So the Mariners returned to Seattle Sunday following a 6-3 road trip and a sweep of the hapless San Diego Padres. With that, here's a backhanded and stilted compliment: the M's are flirting with not having the worst record in the majors. Word is that the team is playing looser under Jim Riggleman. But to paraphrase Winston Wolf, let's not start throwing each other bones just yet.
When was the last time A) a team won despite leaving 18 men on base and B) their winning pitcher entered the game on a 12-start winless streak? That would be A) the Mariners and B) Carlos Silva, during Saturday's 4-2 win. Sunday featured a 9-run outburst, highlighted by Ichiro's 5-hit day. But perpetually weary "ace" Erik Bedard again couldn't get through the sixth inning. And Silva and Bedard are supposedly two of the M's better trade pieces? At this point, the Mariners would be lucky just to get someone of Adam Jones' caliber straight up for Bedard. Maybe you heard that Jones recently had 6 straight hits.
It would be tough enough for Billy Beane to squeeze blood from this turnip. But when former travel coordinator Lee Pelekoudas is pulling the strings for the M's, good luck getting anything of value in trade. And as SGB staffers can attest, there ain't much help coming from AAA Tacoma. So yes, please break up the Mariners -- if you can.
Monday, June 30, 2008
What? The Sonics couldn't use this guy?
The Sonics missed out on the steal of the draft. Shan (pronounced Shane) Foster from Vanderbilt. Look at this man's skills.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Russell Westbrook Laloosh
Looks like Westbrook hired Gallinari's PR coach. Here's his chat on ESPN shortly after the Sonics drafted him.
Gary (Phoenix): How relieved are you that this process is over?
Russell Westbrook: Very relieved. I've been waiting all my life for this moment. Now it's like I'm starting all over.
Bryan (Sacrmento): Do you see yourself as a full-time PG in this league or a hybrid?
Russell Westbrook: Full time PG. Playing at the next level, I have to be able to run the team and play the point.
Zach (Jersey): Were you surprised to go so high? Most people had you projected a bit later.
Russell Westbrook: Not at all. I worked so hard to become where I am. Not surprised at all.
kris katarzy (california): how excited are you to go one on one with chris paul during the season
Russell Westbrook: I can't wait. Paul is a great player, but I'm going to come in and do my best and help my team win.
Mike (LA): Going to seattle, what is your take on the potential move out of there?
Russell Westbrook: I'm not worried at all. My family will be able to come and watch. I'm going to go and handle my business whether it's in Seattle or Oklahoma City.
Russell Westbrook: Thanks for the support. Looking forward to talking to you guys soon.
Buzzmaster: Thanks Russell!
Somebody almost tricked him into shit-talking Chris Paul, but then he remembered his talking points and promised to "come in and do my best and help my team win." Good save. I guess he does know how to "handle my business."
Gary (Phoenix): How relieved are you that this process is over?
Russell Westbrook: Very relieved. I've been waiting all my life for this moment. Now it's like I'm starting all over.
Bryan (Sacrmento): Do you see yourself as a full-time PG in this league or a hybrid?
Russell Westbrook: Full time PG. Playing at the next level, I have to be able to run the team and play the point.
Zach (Jersey): Were you surprised to go so high? Most people had you projected a bit later.
Russell Westbrook: Not at all. I worked so hard to become where I am. Not surprised at all.
kris katarzy (california): how excited are you to go one on one with chris paul during the season
Russell Westbrook: I can't wait. Paul is a great player, but I'm going to come in and do my best and help my team win.
Mike (LA): Going to seattle, what is your take on the potential move out of there?
Russell Westbrook: I'm not worried at all. My family will be able to come and watch. I'm going to go and handle my business whether it's in Seattle or Oklahoma City.
Russell Westbrook: Thanks for the support. Looking forward to talking to you guys soon.
Buzzmaster: Thanks Russell!
Somebody almost tricked him into shit-talking Chris Paul, but then he remembered his talking points and promised to "come in and do my best and help my team win." Good save. I guess he does know how to "handle my business."
Draft ramblings
Here are some random thoughts from the NBA draft:
* Derrick Rose's grandmother gave him the nickname Pooh as a child, because of his love of sweets. So, what is a boy to do? Get a tattoo on his shoulder that says "Poohdini" -- I wonder if Chicago can still get a refund for their pick.
* O.J. Mayo's full first name is Ovinton J'Anthony. This led to a discussion about whether we should change the name of this blog to J'Seattles Got Balls. J'Kidding.
* Russell Westbrook and Michael Jordan share this fun fact - neither played on the varsity until their junior year. Before we extrapolate too much, this also holds true for the Dice Game.
* In profiles of players done by ESPN, they have a section called "Must Improve." For Kevin Love? "Explosion ability." Some intern at ESPN needs to get a full-time job for managing to get "explosion ability" into the profile of the player with the best porn name in the draft.
* Thumbs up to Danilo Gallinari's PR coach/english teacher -- he's here "to help the team win." Message received, loud and clear.
* Joe Alexander -- born in Taiwan. Grew up in China and Japan. Holla!
* DJ Augustin. Yes, he's short, but his wingspan is ... wait for it ... wait for it ... 6'3". Wowza. No wonder the man has a custom made suit. It's the third straight year a Texas player went in the top 10. Three straight lottery picks - zero Final Fours.
* Brooke Lopez goes at 10. This man's voice is great. It's a mixture of Dikembe Mutombo and Nelson from the Simpsons. If there is a God in heaven, he will be mic'd up for a game next year.
* Jay Bilas is effusive in his praise for Jason Thompson from Rider. Says Thompson has a "great motor" and is ready to play in the NBA although he got tired during the always tough MAAC tournament. You don't understand the meaning of the phrase "digging deep" until you are down 8 on the road at Marist.
* Here's my prediction Brandon Rush: a dynamic hi-top fade, the likes of which we have not seen in the league since Dee Brown 1.0
* The Sonics draft an African guy named Serge in the first round despite his agent's best efforts to not get drafted until the second round. I can see why Presti had to take him. He looks absolutely unstoppable against the Congolese high school team he is scrimmaging against.
* George Hill!
* The Sonics deal their top two second round picks for DJ White. I love this guy. He's a bruiser with skills. In fact, I'd offer 1-4 odds of victory if he fought all three of the Sonics centers -- at once. He'll be in the league for a decade if he can stay healthy.
* With their two second round picks, the Sonics take DeVon Hardin and Sasha Kaun -- two centers (and stop me if you've heard this before) whose offensive skills are suspect. Hardin, who was sporting a nice headband/wristband set, has more potential than Kaun, who managed to average 4 rebounds a game at Kansas despite being 6'11". Kaun also signed a big contract in Russia so it seems unlikely that he will ever play in the NBA. I guess this is the NBA draft equivalent of folding when you could have checked. Sene, don't worry pal -- your future is safe. For now.
(Editor's Note: We've heard that the Sonics traded Kaun to Cleveland for cash considerations. I'd love to be a fly on the wall when Mike Brown calls Lebron and says: "Hey King, we got you some help. Sasha Kaun from Kansas. Averaged 7 and 4 for a national champion. Hello?")
* Derrick Rose's grandmother gave him the nickname Pooh as a child, because of his love of sweets. So, what is a boy to do? Get a tattoo on his shoulder that says "Poohdini" -- I wonder if Chicago can still get a refund for their pick.
* O.J. Mayo's full first name is Ovinton J'Anthony. This led to a discussion about whether we should change the name of this blog to J'Seattles Got Balls. J'Kidding.
* Russell Westbrook and Michael Jordan share this fun fact - neither played on the varsity until their junior year. Before we extrapolate too much, this also holds true for the Dice Game.
* In profiles of players done by ESPN, they have a section called "Must Improve." For Kevin Love? "Explosion ability." Some intern at ESPN needs to get a full-time job for managing to get "explosion ability" into the profile of the player with the best porn name in the draft.
* Thumbs up to Danilo Gallinari's PR coach/english teacher -- he's here "to help the team win." Message received, loud and clear.
* Joe Alexander -- born in Taiwan. Grew up in China and Japan. Holla!
* DJ Augustin. Yes, he's short, but his wingspan is ... wait for it ... wait for it ... 6'3". Wowza. No wonder the man has a custom made suit. It's the third straight year a Texas player went in the top 10. Three straight lottery picks - zero Final Fours.
* Brooke Lopez goes at 10. This man's voice is great. It's a mixture of Dikembe Mutombo and Nelson from the Simpsons. If there is a God in heaven, he will be mic'd up for a game next year.
* Jay Bilas is effusive in his praise for Jason Thompson from Rider. Says Thompson has a "great motor" and is ready to play in the NBA although he got tired during the always tough MAAC tournament. You don't understand the meaning of the phrase "digging deep" until you are down 8 on the road at Marist.
* Here's my prediction Brandon Rush: a dynamic hi-top fade, the likes of which we have not seen in the league since Dee Brown 1.0
* The Sonics draft an African guy named Serge in the first round despite his agent's best efforts to not get drafted until the second round. I can see why Presti had to take him. He looks absolutely unstoppable against the Congolese high school team he is scrimmaging against.
* George Hill!
* The Sonics deal their top two second round picks for DJ White. I love this guy. He's a bruiser with skills. In fact, I'd offer 1-4 odds of victory if he fought all three of the Sonics centers -- at once. He'll be in the league for a decade if he can stay healthy.
* With their two second round picks, the Sonics take DeVon Hardin and Sasha Kaun -- two centers (and stop me if you've heard this before) whose offensive skills are suspect. Hardin, who was sporting a nice headband/wristband set, has more potential than Kaun, who managed to average 4 rebounds a game at Kansas despite being 6'11". Kaun also signed a big contract in Russia so it seems unlikely that he will ever play in the NBA. I guess this is the NBA draft equivalent of folding when you could have checked. Sene, don't worry pal -- your future is safe. For now.
(Editor's Note: We've heard that the Sonics traded Kaun to Cleveland for cash considerations. I'd love to be a fly on the wall when Mike Brown calls Lebron and says: "Hey King, we got you some help. Sasha Kaun from Kansas. Averaged 7 and 4 for a national champion. Hello?")
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Westbrook at 4!
Despite flirting with the Clips' 7th pick and dangling turds in front of Riley for the 2nd pick, the Sonics stay put and do what SGB told them to do on our first post. More to come...
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
How old is a 19 year old kid supposed to act?
In yesterday's mock draft, both Bill Simmons and Chad Ford like O.J. Mayo to go to the Seattle SuperOkies. Mayo would be an exciting addition, but we shouldn't get too attached. If Pat Riley has his way, all the Mayo talk will be moot.
There's a lot of OJ love coming out of south Florida. Apparently, Riley doesn't like Beasley's personality. Now, we've all heard the Beasley horror stories (he put a dead rat in his teacher's desk?! he defaced school property with his signature!!?! he went to 700 high schools in 2 years?!@!?!), but most of these stories sound like a kid being a kid. As Beasley told the Miami Herald, "I just turned 19 years old in January, so how mature do you want me to be? On the basketball side of things, I'm 30 years old. Off the court, I don't know. How mature you want me to be? I don't know if you want me to act 25 or 30 or 40. I'm a kid -- I'm going to mess up."
This strikes me as an honest, mature and self-aware response. Somehow, this is being used against him. Maybe if Beasley had hired an agent and a PR firm out of 7th grade, these stories would've been kept under control. I, for one, am not worried. Put a rat in PJ Brown's desk and autograph the hell out of Key Arena - I don't give a fuck - just bring that nasty offense to my town. Miami's making a mistake, and I hope we can capitalize.
Here's how it'll happen: our number 4 pick, Weezy and Petro for Miami's pick and Mark Blount's bloated ass. That's a no-brainer. Miami really wants Green, but the word is we're not considering it. I know we need a point, but I'd make this trade in a heartbeat. Beasley is nasty. We should offer all but Durant and Green to get him.
There's a lot of OJ love coming out of south Florida. Apparently, Riley doesn't like Beasley's personality. Now, we've all heard the Beasley horror stories (he put a dead rat in his teacher's desk?! he defaced school property with his signature!!?! he went to 700 high schools in 2 years?!@!?!), but most of these stories sound like a kid being a kid. As Beasley told the Miami Herald, "I just turned 19 years old in January, so how mature do you want me to be? On the basketball side of things, I'm 30 years old. Off the court, I don't know. How mature you want me to be? I don't know if you want me to act 25 or 30 or 40. I'm a kid -- I'm going to mess up."
This strikes me as an honest, mature and self-aware response. Somehow, this is being used against him. Maybe if Beasley had hired an agent and a PR firm out of 7th grade, these stories would've been kept under control. I, for one, am not worried. Put a rat in PJ Brown's desk and autograph the hell out of Key Arena - I don't give a fuck - just bring that nasty offense to my town. Miami's making a mistake, and I hope we can capitalize.
Here's how it'll happen: our number 4 pick, Weezy and Petro for Miami's pick and Mark Blount's bloated ass. That's a no-brainer. Miami really wants Green, but the word is we're not considering it. I know we need a point, but I'd make this trade in a heartbeat. Beasley is nasty. We should offer all but Durant and Green to get him.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Do I Look Fat in Last Place?
Could Felix Hernandez the player and the Seattle Mariners the team be moving in opposite directions any faster? Note King Felix's feats Monday night in New York against the Mets, in what surely must be the most adjective- and hyphen-laden sentence fragment ever: an opposite-field 375-foot first-pitch grand slam on a 94-mph fastball from former Cy Young winner Johan Santana. No biggie -- it's only the first time an AL pitcher has hit a grand slam since 1971. Then in his second at-bat, Felix took one for the team, and successfully laid down a sacrifice bunt, to which Mets interim manager Jerry Manuel quipped, "Why is this guy bunting? He just hit a home run." Then Felix really took one for the team, getting spiked by Carlos Beltran while covering on a play at the plate. The resulting sprained ankle forced him to the locker room, one out shy of eligibility for the win he so richly deserved. But do the Mariners deserve Felix? Sure, the Mariners got the win on this night. But how frustrated must Felix be when batters 1 through 8 combined for three fewer RBI than he did? How must he feel when he says the ankle injury won't keep him from his next start, while Erik Bedard is scratched from his next turn due to a hangnail? Do the Mariners need to worry that Felix will leave Seattle at the first chance, if not sooner? It's not unreasonable to think that Felix might dump the Mariners, because they need him more than he needs them. Sorry Seattle, your butt does look big, cloaked in the worst record in the majors.
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