Washington Huskies Lose 1st Round

The Washington Huskies men’s basketball team was hoping to make the NCAA tournament after having a season most did not expect. Having a season where they won twenty games and new coach Mike Hopkins was named Pac 12 coach of the year it would have been nice to see them go further but they lost in the first round in the Pac 12 tournament to Oregon State in overtime 69-66.

It really did not help that the officiating was questionable in my mind which shouldn’t be a surprise because the officiating in the Pac 12 has been questionable for years. The Huskies had two of their top players fall out in the overtime.  Jaylen Nowell fouled out on an offensive foul which true to me since he did put his shoulder into but the call against Noah Dickerson was pretty minimal at best. He may have grazed the opposing player but the official should have left the play go. This is especially true when they let other things go being a physical game. Those watching especially Beaver fans may have thought Dickerson deserved to foul out of the game however players should not be forced out on a picky play like that to me. This game was very important to the Huskies to win and they may have if Dickerson didn’t foul out. Of course we will never know for sure but officials should only make calls that will affect the game. That is my opinion and I will stick to it. LOL

Being a Husky fan I figure they deserve a better fate but thing like that doesn’t always happen. There will always be human error in basketball. Though they won’t make the NCAA tournament there is a good chance they will play in the NIT we should know the results in a few days.

The Huskies do return most of their players next season so the likelihood of them making the tournament next year looks pretty good. They had some good upsets against teams like Kansas and Arizona. They had struggles though against the Oregon schools along with Stanford. We hope there will be a turnaround next season against those teams.

The Huskies sister school the Washington State Cougars had the same fate against the Oregon Ducks in the tournament losing 64-62. They played a close game in the regular season winning last Thursday over the Ducks 78-76 in Pullman however two weeks earlier they lost big time in Eugene 84-57. The Cougars ended the season in eleventh place in the Pac 12. They had a record of 4-14 in conference with a total record of 12-19. The question now will the Cougars make a switch far as coaches go into next year and they can have a turnaround like the Huskies did this year. In the days ahead we will see. The Cougars do have a new athletic director so that could possibly happen.

We hope the future goes ahead for the Huskies and Cougars while Gonzaga again will play in the NCAA tournament again this year. At least we know that we have one team in the state that we can root for again in the tournament. Go Gonzaga!!

Dan Altavilla

 This spring Dan Altavilla is having one of the best training camps of anyone on the Mariners roster. He is looking to fill one of the last spots in the bullpen.

Between his time between the Mariners and triple A team in Tacoma he struggled last year primarily trying to keep the ball over the plate. Just like Edwin Diaz 2016 was his first season coming out of the bullpen in Double A and when he was drafted by the Mariners he had been a starter. The Mariners figured in the same was as Diaz his quickest route to the major leagues was as a reliever. He came up to the Mariners in August 2016 and he had a lot of success.

This year he is feeling comfortable now pitching in relief. He throws his fastball around one hundred miles per hour in the way as Diaz. On Tuesday night against the Colorado Rockies he pitched one inning and faced three batters striking them all out. He threw only two balls in that outing. The Rockies batters couldn’t hit his pitches at all.

Altavilla continues to have this kind of spring training he will make the roster for sure. The Mariners do plan to stretch him out to two innings during spring training because they are hoping that he can go more than one inning when necessary. Depending on how often Diaz is used he could come into a save situation if needed but the Mariners are planning to use him anywhere between the sixth and eighth inning most of the time. Starting out I would see manager Scott Servais bring him in for an inning when the Mariners have a two or three run lead and then expand to two innings later in the season.

Getting a good season out of Altavilla will make the Mariners even a better bullpen than what is already expected. This will give them added depth just in case of injuries as well. Having an outstanding season out of Altavilla will give the Mariners more strength in the bullpen for the years to come.

Another one that the Mariners hope to get good production out of is lefty James Pazos who will be in his second season in the bullpen to for the Mariners. Like Diaz and Altavilla he throws the ball pretty hard too though not as hard as either one of them. He likely will face mostly lefty hitters as he did last season but he can go multiple innings to if necessary. This will depend on the situation and how often he has pitched already. Both Altavilla and Pazos will be important to the bullpen to go with the veterans that are on the ball club too. Go M’s.  

Michael Bennett Traded to Eagles

Wednesday morning defensive end Michael Bennett of the Seattle Seahawks was traded to the Philadelphia. The Seahawks got wide receiver Marcus Johnson and a fifth round pick. Besides Bennett the Seahawks gave the Eagles one of their seven round picks. The Seahawks had three of those picks so that was good move.

The Seahawks have done well with fifth round picks including cornerback Richard Sherman and safety Kam Chancellor. There was news today that Richard Sherman may not return this coming season for the Seahawks. It is not official at all however the reports are out there including from his mother who said that he wasn’t coming back. So we will be seeing won’t we? Sherman is expected to have a call on the phone with both general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll this afternoon.

What I like is that we won’t have to hear any more about Michael Bennett during the off-season. He has spread controversy the last couple years with his arrest last year in Las Vegas and his decision to sit on the bench during the national anthem. I have no big deal either one of them however I have become tired of him being in the local news so much both during and after the season is over. Actually I could say the same for Richard Sherman. Not either one of their fault in my mind but the local media feels like they have nothing else to do during the off-season.

Kam Chancellor is still under contract that was just guaranteed but we still don’t know whether he will play this coming season. It looks like Cliff Avril won’t return because of his injury to his neck.

Acquiring Marcus Johnson it is a good likelihood that Paul Richardson won’t return as a restricted free agent. The Seahawks will receive a draft pick for him if he doesn’t return and the same would go for tight end Jimmy Graham who is not expected to return.

Defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson who the Seahawks got in a trade at the beginning of the season from the New York Jet’s was not given the franchise tag so he is expected not to return either. The Seahawks should get a draft pick for both Graham and Sheldon Richardson. Free agency begins next week so the Seahawks may make other moves before then so stay tuned. At this point though the defense will have change where they may lose have the starting lineup. Going into the trade for Bennett the Seahawks were $13 million below the salary cap and could be another thirteen million dollars more by next week. So I will stay up with the news on any more changes the next and beyond. Go Hawks!

In other sports news the Seattle Mariners are having a press conference in regards to the signing of Ichiro for this coming season. His base salary he is expected to be $750, 0000 plus incentives.  Outfielder Mitch Haniger said he looked good in the batting cage so he should be in a game within the next couple days or so. Also Felix Hernandez threw the ball around on Tuesday. When he makes his next start in spring training is not known at this time. No additional news about pitcher Erasmo Ramirez he may not start the season for the Mariners as the season starts three weeks from Thursday. Go Mariners!

Ichiro Returns to Mariners

Monday morning we learned that Ben Gamel will be out four to six weeks because of a oblique muscle strain and then a couple hours later we heard that Ichiro Suzuki is coming back. I don’t know about anyone else but it was a surprise to me that is for sure.

It will be interesting what role that Ichiro will play for the Mariners. Ichiro being a left handed hitter like Gamel will he platoon with Guillermo Heredia in left field or be ready for spot starts only.

I know that some fans and some of the media don’t like Ichiro coming back because he is in his forties while others are glad to see him. The Mariners had no interest in signing Ichiro until Gamel’s injury. It shows to that the Mariners don’t have much confidence in the other outfielders who are trying to make the team as reserves.

Spring training is still three weeks to go  so we will see whether Ichiro can still do it or not. I am sure Dipoto is looking out there for other outfielders as well. Those who are upset with the decision to bring Ichiro back are wanting to know why they aren’t going after more starting pitching instead. I can see and think the same way they are as well. Actually I believe they can do both use Ichiro or another outfielder along with going out and getting another starter.

With the unknown status of Felix Hernandez and Erasmo Ramirez the only veteran presence is James Paxton and Mike Leake who makes his next start Tuesday night. The other pitchers vying for a spot in the rotation don’t have the experience the Mariners really need to compete for the playoffs. Marco Gonzales who has had a good start to spring training looks to make his way into the rotation but he is still a question and then there is Andrew Moore and Ariel Miranda as well.

With or without Gamel the offense should be in pretty good shape for the season unless another injury happens. It is amazing that the Mariners are going through injuries once again like last season. We can only hope that it stops here. Mitch Haniger is now going to start playing in games so it is possible that Ichiro may need to play in right field on occasion as well. Though he has been fielding when will Ryon Healy start getting in games too? The fortunate side the hitters don’t need as much time as the pitchers to be ready for the season.

Don’t forget Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night games starting at 5:40 pm is on Roots Sports. If you plan go to spring training next would be a good to time to show up because you will see more of the regulars playing. The minor leaguers who were not in camp already reported on Monday for physicals so they will be out there to beginning Tuesday. So a lot of action and seeing your favorite players it is good time to go. So we hope that no more injuries happen so the Mariners will be ready to go on March 29 against the Cleveland Indians. Go M’s.

Paxton Has Poor Outing Monday Mariners Off

 

Every starting pitcher will have a bad outing in spring training and on Sunday James Paxton had his going one and two-thirds inning giving up seven runs on seven hits including two home runs.

The Mariners making up of mainly minor leaguers did come back to score five runs in the fourth inning and then in the sixth inning Mike Ford pinch hitting for Guillermo Heredia as designated hitter hit a three run homer in the sixth inning. The home run put the Mariners up 9-7 and then they scored another run in the seventh inning to win the game 10-7. The relief pitchers mainly minor leaguers gave up no runs in the game. Edwin Diaz did pitch an inning and Andrew Moore who gave six runs in his last outing went three innings just giving up two hits, walking one and striking out three.

Guillermo Heredia who made his first start hit a home run in the fourth inning. Right now because of his off-season surgery to his shoulder he will not play the outfield instead will be designated hitter for a couple weeks. He will be ready to play the field when the season starts.

Monday the Mariners have an off day. Some of the players may take batting practice while others go golfing or spend time with their family. On Tuesday Mike Leake will take his usual spot in the rotation. In his first two outing he has done an outstanding job. This time he may go four innings against the Colorado Rockies at 5:40 pm. The game will be on Roots Sports well as on the radio. Wednesday and Thursday games will be on television and radio as well. This year the Mariners will have twelve games at night during spring training. The Mariners wanted to play as many night games during the week in spring training to be ready for the season. In past seasons they played most of their games during the day however they felt the players will be more ready to go playing at night since most week day games are at night during the season. The weekend games will be during the day since that is when most are played during the season as well.

The minor leaguers are reporting on Monday. This week some of the minor leaguers who have been in camp with the Mariners will likely be sent down. So enjoy your time off today and get ready for three night games for the Mariners in a row. The regular players will probably start the games but we will see minor league players as well. Mitch Haniger is expected to play as well when he makes his debut in spring training could be on Tuesday however I am sure he will be taken along slowly. Not sure when Ryon Healy will get into games though he is taking fielding at first base right now. The Mariners still hoping he will be ready to go when the season begins. Go M’s.

There Could be Surprises in the Mariner Starting Rotation

We still have twenty-five days until the regular season so we don’t know who will make the end of the Mariners roster. They only have a couple spots open in regular lineup and the pitching doesn’t have many spots available either however they do have two surprises in the starting pitching in Marco Gonzales and Rob Whalen.

The coaching staff figured that Gonzales would be on the opening roster because he is out of options. He at least would likely be in the bullpen as a longer reliever however in his two starts so far he has shown everyone that not he deserves to be in the rotation that he could have a good season as well after recovering from Tommy John surgery a couple years ago.

He is using a cutter that he didn’t use at all last season and it looks to be his out pitch this season. In two outings so far in five innings he has only given up one hit and no runs. With Erasmo Ramirez still out and we don’t know when he will return Gonzales looks like the guy who could be the fourth man in the rotation. Right now James Paxton looks like the opening day pitcher followed by either Felix Hernandez or Mike Leake in the second spot. I believe there is an idea how Leake has done in his two outings that he could pitch right after Paxton and then Felix. Gonzales being would be in the fourth spot since he is a lefty.

Rob Whalen who missed most of last season because of depression is one of the good feel stories. He started on Saturday in place of Felix. He gave up a home run in the first inning then settled down to pitch a solid game. He had pitched earlier in relief where he did a good job as well. So he could end up as the fifth starter if it isn’t Ariel Miranda. Still this depends on Ramirez for the most part. Another candidate is Andrew Moore but he gave up six runs in his last outing so he will have to improve to make the roster. If Whalen does continue to do a good job I would recommend that Moore start the season in Tacoma. Miranda though could end up starting for the Mariners as well or be the long reliever in the bullpen. We know that at least on them Whalen, Moore or Miranda will start the season in Tacoma. I like the fact that the starting rotation has some good competition for the fifth spot at least.

The backup catcher is still up for grabs as well. At this point I have no idea who will end up coming to Seattle in twenty-five days and the same goes for the utility player role. The answer who will be at first base hasn’t been answered as well. If he is healthy Ryon Healy should be the first base. Mike Ford could be the first baseman too being a rule five pickup. The other choice is Dan Vogelbach who is having good spring training but might end up back in Tacoma when the season begins.

So the next three weeks or so all these questions will be answered. Let the best player win out. Go M’s.

 

A New Kyle Seager?

This spring Kyle Seager is working on hitting the ball the other way instead of pulling the ball. Since teams started putting on the shift against most players several years ago they have played Seager to pull the ball. Now with hitting the ball the other way he is hoping teams will play him straight up in the same manner they do Robinson Cano.

Actually this is not the new Seager he goes back to being the old Seager. You see when he first came up to the major leagues he hit the ball the other way however being moved to third base he felt it was important to pull the ball to hit more home runs since it is considered a power position. In the minor leagues he played mostly second base and really started knowing third base in the major leagues his rookie season.

I have thought the last couple years that Seager should have started hitting the ball the other way already so it is good that he is doing so now. Being a veteran player now though just reaching thirty years old he should be able to handle hitting the ball the other way and when needed depending in the situation can pull the ball. Robinson Cano has been doing this for several years so now Seager doing it will help the offense. This should allow him to get off to a better start in the season instead of waiting until May or June to produce. It wasn’t like he was doing a bad just but a better start would help out the Mariners. The last couple years the Mariners have been off to poor starts as well when it comes to their record. We hope with Seager’s start this season will put in the Mariners in a very position as well. Another thing is with the offense the Mariners have they have other players capable of hitting good share of home runs.

Of course they still have Cano and Nelson Cruz ahead of Seager who both hit their fair share of home runs and then acquired first baseman Ryon Healy who hit twenty-five home runs as a rookie for the Oakland A’s along with right fielder Mitch Haniger and catcher Mike Zunino. Haniger hitting ahead or behind Healy should be able to get at least twenty home runs himself if he can stay healthy for the season and Zunino continues to hit like last season could hit thirty home runs along with a lot of doubles.

The Mariners now have more speed with Dee Gordon leading off and Jean Segura batting second behind Robinson Cano this should allow the Mariners to score runs without depending on home runs. With the power in the line up they should be able to hit quite a few home runs just by pitchers making mistakes.

Speaking of pitchers making mistakes and giving up a lot of home runs this was a big problem for the Mariners pitching staff. What would make the pitching much better would be for them to cut down on the home runs given up. I found last year I was frustrated because so many of the runs the opposition scored were because of the home runs. So if they could cut down to some degree on the home runs the earned run average of the pitchers should decrease.

So back to Seager I consider him a more mature hitter this season and he recognizing that going back to hitting the ball the other way he might be able to get close to having his average around three hundred. This would be very good for the Mariners as well. We know  that with Dee Gordon and Jean Segura at the top of the batting Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager able to drive them in. Another thing is important is how they will perform with runners in scoring position. Another thing hitting the ball the other way Seager will have less strikeouts. We got to figure that Healy and Zunino will have their fair share of strikeouts so having someone like Seager not doing so will be quite the help.

Friday Marco Gonzales is making his second start of spring training. He said himself that he is about ninety percent healthy this year after having Tommy John surgery two years ago. Last year he felt that he was around sixty-five percent. Also he has made a little change in his delivery so if things go well he could be a solid four or fifth starter. Being out of options Gonzales has to make the roster as a starter or long reliever or the Mariners would have to put him on waivers and another team likely would pick him up. His first outing he pitched two innings without giving up a hit so he should be going three innings this time out. Having him will be a good thing and we hope that he can go six innings before the team goes to the bullpen. Last season when he started for the Mariners he struggled often where he had problems going five innings.

Ariel Miranda who started on Wednesday has a good shot to be in the rotation as well or at least the long reliever. Felix is expected to return after missing a start which would have been this Saturday probably will start next Thursday. No announcement has been made officially when he will start again.

Outside of Felix and Erasmo Ramirez who is still on the mend the starting rotation looks like it is rounding into shape. We know that Paxton and Leake will be in the rotation as long as they stay healthy. At this point the other three spots are in question however we should know better in the next week or so.  Go M’s.