Sports

#43: Mariners Eye Rare Road Sweep Sunday

GAME:Mariners (18-24, 4th AL West, – 7.5 GB) at Rockies (15-24, 4th, NL West, 11.5 GB). GAME #: 43. SERIES: 3rd of 3 games. MEETING: 3rd (Mariners lead 2-0). WHEN: Sunday, 12:10 p.m., Coors Field, Denver, CO. PROBABLE PITCHERS: RHP Blake Beavan (Seattle, 1-4, 4.58) vs. RHP Jeremy Guthrie (Colorado, 2-1, 4.85). STREAKS: Mariners W 2; Rockies L 3. TV: ROOT Sports, MLB TV. RADIO: KIRO 710 (Seattle), Mariners Radio Network.

Following two inexplicable wins in Colorado — 3-0 and 10-3 — Friday and Saturday that have already been assigned “pigs fly” status, the Mariners close out their three-game series with Colorado Sunday (12:10 p.m., Pacific Time) with the opportunity to accomplish a rare sweep (considering the Mariners’ lowly status, Denver’s sports talk show patrons must be irate over such a grim possibility).

Blake Beaven, rocked by the Red Sox in his last start, will seek his second win of the season at the expense of 33-year-old journeyman Jeremy Guthrie, who is 2-5, 3.72 in nine starts against Seattle.

Following the game, the Mariners will jet back to Seattle to launch a three-game series with Texas Monday, which will be followed by a four-game set with the Los Angeles Angels. But first, Beaven vs. Guthrie, which has not yet attracted Cooperstown’s attention. A closer look:MARINERS: RHP Blake Beavan (1-4, 4.58 ERA, 1.28 WHIP)

The 23-year-old Beavan, in his second major league season and second with the Mariners, will be making his eighth start and first against the Rockies.

A native of Irving, TX., the 6-7, 240-pound Beavan was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the first round (17th pick) of the 2007 amateur draft.

After pitching in the minor leagues from 2008-11, Beavan made his major league debut July 3 against the San Diego Padres. He worked 7 IP, allowed three hits, two walks and one earned run in a 3-1 Seattle victory at Safeco Field.

Beavan became a Mariner July 9, 2010, when the Rangers traded him, along with Matthew Lawson (minors), Josh Lueke and Justin Smoak to Seattle for Cliff Lee, Mark Lowe and cash.

Beavan, who had 15 starts for the Mariners in 2011, will take a career record of 6-10, 4.35 into Sunday’s game at Coors Field.

• LAST START: May 15 at Fenway Park, was the losing pitcher in Seattle’s 5-0 setback to the Red Sox; struck out four, walked two and gave up a homerun to David Ortiz.
• LAST VS. ROCKIES: Beavan has never faced the Rockies.
• CAREER VS. ROCKIES: No record.
• AT COORS FIELD: No record.
• LOVES/HATES TO FACE: Beavan has faced just two current members of the Rockies. Marco Scutaro is 2-for-3 (.667 BA) against him and Michael Cuddyer is 1-for-3 (.333 BA).
• CURRENT ROCKIES VS. BEAVAN: 3-for-6, .500 BA, one double, one strikeout.

Beavan / 2012

• April 12 (L, 0-1): Worked 6.1 innings and allowed one earned run, but couldn’t overcome the start by Texas’ Neftali Feliz, who had eight shutout innings.
• April 15 (W, 1-1): Outdueled Graham Godfrey in a 5-3 win over the Oakland Athletics; three earned runs on six hits over 7.0 innings; seven ground-ball outs and 16 fly-ball outs.
• April 21 (L, 1-2): Losing pitcher in Philip Humber’s perfect game at Safeco Field; allowed three runs on seven hits over 6.0 innings; one home run among his 101 pitches, 70 for strikes.
• April 27 (ND, 1-2): Allowed three earned runs on seven hits in 5.2 innings, taking a no-decision in Seattle’s 9-5 win at Toronto.
• May 2 (L, 1-3): Suffered a 5-4 loss to Tampa after allowing five earned runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings; struck out one, walked two and gave up two home runs (Sean Rodriguez, Luke Scott); threw 86 pitches, 51 for strikes.
• May 7 (ND, 1-3): Took a no-decision in a 3-2 Seattle victory over Detroit; left the game in the third inning when struck by Miguel Cabrera; allowed one earned run on four hits prior to the injury.at Tampa Bay.
• May 15 (L, 1-4): At Fenway Park, was the losing pitcher in Seattle’s 5-0 setback to the Red Sox; struck out four, walked two and gave up a homerun to David Ortiz.

ROCKIES: RHP Jeremy Guthrie (2-1, 4.85 ERA, 1.44 WHIP)

The 33-year-old Guthrie, in his ninth major league season and first with the Rockies, will be making his sixth start of 2012 and his first against the Mariners.

A native of Roseburg, OR., the 6-1, 205-pound Guthrie pitched for Stanford University before the Cleveland Indians made him the 22nd pick in the first round of the 2002 amateur draft.

Guthrie pitched in the Cleveland system until Aug. 28, 2004, when he made his major league debut in Cleveland’s 5-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox at Jacobs Field. He worked one inning and did not factor in the decision.

Guthrie saw limited action with the Indians over the next three seasons. When the Indians waived him Jan. 29, 2007, the Baltimore Orioles selected him.

Between 2007-11, Guthrie won 47 games and lost 65 and twice led the American League in losses, 17 in both 2009 and 2011. He also led the AL in home runs allowed in 2009, yielding 35.

Guthrie had his best season in 2010, going 11-14, 3.83 in 209.1 innings. He has thrown four complete games during his career.

On Feb. 6, 2012, the Orioles traded Guthrie to the Rockies for Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom.

• 2012: Guthrie has worked into the seventh inning in three of five starts. He had his best outing April 22 at Milwaukee when he defeated the Brewers 4-1. Guthrie allowed one earned run on three hits over 7.0 innings. He had two strikeouts and three walks.
• LAST START: May 15 at San Francisco, took a no-decision in a 5-4 victory over the Giants; allowed one earned run on four hits over 4.1 innings; struck out four and walked four while facing 24 batters.
• LAST VS. MARINERS: May 31, 2011, pitching for Baltimore, lost to the Mariners 3-2 in a game won by Chris Ray working in relief of Erik Bedard; allowed two runs on six hits over 6.1 innings; gave up a home run to Justin Smoak.
• CAREER VS. MARINERS: 2-5, 3.72 ERA in nine games, all starts, covering 58.0 innings; has 29 strikeouts to 16 walks and has allowed nine home runs.
• AT COORS FIELD: 0-1, 10.45 in two games, both starts, covering 10.1 innings; has twice as many walks (4) as strikeouts (2); has allowed two home runs.
• LOVES TO FACE: Casper Wells (0-for-3, .000 BA), John Jaso (3-for-16, .188 BA, 4 K’s), Justin Smoak (2-for-9, .222 BA, 1 K).
• HATES TO FACE: Brendan Ryan (2-for-4, .500 BA), Ichiro (8-for-29, .276 BA, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 3 RBIs).
• CURRENT MARINERS VS. GUTHRIE: 28-for-103, .272 BA, 3 home runs, 14 strikeouts.

AL WEST STANDINGS

MARINERS / STATS NOTES

• CURRENT ROAD TRIP: Three in New York, two in Boston, two in Cleveland, three in Colorado (Friday-Sunday).
• MARINERS VS. ROCKIES: Mariners15-12all-time vs. the Rockies, including 6-7at Coors Field. Mariners last played the Rockies at Coors Field in 2009, losing all three. Seattle has never swept a three-game series at Coors Field.
• LATEST: Mariners are 3-6 on 10-game road trip after winning the past two . . .Mariners started the season winning eight of first 12 on the road, but are 3-12 since April 28 . . . Mariners scored 10 runs Saturday , but have scored two or fewer runs in 15 of 42 games . . . Mariners are 2-0 in interleague play and have posted at least a .500 record in such games for 12 consecutive seasons . . . Kyle Seager, who had a home run and three RBIs Saturday, has collected at least one RBI in nine of last 16 games . . . With Jason Vargas’ hit Saturday, Mariners pitchers are 1-for-6 in interleague play . . . Every Seattle starter with the exception of Alex Liddi (0-for-5) had at least one hit Saturday . . . Over their past15road games, the Mariners are 15-for-112 (.140) with runners in scoring position. . . C Miguel Olivo, on the DL since May 1, is expected to begin a rehab assignment with AAA Tacoma Monday . . . By the time the Mariners return to Seattle May 21, they will have played 28 road games vs. 15 at home . . . Mariners do not expect OF Franklin Gutierrez to return to the team until at least mid-June.
• SERIES/STREAKS: Series Record: Won 6, split 0, lost 8; Sweeps: 1; Swept: 2. Longest Win Streak: 4 (April 24-27). Longest Losing Streak: 7 (April 28-May 4). Vs. AL East:2-10; Vs. AL Central: 8-9; Vs. AL West: 6-5; Vs NL West: 2-0.
• BATTING: Marinersrank 11th (AL) in runs (158), 12th in hits(333), eighth in doubles (68), first in triples (8)andninth in home runs(35) . . . Rank 13th in batting average (.234),13th in on-base percentage (.290), 13th in slugging (.367)and13th in OPS (.658) . . .batting 77-for-338 (.228) with runners in scoring position after going 6-for-10 Saturday . . . out-homered 45-35. . . left 258 men on base, opponents255 . . .scored 158runs, opponents 172 . . . scored85 of 158 runsin the first four innings . . . Mariners 15-6 when scoring 4+ runs . . . Mariners have homered in16 of last 25 games. . . batted around three times: April 7 at Oakland (4th inning), April 9 at Texas (1st), and April 17 vs. Cleveland (4th) . . . shut out four times (April 10 at Texas, April 13 vs Oakland, April 21 vs. Chicago, April 27 at Toronto).
• BATTING EXTRA: Dustin Ackley has Seattle’s longest hitting streak at 13 consecutive games (May 3-17). Jesus Montero and Miguel Olivo had eight-game hitting streaks, Montero from March 29-April 14, Olivo from April 22 until he went on DL list May 1 . . . Mariners have recorded four bases-loaded walks (Kawasaki, Ryan, Montero, Smoak) . . . Kyle Seager’s single in the fourth inning April 17 marked the 50,000th hit in Mariners’ history, and Brendan Ryan’s walk in the same frame scored Justin Smoak with the 25,000th run in franchise history . . . Montero’s 13 RBIs in April were the most by a Mariners’ rookie since 1986 . . . Three Mariners, Ichiro (March 28 vs. Oakland), Justin Smoak (April 17 vs. Cleveland) and Jesus Montero (May 1 at Tampa) have four-hit games . . . Walk-Off Wins: May 7, their first since Sept. 14, 2011 vs. New York, and their first via a sacrifice fly since Sept. 14, 2007 vs. Tampa Bay (Jose Guillen); Walk-Off Losses: May 17, at Cleveland, Carlos Santana bases-loaded single off League in 11th.
• PITCHING: Mariners rank eighth in ERA (3.98), fifth in hits allowed (333), eighth in runs allowed(172),11th in home runs allowed (45), seventh in walks (124), seventh in strikeouts(293) . . . Felix Hernandez has 17 career no-decisions while throwing 7.0 or more innings and allowing one or fewer runs . . . Closer Brandon League is 0-3 with two blown saves.
• ICHIRO (1-for-5 Saturday) has766 multi-hit games, which ranks fourth among active players, and No. 1 since his debut in 2001. Ichiro’s 47 games with four or more hits leads all active players . . . Three-hit game April 30 marked the226th of his major league career . . . Ranks97th on career hitslist (2,476) and needs 14 to tie No. 96 Fred McGriff . . . Since 2001, has recorded 99 outfield assists. Only Jeff Francouer, with 100, has more . . . With 96 career home runs, needs four to become the 12th Mariner with 100. Breakdown: 94 as a leadoff hitter, one batting second, one batting third.
• ODDS/ENDS: The Mariners will play 10 games in the next 10 days. Their next day off is May 31 . . . Mariners have three more bobblehead nights: May 25 (Dustin Ackley), June 15 (Felix Hernandez), July 28 (Dan Wilson and Randy Johnson).
• DEBUTS: Munenori Kawasaki (April 7), Lucas Luetge (April 7), Erasmo Ramirez (April 9), Hisashi Iwakuma (April 20).
• DISABLED LIST: Miguel Olivo (15-day, May 1, strained right groin), George Sherrill (15-day, April 13, strained flexor bundle), Franklin Gutierrez (15-day, March 28, torn pectoral muscle; plantar fascitis), Adam Moore (15-day, March 28, fractured wrist).
• EX-MARINERS VS. CURRENT MARINERS: April 19, Jack Hannahan, Indians, 2-run single in ninth off Brandon League in Tribe’s 2-1 win; April 28, Brandon Morrow, Blue Jays, one earned run over 7.0 innings in 7-0 win; May 11, Raul Ibanez, Yankees, 3-run homer off Felix Hernandez in 6-2 win; May 12, Raul Ibanez, Yankees, solo homer off Hector Noesi in 6-2 win; May 15, David Ortiz, Red Sox, solo homer off Blake Beaven in 5-0 Red Sox win; May 16, Shin-Soo Choo (3), Asdrubal Cabrera (2) and Jose Lopez (1) combine for 6 hits in 9-3 Cleveland win; May 17, Casey Kotchman (2), Cabrera (2), Jose Lopez (1), Choo (1) six of Cleveland’s 10 hits, plus 5 RBIs, in a 6-5 win.

2012 RECORDS / MILESTONES

• April 24: Catcher Miguel Olivo matched the franchise record  when he was charged with three passed balls in a 7-4 win at Detroit. Jerry Narron let three balls get by him Oct. 4, 1980, and Jeff Clement did likewise Aug. 10, 2008 (Clement was catching knuckleballer R.A. Dickey).
• April 27: Michael Saunders joined Donnie Scott (April 29, 1985) and Jimmy Presley (April 8, 1986) as the only Mariners to hit two home runs in a game in the ninth inning or later (solo homer in the 9th, grand slam in the 10th).
• April 30: When both Miguel Olivo and Jesus Montero homered, it marked the first time in franchise history that two players had homered in the same game as a catcher.
• May 2: Ichiro set a club record for most putouts by a right fielder in a nine-inning game, registering 10 in a 5-4 loss at Tampa.
• May 3: The Mariners featured a lineup at Tampa Bay that included seven left- handed hitters and two switch-hitters. It marked only the third time in club history that the Mariners used an all left-sided lineup. Others: Aug. 13, 1983 at California and Aug. 9, 1983 at Oakland.
• May 5: Combined one-hitter by Felix Hernandez and Steve Delabar vs. Minnesota was the 13th in Mariners history. Ten have been thrown by one pitcher, three combined. Most recent combined: Michael Pineda, Jeff Gray and Brandon League vs. Tampa, July 30, 2011. Most recent by one pitcher: Jarrod Washburn, July 6, 2009.
• May 9: When John Jaso batted leadoff against Detroit, it marked the first time since 1978 that a catcher had hit first for the Marines (Bob Stinson). Oddly, lefty Jaso led off against Tiger lefty Drew Smyly.
• May 8: Kevin Millwood’s 2-0 shutout marked his first in nearly nine years. He did not surrender his first hit until there were two outs in the sixth. Millwood’s gem marked only the fourth time in 1,440 games at Coors Field that an opposing pitcher held the Rockies to two hits or less while shutting them out. Millwood’s complete game also was the first by a Mariner in 2012.

MARINERS WON-LOSS BREAKDOWN

MARINERS BATTING PROFILE

MARINERS PITCHING PROFILE

PROBABLE PITCHERS

MARINERS 2012 SCHEDULE/RESULTSMarch

April

May

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Seattle vs. Colorado

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Article source: http://content.usatoday.com/sportsdata/baseball/mlb/game/Mariners_Rockies/2012/5/19

Seattle kicks off Cascadia Cup in Vancouver

Vancouver, BC (Sports Network) – Seattle Sounders FC will head to BC Place on Saturday to square off against Vancouver Whitecaps FC in 2012′s first installment of the Cascadia Cup.

Both sides are coming off of losses that ended their respective winning streaks. Seattle had a five-game winning run halted by a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Real Salt Lake while Vancouver was easily brushed aside by the New England Revolution in a 4-1 defeat at Gillette Stadium last weekend.

The Whitecaps had a match midweek as well, but managed a draw with Toronto FC in the first leg of the Canadian Championship. Eric Hassli helped the ‘Caps avoid an embarrassing defeat in Wednesday’s opening leg by striking a thundering equalizer in stoppage time. With Hassli also netting the opening goal in the 4-1 defeat to the Revs, the French striker will be looking to continue his fine form Saturday.

“It was an excellent goal, and if you analyze the game, there were a lot of positive position and ball movement and things like that,” said Whitecaps head coach Martin Rennie of his team’s performance against New England. “But I think sometimes when you’re a couple of goals behind, it’s easy to play in, to pass the ball, and it just wasn’t there for us [Saturday].”

Vancouver’s defense has been largely impressive this season except for a few games. The club has conceded 11 goals on the season, 10 of which came in three losses.

“I think that generally we do defend well and don’t give up too many goals and we need to get back to that,” said Rennie. “You’re going to lose some games in MLS and we know that. Where this team is at right now we’re going to get some wins and we’ll have some disappointments along the way. But how we respond is important and how we responded last time we lost was to win five in a row.”

Seattle strung together a club-record five-game winning streak, ultimately ended by Real Salt Lake last weekend. Fabian Espindola’s second-half strike was just the second goal conceded by the Sounders from open play this season.

“Five games in [15] days is a little bit of a haul, but at the end it’s not an excuse,” said Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid. “We had enough chances in the first half that we needed to get a goal. I think a tie would have been a fair result tonight, probably, because they maybe had a little bit more in terms of possession in the second half. Overall, I can’t fault our guys for what they’ve done over the last five games.”

“We showed the fatigue in the second half. I thought in the first half we were dangerous, but in the second half we got tired,” said Eddie Johnson.

With a full week off to prepare for Saturday’s rivalry, the Sounders could be poised for three points to spark another winning streak.

05/18 16:32:44 ET

Article source: http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=soc-mls/news/news.aspx?id=4501157

Preview: Mariners at Indians

Reuters

3:39 p.m. CDT, May 17, 2012

Article source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/sns-rt-bbo-mariners-indians-previewmtze85h5180zd-20120517,0,7021361.story

Seattle sports arena deal goes to city, county councils for review

Investor Chris Hansen (center), flanked by Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn (left) and King County Executive Dow Constantine (right), announce an agreement governing financing of a proposed sports arena in Seattle on Wednesday.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, King County Executive Dow Constantine and California hedge fund manager Chris Hansen announced on Wednesday that they had completed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) towards the financing and building of a new sports arena in Seattle’s Sodo neighborhood.

The arena, which could house new National Basketball Association 
 

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franchises as well as other events, would be funded by a combination of private and public financing. Hansen and his group of investors have committed to paying $290 million to develop the arena.

The MoU will be sent to the city and county councils for approval. City Councilmember Tim Burgess said the council will thoroughly review the proposal.

“We will determine if municipal bonds for this project are an appropriate and wise commitment from the City,” Burgess wrote in a statement. “We will also explore any risks to the City’s financial stability and whether this investment provides sufficient public benefit. To the extent appropriate, we will do this work in coordination with the County Council’s concurrent review.”

If the councils find the project to be sound, Hansen would still have to acquire an NBA team before the arena could be built. No public financing will be required until an NBA team is actually coming to Seattle.

If both an NBA and an NHL team are acquired and ready to play in the proposed new arena by the time it is built, the City of Seattle will pay $120 million and King County will be on the hook for $80 million for arena construction. If only an NBA franchise has been acquired by then, the city will pay the same amount, but the county will pay no more than $5 million.

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Article source: http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2012/05/16/seattle-sports-arena-deal-goes-to.html

Reigning in Seattle

Thomas Boyd for ESPN The MagazineThe world’s game has a rich history in Seattle.

This story appears in the May 28 World Football Issue of ESPN The Magazine. Subscribe today!

DRUMS BEAT, CHANTS ring out, fans march. There are brightly colored scarves and home-made banners, celebrity spectators and crisp, damp spring air. But this isn’t Manchester. It’s not even England. It’s Seattle, and come Saturdays, the streets and seats fill, and the right side of Puget Sound becomes as lively a soccer city as anyplace in the Prem.

Sounders FC, a young franchise in a disrespected league, tucked away in a remote corner of a nonsoccer nation, is proving the sport can succeed in the U.S. “For everyone in American soccer,” says Sounders coach Sigi Schmid, “I always tell people, you have to make a pilgrimage to Seattle. What you hoped soccer would be, it’s actually like that here.”

Per game, the Sounders outdraw the Mariners almost 2 to 1, with attendance through May 5 at nearly 39,000, which would place eighth in the English Premier League. Merchandise sales are on a par with the Seahawks, according to Gary Wright, Sounders senior VP of business operations. No wonder NBA commissioner David Stern, who let the Sonics leave Seattle in 2008 after 41 years, calls the Sounders “the most successful expansion team in the history of sports.”

Not that this success should surprise anyone. Out of the way and independent-minded, Seattle has a tradition of embracing the new. The city gave birth to grunge, Starbucks and Microsoft. Occupy Wall Street? In Seattle, home of the 1999 World Trade Organization riots, that’s so last century.

Seattle Sounders

The Sounders take on the Colorado Rapids at CenturyLink Field. Gallery

It also helps that the world’s game has a rich history in the Emerald City. The original Sounders were founded in 1974 (two years before the Seahawks and three before the Mariners), but the Kingdome was literally crumbling when U.S. Soccer chose host cities for the 1994 World Cup, and Seattle was passed over again when MLS launched two years later. The demand was there; the venue still wasn’t. Then in 2002, Seahawks Stadium (now named CenturyLink Field) opened, having secured public funding largely on the promise it could host soccer as well as football.

By 2007, a lifelong soccer fan named Joe Roth, who just happened to be the former chairman of Walt Disney Studios and a multimillionaire Hollywood producer with movies such as Major League and While You Were Sleeping to his credit, decided the time was right for MLS in Seattle. He partnered with Adrian Hanauer, a local businessman who ran a minor league version of the Sounders, then persuaded Microsoft co-founder and Seahawks owner Paul Allen to buy in. The marriage of football and ftbol turned out to be a masterstroke.

More than half of the Seahawks’ full-time staffers also work for the Sounders. The teams merged ticket, marketing and financial operations, enabling the Sounders to hit the ground running. The new club also took advantage of the void left by the Sonics’ departure — inheriting media coverage and corporate sponsors — though there’s debate about how much that helped at the gate. “People say that was a factor,” says Wright. “But I’m not sure how many basketball fans love soccer.”

In the Sounders’ original business plan, the goal was to sell 12,000 tickets per game. The team averaged nearly 30,000. “It became a cultural phenomenon,” Roth says. But execs refuse to take that support for granted. “The day you assume everyone’s always going to be there on Saturday is when complacency bites you on the ass,” says Hanauer, the GM.

So the front office made sure to build trust among its young, tech-savvy fans from the start, letting fans name the team and soliciting feedback through social media. “The people who put down a deposit for season tickets [their inaugural year] were sent a link to fill out info such as: What kind of fan are you?” says Bart Wiley, the Sounders’ director of business development. “Will you sing and chant or just watch the game?” Comedian Drew Carey, another minority owner, took the concept of “democracy in sport” further by giving season-ticket holders the opportunity to vote out the GM every four years. (Hanauer, up for re-election in November, calls his chances “reasonable.”)

The suits were also smart enough to stay out of the fans’ way. “People ask how we created this amazing stadium energy,” Hanauer says. “We didn’t create anythingthey did. We’ve made good decisions, but we’re careful not to disrupt the organic growth and authenticity of what’s developed here. We know we can screw this up.”

Of course, it’s easier to support a competitive team. Under coach Schmid, hired fresh off an MLS Cup win with Columbus in 2008, the Sounders won the first three games in their history and haven’t looked back. They’ve since made the playoffs and increased their point total every year without superstars like David Beckham and Thierry Henry. Not that they’re cheap. The club has the third-highest payroll in MLS behind LA and New York, spending wisely on lesser-known but highly skilled South Americans like Argentine midfielder Mauro Rosales and Colombian forward Fredy Montero. This season, the Sounders are off to their best start yet.

Like Nirvana and Pearl Jam, what started as coffeehouse counterculture is now a money-making stream. And the rest of MLS is paying attention. New clubs in Portland and Vancouver entered the league in 2011 with similar grassroots excitement, and the European-style atmospheres are slowly taking root in places like Houston and Kansas City, albeit on a much smaller scale. But what plays in Seattle doesn’t necessarily sell in KC. Instead of simply following the Sounders’ blueprint, other clubs should follow their example. Take the world’s game and make it their own.

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Article source: http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/story/_/id/7929299/soccer-seattle-sounders-prove-mls-put-fans-seats-espn-magazine

Dozens of flyswatters wash up on Alaska beaches

KODIAK, Alaska (AP) — Sports memorabilia is popular around the world, but most people don’t go to the beach to find it.

During the past week, dozens of flyswatters bearing logos of collegiate and professional sports teams have washed up on Kodiak beaches, and beachcombers have set out to collect them.

Kodiak resident Todd Anderson even created a page on Google Maps to track when and where the fly swatters are found, and the team logos. More than 70 people have reported fly swatter sightings.

Other sports-related items like Nerf basketballs and aluminum water bottles are also being found on Kodiak’s beaches.

“We found three flyswatters on Kalsin and four more yesterday at Middle Bay,” Kodiak resident Jessica Horn said. “We found three Nerf balls, too.”

Stacy Studebaker and husband Mike Sirofchuck found seven flyswatters on Pasagshak Beach on Sunday, in both football helmet shapes and square shapes.

“The first one was neat, and then we found the second and third,” Studebaker said. “We realized they were all different.”

The flyswatters, originally believed to be debris from last year’s Japanese earthquake and tsunami, are actually from a shipping container that went overboard almost four months ago.

On Jan. 30, Team Sports America, a company that specializes in licensed sports products, received word that the container ship carrying its products from China lost several shipping containers after a rogue wave hit the vessel in a storm.

“This is a first,” TSA executive vice president Michael Sockel said. “We’ve never had anything happen like this.”

A cable on the ship broke, and a whole row of containers got loose in the Pacific Ocean. The coordinates of the spill were not immediately available, so it is unknown exactly how far the debris has traveled.

“We were informed by our overseas logistics people that we lost a container and it sank at sea,” Sockel said. “A whole row of them came loose. We’re not the only ones who lost containers.”

Kodiakans might soon be finding sports key chains and pens that were in the same container.

It is likely the containers were on the Cosco Yokohama, a container vessel traveling from Asia to Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The vessel encountered dangerous weather in the Gulf of Alaska the weekend of Jan. 21, and 29 containers fell overboard.

Container spills are a fairly common cause of debris in the North Pacific.

“It has the marks of a container spill, lots of the same thing washing up,” said oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer. “There are runs from Japan and China up through the Bering Sea that come down through Unimak Pass heading to Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco. That’s where major storms strike.”

Ebbesmeyer has studied flotsam for years and has tracked various items riding the ocean currents.

It is difficult to differentiate tsunami debris from regular marine debris or spill debris.

“There is a lot of debris, and in general it’s hard to trace back to the tsunami,” said Keeley Belva with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s marine debris program. “If there is something identifiable, we can try to figure out how to get it back to the right person.”

NOAA has been working with local marine officials and government officials to come up with a strategy to address the 5 million tons of tsunami debris approaching the U.S. coastline.

In Kodiak, the most identifiable tsunami debris items are oyster floats piling up on the shore.

“Oyster floats and polystyrene cylinders are spread throughout the entire region,” Island Trails Network executive director Andy Schroeder said. “For 15 years we’ve been seeing one or two. Dave Hilty, a well-known local pilot, counted over 4,000 oyster floats in a recent flight. This is obviously from an event.”

Island Trails Network has a grant specifically to collect tsunami debris, but funds won’t cover the cleanup of Kodiak’s thousands of miles of coastline.

“We’d like to see emergency funding come to address this problem,” Schroeder said.

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Information from: Kodiak Daily Mirror, http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com

Article source: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Dozens-of-flyswatters-wash-up-on-Alaska-beaches-3560573.php

Home » Sports News » Mariners can’t solve Lester in 6-1 loss to Red Sox

BOSTON (AP) — Seattle’s Dustin Ackley had never faced Jon Lester before Monday night and afterward said that the Boston Red Sox left-hander’s cutter looked identical to his fastball.

Ackley wasn’t the only Mariner who couldn’t figure out Lester.

Lester scattered eight hits without walking a batter in his second complete game of the season to lead the Red Sox to their fourth straight win, 6-1 over Seattle.

“He’s got some great pitches. His curveball’s a great pitch, too,” said Ackley, who went 1 for 4 with a single. “He gets ahead with that on guys early, and when he’s able to use the cutter, it’s a great pitch for him. When you have a pitch like that, you’re going to miss barrels a lot.”

Swing and miss the Mariners did.

Seattle didn’t manage a hit off Lester (2-3) until Ichiro Suzuki singled with two outs in the fourth inning, and they mustered merely six hits – all singles – through eight innings. Lester struck out six, including Alex Liddi to cap his first nine-inning complete game since June 27, 2010. He also tossed an eight-inning complete game earlier this season in a loss at Toronto.

Lester required 119 pitches to finish off his eighth career complete game, surrendering the lone run in the ninth when Suzuki singled, moved to third on a double by Justin Smoak and scored on Kyle Seager’s groundout.

“I’ve seen him pretty good, unfortunately. But he was good tonight, too,” Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. “He’s a smart kid. As he works his way through the lineup the second and third times, he does a nice job mixing-and-matching and he did a lot of that tonight.”

Daniel Nava and Kelly Shoppach homered for Boston.

David Ortiz and Adrian Gonzalez added consecutive RBI doubles for the Red Sox, who won their fourth straight at home. Boston is on its longest home winning streak since capturing nine straight last July.

The Red Sox opened just 4-11 at Fenway Park.

The Mariners, on the second stop of a four-city, 11-game trip, have dropped four of six. Seattle entered the day with the AL’s second-worst batting average at .235.

Suzuki and Smoak each had two hits for the Mariners.

Jason Vargas (4-3) had his worst start of the season, allowing five runs and seven hits in six innings. He had allowed two runs or fewer in six of his eight starts this year.

Lester retired the first 11 batters before Suzuki reached on an infield hit when the ball caromed off the pitcher’s glove. Third baseman Will Middlebrooks had little time to make a throw when he finally recovered the ball.

Leading 2-0, the Red Sox increased their lead to 5-0 on the homers by Nava and Shoppach. Nava hit his second career home run into the first row of seats above the Green Monster after Cody Ross singled leading off the fourth. One out later, Shoppach belted one over the Monster seats, completely out of Fenway, for his first of the season.

Nava’s only other homer was a grand slam on the first pitch he saw in the big leagues, making him just the second player in major league history to accomplish the feat. Kevin Kouzmanoff was the other, doing it with Cleveland in 2006.

Marlon’s Byrd’s sacrifice fly made it 6-0 in the eighth.

Boston had grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first on doubles on consecutive pitches to Ortiz and Gonzalez.

Boston’s Dustin Pedroia went 0 for 4, snapping his 14-game hitting streak.

NOTES: Nava, who spent all of 2011 at Triple-A Pawtucket, had gone 171 at-bats between homers. … Vargas hadn’t given up more than four runs in a start this season. … Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said 3B Kevin Youkilis, on the 15-day DL since April 29 with a strained lower back, took groundballs Monday and isn’t far away from returning. … Wedge feels his struggling lineup needs a lot more help from Suzuki. “I’m hoping we can get a little more production out of the 3-spot, out of Ichiro, driving in runs,” he said. “He’s the one veteran we’ve got in the lineup and he has to produce for us.” … Wedge also said he sees improvement from 1B Smoak, who entered the game hitting .205. “He’s been better. He’s been more consistent to the point of contact.” … The Red Sox honored the 2012 NCAA Hockey champion Boston College Eagles before the game.

Article source: http://kdwn.com/news/sports-news/Mariners_cant_solve_Lester_in_6-1_loss_to_Red_Sox

Pettitte’s return to Yankees spoiled by Mariners – Pasadena Star

Click photo to enlargeNEW YORK—Andy Pettitte stood on the mound at Yankee Stadium with his hat pulled down low, peering in at the catcher over the glove held high in front of his face.

It’s an image Yankees fans know well. This time, though, No. 46 was back on a big league mound for the first time in a year and a half.

It was hard to tell.

Pettitte pitched effectively into the seventh inning Sunday, but gave up a pair of two-run homers in New York’s 6-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners.

“To me, he looked like he hadn’t missed a beat,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

Nearly lost amid the excitement over Pettitte’s first major league appearance since retiring after the 2010 season was party crasher Kevin Millwood’s performance for Seattle—helped by three double plays. The 37-year-old Millwood (1-4) gave up three hits in seven innings and got his 2,000th career strikeout as Seattle avoided a three-game sweep.

The Yankees tried to prevent their old pal Pettitte from taking the loss with a rally in the eighth against four Seattle relievers. Robinson Cano was walked with two outs by Charlie Furbush with the bases loaded to make it 4-2. Mark Teixeira, though, struck out to end the inning.

The lovefest for Pettitte (0-1) began when the lefty appeared with several players in videos welcoming fans to Yankee Stadium after batting practice. The cheers grew as he strolled out to the bullpen for warm-ups and fans rose for a standing ovation when the five-time

World Series champion followed his teammates onto the field for the first inning.

“I just cannot believe how comfortable this is for me,” Pettitte said. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

The Core Four member who turns 40 next month even got special treatment from the Bleacher Creatures. They broke protocol after their roll call and started a chant for Pettitte that most of the 41,631 in attendance joined. The Creatures rarely include the starting pitcher when calling out player’s names in the first inning.

The stadium got awful quiet when Casper Wells homered in the sixth to give Seattle a 4-1 lead with his first of the season, an opposite-field drive off the netting on the right-field pole. Justin Smoak homered for Seattle’s first hit with two outs in the fourth.

“I thought it was so awesome. I was so excited. I know we lost today and that’s what a lot of people are going to focus on—I could really care less about that,” Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher said. “We got our boy back.”

Pettitte’s return had become more important to the Yankees because their rotation had been struggling, with Freddy Garcia demoted to the bullpen. But through the first five games of this homestand, the team’s starters were 4-0 with a 1.31 ERA and Girardi thought their performance would take some of the pressure off Pettitte.

The broad-chested Texan appeared calm as ever in his first big league start in 573 days, since Game 3 of the AL championship series against Texas on Oct. 18, 2010. He sat out last season before deciding in mid-March to make a comeback.

After Swisher caught leadoff batter Dustin Ackley’s fly to right with a leap at the wall, Pettitte walked Wells. He then got Ichiro Suzuki to ground into a double play. Pettitte walked Alex Liddi with two outs in the second but Mike Carp grounded out to end the inning.

Not having allowed a hit two outs into the fourth, Pettitte walked former Yankees prospect Jesus Montero and Smoak lined a homer to left. Pettitte showed characteristically little emotion on the mound.

Wells homered following Ackley’s leadoff single in the sixth. The Mariners then loaded the bases with one out on three straight singles but Girardi stuck with Pettitte, and Carp grounded to first. Teixeira stepped on the base and threw home, and catcher Russell Martin tagged a sliding Montero.

Pettitte returned for one batter in the seventh and induced his 12th groundball out. He left to a loud ovation despite trailing 4-1 and waved to fans as he entered the dugout.

“There is not a question in my mind how this is all going to play out for me,” Pettitte said. “It’s not about this one start. I’ll measure if this was a successful return or not at the end of October.”

Millwood almost missed out on the 2011 season, too, but not by choice. He spent much of the season in the minors with the Yankees and Red Sox before joining the Colorado Rockies’ rotation in August. He signed with Seattle in the offseason.

“I thought he was outstanding today,” Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. “He did a great job with his secondary stuff.”

Millwood had little trouble in his best start of the season. With runners on first and second in the third, he got Derek Jeter to ground into the first of his two double plays.

Jeter also hit into an inning-ending double play after Millwood walked Martin to force in a run in the fifth. Alex Rodriguez grounded sharply into a 6-4-3 double play after a leadoff walk to Curtis Granderson, one of four walks by Millwood.

“We turned some big double plays,” Millwood said.

Millwood fanned Granderson leading off the fourth for his 2,000th career strikeout.

NOTES: Jeter’s single in the eighth was hit No. 3,142, tying him for 16th place on the career list with Robin Yount. … Wells’ homer was the Mariners’ first hit with runners in scoring position this series. They were 0 for 10 coming in.

Article source: http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/sports/ci_20618380/pettittes-return-yankees-spoiled-by-mariners

#36: Mariners Face Old Nemesis Pettitte Sunday