Mariners in 1st place after 1st month of season

So maybe these Mariners aren't a fluke after all. I mean its still early and there is still a ton of baseball to be played. The hard part for me is trying to not get my hopes up because at the start of the season, I thought the M's would finish dead last in the division with no hope of making the playoffs. But because of our great pitching, mostly great defense, timely hitting, and throw in numerous of injuries to the A's and Angels, this equals a team that could push for the division deep into the summer.

For those of you who missed this past series with the Athletics, you missed some serious drama. The two walk off singles by Jose Lopez (last night's walk off pic above) were simply amazing. This was a game that the Mariners from last year would have lost. They had no heart. Which is why this team has a chance to compete. Because lets be honest, they aren't as good on paper as the Angels, Athletics, or probably even the Rangers. They definitely don't compare offensively. The offense still struggles to hit for power and have a high on base percentage. The only thing getting us by is cluth hitting and small ball.

For example, Yuniesky Betancourt still hasn't even drawn a walk this season. Adrian Beltre, our cleannup hitter, hasn't hit a home run this year. Ichiro is always going to be mainly a singles hitter, as is Endy Chavez. Luckily Griffey has drawn some walks and Russell Branyan (pic above, this guy is seriously fun to watch hit home runs, aka Paul Bunyan) has provided some pop in the lineup. Mix that in with some good defense by Franklin Gutierrez and Rob Johnson and this team has manage to stay afloot.

The key obviously has been the pitching. Felix (pic above) has been King Felix. Bedard has regained his 2007 form as a second ace on the team. Washburn has been a very pleasant suprise with his new found changup and sinker. Jakabouskas has been solid for the most part. Carlos Silva is the only one not performing and with an ERA over 7, they are considering putting him into the bullpen when Ryan Rowland-Smith comes off the DL if Silva doesn't do well in his next couple of starts.
The bullpen has also been very good. How bout that job by Jason Vargas (pic above) last night! David Aardsma, Mark Lowe, Shawn Kelley, Sean White, and Brandon Morrow have all been more than reliable and exceded expectations.

The big question now is whether this great pitching can hold up long enough for the offense to find a groove once the weather starts getting warmer into the summer. This is normally the time of year when the bats start waking up so lets pray for a little Pedro Cerrano (pic below) Vudu/Golf cover magic and seperate ourselves from the Angels!

Seahawks have effective draft

So last weekend I was up at my aunt and uncle's house in SLC and was lucky enough to catch the first round of the draft. I'm also lucky to have an amazingly understanding girlfriend who understands my love of sports and of the Seahawks, as she is a fan herself. It was actually productive for all of us as the TV was on in the background for most of the draft as I was able to chat with the family and watch the draft at the same time. Of course nobody else cares about football but I was loving life because I didn't feel bad watching the draft as I would carry on conversations with the fam and then look up to check out who was getting drafted where. These are secrets every sports fan should learn to do if they want to make their families happy along with fulfilling their sports needs.

Anyways onto the Seahawks. I was celebrating the pick of Aaron Curry (pics above). He is widely considered the best player in the draft, and we got him with the 4th pick! I started screaming when the Chiefs didn't take him with the 3rd pick cause I knew we had lucked out. This kid is going to be a stud...just check this youtube video of when he was drafted (it also has a few clips of football highlights). The kid seems like he has a passion for the game from his balling his eyes out plus he seems exited to come to Seattle...he's also a freaking heat seeking missile. Plus, along with the signing of Leroy Hill and Lofa Tatupu to long term deals, we now have three stud linebackers for at least the next 4 years.

Another move I loved was trading away our 2nd round pick for Denver's 1st round pick next year. Denver is going to be terrible next year (maybe even in the top 5 worst). So we have the possibility of getting another top 5 pick next year which we could use on a QB if Hasselbeck doesn't stay healthy or a great tackle if Walter Jones wants to retire. Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy are possibilities. Just root for Denver to suck next year.

We then made up for the 2nd round pick by trading back into the 2nd round and selecting who the Seahawks wanted anyways in the 2nd round, Max Unger (pic above), a great center out of Oregon. I expect this kid to be starting next year at center. He's that good. We needed to get younger and better on the OL and this is a step forward as Chris Spencer was just not the answer.

We traded up in the 3rd round to get Deon Butler (pic above) who looks like he could be a very good WR out of Penn St. He should fill the void of Bobby Engram quite nicely. Ironically they're both from Penn St.

So basically we traded a 3rd, 5th, and 7th round pick for a 1st round pick (probably in the top ten) next year. That's great value if you ask me. Hopefully, along with the signing of Ken Lucas (pic below) yesterday, this Seahawk team will be back winning divisions and advancing into the playoffs for years to come, as they should be.

Vegas Here I Come!!!

Well I haven't written on my blog in forever. Thats what happens when you have 16 credits of ridiculously hard science classes, a job, and of course an amazing girlfriend. A guy's gotta have priorities right? Luckily in three weeks I'm finally graduating from BYU. Which means all that time spent on studying will be focused on having an amazing summer and actually enjoying myself. It also opens up time to actually write about the Mariners, who I will be following very closely as always. I'll also be posting about other thing besides the Mariners over the summer, mainly providing previews for the Seahawks, and BYU football and basketball.

I wish I would have had time to write about all the great sporting events that have gone on over the last couple of months. I've failed to write about the World Baseball Classic, which I absolutely loved! Even though my Dominicans or Americans couldn't take home the gold, I was still happy to see the USA actually put up a fight this time (pictured below). Hopefully next time both the Dominicans and the USA will take it even more seriously and show people who the real baseball countries are. People who say that event shouldn't be played don't love baseball. It's great for baseball

Then there's March Madness. I can't say enought about college basketball. It's so full of emotion every year. I still can't get that picture out of my head from 3 years ago when Gonzaga's Adam Morrison was just crying his guts out on the floor (pictured below). I love it almost as much as college football. In my mind, college football has a better product but fails to provide the fans with what they want, or what should be done, which is a playoff similar to college basketball. I'm not saying 64 teams, but I think an 8, 12, or 16 team playoff is a drastic improvement over the BCS.

When I have more time to post in the summer, I'll go over BYU's basketball season and discuss what needs to be done to take this team to the next level of advancing in the NCAA tourny. They had a great year though. Three straight conference championships is an amazing accomplishment and coach Rose (pictured below) should be proud. He, in my mind, is an amazing coach and has done miracles with the BYU program, which I cannot say about Bronco.

Finally, I going to Vegas for the first time and its going to be amazing! We're going to see the Mariners play their final game of spring training on Saturday so hopefully I'll have some pictures up next week about the trip. It'll be good to actually get an unnofficial spring break and catch some rays! Oh ya, we'll be staying at the Mirage (pic below) if anyone wants to party it up.

I'm a Baller

Check me Out!!!

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The Mariners will sign Ken Griffey Jr.!

Ok...so I know its not official yet, but every sign points to Griffey coming to Seattle! ESPN reported this morning that the two sides are having serious talks. The Seattle Times is reporting the same. Lets get one thing straight, Griffey is way past his prime and probably will not improve our team next year at all (except maybe as a DH). The only reason I want this to happen is for sentimental reasons. As many of you might know, I grew up a die-hard Mariners fan, and Jr Griffey was a major part of that. The 1995 season will always be one of my fondest sports memories of all time. Edgar's double with Griffey running around third base will be forever sketched in my brain.

Here's a link to the video of the play that saved the Seattle Mariners in which Griffey was a big part of. This video gives me chills every time I watch it. I seriously almost started crying watching this video today. You gotta loved the announcer, Dave Niehouse. He will always be the voice of the M's. You gotta love Griffey's smile as he gets mobbed at home plate. Priceless.
As for Griffey coming to Seattle this year, he deserves one last go around with the M's. There wouldn't even be baseball in Seattle if it wasn't for him. Bring back Griffey!

Seahawks loss vs Arizona a blessing in disguise / NFL Draft talk

So I'm pretty much an NFL Draft junkie. I can't get enough of it. Its probably because I love college football so much. One of my passions is coaching and scouting players. I feel its one of my strong points. The NFL can be pretty cool too so the draft combines all these worlds into one. Its awesome! Another bonus is that its always the last weekend in April, which happens to coincide with the weekend after finals get over with at BYU! So I'm always ready to just chill and watch where the best college football players end up. Obviously I'm especially interested in not only who the Seahawks draft, but also where or if guys like Austin Collie, Rey Feinga, Travis Bright, Dallas Reynolds, or Fui Vakapuna get drafted.
I wanted to focus on how big this draft is for the Seahawks. They have the 4th pick in the draft and will be able to draft a great player. I'm hoping it will be WR Michael Crabtree (pic above). According to many mock drafts, he will still be available at #4. If he's there, the Seahawks have to take him. Anyone who watched college football this year knows he's a stud. Reminds me of Larry Fitzgerald or Andre Johnson of the Texans. The Seahawks were a team without playmakers last year. Branch was not 100%, Engram is getting old (37), Burleson was out for the year, and the other young recievers didn't step up. If we can add Crabtree to the mix, we'll be challenging Arizona again next year for the NFC west.

The irony is that if they would have beaten the Arizona the last week of the regular season, the Seahawks would have dropped all the way to #8 in the draft. At #8, they would not have a shot at Michael Crabtree. So maybe losing that game will be a blessing in disguise for a franchise and a city thats going to need some positive vibes.

Speaking of where I think BYU players will get drafted, here's my early mock draft for them:
Austin Collie: 3rd-4th round Ray Feinga 6th-7th round Travis Bright 6th-7th round
Free Agents who will sign with teams and get their shot at camp: (In order of best chance) Fui Vakapuna, Dallas Reynolds, David Oswald, David Nixon

Side Notes: Three things I can't wait for in the next month: Spring Training (Seattle Mariners spring training facility in Peoria, AZ pic below)! Which means baseball season is right around the corner! March Madness is soon upon us! Hopefully the Cougs can make a run at the Tourny! BYU Spring Practice begins March 16! Always entertaining.

Chillin with the new recruits / WSU Pharmacy School Interview

Well with school/life starting to crank up this last week I haven't had the time to write much, but thanks to MLK Jr., I have a bit of extra time today!

Two weekends ago I was hanging out with some friends at a party and guess who shows up? None other then the BYU football recruits who were on their official visits. Among them that I recognized: the legend himself Manti Te'o, Xavier Su'a Filo (pic above), and Kyle Van Noy (pic below). There were a few other ones but I couldn't recognize their faces. I try and follow most of BYU's recruiting from scout.com and I was wishing that I had spent more time looking at the lower 3 and 2 star recruits' pictures so I could have recognized their faces. Oh well. They all seemed like really cool guys. I actually talked to Van Noy and congratulated him on his committment to BYU. Cool kid. I felt stupid trying to convince Manti and X-Man to commit so I resisted the temptation.
On a side note, I don't have a good feeling about Manti (pic below) coming to BYU. I guess I'm just scared b/c of what happend with Uona Kaveinga last year and Stanley Havili the year before. (They both went to USC instead of BYU) On the other hand, I have a good feeling about Xavier. Jay Drew (Salt Lake Tribune) mentioned on his blog that he heard from a good source that X really like BYU. I trust Jay most of the time. Not as much as Wrubel though. I really need to get a substription to Total Blue Sports (scout.com) which gives tons of inside info on BYU recruiting. But then I'd just spend more time looking at BYU stuff (I already spend too much time).
I can't wait for Feb. 4 which is signing day for all the recruits. I'll probably do a breakdown on all the recruits in February. Come on Manti! We need you!

On a positive sidenote. I have the most important interview of my life coming up this Friday. I'll be interviewing at the Washington State School of Pharmacy in Pullman. It's my only interview at it's really where I want to go to school so I'm really exited/nervous. I won't know until the first week in March if I get accepted so it will be a nerv-racking month and a half. If I do get accepted, I guess I'll become more of a Wazzu fan. I already follow them a little bit but I expect that to increase if accepted.

Wide Reciever / Tight End Preview

Now that Austin Collie has declared for the draft, we can all move on (hopefully). No doubt Austin will be missed. He was a flat out stud. At times he seemed like the only one who wanted the ball in his hands in the crucial situations. With that, the cupboard is not empty. We return four solid WRs and two great TEs to go along with some players that have some great potential.

The Wide Recievers

Back from his mission to save the day is McKay Jacobsen (pic above). Comparisons will be made right away with Austin Collie. Although he is not quite as good as Collie is right now, he has the potential to be just as good. Rumor was that he was the fastest player on the team in 2006. While he may end up being our best reciever next year, kicking off the missionary legs won't be easy.

The next best three recievers are O'Neil Chambers (pic above), Luke Ashworth, and Spencer Hafoka. It was hard to get a read on any of these guys last year because they were rarely thrown to. It will be interesting to see if Chambers can live up to the hype that surrounded him before this year. Maybe a year of knowing the system and working out with coach Omer (strength and conditioning coach) will do wonders for him. Adjusting to Provo life was not easy on O'Neil. Luckily he had a great mentor in Michael Reed to show him the ropes. I predict he will have a much better year next year as Max will have more trust in him and he will be much more comfortable in his surroundings.

To me, Ashworth (pic below) and Hafoka (pic above) are very similar. Both have good hands and are solid route runners. Nothing spectacular but solid. Pretty much the generic BYU wide reciever from the 80s. Also its important to note that both were coming back from missions so maybe a year of shaking off the rust will be great for them and they have breakout seasons as well. I know Hafoka did return some punts last year so obviously the coaches thought he had some talent as far as quickness and speed.

Two sleeper WRs to keep your eye on are Landon Jaussi and Tyler Kozlowski. I really don't see any true freshman or other returned missionaries contributing much. Brett Thompson and Mitch Matthews are two good incoming freshman recievers (3 stars on scout.com) who probably won't play much until after their missions.

The Tight Ends

No doubt that Dennis Pitta (pic above) and Andrew George will be Hall's two main targets next year. They are the two best TEs in the conference and I wouldn't be suprised if they both get drafted in the 2010 draft. Pitta should be a finalist for the best TE in the country next year. He has amazing hands, some of the best I've seen since Jonny Harline. He's an underrated blocker who has good size at 6'5. Plus he served his mission in the best place on earth (the Dominican Republic). His only problem is he doesn't have blazing speed like a prototipical NFL TE. Hopefully he can have a good offseason, get his knee back to 100%, and gain some speed.

Sometimes I feel back for Andrew George (pic above). The guy is playing behind a great TE and he himself would start for any team in the MWC. The guy has great hands, good speed, and with his 6'6 frame, is a great red-zone target.

I believe Kaneakua Friel isn't going on a mission so it will be a battle for the 3rd TE spot with incoming 4-star recruit Richard Wilson (pic below). Friel seems like he has good talent. He played FB last year so he can block. Good hands with a good frame. Wilson is going to be the real deal. He had offers from LSU, Miami, Tennessee, UW, Stanford, and Utah. Wow. Says on Scout.com he has 4.6 speed.
As always we will be loaded at TE.

Next up is the Offensive Line preview. Also note that I will be doing a Mariners preview probably in late-Feb./early March. Right after we have all our free agents signed and right before spring training.

Looking back on the Streak

I will always look back on the last 3-plus years of basketball seasons in the Marriott Center as some of my best sports memories at BYU. Yes that even includes football. For those of you who have not been to the Marriott Center, it is one of the biggest basketball arenas in college basketball. And when it is sold out like it was on Saturday against Wake Forest, it is much like Quest field in Seattle, deafening.

I will remember the amazing white outs (vs. Utah, UNLV, Air Force, and San Diego St.). I'll remember the very first game I ever attended in 2005 which resulted in the only loss I've ever witnessed in person at BYU, which happens to be the last time BYU lost a home game (I've been to almost every game except the Wake Forest game). I'll remember the amazing games (vs. TCU in 2005, vs. San Diego St. last year, vs Utah and UNLV ever year, and beating #14 Air Force in 2006). Thank You Dave Rose and all the players that made it possible. 53 games is an amazing streak! Lets start a new streak tomorrow by beating Western Oregon!

A Few Other Notes

I've found a new favorite team to root for, The Wake Forest Demon Decons. They were amazing to watch yesterday. Yes, the refs from the A-10 did favor them, but they are still a great team. Jeff Teague is tough and calm under pressure. Many players have fallen victim to the Marriot Center but he rose his game to a whole new level. They have future NBA players in Al-Farouq Aminu, James Johnson, and Teague, just to name a few. Head coach Dino Gaudio is a class act. If you didn't read his postgame comments you should check them out. He was full of praise to the BYU program.

BYU should feel no shame in losing to Wake Forest. They literally outplayed them in every aspect of the game, except shooting down the stretch. If Lee Cummard doesn't go 6-20 and 0-4 on 3's, and JT doesn't go 4-13 on 3's, we win the game. Those were shots that normally would fall for BYU. Thats not even including the fact that we lost our starting and backup centers to foul trouble.

Mark's sports wish list for 2009 / Thoughts on BYU basketball

1. BYU basketball beats Wake Forest this year, beats UNLV on the road, and wins an NCAA tournament game. Is that too much to ask?

2. Manti Te'o (pictured below), the best high school linebacker in the nation, picks BYU over USC. I have a good feeling about this one. Oh ya, and for Bronco to be more aggressive on defense (mix up the blitz and don't give a 12 yard cushion).

3. Seahawks select Michael Crabtree (pictured below) with the 4th pick in the draft.
4. Mariners sign someone who can actually hit the ball.

Just four simple requests.

Also wanted to expand a bit on this huge week for BYU basketball. After giving it over a week and a half to sink in, I will no longer consider the loss against Arizona St. a loss. I will refer to it as a win. Because thats what it was. I will not let the Pac-10/stupid officials rule my life. I consider this like the U.S. silver medal against the Russians in the Olympics in 1972. They refused to accept the medal because they knew they were robbed because of politics/stupidity. In their minds they won the gold medal. In my mind, BYU won the game, so thats the way it is.

The positive in the whole situation is that BYU rebounded well against Tulsa to get a huge win on Tuesday. Dave Rose is an amazing coach and BYU is lucky to have him. He has recruited the talent necessary to succeed while at the same time, managing egos such as Trent Plaisted and JT. He is an aggresive coach who knows how to win. Maybe Bronco could learn a lesson or two.

I can't wait for the Wake Forest game on Saturday! This game is going to be huge for the program. Can you say biggest game ever at the Marriott Center?