camw Blog Posts

What does the future hold for the Ms

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:23:32 PDT

First off, I will say present ownership has been misguided in the past but I have great faith in Z and Wak and what they will do for this franchise and that is a move the present ownership made; to bring those 2 guys in. Squandered opportunities in the past or not, they make money and in doing so, keep this team in Seattle. As fans, we expect more, and rightfully so, but at least we have a team.

As for the future, some see it as murky, but I am not one of them. Trades, FA signings, and up and coming talent in the minors are going to bring a big change to the look of this team in the next couple of years.

At 2b, Lopez, although underachieving this year offensively, which makes his defense miscues more glaring, is an above average MLB player. Put a solid defensive SS next to him (AKA not Yuni) and you won't even notice Lopez's mistakes.

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How the Mariners will mesh

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:24:56 PST

When Jack Zdurenciek was hired I had my doubts. But his scouting background did impress me. And now that I've seen how he goes about his business and the way he presents himself, it shows me this guy has it more right than Bill Bavasi ever did. This guy is smart. Yeah the moves made this year don't instill much confidence -- at first at least. I mean, it looks like some decent young talent and some spare pieces glancing.

But let's examine it a little bit. Really break down what the M's have.

Franklin Gutierrez: Just go here, and type in his name. The kid is an amazing fielder. Sabermetrics indicate he's the one of the best fielders in the game. I'll take that. And he's also shown promise with the bat. He's only 26 and has never played a full season. I like this Gutierrez and his potential and I think he could be a great piece for this team.

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If Griffey is gone is Anderson the answer

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 09:16:53 PST

If Griffey really has signed with the Braves, I think the M's are going to go after Anderson now. I believe that honestly the M's want to replace Raul's bat and I doubt they truly feel very confident with that bat coming from what they have in-organization. That being said, I have tried to look at Anderson from every angle statistically trying to find some positives to his game. It's hard.

One thing is for sure, the guy has been good in clutch situations, not great, but good. But here are some stat break downs of this guy:

Career at Safeco Field: 78 Games, 315 AB's 20 2B's, 14 HR's, 52 RBI's, .260 BA, .292 OBP (yuck), .457 SLG, .749 OPS

Not good, at all.

But to look at his clutch factor:
Career RISP: .295 BA, .343 OBP, .460 SLG, .803 OPS

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Dunleavy Returns Against PhoenixSo

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:38:38 PST

Wednesday will be a big day for the Pacers and guard Mike Dunleavy. Dunleavy, after a 34 game absence, will be making his '08-'09 regular season debut against the Suns. After a 135-115 shelacking at the hands of the Nuggets, the Pacers are looking to Dunleavy to provide a spark against Shaq, J-Rich, and the rest of the Suns. Though he will be limited in minutes, his value to the team will be immense on the offensive end and can not hurt on the defensive end, which has been porous for the Pacers.

I will say that I am disappointed with the Pacers record. Yes, they've had a brutal schedule, sickness, and injuries, but nothing a team shouldn't be able to withstand if the talent is there. And it kind of is. Danny Granger is proving night after night that he is an all-star. A solid, more athletic version of Kevin Durant, who is also having a stellar year. Yet, it is clear that this team lacks a defensive mentallity and perhaps the addition of Dunleavy will aid in that area. Dunleavy's return makes this team deeper and more potent on offense, which in return takes more pressure off the defense. Dunleavy brings his 19 pts, 3 assists, and 5 boards to this team, making the bench stronger with Daniels returning to the wood.

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How Legitimate Are The Pacers

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:19:39 PST

After a thrilling game-winning tip in by Troy Murphy that gave the Pacers an 118-117 win over the Lakers, Indiana had to travel to Boston the following night for a rematch with the defending NBA champion Celtics. Did they have enough in the tank to defeat Boston again? In a word, no.

It was evident, apart from perhaps Granger and Ford, that the Pacers were tired and Boston was hungry for revenge in front of a home crowd. The Celtics picked them apart winning 114-96. There was a glimmer of brilliance as Indiana found themselves down 24 and cut that lead to 8. However, Boston being rested and just flat out savvier down the stretch put the Pacers 7-11 in the standings.

Now tonight the Pacers go up against the Cavaliers, who beat them by 4 in their first match-up. They'll be in Cleveland and you have to wonder what they have in terms of energy. O'Brien needs to start playing his bench more to save his starters, but it is hard when it seems every game the Pacers are in is a tight one.

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I Hope People Realize Danny Granger Is An All-Star

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:19:35 PST

16 games into the season and the Indiana Pacers have solidified their position in mediocrity. The blame can be spread around as to why this team is 6-10 rather than 10-6, but you'll have some difficulty putting blame on forward Danny Granger. He is off to an all-star caliber season and I'm here to make the case why and hopefully open some eyes to the talent that can be forgotten in Hoosier Land.

Season

Team G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
08-09 IND 15 15 35.9 0.467 0.371 0.833 0.9 4.5 5.5 2.4 0.9 1.8 3.33 4.20 24.2

The two players following Danny below are Carmelo Anthony and Vince Carter. Both will undoubtedly make the all-star game this year.

Season

Team G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG

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After Three Games Pacers Give Fans Hope

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:45:44 PST

If a person takes a quick look at the Indiana Pacers schedule, one might wonder if the NBA has something against them. They started the season against Eastern Conference powerhouse Detroit, followed with the defending world champion Celtics, then the Phoenix Suns and will end with LeBron and his Cavaliers. They took it to the defending champs posting a 95-79 win, and were competitive against Detroit (100-94 L) and Phoenix (113-103 L). Quite frankly, with a team that introduced seven new players to the team and lost their only true franchise-type player with Jermaine O'Neal shipped to Toronto, I think the results are favorable.

The emergence of Danny Granger as a perennial player in the league will make this team a contender quicker than most will anticipate. The additions of TJ Ford and Jarrett Jack create a solid back-court tandem, and rookies Roy Hibbert out of Georgetown and Brandon Rush out of Kansas add talent, youth, and depth to this team. The one thing that is clearly hindering this team is the lack of a legitimate power forward. They lost that with O'Neal leaving and have the likes of Jeff Foster and Troy Murphy trying to fill that role. Neither is astounding defensively and that was evident against the Suns' Amare Stoudemire who went off for 49 points and used Foster as his personal poster-boy on a flurry of dunks.

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My 2009 NBA Eastern Conference Team Predictions

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:56:22 PDT

Last night, the NBA tipped off with the reigning Boston Celtics playing LeBron's Cavaliers, and prevailing on their championship ceremony. Right now, I'm going to get a little preview of the teams in the East and how I believe they will fare.

Here are my predictions:

Atlantic:

1) Boston Celtics - It's hard not to think they may be the first team to repeat championships since the Lakers from '00-'02. Despite the loss of Posey, this is a still a solid team with young talent meshing well with the Big Three.

2) Philadelphia 76ers - Adding Elton Brand was a great move along with re-upping Louis Williams and Andre Igoudala. Igoudala is one of my favorite players and is so explosive. He'll be far more effective this year in the playoffs with Brand now taking some of the focus offensively.

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How I became a Pacers fan

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 18:20:51 PDT

While I struggled with the concept of losing a team I had grown up with, I wondered what my options were. Was there a way to jeopardize my fanhood in this situation? I came across an article ("Rules for being a true fan," Feb. 2002), which, though dated, actually helped me immensely in my decision. A friend of mine, also a die-hard Sonic fan, decided he would join me in deciding where we should take our loyalties.

Over pizza at a local Old Chicago, we went over every option. Do we wait it out and become NBA widows and hope Seattle gets a team again? Do we take our alliance and move it down to the upswing rivals of Portland? Or do we dare follow OKC, which represented all that was wrong with the NBA? Though I loved Sam Presti and the core he was building (Westbrook, Durant, Green, etc.) I felt it was not the players I loved so much, it was the city and the history of the franchise that I loved. I couldn't bring myself to do it.

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Jack Zduriencik is Mariners Man of the Year

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:07:13 PDT

Jack Zduriencik, the last person interviewed for the job, was named the new general manager of the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday morning.

But Zduriencik, whose name was first linked to the Mariners by the Seattle P-I, will have to wait a couple of days for his coronation.

Because the World Series starts Wednesday and major announcements are strongly discouraged by Major League Baseball during the Fall Classic, the Mariners will not be allowed to have a news conference to introduce the new man until Friday, when Tampa Bay and Philadelphia have the first of two off days during the World Series.

Zduriencik comes to Seattle from the Milwaukee Brewers, where he was vice president and special assistant to the general manager for player personnel. He was picked from a field that included four people -- Los Angeles Dodgers assistant general manager Kim Ng, Toronto Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava and Jerry Dipoto, the Arizona Diamondbacks director of player personnel.

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