Mariners Open at Home Against Cleveland

The Seattle Mariners open the season at home this year starting on March 29 against the Cleveland Indians. The Indians led their division winning one hundred and two games. They won the division over second place Minnesota Twins by seventeen games. I expect that the Indians are favored to win their division once again.

Corey Kluber will take the mound in the first game against Felix Hernandez who will start the season opener for the tenth straight season. Kluber had a record of 18-9 with an era of 2.25. Also in four of his five full seasons he has pitched over two hundred innings which is now a rarity in major league baseball.

I am not sure whether the Mariners will win the season opener against Kluber however if they can win two out of the three games I would call it a success. The Mariners will have a day off on Friday and then James Paxton will start on Saturday and Mike Leake on Sunday. The Mariners have a day off on Monday then start a series against the Giants on Tuesday in San Francisco. Not sure whether fourth starter Marco Gonzales will start that game or they will start Felix after having four days off. A lot may depend on how Felix does in the home opener or they may have already decided to start with the four man rotation no matter what. Gonzales started on Tuesday against the Colorado Rockies in the final game of spring training. He pitched four and two/thirds innings giving up seven hits and two runs. He had two walks and three strike outs so ended up with solid spring training with an era of 2.08. If Gonzales can pitch anything like that for the season the Mariners will take it.

The Mariners won the final game on Tuesday winning 5-3 on a three run homer by Daniel Vogelbach who has had an outstanding spring training that led him to making the team. He is still looking at being the backup at first base and designated hitter. The Mariners are hoping to get him into at least one of the games against the Indians. He will be available for pinch hitting against the Giants. Vogelbach likely will be sent to Tacoma when the Mariners need a fifth starter. It will depend though how well Ryon Healy plays as well. Right now Healy has the upper hand however that can change.

Ichiro played on Tuesday having four at bats didn’t get a hit, struck out once and walked once. According to manager Scott Servais Ichiro should be healthy to start the season on the roster however starting game one is in question at this point. Personally I like Guillermo Heredia so I hope you he gets the chance to play more often than not. I am sure he will be a defensive replacement when he doesn’t start. If Ichiro does start because he is healthy enough and Kluber is a tough right handed pitcher who might give Heredia some trouble. In either case one or the other will bat ninth. I am sure we will see Heredia in the game even if he doesn’t start.

The Mariners announced they signed veteran outfielder Jayson Werth to a minor league contract and he will spend time in Arizona for extended spring training until he goes to Tacoma. Whether we see him will depend on how he does in Tacoma and whether the Mariners will need another outfielder because of injuries. Not sure when Ben Gamel will be ready to go however he should see some action in Tacoma before coming back to the Mariners.

I will primarily writing stories about how the players are doing throughout the season and the ball club. I don’t plan on day to day games unless something comes over me that looks good. I will write previews of each series throughout the year. I do hope the Mariners will keep me going with good stories. I will let you know how I see things go after the first game though and how Felix works out and preview of James Paxton and Mike Leake who will start the second and third games. Go M’s.

Opening Day Roster

Here we are on March 27 with the Seattle Mariners having one last game remaining in spring training and the season begins in two days.

The roster is somewhat set for the first game of the season though a spot or two could change. The Mariners could use someone to take the spot of David Phelps in the bullpen. The Mariners could change the utility player or the backup catcher if someone is available that they consider better though likely won’t happen.

The opening roster looks like this for Thursday with four starters Felix Hernandez who will start the opening game for the tenth season in a row followed by James Paxton, Mike Leake and Marco Gonzales who had outstanding spring training. If Gonzales can pitch anything like he did in spring training the Mariners will do well in that spot. We do know over the season that there will be highs and lows so if he can keep the lows to a minimum we could see a solid spot in the four hole. Right now the Mariners don’t need a fifth starter until the middle of September so they are going with two long relievers in Wade LeBlanc and Casey Lawrence. This could change if the Mariners pick up another reliever. The most likely candidate to be the fifth starter is Ariel Miranda who will start the season in Tacoma. There is no time table right now when Erasmo Ramirez will be able to pitch and he likely will go on a rehab assignment first.

The Mariners will be going with two catchers in Mike Zunino and Mike Marjama. Zunino started off rough in spring training however he came alive in the late stages of spring training including recently hitting three home runs in a game. His bat could make the difference in the lineup for the Mariners. Depending how well he is hitting the Mariners are planning to start Marjama a couple times a week though early on with off days it may not happen for a couple weeks.

The infield will have Ryon Healy at first base along with Daniel Vogelbach who has made the opening day roster. The Mariners will try to get Vogelbach some action in the first series and then they go to San Francisco where he likely will be used as a pinch hitter. How long he will be with the Mariners will depend how well he hits along with Healy as well. Healy only got action in spring training the last couple weeks. Vogelbach likely will be sent down when the Mariners will need the fifth starter however that can depend how much the bullpen is being used as well.

The other three spots in the infield are familiar and expect with Robinson at second base, Jean Segura at shortstop and Kyle Seager at third base. The utility player at this time is Andrew Romine who can actually play every position on the field. He likely is the emergency catcher as well.

The outfield will be Dee Gordon in centerfield with Mitch Haniger in right. Ichiro played on Monday in a minor league game getting one hit in six at bats. Right now don’t know if he will start on opening day or whether Guillermo Heredia will instead. Heredia will be starting some in left field when Ichiro doesn’t and he will give Gordon and Haniger rest when they need it. Ben Gamel is ahead of schedule in his rehab from injury however he will probably start the season on a rehab assignment himself. How soon he will be back may depend how well Ichiro does playing in left field. Heredia is a solid backup outfielder for the Mariners especially for his defense.

Now the look at the bullpen; I already mentioned that LeBlanc and Lawrence will start out as long relievers. So they will be the two guys who will pitch at least two innings when called upon. The other relievers will be Dan Altavilla who had outstanding spring training. Depending whether the Mariners have a lead or not he will probably come in the sixth or seventh inning where Phelps was expected to.  

Nick Vincent and Juan Nicasio will pitch the eighth inning followed by Edwin Diaz in the ninth inning as the closer. Vincent and Nicasio could come in the seventh inning as well especially early in the season. James Pazos and Rzepczynski are the two lefties that will come in anywhere between the sixth and ninth inning; If necessary Pazos can go a couple innings as well.

So this looks like a solid roster long as we don’t see any more injuries to players. Far as the pitching goes I don’t have much confidence in the depth of the pitching in triple A at this time anytime. So we hope that both Felix and the Big Maple can stay healthy most of the season. Getting at least twenty-five starts out of them both will help the Mariners get into the playoffs. Jerry Dipoto will look to add to the starting pitching in July if they are still in the race. Go M’s.

Felix Final Spring Start

Saturday night Felix Hernandez will be making his final start going into the regular season. This will be his third start of spring. He was hit by a line drive on his right arm back at the end of February against the Chicago Cubs who he will be facing today.

The thought is by Felix and the Mariner coaching staff if he is able to throw seventy pitches effectively today he will be the opening start next Thursday night at Safeco Field. If he isn’t then James Paxton will be the opening day starter. Paxton is expected to throw on Sunday however if Felix isn’t ready to go on opening night then I am sure Paxton will only throw a couple innings or so.

I am sure most fans and the media are not that confident in Felix being the opening night starter. I hope he is because that means that he is healthy to go or otherwise we may see a delay in his starting the season.

In other news Gordon Beckman was released on Friday by the Mariners. He had a good training camp so the idea is that he wants to hook up with another major league team and likely Andrew Romine got the roster spot. More news will come down on Saturday or Sunday what the opening day roster will look like. Also Chris Bergman was sent down to Tacoma so he won’t be on the opening day roster.

I read this morning former Mariner Wade LeBlanc is going to sign with the Mariners after being released by the New York Yankees. He looks to be another candidate for the fifth spot in the rotation.

With the news a couple days ago that David Phelps will be out for the season having Tommy John surgery that we should be hearing soon whether the Mariners will be picking up a veteran to take his spot or not. At this point Dan Altavilla looks to be the guy to pitch where the Mariners intended Phelps to be. Altavilla has had a really good spring so he deserves the shot if the Mariners are not able to pick someone up that is equal or greater than Phelps.

If you haven’t heard Ichiro was hit in the head in a minor league game however he is going to be OK. He could be out a couple days before seeing action again. I wonder how much playing time he will get when the season begins. I would like Guillermo Heredia get a shot to play either regularly or semi-regularly besides starting against lefties only. I guess we will see how that goes. The Mariners feel that Ichiro should be able to play five games a week however I am sure most like me have doubt about that. If he is able to hit .250 at least than I would say so but I still would like to see Heredia play at least three times a week. I am sure Heredia will see action in most games even when he isn’t starting. He may go into the games as a defensive replacement.

Anymore updates I will let you know whether Saturday or Sunday or later on. Go M’s.

One Week Until Opening Day

 

Here we are down to the last week of spring training with opening day a week from now. Most of the roster already has been answered however bad news did come down on Wednesday when we heard that reliever David Phelps will be lost for the season and he will have to get Tommy John surgery on his elbow. Another one of those pitchers the Mariners have acquired the last couple years that didn’t work out like expected. I am sure everyone remembers Drew Smyly last year in spring training as well being lost for the season and now no longer a member of the Mariners organization.

So the question is who will replace him in the bullpen? Phelps was expected to be one of the top relievers first coming out for relief. He would pitch in either the sixth or seventh inning and he might pitch two innings if necessary. The pitcher I see replacing him that role right now is Dan Altavilla who has had a pretty good spring. He seems to be the logical guy to do so. Most likely he will pitch one inning when called upon however I am sure they may ask him to pitch a couple innings. I guess there are other candidates that the Mariners can throw out in Phelps’s spot however I don’t see anyone so talented or valuable to do so. Nick Vincent and Juan Nicasio are expected to share the eighth inning with Nicasio closing some games when Edwin Diaz is not available.

The only candidate still on the 40 man roster is Chasen Bradford and he hasn’t had a good spring training so what the Mariners brass think about him is questionable. The next reliever up is Ryan Cook who isn’t on the 40 man roster but didn’t fare so well in his last outing. The Mariners did pick up Erik Goeddel from the Texas Rangers on waivers however that isn’t exactly the kind of pitcher the Mariners want to be in the role Phelps was expected to pitch. I know that general manager Jerry Dipoto will look to see who else will be available from other teams however the best answer will be to get someone in a trade like they did for Phelps last year. Though they don’t have many prospects in the farm system I am sure they will have to give up a few.

Felix Hernandez is expected to pitch on Saturday and news came down that James Paxton will pitch on Sunday. Depending how well Felix does on Saturday will determine how far Paxton will go in Sunday’s game. It sounds like if Felix pitches well he will be the opening day starter because Paxton will only have three days of rest. He could only go a couple innings on Sunday if the Mariners don’t feel that Felix can be the opening day starter. I am sure everyone has an opinion who should start on opening day. There will be those who are Felix fans that he should open for the tenth straight year while others believe that Paxton is now the ace of the staff should start instead. Opening day we could consider as an honor but I am not sure it is that important since both Felix and Paxton will start the same amount of games if they stay healthy throughout the season.

With Paxton starting the second game being a left hander it would allow the Mariners to alternate between righties and lefties in the rotation. Mike Leake will likely be the third starter as long as Felix is ready to go and Marco Gonzales being a lefty will be the fourth starter. At this point we are not sure who will be the fifth starter but don’t have to be concerned about that until the middle of April. The main candidates look to be Ariel Miranda who is still on the roster and Rob Whalen who was optioned to Tacoma.

Looks like Mike Zunino is all set to start the season as he hit three home runs Wednesday night game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Actually he went four for four in that game so had a single after the three home runs. He started spring training slowly but now is top shape we just hope it goes into the season. It would be nice if the Mariners can get off to a good start in the season. I am not sure the last time the Mariners had a good April.

So Jerry Dipoto go out and get the best possible pitcher you can find to replace David Phelps. I am not too confident on the guys we have right now. At this point it is more important than getting another starter though I wish that was available as well. We just hope that we don’t get any more bad news about any other players. Go M’s.

Mariner Roster Taking Shape

The Seattle Mariners regular season will now be starting in ten days so we will be seeing more players either released, waived or being sent to the minor leagues. The Mariners have said with the beginning of the season they will go with four starting pitchers, eight relievers and thirteen position players. The Mariners won’t need a fifth starter until the middle of April so why they will go with four starters to begin with.

So now a look at who I believe will be the roster on opening day March 29. The Mariners right now have 37 players on the 40 man roster so they have three spots to add non-roster players or sign or trade for a player. 

The starting pitching will begin with James Paxton, Felix Hernandez, Mike Leake and Marco Gonzales. It looks like a solid group if Felix can be healthy. Ariel Miranda or Rob Whalen will be the fifth starter when the time is needed. So it looks to be that they both will start the season in Tacoma. Whalen had a rough start on Sunday so we hope that he can recover and pitch the way he did in his previous starts in training camp.

The relief staff looks pretty set going into the season. Edwin Diaz will be the closer with Nick Vincent and Juan Nicasio being the setup men for the eighth inning. Marc Rzepczynski and James Pazos will be lefties out of the bullpen; so the remaining three right handed relievers for the Mariners should be David Phelps, Dan Altavilla and possibly be Casey Lawrence as the long reliever. Lawrence will have to be added onto the forty man roster since he came in as a non-roster invitee. This spot could be changed if the Mariners decide to pick up another pitcher who currently is on another team.

Now the thirteen position players the Mariners will start the season with. At catcher the starter will be Mike Zunino and his backup will be Mike Marjama. Going with thirteen players the Mariners could start the season with two utility players or two first basemen. Right now I would go with the latter. Ryon Healy and Dan Vogelbach who has had a solid training camp will share first base. This means that the utility player will be Andrew Romine over Taylor Motter. Romine being the veteran and Motter who has options can be sent to Tacoma. With several days off early in the season this makes good sense that Motter can get in regular playing time. The rest of the infield will be Robinson Cano at second, Kyle Seager at third and Jean Segura at shortstop. The outfield we will see Ichiro Suzuki in left, Dee Gordon in center and Mitch Haniger in right field. The fourth outfielder will be Guillermo Heredia who can play all three spots however will see most of his action in left. Ichiro and Heredia likely will start the season platooning in left field. Ichiro will start against righties while Heredia against lefties. This could change depending on how Ichiro performs and how many right handed pitchers they face early in the season. Heredia might see some action against right handers. He doesn’t hit right handers as much as against lefties. Also I would see him coming into games as a defensive replacement late in games. At designated hitter we have Nelson Cruz and we could see Vogelbach there if Cruz isn’t totally healed. There we go with looks to be the opening roster. With general manager Jerry Dipoto on the seen a couple of the spots could change. Go M’s.

 

Gonzaga Move On and More Sports

The Gonzaga Bulldogs had a tough outing on Thursday in the bigger dance but did escape with a narrow three point win against University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Boise Idaho. What made it a difficult win was that the Bulldogs missed more than ten foul shots otherwise it would have been an easier win. Greensboro though tried to tie the game at the end but the ball just came out of the basketball so the game could have gone into overtime and as you know anything can happen.

Today the Bulldog take on Ohio State Buckeyes in Boise. The Bulldog’s have

a decisive win over them early on in the season but for the Bulldogs to move into the sweet sixteen they will need to play much better this afternoon.

In other local sports it is now free agency for the Seattle Seahawks. If you

have followed it at all they have lost several players to other teams in the free agency period so far. This was after trading Michael Bennett to Philadelphia and releasing Richard Sherman who then signed with the San Francisco 49ers. In the last few days Jimmy Graham signed a contract with the Green Bay Packers and Paul Richardson went to the Washington Redskins. The Seahawks did sign some free agents themselves so far but no one with a name like Graham or Richardson. Actually lost two Richardson’s because defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson signed with the Minnesota Vikings.

Whether you call it rebuilding or retooling the Seahawks will look like another team. At this point it is hard to know whether Earl Thomas will return either. He said that he wants to have an extension with his current contract has only one year remaining. Don’t really know the thoughts of the team right now whether to extend him or let him play out his one year left or trade him. Thomas mind is that he doesn’t really want to be in Seattle if they let him play out the year. If the Seahawks do trade him I am sure they will be looking to get a first round and a third round pick for him. I guess we will see what happens there. It will be story for the rest of the off-season.

What other moves the Seahawks make is anyone’s guess at this time. The did sign two free agents in Mingo a linebacker who  played last year for Indiana-polis. Also they picked up tight end Ed Dickson who played for Carolina Panthers. He is more known as a blocking tight end but did a good job in the passing game last season.

We will see who else they may get before the draft comes up in April. Who they will take with the 18th pick in the first round is a guess as well though could be a defensive end with Frank Clark being the primary returner. Clark is coming up on the last year of his contract as well. What they will do with him we will have to see too.  It would not surprise anybody if they trade down again in the first round. They don’t have a second or third round pick but losing Graham and the two Richardson’s they will pick up three picks. A reason that they aren’t picking up any big names because they don’t want to lose any of them. This coming week should be interesting. Keep your ears and eyes open.

Getting Ready For the Season

The time is ticking down until opening season with twelve days to go. It has been interesting spring training with surprises and injuries to some of the players. I am sure many are concerned about the injuries in spring training however most of them are minor. According to the new Mariners High Performance director Dr. Lorena Martin she isn’t too worried about the injuries that her job is to be sure everyone will be ready when the season begins. Outside of Ben Gamel and Erasmo Ramirez all the other players should be ready to go.

Ryon Healy who hasn’t started a game this spring because of surgery to his hand at the beginning of training camp is expected to play in a game this weekend. He has been taking grounders at first base for a couple weeks and this last week has been taking batting practice. One of the surprises of the camp is Dan Vogelbach who could start the season on the roster if Healy isn’t ready to open the season. With options still left the Mariners could decide to send Healy down to Triple A for a few weeks as well. Vogelbach who has been given extra time because of Healy’s injury along with Mike Ford looks like a different player both at the plate and in the field. Ford has shown power and driving in runs but his batting average is below two hundred so the thoughts of general manager Jerry Dipoto and manager Scott Servais hasn’t really come out where fits in the picture. Being a rule 5 player he has to make the team or be sent back to the original team which is the New York Yankees or make a trade with them to send to triple A.

Marco Gonzales who is out of options would have to be on the roster or be sent through waivers before sent to Tacoma. The Mariners figured there likely would be little chance he would make it through waivers and he has been a good surprise throughout camp. He is expected to be the fourth starter for the Mariners. Another surprise is Rob Whalen who spent most of last year not pitching because of depression has not only recovered has had a real good spring as well. It looks like he will be on the roster as well. He could be the fifth starter if Erasmo Ramirez isn’t ready to go. The Mariners don’t need a fifth starter until the middle of April because of three off days early in the season.

Mike Marjama who looked like the leading candidate to be the backup catcher hasn’t been a disappointment at all batting almost three hundred and playing a good solid defense so at this point he looks like to make the roster on opening day. Andrew Romine and Taylor Motter are both having solid spring training competing for the utility player role. At this point I would give the edge to Romine because he is a veteran and Motter does have options so he could start the season in Tacoma. He would be ready that way if Romine doesn’t work out or an injury happens.

Guillermo Heredia is having a good spring training when he got going after coming back from his off-season surgery. He and Ichiro are expected to share the position since Ben Gamel will be out for the first month of the season or longer. Right now Ichiro is slowed by an injury so Heredia could get the bulk of work in left field. With his defense he will be valuable as a backup in center field and right field. Mitch Haniger who started spring training on the bench with an injury as well might not be ready to play full time either. So early in the season Heredia could see plenty of action and whoever is the utility player might get action in as well.

It was announced that on Monday Felix Hernandez will be pitching in a minor league game. The same goes for James Paxton as well. The Mariners haven’t announced yet who will open the season as the starter. They likely go with Paxton but they still might let Felix pitch opening day.

Rob Whalen

I heard general manager Jerry Dipoto of the Seattle Mariners that pitcher Rob Whalen has a good shot to make the opening day roster for the team.  He has been one of the big surprised in training camp for the Mariners. Last year he pitched very little and left the team because of depression. He is one of these good stories that come out every year it seems. At this time it seems he has overcome his demons and taking medication. I know what it means to have depression because of my life experiences. Fortunately mine hasn’t been a medical issue like his seems to be.

The likelihood is that Whalen will start the season as the long reliever depending on the status of the Mariner starters. Right now the starters look to be James Paxton, Mike Leake, Felix Hernandez, Marco Gonzales and Erasmo Ramirez. The Mariners don’t need the fifth starter until about the middle of April so they do hope that Ramirez who just started throwing will be ready to go however if he isn’t than Whalen could take his spot in the rotation until Ramirez is available.

Ariel Miranda who is another candidate for the fifth spot in the rotation or long reliever started on Thursday night against the Oakland A’s in the Mariners win 6-2. He gave up the Mariners two only runs pitching four innings. He had five hits walked a batter and struck out four.

Miranda was followed in the game by Mike Morin who recently was put on waivers before being sent down to the minors. Nick Vincent who just started pitching in games went in games went an inning didn’t give up a hit and struck out one. He was followed by Edwin Diaz who looked like midseason form striking out all three batters he faced.

The last two pitchers going for the Mariners were Wyatt Mills and Ryan Cook who each went an inning as well. They both likely will start the season in Tacoma. They give the depth for the bullpen the Mariners need.

The hitting hero for the Mariners was utility player Taylor Motter who has been using a new style at the plate this spring had a grand slam home run in the third inning and then a double driving in four runs. He and Andrew Romine have been in a good competition for that utility spot for the Mariners. No thinking at this time who will win it out.

Mike Leake who has had solid spring training goes Friday afternoon against the Texas Rangers. We hope that he will be able to extend out to five or six innings.  He is one guy who wants to go seven innings at least in each start when the season starts if he can. At this point he and James Paxton look to be the guys that can go that long while the others if the Mariners can get six innings out of them this will be a good season.

Two Weeks Remain in Spring Training

 

 

 

The biggest story in spring training with two weeks remaining is how many players have been hurt. It began with pitchers like Erasmo Ramirez and Felix Hernandez along with outfielder Ben Gamel. In fact the injury to Gamel along with Mitch Haniger coming slowly the Mariners had to go out and sign former Mariner Ichiro Suzuki who played in his first spring training game on Sunday. He is expected to share playing left field with Guillermo Heredia until Gamel gets back. How much he plays will depend on his hitting. Wednesday night he will start again in left and leading off but when the season starts likely he will be batting ninth.

On Tuesday night Nelson Cruz making his first start after being out because of the flu had a hit in the first inning driving in Dee Gordon to take 1-0 but had to leave the game because of a right quad strain will miss a few days. He replaced by Dan Vogelbach who has had a good spring so far including another hit and driving in a run in Tuesday’s game. He is scheduled to start Wednesday night’s game and playing first base. Ryon Healy who just started taking batting practice is expected to play in games next week. If he isn’t able to start the season Vogelbach looks to be the starting first baseman on day one. Mike Ford the rule 5 player has driven in some runs including two on Tuesday night doesn’t look to be making the opening night roster. The odds were against him in the first place and whether the Mariners will offer him back to the New York Yankees we may know in a few days.

The two big surprises in camp have been the pitching of Marco Gonzales who had to leave the game on Monday because of a line drive that hit his right arm. He said that he will be able to go for his next scheduled start on Saturday along with Rob Whalen who started Tuesday. He was the first Mariner starter to go five innings giving up three hits, one run, one walk and striking out nine. I would say that could put him in for being the fifth starter depending whether Erasmo Ramirez is ready to go. Ramirez just started throwing off the mound in the bullpen.

The Mariners had a 3-2 lead going into the eighth inning in Tuesday’s game when minor leaguer Arthur Warren who had looked good earlier gave up four runs. This was after the Mariners had scored four runs in the top of the eighth inning. Dan Altavilla who had excellent spring training had his first bad outing giving up two runs in bottom of the ninth inning to take the loss for final score of 8-7.

James Paxton will start Wednesday night against the San Francisco Giants. He has had two poor outing in his last two starts but isn’t too concerned. The important thing is that he is ready for the season and doesn’t get hurt in the meantime. Among the other pitchers who are expected to go in this game only David Phelps is expected to make the Mariner opening day roster.

Besides Ichiro leading off he will be followed by Jean Segura at shortstop, Mitch Haniger in right field, Mike Zunino catching, Dan Vogelbach at first base, Guillermo Heredia in center field, Taylor Motter at third base, Mike Marjama at designated hitter and Zach Vincej at second base.

All we hope for the next two weeks is that no one else gets hurt and those that are will be healed up besides Gamel. Go M’s.

 

 

The Bigger Dance

Here we are in March once again and many who don’t even watch college basketball during the season are ready for March Madness. In sports this is the tournament of tournaments. The other playoffs like college football don’t even measure up to it.

This year the Gonzaga Bulldogs go into the tournament as a fourth seed in the west. The three top seeds in the west are Xavier, North Carolina and Michigan. It looks like a tough bracket going into it. The first round the Bull Dogs play University of North Carolina at Greensboro a team that has been hot as of late winning eleven out of their last twelve games; they are seated thirteenth in the west so the Bulldogs should be favored well against them but like this tournament often happens and why it is called March Madness they could end up being upset. Gonzaga going into the tournament is 30-4. They won’t play top seat Xavier until the third round if they make it that far. They won’t face either North Carolina or Michigan unless they make the final of the west. Other words making it to the final four this year will be a tough road. Gonzaga made it to the final of the whole tournament last year. It would be nice to see again this year but they will have to overcome a lot to do so.

In the Pac 12 Arizona made the tournament as a fourth seed like Gonzaga in the south region. They will take on Buffalo a number thirteenth seed in the first round. The top three seeds in the south region are Virginia, Cincinnati and Tennessee so they will have a rough road to go through as well.

Only two other teams from the Pac 12 are UCLA and Arizona State. In both of their cases they are in the four play in games that happen. UCLA take on St. Bonaventure in the east region while Arizona State will play Syracuse in the Midwest region. So Arizona is the only for sure team in the Pac 12 in the tournament.

The other teams who are geographically in the west in the tournament are Nevada who is a number seven seed in the south, San Diego St. is in the same region as Gonzaga being in the west. CSU Fullerton is a fifteenth seed in the east and New Mexico State playing the Midwest as a twelfth seed.

So here out west we have seven teams we can start out rooting for sure or nine if UCLA and Arizona State can make it in. All the teams could be out of the first round  however Gonzaga and Arizona are favored in the first round while the others will have to find a way in doing an upset.

So today you can begin by setting up your brackets to see who you think will go all the way. Enjoy the tournament and all the madness that happens.

Mariners Start Sending Players to Minor Leagues

It is that time of spring training where the Seattle Mariners and other teams in major league baseball start trimming down the roster they started when camp opened.

There are some players being sent down as expected while others hang around for longer time and in some cases they make the surprise of making the team while others may not.

The Mariners primarily have a whole lot of pitchers so most of the roster moves were with them. Many of the pitchers sent down were names that you probably don’t know. The main name that was sent down that was expected to compete for the fifth spot in the rotation and spent some time in Seattle was Andrew Moore. He is still only twenty-three years of age so it shows that he isn’t ready to start in the major leagues at this time. A surprise move was reliever Tony Zych who was designated for assignment. He was on the forty man roster so that leaves a spot open if the Mariners decide to sign or trade for another pitcher. Zych again has been struggling with injuries so I am sure the Mariners felt it was time to move on with him. He is still in his twenties so another team might take a chance on him or he could return by starting the season in triple A.

The Mariners announced that Erasmo Ramirez has started throwing on the side line. They feel he could be ready to be the fifth starter in the rotation when the Mariners have the spot open to use in middle of April. With several off days early in the season the Mariners won’t need to have a fifth until the eleventh game in my estimation.

The Mariners are hoping that Felix Hernandez will be ready to go when the season begins. They haven’t left open the possibility of him starting opening day however I am not sure whether that will happen or not. The Mariners won’t need a fourth starter until game six in my estimation. So either Felix or Marco Gonzales can wait until that game to start. I figure that James Paxton and Mike Leake can start game one and two then games four and five. So game three could be Felix or Gonzales but I am sure the Mariners will hope that Felix will be able to start that game.

If Ramirez isn’t able to make the start when the fifth starter can likely the position now will go to Ariel Miranda. Most likely he will start a game in triple A before then unless they plan to use him in long relief when the season begins.  Miranda started Saturday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds. He did struggle in the first inning giving up two runs however did go three innings giving up four hits walked a couple batters giving a home run and striking out four.

The Seattle Mariners came back to win Saturday’s game scoring five runs in the sixth including inside the park home run by Mike Marjama with two runners on base. Marjama is still one of the main guys competing for the backup catcher for the Mariners. Mitch Haniger made his first start of the season in right field however didn’t get a hit in three at bats. Guillermo who had been in a few games as designated hitter did make a start in left field but walked twice in two at bats. Mike Ford who is competing for a roster spot got two hits in the game including a double and driving in two runs. Dan Vogelbach who is competing at first base as well did pitch hit for Marjama late in the game. At this point it is hard to know for sure who will be the backup catcher or utility player.

On Sunday Ichiro is going to make his first start in left field and lead off. Guillermo Heredia will start and play in center field. Segura, Cano, Cruz and Zunino will start as well with Haniger making his second start in a row playing in right field. Seager who played Saturday has the day off and utility player Andrew Romine who is having a good spring will start at third base. It will be a good chance for those there to see how Ichiro will do in his first game back. I will let you know how that goes next time. Go M’s.

Richard Sherman Released

Although it seemed to be expected it was still a surprise that Seahawks released Richard Sherman on Friday morning. Certainly shows the changes happening to the Seahawks. There will be a lot of new faces when next season starts it looks like.

I know that Sherman at times the last couple years was frustrated with some of the plays made behind him. When Earl Thomas was out the communication seemed to make Sherman upset. Sometimes he would let the receiver get past him believing that the safety would pick him up. This would happen to with Kam Chancellor being out to as well. I am sure he felt frustrated because fans and media would think it was his fault when he was just doing his job. I believe those who knew what was going on had an idea that it wasn’t his fault.

It was wonderful that he expressed himself that he enjoyed the time he was here and thanked Coach Carroll and general manager John Schneider. Also he thanked his teammates and the 12^th man as well.

I am sure everyone is rooting on that he will be able to recoup from his injuries and is able to play again at his high level wherever he ends up at. It is sad to think that likely his career won’t end in Seattle and seeing him in another uniform will be strange indeed.

Later in the day the Seahawks released Jeremy Lane as well. I am sure that didn’t come to a shock at all. He had his really good moments as a Seahawk but his time seemed to be up here.

Besides the coaches that have moved on from the Seahawks we now won’t see Richard, Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, along with the unlikelihood of Jimmy Graham and Paul Richardson. There will be some others moving on as well. We just hope that Earl Thomas will stick around for a bit longer though. With the way the league is now it is hard to see players retiring and them having a full career with the same team. Most likely a guy like Kam Chancellor will retire because of his injuries. Right hard to know whether he will be back or not.

Anyway best of luck Richard we will be rooting you on wherever you land. I am sure we hope it won’t be with the New England Patriots however you do land there we do understand. Go Hawks!

Washington Huskies Lose 1st Round

The Washington Huskies men’s basketball team was hoping to make the NCAA tournament after having a season most did not expect. Having a season where they won twenty games and new coach Mike Hopkins was named Pac 12 coach of the year it would have been nice to see them go further but they lost in the first round in the Pac 12 tournament to Oregon State in overtime 69-66.

It really did not help that the officiating was questionable in my mind which shouldn’t be a surprise because the officiating in the Pac 12 has been questionable for years. The Huskies had two of their top players fall out in the overtime.  Jaylen Nowell fouled out on an offensive foul which true to me since he did put his shoulder into but the call against Noah Dickerson was pretty minimal at best. He may have grazed the opposing player but the official should have left the play go. This is especially true when they let other things go being a physical game. Those watching especially Beaver fans may have thought Dickerson deserved to foul out of the game however players should not be forced out on a picky play like that to me. This game was very important to the Huskies to win and they may have if Dickerson didn’t foul out. Of course we will never know for sure but officials should only make calls that will affect the game. That is my opinion and I will stick to it. LOL

Being a Husky fan I figure they deserve a better fate but thing like that doesn’t always happen. There will always be human error in basketball. Though they won’t make the NCAA tournament there is a good chance they will play in the NIT we should know the results in a few days.

The Huskies do return most of their players next season so the likelihood of them making the tournament next year looks pretty good. They had some good upsets against teams like Kansas and Arizona. They had struggles though against the Oregon schools along with Stanford. We hope there will be a turnaround next season against those teams.

The Huskies sister school the Washington State Cougars had the same fate against the Oregon Ducks in the tournament losing 64-62. They played a close game in the regular season winning last Thursday over the Ducks 78-76 in Pullman however two weeks earlier they lost big time in Eugene 84-57. The Cougars ended the season in eleventh place in the Pac 12. They had a record of 4-14 in conference with a total record of 12-19. The question now will the Cougars make a switch far as coaches go into next year and they can have a turnaround like the Huskies did this year. In the days ahead we will see. The Cougars do have a new athletic director so that could possibly happen.

We hope the future goes ahead for the Huskies and Cougars while Gonzaga again will play in the NCAA tournament again this year. At least we know that we have one team in the state that we can root for again in the tournament. Go Gonzaga!!

Dan Altavilla

 This spring Dan Altavilla is having one of the best training camps of anyone on the Mariners roster. He is looking to fill one of the last spots in the bullpen.

Between his time between the Mariners and triple A team in Tacoma he struggled last year primarily trying to keep the ball over the plate. Just like Edwin Diaz 2016 was his first season coming out of the bullpen in Double A and when he was drafted by the Mariners he had been a starter. The Mariners figured in the same was as Diaz his quickest route to the major leagues was as a reliever. He came up to the Mariners in August 2016 and he had a lot of success.

This year he is feeling comfortable now pitching in relief. He throws his fastball around one hundred miles per hour in the way as Diaz. On Tuesday night against the Colorado Rockies he pitched one inning and faced three batters striking them all out. He threw only two balls in that outing. The Rockies batters couldn’t hit his pitches at all.

Altavilla continues to have this kind of spring training he will make the roster for sure. The Mariners do plan to stretch him out to two innings during spring training because they are hoping that he can go more than one inning when necessary. Depending on how often Diaz is used he could come into a save situation if needed but the Mariners are planning to use him anywhere between the sixth and eighth inning most of the time. Starting out I would see manager Scott Servais bring him in for an inning when the Mariners have a two or three run lead and then expand to two innings later in the season.

Getting a good season out of Altavilla will make the Mariners even a better bullpen than what is already expected. This will give them added depth just in case of injuries as well. Having an outstanding season out of Altavilla will give the Mariners more strength in the bullpen for the years to come.

Another one that the Mariners hope to get good production out of is lefty James Pazos who will be in his second season in the bullpen to for the Mariners. Like Diaz and Altavilla he throws the ball pretty hard too though not as hard as either one of them. He likely will face mostly lefty hitters as he did last season but he can go multiple innings to if necessary. This will depend on the situation and how often he has pitched already. Both Altavilla and Pazos will be important to the bullpen to go with the veterans that are on the ball club too. Go M’s.  

Michael Bennett Traded to Eagles

Wednesday morning defensive end Michael Bennett of the Seattle Seahawks was traded to the Philadelphia. The Seahawks got wide receiver Marcus Johnson and a fifth round pick. Besides Bennett the Seahawks gave the Eagles one of their seven round picks. The Seahawks had three of those picks so that was good move.

The Seahawks have done well with fifth round picks including cornerback Richard Sherman and safety Kam Chancellor. There was news today that Richard Sherman may not return this coming season for the Seahawks. It is not official at all however the reports are out there including from his mother who said that he wasn’t coming back. So we will be seeing won’t we? Sherman is expected to have a call on the phone with both general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll this afternoon.

What I like is that we won’t have to hear any more about Michael Bennett during the off-season. He has spread controversy the last couple years with his arrest last year in Las Vegas and his decision to sit on the bench during the national anthem. I have no big deal either one of them however I have become tired of him being in the local news so much both during and after the season is over. Actually I could say the same for Richard Sherman. Not either one of their fault in my mind but the local media feels like they have nothing else to do during the off-season.

Kam Chancellor is still under contract that was just guaranteed but we still don’t know whether he will play this coming season. It looks like Cliff Avril won’t return because of his injury to his neck.

Acquiring Marcus Johnson it is a good likelihood that Paul Richardson won’t return as a restricted free agent. The Seahawks will receive a draft pick for him if he doesn’t return and the same would go for tight end Jimmy Graham who is not expected to return.

Defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson who the Seahawks got in a trade at the beginning of the season from the New York Jet’s was not given the franchise tag so he is expected not to return either. The Seahawks should get a draft pick for both Graham and Sheldon Richardson. Free agency begins next week so the Seahawks may make other moves before then so stay tuned. At this point though the defense will have change where they may lose have the starting lineup. Going into the trade for Bennett the Seahawks were $13 million below the salary cap and could be another thirteen million dollars more by next week. So I will stay up with the news on any more changes the next and beyond. Go Hawks!

In other sports news the Seattle Mariners are having a press conference in regards to the signing of Ichiro for this coming season. His base salary he is expected to be $750, 0000 plus incentives.  Outfielder Mitch Haniger said he looked good in the batting cage so he should be in a game within the next couple days or so. Also Felix Hernandez threw the ball around on Tuesday. When he makes his next start in spring training is not known at this time. No additional news about pitcher Erasmo Ramirez he may not start the season for the Mariners as the season starts three weeks from Thursday. Go Mariners!

Ichiro Returns to Mariners

Monday morning we learned that Ben Gamel will be out four to six weeks because of a oblique muscle strain and then a couple hours later we heard that Ichiro Suzuki is coming back. I don’t know about anyone else but it was a surprise to me that is for sure.

It will be interesting what role that Ichiro will play for the Mariners. Ichiro being a left handed hitter like Gamel will he platoon with Guillermo Heredia in left field or be ready for spot starts only.

I know that some fans and some of the media don’t like Ichiro coming back because he is in his forties while others are glad to see him. The Mariners had no interest in signing Ichiro until Gamel’s injury. It shows to that the Mariners don’t have much confidence in the other outfielders who are trying to make the team as reserves.

Spring training is still three weeks to go  so we will see whether Ichiro can still do it or not. I am sure Dipoto is looking out there for other outfielders as well. Those who are upset with the decision to bring Ichiro back are wanting to know why they aren’t going after more starting pitching instead. I can see and think the same way they are as well. Actually I believe they can do both use Ichiro or another outfielder along with going out and getting another starter.

With the unknown status of Felix Hernandez and Erasmo Ramirez the only veteran presence is James Paxton and Mike Leake who makes his next start Tuesday night. The other pitchers vying for a spot in the rotation don’t have the experience the Mariners really need to compete for the playoffs. Marco Gonzales who has had a good start to spring training looks to make his way into the rotation but he is still a question and then there is Andrew Moore and Ariel Miranda as well.

With or without Gamel the offense should be in pretty good shape for the season unless another injury happens. It is amazing that the Mariners are going through injuries once again like last season. We can only hope that it stops here. Mitch Haniger is now going to start playing in games so it is possible that Ichiro may need to play in right field on occasion as well. Though he has been fielding when will Ryon Healy start getting in games too? The fortunate side the hitters don’t need as much time as the pitchers to be ready for the season.

Don’t forget Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night games starting at 5:40 pm is on Roots Sports. If you plan go to spring training next would be a good to time to show up because you will see more of the regulars playing. The minor leaguers who were not in camp already reported on Monday for physicals so they will be out there to beginning Tuesday. So a lot of action and seeing your favorite players it is good time to go. So we hope that no more injuries happen so the Mariners will be ready to go on March 29 against the Cleveland Indians. Go M’s.

Paxton Has Poor Outing Monday Mariners Off

 

Every starting pitcher will have a bad outing in spring training and on Sunday James Paxton had his going one and two-thirds inning giving up seven runs on seven hits including two home runs.

The Mariners making up of mainly minor leaguers did come back to score five runs in the fourth inning and then in the sixth inning Mike Ford pinch hitting for Guillermo Heredia as designated hitter hit a three run homer in the sixth inning. The home run put the Mariners up 9-7 and then they scored another run in the seventh inning to win the game 10-7. The relief pitchers mainly minor leaguers gave up no runs in the game. Edwin Diaz did pitch an inning and Andrew Moore who gave six runs in his last outing went three innings just giving up two hits, walking one and striking out three.

Guillermo Heredia who made his first start hit a home run in the fourth inning. Right now because of his off-season surgery to his shoulder he will not play the outfield instead will be designated hitter for a couple weeks. He will be ready to play the field when the season starts.

Monday the Mariners have an off day. Some of the players may take batting practice while others go golfing or spend time with their family. On Tuesday Mike Leake will take his usual spot in the rotation. In his first two outing he has done an outstanding job. This time he may go four innings against the Colorado Rockies at 5:40 pm. The game will be on Roots Sports well as on the radio. Wednesday and Thursday games will be on television and radio as well. This year the Mariners will have twelve games at night during spring training. The Mariners wanted to play as many night games during the week in spring training to be ready for the season. In past seasons they played most of their games during the day however they felt the players will be more ready to go playing at night since most week day games are at night during the season. The weekend games will be during the day since that is when most are played during the season as well.

The minor leaguers are reporting on Monday. This week some of the minor leaguers who have been in camp with the Mariners will likely be sent down. So enjoy your time off today and get ready for three night games for the Mariners in a row. The regular players will probably start the games but we will see minor league players as well. Mitch Haniger is expected to play as well when he makes his debut in spring training could be on Tuesday however I am sure he will be taken along slowly. Not sure when Ryon Healy will get into games though he is taking fielding at first base right now. The Mariners still hoping he will be ready to go when the season begins. Go M’s.

There Could be Surprises in the Mariner Starting Rotation

We still have twenty-five days until the regular season so we don’t know who will make the end of the Mariners roster. They only have a couple spots open in regular lineup and the pitching doesn’t have many spots available either however they do have two surprises in the starting pitching in Marco Gonzales and Rob Whalen.

The coaching staff figured that Gonzales would be on the opening roster because he is out of options. He at least would likely be in the bullpen as a longer reliever however in his two starts so far he has shown everyone that not he deserves to be in the rotation that he could have a good season as well after recovering from Tommy John surgery a couple years ago.

He is using a cutter that he didn’t use at all last season and it looks to be his out pitch this season. In two outings so far in five innings he has only given up one hit and no runs. With Erasmo Ramirez still out and we don’t know when he will return Gonzales looks like the guy who could be the fourth man in the rotation. Right now James Paxton looks like the opening day pitcher followed by either Felix Hernandez or Mike Leake in the second spot. I believe there is an idea how Leake has done in his two outings that he could pitch right after Paxton and then Felix. Gonzales being would be in the fourth spot since he is a lefty.

Rob Whalen who missed most of last season because of depression is one of the good feel stories. He started on Saturday in place of Felix. He gave up a home run in the first inning then settled down to pitch a solid game. He had pitched earlier in relief where he did a good job as well. So he could end up as the fifth starter if it isn’t Ariel Miranda. Still this depends on Ramirez for the most part. Another candidate is Andrew Moore but he gave up six runs in his last outing so he will have to improve to make the roster. If Whalen does continue to do a good job I would recommend that Moore start the season in Tacoma. Miranda though could end up starting for the Mariners as well or be the long reliever in the bullpen. We know that at least on them Whalen, Moore or Miranda will start the season in Tacoma. I like the fact that the starting rotation has some good competition for the fifth spot at least.

The backup catcher is still up for grabs as well. At this point I have no idea who will end up coming to Seattle in twenty-five days and the same goes for the utility player role. The answer who will be at first base hasn’t been answered as well. If he is healthy Ryon Healy should be the first base. Mike Ford could be the first baseman too being a rule five pickup. The other choice is Dan Vogelbach who is having good spring training but might end up back in Tacoma when the season begins.

So the next three weeks or so all these questions will be answered. Let the best player win out. Go M’s.

 

A New Kyle Seager?

This spring Kyle Seager is working on hitting the ball the other way instead of pulling the ball. Since teams started putting on the shift against most players several years ago they have played Seager to pull the ball. Now with hitting the ball the other way he is hoping teams will play him straight up in the same manner they do Robinson Cano.

Actually this is not the new Seager he goes back to being the old Seager. You see when he first came up to the major leagues he hit the ball the other way however being moved to third base he felt it was important to pull the ball to hit more home runs since it is considered a power position. In the minor leagues he played mostly second base and really started knowing third base in the major leagues his rookie season.

I have thought the last couple years that Seager should have started hitting the ball the other way already so it is good that he is doing so now. Being a veteran player now though just reaching thirty years old he should be able to handle hitting the ball the other way and when needed depending in the situation can pull the ball. Robinson Cano has been doing this for several years so now Seager doing it will help the offense. This should allow him to get off to a better start in the season instead of waiting until May or June to produce. It wasn’t like he was doing a bad just but a better start would help out the Mariners. The last couple years the Mariners have been off to poor starts as well when it comes to their record. We hope with Seager’s start this season will put in the Mariners in a very position as well. Another thing is with the offense the Mariners have they have other players capable of hitting good share of home runs.

Of course they still have Cano and Nelson Cruz ahead of Seager who both hit their fair share of home runs and then acquired first baseman Ryon Healy who hit twenty-five home runs as a rookie for the Oakland A’s along with right fielder Mitch Haniger and catcher Mike Zunino. Haniger hitting ahead or behind Healy should be able to get at least twenty home runs himself if he can stay healthy for the season and Zunino continues to hit like last season could hit thirty home runs along with a lot of doubles.

The Mariners now have more speed with Dee Gordon leading off and Jean Segura batting second behind Robinson Cano this should allow the Mariners to score runs without depending on home runs. With the power in the line up they should be able to hit quite a few home runs just by pitchers making mistakes.

Speaking of pitchers making mistakes and giving up a lot of home runs this was a big problem for the Mariners pitching staff. What would make the pitching much better would be for them to cut down on the home runs given up. I found last year I was frustrated because so many of the runs the opposition scored were because of the home runs. So if they could cut down to some degree on the home runs the earned run average of the pitchers should decrease.

So back to Seager I consider him a more mature hitter this season and he recognizing that going back to hitting the ball the other way he might be able to get close to having his average around three hundred. This would be very good for the Mariners as well. We know  that with Dee Gordon and Jean Segura at the top of the batting Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager able to drive them in. Another thing is important is how they will perform with runners in scoring position. Another thing hitting the ball the other way Seager will have less strikeouts. We got to figure that Healy and Zunino will have their fair share of strikeouts so having someone like Seager not doing so will be quite the help.

Friday Marco Gonzales is making his second start of spring training. He said himself that he is about ninety percent healthy this year after having Tommy John surgery two years ago. Last year he felt that he was around sixty-five percent. Also he has made a little change in his delivery so if things go well he could be a solid four or fifth starter. Being out of options Gonzales has to make the roster as a starter or long reliever or the Mariners would have to put him on waivers and another team likely would pick him up. His first outing he pitched two innings without giving up a hit so he should be going three innings this time out. Having him will be a good thing and we hope that he can go six innings before the team goes to the bullpen. Last season when he started for the Mariners he struggled often where he had problems going five innings.

Ariel Miranda who started on Wednesday has a good shot to be in the rotation as well or at least the long reliever. Felix is expected to return after missing a start which would have been this Saturday probably will start next Thursday. No announcement has been made officially when he will start again.

Outside of Felix and Erasmo Ramirez who is still on the mend the starting rotation looks like it is rounding into shape. We know that Paxton and Leake will be in the rotation as long as they stay healthy. At this point the other three spots are in question however we should know better in the next week or so.  Go M’s.