Archive for August, 2006

Dr. Z — the one from Sports Illustrated, not the goofy guy from Daimler-Chrysler — has unveiled his annual NFL season picks. He’s got the Seahawks winning the NFC West, then losing to the New York Football Giants in the Divisional Round.

Astonishingly, he also has the Miami Dolphins reaching the Super Bowl. And I think this is about the 3rd or 4th straight year he’s picked the Panthers to go all the way, too. Stick with that, Z, it’ll happen at some point.

By the way, here’s the SI Seahawks Scouting Report.

Washington Wizard Gilbert Arenas is still upset about being cut from Team USA, and he’s coming after you, Blazer Fan. Arenas tells the Washington Post that he’s planning to take out his frustration on two of the assistant coaches from Team USA this coming NBA season:

“I’m going to be the silent assassin this year,” he said. “I can’t wait to play the Suns and Portland. Against Portland, Nate McMillan, I’m going to try to score 100 in two games and against D’Antoni, I’m going to score 100 in two games. I’m going to try.”

Gilbert, please. It’s the Blazers. You can aim higher than that, can’t you?

Chivalry suggests I should let the other guy go first, but he’s a moron so screw that. I’m going first.

Matt’s End-of-August Mariners Thoughts

0. God bless Rafael Soriano. It seems almost miraculous that he’s out of the hospital less than 24 hours later, and appears to be on the road to a full recovery. Take your time, Raf. We’ll see you next season.

1. I have a bad feeling in my head that the amazin’ turnaround on this homestand has somehow saved Mike Hargrove’s job. He should’ve been canned last Monday, the off-day after that 11-game O-fer. Please don’t keep him on next season. Pretty please?

2. Is it wrong to be glad Jake Woods was roughed up a bit tonight? Is it wrong to hope he gets roughed up next time out? Is it wrong to wish the same for Cha Seung Baek? I have a bad feeling that all this malarchy about Baek and Woods auditioning for next year’s rotation is going to make its way into Hargrove’s and Bavasi’s brains, and they’ll start to believe it. Baek and Woods have no business being in the Mariners’ rotation next season.

3. What the heck is up with Jose Lopez? He has a Bloomquist-esque 10 RBIs in the past two months. He hasn’t hit a home run in almost 3 months — since June 2nd against the Royals. Distracted by fatherhood? Awed by his 1st All-Star appearance?

4. Chris Snelling is a damn good ballplayer. Please, please … PLEASE stay healthy.

Okay, now time for the moron to get his turn.

The Moron’s Thoughts

Anyone ever heard of Jon Heyman? He’s got a column on SI.com listing the AL’s Biggest Busts. When Phil sent me the link, I was hoping it would be about Kris Benson’s wife; no such luck. (rimshot!) It’s about baseball players, and his list includes four Mariners:

Carl Everett
Felix Hernandez
Richie Sexson
Adrian Beltre

Everett is obvious. But the others?

Felix: The kid is 20 years old. He’s not making any money, which seems to be the main qualification for putting A-Rod #1 on the list, and the only reason Beltre and Sexson are listed. How can you call a 20-year-old a bust? If you expected him to win 25 games, that’s your mistake, not his. Some of us were much smarter about his expectations.

Beltre: He stunk the first two months of the season, but has been money the past three. His June, July, and August SLG%: .611, .440, and .554. The HR and RBi numbers are much better, and he has 29 doubles over the past 3 months, a scary good number. Best of all, he finally seems comfortable in the #3 spot, which should bode well for next season. Will he be worth $14 million, or whatever his contract pays next season? Of course not. But among the guys making that much money, is anyone worth it?

Sexson: His power numbers are down from last season, but they’re still on pace for what anyone could reasonably expect from a guy playing half his games at Safeco Field. His batting average is down about 25 points off his career numbers. Why? You’d think it’s the strikeouts, but that’s not the case. He’s actually on pace for a handful fewer strikeouts this season than he had a year ago. The difference this season is BBs. His walks are way, way down. In other words, he’s putting the ball in play MORE, and making more outs, which pulls the batting average down. Does that make him a bust? Hardly. He’s in the lineup to hit HRs and drive guys in, and he’s done a pretty fair job of that — 21 HRs and 29 (typo) 59 RBIs over the past three months.

Busts? That’s too strong….

This article on KOIN-TV’s web site really scared me for a minute:

Mariners’ Best Pitcher Is Out for the Season

I thought maybe Felix hurt himself last night, but no … they mean Julio Freakin’ Mateo. Sheesh……

(In case that link goes dead, click the thumbnail below for a screenshot….)

Mike Sando is reporting on the T-N-T blog that backup safety Mike Green is likely done for the year. Foot injury.

Sure, he’s just a backup. But losing your depth is what often makes a great team only “good.” Is this is how Super Bowl runners-up go from 13-3 seasons to sub-.500 records? Let’s hope not.

The streak is over! They beat the Angels! 20 straight losses against the AL West – gone! Thank you, Felix!

The streak is over! They beat the Angels! 20 straight losses against the AL West – gone! Thank you, Felix!

The streak is over! They beat the Angels! 20 straight losses against the AL West – gone! Thank you, Felix!

Woo-Hoo!!

(You know it was bad when your 8-year-old comes out to the family room after his shower, sees the M’s holding a 1-0 lead, and deadpans, “Alert the media. The Mariners are beating an AL West team.” Yes, an 8-year-old….)

With Jerramy Stevens already out for the first chunk of the season, seeing Itula Mili get hurt tonight (last night, technically) was about the last thing Seattle needed.

If Mili is gone for a while, there’s a gaping hole in the Seahawks’ offense that isn’t going to be filled by anyone on the roster right now — at least not with any hope of repeating what Stevens’ did last year for the offense.

Sure, there’s a big round of league-wide cuts coming up in a couple days, but I doubt they’ll find anyone of great quality in this round of castoffs. You might get someone servicable closer to the start of the season when final cuts are made … but the most likely scenario, if Mili is out for any length of time, is a trade for someone’s #2 tight end.

The gang at FO are making their annual through the gambling establishment’s over/under predictions for the coming football season. The Seahawks o/u for 2006 is 10.5 — if you’re a bettor in Vegas, you’d have to decide if you think the Hawks will win more or less than that line.

At FO, Bill Barnwell and Ian Dembsky disagree. Bill votes for OVER, pointing out that the Hawks have the 3rd-easiest strength of schedule in the entire NFL. Ian points out that strength-of-schedule is unpredictable from year-to-year, takes the UNDER, and says the Hawks have plenty of question marks these days.

Darrell Jackson has chronic knee troubles. Nate Burleson was a huge disappointment last season in Minnesota, and shouldn’t be viewed as much more than a decent number two wideout. He’s certainly not an upgrade over Joe Jurevicius. Jerramy Stevens is out for six weeks with a torn meniscus in his left knee. The injuries and question marks are adding up, which makes it tough to predict 11 wins….

Me? I’m not ready to make any bold predictions just yet, but I think it’ll be OVER 10.5.

USA Today has a nice Seahawks season preview that covers all kinds of ground, but not a whole lot of new stuff if you’ve been following along regularly to the off-season and training camp themes.

One thing new, though, is Matt Hasselbeck’s dismissal of Steve Hutchinson’s departure as no big deal. That’s what you’d expect him to say, but Matt comes as close to slamming Hutch as you can … without quite doing it.

“I don’t know if (losing Hutchinson) is that big a deal,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck says. “That’s no disrespect to Hutch, but … our second offensive line is better than the starting offensive lines for some teams.

“To me, Hutch is the best guard in the league, but what’s the difference between destroying a guy or just blocking him? Chop’s playing between Walter Jones, an All-Pro, and Robbie Tobeck, a Pro Bowler. Behind him he’s got (fullback) Mack Strong, Pro Bowler, and Shaun Alexander, MVP Pro Bowler.

“It’s probably the easiest spot to start, and then Chop’s really good anyway,” Hasselbeck says. “So I don’t worry about that at all.”

I’m betting that’ll be locker-room material come October 22nd, when the Vikings visit Qwest Field.

You really have to see this photo.

Amazing!