The time is now...

to trade Felix Hernandez.

Before I explain, first let me say a couple things about myself.  I am a die-hard Mariners fan, have been since I can remember.  I have been to hundreds of games over the years, all the losses and a few of the wins.  I watch them on TV with an almost religious zealous, too my girlfriend's chagrin.  Most of my friends and family jumped ship years ago, but not me.  I still hold out hope that one day my Mariners will win it all, and I can celebrate with all the bandwagon fans when it happens.  I am also a huge Felix Hernandez fan.  This league hasn't seen many young pitchers as dominant as him over the last few decades.  Felix, or King Felix as he has been anointed, is the epitome of what an ace pitcher is and should be.  In almost every game he will undoubtedly give you 8-9 innings of pure pitching at its finest.  His passion for the game exudes in his confidence on the mound.  So there you have it, I love the Mariners and I love King Felix.

Here is where I make my decision about which I love more.  The team, or the player?  Back when I was a kid, I would have said the player.  I was a huge Ryne Sandberg fan and wouldn't have cared what team he played on.  But as I have grown older, I have come to realize that it is so much more about the team than the individual.  One player does not define a team, or shouldn't at least, and if he does then I believe it is time to cut bait and move on for the betterment of the team.  That's not to say that doing such a thing comes without heartache and pain.  Deciding to part ways with a beloved hero brings about a myriad of issues and questions that the team must first answer before making it's final decision to do so.  How will the fans react?  How will the organization move forward?  Making that decision to trade your star player does not come without its downsides, but as an organization you must weight the pros and cons and make the decision that makes the most sense for the team.  For me, that decision would be to trade Henandez now while you can get the most bang for your buck, and before he pulls a Randy Johnson on you.  Please tell me you remember that fiasco?


Without boring you with all the statistics, we all know Felix has been dominant for most of his career.  Innings, strikeouts, making fools of opposing hitters  But if this year is any indication, he is starting to show some signs of decline, if only minimal.  His drop in velocity really isn't all that shocking considering his workload over the years.  Not many pitchers his age have piled up as many innings he has.  And before those of you who want to talk about pitchers from the 50's and 60's, save your breath because its comparing apples to oranges.  Today's pitchers are not trained or conditioned to throw complete games every time out.  Sad to say, but it's the truth.  So moving on, we nee to look at some other signs that the team may be better off without him.  He's not getting hitters out with ease as he has in the past.  Far to often he has looked more human than not.  Teams aren't fearing him the way they used to.  Every fifth game doesn't seem quite like the near automatic victory it should be.  That brings me to my Randy Johnson inference above.  If we don't strike now while the iron is still hot,  we could see things get worse in a hurry.  With the Mariners in ability to score runs and win on a consistent basis, it wears on a pitcher.  Add to that the desire to win championships and you can quickly add up the reasons why Felix just might not care anymore.  Now before I get flamed, I am not suggesting that Felix is bombing on purpose right now, but come next year you have to start wondering as such if his decline continues on the path it is on today.

Randy Johnson had enough losing
before he took matters into his own hands.
Will Felix do the same if the M's don't start winning?

Felix has an ingrained desire to win and my bet is he wants to win for a championship caliber team. The Mariners are far from that team and won't be for at least the next several years.  His still relatively young age, and his past performance, should be enough to get any team in contention hot and bothered by his availability.  Take the Yankees for example, they continue to ask year after year if Felix can be traded.  They are like vultures circling over a carcass in the desert.  Take into account his remaining contract and you've more than doubled his value.  I say take advantage of the situation now while the cards are stacked in your favor.  The return the Mariners could get by trading a proven commodity like Hernandez should be astronomical.  I'm talking 2-3 blue chip prospects, plus additional quality players in return.  You don't believe me or think I'm crazy?  Find me a GM from a contending team that wouldn't make that move.  Championships pay bigger dividends than prospects, just ask the Mariners.  They have no titles and so far their prospects aren't developing into a championship caliber squad.  Trading Felix now also diminishes the possibility of reliving the same Randy Johnson saga that played out several years ago.

So for the love of my team, I am willing to part ways with one of the most dominant pitchers in this league.  I will be sad, and may even cry a little, but mostly because I know what's best in the long run.  I'm with Jack Z in his youth movement, and I ask him to go all in with this move.  We'll be a lot closer to contending in 2014-15 than if he sits on this goldmine of an opportunity and waits any longer.


Thanks Felix!  It's been a fun ride.  Come back and say hi from time to time.  There will be no hard feelings this time around.  You did your part, and we gave you a crown.  Enjoy the playoffs and do us proud, win it all and shout it loud.  And when you get that coveted ring, remember who anointed you King.

***FRIDAY MORNING EDIT***
TRADE HIM NOW!!!  After last night's 1-0, 13K, CG, shutout, there is no better time to trade Felix than today.  That performance will be stuck in the heads of every GM long enough for Jack Z to take what he wants and rob them blind.  It pains me to write this kind of stuff after such a stellar performance, but when you sit back and realize we only scored 1 run ourselves, it becomes crystal clear that the M's need so much more than what Felix offers them on his own.  This team is horrible offensively and won't win many 1-0 games, even with Felix on the mound.  Remove the blinders, step out of the fog, trading King Felix can and should be the best thing to happen to the Mariners since, well, since they signed him.

Four Team Playoff is a BAD Idea!

First off, sorry for the long delay between this and my last blog post. Life got in the way a little more than anticipated, so hopefully you all can forgive me!  On to more entertaining topics...

This past week, the BCS commissioners and the Notre Dame AD agreed to endorse a four team playoff model.to replace the current BCS system.  The proposal will be put to vote by the BCS presidential oversight committee on July 26th, and if adopted take effect in the 2014 season.

The existing BCS system has been around since 1998 and has lacked much fanfare for most of its existence.  The growing pressure for change has finally come to a head and something is finally being done.  But I wonder if the direction the commissioners are going is a bit misguided? The format they are proposing will not last, but maybe for a few seasons, before new tensions will arise.  Four teams, in my opinion and many others, is not enough.  The process of selecting four teams to compete each year will only incite the same types of bickering and outrage that exists with today's system, its only a matter of time!  I have a very simplistic, yet complicated, way of fixing everything.  Below are my thoughts on what the NCAA should do and how I think major change should be the way to go.

The need for a playoff system is a given.
Are 4 teams enough for fans to get excited again?

First off I believe there needs to be an eight team playoff, but to get there we need to talk about conference realignment.  With teams all over the country changing conferences, trying to best align themselves with an opportunity to compete for a national title, it makes one wonder why it needs to be so chaotic.  Boise St. in the Big East???  Get real.  Right now there are 120 teams in the NCAA Division 1 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).  First thing I would recommend is adding eight additional teams to bring the total to 128.  I don't think the NCAA would be hard-pressed to find an additional eight teams willing to make the jump.   Then I would divide the 128 teams into eight super conferences of 16 teams each.  How they divide them up I really don't care, as long as there is some form of balance regarding conference strength, from one to another.  Each conference would have six major programs, five mid-major, and five bottom feeders, or some combination of each level.  Each conference would then divide themselves into two eight team divisions.  Again, I don't care how they divide them, as long as there is balance between the two.

As for scheduling, well it's quite easy actually.  Each team would play all seven of the other teams in their division, two cross division games, and three out of conference games.  This keeps with the existing 12 game schedule.  For the two cross division games, this would be on a rotating cycle each year.  For the out of conference schedule, teams would schedule according to the "A-B-C" method.  They would be required to schedule one major team, one mid-major, and one bottom feeder.  This way each team plays a similar schedule type and the perception that certain teams load up their schedules with more than one bottom feeder can be put to rest.  Of course I don't have the magical algorithm that makes this all jive, but I'm certain there is some computer science whiz the NCAA could employ to make it work.

So now that we have our eight super conferences and scheduling taken care of, we can talk about how we get to an eight team playoff.  Hopefully without saying much, it should be crystal clear.  The eight team playoff would be formed by including the champion of each of the eight conferences.  Each conference would hold a championship game with the division winners squaring off.  This would be your "Sweet 16" if you will.  From there the conference champions would be seeded by a committee and assigned to one of the four current BCS bowl games, Rose, Sugar, Orange and Fiesta.  These bowls would be the quarter-finals or "Elite 8".  Each bowl would host specific seed pairings on a annual rotating schedule.  After the quarter-finals are complete there would be two national semi-final games followed by a national championship game.  These games would be played on neutral sites, with locations being given to the highest bidding city. 

With this format you are only adding two additional games to the over all schedule as it exists today.  For those that say it extends the season out too far, I say move the bowl games up.  Don't take so much time off in between the conference championships and the bowls.  It can easily be scheduled so the national championship game is played near New Year's day.  All it takes is right minds and creativity.  You can still keep all the other bowl games for those that don't make the playoff and conferences will still get their money.

Adopting an eight team playoff, in the manner described above, shatters the BCS process and provides a "crystal" clear method for naming a true national champion.  

Simple as that!

Vlad is Mad, why not bring him to Seattle?

Vladimir Guerrero was just released by the Toronto Blue Jays after a brief stint with their AAA club in Las Vegas.  Guerrero was hitting .358 with 4 HR and 12 RBI.  When he signed his deal with Toronto, both sides set a date at which point a decision would be made to promote or release the one time AL MVP.  That date came and went, which prompted Vlad to pack his bags following a game on Monday.  Blue Jays officials said there just wasn't any room on their MLB roster so they followed through with their agreement to release him.

Jack Z, are you reading this?  Get on the phone now and have this guy in uniform before the day is over!  You hear me?

The Mariners signing Vlad makes way to much sense to me.  The M's need that veteran presence in their lineup in a bad way.  Signing Vlad would be cheap and could provide that presence.  It would also allow the M's to make a few more moves without even blinking.  Figgins could be released immediately.  Olivo could be put on the trading block and hopefully shipped off before he has another passed ball.  Montero and Jaso could easily hold down the catching duties for the year.  Vlad could be the DH on the days Montero caught and then be used sparingly in the outfield on days Montero was DHing.  It just makes too much sense.  Not to mention that by having Vald in the lineup you can start to take away any pressure from the likes of Smoak, Montero and Saunders to be the big bat in the lineup.

I challenge anyone to dispute my thinking and offer up reasons why it wouldn't work.

My Kind of Math, 6 equals 0 for the M's Pitchers

Six Mariners Pitchers Combine for No-No

(Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

In one of the most unlikely of scenarios, the Seattle Mariners pitching staff tied a MLB record last night when six different pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Dodgers came into Safeco sporting the best record in baseball at 37-21, but missing their star Matt Kemp.  Early on, M's starter Kevin Millwood was dealing and had total command of his fastball, owning the Dodgers and striking out 6 through the first six innings.  He was perfect through four innings, before issuing a lead off walk to Juan Rivera in the 5th.  Rivera was quickly erased when Bobby Abreu hit into a 3-6-3 double play.

Heading to the top of the seventh, Millwood came out to begin his warm-ups, tossing one pitch before signaling to the dugout that something was wrong.  Mariners manager Eric Wedge, and team trainer Rick Griffin, headed out to the mound to see what had happened.  Soon after, Wedge signaled to the bullpen and Millwood headed for the training room.  It was later learned that Millwood had a strained right groin.

In came Charlie Furbush, who hadn't had a chance to get warm in the bullpen.  He quickly got Dee Gordon to fly out to center for the first out, no-hitter still intact.  The next batter, Herrera, hit a grounder that Furbush fielded cleanly but he hurried his throw, which got by Justin Smoak at first base.  The throwing error allowed Herrera to reach third and put a runner in scoring position, with the score still tied at zero.  Furbush settled himself down and struck out Andre Ethier swinging for the second out.  Wedge decided at that point to play the match-up and bring in his flame throwing rookie, Stephen Pryor.  Pryor made quick work of Rivera, striking him out to end the inning and continue the no-no into the eighth.

In the bottom of the seventh  the M's got two out rather quickly as both Carp and Kawasaki went down on strikes.  Up came Suzuki, who was already 2 for 3 on the night.  In true Ichiro fashion, he beat out an infield single for this third hit of the game.  He quickly stole second, with no throw from the catcher, putting the Mariners in scoring position.  Ackley followed with a walk, bringing up Kyle Seager.  Seager, the Mariners leading RBI man, quickly fell behind 1-2 before lacing a single into left field off the glove of Dodger shortstop Dee Gordon.  Suzuki raced around and scored from second giving the Mariners all the offense they would need in this one.

Pryor returned to the mound in the top of the eight but quickly showed signs of control issues, walking both Abreu and Hairston Jr. on nine pitches.  Lucas Leutge came in to relive Pryor to face James Loney.  Loney laid down a nice sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position with one out.  Wedge headed back out and wanted his former closer, Brandon League, to come in and shut things down.  He did just that, getting Ellis to line out and Gwynn to strikeout swinging.

The M's didn't do anything more in their half of the eighth, setting up one final half inning of history.  Without hesitation, Wedge brought in his new closer, Tom Wilhelmsen to finish off the Dodgers.  The Bartender, as he has been nicknamed, worked fast and quickly got Dee Gordon to bounce a grounder to short.  Mariners shortstop Brendan Ryan, who had just entered the game as defensive replacement, had to charge to make the play and made a quick throw to first the just got Gordon to keep the no-hitter going.  Dodgers manger Don Mattingly sprinted out to have a discussion with the first base umpire, Ted Barrett, but was quickly shot down and soon retreated back to his visiting dugout.  Herrera then stepped to the plate and quickly made the second out with a liner right to Ryan.  With he crowd on their feet, flashes going off all around the stadium, in stepped Ethier with one last chance to break up history.  After fouling off the first pitch, Ethier hit a hard grounder to Ackley at second, where ho tossed the ball softly to Smoak for the final out of the game.

Mariners rookie catcher, Jesus Montero, sprinted to the mound and jumped into the waiting arms of Wilhelmsen to celebrate.  Montero would later tell the media that Wilhelmsen had to be told why they were celebrating so much, apparently not fully aware of what had just happened.  The Mariners as a team actually looked as though they didn't know how to celebrate and quickly moved their excitement into the clubhouse, where they had the opportunity to catch up with starter, Millwood, and finish their celebration.

The Mariners have seen their ups and downs so far this season, but a game like this can potentially spark something great in the long run.  Time will tell how they react to what they accomplished and how it carries them through the rest of their season.


Interesting Facts About the No-Hitter
No-hitters happen almost every year, this was the fourth one so far in 2012, but combined no-hitters are a rare occurrence.  In fact, this was only the tenth combined no hitter in MLB history.  The last time a team combined on a no-hitter was almost 9 years prior, when the Houston Astros also had six pitchers combine to no-hit the New York Yankees.  There were a couple other rarities with this one as well.  This was only the third time in history that a team threw a no-hitter to have also been no hit during the same season.  The Mariners fell victim to the Phil Humber's perfect game nearly seven weeks prior.  Kevin Millwood also became only the fourth pitcher in history to throw no-hitter by himself and be part of a combined no-hitter in his career.

Williams Commits to UW

Troy Williams, of Narbonne HS in Harbor City, CA announced today that he will be attending the University of Washington in 2013.  Williams is a 6'2", 190 lb. athletic QB, along the same lines as current UW QB, Keith Price.  He plans to make his decision final on Signing Day in February and hopes to graduate early so he can enroll in time for next year's spring practice session.

Check out the following link to Seattle Times Husky football blogger, Bob Condotta, with more information about Williams commitment to the Huskies.

Another new Husky? QB Williams commits

The commitment of Williams to UW is a positive sign for Coach Sark and staff.  Even with 2012 signees Jeff Lindquist and Cyler Miles in the fold, adding another QB was a must for the Huskies in 2013.  Bringing in talent to compete with talent is always a plus.  All of these kids have aspirations of making it to the next level, so having the opportunity to compete against stiff competition will only better prepare them in the long run.  In addition, being able to attract top talent year in and year out is a huge plus for a program trying to find its way back to the top Pac-12 pecking order.  If the Huskies continue to to improve each year, as they have the past three years under Sarkisian, the level of recruits showing interest in UW will improve as well.

2012 Seahawks Preview - The QB Situation

With the draft over and OTA's underway, the NFL will start to really kick things into gear in the coming weeks with team mini-camps and player conditioning and workouts.

My focus this year will be solely on the Seattle Seahawks.  For the first time in a long time the team did not undergo a major overhaul.  I'd call this season the beginning of the retooling process. The 2012 version of the Seahawks will look much the same as it did before, but with a few new pieces and a couple nice upgrades.

I'll start with the offense and jump right into the QB discussion.

Photo courtesy of the Seattle Times.
From left to right, incumbent Jackson,
newcomer Matt Flynn,
and 3rd rd pick Russell Wilson.

Seattle wasted little time when the free agent market opened and quickly jumped on the Matt Flynn express.  It was clear from the onset that the Hawks were looking for an upgrade to last season's incumbent QB, Tarvaris Jackson.  To Jackson's credit, he played much of last season hurt and still put up respectable numbers, but he lacked excitement and too often looked just plain average.  To succeed in the NFL you need a QB that is more than just average.

Enter Matt Flynn.  With only limited playing time the past couple seasons, as Aaron Rodgers backup in Green Bay, Flynn flashed signs that he may be a special talent in this league.  In his final action with GB, all Flynn did was shatter a few team passing records and amped up his resume heading into free agency.
Not a bad idea for a guy who was looking for a starting opportunity in this league.

Matt Flynn running drills at Seattle OTA sessions.
Photo courtesy of NFL.com

Flynn won't jump off the page when you look at his bio.  He's 6'2" and 225lbs. (dripping wet)!  He's of average build, if not undersized, but he has the tools to be successful.  He's a smart QB that can take advantage of a defense and spread the field.  He has a quick release and really excels in the short to mid range passing game.  He does lack the arm strength to continually stretch a defense, but with his accuracy in the short game he can occasionally beat you deep if you let him.  Flynn won't beat you with his legs either, but has enough presence to move the pocket and make quick decisions down field.  For the money Seattle shelled out for Flynn, it would be a huge dent in the Pete Carroll/John Schneider era if he wasn't named the starter before the end of training camp.

So where does that leave Tarvaris Jackson, you ask?  My thought is that Seattle gives him a real opportunity to compete the first few weeks of training camp and then trades or releases him on or around the third preseason game.  Most likely he will be released.  It doesn't make much sense for the Seahawks to hold onto him as he clearly doesn't want to be a backup.  There will be several teams looking for a last minute replacement and he should be able to slide in and man the offense for someone, if not only for a short while.  Jackson has no trade value either, so releasing him makes sense for both sides.  Plus, Seattle drafted Russell Wilson, out of the University of Wisconsin, in the third round of this year's draft.  Drafting Wilson was just another sign that Seattle planned to move on from Jackson, after only one year at the helm.

Photo courtesy of profootballzone.com

Seattle stunned the league when, NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell stepped to the podium and announced that the Seahawks were selecting Russell Wilson with their pick in the third round.  Wilson was one of a few surprise picks by the Seahawks in this year's draft, but we'll talk about that later.  Wilson does not fit the mold of your typical NFL quarterback.  In fact, many had predicted he would be drafted later and most likely used as a  WR or gadget player, similar to former Steeler, Antwaan Randle El.  Wilson is considerably undersized when you compare him to what a NFL QB is supposed to look like.  At only 5'11", he might need a ladder to see over the mountainous linemen in this league.  But that's where you would be sorely mistaken.  Wilson not only excelled at the college level, but he did so in his final season at Wisconsin behind one of the tallest offensive lines in all of football, NFL teams included.  What Wilson does well, is he has great pocket presence but utilizes his mobility to create open passing lanes.  His ability to scramble and his surprisingly strong arm make him dangerous in any situation.  Wilson figures to wind up as the Seahawk's backup QB this season, behind Flynn, after they release Jackson.  Carroll won't just give it to him though, he will have to earn his wings.  Many people think he has a shot at snagging the starting job, but I don't see that as a realistic option here.  If Wilson doesn't push Flynn during camp, look for Seattle to sign a veteran QB who's looking for a spot on someones roster, maybe the likes of a Mark Brunell.

Time will tell how this all plays out, but if Flynn does not end up the starter in Seattle look for Carroll and Schneider to start feeling the heat from fans and experts alike.

Let's Play Ball!

Welcome to The Northwest Sports Connection!

My hope and goal for this blog is to provide you with content, information, and my opinions as they relate to all things Northwest Sports.  The focus will be primarily on the Mariners, Huskies, and Seahawks, with a little Sounders FC and other NW related teams and topics added in.

I encourage everyone to comment and reply to posts on my blog.  Your comments and suggestions will help me shape this page as it comes along.  Most of what will be posted are my opinions and thoughts.  if I use info from another source, I will be sure to mention that and note the source, as to not plagiarizer or steal from anyone else's hard work.  If you like my posts, feel free to link to them through your pages or networks.  Please also visit the sites I have listed in the Links section as these are some of my favorite sites and they have a plethora of information on all things sports.

Spread the word and I promise to keep the site full of new content on a daily basis.  Some posts will be links to interesting articles or videos, while others will be opinion pieces from myself, and my site contributors, about current sports related topics and events.

Again, welcome to The Northwest Sports Connection, hope you enjoy!