Made the journey down to AZ . . .
though I freely admit, M’s Spring Training was not the only thing on my mind . . .
After many months of house sale/house purchase, moving into a rental and finally, moving into our “forever home” and out of storage ~ all during one of the coldest winters on record and so far, one of the wettest springs ~ I was ready for a little rest, relaxation and sunshine!!!
As it happens, I was with two gals from Seattle (one a non-baseball fan; one who likes, not loves it) and another who is a passionate Indians fan (she hails from Ohio) AND Padre fan (currently resides in SanDiego) so, all this to say I only managed to see ONE Mariners game . . . 😦
which I can’t say I gained any sort of reasonable data from (other than, the Pads can hit ’em out when the wind is blowing 😉 )
Just a few observations/predictions . . .
- MOST IMPROVED: the fact that (at the time of this game) Mike Zu was leading the team in walks, is a very good thing!
- BEST NEWCOMER: have since heard an interview with Mitch Haniger and (with the notable exception of his love for ‘Bay area sports” – yuk!) he seems as advertised in both talent and like-ability 🙂
- COMEBACK KID: as I’m sure others were – so excited when I saw Smiley in the WBC and now, he’s down with “soggy” arm – not exactly encouraging words from the Skipper 😦
- TEAM COMPONENT IMPROVEMENT: speed and great outfield defense may actually be a thing this season
- UNSUNG HEROS; I’m getting really good vibes about the bullpen (and that was even before we signed old friend Mark Lowe!)
- ACE IN THE HOLE: and then there’s Felix – seems more motivated than ever before (down season last year when we finally had a little offense) – methinks he’s gonna do good 😉
One thing’s for sure . . .
craziness happens at ST for the previous WS winner ~ the line at the Cubs/Tribe game was insane!
On a non-baseball note . . .
I highly recommend two restaurants: Indigo Crow (Cave Creek) and Dick’s Hideaway (Phoenix)
FOUR MORE DAYS ~ Go M’s!!!
Compass Rosy 