Thirty- Seven Runs Forty-Seven Hits

In baseball you see something that you have never seen before, and often you would figure never would happen. This is what happened with the Mariners the last two days Friday and Saturday in Boston against the Red Sox.

The Mariners just came off a no-hitter pitched by Iwakuma on Wednesday in Seattle. It was a day game the Mariners traveled across country to Boston after the game, and had Thursday off. I expect none of us expected this to happen to the Mariners but this is a season where the Mariners have done a lot unexpected things so why should we be surprised.

What makes it interesting is the Mariners swept their series in Boston last season, and the Red Sox had the worst record in the American League though the last week or so the Red Sox have been hitting at a pretty good pace, and decided to continue it against the Mariners. Giving up fifteen runs was a little bit of a surprise on Friday however with Felix Hernandez going to the mound we figured the Mariners had a really good chance to win since they were pitching their ace; however, Felix has had several outings where he gave up about ten runs like he did on Saturday. Another interesting part of the story Saturday was the three year anniversary of Felix’s perfect game in 2012. You think the Red Sox would have some respect for Felix but they did not, and Felix only last two and two-thirds of an inning giving up ten runs.

The final score on Saturday was 22-10, and if the relievers had done a good job the Mariners would still be in the game and actually may have won it. Of course, the Red Sox knew how bad the Mariners bullpen has been most of the season so they decided to pour it on more. No mercy at all; of course, if you have had a season like the Red Sox why would they have mercy to the Mariners especially thinking about last season’s sweep by the Mariners as well.

Now we can look at today’s game against the Red Sox will we see more of the same or will the Mariners rebound today it is only any one’s guess. What a way to start a road trip as well. The Mariners will start Vidal Nuno today; though he has done a decent job starting he has been a reliever most of the season so the Mariners will need to use the bullpen once again, and we still don’t know how that will go. In fact the Mariners would be better if Nuno was in the bullpen but who would start in his place is another question.

The Mariners hitting seems to be doing good recently but with the pitching especially the bullpen we can only speculate where the Mariners will go the rest of the season. I don’t think it will be going nowhere unless something changes and I don’t think that will happen. So all we can say is what until next season. We have said that too often the last ten years or more.  Anyway Go Mariners!

The First Blue Friday

The Seattle Seahawks start their first exhibition game tonight (Friday) against the Denver Broncos. I am sure most of the 12^th man is excited for the beginning of new football season especially how the last season ended. I won’t say any more about that.

The weather seems to know it is beginning of football season as well since there is thunder and rain happening right now. I am sure there is lightning somewhere as well. It will be quite interesting if it continues during the ball game. There could be some postponement if it does thunder and lightning happen during the game. At least good in an exhibition game instead of a regular season the weather would be this way. It would not hurt that the rest of the country think this is the way the weather is in Seattle and the northwest all the time.

In this game the starters will only play one or two series at the most which is accustomed every year. The Seahawks will be missing some of their key starters who will not play at all. Of course, Kam Chancellor won’t play because he is holding out; Richard Sherman is not expected to play either along with Earl Thomas. So the Seahawks will be seeing a new lineup in the secondary for sure. Thomas will likely not play several games because of injuries and same may be for Sherman as well. We can hope the Seahawks will work things out with Chancellor. The important thing though is that they will all be ready for the beginning of the regular season. We all know that they are tough guys who keep themselves in pretty good shape.

As far as fans go we will be seeing some new faces. Two of the important new faces is the Seahawks first two draft picks. We will see how first pick Frank Clark will do on the defensive line. I believe the Seahawks will play him in several different places to see how he will do in game situations. Also, see how Tyler Lockett will do on punt returns. I expect we may see him pass receiving as well. The receiving positions will be interesting to see how they work out this pre-season.

The other positions to see what happens is on the offensive line since the Seahawks will be starting a new center and left guard. We will see how things work out the next three weeks to see who starts in those positions and who backs them up.

This whole pre-season will be interesting because of the depth and competition the Seahawks will have. I am sure we will see quite a few of them tonight. It will be good to write about who comes to the fore front tonight. The important thing is find those players who will be consistent because we will see some that will look really great at times and then not so good at other times. I am sure we will see that with Clark and Lockett as well.

I am sure those players that have nagging injuries will be kept out of tonight’s game because of the weather. We may only see the starters’ only one series because of the weather. All I know for sure we will have a good time watching regardless of who wins or loses. Though the Seahawks plan to win it is not the important thing at this time. So Let’s Go Seahawks.

Iwakuma No-Hits Orioles

If I didn’t know what to write next here concerning local sports Iwakuma certainly made it easy with his first no-hitter in the major leagues, the Mariners fifth no-hitter and second by a Japan pitcher in the major leagues.

Since coming off the disabled list Iwakuma has had his ups and downs primarily giving up home runs. Recently though he has been pitching his best this season; this game he walked three batters besides giving up no hits. Usually Iwakuma gives up no walks or maybe one in the game; however, he was sharp beyond those walks.

I have to admit that I only watched the first half of the game. Even then I didn’t realize he had given up no walks. I had an appointment for this afternoon so when I finished with it I turned on the radio, and the game had just been completed. I was pleasantly surprised by the no-hitter. Iwakuma is like Felix where he can pitch a no-hitter any time; he has pitches have a lot of good movement on them. I am sure the Orioles batters were shaking their heads the whole game. I also heard that Iwakuma only shook off Jesus Sucre signs five times during the game so they were in sink the whole time.

Iwakuma signed as a free agent with the Mariners before the 2012 season and will become a free agent again at the end of this season. His record is 41-22 with the Mariners in the three and half seasons. The Mariners had a chance to trade him in July before the trading deadline but decided against it. I expect the Japanese ownership did not want him to go anywhere else. Iwakuma has enjoyed his time in Seattle, and he spent last off-season in Seattle instead of going back to Japan. I am sure the Mariners are looking to resign him to a new contract.

The Mariners still need a veteran like Iwakuma in their starting rotation. TaiJuan Walker will be going into his second full season looking so much like an ace himself. In fact on many teams Iwakuma would be an ace himself. So the Mariners will have three high quality starters and then there is Mike Montgomery, and Elias who should round out the rotation. Also, the Mariners have James Paxton is another quality starter if he can just get over the injury bug. The Mariners may to go out and get another veteran pitcher during the off-season. Like they say you can’t have enough quality pitching. At this point they don’t have any other youngsters to step up in the organization until maybe 2017.

With the Mariners showing this season we have no idea whether Jack Z and Lloyd McClendon will be returning next season. The Mariners may look to go another direction. The Mariners starting pitching has been pretty good most of the season the bullpen is another story; we can only hope that the bullpen can turn things around. I am sure the Mariners will look to shore it up. Again congrats Iwakuma look forward to your next outing too. Go Mariners!

Seahawks It is the Competition

When it comes to football the Seahawks maybe like no other it is about the competition.

Regardless of your position or how long you have been around the best player will play. This goes for how much the player makes as well. We can go back to when the Seahawks drafted Russell Wilson in 2012, and he beat out Matt Flynn for the starting quarterback. Flynn had signed a large free agent contract with the Seahawks; however, Wilson turned out to be the best quarterback of the two. In fact, it wasn’t long until Flynn moved on. Neither Seahawks nor Wilson cared that Flynn had signed the large contract Wilson became the starting quarterback and the rest is history.

We know that Russell Wilson has signed a new contract, and he looks to be the Seahawks quarterback for the next five year but who knows something could happen where another quarterback comes in to take the job. You may say Oh no but could happen not likely though; however, I am sure the competition being the second string quarter-back on the Seahawks is fierce like every position on the team. We will see how that ends.

Tony McDaniel was released by the Seahawks when training camp started on July 31. He started almost every game the last two seasons for the Seahawks at defensive tackle; however, the Seahawks had to make a move because of the salary cap, and I am sure there is very fierce competition to replace him as the starter. I am sure so much they were willing to release him.  He just signed a one year contract with Tampa Bay; I am sure he is going to work hard to win the starting position with them. Most likely the Bucs will probably not see a harder worker because that is the Seahawks way. Most players that move on from the Seahawks likely are going make a real difference on their new team.  I am sure every other team in the NFL look on to see who will be cut by the Seahawks. I would say that there is not any more respect than that unless you are talking about a team that has been to two Super Bowls the last two years, and were real close to being a third one in 2012. Remember the Seahawks nearly won the NFC championship game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Right now Kam Chancellor is holding out for more money, and no one right now knows when he will report to the Seahawks. Amazing though he is keeping an eye on the team text messaging a lot of his teammates; most players would say he is the soul of the Seahawks. I am sure they will come to some kind of agreement soon. I am sure the Seahawks feel they could or may have to live without him. I guess we will see. Since Russell Wilson signed his contract now Chancellor is the big story. I am sure football will become the story real soon as the exhibition season begins on Friday Aug 14 against the Denver Broncos.

I always enjoy seeing the new players that we have never heard of before make their action with the Seahawks and see who will make it or not. Also, we can wonder what veteran players will not return. At this point the receivers are one of the interesting stories coming into training camp. I am sure at least one if not two who were on the team last season most likely will not return. The group is pretty good so I am sure who doesn’t return will hook up with another team.

I look forward to stories lines coming from the first game on Friday. I am sure Chancellor’s name will be coming up a lot during the telecast. Anyway the 12^th man is looking forward to another amazing season for the Seahawks. I am sure the loss in the Super Bowl will be incentive enough to get them back again next February. Go Seahawks!

 

 

Welcome Back Montero

This time last year Jesus Montero was not in a good place. He had been suspended for PED’s for half of the season and then suspended again because of a run in with one of the Mariners scouts. At the time he was playing for the low level A team in Everett Washington. It looked like Montero would likely never play a game again in the Mariner organization. The slim chance he had Jack Z. told him he couldn’t slip again and he had to see a counselor.

Looking back to the 2013 he started the season as the regular catcher for the Seattle Mariners. We all found out he was not a very good catcher though he could hit with some power so the Mariners decided to try him at first base along with designated hitter.  First base is what he was working on when he became suspended. He did not look like he could play first base so only the future he had was at designated hitter.

Going into this season things did not look good for Montero because he had been overweight and the suspensions clouded his judgment. Also, the Mariners had signed Nelson Cruz to be their designated hitter. We were all surprised including the other players when Montero arrived for 2015 spring training he had shed 40 pounds and looked like a baseball player. He was still not fast; however, he had been a catcher so we could not really expect that.

Montero started the 2015 season at Tacoma playing mostly at designated hitter and once in a while at first base. He would work on his defense before all games but the Mariners were not sure about him playing first base. Everyone figured regardless of how well he played there would be no place for him on the Mariners because of Nelson Cruz primarily and Logo Morrison at first base. When the Mariners traded for Mark Trumbo the chance was even less that Jesus Montero would ever be seen being in a Mariner uniform unless there was some one injured.

Throughout the season at Tacoma Montero was hitting the ball pretty good batting over .300 but not with a lot of power. Though he was hitting well most scouts said he just could not hit major league hitting with power. They saw him as just a single hitter and that was not going to be good enough to play for the Mariners.

June came a long Montero was called up to play a few games but was primarily used as a pinch hitter and then in July just before the all-star break and one series after the break he was in the lineup against left handed hitters as dh; however, he was sent back down to Tacoma when the Mariners reactivated starting pitcher J.A. Happ back into the rotation. Happ spot in the rotation was not needed in the last series before the break and the first coming out of the break. Jack Z told Montero to continue working hard, and he may have a call up again the future. I am sure most of us thought it would likely be in September when teams expand the rosters.

Near the end of July with the trading dead line coming up the Mariners traded Dustin Ackley to the New York Yankees as the Mariners finally decided it was the end of his career in Seattle. The Mariners had just been swept by the Arizona D-backs and were ten games below .500 so basically the Mariner brass figured it was over as far as contending for the division. So Montero was brought up in the place of Ackley.  Lloyd McClendon said that Montero would play almost every day to see what he can do and what future he has playing in Seattle.

Right now Montero is playing almost every day at first base. Right after he arrived Logan Morrison was injured so he was inserted at first base. Morrison has not played much at first base since except as a late inning replacement. In fact Morrison has been inserted in right field a couple times. The thing now about Montero is that he has played some really good first base. He has made some great plays at first base as well. Right now Montero looks like he could be the opening first baseman for the Mariners in 2016.

Welcome back Jesus Montero you maybe the player the Mariners traded for from the New York Yankees. He has the power bat back in his swing. We thank you that you did not give up on yourself, and the Mariners may have the benefit of it all.

Mariners Face Rangers

The Seattle Mariners playing this weekend within the division so it would be nice if they could win two of three like they did against the Colorado Rockies or even sweep the series against the Texas Rangers.

What will be important for the Mariners is to continue hitting like they have been since the all-star break. Another thing the Mariners need to do is get their bullpen in order. With the trading of Mark Lowe it is more difficult to do so but they must find a way. The key is for Fernando Rodney to correct himself along with Tom Wihelmsen. The Mariners need to be sure not to overuse the bullpen. This is especially true for Rodney and Carson Smith. If the offense scores at least four runs and the starting pitching keeps it to no more than three runs in seven innings than the bullpen should be successful. It would be nice not to use Wihelmsen and Rodney in the same game. It would be good if the Mariners could use lefty Joe Beimel against right handed batters as well. At this point I don’t think the Mariners can afford the left handed specialist right now until Charlie Furbush gets back. He has been a real loss for the Mariners.

Another thing going on this weekend is the induction of Jamie Moyer into the Mariners Hall of Fame. Outside of Felix Hernandez and Randy Johnson he has been the Mariners best pitcher. Unlike those two pitchers he did not pitch with much power. His fastball was only in the 80s; when you call someone a crafty lefthander you define Jamie Moyer to the tea.   When the Mariners traded for Jamie Moyer he did not have much of a career up to that point. In fact I would expect no one would consider that Jamie Moyer would pitch so many years for the Mariners. The Mariners traded Darren Bragg for Moyer. In fact Boston Red Sox traded Moyer because they needed more offense the season of 1996. Bragg’s career did not last much longer so even if Moyer would have only pitched a couple years for the Mariners it would have been called a success. So Moyer turned a so so career into a good career lasting more than twenty years in the major leagues. What made Moyer a success with the Mariners is that he had a play book for each player he faced. He was able to confuse them by having them chase his breaking pitches. His fast ball was a success because he was able to make those other pitches consistently.

I would say the one player the Mariners now have that could resemble Moyer to some degree would be Mike Montgomery. He throws some good breaking pitches; the main difference is that Montgomery throws a harder fastball. If Montgomery is smart would be to speak with Moyer over the weekend. It would be nice if Montgomery could have a successful career like Moyer.

So Mariners let’s do it this weekend. The twenty year anniversary of the 1995 season that got the Mariners into their first playoff experience; they did show that this is possible for the Mariners to turn around though it does seem to be impossible. What will be important will be that every night they will have a different hero. It was the reason the 1995 came back to win. Another thing though the Mariners will need some luck as you may call it if one of the teams ahead of them will crash like the Angels did that year. Since the Mariners are out of the playoffs we think anyway who knows what they actually will do. These next two months will be for the Mariners primarily playing for next season to see who will return. Of course, we are not really sure if Jack Z and Lloyd will return at all. The next two months will decide their fate as well. I really hope that the Mariners do rebound. I am sure I will write in the coming weeks what changes will do for next season. Go Mariners!

Mariners’ Bullpen Blows Lead

First of all sorry I haven’t written anything for a few days my brother and family are in town. We did some kayaking on Tuesday so that would be part of sports right.

I guess the headline here is one I could have used on a number of occasions this Mariner baseball season so why not now.  Anyways it looked like the Mariners had the chance to sweep the Colorado Rockies and win four straight, however, it was not meant to be. The road trip I would say was a success at least marginally. They should have won three of four against the Minnesota Twins instead of splitting the series along with sweeping the Rockies. Oh well that is how the season has gone for the Mariners.

I wonder how many Mariner fans thought Fernando Rodney had corrected his tipping the pitches problem he had that caused the latest problem in the bullpen. It was three games in a row if I recall that he actually did a good job before Wednesday night where he gave up two runs so the game to lead into extra inning. I am not sure what the Mariners record in extra innings is at this point though I believe they did have a slight record over .500 in those games but I am sure that is not the case anymore.  In fact I have so lack of confidence in the Mariners that when they do go into extra innings they likely will lose. Oh Yes I do recall the first game of this series against the Rockies they did win 4-1.

Right now the bullpen is a bit different with the trading of Mark Lowe last week. I guess Tom Wihelmsen is the one who takes Lowe’s spot as the number one right hander out of the bullpen and Carson Smith. The number one lefty would be Joe Beimel. I would consider them somewhat reliable depending on how much they have to pitch especially Smith. He has had a bit of bad luck recently while before he was doing quite well. I expect not only the amount of pitching he has had to do recently has something to do with it along with be a rookie who likely will have ups and downs no matter what.

Rob Rasmussen who is one of the lefties the Mariners acquired from Toronto for Mark Lowe seems to be someone that can have some success in the bullpen. I understand he was the key lefthander the Mariners acquired in the trade. The other two lefties are in the low minors so no one knows when they will be ready if at all. Of course being lefties they will be given every chance to succeed. It will be nice in the bullpen when lefty Charlie Furbush returns from the disabled list. He was having a very good season when he came up hurt.

Since the starting pitching has pretty much corrected itself along with the hitting we can only hope the bullpen can be corrected as well? They don’t have to be spectacular but just don’t give runs up in crucial times in close games. It is all we ask for that they give the Mariners the chance to win and not blow too many games. Go Mariner!