Wednesday, January 19, 2005
TOO MUCH SHORT BUS
Not exactly how Roger sang it.
Ugh. Just one of those sports days I wish never was...
MARINERS
Doubly bad. I've already posted what I think about giving an average/mediocre 26-year-old reliever a two-year, $4.2M deal, but that's not what makes those articles tick for me, because I'm done with this Villone thing as far as I'm concerned. I just want to block it out. Repressive memory. Selective retention, if you will.
Ricky Gutierrez will get $600k if he comes north after the Mariners break camp, whereas he will get $15k a month if he plays for the Rainiers. When asked if they would take $15k a month to play baseball, all jobless nightowl sports bloggers in the city of Bremerton who haven't played organized baseball since high school raised their hands. I can guarantee that at least one did, anyway.
Then I looked at the Finnigan article and realized what would probably be the biggest battle of spring training. Yes, it'll be a steel-cage match between Ricky Gutierrez, Benji Gil, and Ramon Santiago for the coveted role of reserve infielder.
Dan Reichert was the only possible target in the article who is under 30 years of age.
THe thought of bringing Aaron Sele back...ugh. As long as he doesn't start any playoff games, I guess. Sele and Dan Wilson always seemed to work well together, but I don't want him back. If they bring him back, it better only be for a one-year incentive-laden deal. The way I see that is that Sele would be my #5 starter, he'd throw 5 innings because that's all he can throw, and then Ron Villone would mop up the next 3 innings or the rest of the game. Both of the guys don't eat innings as starters, so put Sele in the back of the rotation to where he's still a starter but without the self-esteem hit that goes with being demoted to the bullpen, and then pitch Villone because he's better as a reliever and sucks when he starts.
SEAHAWKS
Ted Thompson didn't have much time to lament his past with the Seahawks. He's going to be Green Bay's GM, after all. He just says that the Seahawks are "really close," but that he wishes they would have gone further. Don't we all? Hopefully this is the last Ted Thompson article for a while, because his picture in the Times just perplexes me. That hair looks like some sort of space-age partial silver helmet or something.
BASKETBALL
The Marvin Williams Watch
The 6th-ranked Tar Heels are at Clemson tonight.
Huskies
The 10th-ranked Huskies are home against Washington State on Sunday (FSNNW).
Bulldogs
The 11th-ranked Zags go to the Bay Area to face the Dons of USF tomorrow (KONG 6/16 broadcast).
Sonics
For my thoughts on last night's game, scroll down a post or click here if you're in the archive.
These weren't the evil 8th-seed Nuggets cutting down the 1st-seed Sonics, but it is a little tough to stomach when you lose an overtime game at home to a division foe (that's a new wrinkle) after you had a double-digit lead. Turnovers, Ray Allen's jumper disappearing, no second-half defense, and a plethora of other things contributed to the Sonics' demise last night.
But The Great Short Hope was set up by some other things, namely Lewis, Allen, and Ridnour combining for 13-for-18 third-quarrter shooting. The Sonics weren't taking it to the basket a lot. When you start missing this many times, you get long rebounds, which can be somewhat unpredictable. Miss a few shots, miss a few rebounds, and the Nuggets get some easy fast-break layups. It wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't so repetitive.
I won't pick any bones with Locke's column. I'll just read the sentence that says "[c]onsidering that Allen is one of the great fourth-quarter players in the NBA..." and point out that the article was more than likely written before the game and not after it. Ray Allen missed all four shots he took in the fourth quarter. He didn't end up hitting a shot again until under a minute remained in overtime, and the game was well out of reach.
My goodness, Vitaly Potapenko might have the same deal that Reggie Evans had. At least this won't throw the rotation out of whack as badly.
Upcoming...
Friday vs. Minnesota
Sunday vs. Utah
HOCKEY
Everett coach Kevin Constantine isn't necessarily ragging on his second-place team when he says they won't catch Seattle. He's being more realistic, if anything. The Thunderbirds have been crazy-hot all season, and they still haven't lost consecutive games. Meanwhile, the Silvertips haven't won a game in five tries against Vancouver.
Wilkes-Barre Scranton beat Manitoba 5-4 in a shootout (video). The Penguins pulled their goalie for an extra attacker down one goal late in the third period, and it worked. Tomas Surovy forced the game into overtime, which went scoreless, and Wilkes-Barre Scranton stole the second point away from the Moose in the shootout. Josh Green scored got the early Manitoba lead on a power play, and the lead changed hands when Alex Auld misplayed an iced puck into his own net in the second period. Peter Sarno eventually tied the game at 2-2 to make Auld feel less badly. Lee Goren stormed out of the penalty box and got the Moose a 3-2 lead, which was later answered with another shorthanded goal. Nathan Smith redirected a Wade Brookbank point shot for the 4-3 lead before the Penguins got that late third period goal to push to the overtime and shootout. The Moose were outshot 25-22, and Alex Auld stopped 21 in the Manitoba net.
Upcoming...
Tomorrow: Seattle at Prince George, Wilkes-Barre Scranton at Manitoba
Friday: Portland at Kelowna, Everett at Spokane, Vancouver at Tri-City, Manitoba at Edmonton
Saturday: Portland at Seattle, Everett at Kootenay
Sunday: Vancouver at Portland, Manitoba at Edmonton
---
Everybody out there have a jolly Wednesday.
Ugh. Just one of those sports days I wish never was...
MARINERS
Doubly bad. I've already posted what I think about giving an average/mediocre 26-year-old reliever a two-year, $4.2M deal, but that's not what makes those articles tick for me, because I'm done with this Villone thing as far as I'm concerned. I just want to block it out. Repressive memory. Selective retention, if you will.
Ricky Gutierrez will get $600k if he comes north after the Mariners break camp, whereas he will get $15k a month if he plays for the Rainiers. When asked if they would take $15k a month to play baseball, all jobless nightowl sports bloggers in the city of Bremerton who haven't played organized baseball since high school raised their hands. I can guarantee that at least one did, anyway.
Then I looked at the Finnigan article and realized what would probably be the biggest battle of spring training. Yes, it'll be a steel-cage match between Ricky Gutierrez, Benji Gil, and Ramon Santiago for the coveted role of reserve infielder.
Dan Reichert was the only possible target in the article who is under 30 years of age.
THe thought of bringing Aaron Sele back...ugh. As long as he doesn't start any playoff games, I guess. Sele and Dan Wilson always seemed to work well together, but I don't want him back. If they bring him back, it better only be for a one-year incentive-laden deal. The way I see that is that Sele would be my #5 starter, he'd throw 5 innings because that's all he can throw, and then Ron Villone would mop up the next 3 innings or the rest of the game. Both of the guys don't eat innings as starters, so put Sele in the back of the rotation to where he's still a starter but without the self-esteem hit that goes with being demoted to the bullpen, and then pitch Villone because he's better as a reliever and sucks when he starts.
SEAHAWKS
Ted Thompson didn't have much time to lament his past with the Seahawks. He's going to be Green Bay's GM, after all. He just says that the Seahawks are "really close," but that he wishes they would have gone further. Don't we all? Hopefully this is the last Ted Thompson article for a while, because his picture in the Times just perplexes me. That hair looks like some sort of space-age partial silver helmet or something.
BASKETBALL
The Marvin Williams Watch
The 6th-ranked Tar Heels are at Clemson tonight.
Huskies
The 10th-ranked Huskies are home against Washington State on Sunday (FSNNW).
Bulldogs
The 11th-ranked Zags go to the Bay Area to face the Dons of USF tomorrow (KONG 6/16 broadcast).
Sonics
For my thoughts on last night's game, scroll down a post or click here if you're in the archive.
These weren't the evil 8th-seed Nuggets cutting down the 1st-seed Sonics, but it is a little tough to stomach when you lose an overtime game at home to a division foe (that's a new wrinkle) after you had a double-digit lead. Turnovers, Ray Allen's jumper disappearing, no second-half defense, and a plethora of other things contributed to the Sonics' demise last night.
But The Great Short Hope was set up by some other things, namely Lewis, Allen, and Ridnour combining for 13-for-18 third-quarrter shooting. The Sonics weren't taking it to the basket a lot. When you start missing this many times, you get long rebounds, which can be somewhat unpredictable. Miss a few shots, miss a few rebounds, and the Nuggets get some easy fast-break layups. It wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't so repetitive.
I won't pick any bones with Locke's column. I'll just read the sentence that says "[c]onsidering that Allen is one of the great fourth-quarter players in the NBA..." and point out that the article was more than likely written before the game and not after it. Ray Allen missed all four shots he took in the fourth quarter. He didn't end up hitting a shot again until under a minute remained in overtime, and the game was well out of reach.
My goodness, Vitaly Potapenko might have the same deal that Reggie Evans had. At least this won't throw the rotation out of whack as badly.
Upcoming...
Friday vs. Minnesota
Sunday vs. Utah
HOCKEY
Everett coach Kevin Constantine isn't necessarily ragging on his second-place team when he says they won't catch Seattle. He's being more realistic, if anything. The Thunderbirds have been crazy-hot all season, and they still haven't lost consecutive games. Meanwhile, the Silvertips haven't won a game in five tries against Vancouver.
Wilkes-Barre Scranton beat Manitoba 5-4 in a shootout (video). The Penguins pulled their goalie for an extra attacker down one goal late in the third period, and it worked. Tomas Surovy forced the game into overtime, which went scoreless, and Wilkes-Barre Scranton stole the second point away from the Moose in the shootout. Josh Green scored got the early Manitoba lead on a power play, and the lead changed hands when Alex Auld misplayed an iced puck into his own net in the second period. Peter Sarno eventually tied the game at 2-2 to make Auld feel less badly. Lee Goren stormed out of the penalty box and got the Moose a 3-2 lead, which was later answered with another shorthanded goal. Nathan Smith redirected a Wade Brookbank point shot for the 4-3 lead before the Penguins got that late third period goal to push to the overtime and shootout. The Moose were outshot 25-22, and Alex Auld stopped 21 in the Manitoba net.
Upcoming...
Tomorrow: Seattle at Prince George, Wilkes-Barre Scranton at Manitoba
Friday: Portland at Kelowna, Everett at Spokane, Vancouver at Tri-City, Manitoba at Edmonton
Saturday: Portland at Seattle, Everett at Kootenay
Sunday: Vancouver at Portland, Manitoba at Edmonton
---
Everybody out there have a jolly Wednesday.
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