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by | May 14, 2013 · 3:18 pm

The Real Bully

There once was a boy named Edward.  He was entering the fourth grade and was rather excited.  At this point in time he had established himself as a school veteran.  Like any kid entering the fourth grade, he had experienced some highs and some lows.  Edward could never forget the P.E. championship his 3-on-3 basketball team won in the Fall of his first grade year.  There was that friendship he extended for a little too long early in third grade with Vin, but, as he’s learned from his friend Chuck across the street, we all make mistakes.  He had every reason to be excited about the 4th grade.

Then it came.  It’s still a mystery, even to this storyteller, how bullies pick their victims.  Edward wasn’t as popular as others but he was a loyal friend.  His family wasn’t as rich as others but wasn’t as poor as others either.  I guess Edward just fell through the cracks.

You couldn’t blame all of Edward’s pain on the bully at first.  Edward put himself in a bad situation.  He drank way too much coffee, which for some reason became a point of ridicule.  He traded his baseball cards with the wrong person (don’t even get me started on the guy on the other side of the trades, Ike).  He tried to stop the bullying before it began but didn’t put his whole heart into it, thinking it would just go away.  Sure, he appealed to his teachers.  They said to just ignore it and things would go back to normal.  He appealed to his friends.  They too, grew scared and didn’t invest their time anymore.

Once the bullying had taken place for a few weeks, Edward felt empty.  That emptiness lasted for six months.  Six long, hard months.  Chuck across the street wasn’t doing well, and that didn’t help take away any of his agony.  There were new guys who moved in, Pete and Paul, but they didn’t stop the bullying.  They just gave very brief moments of joy when their families got together on Sunday.  Six months are a long time for anyone, especially for someone who had grown so used to a pleasant life.

In that six month, something changed in Edward.  A lot of the change came because of his dad’s recent promotion.  This caused a big bump in Edward’s allowance.  He ran for student body President and surprisingly the school got behind him, electing him and giving him power.  This didn’t stop the bully, but the bully grew concerned.  Edward’s confidence was growing every day.

Finally, he made a deal with the bully.  He offered him money and tried to get him to back off.  Edward just wanted to feel whole again.  The bully would tell him he’d consider it.  The bully thought, “Well, maybe I can just get that same amount of money from someone else and still push Edward around.”

See, this bully was condescending.  He pushed more kids around than just Edward, although Edward was the only one he didn’t call a friend.  These other kids he considered his friends, it’s hard to say if they felt the same in return. The bully’s name was Joel.

Joel made Edward swear to silence while he worked to find another deal.  Joel worked closely with his friend Maurice.  Maurice was making a power play.  He matched the money Edward had put forward to try to climb the social structure of the fourth grade.  Maurice felt like he was a bit lost and he thought he could regain his sense of self by gaining more power.  No one can blame Maurice for trying.  No one deserves to feel empty.  Maurice did step over the line.  He told classmates “Edward isn’t a loyal friend, I am.”  He had a fetish for whales and was making promises that he couldn’t keep, without a minor miracle.  Edward couldn’t offer a rebuttal in fear of screwing things up with Joel.  He was sworn to silence.

Word eventually leaked out that Joel was going to side with Maurice.  Edward was still going to be the victim.

Edward did what he had to do.  He offered the bully more money.  What other choice did he have?  There wasn’t going to be a friend that all of a sudden moved to his neighborhood in two months to make him feel better.  Edward offered a lot of money.  Maurice couldn’t match that offer.

Joel still will probably choose Maurice.  Edward is just trying to show him that he means business.

Joel doesn’t really care about his other friends all that much.  Sure, they help him out a lot but he’s got to keep his reputation up as a tough guy.  Joel needs Edward.  He needs someone to pick on.  Joel will move away in a few years.  Until that day, he’s the bully no matter how much money Edward offers.

– Andrew

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by | March 10, 2013 · 4:30 pm

Hey, It’s Mariners Time!

Hello Mariner fans!  Anyone out there?  Whether you’re ready or not, the season is only a few weeks away.  The M’s started spring training on a tear, winning 10 straight at one point.  They’ve cooled slightly, but they are still putting up a lot of runs.  As every writer and fan anywhere has told us countless times, spring training doesn’t mean anything, but I’d certainly rather have them scoring bunches of runs than not.

Most of the roster is set at this point, barring injury.  Michael Morse and Kendrys Morales are looking like great additions, and if both can stay healthy, the offense should be at least league-average, if not better.  So far, everyone is hitting the ball, which is more people than the last few seasons by a difference of everyone.  What’s most important this season is for some of the young bats to take a step forward, primarily Montero, Ackley and Smoak.  A lot of the Mariners’ future is built on those three, and if none of them move toward being a difference-maker this year, that’s a blow that will necessitate a change in plans for building this team.

There’s only one roster spot in question on offense, and it appears to be a battle between outfielders Casper Wells and Jason Bay.  Wells provides superior defense and the ability to play center, plus slightly better offense last season.  Bay is coming off a couple of horrific seasons that led to the Mets dumping him before his mammoth contract ended.  The hope is playing in his hometown and being past a few injuries will lead him close to the all star level he held a few seasons ago.  He’s hit well thus far, but who knows if that will hold up.  Some people think Wells has a lot of untapped potential and just needs playing time, but I have my doubts about that.  Bay provides the best shot on the roster at major surprise production, but he could easily be off the roster by June, too.  I won’t be upset by whichever they choose, but I’d probably lean to Wells right now.

On the pitching side, there’s a bit of a battle at the back of the bullpen, which might come down to veteran signee Kameron Loe or rookie Stephen Pryor.  It won’t be a big deal either way, since the bullpen gets shuffled quickly due to injuries and ineffectiveness.  The rotation is a little more crowded.  Felix, Iwakuma and newcomer Joe Saunders are pretty much guarantees.  The last two spots will likely come from Erasmo Ramirez, Blake Beavan or Jon Garland.  Ramirez showed a ton of promise last season and should take one of the spots.  Beavan is still a mediocre guy who can pitch a decent number of innings, which is fine for a fifth starter.  Garland used to be a fairly solid starter, but he’s been out for more than a season after surgery.  He’s been decent but unspectacular this spring.  I would bet that Garland will take the spot, but no guarantees.  It’s possible Danny Hultzen or Brandon Maurer could go crazy in the next few weeks and steal a spot, but it looks more likely they will make an appearance in June or July at the soonest.  Both are excellent prospects, as are Taijuan Walker and James Paxton right behind them.

So there’s a quick overview of the spring so far.  They’ve mostly avoided injuries so far (knock on wood).  Hultzen is nearly back from a minor hip flexor issue, and prospect Stefan Romero just pulled an oblique in the middle of a crazy hot streak.  That’s all I have for now.  We’ll be back with more as stuff actually happens.  If you have to read more now, I’ll post some links after that jump. Continue reading →

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by | March 1, 2013 · 12:45 am

2013 AL West Team

Unlike some college sports, pro sports don’t come out with pre-season 1st and 2nd teams, but if the AL West had its pre-season team, this is how I think it would shake out. Clearly this is not a perfect method to predicting the AL West in 2013, and by season’s end the 1st and 2nd team selections will look different. But, it does provide a snapshot of how the division stacks up. My selection process looks at last year’s performance as well as potential this upcoming year, and projected impact/playing time. Some of the picks are obvious and others are less obvious, so of course I’d love to hear your thoughts too.

2013 AL West

A couple bullets:

  • It is hard to find much separation at the top between Oakland, Texas, and LAA. All 3 have playoff potential, but from this breakdown I would also suggest the Mariners are closer to the good teams in the division, rather than the bad (Houston).
  • Say what you want about Oakland’s 2012 season being an anomolye, but it’s hard to criticize the roster Billy Beane has been assembled this year. The A’s don’t have a lot of star power but they are solid at every position, and have a ton of depth, which will surely be an asset at some point.
  • The positions that were hardest to find a clear cut 1st and 2nd team selection were Catcher, DH, and the 2nd team OFs and Starting Ps. At catcher, Montero projects to have the most playing time and potential, so I gave him the honors. You could make a case for Jaso and Pierzynski too. The same is true between Kendrys Morales, Berkman, and Trumbo, but the numbers suggest Morales (when healthy) is the best option in the group. David Murphy is a nice player, as is Coco Crisp, Franklin Gutierrez, and Chris Young. Take your pick, I went with Murhpy. Starting pitching was a bit of a toss up to when you start picking the 8th-10th best in the AL West. I tried hard to justify an Astro but simply could not. Iwakuma was my 10th selection, but it could have easily gone to Derek Holland, Jason Vargas, or really any Oakland starter.
  • In order to visually quantify the separation between teams based on these picks, I’ve awarded 2 points for a 1st team selection, and 1 point for a 2nd team selection. Here’s how it shakes out on a fancy bar graph.

    graph

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by | January 13, 2013 · 8:09 pm

UW Recruiting 1/13

I posted an overview of the Huskies current recruiting class a week ago.  There hasn’t been a ton of news since then, but there’s been enough to warrant an update.  I’d recommend that you read the previous post first, but hey, you can do whatever you like!

The first news that came out this week was also the best, as the Huskies received a commitment from cornerback Jermaine Kelly.  He’s a pretty elite guy, one of the best athletes on the west coast.  He’s 6’2″ and electric enough that he could easily be a difference-maker at receiver if they needed him there.  Greg Biggins from Scout.com, who is one of the better evaluators out there in my opinion, says he has potential to be the best cornerbackout of this class in the west in a year or two, and that’s against some talented guys.  He had originally committed to UCLA before de-committing.  The rumors are that he had an issue with one of their coaches, and while there’s nothing on the record, supposedly the coach was former UW coach Demetrice Martin, who left last year for UCLA and took quite a few UW recruits with him.  Ironic, if you ask me.  I’ll take Kelly over all of the guys we lost last year.  Hopefully he won’t have to play this year, but he probably could and has all-league potential down the road.

Moving on, the other big news this week were the weekend visits that just finished.  The Dawgs reportedly had nine players on campus.  Six of them are already previously committed, and they all seemed to love their visit, as is usually the case.  The other three was a group of southern boys.  MLB Reuben Foster, out of Alabama, is the headliner.  He’s the top-rated linebacker in the country and one of the top 5 players overall, by most accounts.  He’s a difference-maker on the level of Shaq Thompson, if not better.  Most think that the Huskies are a long-shot to sign Foster, just because of distance.  I would agree with that, but Foster consistently says that he’s interested in getting away from home, and there’s a tweet going around that the percentage chance that he’ll sign with the Huskies is high, or something like that.  It’s a long way to signing day still, and he’s making visits to his local SEC schools in the next few weeks, so don’t get your hopes up.  But get them up a little, because this would be a shocker.

The other two who visited were OT Maurice Swain and Joe Sanders, who could play on either line, both from Georgia.  Unsurprisingly, the two are friends with Foster, who lived in Georgia before moving to Alabama.  Both are solid prospects in their own right, and would fill a need on the offensive line, but I would consider them long shots to be Huskies unless all three decide to come to Seattle together.  Another friend of Foster’s, OL Joshua Outlaw, was also supposed to visit, but he didn’t end up making it.  It’s unclear whether he’ll reschedule for later this month.  He’s a Tennessee commit and also pretty unlikely to end up in Seattle.

There are more players coming in this weekend and the couple after that, although none are quite so packed as this one was, yet.  That can change in a hurry.  As I said last week, this class currently looks phenomenal, one of the best since UW added Reggie Williams and a bunch of other top prospects a long time ago.  Right now, they’re sitting on 21 commits, most of which seem pretty sure to be Huskies, if they can make it into school.  CB Kevin King reportedly took a visit to WSU this weekend, which might end up meaning nothing.  Sometimes though, the coaching staff will tell a player that if he takes other visits, they’re pulling his scholarship offer.  No idea if that did/will happen with King, but it’s something to watch.  He’s one of their lower-rated players, especially now that Kelly is on-board.

Right now, the Husky class is balanced and deep, except at offensive line.  I get the impression that the Husky coaches are looking for a couple of O-linemen and are otherwise focused on hauling in some big-time prospects that are still considering them.  They don’t have any holes they need to fill, so they’re just trying to get the biggest impact players they can.  I could be totally wrong, of course, but that seems to be the direction things are going.  The previously mentioned Foster is probably the biggest fish they’re trying to land, but there are a few others as well:

  1. Myles Jack – The Bellevue linebacker has been committed to UCLA for a long time, but the Huskies have gone hard after him just as long.  Lots of people think he will eventually switch to UW, while some think he could even end up at Oregon.  Personally, I doubt he ends up a Husky, but I don’t really know anything.  He’s a phenomenal player and could possibly play right away.  I hope they get him, I just don’t have a great feeling about it.
  2. Eddie Vanderdoes – Vanderdoes is one of the top couple defensive tackles in the country.  He was committed to USC before decommitting to consider five schools.  UW is one of them, but it doesn’t sound real promising.  Best bet is that he ends up at UCLA or Notre Dame, but anything can happen when Tosh Lupoi’s working on a kid.
  3. Nico Falah – Another USC commit, Falah is an OT from California and would fill a huge need.  While still committed to USC, he’s strongly considering UW as well.  All things equal, I think he’s a Trojan.  Given their scholarship restrictions though, it’s possible USC pulls his scholarship or something, and then UW will be in good shape.  There have been concerns with his performance at camps and other things, but he has a ton of potential and the Huskies badly need tackles.
  4. Patrick Enewally – Enewally isn’t as highly rated as the previous three, but he’s also supposedly more likely to be a Husky.  He’s a cover safety, a position where the Huskies could use a little depth.  Last I heard he was considered UW and Boise State, leaning toward the Huskies, but I don’t really know for sure.

There are plenty of other players out there, but these are the ones that UW is known to be working hard to get.  The last few years, they’ve had a surprise on signing day, so hopefully there’s someone out there that none of the recruiting services know anything about or weren’t aware the Huskies were recruiting.  That’s always fun.  I’ll be back with another update in a couple of weeks, or sooner if there’s news.  Go Dawgs!

-Matthew

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by | January 6, 2013 · 7:07 pm

Husky Recruiting Chit-Chat

While the Seahawks are storming through the NFL, the Huskies ended their season on a down note with tight losses in the Apple Cup and Vegas Bowl.  Despite the disappointing end, the outlook for the 2013 Huskies is bright.  They only lose a few starters, and with improved offensive line and quarterback play, both of which I would consider likely, they should be ready to make a run at the top of the conference.  Right now the Husky coaches are locked into recruiting season, and it’s looking a lot more promising than the end of the football season was.

Signing day is the first Wednesday in February, about a month away.  Right now the Huskies have a class of 20 commits, and it’s an excellent group.  Most recruiting rankers consider it among the top 10-15 classes in the country, for whatever that’s worth.  They’re likely to take a class of about 25 players, although I would expect some turnover among the 20 current commitments.  The last month of recruiting is crazy, like that November Saturday when the top four teams all lose. Kids will change their minds, and unfortunately some will be encouraged to look elsewhere by coaches, either because they haven’t progressed as much as expected or because there’s someone better to take their place.

I’m not going to go too in-depth with this post since a lot will change before signing day.  The Huskies already have a quarterback in the boat. Troy Williams is supposed to start classes at UW tomorrow, taking him off the market and letting him participate in spring practices.  He’s a good one, compared to a bigger and more polished Keith Price at the same point in his career (although that was a bigger compliment 4 months ago).  I doubt he’d play this year due to the Huskies’ depth, but it wouldn’t be a shock if he made a run at replacing Price in 2014.  S Trevor Walker is also supposed to enroll early, but probably not until spring quarter. Continue reading →

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Aside

Happy 2013

Happy New Year! 2013 is a little odd for me because it reminds me that I’ve been out of high school for a decade now. It’s probably about time I move on. Ya right! On the other hand, I am welcoming 2013 with open arms. I’ve patiently waited for 2013, and if you’ve read this blog the past couple years, you may have seen my occasional 2013 references. So what’s all my excitement over, you ask? Well, in December of 2011 I had an epiphany about the year 2013, which was that ALL 5 Seattle teams (the ones people care about), could be in position to make a run at a championship.

I surmised that the UW football team, fresh off a Holiday Bowl win, would be entering year 5 under Coach Sark, and opening up new Husky Stadium, led by senior QB Keith Price. The Mariners would be in year 5 under Jack Zduriencik, and the young nucleus he was building would be established. Coming off a promising 1st season with Pete Carroll, I figured the Seahawks could be in position to really contend in a couple years, so long as they found a franchise QB—check! Lastly, the UW basketball team, and Sounders FC (entering its 5th season), are seemingly always a threat to have a special season, so across the board 2013 was, and is, looking bright. It even crossed my mind that it might be the year the NBA returns, which it could be.

A large part of my optimism stems from the fact that for the first time in a long time, there appears to be stability with all 5 of our teams. In fact, every coach and GM has been on his respective Seattle team for 2+ years. I doubt many cities can say that, and what it means is that none of our teams are in a true “rebuilding” situation. There is reason for hope with all our teams, though now that 2013 is upon us, I can safely eliminate the Mariners and Huskies from winning it all this year. Still, could all our beloved teams have a winning season, or perhaps make a playoff run? Absolutely. Or, dare I say it, could 2013 be the year a championship is won in Seattle? If not this year, there’s always next year.

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by | January 2, 2013 · 11:30 am
by | December 19, 2012 · 8:08 pm

Mariners Trade for Kendrys Morales

In their biggest move of the off-season, the Mariners today traded Jason Vargas to the Angels in exchange for Kendrys Morales.  Morales is a DH/first baseman entering his final year of arbitration, meaning he’ll be a free agent after the season.  Back in 2009, he was one of the best bats in the league, and was on the same pace through 50 games in 2010 before badly breaking his ankle.  Ironically, he did so as he celebrated hitting a game-winning grand slam against the Mariners.  Morales missed the rest of 2010 and all of 2011 before returning last year to play 134 games.

Morales’ 2012 wasn’t up to his previous level of production, but it was pretty good for a guy who had missed a year and a half.  He hit .273/.320/.467 with 22 home runs and 26 doubles.  His OPS+ (on-base % and slugging % in comparison to everyone else) was 121.  100 is league average.  On the Mariners, John Jaso was at 144, but the next highest were Saunders and Seager at 110, so Morales is clearly a big add for the offense.  He’s a switch hitter, better from the left.  Even if he got back to his 2009 level, he’s not an absolute elite bat, but he’s on that next level down.  I’d consider him the best power bat the Mariners have had since Russell Branyan had that one good year.

Losing Vargas leaves a bit of a hole in the rotation, but I’m not terribly concerned.  It should be easier to obtain a Vargas-level pitcher than a Morales-level hitter.  There are a number of good free agent pitchers still available, and the Mariners have a bevy of prospects capable of stepping into the rotation soon.  If they don’t add a starter before the season, I’ll be concerned, but there’s plenty of time to do that.

Everyone is wondering what this means for Justin Smoak and Jesus Montero, since Morales plays their primary positions.  I’m not worried.  Smoak is as likely to be in Tacoma as he is to be deserving of major playing time in Seattle.  Montero will have plenty of opportunities between, catcher, DH and potentially first.  If he hits he’ll play.  Jaso will likely be the primary catcher against right-handers and can fill in at DH as well.  There are plenty of at-bats to go around, and if all four players hit well enough to deserve major innings, that’ll be a good thing.  I think this works out well, as it gives the Mariners wiggle room to see if Smoak can do anything and to see what Montero and catching prospect Mike Zunino can become.  If by some chance everyone goes crazy this year, they can let Morales walk after the season.  If not, they can try to resign him.  He’s an excellent stopgap with potential to be a longterm solution if needed.

I love the trade.  Morales doesn’t make the Mariners a contender overnight, but he gets them a lot closer.  Coming into the off-season, I hoped the Mariners would find two solid bats and a good starting pitcher.  I don’t know if they’ll get all the way there, but this was a good start.  It has minor risk and improves the team without sacrificing the future in any fashion.

I’ll have more on the Mariners sometime before the year’s over.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see another move or two in that time.  There are only a handful of major free agents left, and most of them should sign in that time, which should also key some trades.  Or not.  Who knows?  This off-season is nothing if not unpredictable.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

-Matthew

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by | December 3, 2012 · 9:35 pm

Catching Up with the 2012 UW Freshman, Pt. 1

The Husky football season is largely over and temporarily stuck in that weird purgatory bowl game and the end of the season.  The Husky coaches spent most of last week out recruiting, and there are visitors scheduled for the next few weekends. We’ll get into recruiting more in the coming months, but I thought this would be a good time look at last year’s recruiting class to see what they did this past season.

I’ll start with the redshirts, the guys who didn’t play this past season.  Depending on how much I feel like writing, the guys who played might come in a later post.  We’re just going to have to see how this goes!

The Offensive Linemen
Jake Eldrenkamp, Taylor Hindy, Nathan Dean, Cory Fuavai
I’m lumping all of these guys together because they’re offensive linemen and I therefore know hardly anything about them. No offense, guys.  Eldrenkamp is the most highly thought of, and probably would have been the next to play if the Great Injury Plague of 2012 had continued. Dean was considered a tackle prospect during recruitment, and the Huskies need those.  Fuavai used to be Cory English, but changed his name last summer.  Still confuses me sometimes.  I look at the roster and say, Who’s that guy?  So confusing.  Hindy was a surprise commit right at signing day.

This group was conspicuous for the lack of some major local recruits like Josh Garnett and Zach Banner, but it’s a solid class still.  That redshirt year is standard and necessary, and hopefully the only reason any of this four will have to play in 2013 is for exceptional talent.  Another year to get better and stronger is almost always needed for players in this position.

The QB’s
Cyler Miles & Jeff Lindquist
Both Miles and Lindquist were among the best QB recruits in the country as big, mobile guys with good arms and intelligence.  Miles drew  raves all through the season and is reportedly further along than Lindquist.  I’ve even seen some suggest Lindquist might change positions, but that seems premature.  Both have outstanding talent, but it takes players different lengths of time to acclimate to college football.  Both will have a shot to find playing time in 2013, but it would be best for all involved if Keith Price could get back to good football.  Starting a freshman quarterback is rarely a good option, but these two are not the typical freshman quarterback, or so we’ve been told.  They were the highlight of the class on signing day and have done nothing to tarnish their appeal. Continue reading →

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