2007 has been thus far, and promises to continue to be, a year of the good, the bad and the colossally ugly in terms of Seattle sports. And a little bit laughable, too.
This, for example, is just plain laughable. Tony LaRussa to be the next manager of the Mariners, and bring Walt Jocketty with him as GM in a package deal? Not gonna happen.
The Mariners when they were on their hot streak. The starting rotation was going fairly deep into games and doing a good job of keeping opponents off balance; the bullpen was sterling; the hitters all seemed to be clicking at once; and the defense was superb. For the first time in nearly six years, the team was in contention deep into August, hopes were high--if they couldn't catch the Angels for the division, surely they could take the wild card (which might have been preferable anyway, given the WS winning habits of wild card teams the past several years). Mariners games were popular again, people were talking about them on the streets and in the buses.
The Seattle Sounders have advanced to the USL Championship Round after convincing series victories in both the divisional round and the semi-finals. I'm not a soccer fan but, hey, it's a good thing for Seattle sports, no?
The Seahawks have started the season 2-1 (though they SHOULD have been 3-0 but for that stupid little mistake in the last minute of the Cardinals game two weeks ago). While not looking as good as they could/should, they are looking better than a lot of people have given them credit for.
THE BAD:
The last two and a half weeks of the Mariners schedule. What was humming along well has fallen into a shambles reminiscent of the past three years---losing, losing, losing. Everything that was hot has grown terribly, terribly cold. Playoff hopes over, and the inevitable round of "what if's" and "what will happen in the offseason" already beginning.
Will there be a new field manager next year? Probably not. John McLaren has been in the organization too long for them to dump him after just a few months (mid-season next year if things don't get better, though, is another story). Will there be a new GM next year? If my (and a lot of other people's) prayers are answered with a yes, there will be, but I'm not holding my breath until I turn blue. Will there be any constructive trades, FA signings and/or rebuilding in the off-season? Not if the answer to question number two is "no".
Shaun Alexander's wrist fracture. It was thought to be just a sprain, suffered in the season opener. Turns out, the team announced yesterday, that he has a fracture. He plans to continue to play with the game day cast he has been wearing for the past three weeks, but this cannot be a good sign. Last year it was the foot fracture, now the wrist (has anyone checked this young man for osteoporosis or Vitamin D deficiency? If not, why not?). He HAS to keep playing for now, because his back up Maurice Morris was also injured in the opener and may not be back for a while. All in all, though, this is worrisome.
UW football: After beginning with two wins, they have now lost twice (though I won't complain much about one of them, because it came at the hands of my beloved Buckeyes). This was to be the season that the Huskies returned to decent standings. We'll see.
THE DOWNRIGHT UGLY:
This man and his friends,
and all that they have done to turn this city and the NBA/Sonics situation into a contentious battleground. (If you think I'm joking, head on over to the story about the city's lawsuit against the Sonics on foxsports.com's NBA section and read some of the 17 (yes, I said SEVENTEEN) pages of comments, which consist mainly of Seattlites and Oklahomians calling each other everything but nice over this issue (and I admit that I got some licks of my own in, simply because the whole thing ticks me off royally for the way it has been (mis)handled).
I used to work at the Key Arena during Sonics and Storm seasons; I support both of the teams; and I'm going to miss the heck out of Kevin Calabro's commentary when the team is no longer here (crosses fingers and hopes that he will come in to either join or replace Dave Niehaus on Mariners commentary, because he is a pretty good baseball man, too).
As I have said on numerous occasions in the past, I am against taxpayer funding for a new arena for the Sonics. If the new owners are astute enough businessmen that they could put together the $350MM to buy the teams, then they should be astute enough to be able to put together a private financing package to get the $500+MM arena that they want with no trouble whatsoever, and minimum burden to taxpayers that are already hurting. I'd like both of the teams to stay here, but not at the expense of another 2-3+ percent in sales tax or whatever else it might take to finance another arena.
What it could be like in OKC if the teams end up there: Lauren Jackson has already said that she will NOT go to OKC if the Storm is moved there. The loss of a two time league MVP is never a good thing for a team. Kevin Durant is about the only draw that the Sonics have right now, with Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis having departed for other pastures. Sure, the NO/OKC Hornets played to frequently sold out houses during their tenure in OKC, but that was probably as much due to the novelty of having a pro franchise in town for the first time as anything else. If this losing team goes there and continues to lose, will they continue to play to sold out houses on a consistent basis? I hardly think so--why pay upwards of $200 per for tickets to watch a losing team in person when you can do it at home on television for free? (Oh, wait, will the team have as good a media contract/coverage in the vastly smaller OKC media market as they do here in Seattle? Again, one can't be too sure). Oh, yes, by the way, if the team is relocated to OKC or anywhere else, the SuperSonics name should stay right here in Seattle where it has been for the past 40+ years--why should they be allowed to have the goodwill and history attached to that name--let them think up their own name for the new team.
There you have it, my friends, my version of the good, the bad and the ugly, early Seattle Tuesday morning style.
On 21 June 2007, the 102nd annual Midnight Sun game will be played at Growden Park in Fairbanks AK. The home team, as always (since 1960, anyway), will be the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks, and their opponent will be the Oceanside CA Waves. The game will begin at 10:30 pm Alaska time (11:30 pm Pacific time), and usually lasts til nearly 2:00 am Alaska time (and the sun is out the whole time--as the above picture will illustrate, having been taken at "high midnight").
You may have heard of some of the Goldpanners' alumni, such as: Tom Seaver, Dave Winfield, and the "gentleman" currently pursuing the all time home run record, Mr. Barry Bonds; only a few of the nearly 200 Goldpanners' alumni who have played in the majors. But I'm willing to bet that not too many of you out there were even aware that baseball has such a rich history in our country's last frontier.
This particular team boasts the unique factoid of being the farthest north on the face of the earth, as Fairbanks is about 150 miles south of the Artic Circle. This game has never utilized artificial lighting in it's entire 102 year history (quite a feat, I would say). The game is also stopped at the stroke of midnight for the singing of the Alaska flag song, this year to be done in the Inupiat language (one of the Alaska native peoples).\
The Goldpanners are part of the Alaska Baseball League, an independent league.
To learn more about the history of Alaska baseball over the past century, you might want to look at some of the following:
The vast majority of the league's players are college baseball players from around the lower 48 and elsewhere.
So, my friends, if you are looking for a totally out of the ordinary baseball experience, you might consider going to the land of the midnight sun to take in the Midnight Sun Game this year, or in the future. While you're at it, take some time to take in the sights of our glorious 49th state of the Union--you won't be disappointed.
OK, all of you fantasy owners who hit the panic button yesterday when you heard about the injury to Felix Hernandez' elbow (including me, to be sure), you can exhale a bit now.
Dr. Khalfayan has read the MRI that was done on the elbow last night, and has this to say about it: The flexor/pronator complex has a strain, <b>NOT</b> a tear in it. He also says that he does not anticipate that Felix will miss much time due to this injury.
As I had mentioned in comments from the previous post, Felix was out playing a game that the M's call "flip" this afternoon, which is kind of like hackey sack, but with a baseball, and without the feet; using instead the hands and baseball gloves.
Seen up close, he was smiling and laughing, clearly enjoying the company of his friends and their activity. He was not in a sling or any kind of immobilizer, and appeared to be moving the entire right arm well, without significant discomfort.
Further updates will be forthcoming, but this is better news than I was anticipating hearing this afternoon.
In the meantime, Jake Woods has been optioned back to AAA Tacoma, and Sean Green called up to fill in as a spot starter until Felix is back.
A little over a year ago, then 25 year old Mariners' pitching prospect Juan Sandoval was having dinner with his girlfriend in his native Dominica, overhearing an argument between a security guard and a drunken customer.
The next thing he knew, he heard the sound of a shotgun being pumped nearby, then the pain of richocheting buckshot carving into his face and right eye.
Doctors in the local hospital were unable to do anything for him, so he was transferred to a facility in the capital city of Santo Domingo, where he underwent several surgeries over the next six month. The eye was "saved" but his vision in that side was permanently lost.
Prior to this year, Sandoval last pitched for the AA San Antonio Missions, who are no longer part of the Mariners' organization, with a record of 9-11 and a 4.03 ERA.
He is now a non-roster invitee to the major league spring training camp in Peoria AZ, where he has already thrown in an intersquad game on Tuesday. He gave up a 500+ foot home run to outfield prospect Mike Wilson, but otherwise pitched well for his first attempt in nearly two years.
He has put in a lot of hard work since his accident and surgeries, both in the Dominican and in Seattle. He knows that he is not likely to make the 40 man out of spring training, but is hoping to be assigned to AAA Tacoma for the minor league season.
From where I sit, it takes a lot of guts to be a one eyed pitcher, and the M's are to be congratulated for standing behind him and letting him come back to try and get back into the game.
I am a 50 something health care professional transplanted to Seattle from SoCal in 2001 (and, before you ask, no, I don't want to go back). My tastes in sports are pretty eclectic, but in order of preference, I guess they would be baseball, hockey, basketball, football--col lege and pro/men and women alike. Teams I "HATE": USC (I went to UCLA); University of Michigan (born and raised in Columbus OH to a large family of OSU alumni/alumna e), and--probably most of all--the d***ed Yankees. I have worked in a variety of capacities at the MLB, NBA and NFL venues here in Seattle and at UW (hey, what true sports fan could pass up the possibility of getting paid to do something you would have done anyway (and had to pay for it)?)
