College Football Draft Begins Tonight

The Seattle Seahawks will be sitting out tonight as the college draft begins tonight. The Seahawks do not have a first round pick and it is the only round going tonight. The Seahawks could move up into the first round with a trade of a player or a couple lower draft picks. I am sure it would take the second rounder plus the third or fourth rounder.  I am sure the Seahawks are not interested; however, they could surprise us.

Outside the two quarterbacks that maybe taken one and two most of the players we will not know who they are unless they play for our favorite team or you watch a lot of college football.

Here in the Seattle we do have two such players who likely will go in the first round.  Danny Shelton defensive tackle for the University of Washington Huskies could be going in the top ten of the first round. Also expected in the first round is Marcus Peters cornerback who was kicked off the Huskies football team during last season because he broke team rules.

The Huskies have a few other players expected to be drafted as well. Most likely they will be taken on Friday in the second or third round. This is the highest rated draft of Husky players in sometime. At one time the Huskies had top quality players taken in every draft. Of course, looking at the team record during the early 2000s it was not a surprise since they had mostly losing records. Hopefully seeing Husky players again in the college draft will become a regular thing again.

Jameis Winston quarterback out of Florida State is expected to be the top pick in the draft by Tampa Bay. He has the talent but he has trouble with the law in the past so he has character issues. So it is a gamble by Tampa Bay; however, they are willing to take the chance on him. If he can mature he will be a gamble that will pay off otherwise he will be a big mistake.

Marcus Mariota of University of Oregon is expected to be the second pick in the draft as well as the second quarterback taken. The Tennessee Titans have the pick; they could draft Mariota or move down in the draft by trading with another team.

After these two quarterbacks where players get drafted is anyone’s guess. If you are watching the draft tonight, tomorrow night, and Saturday enjoy yourself. I hope your favorite team gets their players, and your favorite players get their team.

One thing we know for sure whoever the Seahawks draft will be surprises. It is one thing we can count on. They have a total of eleven draft picks at this time starting in the second round. The chances are that could all change. They could add more picks which is unlikely or trade a couple picks to move up.

 

Good Start to Road Trip

The Seattle Mariners have begun the ten game road trip thru Texas and then onto Los Angles.Good start by winning the first two games against the Texas Rangers.

TaiJuan Walker started out doing well in the first game on Monday with the Mariners winning 3-1. This was the second good game in row which Walker has pitched after having rough outings in his first two games. He thought his fastball was not good in the game; however, he was able to locate the pitch very well. He continues in same manner he should win a good amount of games.

On Tuesday night J.A. Happ continued his good start of the season going six and two-thirds of an inning, and the Mariners winning 2-1 on a triple by Nelson Cruz followed by an infield out to second base by Kyle Seager. Also, Rickie Weeks had a home run in the game.

The Mariners have a really good chance to sweep the Rangers with King Felix Hernandez pitching tonight (Wednesday). King Felix had an outstanding start in his last game after having to leave the game because of a small injury in the game the time before. If Felix continues his outstanding pitching he should win at least twenty games this season.

Right now on the offense the Mariners have been in a minor slump over the last several games with only Nelson Cruz really producing consistently. The Mariners need to figure something out in the top two positions in the batting order. Austin Jackson has been inconsistent at lead off and should be moved down in the batter order. Not sure who should be leading off on a regular basis because the Mariners have different lineups depending whether they are facing a right or left handed pitcher. Ruggiano would be a good choice if he was in the lineup more on a regular basis. He could be playing more regular being in center field against right handed pitching and in either left or right field against left handed pitching. Austin Jackson seems to be doing better against left handed pitching.

Other choices would be having Rickie Weeks in leadoff against left handed pitching. They have also tried Seth Smith and Dustin Ackley in the lead off position. Both Smith and Ruggiano have done well in lead off by making the pitcher throw a lot of pitches. The other problem is who hits second on a regular basis. Right now the guys being considered batting second are the same games for lead off as well.

On Tuesday night I was listening to the post game show on the Mariner radio broadcast. There was suggestion by manager Lloyd McClendon maybe trying Kyle Seager at leadoff. It could work, however, who would bat fifth where he has been in the lineup since the first game of the season. The only choices I see there would be Seth Smith, Ruggiano, or Rickie Weeks. The best choice would be Logan Morrison; however, he has been struggling hitting although behind Nelson Cruz he could get better pitches. One other choice would be to bat Brad Miller in the fifth spot since he is hitting good right now.

I spoke of who to bat second in the order as well. Seager and Miller would be good choices as well. The most important thing as far as the lineup is the Mariners need to stick to a consistent lineup. They could have one lineup against right handed pitching and another against left handed pitching. This could change as well depending on who is hitting good.

The nice thing the season is only about one month old so we can hope that in May things will get where everything will be normal. Besides the top of the batting order needing improvement the bottom of the order needs it too. Logan Morrison, Dustin Ackley, and Mike Zunino are all struggling at the plate. None of them need to have a high average but batting between .230 and .250 would be good. The Mariners need a little offense out of them.

Now the starting pitching seems to headed in the right direction besides straightening out James Paxton if the Mariners pitching and offense can work at the same time they should be winning at a regular clip. It would be nice to split the four games in Houston at least and win two out of three against the Angels in Los Angles. It would make the Mariners on a successful road trip and be a little over five hundred on the record. Currently the record is 9-11.

 

 

 

The Mets?

Before this weekend when the New York  Mets lost  two out of three to the Yankees the New they had won eleven games in arrow.

It was quite the surprise to me because the Mets have not been a winner for some time.  In fact so much I do not even remember the year they last had a winning season, and when they went to World Series. I am sure the Met fans are surprised as well.

Since I am a Seattle Mariner fan I do not follow the Mets or the National League for that matter very closely.  The San Diego Padres I know their roster somewhat because the Mariners play against them every year as a rival, and they share the same spring training facility. The only player that I am familiar to some degree is third baseman David Wright because he has played in several all-star games; however, he is injured right now.

What does that mean to me, and other people who follow teams in the American League? I will look closer at the standings of the National League East for a while to see if the Mets continue to win. Generally I remember it is the Atlanta Braves who usually wins the National League East.  Also, I know the Philadelphia Phillies who used to be a good team has become very old, and not expected to compete.

Actually I will like it very much if the Mets continue to win. Maybe we will have the Miracle Mets once again. I am sure that I will get back to the National League East at a later date.

They Are Not Angels

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim or whatever they call themselves now traded troublesome and injured player Josh Hamilton to the Texas Rangers for money only. The Angels are reported not to get any players in return.

Josh Hamilton signed a free agent contract with the Angels a couple years ago or so after having a very good career with the Rangers. He has not played up to expectations that the Angels wanted the day they signed him.  Of course, we have all seen players that have signed big contracts that did not live up to expectations. A lot of free agents who sign for big bucks are normally at the end of their prime time as far as being productive players.

In the case of Josh Hamilton it has been reported that not only he is recovering from shoulder problems he has gone back into drinking and possibly drugs. His wife also has filed for divorce. He has gone through these same problems before signing and playing for the Texas Rangers.

Looking from the outside it seems to me the Angels have not done a good job helping out one of their player. Instead of getting help for Josh Hamilton they decided to throw him away and let him go back to the team who helped him out in the first place. We can all hope that the Rangers will get Hamilton all the help that he needs. Maybe he will never be the player he wants was but maybe he can go back to being a productive person in society.

I wonder what the other players on the Angels are thinking. Are they glad the team got rid of a non-productive player or they hope that Hamilton gets the help he needs. Hopefully they feel the ladder. I would hate to be an Angel player who also maybe having some kind of problem wondering if he will be thrown away as well.

My view is that not only that Josh Hamilton needs some counseling the same can be said of the Angels management. Right now I see them as people who just want to win and it does not matter what the cost. I am sure glad that I am not an Angel fan and other teams will not follow their example. I do really hope what I see from afar is not really true but if it is the Angels need to make changes, and major league baseball will need them made accountable.

I am sure glad that I have friends if I went down the wrong path they would help me back up again.  

King Felix

Tonight we get to see Felix Hernandez pitch again this time against the Minnesota Twins. It is always special to see the King pitch because we have the chance to see something special.

I do not see too many teams have a section in their ballpark where fans can sit and see their star pitcher at work. Other teams would be smart to follow suit. Not only there is a section the fans can wear their King Felix t-shirt as well.

I do find it distracting sometimes when a batter is up and there are two strikes with the fans being noisy and shaking the signs but I can say I will live with it especially if the batter strikes out.  I find it most difficult is when they do it when the Mariners are behind which is not often when King Felix is pitching.

He is the best thing the Mariners have had since the Big Unit Randy Johnson. Some day we will see King Felix in Cooperstown as well. Of course, it will be for some time. Hopefully we will see King Felix pitching in the playoffs just like Big Unit. This time we can see him in the World Series which we never got a chance with the Big Unit.

What really makes Felix special besides being the best pitcher around he wants to be in Seattle. We now have the missing parts that can make it happen. We can only hope the rest of the pitching besides J.A. Happ and Felix can come alive.

The best part is that Felix is only twenty-nine years old so his best pitching maybe a head of him. This makes him special as well because most pitchers are starting to get going and he has been going for a long time. Remember the Big Unit had not figured it out when he was twenty-nine.

So King Felix we look forward to tonight and many starts in the future. We hope you can lead us to the promise land for many years. We know every night is a special night.

Marshawn

April 22 is beastmode today. Actually it is Marshawn Lynch the star running back of the Seahawks birthday. I believe he turns 29 today. They say that most running backs careers are over by 30 if not sooner; however, beastmode is another character in his own. He could go on for another two years if he wants to.

Why is Marshawn able to go longer than most running backs because he is not like most running backs.  Unlike other backs that get hit by defensive players he hits them. If you watch any of the Seahawk games you can find most of the time it takes at least five defensive players to bring him down.

What helps keep beastmode going is that he does not play a lot during the pre-season, and usually does not practice a lot during the week. He makes sure that his body stays in shape. He does have a problem with his back so if he retires after next season would be that he does not want his back to get into any more trouble. Like every other football player he needs to be sure that he can live a healthy life after football.

In other Seahawks news yesterday (Tuesday) the 2015 NFL football schedule came out. They have five prime time games and three of them are on the road. They start the season playing the St.Louis Rams on the road. Also, the football season is starting a little bit later. I figure it must because Labor Day is later as well. Usually the season starts a week after Labor Day. I guess we can all check our calendars.

Football season though is still a ways off. The season starts with the New England Patriots facing the Pittsburgh Steelers in 148 days. It is hard to imagine; however, we still have the college draft coming up next week and then voluntary practices.

For me though I will be watching baseball in the meantime.

Russell Wilson and Seahawks

On the local sport radio channels they have speaking about Russell Wilson a lot about his new contract that is being negotiated.

Actually his current contract does not run out until this coming season is over. 

He talked with Bryant Gumbel “Real Sports” on HBO which is supposed to air tonight April 21. He talks about football and the Seahawks along with playing baseball. He is thinking about playing baseball again which here in Seattle believe it is a negotiating ploy because it would take Wilson way to long get to the major league baseball, and he would take even longer to get the kind of money he would even have a chance to get like from the Seahawks.

I have to say that I agree with the local media. The amount of money Russell Wilson is likely asking for is around twenty-two million dollars per year though the Seahawks are looking more around twenty million dollars per year. Of course, a lot depends how many years and what is guaranteed along with a signing bonus.

Another part of the negotiations is whether the Seahawks will throw away the final year of current contract and begin the new contract immediately.

What makes things interesting is the salary cap. The Seahawks want to pay Russell Wilson what he really wants but has to be able to fit under the salary cap. It is quite tricky. I am not sure if any of us either fans or media totally understand how the salary cap works. In fact it is so difficult that the Seahawks have someone who all he does is working out the salary cap. I am sure he tells Coach Pete Carroll and General Manager John Schneider what they can do to be sure they can keep all the star players along with the other players on the roster. Also, they need enough money to pay the players that are new that are coming thru  the draft. I am sure the negotiating will take some time to be resolved. They have to consider signing linebacker Bobby Wagner to a new contract as well.

Next week April 30 thru May 2 will be the college football draft. The Seahawks  have eleven draft picks thru the seven rounds; however, it does not include any player in the first round since they traded away in getting tight end Jimmy Graham from New Orleans Saints.

Since Pete Carroll and John Schneider have been with the Seahawks the draft has been quite interesting. It does not have the same meaning it has like for other teams.  The last couple years the Seahawks have not had first round draft picks.  As fans we generally have to wait until the second round to see who the Seahawks come up with. Even with first round draft picks Carroll and Schneider always surprise us who they draft. In fact many of the best players the Seahawks have come up with have been in the later rounds along with free agents.

I look forward along with every 12^th man who the Seahawks will draft. It would likely be a surprise and could be someone we have never heard of before. Of course, usually most college football drafts we only know a handle full of players very well anyway.

Well I hope the Seahawks be able to sign Russell Wilson in the next several months and look forward to see who they come up with in the draft.