Same old, same old

As has become the norm, the Sharks win again. It was a hard fought win. The Kings looked good at times last night. They won't go down without a fight it seems. This is the best sight of the night:

The Mariners are just the Mariners. This is becoming a familiar look on this team.

Shame and Misery. Since when did the Royals get to be so good. We might want to start looking out for them the next few years. More Mariners tonight, Sharks again tomorrow night...

One at a time

So tonight the quest begins. It takes 16 wins to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup. Hopefully tonight will bring the first of those wins. I have a good feeling about tonight and the Sharks should take Game 1 at home. I want to see lots of this for the next two months:

Until the Mariners can be more consistent in games or just mess up again, It's lots of Shark talk now. I put up these words in honor of Bryan Stow but not in a hateful way:

GO SHARKS!!

Ride that horse

The young phenom was a stud last night. I think Wedge should have taken him out after 7 innings, but here's what his line looked like from last night:

7 1/3IP, 5H, 2R, 1ER, 2BB, 7K, 104 pitches. And he got his first win in the bigs.

If we can keep this kid getting even better, he and King Felix will be an awesome combination.

Hot Seat Watch

Who would have thought that one week in to the season, the hot seat is already firing up. I have not heard it anywhere yet, but I'm starting it. While the Mariners might have pulled out a miraculous comeback in front of nobody, I'm lighting the burner. Hitting coach Chris Chambliss, Come on down you're on my hot seat.

The game started out with the smallest crowd EVER at Safeco(13,056) and Felix on the mound. Last night was not his night. He got smacked around pretty good. Prima donna Chone Figgins took himself out after 3 innings with a bruised thumb. The M's got a run in the 7th, five runs in the 8th, and 2 to win in the 9th. Yes, they did get 11 hits last night and got a win. Unfortunately, in most games they have not come up with the CLUTCH HITS! This team is batting a collective .225, good enough for 24th in the league. Let's see if they can do something tonight for the new phenom Michael Pineda.

OH, Canada!

It is now time, the playoffs are set. The Sharks will take on in-state rivals the LA Kings for the first time in the post season. It saddens me to see that the great country of Canada only was able to get 2 teams in the playoffs this year.

The Canucks and the Canadiens made it to the party. That means the Oilers, Flames, Senators, and Maple Leafs all missed the playoffs. The state of California alone got three teams in with the Sharks, Kings, and Ducks all making it. Where has the great game of Canada gone without these teams in it. My thought for the new week or so will be:

Oh yeah, Mariners lost again. That's 7 in a row now. The sad thing is there are only about 15,000 seats sold for tonight's game against the Jays. Looks like the Safe is going to be pretty empty.

Transmission Change

OK, this car is slipping a gear really bad and it's time to change it. That's right, this blog has been hijacked by a crazed hockey fan that wants a championship.

There are many possibilities for who my beloved Sharks could play after today's games. We could be playing the Predators, Coyotes, Kings, or Blackhawks in the first round. This team has had some great milestones this year. Patrick Marleau played his career and team 1000th game as a Shark. Friday night, Joe Thornton collected career point #1000. I really hope we can make a run at Lord Stanley's cup this year.

Also, congratulations go out to the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs and their fans. As much as it pained me to watch them win in overtime over Michigan, it is nice to see new blood win for a change.

Oh yes, and my lowly Mariners. One run is all you can muster. I still don't get why you try to bunt your way on with two outs and a runner on third that would tie the game. You can share your opinions on when you decided to bunt in the at-bat?

Where is the direction on this team? You better kick these guys in the butt and take control Mr. Wedge or you will end up like all the past managers-- out the door. As a team with all players, we are only hitting .220 I had decent hopes, but it looks like it's going to be another LONG season. You now have lost six straight games. Please win so I don't have to worry about going 2-160. Where have the glory days gone? It has been 10 years since we've seen the playoffs.

Don't follow me

If you like order and direction this may not be your post today. First, let's start with the debacle at Safeco last night. It looked like the Everett AquaSox were playing the Indians last night, not the Mariners. Come on guys, you lose 12-1 in your home opener? Sad way to play last night. Also last night, the Mariners re-introduced the "green" alternate jersey. I'm sorry, but it's more of an electric blue to me. Here's the new one:

And here is a pic of them back in 1995 looking much more teal to me:

Speaking of good looking uniforms, I like the fact that the Angels wore their older looks for the home opener. In honor of their 50th year, I think they should wear these all year.

Also a big congratulations goes out to a great team guy. Chipper Jones got his 2500th hit in the Braves home opener last night. Great accomplishment for a great guy named Larry.

A big sigh of relief I'm sure is being breathed in Tampa Bay. It only took a week in the season, but the Rays have rid themselves of Manny. He abruptly retires when there's a chance he gets popped a second time for 'roids. I think it is good for the game that these guys get weeded out and we back to playing the game the right way. Bye bye Manny, don't come back with your lame act.

Nice job by the Red Sox to get off the losing pile with a win against the Yankees. Lord knows the NY fans would have continued to pound you if you lost again.

Good luck to the Wolverines today. The Michigan hockey team will go for the Championship today against Minnesota-Duluth.

I don't get to watch much college hockey since it's never on TV, but I will watch the Frozen Four and root for my team if they are in it. GO BLUE!!

Finally, good luck to my son's baseball team today. We might actually get a game in today. Only two games played and five rain outs. Let's win a game and play hard today boys. GO RAINIERS!!

The beginning of the end...

I believe Jack Wilson's days in Seattle are numbered. After making two errors on Wednesday, he came out of the game. After the game, Jack says that manager Eric Wedge removed him over the errors. Wedge only said that Jack was "a little hazy" and he took him out. Now it comes out that Jack took himself out of the game. This did not sit well with Wedge. Here is Eric's comments to the media today:

Untitled from Jason Puckett on Vimeo.


I don't think Jack will be around much longer. We might be seeing Dustin Ackley sooner than we thought. Tonight's opener will be special with the tribute to Dave Niehaus. In Dave's own words,
MY OH MY!!

Impressive Debut

I think the kid lived up to the hype. Even though he ended up with the loss because the offensive didn't come alive until late, he looked good. If you were told your rookie making his first start in Texas would go 6 IP, 3 runs, 5 hits(4 extra base hits), walk 1 and strikeout 4 would you take that outing? I think Michael Pineda is on the track to do some good things for this team. He is only 22 years old too. He and Felix might make a nice 1-2 punch. The King goes to the hill this morning against the Rangers. Let's get a win boys!

Mish Mosh Post

I really don't have much today. Erik Bedard was OK, but I've seen better. He looked like the Bedard we have seen in 2008, and 2009. Not horrible, but not all that awesome either. Big Michael Pineda goes tonight. This kid will be good, but he might be a little shaky first time out.
I don't have much to say about the NCAA Championship last night. I watched a few minutes of it, but the game was so bad I went back to the Mariners game.

The thing that made me most happy was watching my Sharks just man handle the LA Kings last night. For the fourth straight year, they are Pacific Division Champs. Here's to looking forward to a deep playoff run, and bringing a Stanley Cup to HP Pavilion.

Which way will he go?

Tonight for the first time in a long time, he's back. He last pitched for the Mariners on July 25, 2009. Erik Bedard makes his comeback in Texas. I wonder which Erik we will see? Will we see happy Erik:

Or will we see the usual, in trouble frowny face Erik:

I'm hoping for the best, since he did have a good spring in Arizona. We can definitely use an extra arm in the rotation. Let's hope we can get back on the winning track. Tomorrow: the major league debut of the next BIG Mariner pitcher 6' 7" Michael Pineda. More on him tomorrow.

Top of the list

Let's just end the season right now, I'm happy. The Mariners are 2-0. Let's finish now and we are in first place. I know. All kidding aside though, this team is showing me a lot more heart than last year. Two nights in a row they have been down, but have fought their way back to victory. Also, a big congratulations go out to the Japanese hit machine-Ichiro. Last night in the 9th inning he would go to the top of the Mariners record book for hits.

Ichiro surpassed the great Edgar Martinez with his 2,248th hit as a Mariner. Combine that with his 1,278 hits in Japan and the guy already has 3,526 hits. When he gets another 731 hits combined he will break Pete Rose's record. Then only another 21 hits after that to make 3,000 here in the US. If he can continue at or near the pace he has in the first 10 years, he will get Rose, and 3,000 some time in 2014.

Also, as Felix did his commercial this year as Larry Bernandez, Ichiro did his yearly commercial to show that he can hit anything. Check it out. GO MARINERS!

WOW! That's new

While trying to do some research to try and complete my wantlist for my Angels in the Desert side project, a new card popped out at me. I don't know how I've never heard of this guy. I think his name has got to be one of the most awesome names ever. Ladies and gentlemen, Anthony "Razor" Shines.

I don't know how he got the nickname Razor, but it just sounds cool. I'm sure nobody is all that interested in some guys that only played 68 games for the Expos back in the 80's, but I was taken back and thought it was cool. Happy baseball, Razor fans.

Could they? Maybe...

Tonight starts the long journey for the Mariners. Could this be a decent year? Am I dreaming that it is possible to improve on last year's performance? Most of the "experts" are picking to have basically no improvement. I honestly see at least 10-15 more wins for them this season. I think and hope that it might be possible to make a run at a .500 season. It is sad when 81-81 sounds good to you. I hope that the hitting has be some what better than last year. I feel that there is a new attitude in the locker room. I like the direction that Eric Wedge is trying to instill in this team.

If Felix can win the Cy Young at 13-12 with no run support, I wonder how much better he could be this year if they could just score 1 more run in each of his starts this year. Late last year Felix threw a one hitter in Toronto and lost 1-0, that is pathetic people. We all know Ichiro will get his customary 200 hits, and push his record further. I don't see any big boppers in the line-up, but I know that there are some guys(Jack Wilson, Milton Bradley, Brandon League) on the roster that I hope will go. It's not that I wish them ill will, I just don't think they fit here. Maybe I'm just a dreamer as John Lennon would say but that's what make baseball great. Here's good luck to my Mariners this season, and your team too as long they aren't play us.

Look who's coming...

Tom Wilhelmsen will get his first shot at the big leagues. If you didn't see my small write up with a link to his history, go here first. This guy was out of baseball for five years. After getting busted for dope twice, he retired and became a bartender in Tucson. Last year, Jack Z gave him a 15 minute workout, signed him and sent him to rookie ball to work. Tom only made it to A ball in Clinton last year. He has never even seen AA yet. Tomorrow night he will be sitting in the bullpen of the Seattle Mariners in Oakland, CA. Congratulations to Tom, and good luck this season.