2014 Projected Seattle Mariners

The Mariners now have a manager and his name is Lloyd McClendon. Since that job is now filled the Mariners front office can get started on free agency.

Below is my projected  25-man roster for the 2014 Opening Day Seattle Mariners. I will also give my reasons on some of the starters.

CF Shin-Soo Choo
LF Dustin Ackley
RF Abraham Almonte
3B Kyle Seager
SS Brad Miller
2B Nick Franklin
1B Justin Smoak
C Mike Zunino
DH Nelson Cruz

Bench Players
OF Michael Saunders
C Jesus Sucre
C Jesus Montero
SS Carlos Triunfel                                                                                                                                                                                              

Starting Rotation
SP Felix Hernandez
SP Hisashi Iwakuma
SP Taijuan Walker
SP Erasmo Ramirez
SP James Paxton

Bullpen
RP Blake Beaven
RP Carter Capps
RP Charlie Furbush
RP Lucas Luetge
RP Yoervis Medina
RP Stephen Pryor
CL Danny Farquhar

These 25 players will be the ones who will try and turn a fourth place team into a winning playoff ball club. There are three guys on the list that weren't on the Mariners roster last year, those three guys will be my projected free agents that will be signed during the off-season  I'll explain Nelson Cruz first. Cruz was offered a 1 year $14.1 million dollar contract by the Texas Rangers, but Cruz denied the contract so Jack Z will put out the money to snag up this 2x All Star slugger. Even though he was one of the many players that was suspended due to the PED bio-genesis scandal he still will bring 20+ homerun power to the team if he signs. Jack Z should offer Cruz a 1 year deal but go with $18 million dollar deal.

Now Shin-Soo Choo is an interesting projection for me. Choo began his career in Seattle but was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Ben Broussard and then two days later hit his first MLB homerun against the Mariners (ironic huh?). Choo has become a great hitter for a couple teams and he has shown his ability to hit for average and hit the long-ball. I also think that with the walls being moved in at Safeco he'll be an even better hitter, both average and power wise. My guess is that Jack Z will offer him a 3 year $27 million dollar contract.

Looking at the starting rotation. With Jason Vargas signing with the Royals I don't see anyone that Jack Z will go after. Ramirez last year was one of the best inning eater starter's the M's have. But I will say this, the Mariners could use more then just one lefty in the starting rotations. In the bullpen the Mariners have already said goodbye to Oliver Perez , so I have Blake Beaven as the best candidate for long reliever this upcoming season. He's had been starting pitchers and if the time comes to need a former starter he is the best option the Mariners have.

Danny Farquhar had an amazing rookie season, filling in for Tom Wilhelmsen who couldn't save a game after the collapse in Cleveland in the early part of the 2013 season. Farquhar saved 16 games out of 20 opportunities last year. Setting up for Farquhar this upcoming season (if he's healthy) will be Stephen Pryor. Everyone knows what Pryor has got, in the 7 games that he appeared in he never allowed a run and with his 96-100 mph fastball he's the best candidate for either the setup or (if McClendon wants him to) the closer position.

Michael Saunders wont be in the starting role this season, he showed signs that he was finally coming into his own but after he went down with an injury last year he suddenly couldn't play like he used to. So, Saunders will be on the bench as a late inning replacement, pinch runner/hitter, and as a day off player the same goes for Jesus Sucre (excluding the pinch runner thing). Now as for Jesus Montero and Carlos Triunfel these guys may have not had the best season last year but they fill up the roster, and its not a bad idea to have the speedy Triunfel come in as a possible game winning/tying pinch runner for a slow runner.

So, this is my projection for the 2014 Seattle Mariners. 

As you can see I have Jack Z signing only two players......well I hope he signs them. My faith in the M's front office isn't exactly high but maybe they will surprise us all this year. If they don't sign anybody I still see the M's having a turn-around season this next season. This Mariners ball club is young and ready to show what they are made of with their pitching and their lineup of young talent.

Sea-Talk Intentional Podcast Episode 16

http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-129537/TS-804615.mp3
Talking free agency with Taylor then got down to talking Seahawks with Paul

Sea-Talk Intentional Podcast Episode 15

http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-129537/TS-802504.mp3

Sea-Talk Intentional Podcast Episode 14-Sounders FC Edition

http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-129537/TS-800537.mp3

Sea-Talk Intentional Podcast Episode 13

http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-129537/TS-799149.mp3

Seahawks survive Monday Night nail-biter

Seahawks entered Monday night having the best record in Monday Night Football history (18-8) and looked to improve to a franchise best 7-1. It wasn't easy though. On the Seahawks opening offensive drive things turned ugly right away. Marshawn Lynch's first run went for -3 yards, Russell Wilson's 11 yard pass was brought back thanks to a J.R. Sweezy penalty, then Robert Quinn sacked Wilson to end the Hawks first drive of the game. After Jon Ryan's punt, the Rams put up the first points of the game thanks to Greg Zuerlein's 33 yard field goal. 

The Hawks caught a break on their ensuing drive as Lynch carried the ball for a gain of 16, but once again thanks to Sweezy it was brought back after his second penalty of the game and the Seahawks went 3 and out for the second consecutive time.

The Rams got two first down plays in a row and were threatening to score again, but thankfully Bruce Irvin came to the rescue with his first interception of his career. Quinn ended the first quarter by sacking Wilson for the second time. 

The second quarter didn't start off the way the Hawks wanted it to; after Robert Turbin ran for a first down the Rams stingy defense made the Seahawks punt the ball again. The Hawks #1 defense came up with another big interception this time by Richard Sherman, who ran it back 38 yards (which would be a big help). Russell Wilson came up with one of his apatite 10+ yard run as he ran 17 to put the Hawks within field goal range. But who needs field goals when your QB is Wilson? Thanks to a defensive pass interference, Wilson threw a short dart to Golden Tate for the touchdown. So the Hawks took the 7-3 lead. 

That would be the last scoring drive of the first half for any team. The Seahawks O-Line would not have a fun day at the office. Robert Quinn and Chris Long would both sack Wilson three times and allowed one more sack by William Hayes. 

In the third quarter the Rams made it a one point game with a 28 yard field goal by Zuerlin but Russell Wilson had something special up his sleeve for the 12th Man. On the Seahawks ensuing drive after Zuerlin's field goal Wilson threw up a gift to Golden Tate who took to the house for a career long for both him and Wilson 80 yard touchdown. Tate though was giving a penalty for taunting as he waved goodbye to the Rams cornerbacks. The Rams came back in the fourth quarter with one more field goal by Zuerlin to make it 14-9. 

Things though got very scary on the Rams final drive. The Rams began things on their own 4 yard line, Zac Tracy ran 24 yards on two carries. Kellen Clemons drove the Rams all the way down the field to the 6 yard line and after he threw an incomplete pass to stop the clock he handed the ball off to Daryl Richardson who was stopped at the 2 yard line by an incredible game saving tackle by Earl Thomas. After a Chris Clemons offsides call that moved the ball to the one yard line, Richardson tried one more time to win the game but was stopped by Heath Farwell. 

The Rams let the clock wind all the way down to 4 seconds before taking the final timeout of the game. It came down to this; one play, one winner. Clemons threw a high pass intended for Brian Quick that fell incomplete and Seahawks walked away with the hardest fought game of the season.

After the game head coach Pete Carroll said that they were very fortunate to come away with a win, that the offense couldn't get things done but the D did in the end. Golden Tate also apologized after the game for his unsportsmanlike penalty, "That was immature of me. Hurt my team. I've gotta stay composed. Act like I've been there before." The 135 total yards were the 3rd least amount of yards in a Seahawks win. The Hawks have a lot to improve upon before their next game on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Seahawks do have good news as they hope to have Percy Harvin on the field this Saturday for the first time this year. 

Sea-Talk Intentional Podcast Episode 11

http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-129537/TS-796244.mp3
Me and Paul talk about beards, NBA, Carlos Peguero's wife, the World Series, and finally Seahawks!!!