The Mariners put up a solid above .500 season last year, but let's be honest, there was no real chance of them doing well in the playoffs even if they got there. They're pitching was too weak and while everyone in their lineup could hit (everyone including the bench had a .285 or above average except Sexson and Lopez), they couldn't get on base or hit for power. Batista and Washburn are above average pitchers, but they're not #2 pitchers, they're both 3-4 pitchers. The fact that we had the weakest 4-5 pitchers in the league also didn't help. A quick solution would've been Curt Schilling, who would've given us a "veteran presence" a 1A to go with out 1 in Felix, and he could have made a good mentor to Felix by showing him when to challenge and when not to, and how to prepare for each game and season (and not be a mental midget). Schilling isn't available, so here is my plan to fix the Mariners.
First off, SafeCo is good for Left handed power hitters. It's also not a great park for hitters in general, so what do we need? Left handed hitters who get on base. Two above average such guys are available in the form of Geoff Jenkins a good left fielder from the Seattle area, and Fukudome, a lefty from Japan. We could put those guys in left and right, and this would give us more lefty batters as well as good defense in the outfield. I don't see them being superstars, but they'll be 0 to +10 runs better on defense than average, which is a lot better than the -20 from Raul and the -10 from Guillen. Raul proved that when he's not injured he is still a solid lefty hitter. So he play 1b or DH, and I'm assuming he can give us at least -5 runs at 1b, which is much better than Sexson or Broussard can do. With this team, and with Betancourt hopefully showing us that his mental blanks can be limited, we have average or above players at every defensive position. This is important especially since our pitching core isn't that great.
With this, our lineup goes like this:
CF: Ichiro
RF: Fukudome
3B: Beltre
LF: Genkins
1B: Ibanez
C: Johjima
DH: Broussard/Vidro
SS: Betancourt
2B: Lopez
Bench: Burke, Bloomquist, 4 OFer like Reed or veteran, Morse/Chen/Green?
With this lineup, we have no superstud save for Ichiro, but we do not have a single guy in the lineup who can't hit. Save for Lopez, I don't see any of these guys hitting below .280.
On to pitching. We have a number one pitcher in Felix, but we only have 2 solid veterans after that and then a bunch of prospects who could break through. Since our OF is now cluttered with guys who give us OBP and should only cost $8 million per year each, this frees us up to trade our prospects. I like Adam Jones a lot, but our biggest weakness is either a big time bat, or a big time pitcher. For this, I say we trade an assortment of Jones, Balentien, Clement, Morrow, Butler, or Tillman for Johan Santana. I'd be willing to trade Jones, Balentien and Clement just for Santana. This is conditional on us signing Santana to a long term deal for about $200 million over 8 years (fair value considering Zambrano is $19 million per year, then Santana, the leagues best pitcher should get $25 million). To do this, we trade away Sexson for whatever, and just try to clear off as much of his last year as possible. Felix might like us trading away his best friend in Balentien, but he wouldn't mind having a fellow Venezuelan stud pitcher showing him the ropes. If Santana could not be dealt for, I wouldn't mind Willis, Bedard, or Oswalt, but obviously for a much lesser price such as Adam Jones a further away prospect and a young setup man. After this, we should also sign Kuroda for starting pitching depth. With this, our pitchers consist of 2 stud pitchers, and 3 #3 or #4 pitchers in Kuroda, Washburn, and Batista, with Batista possible switching to the bullpen in the playoffs.
1. Johan Santana / Oswalt / Willis / Bedard
1A. Felix Hernandez
3. Washburn
3. Kuroda
3. Batista
Bullpen
LRP/ Spot Starter: RRS
LRP/Spot Starter: Baek
MRP: Kameron Mickolio / Austin Bibbens-Dirks
MRP: EOF
MRP: Sean Green
SU: Sherrill
SU: Mark Lowe
Closer: JJ Putz
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Seahawks' season unofficially over.
The Seahawks' season is pretty much over. Mack Strong is injured and has retired. Deion Branch is out for a month. We just lost to Pittsburgh 21-0. And the Colts and Pats look unbeatable (except for when they play each other, in which case, one of them has to be beatable).
Does this come as a surprise? If I held the same aspirations now as I did at the beginning of the season, then yes, but since I don't, then no, it doesn't. While our defense has looked amazing at times, we still can't stop the run, which I think is an integral part of defense, since if you can stop the run, you force the opponent to throw more often then they want to. Besides the hope that our defense has given Hawks fans, the offense has looked very inconsistent. Hasselbeck has looked like a sub elite qb, just under Carson Palmer, Brady, and Manning, and at other times he's looked like a rookie QB who gets scared out of the pocket too easily. Is some of it to blame on the line for being young and the WRs for being inconsistent? Probably, but Hasselbeck 2 years ago was the top qb in the NFC, and he sure isn't playing like it now. Perhaps one of the biggest mistakes is Deion Branch, whom many praise as a WR designed for the west coast offense. This may be true, but he's still not worth a 1st round pick, especially when two WRs better than him, Darrell Jackson and Randy Moss, went for 4th round picks. Other flaws are Hackett's supposed breakout year taking a falter due to injury, and Burleson's failure to step up and be a consistent wideout. So far he is the same as Koren Robinson, talented in both the receiving and returning game, but has shown too many mental lapses.
Lastly, a lot of people have been down on Shaun Alexander, for both his inability to hit holes fast enough, his lacksadasical effort as a pass blocker, and his medicore receiving ability, but I think this is partly the organization's fault. We knew that he was a question mark, yet we didn't take a chance on a free agent or a draft pick. We could've traded our 1st round pick for Michael Turner instead of Branch, and that would've been a better move. Perhaps next year we'll draft a rb who is a fairly good runner, but more importantly, a good pass blocker and receiver, since this is what will best complement Alexander's weaknesses.
Is this news dissapointing? Yes, but barring an injury to Tom Brady or Peyton Manning/Bob Sanders, the Colts or the Patriots will be the Superbowl champs irregardless of who the NFC champion is.
Does this come as a surprise? If I held the same aspirations now as I did at the beginning of the season, then yes, but since I don't, then no, it doesn't. While our defense has looked amazing at times, we still can't stop the run, which I think is an integral part of defense, since if you can stop the run, you force the opponent to throw more often then they want to. Besides the hope that our defense has given Hawks fans, the offense has looked very inconsistent. Hasselbeck has looked like a sub elite qb, just under Carson Palmer, Brady, and Manning, and at other times he's looked like a rookie QB who gets scared out of the pocket too easily. Is some of it to blame on the line for being young and the WRs for being inconsistent? Probably, but Hasselbeck 2 years ago was the top qb in the NFC, and he sure isn't playing like it now. Perhaps one of the biggest mistakes is Deion Branch, whom many praise as a WR designed for the west coast offense. This may be true, but he's still not worth a 1st round pick, especially when two WRs better than him, Darrell Jackson and Randy Moss, went for 4th round picks. Other flaws are Hackett's supposed breakout year taking a falter due to injury, and Burleson's failure to step up and be a consistent wideout. So far he is the same as Koren Robinson, talented in both the receiving and returning game, but has shown too many mental lapses.
Lastly, a lot of people have been down on Shaun Alexander, for both his inability to hit holes fast enough, his lacksadasical effort as a pass blocker, and his medicore receiving ability, but I think this is partly the organization's fault. We knew that he was a question mark, yet we didn't take a chance on a free agent or a draft pick. We could've traded our 1st round pick for Michael Turner instead of Branch, and that would've been a better move. Perhaps next year we'll draft a rb who is a fairly good runner, but more importantly, a good pass blocker and receiver, since this is what will best complement Alexander's weaknesses.
Is this news dissapointing? Yes, but barring an injury to Tom Brady or Peyton Manning/Bob Sanders, the Colts or the Patriots will be the Superbowl champs irregardless of who the NFC champion is.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
NFL advertising, and how little sense it makes
It's week 5 in the NFL, and so far I've seen a lot of new commercials with NFL players in it. This is a good thing, because most people talk about how some NFL players have less star power because it's harder to be recognized with a helmet on. Leading the new commercial charge is of course, Peyton Manning, who, after Tom Brady, is probably the 2nd most popular player in the NFL. The two next most popular players? Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart. I can't tell how how much this blows my mind. I know they were both in the NFL's "now" poll, but neither player has done anything yet. Which pisses me off all the more about ESPN's NOW, because there is no way that Vince Young, Reggie Bush, and Matt Leinart, are more popular, marketable, and at the peak of their athletic performance, then Kevin Garnett, Yao Ming, Chad Johnson, or David Wright are. We still don't know if Reggie Bush can be anything more than a show pony who does tricks. We still don't know if Leinart is any good. Boldin and Fitzgerald have made Warner (when he's not fumbling) and Josh McCown into 4,000 yard QB's (if they had played the whole season), and yet Leinart can't seem to get more than 250 passing yards in a game. Leinart popularity is almost exclusively a product of a strong USC system, being a white QB, and his "rugged good looks".
Another unimportant thing to mention. LaDanian Tomlinson, while worthy of being in commercials, does not watch tv on a Vizio. A guy who makes $10+ million per year does not watch tv on a tv that markets itself as cheap and affordable. That would be like him driving a Kia.
Another unimportant thing to mention. LaDanian Tomlinson, while worthy of being in commercials, does not watch tv on a Vizio. A guy who makes $10+ million per year does not watch tv on a tv that markets itself as cheap and affordable. That would be like him driving a Kia.
Friday, September 28, 2007
What to Expect from the Sonics
As it stands now, the 2007-2008 season is dwarfed by a cloud of uncertainty as to whether it is the last season that the SuperSonics play in Seattle. It's almost impossible not to think about, even if the conversation is intended to be solely about basketball, but I'll try anyway.
So Allen and Lewis are gone and have been replaced by the younger Durant and Green. We've also now got a reliable backup guard in West, and a massive (but expiring in 2009) contract in Szczerbiak. Swift is not injured anymore, and Collison has reportedly made leaps and bounds. Also...we have Kurt Thomas (yay).
Down the road, I like how this team is looking and could potentially look, but because of the arena situation (and knowing this could be the last season in Seattle), it's really hard not to just look at the immediate future. Unfortunately, I don't think the 2007-2008 Sonics will make the playoffs. I'm not saying they definitely won't, as it is almost impossible to predict how this team will play together, but I think it's unlikely.
We still have problems at PG that need to be solved. We need someone who can fluidly run the offense (Watson can't) and play a shred of defense (Ridnour can't), and until we fix that, we will lose a lot of games.
If Swift and Collison do end up being as solid as they seem like they could be this year, that could make all the difference in the world, but I don't yet trust Swift at all.
Overall, I think the win count could be anywhere from 25 to 50, but if I had to guess, I think the Sonics will probably have a record that's maybe slightly better than last year's 31-51. Still, I've never had more difficulty predicting how the Sonics would do in any season.
So Allen and Lewis are gone and have been replaced by the younger Durant and Green. We've also now got a reliable backup guard in West, and a massive (but expiring in 2009) contract in Szczerbiak. Swift is not injured anymore, and Collison has reportedly made leaps and bounds. Also...we have Kurt Thomas (yay).
Down the road, I like how this team is looking and could potentially look, but because of the arena situation (and knowing this could be the last season in Seattle), it's really hard not to just look at the immediate future. Unfortunately, I don't think the 2007-2008 Sonics will make the playoffs. I'm not saying they definitely won't, as it is almost impossible to predict how this team will play together, but I think it's unlikely.
We still have problems at PG that need to be solved. We need someone who can fluidly run the offense (Watson can't) and play a shred of defense (Ridnour can't), and until we fix that, we will lose a lot of games.
If Swift and Collison do end up being as solid as they seem like they could be this year, that could make all the difference in the world, but I don't yet trust Swift at all.
Overall, I think the win count could be anywhere from 25 to 50, but if I had to guess, I think the Sonics will probably have a record that's maybe slightly better than last year's 31-51. Still, I've never had more difficulty predicting how the Sonics would do in any season.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Mariners Season in the books, Huskies and Seahawks just starting
Well, the Mariners had a nice run, and stayed competitive into September, more than anyone expected, however, their season is pretty much over. I guess that's what happens when you're manager is crap, and you lose 13 of 14. Anyways, it was fun while it lasted, but part of me is happy because then we can fire McLaren, and then we can't give Bavasi too much credit.
The Washington Huskies football team is finally back. After having a one win season, the Huskies hired Tyrone Willingham, a man many consider a good recruiter, but not a great coach. Well, if you have one win, you'll take the good recruiting coach any day, especially when you were a top 25 team for the better part of 3 decades. In Willingham's first season, he doubled our win total to a whopping 2. Last year, his Huskie's picked up 5 wins, a misleading stat because the Huskies were 4-1 and then lost to USC in a close game, before their starting QB was injured and the team subsequently spiralled downward, made worse by a crushing defeat by winless Stanford. However, the Huskies almost beat UCLA, and beat Washington State to finish the season at a respectable 5-7. This season, we have arguably the toughest schedule in all of college football (ranked no. 1 by ESPN) with a non-conference schedule of @ Syracuse, a decent team with potential, but the 3,000 mile trek doesn't make the game any easier, a game against Boise State, a team that beat Oklahoma in a BCS bowl game last year on their way to an undefeated season, Ohio State, no description needed, and ending the season with Hawaii, an offensive juggernaut ranked in the top 25, with a potential Heisman winning QB in Colt Brennan. This in addition to playing every team in the Pac-10, in which no game is a gimme with the exception of Stanford (whom we lost to last year).
As we all know, the season, and most likely the future success of the Huskies rest solely on redshirt freshman Jake Locker's shoulders, and so far he has not disappointed. He has been the savior of U-Dub football since his junior year of Washington, and if the Mariners had drafted him (as they did with Matt Tuiasosopo when he was considering being a QB at Washington) or had he taken a scholarship offer elsewhere, that surely would have been a big blow to coach Willingham's plans. Luckily for us, Locker, a humble yet amazingly bright and athletic kid has shown that he has the makeup to be a great college quarterback. Blessed with 4.5 40 yard speed, he also has good vision and the potential for great accuracy. Our offensive line is also doing well, as they are all returning from last year, and our RB Louis Rankin is finally health enough, as shown by his 143 yards running against 'Cuse, and his td pass against Boise State. Huskies fever is finally back, and thank God, it's been too long. You never realize how cool it is to have a great football team until it falls from the top 25 to the laughing stock of the Pac 10.
The Seahawks start tomorrow against Tampa Bay, a team I think too many "experts" are taking too lightly. I love that Bill Simmons of ESPN predicts us as the number 2 team in the NFL to his beloved Patriots, but I'd have to say that we are 3 after NE and SD, though pointing to SD's coach is a good reason to knock them down come playoff time. What's different about this year? Well, we no longer have Ken Hamlin and Michale Boulware manning the safety positions. I compare these two to Jose Lopez and Betancourt, because safeties are like middle infielders in that they are an essential part of the defense, but underrated as a whole. Instead we now have Deon Grant, a good coverage safety, and Brian Russell, a smart player. Babineaux is still available off the bench, which is good news. Also new is Patrick Kerney, who pretty much fills in for Wistrom, except he's a supreme pass rusher and decent run defender, and Wistrom is the opposite. The offense should be the same, as we are stacked at the WR, and Branch has more of a rapport with Hasselbeck now, and we'll see how Pollard does with Hasselbeck as well, a key part of this season in my opinion, as I happen to think that Jerramy Steven finally stepping it up and serving as an effective security blanket for 'Beck was a big part the Seahawks making it to the SuperBowl. More to come after the game.
The Washington Huskies football team is finally back. After having a one win season, the Huskies hired Tyrone Willingham, a man many consider a good recruiter, but not a great coach. Well, if you have one win, you'll take the good recruiting coach any day, especially when you were a top 25 team for the better part of 3 decades. In Willingham's first season, he doubled our win total to a whopping 2. Last year, his Huskie's picked up 5 wins, a misleading stat because the Huskies were 4-1 and then lost to USC in a close game, before their starting QB was injured and the team subsequently spiralled downward, made worse by a crushing defeat by winless Stanford. However, the Huskies almost beat UCLA, and beat Washington State to finish the season at a respectable 5-7. This season, we have arguably the toughest schedule in all of college football (ranked no. 1 by ESPN) with a non-conference schedule of @ Syracuse, a decent team with potential, but the 3,000 mile trek doesn't make the game any easier, a game against Boise State, a team that beat Oklahoma in a BCS bowl game last year on their way to an undefeated season, Ohio State, no description needed, and ending the season with Hawaii, an offensive juggernaut ranked in the top 25, with a potential Heisman winning QB in Colt Brennan. This in addition to playing every team in the Pac-10, in which no game is a gimme with the exception of Stanford (whom we lost to last year).
As we all know, the season, and most likely the future success of the Huskies rest solely on redshirt freshman Jake Locker's shoulders, and so far he has not disappointed. He has been the savior of U-Dub football since his junior year of Washington, and if the Mariners had drafted him (as they did with Matt Tuiasosopo when he was considering being a QB at Washington) or had he taken a scholarship offer elsewhere, that surely would have been a big blow to coach Willingham's plans. Luckily for us, Locker, a humble yet amazingly bright and athletic kid has shown that he has the makeup to be a great college quarterback. Blessed with 4.5 40 yard speed, he also has good vision and the potential for great accuracy. Our offensive line is also doing well, as they are all returning from last year, and our RB Louis Rankin is finally health enough, as shown by his 143 yards running against 'Cuse, and his td pass against Boise State. Huskies fever is finally back, and thank God, it's been too long. You never realize how cool it is to have a great football team until it falls from the top 25 to the laughing stock of the Pac 10.
The Seahawks start tomorrow against Tampa Bay, a team I think too many "experts" are taking too lightly. I love that Bill Simmons of ESPN predicts us as the number 2 team in the NFL to his beloved Patriots, but I'd have to say that we are 3 after NE and SD, though pointing to SD's coach is a good reason to knock them down come playoff time. What's different about this year? Well, we no longer have Ken Hamlin and Michale Boulware manning the safety positions. I compare these two to Jose Lopez and Betancourt, because safeties are like middle infielders in that they are an essential part of the defense, but underrated as a whole. Instead we now have Deon Grant, a good coverage safety, and Brian Russell, a smart player. Babineaux is still available off the bench, which is good news. Also new is Patrick Kerney, who pretty much fills in for Wistrom, except he's a supreme pass rusher and decent run defender, and Wistrom is the opposite. The offense should be the same, as we are stacked at the WR, and Branch has more of a rapport with Hasselbeck now, and we'll see how Pollard does with Hasselbeck as well, a key part of this season in my opinion, as I happen to think that Jerramy Steven finally stepping it up and serving as an effective security blanket for 'Beck was a big part the Seahawks making it to the SuperBowl. More to come after the game.
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