Status update (finished on 5/11)

Laying around, spending hours on end on Facebook, listening to sad bastard music all while suffering from a vicious headache. It can only mean one thing. It happened again.

Yes, I'm single again.

Single again and I'm not sure if I like it very much.

Thats what I started back in April. I think I got up to take a piss and just never came back. Didn't want to. Obviously.

Well it's May 11th today. And this is the first time I've written anything since that opening paragraph. The last couple weeks have been a blur of beer and bad moods. Be thankful I didn't put any of my thoughts down.

Acutally, thats a lie. I'm doing ok, considering whats going on. Sure I'll have moments where I get sad, but for the most part I'm holding up fine. There has been lots of gym time, lots of movie watching and a shit ton of beer pong. I'm proud to say I haven't blacked out, yet.

Well back to work I go. Just wanted to ramble a little bit. I'll try and get some present tense stuff out in the world in the next couple days.

Game 4 pregame.

Game 4, down 2-1. I felt obligated to write me response to game 3, but the only thing I ended up writing was "fuck" over and over again.

So I scrapped the idea and decided I would do something for game four. Sadly a vicious hangover derailed my desire to write a preview. Well atleast untill I got a text from Jefe, my buddy who is currently at the game, that said "B Roy Suited up!!!!!"

"FL:KJDFKJDSLKJF:LJ:LSDKJFLKSDJLFJL:SDKJF:LDKJFSKJ," I replied with joy.

God, I love this team.

Searching for Silver Lines

Here we are at the very end of the 09-10 season and Brandon Roy has a tear in his miniscus. Shit. We get all the way to game 79 of an 82 game season, and a muscle in his knee decides to be a bitch.

WHY!? Why are the Basketball God's so cruel this season. We had such a promising squad. Two seven footers at center. Another forward damn near seven feet tall. A log jam of shooters at the 2 and 3 positions. A mixture of you and vetran point guards. BRANDON F**KING ROY. We got the bad playoff beat out of the way and looked hungry for retrobution.

Before the season started, we learned last years rookie starting Small Forward, Nicolas Batum hurt his shoulder and was feared to be lost for the season (he came back in Febuary). Then Travis his foot. Then Oden's busts his knee cap (which I detailed in a December post). Then Rudy decided to get surgery on his shoulder which had been bothering him since March of the previous season (thank you, Trevor Ariza). Then Pryzbilla. It was like listening to a Larry the Cable Guy set; just the same shitty joke told and re told over and over again.

Then Rudy comes back, Travis looks like he will be coming back sooner then expected and our team starts to come together. Roy and Andre Miller seem to have had found an understanding on how they can play together. We were showing some potential.

Then down goes the captain. Roy hurts his hamstring and misses 14 of the next 15 games. He was supposed to heal quickly. He had an experimental operation done that was supposed to bring him back quickly. It did not. And the captain was forced into hybernation this winter.

By the time the Allstar break, the injury depleated Blazers had seen 6 rotational guys miss atleast 15 games due to injury (even coach Nate McMillan had an Achilies Tendon injury that forced him to miss games). That is not a typical formula for success in the NBA. Somehow, despite the injuries, the Blazers kept plugging along and stayed in the playoff seedings all year.

Some credit needs to be given to Kevin Pritchard. He didn't panic when the injuries happened. He kept cool and resisted the temptation of hitting the "red button" and blowing things up. Pritchard kept faith that the guys playing could hold their own while he continued to shop for the right deal.

He found the right deal, and on Febuary 17th, he pulled the trigger sending two fan favorites (Travis Outlaw and Steve Blake-both in contract years) to LA for Marcus Camby. Marcus, who apparently appreciated the chance to play in the Playoffs again (has been stuck in Clipperville for a few seasons) has rewarded the Blazers brass for the trade by posting averages of 7 points 11 rebounds and 2 blocks per game (not to mention leading us to a 17-6 record since joining the team). Of course he put an exclamation point on his current stay with the Blazers by droping a season high 30 points and leading us to a win against Oklahoma City locking up the 6th seed for us and giving us a chance to play the Suns instead of the Los Angles Lakers.

The potential for a post season run was there. A great mix of young/athletic and grizzled vetrans. The team was starving for playoff success and were clicking on all cylinders leading into the final month of the season and then the injury bug decides to strike again.

Game 79. In LA, playing the Lakers, and Roy's miniscus decides to tear. Not a bad injury, but no injury is a good injury with 2 and a half games to go untill the post season.

So now where are we? Well the media can't seem to make up their mind. First Brandon was going to play. Granted, not a 100% but he would still be able to contribute. It was also announced that though he was going to play, he would require surgery to repair the damage in the off season. This would require a 4 to 6 week recovery period. Again, not a bad injury.

A few days later it was announced that he was going to be out of the playoffs, take the surgery a few days before Game 1 against the Suns, and get ready for next season (shit). This is before he tested the knee or anything in a practice. They seemingly decided that our chance of winning a championship is better next year then this year, and told him "lets not risk further damage." I get that, better safe then sorry. It still sucks though.

Today, Roy went through surgery to repair his knee (I hope thats the last time I write that sentence). Post surgery, the doctors (as they do) came out and announced they had successfully cut open and fixed our franchies baller. They also let us know that the time table for recovery was now 1-2 weeks.

Wait...WHAT?!

Apparently that was the reason behind having the surgery now as opposed to after the season. So now if Portland is able to get past The Suns ( a team we match up well against, despite our missing Super Star) there is a chance Roy will be good to go. Good decision.

Whether Roy comes back and gives us the Hollywood ending or not (the Hollywood ending woudl be this: Roy comes back to be better then ever starting the second round, we bounce Dallas in the second round and prevail over heated rivals the LA Lakers in the Wester Conference Finals and win (or lose) the championship behind a half court buzzer beater), the one thing we can all agree on is this season is exhausting. Set back after set back this team has over come mountains of trials this season. They have looked adversity in the eye, and kicked it square in the balls.

They are not affraid of screwing up like last year, because expectations have long been thrown out the window. As sick as it sounds, the injuries have made us better. We know how to fight for wins. We know how to steal games we have no business winning, and that makes us better then last year.

It sucks that Oden is gone, that Pryz may never return. It sucks we had to trade Travis and Blake. It sucks that we had to settle for a six seed. But we're here, and thats what important. We have fought our way back into the playoffs. With or without Roy, we're gonna give the Suns hell. They should be worried, because we can still beat them.

Blazers in 5.

Quick Rambling: Mariners Edition

I feel like I jinxed the M's.

I was so excited for this season to start. I was hyping them up to anyone who would listen to me. Felix this, Cliff Lee that. Shit, I was even drinking a healthy dose of Milton Bradly's kool aid. I wrote a lengthy fluff piece (look to the entry below for reference) about them, and how I feel they could do some damage in the AL West this year just in time for them to take a big Cleveland Steamer all over my opinions.

Jeez thanks guys, did you have Fajitas for lunch?

Over this weekend, I was overcome with the idea that they were actually only having two men bat, and the other 7 were just automatic outs that ESPN would update as a formality.

On the bright side, the other day Mariners minor league Shortstop Nick Franklin (plays for the Clinton Lumberkings) went 4-4 with a triple, double and two Home Runs. Super. I know he is supposed to be in the minors until he pays his due's or some shit, but couldn't we just skip a couple steps just this once?

I don't care if he comes up and bat's .210, it's gotta be better then what we got right now. I mean, are you kidding me? Jackie Wilson? He couldn't hit me right now.

Hopefully they get their shit together. I'm going to take the voyage up to Seattle on Friday with The Girlfriend to catch King Felix's first home start of the season. It shouldn't be too hard to pull out a win, just give him 3 runs. It's not that hard. It's 1 run every three innings. Retarded 11 year old girls could put up 3 runs.

It's been a frustrating 9 games, to say the least. But thank goodness it's only that, 9 games. We got a lot of ball left to play.

So stop being a bunch of vag'es, and get your asses into gear boys. Prove me right.

One and Oh: A delayed season preview

Cancel the 2010 season, people this shit is over!

If I've learned anything over my 15 years of watching Baseball it's this: you can find out everything you need to know by how your team with how they play on opening day! With that being said, the 2010 Seattle Mariners have timely hitting, solid Defense, and a certified Money-in-the-Bank Ace. We're not only going to return to the playoffs for the first time in near a decade, but as sure as I sit here at my cubical today, will be winning the World Series come October.

If only it was that easy.


In reality, the state of my Fan-dom Union is this :I'm nervous coming into the season. If we went back in time to December when my father called me while I was Christmas shopping to tell me the Seattle Mariners just pulled a West Coast jack move and took Cliff Lee from the Phillies, well we would probably have a conversation like this:

You: So, Belvin, what do you think about your Mariners chances this year?

Me: (searching for words, look of complete shock on my face... only able to make satisfied grunt noises).

You: Does that mean you're happy?

Me: (finally, after the blood returns back north to occupy my head) I think so. First Chone Figgins, now Cliff Lee? We'll see how the rest of the winter goes... but what a start!


Then imagine after we deal Carlos Silvas fat, unproductive ass to the Cubs for the always angry, always entertaining(as long as you're watching from a safe distance and he isn't on your team) Milton Bradly:

You: Milton Brady? Wow. That could be bad.

Me: Yes, it could be. It could also be good. Remember Jose Guillen?

You: True, but he gets ran out of every team he plays for.

Me: True, but even if he goes Artest Mele on us, he will still be more productive then Carlos Silva.

You: (nod in submission)


Now if you talked to me as Spring Training camps were about to open up:

You: Do you think your team improved?

Me: Chone Figgins, Cliff Lee, Milton Brady, Casey Kotchman? Yes, yes I do. No more Kenji, no more Beltre, NO MORE SILVA!? Yes we got better. Our infield is a vacuum, and we have two aces in our rotation. To make matters worse, our division got worse.

You: so you think you will win the division?

Me: Yes, not only do I think we will win the division, but i think we could go deep into the playoffs.


Thats right I said it. And before a week ago, I said it alot. Now I'll admit, lately, the flaws on this club have become a little more apparent to me, and I'm no longer admiring my favorite club with rose colored glasses on. Doesn't mean I don't believe in their potential, I just no longer believe it's as of sure of a bet as I once did.

To be fair to early March me, here was my reasoning for being so high on my team (not including the fact that ESPN analysts are also drinking my koolaid). Last year we were the American Leagues best pitching team (on American League team with a sub 4 era). On top of that we were unquestionably the top Defensive squad in ALL of the majors. Last years team had a major flaw that kept us out of serious contention and that was the fact that outside of Ichiro, Jose Lopez, Russel Branyan and Franklin Guitierez we couldn't hit the ball. In fact despite the fact that we had the best ERA in the American League and posted a winning record, we still gave up more runs then we scored.


Not going to win division crowns with that statistic highlighting your season.

So lets look at this years team. Safeco field is built for defenses and pitching. Obviously those are going to be the most important. Defensively 2010 we shouldn't see much of a change this year. True, we lost former Gold Glover Adrian Beltre, but we countered his loss with adding Chone Figgins( who is no slouch with the leather (half way through the Spring the M's decided to experiment by sending Jose Lopez over to third and apparently they liked it because the position swap is still going).

We upgraded Firstbase's defense by letter Russel the Muscle go, and bringing in Casey Kotchman. Casey is leaps better the Russel at first, but we could end up really missing Russel's bat. The rest of the D is solid.

Guitierez is known as the best Center Fielder in the game and as aquired the nickname for his position (much like Right Field is known as 'Area 51') "Death To Flying Things." Bradly is servicable out there, and Ichiro untill further notice is still Ichiro(which in roughly translates into 'AWESOME!' in Japenese).

The pitching has the potential to hurt some feelings. We had one of the elite staff's in baseball last year which was anchored by his Cy Young runner up Felix Hernandez. Despite good numbers from our staff, we were unquestionably missing some talent in the starter department. So what does the front office do? Well they some how squeeze their way into trade talks with Toronto and Philadelphia, present both teams with Hookers and Blow and steal 2008 AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee-in a contract year- from the Phillies.

So if you're having trouble keeping track at home coming into the season we have a 1-2 punch of Felix and Cliff Lee (and when Erik Bedard gets healthy, he will run the three or four). God bless Jack-Z.

Unfortunatly, Cliff Lee had some issues involving an altercation during a Spring Training game that left him with an ab strain and a possible 5 game suspension. Those could possibly keep him out of action for a few weeks, which isn't ever good. But as of this writing, he has been throwing pain free and they have a scheduled hearing to appeal the suspension for later in April.

All in all, our pitching (once healthy) is going to be filthy. Two certified aces, and a good bulpen. Yes please.

Our hitting will also hurt feelings, just not the way that our pitching will. Long story short, our hitting could very well suck (outside of Ichiro, Chone, Jose and three hot weeks of Guitierez). I don't trust Milton Bradly to not melt down, I don't trust Griffey or Sweeny to keep their body parts intact, and I sure don't trust near Mendoza Line hitting Rob Johnson. Sure anyone one of those guys could string together a season, and I guess it's always possible that Casey Kotchman could wake up and remember that once upon a time he was a top prospect with the bat, but I'm not going to hold my breath. I'm preparing for the worse.

So where do I stand on the season? I feel like we could win the division. Of course, everything has to go right and by everythign going right I mean this:

• Our pitching needs to get and stay healthy. Cliff Lee and Erik Bedard in particular. We can't afford a big pitcher to go down. Felix included. If Bedard doesn't bounce back, or has another injury, it's going to be tough. If Lee or Felix miss considerable time, forget 2010.
• We have to run, run, run. We're gonna play a style of ball that was once upon a time called "National League" style. That means we're going to steal, bunt and scrap runs together.
• Milton can't melt down, and we have to get a suprise year out of atleast one other player. Last year, Jack Z took a flier on Russel the Muscle who rewarded us with his first 30 home runs season. He is gone, so now we gotta find someone else. Whether it be Kotchman, Johnson, or maybe Griffey nut's up-someone needs to do it.
• We need to make a trade that brings us a big hitter. Someone to plug into the middle of the order. More specifically, we need to get Adrian Gonzalez.

If these things happen, we could be scary. Defense and pitching win in October, and baring injury, we'll have that in spades.

Personal prediction: I feel like we're going to do what needs to be done (personel wise) to be put in position to win. Jack Z is a maverick and seems like he is willing to do what it takes to win. The only question now is, how and for who will he trade. If we get Adrian Gonzalez, the whole make up of this team changes for the better. All of a sudden, Ichiro and Chone have a reliable masher driving them home. Pressure is taken of Kotchman to perform, and anything we get from him would be a bonus. Not to mention Lopez and Bradly get a little sexier since they aren't the 'producers' of the line up.

Maybe it's a good sign that Felix didn't look super sharp tonight, but we still won. And that we had a 4 RBI debut from Kotchman, and a solo homer from Rob Johnson (two guys I previously said I don't expect much from).

This in mind, I feel like we win the division. I know it's only only one game and that over the last two weeks Texas has begun to scare me more and more, but something feels good about this year. I like our players, I love the managment, and I love our direction.

One last note: I have simulated the 2010 season all the way through a few times and every time the Mariners win the division, and once we won the World Series. Of course Bedard, Lee, and Felix never got hurt. In fact we didn't have any major injuries.

If only life were like a video game and I could turn injuries off.