Tuesday, August 31, 2004
HANDFUL OF OPTIMISM
Jamie Moyer still hasn't won in over two months, but coming out with a no-decision didn't seem likely given the homer-happy fate he endured early in the game and the situation in which he left.
Also, every Mariner in the starting lineup managed to get a hit tonight. Ichiro managed to get 2 RBI, which of course means the bottom of the lineup had to be doing something. They did (great night for the bottom third).
Again, the spectrum...
Mariners on defense/pitching (bad to good)
massacre < terrible inning < some damage < fighting out of jam < decent inning < 1-2-3
Mariners on offense
I hate this team < come on, y'all < ho, hum < minimal damage < some damage < big inning
TOP 1ST -- ho, hum
I wasn't expecting the Mariners to do much against Josh Towers. Ichiro, Randy Winn, and Bret Boone lived up to the low expectations, as they were retired 1-2-3.
BOTTOM 1ST -- decent inning
The only bad thing by Moyer in the inning was the two out walk to Vernon Wells, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, because there were two outs, and it was Vernon Wells at the plate.
TOP 2ND -- ho, hum
Raul Ibanez led off with a single, Edgar Martinez was caught looking, Bucky Jacobsen bounced into a double play. Move along, folks, nothing to see here.
BOTTOM 2ND -- fighting out of jam
Here, the only jam was with two outs, but it was a little more than just a two-out walk like in the 1st inning. There was a Frank Menechino two-out walk, followed by Chris Woodward singling to center. Kevin Cash stopped the nonsense by hitting into a 4-6 fielder's choice.
TOP 3RD -- ho, hum
Jolbert Cabrera led off with a single and was doubled off on a nicely placed Dan Wilson grounder to Orlando Hudson at short. That's called a double play. Jose Lopez whiffed.
BOTTOM 3RD -- terrible inning
This thing with Jamie Moyer and home runs is getting to be ridiculous. Hudson hit a double with one out, and one out later, Carlos Delgado went yard (TOR 2-0). Eric Hinske saw one pitch and went yard also (TOR 3-0). Alexis Rios hit a double. These were hard-hit balls. Menechino then singled to drive in Rios (TOR 4-0). Woodward ended the 4-run inning with a groundout.
TOP 4TH -- come on, y'all
Bret Boone ran out an infield single with two out. Raul Ibanez doubled to leftfield, and Boone broke for home, only to be gunned down at the dish. The Mariners would stay behind four runs at that point and like it.
BOTTOM 4TH -- decent inning
Nothing here other than a Reed Johnson single with one out.
TOP 5TH -- some damage
Edgar singled to lead off and was in the same spot two outs later. Dan Wilson singled to centerfield, then Lopez came through with a well-anticipated busting-out of the whoopin' stick. A smash to centerfield brought the Mariners within one (TOR 4-3). Ichiro singled to rightfield because he's nuts, and because that's just what he does. I have no idea why Josh Towers wasn't on the mound for the Blue Jays in the 6th. He'd only thrown 78 pitches up to that point, and hell, Freddy Garcia at times had 85 or 90 at the same point in some games. I don't know if Towers was injured, on a pitch count, or what. The wire article isn't giving me anything to work with here.
BOTTOM 5TH -- fighting out of jam
Really, it was a sort of weak jam. With two outs, Riod walked and Menechino singled. Woodward ended another inning with a groundout, though.
TOP 6TH -- come on, y'all
I didn't know much Kevin Frederick coming in except that he had a high ERA. Bret Boone, Ibanez, and Edgar failed to read the memo, however, going down 1-2-3.
BOTTOM 6TH -- 1-2-3
Moyer had his best inning, setting down Kevin Cash, Johnson, and Hudson in order.
TOP 7TH -- some damage
Cabrera got aboard on an infield single, chasing Frederick. Vinny Chulk got a quick ground ball from Wilson to force Cabrera out at second. Wilson would stand on third after Lopez singled. Ichiro then had an ever-so-rare RBI opportunity, and seized it with a single to centerfield to tie the game at 4-4. For today, it's Clutchiro (trying to resist a slam on his second halves of the past two years...resisting...gnashing teeth...). Winn followed with a single of his own to give the Mariners the lead (SEA 5-4). Boone would walk, and Ibanez would fly out to end the inning. But the lead changed hands, did it not? That's something.
BOTTOM 7TH -- some damage
Delgado singled with one out off Moyer. Hinske is listed in the game logs as flying out to centerfield, and Delgado tagged up and went to second. SportsLine's game logs do specify whether a flyout is "deep" or not. This one wasn't, but Delgado advanced into scoring position. Since I didn't see the play, I am left to once again ask myself why Randy Winn is playing centerfield for this team. Anyway, with Delgado in scoring position, Rios singled to centerfield to score Delgado and tie the game at 5-5. The log indicates that Rios went to second on the throw, which once again makes me factor Winn into the equation. I'm wondering if it was a rainbow throw or a bad relay.
Either way, Rios was the last batter Moyer would face. His line: 6 2/3 innings, 5 runs, 10 hits, 3 walks, 1 strikeout, 101 pitches (67 strikes). Don't forget the two homers. To his credit, all of the walks Moyer gave up occurred with two out and none of them scored. But ten hits? That's a little crazy. There aren't many times where I hear sentences like "Jamie Moyer scattered 10 hits over 6 2/3 innings en route to a victory, extending the Mariners' winning streak to five games." I don't think you use the word "scattered" for anything over 8 hits.
Scott Atchison came in and had Menechino 1-2 before throwing three straight balls to walk him. Luckily, Woodward would end yet another inning with a groundout.
TOP 8TH -- some damage
Bucky doubled with one out. Bloomquist ran for him. Cabrera walked on four pitches. Since Dave Myers is out of his mind, and since Willie Bloomquist is Willie Bloomquist, Willie broke for third on the first pitch to Wilson, and luckily he made it. Three pitches later, Wilson singled to give the Mariners the lead (SEA 6-5). Lopez whiffed. Ichiro singled because that's what he does; it was his 56th hit of August, two more than Alex Rodriguez in August 1996. Said single drove in Cabrera with an insurance run (SEA 7-5). The runners moved into scoring position on a wild pitch, but Winn whiffed.
BOTTOM 8TH -- fighting out of jam
Gregg Zaun led off with a four-pitch walk. Luckily, he would catch the front end of a Johnson double-play ball. Hudson walked also, but would be witness to Vernon Wells whiffing. Atchison didn't give up any runs, but he didn't have his best outing either, walking three batters in the 1 1/3 innings he logged in the game.
TOP 9TH -- ho, hum
Boone led off with a single and then was erased on an Ibanez double play. Edgar whiffed.
BOTTOM 9TH -- 1-2-3
George Sherrill came on for what seemed like a save. He got Delgado to fly out, and got Hinske to ground out to Cabrera. Then Bob Melvin decided to go with JJ Putz to face Alexis Rios to get one single solitary out. Rios lined out to Ichiro. I hope JJ Putz had fun earning the easiest save of his life tonight. Big thanks to Bob Melvin, because I'm sure this experience tonight was great for both Sherrill and Putz.
Corey, the Mariner Optimist, welcome back. ...Right?
I'm kind of surprised that the Blue Jays managed to draw a shade over 21000 on the same day and at the same time as the USA/Canada World Cup of Hockey matchup.
Gameball: Jose Lopez. 2-for-4 with a three-run blast. It's good to see this out of Lopez, the Mariners' shortstop of the future who hasn't shown us yet that he can hit consistently at the Major League level, but has shown us that every throw to first base can and should be an adventure.
Goat: Raul Ibanez. Everyone in the Mariner lineup got a hit tonight, and Jamie Moyer almost got through seven innings, even while giving up ten hits, five runs, and two smashes. So what am I to do? I gave the goat to the hitter who drove in the least amount of runs and stranded the most runners. Raul was 2-for-5 with a double, but drove in zero runs and stranded five.
Meche. Bush. Tomorrow.
[Edit ~11:19p -- Hilarious. Even in this year of suckitude, the Mariners have won five in a row, and STILL haven't gained a game on the A's, who have won eight straight. It's reminiscent of last year when they went a month or something crazy without gaining on the A's on a day in which they played.]
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Also, every Mariner in the starting lineup managed to get a hit tonight. Ichiro managed to get 2 RBI, which of course means the bottom of the lineup had to be doing something. They did (great night for the bottom third).
Again, the spectrum...
Mariners on defense/pitching (bad to good)
massacre < terrible inning < some damage < fighting out of jam < decent inning < 1-2-3
Mariners on offense
I hate this team < come on, y'all < ho, hum < minimal damage < some damage < big inning
TOP 1ST -- ho, hum
I wasn't expecting the Mariners to do much against Josh Towers. Ichiro, Randy Winn, and Bret Boone lived up to the low expectations, as they were retired 1-2-3.
BOTTOM 1ST -- decent inning
The only bad thing by Moyer in the inning was the two out walk to Vernon Wells, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, because there were two outs, and it was Vernon Wells at the plate.
TOP 2ND -- ho, hum
Raul Ibanez led off with a single, Edgar Martinez was caught looking, Bucky Jacobsen bounced into a double play. Move along, folks, nothing to see here.
BOTTOM 2ND -- fighting out of jam
Here, the only jam was with two outs, but it was a little more than just a two-out walk like in the 1st inning. There was a Frank Menechino two-out walk, followed by Chris Woodward singling to center. Kevin Cash stopped the nonsense by hitting into a 4-6 fielder's choice.
TOP 3RD -- ho, hum
Jolbert Cabrera led off with a single and was doubled off on a nicely placed Dan Wilson grounder to Orlando Hudson at short. That's called a double play. Jose Lopez whiffed.
BOTTOM 3RD -- terrible inning
This thing with Jamie Moyer and home runs is getting to be ridiculous. Hudson hit a double with one out, and one out later, Carlos Delgado went yard (TOR 2-0). Eric Hinske saw one pitch and went yard also (TOR 3-0). Alexis Rios hit a double. These were hard-hit balls. Menechino then singled to drive in Rios (TOR 4-0). Woodward ended the 4-run inning with a groundout.
TOP 4TH -- come on, y'all
Bret Boone ran out an infield single with two out. Raul Ibanez doubled to leftfield, and Boone broke for home, only to be gunned down at the dish. The Mariners would stay behind four runs at that point and like it.
BOTTOM 4TH -- decent inning
Nothing here other than a Reed Johnson single with one out.
TOP 5TH -- some damage
Edgar singled to lead off and was in the same spot two outs later. Dan Wilson singled to centerfield, then Lopez came through with a well-anticipated busting-out of the whoopin' stick. A smash to centerfield brought the Mariners within one (TOR 4-3). Ichiro singled to rightfield because he's nuts, and because that's just what he does. I have no idea why Josh Towers wasn't on the mound for the Blue Jays in the 6th. He'd only thrown 78 pitches up to that point, and hell, Freddy Garcia at times had 85 or 90 at the same point in some games. I don't know if Towers was injured, on a pitch count, or what. The wire article isn't giving me anything to work with here.
BOTTOM 5TH -- fighting out of jam
Really, it was a sort of weak jam. With two outs, Riod walked and Menechino singled. Woodward ended another inning with a groundout, though.
TOP 6TH -- come on, y'all
I didn't know much Kevin Frederick coming in except that he had a high ERA. Bret Boone, Ibanez, and Edgar failed to read the memo, however, going down 1-2-3.
BOTTOM 6TH -- 1-2-3
Moyer had his best inning, setting down Kevin Cash, Johnson, and Hudson in order.
TOP 7TH -- some damage
Cabrera got aboard on an infield single, chasing Frederick. Vinny Chulk got a quick ground ball from Wilson to force Cabrera out at second. Wilson would stand on third after Lopez singled. Ichiro then had an ever-so-rare RBI opportunity, and seized it with a single to centerfield to tie the game at 4-4. For today, it's Clutchiro (trying to resist a slam on his second halves of the past two years...resisting...gnashing teeth...). Winn followed with a single of his own to give the Mariners the lead (SEA 5-4). Boone would walk, and Ibanez would fly out to end the inning. But the lead changed hands, did it not? That's something.
BOTTOM 7TH -- some damage
Delgado singled with one out off Moyer. Hinske is listed in the game logs as flying out to centerfield, and Delgado tagged up and went to second. SportsLine's game logs do specify whether a flyout is "deep" or not. This one wasn't, but Delgado advanced into scoring position. Since I didn't see the play, I am left to once again ask myself why Randy Winn is playing centerfield for this team. Anyway, with Delgado in scoring position, Rios singled to centerfield to score Delgado and tie the game at 5-5. The log indicates that Rios went to second on the throw, which once again makes me factor Winn into the equation. I'm wondering if it was a rainbow throw or a bad relay.
Either way, Rios was the last batter Moyer would face. His line: 6 2/3 innings, 5 runs, 10 hits, 3 walks, 1 strikeout, 101 pitches (67 strikes). Don't forget the two homers. To his credit, all of the walks Moyer gave up occurred with two out and none of them scored. But ten hits? That's a little crazy. There aren't many times where I hear sentences like "Jamie Moyer scattered 10 hits over 6 2/3 innings en route to a victory, extending the Mariners' winning streak to five games." I don't think you use the word "scattered" for anything over 8 hits.
Scott Atchison came in and had Menechino 1-2 before throwing three straight balls to walk him. Luckily, Woodward would end yet another inning with a groundout.
TOP 8TH -- some damage
Bucky doubled with one out. Bloomquist ran for him. Cabrera walked on four pitches. Since Dave Myers is out of his mind, and since Willie Bloomquist is Willie Bloomquist, Willie broke for third on the first pitch to Wilson, and luckily he made it. Three pitches later, Wilson singled to give the Mariners the lead (SEA 6-5). Lopez whiffed. Ichiro singled because that's what he does; it was his 56th hit of August, two more than Alex Rodriguez in August 1996. Said single drove in Cabrera with an insurance run (SEA 7-5). The runners moved into scoring position on a wild pitch, but Winn whiffed.
BOTTOM 8TH -- fighting out of jam
Gregg Zaun led off with a four-pitch walk. Luckily, he would catch the front end of a Johnson double-play ball. Hudson walked also, but would be witness to Vernon Wells whiffing. Atchison didn't give up any runs, but he didn't have his best outing either, walking three batters in the 1 1/3 innings he logged in the game.
TOP 9TH -- ho, hum
Boone led off with a single and then was erased on an Ibanez double play. Edgar whiffed.
BOTTOM 9TH -- 1-2-3
George Sherrill came on for what seemed like a save. He got Delgado to fly out, and got Hinske to ground out to Cabrera. Then Bob Melvin decided to go with JJ Putz to face Alexis Rios to get one single solitary out. Rios lined out to Ichiro. I hope JJ Putz had fun earning the easiest save of his life tonight. Big thanks to Bob Melvin, because I'm sure this experience tonight was great for both Sherrill and Putz.
Corey, the Mariner Optimist, welcome back. ...Right?
I'm kind of surprised that the Blue Jays managed to draw a shade over 21000 on the same day and at the same time as the USA/Canada World Cup of Hockey matchup.
Gameball: Jose Lopez. 2-for-4 with a three-run blast. It's good to see this out of Lopez, the Mariners' shortstop of the future who hasn't shown us yet that he can hit consistently at the Major League level, but has shown us that every throw to first base can and should be an adventure.
Goat: Raul Ibanez. Everyone in the Mariner lineup got a hit tonight, and Jamie Moyer almost got through seven innings, even while giving up ten hits, five runs, and two smashes. So what am I to do? I gave the goat to the hitter who drove in the least amount of runs and stranded the most runners. Raul was 2-for-5 with a double, but drove in zero runs and stranded five.
Meche. Bush. Tomorrow.
[Edit ~11:19p -- Hilarious. Even in this year of suckitude, the Mariners have won five in a row, and STILL haven't gained a game on the A's, who have won eight straight. It's reminiscent of last year when they went a month or something crazy without gaining on the A's on a day in which they played.]
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LOONIES BEAT SACAJAWEA DOLLAR COINS
Ah, the ages-old USA versus Canada hockey rivalry. Sure, people are more into it north of the border and in the upper midwest and the Great Lakes states, but dammit, we here at Sports and B's care about it, along with Jeff at Leone for Third.
Once again, I had the CBC coverage. I think it was Brian Williams (I'm probably wrong) and Sean Burke doing the studio duties for the morning game, and tonight it was Ron McLean, Brian Burke, and Kelly Hrudey. Sean Burke is more than solid for the early games. Needless to say, Don Cherry apparently is on vacation, so no Coach's Corner after 20.
Did anyone else think that ESPN's main over-the-ice camera was REALLY fuzzy tonight? I remember about five years or so ago, the CBC came over here on cable really fuzzy, and I just thought it was weird that the tables turned tonight.
Presea, the Rambling Hockey Fangirl, provided the explanation to Canada's goldenroddish (check your 64-crayon Crayola box) sweaters tonight in the comment boxes from one of Jeremy's posts, having to do with the Winnipeg Falcons being the first team to win an Olympic gold medal in hockey. The jerseys tripped me out because of, well, the color. Never do I imagine Canada having yellow on their uniforms. Secondly, the placement of "CANADA" on the back nameplates of all the jerseys, a la the PLU "LUTES" football jerseys. This screwed me up all night, especially since I'm not used to the numbers that a lot of the Canadians were wearing. Joe Sakic wearing 91? Yep, not used to that at all. At least the lone Canuck on the team was wearing his familiar number 55.
Okay, to the game. I just scrawled down some notes and stuff, nothing much.
1ST PERIOD
Team USA started out quite slow. As Jeremy said in the post below this one, the only reason the USA stayed close was because of Robert Esche. Canada peppered Esche with 19 shots in the period, compared to Marty Brodeur in the other net facing only six. Martin St. Louis was fed by Joe Thornton and Scott Niedermayer on a power-play goal late in the period. There was definitely some physical play and some "friendly" words exchanged between the sides, as even ex-Coyote teammates Shane Doan and Keith Thachuk were doing some sparring. Of course, as a Canuck fan, I was somewhat disheartened to see Ed Jovanovski have to leave the game after Eric Weinrich sort of landed on top of him. I don't have any details on the injury, and Team Canada would probably say "lower body injury" anyway, but it definitely involved twisting. Jovo was on his hands and knees on the ice for what seemed like two or three minutes before being helped to the dressing room. He was to undergo an MRI.
2ND PERIOD
Joe Sakic scored early in the period on a screened shot from two feet inside the blueline that was redirected twice (at least once by a skate). Needless to say, Esche didn't have a chance. Kelly Hrudey mentioned later that Esche has some issues with letting long shots in, and if I studied up on this, I could probably point to past incidences. My memory involving long shots: I remember listening to a Canuck game late last season where Dan Cloutier almost let a 100-footer get past him. Yikes.
The period was full of skirmishes and scuffles. Doan leveled Scott Gomez, but Doan didn't get far before being cross-checked by Chris Chelios. Later in the period, Steve Konowalchuk plowed into Brodeur and quite a few mini-melees broke out. Brodeur pulled Konowalchuk down right after getting plowed, then Mario Lemieux went after him. Jeff Halpern and Rob Niedermayer got into it, though Wayne Gretzky doesn't really want Niedermayer to be one who fights, or one who gets picked into fights. Also, Jarome Iginla and Keith Tkachuk got into it.
As for scoring chances I have written down, Tkachuk had the top shelf wide open with Brodeur going low to the ice, but Tkachuk didn't get enough air on the shot. Adam Foote shot one from 58 feet that went off a defenseman's stick and hit the post on Esche's stick side, which is probably what I was thinking of when I referenced Kelly Hrudey back there.
The Statesiders did manage to tally in the period, thanks to good ol' hard work in the corner by Scott Gomez, and his pass to a waiting Bill Guerin, who went high to the glove side on Brodeur.
3RD PERIOD
I don't really have much written down for the 3rd. I do have that Brenden Morrow had a rush and was trying to find a passing lane on the breakaway, but couldn't. Then he decided a little too late that he was going to shoot. No dice.
Then the CBC guys told me something I'd forgotten about. Craig Conroy is now a Los Angeles King, which left me to wonder...who's going to take faceoffs for Calgary? I swear, every time the Canucks faced Calgary, Conroy took an absolutely huge percentage of faceoffs for them (the number 70% comes to mind).
It was bad enough news for me to know that Jovanovski had to go get an MRI, but it might be worse for the USA because apparently it didn't take long for Mike Modano to appear in street clothes. Not good.
CBC's three stars: Martin St. Louis, Robert Esche, Martin Brodeur
Overall, I'm just glad I got to see a better game than the first two Cup games, which were incredibly lopsided and bland. This one actually held my attention, which I couldn't say for when the Czechs got pasted two days ago, and when the Germans got worked this morning. Oh well. Yeah, it's totally the Finns and Swedes (advantage: Swedes) in the European Division, no doubt about it. Also, none of those games had actual skirmishes or roughing like this one.
Yes, it's the Czechs and Swedes tomorrow morning, and the Slovaks (or is it Slovakians?) and Canadians in the afternoon.
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Once again, I had the CBC coverage. I think it was Brian Williams (I'm probably wrong) and Sean Burke doing the studio duties for the morning game, and tonight it was Ron McLean, Brian Burke, and Kelly Hrudey. Sean Burke is more than solid for the early games. Needless to say, Don Cherry apparently is on vacation, so no Coach's Corner after 20.
Did anyone else think that ESPN's main over-the-ice camera was REALLY fuzzy tonight? I remember about five years or so ago, the CBC came over here on cable really fuzzy, and I just thought it was weird that the tables turned tonight.
Presea, the Rambling Hockey Fangirl, provided the explanation to Canada's goldenroddish (check your 64-crayon Crayola box) sweaters tonight in the comment boxes from one of Jeremy's posts, having to do with the Winnipeg Falcons being the first team to win an Olympic gold medal in hockey. The jerseys tripped me out because of, well, the color. Never do I imagine Canada having yellow on their uniforms. Secondly, the placement of "CANADA" on the back nameplates of all the jerseys, a la the PLU "LUTES" football jerseys. This screwed me up all night, especially since I'm not used to the numbers that a lot of the Canadians were wearing. Joe Sakic wearing 91? Yep, not used to that at all. At least the lone Canuck on the team was wearing his familiar number 55.
Okay, to the game. I just scrawled down some notes and stuff, nothing much.
1ST PERIOD
Team USA started out quite slow. As Jeremy said in the post below this one, the only reason the USA stayed close was because of Robert Esche. Canada peppered Esche with 19 shots in the period, compared to Marty Brodeur in the other net facing only six. Martin St. Louis was fed by Joe Thornton and Scott Niedermayer on a power-play goal late in the period. There was definitely some physical play and some "friendly" words exchanged between the sides, as even ex-Coyote teammates Shane Doan and Keith Thachuk were doing some sparring. Of course, as a Canuck fan, I was somewhat disheartened to see Ed Jovanovski have to leave the game after Eric Weinrich sort of landed on top of him. I don't have any details on the injury, and Team Canada would probably say "lower body injury" anyway, but it definitely involved twisting. Jovo was on his hands and knees on the ice for what seemed like two or three minutes before being helped to the dressing room. He was to undergo an MRI.
2ND PERIOD
Joe Sakic scored early in the period on a screened shot from two feet inside the blueline that was redirected twice (at least once by a skate). Needless to say, Esche didn't have a chance. Kelly Hrudey mentioned later that Esche has some issues with letting long shots in, and if I studied up on this, I could probably point to past incidences. My memory involving long shots: I remember listening to a Canuck game late last season where Dan Cloutier almost let a 100-footer get past him. Yikes.
The period was full of skirmishes and scuffles. Doan leveled Scott Gomez, but Doan didn't get far before being cross-checked by Chris Chelios. Later in the period, Steve Konowalchuk plowed into Brodeur and quite a few mini-melees broke out. Brodeur pulled Konowalchuk down right after getting plowed, then Mario Lemieux went after him. Jeff Halpern and Rob Niedermayer got into it, though Wayne Gretzky doesn't really want Niedermayer to be one who fights, or one who gets picked into fights. Also, Jarome Iginla and Keith Tkachuk got into it.
As for scoring chances I have written down, Tkachuk had the top shelf wide open with Brodeur going low to the ice, but Tkachuk didn't get enough air on the shot. Adam Foote shot one from 58 feet that went off a defenseman's stick and hit the post on Esche's stick side, which is probably what I was thinking of when I referenced Kelly Hrudey back there.
The Statesiders did manage to tally in the period, thanks to good ol' hard work in the corner by Scott Gomez, and his pass to a waiting Bill Guerin, who went high to the glove side on Brodeur.
3RD PERIOD
I don't really have much written down for the 3rd. I do have that Brenden Morrow had a rush and was trying to find a passing lane on the breakaway, but couldn't. Then he decided a little too late that he was going to shoot. No dice.
Then the CBC guys told me something I'd forgotten about. Craig Conroy is now a Los Angeles King, which left me to wonder...who's going to take faceoffs for Calgary? I swear, every time the Canucks faced Calgary, Conroy took an absolutely huge percentage of faceoffs for them (the number 70% comes to mind).
It was bad enough news for me to know that Jovanovski had to go get an MRI, but it might be worse for the USA because apparently it didn't take long for Mike Modano to appear in street clothes. Not good.
CBC's three stars: Martin St. Louis, Robert Esche, Martin Brodeur
Overall, I'm just glad I got to see a better game than the first two Cup games, which were incredibly lopsided and bland. This one actually held my attention, which I couldn't say for when the Czechs got pasted two days ago, and when the Germans got worked this morning. Oh well. Yeah, it's totally the Finns and Swedes (advantage: Swedes) in the European Division, no doubt about it. Also, none of those games had actual skirmishes or roughing like this one.
Yes, it's the Czechs and Swedes tomorrow morning, and the Slovaks (or is it Slovakians?) and Canadians in the afternoon.
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WHEN YOU WIN, YOU LOSE, PART I LOST COUNT
The Mariners have won 5 in a row. The Optimist can come back.
However, not all is well with the Mariners tonight. Travis Blackley has a torn rotator cuff, according to USS Mariner. While it isn't official yet, it looks like Blackley may miss the entire 2005 season. It just continues, my oh my!
The question that I usually ask myself about this Mariner ballclub: Can this season get any worse? And as always, the answer is yes.
Well, I guess there's one baseball-related note that can make me somewhat excited:
Browns 22, Giants 0.
Lee Suggs ran through a very pitiful Giants defense in the Stadium tonight. Did I mention how much I love football scores in baseball games? It's even better when it's the Yankees on the short end of the stick.
And finally, Pat Borders has been traded to the Twins. Sad thing is, he may be a better player at this point than Henry Freaking Blanco. Stark raving sick sad little world.
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However, not all is well with the Mariners tonight. Travis Blackley has a torn rotator cuff, according to USS Mariner. While it isn't official yet, it looks like Blackley may miss the entire 2005 season. It just continues, my oh my!
The question that I usually ask myself about this Mariner ballclub: Can this season get any worse? And as always, the answer is yes.
Well, I guess there's one baseball-related note that can make me somewhat excited:
Browns 22, Giants 0.
Lee Suggs ran through a very pitiful Giants defense in the Stadium tonight. Did I mention how much I love football scores in baseball games? It's even better when it's the Yankees on the short end of the stick.
And finally, Pat Borders has been traded to the Twins. Sad thing is, he may be a better player at this point than Henry Freaking Blanco. Stark raving sick sad little world.
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EARTHSHINE
Some thoughts while I'm watching the U.S.-Canada opening round game of the World Cup of Hockey (on ESPN 2, not CBC).
---During the second intermission, Jeremy Roenick needs to borrow one of the cheerleading outfits from the Montreal Alouettes. As much as I like the guy on-ice, he's just intolerable in the booth. J.R., put on your skirt, wave those pom-poms, and shut the f**k up, eh?
---Canada is the best team in this tournament. Big shock, I know. But their speed is incredible. The U.S. has a good roster, but Canada is making them look silly. I'm shocked that this isn't a 4-0 game right now. You can thank Robert Esche as to why the score isn't 4-0 at this point. (We know he's your teammate, J.R., just shut the yapper.)
---When hockey is on, I drink Labatt Blue. Drink responsibly, folks. We want you to visit Sports and Bremertonians in the coming weeks when I post the never-before-seen pictures of Anna Benson in a whipped cream bikini.
---You just know that somebody is going to Google the following phrase: "Anna Benson whipped cream bikini"
---Am I evil? Only when my teams lose. Well, the Mariners are losing 4-3 in Toronto. And the U.S. is down 2-1 to Canada late in the 2nd period.
---Deion Sanders has officially returned to the NFL. Prime Time, please find it necessary to dump a waterbucket on your old CBS friend, Jim Nantz. After all, we love Sanders for doing just that to Tim McCarver in 1992.
---Mario Lemieux actually got physical there. Unpossible.
---Nothing against Gary Thorne, but dammit, I wish I could hear Chris Cuthbert.
---We need hockey in 2004-2005. GET IT DONE, OWNERS AND PLAYERS.
--- --- --- --- ---
Enough of my rambling.
I would give up a lot right now just to be in Montreal, Toronto, or St. Paul for these games. Hockey, the coolest game on earth. Damn straight.
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---During the second intermission, Jeremy Roenick needs to borrow one of the cheerleading outfits from the Montreal Alouettes. As much as I like the guy on-ice, he's just intolerable in the booth. J.R., put on your skirt, wave those pom-poms, and shut the f**k up, eh?
---Canada is the best team in this tournament. Big shock, I know. But their speed is incredible. The U.S. has a good roster, but Canada is making them look silly. I'm shocked that this isn't a 4-0 game right now. You can thank Robert Esche as to why the score isn't 4-0 at this point. (We know he's your teammate, J.R., just shut the yapper.)
---When hockey is on, I drink Labatt Blue. Drink responsibly, folks. We want you to visit Sports and Bremertonians in the coming weeks when I post the never-before-seen pictures of Anna Benson in a whipped cream bikini.
---You just know that somebody is going to Google the following phrase: "Anna Benson whipped cream bikini"
---Am I evil? Only when my teams lose. Well, the Mariners are losing 4-3 in Toronto. And the U.S. is down 2-1 to Canada late in the 2nd period.
---Deion Sanders has officially returned to the NFL. Prime Time, please find it necessary to dump a waterbucket on your old CBS friend, Jim Nantz. After all, we love Sanders for doing just that to Tim McCarver in 1992.
---Mario Lemieux actually got physical there. Unpossible.
---Nothing against Gary Thorne, but dammit, I wish I could hear Chris Cuthbert.
---We need hockey in 2004-2005. GET IT DONE, OWNERS AND PLAYERS.
--- --- --- --- ---
Enough of my rambling.
I would give up a lot right now just to be in Montreal, Toronto, or St. Paul for these games. Hockey, the coolest game on earth. Damn straight.
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RANDOM BASEBALL CARD
The last time I did this, it was a 1992 Donruss card featuring the one and only Pat Borders.
This time...
It's Mike Pagliarulo. If I remember right and know rudimentary facts about the Italian language like I think I do, the "g" in Pagliarulo is silent.
Three cheers for Mike Pagliarulo, who hit .303 in 1993 with the Twins and Orioles, and who hit 32 homers and drove in 87 runs in 1987 as a Yankee.
Time to go hit baseballs.
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This time...
It's Mike Pagliarulo. If I remember right and know rudimentary facts about the Italian language like I think I do, the "g" in Pagliarulo is silent.
Three cheers for Mike Pagliarulo, who hit .303 in 1993 with the Twins and Orioles, and who hit 32 homers and drove in 87 runs in 1987 as a Yankee.
Time to go hit baseballs.
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MEATBALLS VERSUS SAUERKRAUT
I was only half-paying attention to this morning's World Cup of Hockey tilt between Germany and Sweden, so if any of this post is screwed up, I'll have to check it with a boxscore later because nobody has one up right now.
Sweden beat Germany 5-2, with the Germans being pretty much overmatched. The Germans probably will be overmatched for most of the tournament, since they don't have too many NHLers other than Olaf Kolzig, Marco Sturm, Jochen Hecht, and Marcel Goc.
The Swedes are so good and stacked that the Sedin twins were healthy scratches in this game.
1ST PERIOD
The first period saw a Swede goal by Tomas Holmstrom on a redirect of a Markus Naslund centering pass.
Marco Sturm, who has only been skating for three weeks following a leg injury after a collision last year with Adam Foote, went top shelf for Germany while Tommy Salo laid down on a shorthanded breakaway.
The Swedes won 19 of 25 faceoffs in the first period.
2ND PERIOD
Lots of goals in this period.
Daniel Alfredsson now has a shaved head and was in on two of the Swedish goals, one of which was to Mats Sundin, the other to Kim Johnsson.
The Sundin goal was early in the period, when he took the feed from Alfredsson and unleashed a lightning-quick backhand shot that eluded Kolzig.
Marcus Nilson scored later on a kick-out from Mats Sundin, who was in front of the net.
Daniel Kreutzer scored shorthanded for the Germans on a shot that seemed to go into the top of Tommy Salo's glove pocket, but went past and into the net. The shot would have gone wide if not touched. The CBC didn't hesitate to bring up the shot that bounced off Salo's head against Belarus in the last Olympics. Many times. Arguably, Salo hasn't been the same since, even in NHL play.
In short, look for Mikael Tellqvist to be in net for the Swedes' next Cup game, tomorrow morning against the Czechs.
Kim Johnsson off of a faceoff had his shot redirected by Fredrik Modin to make it 5-2.
3RD PERIOD
Nothing really happened in the 3rd, as the Swedes coasted through, satisfied with the 5-2 lead. There was one near-goal. Kreutzer rifled a shot which went off the top of Salo's glove again, but the puck ended up near the crease. Lewandowski picked the puck out of the air with one of his hands and dropped it into the net. The goal was waved off.
If there's any stat you need to say that the Swedes dominated this game, it's that they outshot the Germans 42-19 and won 53 of the 75 total faceoffs.
CBC's three stars: Mats Sundin, Peter Forsberg, Tomas Holmstrom
The money game is today at 4pm between the USA and Canada. Of course, I know most of you will be watching the Mariners and Blue Jays. I'll be flipping back and forth.
I don't know how either the USA/Canada game or the Mariners/Blue Jays game will turn out tonight, but I'm pretty sure about one thing: people in Toronto will be at home watching the hockey game as opposed to coming out to the SkyDome for two non-playoff teams.
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Sweden beat Germany 5-2, with the Germans being pretty much overmatched. The Germans probably will be overmatched for most of the tournament, since they don't have too many NHLers other than Olaf Kolzig, Marco Sturm, Jochen Hecht, and Marcel Goc.
The Swedes are so good and stacked that the Sedin twins were healthy scratches in this game.
1ST PERIOD
The first period saw a Swede goal by Tomas Holmstrom on a redirect of a Markus Naslund centering pass.
Marco Sturm, who has only been skating for three weeks following a leg injury after a collision last year with Adam Foote, went top shelf for Germany while Tommy Salo laid down on a shorthanded breakaway.
The Swedes won 19 of 25 faceoffs in the first period.
2ND PERIOD
Lots of goals in this period.
Daniel Alfredsson now has a shaved head and was in on two of the Swedish goals, one of which was to Mats Sundin, the other to Kim Johnsson.
The Sundin goal was early in the period, when he took the feed from Alfredsson and unleashed a lightning-quick backhand shot that eluded Kolzig.
Marcus Nilson scored later on a kick-out from Mats Sundin, who was in front of the net.
Daniel Kreutzer scored shorthanded for the Germans on a shot that seemed to go into the top of Tommy Salo's glove pocket, but went past and into the net. The shot would have gone wide if not touched. The CBC didn't hesitate to bring up the shot that bounced off Salo's head against Belarus in the last Olympics. Many times. Arguably, Salo hasn't been the same since, even in NHL play.
In short, look for Mikael Tellqvist to be in net for the Swedes' next Cup game, tomorrow morning against the Czechs.
Kim Johnsson off of a faceoff had his shot redirected by Fredrik Modin to make it 5-2.
3RD PERIOD
Nothing really happened in the 3rd, as the Swedes coasted through, satisfied with the 5-2 lead. There was one near-goal. Kreutzer rifled a shot which went off the top of Salo's glove again, but the puck ended up near the crease. Lewandowski picked the puck out of the air with one of his hands and dropped it into the net. The goal was waved off.
If there's any stat you need to say that the Swedes dominated this game, it's that they outshot the Germans 42-19 and won 53 of the 75 total faceoffs.
CBC's three stars: Mats Sundin, Peter Forsberg, Tomas Holmstrom
The money game is today at 4pm between the USA and Canada. Of course, I know most of you will be watching the Mariners and Blue Jays. I'll be flipping back and forth.
I don't know how either the USA/Canada game or the Mariners/Blue Jays game will turn out tonight, but I'm pretty sure about one thing: people in Toronto will be at home watching the hockey game as opposed to coming out to the SkyDome for two non-playoff teams.
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CHALLENGE?
There's a slight chance that at least one person out there will remember the semi-challenge I issued that I'm sure nobody took up, involving tossing baseballs up to oneself at the northeast-facing field at Pendergast Park in Bremerton and blasting off (latter part of that recap).
This time, I've sort of got another one for the zero people from Bremerton and surrounding environs that actually read us. This basically evolved from the Junior High field being mowed and the fact that Pendergast had their fields freshly dragged when I got there, so I didn't want to mess them up.
This took me to a place where my friends and I have hit baseballs many times, the northeast-facing field at West Hills Elementary, not far from Pendergast. Like the field at Pendergast, West Hills has a really cheap chip-shot power alley to leftcenter. Seriously, I was putting up some reeeeaaaaalllly crappy swings and having balls go over the fence. I guess a side note to myself would be to find out how far out these freakin' fences are, but I'm thinking probably 220 or something, who knows. I was 9-ironing them out of there, huge teardrop arc shots; it was brutal.
You may be wondering where the challenge is, like the post headline indicates. Well, it's kind of a time-intensive challenge. It doesn't have to do with distance (though if you hit five in a row out, you're my equal...aim for the hill). You have to get there before the grass gets mowed because THE GRASS IS SO THICK IT'S CRAZY. Seriously, they probably haven't mowed it in two months. There was no margin for error, I basically had to jack these baseballs over the fence where the grass was dry/brown/mowed because that was the easiest place to find them. If I had the misfortune to hit a grounder, it probably took me ten minutes to search for the ball. You could go to the outfield, take a baseball in your hand, drop the baseball, and clearly see that the height of the grass was higher than the diameter of the baseball. Pathetic. I could bitch more about it, but it's highly unlikely that I'll use that field in the near future.
Basically, the challenge is to hit six baseballs for 45 minutes, and to come out after that time having found all six of the baseballs. It's freaking hard. A fluorescent green softball that met the same unfound fate in leftfield will taunt you while you look for your baseballs.
I hate my life.
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This time, I've sort of got another one for the zero people from Bremerton and surrounding environs that actually read us. This basically evolved from the Junior High field being mowed and the fact that Pendergast had their fields freshly dragged when I got there, so I didn't want to mess them up.
This took me to a place where my friends and I have hit baseballs many times, the northeast-facing field at West Hills Elementary, not far from Pendergast. Like the field at Pendergast, West Hills has a really cheap chip-shot power alley to leftcenter. Seriously, I was putting up some reeeeaaaaalllly crappy swings and having balls go over the fence. I guess a side note to myself would be to find out how far out these freakin' fences are, but I'm thinking probably 220 or something, who knows. I was 9-ironing them out of there, huge teardrop arc shots; it was brutal.
You may be wondering where the challenge is, like the post headline indicates. Well, it's kind of a time-intensive challenge. It doesn't have to do with distance (though if you hit five in a row out, you're my equal...aim for the hill). You have to get there before the grass gets mowed because THE GRASS IS SO THICK IT'S CRAZY. Seriously, they probably haven't mowed it in two months. There was no margin for error, I basically had to jack these baseballs over the fence where the grass was dry/brown/mowed because that was the easiest place to find them. If I had the misfortune to hit a grounder, it probably took me ten minutes to search for the ball. You could go to the outfield, take a baseball in your hand, drop the baseball, and clearly see that the height of the grass was higher than the diameter of the baseball. Pathetic. I could bitch more about it, but it's highly unlikely that I'll use that field in the near future.
Basically, the challenge is to hit six baseballs for 45 minutes, and to come out after that time having found all six of the baseballs. It's freaking hard. A fluorescent green softball that met the same unfound fate in leftfield will taunt you while you look for your baseballs.
I hate my life.
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Monday, August 30, 2004
MONDAY, MONDAY TRENCHES
No cute lines here, let's get in The Trenches.
---Defensive end Hugh Douglas has been released by the Jaguars. The former Jet and Eagle had signed with Jacksonville before the 2003 season and was expected to be a key part of their defense. But Douglas struggled in 2003 and didn't have a great training camp this year. However, I won't shed a tear if the Seahawks decide to go after him. After all, you can't have enough depth.
---So Deion Sanders is returning to the National Football League to play for the Baltimore Ravens. Must be the money, eh?
---The Vikings have released Brock Lesnar, who was a former WWE superstar. Here comes the pain? More like, here comes the pink slip! In other Vikings news, head coach Mike Tice hates rookie kickers. Oh, and he's a horrible singer.
And in Seahawks news...
---Defensive end Grant Wistrom has passed his physical and is able to practice with the team.
---Seneca Wallace, you're the #3 quarterback. Brock Huard has been placed on injured reserve by the 'Hawks, because of back problems.
The 'Hawks play the Vikings Thursday night in Seattle in their final preseason game. Left tackle Walter Jones should join the 'Hawks this weekend or next Monday at the very latest.
We're less than 2 weeks from the season opener in New Orleans. I can't wait.
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---Defensive end Hugh Douglas has been released by the Jaguars. The former Jet and Eagle had signed with Jacksonville before the 2003 season and was expected to be a key part of their defense. But Douglas struggled in 2003 and didn't have a great training camp this year. However, I won't shed a tear if the Seahawks decide to go after him. After all, you can't have enough depth.
---So Deion Sanders is returning to the National Football League to play for the Baltimore Ravens. Must be the money, eh?
---The Vikings have released Brock Lesnar, who was a former WWE superstar. Here comes the pain? More like, here comes the pink slip! In other Vikings news, head coach Mike Tice hates rookie kickers. Oh, and he's a horrible singer.
And in Seahawks news...
---Defensive end Grant Wistrom has passed his physical and is able to practice with the team.
---Seneca Wallace, you're the #3 quarterback. Brock Huard has been placed on injured reserve by the 'Hawks, because of back problems.
The 'Hawks play the Vikings Thursday night in Seattle in their final preseason game. Left tackle Walter Jones should join the 'Hawks this weekend or next Monday at the very latest.
We're less than 2 weeks from the season opener in New Orleans. I can't wait.
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FINNISHED
Yes, the 2004 World Cup of Hockey is underway, with this morning's matchup of the Czech Republic against Finland. Luckily Comcast gives me the choice between ESPN and the CBC, and since the Canadians have Chris Cuthbert and Greg Millen in the booth and in Finland, that's who I went with.
The World Cup here is being played with NHL rules. The rink in Helsinki had some minor differences, most notably the glass being lower and the rink being a tiny bit wider due to logistical impossiblities.
By the way, there's probably no way I can keep up game notes for all 19 games of the World Cup. It'd be nice and everything, but juggling it with Mariner game recaps and actually trying to have a life might be somewhat stretching it.
That said, I've been beyond starved for hockey.
1ST PERIOD
The Finns looked great. Sean Burke was pretty much dead-on with his pre-game assessment of the Czechs and their body language. Chris Cuthbert and Greg Millen commented on the Czechs looking listless even at the morning skate. This seemed to carry through to the first period, with maybe the exception of Tomas Vokoun in goal, who kept the game from being anything worse than 1-0 in favor of the Finns. I saw only three really good chances for the Czechs to score in the period, two by Robert Reichel with linemate Martin Rucinsky, and one by David Vyborny. The Czechs really didn't have much sustained time in the Finnish zone outside of the final minute of play in the period. Other than that, the Finns pretty much camped out in the Czech zone, but probably should have had a ton more goals. Also of note is Cuthbert/Millen's observation of the Finns playing some sort of trap which was confusing the crap out of the Czechs. The Finnish goal was scored by ex-NHLer Jukka Hentunen. It's probably safe to say that the Czech players are still in shock over the death of coach (and ex-Flying V Canuck) Ivan Hlinka, but instead of using it as some type of motivation, they came out like they did today.
The Czechs have Jaromir Jagr, Patrik Elias, Petr Sykora, and Milan Hejduk on four different lines. This is almost unfair.
2ND PERIOD
Not much different from the first, except that the Czechs picked it up a bit and had some open ice at times to work with. Other than this, the Finns still had a lopsided advantage in the shot department, although as mentioned, Miikka Kiprusoff had a little more to do in the period. The Finnish team continued to pile up a good amount of pressure on the power play, but couldn't manage to find the back of the net.
3RD PERIOD
The Finns lit the lamp early in the period. Jere Lehtinen battled for the puck behind the net and passed out to Saku Koivu, who beat Vokoun. Later in the period, some more grunt work in the corner led to Sami Salo getting a hold of the puck from the point and firing in the direction of the net. Niko Kapanen redirected the puck into the net. The Finns used some speed for their fourth goal, as Mikko Eloranta went top shelf off the rebound of a Miko Koivu (Saku's younger brother) shot. All three goals were scored in the first half of the third period.
This was only a round-robin game here, but the Czechs really didn't do much. They have all that offensive power, yet they only managed to get off something like 13 shots, with the Finns tallying well over 30 shots. Miikka Kiprusoff got himself a pretty easy shutout in the Finnish net.
As for the Finnish team, they look like they're sitting pretty. And that's without Teemu Selanne getting a hat trick or anything like that.
One tiny thing of note, current free-agent defenseman Teppo Numminen (Dallas Star last year) was back in action, appearing well after the heart condition that sidelined him last season.
I'm not really picking any teams to root for in this whole thing, just as long as none of the Canucks get injured. Marek Malik had a bad play on one of the Finland goals, but Sami Salo got the assist on the third goal. Martin Rucinsky was on the front line of the Czech team, along with Robert Reichel (Toronto); the two first played hockey together at the age of 5.
CBC's three stars: Niko Kapanen (Dallas), Saku Koivu (Montreal), Kimmo Timonen (Nashville). Three Finns.
In the studio for the CBC: Elliotte Friedman, Sean Burke.
In the studio for ESPN: David Amber, Barry Melrose. Basically with ESPN, if it's not John Saunders or John Buccigross as the lead man in the studio, it's crap. On another note, I have no idea who was in the play-by-play booth for ESPN, but I'm pretty sure I haven't heard that voice before. It sure wasn't Gary Thorne.
Chris Cuthbert is an ironman. He was at the Olympics for the duration, the Games just ended yesterday, and today he did the hockey game in Finland. He gets a short time off before doing the USA/Canada game tomorrow night. The dude is nuts.
Just for kicks, here's the CBC recap.
It's an off-day for the Mariners today, so if you're at all interested, tune in to the CBC (if you get the network) at 7 tonight and watch "The Stick," a one-hour documentary based on, you guessed it, the hockey stick.
Tomorrow on the hockey schedule, it's Germany and Sweden at Stockholm (10am), and the matchup people here are probably more inclined to watch, the USA and Canada at Montreal (4pm). The rest of the schedule, well, Jeremy took care of it.
Enjoy your Mariner off day, all.
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The World Cup here is being played with NHL rules. The rink in Helsinki had some minor differences, most notably the glass being lower and the rink being a tiny bit wider due to logistical impossiblities.
By the way, there's probably no way I can keep up game notes for all 19 games of the World Cup. It'd be nice and everything, but juggling it with Mariner game recaps and actually trying to have a life might be somewhat stretching it.
That said, I've been beyond starved for hockey.
1ST PERIOD
The Finns looked great. Sean Burke was pretty much dead-on with his pre-game assessment of the Czechs and their body language. Chris Cuthbert and Greg Millen commented on the Czechs looking listless even at the morning skate. This seemed to carry through to the first period, with maybe the exception of Tomas Vokoun in goal, who kept the game from being anything worse than 1-0 in favor of the Finns. I saw only three really good chances for the Czechs to score in the period, two by Robert Reichel with linemate Martin Rucinsky, and one by David Vyborny. The Czechs really didn't have much sustained time in the Finnish zone outside of the final minute of play in the period. Other than that, the Finns pretty much camped out in the Czech zone, but probably should have had a ton more goals. Also of note is Cuthbert/Millen's observation of the Finns playing some sort of trap which was confusing the crap out of the Czechs. The Finnish goal was scored by ex-NHLer Jukka Hentunen. It's probably safe to say that the Czech players are still in shock over the death of coach (and ex-Flying V Canuck) Ivan Hlinka, but instead of using it as some type of motivation, they came out like they did today.
The Czechs have Jaromir Jagr, Patrik Elias, Petr Sykora, and Milan Hejduk on four different lines. This is almost unfair.
2ND PERIOD
Not much different from the first, except that the Czechs picked it up a bit and had some open ice at times to work with. Other than this, the Finns still had a lopsided advantage in the shot department, although as mentioned, Miikka Kiprusoff had a little more to do in the period. The Finnish team continued to pile up a good amount of pressure on the power play, but couldn't manage to find the back of the net.
3RD PERIOD
The Finns lit the lamp early in the period. Jere Lehtinen battled for the puck behind the net and passed out to Saku Koivu, who beat Vokoun. Later in the period, some more grunt work in the corner led to Sami Salo getting a hold of the puck from the point and firing in the direction of the net. Niko Kapanen redirected the puck into the net. The Finns used some speed for their fourth goal, as Mikko Eloranta went top shelf off the rebound of a Miko Koivu (Saku's younger brother) shot. All three goals were scored in the first half of the third period.
This was only a round-robin game here, but the Czechs really didn't do much. They have all that offensive power, yet they only managed to get off something like 13 shots, with the Finns tallying well over 30 shots. Miikka Kiprusoff got himself a pretty easy shutout in the Finnish net.
As for the Finnish team, they look like they're sitting pretty. And that's without Teemu Selanne getting a hat trick or anything like that.
One tiny thing of note, current free-agent defenseman Teppo Numminen (Dallas Star last year) was back in action, appearing well after the heart condition that sidelined him last season.
I'm not really picking any teams to root for in this whole thing, just as long as none of the Canucks get injured. Marek Malik had a bad play on one of the Finland goals, but Sami Salo got the assist on the third goal. Martin Rucinsky was on the front line of the Czech team, along with Robert Reichel (Toronto); the two first played hockey together at the age of 5.
CBC's three stars: Niko Kapanen (Dallas), Saku Koivu (Montreal), Kimmo Timonen (Nashville). Three Finns.
In the studio for the CBC: Elliotte Friedman, Sean Burke.
In the studio for ESPN: David Amber, Barry Melrose. Basically with ESPN, if it's not John Saunders or John Buccigross as the lead man in the studio, it's crap. On another note, I have no idea who was in the play-by-play booth for ESPN, but I'm pretty sure I haven't heard that voice before. It sure wasn't Gary Thorne.
Chris Cuthbert is an ironman. He was at the Olympics for the duration, the Games just ended yesterday, and today he did the hockey game in Finland. He gets a short time off before doing the USA/Canada game tomorrow night. The dude is nuts.
Just for kicks, here's the CBC recap.
It's an off-day for the Mariners today, so if you're at all interested, tune in to the CBC (if you get the network) at 7 tonight and watch "The Stick," a one-hour documentary based on, you guessed it, the hockey stick.
Tomorrow on the hockey schedule, it's Germany and Sweden at Stockholm (10am), and the matchup people here are probably more inclined to watch, the USA and Canada at Montreal (4pm). The rest of the schedule, well, Jeremy took care of it.
Enjoy your Mariner off day, all.
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Sunday, August 29, 2004
FRANKLIN/STALLONE/VILLONE
Yes, it was Jimmy Gobble against Ryan Franklin in the rubber game of a five-game series between the Kansas City Royals and the Seattle Mariners.
The Royals chose to blow a 3-1 lead instead of the usual 4-0 lead in this final game between the cellar all-star teams.
Again, the spectrum...
Mariners on defense/pitching (bad to good)
massacre < terrible inning < some damage < fighting out of jam < decent inning < 1-2-3
Mariners on offense
I hate this team < come on, y'all < ho, hum < minimal damage < some damage < big inning
TOP 1ST -- decent inning
Franklin walked David DeJesus to lead off the game, but Desi Relaford and DeJesus were part of a whiff-and-gundown double play. Ah, the arm of Miguel Olivo.
BOTTOM 1ST -- come on, y'all
Ichiro, Randy Winn, and Bret Boone get Gobbled.
TOP 2ND -- fighting out of jam
Abe Nunez hit a one-out double and went to third (didn't see this play) most likely on a bad pickoff throw by Franklin. Aaron Guiel was then walked. Franklin then got two flyouts to bail himself out.
BOTTOM 2ND -- come on, y'all
Gobble is perfect through two, getting Raul Ibanez and Bucky Jacobsen to bounce balls back to him, and getting Jolbert Cabrera to fly out.
TOP 3RD -- minimal damage
The damage was minimal, but the 3rd inning was a 28-pitch odyssey for Franklin. The sick thing was, all the bad stuff happened with two out. Relaford hit a smash to rightfield (KC 1-0). Franklin would then make himself quite the jam. Joe Randa and Matt Stairs both singled, and Nunez walked to load the bases. Guiel then bounced out to Boone to end the inning. Franklin allows a requisite longball, then creates and eradicates his own jam. Perplexing.
BOTTOM 3RD -- ho, hum
Olivo, Jose Lopez, and Willie Bloomquist (at first base, ugh) ensured that Jimmy Gobble was perfect through three innings.
TOP 4TH -- some damage
Franklin yielded a leadoff smash to John Buck (KC 2-0), the only notable moment of the inning.
BOTTOM 4TH -- minimal damage
Ichiro finally broke up Jimmy Gobble's perfect game, turning and golfing a pitch out of the yard to rightfield (KC 2-1). Ibanez walked and Bucky Jacobsen singled to put runners on the corners with two out, but they would stay there.
TOP 5TH -- some damage
Franklin gives a run right back, throwing a 3-1 pitch that Randa really liked and took out to leftfield for his 100th career homer (KC 3-1). The next three hitters were no problem, though.
BOTTOM 5TH -- ho, hum
Same as the bottom of the 3rd, except Gobble was no longer perfect.
TOP 6TH -- 1-2-3
Ryan Franklin had his easiest inning of the game, setting down Buck, Wilton "Frank Stallone" Guerrero, and Angel Berroa.
BOTTOM 6TH -- some damage
Ichiro led off with a single, which is not unusual for him. One out later, Bret Boone reached first on a bad throw by Berroa. Ichiro stood on third after the play and would score on the next play, an Ibanez groundout to second (KC 3-2). Bucky chipped in with a single to score Boone from third to tie the game at 3-3. Cabrera coaxed a walk, but Olivo hit a comebacker to the mound to end the inning.
TOP 7TH -- some damage
It started out in quite a grim fashion. Franklin was chased from the game after the three hitters he faced singled (DeJesus and Relaford) or walked (Randa). Franklin was pulled after loading the bases with nobody out. Ron Villone came out of the bullpen. He had Stairs 0-2 before getting a double-play ball that scored DeJesus (KC 4-3). Villone fell behind 2-1 on Nunez before he was put on base. Villone walked Guiel to load the bases once again in the same inning, but then Buck put a weak half-swing on a ball that looped itself into Boone's glove to end the inning.
Ryan Franklin left the game with the bases loaded and the score tied. Luckily for him, Villone didn't let Franklin's ERA skyrocket too badly after the pitching change, though now Franklin was on the hook for the loss. Franklin's line: 6+ innings, 4 runs, 9 hits, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts, 121 pitches. Ryan did get into the 7th, so I can't really say that the 121 pitches was TTF-esque. However, that's still a lot of pitches in a pretty short amount of time, especially for him. He walked more batters than be struck out (4 to 3), and his strikeout number was identical to the number of homers he gave up (3). That's simply Spirosiferous. I think you'd stress the third syllable in that non-word.
BOTTOM 7TH -- some damage
Lopez and Bloomquist would get out to make way for the rest of the order (I'll get to the badness of the bottom of the Mariner lineup later). Ichiro finished his day with a single, making him 3-for-4, a little warming up of sorts compared to the last few games. Winn singled off new pitcher Dennys Reyes and moved Ichiro over to third, and Boone singled to center to tie the game at 4-4. Ibanez followed with a single to give the Mariners the lead (SEA 5-4). DJ Carrasco came in and got Bucky to ground out to short.
TOP 8TH -- fighting out of jam
The other Guerrero got aboard on an infield single and would have been doubled off on an inning-ending double play, but Boone had some issues on what would have been a spin-and-throw to second base. DeJesus got to first base on that play. Villone buckled down and got Relaford to whiff and Randa to bounce out to short.
BOTTOM 8TH -- ho, hum
Cabrera, Olivo, and Lopez made Carrasco look like a genius.
TOP 9TH -- decent inning
Stairs hit a leadoff single, but Villone retired the final three hitters to end the game.
Gameball: Ron Villone. 3 innings of two-hit ball, with a walk and strikeout each, on 47 pitches. Can we all agree that if he has to have a role on this ballclub, we'd like it to be this one instead of as a starter? Bonus points for not letting all of Franklin's runs score in an inning that many times this year has gone to the dogs. I guess I'm glad I didn't see Hasegawa come out in this situation. By the way, I'm not forgetting Ichiro's 3-for-4 or Bucky's 2-for-4 today.
Goat: Jose Lopez. 0-for-4. He wasn't the only one in the lineup stinking it up, so this choice of goat was sort of random.
The Mariners won today even with Ryan Franklin nowhere close to the top of his game, and even with the 6-9 hitters of their lineup (Cabrera/Olivo/Lopez/Bloomquist) going a combined 0-for-14. I'll venture to say it's not very easy to win when you're punting four spots in your lineup every time through. Today, though, the Mariners did just that.
To the Great White North! From one retractable roof to another.
Moyer. Towers. Tuesday.
[Edit ~10:55p -- Sorry to anyone who read the stuff for the top of the 9th, because it made no sense. Thoughts ran into each other and a jumble came out. The problem has been grammatically rectified.]
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The Royals chose to blow a 3-1 lead instead of the usual 4-0 lead in this final game between the cellar all-star teams.
Again, the spectrum...
Mariners on defense/pitching (bad to good)
massacre < terrible inning < some damage < fighting out of jam < decent inning < 1-2-3
Mariners on offense
I hate this team < come on, y'all < ho, hum < minimal damage < some damage < big inning
TOP 1ST -- decent inning
Franklin walked David DeJesus to lead off the game, but Desi Relaford and DeJesus were part of a whiff-and-gundown double play. Ah, the arm of Miguel Olivo.
BOTTOM 1ST -- come on, y'all
Ichiro, Randy Winn, and Bret Boone get Gobbled.
TOP 2ND -- fighting out of jam
Abe Nunez hit a one-out double and went to third (didn't see this play) most likely on a bad pickoff throw by Franklin. Aaron Guiel was then walked. Franklin then got two flyouts to bail himself out.
BOTTOM 2ND -- come on, y'all
Gobble is perfect through two, getting Raul Ibanez and Bucky Jacobsen to bounce balls back to him, and getting Jolbert Cabrera to fly out.
TOP 3RD -- minimal damage
The damage was minimal, but the 3rd inning was a 28-pitch odyssey for Franklin. The sick thing was, all the bad stuff happened with two out. Relaford hit a smash to rightfield (KC 1-0). Franklin would then make himself quite the jam. Joe Randa and Matt Stairs both singled, and Nunez walked to load the bases. Guiel then bounced out to Boone to end the inning. Franklin allows a requisite longball, then creates and eradicates his own jam. Perplexing.
BOTTOM 3RD -- ho, hum
Olivo, Jose Lopez, and Willie Bloomquist (at first base, ugh) ensured that Jimmy Gobble was perfect through three innings.
TOP 4TH -- some damage
Franklin yielded a leadoff smash to John Buck (KC 2-0), the only notable moment of the inning.
BOTTOM 4TH -- minimal damage
Ichiro finally broke up Jimmy Gobble's perfect game, turning and golfing a pitch out of the yard to rightfield (KC 2-1). Ibanez walked and Bucky Jacobsen singled to put runners on the corners with two out, but they would stay there.
TOP 5TH -- some damage
Franklin gives a run right back, throwing a 3-1 pitch that Randa really liked and took out to leftfield for his 100th career homer (KC 3-1). The next three hitters were no problem, though.
BOTTOM 5TH -- ho, hum
Same as the bottom of the 3rd, except Gobble was no longer perfect.
TOP 6TH -- 1-2-3
Ryan Franklin had his easiest inning of the game, setting down Buck, Wilton "Frank Stallone" Guerrero, and Angel Berroa.
BOTTOM 6TH -- some damage
Ichiro led off with a single, which is not unusual for him. One out later, Bret Boone reached first on a bad throw by Berroa. Ichiro stood on third after the play and would score on the next play, an Ibanez groundout to second (KC 3-2). Bucky chipped in with a single to score Boone from third to tie the game at 3-3. Cabrera coaxed a walk, but Olivo hit a comebacker to the mound to end the inning.
TOP 7TH -- some damage
It started out in quite a grim fashion. Franklin was chased from the game after the three hitters he faced singled (DeJesus and Relaford) or walked (Randa). Franklin was pulled after loading the bases with nobody out. Ron Villone came out of the bullpen. He had Stairs 0-2 before getting a double-play ball that scored DeJesus (KC 4-3). Villone fell behind 2-1 on Nunez before he was put on base. Villone walked Guiel to load the bases once again in the same inning, but then Buck put a weak half-swing on a ball that looped itself into Boone's glove to end the inning.
Ryan Franklin left the game with the bases loaded and the score tied. Luckily for him, Villone didn't let Franklin's ERA skyrocket too badly after the pitching change, though now Franklin was on the hook for the loss. Franklin's line: 6+ innings, 4 runs, 9 hits, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts, 121 pitches. Ryan did get into the 7th, so I can't really say that the 121 pitches was TTF-esque. However, that's still a lot of pitches in a pretty short amount of time, especially for him. He walked more batters than be struck out (4 to 3), and his strikeout number was identical to the number of homers he gave up (3). That's simply Spirosiferous. I think you'd stress the third syllable in that non-word.
BOTTOM 7TH -- some damage
Lopez and Bloomquist would get out to make way for the rest of the order (I'll get to the badness of the bottom of the Mariner lineup later). Ichiro finished his day with a single, making him 3-for-4, a little warming up of sorts compared to the last few games. Winn singled off new pitcher Dennys Reyes and moved Ichiro over to third, and Boone singled to center to tie the game at 4-4. Ibanez followed with a single to give the Mariners the lead (SEA 5-4). DJ Carrasco came in and got Bucky to ground out to short.
TOP 8TH -- fighting out of jam
The other Guerrero got aboard on an infield single and would have been doubled off on an inning-ending double play, but Boone had some issues on what would have been a spin-and-throw to second base. DeJesus got to first base on that play. Villone buckled down and got Relaford to whiff and Randa to bounce out to short.
BOTTOM 8TH -- ho, hum
Cabrera, Olivo, and Lopez made Carrasco look like a genius.
TOP 9TH -- decent inning
Stairs hit a leadoff single, but Villone retired the final three hitters to end the game.
Gameball: Ron Villone. 3 innings of two-hit ball, with a walk and strikeout each, on 47 pitches. Can we all agree that if he has to have a role on this ballclub, we'd like it to be this one instead of as a starter? Bonus points for not letting all of Franklin's runs score in an inning that many times this year has gone to the dogs. I guess I'm glad I didn't see Hasegawa come out in this situation. By the way, I'm not forgetting Ichiro's 3-for-4 or Bucky's 2-for-4 today.
Goat: Jose Lopez. 0-for-4. He wasn't the only one in the lineup stinking it up, so this choice of goat was sort of random.
The Mariners won today even with Ryan Franklin nowhere close to the top of his game, and even with the 6-9 hitters of their lineup (Cabrera/Olivo/Lopez/Bloomquist) going a combined 0-for-14. I'll venture to say it's not very easy to win when you're punting four spots in your lineup every time through. Today, though, the Mariners did just that.
To the Great White North! From one retractable roof to another.
Moyer. Towers. Tuesday.
[Edit ~10:55p -- Sorry to anyone who read the stuff for the top of the 9th, because it made no sense. Thoughts ran into each other and a jumble came out. The problem has been grammatically rectified.]
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TARA KIRK ON LETTERMAN
I'm not sure if David caught it or not. I know I didn't.
But on Friday's edition of the "Late Show with David Letterman", Bremerton's own Tara Kirk was on the show, as part of the Top 10 segment.
I guess I'll have to be on the lookout when this episode airs in reruns. (Maureen Dowd was the main guest on Friday's show)
The Top 10 List
Top Ten Ways To Make The Olympics More Fun
10. Gymnasts allowed to smoke during floor exercises. (Tara Kirk)
For the rest of the list, click the link above.
Letterman > Leno
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But on Friday's edition of the "Late Show with David Letterman", Bremerton's own Tara Kirk was on the show, as part of the Top 10 segment.
I guess I'll have to be on the lookout when this episode airs in reruns. (Maureen Dowd was the main guest on Friday's show)
The Top 10 List
Top Ten Ways To Make The Olympics More Fun
10. Gymnasts allowed to smoke during floor exercises. (Tara Kirk)
For the rest of the list, click the link above.
Letterman > Leno
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WHAT ARE THEY DOING?
Watching the Royals-Mariners game here (it came on at the top of the 2nd inning)
---WHAT IN THE HELL ARE THE MARINERS DOING?
It could be the satellite feed, I don't know. But the grass just looks absolutely terrible. My advice to the grounds crew would be to quit dancing and start working. No, YOU DON'T GOTTA DANCE!
Derek at USS Mariner has already hit on this, but I might as well hit on it as well. The Mariners have bleachers in the beer garden? What's next, a tarp covering the fan's view into the bullpen? This is just unacceptable IMO. If I have the chance to hit Safeco Field next summer, they better remove those bleachers. But they most likely won't. After all, somebody's gotta pay for Willie Bloomquist's multi-year deal.
WHAT THE F**K? Now the Royals TV crew is showing the grounds crew dancing. Not only will I peel the skin off of myself, I will eat it as well.
What's next for the Mariners in their never-ending quest to ruin Safeco Field?
---No cheering at all. Say one word, and you are gone!
---Trade Ichiro to the St. Louis Cardinals for John Mabry because he's just too good for the Mariners blood.
---Eliminate the concession stands food and add the Mariners Wives cookbook food. And get this, they will also charge you double than what you would have paid for the concession food.
---No beer at all.
And finally...
Wait for it...
The Mariners will put an even worse team on the field in 2005.
Losing is the same as winning for the Mariners. After all, it's not like they tried to improve the team when they were winning.
Mariners Baseball --- Get All Of It!
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---WHAT IN THE HELL ARE THE MARINERS DOING?
It could be the satellite feed, I don't know. But the grass just looks absolutely terrible. My advice to the grounds crew would be to quit dancing and start working. No, YOU DON'T GOTTA DANCE!
Derek at USS Mariner has already hit on this, but I might as well hit on it as well. The Mariners have bleachers in the beer garden? What's next, a tarp covering the fan's view into the bullpen? This is just unacceptable IMO. If I have the chance to hit Safeco Field next summer, they better remove those bleachers. But they most likely won't. After all, somebody's gotta pay for Willie Bloomquist's multi-year deal.
WHAT THE F**K? Now the Royals TV crew is showing the grounds crew dancing. Not only will I peel the skin off of myself, I will eat it as well.
What's next for the Mariners in their never-ending quest to ruin Safeco Field?
---No cheering at all. Say one word, and you are gone!
---Trade Ichiro to the St. Louis Cardinals for John Mabry because he's just too good for the Mariners blood.
---Eliminate the concession stands food and add the Mariners Wives cookbook food. And get this, they will also charge you double than what you would have paid for the concession food.
---No beer at all.
And finally...
Wait for it...
The Mariners will put an even worse team on the field in 2005.
Losing is the same as winning for the Mariners. After all, it's not like they tried to improve the team when they were winning.
Mariners Baseball --- Get All Of It!
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FIRE MELVIN!
God, I hope Larry LaRue is right.
Tacoma News Tribune: Melvin not in the Mariners future
Oh, and I'm supposed to get the Royals-Mariners game on the PAX station here, but the Cardinals-Pirates game is still in progress. I could get mad about this, but I'll be fine. It will come on soon enough, since the Cards-Buccos is in the top of the 9th.
John Mabry is at the plate for the Cards. He's going to the playoffs this year and the Mariners aren't.
I.
Hate.
This.
Baseball.
Team.
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Tacoma News Tribune: Melvin not in the Mariners future
Oh, and I'm supposed to get the Royals-Mariners game on the PAX station here, but the Cardinals-Pirates game is still in progress. I could get mad about this, but I'll be fine. It will come on soon enough, since the Cards-Buccos is in the top of the 9th.
John Mabry is at the plate for the Cards. He's going to the playoffs this year and the Mariners aren't.
I.
Hate.
This.
Baseball.
Team.
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OLYMPIC HEDGES
As the 2004 Summer Olympics come to a close in Athens today, it's appropriate to look back on the last 2 weeks and reflect on what has been a very good Olympic Games.
I've enjoyed this year's Olympics much more than I did 4 years ago. The main reason being, I was actually able to watch this year's Olympics. Four years ago in Sydney, the games were in September. I was too busy moving from Bremerton to Cheney to start my first year of school at Eastern Washington University to even notice the games.
Anyways, the 2004 Summer Olympics have meant more to me than previous Olympics. The Kirk sisters, Tara and Dana, are a major reason why that is the case. Tara and Dana have worked very, very hard to get to where they are at today. They have made a lot of sacrifices over the years. I'm very happy for them that they were able to see the rewards for their hard work. While Tara's college career at Stanford is done, Dana still has two more years on the Farm. I have no doubt that both of these ladies will be training for 2008 soon enough.
Tara is coming home with a Silver medal for her participation on the women's 4x100 medley relay team. While it isn't an "individual" medal, it doesn't mean that it doesn't mean anything. It's the culmination of everything that she has worked for up to Athens. That's the point some people miss when it comes to the team medals. While Tara didn't swim in the finals of the relay, she swam in the semifinals. In order for the team to advance to the finals, the swimmers who swim in the semis have to swim well. The swimmers in the semis, Tara included, did just that.
While Tara finished 6th in the 100 meter breaststroke final, I can't help but be proud of her. That was a very fast race which included some of the best breaststrokers in the world. If I know her, I know she's going to train for Beijing in 2008, looking to earn the Gold. Dana didn't advance to the 200 meter butterfly finals, but I'm also proud of her as well. I didn't know Dana as well as I did Tara, but I also know that Dana will train for 2008 as well. Although anything can happen within the next four years.
As for the rest of the Olympics, I've enjoyed it, for the most part.
Michael Phelps didn't reach Mark Spitz' record of 7 Gold medals, but that shouldn't diminish what he did in Athens. Phelps earned 8 medals, 6 Gold. He's the anti-Gary Hall, Jr. Phelps has shown remarkable class throughout these games, even giving up his spot on the 4x100 medley relay team for teammate Ian Crocker. This kid isn't a failure. Not even close.
Paul Hamm shouldn't have to give up his Gold medal in the men's all-around. It's simple, he didn't do anything wrong. It was the judge's incompetency that caused this whole controversy, not Hamm.
Beach volleyball is cool. I don't see a problem with women in bikinis on a makeshift beach playing volleyball. Sue me.
The women's teams completed a trifecta, winning Gold in soccer, softball, and basketball. That's pretty impressive. The softball team was the most impressive team to me, because they only allowed 1 run in the entire tournament. And that lone run came in the Gold medal game against Australia.
My favorite non-American Olympic moment of the Games has to be Greece's Fani Halkia winning the Gold in the 400 meter hurdles. But it was the medal ceremony that was chilling. The entire stadium was excited as hell, hearing the Greece national anthem. Halkia had the Greece flag draped on her. This is what the Olympics are about.
NBC's coverage was decent, but could have been a lot better. I enjoyed being able to watch some of the events live, thanks to the other NBC networks airing the coverage (CNBC, USA, MSNBC). But I would have liked to have seen more of Greece.
Wow, I haven't even touched on the men's basketball team. Well, I don't need to say anything. Bronze is simply unacceptable. Maybe later I'll go into this. But this post is reserved for the real Olympians.
Don't tell me that the Olympics don't matter. They may be more commercialized these days, but they still matter. Men and women throughout the world spend every waking moment for 4 years for that one moment in time. And for that reason alone, it's my duty to support these athletes, by taking some time out of my life to watch the Games on television. It's the least that I could do.
Congratulations to all of the Olympians throughout the world. And a raise of the glass to the Greece Olympic committee organizing chief Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki for getting Greece ready for the games. Without her, Greece wouldn't have been ready.
The Olympic Spirit is alive and well.
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I've enjoyed this year's Olympics much more than I did 4 years ago. The main reason being, I was actually able to watch this year's Olympics. Four years ago in Sydney, the games were in September. I was too busy moving from Bremerton to Cheney to start my first year of school at Eastern Washington University to even notice the games.
Anyways, the 2004 Summer Olympics have meant more to me than previous Olympics. The Kirk sisters, Tara and Dana, are a major reason why that is the case. Tara and Dana have worked very, very hard to get to where they are at today. They have made a lot of sacrifices over the years. I'm very happy for them that they were able to see the rewards for their hard work. While Tara's college career at Stanford is done, Dana still has two more years on the Farm. I have no doubt that both of these ladies will be training for 2008 soon enough.
Tara is coming home with a Silver medal for her participation on the women's 4x100 medley relay team. While it isn't an "individual" medal, it doesn't mean that it doesn't mean anything. It's the culmination of everything that she has worked for up to Athens. That's the point some people miss when it comes to the team medals. While Tara didn't swim in the finals of the relay, she swam in the semifinals. In order for the team to advance to the finals, the swimmers who swim in the semis have to swim well. The swimmers in the semis, Tara included, did just that.
While Tara finished 6th in the 100 meter breaststroke final, I can't help but be proud of her. That was a very fast race which included some of the best breaststrokers in the world. If I know her, I know she's going to train for Beijing in 2008, looking to earn the Gold. Dana didn't advance to the 200 meter butterfly finals, but I'm also proud of her as well. I didn't know Dana as well as I did Tara, but I also know that Dana will train for 2008 as well. Although anything can happen within the next four years.
As for the rest of the Olympics, I've enjoyed it, for the most part.
Michael Phelps didn't reach Mark Spitz' record of 7 Gold medals, but that shouldn't diminish what he did in Athens. Phelps earned 8 medals, 6 Gold. He's the anti-Gary Hall, Jr. Phelps has shown remarkable class throughout these games, even giving up his spot on the 4x100 medley relay team for teammate Ian Crocker. This kid isn't a failure. Not even close.
Paul Hamm shouldn't have to give up his Gold medal in the men's all-around. It's simple, he didn't do anything wrong. It was the judge's incompetency that caused this whole controversy, not Hamm.
Beach volleyball is cool. I don't see a problem with women in bikinis on a makeshift beach playing volleyball. Sue me.
The women's teams completed a trifecta, winning Gold in soccer, softball, and basketball. That's pretty impressive. The softball team was the most impressive team to me, because they only allowed 1 run in the entire tournament. And that lone run came in the Gold medal game against Australia.
My favorite non-American Olympic moment of the Games has to be Greece's Fani Halkia winning the Gold in the 400 meter hurdles. But it was the medal ceremony that was chilling. The entire stadium was excited as hell, hearing the Greece national anthem. Halkia had the Greece flag draped on her. This is what the Olympics are about.
NBC's coverage was decent, but could have been a lot better. I enjoyed being able to watch some of the events live, thanks to the other NBC networks airing the coverage (CNBC, USA, MSNBC). But I would have liked to have seen more of Greece.
Wow, I haven't even touched on the men's basketball team. Well, I don't need to say anything. Bronze is simply unacceptable. Maybe later I'll go into this. But this post is reserved for the real Olympians.
Don't tell me that the Olympics don't matter. They may be more commercialized these days, but they still matter. Men and women throughout the world spend every waking moment for 4 years for that one moment in time. And for that reason alone, it's my duty to support these athletes, by taking some time out of my life to watch the Games on television. It's the least that I could do.
Congratulations to all of the Olympians throughout the world. And a raise of the glass to the Greece Olympic committee organizing chief Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki for getting Greece ready for the games. Without her, Greece wouldn't have been ready.
The Olympic Spirit is alive and well.
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CELEBRATORY KIMCHI
If someone had gone to the ballpark today and stayed there from the first pitch to the end of the second game, that person would have been at the park for just short of 7.5 hours. That, my friends, is a looooong time. It didn't help that the first game took forever and that the second game went extra innings.
Once again, Bobby Madritsch's turn had come up in the rotation, as he was once again leaned upon to save the bullpen on the heels of the six innings it had thrown in the first game of the doubleheader. Also, one game is still in the works for Sunday, and the Mariners probably need some arms to be rested for that game, with the off day mercifully coming on Monday.
Bobby held up his end of the bargain. The Mariner bats did not. Not early enough for Madritsch to get a win, at least.
And as my complete aside for the night, I hate the computer at this house. My six-year-old Win98 piece of crap that I had back at school gave me less trouble than this supposedly better three-year-old WinXP thingy. I could try to tell a long story about this, but I'll just say that I've typed the bulk of this recap THREE TIMES. Given the usual lengths of my recaps, that takes a long-ass time. Multiply that by three, and you've got what I've gone through tonight. And Notepad doesn't give me cool shortcuts for bold/italicize/link.
TOP 1ST -- terrible inning
It looked bleak for Madritsch at the start. A 23-pitch first inning indicated this, as a single-double-double combination plated two runs to start, and Joe Randa scurried home from third on an obligatory Miguel Olivo passed ball on ball four to Abraham Nunez (KC 3-0). Angel Berroa then singled before Alberto Castillo bounced into a weird 5-4 double play.
BOTTOM 1ST -- come on, y'all
Jimmy "Pedro" Serrano has his way wit the top of the Mariner lineup, getting Ichiro (whiff), Randy Winn, and Raul Ibanez in order.
TOP 2ND -- decent inning
Madritsch allows only the leadoff single to Ruben Gotay, who is eventually doubled off on a DeJesus 4-6-3 GIDP to end the inning.
BOTTOM 2ND -- come on, y'all
Bret Boone gets a one-out single, then lays down the beach blanket until Bucky runs out there with his mitt during the changeover.
TOP 3RD -- decent inning
Madritsch has his 3rd inning look a lot like his second. His only baserunner (Joe Randa) reaches on an infield single, but is erased from the basepaths on the next play, a 4-6-3 double play off the bat of Matt Stairs.
BOTTOM 3RD -- minimal damage
The damage here was all with two outs. Ichiro legged out an infield single and stole second on the 3-0 pitch. Winn walked on the next pitch, rendering the stolen base somewhat moot. Ichiro reached third on a wild pitch to Ibanez, and scored on Raul's single (KC 3-1). Bucky flew out to center to end the inning.
TOP 4TH -- fighting out of jam
Granted, the jam here was all with two out. Castillo drew a walk and Gotay was beaned. Madritsch got Alexis Gomez to whiff and end the inning.
BOTTOM 4TH -- minimal damage
Nothing here except that Jolbert Cabrera hit a two-out solo smash to left (KC 3-2). No runs would be scored for a long time, as pitching was the name of this game.
TOP 5TH -- decent inning
Madritsch weathered the leadoff walk to DeJesus, who was eventually nailed by Olivo trying to nab second. Madritsch cut down Desi Relaford swinging and got Randa to fly out to Spiezio in foul ground.
BOTTOM 5TH -- come on, y'all
Ichiro and Winn hit back-to-back singles with one out. Ibanez fouled off seven pitches (six with a full count) en route to a 12-pitch at-bat that resulted in a lineout to rightfield. Bucky flew out in foul ground to the first baseman.
TOP 6TH -- 1-2-3
In his easiest inning yet, Madritsch mowed down Stairs (flyout), Nunez (whiff), and Berroa (popout to second) in order.
BOTTOM 6TH -- ho, hum
Dennys Reyes took over for Serrano, who had thrown 96 pitches and was in line for the win. Reyes mowed down Bret Boone swinging, and then Scott Spiezio somehow bunted himself aboard, only to catch the front end of a Cabrera 4-6-3 double-play ball.
TOP 7TH -- decent inning
Madritsch, coming into the inning with 93 pitches thrown, allowed a Castillo leadoff single. Olivo flashed the arm once again, nailing Castillo trying to steal second. Madritsch took care of the rest, catching Gotay looking and getting Gomez to whiff once again.
BOTTOM 7TH -- ho, hum
Reyes mowed down Olivo, Ramon Santiago, and Ichiro (whiff) in order.
TOP 8TH -- 1-2-3
Madritsch ended his night with his easiest inning. DeJesus flew out, Relaford was caught looking, and Randa bounced out to third. Madritsch finished very strong on a night where it started off pretty grim. He left the game behind and on the hook for a loss if the Mariners failed to come up with any runs. His line: 8 innings, 3 runs, 7 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts, 115 pitches. Everyone hates walks, sure, but the career high in strikeouts was definitely a plus for Bobby tonight. What happened to Bobby's walks? One was erased on a double play, one was stranded, and one was caught stealing. Madritsch faced three batters in each inning except the 1st and 4th. Of course, only a couple of those 3-batter innings were 1-2-3, as many had runners getting nailed or double plays.
BOTTOM 8TH -- I hate this team
Randy Winn bounced a ball to Relaford at third, who made an errant throw to first. Winn stood at first and watched Raul Ibanez go down swinging after being ahead 3-0. With Bucky up, Winn apparently was picked off of first, but time had been called before the move was made, and everything was put back where it was. Play resumed, and the same damn thing happened. There goes your tying run, Bobby. Bucky whiffed to end the inning.
TOP 9TH -- decent inning
Against the Royals, things like a decent inning involving Shigetoshi Hasegawa are possible. Shig allowed only a two-out Berroa double in an otherwise nondescript inning.
BOTTOM 9TH -- minimal damage
Madritsch would thankfully be taken off the hook in the 9th. Boone led off with a double, and didn't try to take off for third this time like he did in the first game of the doubleheader. Boone pulled up a lawn chair while Bloomquist came through with a clutch whiff. Cabrera then doubled Boone home to tie the game at 3-3. Olivo was put on base (memories of two home runs the night before were etched in Tony Pena's mind). Edgar then flew out to short and Ichiro was caught looking.
TOP 10TH -- decent inning
More Hasegawa, more pins and needles. Still, Hasegawa did much like he did the inning before, only allowing one baserunner, but not having it get nito scoring position this time. Yes, 'twas a harmless one-out Guiel single.
BOTTOM 10TH -- come on, y'all
Jaime Cerda comes in and cuts through Winn, Ibanez, and Bucky in 1-2-3 fashion. Yes, kids, that's extra inning baseball.
TOP 11TH -- 1-2-3
Cha Seung Baek, recalled just hours before, became the pitcher of record, and cut through Randa/Stairs/Nunez with ease.
BOTTOM 11TH -- ho, hum
Bloomquist drew a one-out walk and moved to second on a two-out single by Olivo. Lopez whiffed to end the inning. The Mariners had been Cerda'd.
TOP 12TH -- decent inning
Baek allowed a one-out single to Castillo, who rolled out the Barcalounger and watched Gotay whiff and Guiel get caught looking.
BOTTOM 12TH -- some damage
Yes, it was Matt Kinney's turn to enter the game, you know, the guy that broke Justin Leone's fingers. Ichiro legged out an infield single. Winn got a hold of a 2-2 pitch and drove it out and down the line to rightfield (SEA 5-3). Ballgame.
Hey, the Mariners sweep a doubleheader. At least there's a tiny bit of something to cheer about. I was going to say Ichiro didn't do much, but it looks to me like he had a quiet 3-for-6 outing, which is quite good for him. When he got aboard in the 12th, he became the first Major League player to have three 50-hit months in his career. You definitely can't argue the Japanese League-against-MLB card for this record, this one's fair and square no matter how you look at it.
Gameball: Cha Seung Baek. He gets called up, pitches two pretty quick and painless innings, and he gets his first Major League win. 2 innings, no runs, 1 hit, no walks, 2 strikeouts, and 21 pitches for the Korean.
Goat: Bucky Jacobsen. 0-for-5 with two whiffs. Bucky got both sides of the fence today, with the big mash in the first game, and this 0-fer in the second game.
Gobble. Franklin. Tomorrow.
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Once again, Bobby Madritsch's turn had come up in the rotation, as he was once again leaned upon to save the bullpen on the heels of the six innings it had thrown in the first game of the doubleheader. Also, one game is still in the works for Sunday, and the Mariners probably need some arms to be rested for that game, with the off day mercifully coming on Monday.
Bobby held up his end of the bargain. The Mariner bats did not. Not early enough for Madritsch to get a win, at least.
And as my complete aside for the night, I hate the computer at this house. My six-year-old Win98 piece of crap that I had back at school gave me less trouble than this supposedly better three-year-old WinXP thingy. I could try to tell a long story about this, but I'll just say that I've typed the bulk of this recap THREE TIMES. Given the usual lengths of my recaps, that takes a long-ass time. Multiply that by three, and you've got what I've gone through tonight. And Notepad doesn't give me cool shortcuts for bold/italicize/link.
TOP 1ST -- terrible inning
It looked bleak for Madritsch at the start. A 23-pitch first inning indicated this, as a single-double-double combination plated two runs to start, and Joe Randa scurried home from third on an obligatory Miguel Olivo passed ball on ball four to Abraham Nunez (KC 3-0). Angel Berroa then singled before Alberto Castillo bounced into a weird 5-4 double play.
BOTTOM 1ST -- come on, y'all
Jimmy "Pedro" Serrano has his way wit the top of the Mariner lineup, getting Ichiro (whiff), Randy Winn, and Raul Ibanez in order.
TOP 2ND -- decent inning
Madritsch allows only the leadoff single to Ruben Gotay, who is eventually doubled off on a DeJesus 4-6-3 GIDP to end the inning.
BOTTOM 2ND -- come on, y'all
Bret Boone gets a one-out single, then lays down the beach blanket until Bucky runs out there with his mitt during the changeover.
TOP 3RD -- decent inning
Madritsch has his 3rd inning look a lot like his second. His only baserunner (Joe Randa) reaches on an infield single, but is erased from the basepaths on the next play, a 4-6-3 double play off the bat of Matt Stairs.
BOTTOM 3RD -- minimal damage
The damage here was all with two outs. Ichiro legged out an infield single and stole second on the 3-0 pitch. Winn walked on the next pitch, rendering the stolen base somewhat moot. Ichiro reached third on a wild pitch to Ibanez, and scored on Raul's single (KC 3-1). Bucky flew out to center to end the inning.
TOP 4TH -- fighting out of jam
Granted, the jam here was all with two out. Castillo drew a walk and Gotay was beaned. Madritsch got Alexis Gomez to whiff and end the inning.
BOTTOM 4TH -- minimal damage
Nothing here except that Jolbert Cabrera hit a two-out solo smash to left (KC 3-2). No runs would be scored for a long time, as pitching was the name of this game.
TOP 5TH -- decent inning
Madritsch weathered the leadoff walk to DeJesus, who was eventually nailed by Olivo trying to nab second. Madritsch cut down Desi Relaford swinging and got Randa to fly out to Spiezio in foul ground.
BOTTOM 5TH -- come on, y'all
Ichiro and Winn hit back-to-back singles with one out. Ibanez fouled off seven pitches (six with a full count) en route to a 12-pitch at-bat that resulted in a lineout to rightfield. Bucky flew out in foul ground to the first baseman.
TOP 6TH -- 1-2-3
In his easiest inning yet, Madritsch mowed down Stairs (flyout), Nunez (whiff), and Berroa (popout to second) in order.
BOTTOM 6TH -- ho, hum
Dennys Reyes took over for Serrano, who had thrown 96 pitches and was in line for the win. Reyes mowed down Bret Boone swinging, and then Scott Spiezio somehow bunted himself aboard, only to catch the front end of a Cabrera 4-6-3 double-play ball.
TOP 7TH -- decent inning
Madritsch, coming into the inning with 93 pitches thrown, allowed a Castillo leadoff single. Olivo flashed the arm once again, nailing Castillo trying to steal second. Madritsch took care of the rest, catching Gotay looking and getting Gomez to whiff once again.
BOTTOM 7TH -- ho, hum
Reyes mowed down Olivo, Ramon Santiago, and Ichiro (whiff) in order.
TOP 8TH -- 1-2-3
Madritsch ended his night with his easiest inning. DeJesus flew out, Relaford was caught looking, and Randa bounced out to third. Madritsch finished very strong on a night where it started off pretty grim. He left the game behind and on the hook for a loss if the Mariners failed to come up with any runs. His line: 8 innings, 3 runs, 7 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts, 115 pitches. Everyone hates walks, sure, but the career high in strikeouts was definitely a plus for Bobby tonight. What happened to Bobby's walks? One was erased on a double play, one was stranded, and one was caught stealing. Madritsch faced three batters in each inning except the 1st and 4th. Of course, only a couple of those 3-batter innings were 1-2-3, as many had runners getting nailed or double plays.
BOTTOM 8TH -- I hate this team
Randy Winn bounced a ball to Relaford at third, who made an errant throw to first. Winn stood at first and watched Raul Ibanez go down swinging after being ahead 3-0. With Bucky up, Winn apparently was picked off of first, but time had been called before the move was made, and everything was put back where it was. Play resumed, and the same damn thing happened. There goes your tying run, Bobby. Bucky whiffed to end the inning.
TOP 9TH -- decent inning
Against the Royals, things like a decent inning involving Shigetoshi Hasegawa are possible. Shig allowed only a two-out Berroa double in an otherwise nondescript inning.
BOTTOM 9TH -- minimal damage
Madritsch would thankfully be taken off the hook in the 9th. Boone led off with a double, and didn't try to take off for third this time like he did in the first game of the doubleheader. Boone pulled up a lawn chair while Bloomquist came through with a clutch whiff. Cabrera then doubled Boone home to tie the game at 3-3. Olivo was put on base (memories of two home runs the night before were etched in Tony Pena's mind). Edgar then flew out to short and Ichiro was caught looking.
TOP 10TH -- decent inning
More Hasegawa, more pins and needles. Still, Hasegawa did much like he did the inning before, only allowing one baserunner, but not having it get nito scoring position this time. Yes, 'twas a harmless one-out Guiel single.
BOTTOM 10TH -- come on, y'all
Jaime Cerda comes in and cuts through Winn, Ibanez, and Bucky in 1-2-3 fashion. Yes, kids, that's extra inning baseball.
TOP 11TH -- 1-2-3
Cha Seung Baek, recalled just hours before, became the pitcher of record, and cut through Randa/Stairs/Nunez with ease.
BOTTOM 11TH -- ho, hum
Bloomquist drew a one-out walk and moved to second on a two-out single by Olivo. Lopez whiffed to end the inning. The Mariners had been Cerda'd.
TOP 12TH -- decent inning
Baek allowed a one-out single to Castillo, who rolled out the Barcalounger and watched Gotay whiff and Guiel get caught looking.
BOTTOM 12TH -- some damage
Yes, it was Matt Kinney's turn to enter the game, you know, the guy that broke Justin Leone's fingers. Ichiro legged out an infield single. Winn got a hold of a 2-2 pitch and drove it out and down the line to rightfield (SEA 5-3). Ballgame.
Hey, the Mariners sweep a doubleheader. At least there's a tiny bit of something to cheer about. I was going to say Ichiro didn't do much, but it looks to me like he had a quiet 3-for-6 outing, which is quite good for him. When he got aboard in the 12th, he became the first Major League player to have three 50-hit months in his career. You definitely can't argue the Japanese League-against-MLB card for this record, this one's fair and square no matter how you look at it.
Gameball: Cha Seung Baek. He gets called up, pitches two pretty quick and painless innings, and he gets his first Major League win. 2 innings, no runs, 1 hit, no walks, 2 strikeouts, and 21 pitches for the Korean.
Goat: Bucky Jacobsen. 0-for-5 with two whiffs. Bucky got both sides of the fence today, with the big mash in the first game, and this 0-fer in the second game.
Gobble. Franklin. Tomorrow.
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Saturday, August 28, 2004
PATCHWORK
Bob Melvin flip-flopped the pitchers in today's doubleheader sometime last night without me knowing about it. This made Clint Nageotte the starter in the first game, matched up against Kansas City's Darrell May.
Nageotte wouldn't stay in this one for long, and a roster move was made after the game as a result.
Does anyone else out there get ticked off when Rick Rizzs and Ron Fairly add an "h" sound to the surname Berroa? These guys deal with at least twenty surnames every day they go to work. Is it too much to expect Berroa to not be pronounced as Berroja? Rico, Red, there's no J in that name. Also, I was one of those guys who'd get ticked off when John Mabry became "John Mayberry" to Ron Fairly. Grr.
Again, the spectrum...
Mariners on defense/pitching (bad to good)
massacre < terrible inning < some damage < fighting out of jam < decent inning < 1-2-3
Mariners on offense
I hate this team < come on, y'all < ho, hum < minimal damage < some damage < big inning
TOP 1ST -- terrible inning
Nageotte walked David DeJesus to start the game, and gave up a longball to Joe Randa two batters later (KC 2-0). Two groundouts on two pitches followed to end the inning, but walks are bad. Homers after the walks are bad, too.
BOTTOM 1ST -- come on, y'all
Ichiro, Randy Winn, and Edgar fall 1-2-3 to Darrell May. Yuck.
TOP 2ND -- terrible inning
Nageotte allowed singles to Calvin Pickering and Aaron Guiel to lead off the inning. John Buck bunted the runners over, and Angel Berroa drove them in with a single (KC 4-0). Hiram Bocachica one-hopped the backstop from centerfield with his throw to the plate. Once again, Nageotte would somehow end the inning with two groundouts on two pitches.
BOTTOM 2ND -- come on, y'all
Bret Boone hit a one-out double to left. With Dan Wilson at bat, Boone breaks for third on the first pitch. Keep in mind that the Mariners are down 4-0 at this point. Boone was meat at third, Wilson flew out. A quick end to something that had a chance to be a rally.
TOP 3RD -- fighting out of jam
With one out, Nageotte gave up a Matt Stairs single and walked Abe Nunez. A Pickering groundout to first moved the runners over, and Guiel bounced out to Boone to end the inning. Nageotte threw 20 pitches in the 3rd.
Clint Nageotte left the game after the 3rd inning with back spasms. How bad were they? It's probably debatable (bad spasms or excuse to make move?), but Nageotte was optioned to Tacoma, then placed on the 15-day disabled list. Cha Seung Baek was brought up in his place. Nageotte's line: 3 innings, 4 runs, 5 hits, 2 walks, no strikeouts, 49 pitches.
BOTTOM 3RD -- minimal damage
May fell behind 3-0 to Hiram Bocachica before giving up a single. Jose Lopez doubled to left, scoring Bocachica (KC 4-1), and moved to third on a bad throw by Guiel. Willie Bloomquist fouled off two pitches, looked at the third one, and then sat down. Ichiro bounced out to short, and Lopez scored (KC 4-2). Winn singled and Edgar whiffed.
TOP 4TH -- decent inning
Matt Thornton came into the game, bringing his trademark to the day's festivities: the three-ball count. All the hitters in the inning saw the three-ball count, though there were only three hitters. Berroa got on board thanks to a Lopez error, but was erased on the back end of a strike-'em-out-throw-'em-out double play (DeJesus the whiffer).
BOTTOM 4TH -- minimal damage
Bucky Jacobsen reached the leftfield bleachers with a smash (KC 4-3). Other than that, Boone walked and was erased on a Dan Wilson line-out double play. Hiram Bocachica walked and was picked off.
TOP 5TH -- fighting out of jam
Five Royals came to the plate in the inning, and Thornton went to three-ball counts on three of them. Randa and Stairs (who Thornton had 0-2) drew consecutive one-out walks, but Nunez and Pickering both flew out.
BOTTOM 5TH -- some damage
Bloomquist drew a one-out walk. Ichiro and Winn followed with shallow and/or hard-hit singles (the games weren't televised today). Edgar apparently hit an infield single, and Bloomquist scored to tie the game at 4-4. If I see Edgar hitting an infield single in the game logs with runners on, I've got to think that whoever fielded the ball threw late to a base other than first. Bucky then mashed a double to rightfield, scoring Ichiro and Winn to give the Mariners the lead (SEA 6-4). This chased Darrell May from the game, as he was replaced by the Reign Man, a.k.a. Shaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwn Camp! Yeah, it sounds slightly different, but I was just remembering when the Sonics were good. Memories indeed. Camp used five pitches to get Boone to bounce out and Wilson to whiff.
TOP 6TH -- 1-2-3
Thornton still managed to go to three balls on John Buck before getting him to whiff. This was Thornton's final inning. His line: 3 innings, no runs, no hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts. The high pitch count and the three-ball counts were a little unnerving, but it's a little less maddening when the K/BB ratio is 5/2. Or 2.5/1, for whoever wants it that way. The zero hits factor is also one of mitigation.
BOTTOM 6TH -- minimal damage
Bocachica fought back from 0-2 to draw a leadoff walk off Camp. Lopez singled on the next pitch, and Bloomquist bunted the runners over. Ichiro was walked. Winn bounced a ball to the pitcher, and was put out 1-3 as Bocachica scored (SEA 7-4). I can only hope that play wasn't like the catastrophic Matt Herges play from Atlanta the other night. Edgar bounced out to the pitcher to end the inning.
TOP 7TH -- terrible inning
George Sherrill came on, and had a little hiccup. DeJesus hit a leadoff single adn moved to second on a wild pitch to Desi Relaford, who would walk. Joe Randa grounded out to the right side, moving the runners over. Stairs doubled the other way, scoring the runners (SEA 7-6). Nunez flew out and Pickering bounced to second to end the threat.
BOTTOM 7TH -- minimal damage
Boone hit a one-out single and moved into scoring position thanks to a Camp balk. He moved to third on a Wilson flyout to rightfield. Bocachica bounced a ball to Berroa at short, be it was muffed. Boone crossed the plate for an insurance run (SEA 8-6). Lopez hit a ball to the pitcher to end the threat.
TOP 8TH -- fighting out of jam
It's only a jam because Scott Atchison walked Aaron Guiel to lead off the inning, and I still remember what Ken Levine said about the leadoff walk. Atchison then caught Buck looking, whiffed Berroa, and got DeJesus to line out to Bloomquist at third.
BOTTOM 8TH -- minimal damage
The Mariners tallied another insurance run on Camp. Bloomquist drew a leadoff walk and scored on a double by Winn two hitters later (SEA 9-6). Edgar walked on four pitches, but BUcky whiffed and Boone bounced into a fielder's choice.
TOP 9TH -- some damage
JJ Putz didn't weather a lot of damage, just a Desi Relaford leadoff smash (SEA 9-7). Randa doubled, but Putz got Stairs to whiff, got Nunez to line out to Ibanez, and got Pickering to whiff. Ballgame.
Well hey, whaddaya know? The Royals blew another 4-0 lead to the Mariners. I'll be damned.
Gameball: Hiram Bocachica. 1-for-2 with 2 walks, scoring twice. He got on base and scored twice, and quite frankly, that's way more than I expect out of someone who shouldn't even be on this roster. Yes, I'm playing the unsung card here, knowing full well that Bucky went 2-for-5 and drove in three, and that Randy Winn was 3-for-5 with a double and 2 RBI.
Goat: Dan Wilson. 0-for-4 with a strikeout, stranding four. Yeah, bruthah!!! Surely none of us expected Olivo to catch last night and then catch both ends of a doubleheader. That'd be nothing short of crazy, and quite possibly sadistic.
I've got to be honest; I didn't expect the Mariners to win this game, no way. But that's why it's the Royals they're facing. Anything is possible when the Royals come to town, at least nowadays. Three more homers today added to the nine from last night. Bucky's homer today was his 9th of the year, and the most by a Mariner rookie since Jose Cruz, Jr. hit 12 in 1997. Aw hell, let's have Bucky chase Junior Cruz in addition to Ichiro chasing Sisler, what the hell? Along that Ichiro line, he was 1-for-4 in this game, adding another hit to the tally, but sinking the average a bit. Yes, we can kiss .400 goodbye; it's all about Sisler now.
Even with three of the choppiest no-hit innings seen by mankind, it's time to congratulate Matt Thornton on his first Major League win. Congrats, buddy.
The next recap will commence its being typed up as soon as this second game ends. I'll just say I would have been ticked if Madritsch would have been tagged with the L after this game. Stuff may have been thrown.
[Edit Sun ~1:19a -- The Bugger reminds me in the comment box that Hiram had a wild throw to the backstop, something I completely neglected to factor into the gameball. That said, let's go with Bucky.]
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Nageotte wouldn't stay in this one for long, and a roster move was made after the game as a result.
Does anyone else out there get ticked off when Rick Rizzs and Ron Fairly add an "h" sound to the surname Berroa? These guys deal with at least twenty surnames every day they go to work. Is it too much to expect Berroa to not be pronounced as Berroja? Rico, Red, there's no J in that name. Also, I was one of those guys who'd get ticked off when John Mabry became "John Mayberry" to Ron Fairly. Grr.
Again, the spectrum...
Mariners on defense/pitching (bad to good)
massacre < terrible inning < some damage < fighting out of jam < decent inning < 1-2-3
Mariners on offense
I hate this team < come on, y'all < ho, hum < minimal damage < some damage < big inning
TOP 1ST -- terrible inning
Nageotte walked David DeJesus to start the game, and gave up a longball to Joe Randa two batters later (KC 2-0). Two groundouts on two pitches followed to end the inning, but walks are bad. Homers after the walks are bad, too.
BOTTOM 1ST -- come on, y'all
Ichiro, Randy Winn, and Edgar fall 1-2-3 to Darrell May. Yuck.
TOP 2ND -- terrible inning
Nageotte allowed singles to Calvin Pickering and Aaron Guiel to lead off the inning. John Buck bunted the runners over, and Angel Berroa drove them in with a single (KC 4-0). Hiram Bocachica one-hopped the backstop from centerfield with his throw to the plate. Once again, Nageotte would somehow end the inning with two groundouts on two pitches.
BOTTOM 2ND -- come on, y'all
Bret Boone hit a one-out double to left. With Dan Wilson at bat, Boone breaks for third on the first pitch. Keep in mind that the Mariners are down 4-0 at this point. Boone was meat at third, Wilson flew out. A quick end to something that had a chance to be a rally.
TOP 3RD -- fighting out of jam
With one out, Nageotte gave up a Matt Stairs single and walked Abe Nunez. A Pickering groundout to first moved the runners over, and Guiel bounced out to Boone to end the inning. Nageotte threw 20 pitches in the 3rd.
Clint Nageotte left the game after the 3rd inning with back spasms. How bad were they? It's probably debatable (bad spasms or excuse to make move?), but Nageotte was optioned to Tacoma, then placed on the 15-day disabled list. Cha Seung Baek was brought up in his place. Nageotte's line: 3 innings, 4 runs, 5 hits, 2 walks, no strikeouts, 49 pitches.
BOTTOM 3RD -- minimal damage
May fell behind 3-0 to Hiram Bocachica before giving up a single. Jose Lopez doubled to left, scoring Bocachica (KC 4-1), and moved to third on a bad throw by Guiel. Willie Bloomquist fouled off two pitches, looked at the third one, and then sat down. Ichiro bounced out to short, and Lopez scored (KC 4-2). Winn singled and Edgar whiffed.
TOP 4TH -- decent inning
Matt Thornton came into the game, bringing his trademark to the day's festivities: the three-ball count. All the hitters in the inning saw the three-ball count, though there were only three hitters. Berroa got on board thanks to a Lopez error, but was erased on the back end of a strike-'em-out-throw-'em-out double play (DeJesus the whiffer).
BOTTOM 4TH -- minimal damage
Bucky Jacobsen reached the leftfield bleachers with a smash (KC 4-3). Other than that, Boone walked and was erased on a Dan Wilson line-out double play. Hiram Bocachica walked and was picked off.
TOP 5TH -- fighting out of jam
Five Royals came to the plate in the inning, and Thornton went to three-ball counts on three of them. Randa and Stairs (who Thornton had 0-2) drew consecutive one-out walks, but Nunez and Pickering both flew out.
BOTTOM 5TH -- some damage
Bloomquist drew a one-out walk. Ichiro and Winn followed with shallow and/or hard-hit singles (the games weren't televised today). Edgar apparently hit an infield single, and Bloomquist scored to tie the game at 4-4. If I see Edgar hitting an infield single in the game logs with runners on, I've got to think that whoever fielded the ball threw late to a base other than first. Bucky then mashed a double to rightfield, scoring Ichiro and Winn to give the Mariners the lead (SEA 6-4). This chased Darrell May from the game, as he was replaced by the Reign Man, a.k.a. Shaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwn Camp! Yeah, it sounds slightly different, but I was just remembering when the Sonics were good. Memories indeed. Camp used five pitches to get Boone to bounce out and Wilson to whiff.
TOP 6TH -- 1-2-3
Thornton still managed to go to three balls on John Buck before getting him to whiff. This was Thornton's final inning. His line: 3 innings, no runs, no hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts. The high pitch count and the three-ball counts were a little unnerving, but it's a little less maddening when the K/BB ratio is 5/2. Or 2.5/1, for whoever wants it that way. The zero hits factor is also one of mitigation.
BOTTOM 6TH -- minimal damage
Bocachica fought back from 0-2 to draw a leadoff walk off Camp. Lopez singled on the next pitch, and Bloomquist bunted the runners over. Ichiro was walked. Winn bounced a ball to the pitcher, and was put out 1-3 as Bocachica scored (SEA 7-4). I can only hope that play wasn't like the catastrophic Matt Herges play from Atlanta the other night. Edgar bounced out to the pitcher to end the inning.
TOP 7TH -- terrible inning
George Sherrill came on, and had a little hiccup. DeJesus hit a leadoff single adn moved to second on a wild pitch to Desi Relaford, who would walk. Joe Randa grounded out to the right side, moving the runners over. Stairs doubled the other way, scoring the runners (SEA 7-6). Nunez flew out and Pickering bounced to second to end the threat.
BOTTOM 7TH -- minimal damage
Boone hit a one-out single and moved into scoring position thanks to a Camp balk. He moved to third on a Wilson flyout to rightfield. Bocachica bounced a ball to Berroa at short, be it was muffed. Boone crossed the plate for an insurance run (SEA 8-6). Lopez hit a ball to the pitcher to end the threat.
TOP 8TH -- fighting out of jam
It's only a jam because Scott Atchison walked Aaron Guiel to lead off the inning, and I still remember what Ken Levine said about the leadoff walk. Atchison then caught Buck looking, whiffed Berroa, and got DeJesus to line out to Bloomquist at third.
BOTTOM 8TH -- minimal damage
The Mariners tallied another insurance run on Camp. Bloomquist drew a leadoff walk and scored on a double by Winn two hitters later (SEA 9-6). Edgar walked on four pitches, but BUcky whiffed and Boone bounced into a fielder's choice.
TOP 9TH -- some damage
JJ Putz didn't weather a lot of damage, just a Desi Relaford leadoff smash (SEA 9-7). Randa doubled, but Putz got Stairs to whiff, got Nunez to line out to Ibanez, and got Pickering to whiff. Ballgame.
Well hey, whaddaya know? The Royals blew another 4-0 lead to the Mariners. I'll be damned.
Gameball: Hiram Bocachica. 1-for-2 with 2 walks, scoring twice. He got on base and scored twice, and quite frankly, that's way more than I expect out of someone who shouldn't even be on this roster. Yes, I'm playing the unsung card here, knowing full well that Bucky went 2-for-5 and drove in three, and that Randy Winn was 3-for-5 with a double and 2 RBI.
Goat: Dan Wilson. 0-for-4 with a strikeout, stranding four. Yeah, bruthah!!! Surely none of us expected Olivo to catch last night and then catch both ends of a doubleheader. That'd be nothing short of crazy, and quite possibly sadistic.
I've got to be honest; I didn't expect the Mariners to win this game, no way. But that's why it's the Royals they're facing. Anything is possible when the Royals come to town, at least nowadays. Three more homers today added to the nine from last night. Bucky's homer today was his 9th of the year, and the most by a Mariner rookie since Jose Cruz, Jr. hit 12 in 1997. Aw hell, let's have Bucky chase Junior Cruz in addition to Ichiro chasing Sisler, what the hell? Along that Ichiro line, he was 1-for-4 in this game, adding another hit to the tally, but sinking the average a bit. Yes, we can kiss .400 goodbye; it's all about Sisler now.
Even with three of the choppiest no-hit innings seen by mankind, it's time to congratulate Matt Thornton on his first Major League win. Congrats, buddy.
The next recap will commence its being typed up as soon as this second game ends. I'll just say I would have been ticked if Madritsch would have been tagged with the L after this game. Stuff may have been thrown.
[Edit Sun ~1:19a -- The Bugger reminds me in the comment box that Hiram had a wild throw to the backstop, something I completely neglected to factor into the gameball. That said, let's go with Bucky.]
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WORLD CUP OF HOCKEY GUIDE
The 2004 World Cup of Hockey begins on Monday. All 19 games will be televised by CBC, while ESPN and ESPN 2 will televise all but 4 of the games (programming conflict with college football).
Here's the programming schedule for all 19 games, CBC, ESPN, and ESPN 2:
MON AUG 30
Czech Republic vs Finland (Helsinki) 10 a.m. Pacfic/Noon Central (ESPN)
TUE AUG 31
Germany vs Sweden (Stockholm) 10 a.m. Pacific/Noon Central (ESPN)
United States vs Canada (Montreal) 4 p.m. Pacific/6 p.m. Central (ESPN 2)
WED SEPT 1
Czech Republic vs Sweden (Stockholm) 10 a.m. Pacific/Noon Central (ESPN)
Slovakia vs Canada (Montreal) 4 p.m. Pacific/6 p.m. Central (ESPN 2)
THU SEPT 2
Finland vs Germany (Cologne) 10:30 a.m. Pacific/12:30 p.m. Central (ESPN 2)
Russia vs United States (St. Paul) 4 p.m. Pacific/6 p.m. Central (ESPN 2)
FRI SEPT 3
Germany vs Czech Republic (Prague) 10 a.m. Pacific/Noon Central (ESPN)
Slovakia vs United States (St. Paul) 4 p.m. Pacific/6 p.m. Central (ESPN 2)
SAT SEPT 4
Sweden vs Finland (Helsinki) 5 p.m. Pacific/7 p.m. Central (no ESPN/ESPN 2)
Russia vs Canada (Toronto) 4 p.m. Pacific/6 p.m. Central (no ESPN/ESPN 2)
SUN SEPT 5
Slovakia vs Russia (Toronto) 4 p.m. Pacific/6 p.m. Central (no ESPN/ESPN 2)
MON SEPT 6 -- WED SEPT 8
Quarterfinals
FRI SEPT 10 -- SAT SEPT 11
Semifinals
TUE SEPT 14
Championship Game
European Division
Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Sweden
North American Division
Canada, Russia, Slovakia, United States
World Cup rosters
The U.S. won the last World Cup of Hockey in 1996. Mike Richter was the tournament MVP. The tournament was known as the Canada Cup from 1976 to 1991. I remember the 1991 Canada Cup very well, almost like it was yesterday. Hockey was just fun as hell back in the early 90s for me. You know, before the New Jersey Devils decided to ruin most of the fun with their f**king trap.
These could be the last hockey games we will see for a while if the NHL owners and players don't get their act together. The CBA expires on September 15, just one day after the World Cup championship game.
I hate to end this post like that, but that's reality, folks. We love hockey here at Sports and Bremertonians. We want the NHL in 2004-2005. Not just a shortened schedule, we want a full regular season schedule. I'm still optimistic about the current labor situation being settled. But who knows what's going to happen.
Enjoy the World Cup of Hockey.
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Here's the programming schedule for all 19 games, CBC, ESPN, and ESPN 2:
MON AUG 30
Czech Republic vs Finland (Helsinki) 10 a.m. Pacfic/Noon Central (ESPN)
TUE AUG 31
Germany vs Sweden (Stockholm) 10 a.m. Pacific/Noon Central (ESPN)
United States vs Canada (Montreal) 4 p.m. Pacific/6 p.m. Central (ESPN 2)
WED SEPT 1
Czech Republic vs Sweden (Stockholm) 10 a.m. Pacific/Noon Central (ESPN)
Slovakia vs Canada (Montreal) 4 p.m. Pacific/6 p.m. Central (ESPN 2)
THU SEPT 2
Finland vs Germany (Cologne) 10:30 a.m. Pacific/12:30 p.m. Central (ESPN 2)
Russia vs United States (St. Paul) 4 p.m. Pacific/6 p.m. Central (ESPN 2)
FRI SEPT 3
Germany vs Czech Republic (Prague) 10 a.m. Pacific/Noon Central (ESPN)
Slovakia vs United States (St. Paul) 4 p.m. Pacific/6 p.m. Central (ESPN 2)
SAT SEPT 4
Sweden vs Finland (Helsinki) 5 p.m. Pacific/7 p.m. Central (no ESPN/ESPN 2)
Russia vs Canada (Toronto) 4 p.m. Pacific/6 p.m. Central (no ESPN/ESPN 2)
SUN SEPT 5
Slovakia vs Russia (Toronto) 4 p.m. Pacific/6 p.m. Central (no ESPN/ESPN 2)
MON SEPT 6 -- WED SEPT 8
Quarterfinals
FRI SEPT 10 -- SAT SEPT 11
Semifinals
TUE SEPT 14
Championship Game
European Division
Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Sweden
North American Division
Canada, Russia, Slovakia, United States
World Cup rosters
The U.S. won the last World Cup of Hockey in 1996. Mike Richter was the tournament MVP. The tournament was known as the Canada Cup from 1976 to 1991. I remember the 1991 Canada Cup very well, almost like it was yesterday. Hockey was just fun as hell back in the early 90s for me. You know, before the New Jersey Devils decided to ruin most of the fun with their f**king trap.
These could be the last hockey games we will see for a while if the NHL owners and players don't get their act together. The CBA expires on September 15, just one day after the World Cup championship game.
I hate to end this post like that, but that's reality, folks. We love hockey here at Sports and Bremertonians. We want the NHL in 2004-2005. Not just a shortened schedule, we want a full regular season schedule. I'm still optimistic about the current labor situation being settled. But who knows what's going to happen.
Enjoy the World Cup of Hockey.
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LAUNCHPAD MCQUACK
Oh my goodness, this game got way out of hand.
But first, a complete aside. Has anyone realized that Gaard Swanson hosts the Tulalip Casino Night show on KIRO? Is CBS ticked that whatever network show that goes to all affiliates at 10pm on Friday isn't being shown in Seattle because of Gaard's hijinks? Possibly the most hilarious moment of the show was when they showed the leaderboard and the Pair of Queens team was last out of 11 teams. Knowing that the Pair of Queens team did not consist of two females (in fact, it was the complete opposite), Gaard may have slipped the tongue-in-cheek line about the Pair of Queens "bringing up the rear" in the competition (can he say that?). I guess the only thing more hilarious than that was after the end credits, when a logo with crossed swords was labeled with "On Gaard Productions." Hilarious. So finishes the complete aside for the night.
Gil Meche wasn't quite the Gil Meche that we've seen in his previous few starts. The Mariner bats were quite different on this night, to say the least.
Once again, the scale...
Mariners on pitching/defense (bad to good): massacre < terrible inning < some damage < fighting out of jam < decent inning < 1-2-3
Mariners on offense: I hate this team < come on, y'all < ho, hum < minimal damage < some damage < big inning
TOP 1ST -- 1-2-3
BOTTOM 1ST -- come on, y'all
Ichiro led off with his 201st hit, a single the other way. Jolbert Cabrera followed with a single of his own. Raul Ibanez singled into leftfield, and Ichiro took off for home. Aaron Guiel had a good beat on the ball, and Ichiro was meat at the plate. Bucky Jacobsen lined the second pitch right to shortstop Angel Berroa, who had more than enough time to double off Cabrera at second.
TOP 2ND -- 1-2-3
BOTTOM 2ND -- ho, hum
Scott Spiezio dinks a one-out single into rightfield, and watches the rest of the inning at first base.
TOP 3RD -- some damage
Gil Meche got Guiel to whiff. Backup catcher Alberto Castillo hit a double to centerfield (he wasn't done for the night). Ruben Gotay singled to put runners on the corners. David DeJesus hit a ball to the right side that Spiezio fielded. Or at least he tried to do so. He bobbled the ball, and when he recovered, he threw to second even though Gotay had pretty much reached the base safely about a millisecond after the ball left Spiezio's hand. All the while Spiezio could have had at least one out at first, depending on whether anyone was covering. In sum, Castillo scored on a play that should have been an inning-ending double play (KC 1-0). Still, Meche didn't let this get to him, getting a groundout from Berroa and a flyout from Joe Randa.
BOTTOM 3RD -- ho, hum
Hiram Bocachica, Ichiro, and Cabrera went away 1-2-3.
TOP 4TH -- 1-2-3
BOTTOM 4TH -- ho, hum
Ibanez, Bucky, and Bret Boone went away 1-2-3.
TOP 5TH -- terrible inning
Meche allowed a one-out homer to Castillo (2-for-4 on the night, KC 2-0). Meche walked Gotay and then yielded a gopherball to David DeJesus (KC 4-0). Homers will happen, but the walks don't have to. Granted, Meche has kept the walks way down over his last handful of outings. Meche would sandwich a Randa double inbetween a couple of outs in the remainder of the inning. And remember, there's that trademark Meche tendency to have one really crappy inning per start, even when he's on. This one was it.
BOTTOM 5TH -- some damage
It's only some damage, but the way they did it was certainly unexpected, and the victim was Zack Greinke. With one out, Miguel Olivo, Jose Lopez, and Bocachica (opposite field) all homered. Consecutively (KC 4-3). That's some punch out of the bottom of the lineup. Holy crap. Ichiro then bounced out, Cabrera singled, Ibanez doubled him to third, and Bucky was caught looking.
TOP 6TH -- fighting out of jam
A Calvin Pickering double-play ball erased the leadoff walk (Abe Nunez) from the basepaths. Guiel doubled, but was stranded. Meche would not return, as his pitch count was insane and almost TTF-esque at this point, except he gave up a couple less runs. A good portion of Meche's pitches were thrown in the 3rd (35 pitches), as well as in a 10-pitch Gotay walk, and Matt Stairs' at-bats of 8 and 9 pitches in the 3rd and 5th, respectively. Meche's line: 6 innings, 4 runs, 6 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, 122 pitches. Meche yielded two homers, but along with Ryan Franklin and Jamie Moyer, he's not the only one giving up the longball on this staff. Longballs are contagious.
BOTTOM 6TH -- minimal damage
Nothing happened here except that Olivo mashed another ball that hit somewhere near the staircase above the bullpen to tie the score at 4-4. This was Olivo's first career multihomer game.
I think Olivo seems to have this knack where he'll not block a few balls behind the plate (okay, that's all the time), hang up a couple of 0-for-4s, maybe a 1-for-3 now and then, and then he'll bust out every 8 or 10 games with a game like tonight's game, where he drives in a couple of runs or hits a key home run. I'm not sure whether the time interval is accurate or whether it's below or above normal, but it's well above Dan Wilson standards. Bill Krueger mentioned something on FSNNW about Olivo facing Rene Lachemann and the JUGS machine next spring training, and if he gets through that all right, then Olivo might be a bright spot for next year. A catcher that can hit? It's been a while since we've seen that. It's been a while since we've seen a catcher with an arm also. But enough of this Olivo praise, let's get on with the 'cap.
TOP 7TH -- fighting out of jam
Small jam. Scott Atchison managed to keep a zero on the board despite giving up a one-out DeJesus double. Berroa hit a grounder to Atchison, and DeJesus was hot-boxed between second and third. Atchison then got Randa to whiff.
BOTTOM 7TH -- ho, hum
Ichiro gets hit number 202 on a drag bunt along the first base line, then gets doubled off on a hard Cabrera grounder to short.
TOP 8TH -- some damage
George Sherrill came in and left a pitch way too high in the zone to Nunez (who had quite a night in the first game of the series), who smashed the ball out to leftfield (KC 5-4).
BOTTOM 8TH -- some damage
George Sherrill was now on the hook for the loss, which he seemed destined for, given the Mariners' usual fate. Ibanez legged out an infield single, but Bucky bounced into a fielder's choice. Then Boone got a hold of a DJ Carrasco pitch and drove it out to give the Mariners the lead (SEA 6-5). Hell, even Spiezio got into the act, getting a low pitch he liked and driving it out to rightcenter (SEA 7-5). This was Scott's first RBI since July 20th (Boston) and his first homer since July 6th (at Toronto). I was out in the sticks of Oregon for those Spiezio milestones. But hey, this display of "clutch" tonight probably bought him the starting third baseman's job for next year.
TOP 9TH -- decent inning
George Sherrill was still the pitcher of record, but now was in line for the win. JJ Putz allowed only a one-out single, but then got a double-play ball to end it.
Nine homers tonight, six by the Mariners. On this day, Safeco Field was Coors Light. Does anyone want to bet on a 3-week homer drought for the Mariner offense? Also, the sixth through ninth hitters (Spiezio/Olivo/Lopez/Bocachica) were 6-for-15 tonight with five homers and five RBI.
Gameball: Scott Spiezio. 2-for-4 with a homer and an RBI. I can't remember the last time he got a gameball from this outlet. I just wanted the chance to say something good about this guy even though I know he muffed that double-play ball and a run scored on the play.
Goat: Bucky Jacobsen. 0-for-4 with one strikeout, stranding five. Luckily most people will be focused on the feats of the others in the lineup tonight. I've said on occasion that he's going to have nights like this, but we can probably just wait a couple days and then see him go nuts and bash a couple out of the ballyard and whatnot.
May. Nageotte. About twelve hours.
Serrano. Madritsch. After that.
[Edit ~12:44a -- If you saw the blank spaces for some Spiezio-related stuff, it's because I hadn't pulled up his game log before I went offline to type this post.]
[Edit 2:09p -- Yeah, the flipping of the Mariner starters flew right under my nose. I didn't realize it until I started listening to the first game.]
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But first, a complete aside. Has anyone realized that Gaard Swanson hosts the Tulalip Casino Night show on KIRO? Is CBS ticked that whatever network show that goes to all affiliates at 10pm on Friday isn't being shown in Seattle because of Gaard's hijinks? Possibly the most hilarious moment of the show was when they showed the leaderboard and the Pair of Queens team was last out of 11 teams. Knowing that the Pair of Queens team did not consist of two females (in fact, it was the complete opposite), Gaard may have slipped the tongue-in-cheek line about the Pair of Queens "bringing up the rear" in the competition (can he say that?). I guess the only thing more hilarious than that was after the end credits, when a logo with crossed swords was labeled with "On Gaard Productions." Hilarious. So finishes the complete aside for the night.
Gil Meche wasn't quite the Gil Meche that we've seen in his previous few starts. The Mariner bats were quite different on this night, to say the least.
Once again, the scale...
Mariners on pitching/defense (bad to good): massacre < terrible inning < some damage < fighting out of jam < decent inning < 1-2-3
Mariners on offense: I hate this team < come on, y'all < ho, hum < minimal damage < some damage < big inning
TOP 1ST -- 1-2-3
BOTTOM 1ST -- come on, y'all
Ichiro led off with his 201st hit, a single the other way. Jolbert Cabrera followed with a single of his own. Raul Ibanez singled into leftfield, and Ichiro took off for home. Aaron Guiel had a good beat on the ball, and Ichiro was meat at the plate. Bucky Jacobsen lined the second pitch right to shortstop Angel Berroa, who had more than enough time to double off Cabrera at second.
TOP 2ND -- 1-2-3
BOTTOM 2ND -- ho, hum
Scott Spiezio dinks a one-out single into rightfield, and watches the rest of the inning at first base.
TOP 3RD -- some damage
Gil Meche got Guiel to whiff. Backup catcher Alberto Castillo hit a double to centerfield (he wasn't done for the night). Ruben Gotay singled to put runners on the corners. David DeJesus hit a ball to the right side that Spiezio fielded. Or at least he tried to do so. He bobbled the ball, and when he recovered, he threw to second even though Gotay had pretty much reached the base safely about a millisecond after the ball left Spiezio's hand. All the while Spiezio could have had at least one out at first, depending on whether anyone was covering. In sum, Castillo scored on a play that should have been an inning-ending double play (KC 1-0). Still, Meche didn't let this get to him, getting a groundout from Berroa and a flyout from Joe Randa.
BOTTOM 3RD -- ho, hum
Hiram Bocachica, Ichiro, and Cabrera went away 1-2-3.
TOP 4TH -- 1-2-3
BOTTOM 4TH -- ho, hum
Ibanez, Bucky, and Bret Boone went away 1-2-3.
TOP 5TH -- terrible inning
Meche allowed a one-out homer to Castillo (2-for-4 on the night, KC 2-0). Meche walked Gotay and then yielded a gopherball to David DeJesus (KC 4-0). Homers will happen, but the walks don't have to. Granted, Meche has kept the walks way down over his last handful of outings. Meche would sandwich a Randa double inbetween a couple of outs in the remainder of the inning. And remember, there's that trademark Meche tendency to have one really crappy inning per start, even when he's on. This one was it.
BOTTOM 5TH -- some damage
It's only some damage, but the way they did it was certainly unexpected, and the victim was Zack Greinke. With one out, Miguel Olivo, Jose Lopez, and Bocachica (opposite field) all homered. Consecutively (KC 4-3). That's some punch out of the bottom of the lineup. Holy crap. Ichiro then bounced out, Cabrera singled, Ibanez doubled him to third, and Bucky was caught looking.
TOP 6TH -- fighting out of jam
A Calvin Pickering double-play ball erased the leadoff walk (Abe Nunez) from the basepaths. Guiel doubled, but was stranded. Meche would not return, as his pitch count was insane and almost TTF-esque at this point, except he gave up a couple less runs. A good portion of Meche's pitches were thrown in the 3rd (35 pitches), as well as in a 10-pitch Gotay walk, and Matt Stairs' at-bats of 8 and 9 pitches in the 3rd and 5th, respectively. Meche's line: 6 innings, 4 runs, 6 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, 122 pitches. Meche yielded two homers, but along with Ryan Franklin and Jamie Moyer, he's not the only one giving up the longball on this staff. Longballs are contagious.
BOTTOM 6TH -- minimal damage
Nothing happened here except that Olivo mashed another ball that hit somewhere near the staircase above the bullpen to tie the score at 4-4. This was Olivo's first career multihomer game.
I think Olivo seems to have this knack where he'll not block a few balls behind the plate (okay, that's all the time), hang up a couple of 0-for-4s, maybe a 1-for-3 now and then, and then he'll bust out every 8 or 10 games with a game like tonight's game, where he drives in a couple of runs or hits a key home run. I'm not sure whether the time interval is accurate or whether it's below or above normal, but it's well above Dan Wilson standards. Bill Krueger mentioned something on FSNNW about Olivo facing Rene Lachemann and the JUGS machine next spring training, and if he gets through that all right, then Olivo might be a bright spot for next year. A catcher that can hit? It's been a while since we've seen that. It's been a while since we've seen a catcher with an arm also. But enough of this Olivo praise, let's get on with the 'cap.
TOP 7TH -- fighting out of jam
Small jam. Scott Atchison managed to keep a zero on the board despite giving up a one-out DeJesus double. Berroa hit a grounder to Atchison, and DeJesus was hot-boxed between second and third. Atchison then got Randa to whiff.
BOTTOM 7TH -- ho, hum
Ichiro gets hit number 202 on a drag bunt along the first base line, then gets doubled off on a hard Cabrera grounder to short.
TOP 8TH -- some damage
George Sherrill came in and left a pitch way too high in the zone to Nunez (who had quite a night in the first game of the series), who smashed the ball out to leftfield (KC 5-4).
BOTTOM 8TH -- some damage
George Sherrill was now on the hook for the loss, which he seemed destined for, given the Mariners' usual fate. Ibanez legged out an infield single, but Bucky bounced into a fielder's choice. Then Boone got a hold of a DJ Carrasco pitch and drove it out to give the Mariners the lead (SEA 6-5). Hell, even Spiezio got into the act, getting a low pitch he liked and driving it out to rightcenter (SEA 7-5). This was Scott's first RBI since July 20th (Boston) and his first homer since July 6th (at Toronto). I was out in the sticks of Oregon for those Spiezio milestones. But hey, this display of "clutch" tonight probably bought him the starting third baseman's job for next year.
TOP 9TH -- decent inning
George Sherrill was still the pitcher of record, but now was in line for the win. JJ Putz allowed only a one-out single, but then got a double-play ball to end it.
Nine homers tonight, six by the Mariners. On this day, Safeco Field was Coors Light. Does anyone want to bet on a 3-week homer drought for the Mariner offense? Also, the sixth through ninth hitters (Spiezio/Olivo/Lopez/Bocachica) were 6-for-15 tonight with five homers and five RBI.
Gameball: Scott Spiezio. 2-for-4 with a homer and an RBI. I can't remember the last time he got a gameball from this outlet. I just wanted the chance to say something good about this guy even though I know he muffed that double-play ball and a run scored on the play.
Goat: Bucky Jacobsen. 0-for-4 with one strikeout, stranding five. Luckily most people will be focused on the feats of the others in the lineup tonight. I've said on occasion that he's going to have nights like this, but we can probably just wait a couple days and then see him go nuts and bash a couple out of the ballyard and whatnot.
May. Nageotte. About twelve hours.
Serrano. Madritsch. After that.
[Edit ~12:44a -- If you saw the blank spaces for some Spiezio-related stuff, it's because I hadn't pulled up his game log before I went offline to type this post.]
[Edit 2:09p -- Yeah, the flipping of the Mariner starters flew right under my nose. I didn't realize it until I started listening to the first game.]
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Friday, August 27, 2004
AWESOME!
Even though the Americans lost to Argentina today in men's basketball, it's still been a good day in Athens. At least David and I think so, anyway.
Not only did Marion Jones not medal in the long jump, but she caused the 4x100 relay team to be disqualified. She screwed up the baton pass to Lauren Williams, disqualifying the U.S.
Granted, she has not been found guilty of the whole BALCO deal yet. But at the same time, I've never liked her at all. She's too f**king arrogrant. She and Lisa Leslie would be perfect for each other.
I'm still rolling over the time when David Locke called Leslie a bitch on KJR. Funny as hell, that's what that was.
So yeah, I'm downright giddy about Marion Jones not doing jack in Athens. Way to go, Tar Heel!
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Not only did Marion Jones not medal in the long jump, but she caused the 4x100 relay team to be disqualified. She screwed up the baton pass to Lauren Williams, disqualifying the U.S.
Granted, she has not been found guilty of the whole BALCO deal yet. But at the same time, I've never liked her at all. She's too f**king arrogrant. She and Lisa Leslie would be perfect for each other.
I'm still rolling over the time when David Locke called Leslie a bitch on KJR. Funny as hell, that's what that was.
So yeah, I'm downright giddy about Marion Jones not doing jack in Athens. Way to go, Tar Heel!
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'HAWKS--BOLTS AT THE HALF
By far, tonight has been the Seahawks best performance of the preseason.
On the first play of the game, Drew Brees gets picked off by Ken Lucas who runs it back for a touchdown. However, his TD was called back by a 'Hawks penalty. Big deal, the 'Hawks go on a 3-play, 15 yard drive, capped off by a Darrell Jackson touchdown. 7-0 'Hawks.
On their 2nd drive, the 'Hawks go 65 yards on 12 plays, with Josh Brown kicking a 52-yard field goal to make it 10-0. Brown has a big leg. See last October's Green Bay game.
The 'Hawks 3rd drive is stalled when Shaun Alexander is stopped for no gain on 4th down in the red zone.
Philip Rivers made his preseason debut for the Chargers in the 2nd quarter, and on his first play, throws a 38-yard pass to Josh Norman. Rivers leads the Bolts on a 9-play, 70-yard drive before MacKenzie Hoambrecker's 39-yard field goal is blocked by Anthony Simmons. Simmons runs it back for 67 yards, touchdown Seahawks. 17-0 'Hawks.
Late in the 2nd quarter, Marcus Trufant intercepts Rivers. Shaun Alexander runs for a 13-yard touchdown to make it 23-0. Brown's extra point is blocked, so it's 23-0 'Hawks. As long as there's no extra point blocks in the regular season, that's fine by me.
And that's where I'll leave it.
How did the starters do? Well, no key guys have gotten hurt. That's a good sign.
Matt Hasselbeck -- 16-of-24, 167 yards, 1 TD
Shaun Alexander -- 12 att, 48 yards, 1 TD, 2 rec, 33 yards (81 total yards)
Darrell Jackson -- 1 rec, 1 TD
Koren Robinson -- 5 rec, 59 yards
Jerramy Stevens -- 2 rec, 18 yards
Anthony Simmons -- 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TD
Ken Lucas -- 1 INT
Marcus Trufant -- 1 INT
Philip Rivers was 4-of-11 for 74 yards and 2 INTs. Granted, he has gotten into camp late. But I for one would not be shocked to see him start early in the season. Maybe not Week 1, but by Week 5, he could be the starter. We'll see though.
Well, the first team is still in. I had read that Mike Holmgrean was going to do this tonight. I may decide to update this post later with the 3rd quarter stats, but I doubt it.
Enjoy the weekend, folks.
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On the first play of the game, Drew Brees gets picked off by Ken Lucas who runs it back for a touchdown. However, his TD was called back by a 'Hawks penalty. Big deal, the 'Hawks go on a 3-play, 15 yard drive, capped off by a Darrell Jackson touchdown. 7-0 'Hawks.
On their 2nd drive, the 'Hawks go 65 yards on 12 plays, with Josh Brown kicking a 52-yard field goal to make it 10-0. Brown has a big leg. See last October's Green Bay game.
The 'Hawks 3rd drive is stalled when Shaun Alexander is stopped for no gain on 4th down in the red zone.
Philip Rivers made his preseason debut for the Chargers in the 2nd quarter, and on his first play, throws a 38-yard pass to Josh Norman. Rivers leads the Bolts on a 9-play, 70-yard drive before MacKenzie Hoambrecker's 39-yard field goal is blocked by Anthony Simmons. Simmons runs it back for 67 yards, touchdown Seahawks. 17-0 'Hawks.
Late in the 2nd quarter, Marcus Trufant intercepts Rivers. Shaun Alexander runs for a 13-yard touchdown to make it 23-0. Brown's extra point is blocked, so it's 23-0 'Hawks. As long as there's no extra point blocks in the regular season, that's fine by me.
And that's where I'll leave it.
How did the starters do? Well, no key guys have gotten hurt. That's a good sign.
Matt Hasselbeck -- 16-of-24, 167 yards, 1 TD
Shaun Alexander -- 12 att, 48 yards, 1 TD, 2 rec, 33 yards (81 total yards)
Darrell Jackson -- 1 rec, 1 TD
Koren Robinson -- 5 rec, 59 yards
Jerramy Stevens -- 2 rec, 18 yards
Anthony Simmons -- 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TD
Ken Lucas -- 1 INT
Marcus Trufant -- 1 INT
Philip Rivers was 4-of-11 for 74 yards and 2 INTs. Granted, he has gotten into camp late. But I for one would not be shocked to see him start early in the season. Maybe not Week 1, but by Week 5, he could be the starter. We'll see though.
Well, the first team is still in. I had read that Mike Holmgrean was going to do this tonight. I may decide to update this post later with the 3rd quarter stats, but I doubt it.
Enjoy the weekend, folks.
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JOE TABLE
Rotoworld is reporting that the Giants have claimed Pirates closer Jose Mesa off waivers.
However, Mesa has said he'll go home instead of reporting to a new team:
"I don't mind and I don't care because I am not going to the Giants," he said. "I already made up my mind a long time ago. I'm not going nowhere. If they trade me, whatever team picks me up is in trouble because I'll go home."
Maybe it's better that he doesn't report to a contender. Game 7 of the 1997 World Series ring a bell? Screw Mesa. He's an a**hole who ruined Safeco Field's opening night.
Seahawks-Chargers first half recap coming up in a few minutes...
WHAAAAAAT?
The Mariners had back-to-back-to-back home runs? Test them!
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However, Mesa has said he'll go home instead of reporting to a new team:
"I don't mind and I don't care because I am not going to the Giants," he said. "I already made up my mind a long time ago. I'm not going nowhere. If they trade me, whatever team picks me up is in trouble because I'll go home."
Maybe it's better that he doesn't report to a contender. Game 7 of the 1997 World Series ring a bell? Screw Mesa. He's an a**hole who ruined Safeco Field's opening night.
Seahawks-Chargers first half recap coming up in a few minutes...
WHAAAAAAT?
The Mariners had back-to-back-to-back home runs? Test them!
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2004 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW
This year, I'm going to do something different for my college football preview.
Instead of doing a preview on every conference and its teams, I will give you my 2004-2005 bowl game projections. When December rolls around, you could look back to this post and see which bowl projections I got right.
Anyways, here it goes (bowls listed from the New Orleans Bowl to the Orange Bowl)
NEW ORLEANS BOWL (Sun Belt #1 vs Conference USA)
North Texas vs Houston
TANGERINE BOWL (ACC #4/5 vs Big 12 #7)
Virginia Tech vs Texas A&M;
GMAC BOWL (Conference USA #2 vs at-large/MAC)
TCU vs Boise State
LAS VEGAS BOWL (Pac-10 #5 vs Mountain West #2)
Oregon vs San Diego State
FORT WORTH BOWL (Conference USA #4 vs at-large/Big 12 #8)
Southern Mississippi vs Fresno State
HAWAII BOWL (Conference USA #3 vs WAC)
Memphis vs Hawaii
MOTOR CITY BOWL (MAC vs Big Ten #7)
Toledo vs Michigan State
MPC COMPUTERS BOWL (HumBowl) (WAC vs ACC #6)
UTEP vs North Carolina State
INDEPENDENCE BOWL (Big 12 #5 or #6 vs SEC)
Oklahoma State vs South Carolina
INSIGHT.COM BOWL (Pac-10 #4 vs Big East #2 or #3)
Oregon State vs Connecticut
HOUSTON BOWL (Big 12 #5 or #6 vs SEC)
Nebraska vs Arkansas
ALAMO BOWL (Big 12 #4 vs Big Ten #4)
Kansas State vs Purdue
SILICON VALLEY BOWL (Pac-10 #7 vs WAC #3)
Arizona State vs Tulsa
HOLIDAY BOWL (Pac-10 #2 vs Big 12 #3)
California vs Texas
EMERALD BOWL (Pac-10 #6 vs Mountain West #3)
Washington vs New Mexico
CONTINENTAL TIRE BOWL (ACC #5 vs Big East #3 or #4)
Georgia Tech vs Pittsburgh
PEACH BOWL (ACC vs SEC)
Maryland vs Alabama
LIBERTY BOWL (Conference USA #1 vs Mountain West #1)
Louisville vs Utah
SUN BOWL (Pac-10 #3 vs Big Ten #5)
Washington State vs Iowa
MUSIC CITY BOWL (SEC #6 or #7 vs Big Ten #6)
Mississippi State vs Penn State
CAPITAL ONE BOWL (SEC vs Big Ten #2)
Tennessee vs Minnesota
GATOR BOWL (ACC #2 vs Big East #2)
Clemson vs West Virginia
OUTBACK BOWL (SEC vs Big Ten #3)
Auburn vs Ohio State
COTTON BOWL (SEC vs Big 12 #2)
Florida vs Missouri
ROSE BOWL (BCS vs BCS)
Michigan vs LSU
FIESTA BOWL (BCS vs BCS)
Miami vs Oklahoma
SUGAR BOWL (BCS vs BCS)
Boston College vs Florida State
ORANGE BOWL (BCS #1 vs BCS #2)
USC vs Georgia
--- --- --- --- ---
To sum it all up:
USC -- Pac-10 Champions
Georgia -- SEC Champions
Oklahoma -- Big 12 Champions
Miami -- ACC Champions
Michigan -- Big 10 Champions
Boston College -- Big East Champions
Florida State and LSU -- BCS at-large teams
Texas-El Paso, otherwise known as UTEP, will go bowling this year, to Boise for the MPC Computers Bowl (it is the Humanitarian Bowl). Mike Price will show the college football world how good of a coach he really is this year in El Paso. Remember, he turned around a mediocre Washington State program. I think he can turn around the Miners' fortunes as well.
The Houston Bowl could be the most underrated matchup of the bowl season. Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt was very close to accepting the Nebraska job this past January. He decided to stay in Fayetteville, accepting a new long-term contract. Not a lot of people are expecting the Razorbacks to do much in 2004. But they have Matt Jones at quarterback. He's good for a few wins alone. And watch out for freshman running back Peyton Hillis. The guy is 6'2", 240 and is a beast. SEC defenders, look out.
West Virginia is the most overrated team in the country, book it. And the Big East has no business having a BCS automatic berth.
Mississippi State will go to a bowl game this year. New head coach Sylvester Croom will have the Bulldogs believing they can win. Add to the fact that Ole Miss lost Eli Manning, and I think MSU can definitely overtake the Rebels in the SEC West.
Texas will fire Mack Brown after he loses yet another Holiday Bowl game, this year to Cal. Oh, and the Longhorns will lose once again to Oklahoma.
Finally, I see USC winning the national championship. This time, there will be no question about it. Sure, they lost Mike Williams. But they are quite simply the most talented team in America. Georgia is right up there with the Trojans, but the boys from Southern Cal are just too strong.
The 2004 season kicks off with Virginia Tech vs USC tomorrow night from FedEx Field on ESPN. College football is back. Good freaking deal.
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Instead of doing a preview on every conference and its teams, I will give you my 2004-2005 bowl game projections. When December rolls around, you could look back to this post and see which bowl projections I got right.
Anyways, here it goes (bowls listed from the New Orleans Bowl to the Orange Bowl)
NEW ORLEANS BOWL (Sun Belt #1 vs Conference USA)
North Texas vs Houston
TANGERINE BOWL (ACC #4/5 vs Big 12 #7)
Virginia Tech vs Texas A&M;
GMAC BOWL (Conference USA #2 vs at-large/MAC)
TCU vs Boise State
LAS VEGAS BOWL (Pac-10 #5 vs Mountain West #2)
Oregon vs San Diego State
FORT WORTH BOWL (Conference USA #4 vs at-large/Big 12 #8)
Southern Mississippi vs Fresno State
HAWAII BOWL (Conference USA #3 vs WAC)
Memphis vs Hawaii
MOTOR CITY BOWL (MAC vs Big Ten #7)
Toledo vs Michigan State
MPC COMPUTERS BOWL (HumBowl) (WAC vs ACC #6)
UTEP vs North Carolina State
INDEPENDENCE BOWL (Big 12 #5 or #6 vs SEC)
Oklahoma State vs South Carolina
INSIGHT.COM BOWL (Pac-10 #4 vs Big East #2 or #3)
Oregon State vs Connecticut
HOUSTON BOWL (Big 12 #5 or #6 vs SEC)
Nebraska vs Arkansas
ALAMO BOWL (Big 12 #4 vs Big Ten #4)
Kansas State vs Purdue
SILICON VALLEY BOWL (Pac-10 #7 vs WAC #3)
Arizona State vs Tulsa
HOLIDAY BOWL (Pac-10 #2 vs Big 12 #3)
California vs Texas
EMERALD BOWL (Pac-10 #6 vs Mountain West #3)
Washington vs New Mexico
CONTINENTAL TIRE BOWL (ACC #5 vs Big East #3 or #4)
Georgia Tech vs Pittsburgh
PEACH BOWL (ACC vs SEC)
Maryland vs Alabama
LIBERTY BOWL (Conference USA #1 vs Mountain West #1)
Louisville vs Utah
SUN BOWL (Pac-10 #3 vs Big Ten #5)
Washington State vs Iowa
MUSIC CITY BOWL (SEC #6 or #7 vs Big Ten #6)
Mississippi State vs Penn State
CAPITAL ONE BOWL (SEC vs Big Ten #2)
Tennessee vs Minnesota
GATOR BOWL (ACC #2 vs Big East #2)
Clemson vs West Virginia
OUTBACK BOWL (SEC vs Big Ten #3)
Auburn vs Ohio State
COTTON BOWL (SEC vs Big 12 #2)
Florida vs Missouri
ROSE BOWL (BCS vs BCS)
Michigan vs LSU
FIESTA BOWL (BCS vs BCS)
Miami vs Oklahoma
SUGAR BOWL (BCS vs BCS)
Boston College vs Florida State
ORANGE BOWL (BCS #1 vs BCS #2)
USC vs Georgia
--- --- --- --- ---
To sum it all up:
USC -- Pac-10 Champions
Georgia -- SEC Champions
Oklahoma -- Big 12 Champions
Miami -- ACC Champions
Michigan -- Big 10 Champions
Boston College -- Big East Champions
Florida State and LSU -- BCS at-large teams
Texas-El Paso, otherwise known as UTEP, will go bowling this year, to Boise for the MPC Computers Bowl (it is the Humanitarian Bowl). Mike Price will show the college football world how good of a coach he really is this year in El Paso. Remember, he turned around a mediocre Washington State program. I think he can turn around the Miners' fortunes as well.
The Houston Bowl could be the most underrated matchup of the bowl season. Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt was very close to accepting the Nebraska job this past January. He decided to stay in Fayetteville, accepting a new long-term contract. Not a lot of people are expecting the Razorbacks to do much in 2004. But they have Matt Jones at quarterback. He's good for a few wins alone. And watch out for freshman running back Peyton Hillis. The guy is 6'2", 240 and is a beast. SEC defenders, look out.
West Virginia is the most overrated team in the country, book it. And the Big East has no business having a BCS automatic berth.
Mississippi State will go to a bowl game this year. New head coach Sylvester Croom will have the Bulldogs believing they can win. Add to the fact that Ole Miss lost Eli Manning, and I think MSU can definitely overtake the Rebels in the SEC West.
Texas will fire Mack Brown after he loses yet another Holiday Bowl game, this year to Cal. Oh, and the Longhorns will lose once again to Oklahoma.
Finally, I see USC winning the national championship. This time, there will be no question about it. Sure, they lost Mike Williams. But they are quite simply the most talented team in America. Georgia is right up there with the Trojans, but the boys from Southern Cal are just too strong.
The 2004 season kicks off with Virginia Tech vs USC tomorrow night from FedEx Field on ESPN. College football is back. Good freaking deal.
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SMORGASBORED
There's one main motive to this post, and it's to move the sidebar back to the top (i.e., get the sidebar-pushing photos off the front page). The other semi-motive: shorties.
-- Clint Nageotte will take on a much more familiar role on Saturday, that of starting pitcher. He will be pitching the second game of the doubleheader. Will he look like the Nageotte that debuted against the Astros and did fairly well, or will he walks eight guys in five innings? One thing's for sure, he's got a crappy Kansas City lineup to work against.
-- The Oregon Baseball Campaign is pushing on with their plans for a $350M ballpark even as the likelihood seemingly increases of the Expos ending up near the nation's capital. Peter Gammons said on Baseball Tonight earlier this week that the Expos were basically on their way to the DC area, with the money and other details having to be hashed out. Has Gammons been wrong before? Many, many times. Gammons aside, though, a couple of things raised my eyebrows about the plan. One is that the plan calls for $115M of the $350M to come from taxes to future baseball players and team personnel. I'm not sure if there's precedent for this or what, but will prospective players want to pay federal income tax, Oregon state income tax, AND a ballpark tax? Seems like a reach to me. The other thing that raised the brow is that the stadium would be a 38000-seater. That sounds to me like a small ballpark, and one that would probably be shoehorned into Portland somewhere. The probability of parking being absolutely horrible would probably be pretty high. That's where the ticket-stubs-as-free-TriMet passes idea comes in (the Portland Beavers do it already).
Still, why the NHL hasn't elicited more of a groundswell in Portland than baseball has is beyond both writers of this weblog.
-- Short hockey note. The Phoenix Coyotes have done some things this offseason. Having already signed Brett Hull and Mike Ricci, the Dogs have signed Petr Nedved (pretty good post-deadline last year with Edmonton) and have traded Daymond Langkow for two key pieces of the Calgary Flames' run, Denis Gauthier and former Seattle Thunderbird Oleg Saprykin. New players, new arena. The Glendale Coyotes.
-- Don't click the upcoming link if you're squeamish. I got a hold of the link, and basically, if you saw Chappelle's Show during the first season and thought the R. Kelly video (and remix) were hilarious, then take a look at this. No, there's no graphic depictions, just a lyric sheet.
Have a great Friday, all.
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-- Clint Nageotte will take on a much more familiar role on Saturday, that of starting pitcher. He will be pitching the second game of the doubleheader. Will he look like the Nageotte that debuted against the Astros and did fairly well, or will he walks eight guys in five innings? One thing's for sure, he's got a crappy Kansas City lineup to work against.
-- The Oregon Baseball Campaign is pushing on with their plans for a $350M ballpark even as the likelihood seemingly increases of the Expos ending up near the nation's capital. Peter Gammons said on Baseball Tonight earlier this week that the Expos were basically on their way to the DC area, with the money and other details having to be hashed out. Has Gammons been wrong before? Many, many times. Gammons aside, though, a couple of things raised my eyebrows about the plan. One is that the plan calls for $115M of the $350M to come from taxes to future baseball players and team personnel. I'm not sure if there's precedent for this or what, but will prospective players want to pay federal income tax, Oregon state income tax, AND a ballpark tax? Seems like a reach to me. The other thing that raised the brow is that the stadium would be a 38000-seater. That sounds to me like a small ballpark, and one that would probably be shoehorned into Portland somewhere. The probability of parking being absolutely horrible would probably be pretty high. That's where the ticket-stubs-as-free-TriMet passes idea comes in (the Portland Beavers do it already).
Still, why the NHL hasn't elicited more of a groundswell in Portland than baseball has is beyond both writers of this weblog.
-- Short hockey note. The Phoenix Coyotes have done some things this offseason. Having already signed Brett Hull and Mike Ricci, the Dogs have signed Petr Nedved (pretty good post-deadline last year with Edmonton) and have traded Daymond Langkow for two key pieces of the Calgary Flames' run, Denis Gauthier and former Seattle Thunderbird Oleg Saprykin. New players, new arena. The Glendale Coyotes.
-- Don't click the upcoming link if you're squeamish. I got a hold of the link, and basically, if you saw Chappelle's Show during the first season and thought the R. Kelly video (and remix) were hilarious, then take a look at this. No, there's no graphic depictions, just a lyric sheet.
Have a great Friday, all.
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Thursday, August 26, 2004
BICENTURIAL
Ichiro gets his 200th hit of the year tonight on a leadoff homer in the 9th, making him the first player in Major League history to get 200 hits in his first four ML seasons. Getting 200 hits in any four seasons is quite a feat. This record, well, what you think of it probably depends on what you thought when Hideo Nomo, Kazuhiro Sasaki, and Ichiro won Rookie of the Year awards. If you think those ROY awards were bogus, then you probably think the same about this. I'm not sure if I quite call this bogus, but it sure doesn't have the same air about it as it would if some 22-year-old fresh out of the minors reeled off four straight seasons of 200 hits.
I just heard Bob Melvin call this the worst game of the year. I can't really tell anymore, frankly. Though I am kind of surprised he said something even to that degree.
Okay, I'm going to try a new scheme here tonight. It'll involve some scales and/or spectra.
Mariners on pitching/defense (bad to good): massacre < terrible inning < some damage < fighting out of jam < decent inning < 1-2-3
Mariners on offense: I hate this team < come on, y'all < ho, hum < minimal damage < some damage < big inning
As a bonus here, a quick totally unrelated stat from David Locke: teams are hitting .290 off Ron Villone as a starter.
Recap time, with a new and experimental twist.
TOP 1ST -- terrible inning
Jamie Moyer got David DeJesus to bounce a ball right to him. What followed were two singles and a walk to load the bases. Abe Nunez stepped to the plate. He got a Moyer-speed pitch up over the plate and got the barrel on it. Yes, 'twas a grand slam a few rows back inside the foul pole in left (KC 4-0). Yes, the wind was taken out of the ballpark early tonight. But you know, this team never quits!
BOTTOM 1ST -- ho, hum
The Mariners actually did score in this inning. Randy Winn and Edgar Martinez singled, and Raul Ibanez walked to load the bases with one out. Bret Boone had the ol' RBI fielder's choice (KC 4-1). Bucky Jacobsen lined out to the third baseman.
TOP 2ND -- 1-2-3
BOTTOM 2ND -- ho, hum
Dan Wilson and Willie Bloomquist were on first and second with one out. Ichiro hit a hard grounder to second, and there was ample time for the double play.
TOP 3RD -- fighting out of jam
Well, maybe a semi-jam. Moyer walked Matt Stairs and Abe Nunez with two out. Nothing more, though.
BOTTOM 3RD -- come on, y'all
Just a 1-2-3 inning here out of the 2-3-4 hitters in the Mariner lineup: Winn/Edgar/Ibanez.
TOP 4TH -- fighting out of jam
John Buck hit an infield single to lead off. Aaron Guiel took his place on the basepaths with a fielder's choice. Ruben Gotay worked the count and fouled off five pitches before walking on the 11th pitch of the at-bat. Guiel was nailed breaking for second on the first pitch to David DeJesus, who would ground out to second.
BOTTOM 4TH -- ho, hum
Bucky hits a single with one out and stays there.
TOP 5TH -- 1-2-3
BOTTOM 5TH -- come on, y'all
Bloomquist drew a leadoff walk and didn't move, thanks to Ichiro (flyout), Winn (whiff), and Edgar (groundout).
TOP 6TH -- some damage
Nunez (2-for-3 with 4 RBI tonight) hit a leadoff single. Calvin Pickering lined out to Jose Lopez, who tried to catch Nunez napping off of first. Instead, he threw the ball wide of big Bucky. Pickering ended up on second, a good vantage point to watch John Buck draw a walk. The next play was a bit weird. Guiel hit a single to right, and Nunez was going to score anyway. Ichiro tried to gun down Buck at third, and the ball hit Buck as he was sliding into third. He would get up and break for home as Bloomquist, backing up on the play, tried to nail Buck at home. Wide throw (KC 6-1), Guiel (SONIC BOOM! Yeah, I know it's spelled wrong) scores.
Moyer was pulled. His line: 5 1/3 innings, 6 runs (5 earned), 6 hits, 5 walks, 3 strikeouts, 117 pitches (68 strikes). Here's some stats that I heard David Locke spit out tonight. Jamie Moyer has not won a game since June 18th against the Pirates, which made his record 6-2. I was in the sticks in Oregon at that time. Moyer is now 6-9. Moyer has allowed 4 or more runs in eight of his last ten starts. I haven't brought it up in a while, but...QuesTec, anyone? I don't want to make it seem like an excuse, but we know Jamie needs certain calls to be effective. Let's not forget that on this same night where Ichiro gets a record, Jamie Moyer was involved in that home run record. You know, the one that had Scott Bankhead's name on it? Moyer tied it, yielding long ball number 35 on the season.
Shigetoshi Hasegawa came to the mound. Gotay hit a shallow fly ball to Ichiro in right, and Guiel decided to press his luck and break for home. Ichiro's throw short-hopped Dan Wilson a foot or two up the line from the plate, but Wilson caught it cleanly. I never saw a conclusive camera angle on the play, and couldn't tell when the tag was laid down, and whether it was before Guiel's foot touched the plate. Who cares, though, really. The game was decided long before this point.
BOTTOM 6TH -- I hate this team
Ibanez led off with a double. Boone hit an infield single, and Ibanez held. Bucky hit a ball deep enough to right to move Ibanez to third. With Dan Wilson up, Boone took off for second base on a 2-2 pitch. He was nailed. Problem? The count as recorded on the scoreboard was 3-1, which was incorrect. Boone didn't know that though. Lopez singled to score Ibanez, at least (KC 6-2). Bloomquist hit an obligatory fly ball to left. The Mariners had four baserunners in the inning. It took four hitters to score Ibanez from second after he led off with the double. I'm trying to look for a real damning sentence here, but I can't come up with one.
TOP 7TH -- some damage
Typical 2004 Hasegawa here. He gets the quick double play after Moyer gets pulled, then he gives up a run the inning after. Angel Berroa (Mr. Sophomore Slump) hit a one-out double and scored one out later on a Matt Stairs single (KC 7-2). Not exactly a New Brunswick-sized bomb, but he'll take it, fresh off the DL.
BOTTOM 7TH -- ho, hum
Winn hit a one-out double on a high-and-away fastball that Nunez got a terrible jump on, as it was just out of his reach. An Edgar flyout would move Winn to third. Jamie Cerda would walk Ibanez before getting Boone to whiff.
TOP 8TH -- fighting out of jam
Hasegawa allows back-to-back singles on two pitches with two out. Nothing more, though.
BOTTOM 8TH -- ho, hum
DJ Carrasco allows a Lopez walk with two out. Bloomquist is caught looking to end the inning.
TOP 9TH -- decent inning
Matt Thornton allows a one-out Joe Randa single. Matt Stairs bounces into a double play to end the inning. Thornton doesn't lose his mind or his control, always a plus.
BOTTOM 9TH -- ho, hum
Yes, that's right. Ichiro tallies a home run for his 200th hit for the season, making it four straight seasons of that many hits to start his Major League tenure. However, the inning is still "ho, hum." Why? The three hitters afterward went down 1-2-3.
These guys never quit.
Gameball: Randy Winn. 2-for-5 with a double. It gets harder and harder to find gameballs these days.
Goat: Jamie Moyer. I posted his line already. The guy hasn't won in over two months. Surely no one out there is as sure about Moyer as they were two months ago. Can we expect to see him return to form next year, defying the usual trends of regression with age once again? It's got to stop somewhere, right?
Ichiro hung up a 1-for-5 game tonight after the 0-fer last night and three more 1-hit games before that. I think we can probably kiss a run at .400 goodbye, unless he picks the pace back up to the ungodly level from a few weeks ago. He's definitely got a much better shot at George Sisler than he does at .400.
Yes, the Mariners have lost four in a row to start the homestand. Against Tampa Bay. And Kansas City. Somehow, I still expect the Mariners to pull two wins out of the remaining four against the Royals. The suckitude between the two teams has to balance out, right? Like identical polarities on different magnets?
Holy crap. I just looked at the league-wide scoreboard and saw that Chan Ho Park won his first game off the DL; his first win since May 12. Texas is at 71 wins, equaling their win total from last year. At least HIS team doesn't suck.
Holy crap again. I just saw Livan Hernandez hit a home run and flip his bat on the highlight reel. Yikes. I really need to end this post.
Greinke. Meche. Tomorrow.
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I just heard Bob Melvin call this the worst game of the year. I can't really tell anymore, frankly. Though I am kind of surprised he said something even to that degree.
Okay, I'm going to try a new scheme here tonight. It'll involve some scales and/or spectra.
Mariners on pitching/defense (bad to good): massacre < terrible inning < some damage < fighting out of jam < decent inning < 1-2-3
Mariners on offense: I hate this team < come on, y'all < ho, hum < minimal damage < some damage < big inning
As a bonus here, a quick totally unrelated stat from David Locke: teams are hitting .290 off Ron Villone as a starter.
Recap time, with a new and experimental twist.
TOP 1ST -- terrible inning
Jamie Moyer got David DeJesus to bounce a ball right to him. What followed were two singles and a walk to load the bases. Abe Nunez stepped to the plate. He got a Moyer-speed pitch up over the plate and got the barrel on it. Yes, 'twas a grand slam a few rows back inside the foul pole in left (KC 4-0). Yes, the wind was taken out of the ballpark early tonight. But you know, this team never quits!
BOTTOM 1ST -- ho, hum
The Mariners actually did score in this inning. Randy Winn and Edgar Martinez singled, and Raul Ibanez walked to load the bases with one out. Bret Boone had the ol' RBI fielder's choice (KC 4-1). Bucky Jacobsen lined out to the third baseman.
TOP 2ND -- 1-2-3
BOTTOM 2ND -- ho, hum
Dan Wilson and Willie Bloomquist were on first and second with one out. Ichiro hit a hard grounder to second, and there was ample time for the double play.
TOP 3RD -- fighting out of jam
Well, maybe a semi-jam. Moyer walked Matt Stairs and Abe Nunez with two out. Nothing more, though.
BOTTOM 3RD -- come on, y'all
Just a 1-2-3 inning here out of the 2-3-4 hitters in the Mariner lineup: Winn/Edgar/Ibanez.
TOP 4TH -- fighting out of jam
John Buck hit an infield single to lead off. Aaron Guiel took his place on the basepaths with a fielder's choice. Ruben Gotay worked the count and fouled off five pitches before walking on the 11th pitch of the at-bat. Guiel was nailed breaking for second on the first pitch to David DeJesus, who would ground out to second.
BOTTOM 4TH -- ho, hum
Bucky hits a single with one out and stays there.
TOP 5TH -- 1-2-3
BOTTOM 5TH -- come on, y'all
Bloomquist drew a leadoff walk and didn't move, thanks to Ichiro (flyout), Winn (whiff), and Edgar (groundout).
TOP 6TH -- some damage
Nunez (2-for-3 with 4 RBI tonight) hit a leadoff single. Calvin Pickering lined out to Jose Lopez, who tried to catch Nunez napping off of first. Instead, he threw the ball wide of big Bucky. Pickering ended up on second, a good vantage point to watch John Buck draw a walk. The next play was a bit weird. Guiel hit a single to right, and Nunez was going to score anyway. Ichiro tried to gun down Buck at third, and the ball hit Buck as he was sliding into third. He would get up and break for home as Bloomquist, backing up on the play, tried to nail Buck at home. Wide throw (KC 6-1), Guiel (SONIC BOOM! Yeah, I know it's spelled wrong) scores.
Moyer was pulled. His line: 5 1/3 innings, 6 runs (5 earned), 6 hits, 5 walks, 3 strikeouts, 117 pitches (68 strikes). Here's some stats that I heard David Locke spit out tonight. Jamie Moyer has not won a game since June 18th against the Pirates, which made his record 6-2. I was in the sticks in Oregon at that time. Moyer is now 6-9. Moyer has allowed 4 or more runs in eight of his last ten starts. I haven't brought it up in a while, but...QuesTec, anyone? I don't want to make it seem like an excuse, but we know Jamie needs certain calls to be effective. Let's not forget that on this same night where Ichiro gets a record, Jamie Moyer was involved in that home run record. You know, the one that had Scott Bankhead's name on it? Moyer tied it, yielding long ball number 35 on the season.
Shigetoshi Hasegawa came to the mound. Gotay hit a shallow fly ball to Ichiro in right, and Guiel decided to press his luck and break for home. Ichiro's throw short-hopped Dan Wilson a foot or two up the line from the plate, but Wilson caught it cleanly. I never saw a conclusive camera angle on the play, and couldn't tell when the tag was laid down, and whether it was before Guiel's foot touched the plate. Who cares, though, really. The game was decided long before this point.
BOTTOM 6TH -- I hate this team
Ibanez led off with a double. Boone hit an infield single, and Ibanez held. Bucky hit a ball deep enough to right to move Ibanez to third. With Dan Wilson up, Boone took off for second base on a 2-2 pitch. He was nailed. Problem? The count as recorded on the scoreboard was 3-1, which was incorrect. Boone didn't know that though. Lopez singled to score Ibanez, at least (KC 6-2). Bloomquist hit an obligatory fly ball to left. The Mariners had four baserunners in the inning. It took four hitters to score Ibanez from second after he led off with the double. I'm trying to look for a real damning sentence here, but I can't come up with one.
TOP 7TH -- some damage
Typical 2004 Hasegawa here. He gets the quick double play after Moyer gets pulled, then he gives up a run the inning after. Angel Berroa (Mr. Sophomore Slump) hit a one-out double and scored one out later on a Matt Stairs single (KC 7-2). Not exactly a New Brunswick-sized bomb, but he'll take it, fresh off the DL.
BOTTOM 7TH -- ho, hum
Winn hit a one-out double on a high-and-away fastball that Nunez got a terrible jump on, as it was just out of his reach. An Edgar flyout would move Winn to third. Jamie Cerda would walk Ibanez before getting Boone to whiff.
TOP 8TH -- fighting out of jam
Hasegawa allows back-to-back singles on two pitches with two out. Nothing more, though.
BOTTOM 8TH -- ho, hum
DJ Carrasco allows a Lopez walk with two out. Bloomquist is caught looking to end the inning.
TOP 9TH -- decent inning
Matt Thornton allows a one-out Joe Randa single. Matt Stairs bounces into a double play to end the inning. Thornton doesn't lose his mind or his control, always a plus.
BOTTOM 9TH -- ho, hum
Yes, that's right. Ichiro tallies a home run for his 200th hit for the season, making it four straight seasons of that many hits to start his Major League tenure. However, the inning is still "ho, hum." Why? The three hitters afterward went down 1-2-3.
These guys never quit.
Gameball: Randy Winn. 2-for-5 with a double. It gets harder and harder to find gameballs these days.
Goat: Jamie Moyer. I posted his line already. The guy hasn't won in over two months. Surely no one out there is as sure about Moyer as they were two months ago. Can we expect to see him return to form next year, defying the usual trends of regression with age once again? It's got to stop somewhere, right?
Ichiro hung up a 1-for-5 game tonight after the 0-fer last night and three more 1-hit games before that. I think we can probably kiss a run at .400 goodbye, unless he picks the pace back up to the ungodly level from a few weeks ago. He's definitely got a much better shot at George Sisler than he does at .400.
Yes, the Mariners have lost four in a row to start the homestand. Against Tampa Bay. And Kansas City. Somehow, I still expect the Mariners to pull two wins out of the remaining four against the Royals. The suckitude between the two teams has to balance out, right? Like identical polarities on different magnets?
Holy crap. I just looked at the league-wide scoreboard and saw that Chan Ho Park won his first game off the DL; his first win since May 12. Texas is at 71 wins, equaling their win total from last year. At least HIS team doesn't suck.
Holy crap again. I just saw Livan Hernandez hit a home run and flip his bat on the highlight reel. Yikes. I really need to end this post.
Greinke. Meche. Tomorrow.
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DUMB
Lloyd Christmas: Hey, wanna hear the most annoying sound in the world?
Well, tonight, I just heard the most annoying sound in the world.
Michael Irvin. Stephen A. Smith. In the same damn Sportscenter segment.
God help us.
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Well, tonight, I just heard the most annoying sound in the world.
Michael Irvin. Stephen A. Smith. In the same damn Sportscenter segment.
God help us.
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MUSIC BLUFF
Week 1 of the 2004-2005 school year is over. No, Southeast Arkansas College does not have classes on Fridays. And yes, I'm definitely trying to get the word out about Sports and Bremertonians on the SEARK campus. Why I didn't do this more last year, I have no idea.
Anyways, a few sports notes before I get to the real reason why I'm posting:
---The NCAA will not reinstate WR Mike Williams to USC. Well, the Trojans are still going to win the Pac-10. They're simply the most talented team in America. Wait, that reminds me, I still need to do a college football preview. It may be shorter than I wanted it to be, because of time. But by 6:30 Central time Saturday night, I'll have my 2004 CFB preview up.
---Rams RT Kyle Turley will miss the 2004 season because of his back. As David said, the Seahawks better win the NFC West this year. The Rams offensive line has already lost center Dave Wohlabaugh. And now Turley is gone. Yikes.
---Willie Bloomquist sucks.
--- --- --- --- --- ---
And for the real reason why I'm posting.....
I'm going to start something "new" here. From time to time, I'll post my musical soundtrack, or in other words, what in the blue hell am I listening to? I'm sure somebody gives a damn out there. No, my views aren't influenced by the terrible situation that is Arkansas rock radio.
So here you go, in no particular order:
Gravity Kills "Blame" (Escape From L.A. Remix)
---Don't even bother with the album version of this song. The L.A. remix of "Blame" is just solid. And without a doubt, "Blame" is much, much better than "Guilty".
Dropbox "Wishbone"
---I like to call this my "wake the f**k up" song. It's in my CD alarm clock radio as we speak. Now, as good as "Wishbone" is, I'd also recommend "End of Days". Dropbox is a good band. Their self-titled is cheaply priced, around 8-9 bucks right now. Go get it if you need some new music.
Van Halen "It's About Time"
---I don't have the "Best of Both Worlds" CD like David does, but I've listened to this song more than a few times. If you have Windows Media Player, open it up, go to Music, and go to Rock Grab Bag. From there, you'll find the link to the entire stream of Van Halen's "BOTW" album. And no, I wouldn't pay 70 bucks to see Van Halen on their current tour either. But that doesn't change the fact that Van Halen rocks.
Green Day "American Idiot"
---New album comes out September 21. I can't wait. If "American Idiot" is any indication, this is going to be a damn good album.
Velvet Revolver "Fall To Pieces"
---This is when the "Contraband" album picks up. Hearing this song puts me back in time to 1988 when I first heard "Sweet Child O' Mine" on the radio. For those wondering, I was 6 at the time. Yes, I have a great memory of these things. Don't bother asking me why I do. Needless to say, "Fall To Pieces" should be a huge hit for Velvet Revolver. If it isn't, something is seriously wrong with the music industry. Oh, nevermind, the music industry already sucks as it is.
Lenny Kravitz "Always On The Run"
---Oh how I miss the old Lenny. Sadly, he will never come back. RIP.
Finger Eleven "Stay In Shadow"
---You want to know the one band's albums that I should own, but I don't? Well, it's these crazy Canadians. There's simply no excuse as to why this is the case. Anyways, "Stay In Shadow" rocks my face off.
Genesis "Abacab"
---I've never claimed to be a narrow minded music fan. Time and time again, David and I have proclaimed Phil Collins to be the coolest bald man on the planet. I know that Collins released a Greatest Hits album a few years ago. Did Genesis ever release one? If they did, I need to get it. Oh, and I prefer the Phil Collins-led version of Genesis, not the Peter Gabriel era. But this isn't a Gabriel-bashing session. I did love "Sledgehammer". Who didn't?
Sevendust "Beautiful"
---Lately, I've played the hell out of the "Animosity" album. So I could include many songs off of this album here, but for time's sake, I'll just put "Beautiful" on the list. Why this band hasn't gotten the major push that they deserve is beyond me.
--- --- --- --- ---
Of course, this wouldn't be complete without a song that I just absolutely hate right now:
Breaking Benjamin "So Cold"
I heard this song before.....
When it was called "Spiders" by System of a Down.
That about does her right now. Oh, now it really wouldn't be a complete post if I didn't make light of the Dave Matthews Band sh*t incident...
Taking a sh*t now...
EVERYDAY!
And I too have never seen the big f**king deal with the Dave Matthews Band. They're a decent band, let's leave it that. I'll say this though, if they would have tossed that sh*t in the Columbia River, there would be some hell to pay.
|
Anyways, a few sports notes before I get to the real reason why I'm posting:
---The NCAA will not reinstate WR Mike Williams to USC. Well, the Trojans are still going to win the Pac-10. They're simply the most talented team in America. Wait, that reminds me, I still need to do a college football preview. It may be shorter than I wanted it to be, because of time. But by 6:30 Central time Saturday night, I'll have my 2004 CFB preview up.
---Rams RT Kyle Turley will miss the 2004 season because of his back. As David said, the Seahawks better win the NFC West this year. The Rams offensive line has already lost center Dave Wohlabaugh. And now Turley is gone. Yikes.
---Willie Bloomquist sucks.
--- --- --- --- --- ---
And for the real reason why I'm posting.....
I'm going to start something "new" here. From time to time, I'll post my musical soundtrack, or in other words, what in the blue hell am I listening to? I'm sure somebody gives a damn out there. No, my views aren't influenced by the terrible situation that is Arkansas rock radio.
So here you go, in no particular order:
Gravity Kills "Blame" (Escape From L.A. Remix)
---Don't even bother with the album version of this song. The L.A. remix of "Blame" is just solid. And without a doubt, "Blame" is much, much better than "Guilty".
Dropbox "Wishbone"
---I like to call this my "wake the f**k up" song. It's in my CD alarm clock radio as we speak. Now, as good as "Wishbone" is, I'd also recommend "End of Days". Dropbox is a good band. Their self-titled is cheaply priced, around 8-9 bucks right now. Go get it if you need some new music.
Van Halen "It's About Time"
---I don't have the "Best of Both Worlds" CD like David does, but I've listened to this song more than a few times. If you have Windows Media Player, open it up, go to Music, and go to Rock Grab Bag. From there, you'll find the link to the entire stream of Van Halen's "BOTW" album. And no, I wouldn't pay 70 bucks to see Van Halen on their current tour either. But that doesn't change the fact that Van Halen rocks.
Green Day "American Idiot"
---New album comes out September 21. I can't wait. If "American Idiot" is any indication, this is going to be a damn good album.
Velvet Revolver "Fall To Pieces"
---This is when the "Contraband" album picks up. Hearing this song puts me back in time to 1988 when I first heard "Sweet Child O' Mine" on the radio. For those wondering, I was 6 at the time. Yes, I have a great memory of these things. Don't bother asking me why I do. Needless to say, "Fall To Pieces" should be a huge hit for Velvet Revolver. If it isn't, something is seriously wrong with the music industry. Oh, nevermind, the music industry already sucks as it is.
Lenny Kravitz "Always On The Run"
---Oh how I miss the old Lenny. Sadly, he will never come back. RIP.
Finger Eleven "Stay In Shadow"
---You want to know the one band's albums that I should own, but I don't? Well, it's these crazy Canadians. There's simply no excuse as to why this is the case. Anyways, "Stay In Shadow" rocks my face off.
Genesis "Abacab"
---I've never claimed to be a narrow minded music fan. Time and time again, David and I have proclaimed Phil Collins to be the coolest bald man on the planet. I know that Collins released a Greatest Hits album a few years ago. Did Genesis ever release one? If they did, I need to get it. Oh, and I prefer the Phil Collins-led version of Genesis, not the Peter Gabriel era. But this isn't a Gabriel-bashing session. I did love "Sledgehammer". Who didn't?
Sevendust "Beautiful"
---Lately, I've played the hell out of the "Animosity" album. So I could include many songs off of this album here, but for time's sake, I'll just put "Beautiful" on the list. Why this band hasn't gotten the major push that they deserve is beyond me.
--- --- --- --- ---
Of course, this wouldn't be complete without a song that I just absolutely hate right now:
Breaking Benjamin "So Cold"
I heard this song before.....
When it was called "Spiders" by System of a Down.
That about does her right now. Oh, now it really wouldn't be a complete post if I didn't make light of the Dave Matthews Band sh*t incident...
Taking a sh*t now...
EVERYDAY!
And I too have never seen the big f**king deal with the Dave Matthews Band. They're a decent band, let's leave it that. I'll say this though, if they would have tossed that sh*t in the Columbia River, there would be some hell to pay.
|
EVERYWHERE
Just a bunch of tidbits here, all over the map...
-- Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready were at Safeco Field last night. As I've probably said here before, Pearl Jam hasn't been the same since Vitalogy, and not even one of my favorite drummers (Matt Cameron) can get me to listen to their newer stuff. My friend Steve and I always get into heated arguments over the song "Black." I think it ruins the emotion of the first four tracks on Ten, whereas he thinks it's a lyrical masterpiece and a welcome diversion. I think barely any of Vedder's lyrics actually make sense.
-- Van Halen is suing the Orioles for $2M for reneging on a scheduled concert, but that's sort of old news. Van Halen got me through high school, but I still wouldn't pay $70 to see Sammy Hagar do the same four David Lee Roth songs he's done on every Van Halen tour he's been on. Say what you will about Gary Cherone, half the set list at the Gorge the night I went consisted of a handful of Roth songs that hadn't been played in decades.
-- This doesn't even link to sports, but how would you have liked to be on that tour boat in Chicago when the Dave Matthews Band's tour bus allegedly dumped 800 gallons of human waste off a bridge onto the boat? Let's hope no one on that tour boat was on their honeymoon. Yikes. By the way, I hate whoever made the unwritten law that absolutely everybody on a college campus has to think Dave Matthews Band is the best damn band ever. Maybe it's just at Central, who knows. I came into those four years at school thinking they were extremely skilled musicians and were a very good band. After the four years, I think the same thing, except I'm really sick of them.
THERE'S SPORTS IN THIS POST, DON'T WORRY!!
-- Kyle Turley is done for the year. The Seahawks get to face a decimated Rams team twice. They might be less decimated by the second time the teams meet, but they won't have Turley. Man, the Seahawks better win this division.
-- Wide receiver Mike Williams was not granted eligibility by the NCAA, and will basically be working out until next year's NFL draft.
-- Whoever mows the grass at Shea Stadium is out of his mind. The Padres/Mets day game today showcased a concave diamond pattern (think playing card suit) in the grass, with maybe a few thousand people witnessing the game. Who thinks Thursday getaway day games are a good idea?
-- Short Canuck tidbit. Brendan Morrison and Dan Cloutier are working out, and both think the odds are bleak that the NHL season will start on time. Also, Todd Bertuzzi pleaded not guilty to an assault charge in connection with the suckerpunch and piledriving into the ice of Colorado Avalanche player Steve Moore.
-- I could get on a roll with why I hate the Little League World Series (no, I won't even think of trashing the kids from Redmond here, I'd much rather congratulate them), but I'll try to keep it short. My main reason: curveballs thrown by kids that age. These kids are still growing, and I think they shouldn't be throwing curveballs until they're 14 or 15. When I'm flipping through the channels and see these kids throwing curves, all I say is "don't come crying to me when you're begging your parents for Tommy John surgery at the age of 16." In a somewhat related story, the lefthanded teammate I hung out with the other day began throwing curves pretty early in his baseball life, and I tried to play catch with him just one year out of high school, and his arm is now shot. Dude can't throw anymore. If I ever coach or have a little baseball-playing chip off the block, he's locating a fastball and a changeup until he turns 14 or 15, no questions asked. Location, location, location. If he throws curves anyway, I don't know what I'd do; that's why I'm not a parent.
I didn't even get started on why I don't like ESPN televising it, the role that that plays in the parents that are overzealous (I know most probably aren't), the fact that if the tournament just had (for example) 10 teams from 10 countries with the US represented by one team in a round-robin pool-play type deal, they'd probably get stomped every year.
Oh man, I didn't even get started on some of these kids' pitching mechanics. A few of the pitchers look fairly smooth out there, but a lot of them are just painful to watch. I know these kids are 12 years old and everything, but I'm weird. I was complimented on my pitching mechanics once by an umpire (I was probably 13 at the time), so it's given me somewhat of a complex. I was the kid who was watching baseball games on the TV all through the 90s and picking an open space on the floor and imitating the motions I saw on television. Years of this. In my most embarrassing moment, I took a Rich DeLucia delivery to the mound (don't ask me why) when I was about 10 or 11, and I managed to nail a Westgate batter in the foot. Pretty short outing for me, much like DeLucia's career.
For the record, Bremerton does not have Little League. I'd explain to my dad all the time that even if I was on an awesome team that kept winning, we'd never go to the LLWS and for some reason, he never understood that. Bremerton has the Kitsap County Pee Wee Association, which basically consists of teams from Bremerton, the Silverdale area, North Mason (Belfair), and sometimes North Kitsap. South Kitsap and Bainbridge are Little League.
-- Jeremy's right. This commercial with Macy Gray doing the cover of "Walk This Way" is just beyond putrid.
This post was weirdly exhausting to construct.
|
-- Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready were at Safeco Field last night. As I've probably said here before, Pearl Jam hasn't been the same since Vitalogy, and not even one of my favorite drummers (Matt Cameron) can get me to listen to their newer stuff. My friend Steve and I always get into heated arguments over the song "Black." I think it ruins the emotion of the first four tracks on Ten, whereas he thinks it's a lyrical masterpiece and a welcome diversion. I think barely any of Vedder's lyrics actually make sense.
-- Van Halen is suing the Orioles for $2M for reneging on a scheduled concert, but that's sort of old news. Van Halen got me through high school, but I still wouldn't pay $70 to see Sammy Hagar do the same four David Lee Roth songs he's done on every Van Halen tour he's been on. Say what you will about Gary Cherone, half the set list at the Gorge the night I went consisted of a handful of Roth songs that hadn't been played in decades.
-- This doesn't even link to sports, but how would you have liked to be on that tour boat in Chicago when the Dave Matthews Band's tour bus allegedly dumped 800 gallons of human waste off a bridge onto the boat? Let's hope no one on that tour boat was on their honeymoon. Yikes. By the way, I hate whoever made the unwritten law that absolutely everybody on a college campus has to think Dave Matthews Band is the best damn band ever. Maybe it's just at Central, who knows. I came into those four years at school thinking they were extremely skilled musicians and were a very good band. After the four years, I think the same thing, except I'm really sick of them.
THERE'S SPORTS IN THIS POST, DON'T WORRY!!
-- Kyle Turley is done for the year. The Seahawks get to face a decimated Rams team twice. They might be less decimated by the second time the teams meet, but they won't have Turley. Man, the Seahawks better win this division.
-- Wide receiver Mike Williams was not granted eligibility by the NCAA, and will basically be working out until next year's NFL draft.
-- Whoever mows the grass at Shea Stadium is out of his mind. The Padres/Mets day game today showcased a concave diamond pattern (think playing card suit) in the grass, with maybe a few thousand people witnessing the game. Who thinks Thursday getaway day games are a good idea?
-- Short Canuck tidbit. Brendan Morrison and Dan Cloutier are working out, and both think the odds are bleak that the NHL season will start on time. Also, Todd Bertuzzi pleaded not guilty to an assault charge in connection with the suckerpunch and piledriving into the ice of Colorado Avalanche player Steve Moore.
-- I could get on a roll with why I hate the Little League World Series (no, I won't even think of trashing the kids from Redmond here, I'd much rather congratulate them), but I'll try to keep it short. My main reason: curveballs thrown by kids that age. These kids are still growing, and I think they shouldn't be throwing curveballs until they're 14 or 15. When I'm flipping through the channels and see these kids throwing curves, all I say is "don't come crying to me when you're begging your parents for Tommy John surgery at the age of 16." In a somewhat related story, the lefthanded teammate I hung out with the other day began throwing curves pretty early in his baseball life, and I tried to play catch with him just one year out of high school, and his arm is now shot. Dude can't throw anymore. If I ever coach or have a little baseball-playing chip off the block, he's locating a fastball and a changeup until he turns 14 or 15, no questions asked. Location, location, location. If he throws curves anyway, I don't know what I'd do; that's why I'm not a parent.
I didn't even get started on why I don't like ESPN televising it, the role that that plays in the parents that are overzealous (I know most probably aren't), the fact that if the tournament just had (for example) 10 teams from 10 countries with the US represented by one team in a round-robin pool-play type deal, they'd probably get stomped every year.
Oh man, I didn't even get started on some of these kids' pitching mechanics. A few of the pitchers look fairly smooth out there, but a lot of them are just painful to watch. I know these kids are 12 years old and everything, but I'm weird. I was complimented on my pitching mechanics once by an umpire (I was probably 13 at the time), so it's given me somewhat of a complex. I was the kid who was watching baseball games on the TV all through the 90s and picking an open space on the floor and imitating the motions I saw on television. Years of this. In my most embarrassing moment, I took a Rich DeLucia delivery to the mound (don't ask me why) when I was about 10 or 11, and I managed to nail a Westgate batter in the foot. Pretty short outing for me, much like DeLucia's career.
For the record, Bremerton does not have Little League. I'd explain to my dad all the time that even if I was on an awesome team that kept winning, we'd never go to the LLWS and for some reason, he never understood that. Bremerton has the Kitsap County Pee Wee Association, which basically consists of teams from Bremerton, the Silverdale area, North Mason (Belfair), and sometimes North Kitsap. South Kitsap and Bainbridge are Little League.
-- Jeremy's right. This commercial with Macy Gray doing the cover of "Walk This Way" is just beyond putrid.
This post was weirdly exhausting to construct.
|
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
BROOM HILDA
Well, well. The Mariners get the big inning, Ron Villone somehow gets through seven innings, AND they finally solve Jorge Sosa (sort of). Sosa had given up 1 run in 22 innings against the Mariners coming into this game. Despite scoring five runs in the 6th and finally getting to Sosa, the Mariners still dropped tonight's game by a score of 6-5. Yes, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays just swept the Seattle Mariners. Lou Piniella is laughing and will laugh some more when he celebrates his birthday in the Bay Area in the very near future.
Ron Villone didn't take long to look like he was going to take an early exit. Jose Cruz Jr. ran out an infield single and went to third on a Jorge Cantu double. One out later, Geoff Blum (average now up to .221) singled to leftfield to score both runners (TB 2-0). Two pitches later, Rey Sanchez doubled to Randy Winn territory to plate Blum (TB 3-0). Carl Crawford singled to put runners on the corners, and Julio Lugo hit an RBI groundout to drag out the lead to four (TB 4-0).
Meanwhile, Jorge Sosa looked like he was up to his old tricks against the Mariners, firing 95mph fastballs to the plate and retiring the first 10 hitters to face him.
There was nearly a Mariner scoring threat in the 5th. Bret Boone walked on four pitches to lead off. Bucky Jacobsen's groundout moved Boone to second, and a Jolbert Cabrera groundout moved Boone to third. Miguel Olivo then whiffed.
The Mariners would get to Sosa in a big way in the 6th, with big help from the Tampa Bay defense. Jose Lopez dribbled a 1-2 pitch along the third-base line; the ball must have had a chalk magnet in it or something, because it rolled on the line until it hit the bag at third. Ichiro swung at a 2-0 pitch and hit a bouncer to Cantu at third. Cantu hurried the throw and airmailed the second baseman by about five feet. Runners were on second and third with nobody out. Winn singled into rightfield to score Lopez (TB 4-1). Edgar Martinez came to the plate and hit a sac fly to centerfield (TB 4-2). Raul Ibanez ripped a 3-1 pitch into rightfield for a single. Bret Boone bounced into a 5-4 fielder's choice to put runners on the corners. This set the stage for Bucky. The Hermiston Hammer ripped a 1-2 pitch foul down the third-base line (just missed a double), but mashed a hanging slider on the next pitch into the front couple of rows in the leftfield bleachers above the KOMO 1000 sign to get the Mariners the lead (SEA 5-4). End result for Sosa is that four of the five runs are unearned.
What would Ron Villone do with his newfound lead? If your guess is "walk the leadoff guy," you are correct. Geoff Blum (again, a formidable and fearsome .221 hitter) drew the leadoff walk, and was singled over to second by Sanchez, who was 2-for-3 on the night. Carl Crawford bunted the runners over, and Julio Lugo hit a fly ball to centerfield that may have been deep enough to score Blum even with a league-average arm throwing the ball back in (5-5). Yup, that Mariner lead lasted for all of three hitters. Villone would walk BJ Upton on four pitches and start Tino Martinez off 3-0. Tino would bounce out to Bucky to end the inning. Villone would not come out for the 8th inning. His line: 7 innings, 5 runs, 8 hits, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, 107 pitches (66 strikes). Basically, the number of innings is good, but the runs and walks are not good. I wish people (certain media outlets, i.e., KJR's postgame show tonight) would stop saying that this guy is important. The guy gave up five runs tonight to bring his ERA up to 4.50. To me, there's guys out there that can do what he's doing that cost considerably less than $1 million. If both Bob Melvin and Ron Villone are wearing Mariner uniforms next year, I'll be miffed. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but did the Mariners break the Scott Boras client moratorium on Rey Sanchez last year? That's just a Villone/Boras-related thing that came to mind there. One great moment of last offseason was when I read that Boras and Bill Bavasi apparently get along well, which I think translates to "Boras cleans Bavasi's clock." If Ron Villone comes into spring training next year with a multiyear deal, I might be forced to go back to Mitchell, Oregon and live out of a tent or something. Believe me, that's bad.
Olivo hit a leadoff single right after the 7th inning stretch. Lopez bunted Olivo to second, then Lou Piniella put Ichiro on first base. Travis Harper came out of the bullpen to whiff Winn and get Edgar to fly out to Cruz.
The Mariners mounted a small threat in their half of the 8th after Scott Atchison set down the Devil Rays 1-2-3 in the top half of the frame. Ibanez singled to lead off, and went to second on an 0-2 low/away slider in the dirt to Boone (he laid off of it?!). Boone woudl whiff two pitches later. Bucky would also whiff. Jolbert Cabrera would ground out to Tino.
Atchison returned to the mound in the 9th. How did he start off? Exactly like Villone started the 7th: leadoff walk to Blum. He moved to second on a Sanchez bunt. Carl Crwwford was put on first, then Lugo hit a hard single to rightfield, which prevented anyone from scoring (somebody's got an arm out there) and left the bases loaded. Aubrey Huff was brought in to pinch-hit and George Sherrill was brought in to face him. Huff hit a ground ball to Boone's glove side that was too slow and too far away for Boone to turn an inning-ending double play. Instead, Boone merely got the sure out at first as the go-ahead run crossed the plate (TB 6-5). Tino hit a comebacker to Sherrill to end the inning.
Unlike last night, Danys Baez threw a 1-2-3 9th, setting down Olivo, Lopez and Ichiro.
Ichiro is still stuck on 199 hits. Does anyone want to wager how long it'll take him to get 200?
Last tidbit of note for the night: Tampa Bay's tying run and go-ahead run were put on base via the leadoff walk.
Gameball: Randy Winn. 2-for-4 with an RBI single in the big inning. Honorable mention to Bucky and his big three-run smash, one night after his pinch-hit two-run single. To think the Mariners are paying Scott Spiezio $9 million over three years for the type of clutch hitting that Bucky has shown the Mariners over the past two days.
Goat: Jolbert Cabrera. 0-for-4 with a strikeout, stranding two. That's called being a waste of space.
You know, what sucks about the LA area not having an NFL team is that I can't take tonight's way-out-of-hand Kansas City/Anaheim game and say something like "the Rams hung three touchdowns on the Chiefs" or anything like that. All said, do you think the Royals might have a chip on their shoulder after having the Angels hang up 21 runs on them the night before?
Oh yeah, I was watching some of that Baltimore/Oakland game that went scoreless into the 9th, when Marco Scutaro walked off with a three-run blast. After the game, the viewing choice was between a Wednesday Night Baseball postgame show of Pam Ward/Rob Dibble or a Baseball Tonight show with Karl Ravech involved. No contest.
Anderson. Moyer. Tomorrow.
|
Ron Villone didn't take long to look like he was going to take an early exit. Jose Cruz Jr. ran out an infield single and went to third on a Jorge Cantu double. One out later, Geoff Blum (average now up to .221) singled to leftfield to score both runners (TB 2-0). Two pitches later, Rey Sanchez doubled to Randy Winn territory to plate Blum (TB 3-0). Carl Crawford singled to put runners on the corners, and Julio Lugo hit an RBI groundout to drag out the lead to four (TB 4-0).
Meanwhile, Jorge Sosa looked like he was up to his old tricks against the Mariners, firing 95mph fastballs to the plate and retiring the first 10 hitters to face him.
There was nearly a Mariner scoring threat in the 5th. Bret Boone walked on four pitches to lead off. Bucky Jacobsen's groundout moved Boone to second, and a Jolbert Cabrera groundout moved Boone to third. Miguel Olivo then whiffed.
The Mariners would get to Sosa in a big way in the 6th, with big help from the Tampa Bay defense. Jose Lopez dribbled a 1-2 pitch along the third-base line; the ball must have had a chalk magnet in it or something, because it rolled on the line until it hit the bag at third. Ichiro swung at a 2-0 pitch and hit a bouncer to Cantu at third. Cantu hurried the throw and airmailed the second baseman by about five feet. Runners were on second and third with nobody out. Winn singled into rightfield to score Lopez (TB 4-1). Edgar Martinez came to the plate and hit a sac fly to centerfield (TB 4-2). Raul Ibanez ripped a 3-1 pitch into rightfield for a single. Bret Boone bounced into a 5-4 fielder's choice to put runners on the corners. This set the stage for Bucky. The Hermiston Hammer ripped a 1-2 pitch foul down the third-base line (just missed a double), but mashed a hanging slider on the next pitch into the front couple of rows in the leftfield bleachers above the KOMO 1000 sign to get the Mariners the lead (SEA 5-4). End result for Sosa is that four of the five runs are unearned.
What would Ron Villone do with his newfound lead? If your guess is "walk the leadoff guy," you are correct. Geoff Blum (again, a formidable and fearsome .221 hitter) drew the leadoff walk, and was singled over to second by Sanchez, who was 2-for-3 on the night. Carl Crawford bunted the runners over, and Julio Lugo hit a fly ball to centerfield that may have been deep enough to score Blum even with a league-average arm throwing the ball back in (5-5). Yup, that Mariner lead lasted for all of three hitters. Villone would walk BJ Upton on four pitches and start Tino Martinez off 3-0. Tino would bounce out to Bucky to end the inning. Villone would not come out for the 8th inning. His line: 7 innings, 5 runs, 8 hits, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, 107 pitches (66 strikes). Basically, the number of innings is good, but the runs and walks are not good. I wish people (certain media outlets, i.e., KJR's postgame show tonight) would stop saying that this guy is important. The guy gave up five runs tonight to bring his ERA up to 4.50. To me, there's guys out there that can do what he's doing that cost considerably less than $1 million. If both Bob Melvin and Ron Villone are wearing Mariner uniforms next year, I'll be miffed. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but did the Mariners break the Scott Boras client moratorium on Rey Sanchez last year? That's just a Villone/Boras-related thing that came to mind there. One great moment of last offseason was when I read that Boras and Bill Bavasi apparently get along well, which I think translates to "Boras cleans Bavasi's clock." If Ron Villone comes into spring training next year with a multiyear deal, I might be forced to go back to Mitchell, Oregon and live out of a tent or something. Believe me, that's bad.
Olivo hit a leadoff single right after the 7th inning stretch. Lopez bunted Olivo to second, then Lou Piniella put Ichiro on first base. Travis Harper came out of the bullpen to whiff Winn and get Edgar to fly out to Cruz.
The Mariners mounted a small threat in their half of the 8th after Scott Atchison set down the Devil Rays 1-2-3 in the top half of the frame. Ibanez singled to lead off, and went to second on an 0-2 low/away slider in the dirt to Boone (he laid off of it?!). Boone woudl whiff two pitches later. Bucky would also whiff. Jolbert Cabrera would ground out to Tino.
Atchison returned to the mound in the 9th. How did he start off? Exactly like Villone started the 7th: leadoff walk to Blum. He moved to second on a Sanchez bunt. Carl Crwwford was put on first, then Lugo hit a hard single to rightfield, which prevented anyone from scoring (somebody's got an arm out there) and left the bases loaded. Aubrey Huff was brought in to pinch-hit and George Sherrill was brought in to face him. Huff hit a ground ball to Boone's glove side that was too slow and too far away for Boone to turn an inning-ending double play. Instead, Boone merely got the sure out at first as the go-ahead run crossed the plate (TB 6-5). Tino hit a comebacker to Sherrill to end the inning.
Unlike last night, Danys Baez threw a 1-2-3 9th, setting down Olivo, Lopez and Ichiro.
Ichiro is still stuck on 199 hits. Does anyone want to wager how long it'll take him to get 200?
Last tidbit of note for the night: Tampa Bay's tying run and go-ahead run were put on base via the leadoff walk.
Gameball: Randy Winn. 2-for-4 with an RBI single in the big inning. Honorable mention to Bucky and his big three-run smash, one night after his pinch-hit two-run single. To think the Mariners are paying Scott Spiezio $9 million over three years for the type of clutch hitting that Bucky has shown the Mariners over the past two days.
Goat: Jolbert Cabrera. 0-for-4 with a strikeout, stranding two. That's called being a waste of space.
You know, what sucks about the LA area not having an NFL team is that I can't take tonight's way-out-of-hand Kansas City/Anaheim game and say something like "the Rams hung three touchdowns on the Chiefs" or anything like that. All said, do you think the Royals might have a chip on their shoulder after having the Angels hang up 21 runs on them the night before?
Oh yeah, I was watching some of that Baltimore/Oakland game that went scoreless into the 9th, when Marco Scutaro walked off with a three-run blast. After the game, the viewing choice was between a Wednesday Night Baseball postgame show of Pam Ward/Rob Dibble or a Baseball Tonight show with Karl Ravech involved. No contest.
Anderson. Moyer. Tomorrow.
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UNTOUCHABLE!
Check out Ron Villone's stats since August 13, when the news starting coming out that he wanted to re-sign with the Mariners.
AUG 13 vs New York (L)
3.1 IP, 8 ER, 10 H, 3 K, 3 BB
AUG 20 at Detroit (L)
6 IP, 4 ER (5 R), 8 H, 2 K, 3 BB
Tonight vs Tampa Bay (through 3 IP)
3 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 K, 1 BB
Villone had a 2.87 ERA before the All-Star Break. Since the All-Star Break? 6.45 (not including tonight's game)
Yes, he's still untouchable.
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AUG 13 vs New York (L)
3.1 IP, 8 ER, 10 H, 3 K, 3 BB
AUG 20 at Detroit (L)
6 IP, 4 ER (5 R), 8 H, 2 K, 3 BB
Tonight vs Tampa Bay (through 3 IP)
3 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 K, 1 BB
Villone had a 2.87 ERA before the All-Star Break. Since the All-Star Break? 6.45 (not including tonight's game)
Yes, he's still untouchable.
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BETTER FORGET IT....
...you'll never get it.
Anyways, in what can only be described as a "post-padding" measure, I listened to "Easy Lover" by Phil Collins and Philip Bailey for the first time in ages today. And the age-old question is always asked, "which famous singing voice would you love to have?"
Well, I'll definitely take Bailey's voice. It must be said that I've listened to plenty of Earth, Wind, and Fire in my lifetime, so it isn't just "Easy Lover" that I'm basing this on.
OK, I'll go ahead and just give you the reason for this post-padding measure: I'm bored. In an upset, I'm done with all of my homework for the day. And it's only after 6 p.m. This won't happen very often, trust me.
So there you go. Even I'm guilty of "post-padding". Later.
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Anyways, in what can only be described as a "post-padding" measure, I listened to "Easy Lover" by Phil Collins and Philip Bailey for the first time in ages today. And the age-old question is always asked, "which famous singing voice would you love to have?"
Well, I'll definitely take Bailey's voice. It must be said that I've listened to plenty of Earth, Wind, and Fire in my lifetime, so it isn't just "Easy Lover" that I'm basing this on.
OK, I'll go ahead and just give you the reason for this post-padding measure: I'm bored. In an upset, I'm done with all of my homework for the day. And it's only after 6 p.m. This won't happen very often, trust me.
So there you go. Even I'm guilty of "post-padding". Later.
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CHAD EATON, DALLAS COWBOY
One year, 660k
Chad Eaton is now a Dallas Cowboy. He missed the entire 2003 season because of knee problems. The Cowboys are hoping for Eaton to provide some depth on the defensive line.
To this day, I'm still embarassed about Eaton trash-talking Emmitt Smith in 2002. Way to just make Emmitt better, douche. When you think of all-time lowlights in Seahawks history, Emmitt Smith breaking Walter Payton's rushing record against the 'Hawks has to be right up there on the list.
Oh, and I love the new look. Hopefully you do as well. We're really trying to make this place an even better one. Enjoy yourself.
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Chad Eaton is now a Dallas Cowboy. He missed the entire 2003 season because of knee problems. The Cowboys are hoping for Eaton to provide some depth on the defensive line.
To this day, I'm still embarassed about Eaton trash-talking Emmitt Smith in 2002. Way to just make Emmitt better, douche. When you think of all-time lowlights in Seahawks history, Emmitt Smith breaking Walter Payton's rushing record against the 'Hawks has to be right up there on the list.
Oh, and I love the new look. Hopefully you do as well. We're really trying to make this place an even better one. Enjoy yourself.
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RODS AND CONES
Since we've got some input on the whole dark background thing, you may notice a stark change on the front page of this site (the archive pages are still as they were before, mainly for purposes of comparison).
I have only one question...
Is the white text on the light Seahawk blue background easier on the eyes than the white text on the navy blue background?
Your comments are greatly appreciated.
To those wondering where the sidebar went, it's all the way at the bottom. When you post a picture into Blogger that's wider than the text margins, Blogger pushes the sidebar all the way to the bottom rather than running the top of the sidebar, interrupting it, and then resuming it right below the pictures. Of course, there's probably a way for it to do this, but I don't know what it is. Anyway, since I posted those pictures last Friday, they should disappear off the page when we make our first post this Friday, upon which the sidebar should get pushed back to the top in its rightful place.
[Edit ~1:25p -- Added reason for archive pages being left alone and reason for sidebar push.]
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I have only one question...
Is the white text on the light Seahawk blue background easier on the eyes than the white text on the navy blue background?
Your comments are greatly appreciated.
To those wondering where the sidebar went, it's all the way at the bottom. When you post a picture into Blogger that's wider than the text margins, Blogger pushes the sidebar all the way to the bottom rather than running the top of the sidebar, interrupting it, and then resuming it right below the pictures. Of course, there's probably a way for it to do this, but I don't know what it is. Anyway, since I posted those pictures last Friday, they should disappear off the page when we make our first post this Friday, upon which the sidebar should get pushed back to the top in its rightful place.
[Edit ~1:25p -- Added reason for archive pages being left alone and reason for sidebar push.]
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THE PAIN TRAIN IS COMING!
Well, the pain train has been derailed for a while, but the Trenches are still in full effect.
Some news from the National...Football League here while watching the 2003 Seahawks Yearbook on ESPN:
---The Jets have signed Quincy Carter. He was released by the Cowboys on Aug. 4. Carter is expected to be the backup to starting quarterback Chad Pennington, who still hasn't earned the hype that he's been given in his young career. Play all 16 games first, then we can talk about Pennington being an elite quarterback in the NFL.
---In other J-E-T-S news, defensive end John Abraham may have violated the NFL's substance abuse policy for the second time. Abraham was arrested last October for driving under the influence, and was suspended by head coach Herman Edwards for one game against the Bills.
---The Chargers have finally signed Philip Rivers. It remains to be seen whether Rivers will have a chance to be a significant player this season, since he is in camp so late. I think he can be a very good player in the next few years. Hopefully the Chargers will fire Marty Schottenheimer after the 2004 season so he won't ruin him.
---First round draft pick J.P. Losman will miss the first half of the season for the Bills due to a broken left fibula. Expected to take over for Drew Bledsoe in the coming years, Losman was selected by the Bills with the 23rd pick overall. Buffalo acquired the 23rd pick from Dallas in exchange for a 2005 first round pick.
---Free agent defensive end Kenny Holmes has signed with the Packers. Green Bay, desparate for any type of pass rush at this point, doesn't expect Holmes to be an every-down player, but hopes for him to have 8 to 10 sacks.
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As I conclude this post, I must leave you with this. From the 2003 Seahawks Yearbook:
"The Seahawks did what they were born to do........fly!"
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Some news from the National...Football League here while watching the 2003 Seahawks Yearbook on ESPN:
---The Jets have signed Quincy Carter. He was released by the Cowboys on Aug. 4. Carter is expected to be the backup to starting quarterback Chad Pennington, who still hasn't earned the hype that he's been given in his young career. Play all 16 games first, then we can talk about Pennington being an elite quarterback in the NFL.
---In other J-E-T-S news, defensive end John Abraham may have violated the NFL's substance abuse policy for the second time. Abraham was arrested last October for driving under the influence, and was suspended by head coach Herman Edwards for one game against the Bills.
---The Chargers have finally signed Philip Rivers. It remains to be seen whether Rivers will have a chance to be a significant player this season, since he is in camp so late. I think he can be a very good player in the next few years. Hopefully the Chargers will fire Marty Schottenheimer after the 2004 season so he won't ruin him.
---First round draft pick J.P. Losman will miss the first half of the season for the Bills due to a broken left fibula. Expected to take over for Drew Bledsoe in the coming years, Losman was selected by the Bills with the 23rd pick overall. Buffalo acquired the 23rd pick from Dallas in exchange for a 2005 first round pick.
---Free agent defensive end Kenny Holmes has signed with the Packers. Green Bay, desparate for any type of pass rush at this point, doesn't expect Holmes to be an every-down player, but hopes for him to have 8 to 10 sacks.
--- --- --- --- --- ---
As I conclude this post, I must leave you with this. From the 2003 Seahawks Yearbook:
"The Seahawks did what they were born to do........fly!"
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