The Seattle Mariners off season has been looking like a playoff maybe even a World Series one. The M's just got done signing closer Fernando Rodney to a 2 year, $14 million dollar deal. So, again the Mariners are making noise in the offseason and are trying to see if they can pull off a playoff season and maybe perhaps a World Series title. The Mariners football counterpart the Seahawks just got finished with winning their first Super Bowl title in franchise history. So the Mariners have very high expectation's this year, especially when it comes to the playoffs cause lets face it the Mariners have been going-on 13 year playoff-less drought and with the signing's they have had they will look to end that drought this year.
Here is my newest projection on the Mariners with their newest additions.
Starting players
C Mike Zunino
1B Justin Smoak
2B Robinson Cano
SS Brad Miller/Nick Franklin
3B Kyle Seager
CF Dustin Ackley
RF Abraham Almonte
LF Michael Saunders or Nick Franklin
DH Corey Hart or Logan Morrison
Bench players
Logan Morrison
Willie Bloomquist
Nick Franklin or Carlos Triunfel
John Buck
Starting Rotation
Felix Hernandez
Hisashi Iwakuma
Taijuan Walker
James Paxton
Erasmo Ramirez or Scott Baker (if he makes the Spring Training cut) or a free agent
Bullpen
Blake Beaven
Stephen Pryor
Lucas Luetge
Yoervis Medina
Charlie Furbush
SU Danny Farqhuar
CL Fernando Rodney
The first thing that is up for discussion is the Brad Miller/Nick Franklin battle that will be going on at the beginning of Spring Training. To me its a no brainier, Miller will win this position battle no doubt. I mean last year Miller played great at shortstop so why replace a good thing with a struggling hitter? It would be just like having another version of Brendan Ryan......and seriously who wants that? For some reason after the All Star Break pitcher's figured him out. Franklin batted a horrible .194, struck out 77 times, and was less patient at the plate and swung at pitches that even Vladimir Guererro wouldn't have swung at.
Depending on how both Franklin and Carlos Triunfel does during Spring Training one of them will get a spot on the 25 man roster. Both have not produced hitting wise in the major's but they need to fill the 25 man roster with someone right? Now if Franklin fails at getting the spot at shortstop there is always a possibility that the M's will give him a shot in the outfield just like Ackley last year.
Next thing I should discuss is the 5th spot in the starting rotation. If the Mariners don't sign Ervin Santana then the final spot will go to either Ramirez or the non-roster invite Scott Baker. Ramirez is the first choice of course, but again if the front office goes out and spends a little more money on a possible big pitcher free agent then Ramirez could be seen doing early inning appearances in the bullpen. Also I came close to putting tom Wilhelmsen on the roster but decided better, why you ask, do I even need a reason? Or should I remind M's fans of the game in Boston on August 1st of last year?
I thought not. Wilhelmsen last year began the season with a great start, but then all of a sudden he had control problems and had major meltdowns and blew saves left and right. Danny Farqhuar on the other hand pitch amazing once he was given the closer position he was light's out, so with Rodney being signed Farqhuar will become the setup man.
Now before I end this post I do want to get on the bench players. First Willie Bloomquist, I'm happy that he has been brought back to his Northwest roots to play with the Mariners as a utility player and a speedy late inning pinch runner. Then we have John Buck, probably my favorite signing besides Cano this off season. Buck provides the necessary veteran role that 2nd year catcher Mike Zunino needs to learn about his position and become a better catcher and hitter. Basically the M's signed a bench player who still has a great arm as a catcher and can hit for power.
This off season has seen a number of great signings and the season is less then a month away from beginning. My only hope for the Mariners is that the team can improve with their hitting with runners in scoring position to help out Cano and score to win more ball games. If they do that, I see an 87-89 win season, with a Wild Card title and hopefully a World Series berth.
Let the season BEGIN!!!
Friday, February 14, 2014
Friday, February 7, 2014
Mariners making playoff moves
With all the hype on the Seattle Seahawks there's been only a small attention on the their baseball counterpart, the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners offseason has been unbelievable as they signed Robinson Cano to a 10 year, $240 million dollar deal, then they signed Corey Hart to a 1 year, $6 million dollar deal, and ended things by trading Carter Capps to the Miami Marlins for OF Logan Morrison. To give my honest opinion I was actually a little upset when they traded Capps, he had control problems towards the end of last season but I still think he had a future with the team. Now Capps will probably have a closing job in Miami and I wish him the best.
Now, back to the Mariners and their offseason. Yesterday the Mariners signed closer Fernando Rodney to a 2 year, $14 million dollar deal. So, remember my Mariners projection post? Yeah I'm going to have to make a big change in that post. With Rodney signed the Mariners now have one of the best closer's in the game and a position that was much needed. Danny Farqhuar was the closer last year after taking over for the struggling Tom Wilhelmsen, so most likely both those pitchers will compete for the setup role.
The Mariners have yet to have a consistent closer since Kazuhiro Sasaki, who closed for the Mariners for 4 years before retiring. Since Sasaki, the longest any closer has pitched for the Mariners was 3 years (Eddie Guardado), but since then no closer has gone more then 2 years before being replaced because of inconsistent play or control problems.
Brandon League and Wilhelmsen are a good example of how the Mariners have had closer problems. League blew a number of saves and was replaced by Wilhelmsen who had a great stretch for the rest of that year and the following year, but last year Wilhelmsen got off to a great start by converting 12 saves with a 0.75 ERA in the first two months of the season but things quickly fell apart as he ran into control problems and was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.
Now, with Fernando Rodney you are getting a closer who saved 48 games in 2012 with a 0.60 ERA and then the following year saved 37........so basically to sum it all up you're getting one helluva closer. This spring training the Mariners will most likely will have a competition between both Brad Miller and Nick Franklin for the role of shortstop since Cano will be taking the second basemen role over Franklin. Hart on the other hand will most likely be put in the DH role and may play a bit of first base and the outfield and as for Morrison he will be used as a late inning pinch runner/pinch hitter and a day off player.
The Mariners offseason is still not finished as the rumors fly around about Nelson Cruz. The rumor is, that the Mariners are close to signing the former Rangers slugger to a 2-3 year deal and may bring back Kendrys Morales as well. Cruz, if you remember last year was linked to the Miami biogenesis clinic and was suspended for 50 games. So, is a 2-3 year multi million dollar deal a good idea for Cruz who will be turning 34 this June?
If you read @LookoutLanding and read their daily post then you would have already read their take on the Cruz situation and who they believe would be a better signing then Nelson Cruz. They have posted that the better option's would be to resign Morales, extend Kyle Seager's contract, or make a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers for Andre Either or Matt Kemp. But, besides Cruz some MLB writers and experts think with Cano signing with the Mariners it will promote more Dominican Republic players to sign with the Mariners. Right now Ubaldo Jimenez and Ervin Santana remind unsigned and could find their way to Seattle.
The Mariners could use one more big bat or pitcher on the starting 25 roster, Bronson Arroyo, A.J. Burnett, and Stephen Drew are still out there and could be wearing Mariners blue and teal this season if the front office decides to go after them. Another free agent signing that I almost forgot to mention was catcher John Buck. Buck signed a 1 year, $1 million dollar deal. That was my favorite signing besides the Cano signing of the offseason. The reason I say that is because Buck provides not only a veteran role for the 2nd year catcher Mike Zunino, but he has a great throwing arm to gun down runners and he has the ability to hit for power and drive in runs.
The Mariners offseason has just been one of the best in a long time. Its going to be tough for this baseball team though, to follow up with a playoff season or a World Series year to the Seahawks Super Bowl winning season. I do see one awesome season for this Mariners team just because of the signings and the development of the players that are currently on the roster. When I went to Mariners FanFest I told both Mariners play-by-play Aaron Goldsmith and did the recorded ROOT Sports interview with Jen Mueller that I expect to see an 87-89 win season with a Wild Card berth and hopefully win a title just like the Seahawks. I'm excited for this season and hope for the best.
GO Mariners!!!
Now, back to the Mariners and their offseason. Yesterday the Mariners signed closer Fernando Rodney to a 2 year, $14 million dollar deal. So, remember my Mariners projection post? Yeah I'm going to have to make a big change in that post. With Rodney signed the Mariners now have one of the best closer's in the game and a position that was much needed. Danny Farqhuar was the closer last year after taking over for the struggling Tom Wilhelmsen, so most likely both those pitchers will compete for the setup role.
The Mariners have yet to have a consistent closer since Kazuhiro Sasaki, who closed for the Mariners for 4 years before retiring. Since Sasaki, the longest any closer has pitched for the Mariners was 3 years (Eddie Guardado), but since then no closer has gone more then 2 years before being replaced because of inconsistent play or control problems.
Brandon League and Wilhelmsen are a good example of how the Mariners have had closer problems. League blew a number of saves and was replaced by Wilhelmsen who had a great stretch for the rest of that year and the following year, but last year Wilhelmsen got off to a great start by converting 12 saves with a 0.75 ERA in the first two months of the season but things quickly fell apart as he ran into control problems and was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.
Now, with Fernando Rodney you are getting a closer who saved 48 games in 2012 with a 0.60 ERA and then the following year saved 37........so basically to sum it all up you're getting one helluva closer. This spring training the Mariners will most likely will have a competition between both Brad Miller and Nick Franklin for the role of shortstop since Cano will be taking the second basemen role over Franklin. Hart on the other hand will most likely be put in the DH role and may play a bit of first base and the outfield and as for Morrison he will be used as a late inning pinch runner/pinch hitter and a day off player.
The Mariners offseason is still not finished as the rumors fly around about Nelson Cruz. The rumor is, that the Mariners are close to signing the former Rangers slugger to a 2-3 year deal and may bring back Kendrys Morales as well. Cruz, if you remember last year was linked to the Miami biogenesis clinic and was suspended for 50 games. So, is a 2-3 year multi million dollar deal a good idea for Cruz who will be turning 34 this June?
If you read @LookoutLanding and read their daily post then you would have already read their take on the Cruz situation and who they believe would be a better signing then Nelson Cruz. They have posted that the better option's would be to resign Morales, extend Kyle Seager's contract, or make a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers for Andre Either or Matt Kemp. But, besides Cruz some MLB writers and experts think with Cano signing with the Mariners it will promote more Dominican Republic players to sign with the Mariners. Right now Ubaldo Jimenez and Ervin Santana remind unsigned and could find their way to Seattle.
The Mariners could use one more big bat or pitcher on the starting 25 roster, Bronson Arroyo, A.J. Burnett, and Stephen Drew are still out there and could be wearing Mariners blue and teal this season if the front office decides to go after them. Another free agent signing that I almost forgot to mention was catcher John Buck. Buck signed a 1 year, $1 million dollar deal. That was my favorite signing besides the Cano signing of the offseason. The reason I say that is because Buck provides not only a veteran role for the 2nd year catcher Mike Zunino, but he has a great throwing arm to gun down runners and he has the ability to hit for power and drive in runs.
The Mariners offseason has just been one of the best in a long time. Its going to be tough for this baseball team though, to follow up with a playoff season or a World Series year to the Seahawks Super Bowl winning season. I do see one awesome season for this Mariners team just because of the signings and the development of the players that are currently on the roster. When I went to Mariners FanFest I told both Mariners play-by-play Aaron Goldsmith and did the recorded ROOT Sports interview with Jen Mueller that I expect to see an 87-89 win season with a Wild Card berth and hopefully win a title just like the Seahawks. I'm excited for this season and hope for the best.
GO Mariners!!!
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
SeaTalk Intentional Super Bowl Champions edition
http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-129537/TS-827410.mp3
Sleepless in Seattle
It took only 12 seconds for Super Bowl XLVIII first score. That already sounded like destiny was on the Seahawks side, as a bad snap to Peyton Manning sailed into the end zone and was recovered by Knowshon Moreno for a safety. Following the punt by the Broncos the Seahawks decided to hand the ball off but not to Marshawn Lynch but to Percy Harvin. Harvin ran the ball for 30 yards before being forced out of bounds. the Broncos defense held Seattle to a field goal on the drive.
The following Denver possession the Seahawks defense forced a three and out, and after the Denver punt, Russell Wilson completed a 37 yard pass to Doug Baldwin, this would lead to another Steven Hauschka field goal and the Seahawks took an 8-0 lead. On Denver's next drive Manning threw his first interception of the game to Kam Chancellor, aided by a 15 yard run from Harvin and a pass interference call on defensive back Tony Carter, Marshawn Lynch ran the ball into the end zone with 12 minutes left in the 2nd quarter to put the Seahawks up 15-0.
Things really started to get bad for the Denver Broncos as on their ensuing drive, Manning's 3rd down pass was tipped high into the air, this allowed Malcolm Smith to grab it and once he did there was no turning back. Smith took it to the house for a 69 yard interception for a touchdown and so the Seahawks went up 22-0 before halftime. Denver started to get things going on the offense during their final drive of the half. The Broncos manged to get to Seattle's own 19 yard line but rather then taking the points and kicking a field goal they decided to go for it on 4th and 2. Manning's pass was nearly intercepted by Walter Thurmond, so the Seahawks went into halftime up 22-0, it was the largest deficit the Broncos had faced all season long.
The Seahawks won the coin toss but elected to defer to the second half, and what a start to the second half! Trying to avoid a huge kick return, Matt Prater kicked the ball short. The ball landed at the Seattle 12 yard line and Percy Harvin picked it up and began the second half with an 88 yard kick return for a touchdown. Again it only took 12 seconds to have this half's first score, pretty ironic huh?
After both teams punted the ball Denver began to show that they were not out of this game yet, as Manning was able to complete several passes to get the Broncos into Seattle territory. It wouldn't last. Manning threw a 23 yard completion to Demaryius Thomas but Byron Maxwell knocked the ball out of his hands and Malcolm Smith jumped on the ball and recovered the fumble to give the Seahawks the ball once again. Things just kept getting worse for Denver as an unnecessary roughness penalty gave the Seahawks 15 extra yards. Wilson didn't waste it after a 19 yard completion to Ricardo Lockette he threw a bullet to Jermaine Kearse, who shrugged off 4 tacklers and went 23 yards for the touchdown.
With a 36-0 lead it was looking like the Seahawks defense may produce the first shutout in Super Bowl history, but they didn't. Peyton Manning finally lead his team into the end zone, with a 14 yard touchdown pass to Thomas, but after that Denver would not score again.
Zach Miller recovered Prater's onside kick on the Seattle 48 yard line. He also caught an 10 yard pass as the Seahawks subsequently went 52 yards down the field for one more touchdown. With a 24 yard pass to Kearse that set up Russell Wilson's final touchdown pass of the game as he hooked up with Dough Baldwin for a 10 yard score. After that score which put the Seahawks up 43-8 that basically nailed the coffin shut. Denver's final drives would result in two turnover on downs and one fumble recovery by the Seahawks, thanks to Chris Clemons (which was the only sack in the game by either team).
The clock hit 0:00 and the confetti poured out blue a green and the Seattle Seahawks, who came 31 seconds short of the NFC Championship last year now were Super Bowl Champions for the first time in franchise history. It was the city of Seattle's first major championship since the 1979 Seattle SuperSonics.
Malcolm Smith was named the game's Most Valuable Player becoming just the ninth defensive player to win that award. A lot of ironic stats were recorded in the game. 12 seconds to score in both half's, 12 minutes left exactly when the Seahawks scored their first touchdown, 206 passing yards by Russell Wilson which is the area code for Seattle, Manning's 12th playoff loss, and finally Seattle's 12th playoff win. Those stats say "destiny" all the way.
The following Denver possession the Seahawks defense forced a three and out, and after the Denver punt, Russell Wilson completed a 37 yard pass to Doug Baldwin, this would lead to another Steven Hauschka field goal and the Seahawks took an 8-0 lead. On Denver's next drive Manning threw his first interception of the game to Kam Chancellor, aided by a 15 yard run from Harvin and a pass interference call on defensive back Tony Carter, Marshawn Lynch ran the ball into the end zone with 12 minutes left in the 2nd quarter to put the Seahawks up 15-0.
Things really started to get bad for the Denver Broncos as on their ensuing drive, Manning's 3rd down pass was tipped high into the air, this allowed Malcolm Smith to grab it and once he did there was no turning back. Smith took it to the house for a 69 yard interception for a touchdown and so the Seahawks went up 22-0 before halftime. Denver started to get things going on the offense during their final drive of the half. The Broncos manged to get to Seattle's own 19 yard line but rather then taking the points and kicking a field goal they decided to go for it on 4th and 2. Manning's pass was nearly intercepted by Walter Thurmond, so the Seahawks went into halftime up 22-0, it was the largest deficit the Broncos had faced all season long.
The Seahawks won the coin toss but elected to defer to the second half, and what a start to the second half! Trying to avoid a huge kick return, Matt Prater kicked the ball short. The ball landed at the Seattle 12 yard line and Percy Harvin picked it up and began the second half with an 88 yard kick return for a touchdown. Again it only took 12 seconds to have this half's first score, pretty ironic huh?
After both teams punted the ball Denver began to show that they were not out of this game yet, as Manning was able to complete several passes to get the Broncos into Seattle territory. It wouldn't last. Manning threw a 23 yard completion to Demaryius Thomas but Byron Maxwell knocked the ball out of his hands and Malcolm Smith jumped on the ball and recovered the fumble to give the Seahawks the ball once again. Things just kept getting worse for Denver as an unnecessary roughness penalty gave the Seahawks 15 extra yards. Wilson didn't waste it after a 19 yard completion to Ricardo Lockette he threw a bullet to Jermaine Kearse, who shrugged off 4 tacklers and went 23 yards for the touchdown.
With a 36-0 lead it was looking like the Seahawks defense may produce the first shutout in Super Bowl history, but they didn't. Peyton Manning finally lead his team into the end zone, with a 14 yard touchdown pass to Thomas, but after that Denver would not score again.
Zach Miller recovered Prater's onside kick on the Seattle 48 yard line. He also caught an 10 yard pass as the Seahawks subsequently went 52 yards down the field for one more touchdown. With a 24 yard pass to Kearse that set up Russell Wilson's final touchdown pass of the game as he hooked up with Dough Baldwin for a 10 yard score. After that score which put the Seahawks up 43-8 that basically nailed the coffin shut. Denver's final drives would result in two turnover on downs and one fumble recovery by the Seahawks, thanks to Chris Clemons (which was the only sack in the game by either team).
The clock hit 0:00 and the confetti poured out blue a green and the Seattle Seahawks, who came 31 seconds short of the NFC Championship last year now were Super Bowl Champions for the first time in franchise history. It was the city of Seattle's first major championship since the 1979 Seattle SuperSonics.
Malcolm Smith was named the game's Most Valuable Player becoming just the ninth defensive player to win that award. A lot of ironic stats were recorded in the game. 12 seconds to score in both half's, 12 minutes left exactly when the Seahawks scored their first touchdown, 206 passing yards by Russell Wilson which is the area code for Seattle, Manning's 12th playoff loss, and finally Seattle's 12th playoff win. Those stats say "destiny" all the way.
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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!