Monthly Archives: July 2012

by | July 28, 2012 · 8:22 am

Flipping For The Gold

We’ve got a special surprise for you loyal readers!  As most of you know, the Good Guys generally stick to talking about the Mariners and Huskies.  Joe’s yearly NBA posts come up but otherwise we stick to what we know.  So, because the Olympics are the talk of the world we called in our gymnastics expert to give you the low-down on what to expect from team USA.  Our expert happens to be Matthew and my sister, Rachel Long.  She knows more about gymnastics than anyone I know and is just a big of fan of the sport than we are of the Huskies and M’s.  If you want a quick preview, this is the place to be.  Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Rachel Long.

I grew up in a sports family. Being the sister of Matthew and Andrew, I’ve spent more than my fair share of time at baseball fields, in the stands of bleachers, and yelling at the huskies from my couch believing that what I say will actually affect their performance.  And, I’ve loved every minute of all of it. Nothing is better than a fall Saturday at Husky Stadium with my family.

Well…. almost nothing, because as much as I love every other sport, my obsession with gymnastics out rules them all.  I have loved gymnastics for as long as I can remember. So much so that now it is my career. I spend the vast majority of my time coaching a gymnastics team. It is my job, my passion, and, most people would say, my life.

Most people go through years of their life not thinking a single thought about gymnastics. I can’t get my mind off of it. I over think it, analyze it, and drive friends crazy because I never shut up about it. My life is spent telling girls how to get better, how they can go higher, twist faster, and improve their scores. I analyze gymnastics videos trying to learn from the technique of the best gymnasts in the world.  So when I watch gymnastics, I pick it apart. I look for every error, comment on every deduction, and yell at gymnasts and coaches just as you do at the Mariners. Sometimes, because of my knowledge level and “expertise” I find myself wondering if I have lost a little of the joy and amazement that I has as a young girls watching the Magnificent Seven win gold at the 96 Olympics.

But, then the Olympics come around again.  Every four years, the world turns their eyes to gymnastics. A sport that is often forgotten is suddenly thrust into the spotlight and the world marvels at these seemingly impossible moves that these young girls make look easy. As I watch the games with my family and friends, their comments, questions and astonishment bring me back to why I love gym in the first place. No other sport is like it. It is exciting, terrifying, and beautiful all in one. The skill level, power and strength that these teenage girls have astounds you. The focus and heart that they compete with leaves you sitting on the edge of the couch wondering if in a single second all their dreams will fall apart.

I am okay with the fact that most people could care less about gymnastics. But, as you sit at home watching these Olympics, try to feel a little of the magic of gymnastics. Let yourself be pulled in. Root for these girls who have spent their whole lives working for this one moment. And then when the games end, you can go back to pretending like you don’t care.

So, from a gymnastics junkie to a four-year fan, here is your guide to the US Olympic Gymnastics team ….

Many would say that this is the best gymnastics team the US has ever had. Five girls, none over the age of 18, make up the squad who goes into the games as the favorite to win gold. Here are the girls

Jordyn Weiber–
Jordyn is the reigning world champion and a favorite to win All Around gold in London.  She is known for her power and athleticism and excels at floor and vault. Jordyn has won every major meet she has entered this year until three weeks ago when she lost for the first time at Olympic Trials to up and comer Gabby Douglas. Some would say that Gabby is peaking at the right time to give Jordyn a run for gold. In my opinion, sometimes people get tired of the old favorites. Weiber has been so good for so long that it can almost be a little boring. Though only 17 years old, Jordyn has been around and won every major meet in the World.  Many gymnastics fans have fallen in love with Gabby because she is young, new and different. However, in my opinion Jordyn is the one to watch. She has all the skills, focus, and mind-set to win it all. Jordyn is one of the toughest competitors I have ever seen in gymnastics. If she has a weakness, it is on bars. Though she can score well, she does not have the high-flying skills of Douglas or beautiful lines of Kyla Ross. Watch for Jordyn to consistently hit her routines with very few visible errors and with mental toughness beyond anyone. Maybe she doesn’t have the personality of Gabby Douglas but Jordyn does some pretty great gymnastics.

Gabby Douglas–
As I mentioned above, Gabby is the talk of gymnastics right now. After moving two years ago to be coached by Olympic champion Shawn Johnson’s coach, Gabby has been on the rise. She has continued to improve and astound the world, climaxing in her win at the Olympic Trials. Wait till you see her bar routine. This girl flies. I had the chance to watch her compete in person twice this year and her bars is unbelievable. I find myself holding my breath through it as she barely grabs onto the bar after each release move that seem to go ten feet into the air. She has been dubbed “the flying squirrel” by Olympic team coordinator Marta Karolyi because of the way she swings bars. Gabby can also be amazing on every other event especially floor. However the  operative word is “can.” For as amazing as Gabby can be, she can also be disastrous. She has been at times labeled as a head case and is very inconsistent, especially on beam. This is the main reason I have a hard time loving Gabby. As great as she can be, I am scared to see her put up on beam in team finals. I have nightmares of the United States losing out on gold because of a fall from Douglas on beam. Though I hope not, I expect Gabby to have a fall or major error at some point in time during the Olympic games. I just hope it doesn’t cost team USA or Gabby herself a medal.

Ally Raisman–
Ally fought her way onto this team by pure work, determination and guts. Ally doesn’t have some of the beauty of the other girls and doesn’t always have the same skill set. However what she does have is much-needed on this young inexperienced team- consistency. Ally can be counted on to go up and hit her routines with no major errors. She has proven this at meet after meet and is on this team to be the rock that the US needs. Ally, at the oh so old age of 18, is the team captain and the calming influence on the some of the very young girls. Ally has a big weakness on bars and that should keep her out of competing for the all around. But, on every other event she can put up some huge number that the US needs. Her vault is messy and I predict it will not score well at the Olympics. But her floor and beam are astounding and I hope to see her make it into finals on both these events. Her first tumbling pass on floor (round off 1 ½  twist step out to double Arabian immediate punch front layout, for anyone who cares!)  leaves you wondering how in the world any human can do that. I root for Ally because you can see that she has worked so hard for everything she has. I would love to see her have her own moment at the Olympics.

Kyla Ross–
Besides Weiber, Kyla has been my favorite gymnast to watch all year. She is the youngest on the team at 15 years old and many wonder if her inexperience will hurt her. I’m betting it won’t. Kyla has all the makings of a world class gymnast- clean lines, big skills, and focus that never seems to waver. She showed all through this season that she could be counted on to hit her routines over and over with great execution. I believe that the international judges will love Kyla’s look and gymnastics. Kyla is mainly on this team because she can be counted on to put up a huge bar score, which is the event team USA is weakest on. Kyla’s bars is beautiful. At some meets this year, her scores have even topped Douglas. Kyla can also shine on beam with a difficult set that she performs with perfect form. On floor and vault, Kyla can be counted on for clean performances with solid scores but will not bring in the numbers of some of the other girls. Kyla may not be the main star of these games but she will help the US to be close to that Gold medal and I expect to see Kyla around for a few more years after the  olympics.

Mckayla Maroney–
Maroney is on this team for one reason- Vault.  I have not read or heard anyone disagree that this 16-year-old girl from Long Beach, California is without question the best vaulter in the world. Her score on vault will give the United States a huge score advantage over any other country. I’ll try to summarize her vault in a way that a non-gymnastics person can understand. She sprints down the runway as fast as possible, does a round off so she hits the spring-board facing backwards, as she flies head first at top speed into a non moving extremely hard object she turns upside down and bounces off her hands on the vault table, and finally from here she flips off her hands and, while rotating with her body completely straight, completes two and a half twist before landing on her feet. And she does it in a way that makes it look easy. Other athletes can do this vault, including Weiber and Douglas. Nobody can do this vault the way Mckayla Maroney can.  Not only does this help the US during team finals, it almost guarantees the US another medal.  Maroney will make it to vault finals and she will win. (I’m knocking on wood as I write this because I don’t want to jinx her…. But really she’s that good!) We might not see Maroney compete any other events though I would love to see her floor routine. But like I said, Mckayla was put on this team to vault and she will do that well.

These five girls come in as the favored team. The US are the defending world champions and all of these girls except Kyla were on that winning team. They are very, very good. However, this can mean nothing in gymnastics. In the team finals, one fall can cost you a medal and many countries are biting the heels of the US team. Expect the fight to be between the historically top four countries in gymnastics- Russia, Romania, China, and The USA.

– Rachel Long

(Ed. note) I believe gymnastics starts tomorrow (Sunday) during prime time, if you are interested in watching.  

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by | July 23, 2012 · 11:32 pm

Thank You, Ichiro

Matthew just wrote a post about Ichiro below this.  It’s based more on facts and what it means for both sides.  This post is more of the emotional aspect and I just wanted to write a few words about the legend.

For the last month I’d been planning to write a post about Ichiro Suzuki.  I’ve been a defender of his this past year and I had grown frustrated with the media constantly bashing him while overlooking other faults in the organization.  Every time I tried to write the post though, I couldn’t get it out.  The truth is, Ichiro just has been very good in the last couple of years and I couldn’t write a strong enough piece to totally defend him.  I guess, more than anything it bothered me how Ichiro was treated.

I’ve never been one to truly care about how much a player talks to the media.  I didn’t like it when Chone Figgins repeatedly said, “Next question.” but that’s just because I don’t like Figgins.  Unfortunately, the media doesn’t like it when players don’t speak to them and where do fans get most of their information?  The media.  With that in mind, I think number 51’s career was tarnished a little bit.  Ichiro Suzuki was one of the Mariners most productive hitters this season.  He wasn’t good, in fact, he was bad, but there truly weren’t many better guys.  Yet, talk shows spent hour after hour debating his spot in the batting order.  National media members (Jon Heyman) tweet about the Mariners once a month and it’s usually to bash Ichiro.

For some reason, Ichiro has gotten the label of being a ‘selfish’ baseball player.  This stemmed from him not interacting with people and always hitting singles.  Think about how ridiculous this notion is now that he’s not here.  You had 2,533 hits for our organization and you are selfish.  What?  Former players didn’t understand Ichiro and then bashed him, because of that, after they’d left town.

Over the course of this year, there have been many things said about Ichiro that shouldn’t have been said.  Jay Buhner said recently said he would have vomited if Ichiro was signed to a good-sized extension.  We all understood the sentiment, but don’t you think he could have made it sound better?  A Mariner legend, who will never sniff the hall of fame, just insulted a future hall-of-famer, who played in Seattle longer than he did, in front of the whole city.  No one would have done this to Jr. in his last season even though he was producing at a much lower rate.

I think, over the past year, we’ve diminished the player Ichiro was.  He’s been the face of Japanese baseball and will continue to be long after he retires.  I ask you to forget all things that were said this past year about Ichiro.  He’s not selfish, he’s from another culture and just came here to play baseball the way that he knew how.  He was great at it.  He’ll be the 2nd player inducted into the Hall as a Mariner, right after Griffey, and he should be treated like that.  He’s a legend and we won’t see anyone else do what he did, ever.  2,533 hits in 11 and a half seasons.  Read that sentence again.

Remember Ichiro for his laser throw to gun down Terrance long.  Remember Ichiro for the day he broke Sisler’s hit record.  Remember him for the player he was as a Mariner, not the picture some of the media painted him as.

I’ve always hated the Yankees.  I’m like most people.  Now, I will root like crazy for them to win the World Series.  Ichiro truly deserves that.

I’m sorry if you ever felt under-appreciated here, Ichiro.  I hope you know that you are loved in this city and you’re a legend.  Go hit .320, win a ring, wear it to spring training and punch Jon Heyman in the face with it on.

Andrew

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by | July 23, 2012 · 8:44 pm

Goodbye Ichiro

In case you somehow missed it, Ichiro was traded to the Yankees today.  In a kind of sad, kind of cool twist, the Yankees are in town, so Ichiro was still in right field at Safeco tonight, but he was wearing pinstripes instead of northwest green.

It’s long been said that the only way Ichiro would be traded is if he requested it, and that proved to be the case.  Several weeks ago, Ichiro approached management and asked them to consider trading him.  He said he realized that the club was getting younger and he is getting older, and that he didn’t feel he has a place on the club for next year.  While he didn’t specifically mention it that I noticed, I’m sure that he also wants to play for a winner in the twilight years of his career.

It’s hard to know how to feel about this.  One of the characteristics that distinguishes humans from other animals is the ability to hold competing ideas simultaneously, and I think that is necessary here.  Ichiro leaving is sad, but it’s not necessarily anything to get mad about.

Ichiro has been my favorite Mariner pretty much since he got here.  He was just so cool and so stylish.  When he was going good he fit the city perfectly: a little aloof, metropolitan, did things his own way.  He modeled for a fashion spread in GQ and made legendary pregame speeches for the all-star game.

He was also the last tie to when the Mariners were good.  Anyone who was around in 2001 will never forget the way he took the league by storm.  He changed every game and was the talk of baseball.  He made the Mariners relevant and exciting.  I think at least part of the sadness of Ichiro leaving comes from the loss of what little identity the Mariners had left.  As long as they had Ichiro, they had something.  Now they’ve lost even that, and there’s no guarantee anyone will fill that hole anytime soon.

There are a few what I would call misconceptions I’ve seen floating around.  The first is that this is a trade made to help the Mariners.  I guess in a way it is, and I’ll talk about that in a minute.  This trade didn’t bring in great prospects or anything, though.  They got two pitching prospects who might someday be major league middle relievers.  That leads to the second misconception.  Trading Ichiro, even for a weak return, is not a failure by the Mariners management.  The only reason he was traded was because he requested it, and he had no trade value due to his play and contract.  This is completely a move made to take care of and reward Ichiro, and for that the Mariners deserve credit, even if it sucks to see him in a different uniform.  In most ways, this trade wasn’t about baseball, and that’s okay.

Bringing Ichiro back next year would have been a mistake.  It was simply time to move on.  No one expected him moving on would happen in this fashion, but it does prevent a potential headache this offseason if Ichiro had wanted to come back.  I was one of those who always thought he’d find a way to play well into his 40s, so his sudden decline is surprising and disappointing.  It’s time for the Mariners to build a winning team, and there was really no way Ichiro could have been part of it.

We’ll all miss you, Ichiro.  Even the last two years, you still had those moments where you did something amazing and brought us to our feet.  Thank you for so many great memories and for making the last ten years of Mariners baseball slightly less painful.  I wish you could have seen the playoffs in Seattle this season, but I’m happy for you that you’ll at least see them in New York.  You will always be a Seattle legend.

-Matthew

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by | July 23, 2012 · 11:56 am

The Mariners Are Good At Some Things

The Mariners are, and have been, terrible.  Maybe they’ll turn the corner soon, but it sure feels like they’re just going to continue losing 90 games a year until the end of eternity.

Let’s give them some credit, though.  For as bad as they are on the field, they do many things right otherwise.  Take, for instance, this story about their response to a young boy who wrote asking if they could help him out with a birthday/Father’s Day present for his dad.  Just go read it.  It’s a great story, and the kid is automatically in the running for Son of the Year.

The Mariners are really good at stuff like this.  They work hard to give fans a great experience and to contribute to the community.  Maybe that’s the norm with all sports teams, I don’t know, but it doesn’t have to be.  Much has been made about the value of a sports team to a community, especially around here with the loss of the Sonics.  Quantifying monetary and economic value is tough, but it’s hard to argue that the Mariners and other teams are anything less than tremendously valuable in countless other ways.

Like many fans, I get tired of the Mariners seemingly putting so much emphasis on the gameday experience while delivering such terrible teams.  I would not be at all sad if this ownership group sold the team tomorrow.  Still, don’t make the mistake of thinking that a great experience and a focus on contributing to the community is bad or detrimental to the actual baseball.  The off the field things are great.

If only the Mariners would realize that a winning team is the biggest part of a great gameday experience.  Then we’d have the best of both worlds.  Thank you, Mariners, for the many things you do.  Now, if you could add winning to the list, it would be much appreciated.

-Matthew

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by | July 22, 2012 · 9:35 pm

Getting To Know Your Dawgs – Quarterback

Matthew has recently been working on his series about the Mariners prospects at different positions.  This seems like a good idea.  I mean, Matthew does have his Masters Degree so that means he has some good ideas once in a while.  You never knew that the amount of good ideas you had were a direct correlate to the amount of education you have, did you?  That’s why 7 year old’s ideas are so dumb.  This is a tiny bit true although I’m mocking it.

Anyway, as Matthew finishes up his series about the M’s, college football season approaches!  Husky football is vastly more interesting than the Mariners these days so my series, which is on each of the 2012 Huskies positions, should be way better than Matthew’s.  This really wasn’t a competition until I started writing this.  Read his stuff too because he’s a better writer and, if you’re interested in the Mariners farm system, it’s much more revealing.

There’s a little over a month before the Huskies kick off against San Diego State on September 1st and only about 10 days until the Huskies fall camp starts.  It will be an exciting time, as this might be Steve Sarkisian’s best Husky team so far.  We’ll have more previews on the team as the season draws.  Today, I’ll just be talking about the quarterback and will move down the list of positions over the next month (content may continue to be light for the next few weeks because of vacations and such, it’s a busy time.  Sorry!).

The quarterback position will probably always be in good hands as long as Sark is here.  There were concerns about Keith Price last season but then he turned in one of the most amazing seasons in Husky history.  While that was going on, our coach brought in two 4-star recruits to sure up the future.  This  might be the most cheerful position preview you read, so enjoy it!

Keith Price (RS JR.)

Over the next couple of seasons, Keith Price could become my favorite Husky of all time (it’s a tie between Chris Polk and Tui, at the moment).  He has a great story, he’s a great player, and, most of all, he’s just happy to be on the field, playing some ball.  His smile has won over Husky nation and I’m not sure that anyone (even opposing fans) can really root against the guy.  Oh yeah, the numbers are pretty amazing too.  Last year he passed for 33 touchdowns, over 3,000 yards and had a 67% completion percentage to boot.  He did most of that on one good leg.  I do wonder if he’ll be able to stay healthy for an entire season but we saw what he could do in the Alamo Bowl with a healthy body.

Without Chris Polk around, some have questioned if Price will be as effective.  It’s an interesting argument that has some legs but I don’t have many concerns as far as that goes.  His numbers may not be quite as efficient but the yards may go up even farther and the Dawgs should be able to muster some sort of rushing attack.

Derrick Brown (RS FR.)

Brown will enter the fall as Price’s backup, if that stays the same for the season remains to be seen.  Brown could quickly become a forgotten man on this team because of the talented kids below him and the star above him.  With that being said, if Brown performs well he’ll play as Sark has shown a willingness to play the best player.  As a quick aside, remember when that wasn’t the case?  When Tyrone Willingham was coach I had no idea if the best player at the position was playing.  I know expectation are growing for this program, as they should,  but let’s be thankful that we made the right decision on this coaching hire.  Sark may not be the guy who coaches this team in the next golden age of Husky football but he has truly done an incredible job of getting us out of a deep, dark hole.

Back to Brown, he’s a 6-3, 230 lb. guy who is a fairly mobile guy.  He’s from California and was ranked around the number 20 quarterback prospect in the nation by recruiting services.  He’ll battle it out for the backup job during camp and I expect that he’ll be listed as the backup quarterback going in to this season.  Beyond that, I really have no idea.

Jeff Lindquist (FR.)

Lindquist is from Mercer Island and is a guy that I look forward to seeing over the next few years.  I know a few people over on the island and they all raved about Lindquist.  Not so much as a football player (although he was surely great in high school) but more as a person.  He seems to truly have his head on straight (which is another thing that Sark has done well, bringing in players with good character and running a pretty clean ship).  He’s around 6-4, 220 and reminded me of a Jake Locker type style when I watched him live a few times.  He runs pretty well, although not as fast as Locker, and has a strong-arm.  He was rated in the top 10 quarterbacks by most recruiting services.

Cyler Miles (FR.)

Miles is from Colorado and had an interesting recruiting experience.  He committed to the Huskies and then almost flipped to USC at the last second before announcing he was a Dawg.  I remember signing day well since I woke up at 6:30 for it…. Anyway, Miles has the best mobility of any U-Dub quarterback.  He’s a quick guy.  His passing might not be as strong in the passing game as Lindquist but he’s faster.  The recruiting services rank these guys very evenly and they’re usually ranked around number 10.  I have no idea who will turn out to play more.  There is no consensus on who’s better but Sark is working with some good kids and I have a lot of faith that one of them will turn out.

This position is probably the best on the team right now.  You can make an argument for the secondary but I don’t think it has more talent than this one.  I hope that Price is able to stay healthy and the young guys can redshirt.  Also, any of the backups playing this year might be a bit too soon.  Sark knows what he’s doing with them though and this position is the least of my worries.  That’s a blessing, considering that it’s probably the most important position.

Thanks for reading!

Andrew

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by | July 11, 2012 · 8:12 pm

The Mariners of the Future: Third Base

I’ll dispense with the lengthy preamble for this one.  Like every other position for the Mariners, third base has good options, questions, and lots of guys with something to prove.  Not sure when I’ll get to the outfielders or how I’m going to tackle that many guys, so you might have to wait a bit for that.  Plus, I’m heading on a long vacation in a couple of days.  Sorry.  Maybe the Mariners will make a trade and clear things up for me in the meantime.

The Rundown

Think of Kyle Seager‘s pro career up to this point as a reverse on the football field.  Unexpected, exciting.  Everyone’s paying attention now, where a few seconds ago the game was a bit on the boring side.  He’s just turned past the line of scrimmage, so that danger of being caught in the backfield for a big loss is avoided, but now he has to make that defensive end who held his gap miss, or else it was just a pretty three yard run.  Seager was a bit unexpected as a third round pick in 2009.  He was the second baseman on Ackley’s UNC team, and most thought that Ackley would move to the outfield in the pros and Seager would stay at second.  Instead, Ackley moved to second, and eventually, Seager to third.

Seager’s hit more than anyone expected.  Early on, he was termed Ackley-lite, but that doesn’t seem so accurate now.  He has surprising power without quite having the eye that Ackley was supposed to have.  He started 2012 on a tear, and despite tapering off some, he’s still been one of probably the three best position players for the Mariners this year.  Right now, he’s an average or slightly wose hitter and a good defender who should only improve.  The player he is now is valuable.  The Mariners could do and have done much worse at third base (see below).  The question now is whether Seager can make that defensive end miss and go for a big gain.  To be a star, he needs to make adjustments and become a constant power threat.  He’s not likely to ever be a huge power hitter, but home runs in the 20s with 40 doubles and a .340 OBP is realistic and would make him one of the best third basemen in the league. Continue reading →

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by | July 11, 2012 · 12:14 pm

The Most Important Reason to NOT Trade Felix Hernandez

A decent argument can, and has been made (almost weekly) for trading Felix Hernandez. I think we’ve all heard the basic elements of the discussion, but let’s review.

Trade Felix:
Felix is the most valuable chip the M’s have, and the likelihood of competing for a World Series before his contract expires after 2014 looks bleak (thanks to Tex and LAA). The national assumption is Felix will land in a big market the next time he hits free agency, because one can only handle so much rain, lack of offense, and of course, losing. And oh by the way, the Mariners offense is not so hot if you’ve tuned in this past decade, and there aren’t many top tier bats in the pipeline to change this. Speaking of top tier prospects, the M’s do have them, but they are pitchers. This side says trade your best asset to acquire offense (Pineda for Montero part 2), rather than stay this depressing course.

Do Not Trade Felix:
The argument I hear for not trading Felix mainly comes, naturally, from Mariner fans. This side says to be successful, you need an ace, which Felix is, and trading him for 1-2 MLB ready players plus a handful of prospects is not equal value. Furthermore, re-signing Felix may not be impossible based on his steadfast comments about the city and organization, and his desire to be a Mariner. Check out his comments from just two days ago:

“I’ve got two more years to go on my contract,” said Hernandez. “It’s not my decision. But I would love to stay. I love Seattle. I love the organization, and the city. I would be disappointed [to be traded],” Hernandez added. “I don’t think they will do that. I love them. And I think they like me, too.”

Lastly, what’s the rush to trade him now? Whether Seattle can contend before 2015 remains to be seen, but if two years from now the team is still struggling, and a trade must be made, Felix will still demand a nice package in return.

If you just consider the main points of each side, from 30,000 feet trading Felix looks logical, and inevitable. The trade Felix side has a compelling case. But let’s land this plane in Seattle, and dissect the lesser discussed, but most important reason the M’s should not trade Felix Hernandez: The Mariners needs an ace, yes, but more importantly, they need a face.

As a long suffering Seattle sports fan, I (and the other Good Guys) have insight and a pulse of the sports community that national writers and transplant Seattleites just don’t have. This town has seen too much losing, both in the record column, and in seeing it’s homegrown stars depart at the peak of their career. This list is long, headlined by the likes of Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Randy Johnson, Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, Kevin Durant, Rashard Lewis, Joey Galloway, and Steve Hutchinson. These are the superstars that began their pro career in Seattle, then for various reasons left in their prime, leaving fans wondering what if? The other list is short, most notably Edgar Martinez, Ichiro, Shaun Alexander, Walter Jones, and old timers Steve Largent and Fred Brown. Adding Felix to this list would mean so much more than a couple prospects that may or may not become MLB players.

Losing Felix via trade or free agency would not only hurt on the baseball diamond, but the morale blow and symbolic loss would be felt for years. To this day I wonder what Kemp and Payton could have been had they stayed in Seattle another 5 years. Or those mid-90’s Mariners that had the best core in baseball, could Jr., A-Rod and Randy have brought Seattle a World Series? I tend to think yes. The Mariners especially can ill afford to lose a superstar, given its history of doing so, and also its current public relations state. Felix has made clear time and time again his desire to be a Mariner, and he backed his words by signing a 5 year extension. The Mariners owe the fans to put up a fight to keep Felix in Seattle past 2014, rather than trading him. He is too unique, too special, too important to this city, both in the short and long term. He is the king, our ace, our face.

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by | July 7, 2012 · 9:55 pm

The Mariners of the Future: Shortstop

We’re back with a look at the players in the Mariners’ system who could play a role with the big league club in the next few seasons.  Today we look at the shortstops.

Before we look at actual players, let us take a moment to share a few words about that most important of ball-handlers, the shortstop.  Throughout baseball lore, the shortstop has been the lynchpin of the defense, the captain of the infield.  From the first days of little league, the most athletic, best fielder assumes responsibility for that huge patch of land between second and third, and that doesn’t change no matter how far one goes in baseball.  They must cover the most ground and field the most balls.  They have to have lightning for feet, a rocket for an arm, and the grace of a dancer around second base. Aside from the pitcher, the shortstop is the most important person on the field.

For all those reasons, little offense has traditionally been expected of shortstops.  It was enough to do all of the above, and if one could chip in with the bat occasionally, so much the better.  Those who could field the position and hit are legends.  Honus Wagner is still considered the best shortstop of all time, and he played before Babe Ruth.  There have been teams who sacrificed defense to gain some offense at short, but far more often teams have leaned the other way.  It’s always tempting to think that a good hitting shortstop will have a big enough offensive impact to offset weak defense, but the fact that so few managers are willing to play a bad defender is an argument that statistical analysis is hard-pressed to counter. Continue reading →

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