West Coast Sports Talk and Other Banter

[SilverFallsAndrew]

It's interesting that once George Kirby blew up the clubhouse the Mariners season was essentially over. 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

My kids enjoyed watching the Toy Story game. My wife commented that women should watch the game to understand football better. 

[T-Town]

Russ with the fourth quarter comeback. 

[TT-SEA]

51 minutes ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

It's interesting that once George Kirby blew up the clubhouse the Mariners season was essentially over. 

Another false narrative and manufactured drama by Andrew.   They had been tanking well before that.   Kirby's frustration was a symptom of the collapse already happening and not the cause.  

[MossMan]

Mariners win!!!!

Edited October 1 by MossMan

[MossMan]

Taylor Swift 10 Jets 0 

EDIT: Taylor Swift 17 Jets 0 

Edited October 2 by MossMan

[SilverFallsAndrew]

4 hours ago, TT-SEA said:

Another false narrative and manufactured drama by Andrew.   They had been tanking well before that.   Kirby's frustration was a symptom of the collapse already happening and not the cause.  

A savvy GM would trade him in the offseason. Not sure why you are lashing out today. Whether a cause or a symptom his implosion was definitely the straw which broke the camels back. 

[Anti Marine Layer]

3 hours ago, MossMan said:

Mariners win!!!!

Doesn't matter

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Obviously many of you are disappointed in how the Mariners season turned out, but looking at it from a glass half full perspective, they were in the hunt until the final weekend. 88 wins with this roster is about what one would expect, I don't think you can call it a disappointment from that perspective. The slow start to the season is really what doomed them, not the lackluster finish. The run they went on in July and August was fantastic, but not sustainable. 4-5 more wins in April/May would have made all the difference. The fact is there is still a massive talent gap between them and the Astros, and I think as fans people should acknowledge this. They have a good core on the mound, they had the 3rd best ERA in the majors, and 3rd most quality starts. The top 3 in the rotation are under contract for the next several years. They need to continue to stock the bullpen, and develop depth, but this should continue to be an area of strength. 

The lineup is a big issue. They have some guys with pop, but overall they don't hit for average, strike out an alarming rate, and don't get on base very well in other ways. They were 22nd in the MLB in batting average and 15th in on base percentage, while striking out more than any other team save the Twins, who of course play in a pathetic division. 

In the offseason I would prioritize making a run at Ohtani, and probably look to move on from Suarez and France. Or maybe you keep Suarez and let Hernandez walk. Either way they need build a team that can manufacture runs, not just rely on homeruns all the time. 

This team has a core which could compete for the AL west for the next several years. Julio is a star, I thought overall he took a step this year, and he probably has another level he can reach.

[MossMan]

The Swifties won! 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

4 minutes ago, MossMan said:

The Swifties won! 

America lost.

[TT-SEA]

3 hours ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

Obviously many of you are disappointed in how the Mariners season turned out, but looking at it from a glass half full perspective, they were in the hunt until the final weekend. 88 wins with this roster is about what one would expect, I don't think you can call it a disappointment from that perspective. The slow start to the season is really what doomed them, not the lackluster finish. The run they went on in July and August was fantastic, but not sustainable. 4-5 more wins in April/May would have made all the difference. The fact is there is still a massive talent gap between them and the Astros, and I think as fans people should acknowledge this. They have a good core on the mound, they had the 3rd best ERA in the majors, and 3rd most quality starts. The top 3 in the rotation are under contract for the next several years. They need to continue to stock the bullpen, and develop depth, but this should continue to be an area of strength. 

The lineup is a big issue. They have some guys with pop, but overall they don't hit for average, strike out an alarming rate, and don't get on base very well in other ways. They were 22nd in the MLB in batting average and 15th in on base percentage, while striking out more than any other team save the Twins, who of course play in a pathetic division. 

In the offseason I would prioritize making a run at Ohtani, and probably look to move on from Suarez and France. Or maybe you keep Suarez and let Hernandez walk. Either way they need build a team that can manufacture runs, not just rely on homeruns all the time. 

This team has a core which could compete for the AL west for the next several years. Julio is a star, I thought overall he took a step this year, and he probably has another level he can reach.

I was thinking tonight that they were just 2 games away from winning the division and a first round bye... and that would be the 3rd best record in the AL.   

I can think of way more than 2 games in September when Julio was up with the bases loaded and did absolutely nothing.   He stranded 8 runners and struck out 4 times in one game against the Astros this week.   So if Julio comes through just twice in September we might be having a very different conversation.    

If I owned the Mariners... I would be hesitant to spend another $100 million to gain two clutch hits and winning the division.   How about Julio being a little more consistent and not completely disappearing in September when it mattered most?

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Just now, TT-SEA said:

I was thinking tonight that they were just 2 games away from winning the division and a first round bye... and that would be the 3rd best record in the AL.   

I can think of way more than 2 games in September when Julio was up with the bases loaded and did absolutely nothing.   He stranded 8 runners and struck out 4 times in one game against the Astros this week.   So if Julio comes through just twice in September we might be having a very different conversation.    

If I owned the Mariners... I would be hesitant to spend another $100 million to gain two clutch hits and winning the division.   How about Julio being a little more consistent and not completely disappearing in September when it mattered most?

So you are going to blame the best player on the team? He was incredible in July and August, slow start to the year, but the six weeks after the all-star break showed he is a true talent. It is disappointing he couldn't keep up the pace through September, but he delivered 5.3 WAR this season, 32 HR's 37 SB, and salvaged a .275 BA after a horrible start to the year. Oh yeah, and he drove in over 100 runs. Solid production from a guy in his age 22 season. I would like to see him strike out a bit less and walk a bit more, his OBP is pretty lame, but overall he's a great young and exciting player. If you own the Mariners you have to believe Julio will only continue to improve, it is not a stretch to believe he could be an MVP candidate in a couple of years. 

[TT-SEA]

6 minutes ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

So you are going to blame the best player on the team? He was incredible in July and August, slow start to the year, but the six weeks after the all-star break showed he is a true talent. It is disappointing he couldn't keep up the pace through September, but he delivered 5.3 WAR this season, 32 HR's 37 SB, and salvaged a .275 BA after a horrible start to the year. Oh yeah, and he drove in over 100 runs. Solid production from a guy in his age 22 season. I would like to see him strike out a bit less and walk a bit more, his OBP is pretty lame, but overall he's a great young and exciting player. If you own the Mariners you have to believe Julio will only continue to improve, it is not a stretch to believe he could be an MVP candidate in a couple of years. 

I suppose you can say the Mariners would not have been even close to the playoffs without Julio having an incredible August.    But the reality is that 2 more clutch hits from him in September and we are division winners.  We just needed to flip a couple games and he had so many chances.  He was horrible with runners in scoring position in September.   I hated to see him coming up in those situations because a strike out or pop up was pretty much guaranteed.   JP is the opposite.   He is better when the pressure is on.  

[SilverFallsAndrew]

In case anyone was wondering... Ohtani missed the last month of the season and still easily led the AL in HR's, OBP, SLG, OPS, OPS+, and what I think is really wild, led the AL in Total Bases. He also finished 4th in Batting Average. 

Ohtani also led the MLB with 10.1 WAR. 

Mookie Betts led the NL with 8.4 WAR, while the much hyped Ronald Acuna Jr came in with 8.1 WAR. Ohtani should easily win his 2nd AL MVP, and I would expect Acuna to win the NL MVP, though I would personally vote for Betts. 

Gerrit Cole is the clear Cy Young favorite in the AL, finishing with 7.5WAR, with Blake Snell (AKA the 21st Century Bret Saberhagen) looking to pick up his 2nd Cy Young for the Padres. He finished with by far the lowest ERA in the big leagues, and led the NL in pitching WAR. 

Edited October 2 by SilverFallsAndrew

[SilverFallsAndrew]

9 minutes ago, TT-SEA said:

I suppose you can say the Mariners would not have been even close to the playoffs without Julio having an incredible August.    But the reality is that 2 more clutch hits from him in September and we are division winners.  We just needed to flip a couple games and he had so many chances.  He was horrible with runners in scoring position in September.   I hated to see him coming up in those situations because a strike out or pop up was pretty much guaranteed.   JP is the opposite.   He is better when the pressure is on.  

Yeah I get it. You are looking at this from a fans perspective. 

[TT-SEA]

7 minutes ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

Yeah I get it. You are looking at this from a fans perspective. 

As Julio went the Mariners went this season.    They were unstoppable in August and then completely worthless in September.   If they had just played .500 ball in September they would have walked away with the division and it wouldn't have even been close.  I did not expect Julio or the Mariners to continue their August pace but all they needed was to be totally average.   Its frustrating that was too hard for them.  

[the_convergence_zone]

 

19 minutes ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

In case anyone was wondering... Ohtani missed the last month of the season and still easily led the AL in HR's, OBP, SLG, OPS, OPS+, and what I think is really wild, led the AL in Total Bases. He also finished 4th in Batting Average. 

Ohtani also led the MLB with 10.1 WAR. 

Mookie Betts led the NL with 8.4 WAR, while the much hyped Ronald Acuna Jr came in with 8.1 WAR. Ohtani should easily win his 2nd AL MVP, and I would expect Acuna to win the NL MVP, though I would personally vote for Betts. 

Gerrit Cole is the clear Cy Young favorite in the AL, finishing with 7.5WAR, with Blake Snell (AKA the 21st Century Bret Saberhagen) looking to pick up his 2nd Cy Young for the Padres. He finished with by far the lowest ERA in the big leagues, and led the NL in pitching WAR. 

This should be the easiest offseason ever. Sign Ohtani and return the rest of the team exactly as it is. 6 of his WAR was from offense. The Mariners ended up with -0.8 WAR at DH this year. So we’re a 95 win team with Shohei. Plus we should have won 91 this year based on our run differential so we’d be pushing 100 wins with Ohtani in 2024 without him pitching a single inning, which we don’t even need because we have like 7 or 8 MLB caliber starting pitchers already.
 

Teo is definitely gone. Kelenic plays every day, Moore platoons with Canzone. 
 

Oh, and if Jerry really wants a trade, swap Logan Gilbert for Pete Alonso. 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

I'm going to pivot here and talk a little about the BIG GAME coming up in Seattle on October 14th. 

I think at this point UW will probably win, but I think Oregon has a legitimate chance. They essentially gave the game away at home last year due to some truly awful coaching by Dan Lanning, and an untimely late injury to Bo Nix. Lanning seems better this year so far, and you know Nix would love nothing better than to beat the Huskies in Seattle. 

A lot of Husky fans I know are talking a big game, several of them have told me straight up they believe the Huskies are the best team in the nation. That's big talk, and it is possible the Huskies could get into the playoff this year, but it seems unlikely. They do have a talented coach, good offensive scheme, and several outstanding skill position players. On the other hand, they just don't have the level of talent and depth a team like Oregon or USC has. Any team is vulnerable at the QB position, but outside of that, if USC or Oregon lose a WR or running back, or a couple guys on defense, they still have blue chip 4 or 5 star guys ready to step up and fill that gap. 

Right now I see 4 teams with a chance to win the Pac-12. USC, Oregon, UW, and Oregon State. I believe the winner of the game on the 14th will be in the Pac-12 title game, and honestly both of them could meet again in Las Vegas. If I were UW fans I would consider the following...

- UW's defense is a bit suspect. They have faced some pretty weak competition, but have given up some points. A combined 56 points allowed against CAL and Arizona, probably the #8 and #9 teams in the conference, is not exactly championship caliber. 

- To this point the Huskies have shown they have a pretty one dimensional offense. I can think of another team Oregon has played that has lit every other team up, except the Ducks, and doesn't run the football. 

- Penix has only been sacked 3 times so far, but Oregon has 18 sacks on the season. 

- Oregon may very well be the best defense UW will play this season, it seems like the Ducks defense has taken a major step forward in year 2 under Lanning. 

Again, I think there is a better than even chance UW wins this game, but if things go sideways, the factors above will be prophetic. 

[TT-SEA]

15 minutes ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

I'm going to pivot here and talk a little about the BIG GAME coming up in Seattle on October 14th. 

I think at this point UW will probably win, but I think Oregon has a legitimate chance. They essentially gave the game away at home last year due to some truly awful coaching by Dan Lanning, and an untimely late injury to Bo Nix. Lanning seems better this year so far, and you know Nix would love nothing better than to beat the Huskies in Seattle. 

A lot of Husky fans I know are talking a big game, several of them have told me straight up they believe the Huskies are the best team in the nation. That's big talk, and it is possible the Huskies could get into the playoff this year, but it seems unlikely. They do have a talented coach, good offensive scheme, and several outstanding skill position players. On the other hand, they just don't have the level of talent and depth a team like Oregon or USC has. Any team is vulnerable at the QB position, but outside of that, if USC or Oregon lose a WR or running back, or a couple guys on defense, they still have blue chip 4 or 5 star guys ready to step up and fill that gap. 

Right now I see 4 teams with a chance to win the Pac-12. USC, Oregon, UW, and Oregon State. I believe the winner of the game on the 14th will be in the Pac-12 title game, and honestly both of them could meet again in Las Vegas. If I were UW fans I would consider the following...

- UW's defense is a bit suspect. They have faced some pretty weak competition, but have given up some points. A combined 56 points allowed against CAL and Arizona, probably the #8 and #9 teams in the conference, is not exactly championship caliber. 

- To this point the Huskies have shown they have a pretty one dimensional offense. I can think of another team Oregon has played that has lit every other team up, except the Ducks, and doesn't run the football. 

- Penix has only been sacked 3 times so far, but Oregon has 18 sacks on the season. 

- Oregon may very well be the best defense UW will play this season, it seems like the Ducks defense has taken a major step forward in year 2 under Lanning. 

Again, I think there is a better than even chance UW wins this game, but if things go sideways, the factors above will be prophetic. 

Huskies didn't look that good last night against an unranked team.    Arizona put pressure on Penix and disrupted the offensive rhythm.   

Cal put up like 3 touchdowns in garbage time against all back-ups.   But the Arizona score was real and the defense looked porous.   After last night... I am thinking Oregon has the advantage.  

[TT-SEA]

It was 52-12 in the Cal game when the Huskies pulled most of their starters on offense and defense.   Final score was 59-32.  

[SilverFallsAndrew]

1 hour ago, TT-SEA said:

Huskies didn't look that good last night against an unranked team.    Arizona put pressure on Penix and disrupted the offensive rhythm.   

Cal put up like 3 touchdowns in garbage time against all back-ups.   But the Arizona score was real and the defense looked porous.   After last night... I am thinking Oregon has the advantage.  

Oregon came out really flat yesterday. Stanford also has two field goal drives which ate up a bunch of time early. It was 6-0 Stamford in the 2nd quarter and then Oregon snapped into focus and blew them out easily. I kind of liked that they had to face a little adversity. 

[Anti Marine Layer]

Astros won the division again. 

[MossMan]

8 hours ago, TT-SEA said:

Huskies didn't look that good last night against an unranked team.    Arizona put pressure on Penix and disrupted the offensive rhythm.   

Cal put up like 3 touchdowns in garbage time against all back-ups.   But the Arizona score was real and the defense looked porous.   After last night... I am thinking Oregon has the advantage.  

Seems like we always struggle against the Arizona teams for some reason. Much like how the Rams always have the Seahawks number. 

[Deweydog]

15 hours ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

Obviously many of you are disappointed in how the Mariners season turned out, but looking at it from a glass half full perspective, they were in the hunt until the final weekend. 88 wins with this roster is about what one would expect, I don't think you can call it a disappointment from that perspective. The slow start to the season is really what doomed them, not the lackluster finish. The run they went on in July and August was fantastic, but not sustainable. 4-5 more wins in April/May would have made all the difference. The fact is there is still a massive talent gap between them and the Astros, and I think as fans people should acknowledge this. They have a good core on the mound, they had the 3rd best ERA in the majors, and 3rd most quality starts. The top 3 in the rotation are under contract for the next several years. They need to continue to stock the bullpen, and develop depth, but this should continue to be an area of strength. 

The lineup is a big issue. They have some guys with pop, but overall they don't hit for average, strike out an alarming rate, and don't get on base very well in other ways. They were 22nd in the MLB in batting average and 15th in on base percentage, while striking out more than any other team save the Twins, who of course play in a pathetic division. 

In the offseason I would prioritize making a run at Ohtani, and probably look to move on from Suarez and France. Or maybe you keep Suarez and let Hernandez walk. Either way they need build a team that can manufacture runs, not just rely on homeruns all the time. 

This team has a core which could compete for the AL west for the next several years. Julio is a star, I thought overall he took a step this year, and he probably has another level he can reach.

100%.

This was a .500 team in today’s MLB. They caught fire at a time where they also happened to be playing a whole lotta epically bad teams and ended up playing meaningful baseball for most of September because of it.

If they’re wise, their star is still on the rise but their offensive identity is that of swing for the fences in a park and climate where that doesn’t give you a whole lot of bang for your buck.  They’ve now gone five seasons without a .300 hitter since Jean Segura finished at .304 in 2018.

[SilverFallsAndrew]

A little more on the Oregon @ UW game coming up. I would expect UW to open as at least a 3.5pt favorite, though it might be more as it seems like some of these lines have been pretty aggressive so far this year. I see the ESPN analytics gives Oregon a 54.2% chance of winning. 

Comparing the teams statistically you see how weak UW has been on defense. 

Total Defense:
Oregon #7
UW #74

Rush D
Oregon #26

UW #56

Passing D

Oregon #8

UW #89

Total Offense:

UW #1
Oregon #2

Rushing offense

Oregon #6

UW #100

Passing offense:

UW #1 

Oregon #11

 

[Front Ranger]

2 hours ago, Deweydog said:

100%.

This was a .500 team in today’s MLB. They caught fire at a time where they also happened to be playing a whole lotta epically bad teams and ended up playing meaningful baseball for most of September because of it.

If they’re wise, their star is still on the rise but their offensive identity is that of swing for the fences in a park and climate where that doesn’t give you a whole lot of bang for your buck.  They’ve now gone five seasons without a .300 hitter since Jean Segura finished at .304 in 2018.

Just need to find a couple Ichiros.

[Cloud]

7 hours ago, Anti Marine Layer said:

Astros won the division again. 

Since @MossManseemed confused, I’ll explain. The M’s winning yesterday actually allowed the Astros to take the division and subsequently the #2 seed. They owned the tie-breaker over the Rangers. Now with a BYE for the WC and some much needed rest. They won’t play again until Oct 7 when the ALDS starts against the winner of TOR/MINN. 
 

Like they really needed the rest as one of the most hated team in the MLB and the defending champs. The M’s can’t even lose right!

 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

17 minutes ago, Cloud said:

Since @MossManseemed confused, I’ll explain. The M’s winning yesterday actually allowed the Astros to take the division and subsequently the #2 seed. They owned the tie-breaker over the Rangers. Now with a BYE for the WC and some much needed rest. They won’t play again until Oct 7 when the ALDS starts against the winner of TOR/MINN. 
 

Like they really needed the rest as one of the most hated team in the MLB and the defending champs. The M’s can’t even lose right!

 

Toronto basically gets a bye too.

[MossMan]

27 minutes ago, Cloud said:

Since @MossManseemed confused, I’ll explain. The M’s winning yesterday actually allowed the Astros to take the division and subsequently the #2 seed. They owned the tie-breaker over the Rangers. Now with a BYE for the WC and some much needed rest. They won’t play again until Oct 7 when the ALDS starts against the winner of TOR/MINN. 
 

Like they really needed the rest as one of the most hated team in the MLB and the defending champs. The M’s can’t even lose right!

 

I am now hitting the confused react for every one of Marine’s posts since he is always so confused about my posts

[Cloud]

6 minutes ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

Toronto basically gets a bye too.

Like how many thought and felt they had a BYE against the M’s last season during the WC? Mariners swept them. October baseball is different! TOR does have experience this time around though. 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

1 minute ago, Cloud said:

Like how many thought and felt they had a BYE against the M’s last season during the WC? Mariners swept them. October baseball is different! TOR does have experience this time around though. 

At some point one would think the Twins will do something in the post season...

[Cloud]

11 minutes ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

At some point one would think the Twins will do something in the post season...

This will be the year they break their 18 games postseason losing streak.

[TT-SEA]

2 hours ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

At some point one would think the Twins will do something in the post season...

Agreed.    My baseball fanatic family members in Minnesota have actually lost interest in the regular season since it seems so meaningless when the Twins just promptly lose every playoff game for going on two decades now.    But eventually it has to end.   None of the players on the current team were involved with the ugly playoff loss streak.  

[TT-SEA]

Jamal Adams starting tonight... any odds on him making it through the first quarter without a season ending injury?

[Cold Snap]

Beating the Giants shouldn’t be too hard of a task for the Seahawks hopefully.

[TT-SEA]

Just now, Cold Snap said:

Beating the Giants shouldn’t be too hard of a task for the Seahawks hopefully.

Well that is a perfect way too ensure a blow out loss!  

[Frontal Snowsquall]

Taylor Swift got her fans watching the NFL now whenever the Chiefs play.

 

[TT-SEA]

6 hours ago, Deweydog said:

100%.

This was a .500 team in today’s MLB. They caught fire at a time where they also happened to be playing a whole lotta epically bad teams and ended up playing meaningful baseball for most of September because of it.

If they’re wise, their star is still on the rise but their offensive identity is that of swing for the fences in a park and climate where that doesn’t give you a whole lot of bang for your buck.  They’ve now gone five seasons without a .300 hitter since Jean Segura finished at .304 in 2018.

This is great perspective.   And the reality is that they have no business being in the playoffs given that they are back to playing their normal sub .500 baseball and they saved us from having to watch a painfully quick exit.   

[MossMan]

Seahawks are going to lose and it’s going to be the Mariners fault because of all the bad juju with them! 

[TT-SEA]

4 minutes ago, MossMan said:

Seahawks are going to lose and it’s going to be the Mariners fault because of all the bad juju with them! 

Yeah... I can tell by the kick off that this one is over already.   

[MossMan]

1 minute ago, TT-SEA said:

Yeah... I can tell by the kick off that this one is over already.   

Already running down our throats 

[TT-SEA]

Just now, MossMan said:

Already running down our throats 

Swing and miss by Adams already too.   

[TT-SEA]

Defense is looking stellar... they have a run game working and finding receivers WIDE open.   

[SilverFallsAndrew]

48 minutes ago, TT-SEA said:

Agreed.    My baseball fanatic family members in Minnesota have actually lost interest in the regular season since it seems so meaningless when the Twins just promptly lose every playoff game for going on two decades now.    But eventually it has to end.   None of the players on the current team were involved with the ugly playoff loss streak.  

First World Series I ever got really into was won by the Twins. 

[TT-SEA]

1 minute ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

First World Series I ever got really into was won by the Twins. 

The 1987 and 1991 world series were both incredible and some of my best baseball memories.  

[MossMan]

Adams is done for the year! 

[TT-SEA]

And Adams is out!   Very predictable.  

[TigerWoodsLibido]

Of course…Adams…

[Cold Snap]

Well this defense is off to a bad start.