by | April 22, 2010 · 6:29 pm

Huskies Practice Report – 4/22/2010

With a 4,000 word paper looming and little to report, this report will be very brief but I have a few notes. 

  • The team was in shells today (helmets, shoulder pads, and shorts).  There was still plenty of hitting.  In fact, Nate Fellner got in trouble for hitting too hard at one point.  After laying out Deontae Cooper in pass protection Nick Holt pulled him aside and told him that wasn’t quite necessary.  That guy can really hit and I’d be surprised if he wasn’t the starting free safety next year at this point.
  • The quarterbacks all seemed a little off through the first part of practice.  Even Jake was struggling at first but they all seemed to get going after a while.  They each had their moments.  Nick Montana has said to have a little bit of a weaker arm and I could see that a little bit today.  It’s nothing a little time in the weight room couldn’t fix.
  • To end the practice the starters went up against each other in a 2 minute drill, followed by the backups.  Then, they each had an overtime session.  The first team offense moved the ball down the field with ease but then was held up at the 10 yard line.  They did score in overtime.  The second team offense was stopped both times.
  • One of the plays of the day was made by Anthony Boyles in that 2 minute drill with the starters.  Jermaine Kearse had appeared to find a hole in the zone that was in the corner of the end zone.  Boyles raced back and jumped as high as he could to knock the ball away at the last second.  When Boyles is out there playing and not thinking it’s easy to see why he was rated so highly coming out of high school.  He is a great athlete.
  • James Johnson continues to come on strong to end this spring.  He’s had a very good last few practices.
  • Jesse Callier was out today and had brace going up one of his legs.  I don’t know how serious it is but hopefully he’s back by the spring game.
  • I imagine the Dawgs will do a good share of scrimmaging on Saturday.  Practice starts at 11 so come out and enjoy.

That’s all for today!  Thanks for reading!

Andrew

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by | April 22, 2010 · 1:26 pm

Summer is Coming

Spring is in full bloom.  I’ve always associated the season of spring with the word hope.  Spring hasn’t quite gotten us to the full-blown joy that summer brings but that joy is within reach.  The chill of winter has mostly passed but there’s still those cold days where we hope that the sun will come out tomorrow.  Things aren’t perfect but there’s enough evidence to make hoping for summer justifiable. 

It just so happens this is where we are right now in the Seattle sports scene.  A few weeks ago we were able to enjoy one of the best weeks sports has to offer; The Masters, college basketball’s championship, and Opening day in baseball.  But, this is a week where spring can turn to summer sports wise.  Hope could turn joy.  Cautious joy, but joy none the less.  The Mariners, Seahawks, and Huskies all have significant events starting today and lasting through next weekend.  If all goes well this city could be as excited about sports as we’ve seen in a long time.

Lets start with the Mariners because this is probably the most evident case of things turning golden quickly.  The M’s had an outstanding homestand and are now tied in first place.  You think things can’t get better?  Ladies and gentleman, meet Cliff Lee.  Next Friday, April 30th, the former cy young award winner will be making his Mariner debut.  This is the moment Mariner fans have been dreaming of since mid-December.  He’ll be thrown right into the fire against a pretty good Texas Rangers lineup.  Will he be as sharp as he was in the world series his first start?  Probably not, but this is still cause for celebration.  And if this isn’t enough to get someone excited, Felix pitches the next day.  Finally, what was billed as the best 1-2 punch in baseball is here. 

The same night that Lee returns on his white horse, the Dawgs will take the field at Husky Stadium.  Now, I know spring games aren’t going cause the excitement that upsetting USC brought but I truly think that after seeing this team play people will be buzzing about what could be next fall.  The freshman running backs, Nick Montana, the emergence of the secondary, Mason Foster, and Jake Locker will provide the Dawgs with higher expectations than they’ve had in years.  While a team has to fulfill expectations to be considered a success, high expectations is step is important for a program.  The fact that those expectations are coming back is enough to bring a smile to my face and after April 30th I think Husky fans will have plenty of smiles going around. 

By that same day we should know the fate of Terrance Jones and Terrance Ross.  Both of these guys are mega recruits that the Husky basketball team would love to have.  If these two commit the sky may be the limit for the Huskies next year.  The dawgpack will be partying in the streets of Montlake and the basketball team would move up 5 or 10 spots in the “way too early” preseason rankings.  The sun will be shining bright if Jones commits and if both commit then you might as well put on your swimming suit because it will be like we’re on a beach in July.

Then there’s the Seahawks.  Few sporting events bring the amount of hope that the draft brings.  Dan wrote about what he thinks the Hawks should do with their picks earlier today so I won’t get into that.  A franchise is built on young talent and today is the start fo Seattle rebuilding their franchise.  Unfortunately, this hope can’t translate to joy as soon as these other examples.  The NFL draft can be really hit and miss and it will take a few years to fully judge these players.  But that doesn’t take away from the hope there is in this day for the Seahawks.  The last few years have been absolutely awful and today may be the start of that changing. 

Yes, this could just be me getting excited about nothing too important (it wouldn’t be the first time).  But it’s hard not to feel a sense of excitement and hope about the next week. 

Meanwhile, Donald Butler, who just last year was an average linebacker playing for a terrible Husky defense, is sitting somewhere today waiting for a phone call that will tell him he’s going to receive money to play professional football for the first time in his life.  22 years of hard work will pay off for him today.  His hope will turn to joy.  His spring will turn to summer.  As I sit here looking out the window at a sunny day, I can’t help but feel that summer might come a little bit early this year.

Andrew

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by | April 22, 2010 · 10:28 am

NFL Draft — Seahawks Preview

I’ll admit, I am a sucker for the NFL draft. It’s a top 5 sporting event for me. I know lots of people don’t understand the hype, and so many of these first-rounders turn into busts, but for me, it’s a holiday. A lot of people must agree, because the draft has exploded into must-see TV, which is why it is now a prime time event beginning this Thursday evening. If anyone asks me why I care so much about a bunch of rookies being drafted, getting boat loads of money, and often not living up to the hype, my answer is simple. In 3 days, my favorite NFL team is going to add roughly 10 players, and it is entirely possible that 3 or 4 could be immediate starters. That doesn’t happen in other sports. So, if you are as excited as me, and the Seahawks are your team, perhaps you’re interested in knowing who the future stars of Seattle might be. Let’s take a look at the Hawks draft.

Needs (in order)-

1- Offensive tackle: This is the most obvious, glaring need for Seattle. Walter Jones will likely announce his retirement in the coming weeks, leaving Ray Willis and Sean Locklear as the starting tackles. The Hawks, and especially Tim Ruskell, got burned last year by not addressing the offensive line with the 4th pick. This team is rebuilding and if Hasselbeck is to stay healthy, he needs left tackle protection.
2- Defensive end: Not far behind the need for a left tackle is the need for an impact pass rusher. The Seahawks were horrible at getting to the quarterback last year, tallying just 28 sacks. The Seahawks best ends from last year, Patrick Kerney (retirement) and Darryl Tapp (trade) are gone, leaving a gaping hole at the position. If the season started tomorrow, your starting defensive ends would most likely be Chris Clemons and Lawrence Jackson…ouch.
3- Safety: The Seahawks defense is in better shape than the offense, but safety is definitely a concern. Seattle released Deion Grant recently, leaving Jordan Babineaux and Jamar Adams as the top starting candidates. Seattle hasn’t had a good secondary since 2005, and a big reason could be that they haven’t drafted a safety since Ken Hamlin in 2003, and have instead opted to fill the position through free agency. (i.e. Brian Russell, Deion Grant, Lawyer Milloy)
4- Running Back/Wide Receiver: Anyone who has watched Seattle the last couple years can see this team desperately needs a game breaker, someone who can score on any given down. Burleson was the closest thing to this, but he is in Detroit now. Many thought Seattle would acquire Brandon Marshall to be the playmaker this offense desires, but Miami won his services. Players like Julius Jones, Justin Forsett, and T.J. Houshmandzadeh can all be solid contributors at the skill position, but none provide the true #1 talent that puts fear into opponents. (i.e. Chris Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, DeSean Jackson)

Notable Picks- and more after the jump! Continue reading →

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by | April 21, 2010 · 9:46 pm

Game Recap – 4/21/2010

That went as expected.  I feel a little bit bad for Baltimore.  They really suck and probably won’t reach 10 wins for another month.  Seriously.  Thankfully, I’m a Mariners fan and it appears that the dark days like those are past us.  After starting the season with a 2-6 mark and causing concern throughout Mariner nation, the M’s have rattled off wins in 7 of their last 8 games and are only a 1/2 game out of first place. 

This game had two key parts that determined the outcome:  Felix Hernandez and the bottom of the 4th inning.  We’ll start with the latter.

Guti started the inning with an out but then the miraculous happened, Jose Lopez drew a walk!  When that happens I feel like something special is about to happen.  After Loafie walked, Kotchman singled and Sweeney popped out (more on Sweeney later).  Tui then hit a sharp single and Lopez stopped at third.  Rob Johnson hit a slow roller up the middle and somehow Tui beat the throw to second.  Then Jack Wilson cleared the bases with a double.  Bingo!  That’s all the runs the Mariners needed.  What’s even more weird is that all those RBI’s came from Hips and Hot-Hands Wilson.  I was beginning to believe that Jack Wilson was going to hit about .230 all year and I was okay with that because of his amazing defense.  All of a sudden, he has 4 doubles in 3 games.  I hope he can continue to hit at least somewhat. 

Once that bottom of the 4th happened the game was over.  Most 3 run games can be a little bit tense but not this one, I had no fear that the Mariners would lose this game and that is because of Felix Hernandez.  Felix didn’t appear to be very sharp early; leaving fastballs over the middle of the plate and not mixing in other pitches.  He gave up four hits in the first two innings and one unearned run.  But then, he got in one of those moods.  You know, the “Hey, I’m Felix and I’m better than you” mood.  His control got better and his other pitches became a part of the game plan.  He faced Adam Jones in the 6th and snapped off a 90 mph slider to strike him out.  In the 9th, he ended the game with nasty curveball that Reimold chased as it dove to the dirt.  After a few games in which Felix didn’t quite look like the king we saw last summer, he found his crown tonight and showed why he’s one of the best pitchers in the AL. 

Kevin Millwood was weird.  I’ve watched Millwood pitch quite a bit and he’s never looked like that.  I’d have to do some research to be sure but his fastball used to have a little more velocity and didn’t run so much.  It seems as if he switched from a 4-seam fastball to a 2-seamer that had a little more run on it.  It ranged anywhere from 86-91 mph and came in on righties.  He threw his normal slider that was around 82 mph.  That’s a normal Millwood pitch and was pretty effective.  Then, he threw in this loopy breaking ball.  It was SLOW!  It came in at about 70 mph and had some major break to it.  You know what that repertoire looks a lot like?  Doug Fister.  No, seriously.  Matthew made this observation about halfway through the game and then I started to pay closer attention.  Fister threw in that loopy breaking ball on Monday and had some very good success with it.  So, in a week where Fister has been compared to everyone from Brad Radke to Carlos Silva, it seems like Millwood may have been trying to imitate Fister.

Hero/goat after the jump along with a few notes.  Continue reading →

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by | April 20, 2010 · 10:25 pm

Game Recap 4/20 – M’s 3, Orioles 1

I said I’d take the recap on this one, and then ended up not being able to watch most of it, so this recap will be short.  As much as any game is in a 162 game season, this is the type of game that the Mariners need to win if they want to challenge for the playoffs.  Facing an incredibly struggling team with an inexperienced and mediocre pitcher, a good team has to take advantage.  Will they always?  No, and if they hadn’t it wouldn’t have been the end of the season or anything.  But with the chance to go above .500, a loss would have been more frustrating than a win is satisfying.

Not to say that this win isn’t satisfying.  The offense, while not scoring a lot tonight, did enough and has a lot of guys locked in pretty well.  I remember being told by a coach when I pitched that the most important inning you’ll throw is right after your offense has scored some runs.  It’s the pitcher’s job to maintain the momentum to some degree.  Tonight in the first, the Orioles couldn’t hold a one run lead, and the Mariners could.  Vargas, from what I could tell, did everything you could want from him.  The Orioles are a terrible team right now, but they have enough guys who could hurt you if you don’t execute your pitches.  I’m anxious to see what Snell will do in his next start.  He’s not showing more than Fister or Vargas right now, better stuff or not.  Fister and Vargas will get hit more than they have when they face better teams, but they’ll minimize some damage through lack of walks.  Right now, I’m not confident Snell can limit walks or hits.  I’d love for him more than anyone to prove me wrong, though.

The offense is doing about what we hoped it would, with Ichiro and Figgins on base and a few guys hot behind them.  I’m still not convinced that Kotchman will keep this up or ever hit lefties, but he looks excellent right now.  Bradley swings harder than anyone I’ve ever seen.  He’s a little more contact away from a monster year.  Hopefully he’s alright after leaving the game tonight.  I haven’t heard yet what the injury was.  Franklin is looking like a legitimate MVP candidate.  Once Figgy starts getting a few more hits to go with his walks, they could really have something.  The little hot streak from Wilson is nice too.

Hero, goat, and a few quick notes (after the jump): Continue reading →

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by | April 20, 2010 · 10:10 pm

Huskies Practice Report – 4/20/2010

I wasn’t able to make it to the Huskies practice today but here’s a link to Condotta’s report.  It sounds like they really mixed up the starters with the backups to promote competition. I’ll be back out there Thursday with a report.  They changed the time of Saturday’s practice to 11 am.  It will most likely be a scrimmage.  Hope to see you there!

Andrew

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by | April 20, 2010 · 10:06 am

Mariners Game Recap – 4/19/2010 – The Fist and The 3rd!

Enter The Fist

My fellow Good Guy Andrew is scheming to recap every Felix Hernandez game this year. That’s fine, you can have Felix, Andrew, I’ll take Doug Fister!

This is a very simple recap: It’s all about Doug Fister and the bottom of the 3rd inning. Let’s cover both.

Doug Fister: The Fist pitched exceptionally well. Granted it was against Baltimore and everyone is quick to remind folks like me of that fact. I would respond that it doesn’t matter, a win is a win, he pitched against a major league lineup. I know the O’s suck right now, but Nick Markakis is good, Wigginton has been in the bigs for a while, Weiters is a rising star, Luke Scott is no slouch. Fister kept pounding the strike zone forcing Baltimore to swing and forcing the Mariners defense to make plays. This is why I love Fister, I think he knows what he is: He’s not overpowering, he doesn’t have superior stuff, but he knows how to pitch and use all the millionaires behind him. I love how he works fast, keeping the pace up. As a fan that is fun to watch. Julio Lugo (I can’t stand the guy, always has annoyed me…) continually tried to slow Fister down by stepping out, adjusting himself, wiggling around, it was absolutely annoying. No matter, The Fist was having none of it. Lugo was 0-3.

We all know Fister had a no-no going into the 7th, that was fun. Overall, a solid performance from Fister. I feel he has earned his way into staying in the rotation when Cliff Lee comes back. I see no reason not to keep him there, he is doing what he is being asked to do. Let’s not outsmart ourselves here and get all baseball geeky stats and move him to the pen for some reason. The Fist belongs in the rotation until he doesn’t deserve it any longer. It’s really simple!

Bottom of the 3rd: The inning started mundane enough, Rob Johnson flying out to center. It ended mundane enough, Rob Johnson striking out on three pitches. But what happened in the middle was pure baseball goodness, a little bit of everything for every baseball fan.

After the Robo-Rob fly out, Jack Wilson stretched a single into a double by hustling 100% out of the box, forcing a bad throw from left, and sliding safely into second with a double. Ichiro and Figgins then forced walks to load the bases. The Baltimore pitcher, Brad Bergesen, was clearly bothered by Ichiro and Figgins. He was agitated on the mound, was afraid to hit the strike zone, and Ichiro and Figgins were happy to watch him burn. I love the plate discipline both showed, knowing full well Bergesen was stressed. Gutierrez then showed yet again why he is a emerging superstar at the plate. He knew what he had to do, and under control, ripped am RBI single to left. Lopez then grounded to Wigginton who promptly booted a sure fire DP ball. Junior then singled for another RBI. Then came the power. Milton Bradley absolutely ripped a double to deep left center. It was beautiful swing and hit. When Bradley is right, he is extremely dangerous at the plate. Casey Kotchman then followed up with a mammoth home run to right.

The inning had it all: Hustle, plate discipline, a little luck, awesome oppo-field power, and Casey’s bomb. And it was quick too. It was 7-0 within 15 minutes. Game over, Mariners win.

If the M’s can keep the plate discipline going, they will score runs. Innings like the 3rd don’t come around often, so I was pleased to be able to witness it, baseball, in many respects, in it’s purest form.

Hero: Easy, Doug Fister. He came out and did work, and got it done.

Goat: Rob Johnson. He was terrible at the plate. 0-4, 2K’s, 2LOB. On a night when everyone was hitting, it’s tough to excuse this line…

-Joe

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by | April 19, 2010 · 3:57 pm

Series Preview- M’s vs. Baltimore Orioles 4/19-4/21

I said in my preview of the Tigers series that if the Mariners could win the next two series, they’d find themselves with a .500 record or better.  They overcame Miguel Cabrera and some tough pitching matchups to win that series, 2-1, and now will try to do the same against the 2-11 Orioles.  They’d love a sweep here, and that seems a good possibility, but things don’t always work out that way.

Who Would You Rather Have

Player pick in BOLD.  (This is another one where  I don’t know the team incredibly well, especially the pitchers.  And Felix is facing the one guy I know about, so that takes away the one easy choice.  Disagreements and discussion welcome.)

C:  M’s Rob Johnson    O’s Matt Wieters

1B:  M’s Casey Kotchman    O’s Luke Scott.  Could go either way here.  Scott’s a more proven but not exceptional power guy, Kotchman seems to be coming around and has the defense.  Also Garrett Atkins here and elsewhere, who’s a decent bat.

2B:  M’s Chone Figgins    O’s Julio Lugo.  I’d probably take Brian Roberts if he were healthy though.  Nice to not have to face him.

3B:  M’s Jose Lopez    O’s Ty Wiggington.  Wiggington’s playing alright this year, but he’s really more of a very good bench guy.  Tejada’s there too.  Not sure if he helps.

SS:  M’s Jack Wilson   O’s Cesar Izturis.  Wow, again.  Lots of good field, no hit shortstops in the AL this year.  There’s really no good option here, unless you’re turning a double-play, in which case they’re both decent choices.

LF:  M’s Milton Bradley    O’s Lou Montanez.  They also have Scott, Reimold and Pie who could conceivably be in the outfield for this series from what I can tell.  Pie sounds nice.

CF:  M’s Franklin   O’s Adam Jones.  Orioles fans would probably disagree, but I’m not an Oriole fan, and they don’t know how amazing Franklin is, especially right now.

RF:  M’s Ichiro   O’s Nick Markakis.  I’d love to have Markakis in our outfield.  He’d be a great fit, and I’d take him over Bradley.  Not over Ichiro though, since we’re going by position.

DH:  M’s Griffey    O’s Nolan Reimold.  These are becoming kind of predictable.

Poor Orioles.  They have some potentially great young players, and some who are pretty great already.  It just so happens that at most of those spots, the Mariners have a player who’s as good or better.  Mariners 7-2, although at least two spots are pretty much pick ’ems.

Pitching Match-ups

Monday:  M’s Doug Fister    O’s Brad Bergesen.  Neither of these guys are too special, but at least Fister is coming off a good start.  Bergesen has given up 15 hits and 10 ER in a little over 7 innings so far.

Tuesday:  M’s Jason Vargas    O’s David Fernandez.  Take Bergesen’s season line and either cut it in half or double it to make it better, and that’s about what Fernandez has.  Matthew at LL compares him to Aardsma, in that he mostly has a decent high fastball and little else.  I know nothing more than what I’ve written here.

Wednesday:  M’s Felix    O’s Kevin Millwood

Closer:  M’s David Aardsma    O’s Jim Johnson? Mike Gonzalez?  Each has a save, the only two for the whole team.  Johnson also has blown two.

That’s 4-0 Mariners on the pitching, although the first few starting match-ups are pretty much toss ups.  I feel better about Fister and Vargas pitching well right now than I would about Bergesen and Fernandez as an Oriole fan.  This series is extremely sweepable.

-Matthew

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