Seattle, WA
2022 Series Preview 3: Houston Astros @ Seattle Mariners
The Narrative
The Mariners got here into the 2022 season with numerous hype that this might lastly be the yr that they break the curse and return to the playoffs for the primary time since 2001. Not solely that, however they had been additionally the attractive choose to be the crew that will dethrone Houston because the AL West representatives.
That sentiment is based on the M’s improved pitching, anchored by the signing of free agent Robbie Ray, and an offense that was anticipated to take an enormous step ahead this season and options numerous up-and-coming younger gamers. In addition they picked up 2B Adam Frazier to assist bolster stated offense and convey a gentle veteran presence to the locker room.
Sadly for Seattle, issues haven’t performed out all that nicely within the still-early 2022 season. The Mariners received their first two video games out of the gate after which promptly dropped the subsequent 4 and their second collection of the season to the White Sox. An enormous a part of that collection loss got here from an implosion of shiny new starter Robbie Ray, who simply couldn’t discover his stuff in his second begin.
Nonetheless, as would be the case for almost all of April, it’s means too early to attract any conclusions from that. The Mariners are an improved amount and it’s not like they had been dealing with off in opposition to lightweights to start out the season. They’ll proceed to check their mettle as they tackle the Astros, their third straight collection opponent that’s anticipated to compete for a playoff spot.
The Offense
The Mariners’ offense has been a little bit gradual out of the gate. That’s to not say that there haven’t been vivid spots within the early going, however there actually haven’t been an excessive amount of stand out performances when checked out throughout the course of their first two collection.
The M’s presently sit twenty third within the league with a collective .630 OPS. They’re greater than able to taking walks although, with 31 to date this yr (t-4th in MLB) and can swipe a bag or two once they get on.
Notable Gamers
J.P. Crawford: Over the course of their first seven video games, one participant has actually stood out amongst the M’s corps of younger gamers: J.P. Crawford. At the moment slashing .417/.500/.542, Crawford has 3 doubles, 4 walks, a stolen base, and has solely struck out as soon as throughout 24 AB’s. That is welcome information for the Mariners, who signed the younger Crawford to a 5-year extension this previous offseason, locking him up by 2026.
Mitch Haniger: Haniger has been the largest energy risk to date for the M’s, slapping 4 additional base hits and main the crew with 3 residence runs. Nevertheless, his downside has been really making contact. These 4 additional base hits are the one hits he’s been in a position to get throughout 29 AB’s and he’s presently slashing .138/.167/.483
Julio Rodriguez: Rodriguez is taken into account the No. 9 prospect in all of baseball and made the Mariners out of Spring Coaching with numerous hype surrounding him. Nevertheless, he hasn’t actually carried out the way in which one would hope, slashing a paltry .095/.174/.143 and main the crew with 12 strikeouts. Clearly it’s means too early to name him a bust, however Rodriguez is anticipated to be an enormous a part of Seattle’s future and his returns have been lower than encouraging within the early going.
The Pitching
The Mariners’ bullpen was a power for them final season and appears to stay so after they introduced again numerous the identical items. The crew normally doesn’t designate a more in-depth or setup man, as an alternative preferring to play the matchups, which works simply high-quality for a crew with numerous good choices like they’ve.
To that impact three totally different relievers have been deployed in save alternatives for Seattle to date this season: Drew Steckenrider, Diego Castillo, and Andres Munoz. Paul Sewald can be a candidate for prime leverage work, so I wouldn’t be shocked if the Astros see him late in a recreation this collection. Munoz is the one participant to surrender the save to date however he does have a 101 MPH fastball, which is able to normally play up within the backend of the bullpen.
Additionally price mentioning that previous buddy and present nemesis Ken Giles is on the Mariners’ roster, however he’s additionally on the IL with a tendon difficulty in his pitching hand. If Giles can return to his earlier kind (his good one I imply for all of the wiseacres within the feedback part) he’ll add yet one more weapon to an already potent bullpen.
Starter Matchups
Recreation 1: Jake Odorizzi (RHP, 0-0, 4.50 ERA, 2 Ok’s) vs Marco Gonzalez (0-1, 9.00 ERA, 1 Ok)
Marco Gonzalez’s first begin of the season didn’t go in response to plan for the 8-year veteran, who solely managed a 2-inning begin earlier than getting lifted. The one factor maintaining his stats from trying even worse was a 2-out error that made 4 of the 6 runs he surrendered in opposition to the Twins unearned. Gonzalez has been a gentle presence within the Mariners’ rotation for years now, averaging a 4.00 ERA within the 3 full size seasons he’s performed for them, so I wouldn’t take one dangerous begin to coronary heart if I had been a Mariners fan.
Recreation 2: Justin Verlander (RHP, 0-1, 1.80 ERA, 7 Ok’s) vs Chris Flexen (RHP, 0.1, 6.23 ERA, 3 Ok’s)
Chris Flexen’s first begin of the season was simply as uncharacteristic as Marco Gonzalez’s because the younger starter gave up 3 runs and three walks in simply 4.1 innings of labor. However I wouldn’t anticipate an excessive amount of extra of the identical after Flexen’s breakout 2021, which noticed him pitching to a 3.61 ERA throughout 179.2 innings. Nevertheless, his Spring Coaching numbers had been additionally fairly ugly (13 runs in 16 innings), so perhaps that is what he’s for the foreseeable future.
Recreation 3: José Urquidy (RHP, 1-0, 1.80 ERA, 2 Ok’s) vs Matt Brash (RHP, 0-1, 3.38 ERA, 6 Ok’s)
Matt Brash will come into this recreation recent off his MLB debut the place he delivered precisely what the Mariners had been hoping for from their No. 6 prospect. Although he finally took the loss, that got here after 5.1 innings of 2-run ball with 6 strikeouts and simply 1 stroll. The truth that that line got here in opposition to the White Sox, anticipated to be the cream of the AL Central, can be an encouraging signal for his younger profession.
For Your Viewing and Listening Pleasure
Recreation 1: Friday, April fifteenth @ 8:42 pm CDT
Hear: Astros – KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2, KTRH 740 AM/99.1 FM HD-2, TUDN 93.3/KLAT 1010 / Mariners – KIRO 710
Watch: Astros – ATT SportsNet-SW / Mariners – ROOTNW
Recreation 2: Friday, April sixteenth @ 8:10 pm CDT
Hear: Astros – KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2, KTRH 740 AM/99.1 FM HD-2, TUDN 93.3/KLAT 1010 / Mariners – KIRO 710
Watch: Astros – ATT SportsNet-SW / Mariners – ROOTNW
Recreation 3: Sunday, April seventeenth @ 3:10 pm CDT
Hear: Astros – KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2, TUDN 93.3/KLAT 1010 / Mariners – KIRO 710
Watch: Astros – ATT SportsNet-SW / Mariners – ROOTNW / MLB Community (out-of-market solely)
Ballot
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(2021 reader photo by Claire)
On Tuesday night, some will stay home with a bottle of bubbly (inflatable or otherwise) to say goodbye to 2024. Others will head out. And if that’s your plan, all the better if you can celebrate right here on the peninsula. So we want to be sure our Holiday Guide‘s New Year’s list has all the options. If you know of something we’re missing – bar party? live music? late dinner with a midnight toast? organized run? or? – please send the info so we can add it to the list ASAP! westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you.
Seattle’s longest-running bar is set to close its doors at the end of the year. The historic site is known for its ghost stories, pressed-tin ceiling, and buckboard floors in the heart of Pioneer Square. There are murmurs the bar could reopen after a renovation in spring, but that’s still uncertain.
In the Merchant’s basement, daylight shines down through the small purple glass windows in the sidewalk above. The city’s oldest saloon sits at a main intersection of the city’s oldest neighborhood, forever tied to Seattle’s history.
First opened in 1890 before moving to its current spot in 1907, Merchant’s originally offered gambling and a brothel during Seattle’s early gritty days. Bartenders there say the current owners plan to close the bar next week.
“I had to let everyone go, it was pretty sudden,” says Anthony Powell, a supervisor and manager at Merchant’s. “I just told everyone: ‘work ‘til the end of the year and that’s it.’”
One bartender who got hired less than six months ago says he got almost no notice that Friday would be his last shift. That’s the nature of the business, he shrugged.
Powell says he got word from owner Darcy Hanson in early December that the bar would be closing. Hanson did not respond to KUOW’s requests for comment. There are rumors among the remaining staff that the owners want to renovate the interior and re-open the historic watering hole in the spring, but nothing’s been confirmed.
Few bars in Seattle carry the ambiance that Merchant’s offers. A giant, century-old wooden bar stretches along one side of the room. Hardwood floors worn smooth by over a hundred years of patrons and partiers. According to the bar’s website, nearly everything in the place is haunted, from the paintings on the wall to the wall of wine bottles.
After decades of serving Seattle, Merchant’s is starting to show its age. Powell says some parts of the saloon do need updating.
“I mean, it’s the oldest bar in Seattle,” Powell says looking over the barroom. “Our electrical is shot behind this bar completely, the coolers are over 35 years old. A lot of stuff doesn’t work.”
That’s the charm that comes with a place as old as the cobblestones out on Yesler Street. Merchant’s, a dive bar according to Powell, doesn’t feature fancy lighting or a new sound system like the nightclubs around the corner. In one smoky corner of Merchant’s, deep leather couches almost disappear in the shadows.
Stepping down the stairs to the bathroom is like stepping back in time. The exposed rock walls feel like a private cellar or speakeasy. Pioneer Square’s signature purple glass sidewalk windows can be seen clearly down here, a view you can usually only find during an underground tour.
Powell, who has worked at Merchant’s for a little over four years, says business has been pretty slow recently. Like a lot of neighborhoods in Seattle, Pioneer Square is struggling to attract more customers. The pandemic didn’t help a sleepy bar like Merchant’s.
Still, Powell says, the bar is a regular stop for sports fans heading to the nearby stadiums and tourists who want to experience a piece of Seattle history. A lot of people come in to raise a glass just to say they’ve had a drink at the spot, Powell says.
This month, the bar had its busiest weekends of the year thanks to the annual SantaCon pub crawl. Powell says he was hoping they would be open next year when SantaCon organizers want to extend the event to all four Saturdays of December – but it looks like that won’t happen.
Merchant’s is hosting a farewell party on Monday, December 30. Powell says he’ll be working with longtime bartender Michael Harris to pour the final drinks at the oldest place in town.
“It was a great experience, I loved it,” Powell says, “the people that come through are really great. You meet a lot of people around the world, because it’s a tourist bar, they love to come here. So I’m sad to see it go for sure.”
Seattle, WA
Stowaway busted: Unticketed passenger caught boarding Delta flight from Seattle to Honolulu
A passenger without a ticket, a stowaway, was found on board a Delta Air Lines flight as it was about to fly from Seattle to Honolulu on Christmas Eve.
Delta Flight 487, an Airbus A321neo aircraft scheduled to depart Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for Honolulu on Dec. 24, was stopped while the plane was taxiing on a runway when the unticketed passenger, who was not identified, was discovered, according to the airline.
The aircraft returned to the gate, where the passenger was ultimately arrested.
“As there are no matters more important than safety and security, Delta people followed procedures to have an unticketed passenger removed from the flight and then apprehended,” the airline said in a statement. “We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travels and thank them for their patience and cooperation.”
Passenger boarded flight without a ticket
The Port of Seattle Police Department told USA TODAY that the passenger entered the airport the day before boarding the flight, on the evening of Dec. 23.
According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the unidentified passenger passed through standard screening procedures and did not possess any prohibited items, but “bypassed the identity verification and boarding status stations,” and was able to board the aircraft without a boarding pass.
The TSA said that the incident was still under investigation.
After passing through TSA security, officials with the Port of Seattle said that the passenger had “also gained access to the loading bridge without a scanned ticket at the gate.”
Delta also said in a statement that “the unticketed passenger boarded the flight at the gate without presenting a boarding pass.”
Port of Seattle police said that once the aircraft returned to the gate, the unticketed passenger managed to exit the plane, but was later found in an airport terminal restroom.
The unticketed passenger was arrested for criminal trespass and booked into the South Correctional Entity jail in Des Moines, Washington, according to police.
Delta said that the flight was ultimately delayed for 2 hours and 15 minutes while TSA personnel conducted additional security checks. Port of Seattle police also swept the aircraft and terminal with K9 dogs.
Another stowaway caught on a Delta flight last month
The incident comes a month after a woman was found on board a Delta Air Lines flight from New York to Paris without a ticket.
Cour documents from the arraignment of Svetlana Dali show that she managed to get through TSA security screening at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Nov. 26 by “entering through a special lane for airline employees masked by a large Air Europa flight crew.”
Dali was then able to board a Delta flight without presenting a boarding pass before she was eventually discovered after the plane had taken off.
On Dec. 16, Dali was arrested in Buffalo, New York on a bus bound for Canada, having cut off her ankle monitor.
Max Hauptman is a Trending Reporter for USA TODAY. He can be reached at MHauptman@gannett.com.
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