.

There is a good possibility that this will be the offense the Seahawks will be running until Thomas Rawls returns in a couple weeks or so; however I believe the Seahawks have to get back to running the ball more. They need to be able to run the ball again about half of the time or at least close to it anyway. This is especially true that Russell Wilson is still not healthy having three injuries. There is a possibility he could come down with another injury. The Seahawks may need to look at bringing in Trevone Boykin to play quarterback. The big question is Wilson hurting the offense of the Seahawks. His passing statistics was about the same as Drew Brees except he gave up an interception while Brees threw for a touchdown. So the major difference was that Tim Hightower ran for over one hundred yards on twenty-six carries for the Saints. The Saints showed the Seahawks the kind of game they should have played on offense. The Seahawks needed to find a way to keep the Saints offense off the field. The answer would have been running the ball about ten times more at least. The Seahawks need to give Alex Collins a chance along with Michael to get more running attempts. We will see what happens next Monday Night against the Buffalo Bills in Seattle. Go Seahawks!

Huskies and Cougars Continue Win While Seahawks are in the Big Easy

Both the University of Washington Huskies and Washington State each won their games on Saturday they didn’t look like it for a while. The Huskies won on a punt return with just over three minutes left in the game to win 31-24 over Utah while the Cougars had to come from a twenty-one point deficit in the second quarter to win 35-31. Both are tied for first place in the North Division of the Pac-12 and headed for a big show down on Black Friday in the Apple Cup. The Huskies win and go undefeated for the season they will be looking at being in the National Championship Series since they are ranked #4. Both teams will be likely in big time bowl games. If the Cougars win the Apple Cup they not only spoil it all for the Huskies they will be in a big bowl game and play for the Pac-12 Championship. Both teams need to continue their winning ways though.

After having a tie against the Cardinals last Sunday night the Seahawks take on the New Orleans Saints in just over a couple hours. The Seahawks will be missing Michael Bennett who may need surgery and Kam Chancellor once again. Though he is expected to play Russell Wilson now has three injuries to deal with at playing quarterback. We can hope that he is well enough where he can play better football than he did against the Atlanta Falcons and the Cardinals. The most important thing though he doesn’t get any more injuries added to what he has going on. The fortunate thing though the Seahawks are in a good place in their division so losing the game would not be critical for them except in the place to be in the best spot for the playoffs. The Seahawks want to be able to secure the number one spot far as record goes to get the home field advantage. Right now the Minnesota Vikings is their major competitor.

Though the defense were on the field a lot last week we all expect they will have another good defensive game which they will likely need especially if the offense has trouble. We will see right off because the Seahawks offense will try to run the ball as much as possible. If the Saints are able to succeed in stopping them it could be a long afternoon. The mobility of Russell Wilson could limit the passing game for the Seahawks. What would be an added plus if the defense could make some major turnovers. It will be an interesting game to see. Go Seahawks!!  

Unbelievable Game

The game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals had to turn into one of the most strange games every played. I thought the game would be close because of the defense however Sunday night’s game ending in a 6-6 tie was something I did not imagine.

I am not sure whether the game was bad offense or very good defense. Likely it was the combination of both. Certainly was one of the worst games the Seahawks played offensively that is for sure. After the game last week against Atlanta I thought the Seahawks would play a better game however that sure did not turn out to be the case.

I am always amazed that the Seahawks offense seems to have a problem the first half of the season. Something has to be done to change that. On the bright side they always rebound the second half of the season. I thought now that Russell Wilson has been around for a while that would change but we know that part of the problem has been his early season injuries. This game shows that without him being healthy and a good use of his legs his game certainly not at the best. He is spending most of the time in the pocket and when he does go out he isn’t running like we are accustomed to seeing him do. So other teams like the Cardinals know that they just have to put the rush on him.

Another problem is that the running attack has not been there either. Christine Michael is averaging around 3.3 yards per carry instead of being over 4 yards. I expect the problem has to do with the offensive line. They are the primary reason that the Seahawks offense gets off to a slow start every year since they keep changing it. There was an additional problem left tackle Bradley Sowell had to leave the game with a sprained knee and never returned. At this point have no idea whether he will play next week. He was replaced by rookie George Fant who had troubles and was called on several holding calls.

Both teams had a chance to win the game in overtime. They both scored field goals in overtime but missed field goals to win the game. I am sure a lot of people stayed tuned into the game especially Seahawk and Cardinals fans to see what would happen. I wonder if this game will help the rating for next Sunday night’s game. One thing for sure when the Seahawks are on national television anything can happen and usually does in their favor. The plus here the tie helps the Seahawks out better than a loss. At least at this point of the season; the Rams and 49ers continued to lose so the Cardinals being 3-3-1 are still the closest to the Seahawks record of 4-1-1. At the end of the season the tie could hurt one or the other or both when it comes to placing in the playoffs. The Seahawks could lose out on home field advantage. Some time to go though before we have to worry about that though. Go Hawks!!

Huskies Beat Beavers Saturday

 The University Washington Huskies beat the Oregon State Beavers in Seattle 41-17. Though the Huskies did win at a high margin I am sure some of their fans were disappointed especially scoring two touchdowns very quickly. Anything less than maybe seventy points they put up against the Oregon Ducks two weeks ago would be a disappointment since the Beavers are not as good a team as the Ducks however we have to look week to week though. The most important thing they were able to win at a margin that they didn’t have to worry about an upset.

What I really liked in the game was the passing of Jake Browning in the game. He made passes that many quarterbacks in college and some in the NFL can’t make. He is able to get the ball to the receiver quickly especially when they get open right away.

Next week the Huskies take on Utah which has a tough defense just like the one they have. I expect that this game will be a close one especially playing on the road. Since Utah has a tough defense I figure this game will be low scoring. I pick the Huskies to win 21-14. It will be important that they get out early to score. They will score two touchdowns in the first half to hold onto the victory. So the score at half time will be 14-7. The Huskies will score a touchdown early in the 3^rd quarter. So they will be leading 21-7. The Huskies will run the ball most of the 4^th quarter to close out the game. Utah will score their second touchdown with five minutes left in the game. They will stop the Huskies with two minutes remaining in the game however tough defense will keep them out of the end zone.

We still have to remember though the Huskies are undefeated they are primarily made up of sophomores and juniors on their roster especially those who play a lot so they will have some inconsistency once in a while. This is true when they are playing on the road. We will forget all that when the Huskies end up in the title game for the national championship game if they get that far. As Coach Peterson wants to play it one game at a time. Go Huskies!

Seahawks and the Cardinals

This Sunday night the Seattle Seahawks will take on the Cardinals in Arizona. The Cardinals are a slight favorite at home over the Seahawks although the away team has done quite well in Arizona. Actually the Cardinals have played will in Seattle. We will have to see if this continues this season too.

Though the Cardinals beat the New York Jets on Monday Night football they still need to beat the Seahawks if they intend to stay in the race to win the NFC West. The Seahawks have a 4-1 record while the Cardinals are 3-3. This is quite the deal when the Seahawks always play better in the second half of the season. This season could even be more true than before since Russell Wilson is playing his way back into shape after getting hurt in the first game against the Miami Dolphins. Even though Wilson did not have a good game against the Atlanta Falcons he always finds a way to rebound. Though he didn’t play well against the Falcons he always finds a way to win the game at the end when it is necessary. He continues to show us the big time quarterback he is even under trying times. This goes for the defense as well. Though they played the worst defense in the 3^rd quarter against the Falcons they were able to shut them down in the 4^th quarter especially the key turnover made by Earl Thomas. Of course this is where championship teams make their grade.

Michael Bennet is expected to be back Sunday night after having to leave the game against the Falcons because of injury. This is good news though the Seahawks have other quality defensive linemen they don’t have a lot of depth at the line either. Frank Clark who missed the game against the Falcons is expected back on Sunday to help out the pass rush as well. Tight Luke Willson who was injured to against the Falcons near the end of the game is expected out for several weeks though he is to return before the season is over. This puts the pressure of Jimmy Graham to stay in at tight end as well. They don’t have a lot of depth there either. I would not be surprised to see the Seahawks acquire another tight end since the remaining tight ends are veteran Brandon Williams and rookie Nick Vannett who started the season injured himself. Williams is primarily a blocking tight end while Vannett can receive and block. In some situations they could use tackle Garry Gilliam at tight end as a blocker. In college he started out as a tight end. On Thursday Jimmy Graham did not practice because of knee/hip injury so he may not play Sunday or at least be limited in his duty. The Seahawks could use rookie wide receiver Tanner McEvoy in at tight end as a receiver along with Vannett if Graham can't go on Sunday. Another questionable one is safety Kam Chancellor who missed the game against the Falcons.

I expect that the Seahawks will win on Sunday though it could be a close game because they usually play better after having a poor game on either side of the ball. The Seahawks running game which has been quite absent needs to return. Thomas Rawls will still be out for a few more weeks so they will have to depend on Christine Michael primarily along with rookie Alex Collins and C.J. Spiller who comes in on third down. We hope to that Russell Wilson can have a passing game like he did against the New York Jets so let’s go Hawks!

What Should the Mariners Do in Outfield?

The Seattle Mariners have options to do in the outfield. They can bring back either or both Seth Smith and Aoki or go another direction. It looks like Smith will be coming back but not sure about Aoki. The only reason I see Aoki coming back is what he did for the Mariners in August and September after being sent down a couple times to Tacoma.

The Mariners have two outfielders they both got last season. Primarily they were used as defensive replacements late in the season. The question would be if they would platoon in either left or right field in the same manner as Smith and Gutierrez. If so then Ben Gamel would start against right handers while Guillermo Heredia against lefties. If this were the case the Mariners may bring Gutierrez back to platoon again with Smith? Whoever did not start in the outfield between Gamel and Heredia would likely come late in game to replace Smith and Gutierrez. This is the way the Mariners go likely Smith and Gutierrez would play in left field.

Another option would be to go out and get another outfielder to play left or right field. In this case Gamel or Heredia would be on the roster as the extra outfielder. The Mariners do have Shawn O’Malley as the utility player who can play the outfield well as the infield so he could come in as a defensive replacement as well when he doesn’t start a game or move over late in games.

If the Mariners were to go out and get an outfielder to start in left or right who should they go after? I was reading on line where Michael Saunders in going to be a free agent. Should the Mariners go after him and sign him. In the same manner did when Raul Ibanez came back to the Mariners. He is athletic like Gamel and Heredia with experience. He fits the mold that Dipoto is looking for and he knows Safeco Field as well. The big question is can he stay healthy and be consistent. He had a great first half of the season since he was voted into the all-star game however his second half hitting dropped off. With experience in the playoffs this year for Toronto is now mature for the Mariners? He is twenty-nine years old so he could be the answer for the Mariners.  If not him who else should they go after either free agent or in a trade.

 

Changes In the Bullpen

I am sure we will see some changes by the Mariners when it comes to the bullpen however the use of the relievers could be different too. Often teams will duplicate what other teams do when they see something that is successful.

We see the Cleveland Indians during the playoffs are bringing Andrew Miller as the first reliever out of the bullpen to a lot of success. I wonder if other teams will do so during the regular season or more happening during the playoffs. I would not be surprised this does happen during the season especially in September however teams that do have relievers that are like Miller may do so early in the season.

I would not be surprised if the Mariners are one of those teams that will try this since Dipoto and Servais are both willing to do anything that seems to be successful. I am sure that the Mariners will still have Edwin Diaz close the game in the 9^th inning however they may try to bring in Steve Cishek as the first reliever into the game. Also they may try Dan Altavilla or Arquimedes Caminero both hard throwing right handers to come in if either makes the team out of spring training. The Mariners could do that with a left hander as well since that is what Miller is.

So who do you think should be the first pitcher out of the bullpen for the Mariners? Also if you had to list the members of the bullpen for next season who would be your choices of relievers?

Noted after I wrote this story Steve Cishek had surgery and likely will be out until at least mid-April.

Seahawks Make Late Breaks To Win

Sunday afternoon heading into the second half against the Atlanta Falcons the Seattle Seahawks looked like they were cruising to victory leading 17-3 however things changed very fast when the Falcons scored three touchdowns to take a 24-17.

You could see that the Seahawks were playing the worst defense of the season in the 3^rd quarter. Actually the offense wasn’t doing much better job either not able to run or pass the ball and going out quickly punting back to the Falcons.

So if you missed some of the 3^rd quarter for some reason or another I am sure you were as surprised as the rest of us. I am sure the Falcon fans were jumping up and down because the Seahawks defense were making them look like the best offense in the NFL. Actually going into the game they were the best offense in the NFL however the Seahawks defense was great in the first half. It wasn’t as though the Falcons were doing a bad job the Seahawks were playing outstanding ball but the beginning of the 3^rd quarter the Falcons scored on their first possession and then got the ball back two more times. Richard Sherman was very upset after the Falcons first touchdown. He started yelling at the coaches on the sidelines along with some of the players. It looked like there were communication problems; not sure whether Sherman was in the wrong spot or not but the receiver was wide open for the score. The next two scores were as bad as the first one. Saying that Sherman was having a bad second half along with the rest of the team was an understatement however they were able to recover late in the fourth quarter. After the Seahawks were able to score looking like it would be a tie with about three minutes left in the game the snap on the extra point went wrong and it was missed so the Seahawks were down 24-23. So it looked like the Seahawks were still going down to defeat however Earl Thomas made an interception and ran the ball to midfield. The Seahawks were able to make a field goal to make the score to put them ahead 26-24. The Falcons did still have a little time to come down the field to win the game with a field goal however on a long pass to Julio Jones on fourth down he was unable to make the catch so the Seahawks won the game.

Whether the Seahawks won the game because the defense came back to do a solid job or it was luck no matter the case the Seahawks won the game to make their record 4-1. This put them in a better position in the top of their division because the Rams and 49ers lost their games over the weekend. The Cardinals play Monday night against the New York Jets. The must win to stay close against the Seahawks. Going into the game they are 2-3. They must win to have any chance to stay close to the Seahawks. The Seahawks now go down to Arizona next Sunday night to play the Cardinals. Regardless what happens Monday night the Seahawks will be in good place if they can take care of the Cardinals.

The Seahawks played good defense against the Falcons though they lost Michael Bennett for the rest of the game because of injury in the 3^rd quarter. Bennett says that he will return to action next Sunday. Near the end of the game tight end Luke Willson got injured. At this point no idea how long he will be out for the Seahawks.

We will take the victory though there was some luck in the game especially in the fourth quarter. Kam Chancellor who missed the game because of injury might be back next Sunday. Having Kam out may have been the problem with the communication in the 3^rd quarter. I am sure the Seahawks will have that straighten out for next week so nothing like that can happen against the Cardinals.  One thing we know for sure the Seahawk players take pride in their defense. Go Hawks!

Who Should Be At Shortstop For Mariners!

This last season the shortstop position was mostly handled by Ketel Marte who played for his second season on the Mariners and for the first full season. Like what happens often a player does struggle in his second season in the major leagues however the big question going into 2017 can the Mariners afford him to have another off-season?

Actually the answer more is for his fielding than his hitting. He plays at one of the three most important positions on the field. Those are the three that they call up the middle. Catcher, shortstop and centerfield; the Mariners are pretty good defensively at catcher in Mike Zunino and Jesus Sucre along with Leonys Martin in centerfield however Marte is not the shortstop need at this time. He starts 2017 at the age of 23 so he actually still has time to become a very good shortstop. The Mariners can handle his hitting because it was decent but in both seasons his fielding percentages were .960 and .959. If you look at Zach Cozart who the Mariners tried to trade for at the trading deadline his fielding percentage was .980. The problem with Marte’s fielding had to do with making the routine plays. He had no problem making some spectacular play however at times he would throw the ball away. A great example of that was at the end of the season when he threw the ball away in two crucial games down the stretch. You could say that the Mariners may have made the playoffs if those plays had not happened. In both games the opposition scored four unearned runs in the inning that he threw the ball away. We don’t know whether they would have won the games or not but the chances would have been pretty good. In both cases the Mariners were ahead.

Right now the place the Mariners are going they need to go with a veteran shortstop whether it is Zach Cozart who I am sure they will try to acquire once again or go for someone else. Ketel Marte most likely will be sent down to play next season in triple A primarily to work on his defense. He has showed that he can hit in the major leagues but he has to show that he can play shortstop in the major leagues. In my opinion his future position is more to be second base; if that is the case than the Mariners likely will look to trade him since Robinson Cano is a fixture at second base and there is no one better than him.

As far as Cozart goes he has a one year contract remaining on his contract. Not sure whether the Mariners are looking to sign him to an extension or let him leave after one season. At the start of last season besides Marte they had Chris Taylor and Luis Sardinas on their 40 ma roster however they traded both them away. Among the Mariners top minor league prospects Drew Jackson a fifth round draft pick in 2015 is considered the Mariners number three prospect. Right now don’t know whether he will be ready to play in 2018 if Marte is not ready to go. Also they have Tyler Smith who played a lot of shortstop in Tacoma last year but not sure whether the Mariners consider him to be someone to play for them as a regular anytime soon. I am sure that Dipoto will look into acquiring Cozart during the off-season along with some other shortstops that could be available. It would be difficult to keep Marte at shortstop for another season unless he works a lot during the off-season and sees a lot of improvement in his fielding. So right now it is see what happens at short. Go M’s.

Seahawks/Falcons Offense Vs Defense

The Seattle Seahawks take on the Atlanta Falcons in the biggest game of the young season for both teams. The Seahawks have a 3-1 record while the Falcons are 4-1.

The Seahawks winning this game would give them a wider margin in first place over the Los Angeles Rams and the Arizona Cardinals. The Falcons have the number one offense in the NFL while the Seahawks have the number one defense. The main matchup will be between receiver Julio Jones and cornerback Richard Sherman. Likely Jones will make some plays but will Sherman be able to stop him on the big plays. The way I would stop Jones would be within the five yards of the line of scrimmage. I would take a lineman or linebacker near the line to do so just in case Jones got past them and Sherman would be in better position to guard him. The rule on how the cornerbacks can play gives the advantage to Jones. It will be important that Sherman be on him close as possible without causing a penalty. Also it would be good if Sherman can get a couple interceptions as well.  I would look at Earl Thomas come over to help out as well.

With the bye week over Russell Wilson should be healthier than he was when he played against the New York Jets who he threw for over three hundred yards against. This will be another key to the game is that the Seahawks are able to keep the ball long as possible. So the Seahawks will have to depend on the running game with Christine Michael being the primary back. Also Jimmy Graham making catches on third down along with Doug Baldwin. At this point not sure how much Tyler Lockett will play because of his injury. He could be in the game primarily as the punt returner. Paul Richardson could turn out to be the primary speed man in this game.

On the defensive side another key would be the pass rush with Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril going after quarterback Matt Ryan. This game could come down to a touchdown or field goal late in the fourth quarter. This would depend a lot on how much the defense has to be on the field and who has the ball last in the game. Both Ryan and Wilson are great at coming back to win games in the fourth quarter. I am not sure of the score however it likely be a tight game. The Seahawks playing a game of defense and the offense playing well to along with being at Century Link Field this could be a blow out as well. Go Hawks!

Look at First Base For Mariners

                                     
                                          Daniel Vogelbach

I am sure we will see soon what Jerry Dipoto will be doing for trades coming up in the off-season. I am sure he has talked over with a few other ball clubs and has discussed with his management team whether first base is a priority or he may be looking more at shortstop and the outfield.

Looking at his history I expect at least one trade if not more will happen during October. He will look at more transactions in November. Free agency won’t happen until after the World Series though I am sure the Mariner staff is discussing that to.

At first base Daniel Vogelbach the Mariners got in mid-July from the Chicago Cubs for pitcher Mike Montgomery. He played out in Triple A for the Tacoma Rainiers before being called up in September when the roster expanded. The Mariners feel that he is ready to play regular in the major leagues since he has hit pretty good in all the levels of the minor leagues. He is a left handed hitter so the Mariners may look at platooning him at first base so they would look at bringing in a right handed hitter. Adam Lind and Dae-Ho Lee are both free agents. Lind will not be back and Lee could if his asking price is OK. The Mariners will look at a right handed hitter that could play every day if things don’t work out and Vogelbach isn’t ready for the major leagues.

I have heard that the Mariners could be interest in Steve Pearce who played last year for the Baltimore Orioles and is a free agent. He batted .288 in 85 games with thirteen home runs. His batting average was higher than Lee and so was his on-base percentage. What would make him interested to the Mariners is that he could play either left or right field along with second and third base. So he gives more flexibility in the lineup for the Mariners. Although he has been in the major leagues for several years could he be a regular at first base if necessary.

Another choice in house could be Mike Freeman and Stefan Romero who both can play multiple positions as well. D.J. Peterson a former first round draft pick ended his season in Tacoma early because of an injury. Hard to know whether Dipoto thinks he is ready or should spend another year in Tacoma. The thing about Romero is he has been in the Mariners system for several years so Dipoto may think his days are done here. He could be an added piece in any trade the Mariners make. Other words he would be a throw in. It may do him a world of good to go elsewhere.

Next time I will look at the shortstop position since it is the only other infield position that is in question.

 

Seahawks and the Bye Week

I know some of you had withdrawals because the Seahawks did not play on Sunday. I enjoyed the fact that I could take a weekend off from the NFL even though the weather was not good. Of course I had college football on Saturday watching the Huskies beat up on the Oregon Ducks to end a 12 year drought. It was nice to hear about the Cougars beating the Stanford Cardinal. Right now they are both at the top of the Pac-12 north division race. We all hope it comes down to the Apple Cup on Black Friday.

With the week off we hope to see a healthier Russell Wilson against the Atlanta Falcons next Sunday. Also the other players that may have some little dings feel much better. Another thing about the bye week you were able to save your voice too. Remember still got twelve games to go in the regular season plus the playoffs and the Super Bowl. The 12^th man has to be healthy too.

So now you can get back to all Seahawk news all the time. Oh yes throw in some Husky and Cougar news as well. This could be the best football season around in a few. Look forward to see the defense on the field as well as the offense. Like to see more long passes to Tyler Lockett and Paul Richardson along with medium passes to Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse; of course we can’t forget seeing Jimmy Graham going for a high ball. We can’t forget about the running game as well though Marshawn is in the past. We hope to see an improved offensive line as well. The most important thing though it is Seahawk football. Go Team!

Top Dawgs Back in Seattle

The Seattle Seahawks have been the team in Seattle over the last decade however the Washington Huskies are now looking to take the reigns once again.  

Late Saturday afternoon the Huskies went to Eugene, Oregon and destroyed the Oregon Ducks ending the twelve year losing streaking. The final score was 70-21 with Jake Browning throwing for six touchdowns and running for two more. John Ross who I thought would do a great job if the Huskies were to win made three of the touchdowns that Browning through.

Running back Myles Gaskin ran for  197 on sixteen carries for a career high for him including a 65 yard touchdown in the first quarter that put the Huskies up 21-7. Receiver Dante Pettis scored a couple touchdowns as well. He lost a touchdown on a punt return when the Huskies were penalized for a hit on the back. He had a total of eight catches for one hundred thirty-four yards.

The playing of Jake Browning was so excellent that he reminded me of Russell Wilson though he is taller. Browning is a true sophomore who started last year for Huskies. This year Coach Peterson has let Browning loose after keeping him doing basic plays last year. Browning continues to play he did in this game the best of the season the Huskies will go undefeated going into the national championship series.

The other Pac-12 team in the state of Washington the Cougars did a number themselves this week beating the Stanford Cardinal 42-16. The Cougars beat Oregon last week so both Cougars and Huskies dominated both Oregon and Stanford. Right now the best college football is being played in Washington. This continues for more than a month the Apple Cup being played on Black Friday after Thanksgiving will be something special. This could be the best game ever in this long rivalry series. What made this game against the Cardinal is that Cougars played wonderful defense which is not what they known for. The Cougars forced three turnovers by the Cardinal along with Christian McCaffrey having only 83 all-purpose yards. He had to leave the game in the second half as well. Before last week’s game against the Huskies McCaffrey was one of the favorites for the Heisman Trophy. Unless he turns things around it could be over. Now quarterbacks Luke Falk of the Cougars and Browning of the Huskies could be in the running for the Heisman. Next year was being considered the year more than this year when both teams could compete for a title. Both are on schedule ahead. Right now the Husky and Cougar fans should enjoy the ride. Go teams!

The Big Three

You are a Mariner fan likely you know who the big three are. So I will let you know Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager. Also they are right in the middle of the batting order three through five. All three had really good years that included one of the best years that Cano has had. Truly good since 2015 the first half of the season was terrible and we found out it was because of injuries. He started out having an outstanding season and it continue throughout 2016. Nelson Cruz had another good consistent year. He especially was good in September when the Mariners were trying to get into the playoffs. Kyle Seager started out poorly in April batting under .200 however did hit five home runs like he accomplished every month of the season ending with a total of 30. He did have a good defensive season though it was not like gold glove like in 2014. Most of his errors had to do with not making the play. He always has a good time making throws to first base. Next season for the Mariners to make it into the playoffs Seager will need to have a higher batting average.

I expect that all three will have another really good season next season. I am not sure whether they will have the kind of year as in 2016 however if they are near the average of their careers than the Mariners will still be in good shape.

The key to the Mariners for 2017 is for the starting rotation to be healthy unlike they were in June and July. King Felix will have to healthy all season. James Paxton and TaiJuan Walker need to have the kind of years the Mariners are expecting. 2017 season could be a telling year for the two of them. Iwakuma maybe the most questionable though he had the best season in 2016. He isn’t getting any younger and he has to stay healthy as well. Ariel Maranda who the Mariners got from the Baltimore Orioles needs to pitch like he did in September. Also the Mariners need to have a healthy Nathan Karns for depth as well. I still believe the Mariners need to go out and get a proven top starter. He doesn’t have to be a number starter though it would be nice but a number two starter needs to be. The Mariners are probably at least  a year or two away from one of their minor league starting pitchers to emerge.

The Mariners will need to add another pitcher or two in the bullpen as well. A left handed reliever who has been successful like Charlie Furbush was would be nice. Furbush is not expected back until 2018 if he does at all. Edwin Diaz will be the closer with Steve Cishek being his primary setup man along with Nick Vincent and I like the job Evan Scribner did in September. The Cleveland Indian pitching Andrew Miller early in the game shows that a team should look at putting one of their top relievers in the game when the situation merits. It doesn’t matter whether it is the sixth, seventh or eighth inning. This where I would like to see Scribner or Vincent in the game when it is on the line before the ninth inning; another pitcher I would like back is Drew Storen however he is a free agent so he could go elsewhere. He showed to that he can be affective in the bullpen. Dan Altavilla the Mariners brought up at the end of August from Double A could be a key pitcher in the same type of situations. He could close when Diaz needs to have a rest.

Look forward to what Dipoto plans to do in approving the team. They know that they have to be more athletic especially in the outfield. Go M’s.

John Ross and Huskies Take on Ducks

The University Washington Huskies who are now 5^th ranked in the country take on the Oregon Ducks in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday. The Huskies are favored in double digits which is amazing since they haven’t beaten the Ducks in the last twelve years and they are playing on the road. The reason likely is that they beat Stanford 44-6. The Ducks continue having a good offense though not good as in some of the past years and they are not good on the defensive side of the ball. On the Huskies they have one of the best offenses in the Pac-12 along with the best defense in the conference. The Huskies end this drought regardless of by how many points they show that they are the best team in the conference. They have a record of 5-0 including 2-0 in the conference. No one really knew how good they really were until they beat up on Stanford who was considered the best team in the conference. They are probably still among the best however the Huskies could be the King on the top of the hill.

Jake Browning has broken out as one of the best quarterbacks in the Pac-12 as a sophomore so he and the Huskies have two more years to be outstanding. Under the coaching of Chris Peterson the Huskies could go on a long run like they did under Don James.

The key player for the Huskies on the offense side of the ball against the Ducks is receiver/kickoff returner John Ross. He missed last season because of an injury however he is back as good as ever. He has twenty-one receptions for two hundred seventy-seven yards and six touchdowns. Also he has one kickoff return for a touchdown as well. He could break loose for at least one touchdown receiving and another on a kickoff. The Ducks will need to know where he is at all times. Another player who could make the difference is another wide receiver who runs back punts in Dante Pettis. He could put the Huskies in good field position on his punt returns especially with the working of the Huskies defense. He could catch a pass for a touchdown as well.

The Huskies running game improved last week against Stanford. So if running backs Myles Gaskin and Lavon Coleman both run near a hundred yards each against the Ducks this will be money in the bank to. It will not only allow the Huskies to score but to keep the Ducks offense off the field too. Winning this game will keep the Huskies going toward playing the conference championship game and into the national championship series. The important thing right now is to play one game at a time. This is what Coach Peterson is good at having the team focus on the game that is coming up and not looking ahead.

The other interesting game will be the Washington State Cougars against Stanford. The question will Stanford be able to rebound after the big loss against the Huskies and can the Cougars win three games straight.  Good luck to the Cougars along with the Huskies. Go teams!

Seattle Mariners 2016 Report Card Part 3

Now I do my report on each position of the infield, outfield, dh and utility player. I will start at first base where Adam Lind and Dae-Ho Lee performed the duties most of the year. I give them a grade of C-. Adam Lind was the left handed hitter and Lee the right handed hitter in a platoon situation. They both had power combining for a total of thirty-four home runs and one hundred-seven runs batted in although the batting average was low especially for Lind at .239. Why I give them a grade of C- is that they were inconsistent at the plate especially in the second half of the season. In fact Lee was sent down for ten days to triple-A because he was struggling at the plate. He did do better after returning to the team. They both did a good job playing defense at first base. Adam Lind is a free agent so likely he won’t return especially when the Mariners acquired Daniel Vogelbach from the Chicago Cubs. He is expected to be the Mariner’s first baseman next year though he had little chance playing in September when he was called up because the Mariners were in the playoff chase. Lee is a free agent as well but his status is more up in the air. It depends how much interest is found around the majors for his services and whether the Mariners feel that they need to platoon once again at first base. I will get back to that at another time.

Second base was all Robinson Cano who played there for almost all the games. He was the Mariners player of the year and he was so outstanding at the plate and in the field so his grade is an A like no other. This was his best season as a Mariner and we hope that we can see more of this from him. He had his highest total ever in home runs with thirty-nine the second most on the team to Nelson Cruz and second in runs batted in to the same guy with one hundred-three. He and Cruz along with Seager to some extent had a lot to do with the success of the Mariners.

Speaking of Kyle Seager his grade is A-. He would be higher on his grade however he had a slow start to the season in April batting less than .200. The amazing thing though is that he had five home runs every month of the season from April through September. I am not sure if anyone has ever done that before. His defense was pretty good most of the season though he did have a few lapses as well. It would be nice if next season he could get off to a better start. His batting average for the season was .278. It would be nice next April he batted somewhere between .200 and .278. He struggled at the plate in September as well though he continued with his home runs.

Shortstop with Ketel Marte playing the position for one hundred and nineteen games; he was out mostly the other forty-three games because of injury and mono. Not sure how much either one affected him when he returned. I found it hard to grade him whether C- or D+. You can take either one. His batting average was .259 which was not bad for someone who missed the 43 games and it was his first full season in the majors however his defense was inconsistent and sometimes awful. Everyone including the Mariner coaching staff found that Shawn O’Malley played a good shortstop when Marte was out. As the utility player playing several positions most felt before that playing shortstop was his shortcoming. Now we know that he could play shortstop for a good period of time. In fact so much we wonder why Servais did not play him more there the last couple weeks of the season when it was obvious that Marte was struggling. We will get more on him on another post considering his future with the Mariners.

Now the utility position which Shawn O’Malley took over in late May or so and never gave up the spot. Luis Sardinas started out there in the beginning of the season however his hitting was not good batting .181 in thirty-two games. He was sent down in May to Tacoma and then the Mariners traded him to San Diego. Also Chris Taylor came up for  a couple games but because of errors he was sent back down to when O’Malley came up for the rest of the season and he was eventually traded to the Dodgers. Both Sardinas and Taylor were not only in spring training for the utility position but as a possibility at shortstop in the future depending on Marte. Neither one worked out nor the Mariners brass felt they had no future.

Now in the outfield we will start with left field. I give the grade of C+. Norichika Aoki was the primary player at that position. He platooned hitting against right handed pitchers. First half of the season he struggled so much that he was sent down to Tacoma for a few weeks. When he returned his offense became much better that he was one of the key players down the stretch run. In fact so much that his batting average and on base percentage were right about his career average; the Mariners are thinking about picking up his 2017 option however it may not happen depending if they can acquire a regular corner outfielder. His defense was the sore spot most of the season and often was replaced in the late innings. Franklin Gutierrez and Seth Smith shared left field when Aoki was sent down to Tacoma with Nelson playing right field.

Centerfield was patrolled for the season primarily by Leonys Martin who played a solid defense. He was out for a short period of time with an injury that put him on the disabled list. It did take him some time to get his batting and running on the bases back in gear. Though his batting average was .247 he did have a career high of fifteen home runs.

Right field I would give a grade of A-. Most of the season Seth Smith and Franklin Gutierrez platooned there though when Aoki was out Nelson Cruz played right field. Gutierrez was inconsistent however he did have fourteen home runs for the Mariners. His defense was not as good as we are accustomed to and his batting average was .246. Right now it is hard to know whether he will return in 2017. Seth Smith was another one that was inconsistent as well and he ended up with .249 however had sixteen home runs. Smith had some key home runs and carried the team a few times during the season. Heredia who played most of the year in double-A and triple A came up a few times in August and then was part of the hands on team that manager Servais called it. He and Ben Gamel who the Mariners received in a trade with the Yankees late August were those two guys coming in playing left and right field in late innings. One or both could be on the team next year.

Designated Hitter there is no other grade than an A since Nelson Cruz was the primary one especially the second half of the season. The first half he played some right field however Franklin Gutierrez and Seth Smith did solid there themselves. Also Dae-Ho Lee did so when Aoki was sent down to Tacoma. Cruz despite his sore wrist was the major driver offensively the last couple weeks when the Mariners were going toward the playoffs. If it were not Cano he would have been the Mariners player of the year.

That is my report card on the Mariners. During the off-season I will write about the Mariner players where I see them next year including on the Mariners or not. Also I will give my opinion for any transactions and trades that general manager Jerry Dipoto makes. I am sure he will be a busy man though probably not as much like last off season however we will see. Have you all a great holiday season and look forward to next season Go M’s.

Seattle Mariners 2016 Report Card Part 2

 

Now going to look at the catchers and pitchers of the Seattle Mariners 2016 season; going to stop with the catchers where I give them a grade of C-. I am probably giving them a kind grade here but I think defensively in general they were good however the hitting was another suspect year.

The season started with Chris Iannetta being the starting catcher and Steve Clevenger who they got in the trade for Mark Trumbo from the Baltimore Orioles. As we all know it was made as a salary dump. I will mention it more when we get to the first baseman position. For the first half of the season Chris Iannetta was the primary catcher while Clevenger played sparingly until he got hurt in July. His batting average was below .200 however he did have a few key hits while Iannetta played almost every game except getting a Sunday off. The first half of the season his batting average hovered around .230 while his defense was OK; when Clevenger was hurt Mike Zunino came up from Tacoma. The Mariners plan was for him to play the year in Tacoma too improve on his hitting. For a couple months he played about two games to Iannetta’s one game. Zunino started off hitting pretty well when he was called up especially hit home runs however over time his batting average went down. Hitting with power especially home runs was the key to him and the Mariners. On some occasions even when he was struggling at the plate he hit some key home runs even at the end of the season. Chris Iannetta playing time dwindled in September when the roster’s expanded and Jesus Sucre was added onto the roster. Most of September Zunino did a lot of the catching however Sucre did some catching especially when Felix Hernandez was pitching. In fact Sucre hit pretty well in September batting near .500 including a couple of home runs that helped win a game for the Mariners. Iannetta defense got worse over the season because he was catching way too much for someone in their mid-30s. The Mariners have a club option on Iannetta of over $4 million so likely he will not return. The Mariners expect that Zunino will be the everyday catcher in 2017. How long that last will depend on his hitting. If he can hit around .230 with power because of his defense he will catch however if he is around .200 then the Mariners will look elsewhere for another catcher. Speaking of another catcher Jesus Sucre may start as the backup or they may go out for a veteran catcher who has some pop in his bat.

Now I will look at the starting pitching. I give a grade of B- to them. The season started out well for the starting rotation going through May however injuries cost the Mariners victories in June and July. In fact it is the primary reason they did not make the playoffs and have a run against the Texas Rangers for the West division title.  The injury to Felix Hernandez was the key one because the team counts on him so much.

When Felix returned in August although he was not his old self the team won several games while he was on the mound; Iwakuma and Paxton were the key pitchers during the second half of the season along with Ariel Miranda the Mariners picked up for Wade Miley who had his ups and downs all season long. While Felix was out along with TaiJuan Walker the Mariners had to count on pitchers who were called up from Tacoma and did a poor job to say the least. TaiJuan Walker return from the disabled list at the beginning of September had a terrible outing in his first outing and could not make it through the first inning. With the help of pitching Coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr he came back to pitch pretty well and again shows potential for the upcoming season. It looks as though the starters at the end of the season will be the ones starting next season unless the Mariners can pick up a top notch pitcher. Nathan Karns coming back after being out for half of the season will bring depth to the starting rotation however I don’t think that is enough.

The bullpen was pretty good most of the season though they had to get rid of a few relievers and add a few along the way too. The key to the bullpen success happened when the Mariners brought up Edwin Diaz to first be one of the setup relievers before putting him in place of Steve Cishek as the closer. Cishek had a good season except the short period of time before they moved Diaz into the closer position. Diaz showed that he is the future closer though he did struggle the last couple weeks of the season because he never pitched this late into the season. Cishek became the number one setup man after returning from an injury himself. We will look at the reliever going into next season in a few days. The grade for the bullpen is  B+. Next post I will look at the infield, outfield and designated hitter that were excellent most of the season. The defense was questionable at times however the offense is what helped the Mariners get to eighty-six wins. Until next time Go M’s.

 

 

  

 

 

Seattle Mariners 2016 Report Card

 

 

Now my look at the Mariners 2016 team edition; I will give a breakdown of each position however I start with giving my overall grade and that of general manager and manager. My grade for the Seattle Mariner team is A- because they won ten more games over 2015. Of course if they had made the playoffs the grade would have been an A.

General Manager Jerry Dipoto and Manager Scott Servais I give the same grade as the team A-. I figure the grade of the team should be matched by the general manager and manager. There could be a time where the manager grade is higher than the general manager when the team performed better than expected. In this case I can’t say that because this was the first year that Servais is a manager so he was on the job training and Dipoto did give him what he needed. I believe that Dipoto got players that the Mariners needed for the 2016. He made more transactions than any team in the major leagues before the season began. Not all the transactions worked out however he did go after some veterans to bolster the roster and add depth to the organization. Leonys Martin was probably the best acquisition that the Mariners made and will return next season to be in center field once again. What made that trade something was that the Mariners got him for almost nothing. Not one of the players they sent to Texas Rangers did anything for them. In fact Tom Wilhelmsen was released by the Rangers and resigned by the Mariners after going through waivers. Wade Miley’s acquisition turned out to be the worst and he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles at the trading deadline. What helped out on that trade the Mariners were able to get Iwakuma back after the Dodgers decided to veto the contract he signed with them. Another trade was a salary dump sending Mark Trumbo for catcher Steve Clevenger which was a bust. The Mariners in the first trade for Dipoto was getting Nathan Karns from the Tampa Bay Rays. Karns ended up getting injured about the middle of the season so you could see that as a failure too however we have to look to see what Karns may do this coming season. Most likely he will be the fifth starter at best or starting in the bullpen. I would give a C for his transactions however he had to make moves and sometimes they just don’t work out.

Scott Servais I thought did a fine job with what he did with the Mariners. He was able to get them to ten games above

.500; ten more wins over last season. What he did most was able to get the players to play as a team. He wasn’t afraid to make changes when needed like putting Edwin Nunez in place of Steve Cishek as closer. I thought he could have done more at shortstop possibly replacing Marte with O’Malley. He may have felt that Marte needed to play out the season. It may have been a joint decision between Servais and Dipoto. Sending Mike Zunino to Tacoma to start the season was a good choice. They had to bring up about half season because of the injury to Steve Clevenger. I thought the best job he did was putting out the same lineup almost every day. He had a lineup for right handers and left handers because the Mariners did not have a regular player to use in left field and right field along with first base. The question thing I had was using pinch hitters too much. I know that he was matching up because of platooning but in my mind pinch hitting should only occur when leading off an inning or there are runners on base. Hopefully that will change next year. What I like most about Servais is that at the end of the season he was not satisfied with eight-six wins. He wants the team to make the playoffs and expects them to do so next season.

I look forward to where Dipoto can improve the roster and what Servais can do with those players. It would be nice if the Mariners can add three or four more wins next season. We will look at that during the off-season.

Coming up on my next post I will look at catcher and the pitching staff.

 

Seahawks Stick It To Jets

The Seattle Seahawks game was one of the best ones to watch in some time. The Seahawks beat the Jets in New Jersey 27-17 however the game was not as close as the score indicated. Also there were a couple plays that were questionable at the very least. The first one was the fumble by quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick   I thought was an incomplete pass. You could hear Earl Thomas saying arm went forward. I thought the same thing however after checking replay called it a fumble that turned into a touchdown. The other was pass interference on Richard Sherman when it looked like receiver Brandon Marshall did. At least Sherman got the last laugh on the next play he intercepted pass. At the end of the game he had another interception to seal the game.

I thought Russell Wilson should not start the game because of another injury that happened the week before against the 49ers. Although he could barely get around he still passed for 309 yards. Also it was the second straight game where Jimmy Graham had over one hundred yards receiving. I wonder what people think now that thought Graham would not have a place in the Seahawks offense. I expect that we will see better things in the weeks to come. Christine Michael had another outstanding game running and receiving in the game. We hope that he continues this way until Thomas Rawls returns in about a month. Michael in a position that he has never been in playing for the Seahawks we will have to see. It is nice to see that the Seahawks have a bye week so Wilson can have some recovery time going into the next game.

Outside a couple plays including the Fitzpatrick fumble the Seahawks again was outstanding. Everyone played a good game and Richard Sherman had to have one of the few challenges he will go through during the season covering Brandon Marshall. Although Marshall got him a couple times Sherman showed that he can still intercept passes. He will have another challenge in two weeks against the Atlanta Falcons with Julius Jones who had a big game against Carolina Cougars. The Seahawks should be favored since the game is in Seattle and the Falcons don’t have a very good defense. The do have a good offense however the Seahawks should be able to stop them though it will be a challenge.

On Friday night the Washington Huskies had a surprise game dominating the Stanford Cardinal in every facet of the game winning 44-6. The Huskies now are ranked #5 in Associated Press rankings and next week they play the Oregon Ducks. This will be the biggest game of the year at least for a few weeks since the Huskies haven’t beaten the Ducks in fifteen years. The Ducks were beaten this week in Pullman by the Washington State Cougars. The Huskies should be favored in this game however they will not look ahead either since they have won in so long. The important thing is that the Huskies run a lot against the Ducks so the ball will be kept away from them and help the defense not get tired out.

Since the Seahawks won’t play this coming weekend the college games will be what everyone will be looking at. Go Huskies and Cougars. Also rest for the Seahawks.  

Season Ends with Eighty-Six Wins For Mariners

All of us Mariners fans are disappointing that the Mariners did not make it to the playoffs once again. You could say it is fifteen years and counting. On the positive side they did when eight-six games this year compared to seventy-six wins last year. It was a quite an improvement over a team last year that was expected to make it into the playoffs and all the way to the World Series. That high expectations cost the Mariners general manager and manager their jobs. Now with Dipoto and Servais at the helms it seems that the Mariners are on the way where we can see consistent seasons of eighty-six wins or more. I liked what Servais said after the game where he wants more than having a ball club that is over .500 he wants a team in the playoffs.

It looks to me the Mariners have players that are hungry and want to get into the playoffs on a regular basis. Before I forget they did lose the final game against the A’s 3-2. They did have their opportunities in the game but came short. Felix Hernandez pitched only three innings and gave up the three runs. In post-game interview he mentioned in getting back to where he was before 2016 and include pitching a little in winter ball. He will likely be put on the same program Robinson Cano was on last off-season. He knows if he wants to make it into the playoffs he has to be healthy and pitch better than he did this year.

I have mentioned some things that will need to change for the upcoming season. The Mariners fortunately don’t need a lot of change like they did after last year. I will get into those things in future posts.

I will do my annual report card this week about the team. Most likely I will break it into at least a couple posts if not three. I will probably start out with the pitching and then go into the infield and outfield. We all know to that there will be upgrades in all three of those areas during the off-season.

I am sure with the playoffs starting Tuesday with the American League play in game we will have some withdrawals concerning the Mariners and baseball. It could be postponed until after the World Series. I would not be surprised if Dipoto makes a few transactions or at least announcements before October is over.   Probably announce who may not return or put on waivers. We do know that the Mariners have a few free agents notably Adam Lind and Dae-Ho Lee. I am pretty confident that Lind won’t return and the chances that Lee won’t either since he had a pretty poor second half of the season. It was nice to have him around for one season though. Another one who probably won’t be invited back is Chris Iannetta. He had a decent first half of the season but poor second half when Mike Zunino returned. In fact he played very little in September which shows that he probably won’t be back either. I will look at those others I believe won’t return next season either next week. It is nice to know that the team progressed over last season. The main thing is to be more consistent next year; until the next time for the report cards enjoy the off-season especially the holidays. Go M’s.

Mariners Miss Out on Playoffs With Loss

Saturday night the Seattle Mariners in the next to last game of the season had their toughest loss of all as well. Winning on this night would have gotten them closer to getting into the playoffs but the loss cost them the playoffs.

The Mariners fought hard all night in the end they lost the game in the 10^th inning when rookie second baseman Joey Wendle drove in a run with a double. The Mariners were unable to match the A’s like they did in the rest of the game. I find it interesting that in the third inning Ketel Marte made a throwing error after making a fine stop on a grounder to deep short. Instead of holding onto the ball he tried to get the runner at second. The Mariners made scored in the bottom of the second to make it 2-0. After Marte’s error that allowed the runner go to third the A’s scored four runs in that inning. Wendle later on tried to scoop a ball hit to him that became an error that allowed the Mariners to get back into the game.

Both Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz each hit two-run homes to help the Mariners to get back into the game however we see it was never meant to be. Wendle who never let the error affect him the rest of the game was the player to win the game. I am not saying that Marte’s error affected his play but he was unable to make the play to win the game.

The final game of the season Sunday afternoon Felix Hernandez the King will go against the Oakland A’s. It would have been nice to have a sweep at least but three out of four to end the season not bad.

Whether the Mariners have eighty-six or seven wins on the season we will all be thinking about the what ifs; the game they should have beaten the Cubs in Chicago and won at least one game at Safeco Field against the Minnesota Twins to name a couple. Another what if would have been that the Mariners could have gotten across the ten game above .500 earlier. The thing though is the team had a good season despite the fact they did not make the playoffs.

The plan that General Manager Jerry Dipoto made when he came to work for the Mariners last September he made it work other than getting into the playoffs his first year. He wanted the team to win at least eight-six games and see the chances which they will do. This is a good stepping stones to what the team can do in the future. The Mariners learned to win in 2016 though it was not always easy. There will be spots that will need to improve and players that most likely won’t be back.

This coming week I will give my final grade of the season. It certainly is better than last year that is for sure. Jack Z was fired before the season ended and Lloyd was not asked to return when the season ended. Actually Dipoto had a discussion with Lloyd and it was obvious what was said did not match. Dipoto added some needed parts though they not all pan out. This off-season he will add some more parts though they should not be as many as last time. Over the off-season we will discuss and see what Dipoto comes up with. As always though Go M’s.