Thursday Off However Roster Be Set on Friday.

The Seattle Mariners have two remaining spring training games against the Colorado Rockies before heading to Houston to start the season against the Astros. The Mariners will face the Astros in a four game series before going to Anaheim to take on the Angels before opening up at Safeco Field against the Astros once again for three games. It is important that the Mariners get off to a good start.

The Mariners will announce their twenty-five man roster starting the season most likely on Friday. The starting lineup will probably be in there for the beginning of both games against the Rockies however we will see minor leaguers throughout both games.

The question we have right now is what’s up with Drew Smyly. He was supposed to start Friday’s game for his last tune up before the season begins but manager Scott Servais said on Wednesday while doing a bullpen session Smyly looked soggy. No one really knows what that means and whether he will be able to start his first game of the season or not. Today he is expected to see a doctor to find out what is really going on. No one is sure whether he will miss his opening game or even be out for a couple starts or more. Whatever the case not  great news even if he is able to start his opening spot in the rotation; I am sure if he isn’t able to start next week either Wednesday or Thursday we will probably see Ariel Maranda pitching instead. Although he was optioned to triple A Servais said that Maranda was the sixth starter on the staff. The only other option I would see pitching in Smyly’s spot is Dillon Overton who had an outstanding start last Saturday. Both Maranda and Overton are lefties just like Smyly.

As far as position players go the only spot to decide should be the backup outfielder. If it were me I would take Guillermo Heredia as the fourth outfielder however they may add Ben Gamel to the roster instead. Both could make the roster if the Mariners decided to go with seven relief pitchers in the bullpen instead of eight.

Speaking of the bullpen the Mariners have five relievers already counted toward making the opening roster. One of the remaining relievers will be a second lefty and at least one right hander.  There is a possibility that the second right hander could be someone who isn’t in Mariner’s camp as of yet. Other words the Mariners could make a trade for another reliever or take someone off waivers from another team. Knowing general manager Jerry Dipoto and manager Scott Servais we might be surprised and most likely will. Anyway we all look forward to Monday and the start to 2017 Mariner baseball season. Go M’s.

 

The Northwest and March Madness

This year the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is turning out different than we have ever seen before. Those living in the Carolina’s must be as joyful to seeing South Carolina and North Carolina the possibility of facing each other in the final in the same way those of us in the pacific northwest are excited about the chances of Gonzaga and Oregon going head to head in the final. Of course they have to take care of business in the semifinal games first.

North Carolina is the only team that has the history of going to the final four multiple times while I believe it is the first time for South Carolina well as Gonzaga. Since they will be facing each other in the semi-final one of them will be in their first championship game. Gonzaga being a number one seed will be favored in this game however South Carolina has nothing to lose other than the game itself. This puts them in a dangerous place that is for sure. You can say the same for the Oregon Ducks who haven’t been in a final since 1939 which is by the way the first time the NCAA men’s basketball tournament took place and they won the game however there were only eight teams in that first tournament.  The Ducks are a higher seed than South Carolina but they have nothing to lose either against the Tar Heels so they are in a dangerous position as well.

Whatever the case the final four will be one that many of us will remember for a long time especially those on each coast; we will be excited if the final has Gonzaga facing Oregon. I will be rooting for Gonzaga in this case though it won’t be easy since I am a Husky fan. Actually won’t be easy for a Cougar fan either. We can only hope that both the Huskies and Cougars in the years to come can find their way to the final four.

If you go by the favorites the championship game will be between North Carolina and Gonzaga however we all know that the other two will want that to be different. All I know whatever happens the semi-final games will be exciting and may turn out to be better games than the final. Whatever the case enjoy the final four this coming weekend. Yeah!

Mariner Season Starts in One Week

 The Seattle Mariners have one week until the regular season starts next Monday on April 3. The position players are already set. The only difference since the beginning of training camp Danny Valencia will start at first base.  The thought was that Daniel Vogelbach would start at first and Valencia may play against tough left handed pitchers in a possible platoon situation however things did not work out that way. Vogelbach will start at Tacoma and how long he will be there will depend on him. Taylor Motter who is the utility player for the Mariners will backup Valencia at first base as well.

This all means that things change for the outfield as well; at least for the backup role. Guillermo Heredia most likely will be the fourth outfielder though hasn’t totally been determined as of yet. We will hear sometime this week how that all works out. Ben Gamel still has a shot at being the backup outfielder too. Heredia has had an outstanding spring training so far. The decision may come down to whether the Mariners staff feels that Jarrod Dyson can be the everyday left fielder or has to be platooned against lefties.

The starting pitching looks the same position when spring training started however the Mariners may change who the fifth starter will be. The Mariners did send Ariel Maranda down to triple A to start the season. Depending how he performs in Tacoma and how the starters for Seattle do. Also on Saturday Dillon Overton pitched an outstanding game going six innings even though he gave up   a home run in the first inning only. The Mariners want him to still be a starter so he could begin the season in Tacoma unless they add him to the bullpen or make a surprise move in the starting rotation.

Right now it looks like the Mariners will start with eight men in the bullpen. How that works right now is hard to say.  Five of the spots are set as of now so it will be the final three spots that we will have to see what happens. This could come down until Sunday when the Mariners set their roster. Edwin Diaz will be the closer at no one surprise. Dan Altavilla who has had a wonderful spring will be one of the other right handers in the bullpen. Two others will be Nick Vincent and Evan Scribner. The sure left handed specialist will be Marc Rzepczynski. Most likely two of the three will be right handers and the third a left. The Mariners have three right handed relievers that will start on the disabled list in Steve Cishek, Tony Zych and Shae Simmons. The Mariners may go out and pick up another right handed reliever depending on how long they believe any of the three will be on the disabled list. If they don’t Casey Fien and Jonathan Aro may begin the season in the bullpen however Aro will have to be added to the 40-man roster.  This year though the disabled list will be ten days instead of the fifteen like it has been in the past. This will show more maneuvering with the twenty-five man roster over the season.

The opening roster is important and the reason the Mariners are looking to go with eight relievers because the first thirteen games are played within their division that includes seven against the Houston Astros. They start their season on the road at Houston than go to Anaheim to take on the Angels than home to play the Astros once again. The first home stand is finished by playing three against the Texas Rangers and three more against the Miami Marlins. They have only two off days in April as well so the fifth starter will be critical this time and the reason the Mariners are looking to go with eight relievers. They may have to make some moves during that stretch of games as well. Go M’s.

 

Ten Days Until Season Opens

For all of us baseball addicts we are ten days away from the opening of baseball season for the Seattle Mariners. It looks like they are getting into season form; hopefully they will start the season on good footing instead of what happened last year.

The infield looks set to go with Danny Valencia starting at first base instead of Daniel Vogelbach who was sent down to triple A  a few days ago. They want him to work on his defense and hitting before bringing him up. Dipoto and Servais both said that he is in the same spot that Zunino and Paxton were last year. Depending on how he does hopefully he will be up in a manner of weeks. The rest of the infield as expected Cano at second, Segura at short and Seager at third. For the Mariners to get off on a good start it would be nice if Seager can do well in April. He generally starts of poorly in April. Although his defensive was OK last year it wasn’t up to par over previous seasons so I expect that he will look a lot better  this year. Taylor Motter will be the backup at first base for now along with the other infield positions.

With Vogelbach being sent down it does look like Heredia will be the fourth outfielder unless Ben Gamel makes a push over the next ten days. Also the Mariners may start the season with eight relievers. As we expected Jarrod Dyson will be in left, Leonys Martin in center and Mitch Haniger in right field. Nelson Cruz will be the primary designated hitter though he will see occasional action in right field.

The starting pitching will be Felix Hernandez as the opening starter and number one pitcher.   In his last two outings he looked a lot like his old self. It was announced on Friday by Scott Servais that Iwakuma will be the number two starter so that means that either Drew Smyly or James Paxton will be number three and the other will be number four. Gallardo is still expected to be the fifth starter though his spring training outings haven’t been that great.

The eight relievers in the bullpen will likely be known in the next few days. We know that Diaz will be the closer and it looks like Dan Altavilla along with Nick Vincent though he has given up several home runs in Arizona and Evan Scribner will be four of the six right handed relievers.  Veteran reliever Casey Fien might be the fifth reliever and the sixth is questionable at this point. Of course the Mariners could still go with seven total relievers to start the season.  Marc Rzepczynski will be the left handed specialist and Ariel Maranda could be the left handed long reliever out of the bullpen. This week coming up may tell the story. Three right handed relievers dealing with injuries Steve Cishek, Tony Zych and Shae Simmons are all coming along. Not sure who will be ready in ten days. One of them may be the last reliever picked to be starting the season on the roster. Also would not be surprised if they all three start on the disable list and then do rehab assignment as well.

The catching position looks like it hasn’t changed at all during spring training. Mike Zunino will be the starter and Carlos Ruiz the backup. Manager Scott Servais would like Zunino though to walk at least one more time a week. The good news though he has walked more than he has struck out during training camp. At least early in the season with some off days Ruiz will likely catch only once a week unless Zunino gets off to a poor start.

So this looks like a pretty good roster to me. Of course there are some questionable spots as well. It would not surprise me at all if Jerry Dipoto goes out and makes a trade especially in the bullpen. Go M’s.

 

How About Seahawks Free Agency?

Since free agency has started the Seahawks have primarily signed a running back and some offensive linemen along with bringing back tight end Luke Willson and defensive back DeShawn Shead.

Willson should be competing for second tight end behind Jimmy Graham while Shead who was injured at the end of the season may be out for most of next season. The Seahawks wanted to be sure that another team would not pick him up.

The Seahawks started out going for offense in the free agent market. Going for a running back in Eddie Lacy who last played for the Green Bay Packers; they decided that they no longer wanted his services most likely because of his weight however the Seahawks decided to take a chance on him and giving him a one year contract. If he is able to stay healthy he will be the starting running back followed by Thomas Rawls and C.J. Prosise. Both of them have history of being injured so the Seahawks figured they had nothing to lose. They can release him without taking much of a hit if he doesn’t work out.

The Seahawks decided that they needed to bolster their offense line as well going for veteran help with guys who can go either guard or tackle. Luke Joeckel a five year pro out of Texas A&M was the first one the Seahawks signed as a free agent and he played for Jacksonville Jaguars. Recently they signed guard Oday Aboushi another five year pro drafted by the New York Jets and played the last two years with the Houston Texans.

The Seahawks decided to sign a couple free agents on the defensive side of the ball in Arthur Brown another five year pro recently played for Jacksonville along with safety Bradley McDougald who played for Tampa Bay and you can guess he is a five year pro as well.

It will be interesting to see if the Seahawks will sign any more free agents before the college draft in April. Most likely they will draft defensive heavy but we know they always surprise us. If they do go on the offensive side of the ball it will probably be early in the draft and go for a tackle unless someone else falls to them. The importance to add depth and competitive balance that Coach Carroll really likes. Go Hawks!

Outfielder Mitch Haniger

When Jerry Dipoto made blockbuster trade early on in the off-season where the Mariners traded pitcher TaiJuan Walker and shortstop Ketel Marte to the Arizona Diamondbacks the thought was that Jean Segura was the primary player acquired in the trade for the Mariners.

A few days later Dipoto said that outfielder Mitch Haniger could be that primary player instead. We find that maybe the Mariners have gotten two good players going into the 2017 season that can help them currently and in the future. Also they acquired left handed reliever Zach Curtis in the trade as well. It could be a couple years and we will find that the Mariners made quite the trade.

Whatever TaiJuan Walker and Marte do in Arizona it does look like the Mariners have made a trade that benefits them. At this point they upgraded at shortstop and likely in the outfield as well. Haniger will play a lot in right field however we will see him occasionally in left field and possibly in center as well. So far in spring training he has shown some of his power and is hitting over .400 along with having a strong arm and speed. He is able to run the bases pretty well. I am sure that he will steal some bases though not as many as Segura and Jarrod Dyson. Like many in the lineup he will go from first to third on hits to right field especially.

I think we will all be satisfied if Haniger will hit a batting average of between .250 and .275 for his first full year in the major leagues along with fifteen to twenty home runs. Any more would be a bonus to the Mariners. His defense will be an added plus to the Mariners outfield as well.

Whatever Haniger does over the season if the Mariners are able to make it to the playoffs and we hope the World Series he will be a good contributor to the team. Getting two everyday players into the lineup looks like a win-win situation to me and if both Haniger and Segura become all-stars we will even be more excited. Actually if one of them becomes an all-star the trade has to be in the Mariners favor even if TaiJuan Walker becomes an all-star pitcher.

One thing we do know is that the Mariners defense will be much better in 2017 over 2016. They have three solid defenders starting in Dyson, Martin and Haniger. Also whoever turns out to be the fourth outfielder should be fine as well. The important thing can they all three hit for a reasonable average and allow the Mariners to score more runs too. We will see before April will end I expect. Go M’s.

University of Washington Hire Coach

                                    New Husky Head Men's basketball coach Mike Hopkins

The University of Washington Huskies didn’t take long to hire their newest men’s basketball coach. I am sure not many who follow the Huskies basketball program knew much about Mike Hopkins that was named head coach on Sunday March 19. I certainly didn’t know who he was and had to do some research on him.

He was the assistant head coach of the Syracuse. He was expected to be the next coach as designated by Syracuse however now that he is Huskies coach the Orangemen extended Coach Jim Boeheim’s contact that was ending next season.

It looks to me like a really good hire. Although he has never been a head coach he did play important part with the Syracuse Orangemen. He is known as a hard worker that has been a top recruiter for Syracuse.  U of Washington’s athletic director Jennifer Cohen said not only did he have quite the reputation in the college basketball community in the end it had to do with his vision for the Washington program.

It is reported that the Huskies are signing Hopkins to a six year contract so he will be around for some time. I am sure Cohen made sure that Hopkins not be someone would go back to Syracuse if the opportunity would arise anytime soon.

At this point there is no idea who he may bring with him as assistants from Syracuse or elsewhere.  Former Huskie player and assistant coach Will Conroy is expected to be part of Hopkins’s staff though. It will be interesting if any other assistants on Romar’s staff will be retained.

Now the question will be what players will return next year. We had heard that three players were thinking of transferring and those who had been recruited as incoming freshmen would look to go elsewhere as well. A coach from a high profile program like Syracuse this list could go lower. I am sure though Michael Porter Jr. the Huskies top recruit who is expected to be one of those one and done players will go elsewhere for one season. It would be nice if the Huskies could retain several of the other recruits that were expected to come in.

I don’t see that the Huskies under Hopkins will look to bring in any one and done players in the future unless they are someone who would benefit the program as an added piece to the program to when a national championship.

I am sure the Huskies fans will now be excited to see what Hopkins will do for the program. With the local basketball talent in Washington State it would be nice to see the Huskies to compete with Gonzaga as a power-house. Look forward to see them play each other as well.

I am sure the days and weeks ahead we will see who will stay as players along with the new coaching staff that Hopkins bring in. I thought it would be nice to have someone that is comparable to football coach Chris Peterson and it looks like this could be the man. Go Huskies!

Lefty Drew Smyly

I am sure that everyone that calls themselves Mariner fans watched the World Baseball Classic where the USA went up against Venezuela was impressed on how Drew Smyly pitched well as Felix Hernandez.

Smyly pitched four and two-thirds of an inning throwing 61 pitches including 44 strikes giving up one unearned run, three hits and struck out eight batters. Since he is in spring training form right now it was a good sign for the Mariners. I am sure that the team will be very happy if he pitches anywhere close to that over the season.  He threw filthy pitches and had batters going after balls that they should have left alone.

King Felix went five innings giving up three hits just like Smyly and gave up no runs while striking out three batters. He did struggle a bit more than Smyly however got out each inning.

Felix and Smyly look to be ready for the season. We hope that we can see this kind of pitching on a regular basis. I am sure each will have their moments in struggling on the mound however if they can pitch a lot this way on a regular basis the Mariners will be in very good shape.

I am sure it won’t happen at the beginning of the season but if these two guys can go at least seven innings in a game this will help out the bullpen in not being over used.

At this point Felix is the number one starter while Smyly is looking to be the number four starter. James Paxton right now will look to be the second starter in the rotation followed by Iwakuma before Smyly. This will really help the Mariners if Smyly can pitch well in the fourth position in the rotation. Most teams fourth and fifth starters struggle during the season so having someone who pitches like a second or third starter in the fourth spot will really help the Mariners out.

What will really help the Mariners out is if James Paxton can stay healthy. He could be the pitcher the Mariners have been hoping for the last several years. He is another pitcher the Mariners have that could go seven innings or longer in his starts. He has shown when healthy that he is stronger at the end of games much as at the beginning of games.

As long as the starters stay healthy this could be the best rotation they have had in a long time. Probably have to go back to when they were in the playoffs and won 116 games in 2001 or before that with Randy Johnson and Jamie Moyer being in the rotation.

The defense, the speed and offense the Mariners look to have going into the season having a descent starting rotation and bullpen can put them in the playoffs. It has been a long time coming and the players know that is what they want to do for the fans.  You may have to get your seats early because if the Mariners make it to the playoffs it is going to be harder to get them. Go M’s.  

Huskies Fire Romar

On Wednesday March 15 the University of Washington Huskies fired their men’s basketball coach a week after the season ended. He had been with the Huskies fifteen years however they had not been to the NCAA tournament the last six years.

The firing was a surprise to many however I am glad that it happened though Romar has been a class act and the reason they waited a week to fire him.

The Huskies lost their last thirteen games of the season. They had a good offense but the defense was horrible. They have one of the nation’s top recruiting class that includes Michael Porter Jr who played his senior season at nearby Nathan Hale High School considered the top high school team in the country and went on to when the state championship on the triple A level. Romar brought his father in as an assistant this coming season. Sounds like part of the deal to recruit Porter Jr. Also has another son that has been recruited to Washington as well.

It was reported early Wednesday that Porter Sr. had been hired as an assistant at Missouri where they hired a new head coach. Would not be surprised if Porter Jr.  follows his father there and his brother the next year. Porter Jr is expected to be one of those one and done players. Actually the Huskies had one of those players this year in Markelle Fultz who led the Pac-12 in scoring. It shows that having a one and done player will not necessarily give you success if you look at the Huskies program. In fact I would say that unless you are like Kentucky who fills their roster with one and done players the chances are likely you won’t be success. In fact the rules should change where a player stays two years or goes directly to the NBA. Fultz is a great guy along with being an outstanding player however he showed that the Huskies need more than just him to be successful.

It shows that Romar is a good recruiter however I wonder if his best coaching has been in the past. Without getting into details the Huskies have lost several players to their program the last few years.

Now the key is who the Huskies will look to bring in to take over the program? Since the Pac-12 is one of the top conferences in the country the Huskies should be a program that a coach would like to come into and rebuild. The Huskies have taken a financial hit in letting Romar go however I am sure they will find a way to get a good coach into the university. They could go with an up and coming mid-major coach or a top assistant coach. There is a top assistant in the state of Washington at a successful Gonzaga University that is one of the top seeds in the NCAA tournament and lost only one game all season. His name is Tommy Lloyd and has been at Gonzaga since 2000 and is only forty-two years old. He is apparently the heir apparent to Mark Few at Gonzaga however does he want to wait several years to take over the Gonzaga program or get a head coaching job now. I think that the Huskies program would be a great thing since I am sure he knows some of the recruits that are around the northwest though he primarily has been recruiting internationally for the Bulldogs. In my opinion he should go out now and make a name for himself instead of waiting to take over a successful program when Few decides to retire or move on.

It will be interesting to see what other coaches will want to look at coming into Washington. We thank you Romar for the work that you did at Washington and the best to you in the future. We hope that you land on your feet in a good way. Go Huskies!

Mariners Regular Lineup

Now that the regular season is less than three weeks away where pretty much know who the nine regulars are going to be in the lineup. Manager Scott Servais mentioned that the Mariners may start the season with eight relief pitchers which mean that the team will go with one utility player who can play the outfield well as the infield and Danny Valencia will play outfield along with first base. If that is the case he would play right field and Mitch Haniger be shifted to left field when they are in the lineup at the same time. The utility player will have to feel comfortable at first base along with playing a good shortstop.

The infield of the Mariners will not get many days off early in the season. We know that second base and third have been stable for a few years and now with Jean Segura on board so will shortstop. Segura has been playing great ball for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic so he will be looking to play almost as often as Seager and Cano. Daniel Vogelbach looks to be playing a lot at first base as well. Valencia though will be able to back him and Seager along with right field. Valencia will probably play first base against tough left handed pitchers while Vogelbach will spend some time in the lineup against other lefties. This will depend on how often the Mariners will play against lefties.

This year without guys like Seth Smith and Franklin Gutierrez on the Mariners I don’t see them doing a lot of pinch hitting. I think it is a good thing because I thought the last couple years the Mariners have pinch hit too often. Most of the time it was because of platooning and I don’t think pinch hitting is that successful most of the time. I saw at times where the Mariners would pinch hit with no runners on base and I think it only makes sense when runners are actually on base.

The outfield looks to play almost every day as well early on in the season. Jarrod Dyson will start in left field, Leonys Martin in center and Mitch Haniger in right most of the time. Dyson may not start against tough left handed pitchers. In some cases Martin may not either. If that is the case the Mariners may have Haniger starting in center field.

The main reason Servais is looking to go with eight relievers because Steve Cishek will start the season on the disable list and Shae Simmons who recently got hurt may not be ready either so Evan Scribner and Nick Vincent are the two right handed relievers expected out of the bullpen first thing. Servais doesn’t want to over use them and will need to have more right handed relievers available. If they do decide to stick with seven relievers instead the left handed relievers may face more right handed hitters.

I see that a lot of Mariner fans have mixed emotions when it comes to Mike Zunino and the catching position. I expect early on in April that Zunino will likely catch almost every day while Carlos Ruiz will see action about once a week. Depending on how Zunino performs especially at the plate that could expand to two games a week. Zunino has learned to take more walks and we hope that will continue into this season. It is important that he lays off the breaking pitches he has had trouble with since playing with the Mariners.

I am sure we all look forward to having a steady lineup for the Mariners and not seeing changes in the lineup so often. Dyson will lead off followed by Segura then Cano, Cruz, Seager, Vogelbach, Haniger, Zunino and Martin. Segura probably leads off when Dyson isn’t in the lineup. Go M’s.

 

Mariner Catcher Mike Zunino

Right now it looks like Mike Zunino will catch between one hundred and one hundred-ten games on the season.

Carlos Ruiz who the Mariners picked up from the Dodgers will catch most of the remaining games. This will depend on how Zunino performs at the plate for the Mariners.

Defensively we all know that Zunino can do the job however will he be able to hit better than he has since coming up to the Mariners three years ago.  His rookie season he hit over twenty home runs however his batting average was low and then he slumped in 2015. So much that at the end of August he was sent down to triple A and then never returned in September. The Mariners decided to start him at Tacoma once again at the beginning of 2016. This happened before spring training even had gone underway.

Zunino had a pretty good season with Tacoma when he was called up in July because of injury. He started off pretty good but slumped in September. This year Scott Brosius Tacoma’s hitting coach has been promoted to Seattle to be Edgar Martinez’s assistance coach. Although he will work with other hitters I expect that Zunino will be his primary pupil. Everyone is rooting that he can get back to hitting like in his rookie season.

This is a key season for Zunino because if he hits like he did in 2015 I can see that the Mariners may trade him during the season and after the season for sure. Dipoto and Servais both figure that he will have times where he will hit well and other times that he will struggle which is OK the deal is that he doesn’t struggle starting out the season and it continues on.

Zunino is a great guy along with his good defensive ability so everyone is rooting for him to succeed. The Mariners haven’t had a catcher that has played for several years since Dan Wilson retired. Zunino has a lot of power so he could hit a lot of home runs and doubles so it would be good if he could hit around .250. The Mariners would accept a little lower than that as well. They don’t want him hitting around or below .200.

We are all hoping Mike that we will see you here for many years to come and become involved in a team that will go to the playoffs and World Series in the rest of your career. Go M’s.

More Mariners Pitching

Besides a big bluster trade during the off-season that brought the Mariners Jean Segura and Mitch Haniger from the Arizona Diamondbacks for pitcher TaiJuan Walker and shortstop Ketel Marte the Mariners added more pitching depth to their roster.

The Mariners not only picked up some veteran help they went out and got some young pitchers to help out for the future well as for the upcoming season.

The Mariners triple A team the Tacoma Rainiers will have a good starting rotation well as their bullpen. The Mariners have a solid starting rotation and bullpen although we are wondering how well the starters will do over the season.

We start out with King Felix Hernandez who will turn thirty-one in April shortly after the season starts and came off an injury last season. He did have a good off-season getting into better shape and right now he I participating in the Word Basic Classic for his home country of Venezuela.

Iwakuma will be back for another season however he will be older as well so who knows how healthy he will be for the season. James Paxton is back to make another try for the rotation. Hopefully he will stay healthy and have his best season so far. We won’t know for three more weeks but he is doing well in spring training. He likely will start after Felix since he is a lefty.

The Mariner’s picked up another lefty who should pitch after Iwakuma in the rotation. He is Drew Smyly. The Mariners got him in a trade with Tampa Bay.

The fifth starter right now for the Mariners is Yovani Gallardo who they picked up from the Baltimore Orioles for outfielder Seth Smith. He had a poor year last year for the Orioles however general manager Dipoto and manager Scott Servais are hoping that he will rebound this season.

If Gallardo doesn’t rebound or any other starters don’t do well they do have some depth. The number one pitcher that would come in is Ariel Maranda who they picked up late last year from the Orioles who had a good September. He will probably start in the bullpen as a second lefty or be sent to Tacoma to start the season.

Another starter the Mariners picked up who may start with Tacoma is Chris Heston who had a minimum season last year because of injuries. He previously pitched and started for the San Francisco Giants. The Mariners signed him as a free agent.

Other starters the Tacoma Rainiers may have are Chase De Jong who they picked up on a minor deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers during the early part of spring training. He had a good season last year at double A and he is only twenty-three years old so he could have a spot in the Mariners rotation next season. He may come up some time during the season and likely will in September. Another starter is Rob Whalen the Mariners got from the Atlanta Braves during the off-season. Like Heston and De Jong he is on the Mariners 40-man roster.

Another starter would be Cody Martin who started two games for the Mariners last season. He is not on the 40- man roster so he would have perform better than some of the other guys to make it on the roster whether opening day or during the season. Andrew Moore out of Oregon State who the Mariners like a lot may start the season in double A could be seen some time during the season especially in September. Another one is Dylan Unsworth out of South Africa who will probably start at double A this season to. Both Moore and Unsworth could move up to Tacoma during the season and likely see in September.

The bullpen has a lot of pitchers on hand. Far as right handed pitchers they are keeping five so not much room there for sure. Steve Cishek will probably start on the disabled list or there would be only room for one pitcher.

Edwin Diaz is the closer with Evan Scribner and Nick Vincent being two setup men. That would leave two pitchers and one would take Cishek’s spot until he is ready. The only change here would be if Dipoto decided to trade either Scribner or Vincent because neither will go to the minors.

Dan Altavilla looks to take one of the two remaining right handed spots in the bullpen unless he underperforms or someone else surprises the coaching staff. The other pitcher had the best chance is Shae Simmons however he was injured on Saturday so he could be out for a little while though he isn’t too concerned about it.

Other possibilities to make the bullpen that are on the 40-man roster Casey Fien, Thyago Viera and Tony Zych. So far Fien hasn’t done too well, Viera likely start in double A and Zych either on the disabled list or in Tacoma depending on he will do the rest of training camp. If Simmons can’t start the season than Zych could have the best chance in make the opening roster.

Another possibility is Max Povse however he is not on the 40-man roster. A veteran pitcher the Mariners recently picked up was Jean Machi. He too would have to be added to the 40-man roster to start the season with the Mariners.

The primary lefty in the bullpen will be Marc Rzepczynski however the Mariners hope to have another one as well. Ariel Maranda could be the second if he isn’t a starter in Tacoma when the season begins. James Pazos the Mariners got from the New York Yankees is having good spring training so he is the main competition for the second lefty against Maranda. They signed veteran lefty Nick Hagadone who last pitched in 2015 with the Cleveland Indians and is from nearby Sumner. His experience will be good for the Mariners whether he starts the season with the Mariners or the Tacoma Rainiers.  The Mariners could trade him if another team is interested and he is not on the 40-man roster either.

So that looks like the primary pitchers for the Mariners going into the new season. Knowing Dipoto it most likely will change in the next three weeks before the season begins. Go M’s.    

 

  

 

March Madness 2017

I have to admit that I haven’t seen much college basketball this year. It doesn’t help that my favorite team the University of Washington Huskies had a terrible season and going for a record of 9-22.

They have lost thirteen games in a row after losing Wednesday in a close game to USC in the Pac-12 tournament. No one expected them to win since they had lost to USC on Saturday. Also their number one player Markelle Fultz did not play in the game. Fultz actually hasn’t played in the last several games because of injury. Fultz is a freshman who is not expected back next season. He is one of the guys they are calling one and done. Other words he will go to the NBA after playing part of one season. He led the Pac-12 in scoring and could be the number one pick in the NBA draft. If he isn’t he certainly will be among the top anyway; can’t blame Fultz for not playing since he had an injury and he is on awful team anyway. The Huskies offense hasn’t been too bad however the defense has been one of the worst around ever.

The Huskies are supposed to have one of the top recruiting classes coming in next year however the number one player is expected to be one and done as well in Michael Porter Jr. It is interesting because Coach Romar hired his father Porter Sr. going into this season. Also he is the Godfather of Porter Jr. The question is whether Romar will return next season or not after having one of the worst seasons in Huskies history. If Romar doesn’t return than likely the Huskies will lose Porter Jr.  We have to ask ourselves is that a bad thing or not. Bringing in another one and done player will make the Huskies a better team or not.

What people are looking who follow the Huskies and for the people of Seattle for that matter when will the Huskies make the NCAA tournament which they haven’t done in some time.

What I see as the shame is that Seattle and the state of Washington have some of the best high school basketball playing in the country and why has only Gonzaga been the only team to be successful. We sure can give Mark Few and their program a lot of credit but the Huskies and Cougars should be competing in the Pac-12. Even if they don’t make the tournament every year they should be in it four out of every five years at the very least.

I think that Romar is a fine gentlemen and many people like him other than some players who have left the program over the years.  If you know Husky and Gonzaga basketball you know the player that left two years ago and sat out last year before going to Gonzaga after transferring from UW. I am sure he was not the most popular guy in Seattle but he has had an outstanding season at Gonzaga.

Until recently the Gonzaga Bulldogs were undefeated and ranked number one in the country till the loss to BYU. This Sunday the rankings will come out for March Madness and the Bulldogs should be one of the four top seeds in the tournament. If not they certainly will be number two in one of the regions. They just ended winning their conference championship.

It is time though the Huskies go out and get a young upcoming coach to take over the program. They may lose Porter Jr and possibly a few other recruits but who really cares. The Huskies need to be a team and not a one man show. If Romar does return next season the Huskies do need to make the NCAA tournament or at that point it is for him. I would like the Huskies to go out and get a coach that is similar to the football coach Chris Peterson. I am sure there is someone out wanting to move up the rankings and make a name for themselves. There is a large buyout of Romar’s contract however it will still be there next year too so it is time to say goodbye to him. I am sure he can find another place he can go to and resurrect his career. Thanks Coach Romar for the years you were here however time to move on for everyone’s sake.

In the meantime I will be enjoy watching March Madness and hoping the Bulldogs will pull off the title this year though I would like it to be the Huskies or for that matter the Cougars. Enjoy your full of March Madness and then baseball season arrives.

 

My Look at Mariners Outfield

Going into spring training the plan for Mariners outfield looked to be Jarrod Dyson in left, Leonys Martin in center and Mitch Haniger in right field. It doesn’t look like things have changed there at this point.

On March 8 the Mariner brass said that the competition is still there who will be the fourth outfielder along with the utility player. In fact they say that two utility players could be on the opening roster. I am sure most would agree with me that probably wouldn’t happen even though things could change.

Although the coaching staff says thing are equal it looks to me that Guillermo Heredia has the edge to be the fourth outfielder over Ben Gamel. They say whoever may be the guy between the two it won’t depend on the right handed or left handed hitter which I am sure is true. Right now though Heredia is playing outstanding ball and deserves to be the guy. Of course that could change if Gamel starts playing outstanding ball.

At this point it looks like Dyson will lead off and start in left field in a platoon situation with Heredia playing against left handed pitchers. Also there is a possibility that Nelson Cruz could play right field on occasion and Haniger moving over to left field against lefties. Hard to say who the designated hitter would be in those situations. They could give someone like Kyle Seager or Robinson Cano a day off and be designated hitter against a tough lefty or even have Mike Zunino be in the lineup at the spot.

I don’t see Cruz playing much in right field in Safeco Field since it is a big park. I would see him playing in right field in a smaller park on the road.

I would see Gamel starting the season in Tacoma and if Heredia or someone was struggling at the plate he would be brought up along with an injury. One thing for sure the Mariners have more depth in the outfield especially defensively this season.

Danny Valencia who will play some first base will play occasionally in the outfield well as third base. Again this will depend on Vogelbach how does playing first base and giving Seager a day off once in a while.

One thing for sure the defense will be a lot better this season in the outfield and with the speed Dyson and Martin will steal some bases. Haniger will have some pop in the bat hitting some home runs and he may steal some bases too. For sure he will be able to go from first base to third on a lot of hits to right field along with some hit and runs. These guys will make things more exciting that is for sure. This will be the best outfield defensively since Franklin Gutierrez in center and Ichiro in right. Go M’s.  

Mariners Solid Infield

Being Tuesday March 7 the Seattle Mariners have an off day in the Cactus League Spring Training schedule. Of course some of the players will get in their regular routines. The infielders will likely take grounders and many will take batting practice. Nothing will take place in the afternoon and some will relax and go play golf or spend time with their families.

It does look like the Mariners will have a solid infield this year. We expected that Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager would be their normal selves going into training camp. Jean Segura who the Mariners got in the trade from the Arizona Diamondbacks we expected to be an upgrade from Ketel Marte. He had a really good season last year and he does look he will have a good one for the Mariners even if he doesn’t hit as well as he did last year. Defensively he will be an upgrade over Marte. This could make a difference of at least a couple of games. Going into the off-season it did look like the Mariners would go after a shortstop because Marte did not look like he was ready to play regularly in the major leagues and he may have to do a Mike Zunino by going back to the minor leagues for a season. The question was who the Mariners would get to replace him since they did not have a solid player on their roster to replace him or in the minor leagues. We thought that Dipoto would go after acquiring Cozart the shortstop of the Cincinnati Reds who they tried to get before the trading deadline in July instead they went for a younger shortstop that had his best season so far in the major leagues. The Mariners had to give up TaiJuan Walker who we have heard for several years being their top pitching prospect and also included Marte going to Arizona as well. It made perfect sense since there is no room to have Marte except for depth at shortstop. Actually second base could be his best position however he won’t play for the Mariners for several years because of Robinson Cano. The Mariners also picked up Mitch Haniger who looks like he will be the regular right fielder for them at least at the beginning of the season.

The other position the Mariners had to do something about in the infield was first base. After the season we knew that neither Dae-Ho Lee nor Adam Lind who became free agents would return. They were adequate last year but not players that looked to be long term answers at first base. Before the trading deadline the Mariners picked up Daniel Vogelbach from the Chicago Cubs for pitcher Mike Montgomery. Vogelbach had a good minor league career in the Cubs system however they had regular first basemen already there so the Mariners decided to pick him up and on the positive side he is young as well. The Mariners did not have much in their farm system at first base either. Only D.J. Peterson a former first round pick is even close to playing in the major leagues and he may be a year away if he is at all. He probably plays this year with Tacoma as added insurance at the position. Dipoto  could trade Peterson as well since he has done so with other high draft picks that the Mariners had before he arrived on the scene. Vogelbach is a left handed hitter who is looking better at first base defensively than when he came up to play sparingly in September. Dipoto and manager Servais both said that he would have to improve defensively at first base to have a shot playing this year. The Mariners went out and traded for Danny Valencia who played third base last year primarily with the Oakland A’s. He doesn’t have any experience at first base going into this season however expected to play as much as possible depending on how Vogelbach does. Valencia will play some third base when Kyle Seager needs a rest and probably some left and right field depending on how everything works out in the outfield as well. Right now it does look like Vogelbach will be the regular first baseman especially against right handed hitters while Valencia will get in action against lefties. It may not be the same platooning the Mariners had last year with Lee and Lind though.

The Mariners offense and defense both looked improved over last season. Seager should have a better season this year at third base along with Cano having another solid season at second. Segura and the team of Vogelbach and Valencia should be an improvement at first base as well. We will see but things will be better. Next time I will look at the outfield and the progress there. The regular season begins just under four weeks on April 3. We will have more answers in the weeks ahead. Go M’s.   

 

 

Spring Training Continues Dipoto Makes Another Trade

The Seattle Mariners have now won four out of five games in the first week of spring training games however he decided to make another trade to add depth for the minor leagues in regards to the starting pitching.

Dipoto traded for right handed starting pitcher Chase De Jong from the Los Angeles Dodgers for shortstop Drew Jackson and pitcher Aneurys Zabala.  I don’t know much about De Jong however he is twenty-three years old and was drafted in the second round by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2012. He had a record last year in Double A of 14-5 with an era of 3.24 in 25 starts. The Mariners expect him to start this year in Tacoma. He certainly will add more depth to the starting pitching especially at a young age. Depending on how he does with Tacoma I would not be surprised to see him called up in September to see some action and he could be in the Mariner rotation next year. Another pitcher that may be in the rotation next year is Andrew Moore who the Mariners drafted in 2015 out of Oregon State. Dipoto is not only adding depth to the starting rotation for the Mariners this season but for the future as well.

Drew Jackson is the same age as De Jong and was drafted in the fifth round by the Mariners in 2015. He played last year at Bakersfield in the High-A and batted .258 in 124 games. He was rated the Mariners third top prospect going into this season and the top shortstop. He is another top player that Dipoto has traded that was picked by Jack Z.  He was expected to play in Double A this year. With the Mariners acquiring Jean Segura from the Arizona Diamondbacks I am sure that Dipoto felt Jackson was expendable to acquire a quality pitcher like De Jong. Tyler Smith who is expected to play in Tacoma once again would be considered the Mariners number one shortstop prospect at this point.

The other who the Mariners traded to the Dodgers in the trade pitcher Aneurys Zabala is twenty years old out of the Dominican Republic. He spent last year as a relief pitcher for Peoria in the Arizona Rookie League. With the depth that the Mariners have in relief pitching they felt he was expendable.

The Mariners will be taking on the World Series champs the Chicago Cubs on Thursday and Friday. Ariel Miranda makes his second start of the spring against the Cubs on Thursday. The Mariners will be starting a mixture of starters and reserves in this game. Go M’s.