Who should the Mariners trade? Washburn?..AKA Keifer Sutherland / The Beaver

Wow! Doesn't Washburn look like Jack. Maybe he can use those beaver teeth to intimidate his opponents! Anyways about the trades. This has been on my mind now for the last week ever since the rumors started about everyone on the team being on the trading block except Felix and Ichiro (who I think is overrated and should be traded if it wasn't for his popularity and amount of fans he brings to the games). I guess I'll start off by discussing Ichiro. First, there is no way the Mariners will trade him, at least this year. They've said this in the media and want to build around him. I have no clue why a team would want to build around a guy who is a singles hitter who doesn't steal enough bases or have enough range in the outfield to be the type of player that is earning so much money. I'll give him his credit, he has a cannon for an arm and is a good hitter for average, but his OBP is average for a leadoff hitter and he is not a clubhouse leader. Bottom line is that we could get some good players in a trade for him and I'd do it if I was the GM but they obvious care more about pleasing the majority of the fan base who like Ichiro. Plus the owner is from Japan and they want to build a fanbase there.

Now on to some guys who actually could get traded this year. I'll start off with Jarrod Washburn who almost got traded to the Yankees this week and may still get traded before thursday's deadline. I've been going back and forth all week on this one. At first I was exited to get rid of Washburn's contract in which he is owed $14 million over this year and next. Especially when I heard they might trade us Melky Cabrera or Brett Gardner. But it looks now that the Yankees only want to pay for Washburns contract and give us nothing in return. I say screw them. Washburn is a better pitcher now than a couple months ago. He's a quality left-handed starter where pitching is in high demand. The Yankees think they're the only big market club and they can buy any player just by picking up their contract. The Mariners are not a small market club. We have money to spend and aren't looking to just dump a contract if a player is performing well and could help us next year (Washburn is under contract through next year). I know its a risk by keeping him because we could invest that money elsewhere but what if Washburn continues to pitch well? We could have a formittable rotation next year with Felix, Bedard, Washburn, and Morrow/Rowland-Smith/Silva/Dickey.

Pitching has not been the problem. Its our offense. Wasn't it fun to watch yesterday's game? Actually some offensive firepower that has been missing lately. I would be sad if we traded Ibanez. He is such a good guy. Great in the clubhouse. And our most consistent bat (not saying much) the last couple years. His contract is up after this season so I hope we try to resign him and try to win next year instead of rebuilding. He has been rumored to be going to the Mets which would make sense since they need a LF. He could give us some good prospects but I don't think it would be worth it because he would give us a 1st round pick if he signs with another team because of his value.

I've been dreaming for the Mariners to sign Manny Ramirez to DH (he actually said this week he doesn't care where he plays as long as they pay him) and Mark Texeiera for 1B but that would cost some serious cash and the chances of that happening are small. This would fix alot of our problems. Could you imagine Manny and Texeiera in the middle of the lineup? It gives me goosebumps.

Arthur Rhodes is the next guy that will probably get traded. He's a lefty with good stuff and he's getting old so it would be good for the M's to trade him for a good prospect. He's probably the only one on the team that I'd approve to get traded. (Except our terrible players like Silva, Batista, and Vidro....and the case of Washburn that I mentioned above)

Here's my dream starting lineup and rotation for next year: Now this is an Offense!

1. Ichiro RF

2. Lopez 2B

3. Texeira 1B, but probably LaHair batting lower in the lineup.

4. Manuelito Ramirez DH, but probably Ibanez at DH w/ Wladimir playing LF

5. Ibanez LF

6. Beltre 3B

7. Clement C, but probably splitting time with Johjima (who actually is starting to hit! YAY!)

8. Wladimir Balentine, Jeremy Reed, or Brett Gardner/Melky Cabrera (if we trade Washburn)

9. Bentancourt SS

Rotation

1. Felix

2. Bedard...if he can stay healthy and not complain

3. Washburn

4. Morrow

5. Silva/Rowland-Smith/Dickey/Batista

Seahawks are Seattle's hope

Great article by Steve Kelley yesterday in the Seattle Times where he gives some great advice to Mike Holmgren on his speech he should give to his players as they open up training camp. Some of my favorite quotes from the article:

"But let's stay on point. This city is hurting right now. It feels as if it was sold out by the NBA. So this is what I want you to do. Safeties. Linebackers. I want you to hit every tight end, every running back this season as if they were wearing Clay Bennett masks. He's the guy who ripped the Sonics from Seattle.

"I want you cornerbacks to crack every wide receiver who dares come across the middle. I want you to treat them the way David Stern treated Seattle."

Steve Kelley is a great writer and should be comended for his writing style. Gotta love the sarcasm. Here is another article he wrote about how bad the M's are (which you know I love writing about). Simply classic.

Is Football season here yet?

Went and saw the midnight showing of The Dark Knight last week and it wasamazing. Just thought I'd throw that out there. And had an amazing trip to Zion's National Park down in southern Utah for the weekend so I've been pretty busy this past week, hence no posting yet this week. The sports news has been a bit slow also but I'll start posting quite a bit once Fall camp starts for BYU and the Seahawks.

Well my Mariners have been out of it since mid-May so it's been a painful summer but hey, there is always football season around the corner. I love watching baseball but the Mariners have taken all the fun out of it for me this year. They don't play the game the right way. Only a handful of them hustle (Beltre, Ibanez, and thats about it). They're selfish, they don't take walks, swinging at every pitch (ya I'm talking to you Ichiro, Betancourt, Johjima, Beltre, and Lopez). Felix Hernandez is the only one worth watching. Thank goodness for him or else we would be the worst team of all time. We have no offense. A below average defense, and our pitching has underachieved all year. Like I said before, I love baseball, but there is only one thing that can get me more exited, College Football!

For those of you who don't know (and if you don't know this then you don't know me very well) I am a college football junkie. I can't get enough of it. I love sitting at home on saturdays in the fall, watching all the games throughout the day. As much as I love summer time, I wish I could just fast forward to September. You know that Green Day song "Wake me up when September ends" should have been called "Wake me up when August ends." What were they thinking, who wants to miss the first month of college football? I've been spoiled the last two years cause my Cougs have been undefeated at home. This year is shaping up to be an amazing year. I posted a preview a couple weeks ago for the upcoming season and August 31st can't get here soon enough (opening game). Fall camp opens up in about a week (Aug 1) so hopefully I'll be able to catch a few practices since I live and work right next to the practice facility. I actually just saw some players (Russell Tiavalea, Dallas Reynolds, and some other lineman) working out yesterday as I was walking from work. Those guys are animals and they look like they're in great shape.

The MWC media days just finished and BYU was picked to win (no surprise). Lots of players on the all-conference team. I can't wait to see Max Hall, Harvey Unga, Austin Collie, and Dennis Pitta all together with one year of experience. This offense could be one of the best offenses ever at BYU with all the seniors on the O-line.

I can't forget to mention my Seahawks. This looks to be another year where we win the division and lose our first road playoff game like the last two years. We need a decent O-line, which we don't have except for Walter Jones. We need a running game, which might improve with getting rid of Shaun Alexander for Julius Jones and TJ Duckett. And we need some good WRs which we barely have, such as Deion Branch (who is hurt) and Bobby Engram (who is getting old). I'll give credit to our defense though, those guys can play, especially at home. They tend to have some problems on the road though.

1 Day and counting for The Dark Knight! Hancock surprising

So I finally was able to get a ticket for the midnight showing for the new Batman movie 'The Dark Knight' which comes out early Friday morning. A big group of my friends are going so it should be way fun. We're going to have people take turns waiting in line for about 5 hours before the show just so we can get some decent seats. Batman has always been a personal favorite of mine so thats why I'm so exited for this one. More than any other superhero. Plus I'm a huge Christian Bale fan which is an added bonus. Its been getting great reviews which is normally a good sign. I'm also impressed with what I've seen in the previews from Heath Ledger as The Joker. Looks like some great acting.

In other news I saw Hancock last night and it was different from what I was expecting. Still good just different. By the way, I think I fell in love with Charlize Theron during the movie.

My Mariner Wish List for 2009

My 10 Mariner wishes for 2009:

1. Get rid of Kenji Johjima and start Jeff Clement

2. Sign Mark Teixeira (which probably wont happen) but I'll settle for any 1st baseman that can hit better than Vidro and Cairo put together (which isn't much).

3. Move Raul Ibanez to DH and sign a LF with some pop. Unless Mike Morse or Wladamier Balentine can start taking steroids again and hit with some consistency.

4. Sign Felix Hernandez to a long term deal.

5. Move Brandon Morrow to the rotation.

6. Don't trade Erik Bedard! (I know some people may disagree with this but he is still a good pitcher with more value than a couple prospects).

7. For Jarrod Washburn to keep pitching like he has been this past month.

8. For Carlos Silva's sinker to sink just a bit more.

9. For Bentancourt and Lopez to walk more than a quadrapoligic.

10. Lets actually get a GM and a manager who know how to do their job.

Bonus wish just for Brett and Craig:

1. Re-hire Mike Hargrove and re-sign Richie Sexson. Hargrove for manager of the year and Sexson for MVP! While we're at it, we might as well bring back Bobby Ayala!

Mariners finally release Sexson!

Too bad this move wasn't made two years ago. Now get rid of Vidro!!! He's even worse. How can we have the worst hitter in the american league (except for Kenji Johjima) as our DH and batting cleanup? It's just beyond words how stupid this organization has been lately. Whoever is the new GM is going to his work cut out for him this offseason. Here is a great post I found at USS Mariner (one of my favorite sites of all time because those guys think almost exactly as I do) about the mess that the Mariners organization faces this season and offseason.

USS Mariner

Seattle Times Tribute to the Sonics

The Seattle Times is doing a special in todays paper about the Sonics legacy, allowing readers to share their memories and giving an in-depth look at the rich history of the Sonics. It sounds like someone just died...but it really does have some great stories.

BYU Football...The Quest begins in 54 days!

Well I could just go off on how pissed I am at the Mariners but that would take a whole week to outline all those flaws. Or I could complain about the Sonics but oh wait...they aren't even going to be in Seattle next year so there goes that idea. Or I could reminisce about Mike Holmgren's final season with the Seahawks but we have no playmakers on offense, so we'll win the division again but lose our first road playoff game again. So I figured I'd actually discuss something everyone loves, a winner. I don't know what I'd do without BYU sports right now...54 more days till the first game!!

For some reason I have a good feeling about this season. It really is our best shot at busting into the BCS. There are only four games that will be a challenge... at UW, UCLA, at TCU, and at Utah, and we should be favored to win all of them. Wouldn't that be something if we went into the Utah game undefeated. Anyways here are some links to some great in-depth position by position breakdowns for the upcoming season. Quarterbacks and Running Backs are coming soon! Enjoy!

Wide Receiver/Tight End Preview
Offensive Line Preview
Defensive Line Preview
Linebacker Preview
Defensive Back Preview
Special Teams Preview

Check out this great Bronco Mendenhall video I found at byucougars.com. Its a little cheesy at the end but still good. And some great wallpapers right here.

Glenn Beck on the 4th of July!!

Yesterday was amazing as I got to go see Glenn Beck at University Mall in Orem. He was there to sign his book so I waited in line for an hour (with some help from John) to shake his hand and said "Nice to meet ya Glenn, I'm a big fan of the show." Then he said, "Thanks its nice to meet you too, have a great day." Ya I know thats kinda lame and I should have said something more original but there was a ton of people there and they only let us say something brief and move on. John was right behind me in line and he got this sweet picture of him staring right at me. As you can see, it looks like I'm scared stiff, frozen in my tracks. But I swear I was normal when I went and talked to him.

He really is a great guy and it surprised me how nice and outgoing he was to everyone. Most celebrities are too cool to even smile when they shake your hand. But I saw him make several funny comments throughout the day and was very charismatic, just like on TV.

The rest of the 4th of July weekend was awesome! Thursday night I went on a way fun date to the Orem Owlz baseball game with fireworks after the game. I even went up and talked to this Dominican pitcher who was sitting in the bullpen so that was a bonus. Then on the 4th we went down to center street and hung out with all the fun things to do down there. Then had a BBQ here at my apartment complex, and to finish the night off right, watched the fireworks from Stadium of Fire from Rock Canyon Park. I bought chips and salsa so I was in heaven munchin on those all night long as I sat and enjoyed the fireworks with some friends.

Sadness in Seattle

Well the decision to allow Clay Bennett to pay off $45 million dollars for moving the Sonics to Oklahoma City was made yesterday by judge Peachman. Honestly I'm speechless. It is very dissapointing after all the history that the Sonics have brought to Seattle. An NBA championship in 1979, the glory years of Kemp and Payton, and the NBA finals against Michael Jordan. Unfortunately in these types of situations, the ultimate losers are the fans (http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-33-14/A-Shot-to-the-Gut-of-Seattle-Fans.html.)The city gets paid 45 million dollars, the owners will make money in OKC, the NBA will still make money (even though it would make more money in Seattle because Seattle is the 13th largest media market in the nation and OKC is somewhere in the 50s), and the players will still get paid millions. I feel ripped off. But such is life. Luckily this is not the end. There is still an outside chance of getting the team back, as described in this article. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3471695 Or even getting another team to move here or recieve an expansion team. Here are a couple good articles written about the situation: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=adande_ja&page=sonicsmove_080702

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=080702munsononsonicsmoveQA

Coldplay tickets $140!!!

As many of you might know, Coldplay is my favorite band and you can imagine my "gittyness" when I found out they were coming to the SLC E-Center in November to play, only to realize that the cheapest tickets I could find were over $140! So I decided I would stay home that night and rock out to Coldplay and save myself the money. Then I said "screw that" and I went out and bought myself a new Casio Exilim digital camera for $150 which was well worth it.

A few months ago I went with some friends to the Linkin Park and Coheed and Cambria concert at the E-Center and it was literally the sweetest concert I've ever been to. Those guys know how to rock out. The tickets were $50 and it was well worth it.

In other entertainment news, Hancock with Will Smith comes out tomorrow which I'm still trying to decide if I want to spend my free movie pass on (long story). I can't wait for the new Batman movie 'Dark Night' to come out on July 18th. Batman has always been my favorite superhero since I was a kid and now since Christian Bale (one of my favorite actors) is Batman, it makes it even better.