Ichiro is this week's big winner. He wins the All-Star Game MVP trophy, turning in a fine performance going 3-3 with a 2 run inside the park home run. Later upon arrival in the Emerald City (Seattle) he is deservingly inked to a five year 90 million dollar deal that will probably keep him in Seattle for the rest of his career. As a Mariner fan, I think this is the best thing that could possibly happen to the Mariners this season other than making a possible post season trip. The Mariners had a series split with the Detroit Tigers, and JJ Putz got a little revenge on Tiger's skipper Jimmy Leyland by picking up two saves in the series and striking out the side in one. Justin Verlander proved that he was a chump with a bush league move, as he beaned Ichiro in the knee with a 96 mph fastball rather than face him. Oh well.
The other big winner is myself. I get to go to the opening two games of the Mariners series against the Baltimore Orioles. One of these games will feature Felix Hernandez making a start, who I'm really excited to see for the first time. I plan on bringing my little kids mitt (I have tiny hands) with the fake Ryne Sandberg autograph on the palm of it. Perhaps I can catch the first foul ball in my career, as I will be sitting in the second level on the third base line.
The big loser of the week, besides me in my fantasy football draft, is my Portland Trail Blazers. The Blazers decided to sign veteran (I guess) point guard Steve Blake much to the dismay of apparently just me. I'm excited about next season with Brandon Roy and the expected heavy impact of twin towers Greg Oden and LaMarcus Aldridge. What doesn't excite me is that I have to watch roughly the same rotation of point guards that I had to see a couple of years ago, and instead of Sebastian Telfair we have Sergio Rodriguez and Taurean Green. The team had a great draft, but the signing of Blake and the likely signing of Travis Outlaw have me crying in my beer. That being said, I still intend to go to a minimum of 3 games this next season.
I don't have anything to mention about the Seahawks this week, other than I really looking forward to the season and I still miss DJack. Congrats to Ichiro! He's the new Mr. Mariner. I shake my head in disgust, knowing that the Blazers have Steve Blake for 3 years.
dont get all huffy maybe blake will be fine!! yea what a game for ichiro !!!! hey im looking 4ward to seahawks and see how jordan kent does the ex oregon dude
Congrats on locking up Ichiro. Kid deserves every penny.
And I'll say this about Blake. He was going to get his. A lot of teams out there were actually looking to nab him. Coming out or Maryland, I didn't expect much out of him. That being said, I did watch him play more than a few games with Denver last year and he seemed to fare pretty well against solid competition. Take a look at his numbers, they might cheer you up. It might not be as bad a pick up as you think.
LOL...Verlander is a chump? At 11-3? And a no-hitter? What does that make every other pitcher in MLB?
Do you think he MEANT to hit Ichiro? Not with the expression on his face afterwards. Probably not with 0 outs and the Tigers leading....but as you say, oh well.
Blazers are going to be exciting to watch next year, hopefully the NBA adjusts the schedule so people in the Midwest and East get to see more of the Blazers, Sonics, etc.
Glad to see Ichiro is staying put in Seattle. It would be strange to see him play anywhere else.
Oden and Aldridge could be a great combo...but like you said, a little bit to be desired at the point guard position. They could really benefit from bringing in a veteran guard that can run the show without taking a lot of shots.
Hey, it could be worse...they could have kept Steve Francis.
PF is from the Northwest. I'm a huge fan of the Seahawks, Mariners, and Trail Blazers! If you don't root for your teams, even when they're losing or re-building, you are not a true fan.
Go Beavs! Back to Back NCAA Baseball Champions! Obama in '08!
