Seahawks Open Training Camp With Surprise

The Seattle Seahawks opened up training camp on Sunday July 30 with a surprise. Top pick Malik McDowell did not report because of an injury. When he will be back with the Seahawks no one knows at this point. He said that the injury was not life or career threatening. Not even sure when the injury exactly occurred however it may have happened a couple of weeks ago in an accident. Fortunately we don’t know what we have missed. We hope that we will hear more in the next few days.

Also we found that wide receiver Tyler Lockett who I wrote about in my last blog will start training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list along with cornerback DeShawn Shead and rookie offensive lineman Justin Senior. Though he is on the list doesn’t mean that Lockett won’t be ready for the regular season. There is a good possibility we won’t see him during the pre-season games however the Seahawks can activate him off the list at any time.  So we will likely see his backup at punt and kick-off returns in action.

The good news is that safety Earl Thomas will be taking practice for the Seahawks since he was not put on that list. We know that Thomas is the likely key to the Seahawks defense. The defense did not do as well when he was out. It is not only his skill to play the safety position but his attitude. He and Richard Sherman along with Kam Chancellor make the defensive secondary.

With McDowell out that means we will see Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril playing their usual amount although McDowell is more of a tackle than an end. This means the door will be open for a defensive tackle to show what he can do instead. This means that this could be a blessing in disguise for the Seahawks and not for McDowell.

Other than news there isn’t much else to say about the Seahawk practices. The Seahawks did announce the return of linebacker Michael Morgan. Whether he will start on the outside alongside Bobbie Wagner and KJ Wright we won’t know however we do know that he plays special teams well. Last week though the Seahawks picked up linebacker DJ Alexander in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs. Though he is a special team’s all-pro he will compete with Morgan for the outside linebacker as well.

 The Seahawks first pre-season game will take place on Sunday August 13 against the Chargers in Los Angeles. Yes it will be interesting to call them the Los Angeles Chargers. It is unusual to have a pre-season game on a Sunday. In fact I don’t remember the last time that happened. Actually two of the Seahawk games will be on Friday nights and the last one against the Oakland Raiders will be on Thursday Night Aug. 31. The Seahawks opening game will be on Sunday afternoon September 10 against the Packers in Green Bay. So our first action to see the Seahawks will be in just under three weeks. Go team!

The University of Washington took to the field for training camp on Monday. They are favored to win the north division of the Pac-12 and lose to USC in the Pac-12 championship. The Trojans are favored to win the south. Both Huskies and Trojans should start the season in the top ten. The big question will be how the Huskies replace the big three defensive backs that are now in the NFL and John Ross at wide receiver. The Huskies season starts on Sept. 1 at Rutgers in a non-league game. I will write more about them when more news comes out. Go Huskies! The same should be about the Washington State Cougars too.  

No Question Who Won On Sunday!

We knew going into Sunday’s game that the Mariners had a good chance in winning the game and the series against the Mets however they decided to make it no doubt at all with the final score being 9-1.

James Paxton who has had a great month of July on the mound was going to pitch on Sunday so we had a pretty good idea that the Mariners may win however the offense decided they would make it no question at all. Since the beginning of July Paxton now is 6-0 and we hope that continues into August. Also in July he got a nickname in the Big Maple and a cheering session called “the Maple Grove”. You know that you have made it when this happens in one month.

On the offense side of the ball Nelson Cruz started off hitting a home run in the first inning with two runners on base to take a 3-0 lead. In the second inning the Mariners scored another two runs including a solo homer by Leonys Martin who was recalled from Tacoma to take the place of injured outfielder Mitch Haniger. He was inserted in right field and at ninth in the batting order. Although I am glad that he played in the game the first day back I hope that Guillermo Heredia gets to play a lot beyond platooning.  He will be in the lineup Monday Night in Texas as lefty Cole Hamels will be going for the Rangers.  Whether it will be Dyson or Martin in the lineup is anyone’s guess at this time.

It was nice to see that Robinson Cano came out of his July slump getting a couple hits along with Cruz three-run homer in the first inning. The Mariners will need both of their bats to have a successful August when they will be on the road most of the month. They have only one week at home during August.

It was interesting to see that manager Scott Servais decided to change Ben Gamel and Jean Segura spots in the lineup for Sunday. Ben Gamel continued his hot hitting getting a couple hits leading off while Segura did get one hit himself. Playing against Hamel I expect that Segura will be back at leading off of on Monday night. It will be interesting to see if Servais decides to keep Gamel in the leadoff spot when facing righties.

When the Mariners brought Leonys Martin to take the spot of Mitch Haniger on the roster they had to dfa a player on the 40-man roster because Martin was no longer on that roster when he was sent down to Tacoma in late April. The Mariners announced that they had designated for assignment former first round pick DJ Peterson. It will be interesting whether they will have him part of a trade or that they will have him picked up by another team. A few days ago Tyler Smith was dfa’d by the Mariners and he was picked up by the Rangers. Cody Martin who was brought up the same day as Smith dfa was sent back down with adding Erasmo Ramirez to the roster. Ramirez was traded back to the Mariners for Steve Cishek last week from the Tampa Bay Rays. Ramirez is expected to start on Tuesday for the Mariners. With Monday being the trading deadline the Rangers are expected to trade Yu Darvish however if he is not he will face the Mariners in this series. It would be interesting if the Mariners decide to trade for Darvish while they are in Texas.

The Mariners will go to Kansas City to take on the Royals in a four game series before having next Monday off. The only Monday off in August. All other days off for the Mariners in August will be on Thursday. They will then play two games against the A’s in Oakland next Tuesday and Wednesday before returning home for the series against the Los Angeles Angels and the Baltimore Orioles. They will be only time home the Mariners will be in August. They will then return on the road for the rest of the month.

It will be important that the starting pitching does well while being on the road otherwise we will see changes in the bullpen over the month along with the fact to have a successful road trip. So let’s go Mariners we want you to be still in the race when August ends. I am sure we will all be tuned in to see what general manager Jerry Dipoto will do this Monday with any new roster moves.

Surprise Win For Mariners

The Seattle Mariners went into Saturday afternoons game were the New York Mets were favored to win because their starter Jacob deGrom had won eight games in a row and the Mariners were pitching Yovani Gallardo who has struggled starting all season. He has always had at least one inning where he got into trouble. Actually did in this one to however he was able to get out of it.

The Mariners scored two runs in the second and another in the third but did not score after that however was able to hold on. It wasn’t easy besides the trouble that Gallardo had in one inning when Tony Zych came in the sixth inning he had trouble getting the ball over the plate. The one run that was given to Gallardo was actually walked in by Zych. He had another walk in the inning. Somehow he was able to get out of the inning without giving up another run.

Kyle Seager continued hitting well getting two doubles where he scored once. Actually if it were not for Michael Conforto catching a ball diving Seager would have gotten at least another double and the Mariners would have scored another run.

The final score in the game was 3-2. The Mariners had a two run lead most of the game however Edwin Diaz gave up a run in the ninth inning however he struck out a batter to end the game.

For those who may have not known Mitch Haniger was hit in the nose in the second inning on a pitch by deGrom. It look like he may have broken his nose however the update he did not break it however he is expected to have plastic surgery and he will be out for a little while. There is a report that Leonys Martin will be activated in the place of Haniger. If that is the case than the Mariners will have to make a change to the 40-man roster since Leonys is not on that roster. There is a report that Cody Martin who was called up for the bullpen will be designated for assignment. If that is the case than the Mariners will need to make another roster move as well by adding another pitcher to the roster and that likely would be someone who is already on the 40-man roster. Who that would be is anyone’s guess because there are several pitchers the Mariners can choose from.

Not Much Changed at Home For Mariners

Friday night the Mariners started their three game series against the New York Mets. We were hoping that they would play more like they did against the Red Sox than the New York Yankees unfortunately they did not.

The Mariners for some reason have been playing down to other teams especially against the National League and at home.  On the road recently they did a good job against the Chicago White Sox and the Houston Astros after the all-star break. They have lost three out of four against the Yankees than won two out of the three against the Red Sox and now a loss against the New York Mets 7-5 on Friday Night. The record since the all-star break is 8-6 in fourteen games however 3-5 at home in those games.  Be in a better place if they had gone 5-3 in these home games.  Not sure what the problem really is.

The Mariners have come back on several occasions to win games however on Friday Night however the Met’s did take a lead early on two home runs one by Jay Bruce in first inning and then the Mets scored again in the fourth inning including a solo home run by home town player Michael Conforto who is by nearby Redmond, Washington. 

The Mariners did come back to take the lead scoring a run in the third inning on a homer by Mike Zunino and then four runs in the fifth inning however like they have done often they were not able to add more runs in the game. The Mets came back to score three runs in the eighth inning including another home run by Conforto to take the lead for good. Two of the runs were off of Dave Phelps who came in after Conforto’s homer.

Everyone on the Mariners got at least one hit except Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz who both went hitless. We hope that both of them will rebound this weekend. The Mariners need both of them to hit.

The Mariners take on the Mets in an afternoon game Saturday and Sunday. Yovani Gallardo takes the mound for the Mariners so for them to win he has to pitch better than he has. This is especially true when Jacob deGrom, 8-0 in his last eight starts and has a total record of 12-3 with an era of 3.30.

Though the Mariners did have an off-day on Thursday they did decide to stick with the five-man rotation and not skipping anyone. James Paxton goes for the Mariners against the Mets on Sunday before the Mariners go on the road.

The Mariners will be on the road most of August however the way they have been playing lately it might be a good thing. Now we hope that the guys can rebound today. Go M’s.  

Receiver and More Tyler Lockett

Saturday the Seattle Seahawks training camp begins at the VMAC. I will start looking at some of the players on the team during camp and the season. First one is Tyler Lockett. He is one of my favorite players on the team.

He and Earl Thomas who is another favorite who will see happens during the training camp going into the season are both guys who are coming off of injuries that occurred during the end of last season. They are both key players to the Seahawk team though you have to say that Thomas is more so and we will get to that next time.

Lockett was part of the kickoff return team and the punt returner when he was drafted in 2015. I think he did a better job at punt returning than any of us thought he would.  The previous year the punt returning was not as good as the team need. Both punt returning and kickoffs he put the Seahawks in good field position along with scoring touchdowns on several occasions as well.

In 2016 about half way in the season before he got hurt he moved ahead of Jermaine Kearse into being the number two receiver across from Doug Baldwin. He did an excellent job when he got hurt. Jermaine Kearse moved back into the number receiver spot however Paul Richardson did an excellent job and made a couple of outstanding plays as the number three receiver.

Right now it is hard to know whether Lockett will get his spot back as the number two receiver because of the injury however he should be out there as the punt and kickoff returner once again. He is so valuable in that spot. Not sure right now who his back would be at in those two spots but it would not surprise me if Paul Richardson is the one.

The Seahawks will be a better team if Lockett can return to being the second receiver along with being in the return team however I am sure Coach Pete Carroll will be cautious and others may be tried during the pre-season games. What I like to is that he is a great guy and I am sure he worked his tail off during the off-season to be ready to go. We look forward to seeing you as soon as possible Lockett. We like the excitement you display on the field. Next time we will look at Earl Thomas. I am sure we will have more details on how he is doing concerning his injury. Go Hawks!

Mariners Take On Mets Over Weekend

The Seattle Mariners now have another weekend series this time against the other New York team in the Mets. We hope that they do better than they did against the Yankees.

So far over the season the Mariners have played not as well against teams that are playing at equal or lower status. In fact it seems they have done better on the road against those teams than at home. I have to admit that I don’t know a lot about the Met’s roster. In fact so when the Mets traded Lucas Duda to Tampa Bay this week although I knew he played mostly first base and hit a lot of home runs I thought he played some catcher as well which turns out he never has and he did play some outfield in the past. The only reason I was thinking about that was why not the Mariners went after Duda if he caught as well as play first base. Of course I was wrong when I looked into it.  It would be nice to have someone that could back up at catcher for the Mariners well as play some first base. Oh well!

·         I decided to look into the stats of New York Met’s catcher Travis E. d'Arnaud to see what he is about. Well looking at it he doesn’t hit much better than Zunino and if he actually played some first base what is the point of trading for him.

·         Friday night the Mariners have Ariel Miranda going for them against Rafael Montero for the Mets. If you look at the statistics the Mariners should win the game however we know how that goes. Montero has a record of 1-7 with an era 5.19 so the Mariners should be able to hit off of him and win the game. This would be a good start to the series if this can happen. The hope is that Miranda can pitch seven innings for the Mariners to help the bullpen out though they had Thursday night off. The Mets record right now is 47-53 and they are tied with Miami Marlins for third place in the National League East. We know that the Marlins have decided not to go after the playoffs since they have traded some players already like Dave Phelps reliever they sent to the Mariners. I am not sure what the Mets have that the Mariners could use in starting pitching however I am sure that Dipoto will be talking with their general manager over the weekend along with many others over the phone. We do hope that the Mariners do make a move. Also we know that Dipoto will be looking for someone that they will have control over for at least a couple more seasons. So now we say go Mariners let’s win two out of three this weekend at least.

Just heard news that the Mariners are reacquiring Erasmo Ramirez from the Tampa Bay Rays for reliever Steve Cishek; I am not sure however Ramirez could be in the Mariners five-man rotation. He has been used in the Ray’s bullpen to so could go either way. With acquiring Dave Phelps the need of Cishek isn’t as needed as before and he will be a free agent at the end of the season. The Mariners could go out and resign him when the season is over. Interesting news to say the least and something I didn’t expect.

Nice to Win Series Against Red Sox

Although the Mariners lost to the Red Sox in the final game of the series on Wednesday 4-0 against Chris Sale as expected they did win the series. It is something about playing teams with Sox in it this month.

It was nice that Ben Gamel was able to extend his hitting streak to thirteen games against Sale. He picked up two of the five hits against Sale. Segura, Heredia and Seager were the other ones with hits. It is a common theme hearing Segura, Heredia and Gamel in the same sentence.

Andrew Moore had another start for the Mariners and again he struggles giving up home runs but who doesn’t on the Mariners and many other teams. Of his four runs that he gave up in six and two third innings two of them were homers. He only walked one batter but what that truly means is hard to say. He could be throwing it where the batters can hit the ball. He is a control pitcher and he doesn’t throw it hard so he has to spot the ball to be effective. You wonder if the Mariners will continue to have him in the lineup. Certainly giving him experience however the Mariners are in a pennant race still for the wild card.

It is Thursday so the Mariners have the day off. I am sure many of the players are glad of that to rest. Danny Valencia and Mitch Haniger are both slumping right now so a day off would be good for them. It would be nice to give them each a day off during the New York Mets series. Gamel could play right field in one of the games and first base in another. Also it would be nice that Nelson Cruz can have some rest along with Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager. Cano had a day off scheduled on Wednesday so good that he has two days off in a row.

Speaking of the day off it would be nice if the Mariners were not playing that either the television or the radio would have one of their early games on from earlier in the season for fans to watch or listen too.   

Hustle in 13th Win for Mariners

The Seattle Mariners had to wait until the thirteenth inning for them to beat the Red Sox in the second game of the series. That means that the Mariners have won the series with Wednesday’s day game.  Wednesday’s game is expected to be tough because they are going against the Red Sox ace Chris Sale.

Both teams had opportunities to win the game. The Mariners were down by one run going into the seventh inning when Mike Zunino tied the game by hitting a home run to make it 4-4. The Mariners were the first team to score when Guillermo Heredia hit a three run homer in the second inning.  Hanley Ramirez hit a homer off of King Felix in the fourth inning for their first run.  The Red Sox scored four runs off of Felix in the sixth inning that removed him from the game.

The Mariners used six relievers who did not get scored on at all. Neither team scored again after the seventh until the thirteenth inning. The Red Sox scored a run in the top of the thirteenth to take a 5-4 lead. Gamel had a single and then took third on another single by Heredia. With two outs pitcher Doug Fister threw a wild pitch that scored Gamel to tie the game. On the same play Heredia hustled and made it around to third base. He came home on an infield single by Jean Segura to win the game.  These three guys are the ones right now that helping the Mariners win.

Heredia will be starting once again Wednesday because Sale is a lefty and they want to be sure that Jarrod Dyson’s toe is in better shape.

The Mariners will have Thursday off and then have a series against the New York Mets. The Mets will be throwing three right handers in that series so Dyson should be back in action. Dyson and Heredia have been platooning in centerfield depending on whether a lefty or righty is pitching. With the struggle of Mitch Haniger and the great play of Heredia I expect that Heredia start in the place of Haniger at least once in the series. At least we know that he deserves to be playing more if not all the time. Gamel likely will move to right field in place of Haniger at least once with Heredia playing in left field. Valencia who has been struggling lately and struck out three times on Tuesday could take a rest over the weekend as well which would mean the Mariners would start Gamel at first base. Now that Taylor Motter was sent down to Tacoma this week would mean that Gamel is probably the backup first baseman. Valencia who has been playing pretty good in the most part even on the defensive side will take the bench at least once. He most likely enters later in the game for defense.

Whatever the case we will be seeing a lot of Heredia and Gamel in the games since they are hustling so much. This along with the speed of Dyson will help out the Mariners a lot. We hope that the next time that Felix pitches he rebounds and pitches a good game. Andrew Moore takes the mound against the Red Sox in Wednesday’s game. We all hope that he pitches better than the previous two outings to give the Mariners a fighting chance against Sale. Go M’s.  

Paxton’s Victories Are Growing

                                                          The Big Maple

It is always nice to see your ace at a start of a series or at the end of one. Yes Paxton right now has to be considered the ace of the Mariners since Felix really isn’t anymore. It would be nice to have two aces though little later in the season when Felix has pitched a bit longer after being out for some time.

Paxton has a record of 5-0 in July after having a slow June coming back from injury himself. His record now for the season is 10-3 with an era of 2.84 after shutting down the Boston Red Sox 4-0. He went seven innings giving up four hits with no walks and ten strike outs. It would be nice if he could have had a few less strike outs so he may have been able to go another inning however no walks was a big key as well. This was a great way to get the series going against the Red Sox after the Mariners struggled against the Yankees.

Paxton is big time now for the Mariners since he has a nickname in the Big Maple and a cheering section started Monday Night called “The Maple Grove”. It wasn’t a big section however I am sure it will grow over time especially if the Mariners promote it. At least on TV they promoted it and showed the section several times.

Paxton now can be the left handed force the Mariners haven’t had since Randy Johnson left. The other lefty in the rotation Ariel Miranda can be more effective if he is in the same series as Paxton since they do pitch somewhat different though Miranda does have a pretty good fastball as well. The important thing for him is that he has to spot the fastball even more so than Paxton.  He won’t be in this series like Paxton since the Mariners will be facing the Red
Sox only three times. Felix will be pitching against the Red Sox Tuesday night followed by Andrew Moore Wednesday Afternoon. Miranda will start the series on Friday against the New York Mets since the Mariners have an off day on Thursday. It will be interesting if the Mariners will go with the fifth starter whether it is Gallardo or someone else on Saturday night or they will skip the spot and have Paxton pitch that night. Whatever the case Paxton will pitch the series against the Mets. It is nice to have Paxton and then Felix pitching after each other. It will be interesting if the Mariners will stay that way the rest of the season or break them up at some point. A lot will depend how Felix will be going the rest of the way.

Monday night Nick Vincent pitched the eighth inning followed by David Phelps in the ninth inning. I like that when the Mariners are not in a save situation and they don’t have to use Edwin Diaz. Depending on the amount of days they pitch in a row I like to see Phelps, Vincent and Diaz pitching the seventh, eighth and ninth innings when the game is close and the Mariners ahead. Also Steve Cishek can be put in there somewhere as well. Most likely in the sixth or seventh inning it would be good. Phelps can pitch more than one inning as well. That will help not over using either Vincent or Diaz.  Another pitcher that has emerged right now is Emilio Pagan who has done well as the long reliever. Yovani Gallardo did well in that role as well before being put back in as the fifth starter. I think that the Mariners need to look down to Tacoma unless they pick up another starter before the trading deadline. The five man rotation is weak at this point. Not sure can depend on anyone outside of Paxton on a regular basis. Sometimes Felix and Miranda along with Moore on occasion; now that Iwakuma is put on the 60 day dl we may not see him again this season. Not sure whether the Mariners will resign him for next year or go out and gets a free agent pitcher or make a trade during the off-season depending who they may get in less than a week. Go M’s.

Lose Tough Series to Yankees

 The Seattle Mariners on Sunday lost again to the New York Yankees in front of a large crown at Safeco Field 6-4. The Yankees took the series 3-1 and made the last ten games for the Mariners 6-4. Half of the wins were the sweep against the White Sox in Chicago. The road trip made things look like Mariners were on track however the Yankees had other ideas.

Actually the Mariners were close in the games and could have won at least one of the games if not more or they may have been swept as well. The bullpen as well as the starting pitching was what hurt the Mariners.

Yovani Gallardo started Sunday’s game after pitcher in relief for the Mariners for several weeks. He didn’t do well going five innings giving up three runs on five hits including two home runs. I am not sure what the Mariners can do with Gallardo however he seems to do better in relief. The Mariners actually had a chance to win the game when Gallardo was replaced by rookie lefty James Pazos however like recently he gave up three runs on two hits and two walks in one-thirds of an inning. He was replaced by Tony Zych who finished off the sixth inning giving up one hit and one walk. Emilio Pagan who has well in long relief came in and finished the game going three innings giving up two hits and one walk but did not surrender a run. Pagan has done well giving up only one run in his last seventeen innings. He seems to have taken over the role as long reliever however what will the Mariners do with Gallardo in the meantime.

Another thing what will the Mariners do with James Pazos. After starting off the season well he has done poorly in the month of July. The Mariners have the option of sending him down or work on his mechanics in the same way they did Edwin Diaz and keep him on the major league roster. I believe the season he had for three months he deserves a chance to stay working on the mechanics whether the Mariners will do that or not we may know today or tomorrow.  Zach Curtis who has been pitching relief in double A could come up to replace Pazos. He has been up with the Mariners twice already this season and pitched in three games not giving up an earned run. In double A he has ten saves in thirty games with an era of 2.19. It will be a question whether the Mariners want to stick with two lefties in the bullpen or go another direction. They could bring up a starter from Tacoma and move Gallardo back into the bullpen. Again we may see today or tomorrow.

Guillermo Heredia who played in place of injured Jarrod Dyson drove in two of the four runs with a double along with Ben Gamel who drove in the other two runs. Right now Jean Segura has been struggling at the plate in the series against the Yankees. The Mariners may give him a day off. The Mariners may have a change at the utility role as well. We will know about that today too.

The Mariners now take on the Boston Red Sox starting Monday night with James Paxton on the mound. Eduardo Rodriguez who has pitched well for the Red Sox will for them too; Felix Hernandez should go for the Mariners on Tuesday and the series should end with Andrew Moore Wednesday afternoon. I hope that the Mariners will look to rebound and take two out of three from the Red Sox. Paxton must have a good game tonight to get things rolling. Go M’s.

Updated news this morning the Mariners did option Taylor Motter to Tacoma. This will give him needed playing time and the Mariners are expected to activate Danny Espinosa who supposedly signed with the Mariners on Sunday.

Comeback Mariners (Kids)

The Seattle Mariners sometimes lets the other team get back into the game like they did on Saturday night however they did not give up and in the end won the game in ten innings 6-5.

The Yankees score a run first in the second inning however the Mariners because of home runs by Mike Zunino and Ben Gamel scored four runs in the third to take a lead of 4-1 however starter Ariel Miranda and reliever Steve Cishek allowed the Yankees back in the game but the Mariners still had a one run lead.

The Mariners brought in newly acquired David Phelps in the seventh inning. He pitched fine getting all three outs in the seventh and another out in the eighth. After the one out Servais came out and replaced Phelps with lefty specialist Marc Rzepczynski who gave up a hit and then was replaced by Nick Vincent who gave up a double that scored a run to tie the game. Robinson got a home run in the eighth inning however the Yankees came back in the ninth to score a run off of Diaz to tie the game.  

Tony Zych came in the 10^th inning and took care of the Yankees including striking out two. Ben Gamel who was the player the game led off the tenth with a double, the Yankees intentionally walked Cano and then Nelson Cruz singled to left field to score Gamel to win the game.

In the sixth inning Jarrod Dyson crashed in the fence that led to a Cooper triple that allowed a tying run left with an injured toe after that inning was completed. He was replaced by Heredia and they expect him to be out a game or two.

The Mariners showed again that they won after looking like they could go down to defeat. I thought that manager Servais over managed the game when he took out Phelps after one out in the eighth inning. I know often the manager goes for the odds however I think sometimes they need to leave in a pitcher as well. It is the same way where times they pinch hit for someone at other times they do not. I thought they should have pinched hit for Zunino and then he walked. I know that he has the capability to hit a ball out anytime like he did earlier in the game but he strikes out often as well. I know that they don’t want to break his confidence but I think at times he should be pitched hit for as well. In close games a decision can make a difference in a game one way or the other. Most often they just need to let the guys play. Other times it is in the gut of the manager to make a change or not.

The Mariners still continue to be inconsistent however I think they should break out of it soon and go on a good winning streak. Go M’s.

Seahawks Training Camp Coming Up

The Seahawks training camp starts next Saturday July 29 at the VMAC. The fans will be able to attend starting on the 30^th. My main question is how the offensive line will work this season. I hope it will be better than last season and that Russell Wilson will be healthy all season long. I think the line will be fine as long as they don’t decide to have players go to another position.

Next to the offensive line I look forward to the competition between newcomer and former Green Bay Packer Eddie Lacey and Thomas Rawls. Both of them are coming off of last season where they had injuries so hope that either or both will be healthy. This goes for C. J. Prosise as well who is expected to be the 3^rd down specialist. He showed some signs last year that he could play on first and second down occasionally as well. It would be nice to have two running backs in the backup on occasion. This will depend a lot on the offensive line as well. Another question will Alex Collins be a better runner this year as well. He could make it quite the foursome for the Seahawks.

Continue on the offense will Russell Wilson be able to get the ball to tight end/receiver Jimmy Graham on 3^rd down and especially in the red zone where the Seahawks have not done well that last several seasons. Also the use of Doug Baldwin in the same downs and the health of Tyler Lockett; another will Jermaine Kearse return to form or on his way down. We hope to that Paul Richardson will be the player he was at the end of the season and playoffs when Lockett was out.

There are questions on the defensive side of the ball as well however I will get to that in the weeks to come. I am just glad training camp is starting so we don’t have to hear any more about Richard Sherman’s off-season. Of course I am sure it will be mentioned some during training camp. The media has to talk or write about something.

I can’t wait until pre-season games so we can see some of the new players even the ones that likely won’t be on the roster when the season begins. The Seahawks should be favored to win the division of course that depends on the Arizona Cardinals can stay healthy despite their ages. The Rams and 49ers most likely will be in the rears of the division but how good or bad they will be is anyone’s question. In the meantime let’s go Seahawks.

Break the Even Mark

It seems the Mariners are having trouble getting over the five hundred mark on the season. Whenever they go on a streak like the one on the last road going 5-1 they ended up losing to fall behind once again.

I believe the problem has to be a mental block for the team. Thursday night against the New York Yankees they had a good chance to go over five hundred behind the good pitching of Felix Hernandez who went seven innings giving up three runs and one hit along with only two walks and he had nine strikeouts. His only run was a homer by Gardner in the sixth inning. It always seems that Felix gets little run support when he is pitching a great game.

The final score was 4-1. James Pazos came in the eighth inning giving up one hit in a third of an inning however a fielding error by Jean Segura cost the Mariners a run. That made the score 2-0 going into the top of the ninth however Robinson Cano made an errant throw on a grounder to him with two outs and two runners on base. Rookie Max Povse came into the game after being called up from Tacoma.  Danny Valencia was unable to handle the throw from Cano which should have been the third out and gave the Mariners a chance to win the game. The two unearned runs made it difficult for the team to have a chance to win.

The Mariners got their one run in the bottom of the ninth when Mike Zunino walked as the leadoff hitter and was pinch run by Guillermo Heredia. He scored with two outs on a double by Robinson Cano. It was the third hit in the game for Cano however his error in the top of the ninth was too much to overcome.

The Mariners did have a chance quite a few times to score runs but left twelve runners on base. This shows where they have the block to get over the five hundred mark.

This is a game that the Mariners should have won. Friday night they should be in front of a large crowd once again. Thursday night they had over thirty-five thousand fans in the seats.  Andrew Moore is going for the Mariners after having a bad outing the last time going only three innings. The Mariners are hoping that he can pitch like he did in his other outings. The Yankees have C.C. Sabathia going for them so it will be a tough game for the Mariners. We hope somehow the Mariners can win the game.  The Mariners need their offense to come back alive.

I think the Mariners are a winning ball club however with most of the ball club back and healthy they should start getting on a hot winning streak. Often though teams like the Mariners could hang around the even mark for a while; with a ball club that includes some new players like shortstop Jean Segura and the outfield of Jarrod Dyson, Mitch Hanger, Ben Gamel and Guillermo Heredia it could take the time to match together. It could be until next season that the team could really perform in the manner they should match their talent. The Mariners though do still need some starting pitching though. We will see the rest of this home stand how they do and going into August primarily being on the road. Go M’s.

Mariners Take Two From Astros

In a way it was a tough series however great road trip with the Mariners taking two out of three from the Astros after sweeping the White Sox. The White Sox after the Mariners losses decided it was the end so they traded three more of their top players. Amazing what teams do when they lose to the Mariners. I wonder what the Astros will do now that they lost two out of three at home against the Mariners. Of course I am not being serious here they could keep on winning once again or fall on their faces like the Angels did in 1995 and wouldn’t it be nice to revisit that year again with a different team in its place.

The Mariners are now back at 500 with one day below. They have a record of 48-48 winning five out of six coming out of the all-star break. I am not sure what that means other than that general manager Jerry Dipoto thinks they are still a contender and he will make a trade or more to bolster the roster especially in the pitching. There is talk that they are ready to make a trade for a reliever so it could happen today. I will let others speculate who that may be.

What made that series so good was that the Mariners were in a tight series however came out being triumphant. The pitching was good in two of the three games and the defense was awesome all the way through. The Mariners depended on some timely hitting especially home runs. I guess you could say Minute Maid Park is a homers park. This series should give the players more confidence in their playing. We know to that manager Scott Servais has the primary relievers set to pitch in any series we just hope that they are not overused. Although another reliever supposed to come aboard it would be nice to get another starter as well.

The Mariners now start another well-meaning series against the New York Yankees and then the Boston Red Sox back in Safeco Field. I expect that Safeco will be filled with a lot of fans. If the Mariners can take three out of four against the Yankees then they will take over them for the second wild card and be closer to the first wild card.

Right now we have to see what trader Jerry will do over the next ten days or so. I am sure he will surprise us in some manner since he always does. It would be nice to see a major trade along with some minor ones as well. The important thing we have to remember when he makes a trade it will be for the future as well as for today. In the meantime we will enjoy Mariner baseball. Oh yes can’t forget thanks James Paxton for a well-pitched game on Wednesday afternoon. Thursday night see Felix Hernandez take care of the Yankees. He likes taking them out.  

Add on: Thursday morning Jerry Dipoto traded with the Miami Marlins and picked up reliever David Phelps for four prospects. Should be in Seattle to face the Yankees. Have to see what other trades the Mariners may come up with. A plus for the bullpen for sure. Not sure who will be sent down yet.

Mariners Win Big Game Over Astros

 The Seattle Mariners continued having a good series on the road this time beating the Houston Astros Monday night 9-7.

The Mariners started out getting a lead 5-2 however the Astros scored enough in the sixth inning to overtake the Mariners. Like the series in Chicago the Mariners were able to come back and tie the game and have the game go into the 10^th. Nelson Cruz and Mike Zunino each hit home runs to keep the Mariners in the game although it was the defense of shortstop Jean Segura that allowed them to continue the game in the 10^th inning. The bottom of the ninth inning it looked like the Astros would win however Segura made an outstanding play that looked like the ball would go into left field with an Astro runner on second. He was able to throw the runner out on his knees to continue the game. He then made another defense gem to end the inning as well.

The Mariners won the game in the 10^th inning with Kyle Seager hitting a home run followed by Danny Valencia. Edwin Diaz was able to close out the bottom of the 10^th without any trouble at all. I have to admit that I was upset that the Mariners gave up home runs in the sixth inning for the Astros to come back and take the lead although the Mariners were able to finally win on home runs themselves. I think that the Mariner pitchers are giving up way too many home runs. The showed though they are not only team to give up too many home runs as well. Right now pitchers around the league are not spotting the ball the way they should and the batters are waiting on pitches to hit them out. I hope the Mariner pitchers will be able to correct that.

This road trip the Mariners winning the first four games has allowed them to be even on the season at 47-47. It would be nice if they could continue this not only on the road trip but the next home stand. The Mariners have activated Sam Gaviglio to pitch Tuesday night’s game against Bill Peacock for the Astros. Peacock has started nine games in twenty-one total games he has pitched for the Astros. He has pitched a total of sixty-one innings with a record of 7-1 and an era of 2.63 with 84 strike outs. He has walked 37 batters as well so the key to this game would be the Mariner batters to take as many pitches as possible early in the game to get Peacock out of the game. Starting the first inning Segura and Gamel need to see if they can hit the fastball to get to Cano and Cruz; a lot will depend on his control.

Wednesday the Mariners and Astros play a day game with James Paxton for the Mariners while Charlie Morton for the Astros. It would be nice if the Mariners will be looking to go for another sweep to end the road trip. The Mariners will return home to play the New York Yankees in a four game series Thursday through Sunday. Mariners let’s continue this good playing to get over the five hundred mark by several games. Go M’s.

Bullpen Key to 2nd Half

The Seattle Mariners swept the Chicago White Sox winning Sunday 7-6. It was the bullpen that helped the Mariners win along with home runs from Kyle Seager who hit the first one in the fourth after the White Sox had a 5-0 lead in the third inning. Andrew Moore had his first poor outing giving up five runs on six hits in three innings giving up three home runs including two by right fielder Garcia in the 2^nd and 3^rd innings.

Again the Mariners’ bullpen did a fine job giving up one run in seven innings. Emilio Pagan came in for Moore and pitched two and one-third innings giving up no runs on one hit, two walks and a strike out. Pagan has done a fine job in most of the games he has pitched in. Sam Gaviglio is expected to pitch on Tuesday in Houston. At this point not sure whether the Mariners will send down outfielder Boog Powell or Pagan. A lot that depends on whether the Mariners feel that they need Boog Powell on the bench because of the health of Nelson Cruz or a relief pitcher. Monday’s game could decide a lot which way the Mariners go. Pagan does deserve to continue pitching for the Mariners but need will be more important. If Pagan does get sent down he can’t be recalled for ten days unless an injury happens. Other words the Mariners would have to bring up another reliever within the ten days if they feel it is necessary.

Besides Pagan the Mariners have Yovani Gallardo to pitch in long relief. Also Tony Zych can pitch more than one inning if necessary depending on how much he has been used. Right now the four key relievers that throw right handed are Zych, Cishek, Vincent and Diaz. Vincent and Diaz will pitch the eighth and ninth in most cases depending how much they have been used. They both were key contributors in the series against the White Sox. Most likely they both will have Monday off against the Houston Astros since they have pitched three games in a row. Cishek will probably close in place of Diaz. This will allow them to be ready to pitch on Tuesday and Wednesday against the Astros. Gallardo hasn’t pitched since the all-star break so he likely is the first pitcher to come into the game. He has pitched well since being sent to the bullpen. He could go three or four innings if the Mariners need him to on Monday. The Mariners hope that Miranda can get into the seventh inning on Monday. Gaviglio who probably will start on Tuesday the Mariners will need the bullpen to be ready to go in the sixth inning or sooner. James Paxton should be the starter in the final game in Houston.

The bullpen will be the key to the 2^nd half of the season for the Mariners. Right now Servais has them setup exactly how he wants each one to pitch of course their success will depend on the starters as well. If the starters are not able to go six innings and sometimes seven they will be worn out and not be as effective like they were in Chicago.

The Mariners next off day will be on July 27 while they are at home. The next off day will be on Monday August 7 the day before facing the A’s in Oakland. The Mariners do have three Thursday’s off in August in a row. The first one though will be where the Mariners will have to fly to Tampa Bay after the only home series in August. The third one will be on the last day of August where the Mariners will have to fly home from Baltimore. So the second off day will be the only one that will feel like a day off. They go to New York to play the Yankees in a weekend series after playing in Atlanta. So the Mariners will need to have rest for the bullpen during that period of time. It would not be a surprise to me if they will have to bring up and send down a few relievers during that period of time. So starters you are on to perform well for the next six weeks so the bullpen can be successful. Go M’s.

Mariners Look to Sweep White Sox

 

 

Saturday night the Mariners beat the White Sox in Chicago 4-3 to take the series for the first time in ten years. Now the Mariners will look to sweep the Sox.  The Mariners are hoping that Andrew Moore will have his fourth quality start in a row since being recalled. The problem is that the Mariners will face left handed starter Derek Holland who has had a really good record against the Mariners. He beat them in Seattle earlier in the season and I found on line that in his career through 2015 he had a total record of 10-2 against the Mariners. We hope that the odds will go in the favor of the Mariners. If so the Mariners will then be one game below 500 at 46-47. They currently are in third place in the AL western division one game behind the Texas Rangers.  

 

 

 

Felix Hernandez struggled through the game on Saturday lasting only five innings. The Mariners were leading 4-3 at the time and the bullpen of Steve Cishek, Tony Zych, Nick Vincent and Edwin Diaz were able to hold the lead. Diaz had his trouble being a bit wild however he was able to close the game without giving up the tying run or allowing the White Sox win in walk-off fashion. These will be the primary relievers when the Mariners go to the bullpen when they are leading going into the sixth or seventh inning or later. Nick Vincent has been the shot down reliever in the eighth inning and he looks like he will stay there for the time being depending on how many days in a row he has to pitch. Of course the Mariners two lefty specialists will see some action against tough lefties in those innings as well. Right now Yovani Gallardo and Emilio Pagan will see action primarily when the Mariners are behind in games. Both can pitch at least two innings in a game and close out if necessary. We hope that they can pitch well enough where the Mariners can get back ahead. So far they look well in that role. Manager Scott Servais sees these roles so that the bullpen will not be overworked.

Monday the Mariners will begin a three game series in Houston against the Astros. It will be tough the way that the Astros have been playing and almost have the division sewn up however we remember 1995 when the Mariners came back and caught the Angels. The odds of that happening aren’t good but you never know have to keep the faith however they are able to go for the wildcards.

Mitch Haniger hurt his finger while trying to bunt late in the game so he will be out for a few days. Sunday’s game Taylor Motter is in left field while Guillermo Heredia is in center field. I expect that Heredia will be the left fielder against righties with Haniger out however Boog Powell may play in a game as well. Mike Zunino having the day off Saturday will be back at catcher on Sunday. We hope that he can get back on another hitting streak to finish off July.

In Houston the Mariners will start Ariel Miranda on Monday and most likely Sam Gaviglio on Tuesday. The Mariners will have to make a roster spot open for activating Gaviglio who was sent down to Tacoma during the all-star break. At this point I would say that Boog Powell the likely one to be sent down however the Mariners could send down Pagan as well however I think they like what they see in him. If they do send Pagan down they may have to bring up another reliever if the bullpen pitches too much. So go ahead and continue on a good road trip Mariners!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mariners Good Start 2nd Half

The Seattle Mariners on Friday got good pitching from James Paxton who went six innings gave up five hits and two runs along with nine strikeouts. The best part he did not give up a walk in the game. The Mariners ended up beating the Chicago White Sox in Chicago 4-2. James Paxton now has a record of 8-3 for the Mariners with an era of 3.19.

The Mariners scored three of the runs on a homer by Robinson Cano who continued his hitting from the All-Star game. The fourth run was scored by Jean Segura on a wild pitch. Segura continued his hot hitting scoring twice on two hits including a double that help lead to the score on the wild pitch.

The Mariners did struggle throughout the game not able to score anymore runs. They were 2 for 13 with runners in scoring position. Fortunately the Mariners had outstanding pitching from the relief core of Tony Zych who came in for Paxton in the seventh inning followed by Nick Vincent and Edwin Diaz. All three relievers struck out two of the three batters they faced and did not give up a hit.

Although he did get one hit in the game that helped score one of the three runs on Cano’s homer catcher Mike Zunino had an at bat with two runners on base where they both ended up stranding. I wonder at this point especially when they are in a close game whether the Mariners should have used a pinch hitter in his spot. I know there could be a question whether Zunino would lose confidence if he was replaced as well but I would take the chance. I know there is a chance that Carlos Ruiz could get hurt when he would replace Zunino however I think that the Mariners need to take that chance since they still could make the playoffs. The important thing is what is best for the team. Zunino right now is not hitting like he did in June. His current batting average is at .224 though at one point he had the average over .250 and still not sure how he will hit over the long run for the Mariners.

The Mariners and White Sox play an early evening game Saturday in Chicago with Felix Hernandez going against Mike Pelfrey who had record of 3-7 with an era 4.83. The Mariners have a good chance to take the series if Felix can pitch like he did in his last outing and go at least six innings like Paxton did Friday night. Sunday the Mariners will have Andrew Moore going for them. I am not sure if the White Sox have announced who they will have going on Sunday after Jose Quintana was traded to the Cubs. Quintana originally was scheduled to face the Mariners on Sunday. Go M’s.

 

Second Half Begins For Mariners!

Although it is not technically the beginning of the second half because the Mariners have 72 games remaining since they have played 90 major league baseball calls it the beginning of the second half.

The Mariners have a record of 43-47 going into Friday’s night game against the White Sox in Chicago. The White Sox made a trade on Wednesday being the first one to do so this week leading into the trading deadline. The deadline is technical as well where it is supposed to end on July 31 however teams can still make trades but they have to put the players through waivers to do so. Often teams will put players through waivers during this time to see what teams may be interested in the players.

Since Jerry Dipoto took over as general manager in September 2015 he has made more trades than any in baseball and most of us expect that he will make trades during this period. Depending whether the team thinks it will make the playoffs or not they call team’s buyers or sellers. Those who believe that they will make the playoffs will be the buyers while those that don’t will be the sellers however a team like the Mariners could be both in some regards.

The Houston Astros who have the best record in the American League will go after a player that they think will bolster their team. In their case it will likely be more to help them when they make the playoffs. In that case they may wait until sometime in the middle of August or later depending how they are doing after this break.

A team like the Oakland A’s who have little chance without a miracle will be a seller and will trade any player that they feel can get them some good prospects. During this period of time usually prospects are what the seller will get in return. The White Sox traded Jose Quintana to the Chicago Cubs for four prospects. No major league player was involved in this trade. Although they were top notch prospects there is no guarantee any of the players will be successful in the major league. In fact depending on the player who is being traded will decide how high a prospect they will get in return. A pitcher that is a fourth or fifth starter or reliever will likely get prospects from Class A in return.

The Seattle Mariners will likely look at getting at least a player in return that has played in triple A for example they got Ben Gamel from the Yankees during this period last year and it has paid off well for the Mariners. This year though the Mariners are looking at picking up a pitcher if they believe that they can make the playoffs. It will likely be a fourth starter though they could get a third starter depending on who they give up. The Mariners problem is that they lack a lot of quality minor league players. The White Sox on the other hand because of the trade in sending Quintana to the Cubs and Chris Sale to the Red Sox during spring training they have abundance of minor leaguers so they could trade any of them for a quality player however that likely won’t happen this year.

One player the Mariners might trade is Jarrod Dyson who will be a free agent at the end of the season. This could happen whether they are buyers or sellers. Since they have three quality young outfielders at this time they may look to get a pitcher in return for Dyson. Who else they trade will depend on who the other teams may want. Whatever the case the Mariners will get someone that they believe can help them the rest of this year as well as next year. Dipoto says that he will go after getting a pitcher. Most likely not a number one or two starter. If he gets one it is likely during the off-season. He will make a trade than like he did last year when they picked up Jean Segura and Mitch Haniger from the Arizona Diamondbacks. I would not be surprised if Dipoto will talk to teams like the Diamondbacks, the Tampa Rays, the Yankees and the Dodgers who he has made trades with since becoming general manager. This will be an interesting time to see what the Mariners will do.

All-Star Break Mariner Report

The Seattle Mariners ended the home stand going into the All-Star break beating the Oakland A’s 4-0 behind the pitching of King Felix Hernandez and the hitting of Nelson Cruz who hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning. This leaves the Mariners record at 43-47 with remaining seventy-two games starting this Friday. It seems to me for the Mariners to have any chance at the playoffs they will need to win at least 43 more games so the same amount won at this point. This would give the Mariners 86 wins however ninety wins would be better. The chance of that happening doesn’t look go. The record being 43-47 I will give the Mariners a report card of C- though if it were not for injuries especially to the starting pitchers I would think that they could have had fifty wins. I give the starting and relievers a D for the record. Outside of Nick Vincent the bullpen probably is a d minus or f.

Going around the diamond for each position I start at catcher. Since Mike Zunino had an outstanding June after being sent down to Tacoma in early May and the backups haven’t done will most of the T I will be kind and give them a C. We hope that Zunino will bounce back since he isn’t doing well in July. Having four days off because of the all-star break we hope that he can do better. I don’t expect him to do what he did in July however better than he did before the beginning of May.

First base since Danny Valencia pretty much has played there most of the time though the Mariners figured he would platoon I give him a B. If he had not had a poor April he likely would have been an A.

Second base I have to give an A. Other than the time he was on the disabled list Robinson Cano has had a strong first half and he is going to the All-Star game. Also he is tied in home runs with Nelson Cruz at seventeen. The Mariner offense struggled to while Cano was out. I give him an A as well since he is going to the All-Star game too. He went a month without hitting a home run primarily because of injures however he still was driving in runs which is as important if not more as home runs.

At shortstop I will give the position an A-. Jean Segura has played a solid shortstop and has been hitting very well. I am sure he could have been on the All-Star game if he had not been hurt and put on the disabled list twice. Taylor Motter played at least average at short while Segura was out. He hit well during the first stretch that Segura was out. Mariners often have had players come over to the team and struggle at the plate coming from the National League but that hasn’t happened at all with Segura.

Third base I give a grade of C. Kyle Seager has not missed much action so far however has struggled at the plate most of the season. I wonder if he has been playing hurt without anyone really knowing it. He gets a C because his defense has been solid. He has to start hitting at his normal rate the second half for the Mariners to have any chance to make the playoffs. If he doesn’t than the Mariners chances are not good.

As a unit I give the whole outfield an A. Ben Gamel and Mitch Haniger both have hit the ball well though Haniger not as well as he did before he was lost for a month but still solid. Heredia and Dyson have done a fine job in center. I won’t include Leonys Martin who had a poor April and then was sent down to Tacoma. Boog Powell has down an OK job while being in the lineup as well. It is hard to say at this point because of their jobs I wouldn’t be surprised if Dyson would be traded before the trading deadline depending on how they do during the second part of July and if they can pick up a picture. If that is the case either Powell or Martin will be the fourth outfielder. Both his hitting and especially his defense Heredia deserve to play full time.

The most important thing for the second half is that the Mariners pitching will have a higher record and the rest of the team stay around the same. It is hard to say whether Gamel and Segura will hit at the same rate but there has been a good sample so not surprised if they do continue to hit. Look forward to Friday and go M’s.