Monday, September 30, 2013
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Miller Time Salami= a Mariners Win
The Oakland Athletics entered yesterday's game needing to win to gain home field advantage through out the playoffs, but thanks to Brad Miller that is not going to happen. Brandon Maurer was sent out to the mound to try and get maybe the last win of the season for the Mariners, but as everyone remembers Maurer didn't have a good track record pitching against this high powered and talented Athletics team. Maurer entered Saturday's game having a career 1-2 record with a 6.75 ERA in 12 innings pitched against them, including the 6 run pounding the A's gave him in his major league debut back in April.
Maurer wasn't thinking about that yesterday. Maurer got the first two batters out in the top of the first then after giving up a single to Jed Lowrie got Brandon Moss to fly out to end the inning, the Mariners though went 1-2-3 in their half of the first inning. In the bottom of the second inning though things changes, after Raul Ibanez drew a walk Justin Smoak launched a towering pop up that got enough carry to go over the fence for his career high 20th home run of the season and put the M's up 2-0 on the A's young ace Jarrod Parker. The A's though would get one back the following inning, after a pair of hits by Stephen Vogt and Eric "Rally Specs" Sogard Coco Crisp drove in the A's first run with a long sacrifice fly to Dustin Ackley in center. Thankfully though Maurer was able to get the next two batters out to get out of what could have been a big inning for the A's.
The bottom of the third got off to both a good and bad start, Nick Franklin lined a ball down the right field and after a bad bounce Franklin took off for third and on the relay from Josh Reddick to Sogard, to Josh Donaldson Nick was thrown out trying for a lead off triple. Brad Miller though sent the first pitch he saw into the right center field tunnel to put the Mariners lead to 3-1. Miller would strike another blow to Parker's outing with a grand salami in the bottom of the fifth inning to put the Mariners lead up to 7-1.
Jed Lowrie started off the top of the inning with his 45th double of the season, after Brandon Moss grounded out Alberto Callaspo singled to right driving in Lowrie from third and the A's cut the lead to 7-2, Erik Wedge saw enough and came out to relieve Maurer and brought in the always reliable Charlie Furbush. Once again Charlie came through as he got Chris Young to strikeout and Nate Freiman to ground out to end the inning. In the top of the seventh, the A's struck again this time for three runs but against Chance Ruffin. Ruffin got roughed up for two home runs one of which one was caught by the biggest Ichiro fan the Mariners ever had. Ruffin didn't finish the inning, instead Lucas Luetge finished the inning off by getting the third out. Finally in the ninth Danny Farquhar went 1-2-3 striking out two in the process in getting his 16th save of the season.
So this may have been the final win of the season for the Mariners if so the M's will finish off the season 71-91, but today I'm hoping for one more win. The M's send out Erasmo Ramirez out for the final game of the season for the Mariners. It's been a tough season for the Mariners and once again fans will have to watch a Mariner-less playoffs. So, what does the next 6 months see for the Mariners? Next year these players will be managed by someone other then Erik Wedge as he announced on Friday that he will not return as the Mariners manager next season.
Before I end this blog I would like to wish all teams in the playoffs good luck, and yes even the A's.
Maurer wasn't thinking about that yesterday. Maurer got the first two batters out in the top of the first then after giving up a single to Jed Lowrie got Brandon Moss to fly out to end the inning, the Mariners though went 1-2-3 in their half of the first inning. In the bottom of the second inning though things changes, after Raul Ibanez drew a walk Justin Smoak launched a towering pop up that got enough carry to go over the fence for his career high 20th home run of the season and put the M's up 2-0 on the A's young ace Jarrod Parker. The A's though would get one back the following inning, after a pair of hits by Stephen Vogt and Eric "Rally Specs" Sogard Coco Crisp drove in the A's first run with a long sacrifice fly to Dustin Ackley in center. Thankfully though Maurer was able to get the next two batters out to get out of what could have been a big inning for the A's.
The bottom of the third got off to both a good and bad start, Nick Franklin lined a ball down the right field and after a bad bounce Franklin took off for third and on the relay from Josh Reddick to Sogard, to Josh Donaldson Nick was thrown out trying for a lead off triple. Brad Miller though sent the first pitch he saw into the right center field tunnel to put the Mariners lead to 3-1. Miller would strike another blow to Parker's outing with a grand salami in the bottom of the fifth inning to put the Mariners lead up to 7-1.
Jed Lowrie started off the top of the inning with his 45th double of the season, after Brandon Moss grounded out Alberto Callaspo singled to right driving in Lowrie from third and the A's cut the lead to 7-2, Erik Wedge saw enough and came out to relieve Maurer and brought in the always reliable Charlie Furbush. Once again Charlie came through as he got Chris Young to strikeout and Nate Freiman to ground out to end the inning. In the top of the seventh, the A's struck again this time for three runs but against Chance Ruffin. Ruffin got roughed up for two home runs one of which one was caught by the biggest Ichiro fan the Mariners ever had. Ruffin didn't finish the inning, instead Lucas Luetge finished the inning off by getting the third out. Finally in the ninth Danny Farquhar went 1-2-3 striking out two in the process in getting his 16th save of the season.
So this may have been the final win of the season for the Mariners if so the M's will finish off the season 71-91, but today I'm hoping for one more win. The M's send out Erasmo Ramirez out for the final game of the season for the Mariners. It's been a tough season for the Mariners and once again fans will have to watch a Mariner-less playoffs. So, what does the next 6 months see for the Mariners? Next year these players will be managed by someone other then Erik Wedge as he announced on Friday that he will not return as the Mariners manager next season.
Before I end this blog I would like to wish all teams in the playoffs good luck, and yes even the A's.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Why pay players this much?
Over the last 10 years has seen both the NFL and Major League Baseball have players sign enormous contracts that have been in the rage of between $18 and $20 million dollars a year for just one player. The most recognized contracts was Alex Rodriguez's 10 year $252 million dollar deal in 2001 with the Rangers, both Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton's combined contract deals, and finally A-Roid's (whoops I mean A-Rod's) 10 year $272 million dollar deal with the Yankees in 2007. Right now Yankees second basemen Robinson Cano is looking for a 10 year deal, but here's the thing he wants $305 million dollars! Are you high? Look I understand you want to live the good life but that's too much damn money for one player!
The NFL has seen the same thing, right now the highest paid player in the NFL is Drew Brees who signed a 5 year $100 million dollar deal with the Saints. Now, if my math is correct (and I think it is) that means he's averaging $20 million dollars a year!
Look, I understand that both Robinson Cano and Drew Brees are great players but do you really need to pay them THAT much damn money? NO! Now, Felix Hernandez is getting paid $175 million dollars for seven years; yes Felix is the one of the best pitchers in baseball but again there's no need to pay him that much money. Back in the late 90s the highest paid player would be getting $10 million year or maybe a little more like Ken Griffey, Jr., but again that's still way too much. If you look at the Sounders roster (before Clint Dempsey signed with the team) the highest paid player was only making $1,600,000. Now see that's a reasonable contract to me, even though its in the millions.
To me I think most sports players play more for a bigger paycheck then the pride of playing for their team. If it was up to me players would only be allowed to get a maximum of $6-$8 million dollars. Yes, players would want more but here's the thing why should they be getting paid $200-$305 million dollars for 10 years? Just because your making that much money doesn't mean your going to play better it just means that your greedy. It irritates me that players want these big contracts, because its not about the money its about playing for your team and winning championships.
The NFL has seen the same thing, right now the highest paid player in the NFL is Drew Brees who signed a 5 year $100 million dollar deal with the Saints. Now, if my math is correct (and I think it is) that means he's averaging $20 million dollars a year!
Look, I understand that both Robinson Cano and Drew Brees are great players but do you really need to pay them THAT much damn money? NO! Now, Felix Hernandez is getting paid $175 million dollars for seven years; yes Felix is the one of the best pitchers in baseball but again there's no need to pay him that much money. Back in the late 90s the highest paid player would be getting $10 million year or maybe a little more like Ken Griffey, Jr., but again that's still way too much. If you look at the Sounders roster (before Clint Dempsey signed with the team) the highest paid player was only making $1,600,000. Now see that's a reasonable contract to me, even though its in the millions.
To me I think most sports players play more for a bigger paycheck then the pride of playing for their team. If it was up to me players would only be allowed to get a maximum of $6-$8 million dollars. Yes, players would want more but here's the thing why should they be getting paid $200-$305 million dollars for 10 years? Just because your making that much money doesn't mean your going to play better it just means that your greedy. It irritates me that players want these big contracts, because its not about the money its about playing for your team and winning championships.
Monday, September 23, 2013
Thursday, September 19, 2013
A roaring win for the Mariners
Last night 36,395 came to Comerica Park, hoping that the Tigers would come away with the series win and put their magic number down to 4. The Tigers sent out Justin Verlander to try and lower their magic number but the M's had their own ace sent out to the mound in Hisashi Iwakuma; Kuma was looking for his first win or descision in four starts. Well, the Mariners decided that Kuma has waiting long enough for a win, in the second inning Michael "The Condor" Saunders hit a sharp line drive to left center field, and Justin Smoak surprised me by flying around the bases and scoring all the way from first to give the Mariners the early 1-0 lead. Nick Franklin added to the inning with an RBI single driving in Saunders from second and the M's now had a two run advantage against the former Cy Young and MVP.
Kuma helped out his team by pitching at his best against probably the best team in the American League. In the first inning Kuma got into a big jam, with the bases loaded and two outs he struck out former Mariner Matt Tuiasosopo to get out of the jam. Then in the bottom of the fourth things didn't start out the way Hisashi wanted it to, after getting Prince Fielder to ground out Victor Martinez singled then on a wild pitch moved up to second, next Kuma walked Tui and finally Kyle Seager booted the ball that allowed Alex Avila to reach first.......so were back to a bases loaded jam against the best ball club in the American League with only one out. After Carl Willis came out to calm down Kuma that for some reason seem to do the trick because Kuma got a huge double play as he got Hernan Perez to ground into the double play and the Mariners were safe for another inning.
With two outs in the top of the sixth Justin Smoak decided to an extra cushion for Kuma, as he drove a SmoakBomb over the left field fence for his seventeenth homerun of the year and the M's now had a 3-0 lead.
The top of the eighth was the big inning for this struggling Mariners ball club. With two outs (yes that's right two outs), the Mariners got four runs on the strength of an RBI single by Smoak, another RBI double by Saunders, and finally a wild pitch that scored two. In the top of the ninth Franklin Gutierrez added to his already impressive night by hitting a solo shot for his eighth homer of the year and the M's pushed their lead to 8-0.
Danny Farquhar came into the bottom of the ninth to get some work in and he made the most of it. Farquhar struck out Prince Fielder to start things off and then got Brayan Pena to fly out to Dustin Ackley in center and finally struck out Alex Avila to end the game.
The Mariners put their record to 67-85 with this win, last year at this time the Mariners were 70-80.....so its a somewhat different record compared to last year. Earlier this morning the Mariners lost a dear family member, their co-owner Hiroshi Yamauchi died at the age of 85.
NOTES: Kyle Seager continues to struggle, since September 7th he is batting 6 for his last 58 at bats (counting today's earlier game). Henry Blanco is now 0 for his last 29.
Kuma helped out his team by pitching at his best against probably the best team in the American League. In the first inning Kuma got into a big jam, with the bases loaded and two outs he struck out former Mariner Matt Tuiasosopo to get out of the jam. Then in the bottom of the fourth things didn't start out the way Hisashi wanted it to, after getting Prince Fielder to ground out Victor Martinez singled then on a wild pitch moved up to second, next Kuma walked Tui and finally Kyle Seager booted the ball that allowed Alex Avila to reach first.......so were back to a bases loaded jam against the best ball club in the American League with only one out. After Carl Willis came out to calm down Kuma that for some reason seem to do the trick because Kuma got a huge double play as he got Hernan Perez to ground into the double play and the Mariners were safe for another inning.
With two outs in the top of the sixth Justin Smoak decided to an extra cushion for Kuma, as he drove a SmoakBomb over the left field fence for his seventeenth homerun of the year and the M's now had a 3-0 lead.
The top of the eighth was the big inning for this struggling Mariners ball club. With two outs (yes that's right two outs), the Mariners got four runs on the strength of an RBI single by Smoak, another RBI double by Saunders, and finally a wild pitch that scored two. In the top of the ninth Franklin Gutierrez added to his already impressive night by hitting a solo shot for his eighth homer of the year and the M's pushed their lead to 8-0.
Danny Farquhar came into the bottom of the ninth to get some work in and he made the most of it. Farquhar struck out Prince Fielder to start things off and then got Brayan Pena to fly out to Dustin Ackley in center and finally struck out Alex Avila to end the game.
The Mariners put their record to 67-85 with this win, last year at this time the Mariners were 70-80.....so its a somewhat different record compared to last year. Earlier this morning the Mariners lost a dear family member, their co-owner Hiroshi Yamauchi died at the age of 85.
NOTES: Kyle Seager continues to struggle, since September 7th he is batting 6 for his last 58 at bats (counting today's earlier game). Henry Blanco is now 0 for his last 29.
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Mariners to do list for 2014
The Mariners and the fans know that this season is over, even though that there is still 16 more days until the final M's game, but fans are wondering "what will next year bring"? This year has seen the major league debuts of Mike Zunino, Taijuan Walker, James Paxton, Nick Franklin, and Brad Miller; so what is next year going to bring for this team? The five man rotation is looking pretty interesting right now. Im predicting that the Mariners will have Walker, Paxton and either Ramirez or Hultzen if they don't sign a big time pitcher in the off-season (not friggin likely). But what about Abraham Almonte? Since Almonte has gotten the September call-up he has batted .276 and has shown both the fans and the coaches that he has unbelievable speed. So where will Almonte fit in the Mariners lineup next year?
Right now, here's what I'm predicting who will be in the outfield for the M's; Ackley, Almonte, Saunders, and Guti (if the M's decide to give him another chance). The Mariners infield for next year looks basically the same as it is now, with perhaps the exception of Kendrys Morales. Now, for the catchers all I see is Zunino but maybe if Jack Z is smart he will bring back John Jaso or sign a young experienced catcher to help Zunino or keep Jesus Sucre as the backup. Danny Farquhar has probably secured his spot as the permanent closer for next year.
The players that I am most excited to watch come back from an injured season is Stephen Pryor coming back and possibly pitching a full season. Looking at the current Mariners roster, the pitchers I don't see having a spot in the bullpen next year is Oliver Perez, Tom Wilhelmsen, Hector Noesi, and Lucas Luetge. Those pitchers have proven this year that they don't have it anymore and that they also can not pitch in clutch situations either.
Right now though, with the way the Mariners are playing their fans wont be around next year to watch them have another stressful and unsuccessful season. So, here's the deal; the Mariners need to improve on hitting with runners in scoring position, their bullpen needs to be lights out and not give up runs late in the game, and finally they need to stay young. The Mariners front office has shown us that the last 10 years they constantly sign older players that are past their prime, so again the Mariners need to stay young. If you remember when the Tampa Bay Rays went to their first World Series in the average age was 24.6 years old, the oldest guy on the team that year was Troy Percival who was 39 years old.
Next year if the Mariners do everything that I have written about in this blog, then they might have a shot at winning 80+ games and maybe getting into the playoffs. Guess we will find out next year wont we?
Right now, here's what I'm predicting who will be in the outfield for the M's; Ackley, Almonte, Saunders, and Guti (if the M's decide to give him another chance). The Mariners infield for next year looks basically the same as it is now, with perhaps the exception of Kendrys Morales. Now, for the catchers all I see is Zunino but maybe if Jack Z is smart he will bring back John Jaso or sign a young experienced catcher to help Zunino or keep Jesus Sucre as the backup. Danny Farquhar has probably secured his spot as the permanent closer for next year.
The players that I am most excited to watch come back from an injured season is Stephen Pryor coming back and possibly pitching a full season. Looking at the current Mariners roster, the pitchers I don't see having a spot in the bullpen next year is Oliver Perez, Tom Wilhelmsen, Hector Noesi, and Lucas Luetge. Those pitchers have proven this year that they don't have it anymore and that they also can not pitch in clutch situations either.
Right now though, with the way the Mariners are playing their fans wont be around next year to watch them have another stressful and unsuccessful season. So, here's the deal; the Mariners need to improve on hitting with runners in scoring position, their bullpen needs to be lights out and not give up runs late in the game, and finally they need to stay young. The Mariners front office has shown us that the last 10 years they constantly sign older players that are past their prime, so again the Mariners need to stay young. If you remember when the Tampa Bay Rays went to their first World Series in the average age was 24.6 years old, the oldest guy on the team that year was Troy Percival who was 39 years old.
Next year if the Mariners do everything that I have written about in this blog, then they might have a shot at winning 80+ games and maybe getting into the playoffs. Guess we will find out next year wont we?
Sunday, September 1, 2013
A sweep for Seattle sports
Saturday brought upon three games for Seattle sports fans, it brought them a Mariners game, a Sounders game, and finally the UW Huskies season opener game. The Mariners were the first team to be broadcast in this lineup of a sports packed day. The Mariners were looking to win the series against the Houston Astros and win their fifth game in a row against them. Things started off very well for the M's, they scored 3 runs in the top of the first inning thanks to three hits and two walks after that Joe Saunders went to work looking for his 11th win of the season. Saunders went 5.1 strong innings and after that the bullpen did its job.
Carter Capps and Yoervis Medina gave 1.1 innings of work and did their jobs well, Danny Farquhar was brought in the ninth to go for his 11th save of the season. Farquhar went 1-2-3 in the ninth striking out two and earning the save and gave Saunders the win. So, the Mariners took the series and won their third consecutive game in a row.
The Seattle Sounders didn't start their game right away thanks to a 90 minute lightning delay, but when things kicked off the Sounders put on their game faces and got to work. In the seventh minute of the game Leo Gonzalez was shown a red card and ejected from the game when he pulled Ryan Finley on a free run up the middle, leaving Sounders down a man for 83 minutes. However, Sounders were able to negate that Columbus edge just as quickly as it was awarded. Eddie Johnson was able to get in front of Josh Williams and got an easy header from a Mauro Rosales free kick, tapping it past Matt Lampson for his seventh goal of the season, giving Seattle the 1-0 lead in the 14th minute.
Columbus nearly had an equalizer numerous times, but thanks to Michael Gspurning the Crew couldn't get one in. Gspurning earned his second consecutive shutout and eighth clean sheet of the season. The Sounders won't have time to rest, as they return to Seattle to face Chivas USA on Wednesday.
During the Sounders game the Huskies season kicked off against the #19 ranked Boise State Broncos. Senior Keith Price didn't start things out the way he wanted to, on his first pass attempt of the season Price threw an interception but thankfully the Husky defense came back with an interception of their own. Bishop Sankey was the first one to put the Huskies on the scoreboard as he eased his way into the end zone for the first score of the game. The Huskies added 3 more points in the 2nd quarter with a field goal and the Broncos came back with a field goal of their own. In the 3rd quarter the Broncos came out and put an extra 3 points on the scoreboard with another field goal, after that it was all Huskies. Price hooked up with Kasen Williams on the ensuing drive twice, once for 38 yards and then once more for a 19 yard score to put the Huskies up 17-6, Price then threw one more touchdown to Joshua Perkins to put the Huskies up 24-6.
Finally Bishop Shankey and Dwayne Washington ran in two more scores for the Huskies to put them up 38-6. Keith Price finished the game with 324 yards passing and broke the school's record for touchdown passes, Sankey ran for 161 yards and 2 touchdowns and the Huskies also had 592 total yards. So, how bout this day huh? The Mariners take the series against the Astros, the Sounders gained 3 more points and moved into 3rd place in the Western Conference, and the Washington Huskies upset the Boise State and also perhaps put themselves in the top 25. No Seattle fan could ask for a better night. Tomorrow the Mariners will go for the sweep of the Astros, Hisashi Iwakuma will take to the mound looking for his 13th win of the season.
Carter Capps and Yoervis Medina gave 1.1 innings of work and did their jobs well, Danny Farquhar was brought in the ninth to go for his 11th save of the season. Farquhar went 1-2-3 in the ninth striking out two and earning the save and gave Saunders the win. So, the Mariners took the series and won their third consecutive game in a row.
The Seattle Sounders didn't start their game right away thanks to a 90 minute lightning delay, but when things kicked off the Sounders put on their game faces and got to work. In the seventh minute of the game Leo Gonzalez was shown a red card and ejected from the game when he pulled Ryan Finley on a free run up the middle, leaving Sounders down a man for 83 minutes. However, Sounders were able to negate that Columbus edge just as quickly as it was awarded. Eddie Johnson was able to get in front of Josh Williams and got an easy header from a Mauro Rosales free kick, tapping it past Matt Lampson for his seventh goal of the season, giving Seattle the 1-0 lead in the 14th minute.
Columbus nearly had an equalizer numerous times, but thanks to Michael Gspurning the Crew couldn't get one in. Gspurning earned his second consecutive shutout and eighth clean sheet of the season. The Sounders won't have time to rest, as they return to Seattle to face Chivas USA on Wednesday.
During the Sounders game the Huskies season kicked off against the #19 ranked Boise State Broncos. Senior Keith Price didn't start things out the way he wanted to, on his first pass attempt of the season Price threw an interception but thankfully the Husky defense came back with an interception of their own. Bishop Sankey was the first one to put the Huskies on the scoreboard as he eased his way into the end zone for the first score of the game. The Huskies added 3 more points in the 2nd quarter with a field goal and the Broncos came back with a field goal of their own. In the 3rd quarter the Broncos came out and put an extra 3 points on the scoreboard with another field goal, after that it was all Huskies. Price hooked up with Kasen Williams on the ensuing drive twice, once for 38 yards and then once more for a 19 yard score to put the Huskies up 17-6, Price then threw one more touchdown to Joshua Perkins to put the Huskies up 24-6.
Finally Bishop Shankey and Dwayne Washington ran in two more scores for the Huskies to put them up 38-6. Keith Price finished the game with 324 yards passing and broke the school's record for touchdown passes, Sankey ran for 161 yards and 2 touchdowns and the Huskies also had 592 total yards. So, how bout this day huh? The Mariners take the series against the Astros, the Sounders gained 3 more points and moved into 3rd place in the Western Conference, and the Washington Huskies upset the Boise State and also perhaps put themselves in the top 25. No Seattle fan could ask for a better night. Tomorrow the Mariners will go for the sweep of the Astros, Hisashi Iwakuma will take to the mound looking for his 13th win of the season.
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About Me
Im a huge Seattle sports nut. Thats basically about me. But im an upcoming blogger who writes only about the Mariners, Seahawks, Sounders, and when they come back the Sonics. Now if you would like me to write about something tweet me and i will write it. Now i should mark that im also Irish and have a beard that is feared above Brian Wilson's beard. His beard can kiss my beard's ass!