by | December 10, 2013 · 1:37 am

Are The Mariners Really ‘Dysfunctional’?

On Saturday night, news broke that Geoff Baker, of the Seattle Times, had just dropped some, well umm, news on us.  Baker has recently moved off of the Seattle Mariners beat and into a columnist/investigative role.  His first story was this one.  As far as reporting goes, this was a bomb.  The story was about problems in the Mariners front office, and reflected especially poorly on Jack Z, Howard and Chuck.  Baker interviewed a few former employees and that is what the story was based on.  It was a very well-written piece and Baker was simply doing his job, and doing it well.

With all this being said, I think there are some problems with the way this article is being received.  Seattle media and fans have a way of really eating any information up and reacting to it in the most negative way possible.  That’s what happened here.  Admittedly, I’m not a huge Geoff Baker fan.  I’m not going to go into why, but I do think he’s an extremely talented writer and reporter.

I’m writing this post, not as an attack on Baker, but because I think the story needs to be questioned in the way of who the quotes came from and the relevancy of today’s team.  I will be going straight through the article, paragraph by paragraph, and talking about some problems I have with it.

Before I begin with that, I think the timing of this article is noteworthy.  Ryan Divish did say that this article has been in the works for over a month and I have no reason to believe him.  But, the story came out 2 days after the Mariners finalized the deal with Robinson Cano and people were feeling optimistic about Seattle for the first time in years.  The Mariners were a hot topic and this story came out about 36 hours after the big news.  Coincidence?  Possibly.  Great for Seattle Times subscriptions?  Definitely.

Let’s move on to the story.  If you haven’t read it, please do that before you read the rest of my post.  I don’t want to use many quotes of the story in here because Baker should get the views for his work, so the rest of this post won’t make much sense if you don’t read that.  (Here’s a link to the article)

The article begins by telling a story of former manager, Eric Wedge, getting yelled at by Chuck Armstrong and Howard Lincoln after the 2012 season had ended.  Apparently, the meeting got heated as Wedge fought back.  In short, Wedge didn’t like getting yelled at, as the team had improved, and he didn’t like that Z didn’t warn him it was going to happen.

If what Eric Wedge said is true in this part of the story, that really is too bad.  The team did improve and Wedge couldn’t have done a ton more with the players he had.  But, this is professional baseball.  Eric Wedge made a lot of money and his team finished 12 games under .500.  Employees have been yelled at by their bosses for a lot of worse things.  Also, Wedge was probably angry at this point in time and may have overdramatized what was said in his mind.  Probably not, but that is something that should be taken into account.   Continue reading →

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by | November 27, 2013 · 11:27 pm

Apple Cup Predictions

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the frustrations of sports.  Seattle teams lose much more than they win, and it can get frustrating.  Some level of aggravation is normal, as it would be with any interest when it goes poorly.  It can be easy to let it get out of hand and take over one’s life, though, and that seems a shame.

Sometimes we need to step back and remember that sports themselves are great.  For every frustration, there’s the simple fact that sports are fun and exciting and entertaining. Is there anything better than sitting at Husky Stadium or Century Link or Safeco on a clear day?  Seattle is blessed with professional and major college teams, and whether they’re good or not, not everywhere is so lucky.

I hope the Huskies win Friday, and I hope the Seahawks make the Super Bowl this year.  I really hope the Mariners are good again in my lifetime.  Even if they’re not, I’m thankful I get to go to Husky games with my dad and brother and sister.  I’m thankful for the countless memories and hours of enjoyment sports have brought me.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and thanks for reading.

Joe

The Apple Cup is a rivalry game. Rivalry games, as they say, you can throw the records out the window, they don’t matter.  I am usually lukewarm about that assertion, because usually records do matter, and do reflect reality.  Your record is who you are. In the case of this year Apple Cup, I agree, records don’t matter. In the sense that WSU isn’t as good as theirs indicates, and UW is better than theirs indicates.

I have had an ongoing discussion with the other good guys regarding how opposite these two schools conference schedules have been. In a nutshell, WSU has had all their tougher opponents at home, UW, conversely, on the road (the exception being Oregon for both schools).  WSU has had the fortunate circumstances of not playing UCLA, getting Lane Kiffin’s USC team early, and catching a sleeping Arizona a week before senior day.  UW played Stanford, ASU and UCLA all on the road.  The point of all this is to say that I believe WSU’s 6-5 record is a bit of a mirage, aided by favorable conference scheduling and timing.  Conversely I believe UW’s 7-4 record is misleading as well.  I maintain if UW had WSU’s conf schedule, the Huskies would probably be at 9 wins already. They are that good of a football team.  And I think it will show Friday.

WSU will throw exclusively and be buoyed by a stingy defense, but in the end the Dawgs have two huge factors in their favor: Husky Stadium and revenge.  In sports, home field and a desire to get back at a rival almost always leads to victory.  It will Friday.  Watch for UW to establish a running game early no matter what, and watch for one of UW’s WRs to have a 100+ yd game (Stringfellow). WSU’s inability to run will lead to multiple Halliday interceptions that will kill WSU drives.  Late 3rd qtr the Dawgs will start to break WSU’s will with the run game.  Cougs go back home empty handed.

UW 38 – WSU 19

Matthew

Andrew’s written before about how my predictions always seem to go wrong.  I’ve done pretty well picking games this year, but if I make a proclamation in game, the opposite generally happens.  So, I’m a little hesitant to say this, but I have a really hard time seeing the Huskies losing this game.  The Cougars are better than last year, but I don’t think they’re very good.  I think UW, when focused and clicking, is a pretty dominating team.  Plus, they’re playing at home, which is generally all the difference they need against middling opponents.

I’m curious to see whether last week’s blowout win will function as the proverbial light bulb going on for this team.  Sometimes guys just need to see what can happen when they come out and play exactly as hard and as smart as they can.  Hopefully the dominating results  from that effort will give them confidence and motivate them to prepare and play like they did last week in the games and seasons to come.

As for the Apple Cup, I could see a close game, but I could also see the Huskies coming out hot again, reeling off a couple of scores and cruising to a big win.  Connor Halliday might be the difference between a close game and a blowout.  He can be very good at quarterback, and then he can be absolutely horrible at the flip of a switch.  The Huskies need to get some pressure early, hit a couple of passes over the top, and let Bishop carve up the Cougar defense.  I don’t think Black Friday will hold any good deals for WSU.

UW 45 – WSU 27

Andrew

After the beatdown the Huskies gave the Beavers last Saturday night, Husky fans are truly feeling good about the team for the first time since they were 4-0.  These good feelings should continue on Friday afternoon.  WSU has improved and will no doubt be ready to play.  They have rode a beneficial schedule to bowl eligibility but they are a better team than the one that the Huskies lost to last year.  The difference this year is that the Huskies will probably show up to the 4th quarter.  This Husky team is angry and ready to prove that last year was a mirage.  If the Huskies jump ahead early this game could get ugly, but, since it’s the Apple Cup, I expect this one to stay close throughout.

UW 35 – WSU 24

Dan

A bit late to get my prediction in, but here’s my quick take.

It’s impossible to know if the Huskies will be clicking tomorrow like they did last week. If they play well, there is no doubt in my mind the Dawgs will roll. I’m biased, sure, but I really believe the Huskies are a much better team than the Cougars. But again, we can’t know which UW team will show up and if Wazzu is the better team for 60 minutes tomorrow, they can absolutely win, and have major bragging rights in what would be their 6th apple cup in the last 10. The Pac 12 has been tough to predict, and rivalry games often surprise too, so anything can happen. If I were betting, I think the Huskies will win comfortably because I don’t see Sankey and the UW offense being contained, nor do I see the Cougs’ one dimensional offense having it’s way against the home team’s D. Expect an inspired, revenge seeking performance by the mighty men who where purple and gold. Go Dawgs!

UW 41 – WSU 24

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by | November 23, 2013 · 11:37 am

UW vs. OSU Predictions

The Huskies’ season is down to three games.  It’s been a frustrating season.  Most would agree this year’s team is Sarkisian’s best yet, but through deficits in talent or focus or coaching or who knows what, they still can’t quite take the step of beating the great teams, especially on the road.

Today is the 2013 Huskies last chance to prove something.  They could lose today and win the last two and still have made some progress, but nine wins, with one being a solid road win, would feel much better.  I don’t think Sark will be fired no matter what, but a 9-4 season has to be considered a success and would give some good momentum to next year, when nearly everyone but Keith Price (and maybe Bishop Sankey) will be back.

The Huskies’ situation isn’t as dire as many have made it sound.  Their talent still isn’t quite what it needs to be, and they clearly haven’t had the lightbulb come on as to how they have to prepare and focus.  The discipline is lacking, as seen both in penalties and lack of execution.  Both the team and coaching staff have to continue to grow this offseason.  A win today could provide the boost of confidence that might push this team over the edge.

Dan

I like the Huskies on paper, and I think they are the better team in this matchup. However, it’s getting hard to ignore the road numbers. In Sark’s tenure, the Huskies are 7-20 on the road, having only beat USC, Cal (2x), WSU, Utah, Colorado, and Illinois. Of that batch, only USC was a decent team, that win being the only road victory against a ranked team under Sark. So you could argue that the matchup comparisons mean little today, because until the Huskies prove they can beat decent teams on the road, there will be major doubts. That said, penalties and turnovers seem to derail the Dawgs on the road, so minimizing those should go a long way to getting a win. And of course, Keith’s injury status looms large today. The defense will need to show up as a startling trend is developing, which is that when facing good teams, UW has given up an average of 42 points this year (Stanford, Oregon, ASU, UCLA). That all will need to change and it just may today, but I won’t count on it.

Benny’s Beavers  34 – Harry’s Huskies 24

Joe

UW rolls into Corvallis in a do or die situation.  The vultures are circling in Seattle around Coach Sark and his future; warranted or
not, it’s a reality.  The Huskies lead all FBS schools in penalty yards which has cost them games (the actual *validity* of many of the
more untimely penalties are up for debate…, but I digress).  The undisciplined fashion they play with has got to stop.  Now.  If not,
they are staring a 6-6 season square in the face, which may cost this coaching staff it’s jobs (again, warranted or not).  Sometimes do or die games are needed to quickly and effectively focus a team on the issues at hand.  Lose a game in Sept or Oct and “there’s always next week”.  Lose a game in late November and you’re talking about a good or bad bowl and job security.  It’s when the cream rises to the top. This is why I feel UW will win.  I haven’t felt this way lately, especially last week vs UCLA.  This week is different.  The Beavers are struggling in similar ways as UW is, but I believe UW is the more desperate team here.  There’s more on the line.  A program defining 9-4 season is still, remarkably, a possibility if they win out with a bowl.  Lose this game and you then have to host a possible bowl eligible WSU in the Apple Cup and we all know how those games go. There really is no tomorrow for UW.  The road woes must end, and I think they will.

UW 34 – OSU 30

Matthew

I don’t really have any idea how this game will go.  It seems impossible to predict without knowing if Keith Price will play.  If Cyler Miles starts, it could be a drastically different game plan.  There are just a lot of unknowns here, including how good OSU really is.  This is a game that might depend on Bishop Sankey and the defense.  Brandin Cooks is one of the scarier players in the league, but if the Huskies can blanket him somewhat and get a little pressure on Sean Mannion, they can stop the Beavers.  Regardless of who’s at quarterback, I think the Huskies will win this game if they can avoid the mistakes that so often plague them, most recently in the first quarter at UCLA.  I have no idea if today is the day they make that jump, but I’m trying to be optimistic this year, so I’m going to say the Dawgs pull this one out.

UW 38 – OSU 27

Andrew

After last week, the Huskies don’t really give me any good reason to pick them this week.  As usual, it felt like the Dawgs were just a few plays away last Friday night but they couldn’t overcome their mistakes.  This week seems like a matchup that is a lot the same.  I think the Huskies are the more talented team this week and may be better overall, just like last week.  While Oregon State has some nice pieces, I like how are offense matches up against them and our defense’s strength matches up against their offense’s strength.  But, it’s a conference road game against a pretty good team.  While the knock on Sark not being able to beat teams on the road may be a little bit overblown this year (his road losses have come to teams with a combined record of 24-6), this game still feels like more of the same to me.  I think it will be close, but until the Huskies show me they can win these types of games I don’t think I’ll be picking them.

Huskies 34 – Beavers 38

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by | November 22, 2013 · 4:53 pm

Pac-12 Picks – Week 13

Hello everybody!  I’m headed out the door, so this will be a quick post.  This is a pretty interesting week of football.  The 12:30 games could be the best slate as we have Oregon heading to Arizona and Utah at WSU.  Oregon should handle Arizona but those teams have a history of playing some close games down there.  Utah at Wazzu has bowl implications on the line.  UCLA playing ASU in the Rose Bowl is probably the game of the week and will go a long way in deciding the Pac-12 South champion.  Here are our picks:

Oregon at Arizona – 12:30 P.M.
The Good Guys:  Oregon

Utah at WSU – 12:30 P.M.
Dan, Joe, Matthew:  WSU
Andrew:  Utah

Cal at Stanford – 1 P.M.
The Good Guys:  Stanford

Arizona State at UCLA – 4 P.M.
The Good Guys:  ASU

USC at Colorado – 6:30 P.M.
The Good Guys:  USC

Standings (Matthew actually picked ASU last week, instead of what I had posted.  He corrected it in the comments):  

Dan 64-14 (.821)
Matthew 63-15 (.808)
Andrew 63-15 (.808)
Joe 59-19 (.756)
Tyler (Commenter) 48-12 (.800)

That’s it for this week!  Have a good weekend.

Andrew

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by | November 19, 2013 · 11:04 pm

UW Recruiting Update

The current Huskies have been frustrating to follow of late, so I’m here to give an update on the future Dawgs.  Recruiting is starting to pick up as high school seasons end.  While the Huskies have nine current commits and dozens more scholarships offered, much of the coaches’ work will come in the next two and a half months before signing day in February.  December and January will be filled with official visits by prospective Huskies.

To give some info for those who don’t follow recruiting closely, the NCAA allows schools to take 25 new players per year.  Teams get around this by having players enroll early or late, but most classes won’t go over 27 or so at the very most.  Schools are also limited by only being allowed 85 scholarship players per season.  This is where the Huskies are facing some trouble.  Due to a small senior class this year, the Huskies are expected to only take 15-20 players.  It’s no big deal and happens to every school once in a while, but it does effect the coaches’ strategies and the types of players they’re after.

I’m mainly going to run through the current commits in this post.  It’s still pretty early to talk much about others.  There’s no guarantee these nine will even sign with UW come February.  Nothing is binding until then, and several of the current commits have visited or plan to also visit other schools.  All that said, here are the current guys.

  • WR Rashead Johnson – Johnson committed well over a year ago, and while he’s taking some visits, most expect him to be a Dawg.  He’s in the Mickens, Ross mold, speedy and hard to bring down.  Very well-regarded, and a guy who could at least challenge for playing time early.
  • WR Erik Brown – Brown’s a bit bigger.  Think Jermaine Kearse, maybe.  He’s a funny one, because his high school team is fairly bad and he hasn’t put up the numbers one would expect from the 18th ranked receiver in the country.  Brown has impressed in camps and could really blossom with better QB play.  He’s also taking trips and seems like a possibility to go elsewhere.
  • TE Chase Blakley – An excellent receiving TE prospect from Coeur D’Alene, Blakley sounds like a poor man’s ASJ: not as big or athletic, but who is?  That’s no knock, as Blakley’s one of the top TE’s in the country and could play early and often at UW.
  • OT Matt James – Blakley’s teammate, James is currently the Huskies’ lone OL commit and a guy who should grow into a solid tackle.  He purportedly has good athleticism and just needs to get bigger and better.
  • DE Don Hill – UW’s third Idaho recruit, Hill unfortunately suffered an Achilles injury that’s wiped out his season.  When healthy, Hill is a guy who figures to man the rush end spot.  He’s a bit under the radar, but he has the length and athleticism UW is seeking.
  • DT Natrell Curtis – A big man out of Arizona, Curtis could also play OG, but he seems like a good bet to replace Danny Shelton at nose tackle eventually.  Some recruiting guys think he might never become a Husky due to a combination of grades and family issues, but that’s speculation at this point.  If he makes it to Seattle, he could be a cornerstone of this class.
  • LB/S Drew Lewis – A local boy, Lewis plays safety in high school but will likely be a linebacker at UW.  He fits the mold  of linebackers UW is after, as a lanky guy who can run and cover.
  • S Lavon Washington – I don’t really know much about Washington, but he’s a sleeper who’s raised his standing quite a bit over the season.  It seems to be required for the UW to take a guy named Washington every season or two.
  • CB Jonathan Lockett – Growing up, it seemed like CB was always a trouble spot for UW, but that has changed dramatically since coach Keith Heyward came aboard.  Lockett could be another star.  It’s good to see the Huskies getting at least one potentially elite CB prospect each year, and Lockett keeps that tradition going.

This is a good group but lacks any surefire stars.  They are drawing interest from a lot of guys still, so there’s little to worry about yet.  Expect at least a couple more OL, a DL or two, a running back, and a DB or two.  They might hold steady with receivers, but they’re actually a little low on guys at that spot, so don’t be surprised by 1-3 more guys there.  While numbers are tight, the Dawgs are recruiting plenty of guys for whom they would clear space if they needed to. Something can always be done to make room for the right guys.  Unless something changes, this class will not include a QB.

Surprisingly, the Huskies have received more commits recently for the 2015 class than for 2014.  Last weekend, DL Jacob Daniel from California committed, which is huge if it sticks.  He’s the top D lineman on the west coast for his class.  Tonight, Marysville Pilchuck RB Austin Joyner pulled the trigger.  He’s the top running back in state and a monster pick-up.  The 2015 class is loaded in Washington, particularly at RB and OL. Joyner is one of three top RBs in state, along with O’Dea’s Myles Gaskin and Federal Way’s Chico McClatcher, all of whom are high on the Dawgs.  OT Trey Adams from Wenatchee has already committed as well.  He’s one of three top OTs to already have UW offers.  There are plenty of players at other positions who could be major players in college as well.  February 2015 is a long way away, but UW is off to a great start.

That’s all for now.  I’ll check back in a month or two, when rumors are flying and there are a few more commits to discuss.  The most important thing for recruiting is for UW to keep winning.  Three wins to finish out the season would go a long way toward a strong finish for this recruting class. Go Dawgs!

-Matthew

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by | November 15, 2013 · 10:56 pm

Pac-12 Picks – Week 12

Well, that was a disappointing game.  I’m not as angry or disappointed as other people out there but I’m bummed.  I hope Keith is okay, and I hope this team figures out how to win on the road sometime.  UCLA wasn’t any better than they were, but they shot themselves in the foot to start and never could recover, especially with a backup QB in.

I see many people jumping off the UW bandwagon tonight and that’s fine.  Some people take this game more than serious than I do and have extremely high expectations.  That’s fine, as long as those expectations are realistic.  In this case, they are realistic, I’m just skeptical of another coach being able to do a better job than Sark.  One thing that does need to happen is for people to let this season play out.  There are lots of negative people who would rather rip on the players and coaches than cheer for the team.  That’s sad.  I sat through every game of an 0-12 season and cheered on my team.  I wouldn’t be a fan if I did otherwise.  Cheer for your team. Be upset when they lose, but never become so obsessed or negative that you can’t celebrate when the team wins or cheer when the game is going on.

Lastly, I keep meaning to write a post about referees and entertainment within the game.  I’m not going to tonight because I’m pretty upset with the refs (the Huskies probably wouldn’t have won tonight regardless) and how they cost the Huskies a minimum of 7 points tonight.  I sat through a miserable basketball game last night that was poorly officiated.  Officiating is a real problem in football and basketball (especially in the Pac-12).  While baseball made a move to help officials with replay this week, football and basketball keep adding rules to make incompetent officials even worse.  Referees are constantly affecting the outcome of games and something needs to be done to stop it.

Anyway, on to the picks this week!

WSU at Arizona
The Good Guys:  Arizona

Utah at Oregon
The Good Guys:  Oregon

California at Colorado
Dan, Matthew, Joe:  Cal
Andrew:  Colorado

Stanford at USC
The Good Guys:  Stanford

OSU at ASU
Andrew, Dan, Joe:  ASU
Matthew:  OSU

The Standings! (These don’t include the UW game tonight)

Dan 60-12  (.833)
Matthew 59-13  (.819)
Andrew 58-14  (.806)
Joe  55-17  (.764)
Tyler (Commenter)  43-11  (.796)

Should be a good day of football tomorrow!  Enjoy it!

Andrew

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by | November 15, 2013 · 4:50 pm

The Mariners Offseason I’m Hoping For-blueprint to a realistic, and successful winter

There are 3 things I am a complete sucker for in sports, and each are a bit irrational. First, the NFL Draft, man I love that. Second, the high school state football tournament. I still write up a bracket and project the whole thing. And finally, MLB hot stove rumors. This time of year is a gold mind for hot stove rumblings, bloggers playing general manager, and ridiculous trade ideas are littered on twitter. And yet, I can’t keep away from it, I love it all. It is in this vein that I’d like to construct a Mariners offseason plan, though in a way that I hope is not redundant to what you’ve seen. I should also point out that I will do my best to put forth a somewhat realistic plan, meaning, you won’t see Robinson Cano, a trade for Cliff Lee, or any free agent who clearly wants to play for a contender. There are many offseason plans circulating online that offer up fantasy plans, if that’s what you’re looking for. (cough…Lookout Landing…cough)

What To Fix

–          Offensive Production

–          Outfield Defense

–          Middle of the Rotation

–          Back End of Bullpen

–          Middle Infield Depth

How to Do It

Acquire 1 top tier free agent; 2 trades that obtain MLB talent; 2 middle tier free agents; 2 low cost signings; and 2 minor league deals with invites to spring training

–          at least 2 starting outfielders

–          starting pitcher who can be plugged in at 3 or 4 in the rotation

–          established set up or closer

–          backup infielder that can fill in at 2nd, SS, or 3rd base

–          backup catcher

Considerations

–          Projected payroll of $90-95 million

–          The Untouchables are Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, and Kyle Seager

The $92 Million Plan

Sign 1 top tier free agent, the candidates-
C-Brian McCann, Jarrod Saltalamacchia; SP-Masahiro Tanaka, Matt Garza, Ricky Nolasco, Ubaldo Jimenez, Ervin Santana; OF-Jacoby Ellsbury, Shin-Soo Choo, Curtis Granderson; 1B/DH-Mike Napoli
The move-
Sign OF-Jacoby Ellsbury to 7 year, $140 million contract

2 trades that obtain MLB talent, the candidates-
CF-Matt Kemp, Dexter Fowler, Peter Bourjos; DH-Billy Butler; C-Matt Weiters; 2B-Brandon Phillips, Daniel Murphy; SP-Rick Porcello; RF-Matt Joyce
The moves-
Trade Nick Franklin to Detroit for Rick Porcello
Trade Yoervis Medina and $ to Oakland for SS/2B-Eric Sogard

Sign 2 middle tier free agents, the candidates-
C-Carlos Ruiz; SP-Scott Feldman, A.J. Burnett, Bronson Arroyo, Scott Kazmir, Josh Johnson, Jason Hammel, Paul Maholm, Jason Vargas, Phil Hughes, Bartolo Colon, Dan Haren; RP-Joe Nathan, Grant Balfour, Brian Wilson, Joaquin Benoit, Fernando Rodney; OF-Nelson Cruz, Carlos Beltran, Chris Young, Jhonny Peralta, David Murphy; 1B-Corey Hart; SS-Stephen Drew; 1B/DH-Kendrys Morales
The moves-
Sign 1B/DH-Kendrys Morales to 3 year, $33 million contract
Sign Chris Young to 2 year, $12 million contract

2 low cost signings, the candidates-
SP-Scott Baker, Chris Capuano, Roberto Hernandez, Ryan Vogelsong, Barry Zito, Edinson Volquez, Ted Lilly, Gavin Floyd; RP-Joba Chamberlain, Chris Perez, Edward Mujica, LaTroy Hawkins, Matt Thornton, Jose Veras, Oliver Perez, Jesse Crain; SS/2B-Ramon Santiago, Clint Barmes, Brendan Ryan, Willie Bloomquist, Mark Ellis, Alexi Casilla, 2B/3B-Ryan Roberts, Placido Polanco; C-A.J. Pierzynski, John Buck, Kurt Suzuki; 2B/OF-Kelly Johnson; 1B-James Loney, Justin Morenau, 1B/3B-Mark Reynolds, Kevin Youkilis, Michael Young, Juan Uribe; 2B/OF-Skip Schumaker; OF-Nate McLouth, Franklin Gutierrez, Rajai Davis, Reed Johnson; OF/DH-Raul Ibanez, Delmon Young, Jason Kubel, Luke Scott
The moves-
Sign Franklin Gutierrez to 1 year, $2 million contract w/ incentives
Sign Kurt Suzuki to 1 year, $2 million contract

2 minor league deals with invite to spring training, the candidates-
Too many to list!
The moves-
RP-Joel Hanrahan, SP-Colby Lewis
2014 M's

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by | November 15, 2013 · 12:36 pm

UW vs. UCLA Predictions

The Huskies have had difficult schedules for years, whether the team was good or bad.  They nearly always rank among the national leaders in strength of schedule, and for years they were one of the only schools to never play a Division II (or FCS) school.  Partly the difficulty now comes from playing in maybe the best division in the country, partly from seeking out top non-conference opponents.

Since Scott Woodward and Sarkisian have taken over, the scheduling has changed slightly, which is a good thing for the Huskies win total, although maybe not for their entertainment value.  They now schedule an FCS team every year, and limit the top opponents to one per year.  Some years it doesn’t even work out that way, like when Boise State has an off year.

This year, the Huskies have faced a different kind of difficult schedule.  The non-conference slate turned out to be pretty easy, but the Pac-12 has worked out horribly.  Look at this: here is a ranking of the Huskies toughest opponents this year, if the game were on a neutral field.  This is subjective, but I think most would agree on the majority of the rankings.

  1. Oregon
  2. Stanford
  3. ASU
  4. UCLA
  5. Oregon State
  6. Boise St.
  7. Arizona
  8. Illinois
  9. WSU
  10. Cal
  11. Colorado
  12. Idaho St.

Four of the top five, the Huskies face(d) on the road.  Only Oregon was a home game.  Teams ideally want their home games to be against the teams they are closest to in talent, where the home field might be the deciding factor. For the Huskies, that’s the 2-5 group.  Oregon is a tough game for them no matter where they play.  BSU and Arizona are games they should win on the road, but might not.  Still, I would gladly go to Tucson if it meant having Stanford at home this year.  If the Huskies could face teams 2-5 at home, instead of those bottom four Pac-12 teams, they might be looking at 1 loss season and a Rose Bowl.  Or maybe not, but it would make things much easier.

That’s just the way it goes, I guess.  Every team has obstacles to overcome, and the Huskies have thus far done a mediocre job of overcoming this one.  They can change that over the next two weeks, where wins in L.A. and Corvallis would be huge steps toward a successful season and an improved future, when some of these games are at Husky Stadium again.

Dan

This game is huge, and not just because 7-3 feels way better than 6-4. What makes this game huge is that it is yet another opportunity for a Sark led Husky team to win a big game on the road, and in doing so, take that “next step” in the program’s growth. A loss would mean a 7 or 8 win season is likely, not exactly the growth we are hoping for. As is usually the case in these tough games, the Huskies have the talent to beat UCLA, there’s no question about it. But to pick UW to win on the road against a tough foe, you’ve got to see it happen first. As for the game plan, look for Washington to rely heavily on Sankey and quick reads in the passing game, to keep Keith comfortable. The D will have its hands full but if Hundley is not on his game I like the Dawgs chances. I hope I’m wrong, but I’ll believe it when I see it.

UCLA 27 – UW 20

Andrew

We’re at the stage in the season again where the Huskies play their most important game in a decade.  This has happened 3 (maybe 4 or 5) times this season already.  You could say that it’s a bit of an overstatement, and surely there were bigger games but I disagree. I’ll look into that further in a few days.  This game really does mean a lot though.  I fully expect the Huskies to finish with at least 8 wins.  I don’t know where the 8th win will come from (OSU, the bowl game or this game) but I think they will get there.  If the Huskies pull this game out though, 10 wins really isn’t out of the question.  It would be a huge step forward for the program.

I do think the Huskies are at least even, if not slightly better, than UCLA in most of the important phases of the game.  UCLA’s offense the last few weeks has consisted of Hundley scrambling and a freshman linebacker running wild.  Their O-line is beat up.  Defensively, they’re very athletic at the linebacker position and are solid everywhere else.  If the Huskies win the turnover battle, get a well-disciplined pass-rush, and score TD’s in the red-zone I think their chances sky rocket in this game.  I do expect to take UCLA’s best shot.  They are going to be just as motivated and hungry as the Huskies are.  They have more to play for than the Huskies too.  If this were a home game, I think the Huskies would win but since they’re on the road against a decent team I don’t think I can pick them.  I usually pick them and then end up being wrong.  Let’s hope I’m wrong this week.

UCLA 34 – UW 27

Matthew

I don’t really know what to make of this game.  Both teams are really similar, in that they’re talented but a bit inconsistent.  UW has the better offense, UCLA the better defense.  UCLA gets an edge because its pass rush can cause major problems for Keith Price, which sometimes throws him completely off his game.  They get an even bigger edge because they’re at home.  As usual, if the Huskies can come out and execute well and consistently, they can win this game.  They don’t usually do that, so I have to pick the Bruins.  This whole season I’ve been waiting for a breakout from the Dawgs.  I think it could come tonight, but the odds are it won’t.

UCLA 31 – UW 23

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