Archive for September, 2006

The Mariners have announced that both Bill Bavasi and Mike Hargrove will be back next year. Story on SeattleMariners.com. In other news, the Mariners will be kicking your dog, too.

Seriously, fine on Bavasi. He’s made some good moves and some bad. Hargrove? Not enough of the former, way too much of the latter. Can’t wait for another season of strange lineups and even stranger “strategery” in the dugout….

Not that you really need to have it pointed out to you, but Sunday’s Seahawks-Bears game is a matchup of two of the best teams in the NFL.

In fact, Football Outsiders’ latest rankings say it’s a matchup of #2 vs. #3.

GO SEAHAWKS!

It’s most likely that Felix Hernandez will be fine and not get hurt this weekend, even though the Mariners have changed their collective mind and will give him one more start. Or he might get hurt.

Either way, I don’t like it. It goes to the root of poor management in the dugout and the front office, where this decision to target 200 innings was born and agreed on.

It goes back to December, when the M’s first said 190 IP was the target for Felix, on the silly rational of “his age times 10.”

Now they’re saying 200 IP is okay, apparently because he’s turned 20. In fact, Hargrove says, “We felt like it would be okay to take him to 205.”

What’s ridiculous about all this is the focus on innings instead of pitches thrown. What the Mariners are saying is that Felix’s August 13th start, when he threw 118 pitches but only pitched 5.2 innings, was easier on his arm than his August 28th start, when he threw 95 pitches over 9 innings. What about 82-pitch, 3.2 IP effort on August 23rd? By management’s logic, he could’ve started two days later since it was so easy on his arm.

Stupid, stupid, stupid….

Shaun Alexander has a foot fracture. Left foot. Maurice Morris will do a fine job filling in, though he’s not Shaun Alexander.

This make the Deion Branch acquisition all the more important, because now Air Holmgren has an excuse to pass as much as he wants and MattHass has a handful of weapons that few secondaries, if any, can match up with in 4-receiver sets.

And I would love … LOVE to see DJ Hackett active on Sunday night and have the Hawks go into a 5-wide set. Oh, man would I love to see that…..

Don Pierson of the Chicago Tribune offers his early preview of the Seahawks-Bears game.

DON PIERSON’S EARLY PICK: Bears 20-17

In that case, MATT MCGEE’S EARLY PICK: Seahawks 16-10

Take that, Pierson!

It’s a shame the score ended up as it did, because the record needs to show that this was a complete annihilation of the Giants. The Seahawks led 21-0 after one quarter, 35-3 at halftime, and 42-3 after the third quarter. How lopsided did it get? Bad enough that Will Heller caught a TD pass and actually put his hands to his ear in the end zone calling out for some love from the Qwest Field faithful. When you see your 3rd string tight end hamming it up after a TD like that, you know the rout is on.

And it may have left the Giants in bad shape as a team. Said Jeremy Shockey afterward: “We got outplayed, and outcoached. Write that down.” Tom Coughlin has never been loved by his players, but comments like that can’t be good.

Deion Branch looked good in Seahawk blue, though I think MattHass tried to force him the ball a couple times. It’ll be nice to watch the 4-receiver set develop as the season goes along. They should be able to add new wrinkles in to keep defenses guessing, much like the Giants were today.

But, the Seahawks can still play the “concerned” card after this one. They played their best 3 quarters of the season, and followed it up with their worst one quarter. I don’t care how big your lead is after 3 quarters, there’s no excuse for giving up 27 points in one quarter. That’s a concern. Shaun Alexander also has to be a concern — his foot/ankle really limited him, and the Giants did, too. Can’t blame the poor rushing all on injuries. Mo Morris only had 18 yards on 15 attempts.

In the end, a great win for the Seahawks, who were light years better than what they showed in the first two weeks.

Random Notes:

- Darryl Tapp sure looks good in his limited playing time. (This comment left untouched from last week’s recap.)

- Nate Burleson dropped the easiest pass he’ll ever see, but aside from that, had his best game of the season.

- The Seahawks have a really, really good defense. I still expect the secondary to have its struggles, but when the front 7 are flying around like they do, that makes up for some issues in the defensive backfield.

- Best way to avoid having a FG blocked? Score TDs every time you get in FG range.

Link: NFL.com Recap

Game ball: Would’ve given this to MattHass if not for his 4th quarter, so instead I’m gonna give it to Ken Hamlin, whose INTs in the 1st quarter really set the tone for the whole day, or at least for the first 3 quarters.

Play of the game: I’ll go with Hamlin again, for the very first INT of the game. After that controversial INT that MattHass threw on the first play of the game, the Hamlin INT just three plays later was huge. He took the ball all the way down to the NYG 15-yard line, he killed the Giants momentum, and got the crowd right back in the game after the Seahawks’ INT. It was all Seahawks after Hamlin’s INT….

Next up: On the road for the national Sunday night game at Chicago. The Bears are 3-0 after winning at Minnesota today. All the focus will be on Chicago’s defense and the Seahawks’ offense, but I expect the Hawks’ defense to dominate the Bears.

New thing this season — open game threads for ongoing discussion during the game. The thread is open for anyone who wants to chat.

Game #3, Giants (1-1) at Seahawks (2-0)

ESPN couldn’t be bothered to even mention this game in the first 70 minutes of NFL Countdown today, but we know how great this matchup is.

Loud crowd? Check.

Deion Branch? Check.

Seahawks finally on track? Let’s hope.

I say Branch gets at least 6 catches.

GO SEAHAWKS!!!!

ESPN asks several NBA media types today to give their choice for who among the young players is most likely to become a superstar. Ex-Bulldog Adam Morrison is the pick made by 3 of the 6 experts, including Orlando Magic beat writer John Denton, who has some harsh words for the Portland Trail Blazers.

I had the pleasure of covering the Orlando Summer League back in July, and of all the rookies there, Morrison was far and away the most impressive. It left me wondering just what the Portland Trail Blazers — a team desperately in need of a box-office draw and a scoring machine — were thinking.

None other than Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird, Morrison’s boyhood hero, left the Orlando summer camp shaking his head at just how skilled Charlotte’s floppy-haired rookie is. And Bird had this prediction: “He’ll probably win Rookie of the Year with the talent that he has.”

I’ve made it pretty clear in the past that I’m no fan of Ron Fairly. So I can’t claim to be saddened by the news that he’s leaving the broadcast booth after this season. I wish him well in retirement, or whatever he elects to do … but I’m also looking forward to having a new and improved voice on the M’s broadcast team.

Just off the top of my head, here are my favorite three Fairly-isms:

The harder you hit the ball, the farther it will go.

You have to score in order to win.

(Tim) Hudson is off to a great start this season. (said during pre-game warmups of the first game of the season)

Got some to add? Use the comments….

While most of us with a head on our shoulders are ready to say goodbye to Mike Hargrove after this season, word on the street is that his job is safe for 2007. Team Status Quo strikes again.

On one level, Hargrove’s return would mean the Mariners are passing on the opportunity to add a new piece to the puzzle, one that could potentially take the team further than an average manager like Hargrove ever will.

But Ken Rosenthal writes on FoxSports.com this week that keeping Hargrove may not only cost the Mariners a better skipper, it might also cost them the team’s best player. “Ichiro Suzuki,” Rosenthal writes, “might ask to be traded if the Mariners keep Bavasi and Hargrove.”

Ichiro is comfortable living in Seattle. It seems unlikely he would request a trade. But he is weary of losing, and his occasionally sluggish play reflects his frustration. Keeping Bavasi and Hargrove is hardly the best way to demonstrate to Ichiro that the team is committed to winning.

After every season, usually in December, Ichiro meets with one of the Mariners’ most powerful executives, Hiroshi Yamauchi. If Ichiro wanted to be traded, Yamauchi likely would ensure that his request was honored.

This is pure speculation on Rosenthal’s part, but it’s grounded in reality. It was just 10 months ago that Ichiro let the Mariners have it in an interview published in Japan. He questioned the team’s commitment to winning, with specific attention on what happened in the dugout on Hargrove’s watch: seeing M’s players enjoying card games, and not seeing a coach or veteran player do anything about the fun, lackadaisical attitude in the dugout.

This is something that bears watching.

(Thx Phil for the link.)