Time to Catch On

With the Mariners announcing the switch of touted minor league prospect Marcus Littlewood from infielder to catcher, the search for the holy grail continues. While the left field position gets more media attention (justifiably since they couldn’t find one in all of Griffey’s years of success), the Mariners continue to search for a catcher of their future and hopefully present.

Following years of mediocre hitting, pretty good defense, and a lot of cheap beer (the local bar FX McRory’s used to sell beer at Dave Valle’s average), Dave Valle provided consistency at the very least for much of the 1980s. The catching conundrum in Seattle reached a level of sedation with the Dan Wilson years. An incredible defensive catcher, Wilson put together a nice run of offensive success including an All-Star berth. With years of high averages (.278 in ’95, .270 in ’97) and some power (18 HR and 83 RBI in ’96, 15 HR and 74 RBI in ’97), Wilson cemented himself in Mariner lore for years to come. Unfortunately it turned out to be many, many years to come.

The Mariners attempted to fill the void left by Wilson, yet they keep failing miserably. Jason Varitek was deemed to be a semi-bust in 1997 when he was traded with Derek Lowe for Heathcliff Slocumb (yes, the worst trade in team history). Slocumb posted a five-plus ERA in 1997 and only lasted one more season in Seattle. Varitek? Lowe? They have been alright I guess.

The next catching hope came from high school stud Ryan Christianson from California (#11 overall pick in 1999). He posted a season at age 20 of 14 HR and 85 RBI, but a career minor league average of .244 left Christianson out of baseball at age 26. He never seemed to get very good defensively according to scouts and he ended up doing nothing for the big club. Meanwhile the team attempted to fill the void through trades with players like Miguel Olivo (first time around and .200 average with almost no power) and Ben Davis (.259 with 7 HR in 2002 – seems like a stud on this year’s team). While Davis soon became one of my favorite players (I even bought a Davis t-shirt, why?), he looked like Paul Bunyan but hit like Paula Abdul. (Hint: she can’t hit because she is a washed up 80s diva).

The M’s went back to the drawing board which means the draft. Rob Johnson was drafted in the 4^th round in 2004 and while he posted a .308 average in AAA in 2008 (and .271 in the minors overall), he hit nothing in the majors. Pitchers seemingly loved him, but more time was spent analyzing his hips (or injuries to them) then was worth anyone’s time. Just in case he didn’t work out, the Mariners went for USC stud Jeff Clement in 2005 with the third overall pick. (Don’t think about the fact that they passed up Troy Tulowitski to get him). While Clement did rake a bit in the minors (.335 with 14 HR in 2008, .274 with 21 HR and 90 RBI in 2009), he was atrocious defensively. He got moved to 1B after the famous Ian Snell trade (what? Poop!), and toils with injuries and the buses in the minors.

Keep searching! OK! Adam Moore was drafted in 2006 in the 6^th round and he is a career .303 minor league hitter with some defensive ability, but a season ending injury pretty much put a hold on his career. Since Moore and Johnson hit in the minors, but didn’t do much for anyone at the major league level, the Mariners decided to draft another fricking catcher in the first round (sandwich pick at least – I wonder if that makes people hungry when they draft) with Steve Baron (high school kid) in 2009 (33^rd overall). He sucks thus far. He is hitting .197 in A this year. Good call guys! I think they know this since they drafted – and already signed – John Hicks in the 4^th round this year out of Virginia. He is already playing in A Clinton and hitting .275 in 11 games.

This list is exhaustive, I know. What is the point? The Mariners want a catcher to play for 10 years at the major league level and they don’t know where the frick to find him. So they moved Marcus Littlewood (2^nd round in 2010) to catcher with the hope that he can learn the position enough to become a big time prospect. He was widely considered a top 10 prospect for the M’s (who rank in the middle of the pack in the league for farm systems), and his value goes up at the catcher spot. Yet he is 19 years old and playing in low A ball, so who knows? We need a catcher for the future and apparently for the present we will be stuck with Miguel Olivo. Not a bad option for now, but let’s hope that Moore, Hicks or Littlewood develops quickly. One of those three would be my best bet to become the starter of the future. And the Mariners hope so too or they will just keep drafting catchers that waste away year after year.

No More Mr. Nice Guy

Seattle sports fans seem to be infatuated with the hard-working, nice demeanor, less talented athlete. Some of the city's favorites include Willie Bloomquist, Roger Levesque, and Reggie Evans. We seem to flock to those who underachieve, yet have a great work ethic. Why? What good does this do for our teams?

Maybe it has to do with our laid-back, easy going mentality in the Pacific Northwest. Maybe it has to do with all the losing. Maybe we just don't like conflict, thus we like guys who play hard and say nice things. And maybe this is the reason why everyone is freaking out about losing Matt Hasselbeck to free agency (and ultimately the Tennessee Titans).

By all accounts, Matt Hasselbeck is one of the better human beings to play football. The media loves him. Dopplegangers love him (that would be me). Wives. Kids. Teammates. Coaches. Everyone loves Matt Hasselbeck. He says the right things and he is a good person. But that doesn't make him a good football player anymore.

(Side note: I rooted for Matt Hasselbeck when many fans booed him at Husky Stadium in the Trent Dilfer, early Mike Holmgren era. I have a Hasselbeck jersey. I am a fan of his, so this isn't me picking on a guy I don't like or root for).

The Titans signed Hass to a three year, $21 million contract to fill the gap for a couple years until Jake Locker is given the reigns. People in Seattle wanted Matt to stay as they see it as the only way to win this year. It isn't.

Hasselbeck was stellar in the playoffs last year, but he struggled during the regular season. He pasted a 73.2 quarterback rating, after putting up a 75.1 the year before and a 57.8 rating in 2008 in only seven games. That is three straight very subpar years. In the those three years, he didn't once throw more TDs than interceptions (a total of 34 TD and 44 INT). He doesn't pose a threat on the ground and with a young offensive line, the chances of him getting injured again are very high. In fact, he injured himself jogging last year without being touched. At age 35, why sign him again?

Most people say: "because he is the best option unless you trade for Kevin Kolb". Is that true? You have to give up a 1st and 3rd round pick for Kevin Kolb and he hasn't proven anything more that Tarvaris Jackson. Kolb posted a 76.1 quarterback rating with 7 TD and 7 INT (60.8 completion %) in half a season before Michael Vick decided to return to Madden-status (play with Mike Vick on old Madden games and then realize you are unstoppable a.l.a. Bo Jackson in Techmo Bowl). Meanwhile Tarvaris Jackson posted a 95.4 quarterback rating with 9 TD and 2 INT in limited duty (9 games, but same as Kolb basically) in 2008 (pre-Favre). Jackson is

a free agent, Kolb requires two draft picks and more money to sign long term.

Other options discussed were Donovan McNabb. Really? 77.1 quarterback rating with 14 TD and 15 INT plus limited mobility and 34 years old. Carson Palmer? Owner Mike Brown won't deal him right now. Kyle Orton? Trade also and he doesn't seem to win. 4-12 with Denver last year and 8-8 the year before. I like his numbers, but why not take a chance between Charlie Whitehurst and Tarvaris Jackson?

If it doesn't work out, you can draft the QB of the future among the great prospects next year in the draft that includes Andrew Luck (Stanford), Landry Jones (Oklahoma), Matt Barkley (USC), and a list of others. I am not here to tell you that the Seahawks will win more games this year or even be competitive with the QBs they have now. I just don't think it would have been any different if Matt Hasselbeck had stayed. And the reason most people think differently than me is that they LIKE Matt Hasselbeck. It isn't wrong to like him, but it is wrong to think he would have made a difference.

Hawks and Vegas

My sister was in Vegas this past weekend. And that usually means texts from me to place a bet of some sort. This time it focused on the Seahawks. Vegas doesn’t believe they will win the NFC West. Vegas doesn’t really believe they can be a .500 team. Vegas is wrong my friends.

Note here: I said this many times in my life. Many times. Rarely have I been right. In fact, Vegas likes to punch me in the nuts and yell “Nice!” like Mike Tyson in the Hangover after I wonder to myself why?

Vegas puts the over/under on Seahawk wins this year at 8. I wanted 7.5 but sending my

sister to find that seemed unnecessary. So $50 went down on the over. (I wanted to bet $100 but lessened it after feeling pressure from the wife which really just shows how much I suck).

Why will the Hawks beat these Vegas odds? It starts with health. It continues with free agents and it ends with Aaron Curry.

I will detail all these things in the days to come and explain to you why the Hawks will win more than eight games.

Streaking M's

The Mariners are good. Somehow, someway they are good.

Six games over .500 after winning three out of four games, the M’s head to Detroit to play three games and they don’t face Justin Verlander or Edwin Jackson. Awesome.

Seattle won six out of the last eight games and sits only four games out of first place. The success is thanks to a few key players.

Felix Hernandez

10-3 with a 2.51 ERA (2^nd in the ERA) and 129 strikeouts (4^th in AL). His ten wins are

2^nd in the AL and over his past ten starts he is 6-0 with a 1.30 ERA. He is Cy Young worthy.

Jarrod Washburn

What happened here? He is 7-6 with a 2.87 ERA (5^th in the AL). His win-loss record is a reflection of run support rather than anything else. He has won three straight starts. Washburn has gone at least six innings in 16 out of 18 starts this year. That is insane. His July ERA is 1.82 in four starts.

Franklin Gutierrez

All of a sudden the best player ever (in my opinion) is the best player ever. Gutierrez is hitting .295 with 12 homers and 42 RBI. His OPS is .815 and his on base percentage is .355. Compare with the immortal Adam Jones (an All-Star by the way) who is hitting .305 with 13 homers and 50 RBI. His OPS is .841 and on base percentage is .359. Damn it we could have both of them. No! I won’t talk about that.

Frankie G is on fire right now. He hit .304 in June with four homers and 9 RBI. He is hitting .375 in July with 5 homers and 14 RBI. Not to mention his UZR of 14.3 which is #1 in the major leagues, meaning he is the best fielder in all of baseball.

Rob Johnson

I know, what? After Kenji Johjima essentially cemented himself on the bench with the mix of horrible pitch calling and passed balls, Rob Johnson earned himself some playing time again. Pitchers love him. And now everyone should. He is hitting .303 in July with six RBI. This is huge considering the lack of production from the line up in general, but specifically the bottom of the order.

Will this continue? For all four of these guys….probably not. Felix can do it and will win the Cy Young if he does. The other three seem unlikely. But who would have believed the M’s would be six games over at this point?

Enjoy it. Don’t debate if they can keep it up, just enjoy it.

Mariner All-Stars

The All-Star teams will be announced later today and there is a legitimate chance that the Mariners will have four players on the team. At 41-38, they may not deserve that many players, but that record certainly gets them in the debate.

It begins of course with Ichiro. He most likely will be voted in as a starter, but either way he will make the team. Ichiro leads the American League in hits, average, and multi-hit games. His .368 average is once again Ichiridiculous.

Felix Hernandez should also get a spot on the team this year as he is pitching like a bonafide ace. He is 8-3 with a 2.62 ERA and 114 strikeouts. Only Roy Halladay and Zach Grienke have more wins and a lower ERA. He stands currently at 4th in ERA and 3rd in strikeouts in the A.L. He has a 76% quality start percentage, good for 3rd in the league as well. His WHIP is 9th at 1.17. He went 3-0 in June with a 0.94 ERA so he is pitching better and better. It would be a shame if he is not selected.

The third and fourth selections will be difficult for the M’s. David Aardsma has been lights out as a closer for the Mariners (to the point that they actually kill the scoreboard lights and say lights out when he enters the game as I recently detailed in this excellent blog). He is 8th in the A.L. in saves with 16, but holds a 1.45 ERA and only one blown save. Additionally he was a set up man for the first month or so, grabbing six holds in the process. He hasn’t given up a run since May 31st going 11 perfect innings in June.

Lastly, Russell “The Muscle” Branyan deserves to be on the A.L. squad. It will very difficult for him to fit in though. The case for Branyan includes a .294 average to go along with his 20 home runs (2nd in the A.L.). He has the 3rd best OPS in the league and 43 RBI. Seems like All-Star numbers, but his competition will most likely prevent him from making the team. Justin Morneau (.311, 19, 65), Mark Teixera (.275, 20, 61), Carlos Pena (.236, 23, 55), Kevin Youkilis (.307, 14, 47), and Miguel Cabrera (..325, 16, 47) all can make a case to keep the Muscle off the team.

By the way, did you read that correctly at the beginning of this post that the Mariners are 41-38? C’mon. Awesome.

NBA, You Sly Fox

The NBA pisses me right off. I try to ignore. I try to avoid her. Yet she tantalizes me just enough to keep me paying attention to her. She sometimes does this with a Spaniard or sometimes with a 300 plus pound man who refers to himself as the Big Aristotle. Yes, the NBA kept me interested lately despite the fact that I only watch the playoffs now and they stole my friend Sonics and changed his name to Thunder (apparently he is a stripper now).

With this said, here are the stories that kept me intrigued and my thoughts on them.

1. Shaq to the Cavs
Anytime Shaq is involved it is hard to ignore the story. He might be the only professional athlete that actually likes the media (or at least tolerates them) as he provides jokes and jokes and jokes (thanks Dave Chapelle). He said he wants to win a ring for the King and said that his kids like LeBron more than him. Does he have enough? Maybe.

If the Cavs played LeBron’s natural style (think up tempo Suns under D’Antoni) then Shaq would hurt them. Fortunately the Cavs play pretty slow and Shaq will help especially in comparison to the all-of-a-sudden horrific Big Z, the crazy Brazilian, and anyone else they throw out there. Yet the Cavs will still struggle to win it all with guys like Delonte West surrouding LeBron. He needs a good shooter and a lock down defender to win it all.

2. VC and Richard Jefferson
Apparently the Nets don’t like to keep athletic 3 men. They prefer to watch Stanford twin centers run up and down the court looking like idiots. Jefferson went from the Bucks to the Spurs, which is good on paper, but not sure about it in reality. Losing Bruce Bowen seems like a big deal. How many teams do we see with too much offense and not enough defense? Maybe it doesn’t matter in the NBA. Same thing goes for Orlando, although I am not sure how much better Vince Carter is than Hedo Turkoglu. He certainly is better looking. Dear God Hedo is awkward to look at. Now Hedo will be frequenting the many gentlemen’s clubs in Toronto.

3. Ron Artest to the Lakers
Awesome. Ron Artest looked like he was going to stab Kobe in the playoffs. Now he gets to have bunk beds with him. They need to make this a reality show.

4. Ricky Rubio
Blake Griffin is awesome. I really was amazed by him last year in college and I think he will be pretty good in the pros. Yet I think Ricky Rubio will be the steal of the draft. I know a lot of people are saying this, but I loved watching Rubio in the Olympics. He was awesome and I think he will be great in the NBA. The only thing that will hold him back will be Minnesota. Who succeeds there really?

5. Patty Mills
I am convinced the steal of the draft is Patty Mills from St. Mary’s. I just don’t understand how he could be a second round pick. He tore up Davidson and Stephen Curry in the NIT. He plays a better point guard than Curry in my opinion and can get to the hoop better than the Cur. He isn’t as pure of a shooter obviously, but I think Portland should be very happy. And so should Mills really. Who does he have to beat out? Stephen Blake? Jerryd Bayless? He also thrived in the Olympics drawing the praise of Chris Paul in the process. Patty Mills will start in this league and soon.

Frankie G and Lights Out

I can’t describe to you how much I love Franklin Gutierrez. And I also really can’t describe why.

Years ago I decided I would have a favorite player on the Mariners who wasn’t the main star. It may have developed as a defense mechanism to be honest. When I was ten years old and Ken Griffey, Jr. hit a double off Dave Stewart in Oakland in his first major league at bat, I was in love. Platonically of course. Then Griffey broke all of our hearts when he requested – make that demanded – a trade to Cincinnati. It sucked. I hated him. So I started loving Mike Cameron. He hustled, played a ridiculous center field (and still does), swung at high fastballs and hit them sometimes. He had heart, charisma, and was never quite good enough to demand a trade.

I followed my love of Mike Cameron with a love of Yuniesky Betancourt (which amounted in many ways to a brief fling only to end when the woman you courted ended up eating way too much Jack In the Box Mini Sirloin Burgers and stopped working out), then Felix Hernandez.

I still love watching Felix pitch, but there is nothing like having a favorite player who impacts the game daily. Gutierrez does that – sometimes negatively, but most of the time positively. He is essentially Mike Cameron with less strikeouts. Frankie G makes ridiculous catches in centerfield and is starting to hit with more power. He still does things like grounding out with the bases loaded and one out as he did in the first inning yesterday. But then he goes out and....totally redeems himself! He made my night as I sat with my dad and watched him hit the game winning homer in the 8th inning yesterday.

The only thing better than that was when the ninth inning started. All of the scoreboards at Safeco Field went black. I turned to my father and said, “What the hell is going on?” The marketing folks at Safeco had done their job. They fooled me completely. Then the scoreboards starting flashing and the words “Lights Out” came on all of the boards as closer David Aardsma came into the game. It was awesome. I loved it so much that I sounded like a school kid when I told Dana as I got home. She just laughed at me. Pretty typical day.