Knowledge is power, which may explain Weaver’s 82-mile-per-hour ‘fastball’
A GRIP ON SPORTS • “I don’t even know who this kid is.” Read on.
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• One of the more important aspects of being a major league pitcher is knowing the opposition. Jered Weaver is a major league pitcher. He’s also a major league, well, there are about seven words I would like to insert here but I can’t due to guidelines established by the International Internet Good Taste Committee (the IIGTC, an organization that only exists in my mind). Yesterday Jered Weaver purported to not know who Kyle Seager is. Really? So all those scouting reports over the years have gone in one ear and out the other, huh Jered? I guess that would be right. After all, Weaver attended Cal State Long Beach, the junior version of California's state college system. As you may have guessed, as a proud UC Irvine alum, I’m not too fond of the 49ers, our backup rival (after Call State Fullerton). And I’ve never been too fond of Weaver. He’s got that R. U. Digginme look. Always has. And when you feature an 82 mile-per-hour fastball, you probably shouldn’t be hitting people in the back for, excuse me why I laugh, taking too much time getting into the box. Yes, I think Seager is a bit too theatrical when he steps in, doing that Derek Jeter thing of holding a hand up for the entire stadium to see. And yes, I would like the game to go faster. But Seager isn't alone in this There are guys on the Angels who are similar. And Weaver isn’t the guy to teach him a lesson. He can’t. He’s not good enough anymore. Leave it to the guys with the heaters. One of the two guys involved in Wednesday night’s incident in Seattle – Seager took too long to get set, Weaver said something, Seager responded with a word the IIGTC won’t let me type, Weaver hit Seager and was ejected – is on the way out of the major leagues. The other is Kyle Seager. Weaver, who grew up in the cushy confines of Simi Valley, has been in the bigs for 10 years. He’s a veteran. He’s also an injury-riddled right-handed pitcher who seems to have peaked. He’s making $18 million this year and will make $20 million next season. That $18 million this year is buying a 7-11 record with a 4.72 earned run average. He’s going to end up with the first losing record of his major league career and he’s 32 years old. He’s hit the summit and is on the downhill side. Instead of just calling him a veteran, I should have labeled him a “crusty veteran.” That seems more appropriate. The guy Weaver says he knows nothing about is in his fifth year and is about to do something very few players have done: improve every season. Seager’s average has risen each year, from .258 his rookie season to his .272 now. Unless he goes in a slump over the M’s final 15 games, he should improve on last year’s .268 mark. And the power numbers should also rise. Seager has hit 3, 20, 22, 25 and, through this morning, 24 home runs. Two more in the final 50 at-bats or so this season and he will continue that upward trend as well. He’s also signed through the 2022 season, by which time Jered Weaver will be relaxing in Costa Rica or Jamaica or somewhere, sipping on blended drinks and telling tales about the time when he won 20 games in the big leagues. By then he may even know who Kyle Seager is.
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• WSU: The Cougars are more than three touchdown favorites this week against Wyoming, a team, as Jacob Thorpe’s story says, that will need some upset magic on Saturday night. ... Jacob also has a report on Thursday’s practice, videos of interviews with Graham Harrell and Clay McGuire and a blog post on the Cougars most recent commitment. He also has his usual morning post with links. ... Some folks were wrong about Washington State. ... Ken Goe has a great column on why DirectTV doesn’t need the Pac-12 Networks and how that affects the conference’s fans. ... Who is going to win this weekend?
• EWU: Todd Raynes has become the Eagles’ Swiss Army Knife, a guy who can do whatever the team needs. Jim Allen has more in this feature. Jim also has a transcription of his live chat from yesterday and a morning post with links.
• Chiefs: The preseason is winding down.
• Preps: There were two football games at Joe Albi Stadium last night, with the early game a down-to-the-wire affair. Greg Lee has the story of Rogers’ 21-20 comeback win over West Valley, a game decided on a touchdown and a two-point conversion as time wound down. Greg also has the coverage of the other game, Lake City’s 27-7 win over Shadle Park. ... Jesse Tinsley has photographs from both games. ... Jim Allen takes a look at the Greater Spokane League soccer race in today’s paper.
• Seahawks: Michael Bennett wants the same things Kam Chancellor wants. He’s just going about it a different way. .... Moms are always there to back us up. So are quarterbacks. ... Richard Sherman’s thoughtful answers the other day have earned him some notice. ... ... The Hawks best rival right now may just be the Packers. The 2015 meeting is Sunday night. ... Marcus Trufant has a pretty impressive career to look back upon. ... Jimmy Graham is building to something with the Hawks.
• Mariners: How do others view the Mariners? You can find out by reading this piece from Bob Dutton. ... Mark Trumbo is hitting well and expects to keep doing that for the M’s. ... Jeremy Affeldt’s Giant career seems to be winding down.
• Sounders: It’s been a long time since Osvaldo Alonso, who fled Cuba, has seen his father. The reunion is coming soon. ... Portland is still looking for its offense to take off.
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• As you might be able to tell, I’ve never been a big Jered Weaver fan. Mostly, though, his antics are easy to laugh at. And that’s mainly what I was doing this morning. That’s the reason behind the mostly tongue-in-cheek comments above, especially about his alma mater. Until later ...