Monday Morning Musing, June 8

As always, these are random thoughts to get your week started on the right and/or wrong foot. Prepare to be spellbound. Or at least mildly amused.

I just can't contain my excitement any longer. The Seattle Mariners are on fire!!! 

Who cares if our offensive scoring prowess is worse than the two dudes from Superbad? So what if 40 percent of our starting rotation should be taking buses to games in small towns with names that end in "ville"? 

Right now, this team of thrown-together misfits, castoffs, underachieving middle infielders, over-the-hill Hall of Famers, aloof Asian superstars and over-priced free agent mistakes is positively scorching the earth like the climax of a Michael Bay film. 

Relatively speaking. 

In fact, the M's have won two in a row (shoula been three, Wladamir!) taken three straight series against solid competition (Angels, Orioles and Twins) and sit just one game under .500. Not bad, but not awesome. But here's the kicker. We're improving. That's right, the Mariners are getting better. 

The starting pitching has been fantastic. The new lineup, with Branyan hitting second, has been increasingly productive. 

But the most impressive wrinkle in this delightfully unpredictable season is that this team is coming to play every night  or afternoon. We lose focus and games, some that we shouldn't, some that we blew. Regardless, we're coming back the next day and playing hard. 

I credit Wak and I credit our cooky veterans. 

Wak, because he's willing to make changes (brilliant on the Branyan shift) and holds his players accountable for making preventable mistakes (Jose, Yuni, even Felix have all been taken to task for mental errors).   

By cooky veterans, I mean Griffey and Sweeney. These graybeards are keeping this team focused and in stitches. The major league baseball season is long and arduous. You need to have a short memory to keep coming back day after day and act like nothing (good or bad) happened yesterday. And what's the best way to forget about your troubles: laughing. Comedy as cure-all. 

When Griffey's gone, sadly, the Mariners will need to hire Zach Galafianakis to fill the comedic void. "The Hangover" star probably couldn't hit much worse. It hurts just to write that, but I'm sure, if he read that surprisingly topical joke, the new ego-less Ken "Cosby" Griffey would probably be laughing. When isn't he? 

Anyway, I'm enjoying it. 

Other musings: 

-This Bedard renaissance is a sham. He's a mercenary, plain and simple. If someone were to play him in a movie, it would be Jean Claude Van Dam. 

-He's also re-established himself as one of the top 5 nastiest pitchers in the American League. Scouts are watching. Too bad we still won't get half of what we gave up for him. 

-Seahawks starting tailback, Michael Vick. Sounds good, doesn't it. 

-If you saw Pau Gasol on the street, wouldn't you wonder why someone that tall had fallen so far and wasn't playing in the NBA? Wouldn't you point him to the nearest homeless shelter, keep walking and then make a (Chappelle) Rick James joke? "Cocaine is a helluva drug."

-I really hope the Magic win a couple of games against the Lakers, just to prolong the series. Aside from Rescue Me (best season yet and it goes all summer long) and the occasionally train-wreckish fun of crappy reality shows, TV is terrible this time of year.   

Sweeney's classy, Ichi won't dive

Great two-part blog yesterday from Mariner Reporter Shannon Drayer of 710 KIRO.

For those who are adamant about the insignificance of "clubhouse guys", there's a great entry in there about what Mike Sweeney brings to the whole team concept -- off the field. Just another great example of what leadership means to a young team trying to find itself. When times like now are tough, it's great to hear stories like this versus stories of how the team is fractured. I know, I know, it's all about wins and losses...

The blog goes on to speculate on why Ichiro seemingly will not dive for a ball and debates the actual effectiveness of diving with some great quotes from Junior.

For the record, I have NEVER seen Ichiro dive. And I don't care what physics state, I've played outfield for many, many years, and I can tell you with 100% confidence there are balls you can only get to by diving for them.

Enjoy.

Tuesday Top 10: Greatest M's plays

There sure are a lot of them in the Mariners' relatively short history, but today's Top 10 is my version of the greatest plays in the team's history. The idea behind these was what individual plays really stand out, not to be confused with the top greatest moments in Mariners history, like the record-breaking wins of 2001, etc.

With that in mind, here are my best individual player moments:

10. Junior goes full-tilt into the wall to make catch, breaks wrist: Until you've played baseball -- and outfield at that -- you really can't appreciate how remarkable it is to see a player go full speed into the wall to make a catch. It's next to impossible to not have the instinct to let up, but Junior's catch on May 27, 1995 robbing Kevin Bass' seventh-inning fly ball to deep center proved the Kid was willing to do anything to help his team in that magical year. The Ms won that game over the Baltimore Orioles 8-3, but on the play Griffey fractured his wrist and was out for three months. One of the greatest catches I've ever seen.

9. Mike Cameron robs Jeter's home run: Cameron's snagging of a Derek Jeter home run from over the fence was a fitting introduction to Mariner fans still reeling from losing Junior, as it occurred on April 7, 2000, Cammy's first season with the Ms. I can remember it as if it was yesterday -- Cameron scales the wall and robs both Jeter and a drunk guy in the beer garden in perfect position awaiting the souvenir.

8. Ichiro throws out Terrance Long: Much like the previous play, this play was really Ichiro's introduction to (in this case MLB) that he wasn't just a slap-hitting Japanese speedster, he also had arguably the most lethal arm in baseball, something not everyone may have known. The play occurred in April 2001 -- right at the beginning of Ichiro's first season with Seattle and from that moment on, few tested his arm. The throw came in Oakland when Long was trying to stretch a ground-ball single from first to third when #51 threw an absolute bullet from mid-right field on a frozen rope to a waiting David Bell right on the bag for an easy tag. Said Ichiro on the throw: “The ball was hit right to me. Why did he run when I was going to throw him out?” My thoughts exactly, Wizard.

7. Felix Hernandez grand slam at Shea: Impressive because a) He was the AL first pitcher to hit a grand slam in 37 years and the only Mariner pitcher to ever go deep, b) Felix was an AL pitcher that never got ABs, and c) it was off Johan Santana. Unfortunately for Ms fans, it typified the team's offensive struggles as the June 23 highlight was only one of a handful last season.

6. Griffey Jr. & Sr. go back-to-back: A moment that had never happened before and probably won't ever again due to the stars that have to align. The Griffeys had already become the first father-and-son tandem to play on the same big league team, and on September 14, 1990 in Anaheim, Senior came to bat in the first inning with a runner on base and none out. He sent a Kirk McCaskill pitch over the fence in left-center field for his third home run of the season. There to greet him at home plate was the on-deck batter, Junior. "That's how it's done, son," Senior said. Junior stepped to the plate and hit a ball to almost the exact same spot in left-center for his 20th home run of the season, becoming the first father/son tandem to go deep back-to-back.

5. Carlos Guillen's bunt to win ALDS: October 6, 2000. Guillen lays down a magnificent bunt in the bottom of the ninth to score Rickey Henderson with the winning run to defeat the the White Sox 2-1 and sweep the series and advance to the ALCS.

4. Mike Cameron's fourth homer of the game: On May 2, 2002 in Chicago, Cameron tied a Major League record when he hit four home runs in one game. Interestingly in his fifth and final at-bat, he hit it to the warning track, just missing what would have been the MLB record.

3. "The Catch": April 26, 1990, Yankee Jesse Barfield hit a Randy Johnson offering that traveled deep to left-center field, destined to become his 200th career home run. But Junior sped to the fence, leaped, and made a sensational catch. It left those watching in suspense until he took the ball out of his glove and showed the umpire it was indeed an incredible home-run-robbing catch. The image of Griffey sprinting off the field wearing the famous grin of his is indelible.

2. Ichiro's 258th hit: October 1, 2004. Ichiro gets his 258^th hit of the season to break George Sisler's 84 year-old single-season record for most hits, driving a 3-2 pitch up the middle off Texas pitcher Ryan Drese. It is widely considered the most important historic achievement ever by a Seattle Mariner. Ichiro would end the season with 262 hits total.

1. Edgar's double: Not much suspense here, the shot heard around Seattle is widely thought as the greatest moment in Mariners' history and one of the tops in the city's history for all teams. The Mariners would go down 0-2 in New York, and when the series went back to Seattle the Ms would battle back to win the next two games to force a decisive fifth game. That game would go into extra innings with the Yankees taking a one-run lead in the 11^th inning. In the bottom half of the inning, Gar would win the game for the Mariners with the game-winning double to drive in Junior, giving the Ms the series win 3-2 and a spot in the ALCS.

Monday Morning Musings, May 4

The Muse is tired from a weekend filled with Mint Juleps and Mariner marathon comebacks. We're like a fat kid after too much cake -- we need a nap. Nevertheless, our somnolent state will not prevent us from randomly musing about sports this, and every, Monday morning.

-Hummer stretch limo-sized win for the Mariners last night. Jose Lopez continues his tradition as the "Even Steven" of the team: for every terrible play he makes in the field, he gets a game-winning hit. I'll take it.

What I'm gathering from watching this team, from what's being written by print columnists and bloggers (even The Doubter isn't so doubtful anymore!), is that this team is mentally tough and hungry. And what's more: they actually like each other. Crazy, right? Just look on the front page of the Times sports site. Ichiro looks as giddy as a Japanese school girl (and is about the size of one) jumping into what looks like the beginning of a massive man-hug between Lopez and Beltre. Inspiring? Definitely. Slightly homoerotic? Absolutely.

-The Seahawks signing of Leroy Hill gives us the best linebacking trio in the league, period. But without pressure from the front four -- Hello undnerachieving Lawrence Jackson, Kearney "the Gurney," Daryl (Un)Tapp(ed Potential) -- they will still have trouble stopping teams on third down.

-Spent Saturday afternoon working on a column about my obsession with the Bulls-Celtics series, but then the Kentucky Derby and a bottle of Maker's Mark happened.

Horse racing is not something we usually write about here, mostly because none of us know anything about it, but, if you missed it, Saturday's race was fascinating and thrilling. Mine That Bird was nowhere to be seen until the last turn. From that point on, Bird looked like he was moving in fast-forward while the rest of the field was in slow mo. He darted in an out of the pack like Barry Sanders and absolutely crushed the competition.

-Bulls-Celtics, bottom line: Best. Series. Ever. If nothing else exciting happens for the rest of the playoff, at least the NBA gave us this.

-Blazers were manhandled by the Rockets. Hit the weight room this summer kids.

-My English mate, James, paid $15 to get into a bar to watch his fellow countryman, Ricky Hatton, get his face turned into Shepherd's Pie by Manny Pacquiao. I felt he got ripped off, but James said Pac Man was so impressive it was worth it. When Pac Man fights Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather, I might even shell out the $15 to watch it.

-Thanks to a gift from my sister, I'm once again a Sports Illustrated reader. They've rewarded me with a great story on Ken Griffey Jr. two weeks ago and brief about the Sounders last week. I don't care what people say: SI still has the best writing in all of sports media.

Monday Morning Musing, April 27

Happy Monday and welcome to the latest installment of Monday Morning Musings, where we rip and riff on Seattle sports and all things related.

-Lucky, interesting and productive draft for the Seahawks.

Lucky in that stud LB Aaron Curry, perhaps the best player int the draft fell to them at number 4.

Interesting in that it allowed the team to remove the franchise tag from the disgruntled and oft-injured LB Leroy Hill. Hill still might re-sign with the team, but if he doesn't, it frees up $8.3 million to go after a free agent, like a safety who can actually tackle (Yes, I'm talking to you Brian Russell) or cover somebody (Mr. Grant, you're old and slow and your days are numbered).

Productive in that we picked up speed at receiver in Deon Butler, a versatile center in Max Unger to push Chris Spencer (or replace his underachieving ass altogether), a tough, athletic and smart QB prospect in Mike Teel (he willed Rutgers to a bowl game this year after a 1-5 start). Plus, they picked up an additional 1st round pick next year.

Well done, Ruskell. How many days till training camp?

-By the way, Max Unger will also be the name of the new death metal band I'm starting with Nirvana's Krist Novaselic, the old guitarist for Soundgarden, Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie and the two bald dudes who played two-stringed guitars from the Presidents of the United States of America.

-That's the old Washedupburn we've been missing all season. Good to have you back and keeping our expectations low.

-Great pro hoops yesterday, starting with an absolute thriller of a double-OT game between Celtics and Bulls (Ray Allen = clutch; Paul Pierce = half-clutch, for every time he come up big, he blows it) and then ending with a tough loss for my Blazers in Houston, bringing B-Roy and Nate to the brink of elimination.

-I'm trying to be a Sounders fan. Really, I'm trying. Why is this so hard! They won again on Saturday and Kasey Keller is dominating betweent he pipes at the age of 57. Not sure if this reflects well on Keller and the Sounders or badly on the state of talent in the MLS. (This week, Wetland promises to investigate the Sounders blogosphere and get all the inside goo on our city's newest pro franchise. We'll publish our findings on Saturday.)

-Despite the wishy-Washy performance last night, I believe the M's can win the division if Felix and Bedard stay healthy and productive all season, mostly because the rest of our division sucks. But also because Griffey has reinvented himself at 39 as the team's dirty old uncle, keeping the team loose and well-stocked with porn and cheap beer for the rest of the season.