March 2008

There were 35 posts published in March 2008 (this is page 5 of 5).

T3: Mariner Dream Team

Since I am so one dimensional John said I should do the top ten Mariner players. Instead I opted to do a dream team of sorts. I will take one player from each position including DH, and assemble the best on paper Mariner team you’d ever seen.



1. Starting Pitcher

The M’s have sure had their share of great starting pitching, from hall of famer Gaylord Perry with 300+ wins to soft tossing senior citizen Jamie Moyer. But obviously the one pitcher who left his special mark in M’s history would have to be none other than the man behind the mullet, Randy Johnson. Johnson was arguably the most dominant pitcher of his time, he has won 5 Cy Young awards, including the ’95 season. He single handedly swung the M’s into the playoffs that year with the 1 game playoff against the Angels where he held them to just 1 run.



2. Catcher

Well considering Dave Valle can suck my balls, I’ll have to give this one to Dan Wilson #2. Dan Wilson was not only a lovable guy, he was one of the best defensive catchers of the 90’s. He made one all star appearance in 1996, and probably would have made more if he wasn’t competing with Pudge.



3. 1st Base

Alvin Davis made his Mariner Debut in 1984 when he was awarded Rookie of the year where he batted .284/.391/.497, hit 27 home runs and drove in 116. His career statistics were not quite considered hall of fame numbers, but he is Mr. Mariner, So I put him on the squad.



4. 2nd Base

Now for everyone’s favorite sexual harassing 2nd basemen, Harold Reynolds. Reynolds was the M’s 2nd basemen from 1983 to 1992. He won 3 gold glove awards and regularly led the league in double plays. My favorite Baseball Tonight Analyst will be sorely missed, he’s just gotta keep his hands off those ta-ta’s.

5. 3rd Base

I searched through all the third basemen the Mariners have had and the only one that really jumped out at me was current Mariner Adrien Beltre. Some people complain about his contract and how he hasn’t replicated his 48 homer year w/ the Dodgers, but who can blame him? He finally won his first gold glove last year and it was long over due. He makes plays I can’t even dream of making. He has improved every year since we got him and he is only 28 years old. Hopefully he will be a Mariner for years to come.



6. Shortstop

Maybe some people will disagree with me here, but that is because they are stupid. I like to call him the best shortstop on the Yankees right now, and his name is Alex Rodriguez. I don’t know how much more can be said about this guy, but he is something. You can’t hate him all you want for leaving for money, but he signed and played for the Mariners against his agent’s will and played for under the league average in salary for 6 years. He is incredible in the field, and even more so at the plate, and I hope he gets a ring, and I hope he breaks Bonds record, and I hope he gets 61. I love A-Rod.



7. Outfield

Since the M’s have never had a left fielder worth even glancing at, I’m just going to pick 3 Outfielders. The first is my guy, Jay Buhner. Introducing the Pacific Northwest to the greatness of baldness, Jay Buhner. Although his style is much like our pal Big Richie, Buhner managed to his above .250 making all his bombs even more special. He hit 40 home runs 3 times from 1995-1997, and was an intrical part of the two play off runs. I love seeing him at spring training every year and I hope he can stay a presence in the organization



Number 2 is Ichiro Suzuki. By far the best lead off hitter of his time. I really don’t know what to say. Seven 200 hit seasons, record 262 hits in a season, 7 Gold Gloves, and the list goes on. With a newly inked 5 year contract, our outfield defense won’t be all the disaster it should.



AND FINALLY, the kid. George Kenneth Griffey Jr. The greatest center fielder to every play the game. A swing that makes hitting coaches weak at the knees. Range and defensive prowess that make managers cringe, hoping he won’t injure him self. Let’s just pray he’ll be back in a year’s time, roaming the outfield that he built with his own hands.



10. DH

Edgar Martinez. The most lovable of them all. One of the greatest professional hitters this world or any other has seen. Numbers are besides the point when you watch this man take that lumber and drive the ball to all areas of the field. He made the designated hitter a legitimate baseball position, and for all you asshole national leaguers out there, we had Edgar. Bud Selig had the right idea in naming the DH award, the Edgar Martinez award. Beautiful Beautiful man.

This took far to long and now I must play wiffleball.

The Great Big Dungeon in the Sky

Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax passed away today at the age of 69. He died in his home, after years of failing health, apparently. Gygax was a hero to geeks and nerds everywhere and a huge influence on the entire gaming industry, tabletop and video alike. I never really played D&D (DnD?), but I am aware of it, and I do play many RPG video games that probably would not exist if it wasn’t for him. He will be missed.

C.A.T: Parachutes

Coldplay – Parachutes (2000)

I thought for this week’s CAT we’d take a look at something a bit more recent. Everyone knows Coldplay’s “A Rush of Blood to the Head” and the hit “X & Y,” but significantly less people have heard the band’s debut release, “Parachutes.” While “A Rush of Blood to the Head” is perhaps Coldplay’s magnum opus, I’ve found that “Parachutes” is the one that I have listened to the most. It is very laid back and easy to listen to; a lot simpler than the rest of their library. The album is often likened to the sound of Radiohead during the “Bends-OK Computer” era, Wikipedia even says that a part of the album’s success is Radiohead fans not liking “Kid A.” The first track, “Don’t Panic,” remains one of my favorite songs ever. After that, the album gets a progressively quieter, until we get to the eponymous song and things pick up a little for the last few tracks. But quiet is not a bad thing at all, from the hit single “Yellow” to the controversial “Spies,” every single song on this album is great.

Some people say that “Parachutes” is just too mellow for their tastes. Hell, some people say that about “A Rush of Blood to the Head.” Chris Martin doesn’t even seem to really like it. Which may be the case for you. But if you’ve enjoyed multiples listens to their other work, or even “The Bends,” you really should check it out. Maybe you’ll be one of the lucky ones who understand exactly what makes “Parachutes” so beautiful.

Favorite Tracks: “Don’t Panic,” “Sparks,” “Everything’s Not Lost”

Justice For None

To quote Mango “What the Frick” at least that’s what I thought when I stumbled across something very strange on IMDB. This being that apparently in 2010, there will be a Justice League movie? First of all I must say that to this sounds like a terrible idea. Seeing Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman and others join forces on the big screen in live action is too much. It really does sound like a joke, but from what I understand it appears to be true even already having a partial cast. So now you might be thinking “Okay we’ve recently had new Batman and Superman movies, so will this have Christian Bale and Brandon Routh?” but apparently not. It looks like what were getting is a cast of 20 something actors (With mostly television experience like some guy from “The O.C.”) playing famous D.C. characters including; The Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and others. The film is set to be directed by Aussie George Miller (Mad Max Series, Lorenzo’s Oil, Happy Feet) and looks to be a blending of live action with motion capture and heavy CGI. This I find somewhat confusing but one thing that’s for sure is this is intended for a theatrical release. Luckily in all of this I read online that there is a chance that financing for this may fall through, but as well may not. So there is still a chance this will not be made and if you ask me, that would be for the best. I mean, It’s not that I’m biased against the Justice League or anything, but it just doesn’t work as a movie. It’s too complicated, and when people see all those heroes together, it will most likely be welcomed with laughter… That’s bad.

P.S. If you ever feel the urge to unlock your inner screenplay then you should check out this site “http://www.celtx.com/” it sure does make writing in screenplay format easy.

Go M’s

One thing I love to do is find music on my own. Whether it’s staying up all week watching Conan hoping for a glimpse of a promising new band, or exploring the family tree’s of bands members and producers. I recently borrowed a the latest Decemberists album “Crane Wife” and have to say it is one of the better works of this decade. They take on a whole persona of mariners writing indie rock music with mermaids and all sorts of nonsense. But the stories though sometimes eerie are set to beautiful arrangements and are worth listening to over and over and over again.

But before I get ahead of myself, the reason I am here is because of Laura Viers. I found her in the linear notes of Crane Wife when I heard her do a duet called “Yankee Bayonet”. So I looked her up on myspace. I was skeptical at first but decided to blow some of my iTunes gift card money on her latest album, “Salt Breakers”. I’ve listened to it nearly 30 times in the last week and I just cannot get enough. My iPod is on repeat, so everytime it starts over I think, “I should really listen to something different.” But I am so content with these easy going melodies, fitting harmonies, and cheap percussion, I just leave it be.

All this rambling might just be part of my Avril obsession, but who knows, I just might be on to something.

New Zealand: Just like The Lord of the Rings!

Flight of the Conchords

One of HBO’s newer sitcoms; Flight of the Conchords shows us the daily adventures of the New Zealand band of the same name trying to find success in New York City. There names are Jemaine and Bret, and though in real life they are comedians, in the show the music is taken very seriously. Their manager, Murray, works in the New Zealand consulate and has largely no idea what he’s doing. Mel is the band’s only fan, who spends most of her time stalking the band with her husband. And Dave is Jemaine and Bret’s best friend, who runs a pawn shop and dispenses advice to them. The whole cast is very good, providing lots of laughs in between the songs. But the songs take the center stage as both very amusing and pretty catchy. This is a great show, one of the funniest on TV. The first season is over and the band are working of writing the new season right now, so go pick the DVD or something. You won’t regret it.