Up until I was 17, my best and favorite subject in school was math. I owned math. It was never hard, it was fun, and it all made sense. But then came my senior year in high school. That's when I met AP Calculus. I had done well in math every year and assumed it would continue. In fact, I figured my major in college would have something to do with math. And for the first month or so of that class, things remained the same. I remember understanding limits really well and I'm pretty sure I got an A on the first test. But then things abruptly changed. We had to write a paper in math. The rest of the semester when something like C on that paper, and nothing above a D on anything else. My final grade for that semester was a D. For the first time in my life I had to drop a class because it was too hard for me. Sure, senioritis had something to do with it, but I was really just in over my head.
I'm hoping the second half of the 2007 baseball season isn't to the Seattle Mariners what AP Calculus was to me. They've had a great first half, and every time I think they've come back to reality, they've proved me wrong. Two and a half out in the West, and a game and half back in the Wild Card. I think they can stay in it, but I also thought I could handle AP Calculus.
Let's check in on what I said at the beginning of the season:
3 REASONS FOR HOPE
1. The King-Well, he's been amazing, injured, and inconsistent. But, thanks to the power of blogging, he has looked much better lately. The M's are going to need him to be an ace in the second half.
2.Infield Defense-
Did I really say that?
3.A pretty solid lineup
The M's third in the AL in batting average, sixth in OBP, eighth in runs scored, eigthe in SLG, tenth in HR, LAST in walks, and LAST in strikeouts. Hmmm. Looking at that, the M's offense hasn't been all that impressive.
3 REASONS YOU'LL BE COUNTING THE DAYS UNTIL FOOTBALL SEASON
1. The gruesome foursome. Eh, not bad I guess. Weaver was atrocious but has turned in around. Batista has his moments. But they still need another pitcher if they are going to stay in this.
2. Mike Hargrove and Bill Bavasi. Mike Hargrove quit. That was weird. Bill Bavasi-well Jose Vidro as "DH" hasn't really worked. The pitchers have been okay. But, I'll judge Bavasi based on what he does at the deadline.
3. Jose. I'm fine with Guillen and Lopez, but Vidro has to go.
So, now what? I don't think the Mariners are good enough as they are right now to keep up with Boston, Anaheim, Detroit, and Cleveland. So, some changes need to happen. I'd like to hear what the loyal 4 readers have to say about that.
Check out Dave Cameron's suggestions. They mkae some sense and can all be done without bringing anyone in from the outside.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Monday, July 02, 2007
Let the Buerhle rumblings begin...
Okay, maybe not technically begin. I'm sure it's been brought up before. But, Dave at USSMariner has brought up the Mark Buehrle trade talk. And I'm pretty sure I agree with him. Buerhle had a rough year in 2006, and I was thinking he may be on the decline, but, as Dave points out, he's bounced back this year. Maybe he's playing for contract and will regress again next year, but whatever-the M's probably won't re-sign him anyway.
By the way, does re-sign need to have a hyphen? I think so, because otherwise it becomes resign. Mike Hargrove resigned from his position as Mariners manager. Will the Mariners re-sign Ichiro? AAAAAAAANYWAY....
The most important point that Dave makes is this:
If you're worried about giving up prospects for half a season from one guy, the draft pick compensation from those lost prospects should make you feel a little better. And the fact is, you never know what you're going to get out of prospects. I was pretty excited about the Freddy Garcia trade when it went down, but it's turned out to be a complete flop. The M's won't trade Adam Jones, so I say go for it.
Plus, I just made a trade to get Buerhle on my fantasy team, so making him a Mariner would give me double reason to root for the guy.
Thoughts on Buerhle from the 4 loyal Magic readers?
By the way, does re-sign need to have a hyphen? I think so, because otherwise it becomes resign. Mike Hargrove resigned from his position as Mariners manager. Will the Mariners re-sign Ichiro? AAAAAAAANYWAY....
The most important point that Dave makes is this:
The Mariners wouldn’t be trading a package of prospects for three months of Mark Buehrle. The Mariners would be trading a package of prospects for three months of Mark Buehrle and another package of prospects.
If you're worried about giving up prospects for half a season from one guy, the draft pick compensation from those lost prospects should make you feel a little better. And the fact is, you never know what you're going to get out of prospects. I was pretty excited about the Freddy Garcia trade when it went down, but it's turned out to be a complete flop. The M's won't trade Adam Jones, so I say go for it.
Plus, I just made a trade to get Buerhle on my fantasy team, so making him a Mariner would give me double reason to root for the guy.
Thoughts on Buerhle from the 4 loyal Magic readers?
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Alright, Alright
I'll post already. The M's keep winning, telling me I need to write about them. The blog has been pretty slow as I was moving from here to here I realize the only people still reading this blog are the administrators, my parents, and hopefully snave, but there's too much to talk about.
When a team has three crapbag seasons in a row, and comes into the season with Jeff Weaver and Horacio Ramirez as anchors of the rotation, it's hard to be optimistic. And then when a team is winning games but Jeff Weaver has a quadruple digit ERA, Felix Hernandez is hurt/struggling it's more of a "okay, when are they going to lose 6 games in a row?"
But, when they bounce back from that, win a couple series, sweep the new evil empire (sorry Dad), and keep going strong even when the opposing pitcher is eleventy billion times better than ours, it starts feeling like we have a good baseball team on our hands.
I made it pretty clear that I wasn't overly optimistic about this team coming into the year. And, even though the M's kept winning, I was still skeptical. Weaver was awful, Felix couldn't pitch anymore, the bullpen was being worn thin, Sexson and Ibanez were doing nothing, etc. But, the recent winning ways have shown me some things that have me pretty excited about the rest of this season:
1. JJ Putz is the best closer in baseball. By far.
2. There are no holes on offense. Ichiro is the only superstar, but every one else in the lineup can contribute. And that includes the bench players. That's the kind of team that stays in the hunt through September.
3. Jeff Weaver and Miguel Batista can pitch. Sort of. They are the kind of pitchers you hope to get 6 solid innings out of, keep you in the game, and let the offense and bullpen win it for you. They've shown that lately, and I hope it keeps up.
4. Mike Hargrove can make a good decision or two. He's managed the bullpen very well this year. He uses Putz in high-leverage situations instead of saving him only for save situations. I'm still not a big fan of his, but this is an optimistic post.
Sure, there are concerns. Felix is pitching like a 21-year old, Putz's arm may fall off, and the rotation still needs help. But I'll stick with being excited for now. I'm hoping they can win today against Toronto, then take or split the series with KC and Oakland, then get rested up for the big series against Detroit after the break.
Let's go M's!!!!!
When a team has three crapbag seasons in a row, and comes into the season with Jeff Weaver and Horacio Ramirez as anchors of the rotation, it's hard to be optimistic. And then when a team is winning games but Jeff Weaver has a quadruple digit ERA, Felix Hernandez is hurt/struggling it's more of a "okay, when are they going to lose 6 games in a row?"
But, when they bounce back from that, win a couple series, sweep the new evil empire (sorry Dad), and keep going strong even when the opposing pitcher is eleventy billion times better than ours, it starts feeling like we have a good baseball team on our hands.
I made it pretty clear that I wasn't overly optimistic about this team coming into the year. And, even though the M's kept winning, I was still skeptical. Weaver was awful, Felix couldn't pitch anymore, the bullpen was being worn thin, Sexson and Ibanez were doing nothing, etc. But, the recent winning ways have shown me some things that have me pretty excited about the rest of this season:
1. JJ Putz is the best closer in baseball. By far.
2. There are no holes on offense. Ichiro is the only superstar, but every one else in the lineup can contribute. And that includes the bench players. That's the kind of team that stays in the hunt through September.
3. Jeff Weaver and Miguel Batista can pitch. Sort of. They are the kind of pitchers you hope to get 6 solid innings out of, keep you in the game, and let the offense and bullpen win it for you. They've shown that lately, and I hope it keeps up.
4. Mike Hargrove can make a good decision or two. He's managed the bullpen very well this year. He uses Putz in high-leverage situations instead of saving him only for save situations. I'm still not a big fan of his, but this is an optimistic post.
Sure, there are concerns. Felix is pitching like a 21-year old, Putz's arm may fall off, and the rotation still needs help. But I'll stick with being excited for now. I'm hoping they can win today against Toronto, then take or split the series with KC and Oakland, then get rested up for the big series against Detroit after the break.
Let's go M's!!!!!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
5 in a row!
I too am excited about the promise this team is showing. It was this time, however last year that Mike and I were sitting in a bar in kirkland watching the mariners crush the Diamondbacks. I am taking this streak with a skepticle grain of salt. The bullpen ahs been incredible and teh offensive attack is really vastly superior than what I ahd expected. The main question I still have revolves around our rotation. Felix needs more time to get abck to wehre he was at the start of the year. Washburn appears to be in a rut. Baek should ahve been in the rotation at the start of the year, and his alst start was disappointing but cleavland is a very strong offensive club. I still hate that they insist on trotting weaver out there, admit you F-d up and jsut chaulk it up to a 8 million dollar mistake. Call up fearbin and let him roll in the 5 spot he gave you a chance to win.
There is a lot of time left but Raul is coming on like a house of fire and with his bat to an already hot offense i think this year could be a really exciting one up to the end. They need to decide what route they wish to take with Ichiro. I personally think you sign him, he is the best elad off hitter in the game bar none. However if they want to sign him do it now do not wait for him to hit open waters where you will be compeating agains tthe likes of the yankees and red soxs for his services. That is a mony game i do not want.
Tonight its Miguel. The bullpen really is in dire ened of a strong outing by one of our starters here. And by strong I am talking 7 or 8 innings. They are overworked and if the trend continues there will be no arms left for the push in late summer. The offense needs to come right out of theg ates and puta 4 spot up to give miguel some room and then just go to work.
Go M's 9 games over 500 for the first time in years!
There is a lot of time left but Raul is coming on like a house of fire and with his bat to an already hot offense i think this year could be a really exciting one up to the end. They need to decide what route they wish to take with Ichiro. I personally think you sign him, he is the best elad off hitter in the game bar none. However if they want to sign him do it now do not wait for him to hit open waters where you will be compeating agains tthe likes of the yankees and red soxs for his services. That is a mony game i do not want.
Tonight its Miguel. The bullpen really is in dire ened of a strong outing by one of our starters here. And by strong I am talking 7 or 8 innings. They are overworked and if the trend continues there will be no arms left for the push in late summer. The offense needs to come right out of theg ates and puta 4 spot up to give miguel some room and then just go to work.
Go M's 9 games over 500 for the first time in years!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
WOW WOW WOW
Up yours Dice-K.
I love stats. I really do. I'm no sabermetrician, but I'd rather hear about stats than grit. But, not tonight.
Felix. Hernandez. He did things tonight that trump any statistical measurement. He took Dice-K, ESPN, obnoxious Red Sox fans, and the entire nation and slapped them across the face. Then he stole their lunch money and ran away with their girlfriends. Then he dropped out of school and started his out business. And that business was dominance. Then he took dominance public and became the richest man ever. Then he bought the world and sold it to himself. Then he put the world in a little box and carried it in his coat pocket. Right next to his monacle. Then he had God paint a portrait of himself while he ate the world like a grape. Then he beat the Red Sox.
The Mariners are going to contend this year. And Felix Hernandez is why. He takes all of Jose Vidro's badness and farts it onto his recliner while playing NCAA Football 2007. I don't care how garbage-like the rest of the pitchers are. You can't be a professional athlete on the same team as F-F-F-Felix and not step up your game. and if you don't, go amateur.
I'm fired up!
I love stats. I really do. I'm no sabermetrician, but I'd rather hear about stats than grit. But, not tonight.
Felix. Hernandez. He did things tonight that trump any statistical measurement. He took Dice-K, ESPN, obnoxious Red Sox fans, and the entire nation and slapped them across the face. Then he stole their lunch money and ran away with their girlfriends. Then he dropped out of school and started his out business. And that business was dominance. Then he took dominance public and became the richest man ever. Then he bought the world and sold it to himself. Then he put the world in a little box and carried it in his coat pocket. Right next to his monacle. Then he had God paint a portrait of himself while he ate the world like a grape. Then he beat the Red Sox.
The Mariners are going to contend this year. And Felix Hernandez is why. He takes all of Jose Vidro's badness and farts it onto his recliner while playing NCAA Football 2007. I don't care how garbage-like the rest of the pitchers are. You can't be a professional athlete on the same team as F-F-F-Felix and not step up your game. and if you don't, go amateur.
I'm fired up!
Monday, April 09, 2007
How about some baseball?
For the sake of all that is good and holy can the Mariners please play a baseball game?
Sunday, April 01, 2007
2007......
It's been three seasons since our favorite navy and teal baseballers finished the year with a winning record. Three seasons since they kept our interest past June. And I'm finding myself inching ever so closely to that dreaded place that all sports teams want to keep their fans out of: indifference. Even though the M's have stunk for the last three seasons, I was excited about something going into the season. In 2004, they had just finished winning 90+ games for the fourth year in row. In 2005, the front office finally opened up their pocket books and signed some big bats. Even last year, I was excited to see what young guys like Felix, Betancourt, and Lopez could do and if Beltre would rebound. But this year is different. This is the least excited I've been about the Mariners in a long time. And I don't like that. But, without further ado, here are my thoughts going into the 2007 season. Let's do this in threes:
3 reasons for hope
1. The King. Felix was pretty inconsistent last year, but some of his underlying numbers were still pretty good. Most importantly, he seems to have a new focus and is ready to take the hill tomorrow. And he's only 21. We could see him develop into the top 5 pitcher that we all hope he can be.
2. Infield defense. No, seriously. The M's management took the approach of signing groundball pitchers this offseason. The reason? One of the best defensive infields in all of baseball. Beltre and Betancourt just may be the best left side of the infield in the land. If those groundball pitchers (Felix included) can keep the ball on the ground, there could be a lot of easy outs this year.
3. A pretty solid lineup. If that sentence doesn't tell you why I'm having a hard time getting excited about this team then nothing will. The lineup is what it is, but what that is is pretty good. How about that sentence? Dave from USS Mariner puts it nicely when he says,
3 reasons you'll be counting down the days until football season
1. The gruesome foursome. After Felix, the rest of the rotation is.....uh....suspect. I didn't want the M's to join in the spending madness that was this offseason, and I'm glad they didn't sign Meche, but Washburn, Ramirez, Batista, and Weaver are all back of the rotation starters at best. If the M's had a more potent offense or top-notch bullpen, they may be able to survive with that. But, methinks no.
2. Mike Hargrove and Bill Bavasi. Hargrove for everything he does that sucks, and Bavasi because is either extremely unlucky or a poor evaluator of talent. Now that Jeremy Reed has been sent to AAA, it seems the Freddy Garcia trade was a complete bust. Not to mention Jesse Foppert being released, making the Randy Winn trade worthless. Plus the Vidro and Ramirez trades, the Batista signing, Beltre, and, you get the point. I've been pretty patient with Bavasi because I think he was handed a crappy situation when Gillick left, but that patience is wearing thin.
3. Jose. All three of them. Vidro as a DH? Guillen as a teammate? Lopez's second half? Those three could make or break a lot of 2007.
Overall, I don't really know what to think. They don't look awful, but they don't look amazing either. The AL West isn't much of a division, and I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that if a lot of things break a certain way, the M's could be playing meaningful baseball in September. Let's hope that's true.
Other (aka better) previews:
Seattle Times
USS Mariner
Also, read this hilarious tribute to Dave Henderson at Lookout Landing.
Baseball!!! Yay!!!
3 reasons for hope
1. The King. Felix was pretty inconsistent last year, but some of his underlying numbers were still pretty good. Most importantly, he seems to have a new focus and is ready to take the hill tomorrow. And he's only 21. We could see him develop into the top 5 pitcher that we all hope he can be.
2. Infield defense. No, seriously. The M's management took the approach of signing groundball pitchers this offseason. The reason? One of the best defensive infields in all of baseball. Beltre and Betancourt just may be the best left side of the infield in the land. If those groundball pitchers (Felix included) can keep the ball on the ground, there could be a lot of easy outs this year.
3. A pretty solid lineup. If that sentence doesn't tell you why I'm having a hard time getting excited about this team then nothing will. The lineup is what it is, but what that is is pretty good. How about that sentence? Dave from USS Mariner puts it nicely when he says,
The opening day line-up is going to have Jose Lopez and Yuniesky Betancourt batting 8th and 9th in some order. Both are projected to be nearly league average hitters, and they’re filling out the last two spots in the batting order. What the offense lacks in thump, it attempts to make up for in balance.
3 reasons you'll be counting down the days until football season
1. The gruesome foursome. After Felix, the rest of the rotation is.....uh....suspect. I didn't want the M's to join in the spending madness that was this offseason, and I'm glad they didn't sign Meche, but Washburn, Ramirez, Batista, and Weaver are all back of the rotation starters at best. If the M's had a more potent offense or top-notch bullpen, they may be able to survive with that. But, methinks no.
2. Mike Hargrove and Bill Bavasi. Hargrove for everything he does that sucks, and Bavasi because is either extremely unlucky or a poor evaluator of talent. Now that Jeremy Reed has been sent to AAA, it seems the Freddy Garcia trade was a complete bust. Not to mention Jesse Foppert being released, making the Randy Winn trade worthless. Plus the Vidro and Ramirez trades, the Batista signing, Beltre, and, you get the point. I've been pretty patient with Bavasi because I think he was handed a crappy situation when Gillick left, but that patience is wearing thin.
3. Jose. All three of them. Vidro as a DH? Guillen as a teammate? Lopez's second half? Those three could make or break a lot of 2007.
Overall, I don't really know what to think. They don't look awful, but they don't look amazing either. The AL West isn't much of a division, and I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that if a lot of things break a certain way, the M's could be playing meaningful baseball in September. Let's hope that's true.
Other (aka better) previews:
Seattle Times
USS Mariner
Also, read this hilarious tribute to Dave Henderson at Lookout Landing.
Baseball!!! Yay!!!
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Dustin' off the old blog
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Still here.....
Now that the Seahawks are done (thanks to a kicker Penn State fans know as The Wedding Singer), and the Sonics blow, I suppose it's time for Seattle sports fans to start thinking about the upcoming baseball season. Yay! And how can you not be excited after this offseason? I mean, Miguel Batista is a Mariner! For three years!
You know what? That's all I really have to say right now.
You know what? That's all I really have to say right now.
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