Looking At Mariners Bullpen

The Seattle Mariners 2017 bullpen probably won’t look a lot difference than the one that ended the 2016 season. The one spot that will change is having at least one left handed reliever that is different and another that ended the season in the Mariners rotation.

The Mariners traded Vidal Nuno who spent all last season in the Mariners’ bullpen to the Los Angeles Dodgers for catcher Carlos Ruiz. The thing about Nuno he was not a left handed specialist in the same mold of Charlie Furbush who was out all season with injury for the Mariners. In fact Furbush is no longer on the Mariners roster and won’t pitch again this coming season. Nuno was primarily a long reliever though he wasn’t used in that spot much of last season either. So now Jerry Dipoto decided he needed a left handed specialist so he went out and signed free agent Marc Rzepczynski. He likely is the pitcher to fill that spot though the team did sign a few others or have other’s competing but mostly for depth. I expect that a couple of those guys will start in triple A Tacoma.  The other left handed reliever to be the bullpen most likely will be Ariel Maranda who started the off-season as the second left handed in the starting rotation along with James Paxton however a couple trades put him more likely in the bullpen but will add depth to the rotation as well.

Outside of the left handed relievers doesn’t leave much in the bullpen for a new comer to make the squad though Dipoto did add more depth. Going into the season Edwin Diaz is expected to be the closer. The Mariners do have other guys that throw the ball hard like Diaz competing for at least one spot in the bullpen. Dan Altavilla who came up in August will be one of those candidates. He does have options so he could be sent down without any problem if necessary. Another one competing is Tony Zych who missed almost all last season. Also the Mariners traded for Shae Simmons who the Mariners traded for with the Atlanta Braves.

Besides Diaz the other guys that will most likely be in the bullpen are  Steve Cishek the closer at the beginning of last season is expected to pitch the eighth inning and possibly close when Diaz isn’t available, however, he may start the season on the disable list because off-season surgery. Nick Vincent is another one who will pitch either the seventh or eighth inning. Evan Scribner who was out most of the season except September when he had an outstanding time could be the first guy out of the bullpen in the sixth or seventh especially with runners on base. It was what he did very well in September. If those guys all make the bullpen out of spring training that leaves one spot open along with another having Cishek on the disabled list. That will leave several guys to battle for those spots. Dan Altavilla should be the leading candidate however he does have options to go back down to the minor leagues. Someone would have to have an outstanding spring to bump him or he has a poor spring. This will leave several down in the minor leagues to be ready when and if necessary.

Next time look at the infield and the catchers. Of course it will depend what other transactions that Jerry Dipoto may make.

 

 

Mariners Fan Fest

This weekend the Seattle Mariners have their annual fan fest where the fans can meet and get to know the Mariner players.

With the turnover of players again this year that Jerry Dipoto has brought in you will get to meet them and get their autograph. There is a cost in get in if you are an adult however kids are free so make it a family affair.

Among the players that will be there will be newly acquired Drew Smyly and Jarrod Dyson. Also new shortstop Jean Segura, first baseman/outfielder Danny Valencia, starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo, outfielder Mitch Haniger and holdover center field Leonys Martin and left handed pitcher James Paxton.

Also you will be able to have your kids run around the bases along with visiting the locker room and clubhouse. A great way for you to make it feel like your home; it takes place 11 am until 4 pm both Saturday and Sunday.  It will be an experience the whole family won’t forget.

On Thursday the Mariners picked up catcher Tuffy Gosewisch up on waivers from the Atlanta Braves and traded for lefty Dillon Overton from the Oakland A’s. Overton spent most of last season in triple A where he was a starting pitcher. I am sure the Mariners will look at him as a starter however could decide to see how he works out of the bullpen too. The Mariners designated two players for assignment in catcher Jesus Sucre who is out of options and pitcher Jonathan Aro. Both players could go to triple A if not claimed by any other team.

I am sure Dipoto will continue adding more depth going into spring training. These players won’t only get a chance in spring training they most likely be on the Tacoma Rainiers roster starting the season and be available in case of injuries. General Manager Jerry Dipoto isn’t afraid in keeping busy that is for sure along with his front office staff. Go M’s.

Edgar Gets Number Retired

Now that spring training will be here real soon and the voting of the HOF is over the Mariners announced that Edgar Martinez number 11 will be retired on August 12.

It is fitting that his number will be the second retired by the Seattle Mariners in the history of the team. Last year they retired Ken Griffey Junior’s number after being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Now it is time that Edgar has his place in the hall as well however we will have to wait at least another year if not two to see that happen. I don’t understand the writers why they couldn’t vote him in this year. There were not that many candidates that deserve to be in the HOF.

I figure if Tim Raines gets in on his final try than Edgar should be in as well. Other than the speed and stealing bases Edgar had a higher batting average than Raines along with having an on base percentage over four hundred. Edgar was never afraid to take walk. Another thing was he almost took the first pitch every time on an at bat so he could have a strike against him right off. It didn’t bother him even if he had two strikes against him. He was a patient hitter at the plate who knew what he was doing. Another thing we found near the end of his career that he had blindness in his eyes and he still hit over three hundred. He was the best right handed hitter in baseball at least during his time in the game if not for ever. He won two American League batting titles playing for the same team his entire career.  Now he is showing both young players and veterans on how to hit the ball in certain situations. He has been the Mariners hitting coach for one and half seasons showing these players day in and day out how to do it. You can see especially in the late innings when the Mariners are making a rally to win or get back into the game. How long he will be a hitting coach how knows? He could end up being a manager someday too. It depends on Edgar. Anyway we salute you today Edgar for being the player and the man baseball fans can admire. We look forward to seeing you in the Mariner dugout for the season and especially on Aug. 12 when the Mariners honor you. Thanks again Edgar!

Kam and the Legion of Boom

We all know that the Seahawks 2016-17 season ended where the Legion of Boom is not in great shape right now. They not only lost Earl Thomas who we are not sure when he will return and the guy we are accustomed in seeing.  The Seahawks lost DeShawn Shead the corner across from Richard Sherman in the last game against the Atlanta Falcons. At this point he could be out for some time. Speaking of Sherman we find out after the season that he played with an injury as well. He won’t need surgery and should be ready for next season however how healthy will he be able to stay.

Kam Chancellor the leader of the LOB missed out on several games as well. As far as the key players of the defensive backs Jeremy Lane was the only one to stay healthy all season and he was out the previous year. For insurance purposes the Seahawks signed veteran DB Perrish Cox.  Most likely the Seahawks will have to draft one or two cornerback along with a safety in April. Also will look at bringing in free agents from either the college ranks or veterans; they do have a few other DB’s on the roster however are they ready to start?

The next question is that Kam Chancellor has a year left on his contract. Is this the time to sign him to a new contract? If so for how long?  I know that the Seahawks have to be worried about his durability and how many games he could realistically play in.  Most likely he won’t play in the pre-season unless it is for a few minutes. Will they cut his minutes down during the regular season too? Maybe he will play two or three quarters instead of all four or play not in all sixteen games. Something for the Seahawks to answer; another question on how many years to sign him to would be how long do they want him to count against the salary cap. Although his contract would not be guaranteed this is still a question to ask including how much the signing bonus would be. Basically you have to be an accountant to figure all that out.

It will be nice to keep him around as long as possible however how realistic will it be. I would look at signing him for two years with an option for a third. I would include a signing bonus of $15 million. Anyway we will see what Pete Carroll and John Schneider will do to answer all these questions until training camp.

Seahawks Report Card Part 2 For 2016-2017 Season

The Seahawks season ended sooner than anyone of wanted it to happen. I am sure most of us were expected them go to the NFL Conference Championship if not the Super Bowl however because of injuries and other issues it did not happen.

Russell Wilson along with Tyler Lockett and Earl Thomas were the primary injured players. Fortunately Wilson did not miss any action however Lockett and Thomas seasons ended prematurely. Lockett was replaced by Paul Richardson at wide receiver. He did an excellent job especially against the Detroit Lions in the first playoff game. At punt returner and kickoffs the Seahawks brought in Devin Hester who now plans to retire. He had a great punt return against Atlanta that if it had not been brought back by penalty may have allowed Seahawks to win instead of the Falcons.

Now I will look at how the Seahawks defense played for the season. Playing through November the Seahawks defense was leading once again points scored against them however it changed when Earl Thomas was injured and out for the season against Carolina on Dec. 4. He was replaced by veteran special team’s player Steve Terrell. He did an OK job however he was not Thomas. A lot of that I believe had to do with communication along with not playing a lot at the position.

The Cornerbacks: Better known as the legion of boom this core group had a good season but not up to what we have known them to do. Richard Sherman made the news most of the season for yelling when coming off the field and then he said that he would not speak to the local media. I got so fed up that he was being disgruntled and then the season ends with Pete Carroll mentioning that he had played with MCL a lot of the season. Since it was not mentioned he had an injury by Seahawks they could lose a draft pick so the drama continues. So we may hear about this all of the off-season. Jeremy Lane who played inside on passing downs had a good season. DeShawn Shead who played across from Sherman was injured against the Atlanta Falcons in the final game of the season. He had a torn ACL and he could be out for some time so the Seahawks signed veteran cornerback Perrish Cox as insurance in case that Shead is out for some time. There is a good possibility that the Seahawks will draft some corner backs this year too. Grade B.

Safety: This was known as the all-pro team for the Seahawks however both starters Kam Chancellor who missed several games early and then Earl Thomas was lost for the season when being injured against the Carolina Cougars. This showed how value both these guys are to the Seahawks. There is a good chance that the Seahawks could draft at these positions as well. Could end up being the top draft pick the Seahawks make depending who is available? Because of the health of Chancellor and Thomas the Seahawks will bring someone into camp to compete along with drafting one. Grade B only because of injuries.

Linebackers: Bobby Wagner might be named the defensive player of the year in the NFL. He had an outstanding season including making more tackles than any player. K.J. Wright who plays one of the outside linebackers had another good year and he was named to the Pro Bowl. Wagner and Wright have to be the best two linebackers on one team. The one weakness the Seahawk is on the other outside linebacker position. Mike Morgan was the starter there when the season began however he missed half the season because of injuries before returning to the lineup. He has been known in the years with the Seahawks as a pretty good special team’s player but didn’t start until this year. During his absence the Seahawks went with their backup linebackers. In his press conference after the season Coach Pete Carroll said that they would have to bring in players to compete against Wagner and Wright. Of course they won’t lose their positions but Carroll is looking at the future and those players may get some playing time at the other outside linebacker position. The Seahawks could bring in a veteran linebacker or go through the draft as well. So you see the Seahawks could be filling the draft on the offensive line, cornerbacks and linebackers more than any other positions. Also college players that were not drafted could come in to compete as well. Grade A minus

Defensive Line: This group is considered by many as the best in the NFL being led by ends Michael Bennett who signed a new three-year contract and Cliff Avril. These two guys had outstanding seasons. Frank Clark plays a lot at defensive end as well. When he does often Bennett goes inside to tackle. Another defensive end is Cassius Marsh. Both Clark and Marsh look like two guys that will take over for Bennett and Avril when they retire. Tony McDaniel played very well at one of the defensive tackle positions on running downs. Also rookie Jarran Reed who started at the other spot showed that he may have a good future with the Seahawks. I am sure the Seahawks will bring in other players to compete however it is not a big concern. Grade A

Although the defense was not what we have been accustomed to the last several years I give a total mark of B plus. The major reason because of injuries; they were why the Seahawks made the playoffs once again. Like every year under Carroll they will have competition at every position go Hawks!

A Month Before Spring Training

We are now getting down to where we see the Mariners in action. The pitchers report on Feb. 14 while the position players come in on Feb. 18.

According to General Manager Jerry Dipoto the major league roster is pretty well set only minor league acquisitions’ will happen. So I will be going to go over the roster the way it is unless someone comes in including minor leaguers.

I will look at the starting pitchers that the Mariners have and those who will be competing for a spot but may land in triple A unless they are released for them to get a job in another organization. The bullpen looks like it is set for most of the spots however we will look at those that will be competing as well. In the pitching it will depend a lot about whether there are any injuries.

The acquisition recently of two starting pitches the starting rotation looks like Felix Hernandez likely will be the opening starting pitcher once again. He will get in some action in the World Baseball Classic. The Mariners will likely go right, left, right, left and right so James Paxton will go second followed by Iwakuma. The rotation will be finished with newcomers Drew Smyly and Yovani Gallardo. Paxton and Smyly both lefties could be switched in the order as well depending who may be ready and have had the best spring training. Also competing for starting rotation is Ariel Miranda who likely will end up as the second left hander in the bullpen. Depending how long the starters are going he will probably pitch long relief though he could pitch to a tough lefty in the sixth inning. Two others being considered in the rotation are Chris Heston who the Mariners signed as a free agent and previously pitched for the San Francisco. Also the Mariners picked up Rob Whalen from the Atlanta Braves. Most likely Whalen will start the season in triple A. Cody Martin who spent most of last season with Tacoma will start the season in Triple A as well. Heston could be released or traded during training camp as well. He most likely won’t be sent to triple A.  There are a few other pitchers like LHP James Pazos the Mariners traded for with the New York Yankees who will start in Tacoma as well.

At catcher the Mariners will be going with Mike Zunino who started last year with Tacoma. He is still considered the future starting catcher for the Mariners depending in his hitting. In November the Mariners traded for catcher Carlos Ruiz. The Mariners send left handed pitcher Vidal Nuno to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Ruiz. The Mariners still have Jesus Sucre for insurance in case something happens with Zunino and Ruiz. Sucre is out of options so he would have to go through waivers if he doesn’t make the team because he is out of options. Mariners signed Sucre to a contract that would pay him more money being sent to Triple A than most players are paid there hoping that no one would snatch for that reason. Chris Iannetta who started the season last year for the Mariners became a free agent because they did not pick up his option. He signed a free agent contract recently with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He will be competing with two other catchers to get playing time.

Next time will look at the bullpen and the regular position players. Most of the bullpen will look the same as the end of last season however the Mariners have picked up a few pitchers to compete while outfield will look different except the return of Leonys Martin. Second and third base will stay the same with Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager while shortstop and first base will be different. Until next time Go M’s.

Report Card On Seahawks 2016-17 Season

I will start with the offense side of the ball going position by position.

Quarterback: Russell Wilson played the majority of the season despite that he had three injuries early. The backup quarterback Trevone Boykins was able to get in on several occasions however Wilson did not want to leave the game even though he was hurt. I thought that Boykins should have started at least one game early on. It did not happen partially because of Wilson not wanting to leave and that Boykins was a rookie.  It is hard to know how much Boykins developed during the season. We would have to know how he did in practice. In his final press conference when Boykins was mentioned Coach Pete Carroll said that he thought the rookie did a good job however he mentioned to that Seahawks likely will bring in other quarterbacks to compete. Most likely they will either draft a quarterback somewhere or another rookie free agent like Boykins. This season shows that the Seahawks should bring in a veteran quarterback to compete as well. Wilson played good for someone who had three injuries however most of the season he was unable to run in the fashion we are accustomed in seeing from him. Also at times he was unable to get the ball to a receiver overthrowing the ball. I give him a grade of a B. If the Seahawks were able to get past Atlanta the grade would be a B plus.

Running Back: Here is a position that struggled throughout the season with the retirement of Marshawn Lynch and the injuries of Thomas Rawls and C.J. Prosise. Actually Lynch did not play much in 2015 so his absence really was not a big deal but Rawls who was the primary running back the same year before being injured late in that season. Rawls was unable to recover and he had additional injuries until late in the season.  He did a good job in the last couple games of the season and against Detroit Lions in the playoff game they won. Prosise showed flashes when he was able to play. If he can come back next season healthy he could not only be the third down back he can be a change up for Rawls. There is another question whether Rawls can stay healthy or not. Most likely the Seahawks will look at either drafting or bring in another running back. Christine Michael who ran the ball for more yards than any of the running backs was released late into the season. Alex Collins another rookie showed some flashes as well. Hard to know what the future goes for him. I am sure he will be asked back in training camp to compete for a spot; grade of C minus because the Seahawks had to have the offense go more toward the passing game.

Offensive line: Again the Seahawks went along in the season with a group of guys that lacked the experience. The one lineman that did a better job than expected was Justin Britt who was switched to his third position in three years. No one really new how he would do at the center position; in fact most would have thought he could end up being a backup if he wasn’t able to perform at center. Actually he turned out to be the only offensive lineman that had a good season and he was named as an alternate to the Pro Bowl. Garry Gilliam was expected to start the season as the left tackle however he underperformed during training camp that he was switched back to right tackle. Bradley Sowell started the season at left tackle but because of his poor performance there and that of Gilliam at right tackle he was switched back there. George Fant who had never played left tackle at any level because he was a former basketball player was put in at left tackle the rest of the season. Sowell eventually was benched and Gilliam returned to right tackle where he actually played better. The guard positions were OK I would say however the Seahawks will have to look what they will do along the offensive line. Britt is the only one that could return to starting along the offensive line. I will get back to the offensive line for 2017 down the road. The Grade D.

Wide Receiver:  This position was the highlight of the offense or the whole team. They were the ones that made this last season a success. Since the running game was inconsistent the passing game made the team go. Again it was led by Doug Baldwin who had another outstanding season. He didn’t have as many touchdowns as the previous season but had more catches. Jermaine Kearse was one receiver that did not have the kind of season he at least expected. We hope that he returns better than ever next season. Tyler Lockett had an up and down year because of injuries. His last catch was outstanding however it landed him on the disabled. There was Jimmy Graham who had an outstanding year after ending the previous season with an injury. I am putting the tight ends in here to because in some respects Graham played some at receiver as well. He made some great blocks to which is not his strength but he is getting better at. Paul Richardson rebounded to having a good season after being injured the last couple years. He especially performed when Lockett was injured and into the playoffs. He made outstanding catches against the Lions. I expect that we will see him a lot next season especially if Lockett is slowed to return from his injuries. Luke Willson had a good year though he had to battle through injuries. He is a free agent going into next season however he and the Seahawks hope that he returns. Since the receivers were the best part of the offense I give them an A.

The defense will look at them next time.

Falcons Takedown Seahawks

Sunday’s game against the Falcons was a wrestling match and unfortunately the Seahawks lost. The final score was Falcons 36 Seahawks 20. In some respects the game was not that close however in other ways it was mistakes that cost the Seahawks the game.

The biggest problem I saw besides the mistakes that the Seahawks defense was not what we have been used to. Michael Bennett was very upset after the game when a reporter asked about not getting to the quarterback. He told the reporter that he did the best he could. He was screaming so there could have been a better way of answering him but at the same time I don’t blame him. Though the defensive line did not get to Ryan you can’t blame everything on them. In fact the defense has been terrible since Earl Thomas has been out. Hard to believe the change in the defense; can’t blame it all on them though.

Special teams seem to be a big part of the problem lately. It was again on Sunday. The Seahawks had a 10-7 lead when returner Devin Hester ran the ball back to the Falcons seven yard line however linebacker Pierre-Lewis was called for a holding penalty so the ball was returned back to the Seahawks seven yard line. A costly mistake caused a safety to make the score 10-9 Seahawks instead of possibly 13- 6 or 17-6. The Falcons than kicked a field goal to make it 12-10.

After the Seahawks were stopped by the Falcons defense Jon Ryan was able to punt the ball inside the Falcons one yard line but the Seahawks were unable to stop the Falcons from going down the field and scoring a touchdown before half time. That made the score 19-10. The second half was not good at all though the Seahawks did stay within two touchdowns but were not able to score critical touchdowns. The Falcons were able to score again after any time the Seahawks did. For example the Falcons scored a field goal after the Seahawks had made one. So they were not able to get any closer.

In the playoffs usually a great defense will shot down a great offense however the Seahawks did not play that kind of defense though I mention it was not all their fault. I hope for a great off-season for the Seahawks and see that they can have a better season next year. I will go over that in the weeks and months ahead. Best of luck to the Falcons who deserved the win and Go Hawks!

Seahawks and Falcons Meet Saturday

The next round of the playoffs onto the Super Bowl begins on Saturday afternoon. It will be a tough game because the Seahawks have a poor record playing on the road during this season as well in the playoffs. They have only won one game on the road and losing seven. The only victory was the very first one against the Miami Dolphins many moons ago.

If the Seahawks can play this week like they did against the Detroit Lions than they have a good shot in winner. The Falcons are not good against the run either and the Seahawks need to establish running the ball early. It would be nice to score on their first possession of the game. Scoring a touchdown first would be a good thing however they will need to be able to stop the Falcons offense as well. Running the ball for the Seahawks will keep the Falcons off the field and let the defense be rested.

Like most games for the Seahawks if the game is close going into the fourth quarter it will be a good thing since they play well at the end of games. The offensive line will need to be able to protect Russell on passing downs and the Seahawks will need to score touchdowns when they are in the red zone especially early. Kicking field goals only won’t be a good thing unless they have long drives. Other words if they keep the ball for seven or eight minutes is great but if they go down quickly within two minutes and kick a field goal not so good.

The defensive line will have to be able to get to quarterback Ryan as well or at least make him rush his passes. It will be important that the defensive backs don’t give up too many long passes either.  An occasional one is OK as long the Falcons don’t get into the end zone. Kam Chancellor will play a big role in this game. If he or Richard Sherman can pick off a pass or two that would be a big benefit too. Keeping Julius Jones to a minimal catches would be great to as long as another receiver isn’t able to get many catches either.  A low scoring game would benefit the Seahawks the most. They can’t start off slowly where they have to comeback against the Falcons. Wish the Seahawks the best and let’s go to another Super Bowl. Go Hawks!

Another Busy Day For Dipoto

 We should never be surprised by what Jerry Dipoto does for the Mariners. Wednesday he made two more trades to make it eleven for the off-seasons. He said that this should be it for the major league roster before spring training begins. I don’t think it would surprise us if that is not true. He does plan to add more to the minor league system.

Speaking of the minor leagues these two trades involved a couple of Mariner top minor league prospects. The first trade the Mariners made a trade with the Atlanta Braves sending them left handed pitchers Luiz Gohara and Thomas Burrows for right handed relief pitcher Shae Simmons and outfielder Mallex Smith.

Gohara was considered one of the Mariner’s top pitching prospects however has only pitched as high as single A so far. Mallex Smith who is a lot like the other outfielders the Mariners have gotten recently did not stick around long since he was dealt to the Tampa Rays along with infielder Carlos Vargas and left handed pitcher Ryan Yarbrough who happened to be the Mariners minor league pitcher of the year. He pitches last year in double A and was expected to pitch this season at triple A. The Mariners received left handed starter Drew Smyly from the Rays. Smyly will be considered the fourth or fifth starter for the Mariners. He has had a solid career though last year was an off year for him having an era of 4.88 though he did start thirty games for the Rays. If he gets any place close to thirty starts for the Mariners they will be very pleased.

The Mariner’s starting rotation right now looks like Felix Hernandez, Iwakuma, James Paxton, Yovani Gallardo who they picked up last week from the Baltimore Orioles and Smyly. Ariel Miranda who had been penciled in as the fifth starter will likely go to the bullpen as a long reliever. I expect at some point he will start some games for the Mariners since not all pitchers stay healthy. The Mariners do have some other pitchers that they have added to the depth of the rotation in case of injuries.

Shae Simmons who was picked up in the first trade from Atlanta will get a shot in the Mariners’ bullpen. Last season because of injuries Simmons only pitched six games in September. His previous major league experience with the Atlanta Braves in 2014 where he relieved in twenty-six games with an era of 2.91; he pitched a total of  twenty-one  and two/thirds innings striking out twenty three batters. I am sure the Mariners would not complain if he could get similar statistics as long as it is for more games and innings. Where he may fit in the bullpen we will see during spring training. Another good job Dipoto though it would have been nice to get a number 1, 2 or three starter I will still take it. Go Mariners!

 

Bobby Wagner Seahawk Linebacker

If you are a member of the 12^th man you know all about Bobby Wagner or you follow the NFL very closely.

Right now  the best middle linebacker in the NFL and may be named the MVP defense player of the year. He leads all the NFL in tackles and has come into his own in sacking the quarterback on blitzes.

The Seahawks not only have him at linebacker but they have another great one in K.J. Wright. He is not as known as Wagner but he makes a lot of plays as well. He and Wagner have played together for several years. Actually Wright has had to play middle linebacker some when Wagner has been hurt. The Seahawks have been fortunate to be able to keep both of them because of the salary cap. They lost their other outside linebacker Bruce Irwin to free agency and the Oakland Raiders because they couldn’t afford to keep all three.

The other outside linebacker started out the season with Mike Morgan who has been on the team for several years to however be used primarily on special teams until Irvin moved on. He missed about half the games because of injuries. Often the Seahawks take the third linebacker out on passing downs. That is what makes both Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright so valuable are their speed so they stay in the game at all times. This will be important this Saturday against the Atlanta Falcons. Wagner is very good at covering on passing downs when he isn’t blitzing. This is why he leads the NFL in tackles because he makes many of them on passing downs as well as rushing.

Teams often have to take out players on pass downs but the Seahawks are able to keep that at a minimum because of their linebackers speed. Also they have speed and depth on the defensive line so they are able to rest guys like Michael Bennett on occasion. This is real important with the age of some of the players on the line.

Without linebackers like Wagner and Wright the Seahawks defense would not be the same. They are able to help out both the line and the defensive backs since they are both speedy players. Look forward to see them play once again this weekend against the Falcons. Go Hawks.   

Seahawks Run Over Lions

Saturday evening the Seattle Seahawks played the first round against the Detroit Lions beating them 26-6. Coach Pete Carroll’s plan was to run the ball a lot with Thomas Rawls being the primary runner which is what the Seahawks did. The Lions defense is not known for stopping the run so Rawls had a big game running for one hundred and sixty-one yards. Most of the yards took place in the first half as Rawls ran over one hundred yards; he averaged exactly six yards per carry.

The Seahawks offense wasn’t just running the ball Paul Richardson caught a touchdown pass with one hand in the end zone with a defender all over him. In fact the catch is something you would not see too often; probably one of the greatest catches of all time in the NFL playoffs. Doug Baldwin made an outstanding catch for the Seahawks final touchdown in the fourth quarter. Actually the ball thrown by Russell Wilson looked like it could have gone to Jermaine Kearse as well. Both players were in almost the same spot. Kearse was ahead of Baldwin and could have easily made the touchdown too. You could say that Baldwin stole the pass from Kearse. Another play you don’t really ever see as well.

The Seahawks defense was solid against the Lions although the receivers for the Lions dropped a lot of passes as well and quarterback Matthew Stafford was not accurate because of his injured middle finger on his throwing hand.  Stafford doesn’t expect to have surgery on his hand.

Richard Sherman played the whole game on the left side at cornerback for the Seahawks like he was accustomed to in previous years instead of this year where he went against the best receiver of the opposition. Next Saturday against the Atlanta Falcons we will have to see that stays the same or he will go against top receiver Julius Jones. The success that Sherman played against the Lions I would not be surprised if he stays over on that side. If I were the Seahawks I would put two defenders against Jones when he is not on the same side as Sherman.

The Seahawks I am sure will run the ball as much as possible against the Falcons to so that they keep their offense off the field. I am sure the passing game will be mixed in as well. We hope that the offensive line will be able to keep Russell Wilson from being sacked. He did not run the ball that much against the Lions however we will have to see if that changes against the Falcons. The offensive line will need to play the same way next week while the defense needs to rush the quarterback more often. The game against the Lions helped the Seahawks be prepared for the Falcons that is for sure.

The Seahawk will need to play their best game of the season on the road in Atlanta. Very similar to the game that they played against the Patriots in New England. That game was the best one that the Seahawks played on the road all season. The Seahawks did not do well in all their other games on the road. The game against the Falcons will be a tough one.  Best of luck and Go Hawks!

Mariners Make Two Trades on Friday

The Seattle Mariners made two trades on Friday. The first trade they sent outfielder Seth Smith to the Baltimore Orioles for starting veteran pitcher Yovani Gallardo.

This trade looks like another one the Mariners made with the Orioles dumping salary. Reading from the Orioles media perspective this was a surprise in them trading Gallardo to the Mariners. Smith is expected to play right field for the Orioles in the same manner he would have in Seattle. Orioles media wonder if Smith has lost speed and unable to play well defensively. In some respects Smith has lost speed to play semi-regular in Safeco Field which is a larger park than Camden Yards. Smith will play better in the field for the Orioles than he would for the Mariners at home.  On the other hand he became very popular with the Mariner fans so he will be missed in that respect.

Gallardo seems to be the type of pitcher that general manager Dipoto is looking for in a veteran who had an off year after starting the season on the disabled list. Gallardo started twenty-three games last year with a 5.42 era. The previous two years with Milwaukee and then Texas he pitched almost two hundred innings with era under four. Also he doesn’t walk a lot of batters either. Pitching in Safeco he may do a better job and be back to his previous numbers.

Several hours later the Mariners traded pitcher Nathan Karns to the Kansas City Royals for outfielder Jarrod Dyson. Karns the Mariners traded for last off-season from the Tampa Bay Rays. He missed more than half of the season for the Mariners and was projected to be the fifth starter. Now that the Mariners got Gallardo he was no longer needed.

The Mariners picking up Jarrod Dyson from the Kansas City Royals they got a fourth outfielder with speed. Playing about one hundred games a year in his career with the Royals he did average about thirty stolen bases; his batting average last year was .278. He primarily put in the Royals lineup for his speed and his defense. As a veteran player he does give the Mariners more speed in the lineup along with his defense. With the Royals he did mostly play center field but with the Mariners he is likely play in right or left field though does allow the Mariners to rest Leonys Martin occasionally in center field. He does help with veteran leadership since the Mariners have young players to go along with Martin.

If you look at the roster of outfielders with the Mariners they all have history playing center field especially in the minor leagues. So the Mariners have improved a lot during the off-season on defense and speed. The question though is how well the Mariners hitting be from the outfielders. I expect that Dyson will even out for Smith.

According to Dipoto the starting outfield likely is Dyson, Martin and Haniger with Gamel and Heredia fighting for time. Danny Valencia will be the key when it comes to hitting because of the outfield and first base. Daniel Vogelbach is expected to be the left handed hitting first baseman however no one really knows how he will hit in the major leagues since his time has been in the minor leagues. The same goes for Gamel, Haniger and Heredia. This will be played out during spring training first of all than into the season.

I am sure that the Mariners will go and see if they can pick up another starting pitcher. Felix, Iwakuma, Paxton and Gallardo are in the rotation. The fifth starter will come from Miranda, Chris Heston the Mariners signed as a free agent who last pitched for the San Francisco Giants and Rob Whalen they got from the Atlanta Braves. Next week that could change and likely will. So Mariners we are looking toward spring training. Go M’s.   

  

Looking At Mariners Bullpen

Now that 2017 is here and the Mariners spring training is not far off I will start writing about the different positions and players.

The team has improved off of last season but by how much we will see. I don’t see the bullpen changing a whole lot since last season except that Edwin Diaz will start the season off as the closer. The hope is that he will continue to do what he did last year except in September where things went array probably because of the amount of innings he had pitched. I am sure that manager Scott Servais will watch the amount of inning that Diaz will pitch again especially early in the season.

The Mariners could use Dan Altavilla sometimes as a closer if he makes the club. He did a good job when he came up in August. He primarily will pitch in either the sixth or seventh inning. I would not pitch him in the eighth if Diaz is pitching the ninth because they are a lot alike. They both throw hard along with having a slider. Hopefully Diaz will improve on the slider against lefties or come up with another pitch. He is dominant with the slider against righties. The same maybe for Altavilla; I don’t remember him facing too many lefties.

I can see Steve Cishek as the primary guy coming out of the bullpen in the eighth inning though he may be asked to pitch the ninth inning once in a while. Depending on his usage he could go two innings. Cishek isn’t expected to start the season because of surgery so Tony Zych or Nick Vincent could be pitching the eighth inning. Zych would depend on his arm since he missed most of last season. When Cishek comes back Vincent likely is the main guy pitching the seventh inning.

Evan Scribner who had an outstanding September after being on the disabled list all season likely will pitch the sixth or seventh inning depending on how far the starter has gone. He did a great job getting hitters out with runners on base so that could be his job for the season.

Ariel Miranda or Nathan Karns could be the long reliever out of the bullpen depending on who may be the fifth starter. It would be nice if Miranda started because it would mean that the Mariners would have two lefties in the starting rotation unless the Mariners pick up another lefty to start. Karns who had a so so time in the bullpen before being injured could be effected in relief because last season he was only good for about two or three innings. This would depend to on how Dipoto and Servais are looking at Karns.

The Mariners signed a left handed specialist who primarily will pitch in the seventh or eighth innings. The guy is Marc Rzepczynski who is familiar with being a left handed specialist. He is best known for getting lefties out and has not had a lot of success against righties. Most of the Mariner right handed relievers are good at getting lefties out so he will come in to get one of the tough lefties out or two depending where they are in the batting order and how many outs there are.

I would not see any surprises for the bullpen right now unless they pick up someone in spring training like they did Nick Vincent last year. It looks like a solid group however we know that the bullpen can change a lot one year to the next. So spring training will be interesting on how it works out and we know that things could change before spring training with the history of Dipoto. He could trade someone in the bullpen part as a package to get someone somewhere else.  Next time I will look at Manager Scott Servais.

 

Now Onto the Playoffs For Hawks

I would have to say Sunday’s game against the 49ers was not one of the most spectacular games of the season. In fact they were down 14-3. They came back to win 25-23 despite some poor plays.

In the fourth quarter the Seahawks were ahead 25-16 when they decided to take Russell Wilson out of the game with just over eight minutes left. Also they took Doug Baldwin, Thomas Rawls, Jimmy Graham and Michael Bennett out as well. Actually Rawls wasn’t running the ball that well anyway. He was replaced primarily by Alex Collins who made some impressive runs. Collins could make an impact on next season’s team.

Trevone Boykin who went in for Wilson was not impressive in the first round with the Seahawks having to punt after three and out. The 49ers came back to score a touchdown to make the final score. The second time around Boykin was more impressive including making a couple first down throws to fellow rookie receiver Tanner McEvoy. Since Atlanta beat New Orleans to secure the second spot and have the bye week Coach Carroll felt it was fine to rest a few of the starters so injuries would not happen.

The Seahawks defense continued to struggle since the injury to safety Earl Thomas. We haven’t seen so many points given up by them before Thomas was lost for the season. We hope the primary defenders will step up in the playoffs for the Seahawks to get back to the Super Bowl. Also the offense needs to stop starting off slowly as well. It is time for the offensive line to do their job along with quarterback Russell Wilson. He has struggled off early in games as well. They need the running game to get going whether that is Thomas Rawls or Alex Collins. The Seahawks hope that C.J. Prosise will be available sometime during the playoffs.

True champions come through the playoffs and we hope that the Seahawks are champions this year though they have been inconsistent all year long on both sides of the ball but on the offense especially. At least the first round will be at home against Detroit this coming Saturday night. It will be nice to see the A game come back or at least A minus anyway. The kicking game needs to return as well. It was not shown to well against the 49ers as well missing a field goal and an extra point. We believe in you the Seahawks now we hope that you believe in yourself too. Go Hawks!

Thank You Huskies

As Husky fans we were hoping for a better result on Saturday however we are glad that you were able to play in the game.

The defense played a really good game other than a couple plays however it was the offense that struggled throughout. Though the final score was Alabama 24 Washington 7 the game was closer than the score indicated. The interception and the fumble by John Ross hurt the game for the Huskies.

Alabama were the superior team though it was not by that much. They did deserve to win the game especially when they were able to stop the Huskies from running and the passing as well. They did a good job keeping John Ross at bay.

I expect that Alabama will win the championship next Monday January 9 against Clemson who let Ohio State have it. I am sure that Alabama played this way every time against the Huskies they would likely win almost every game. The Husky players and coaching staff I am sure learned a lot from the game. This should put them in good position for next season during the season and we hope meet up with the Tide again next year.

It would have been nice to see the Huskies run the ball more against Alabama but they showed how they play defense. It is no wonder that they are the number one team in the country on defense. The Tide offense played a good game to especially running the ball. I had only seen a little of them during the season and did not realize how big their running backs are along with the quarterback who is a true freshman. I am sure they will be right in the middle of the championship series again next year.

The Huskies did show how good a team they are though things did not go well with the offense during the game. The defense is right there with any team in the country now Jake Browning will need to work more on his passing game to be more consistent. I am sure that his game will be better next season. Another year of maturity will help out quite a bit. Again Huskies we are so proud that you are our team. We look toward many more seasons ahead under the coaching of Chris Peterson. Go Huskies.