Sunday, March 28, 2004
COURTESY FLUSH
I was able to watch the Stars-Canucks game tonight on Fox Sports Southwest. Vancouver really needed the 2 points in a bad way. Although it wasn't Marty Turco in net for Dallas, a win is a win. David has more on the game in the post below.
In Arkansas news:
Jermain Taylor scored a 7th round TKO over Alex Bunema tonight at Little Rock's Alltel Arena. The fight was on HBO's Boxing After Dark. It's amazing how far Jim Lampley's star has fallen.
Anyways, the real reason why people come here...Mariners news.
Times
If the club stays with 12 pitchers, it would be limited to just three bench players beyond the second catcher. Two players are virtually assured of spots — backup outfielder Quinton McCracken and pinch-hit specialist Dave Hansen. That leaves four players — Willie Bloomquist, Hiram Bocachica, Eric Owens and Ramon Santiago — to vie for the final spot.
Bloomquist and Santiago, both on the 40-man roster, have minor-league options so they could, if necessary, be sent to Class AAA Tacoma. But neither Owens, a camp invitee who isn't having a great spring (.226), nor Bocachica, a non-roster invitee, has options.
"If we bring him we have to open a (40-man) roster spot," Melvin said of Bocachica. "Then if we decide to make a change, we could lose him on the way down. He'd have to go through waivers."
Bocachica is having a solid spring, hitting .344 with three home runs and nine RBI. But if he's added to the 40-man roster, there is not a single player Seattle would want to leave unprotected.
"Boca has had a better spring than some other guys," a Mariners official said. "But there's no way we can fit him right now. We realize this doesn't look fair but it's a matter of reality with the roster."
The Mariners also are taking more of a big-picture look at Bocachica, who could wind up in Seattle later.
"Bocachica had 23 homers and 84 RBI in Triple A in 2000," the club official said. "We don't have anyone else who's done that at that level, and you have to keep that in mind."
It's really simple. Bring Hiram Bocachica up north and send Willie Bloomquist to Tacoma. Of course, I'd like to see him get a one-way ticket out of Seattle, but that's not going to happen.
Bocachica and Bloomquist did little to diminish their chances in yesterday's 4-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Bocachica had a hard single to right in the second inning but was hit with a pitch in the back of the shoulder in the fourth inning. He was removed the next inning.
Bloomquist entered the game unexpectedly in the second inning when third baseman Scott Spiezio left with back spasms. He had a pair of singles and made a marvelous backhanded diving stop to his right on a hard shot by Ben Grieve in the fourth inning. Bloomquist bounded quickly to his feet and threw a rocket to first to get Grieve by a step.
"He does that everywhere you put him. It's because of preparation and hard work," Melvin said of Bloomquist's defense.
Preparation and hard work can't cover up the fact that Willie Bloomquist is a terrible ballplayer.
As I said last night, if he makes the big club over Bocachica, I'm going to be outraged.
Hell, I'll take Ramon Santiago over Bloomquist.
Last but not least, Larry Stone, the undisputed king of baseball writers in Seattle, bringing us more news on the annual spring training Griffey rumors...
According to the Dayton Daily News, Griffey spotted two Mariners scouts in the media dining room before a recent Grapefruit League game with the Yankees — including Roger Jongewaard, special assistant to Seattle general manager Bill Bavasi — and said, "Oh, boy. You know what that means. Been nice knowing you."
I said it a few weeks ago, and I'll say it again:
I really don't know what to think about Ken Griffey, Jr. coming back to Seattle.
If he does, great. If he doesn't, great. Personally, this is what it is:
Just another spring training full of rumors with Griffey coming back to Seattle.
Finally...
I'm a moron for not picking UConn to win the West region. And thank you Oklahoma State for allowing me to still brag about the fact that I pick at least ONE Final Four team every year. I've done that since 1994. Hooray for me.
Hooray for me. Hooray for you. And hooray for Vida Guerra.
In Arkansas news:
Jermain Taylor scored a 7th round TKO over Alex Bunema tonight at Little Rock's Alltel Arena. The fight was on HBO's Boxing After Dark. It's amazing how far Jim Lampley's star has fallen.
Anyways, the real reason why people come here...Mariners news.
Times
If the club stays with 12 pitchers, it would be limited to just three bench players beyond the second catcher. Two players are virtually assured of spots — backup outfielder Quinton McCracken and pinch-hit specialist Dave Hansen. That leaves four players — Willie Bloomquist, Hiram Bocachica, Eric Owens and Ramon Santiago — to vie for the final spot.
Bloomquist and Santiago, both on the 40-man roster, have minor-league options so they could, if necessary, be sent to Class AAA Tacoma. But neither Owens, a camp invitee who isn't having a great spring (.226), nor Bocachica, a non-roster invitee, has options.
"If we bring him we have to open a (40-man) roster spot," Melvin said of Bocachica. "Then if we decide to make a change, we could lose him on the way down. He'd have to go through waivers."
Bocachica is having a solid spring, hitting .344 with three home runs and nine RBI. But if he's added to the 40-man roster, there is not a single player Seattle would want to leave unprotected.
"Boca has had a better spring than some other guys," a Mariners official said. "But there's no way we can fit him right now. We realize this doesn't look fair but it's a matter of reality with the roster."
The Mariners also are taking more of a big-picture look at Bocachica, who could wind up in Seattle later.
"Bocachica had 23 homers and 84 RBI in Triple A in 2000," the club official said. "We don't have anyone else who's done that at that level, and you have to keep that in mind."
It's really simple. Bring Hiram Bocachica up north and send Willie Bloomquist to Tacoma. Of course, I'd like to see him get a one-way ticket out of Seattle, but that's not going to happen.
Bocachica and Bloomquist did little to diminish their chances in yesterday's 4-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Bocachica had a hard single to right in the second inning but was hit with a pitch in the back of the shoulder in the fourth inning. He was removed the next inning.
Bloomquist entered the game unexpectedly in the second inning when third baseman Scott Spiezio left with back spasms. He had a pair of singles and made a marvelous backhanded diving stop to his right on a hard shot by Ben Grieve in the fourth inning. Bloomquist bounded quickly to his feet and threw a rocket to first to get Grieve by a step.
"He does that everywhere you put him. It's because of preparation and hard work," Melvin said of Bloomquist's defense.
Preparation and hard work can't cover up the fact that Willie Bloomquist is a terrible ballplayer.
As I said last night, if he makes the big club over Bocachica, I'm going to be outraged.
Hell, I'll take Ramon Santiago over Bloomquist.
Last but not least, Larry Stone, the undisputed king of baseball writers in Seattle, bringing us more news on the annual spring training Griffey rumors...
According to the Dayton Daily News, Griffey spotted two Mariners scouts in the media dining room before a recent Grapefruit League game with the Yankees — including Roger Jongewaard, special assistant to Seattle general manager Bill Bavasi — and said, "Oh, boy. You know what that means. Been nice knowing you."
I said it a few weeks ago, and I'll say it again:
I really don't know what to think about Ken Griffey, Jr. coming back to Seattle.
If he does, great. If he doesn't, great. Personally, this is what it is:
Just another spring training full of rumors with Griffey coming back to Seattle.
Finally...
I'm a moron for not picking UConn to win the West region. And thank you Oklahoma State for allowing me to still brag about the fact that I pick at least ONE Final Four team every year. I've done that since 1994. Hooray for me.
Hooray for me. Hooray for you. And hooray for Vida Guerra.
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