Home Opener Tonight

Now the Seattle Mariners are home playing

Friday night against the Oakland A's. They 

will have player introductions and all that

jazz.

Taijuan Walker will make the start. I hope

he will be like Gonzales going further. I

am sure won't be as long as Gonzales but

an extra inning would be nice without any

errors or walks to have a big inning. 

The Mariners are a half game now behind

the A's and the Astros So they beat A's 

tonight they will be ahead of them. Last 

night the A;s and the Astros had the night off.

Neither the Angels or the Mariners have a night

off as of yet.

The Texas Rangers are 2-3  a half game behind

the Mariner. The Rangers have played inter-league

games so far. Played five against Colorado 

Rockies and two against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

They play three game series against San Francisco

this weekend. 

The Seattle Mariners won't have a day off until 

August 13. Sounds like being unfair. In fact the

Mariners have two off days in August and three

in September if the season last that long.

Austin Nola will be back in the lineup batting sixth

after Evan White Friday night. JP Crawford will

lead off once again while Shed Long will move 

down to seventh in the order. Go M"s. 

Mariners Take Series Over Angels

The Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels

Thursday night in Anaheim 8-5 to take the series 

2-1.

Marco Gonzales pitched much better in his second

outing then his opening start which makes a lot of 

sense.  He was able to  go six and 1/3  innings.

His only mistake was giving up a two run home

run in the fifth inning to narrow the lead to 3-2.

Rookie Jose Marmolejos playing firs base giving 

Evan White a rest. White came into the game 

later for defensive purposes. Jose hit a three-run 

homer in the first inning for his first major league

career. He has been struggling at the plate and

whether he will improve we will have to see but

at least this game he was one of the players to

help the Mariners win.

The lead stayed 3-2 until the ninth inning. The 

Mariners ended up scoring five runs in the ninth

beginning with Shed Long hitting a home run to

give a little cushion then scored four more runs.

Dan Vogelbach started at dh after having a few

games off had a single then Dee Gordon pinched

run for him ended up scoring.

This was a good thing because in the bottom

of the ninth the Angels scored three runs off

of Dan Altavilla making his second appearance

in a row  closing the game. The positive he

was able to finish the inning without causing

any more damage.

Kyle Lewis continues hitting well getting 

two more hits and drive in two runs. There 

is no doubt he was the player of the seven

game road trip. Now the Mariners are 3-4.

JP Crawford lead off for the second game

in a row. I wouldn't be surprised if Scott

Servais leaves him there as long as he is

hitting like he is. He had two more hits,

scored two runs and drove in two runs

as well.

Now the Mariners come home to face the

Oakland A's in a four game series beginning

Friday night. Taijuan Walker will make his

second start. See if he can go further in the

game like Gonzales did. If so the Mariners 

will have a chance to win.

Off the field news came out the Mariners 

are going to reduce the scouting staff. I am

not clear why, however, there is a good 

chance the draft will again have fewer 

rounds next year.  Also, we don't know

the losses the Mariners are taking with

the shorter season.  Whether they will

replace those who are being let go we

won't know either for a little while.

 

Mariners Even Series

The Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angles

Angeles Wednesday night 10-7 to even

the series. Thursday night will be the rubber

game. The Mariners and the Angels are 

both at record of 2-4.

Justin Dunn pitched well for the first three

innings showing what he is capable of,

however, in the fourth inning a stumbling

block for every starter so far gave up three

runs without recording an out.

Again the story repeated itself where a walk

and an error contributed to the three runs. 

The big hit was a home run by designated

hitter Ohtani with two runners on base.

The Mariners took a temporary lead in the

sixth inning when they scored five runs.

The big blow was a three-run homer by

Dylan Moore. Right now  he looks to

be in the lineup against lefties.

The Angels took the lead scoring three 

runs off veteran reliever Bryan Shaw.

Fortunately the lead didn't last and the

Mariners scored two runs in both the

seventh and eighth innings.

Taylor Williams, Anthony Misiewicz,

and Dan Altavilla each pitched an inning

without surrendering a run. Altavilla

recorded the save. 

Besides Dylan Moore's home run, Kyle

Lewis and Seager each had three hits

on the night all were singles. Lewis

drove in a run while Seager had three.

JP Crawford starting as the lead-off 

hitter had two hits, scored twice and

two rbi's. Not bad for your first time.

Now the starting rotation roles over

with Marco Gonzales making his 

second start Thursday night. 

Taijuan Walker and the Mariners

will face the Oakland A's on opening

night at T-Mobile Park. The A's 

currently are tied with the Houston

Astros for first place with a record of

3-3. The Texas Rangers are third a

half game ahead of the Mariners and 

the Angels at 2-3.

Seahawk Wednesday

The big news this week the Seattle Seahawks

acquired safety Jamal Adams from the New

York Jets for two first round draft picks and

a third. The Seahawks sent safety Bradley

McDougald to the Jets. They also acquired

a fourth round pick.

Training camp began on Tuesday. The Seahawks

have signed now all their draft picks.

We now look at the wide receivers this week.

Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf are the top two

receivers and play makers. The Seahawks signed

Phillip Dorsett as a free agent during the off-season.

At this point he is the third receiver. Either he

or Lockett will be in the slot when they are 

playing three receivers. Dorsett played the last

three years for the New England Patriots.

Hard to know whether the Seahawks will go with

four or five receivers. At this point it is hard to know

what the roster will look like because of Covid-19.

There is a possibility they may not have as large

a roster spots as in recent years though they will

have 16 players on the practice squad.

David Moore comes in as the fourth receiver. He

was the punt returner last season, however, the

Seahawks could put Tyler Lockett back into the 

spot.

Other receivers trying to make the roster are

rookie draft picks Stephen Sullivan,  and Freddie

Swain. Also, college free agent Aaron Fuller 

out of University of Washington. Fuller could

see action at punt returner if he makes the roster.

John Ursua the Seahawk 7th round pick out of

Hawaii last year has a good shot at making the

team as well. The last roster spots for receiver

will be competitive for sure. 

Next week we will look at tight end. 

Lewis and Lopes Continue To Hit

Kyle Lewis had two hits Tuesday night

though the Mariners lost again this time

10-2.  So far he has hit in every game

so on a five-game hitting streak. 

Tim Lopes continues to hit great as well

He was in at designated hitter against 

left-hander Patrick Sandoval. Lopes

had two hits including his first home

run of the season. 

Dylan Moore mad his first start of

the season playing in left field. He had

a couple of hits as well. 

We could see a lot of Lopes and Moore

in the lineup against lefties. Shed Long

so far has struggled at the plate. He has

started every game so far wouldn't 

surprise me if he is given a night off

soon.

As you can imagine the Mariners pitching

wasn't good in this game. Justin Sheffield

started off well in the first two inning then

struggled in the third throwing a lot of

pitches. He started the fourth, however,

didn't get any outs when Nestor Cortes

replaced him.  Sheffield ended giving up

four runs in three innings.

Cortes didn't do much better giving up

two runs in two innings followed by

Zach Grotz three innings allowing four

runs.

Grotz has pitched in three of the Mariners

five games. Not sure he will be around

very long at this rate. He wouldn't be

in Wednesday night's game having gone

three innings.

The Mariners had to use a third catcher 

in Joe Odom making his first major league

debut. He had been on the tax-squad.

Odom caught Sheffield last year at double-A.

He may catch Justin Dunn Wednesday night

in his first outing of the season since they

are familiar with each other.

Austin Nola missed the game as he has a

sore knee. Depending  how bad it is he

could be going on the disabled list. Tom

Murphy still has five days before he can

come off the disabled list. 

We hope the Mariners can rebound Wednesday

night. Right now it looks like it can be a

long season though short on games. 

Whether the season lasts will have to do with

how many players and teams get the virus.

Currently the Miami Marlins are the only

team experiencing players coming down

with the virus. The number right now is

seventeen.

The Marlins won't play any games at least

through Sunday. 

Astros Take Series

The Houston Astros on late Monday

afternoon beat the Seattle Mariners

8-5.  The Astros won the series three

games to one.

Like the other two games this game

came down to the Astros having a 

a couple big innings this time to win.

Again it came down to errors and walks

to give Houston extra opportunities to

win.

The Mariners scored first in the third

inning getting three runs including 

Evan White's first career home run

in the major leagues. We hope one

of many. 

Kyle Lewis had a couple more hits

though no home run. He was the 

player of the series for the Mariners

batting .400 with two home runs.

Kyle Seager had another hit along

with driving in a run batting .313

for the series. Problem though

he had a fielding error in the game

too. Not a good series far as fielding

for Seager.

Kendall Graveman made his first 

start in two years after having Tommy

John surgery. He started off pitching 

well however gave up seven runs on

six hits. What looked good he did

strike out seven Astros hitters.

Now the Mariners will play in LA

against the Angels starting on Tuesday

in a three game series before facing 

the Oakland A's on Friday at home.

The Angels like the Mariners lost 

three out of four games on the road

at Oakland. So this series will show

who can turn things around.

Justus Sheffield will start his first 

game of the season. If he can pitch

like he did in his last intrasquad start

the Mariners will have a good chance

in this game. In the intrasquad game

Sheffield didn't give up a hit in four

innings.

The Mariners will have to get things

corrected on the field when it comes

to defense. The Angels have the offense

to take advantage of any lapses the 

Mariners may have.  

Training Camp Begins Tuesday For Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks have training camp

beginning on Tuesday. In an agreement  with

the players union training camp will go with

80 players instead of the normal 90 because 

of Covid-19.

The practice squad will be larger than it

has been before going to 16 during the season.

Right now the Seahawks have a roster of

81 on their team. On Sunday they waived

seven players for the most part you may 

have not heard of along with cutting 

center Joey Hunt who started eight games

last year and defensive end Branden 

Jackson. There is always a possibility

the Seahawks could resign Hunt and

Jackson at a lower rate we will have

to see. 

We should be seeing signing of some

of their rookie draft picks as well.

We will  have more news possibly

on Seahawk Wednesday.

Mariners Win Game 3

The Mariners finally beat the Houston Astros

on Sunday afternoon 7-6.

As the score looks it was easy for the Mariners

to do so. In fact, it came down to the last pitch

of the game with the Astros having a runner 

on base.

The Mariners offense finally came alive. They

were able to get two runs in the first inning and

two more in the fourth inning. They were able

to get Zach Greinke out of the game in the fourth

inning. The problem though the Astros were

able to get to Mariner starter in the fourth inning

as well so the Astros led at that point.

A major key to the game

The Mariners bullpen was able told the Astros

to two hits from the fifth inning through the 

eighth inning without getting a run. 

Matt Magill expected to be the Mariners 

closer ended up pitching in the fifth inning

after Zach Grotz came in for Yusei Kikuchi

in the fourth inning.

The Mariners offense with key hits by Tim Lopes

and Shed Long were able to get three runs in

the eighth inning. Dan Altavilla who pitched

the seventh inning recorded the win.

Taylor Williams the Mariners picked up from

the Milwaukee Brewers on February 21 got

his first major league save.  Though Williams 

gave up two hits and a run he did strikeout

three batters in the 9th inning. We could see

him pitch in the 9th inning again.

At this point the Mariners don't have a clear 

cut closer so several pitchers could be in that

role this season.

Tim Lopes had a great spring along with 

summer camp had three hits in the game.

Shed Long was able to get a couple of hits

along with Kyle Lewis who has gotten off

to a good start had a couple as well though

no home run in this one.

Kyle Seager had a double in the game scoring

a run and driving in one as well. He is off

to a good start as well.

Kendall Graveman will get the start against

the Astros in a mid-afternoon game in Houston

before the Mariners head off to Los Angeles to

face the Angels. We hope the Mariners can make

it two in a row to split the series in Houston.

Go M's. 

Not a Surprise Mariners Lose Game 2

It is going to be a long season if things

continue like the first two games.

The only thing going right now is Kyle

Lewis hit another home run,

I wonder whether we want Lewis to 

hit 60 home runs or see the Mariners

go to the playoffs.

The Astros beat the Mariners Saturday

7-2. Unlike Friday night's game the 

Astros  scored first. Astros made the

fourth inning the big one this time scoring

four runs giving them the lead 5-0

before the Mariners scored in the 

fifth inning.

JP Crawford had a big game having 

three of the Mariners eight hits. One 

of the hits was a triple that led to another

run besides Lewis home run.

Kyle Seager was the only other player

with more than one hit. So Crawford

early on is leading the Mariners in

batting average followed by Seager.

We see how it goes over the next few

games.

Taijuan Walker started for the Mariners

however, he was only able to go three

and a third innings, He was responsible

for those four runs in the fourth inning. 

The Mariners went with four relievers

the rest of the way each going at least

one inning. Brandon Brennan came for

Walker but had some struggle on the 

mound.

The Mariners have eleven relievers in the

bullpen so right now they can go with 

several each game until the starters are

able to go deeper into games.

Mallex Smith continued having trouble

playing in right field having a few more

miscues in this game. Not sure he is in

the right spot. Lewis has been starting in

center but maybe a good idea to switch

them or move Lewis to left field.

Dee Gordon started in left field for the

first time in a regular season game. 

According to general manager Jerry 

Dipoto who was on the TV broadcast

said Gordon would start in three or four

games a week. He will play some second

base, short, and left field.

Right now with JP Crawford getting off

to a good start he may be playing more

second and left field. 

Yusei Kikuchi will start Sunday's game

against the Astros. who will start Zach

Grenke so things won't get any easier for

the Mariners offense for sure. 

Seahawks Make Trade Saturday

There are reports the Seattle Seahawks

have made a trade today picking up safety

Jamal Adams from the New York Jets.

In return the New York Jets get safety

Bradley McDougald, a first round and

third round pick in 2021 along with a

first round pick in 2022.

Obviously the Seahawks feel Adams

will make the team a lot better on 

defense. 

He will have to pass a physical for

the trade to be final. 

Mariners Lose Season Opener

It wasn't a big surprise but the Seattle 

Mariners lost the season opener to

the Houston Astros 8-2.

The Mariners opened the scoring

though in the second inning when

Kyle Lewis hit a home run to take

the lead 1-0 in the second inning. 

The Astros tied the game in the 

3rd after outfielder Josh Reddick

hit a double. Kyle Seager put the

Mariners ahead 2-1 with  a home

run in the 4th inning.

Things went bad in the 5th inning

when the Astros scored five runs.

The flood gates opened when Kyle

Seager threw an errand ball to 

second baseman Shed Long. 

Michael Brantley hit a three-run

homer to break the game open 

making it 6-2.  Outside of Lewis

and Seager's home runs Justin 

Verlander was in mid-season form.

He went six innings giving up three

hits while striking out seven.

This game looked a lot like many

of the games the Mariners have lost

to the Astros over the years where

one inning does them in.

Evan White making his major

league debut had his first hit

in the seventh inning. The Mariners

in all had five hits.

Saturday afternoon Taijuan Walker

will make his first start returning to

Seattle where he began his career.

The Mariners defense will have

to clean up for the Mariners to

have any chance in winning and

have a sold outing by Walker 

who had a good summer camp.

Mariner Opener Starts Tonight

We have had to wait for four months 

but baseball Mariner style is finally

going to start.

I know the roster probably doesn't

look anything like it would have

back in March but we see what 

happens.

The roster doesn't look a lot like

a rebuilding team in my mind.

Kyle Lewis who had probably the

best summer camp will start as 

expected in the outfield along with

Mallex Smith.

Lewis and Smith are the only true

outfielders being in the lineup. Jake

Fraley didn't have a good camp so

doesn't start the season on the roster.

They will be going with four players

who are more known as infielders 

having playing time in the outfield.

The relievers will be a new group 

except four pitchers who played for

the Mariners last season. So we will

have to get to know them.

The starting pitching and the infield

will be what we expected. In spring

training the starting rotation was to

be five starters but the Mariner brass

decided to go with six. 

The starting five competition was for the fifth

spot between Taijuan Walker and Justin

Dunn. Adding a sixth starter has allowed

both of them to start.

The starting rotation should be the strength

of the team. How they do over the next

sixty games will tell us how good the team

will be.

We know the defense will be better than 

last year especially with Evan White at

first base. Whoever plays in left field should

be better than what the Mariners had for 

most of last season.

The defense will help the pitching not 

needing to throw more pitches because

of errors and balls that dropped in as 

well.

So play ball. Good to see the game again

no matter how many wins the Mariners 

have or not. Go M's. 

Mariners Name Opening Roster

The Seattle Mariners named their 30-man

roster to open the season along with the

taxi squad.

The Mariners are going with only two

regular outfielder in Mallex Smith and

Kyle Lewis. 

So this means one of the utility players

will be in left field each game right.

Neither Jake Fraley or Braden Bishop

will be there. Probably see them atthe 

some point though.

Dee Gordon, Tim Lopes, Dylan Moore

and Jose Marmolejos are the four players

who will play in the outfield well as infield.

The starting infield will be Evan White at

first base, Shed Long second base, Kyle 

Seager at 3rd base, JP Crawford at shortstop

and Daniel Vogelbach at dh. Most likely

Lopes will be the dh against lefties. 

Austin Nola and Joe Hudson will be the catchers.

The taxi squad is lefty pitcher Taylor Guilbeau,

utility player Sam Haggerty and catcher Joe Odom.

The starting rotation will be what we expected 

in Marcus Gonzales, TaiJuan Walker, Yusei Kikuchi,

Kendall Graveman, Justus Sheffield and Justin Dunn.

The bullpen will have a whole different look.

Only returning relievers will be Dan Altavilla, 

Brandon Brennan, Matt Magill, and Zach Grotz 

who was called up in September.

The new guys are Nestor Cortes the Mariners

picked up from the Yankees during the off-season,

Carl Edwards signed as a free agent, Mitch

Margevicius, Anthony Misiewicz, Yohann

Ramirez Bryan Shaw the Mariners just

picked up after being released by the Colorado

Rockies, and Taylor Williams the Mariners

acquired at the beginning of summer camp.

Erik Swanson who was expected to be in the

bullpen didn't make the cut. He will be on 

the squad that goes to Tacoma.

So that is the list. We certainly have to get to

know the bullpen for sure.

We hope neither Mallex Smith or Kyle Lewis

gets hurt especially while on the road. Both 

are the only ones with a lot of outfield experience

though Dee Gordon played some centerfield 

when he first arrived in Seattle. 

Major League Baseball Begins

Finally we get to see some baseball.

A long time coming for sure. Every

other season we would have had

the all-star game and the trading

deadline coming up.

The New York Yankees play against

the Washington Nationals to start

the season later today.

The Seattle Mariners start the

season on Friday against the

Astros in Houston.

News came out while the 

Mariners had their final 

intrasquad game on Wednesday

that catcher will be going on

the injured list to start the season

so Austin Nola will show us how

he catches.

Last year Nola primarily played

first base along with some time

at second and a little at third.

He was one of the Mariners

most consistent hitters during

the second half.

During the TV broadcast of the

intrasquad game manager Scott

Service said that Jake Fraley had

struggled with the bat during 

summer camp but was expected

to play a lot during the season.

I consider that good news.

In a few hours we will know who

makes the 30-man roster to start

the season. The extra position 

players and the bullpen will be

the most interesting to find out.

Tom Murphy Might Be Sidelined

According to manager Scott Servais Mariner's 

catcher Tom Murphy is not responding to his

injured foot. What that means he could end up

not being on the team when the season begins

on Friday.

If Murphy isn't ready to go then third string 

catcher Joe Hudson likely will move up to

number two.  

Austin Nola going into the season as the 

backup catcher will than start the opening

game. 

Depending on the status of Murphy's foot

on Friday Nola could start and Murphy 

would be the backup and Hudson be on

the taxi squad heading to Houston.

Murphy isn't able to play for say ten days

he would then be put on the injured list.

This would be mean he wouldn't be able 

to play in Houston or Los Angeles. 

Murphy would have to wait until the 

Mariners come home, however, he

still won't  be able to play in the first game

against the Oakland A's at home. 

August 3 the final game against the A's

would be likely the first game he would

be able to play in if he is ready to go 

after being inserted on the roster.

We may know this today when the team

has to announce the 30-man roster. 

Seahawk Wednesday

On Sunday several players in the NFL

including those from the Seattle Seahawks

were concerned how training camp was

going to look this coming week. 

Russell Wilson was concerned because

his wife is pregnant and Tyler Lockett

had a family who had caught the virus.

They both felt the prodicals had to change.

The owners had a meeting together on

Monday. They decided to cancel all

pre-season games and each player would

be testes everyday for two weeks to see

if they came down with Covid19 or not.

So the rookies will be reporting this week

followed by the veterans.

This week looking at the running back position.

Chris Carson is back healthy and is expected to

be the Seahawks number one running back.

Rashaad Penny who was injured near the end

of the season like Carson situation is more 

serious. He is expected to miss the first six

games of the season. 

The Seahawks decided to sign veteran running

back Carlos Hyde as a free agent. Hyde ran

for over a thousand yards last season so he

will be a good second back to Carson before

Penny returns.

The Seahawks have Travis Homer who

was a rookie last year. He spent most of

the season on special teams but when

Carson and Penny were hurt he did

a good job in their places.

The Seahawks drafted DeeJay Dallas

in the fourth round. Like all rookies

he will have to show his worth in 

practice since there will be no

pre-season games. We wish the

best to him.

Those the running backs who have

the most chance to get playing time

for the Seahawks this season.

Next week we will look at the wide

receivers the Seahawks have to make

the most impact on the team. 

Seattle Mariners Pick Up Veteran Reliever

The Seattle Mariners picked up veteran 

reliever Bryan Shaw released recently

by the Colorado Rockies on Monday.

Whether Shaw will be on the opening 

day roster announced on Wednesday 

we will have to see.

The Mariners were needing to add

another reliever to the sixty-man 

roster because of the injury to Gerson

Bautista who was hurt during summer

camp. 

It is not sure how long Bautista will be

out but most likely for this season anyway.

Bautista was competing for one of the 

reliever spots in the bullpen.

Bryan Shaw didn't have a great 2019

season for the Rockies with an era of 

5.38, however, his veteran presence 

may help the Mariners.

Though the Mariners are rebuilding it

is still nice to have veterans around.

How long Shaw will be with the 

Mariners we will see but he is another

body to help out.

The bullpen right now is the questionable

part of the team. It sounds according to

general manager Jerry Dipoto they will

go with 11 relievers. When the cutdown

to 28 man roster in two weeks the Mariners

will go with 9 relievers then 8 when going

to a 26-man roster. 

Question of Safety Measures

Four members of the Seahawks spoke out

on Twitter about the safety measures have

going for training camp to begin this week.

Actually about the lack of safety measures.

Wide receiver Tyler Lockett said he had 

a family member catch Covid-19 virus.

He doesn't feel safe at this point.

Russell Wilson is concerned with his wife

being pregnant.

Also DK Metcalf and Bruce Irvin each

spoke about their concerns as well.

Those are four of the Seahawks top 

players so you think they will be in

training camp. 

It will be interesting to see how many

opt out for the coming season.

I am sure we will here more about this week.

Gordon Back In Action

 Dee Gordon was back into action

playing Saturday night's intersquad game.

He had spent time with his wife and daughter.

Not sure the problem was, however, they 

are both doing fine. 

The Mariners had Gordon in left field so 

it shows he will probably play there at times

as well.

Dee Gordon will be a super utility player 

as they call it. He could be doing what Mark

McLemore did when he played for the Mariners.

He was in the lineup everyday playing second 

base, third, and left field for the majority of

the time. 

We know Gordon is in his last year of his 

contract with an option year for next season

so his likelihood being in a Seattle uniform

is slim when they are rebuilding.

Mallex Smith and Dylan Moore made both

of there first appearance of summer camp

playing Saturday night. They have only been

in camp a few days.

At this point it is hard to know whether they

will be on the opening day roster or not.

Mallex Smith expected to be a starter in

center field will probably be on the roster

while the Mariners may hold Dylan Moore 

back. 

Since the Mariners will have a taxi squad of

three players so Moore could be one of those

three. The Mariners are required to carry a

a catcher the other two one will be a position

player while the other is a pitcher in case of

injury. 

Coming up on Wednesday the Mariners will

announce who will be on the opening day 

roster while the remaining players will go 

workout in Tacoma. 

Mariners Rotation Announced

Saturday Seattle manager Scott Servais announced

the rotation to start the season on the road at Houston

and Los Angeles. 

Marco Gonzales will start the season opener against

the Astros next Friday night  followed by TaiJuan

Walker. Yusei Kikuchi and Kendall Graveman will

finish the four game series.

Against the Angels Justus Sheffield and Justin Dunn

will pitch the first two games the Gonzales will finish

it off. This means likely TaiJuan Walker will start the

opening game at home.

The Mariners intersquad game and the remaining ones

leading up to opening night will start at 6:10 pm for

the players to be used to the time for evening games.

Marco Gonzales will make his last start against Logan

Gilbert.

Dee Gordon is expected to start tonight's game. He 

hasn't been in a game for a while. 

Julio Rodriguez injured the other day to his wrist

is expected to be out four to six weeks without 

having surgery. He is expected  to play winter

ball in the Dominican Republic. 

Baseball In One Week

We are now closer to see live baseball

though we will only be able to see it

on television only right now.

The Seattle Mariners will be in Houston

to take on the Astros next Friday July

24. 

It will be interesting since we haven't 

seen any live baseball at the very least

since spring training or last September.

Facing the Astros we will see a team

with a new manager because of a stealing

scandal. Also, a team I am sure will have

a few new players.

Justin Verlander is expected to start for

the Astros as the Mariners go with Marco

Gonzales.

We will see Evan White at first base for

the first time in a regular season game.

The double-play combo of Shed Long

and JP Crawford. 

We will have Kyle Seager at third base 

once again  along with a new outfield

for the most part.

Kyle Lewis having an exceptional summer

camp will start in the outfield along with

Jake Fraley. Mallex Smith just camp to camp

so not sure whether he will be in the starting

lineup or not. We should know shortly about

him.

There is no news about Dee Gordon. He hasn't

been on the field for the last few days

The pitching staff will be known in the next 

few days, however, we can say "Go M's."

What Happening in Baltimore

You may wonder why I am writing about

Baltimore. It is about the Orioles by the

way.

It is hard to believe to me Wade LeBlanc

and Tommy Milone who both pitched for

the Seattle Mariners last year are going to

be in the starting rotation for the Baltimore

Orioles this season. At least starting off at

least.

LeBlanc is expected to start the third game

of the season for the Orioles. Not sure when

Milone will start but he is expected to be in

the rotation. 

Last year for much of the season the Mariners 

would begin the game with the opener then

bring in LeBlanc and Milone in either the 

second or third inning. 

Though it didn't work for the opener for the

most part it did well for LeBlanc and Milone.

With the season being 60 games the Mariners

won't likely go with an opener this year. Even

if they had started on time in March they wouldn't

have anyway.

The reason not using an opener this year the

Mariners don't have a lack of starters this season.

It will be interesting to see how many innings 

the starters will go in their first start. I would 

expect they would go three or four innings their

first time out. 

Having a six-man rotation they will extend out

the innings faster than in most seasons.

Like me I am sure you can't wait until July 24

for the first game.  Go M's. 

Seahawk Wednesday

We are now half way into the month of July.

It is still hard to know how the NFL season

will look like ahead. We do know they will

have two exhibition games instead of four.

It wouldn't surprise me if this is how it will

go now going forward especially if it is

successful.

Today we will begin looking at the offense 

since we finished the defense last week.

We look at the most important  position

on the field which is the quarterback.

The teams with success over the years 

primarily has to do with the quarterback.

The top teams each year have one of the

best in the business this goes for the Seattle

Seahawk as well. 

When it comes down to the success of the

Seahawks the one name is Russell Wilson.

Almost every game the Seahawk wins comes

to what Wilson has done. 

If you had to give Wilson a nickname the

best would be "Comeback Kid". In many

instances the Seahawks are behind going

into the fourth quarter and he finds a way

to win the game.

Russell Wilson again this year likely play

every down for the season. The backup

quarterback will only see play if the Seahawks

have a big lead and it doesn't happen very

often. 

Geno Smith the Seahawks signed again as 

the backup quarterback for another season.

Last year he didn't play a single down. He

will be in his eighth season as insurance.

The Seahawks brought in another quarterback

to compete for the backup role in Anthony

Gordon from Washington State Cougars signing

as an undrafted free agent. He likely will be

on the practice squad unless the Seahawks 

think he is ready to backup Wilson or another

team may snatch him up.

So there is the competition the backup quarterback.

Next Wednesday we will look at the running back.

Go Hawks!

What Kind Of Season For Mariners

Since the Seattle Mariners will be

playing a shorter season what kind

of season will it be.

The Mariners could get off to the

hot start they did last year or a 

terrible start. We don't know to

be honest but they do have a

younger team who maybe more

ready to go then many of the

others.

The Houston Astros the Mariners

begin with on July 24 have had

their summer camp stopped because

tests for coronavirus have been 

delayed in return. This could mean

they won't be ready to go so can

put the Mariners ahead to start.

The Mariners season won't be

how well the starting pitcher is 

or for that matter the relief

pitching as well. It can depend

how the offense goes too.

With this group it is hard to tell

but the importance is to develop

more than anything. If they can

win 30 games then it will help

out toward next year.

I look forward to seeing some

exciting ball though disappointment

I am sure will be included at 

some points as well. Go M's. 

More Intersquad Games

As the Mariners get ready for season

opener on July 24 against the Astros

in Houston they will have an intersquad

game every day this week except Friday.

Taijuan Walker is expected to start

Monday's game. He is excited since

he is ready to go for the season.

The Mariners will have the players 

who stay back on the taxi squad

playing four intersquad games a 

week when the season begins down

in Tacoma.

This will be an important week for

the players to give to make the 30-man

roster beginning the season.

It looks like the Mariners will have

17 pitchers to begin with along with

13 position players.

As the seasons moves along with the

pitchers getting enough innings and

the rosters are shortened they will have

less pitchers on the roster.

The Mariners likely will stick with 13

position players all the way through even

when getting down to a 26 roster in a 

month.

So they will have four reserve players 

coming off the bench including backup

catcher Austin Nola.

Mariners Ready To Go?

During the radio broadcast Friday of the 

first intersquad game manager Scott

Servais said the players look like

they are ready to go.

Kyle Lewis certainly looks to be ready

for sure as I had mentioned in another

post. On Friday he hit two more home runs.

Lewis first home run was in the first inning

right after JP Crawford hit one out.

I am not sure what the final score was.

They played six innings though things

didn't look like a regular game.

Every half inning the teams would add

an extra out. They either put a player

on second base or third base. They would

work on a pickoff move or getting the

runner at home.

The intersquad games are being show

on twitter as well or the Mariners

YouTube channel. So for those out of

the state or country you have the chance

to see them anyway.

Other local sports the PAC-10 announced

they won't have any non-conference games

in the fall. This was after the Big Ten announced

the same thing.

The Washington Huskies first game was

supposed to be against Michigan so that

game will be postponed to another year.

The game wouldn't have been played 

anyway since the Big Ten announced

their intentions first.

So the Huskies first game if played in

the fall will be against the Oregon Ducks

on the road on October 3

The Huskies and the PAC-12 might still

move their football season to next spring.

Two Weeks Until Opening Day

This week the Seattle Mariners got into

the swing of summer camp or known as

spring training 2.0. 

So far the Mariners have one player on 

the sixty man roster we know of that has

the virus. According to manager Scott

Servais there is probably at least a couple

more as well. We don't have the names

of the players.

It looks as though the players expected

to make the thirty man roster when

opening season begins not one has

the virus as of yet.

Friday begins intersquad games. This

first game will be on the Mariners radio

network. Let you know to at least at this

time the radio announcers will not be

making trips on the road. They will do

the games like were done years ago.

I expect the TV guys will make the trips

however, they could do the game from

home as well.

Taijuan Walker says he is already set

to pitch when the season begins. He is

ready to go since he has only pitched

in one game in the last two years because

of injuries. 

It will be interesting whether we will see

the old Taijuan Walker when he was last

in Seattle or a new Walker. Let you know

he is still young enough to have a good 

career whether in Seattle or not  for the

long term.

The Seattle Mariners have a stock of a 

lot of talented starters wanting to make

their turn in the rotation so the chances

are good he will be traded at some point

if he is looking healthy. 

Young Players Getting At Bats

Besides the young players like Evan White and Kyle Lewis

are getting their at bats at summer camp so are the Mariner

prospects of the future.

Jarred Kelenic has at least one home run so far and Julio

Rodriguez has gotten in his swings as well.

Though we likely won't see Kelenic or Rodriguez in a

Mariner uniform this year at least they are now able to

get in some swings and against major league pitchers

even though they won't be the ones they face in the

future.

Mariners baseball season will start in 15 days from now

against the Houston Astros down in Texas. The pandemic

is still soring there, however, the Mariner players will be

protected as best as possible. 

Though we won't be able to go to games we will at

least see baseball on television. 

Kyle Lewis Hot At Plate

Wednesday morning outfielder Kyle Lewis hit 

a home run off of Austin Adams on the first

pitch. It was Adams first appearance since

end of last September when he had to leave

of injury.

Adams wasn't expected to pitch until now 

anyway so for him starting the season at

this point is OK.

Lewis on the other hand has hit at least

two home runs so far. We will see how

he does when intersquad games start

happening. He looks like he is in season

form so far.

I would say don't go overboard Lewis

we want to see you hit well during the

season. Lewis struck out in his first at

bat so I say he wanted to make up for it.

Jake Fraley was hit in the head on Tuesday

having to leave the game. He is going to be

Ok without a concussion.

Still looks to be Fraley, Mallex Smith and

Lewis in the outfield.  Whether Fraley is

in right field or Lewis not sure right now.

They both can play either spot.

Fraley may play center field on occasion

depending on whether Braden Bishop

makes the 30-man roster coming out of

camp or not. 

Bishop being hurt the last couple years

it has been hard for him to hit major

league pitching but he hopes it is over

now.

We do know he is the best defensive

center fielder the Mariners have so be

good for him to do some hitting when

he starts while at the same time coming

late into games.

Bishop is a right-handed hitter so he

may start in either Fraley or Smith's 

spots against lefties on occasion. I am

sure the Mariners will have both in

against some lefties.

Tim Lopes on the other hand will 

dh some against lefties at DH in

place of Daniel Vogelbach.

Until next time let you know you can

the Mariners on Youtube, Facebook,

Twitter or Twitch if you like seeing

the practices. Go M's. 

Seahawk Wednesday

This week we look at the cornerbacks.

Shaquill Griffin and Tre Flowers are the

Seahawks starting cornerbacks. Griffin

was a pro bowl last season. The Seahawks

are hoping Flowers will step up next.

During the off-season the Seahawks 

acquired. Quinton Dunbar from Washington

for a fifth round pick. He could compete

against Flowers along with being the

nickel back,

Neiko Thorpe is an extra corner, however,

he is the Seahawks captain on special teams.

Other players competing for playing time

are Brian Allen, Gavin Heslop, Ryan Neal,

Debione Renfro, Kemah Silverand, and Linden

Stephens, 

Most likely they will be competing for two

spots on the Seahawk roster.

Next week we will be going to the offense.

We will start with the quarterback position.

Major League Baseball Schedule

Monday afternoon the major league schedule

came out  where the Mariners start play on

July 24.

The Mariners start the season on the road at

Houston followed by Los Angeles Angels

before coming home. 

The Mariners first home game is against

the Oakland A's on July 31 for four games

followed by the Angels and the Colorado

Rockies.

The schedule is lopsided with the Mariners

playing seven of the ten games at Houston

and Los Angeles. The same goes the other

way where they play the A's and Rangers

seven games at home. Doesn't that seem

a bit unfair.

The three games on the road against the

Oakland A's ends the season on September

25-27. It might be a  meaningless series

depending on how both teams fared out.

The teams will have to deal with it along

with everything else. 

Everyone In Mariner Camp Except

Sunday was the Mariners third day of summer 

camp. Everyone was there except the few who

were tested positive for the virus.

Manager Scott Servais didn't mention those

who have the virus though I am sure we would

figure it out if we knew who were all in camp.

Dee Gordon along with Kyle Seager are wearing

their masks during all activities.

The position players got in some running the

bases on Sunday. A good  thing to do since

it is an important part of the game.

Now we have to see how well they do at

the fundamentals. Outside of Kyle Seager,

Tom Murphy and Daniel Vogelbach the

home runs won't come as frequently this

year since Santana and Narvaez are elsewhere.

For those who maybe interested the Mariners

will have their workouts shown on their 

Youtube channel well as on Twitter. Facebook

and Twitch. I am not sure what Twitch is but

I will have to find out now Oh yes it begins

tomorrow about 9:30 am and again at 3 pm

Remember Wednesday will be Seahawk 

Wednesday. See you then unless something

good comes along. 

Wearing Masks On The Field

The media who were at the ball park 

on the second day of summer camp

reported some players were wearing

masks on the field.

Dee Gordon was as he was playing

at shortstop. He was wearing the mask

at the plate too.

Kyle Seager tried the mask at third

base, however, he found it to be a

problem. Being the hot corner I

guess. 

Manager Scott Servais was wearing

a mask while hitting the ball around

the field.

It will be interesting to see how it

works out when ball games begin.

The Mariners are expected to start

playing intersquad games beginning

on Friday. This will give us a better

idea of how things will look when

the season begins.

The regular season schedule hasn't

been announced as of yet, however,

we do know the season for the Mariners

will begin on Friday July 24.

Don't know yet whether they will be

at home when the season begins or not.

We do know likely no fans in the stands

when it starts.

Baseball Has Started

The Seattle Mariners today start 

day 2 of summer camp 2020.

It is the name I see at T-Mobile 

Park.

Some of the pitchers are throwing

over at Century Link Field.

Not the same room for 60 players

at T-Mobile as in Arizona.

Manager Scott Servais said there

were a few players who tested

positive for the virus. He didn't

say who. 

Waiting for results on some others.

Kyle Seager hit the first ball out

in summer camp. 

Seager usually doesn't hit  until

after June. May benefit the Mariners

this year.

Be back with you if have some news

later on. Enjoy the 4th of July.

Mariners First Workout

Mariner baseball opened on Friday.

Mariners announced three of their 

coaches will not be in with the rest

of the staff instead work remotely

They are first base/ infield coach 

Perry Hill, hitting coach Tim Laker

and bullpen coach Brian DeLunas.

Not sure who will work in the place 

of these three during the season,

however, assistant hitting coach

Jarret DeHart will have more time

with the hitters. 

Minor league roving hitting instructor

Hugh Quattlebaum will be  working with

the hitters as well. 

We learned Joe Thurston hitting coach

for the double-A Arkansas team will

take over for Hill as first base coach.

Players officially started workouts

on Friday. 

Mariner team meeting took place

in the stands down the first base

line with social distance

Seahawks are allowing the Mariners

to use Century Link field as well

Some pitchers and catchers are over there

with a morning and afternoon session.

According to manager Scott Servais a few

players found positive for the virus. Also,

some didn't take part still waiting for results.

Let you know who the players are later that are

positive. Could still be ready when season

begins but will be tough.

Changes May Occur Here

On my other blog I figure some days to 

write a single word or  a short sentence

to encourage other.

I may do the same thing here except use

short sentences only. 

I figure it is important to distinguish myself

from other blogs. 

I appreciate everyone of you who reads here

for my insight of sports in the northwest.

I know I find it easier to read short stories 

instead of outdrawn ones.

My Seahawk Wednesday may not change

a whole lot though I am not sure at this point.

The hardest part right now is not knowing

what sports are going forward because of

Covid-19 and those are not. 

Thank you so much. Let your family and

friends know of this site today.

Thank you and have a good day.

Mariner Camp Begins Friday

Seattle Mariner players are starting to come

into T-Mobile Park, however, training camp

2.0 wont begin until Friday.

It will be interesting to see how the camp

will work out since players will have to

keep social distancing. 

I am  sure the players will be wearing masks

when they are throwing balls or in the field

or at the plate. 

It will be interesting when games begin 

how players will be doing at that point.

Will the backup players spent some time

in the club house well as the dugout.

I am sure the bullpen pitchers will keep

as much distance apart as well.

A question will the starters not come to

the park when not pitching or be at the

end of the bench or be in the clubhouse

or training room when games are happening.

I guess we will find out won't we. All I

know it will be good to see baseball again. 

Seahawk Wednesday

This week we begin  looking at the

defensive backfield. We first look at

the two safety positions.

Quandre Diggs the Seahawk acquired 

during the season from the Detroit 

Lions is expected to  start at strong safety.

He made a good difference for the Seahawks

though he only played in five games. Having

him for all this season will make even a

bigger difference.

Lano Hill is expected to be Diggs backup

at strong safety. He will be in his fourth 

season with the Seahawks after being 

drafted in the third round in 2017. It 

will be an important season for Hill

since he is his final year of rookie

contract.

Bradley McDougal is listed as the

starter at free safety, however, he 

has competition this year from 

two players who were rookies

last season If either player beats

him out for starting spot he can

play strong safety as well.

Marquise Blair second round pick last

year out of Utah is the guy who could

dethrone McDougal at free safety. He

is a hard hitter in the mold of Kam

Chancellor. He is ready to take the

next step.

Ugo Amadi is the other rookie from

last year drafted in the fourth round

out of Oregon. He is ready to step up 

as well. If he isn't able to take McDougal's

spot along with being behind Blair we 

could see him as the nickel back on

passing downs. Usually the nickel

back goes to a cornerback but Amadi

is ready for the challenge to.

Next week we will look at the cornerbacks.

Go Hawks!