Mariners Win Saturday

The Seattle Mariners got off to another good start Saturday night however almost blew once again. This time three errors by Dylan Moore utility player played third base with two outs allowed three runs to score but the Mariners survived any way winning 6-5.

The big play of the game was Jay Bruce when he hit a three-run homer to right center to give a 6-2 lead in the fifth inning. Ryon Healy hit a couple doubles in the game which allowed the Mariners to score one of the three runs early. Dee Gordon with the infield drawn in hit a single over the head of the third baseman to drive in another run too. Edwin Encarnacion had a couple hits scoring a run so this could be a start to getting on a good hitting streak. 

So far Daniel Vogelbach has had only a couple plate appearances so wonder at this point what the Mariners are planning to do with him. Wanting to play Bruce and Encarnacion regularly doesn't leave much space for Vogelbach. Saturday night they had Healy at first base while Bruce was out in right field with Haniger in center field giving Mallex Smith the night off. Sunday afternoon the Red Sox will have right-hander Rick Porcello starting for them so this will be the chance to start Vogelbach at first base or DH. 

With the Saturday night win, this leaves the Mariners splitting the series with the Red Sox at the worst or taking 3 out of 4 before facing the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night when Felix starts his first game of the season.

The Mariners will have Wade LeBlanc starting Sunday against Porcello.  Mike Leake went six innings giving up seven hits, two runs, two walks and striking out seven to record the win in his first outing of the season. Like to see LeBlanc go the same as well.

Tom Murphy backup catcher the Mariners acquired on Friday from the San Francisco Giants made his first start of the season on Saturday night. He got his first hit of the season along with walking twice. It looks like he will be starting against lefties since he is a right-handed hitter while Omar Narvaez is a left-handed hitter. It may depend on who the Mariners are facing as well.    

After surrendering the home run costing the Mariners game Friday night Hunter Strickland was placed on the injured list for ten days. The Mariners recalled Dave McKay from Tacoma to take his spot. Right now it looks like the Mariners will be doing the bullpen by committee until Strickland comes back unless someone takes it to be their own.  Keep you up to date on any other news. Go M's.

Can't forget to mention the Gonzaga Bulldogs lost to Texas Tech in the elite eight of the NCAA men's tournament 75-69 so were unable to advance to the Final Four. Thanks for a great season Gonzaga. See you again next season.  

Mariners Lose on Blown Save

The Seattle Mariners were able to get to the Red Sox starting pitcher once again getting six runs in four runs. Yusei Kikuchi had a fine game pitching in his debut at Safeco Field where he went six innings giving up three with two being earned. The Red Sox were able to hit two home runs off Kikuchi. 

The Mariners were unable to get any hits off the Red Sox bullpen in four innings didn't help either but the bullpen didn't do their job for Seattle. Actually, Matt Festa was able to get the Red Sox out in the seventh inning but Rosscup, Gearrin, and Strickland didn't look good or get out of the game for the win. Rosscup gave up a home run making the score 6-4 into the eighth inning. Gearrin didn't give up a run but he struggled on the mound. He likely would have given up some runs if a ball wasn't hit to him down the first base line and he was able to get the runner at home in the part of a double play to end the inning. Strickland had the opportunity to get the save but ended up putting runners on base. Healy was able to get a throw to home to get a runner but Mitch Moreland came up with runners on first and second where he hit a go-ahead home run that cost the Mariners the game. The Mariners were unable to score in the bottom of the ninth.

Before Strickland gave up the home run manager Scott Servais and the trainer came out to see if he was OK. I wonder if Servais should have taken him out right there. After giving up the home run he was taken out and Roenis Elias finished the inning.

The question I have is how many days in a row will Strickland be able to pitch. It would not surprise me unless he is actually hurt that Servais brings him again Saturday night if a save opportunity comes again. With Edwin Diaz Servais would give him a day off after three days pitching in a row I wonder this be the same for Strickland or not. We will find out. The bullpen in the whole will need to be answered. 

The Mariners acquired catcher Tom Murphy from the San Francisco Giants on Friday. He might be starting Saturday night against a lefty. Mike Leake will be starting for the Mariners. I hope he does better than his last game against San Diego in the exhibition game last Monday. Go M's.  

Bombs Away At Home Opener

The Mariners home opener started out like it could be a long night for the home team but it didn't take long for things to change around. The Red Sox scored a run in both the first and second inning. Chris Sale looked like he would go along fine by the look of his pitching in the first inning, however, things changed in the second inning. 

Shortstop Tim Beckham who did well over in Japan in the first two games decided he would write a different story getting a home run off of Sale in the second inning. In fact, he hit two home runs off of Sale. The second inning homer was a solo shot then he hit another with Ryon Healy on base. Sale was only able to last three innings giving up seven runs in total. Domingo Santana getting off on a good start after having a very good spring training as well hit in a double in the third inning driving in two runs with the bases loaded. Mitch Haniger almost scored a third run but was called out at home plate on a close play. Both Healy and Santana had home runs later well as Edwin Encarnacion. The Mariners in total had five home runs in the game with the final score being 12-4.

Marco Gonzales making his second start of the young season in the opener struggled early but able to straighten himself lasted 5 and 1/3 innings giving up 4 runs with 3 earned for his second victory already on the season. He was relieved by Roenis Elias who finished off the sixth inning. He gave up one hit in the inning but no runs. 

Cory Gearrin went one inning in the seventh giving up no hits and striking out a batter in his second appearance on the season. Brandon Brennan the Mariners picked up in the rule 5 draft during the off-season pitched the final two innings giving up just one hit while striking out two batters.

Yusei Kikuchi will make his first appearance in Seattle starting Friday night for the Mariners. This will be his second start of the season after pitching the second game in his homeland Japan last Thursday. The Red Sox have never seen Kikuchi so it will be interesting to see how they do against him. 

The Red Sox will have Nathan Eovaldi going for them in the second game. He started 11 games last year for the Red Sox with a record of 3-3 and ERA of 3.33. This will be his first start of the season. We hope the Mariners can give him the same welcome they did to Chris Sale. Go M's.   

Mariners Home Opener On Thursday

After being shut out twice by the San Diego in games that didn't count on Monday and Tuesday it becomes real once again on Thursday. The shutouts could be a good thing because the bats might come alive though it might be tough to do so against Chris Sale. Marco Gonzales makes his second start alright on the season after doing the opener in Japan. I hope he doesn't feel the pressure that he has to be perfect. Just get through the first inning then see what the bats will do.

I expect Jay Bruce and Edwin Encarnacion will be at first and dh for the first game. Don't want to start Voglebach in the opener against a lefty. I am sure we will see him face some lefties since Bruce hits left-handed as well.  Encarnacion hasn't hit well so far but we hope this changes. Not only for the Mariners offense but for the availability of trading him. The Mariners don't want to be in a position where they have to release him without getting any prospects in return. We hope the same goes for Bruce.

We should not judge the Mariners on how they do against Sale though having some success would be nice. Gonzales it would be nice to see him go at least six innings no matter the outcome.

I expect we will see Ryon Healy move from 3rd base to first late in games and bring in Dylan Moore to improve the defense. We hope he has a good season so moving Encarnacion and Bruce would be beneficiary.

I wonder who the first reliever will be let go by the Mariners?  Who will they bring in to replace him?  I wonder if the Mariners will find another catcher to help out. At least they got off with two wins in Japan. I hope Felix will pitch like a third starter instead of a fifth starter. Doesn't look good right now though. I would have Elias up and ready to go at the beginning of the game next Monday against the Angels. Not an April fools joke by the way. We know they have to pay Felix regardless of how good or bad he does. I want him to go out in a good way instead of how he has done the last couple of year and this spring training. It is time that he allows his pride to get out of the way and pitch.

Anyway this is it for now. Look forward to writing something positive after Thursday's game. Go M's.

Washington Huskies Men's Basketball Season Ends Plus More

Washington basketball team had a good ride this season in Coach Mike Hopkins second season. The four seniors on the squad did such a good job including staying with the program when Hopkins took over for Lorenzo Romar was dismissed. 

It will be interesting to see where they go in the future whether someone go to the NBA, play in Europe or they played their last basketball.

The Huskies were in the game the first half being down 41-33 at half-time but the hot shooting of North Carolina was no match for them so they end up losing 81-59. The Huskies couldn't match up with the Tar Heels front line. The Huskies were outrebounded 48-24. Washington needs taller low post players. The Huskies will return Hameir Wright and Nahziah Carter next season as two players as sophomores played a lot. Also Sam Timmins will return as a senior next year. He improved this season but his offense needs to do better to have any force. He is able to set picks but can't score many points. I am sure it will be the part of the game he will work on this off-season if he wants to get in more playing time.

In baseball, the Seattle Mariners have exhibition games Monday and Tuesday against the San Diego Padres in T-Mobile Park (former Safeco Field). They likely will start their regular lineup but go to their reserves and minor league players who are in town. Mike Leake will start for the Mariners on Monday and Wade LeBlanc on Tuesday. Marco Gonzales will start the home opener against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday. Want to know about Felix Hernandez he isn't expected to start until next Monday.

Over the weekend the Mariners sent down reliever Dan Altavilla and outfielder Brandon Bishop to Tacoma. Along with Ichiro retiring leaves the roster at 25. I would not be surprised if general manager Jerry Dipoto is looking around to see whether he can improve the bullpen in the days ahead. 

Right now Hunter Strickland is the closer and Zac Rosscup is the situational lefty. All other roles are open at this point though Roenis Elias will likely be the long reliever though he might be used to get lefties out as well depending on how much Rosscup has to pitch. I will update when things look in the bullpen with new relievers or where the current relievers will be set.

In the outfield, the Mariners will go with Domingo Santana in left field, Mallex Smith who has arrived in Seattle at center field and Mitch Haniger in right. Jay Bruce will be the fourth outfielder along with playing some first base and dh. Utility player Dylan Moore will play some third base when giving Ryon Healy a rest along with defense replacement late in games. Likely Healy will move over to first late in games since Dan Vogelbach, Edwin Encarnacion, and Bruce are a partial liability. Moore might play some outfield as well besides giving a rest to Dee Gordon at second and Tim Beckham at shortstop needs a rest. Omar Narvaez is the starting catcher while David Freitas is his backup. The backup could change depending on who might be available and how Freitas does. Narvaez should do the majority of catching depending on how he hits which he is stronger at than Zunino was though he does have the power at the plate and he isn't as good defensively.  Go M's. 

A Farewell to Ichiro

Most of us have been blessed to see Ichiro at his best in a Mariner uniform. He isn't quite the player he was when he left Seattle to play for the New Yankees, however, is return last year and now the beginning of this season we were able to see his farewell. 

Ichiro played in the two exhibition games and the two regular season games in his native Japan. We were unable to see him get a hit either Wednesday or Thursday however he did make a few catches in right field. Whatever we feel it isn't anything like the people of Japan who idolized him for so many years. He played nine years in Japan before coming to Seattle in 2001. He played in the major leagues for 19 years. I know we will be talking about him for years to come. 

What is next up for Ichiro we don't know right now but I hope he does some work for the Seattle Mariners. I would like to see him do some scouting for the Mariners if he is living full-time in Japan. I am sure in Japan he will be doing some work with their baseball as well. 

The Seattle Mariners were able to win both games against the A's. They won the opener 9-7 then on Thursday in extra innings they scored a single run in the 12th inning to win 5-4. 

Japanese lefty Yusei Kikuchi made his major league debut going 4 and 2/3 innings throwing 93 pitches. He looked fantastic for most of the time. When Ichiro came out of the 8th inning after hitting for the 3rd time in the game Kikuchi was quite emotional about it. You could see having tears in his eyes while sitting on the bench. We hope to see success for Kikuchi in a Mariner uniform like Ichiro. It will be hard for him to match it but getting close would be nice.

Thanks Ichiro both Japan and the USA appreciate it very much. 

Mariners Open Season With Win

The game began with Marco Gonzales struggling early than he settled down from the fourth through the six-inning throwing 68 pitches in total. He gave up a solo home run to Stephen Piscotty right fielder and number three in Oakland's lineup. In the second inning, he gave up another run on an error by Ryon Healy. who was playing on the other side of the diamond from third base.   

The Mariners who went scoreless the first two innings scored five runs including a grand slam home run by left fielder Domingo Santana. The ball was hit to right field. It seems the ball carries well to that side in the Tokyo Dome. A great way for Santana to make his Mariner debut though only hit of the game he had though spectacular. So the Mariners were leading 5-3.

Oakland responded in the bottom of the third when Khris Davis hit a two-run homer making the score 5-4 Seattle. He seems to always have a home run against the Mariners. The Mariners picked up another run in the 4th inning. Ichiro who started in right field had two plate appearances popping up in the 2nd and walking in the 4th. He was removed from the game in the bottom of the 4th. He went out to right field then walked to the dugout with an ovation from the crowd well as hugs by the Mariner players. Also, the Oakland A players applauded as well. He will play Thursday against the A's as well but no one knows if he will start or not.

Tim Beckham had a great debut with the Mariners. He had a two-run homer in the 5th inning which was one of his three hits in the game. He scored three times as well. The Mariners scored another run to make it 9-4.

In the seventh inning after Gonzales left the game Nick Rumbelow came in however he had a hard time. He went one-third of an inning giving up a three-run home to third baseman Matt Chapman making the score 9-7. Cory Gearrin and Zac Rosscup had a hold. Neither gave up a hit though Rosscup did walk a batter. Hunter Strickland came in the bottom of the 9th to record the save.

Thursday Japanese lefty Yusei Kikuchi makes his major league debut in his home country against the A's. I am sure he will be nervous however the main thing for him is to stay away from giving up the long ball to the A hitters. It will be nice if the Mariners can come back to Seattle with a 2-0 record.

Mariners Getting Ready for Opening Series

 The Seattle Mariners have finished playing two exhibition games in Tokyo against the Yomiuri Giants. They won both games. On Saturday night Seattle time, they beat the Giants 6-4.

Mike Leake started the game for the Mariners going five innings giving up three runs on three hits. Cory Gearrin, Zach Rosscup, and Hunter Strickland each went an inning without giving up a run. Roenis Elias pitched the ninth giving up a run on two hits.

The Mariners were behind 3-1 into the seventh inning when Mitch Haniger and Jay Bruce each hit a home run with a runner on base going ahead 5-3. Dee Gordon showed power in the eighth inning by hitting a solo home run. So the Mariners scored five of their six runs by the long ball.

On Monday the Mariners beat the Giants 6-5. Felix Hernandez started and struggled once again giving up five runs on four hits with three walks in four innings. Again the bullpen did their job to keep the Mariners in the game before Mitch Haniger hit his second home run in as many games with one runner base. Catcher David Freitas hit a home run in the eighth inning.

Ichiro started both games in right field and is expected to do so on Wednesday against the Oakland A’s in the season opener in Japan. He made a good throw in the game however didn’t have a hit in either game. Braden Bishop replaced Ichiro in both games as well. He made three plate appearances each in both games. According to manager Scott Servais will start in right field in the opener as well. No one is expecting him to be on the roster when the Mariners return home to Seattle and the roster goes down from 28 to 25. No one knows whether he will announce his retirement or not at the time. He did make a good throw where a runner did not go to third base. He still has a good arm though.

Brandon Brennan, Nick Rumbelow, Dan Altavilla, Matt Festa, and Chasen Bradford all went an inning without giving up a run. Rumbelow was the only one to give up a hit while Altavilla was the only one to walk a batter. Most likely one of those five relievers will not be on the 25-man roster when returning to Seattle.  

Outside of Hunter Strickland beginning as the closer and Zac Rosscup as the lefty specialist everyone else’s roles is not defined at this time in the bullpen. I am sure it will take a few weeks before that will happen.

There is talk right now that Kyle Seager could be out until June. Ryon Healy will start out the season starting at third base, however, we will probably see utility player Dylan Moore playing they're some too. This will mean Edwin Encarnacion, Jay Bruce, Daniel Vogelbach will share first base and designated hitter. If Mallex Smith is able to start in center field when the Mariners return home than Jay Bruce will be the fourth outfielder as well; we should know his status in a few days.

Seeing Daniel Vogelbach at first base and dh we will see whether he is able to hit on a regular basis. We do know he will get his home runs but whether he will hit around .200 or higher we will see. He likely will start against right-handers only. I am sure Servais will see how he handles lefties as well on occasion.

With Felix Hernandez still struggling on the mound it will be interesting to see how long the Mariners will go with him in the starting rotation. If he does continue on the same path will they send him to the bullpen, put him on the injured list, or release him. Another question we will see possibly soon. I think it may depend on how the rest of the starting rotation does as well?

Huskies Make the NCAA Tournament

Washington Huskies made the NCAA tournament despite the fact they lost to Oregon Ducks Saturday night in the final of the Pac-12 tournament 68-48. I am sure a lot of weight hinged on the fact they won the Pac-12 regular season title early. The Huskies will have to bring up their game to continue on in the tournament. This is the first time going to the tournament since 2011.

Washington Huskies will be taking on Utah State #8 seed in the midwest region. The Huskies have the #9 ranking in the midwest. The game will take place in Columbus Ohio on Friday. We are hoping for the best. The Huskies have come a long way since Head Coach Mike Hopkins came on board before the 2017-18 season when Lorenzo Romar was fired. Whatever happens the senior class of Matisse Thybulle, Noah Dickerson, David Crisp, and Dominic Green have a lot to be proud of.

Huskies Lose in Conference Tournament Final

Washington Huskies were close in the first half of the Pac-12 tournament Saturday night being behind 28-26 however the Oregon Ducks blew them out in the second half. The final score ended to be 68-48. Oregon like Washington has a pretty good defense plus the Huskies have had trouble for the last six weeks scoring points.

Now we have to see if the Huskies get into the NCAA tournament. They will find out late afternoon if they have along with who they will play and where. Hopefully,  they will make it because winning the Pac-12 regular season they deserve to get in.

The Mariners won in the first game in Tokyo over the Yomiuri Giants 6-4 with three home runs late. Ichiro started the game however left after the sixth inning. He had no hits in three at-bats. He should play in the next game against the Giants along with the two against the A's  Wednesday and Thursday.

Mariners Heading To Japan

Spring training is now over for the Seattle Mariners as they head to Japan. They have 30 players going to Japan although only 28 will be active for the two games against the Oakland A's. The team will have to trim down to 25 players when they face the Boston Red Sox in the home opener on March 28.

The Mariners are taking three catchers, six infielders, five outfielders, five starting pitchers, and eleven relievers. The 28 active players will probably take off two of the relievers or possibly a reliever and the extra catcher.

Mallex Smith isn't taking the trip to Japan, however, the Mariners are hoping he will be available when they get back to Seattle.  So the 25-man roster should be made up of two catchers, six infielders, four outfielders, five starters, and eight relievers. Depending on how things go in Japan the Mariners could go with five outfielders and seven relievers instead.

Ichiro Suzuki and Braden Bishop are the two extra outfielders. Ichiro likely will be the dh in Japan. Mallex Smith isn't ready when the Mariners return to the active roster when the team gets to Seattle the Mariners will have to decide on keeping either Ichiro or Brandon Bishop. I really do hope it is Bishop though I am sure some diehard fans want to keep Ichiro around.

Dylan Moore has made the team as the utility player. He hasn't ever played in the major leagues. The Mariners signed him as a free agent during the off-season. He played for the Colorado Rockies triple-A team last season. With Kyle Seager out he will play some third base in place of Ryon Healy who will get the bulk of playing time. Moore can play outfield as well so may play some in left field on occasion. Manager Scott Servais has a lot of confidence in him.

The Mariners took three lefty relievers in Roenis Alias, Zac Rosscup, and Tommy Milone. I expect when trimmed to 25-man roster Milone will be sent down to Tacoma since he signed a minor league contract and isn't on the 40-man roster.

So how the right-handed relievers turn out will be interesting as they will keep either five or six. Right now they have eight going to Japan.

We will see what happens next.

Washington Huskies in Pac-12 Tournament

On Monday the Washington Huskies received three individual awards in the Pac-12. Jaylen Nowell was named the player of the year as a sophomore, Matisse Thybulle defensive player of the year for the second year in a row, and Mke Hopkins coach of the year also the second time.

The Pac-12 tournament starts today Wednesday, March 13 thru  Saturday. Winning the league championship the Huskies have the highest ranking so they have a bye today along with the other top three seeds. They will play tomorrow the winner of the match between #8 USC and #9 Arizona. 

The winner of the Pac-12 tournament will have an automatic entrance in the NCAA tournament which starts next week. Sunday they will announce all 64 teams seeded in the tournament. The Huskies should get into the tournament even if they don't win the Pac-12 tournament, unfortunately, it isn't a given. 

The Seattle Mariners have their last game today in Arizona before packing their bags for Japan. They will likely take 30 players with them though only 28 players will be active for the series. They have two exhibition games this Saturday and Sunday then two regular season games next Wednesday and Thursday against the Oakland A's.   They have their home opener in Seattle on March 28 against the Boston Red Sox.  

The Mariners roster right now is at 40 so they will have to trim their roster down before going to Japan. Kyle Seager had his surgery to his left hand on Tuesday so he will start the season on the injured list. He isn't expected back until May at least. 

Huskies Lose Final At Home

The Washington Huskies men's basketball team has won the Pac-12 Conference this year, however, they lost the final game at home losing to the Oregon Ducks 55-47.

The Huskies have been struggling the last month or so on the offensive side of the ball. Against the Ducks, they shot only 15% behind the 3 point line. Matisse Thybulle made two out of the three points in the first half. The Huskies had scored only eight points with three and a half minutes in the first half. The half-time score ended up being 27-18.

The Huskies were able to get within three points early on in the second half at 28-25, however, they were never able to get any closer in the game though they made a tough game. The Ducks were able to hold on winning 55-47. This was the lowest scoring game of the season for the Huskies.

Now they play in the Pac-12 tournament beginning this coming Thursday against the winner of USC and Arizona. It will be important the Huskies do well in the tournament to make the NCAA tournament.

Saturday the Mariners announced that Marco Gonzales will start the opening game of the season against the Oakland A's in Tokyo, Japan on March 20. He will likely make the home opener on March 28 against the Boston Red Sox as well.  

Right now Kyle Seager is injured. He had an MRI on Saturday and results should come forward Sunday. Likely he will be out a few days, and whether he will play in Japan wouldn't be determined until how the results come out. 

The Mariners should be reducing the roster either today or tomorrow since there are 57 players in camp and they will likely take 30 players to Japan.  Jerry Dipoto on Friday said that Dan Vogelbach has made the roster. The Mariners have Jay Bruce, Edwin Encarnacion, and Ryon Healy in the first base and dh spots as well. Unless Seager goes on the injury list Healy could start the season in Tacoma. The Mariners could trade one of the three guys as well. We will have to see.

Anyway the next few days will be interesting for sure. 

Less Than A Week To Go In Spring Training

I am not sure exactly the day the Mariners leave for Japan, however, the last spring training game in Arizona for the Mariners will be March 13. They will likely leave on Thursday March 14 since they have exhibition game on Saturday March 16 in Tokyo.

Right now the Mariners have 57 players in camp. They will likely take 30 players with them to Tokyo though there will be 28 roster spots available when they play against the Oakland A's on March 20 and 21. I would have to think the Mariners will trim down this weekend.

The roster will likely look this way going to Japan. Position players we see the Mariners going with Omar Narvaez and David Freitas. Non-roster invitee Jose Lobaton will go along just in case of an injury.

At first base will likely be Edwin Encarnacion and Daniel Vogelbach. This means Ryon Healy will probably start in Tacoma unless Encarnacion is traded. Jay Bruce listed as an outfielder will play some first base as well. One of the guys will be at dh when the season begins in Seattle against Boston. Vogelbach is out of options and I am sure having a good spring training the Mariners want to see how he does. Dylan Moore or Kristopher Negron who is the utility player will likely come in to play first base late in games. Moore advantage of Negron is he can play shortstop.

Second base will be Dee Gordon with Kyle Seager at third base. Shortstop the season will start with Tim Beckham however he could end up being a super utility player if J.P. Crawford the long term shortstop starts out well in Tacoma. 

The outfield Mallex Smith was expected to be the Mariners starting centerfield however he has been slowed by strained right elbow so he hasn't played in any games as of yet. He will go with the team to Japan however he probably won't play in the two games. If he isn't able to begin the season when the Mariners get back to Tacoma he will likely go on the disabled list.  This becomes the case Mitch Haniger will start the season in center field with Domingo Santana in left and Jay Bruce in right. Rookie Braden Bishop out of University Washington will become the fourth outfielder. He can play all three outfield positions but will probably enter the game late as a defensive replacement. He could play the role that Guillermo Heredia had last year when the season began. 

Ichiro Suzuki will go with the Mariners to Japan. He likely will be the dh while in Japan but will probably designate him for assignment when the Mariners return to Seattle unless Mallex Smith isn't ready to go. 

Starting pitching rotation  looks like what we thought when spring training began with Marco Gonzales, Yusei Kikuchi, Mike Leake, Felix Hernandez and Wade LeBlanc.  Top prospect Justus Sheffield the Mariners received in the trade for James Paxton may enter the rotation in May or sooner depending how the other five guys are going. If he gets off to a great start Sheffield could be in the starting rotation and the Mariners could put Wade LeBlanc in the long relief role in the bullpen.  Things could work to if one of the starters gets hurt as well.

The bullpen looks like it is coming down to right-handers Hunter Strickland (begin as the closer), Shawn Armstrong, Dan Altavilla (we hope can have the kind of season the Mariners have hoped for the last couple years), Cory Gearrin, Gerson Bautista, and Brandon Brennan (a rule 5 pickup). The Mariners will have one or two available like Chasen Bradford starting in Tacoma. Lefties will be Zac Rosscup and Roenis Elias. 

When the season comes to Seattle hard to know whether the Mariners will go with seven or eight relievers. 

Huskies Narrow Win Against Stanford

Washington Huskies Men's basketball team won the Pac-12 title though they lost against California on Thursday however had another tough game against the Stanford Cardinal on Sunday afternoon. They showed it is never easy to win on the road no matter how good or bad the other team is especially this time of the year when the season is almost over. The other teams want to show off that they are better than people expect. 

The game was really close throughout though the Huskies on a couple occasions looked like they should pull away. Two reasons they didn't was, in my opinion, the players were passing the ball around too much and Standford wasn't giving up.  

I believe the players should look at making one pass before shooting possibly two depending on who has the ball. Although they should be playing as a team they need to know where their teammates can shoot. I thought they gave the ball to a teammate where they wouldn't have the best success. Only a couple times did they make the right pass when they passed the ball more than once. The first instance the ball was passed to Sam Timmins where he took the ball to the basket. I was surprised because he normally makes the shot. He must be working on that part of his game. The other was Hamier Wright made a pass to Jaylen Nowell for an easier shot.  It was a good decision on the part of Wright because he wasn't in a good spot to shoot however he doesn't always pass well, however, in this instance he did a good job. 

In other game, in the Bay area, the California Golden Bears beat the Washington State Cougars 76-69. The Golden Bears hadn't won a Pac-12 game before the Washington schools came to their house. It shows though Golden Bears do have pride and didn't want to lose all their games in the Pac-12. The Cougars had a good stretch of games recently but they show not being a good team overall. My opinion they need to make a change in coaching after the season.

Stanford Cardinal though they didn't have a great season they are tied with Arizona for ninth in the Pac-12 conference with one game remaining. Arizona takes on their in-state rival Arizona State on Saturday. So will be interesting to see whether they tie or not. 

When it comes to women's basketball both the Huskies and Cougars had a poor season. The Cougars ended the season in 10th place with a record of 4-14. They take on California Golden Bears on Thursday in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament while the Huskies ended in 11th place at 2-15. They will take on Utah in the first round of the tournament. 

The Washington Huskies softball team on Saturday lost the opening game to Michigan 4-2 then beat hometown team Cal State Fullerton. The Huskies right now are 16-2 on the season. 

Washington Huskies men's baseball team swept  Cal Poly three times over the weekend on their home field 9-3, 11-7, and 5-0. The Huskies have won six games in a row and now have a record of 7-2. Designated hitter Joe Wainhouse had a home run each in the first two games so now he has four home runs on the season. Last year he hit 19 on the season. Looks like he should surpass last years total in his last season with the Huskies.  No other home runs were hit by other players in the series outside of Wainhouse.

The Washington State Cougars are now 4-7 on the season in men's baseball. They beat Nevada on Thursday 16-2, lost 8-1 on Friday, and won on Saturday 3-1. Brandon White a freshman righthander started the opening game of the season but didn't record the victory. It went to reliever Zane Mills.  Ky Bush a freshman left-handed pitcher lost the opening going only two innings. In all the Cougars used six pitchers. Right-handed starter Hayden Rosenkrantz recorded the win in the third game so he is now 1-1. He went five innings in the game. 

In pro-ball the Seattle Mariners have Monday off and will resume spring training games on Tuesday. 

College Baseball

This year I will be giving an update on the Washington Huskies and Washington State Cougars baseball teams.

The Washington men's baseball team is now 5-2 after beating Cal Poly on the road Friday, March 1, 9-3. The Huskies want to make the College World Series again this year after making it the first time last season.

Joe Wainhouse who led the Huskies in home runs last year with 19 last night hit his 3rd of the season. Freshmen David Rhodes who was drafted in late rounds by the Seattle Mariners made his second start for the Huskies. He started the season in relief in the Huskies opening game of the season on February 16.  The Huskies will continue their series  Cal Poly Saturday and Sunday then come back to play Seattle U. on Tuesday in Bellevue.

The Huskies have six games remaining this month before facing the Oregon Ducks on March 15 in the opener in Pac-12 play.

The Washington Huskies softball team has gotten off on a good start having a record of 15-2 however they had a tough loss against #3 Florida State losing 1-0 in extra innings on Friday.  The Huskies women are playing in Fullerton, California. They play Fresno State on Saturday followed by Michigan and home team Cal State Fullerton on Sunday.

The Washington State baseball team has started off on the wrong foot having a record of 3-7 with all games on the road. They were swept by St.Mary's in a four-game series than split another series against Santa Clara.  They finished February off beating Nevada 16-2 however to start March Nevada returned the favor winning 8-1. The series against Nevada ends on Friday then the Cougars return home next weekend.

In professional baseball, the Seattle Mariners continue in spring training. They beat Milwaukee Friday 7-3 in Peoria, Arizona on their home field. They play Kansas City Royals on the road on Saturday. They play all next week with a day off on Monday. The last spring training game will take place on March 13 when the Mariners head to Japan. They have two exhibition games in Tokyo before facing the Oakland A's on March 20 and 21 before heading to Seattle to open the season at home on March 28 against the Boston Red Sox.