Apparently, yesterday’s news from NPB Tracker.com came as a surprise to at least one Mariner. I don’t really and truly believe the front office would deal Ryan Rowland-Smith, not at this point in time. And it doesn’t sound like RRS wants to be dealt, so that works out for everyone…my reaction was more of a ‘oh, hell no’ at the mere concept of not having the Aussie in our rotation anymore. I think I speak for many when I say we’re not ready for that.
The thing I need to once again remind myself of, now that the winter meetings are nearly here, is that our front office is stealthy. No leaks, no rumors, and moves come out of nowhere, ninja-like. If something happens, nobody’s going to know about it until an official announcement is made. I heard through a little bird (ie; Shannon Drayer’s Twitter account) that the Ms FO is interested in a long-term deal with Felix Hernandez. So that’s a bit of a bright spot on an otherwise dreary Sunday.
Now, to get ready to watch this Sounders/Dynamo game on KING. I’ve already seen several people I know on TV; I bet other teams’ fans get tired of seeing so much green and blue in their stands. Too bad. LET’S GO SOUNDERS!!!
I don’t believe the Ms will try to retain Bedard’s services; I could be wrong here, but why risk another season of possible injury and the loss of his arm for a third year? It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. I understand that there are risks involved with just about any athlete, and that injury is a very real possibility even for the healthiest of guys, but sadly, Bedard has been off the mound in Seattle far more than on, and in my way of thinking, it’s just not worth it for the team. If he can find another place to play and an organization that is willing to take him on, then good on him; but I feel we’d be better off looking to an Erik-free future. I’m not happy about saying that, but in this case, it seems the most logical move.
If we’re keeping Jack Wilson and our current outfielding lineup, Endy is no longer necessary, either. I wish him luck. Batista has made no public mention of retirement, and he might make some nice National League team a good relief or setup guy, depending.
Now watch; knowing my luck, they’ll keep all three of them…
Always a bridesmaid, as they say…I’m probably the last person in Seattle to know that the JJ Hardy option is off the table (get thee to Minnesota!), and that Ken Griffey Jr will soon be making his decision. I’ll admit it, the Hardy thing doesn’t make me all that sad, nor does it surprise me much that we didn’t go after him before the Twins did. Jack Wilson was much desired by the front office, it didn’t make much sense to me that they would just toss him overboard after less than half a season; not saying that Hardy is the only shortstop out there to be obtained, I just really think they want Wilson to stay, and I think Wilson wants to stay. I know his bat depresses a lot of people, but he was such a ridiculous upgrade from Yuni defensively, maybe I’m just biased there. I believe in change. Maybe change is rare and difficult in baseball, but it does and can happen.
I’m not going to lie, I’m glad that baseball is over. I’m not happy with the final result of the World Series, but I am relieved that 2009 has finally drawn to a close. Now it is time to get on with, as Ryan Rowland-Smith so eloquently put it on his Twitter account, “all the silly rumors”. The silly rumors are indeed silly, and occasionally nerve-wracking, but it keeps us alive during the bleak baseball-free winter. Additionally, if you’re feeling particularly snarky about the WS results, Ryan Divish has a captioning contest at his blog. I submitted one…
There has been more mention of Randy Johnson, but not about his restaurant this time; USS Mariner thinks that maybe we should look at him as a viable option for 2010. With every fiber of my little baseball-loving being, I wholeheartedly agree. Seeing Johnson pitch in person for the first time during the Giants game that I went to earlier this year (Felix bobblehead night!), I became acutely aware of what longer-time Mariners fans must have felt while watching Johnson when he was in his prime. Johnson was pitching against Jason Vargas, and frankly, I’m still surprised we won that game (2-0). Getting to take part in the standing ovation as RJ left the field gave me a slight case of the sniffles – however, it’s a malady that I’d be glad to come down with a few times a year. And can you imagine RJ and Felix Hernandez on the same team? A healthy Johnson would make a lot of Mariners fans pretty happy…
USSM also put our free agent list up earlier today. While there is a rumor that Ken Griffey Jr’s agent will be meeting with the FO soon, I’m super-torn on this. Regardless of the whole intangibles thing that Griff obviously provided this year, having him come back would be strange. The impromptu field march that took place after the last game might feel slightly more hollow, slightly less meaningful if it hadn’t really been ‘goodbye’…wouldn’t it? I can’t say I’m completely opposed to it, but there also comes a point where you cut your losses, accept that you did what you needed to do, and move on. There is a full stop where you just have to know that you’re done writing the song, and any further mixing is just going to suck the art out of it. There are other songs to be written, other moves to be made, other shows to play.
I don’t want Russell Branyan to leave, and will squish my eyes shut real tight and use mind power to make sure it doesn’t happen. Ready, set, GO! Erik Bedard I think I have to be over. When he was good, he was very very good – but when he was injured, he was awful. I’ve gotten tired of having so many broken toys – why can’t we have nice things? I get the distinct impression they’ll keep Jack Wilson, and just continue to work on his hitting, much as they’ll continue to work on Ian Snell’s foot (which did indeed improve his pitching). It’s fairly ridiculous, the amount of confidence I have in our current coaching staff. Miguel Batista feels that there will be a 99.9% chance he won’t be in an Ms uniform next year. Much like Jim Street, I feel he’s being generous. I doubt Mike Sweeney will be back, though there was a certain (very) small faction of us rooting for him to take a third base coaching position after the departure of Bruce Hines; that dream (as crazy as it might have been) has been stifled, as the FO has secured another third base coach already. Endy Chavez I never got around to loving, and am still a bit annoyed with Yuni for that – then again, had Chavez not been injured, we might not have butterfly effected ourselves into the second half of the season as we did. Who knows? I don’t think I’m saying anything groundbreaking or new by wanting Adrian Beltre to stick around.
Also of some interest is the fact that a certain Mr Tim Lincecum got himself a fancy misdemeanor by getting pulled over while speeding with some marijuana in his car. He was not under the influence, it was just there. Not the first time a ball player has done something a little less than bright, but it shocks me exactly ‘this’ much = 0. I am actually a little glad he wasn’t on the Mariners roster when this happened, though it would have been far more of a gimme if he had lived in Seattle instead of San Fransisco. We also might have been the butt of some hilarious jokes. So maybe I could make the sacrifice just this once, because, y’know, that whole skilled pitcher thing…
EDIT: And so it begins. Sweeney and Beltre have filed.
When there’s no baseball, I have the tendency to watch a lot of cooking/food, and travel shows. Fortunately for me, the Travel Channel has combined those in the form of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. The other night, they aired an episode in which Bourdain took a trip across the American southwest. He wound up at Alice Cooperstown. This place is in Phoenix, Arizona, a sort of rock n’ roll sports bar with a baseball tinge to it. The kicker? It’s partly owned by none other than Randy Johnson. The menu items are appropriately named with baseball and 70’s rocker references, but the dish that Bourdain tried when he was there was a hot dog referred to as “The Big Unit”, a dog that is 22 inches long and served on an entire baguette. I know that athletes being part-owners or part-investors in restaurants is nothing new, but I had no idea about this one. I did, however, know about the Pujols 5 Westport Grill…
The recent talk about bringing back Washburn made me start thinking yesterday when I was driving back from school…what if JJ came back? He’ll be available, most likely; after such a rotten year, I doubt the Mets would be interested in keeping him, and they don’t technically have to. He’d come somewhat cheap. I’m guessing his age and recent injury history makes him a risk for closer for the most part, but as set-up for Aardsma? Is this something the club would actually do? Would Putz actually come back, since he seemed kind of annoyed that he was traded in the first place? Is this something I really want? Someone talk me down…
…because I want to write about stuff, but there’s not much going on…
So against my better judgement, I watched game 5 of the World Series last night. There wasn’t much else on, I was caught up on my school reading for the day, and Tom was making my birthday dinner, so I figured why not? Much like a Netflix mistake, I can always turn it off when things start to go terribly wrong, right?
Fortunately, things didn’t go wrong at all; in fact, with the exception of a few scares late in the game, things went pretty decently for Philadelphia. Chase Utley continued his post-season insanity by hitting two home runs, one of which was in the first inning with men on base. That hit seemed to light a fire under the Phillies. The best moment by far came when Raul Ibanez hit a solo blast off Phil Coke in the 7th; so now I will always remember that Raul Ibanez hit a home run during the World Series on my birthday. Pretty sweet.
I don’t anticipate that the Phillies will win this. Maybe that’s the pessimist in me, I don’t know. They took one on New York grass, so maybe this will all be drawn out for longer – or maybe it will end tomorrow. If it ends tomorrow, I won’t be around for it; I have a night class, and while I can always listen to about the first half hour or so, I doubt I’ll be able to finish the game; and that’s alright. I’m trying not to invest too much into it; they’re not my teams, not my city, not my boys. Regardless of how much I would really love for the Phils to win, I have nothing really invested in these games, and I’m going to keep repeating that mantra until this is over. And it’s almost over.
In more Mariners-oriented talk, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this. I can’t even compartmentalize it into sentiment and practicality, because even my practical side is saying ‘yeah, but if he’s back with our pitching staff, maybe everything goes back to the way it was’. I’d like to think that Detroit was just a horrible nightmare as far as Wash’s skillset goes, and that if he was back here, it’d all come back again, and 2010 will be marvelous, and kittens and rainbows would fall from the sky (in this scenario, kittens are featherweight and don’t get killed by passing cars), and then playoffs, and winning, and all of Seattle rejoic- wait, what? Sorry, I got carried away. The truth is, I don’t know. I’m sure someone more handy with numbers could give me a million reasons why Jarrod Washburn should not come back to Seattle. I’m going to allow Mr Zduriencik and company to make that decision for me, and I’ll figure out whether or not I’m happy about it later.
Dave Cameron has a good article up over here. I haven’t been thinking about it a a lot or anything, but at this point, I am not really in the Milton Bradley camp. Bradley has had a colorful history outside of the game, and he obviously is not happy being in Chicago. I don’t know if he would fit well here – then again, Ian Snell seemed to be much happier to be in Seattle, so who knows. As they say on Brock & Salk, Don Wakamatsu is indeed a sort of Dog Whisperer personality, so maybe his calm attitude and dignity would be good for Bradley – because I can’t imagine that being around Lou Piniella would improve things for him. I still hold out a degree of hope that Silva can make the turnaround. His attitude has obviously improved from 2008 with this last year; I’d like to see us get some work out of him for the price we paid, and I’d hazard the guess that Silva would like to work. Our pitching staff seem to be able to work miracles, and a healthy Silva might be able to benefit from that now that everything has clicked into place. I may be wishing for the impossible, but I’m a sucker that way. Plus, like Cameron says, the trade doesn’t make a lot of sense for the Cubs…I’m already impatient for 2010.
So far, the World Series has not gone well for me. I don’t know what I was expecting, or even if I truly had any expectations for these games, but success isn’t happening for the Philadelphia Phillies, and I have to say I’m finding it a little more disappointing than I expected to.
I don’t think it’s an underdog thing for me at this point. The Phillies are more than capable of holding their own against the Yankees; both teams deserve to be where they’re at, regardless of my personal opinion of either of them. Tonight’s loss was the result of some really shoddy defense on the Phils’ part, and it was at that point in time – the top of the 9th inning – when I decided that if they lost, they just deserved to, plain and simple. Allowing Johnny Damon to steal not one but two bases one right after the other was absolutely unacceptable, and very uncharacteristic of the kind of ball I’ve seen the Phightin’s manifest during the playoffs, and even the other games they’ve lost to New York thus far. My birthday is tomorrow, and tomorrow’s game could mark the Yankees win of the World Series on Phillies soil. I’m debating not watching it, simply because I don’t think I should be annoyed on my birthday, and I would find a Philadelphia loss annoying enough without having to watch it happen. If the Yankees are going to win, they need to do it on their turf in front of their people – they deserve as much, and so do their fans. I’ll continue to debate my course over the next 20 hours or so.
There is also the matter of how long this has been stretched out. I don’t remember things taking this long last year – we certainly didn’t pass Daylight Savings Time in 2008 – and as much as I am loathe to say it, I’m ready for baseball to be done and over with this year. I’m ready to look forward to the rest of the Green Bay season (not having these Favre games hanging over us for the next 8 weeks will be nice), and the Red Wings season, and to see what the Sounders can do with their Houston game next weekend. Most of all, I’m looking forward to seeing what the Mariners offseason holds, and it feels like the World Series is delaying all of this for me. Baseball is eating my food, not looking for a job, and basically overstaying its’ welcome. Enough already.
I went to Goofy’s with a bunch of friends today to watch the Packers get their bells rung by Brett Favre (apparently, he’s the only player on the Vikings, or at least you would have thought as much by how often his mug was on TV), and we caught about 2-plus quarters of the Cowboys/Seahawks game. If there is any team I feel sorry for this year, it’s the Hawks. With the way they were being talked about over the summer, it sounded like they were going to pull a 2009 Mariners; new front office folks, new coach, new faces on the team and some old ones. After their dismal year last year, it looked like they were primed to come back. Now…I don’t know that much about football, but I know that the Seattle Seahawks are completely and utterly boned for the rest of the season. With the losses of Walter Peyton and Lofa Tatupu, and the bruises, bumps, sprains, and everything else they’ve had to endure so far this year, I just don’t see any hope for them in 2009. Watching them be so completely dominated by the Cowboys today was sad. They’re not the worst team in the NFL, but they’re nowhere near even the median of the best. I will probably never like football near as much as I like baseball, soccer, or hockey, but having been there last year, I can totally feel for the fans this year. All that promise, all that hope, a flash, and it’s gone.
Why am I talking about football here?! I am badly needing some Mariners news…
Looks like Bryan LaHair, Randy Messenger, Marwin Vega and Cesar Jimenez were sent back to Tacoma (which is no surprise, really), but that we won’t be having any more Adventures of Justin Thomas in Seattle; Thomas was taken away from us by Pittsburgh during the waivers process. This will cut down on the amount of searches I get from people looking for porn.
I don’t know if there is anything else particularly needing to be said about this, but when you’re crawling across the desert, you’ll take any tiny bit of water you can get.
I got comped a ticket by some friends for last night’s Sounders playoff game, and figured I could take them up on it. Turns out the Phillies lost last night’s game 2 anyway, but I’m not sure which is worse – a Phillies loss, or the fact that the Sounders took a draw, 0-0. I can’t even remember the last time I was at a Sounders win – it’s almost always a draw, or the other team beating us into the ground (those were the friendlies I’m referring to, specifically). Just my luck, I suppose.
In any event, since last night was likely my last Sounders game until next year (barring some other playoff miracle ticket that drops in my lap), I figured I’d better do it right. I could have gone to the Elysian for some Night Owl, but decided that Fuel and the ECS march was the way to go. I got what I’ve been referring to as my “super-secret” parking spot (mainly because it’s almost always open, and nobody else seems to think you can park there), and headed towards Fuel, past Jimmy’s on 1st, where a handful of Dynamo fans were standing outside smoking and hassling anyone who walked by in neon green. I had been listening to KJR on my way down (they broadcast live from the interior of Jimmy’s), and the Dynamo fans were already well under the bottle, singing so loud that the show hosts were barely audible.
I continued on and wound my way through rude ticket hawkers (no, buddy, I don’t want to date you, nor do I want to engage you in discussion, and no, that doesn’t make me a bitch), and other fans to get to Fuel, where the front doorman recognized me and didn’t ask for my ID. I grabbed a pint inside, and when I came back out, my friend Darren was there, trying to call me. He went in for a drink, and by the time he was back out again, Trish had shown up, so we claimed the back corner of the outdoor area for ourselves, and chatted with others while waiting for Darren’s wife, and my friend Angie.
Yours truly, just trying to stay warm:
Trish, making faces at the camera:
Everyone turned up, and not a moment too soon. We polished off our drinks, and headed out with everyone else to wait in Pioneer Square for the march. They had constructed a stage with blue and green lights, and we could vaguely hear speeches being made, but everything was difficult to hear over the crowd singing this: “Your football’s shite! All day and night! *clapclapclapclap* Deep in the heeaaarrrt of Texas!” Darren and I participated for a few refrains.
After the band departed, just like normal, we took off. It was dusk by then, and at that point in the day where it becomes slightly more difficult to see. We started walking in our group, singing the same songs as always, but then several guys walked through the crowd carrying lime green smoke bombs and flares. Some of the smoke was dropped on the ground, and the flares were held overhead. I ran outside of the group to get some video, because it looked fantastic:
I ran back into the crowd to Angie, who was a bit confused because she didn’t know where I’d gone, and we walked the rest of the way to the game.
Qwest had the Rave Green on the roof:
Our tickets were not in GA, but in 118, up against the back wall. We still had an awesome view of the field, almost moreso than the GA, because there was more of an angle on the game:
And yes, I did have to look him up; because we were sitting beneath an overhanging cement floor, all the sound around me was more amplified, and any sound coming from the announcing booth was completely muffled. Given the haircut, I figured he was either a soccer player or a hockey player – soccer it is. Also, apparently the technical director!
The ECS, waving their flags:
The North End:
After a more-rousing-than-normal version of the National Anthem, we were off, and there were flags and glitter, and much noise:
The match was fought well on both sides, I thought. The Dynamo were very aggressive (and I’m assuming well-supported by the 10 or so fans in orange I could see in the opposition’s corner), but our guys still managed to get a lot of shots in on them. Unfortunately, none of those actually made it into the net. There was a fight in the first 30 minutes of the game, after Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad ran into our forward Freddy Montero. Both got yellow carded for it, which didn’t make a lot of sense, but like umpires, there’s not a lot of arguing to be done with referees. We took our lumps, and toward the end of the match, Freddie Ljungberg set himself up to score on Houston, but they thwarted it (I managed to get a photo of his kick, but it didn’t come out very well). I thought that was going to be our moment, but no. There were a lot more injuries than I realized when we were there – Nate Jaqua also took a cleat to the head, apparently, and a good amount of blood was spilled. Many men went down, but didn’t stay down for long, and the whole game was, as the article linked indicates, extremely fast-paced and physical.
Additionally, Darren came up with a new chant for Kasey Keller. Normally, the song goes “He’s big! He’s tall! He’s a motherfuckin’ wall! Kasey Kellerrrr! Kasey Kellerrrrr!” but Darren’s version is “He’s big! He’s bad! He looks like someone’s dad! Kasey Kellerrrr! Kasey Kellerrrr!” Yes, as a matter of fact, we do think we’re funny.
I understand that the draw is simply the nature of the game, and that time and rules allow for it; but a playoff is a playoff, and baseball has conditioned me to not believe in the tie. It was also a bit of a kicker to see them fight so hard and not get anywhere for their efforts. All in all, it was a good game and a fun night, I just wish the Sounders would have gotten a goal, so that their trip to Dynamo territory might be a little less imperative. But I was super glad I got to go, we had a great time. Up the Sounders!
I tried to listen to a little of game 1 last night before class. My instructor came into the classroom around 5.30pm, however, and, as he says, one of the “hazards” of being there early is that you get to listen to him talk. I respectfully turned off the radio, but not before hearing the announcers refer to Raul as a “dangerous veteran”. Jeff at Lookout Landing wrote up some notes here, but also did not get the whole game.
I wound up out of class an hour early, after my midterm. When I got into the car, they were in the 8th inning, and the score was 2-0. That all changed as the Phillies loaded the bases, and Raul (RAUUUUUUL!) drove in two runs. I was driving over the West Seattle bridge at that point, and decided that instead of going home, I’d just take a trip around Alki and listen to the rest of the game on the radio. The Phillies spent the 9th inning giving Brian Bruney and Phil Coke the business, and the Yankees scored only one run, in that last inning; Derek Jeter on a Mark Teixeira ground-out. The announcers reacted as if the Yankees were going to come back from a 4-run deficit with 2 outs. I’m pretty sure I rolled my eyes – with a bit of caution, perhaps, but eyes were still rolled.
The game ended as I pulled onto my street and into my driveway. Cliff Lee was briefly interviewed, and still sounded as calm as he must have been throughout the whole game. I booted up the computer at home to crying from Yankees fans and kudos to the Phils from those rooting for them.
Today, the weather outside is mean-looking, just like it looks like it’s going to be in New York. I am going to tonight’s Sounders game, and it will mark the first time that I’ve gone to a sporting event completely and ultimately at the mercy of the elements. There will be no rolling roof, no avoidance of the weather by dint of being in the upper deck. I am still having the internal fight over whether or not to bring my camera. If I don’t, I’ll wish I had, but if I do and it rains, I’ll be pretty angry with myself. Maybe it’s time for a tiny makeshift rain jacket for my camera bag? I’m trying to avoid wearing my own raincoat, as it is far too large for me – but if the weather refuses to cooperate, then I’ll do what is necessary, I suppose…if you see what looks like someone’s head sticking out the top of a military pup tent, you’ll know it’s me.
Not only will he still be playing baseball in Japan, but he apparently managed to out-contract the Mariners. Good for him. This truly could not have worked out better than it did, for all parties involved.
Nothing much has been happening lately in the Mariners camp, unless you count Ken Griffey Jr’s knee surgery, or Matt Tuiasosopo’s drive to help the people affected by the disaster in Samoa, or the fact that Yusei Kikuchi has decided against coming to the MLB. This last bit is only Mariners news in that the club was looking at him as a possibility; personally, I wasn’t holding my breath, and good for Kikuchi for being mature enough to know what he wants.
Football season is underway, and Seattle Seahawks fans are gnashing their teeth and pulling their hair out over the injury and subsequent grounding of hero Lofa Tatupu and the team’s 2-4 record. Meanwhile, the Blue and the Rave Green are going to the playoffs. And so am I. This Thursday, I plan to brave the elements with a ton of other people to go see the Sounders square off against the Houston Dynamo. Some friends and I have lower deck seats, off the Brougham end of the pitch; but I will not be sitting with the ECS this time. As much as I enjoy that section, I’ll be content to stand and enjoy the game without jumping, yelling, or worrying about waving a two-pole. We may still take part in the pre-game march, however, because it’s fun, and because playoffs are a reason to celebrate, so why not march, too? I am glad that it takes place during a night where I have no school or anything else going on. Photos and video may be dependent upon the weather; I understand that it is supposed to be pretty bad out for the rest of this week.
Obviously by now everyone knows that the Angels got shown the door yesterday. Part of me is relieved; not only does it mean that I don’t have to agonize over whose side to be on during the World Series, but I can now resume viewing Anaheim as the opposition – and I’m fine with that. They fought, but they ultimately played poorly, and disappointed me yet again. I may be forced to never take up with them again because of it. It will be a welcome return to normalcy. Sadly, I will be missing the first two games of the WS because of class on Wednesday, and the Sounders game on Thursday. But this weekend, it’s ON.
If you haven’t already, go and read this article on Geoff Baker’s blog about the liklihood of a possible matchup between the Yankees and Phillies. I wanted to do a little writing before I take up the mantle of suck that is my homework for today…
During last night’s game, the Angels managed to pull themselves out of a tailspin, after Mike Scioscia pulled an angry John Lackey off the mound and replaced him with Darren Oliver, who proceeded to stomp all over Lackey’s lead. TV cameras panned in on Lackey, yelling “Come on, Scioc! This is MINE!”, but Scioscia took the ball out of his hand and sent him packing. After Oliver gave up 4 runs to put the Yankees on top, it was reported that Lackey could be seen leaving the dugout; one can only imagine that Oliver returned to the clubhouse to find his street clothes in the toilet. Had it not been for Joe Girardi’s use of Damaso Marte and Phil Hughes, the Angels might have been able to sleep in this morning; but Girardi put those guys in, and the Angels managed to rack up the final 3 runs that would win them the game.
Also of some amusement is that even after all the talk about the terrible umpiring in the ALCS, and the MLB finally saying something about it yesterday, there was still a ball called on Lackey that was definitely a strike; replay showed it was a strike, Lackey believed it was a strike, and the umpire went out to the mound to argue that it was a ball. As far as I’m concerned, if even my unknowledgeable eyes can see that it’s a strike, it’s a freaking strike. So while the MLB might do some shifting of umps, they’re still putting in bad ones; at least there is consistency there, if not on the field.
So now the Angels go to New York to try and either finish or get finished. I have been on Anaheim’s side because I am a sentimental sucker who loves a good happy ending. I don’t want to trot out the Adenhart thing again, but how would we feel as Mariners fans if it was, say, Doug Fister? It would definitely cast a pall on the season, and I think that Mariners fans would feel like the team should fight harder. So I enjoy watching a team fight for a ’cause’, if you want to call it that. If something can be compared to the movie 300, the battle between the Yankees and the Angels definitely can.
But what happens if they actually manage to beat the Yankees? I know a lot of people think that’s a crazy question to ask, but stranger things have taken place in this game. It’s also something that I as a fan need to think about; because if it’s the Angels and the Phillies in the World Series, I frankly don’t know what to do. New York and Philadelphia is a pretty easy call for me to make, but instantly turning on a team I’ve been for since the playoffs started feels sort of wrong. Do I want the Angels to win it for all the difficulty they’ve suffered this year, or do I want the reigning champions to take it because of Raul Ibanez? I almost hope that I don’t have to worry about it, that the Angels will simply crumble and make the decision for me, and I feel poorly for saying that, but it’s true. This may be more difficult than I thought…
I’ll fail at this, but there’s nothing quite as exhilarating as diving into the water when you’re not entirely sure how deep it is.
Earlier this week, USS Mariner’s Dave Cameron posted his ideas on what the FO should do during the offseason. Some of it I agree with, some I’m kind of iffy on. Please keep in mind that I am not arguing with USSM. I love them like I love cupcakes (which is a lot). They are very smart, and they organize cool events to go to. My opinions are out of personal bias, a piddling amount of knowledge, and a giant wad of boredom because there is no news right now. It is because they do such an excellent job that I even have something to opine about to begin with. So taking Cameron’s projected lineup, here’s what I think about it:
C-Adam Moore: This is pretty much a no-brainer with Rob Johnson’s surgery, and the job Moore did last year being so phenomenal and all. He catches, he hits, he calls games, he blocks the plate; he does his job. If the Johnson bench idea works out, further security in the backstop position.
1B/DH: Russ Branyan, Nick Johnson: Definitely. Having the ability to replace Branyan should he find that playing a full year takes a toll again would be invaluable. Having the ability to replace him with someone who can hit would be even better.
2B: Orlando Hudson: I plead the 5th. I know we probably can’t keep Lopez for 2010, but I don’t know that much about Hudson. The above-average hitting is definitely intriguing, however. I like hitting. I feel like the Ms and Lopez have been through a lot. I think that is a loss that will bite a little for me personally, should it come down to that.
3B: Matt Tuiasosopo: I’m not fond of Tui at 3rd, and the five of you who read this every day have probably figured that out by now. I prefer Tui at 2nd, where he seems to have more range, and I get the feeling that the FO does, too. I don’t think he played 3B at all last year, as Chris Shelton seemed to be all over that spot last year rather consistently. I kind of dig Jack Hannahan at third base, for reasons I’m not quite sure about; maybe because I don’t know if he can handle it every day? Eh, I’ll go with that. Right now, however, I’m choosing to remain in denial of the loss of Adrian Beltre.
CF, RF, LF: Franklin Gutierrez, Ichiro, Michael Saunders: There are no other three guys that I want in those positions. With Ryan Langerhans on the bench with further left field coverage, I feel that sort of warmth and safety about our outfield defense that reminds me of hot cocoa on a foggy day.
SP: Felix Hernandez: Duh.
SP: John Danks: I like Danks, but I don’t like the idea of giving up Mark Lowe to get him. I understand why we would need to do that, I just don’t like it. There will be crying and hair-pulling if that happens. You’ve been warned.
SP: Ryan Rowland-Smith: This, too, is a no-brainer. Whatever they did to Hyphen this last year worked, and it was super cool to see him graduate from a pitcher that used to occasionally make me wince to the pitcher he became. I love his demeanor on the mound; he is very cool and collected, a nice counterbalance to Felix’s fire.
SP: Ian Snell: If they can continue to tweak him the way they did at the end of the year, he won’t scare me as much. I would love to see him improve and be the guy they want him to be, and shake off that Pirates stigma. I’m a sucker for happy endings.
SP: Ben Sheets: Again, I have to plead the 5th. Cameron cites health issues, and it appears that Sheets had some surgery this year on a tendon, and has not played at all in 2009. Health issues make me gunshy. They probably shouldn’t – I mean, look at Mark Lowe, and what he’s been able to accomplish. Sheets’ numbers before this year look good at a glance, so I’ll just say if it happens, fine, if not, fine. A bridge I’ll cross when I get to it.
Closer; David Aardsma: Cameron is the first local person I think I’ve seen who openly says he wants to keep Aardsma. Everyone else wants to sell. I want to keep Aardsma. Good call, Dave!
Setup: Shawn Kelley, Nick Hill: Earlier this year, I might not have felt the same way, but Kelley managed to come back from his oblique injuries fairly well. If he doesn’t go nuts and pull something else, he belongs in our bullpen. Of course, him being setup would also mean that Mark Lowe would be gone, so maybe I shouldn’t be too hasty. Nick Hill is a name I’ve heard being tossed around, but FanGraphs doesn’t bring up anything on him. If I Wiki him, I get a football player. Help, anyone?
Middle: Chris Jakubauskus, Garrett Olson: Again, another one for Garrett Olson. I have no problem with either of these guys in these roles. They also provide added cushion in their ability to pinch-start if one of our rotation suddenly takes a dive.
Long: Doug Fister, Carlos Silva: I must have read Dave’s post about three times before I realized that he had, in fact, included Silva in the list. It is my assumption -not knowing much about contracts- that there isn’t any way we can get out of this, so we might as well make the best of it. Silva’s general demeanor seems to have changed this year, and regardless of whether or not he’s completely healed, he obviously wants to do the job, just based off everything I read about him from Shannon Drayer and other sources this year. If you can’t be an wonderful starter, be an awesome long reliever. And who doesn’t love Doug Fister? Nobody, that’s who! Again, more cushion with the starting experience on both their parts. Backup is always good to have.
Bench: Rob Johnson, Jack Hannahan, Bill Hall, and Ryan Langerhans: I think I’m OK with this. I’m conflicted about Hall – his performance toward the last few weeks of the season was not stellar, and his left fielding was Ibanez-ian, but as a platoon/bench guy, maybe he’d work out alright. Hall lacks speed, however, and that bothers me a little. I know a bench guy is a bench guy, and veterans, and pinch runners are all part of this mix, but Hall I still remain skeptical about. I love being proven wrong though; I absolutely adore it. And it would indeed be nice to have a situation where everyone was able to switch around as necessary to give guys days off in case an ankle gets twisted or someone has the flu; and have the people who replace them NOT strike fear into the hearts and minds of fans. I think whole list accomplishes that pretty well.
And then, of course, the wonderful world of shortstop. JJ Hardy’s name has been passed around like the town bicycle, even before our acquisition of Jack Wilson. But obtaining another shortstop kind of goes against what I thought Jack Zduriencik was interested in, after a lengthy time spent coveting Wilson to begin with. We need offense, and that is what Hardy provides, along with the glove…it’s just that Jack Wilson seemed to be so happy here, and Zduriencik seemed so happy about acquiring him, during that meeting a few months ago. I’d kind of like to see what our hitting coaches can do with him in the offseason before I get on the JJ Hardy train. But that’s just me.
Also, to add to the recent issue of lack of third base coach, what do you suppose Mike Sweeney’s plans are for the future?
Yours truly, just trying to stay warm:
Trish, making faces at the camera:
Everyone turned up, and not a moment too soon. We polished off our drinks, and headed out with everyone else to wait in Pioneer Square for the march. They had constructed a stage with blue and green lights, and we could vaguely hear speeches being made, but everything was difficult to hear over the crowd singing this: “Your football’s shite! All day and night! *clapclapclapclap* Deep in the heeaaarrrt of Texas!” Darren and I participated for a few refrains.
After the band departed, just like normal, we took off. It was dusk by then, and at that point in the day where it becomes slightly more difficult to see. We started walking in our group, singing the same songs as always, but then several guys walked through the crowd carrying lime green smoke bombs and flares. Some of the smoke was dropped on the ground, and the flares were held overhead. I ran outside of the group to get some video, because it looked fantastic:
Our tickets were not in GA, but in 118, up against the back wall. We still had an awesome view of the field, almost moreso than the GA, because there was more of an angle on the game:
And yes, I did have to look him up; because we were sitting beneath an overhanging cement floor, all the sound around me was more amplified, and any sound coming from the announcing booth was completely muffled. Given the haircut, I figured he was either a soccer player or a hockey player – soccer it is. Also, apparently the technical director!
The North End:
After a more-rousing-than-normal version of the National Anthem, we were off, and there were flags and glitter, and much noise:
