360 Sports Blog

The Sounders tied 2-2 at Real Salt Lake on Saturday. A good result, but they’ll feel like they should’ve came away with three points.

Real Salt lake looks dangerous throughout the game, creating several chances and controlling the ball well. Fortunately, Keller was there to make several solid saves. Credit the Sounders defenders as well.

It was Zakuani, however, that opened the scoring the 13th minute, which was set up well by Fredy Montero. In the second half, RSL equalized in the 52nd minute off a diving header by Will Johnson. Poor defending the culprit. Later, Tyrone Marshall put the Sounders up 2-1 on a header off a free kick from Llungberg. All looked good for three points, when in the 90th minute +4 RSL’s Alvoro Saborio placed a header off a corner kick into the back of the net. Final score: 2-2.

Here are some random thoughts I had about players throughout the game:

Pat Noonan: Not gelling well with the team yet. Made a few hospital passes, had several bad touches and clumsy challenges.

Freddie Llungberg: Did not play well in the first half. Similar to Noonan, he had trouble controlling the ball.

Beckerman: RSL Captain. Take a shower and cut those dreadlocks. Have some dignity.

Zakuani: Probably our best offensive weapon along with Montero. He has pace and continues to create excellent plays. Once again, he was subbed out for Roger “Prefontaine” Levesque. I do not like this, but I have to assume the coaches know more than I.

Former Sounder Sebastien Le Toux had a hat trick against DC United in a 3-2 win for the Union.

Also note that the Kitsap Pumas defeated the Portland Timbers in a scrimmage last week, as featured in this Kitsap Sun slide show.

The Mariners are off to an atrocious 2-5 start to the 2010 season. Both wins came off King Felix’s starts (Cliff Lee is out until early May). The problem: Offense. We’ve had some excellent/decent efforts by our starting pitchers, only to have no run support to back it up.

Quite honestly, it hurts to watch. Especially after all of the off season moves the M’s made to be a competitive ball club.

The good news is, those were all road games and our home opener is today. We’ll see if we can muster a solid home stand at the Safe…

Speculation continues as to which hole in the ship the Seahawks are going to plug in the upcoming draft. Personally, I feel the Hawks are in full rebuild mode with the loss of Walter Jones and the performances over the past three years. They have major deficiencies on the O line, D line, safety and defensive ends.

Here’s a look at some potential draft prospects via the pundits:

RotoWorld says we want LT Trent Williams

Seahawks Draft Blog says we want Safety Eric Berry of Tennessee

The San Francisco Chronicle says we want USC Safety Taylor Mays

The BMore Sun says we want Derrick Morgan, DE from Georgia Tech

In all honesty, nobody really knows what the Hawks are going to do. There are so many holes to fill, they could go in any direction. If it were me, I’d use our two first round picks to get an O and D lineman. All for now.

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The 2010 MLB season is officially under way. I’ve taken the time to examine the first few Mariners games and studied their off season transactions to determine my current assessment of the team. Below is my analysis and prediction for this season.

The Mariners have really stirred the snow globe in the off season this year, in their hopes to improve the competitiveness of the team. They finally fired GM Bill Bavasi (Responsible for bringing in Richie Sexson, drafting Morrow instead of Lincecum AKA Mitch Kramer and several other unthinkable moves) and brought in one Jack Zduriencik.

Zduriencik was the first critical move for the Mariners and the source of the shaking up. Under his guidance the Mariners made the following moves/signings in the off season:

- Resigning Felix Hernandez to a 5 year, $78 million contract. This solidified one of the best pitchers in the the majors as the Mariners #1 starter.

- Acquiring Cliff Lee from the Phillies for three prospects. This gives us a former Cy Young winner as our #2 starting pitcher. Lee, however, has been injured for the first part of this season.

- Signing All Star third baseman Chone Figgins. Figs currently plays second base and shores up our infield.

- Trading Carlos Silva for Milton Bradley. This was more about getting rid of the cancer that was Carlos Silva. Honestly, I would’ve been happy with a trade for a sack of baseballs and the Cubs’ ballgirl.

Instead, we take a chance with Milton, who is known to be hot-headed and a distraction. They’re spinning it as a “fresh start,” which I think is fair. He does have some talent, but the question is if it can be channeled correctly. Cue Don Wakamatsu.

- Resigning Ken Griffey, Jr. He’s a fan favorite, though his production is questionable. I can’t say no to Griffey being on the team.

These signings give us one of the best starting pitching lineups in the majors behind the Red Sox and Y*nkees (arguably). We’ve also had some impressive performances from newcomers Matt Tuiasosopo and Casey Cotchman in the preseason and first few games.

In terms of defense and pitching, I think the M’s are solid. The real question mark is on offense. Ichiro is always solid, but no one else is really proven to be a consistent threat with the bat.

Predictions:

A.L. West Final Standings: 1 – Mariners, 2 – Rangers, 3 – Angels, 4 – Athletics

I think it’s going to be close between the Rangers and M’s. Sure, Seattle is currently 1-2, but those two losses were so close and away games. I’m a defense/pitching kind of guy and since we have the edge, I’ll call it for them. I see that as being the most consistent threat to win games. The Angels have lost too much talent, though they did get Hideki Matsui, who I think is better than most give him credit for.

This will be Griffey’s last season as a professional baseball player. I just don’t see Griffey being able to contribute consistently after this year. He’s already playing sparingly and almost didn’t come back this year. Cherish it while you can, Mariner fans.

Felix Hernandez will again finish 2nd in the AL Cy Young race. He has the talent to win, but consider 2 factors: East coast bias in voting and the strength of the AL East. Both the Sox and the Y*nkees have stronger bats in their lineup, which helps their starting pitchers chances of winning more games. I think the winner will be either CC Sabathia (NY) or Josh Beckett (Bos).

The only turd in this punch bowl theory is that the KC Royals Zack Greinke won last with only 16 wins. Maybe there is hope…

The Mariners lose in the first round of the playoffs. Unless they make improvements to their offense, I can’t see them going far in the playoffs. As we haven’t made the playoffs since 2003, our experience is also a factor in this prediction.

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Content Copyright 2010 by Chadrick Ashby

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According to this report from ESPN.com, Mariners Ace Felix Hernandez has agreed to a multi year extension with the club.

The implications of this are huge. For one, players are buying into what Jack Z has brought to the team. Second, we now have a lockdown on the best starting rotation in the AL West. I say its time to prepare for next October.

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