Ricardo Lockette Retires Today

 

 

Ricardo Lockette who was injured in a game last season against the Dallas Cowboys is going to announce his retirement today. The game played in Dallas Lockette was blind sighted on a kickoff. You could blame the player who hit him however Lockette himself acknowledged that this could happen at any time.

It will be hard to think of Ricardo no longer playing for the Seahawks not only because of the injury but he was such a solid player on special teams. Also, he was the fifth receiver however the special teams is where he actually shined. He was the leader of the special teams I believe.

The announcement of his retirement will take place today (Thursday) at 1 pm pacific time at the VMac where the Seahawks have their offices and where they practice. I am not sure what is in his future because sources say he is still unable to turn his neck. I hope at some point he will recover  where he can be like the rest of us normal and the Seahawks will have a position for him either as a coach or in the front office. I am sure we will get more details at this conference. All I know is that he is a great guy and I hope we hear more from him in the future. We continue to pray for you Ricardo for a full recovery. May

God’s faces shine upon you.  

Mariners Sweep Rays

It was nice to see the Mariners sweep the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday afternoon. Too be honest I thought the Mariners were going to give the game away after Nickerson hit a grand slam in the sixth inning to tie the score. The Mariners went ahead a couple more times than the Rays would come back to tie and then finally in the bottom of the eleventh inning catcher Chris Iannetta hit a walk off home run a very good sign for the Mariners. The final score was 7-6.

I actually got some static on line because I thought the Mariners should have had someone start warming up when TaiJuan Walker started walking batters in the sixth inning. I know he was having an outstanding game through five innings however manager Servais should have been thinking ahead when Walker started walking two batters. I know it is hindsight but Montgomery who is a lefty and Servais finally had him go into the game should have had him warming up sooner. You see Nickerson who hit the grand slam is left handed hitter who can’t hit lefties. We saw that later in the game. He had hit a home run earlier in the series as well. Servais should have Montgomery warming up after the second walk so when the bases got loaded he could have brought him into the game. It made me think are the Mariners trying to lose the game. Fortunately the Mariners lucked out and won the game. I guess when you are on a good roll anything is possible.

Later on in the game when reliever Steve Johnson was pitching he was being really wild so I thought the Mariners were going to lose for sure however he got out of situations in both the tenth and eleventh inning for Iannetta to win the game. I was so relieved sorry for the pun that the Mariners won the game after all. Before that I was just happy if the game ended even if the Rays won.

This game shows maybe it is the Mariners season. Last year I know the Mariners would have lost this game. We could have said the same thing in some of the previous wins as well. The Mariners have the pitching along with the hitters who can hit in clutch situations. It is nice to see that it is not always the same players who are winning these games for the Mariners. Wednesday was Iannetta and Friday who knows let us be surprised.

Whether your plan was to try to lose this game on Wednesday it is nice to see that you were able to overcome and win. This Mariner team is one with talent and having fun at the same time. These guys really like each other and pulling for one another. This could be a special season. Go M’s.  

Another Successful Road Trip For Mariners

I have to say that I won’t get tired of seeing what the Mariners are doing on the road so far this season. Also they are doing the same thing at home now to after a rocky start.

I am sure none of us expected the Mariners going 5-2 on this road trip. It was an added plus to sweep the A’s in Oakland especially after they swept the Mariners the first series of the season at Safeco Field.

What made the road trip good were not just the five wins they were in for both the games they lost even Sunday’s for a while however the bats did not come alive. Outside of Robinson Cano whom the Astros I am sure will want to forget hit another home run his twelfth of the season.

Iwakuma had another poor outing on Sunday after having an outstanding one in his previous outing. He is the only pitcher right now who is having difficulty in the starting rotation. We know that TaiJuan Walker had to leave early in his last outing because of injury to his neck. He should be ready to go in his next outing against Tampa Bay on Wednesday. Iwakuma only lasted five innings giving up seven hits and three runs on ninety-eight pitches. The concern with Iwakuma is not the runs as much as how many pitches he is throwing which is not common for him. He usually throws a lot less pitches and can go for like seven innings. Hopefully whatever the issues are they can be rectified in his next outing.

The Mariners now take on Tampa Bay Rays in a three game series in Seattle. King Felix takes the mound for the Mariners. We hope whatever problem he had in his last outing will be corrected tonight. Knowing Felix he usually does not go through too many poor outings in a row. In this series the Mariners will be seeing some former or ex-Mariners. Lloyd Morrison will be at first base and Brad Miller at shortstop. So far both of them are struggling at the plate and we may see Farquhar out of the bullpen.

The Mariners will be facing two lefties in the first two games of the series. Matt Moore will start the first game against Felix. He had his worst outing in his last start against the Dodgers giving up seven runs. The Rays gave him an extra day of rest however we hope that Mariners offense can come back alive against him. The Mariners will be having their regular lineup against lefties. We will be seeing Franklin Gutierrez in right field while Dae-Hoo Lee will be at first base. Nelson Cruz should be back in the lineup after missing Sunday’s game. Having an injury I am sure he will be at designated hitter instead in right field. Also, it will be nice to see that Seth Smith will have a little rest since he has been struggling of late at the plate. I am sure if the Mariners can light up Moore we will see Smith pinch hitting sometime in the game.

We can all hope that some of the other bats besides Cano will come alive during this home stand. Seager seems to be heating up to some degree so we hope that he will get some hits. Also, Leonys Martin can start hitting on a consistent basis. He has been working with hitting coach Edgar Martinez to correct his flaws.

The important thing is for the Mariners to continue what they have been doing so far this May. It is real nice to see them be in almost every game and winning most of the close games. Go M’s.

Welcome to Another Addition of the Cano Show

The Seattle Mariners won another game making four out of five on the current road shown. The Mariners are now 18-12. Regardless of what happens tomorrow the Mariners will be coming back to Seattle in first place.

Robinson Cano the lead in this show hit two home runs including the one that won the game in the tenth inning. This gives him eleven home runs for the season along with thirty-two runs batted in that leads the major leagues. Amazing thing is that half of the RBI’s have been against the Houston Astros in six games. If the Astros are smart they may want to walk him regards of whom maybe on base.

  Also other co-stars in the game were Kyle Seager who hit a home run the second inning to put the Mariners on top 1-0. Starting pitcher Nathan Karns went six and one-third innings giving up one run on six hits and struck out nine Astros. He left the game with the Mariners being ahead 2-1.

The bullpen continued to do their job pretty much except that Steve Cishek got his first blown save after saving ten games. He gave up a home run to Luis Valbuena a former Mariner farmhand in the  bottom of the ninth however he got the win pitching a good tenth inning. The Mariners bullpen has done an excellent job so far this season and our one of the unsung heroes.

We can hope that Cano continue to carry the Mariners offense along with Kyle Seager who is starting to heat up. The Mariners do need Cruz to start contributing some along with Adam Lind against right handers and Franklin Gutierrez against lefties. Both of these guys have been struggling over the first five weeks of the season. The Mariners have gotten help though from Dae-Hoo Lee who has won a couple games for the Mariners when he has started against lefties at first base while Seth Smith has played a solid right field against righties as well at designated hitter.

Right now the Mariners have played excellent baseball however they can get even more contributions. It is nice to see that the Mariners have added depth even at triple A so if they need to add players because of injuries they will be able to do so. For example they have had to add two pitchers to the bullpen Mayckol Guaipe and Steve Johnson. Guaipe was called up from Tacoma when Joaquin Benoit went on the disabled list and this week Tony Zych was added on.

 Sunday Iwakuma will be starting against the Astros after having an excellent game against the Oakland A’s. It was the best game he pitched so far this game. He will be going against Collin McHugh who has been struggling so far this season. So I believe if the Mariners can keep the game close they have an excellent chance in winning the third time out of four in this series and go home with a record of 19-12. Go M’s.

                             

 

 

Seahawk Rookie Camp

It has been a week since I wrote about the Seahawks draft last weekend. I liked what the Seahawks did though I am not too familiar with the players they drafted however they went out and got after need. They first landed offensive lineman Germain Ifedi in the first round out of Texas A&M. Long term he could be a tackle however they are going to try him at right guard initially. He has a lot of versatility playing both guard and tackle in college.

The second round they moved up and took defensive tackle Jarran Reed out of Alabama with the 49^th overall pick. The Seahawks are looking at him being a run stopper and general manager John Schneider said that he was the best run defender in all of the draft.

In the 3^rd round they took running back C.J. Prosise out of Notre Dame. The Seahawks right now figure he will be the 3^rd down specialist. He started out as a wide receiver at Notre Dame and has a lot of speed. So he will be able to catch passes out of the backfield well as running the ball. He played special teams as well so we could see him on kick offs as well as the backup to Lockett on punt returns. He was the first of three running backs the Seahawks took in the draft.

Also in the third round the Seahawks took tight end Nick Vannett out of Ohio State who they considered the best blocking tight end in the draft. For the Seahawks it is important that they have a good blocking tight end especially with Jimmy Graham who will be the starting tight end if he is able to return from injury. In many ways Graham is a lot like a wide receiver. Often on third downs the Seahawks will go with two or three tight ends depending on the situation. Luke Willson is expected to be the second tight end or the starter depending on Graham’s health. Being picked in the third round likely Vannett will be the third tight end. We hope that he is able to catch some passes as well though it will not be his first assignment.

The Seahawks also had a third pick in the third round and took offensive guard Rees Odhiambo who played at Boise State. Likely he will compete at left guard for the Seahawks. The Seahawks like his strength and flexibility. Primarily being a running team the Seahawks went out and got lineman that can block. This is important because the Seahawks don’t want Russell Wilson to run around as much as he did last season.

The Seahawks had no 4^th rounder however in the fifth round they drafted Quinton Jefferson defensive tackle out of Maryland. Coach Carroll compares him to Michael Bennett and has the speed to play in several positions. Also they had another 5^th rounder and took their second running back Alex Collins out of Arkansas. With his locks I figured he and Richard Sherman will be buddies. In fact we might be confused. In some respects he is similar to Thomas Rawls and if he makes the team could substitute for Rawls when needing a rest.

In the sixth round the Seahawks took center Joey Hunt out of TCU. It is hard to say what chances he has in making the team. Don’t know anything about him however Carroll considers him being very smart and is able to captain the offensive line. It would not surprise me if he is on the practice squad for this coming season.

In the seventh round the Seahawks took Kenny Lawler from the California Bears. The Seahawks say that he has really good hands though he does not have a lot of speed. With the receivers the Seahawks have the odds are against him sticking but you can’t say ever. The final pick in the seventh round by the Seahawks was the third running back they took in Zac Brooks out of Clemson. His odds to make the team are remote as well but we never know he could be a surprise.

This makes all the guys the Seahawks drafted.

Including the draft picks the Seahawks have sixty-eight players in rookie camp. Most of the guys I haven’t heard of. The one I am most familiar with like most fans around here is Vernon Adams who played at Eastern Washington and then ended his college career this last season at Oregon. In many ways he reminds us of Russell Wilson. Another quarterback the Seahawks brought in as a free agent was Trevone Boykin out of TCU. If either guy sticks with the Seahawks likely will be as the third quarterback. The Seahawks do need to develop a quarterback however neither one will be the backup quarterback. The Seahawks likely will sign a veteran quarterback like last year’s Jackson.

I am not familiar at all with the other players at rookie camp. I am sure the Seahawks are looking for a nugget. We never know who may make it on the roster even so remote. Besides Kenny Lawler from the California Bears the Seahawks have eight other receivers in camp. Other positions the Seahawks have beside the drafted players they have four fullbacks, two running backs, three tight ends, one center, three tackles , three guards and a long snapper. Also one place kicker/punter. 

On the defensive side of the ball the Seahawks have three defensive tackles, three defensive ends, seven linebackers, three safeties and four cornerbacks.

It will be interesting to see how many out of this group will be invited back to regular training camp. One thing for sure is the Seahawks are going for quality players and those specifically they like. Next week should know some of the names of the players coming back. The Seahawks may add additional free agents who have experience in the league. Go Seahawks!

 

 

 

 

 

Mariners Win in Houston

Going into the ninth inning of Thursday’s night game against the Astros in Houston the game was tied 3-3. The game had gone back and forth. Miley had another good pitching game going six innings after doing a complete game in his last outing.

I was thinking when Leonys Martin was coming up to lead off the ninth inning to get onto base in any fashion. I want the Mariners to score at least one run because I don’t want the Astros to win the game in the bottom of the ninth. So Martin started the ninth getting single followed by stealing second base. Aoki the leadoff batter who is really good of late drawing walks or pulling the ball so Martin could go to third actually drew a walk. Another good sign since Seth Smith was coming up and he had a good game. He ended up walking as well to load the base. I thought wow the Mariners have the chance to score at least the one run I was hoping for if not more. Now Robinson Cano came up to bat and he lead the American League in runs batted in so I figured yes the Mariners should score at least a run. Well Cano hit a ball to deep center field that went for a double and scored all three guys Martin, Aoki and Smith. I knew then that the Mariners had a pretty good chance to win. Those were the three runs the Mariners needed.

Steve Cishek the Mariners closer who had already saved eight games in eight opportunities came in to try to save another game. My thought was he could give up two runs but not three or more. All he had to do was throw strikes and not walk anyone. He did so getting the first two getting outs and then the third batter got a single hit. I thought this is OK because he at least did not walk the batter. The next batter hit a fly ball to left to Aoki to end the game. So now the Mariners had another successful win. Now they have won four games in a row. Tonight the Mariners have TaiJuan Walker going for them. He seems to always be facing the Astros. His last outing was not as successful as his previous ones however I expect that he will pitch well enough to give the Mariners another chance to win a game. This is all we expect out of the rotation is to give the Mariners at least the chance to win and let the bullpen and the hitters do the rest of the work. This formula will mean the Mariners should win a good amount of games over the season and make the playoffs.

Robinson Cano right now is doing an excellent job and his batting average has risen up to being near .300 mark. This is the reason the Mariners signed him to such a high and long contract. The important thing is that at least one or more of the batters ahead of him will get on base along with Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager can do a job too. Recently we see if at least four of the batters can do the job regardless where in the batting order the Mariners are in good shape. Dae-Hoo Lee showed us that on Wednesday hitting two home runs batting eighth in the order. Now we hope that his counterpart Adam Lind can heat up when he is facing right handers and batting sixth.

What I like about Cano and Cruz is that they are both showing leadership roles whether they are hitting well or not. The whole team is working together as a unit and anyone can be a hero in any given game. Also this shows how Edgar Martinez is working as the hitting coach along with all the other coaches and manager Scott Servais. So we can continue saying Go M’s.

 

Seth Smith Playing Major Role For Mariners

On Monday May 2 the Mariners won the first game of series against the A’s in Oakland on the new seven game road trip. The Mariners won the game 4-3 with good hitting along with good pitching by Nathan Karns along with several relievers. The bullpen continues to do a great job with Steve Cishek getting another save. The Oakland A’s got all their scoring done by outfielder Davis who hit a home run early in the game to put the Oakland A’s ahead. The Mariners later tied the score and then took the lead 4-1 when Davis hit another home run with a runner on base. Karns did a great job pitching for the Mariners other than giving up the two home runs to Davis. He gave up a total of six hits however Marte made some spectacular plays at short stop make several double plays. Although the Mariners scored only four runs they did get twelve hits in the game. This has been the plan since the beginning of spring training by Dipoto and Servais that the Mariners have quality at bats. Even though they only scored four runs at least they had the opportunities to do even more.

For the first month of the season Seth Smith has played a major role for the Mariners in the lineup though he did not get any hits himself on Monday. Last Friday he got the only hit at Safeco Field to help the Mariners and King Felix to win against the Kansas City Royals 1-0. Again he hit another home run in the victory against the Royals on Saturday night for the Mariners to win the series though they did lose on Sunday 4-1.

Seth Smith is currently hitting .292 making some key hits so far in the season. Along with Nelson Cruz he is one of the few who is hitting for a good average. Robinson Cano’s average has not been great so far however he is hitting key home runs along with driving in a lot of runs too. Those three have been the key contributors on the offense though Kyle Seager and Leonys Martin have made some good hits even though they are struggling getting hits so far and their averages are below .200.

The main reason the Mariners have a record of 14-11 has been the starting pitching along with the bullpen who has done a stellar job. Steve Cishek has no blown saves and the other relievers have hold on in most situations.

What Seth Smith primarily has done is that he knows his role and has played it very well so far. He has played good defense most of the time along with key hits. He has done a good job to coming off the bench when he is not in the starting lineup. He has had to be the designated hitter on some occasions because of a nagging injury. Usually he is alternating in right field with Nelson Cruz against lefties as well at designated hitter.

We can hope that Seth Smith will continue to do a good job when the other hitters start performing better.  Smith knows what he is doing and what his limitations are as well. Now we hope that Aoki and Martin can do a better job hitting along with solid defense. Franklin Gutierrez needs to improve on his hitting though he is doing a good job defensively when he is in the lineup. Not sure if he is unhealthy or not but we know that he can be a lot like Smith when he is. The Mariners have some guys doing well with the Rainiers so if they need help especially in the outfield they can do a call up at any time.

The Mariners winning ways will continue as long as the pitching does well and some timely hitting. The number one thing is that they are winning the close games. Go M’s.