Griffey Retires...

Right now I am feeling nothing but sadness about Griffey retiring. I would have loved to have seen him play one more time with all the fanfare that he deserves. This whole sleepgate catastrophe was a blackeye for all of baseball, and it makes me sick that Jr. retires just after that story. I wish that he could have survived this season as our DH or as a pinch hitter. Today should be a celebration of his legacy though.

I have a few wonderful memories of Griffey. As a kid I remember going to the last game at the Kingdome with my Dad. Griffey hit a monster homerun and made a leaping catch against the wall, and I remember thinking that it was a fitting way to say goodbye to the Kingdome.

I remember the weekend where Jr. came back to play with the Reds. On Friday I watched Seattle fill Safeco to cheer on Griffey. I saw grown men crying as he took the field to the longest ovation I have ever experienced (I personally had allergies). The camera flashes were blinding and the crowds roar was unlike anything I had ever heard at Safeco everytime he came to bat. On Sunday I couldn't get off work in time for first few innings and my stomach sank when he hit a homerun and I didn't see it. Of course, he hit another one after I made it to my seat and I felt like it was just for me!

I was there for the last game of 2009 where Griffey and Ichiro were carried off the field by their teammates.

I cannot thank Jr. enough for all of the wonderful memories that he provided for the citizens of this great region. I can't thank him enough for keeping baseball in Seattle. I can't thank him enough for doing his part to make Safeco a reality. Thank you so much Junior, and I wish you and your family all the best!

Mariners Update

Something has to change...

We are 14 and 24 on the season, which is the exact same record as the 101 loss 2008 M's. Our team batting average is around .230. If you subtract the two outliers of this statistical set (Ichiro .354 and Guti .298) then our team average is below .200. We have lost almost 15 games during the opposing team's final at-bat. Our starting rotation has one of the lowest ERA's in baseball, but day in and day out I watch our bullpen blowing leads or tie games. Of course, they wouldn't look so bad if we could put runs on the board.

Something has to change...

Griffey is not working as our DH. I love what this man has done for Seattle baseball. I loved watching him as a kid and I loved watching him last year. As much as I love him, I love winning more! He isn't anywhere near the Mendoza line. He has absolutely no power... to the point where a fly ball to the warning track makes the local Seattle news. He continues to try and force his way through the defensive shift that they place on him, but without any success. He doesn't have a single home run folks. His slugging percentage is the lowest for any DH in baseball. HE ONLY HAS ONE JOB! He isn't driving in runs, so he needs to be replaced (as gracefully as possible).

Something has to change...

Chone Figgins is a career M's killer! He used to smack us around and then steal bases like it was nobody's business. He's hitting .185 folks. Worse yet, he is hitting behind Ichiro at .354. The result: Ichiro gets on base and Figgy fails to move him over, or worse yet he grounds into a double play. Everyone is calling for Figgy to be moved from the two spot to the nine spot so that Ichiro can drive him in if he walks. YOU ARE ALL MISSING THE POINT! He is negating the work of our best hitter right now by hitting behind him. Get him the hell away from Ichiro so that we can keep a few runners on base!

Something has to change...

Our pitching is a mess! You think our starters are doing well? Fister and Vargas are pitching as well as any number 1 starter in baseball. Cliff Lee is pitching so well I can't put it into words. However I want to talk about Felix... Felix is a true competitor. We have seen him dominate for years, and he went ahead and signed a long term deal with us which shows his devotion. However, he has zero run support and a bullpen that blows any decent start he may have. Talk about pressure! If he gives up two runs, he is going to take a loss. If he throws a shutout through 8, the bullpen will blow it in the ninth. That goes for all of our starters. Cliff Lee is going to get traded so no need to worry about him, but Fister and Vargas can't possibly keep this up. If we lose our starting pitching... God help us. RRS and Snell have lost their starts before they even take the mound.

Something has to change...

I want to believe in this team! I want the playoffs, so much so that I will throw Jr. under the bus. I want a first basemen who can hit! I want Figgy to hit like his baseball card says he will! I want Milton Bradley to figure his shit out and play baseball!!! I want Jose Lopez to start hitting somewhere within the realm of last year's 90+ RBI season. I WANT A DH WHO CAN HIT! God help us if we can't figure it out. 2008 is not such a distant memory...

Something has to change...

There was a clear method to the madness of this M's squad. We were built on pitching and defense. Our lineup lacked power, but we were going to play the small ball necessary to scratch a few runs on the board. WHERE IS THE MOFO SMALL BALL WAK!?! I am watching sub .200 hitters swing for the fences when they should be bunting. Last night I watched Griffey (around .185) hit into a double play with runners on first and second and nobody out. A bunt would have left us second and third with one out, but NO! We end up with a runner at third with 2 outs??? This is nothing new! Guti made the third out at third base... I learned not to do that in T-ball! I just watched Casey Kotchman jog across the plate while Rob Johnson was thrown out at third for the third out (the run didn't score because he slowed down). What the hell are we doing M's??? PLAY SMALL BALL GOD DAMNIT!

P.S. For those of you calling for Wak's head... It isn't Wak's fault for not having the pieces to work with in the first place. The last thing we should do right now is fire Wak!

2010 Mariners Home Opener! My thoughts...

Spoiler Alert... We lost.

After following a horrible M's road trip and going to the home opener today, I wanted to give my first impressions.

Safeco Field: The traffic this year is BRUTAL! The Spokane St. exit off of I5 is a tangled mess of construction, as is the corner of 4th Ave and Royal Brougham. Looks like I'm going to be riding a lot of buses this M's season. The new out of town scoreboard over the bullpens is awesome! It shows the real time box score for the inning being played by every team in baseball... in color. There are also a number of new advertisements around the park. For example, the Hit It Here Cafe sign is now orange and sponsored by ING Direct. UW Medicine has also dumped a huge amount of money into the stadium this year. Thanks for keeping the Mariners in the black!

The Opening Ceremony: Death Cab for Cutie started the show off with a few rounds of 'Take me out to the Ballgame' and a great version of 'Put me in Coach'. Although the audio was a little rough, I thought that they did a great job. Then the Oakland lineup was announced to a suppressed round of booing from M's fans. I thought it could have been a little louder considering the whooping they gave us in the opening series... but alas we are all still Seattle nice. The M's lineup was announced and there were huge cheers for Felix as well as our starting lineup. Even Milton got a good ovation, but we will get to that later. The National Anthem was played by the local Navy Band and the slain officers were remembered. A few people cheered when their names were called? I'm going to assume they were just trying to show their support for the officers...

Randy Johnson's First Pitch: Randy was announced and slowly walked in from center field to a massive standing ovation. The place was rocking as he took the mound and waved to the crowd, but we all erupted when we saw that Dan Wilson was going to catch his pitch. Even with a torn rotator cuff he threw a perfect strike, and then Buhner, Edgar, and Junior walked out of the dugout to meet up with Randy and Dan. It was a meeting of the Saints who saved Seattle baseball, and trust me folks... I was reverential.

The Game: Well, we certainly had one hell of a showing on the defensive side. Jack Wilson made a great play on a ball that Lopez missed. Lopez made a good throw from deep down the third base line. Chone Figgins made a spectacular running catch in right field and with Wilson turned an amazing double play. It looks like he has been playing second base for his entire career. Oh, and Casey Kotchman made a diving stop down the first baseline and then beat the runner to the bag (because RRS failed to cover first). Then there was Milton... but he deserves his own heading. Since I was at the game I didn't get to see any instant replays, but it sure seemed like we got hosed on a few calls. Oakland had a double steal that didn't quite workout, so Rob Johnson made a perfect throw to Casey Kotchman who tagged out a diving Athletic but he was called safe. Then there was a play at the plate where Johnson got the tag down, but again he was called safe. Notice how I haven't brought up any hitting highlights? That's because there weren't any. Guti had a great double with nobody out, but was promptly left stranded on third. We are having pathetic at-bats right now. Swinging at balls well out of the strikezone. Watching the A's pitcher paint corners without even taking the lumber off of their shoulders. God help us if we don't start hitting.

Then there is Milton: Ah, Milton Bradley. On the opening road trip he flipped out on fans with words, dirty looks, and a controversial middle finger. I would be more than willing to overlook these tantrums if he wasn't batting .045. Ever hear of batting your weight? He isn't batting the weight of a 4 year old child. Then there is his defense. Today on the radio he was introduced with the caveat that 'No one was ever going to mistake him for a gold glover." Well he made a fool of himself today out in the outfield, allowing a routine groundball to roll right past him while the A's ran crazy around the bases. Through your legs is embarrassing... completely missing a ground ball in the outfield is unnacceptable. Seattle fans may be Seattle nice, but we sure as hell are not going to put up with a moody left fielder who is a dead weight in the lineup and on the field. It is early in the season, but Ryan Langerhans or Tui or Byrnes is looking much more appealing that clumsy moody Milton Bradley.

It is far too early to begin to panic, but if we can't make it to .500 by the end of April then I foresee a huge shakeup in the M's clubhouse. Prepare to say goodbye to Cliff Lee my friends! Oh, and there is no way Adrian Gonzalez would ever consider a trade to Seattle. My point? TURN IT AROUND M'S! I HAVE FAITH!!! I'll see you tomorrow for round two.

Cheers!

My Spring Break is turning into a Winter Break...

Tomorrow is my last day of undergraduate classes at the University of Washington. Today was my last business class and presentation. Today is my last day at work. Tomorrow I am getting my car fixed up like new. Saturday will be my last two finals as an Undergrad at UW. I am basically done with a final paper that is due on Monday.

I... AM... ALMOST... DONE!

Ok, so I still have to take an evening class at South Seattle next quarter but all I have to do is pass it which should be a breeze! I took an accounting class through Bellevue Community college and 4.0'd it, so this shouldn't be much more difficult.

I can't wait for Spring Break!!! Although weather.com is telling me that we are going to Arizona and Utah during a huge winter storm. I just hope it passes quickly so the M's games don't get rained out. Michelle and I agreed that if the weather is simply too much to handle, we are going to take a right turn for Vegas. It's not like we have any reservations anywhere so we can fly by the seat of our pants. Hopefully it won't come to that though, because Vegas isn't much fun when you're only twenty.

Cheers!

Please interview me?

Well folks, I applied for the Gates Scholarship and will be hearing from them on March 16th as to whether I get an interview or not. I really want an interview!!! Seeing as I headline this here blog, I'm going to tell you why.

First of all, this is one of the most amazing opportunities offered by the University of Washington Law School. On the financial end of things, the scholarship provides for three years of tuition, books, transportation, lodging, and even a stipend for other expenses. It is a full ride scholarship in every sense of the word. However it provides so much more than money!

As a Gates Scholar you become a part of a strong community of professionals dedicated to public service. You have mentors in the law school and in the law community that help you reach your professional goals. They provide financial assistance and placement assistance for an internship during your 1L or 2L summer. The program is constantly putting on programs and seminars that let scholars and the broader community gain insight into Public Service Law and where it stands today. The Gates PSL Program surrounds you with the support that law students could only dream of!

Most importantly, the program would allow me to ultimately follow my dream of becoming a lawyer for underprivileged Indian tribes and individuals. It is the entire reason I am going to law school, and with the assistance of this program I am confident that I can make a huge positive impact on their futures. If I could just get an interview I know I could get that passion across. They require 5 years of public service after law school and I would be so happy to be able to do that and so much more!

Dear Universe,

Please let me get this interview. I will take it from there, unless you want to help of course.

Sincerely,

Me

Cheers!

Final Spring Break Itinerary

Well Michelle and I have finalized our Spring Break plans and let me tell you folks, it's going to be a doozie! We are going to drive down to Bryce Canyon via Salt Lake City. Then head south to Phoenix by way of the Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona. In Phoenix we are going to see a couple of M's games and hopefully seeing family. We might even make our way down to Tucson to see Saguaro NP. Then we're off to Canyon de Chelly National Monument and Monument Valley. We go north to see Arches NP and Canyonlands NP and then haul ass home!

11 days... 4 National Parks... 2 M's games... and memories to last a lifetime!

Cheers!

Fondue, Bluegrass Festivals, and Mental Institutions!

Yesterday Michelle and I decided to use some movie tickets that had been given to her as a gift. These weren't just any movie tickets though... but movie tickets to the Gold Class Cinemas in Redmond. You sit in recliners and watch a movie as dinner is served to you! Sounds great right? Well it would have been great if we were both 21, but we're not. We worked out a refund for her gift card and decided we would make our own dinner and a movie extravaganza!

We drove into Bellevue to the Landmark Theatre to see 'Shutter Island'. I have to mention how awesome this theatre is! They have leather seats, a HUGE screen, and the slope of the seats is high enough that we could easily see over the people in front of us. The movie turned out to be really good too! The whole movie is about this Marshall who goes to a mental institution to investigate a missing inmate. However as the movie progresses you begin to wonder if he is the crazy one himself... After they tell you that he is crazy and you basically except that the entire movie was a figment of his imagination the final scene leaves it open to interpretation. I won't ruin it more than that.

After the movie we wandered around downtown Bellevue and stumbled upon a bluegrass music convention??? We questioned our sanity, mainly because we just watched Shutter Island.

Then we drove home and I talked Michelle into working out. We played racquetball and did an arm workout. We had never worked out together in a gym before, and the first experience was great! Hopefully I can talk her into another visit (for the company! She is beautiful in every way).

For dinner we made our workout worthless by going to the Melting Pot in Queen Anne. We had a cheese fondue appetizer, an extremely overpriced salad, and an absolutely delectable pot of chocolate s'mores fondue. Thank you Michelle's Uncle!

Cheers!