Mariners Open at Home Against Cleveland

The Seattle Mariners open the season at home this year starting on March 29 against the Cleveland Indians. The Indians led their division winning one hundred and two games. They won the division over second place Minnesota Twins by seventeen games. I expect that the Indians are favored to win their division once again.

Corey Kluber will take the mound in the first game against Felix Hernandez who will start the season opener for the tenth straight season. Kluber had a record of 18-9 with an era of 2.25. Also in four of his five full seasons he has pitched over two hundred innings which is now a rarity in major league baseball.

I am not sure whether the Mariners will win the season opener against Kluber however if they can win two out of the three games I would call it a success. The Mariners will have a day off on Friday and then James Paxton will start on Saturday and Mike Leake on Sunday. The Mariners have a day off on Monday then start a series against the Giants on Tuesday in San Francisco. Not sure whether fourth starter Marco Gonzales will start that game or they will start Felix after having four days off. A lot may depend on how Felix does in the home opener or they may have already decided to start with the four man rotation no matter what. Gonzales started on Tuesday against the Colorado Rockies in the final game of spring training. He pitched four and two/thirds innings giving up seven hits and two runs. He had two walks and three strike outs so ended up with solid spring training with an era of 2.08. If Gonzales can pitch anything like that for the season the Mariners will take it.

The Mariners won the final game on Tuesday winning 5-3 on a three run homer by Daniel Vogelbach who has had an outstanding spring training that led him to making the team. He is still looking at being the backup at first base and designated hitter. The Mariners are hoping to get him into at least one of the games against the Indians. He will be available for pinch hitting against the Giants. Vogelbach likely will be sent to Tacoma when the Mariners need a fifth starter. It will depend though how well Ryon Healy plays as well. Right now Healy has the upper hand however that can change.

Ichiro played on Tuesday having four at bats didn’t get a hit, struck out once and walked once. According to manager Scott Servais Ichiro should be healthy to start the season on the roster however starting game one is in question at this point. Personally I like Guillermo Heredia so I hope you he gets the chance to play more often than not. I am sure he will be a defensive replacement when he doesn’t start. If Ichiro does start because he is healthy enough and Kluber is a tough right handed pitcher who might give Heredia some trouble. In either case one or the other will bat ninth. I am sure we will see Heredia in the game even if he doesn’t start.

The Mariners announced they signed veteran outfielder Jayson Werth to a minor league contract and he will spend time in Arizona for extended spring training until he goes to Tacoma. Whether we see him will depend on how he does in Tacoma and whether the Mariners will need another outfielder because of injuries. Not sure when Ben Gamel will be ready to go however he should see some action in Tacoma before coming back to the Mariners.

I will primarily writing stories about how the players are doing throughout the season and the ball club. I don’t plan on day to day games unless something comes over me that looks good. I will write previews of each series throughout the year. I do hope the Mariners will keep me going with good stories. I will let you know how I see things go after the first game though and how Felix works out and preview of James Paxton and Mike Leake who will start the second and third games. Go M’s.

Opening Day Roster

Here we are on March 27 with the Seattle Mariners having one last game remaining in spring training and the season begins in two days.

The roster is somewhat set for the first game of the season though a spot or two could change. The Mariners could use someone to take the spot of David Phelps in the bullpen. The Mariners could change the utility player or the backup catcher if someone is available that they consider better though likely won’t happen.

The opening roster looks like this for Thursday with four starters Felix Hernandez who will start the opening game for the tenth season in a row followed by James Paxton, Mike Leake and Marco Gonzales who had outstanding spring training. If Gonzales can pitch anything like he did in spring training the Mariners will do well in that spot. We do know over the season that there will be highs and lows so if he can keep the lows to a minimum we could see a solid spot in the four hole. Right now the Mariners don’t need a fifth starter until the middle of September so they are going with two long relievers in Wade LeBlanc and Casey Lawrence. This could change if the Mariners pick up another reliever. The most likely candidate to be the fifth starter is Ariel Miranda who will start the season in Tacoma. There is no time table right now when Erasmo Ramirez will be able to pitch and he likely will go on a rehab assignment first.

The Mariners will be going with two catchers in Mike Zunino and Mike Marjama. Zunino started off rough in spring training however he came alive in the late stages of spring training including recently hitting three home runs in a game. His bat could make the difference in the lineup for the Mariners. Depending how well he is hitting the Mariners are planning to start Marjama a couple times a week though early on with off days it may not happen for a couple weeks.

The infield will have Ryon Healy at first base along with Daniel Vogelbach who has made the opening day roster. The Mariners will try to get Vogelbach some action in the first series and then they go to San Francisco where he likely will be used as a pinch hitter. How long he will be with the Mariners will depend how well he hits along with Healy as well. Healy only got action in spring training the last couple weeks. Vogelbach likely will be sent down when the Mariners will need the fifth starter however that can depend how much the bullpen is being used as well.

The other three spots in the infield are familiar and expect with Robinson at second base, Jean Segura at shortstop and Kyle Seager at third base. The utility player at this time is Andrew Romine who can actually play every position on the field. He likely is the emergency catcher as well.

The outfield will be Dee Gordon in centerfield with Mitch Haniger in right. Ichiro played on Monday in a minor league game getting one hit in six at bats. Right now don’t know if he will start on opening day or whether Guillermo Heredia will instead. Heredia will be starting some in left field when Ichiro doesn’t and he will give Gordon and Haniger rest when they need it. Ben Gamel is ahead of schedule in his rehab from injury however he will probably start the season on a rehab assignment himself. How soon he will be back may depend how well Ichiro does playing in left field. Heredia is a solid backup outfielder for the Mariners especially for his defense.

Now the look at the bullpen; I already mentioned that LeBlanc and Lawrence will start out as long relievers. So they will be the two guys who will pitch at least two innings when called upon. The other relievers will be Dan Altavilla who had outstanding spring training. Depending whether the Mariners have a lead or not he will probably come in the sixth or seventh inning where Phelps was expected to.  

Nick Vincent and Juan Nicasio will pitch the eighth inning followed by Edwin Diaz in the ninth inning as the closer. Vincent and Nicasio could come in the seventh inning as well especially early in the season. James Pazos and Rzepczynski are the two lefties that will come in anywhere between the sixth and ninth inning; If necessary Pazos can go a couple innings as well.

So this looks like a solid roster long as we don’t see any more injuries to players. Far as the pitching goes I don’t have much confidence in the depth of the pitching in triple A at this time anytime. So we hope that both Felix and the Big Maple can stay healthy most of the season. Getting at least twenty-five starts out of them both will help the Mariners get into the playoffs. Jerry Dipoto will look to add to the starting pitching in July if they are still in the race. Go M’s.

Felix Final Spring Start

Saturday night Felix Hernandez will be making his final start going into the regular season. This will be his third start of spring. He was hit by a line drive on his right arm back at the end of February against the Chicago Cubs who he will be facing today.

The thought is by Felix and the Mariner coaching staff if he is able to throw seventy pitches effectively today he will be the opening start next Thursday night at Safeco Field. If he isn’t then James Paxton will be the opening day starter. Paxton is expected to throw on Sunday however if Felix isn’t ready to go on opening night then I am sure Paxton will only throw a couple innings or so.

I am sure most fans and the media are not that confident in Felix being the opening night starter. I hope he is because that means that he is healthy to go or otherwise we may see a delay in his starting the season.

In other news Gordon Beckman was released on Friday by the Mariners. He had a good training camp so the idea is that he wants to hook up with another major league team and likely Andrew Romine got the roster spot. More news will come down on Saturday or Sunday what the opening day roster will look like. Also Chris Bergman was sent down to Tacoma so he won’t be on the opening day roster.

I read this morning former Mariner Wade LeBlanc is going to sign with the Mariners after being released by the New York Yankees. He looks to be another candidate for the fifth spot in the rotation.

With the news a couple days ago that David Phelps will be out for the season having Tommy John surgery that we should be hearing soon whether the Mariners will be picking up a veteran to take his spot or not. At this point Dan Altavilla looks to be the guy to pitch where the Mariners intended Phelps to be. Altavilla has had a really good spring so he deserves the shot if the Mariners are not able to pick someone up that is equal or greater than Phelps.

If you haven’t heard Ichiro was hit in the head in a minor league game however he is going to be OK. He could be out a couple days before seeing action again. I wonder how much playing time he will get when the season begins. I would like Guillermo Heredia get a shot to play either regularly or semi-regularly besides starting against lefties only. I guess we will see how that goes. The Mariners feel that Ichiro should be able to play five games a week however I am sure most like me have doubt about that. If he is able to hit .250 at least than I would say so but I still would like to see Heredia play at least three times a week. I am sure Heredia will see action in most games even when he isn’t starting. He may go into the games as a defensive replacement.

Anymore updates I will let you know whether Saturday or Sunday or later on. Go M’s.

One Week Until Opening Day

 

Here we are down to the last week of spring training with opening day a week from now. Most of the roster already has been answered however bad news did come down on Wednesday when we heard that reliever David Phelps will be lost for the season and he will have to get Tommy John surgery on his elbow. Another one of those pitchers the Mariners have acquired the last couple years that didn’t work out like expected. I am sure everyone remembers Drew Smyly last year in spring training as well being lost for the season and now no longer a member of the Mariners organization.

So the question is who will replace him in the bullpen? Phelps was expected to be one of the top relievers first coming out for relief. He would pitch in either the sixth or seventh inning and he might pitch two innings if necessary. The pitcher I see replacing him that role right now is Dan Altavilla who has had a pretty good spring. He seems to be the logical guy to do so. Most likely he will pitch one inning when called upon however I am sure they may ask him to pitch a couple innings. I guess there are other candidates that the Mariners can throw out in Phelps’s spot however I don’t see anyone so talented or valuable to do so. Nick Vincent and Juan Nicasio are expected to share the eighth inning with Nicasio closing some games when Edwin Diaz is not available.

The only candidate still on the 40 man roster is Chasen Bradford and he hasn’t had a good spring training so what the Mariners brass think about him is questionable. The next reliever up is Ryan Cook who isn’t on the 40 man roster but didn’t fare so well in his last outing. The Mariners did pick up Erik Goeddel from the Texas Rangers on waivers however that isn’t exactly the kind of pitcher the Mariners want to be in the role Phelps was expected to pitch. I know that general manager Jerry Dipoto will look to see who else will be available from other teams however the best answer will be to get someone in a trade like they did for Phelps last year. Though they don’t have many prospects in the farm system I am sure they will have to give up a few.

Felix Hernandez is expected to pitch on Saturday and news came down that James Paxton will pitch on Sunday. Depending how well Felix does on Saturday will determine how far Paxton will go in Sunday’s game. It sounds like if Felix pitches well he will be the opening day starter because Paxton will only have three days of rest. He could only go a couple innings on Sunday if the Mariners don’t feel that Felix can be the opening day starter. I am sure everyone has an opinion who should start on opening day. There will be those who are Felix fans that he should open for the tenth straight year while others believe that Paxton is now the ace of the staff should start instead. Opening day we could consider as an honor but I am not sure it is that important since both Felix and Paxton will start the same amount of games if they stay healthy throughout the season.

With Paxton starting the second game being a left hander it would allow the Mariners to alternate between righties and lefties in the rotation. Mike Leake will likely be the third starter as long as Felix is ready to go and Marco Gonzales being a lefty will be the fourth starter. At this point we are not sure who will be the fifth starter but don’t have to be concerned about that until the middle of April. The main candidates look to be Ariel Miranda who is still on the roster and Rob Whalen who was optioned to Tacoma.

Looks like Mike Zunino is all set to start the season as he hit three home runs Wednesday night game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Actually he went four for four in that game so had a single after the three home runs. He started spring training slowly but now is top shape we just hope it goes into the season. It would be nice if the Mariners can get off to a good start in the season. I am not sure the last time the Mariners had a good April.

So Jerry Dipoto go out and get the best possible pitcher you can find to replace David Phelps. I am not too confident on the guys we have right now. At this point it is more important than getting another starter though I wish that was available as well. We just hope that we don’t get any more bad news about any other players. Go M’s.

Mariner Roster Taking Shape

The Seattle Mariners regular season will now be starting in ten days so we will be seeing more players either released, waived or being sent to the minor leagues. The Mariners have said with the beginning of the season they will go with four starting pitchers, eight relievers and thirteen position players. The Mariners won’t need a fifth starter until the middle of April so why they will go with four starters to begin with.

So now a look at who I believe will be the roster on opening day March 29. The Mariners right now have 37 players on the 40 man roster so they have three spots to add non-roster players or sign or trade for a player. 

The starting pitching will begin with James Paxton, Felix Hernandez, Mike Leake and Marco Gonzales. It looks like a solid group if Felix can be healthy. Ariel Miranda or Rob Whalen will be the fifth starter when the time is needed. So it looks to be that they both will start the season in Tacoma. Whalen had a rough start on Sunday so we hope that he can recover and pitch the way he did in his previous starts in training camp.

The relief staff looks pretty set going into the season. Edwin Diaz will be the closer with Nick Vincent and Juan Nicasio being the setup men for the eighth inning. Marc Rzepczynski and James Pazos will be lefties out of the bullpen; so the remaining three right handed relievers for the Mariners should be David Phelps, Dan Altavilla and possibly be Casey Lawrence as the long reliever. Lawrence will have to be added onto the forty man roster since he came in as a non-roster invitee. This spot could be changed if the Mariners decide to pick up another pitcher who currently is on another team.

Now the thirteen position players the Mariners will start the season with. At catcher the starter will be Mike Zunino and his backup will be Mike Marjama. Going with thirteen players the Mariners could start the season with two utility players or two first basemen. Right now I would go with the latter. Ryon Healy and Dan Vogelbach who has had a solid training camp will share first base. This means that the utility player will be Andrew Romine over Taylor Motter. Romine being the veteran and Motter who has options can be sent to Tacoma. With several days off early in the season this makes good sense that Motter can get in regular playing time. The rest of the infield will be Robinson Cano at second, Kyle Seager at third and Jean Segura at shortstop. The outfield we will see Ichiro Suzuki in left, Dee Gordon in center and Mitch Haniger in right field. The fourth outfielder will be Guillermo Heredia who can play all three spots however will see most of his action in left. Ichiro and Heredia likely will start the season platooning in left field. Ichiro will start against righties while Heredia against lefties. This could change depending on how Ichiro performs and how many right handed pitchers they face early in the season. Heredia might see some action against right handers. He doesn’t hit right handers as much as against lefties. Also I would see him coming into games as a defensive replacement late in games. At designated hitter we have Nelson Cruz and we could see Vogelbach there if Cruz isn’t totally healed. There we go with looks to be the opening roster. With general manager Jerry Dipoto on the seen a couple of the spots could change. Go M’s.

 

Gonzaga Move On and More Sports

The Gonzaga Bulldogs had a tough outing on Thursday in the bigger dance but did escape with a narrow three point win against University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Boise Idaho. What made it a difficult win was that the Bulldogs missed more than ten foul shots otherwise it would have been an easier win. Greensboro though tried to tie the game at the end but the ball just came out of the basketball so the game could have gone into overtime and as you know anything can happen.

Today the Bulldog take on Ohio State Buckeyes in Boise. The Bulldog’s have

a decisive win over them early on in the season but for the Bulldogs to move into the sweet sixteen they will need to play much better this afternoon.

In other local sports it is now free agency for the Seattle Seahawks. If you

have followed it at all they have lost several players to other teams in the free agency period so far. This was after trading Michael Bennett to Philadelphia and releasing Richard Sherman who then signed with the San Francisco 49ers. In the last few days Jimmy Graham signed a contract with the Green Bay Packers and Paul Richardson went to the Washington Redskins. The Seahawks did sign some free agents themselves so far but no one with a name like Graham or Richardson. Actually lost two Richardson’s because defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson signed with the Minnesota Vikings.

Whether you call it rebuilding or retooling the Seahawks will look like another team. At this point it is hard to know whether Earl Thomas will return either. He said that he wants to have an extension with his current contract has only one year remaining. Don’t really know the thoughts of the team right now whether to extend him or let him play out his one year left or trade him. Thomas mind is that he doesn’t really want to be in Seattle if they let him play out the year. If the Seahawks do trade him I am sure they will be looking to get a first round and a third round pick for him. I guess we will see what happens there. It will be story for the rest of the off-season.

What other moves the Seahawks make is anyone’s guess at this time. The did sign two free agents in Mingo a linebacker who  played last year for Indiana-polis. Also they picked up tight end Ed Dickson who played for Carolina Panthers. He is more known as a blocking tight end but did a good job in the passing game last season.

We will see who else they may get before the draft comes up in April. Who they will take with the 18th pick in the first round is a guess as well though could be a defensive end with Frank Clark being the primary returner. Clark is coming up on the last year of his contract as well. What they will do with him we will have to see too.  It would not surprise anybody if they trade down again in the first round. They don’t have a second or third round pick but losing Graham and the two Richardson’s they will pick up three picks. A reason that they aren’t picking up any big names because they don’t want to lose any of them. This coming week should be interesting. Keep your ears and eyes open.

Getting Ready For the Season

The time is ticking down until opening season with twelve days to go. It has been interesting spring training with surprises and injuries to some of the players. I am sure many are concerned about the injuries in spring training however most of them are minor. According to the new Mariners High Performance director Dr. Lorena Martin she isn’t too worried about the injuries that her job is to be sure everyone will be ready when the season begins. Outside of Ben Gamel and Erasmo Ramirez all the other players should be ready to go.

Ryon Healy who hasn’t started a game this spring because of surgery to his hand at the beginning of training camp is expected to play in a game this weekend. He has been taking grounders at first base for a couple weeks and this last week has been taking batting practice. One of the surprises of the camp is Dan Vogelbach who could start the season on the roster if Healy isn’t ready to open the season. With options still left the Mariners could decide to send Healy down to Triple A for a few weeks as well. Vogelbach who has been given extra time because of Healy’s injury along with Mike Ford looks like a different player both at the plate and in the field. Ford has shown power and driving in runs but his batting average is below two hundred so the thoughts of general manager Jerry Dipoto and manager Scott Servais hasn’t really come out where fits in the picture. Being a rule 5 player he has to make the team or be sent back to the original team which is the New York Yankees or make a trade with them to send to triple A.

Marco Gonzales who is out of options would have to be on the roster or be sent through waivers before sent to Tacoma. The Mariners figured there likely would be little chance he would make it through waivers and he has been a good surprise throughout camp. He is expected to be the fourth starter for the Mariners. Another surprise is Rob Whalen who spent most of last year not pitching because of depression has not only recovered has had a real good spring as well. It looks like he will be on the roster as well. He could be the fifth starter if Erasmo Ramirez isn’t ready to go. The Mariners don’t need a fifth starter until the middle of April because of three off days early in the season.

Mike Marjama who looked like the leading candidate to be the backup catcher hasn’t been a disappointment at all batting almost three hundred and playing a good solid defense so at this point he looks like to make the roster on opening day. Andrew Romine and Taylor Motter are both having solid spring training competing for the utility player role. At this point I would give the edge to Romine because he is a veteran and Motter does have options so he could start the season in Tacoma. He would be ready that way if Romine doesn’t work out or an injury happens.

Guillermo Heredia is having a good spring training when he got going after coming back from his off-season surgery. He and Ichiro are expected to share the position since Ben Gamel will be out for the first month of the season or longer. Right now Ichiro is slowed by an injury so Heredia could get the bulk of work in left field. With his defense he will be valuable as a backup in center field and right field. Mitch Haniger who started spring training on the bench with an injury as well might not be ready to play full time either. So early in the season Heredia could see plenty of action and whoever is the utility player might get action in as well.

It was announced that on Monday Felix Hernandez will be pitching in a minor league game. The same goes for James Paxton as well. The Mariners haven’t announced yet who will open the season as the starter. They likely go with Paxton but they still might let Felix pitch opening day.