Mariners Name 60-Man Roster

The Seattle Mariners like all major league teams

named the sixty players who will be in  camp

starting on Wednesday.

The one player most everyone were wondering

about Mitch Haniger was put on the 60-day

injured list so it looks like he won't be on the

team this year. 

Haniger was put on the injured list last season

in early June so not playing the rest of the way.

He had surgery as well keeping him out the 

rest of last year.

We hope to see him next year or his career

will be in jeopardy for sure.

The Mariners will have five catchers in camp

with Tom Murphy and Austin Nola expected 

to be on the 30 man roster begin of the season.

One catcher will be on the three player taxi 

squad traveling on the road with the team. 

They have 16 infielders and 7 outfielders listed.

The utility players who will make the opening

roster are listed as infielders but will likely play

some outfield when needed. Mallex Smith along

with Jake Fraley and Kyle Lewis should be on

the opening day roster.

They have 14 starting pitchers though only six

will begin the season in the rotation. The last 

three first round picks Logan Gilbert, George

Kirby and this years Emerson Hancock. Logan

Gilbert will be the only one considered to be

added to the roster at any point if any of the six

are injured or not healthy.

They 18 relievers in camp. They will go  with 

either nine or ten relievers to start the season.

If they go with ten one less position player will

be on the team. They have four non-roster 

relievers included.

Austin Adams injured at the end of last season

is expected to go. He was going to miss about

half the season but now should be on the opening

roster as long as he doesn't have any set backs.

The news this week will be everyone be healthy

and not fail the Covid-19 testing. 

Baseball Coming to Town

While most of us are enjoying the weekend

baseball players are working to get back to

work.

Seattle Mariner players are gathering their

gear to make their way to Seattle to begin

what we make call spring training 2.0

Not only the players who will make up 

the team's roster but those who will be

on the taxi squad. 

The Mariners top prospects like Jarred

Kelenic, Julio Rodrigues, and Logan

Gilbert are making their way to Seattle

as well.

Training camp wouldn't be like it was

when it was suspended in more ways

then one.

We will look forward to seeing baseball

though it will be looking a bit different.

We will only be able to see games on TV

at least starting out.

This week we will see how things go

as the players will be tested for the virus

when arriving. Go M's.

Sports Coming Back

Nascar, Soccer as we call it here in

the USA, NBA basketball, and 

baseball have or in the process

of coming back to play.

The question is will they last 

or have to be shut down once 

again. We have no idea at this

point.

We are just about two months

away from American football

to start again. 

It looks as though the NFL is

planning to start, however, the

college game is in question. 

There are schools including

University of Washington 

having players testing

positive to the virus. No news

yet whether the games will

play or be postponed

The likelihood of having

fans in the stands is remote

especially the beginning 

of the season. It depends

on what phase the states

are in.

We will see over the next

month or so.

In other local sports news,

the new arena in Seattle has

sponsorship now with Amazon

having the naming rights.

They are not going to call it

Amazon Arena instead it will

be called Climate Pledge 

Arena.

Talking Baseball

Now that baseball is coming back we can

start talking about it too on a regular basis.

I have already mentioned rosters for major

league teams will be set at 30 players to begin

with.

Each team will have additional 30 players 

who make up what they are calling the taxi

squad.

The taxi squad for many teams especially

the Seattle Mariners will be their top prospects.

These will be players who just were drafted

along with those who have been at single-A

or double-A for the post part.

The Mariners have 39  players on the 40-man

roster so they will have 21 additional players

in camp who are not on the 40-man roster.

The 30 players making the final roster might

be either 15 pitchers and 15 position players 

or they may add a pitcher reducing position

players to 14.

Going with 16 pitchers mean they will have

10 pitchers in the bullpen while having six

starters. Position players you have nine starters

including the designated hitter. You add one 

as the backup catcher making it ten. So the

Mariners will have four or five backup players.

Four position players we could say for sure.

Right now the Mariners don't know what shape

Mitch Haniger is in, however, if he is on the

roster opening day the Mariners will go with

additional outfielder and three utility players.

If he isn't ready to go most likely four utility

players though they could still have additional

outfielder instead. 

We should know when spring training begins 

or a few days into how they plan to have the

roster setup. 

Baseball Is Back

At this point it looks like we will have

baseball after all. Of course, the Covid19

can still change things all depending on

how many players may be found to have

the virus.

A new short version of spring training 

will begin on July 1. This will begin 

with testing to be sure players don't

have the virus. 

Social distancing will be part of the

game as well. Coaches for sure will

have to wear masks and I am sure 

players as well.

During the training camp time the

players will have to get the work

done to get ready for the season

at least six feet apart.

The Mariners will be at T-Mobile 

Park so working out won't be like

in Arizona where there are more

fields to practice at.

Each team will play ten games 

against division foes and four

games against teams in the other

league in same graphical area.

There will be 60 players for each 

team. The season will begin with

30 players for two weeks the to

28 for two more weeks then the

rest of the season will be 26.

Each team will have a taxi squad

of three players which must include

one catcher.

The remaining players of the 60

will be working out together.

For the Mariner's they will be

working out at Cheney Stadium

in Tacoma.

The season will begin on July 23

or 24. The Mariners are planning

to go with six starters to begin the

season each pitching one day a

week. 

It will be great to be able to get

back to watching baseball though

no fans will be able to watch games

in the stadium. It could change 

if states are able to get to phase 4.

I am sure this will be a year we 

won't forget that is for sure.

Seahawk Wednesday

This week we look at the Seahawks defensive line.

At this point we haven't heard anything more about

signing defensive end Clowney. We will still see 

if he signs or the Seahawks go out for another 

defensive end.

The Seahawks have a young group of defensive

ends on the squad. Seahawks number one draft

choice last year LJ Collier didn't get in a lot of

paying time last year so they are hoping he will

have a good sophomore year.

The other defensive ends looking to make a mark

are Rasheem Green a third round pick of the 

Seahawks in 2018, Branden Jackson, Benson

Mayowa the Seahawks signed after the season

played last year for Oakland Raiders, Eli Mercer

a college free agent signing, Alton Robinson drafted

this year in the 5th round, Darrell Taylor second 

round pick who could see a lot of action, and Marcus

Webb another college free agent signing this year.

The two defensive tackle spots will be important 

not only to help out the defensive ends but stop

the rush. Jarran Reed who missed out the first half

of last season over suspension should make a major

contribution this year. The other starting defensive

tackle should be Poona Ford going into his third year.

Other players to get playing time at defensive tackle 

are Josh Avery undrafted free agent, Tommy 

Champion another rookie undrafted, Demarcus 

Christmas sixth round pick in 2019, Cedrick 

Lattimore another undrafted free agent, and Bryan 

Mone undrafted free agent 2019,

In Seahawk news 4th round pick tight end Colby 

Parkinson will be missing some action this coming 

season. He is expected to be out for a couple months

 of the season. At least the Seahawks have depth at 

tight end. 

In baseball news it looks like there will be a season.

So I will be able to keep you up to date on it. 

Mariners Train In Seattle

Right now still don't know whether major league

baseball will have  a season or not. We should 

know over the next few days.

If there is baseball the Mariners will have

spring training 2.0 in Seattle. How it will 

look don't know at this point since Seattle

is in phase 2 of the Covid-19.

Baseball I am sure is going to look different

as well. The players in the field except the

pitchers I expect will likely have to wear 

masks. The batters probably won't until they

reach base.  

How many players will be on the roster don't

know at this point. Could go with 26 or more.

How football will look is still up in the air

as well. State of Washington will have to 

be in phase 3 at the very least if not 4.

Sports Going To Look Different

Whether we have baseball or not which I hope we do

or football or basketball they are going to look different.

It is amazing to think there won't be any fans in the 

stands or a small group anyway. I expect they will

pipe in some crowd noise.

For the very least on the screen they should show

fans from previous seasons. It would at least make

it like home.

It looks like the Seattle Seahawks might bring back

receiver Josh Gordon who has been on suspension.

He is a free agent, however, he has been working out

in the Seattle area so makes sense he will be a 

Seahawk again.

He does sign with the Seahawks it will give the 

Seahawks four quality receivers in Tyler Lockett, 

DK Metcalf, Phillip Dorsett and Gordon. Sounds 

like a pretty good foursome to me.

I hope some sports will start coming back besides

golf. I have to admit I haven't seen much golf since

its return. Maybe I will try this weekend. 

Seahawk Wednesday

Starting this week we are going to look at the 

different positions on the Seahawks roster. Any 

other Seahawk news will still be mentioned.

We start this week on the defensive side of the ball.

We begin with the linebacker position. Right now

the linebackers are the strong area of the defense.

It will be important for Seahawks defense the

linebackers do their job both against the run and

the pass.

Bobby Wagner is the captain of the defense along

with being the middle linebacker. Wagner since

day one arriving on the Seahawk steps has led

the team in tackles.

At week side linebacker KJ Wright will start

though rookie first-round pick Jordyn Brooks

will see a lot of action as well. At some point

in the season they may be splitting the time.

The third linebacker position will probably 

be shared as well. We have the return of Bruce

Irvin who will be in on passing downs for sure.

Cody Barton will be the other player as well.

He most likely be in on running plays.

The Seahawks will  likely go with six linebackers.

This means the last spot will be fight  between 

Shaquem Griffin  and former Husky Ben Burr-Kirven  

Whowins may likely come down to special teams.

The Seahawks could keep all seven with one less

defensive lineman since Irvin may play on the line

on passing downs.

Next week we will look at the defensive line.

 

No Baseball

There is a chance we may not have baseball this year.

The players and the owners can't decide how they are

going to work out the salaries they are paid.

I can understand the owners not wanting to lose more

money, on the other hand, the players say they should

be paid more than the owners are offering. 

The players have guaranteed contracts, the work stoppage

was forced upon them. They didn't decide to strike. So

how much should they be paid. I have no idea to know

the honest truth. 

The veteran players will do just fine they make a lot

more money than any of us would in a life time. It is

the rookies and those who haven't been around long

enough to have signed a new contract with their 

team or became free agents who will hurt the most.

Major league baseball and the player union have negotiated

about trimming the high salary players the most. The

question is that right too. I am not sure about that either.

I am sure those players can afford to be paid a third of

their contract for one year. On the other hand, should they

have too.

Both sides need to come to an agreement. Losing a whole

season of baseball will not be good for the sport. Fans need

their games. If there is no baseball, however, the NBA and

NFL play it could take years to get many of the fans back to

baseball.

Another thing right now we have no idea whether the virus

will return again next year. So the baseball season could be

shorten again. What if fans have to wait until next June or

July to see a game at least on television baseball may never

recover. Let it happen let's see baseball. 

Mariners Start Signing College Free Agents

This year major league baseball is going to

have a larger crop of college free agents

In previous seasons the baseball draft has 

gone 40 rounds. With the coronavirus

baseball decided to go with five rounds

It wouldn't surprise me if they go to ten

rounds next year.

Those who sign are going to paid  $20K

as a signing bonus. Most of those players

are going to be those who are seniors.

This will work out  like the NFL has been

doing for a number of years. These players

likely will be given more incentives for 

future seasons if they turn out to be the

real thing. 

Mostly pitchers make the jump to the majors

who are beyond the 10th round  anyway so

this will save the major league teams money

over the years. Also, there is talk of trimming

minor league teams as well. 

Not sure whether they will remove the rookie

leagues or not, however, they probably will

do away with low-single A teams. Those who

they figure can continue on will go to high-A

instead.

So far the Mariners have signed three players. 

Matt Scheffler catcher from Auburn University.

He grew up in Washington State graduating from

Lake Washington High school  He went to Pierce

College before arriving at Auburn. The Mariners 

need more catching depth so very good choice.

Justin Lavey infielder at Louisville. He played second,

third, and shortstop. The Mariners may look at using

him as a utility player or play at one of the three

positions.

Brett Rodriguez  infielder at Wofford College in

South Carolina played second, third, and shortstop

as well. He to will be worked out at all three. Mariners

are showing so far needing more infield depth.

They are not officially signed because they need to

take physicals. The Mariners may sign between

five and ten college free agents. 

Washington Players Taken In MLB Draft

The state of Washington had three players taken in this

years draft of major league baseball. 

The Seattle Mariners often take at least one local 

player, however, this year's draft went only five

rounds they didn't this time around.

Jesse Franklin an outfielder who played college

ball at Michigan went to high school at Seattle Prep.

His career at Michigan he hit .287 with 23 home runs

and 102 rbi's. He was drafted in the third round

by the Atlanta Braves.

Left-handed pitcher Jeremy Wu-Yelland out of

West Valley High School in Spokane  pitched 

at Hawaii primarily in relief was drafted in the

fourth round by the Boston Red Sox

Stevie Emanuels a right-handed pitcher Washington

Huskies played his high school ball at Interlake

in Bellevue. His first two years at Washington

he was a reliever, however, in a short season

this year he was a starter. He was drafted in

the fifth round by the Oakland A's. 

We wish the best to all three in making their

ways to the major league baseball. Hopefully

we will get a chance to see them at T-Mobile

Park facing the Seattle Mariners.  

Look At Seattle Mariners 2020 Draft Picks

This year major league baseball had only five

rounds of the draft for college and high school

players because of covid-19.

It will be interesting to see how this changes

over the years ahead when it comes to the draft.

Every other eligible player are free agents so

the Mariners can signing as many as they would

like for up to $20,000 signing bonus per player.

Those who are in or going to college can not

sign as well.

On Wednesday the Mariners picked  Emerson 

Hancock right-handed pitcher out of Georgia

in the first round..He could be in the Mariner

 starting rotation in the next two years.

On Thursday were round two thru five. The 

Mariners were able to pick five more players

on Thursday with added draft pick.

In the second round they picked outfielder 

Zach DeLoach out of Texas A&M DeLoach

is a left-handed hitter with power. He could be

their future centerfielder depending whether

number one prospect Jarred Kelenic is in

left field instead.

They had another pick in the second round

where they selected their second pitcher in

the draft in right-hander Connor Phillips a

junior college player out of Texas.

In the third and fourth rounds they picked 

two infielders Kaden Polcovich a second

baseman from Oklahoma State and Tyler

Keenan a third baseman out of Ole Miss.

Both players hit left-handed. Add depth

to the infield.

Their final pick was another pitcher

Taylor Dollard out of Cal Poly. He to

is a right-handed pitcher.

We will see days ahead who the Mariners

may sign as free agents.

We do hope to see some baseball this summer. 

Seattle Mariners Top Pick MLB Draft 2020

The Seattle Mariners picked number sixth overall in 

the first round. This is higher than they were when

picking Logan Gilbert two years ago. Gilbert has

been moving through the system quickly.

The Mariners picked another pitcher in the first

round going for Georgia right-hander Emerson

Hancock. We were expecting another college

player for sure.

According to ESPN had there been a college season

this year he may have gone number one overall.

Hancock's fastball goes in the mid to upper 90s.

He has maybe the best change up in the country.

Being number six pick the Mariners wanted to be

sure they could have a player who could move fast

through the minor leagues. 

It looks like in  three or four years the Mariners may

have one of the best rotations in the major leagues.

With the crop of pitchers they have drafted over the

last couple years they could end up trading a pitcher

or two for a position player or pick up a couple good

prospects as well.

This all goes along with having an outfield which is

quite promising as well where they may have to a 

player or two as well.

This means the Mariners may have to pick up help

in the infield especially at third base. This will depend

how the third base prospects in the organization do as well.

The draft will be two through five tomorrow. The Mariners

will have five more choices. I am sure the second round they

will want to draft another who could move up quickly as 

well. Wouldn't be surprised they go after another pitcher.

This will depend on the best player available at the time.

Go M's. 

Seahawk Wednesday

On Tuesday the Seattle Seahawks signed sixth round pick

wide receiver Freddie Swain to a rookie contract.

It will be tough road ahead for Swain with the amount of

wide receivers ahead of him. The Seahawks will probably

go with five receivers. 

The Seahawks have Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf as the 

starters with newly acquired Phillip Dorsett as the third receiver.

Swain is now the second rookie signed out of the eight they

drafted this year. Expect the Seahawks will sign the remaining

draft picks over the next week or to.

Swain's best chance of making the team will  be on special

teams where he could help on kick-offs and punt returns

If he doesn't make the opening roster he could land on the

practice squad unless another team grabs him.

Running back Carlos Hyde the Seahawks singed as a free

agent  held a press conference on Tuesday. He is hoping 

to be the Seattle Seahawks number two running back. He

isn't expecting to beat out Chris Carson as number one.

Coming up later today will be the major league baseball 

draft for five rounds. The Seattle Mariners have six picks.

We will see who they come up with. I will give you the

details. 

Baseball Draft On Wednesday

The Seattle Mariners draft team will be spending Tuesday

getting ready for the major league draft taking place on

Wednesday.

This year they are only going to have five rounds compared

to forty they had last year.

With colleges cancelling their seasons in the spring the

Mariners and other teams have to decide on past seasons

to pick their players.

The Mariners will have the sixth overall pick in the first 

round. So they will be going early getting a pretty good

player as well.

The Mariners will have six players to draft as they picked

up another draft pick when they traded catcher Omar Narvaez

to the Milwaukee Brewers in the off-season.

Tomorrow will be Seahawk Wednesday, however, I will come

back later in the day with their first selection 

Washington Huskies Sports Back Soon

The Washington Huskies are hoping with King County

at phase 1.5 right now they are hoping their athletes

can do some sport activity by June 15 in their perspective

facilities

The football program along with other fall sports are

the most important followed by the winter sports.

All teams though enjoy workouts all year around though.

Some don't work out in the summer  with their coaches

on hand according to NCAA rules This year could be 

different especially the spring sports which didn't have

any season.

Of course, this depends on how many student athletes

stick around in the area.

We do hope football will be able to have some fans

in the stands when action begins in September.  

Pete Carroll Back To The Office

Now that King County is onto phase 1.5

Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll and

his staff can spend time at work instead

of on zoom.

The coaches will still have to stay at

social distancing along with wearing

a mask.

They can make plans for the upcoming

season. No contact with players yet

at least in person.

The only players at the training facility

are those who are rehabbing from injuries.

How much time Carroll and his staff

will be in the office is hard to tell

right now, however, it is step one.

I am sure Washington Huskies football

coach Jimmy Lake and his staff will be

doing the same. Important since this is

Lake's first time as the head coach. He

has been at Washington as an assistant.

He knows how this works. 

Mike Hopkins head basketball coach

at Washington will be doing the same.

With fewer players than football he

will be able to see his players sooner

plus there season starts later as well.

We wish the best to all the Husky

coaches and sport programs. 

Sounders Season To Resume

I don't write a lot about the Seattle Sounders or

the MLS. however, there was an announcement

on Wednesday they were going to resume play.

Not sure how many games will be played, but 

it looks as though they will have a tournament

taken place in Florida. Most likely  at Disney's

complex.

It could be what leads to the championship game

as well. The  Sounders beat Toronto last year

to win the championship so we wish them the

best again this season. 

We are hoping the Sounders can repeat. 

Unfortunately their fans will not be able

to see them play except on television.

They do repeat won't see a parade either 

unless it is later in the year.

News came out the Seattle Seahawks signed

their first draft pick of the last NFL draft.

It isn't the first rounder it is actually tight 

end Colby Parkinson their fourth round 

pick out of Stanford.

The Seahawks could look at moving him 

in different spots on the field. Not only 

where the tight end usually is at but he

could be put in the slot at times when 

the Seahawks want to take advantage 

of his big body.

We should be looking at other draft

picks signing soon too. Often they 

start falling after one is signed. 

Next Wednesday we will look 

at those signed.  We will mention

any of them signed in the next week.  

Seahawk Wednesday

There  still no action going on with the Seahawks outside of meetings

on zoom. Until King County can get into at least phase 2 players

won't be able get together in person. 

At this point it is hard to know whether the Seahawks will have 

any fans in Century Link Field or not. As we know it depends on

how the virus goes. 

The talk among the Seahawks as everyone I am sure knows 

surrounded around the death last week of George Floyd the

black man murdered by a Minneapolis police officer.

As we know to many of the Seahawk players are black. The

sad thing how blacks have been treated especially by the

police hasn't changed since the days of Martin Luther King Jr.

or way before that.

It shows doesn't matter whether the black person is rich or

poor many are treated the same way. In Seattle the mayor 

wants to make sure changes do occur. She has been flooded

with thousands of emails by those who have been protesting

over the last five days. 

Sometimes issues like this covers not only by the news it

goes directly into sports as well. We have to think of Jackie

Robinson to broke the color barrier in baseball who eventually

allowed everyone to have a chance in playing in professional

sports.

Hopefully we will have some good news next week concerning

the Seahawks and the NFL. May peace be with you all. 

Mariners Head Grounds Keeper Decides To Retire

Bob Christofferson the Mariners head grounds keeper for 40 years

decides to retire. 

Christofferson the man behind the beautiful look of T-Mobile

Park decides with the coronavirus it is the best time to hang

it up. When it comes to retirement I am sure he isn't alone.

He says he will miss the park, the player, and the fans. Tim

Wilson his right hand man and assistant will take over as

the head grounds keeper. I am sure he will keep the field

level even when games are not being played right now.

I am sure Christofferson will be at T-Mobile Park on 

occasion to be sure the park is in fine shape well as

the ball club.

We wish the best for Christofferson in his retirement. 

Major League Players Have a Plan

At this point we don't know when the Seattle Mariners and

major league baseball will start playing games, however,

the players have let the owners what they are looking for.

The players would like to have a 114-game schedule along

with an expanded playoffs for this year and next.

The players don't want to be paid less money except what

has taken on right now. 

We will have to see what the owners want to do whether to

accept the offer or not.

I am sure over the next few days we will have their answer.

Stay tuned we hope for some baseball this year.