Seattle, WA
Seattle Mariners Insider: Adjustments pay off for surging Haniger
Don’t look now, but for the last two weeks Seattle Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger has looked like the Mitch Haniger who has stepped to the plate in big situations so many times in his Mariners career and had the look of a guy who could do damage. Not the player who had been mired in a near season-long struggle at the plate.
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There had been hints lately that perhaps it was coming together, but after homering off lefties who had strangely been his Kryptonite this year two days in a row, it appears safe to dare to believe. Haniger for his part certainly does and told his skipper as much recently.
“He said it about 10 days ago, I’m about to get hot,” said Scott Servais following the Mariners’ 6-5 series clinching win over the Phillies on Saturday. “You can just see he’s seeing the ball better. His timing’s good. The quality at-bats, he’s hitting the ball harder and not always getting the ball to fall in, but he has here recently. And when he gets hot, he can hit any pitch, he can hit who’s ever on the mound, right or left, and we’re seeing that right now.”
Over the past two weeks Haniger, who posted a .570 OPS in May and .601 in June, has run an OPS of 1.005 with a wRC+ of 186. In his walk-off interview on the field following the win Saturday, Haniger pointed to changes he recently made as leading to what he is doing at the plate currently.
“Just working on my posture and I feel really good,” he said. “I’ve been feeling good for a while, just haven’t been getting my results.”
Haniger said changes he made coming into spring training that he initially had success with this year had ultimately failed him, and it took him awhile to throw them to the side and go back to what he had done previously.
“The frustrating part is the work is always good,” he explained in his postgame media session. “The BP felt good. Just the results in the game were not there. The missing pitches, just constantly kind of feeling like I’m always ready to break through and not happening. And then just always watching film and comparing the present to the past and seeing where I’m at and what I need to adjust, and kind of a light bulb went off and it’s like I wish it didn’t take me 2 1/2 months or three months to figure it out, but I’m glad I did.”
In his on-field interview, Haniger credited work put in with the training staff and hitting coaches in getting him to the point where things are clicking again. He also pointed to a new teammate as having a part in the process as well.
“For me, talking with (Justin) Turner, he’s a big help for me as a guy whose swing I studied for a while,” he said. “So he’s a he’s a guy I’ve been leaning on and asking a lot of questions, and it’s really good to have in our clubhouse.”
While a hitting coach can make suggestions and encourage changes, teammates who have been there, done that and are currently doing that, bring reassurance. They often can be their own best resources, something former Mariner Mike Cameron understands and shared on social media in response to what Haniger said on the field.
“When you bring in a veteran that’s had success and a winning pedigree the one thing he’s always going to do is be a set of eyes and bring validation to even veterans! I like it,” Cameron wrote.
When you bring in a veteran that’s had success and a winning pedigree the one thing he’s always is going to do is …be a set of eyes and bring validation to even veterans! I like it💪🏿✊🏿
— MIKE CAMERON (@_mcameron44) August 4, 2024
Servais has stuck with Haniger through the struggles. His patience is now being rewarded with more than just good signs.
“You can’t get always caught up in the in the batting average,” Servais said. “There’s the luck factor. … Mitch has hit a lot of balls hard against left-handed pitching and has got nothing to show for it. When you pull back the hood and you look at all the internal metrics on that, the at-bats have been better against lefties, but the batting average, the OPS, it is what it is. He knows that and he made a few adjustments. He’s been right on the lefties of late. The swings have been on time. He’s getting ahead of the bat out, he’s driving the ball. He’s starting to feel it, and we need it.”
If Haniger is feeling it, those around him will as well. He is that kind of player. He’s got confidence in the path both he and the team are on.
“Things are just clicking. That’s how baseball works,” he said. “You just got to keep putting in the work in. Things will turn. We got a lot of really good players in our clubhouse. The first half hitting performance-wise wasn’t there, but it just means we’re going to be hot the second half and we’ll ride into the playoffs.”
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Seattle, WA
Manhunt underway for Mason County shooting suspect
MASON COUNTY, Wash. – The Mason County Sheriff’s Office is currently searching for a convicted felon wanted in a recent shooting.
The sheriff’s office says Michael Allen Beyer is wanted for first-degree assault and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
Deputies believe Beyer was involved in a shooting that happened in Belfair on January 6.
Beyer is considered armed and dangerous. If you see him, do not approach him and call 911 immediately.
Anyone with information regarding Beyer’s whereabouts is asked to call Detective Helser at 360-427-9670 x657, or Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
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Seattle, WA
Two more Seattle restaurants close due to minimum wage hike
Two more Seattle restaurants are calling it quits thanks to the untenable minimum wage hike.
At the same time that the Seattle minimum wage rose from $19.97 an hour to $20.76 an hour, the city ended the tip credit of $2.72. Under the previous rules, restaurants were able to pay $17.25 hourly wage if their staff earned at least $2.72 in tips per hour. But as cost of business continues to skyrocket in Seattle, a minimum wage hike without a tip credit is simply untenable for many small businesses.
Jackson’s Catfish Corner in Seattle’s Central District closed its doors in this new year. In an interview with Converge Media, owner Terrell Jackson argued Seattle is too expensive to operate in.
“I know that the minimum wages went up to 20 bucks an hour … I know that’s hard for my business as a small Black business,” Jackson said. “I’m not Amazon or Walgreens or Walmart who can pay their employees that much.”
Jackson isn’t alone in his complaints.
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A second West Seattle eatery closes, citing the minimum wage hike
Bel Gatto, a bakery and café, became the second West Seattle eatery to close its doors over the Seattle minimum wage hike. The owner posted a sign to the front door to thank supporters but said she can’t afford to stay open anymore.
“Our revenues, unfortunately, are not able to cover the close to 20% increase in mandated wages, salaries and payroll taxes put into effect by the Seattle City Council effective 1/1/25. This ruling has made the continuation of our bakery operations untenable,” the sign read.
The owner, Peter Levy, explained to the West Seattle Blog that, “we were approaching close to a break even status in the last quarter of 2024, but the requirement to absorb another $4,000 per month in payroll expenses with the new mandate by the city put a break even further from our grasp which is what led to the closure.”
Last week, a video by Corina Luckenbach, owner of Bebop Waffle Shop in West Seattle, went viral as she said the minimum wage hike was forcing her to close after 11 years. She said she didn’t have an extra $32,000 a year to pay her staff what the city mandates.
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Will more restaurants close?
Ahead of the minimum wage hike, restauranteurs offered many warnings over what’s to come.
Ethan Stowell operates a number of Seattle’s top restaurants, including How to Cook a Wolf, Staple and Fancy, and Tavolata. He warned this change would be exceptionally costly for businesses in an industry notorious for razor-thin margins. And restaurants can’t merely raise menu prices again.
“I know everybody wants to say, ‘Just raise things (on the menu) a dollar or two,’ and that’s what it’ll be. That’s very simplified math. I wish it was that easy, but it’s not. This is a large increase that’s probably large enough to be equal to or close to what most restaurants in Seattle profit,” Stowell told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.
Portage Bay Cafe co-owner Amy Fair Gunnar noted the minimum wage change will cost her about $45,000 more a month. She said restaurants will have to “seriously change what they’re doing or they’re going to close their doors.”
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Ignoring the warnings, mocking the business people
The warnings from restaurant owners were mostly ignored or mocked.
Efforts by the Seattle City Council to address the forthcoming crisis fell apart after activists said they didn’t want restaurants to get an exception. Council president Sara Nelson told “The Jason Rantz Show” they will take up the issue again this year but there’s no specific idea yet to forward for legislation. The Mayor of Seattle, Bruce Harrell, has been almost completely absent from the issue.
Left-wing voices, meanwhile, claim to not care. That if businesses “can’t afford to pay a living wage,” then they shouldn’t be in business.
One reporter with The Stranger mocked one of the closures, quipping on X, “Has anyone ever eaten at bebop waffle lol.” Left-wing Seattleites condemned the business for “creating a right wing media darling to complain about paying people a living wage.”
KING 5 reporter Maddie White helped elevate this talking point by citing the National Low Income Housing Coalition, claiming “the average renter needs to make upwards of $40 an hour to afford rent.” But she’s quoting a stat for two-bedrooms. Minimum wage jobs aren’t meant to cover the cost of a single person renting a two-bedroom home or apartment.
Ironically, as activists dismiss the concerns of small business owners, they fail to acknowledge the inevitable consequence: when those businesses shut down, people lose jobs. A $20.76 hourly minimum wage — even with a $2.72 tip credit — means nothing if you’re unemployed.
Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3-7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason Rantz on X, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.
Seattle, WA
Reports: Seattle Seahawks to interview 2 candidates for OC job
A pair of candidates have surfaced in the Seattle Seahawks’ search for a new offensive coordinator.
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The Seahawks are scheduled to interview Detroit Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley and Chicago Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown, according to multiple reports. NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero first reported the news Thursday morning.
Seattle will interview Fraley on Friday and Brown on Saturday, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
The Seahawks moved on from offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb on Monday after an up-and-down season for Seattle’s offense that included one of the worst rushing attacks in the league.
Fraley, 47, has been on Detroit’s coaching staff for the past seven seasons, including the past five as the team’s offensive line coach. Fraley has coached an offensive line that’s paved the way for one of the NFL’s best rushing attacks. The Lions rank third in Pro Football Focus’ run block grading and finished the regular season sixth in both rushing yards per game (146.4) and yards per carry (4.7).
During his time in Detroit, Fraley has helped develop four-time Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow and three-time Pro Bowl right tackle Penei Sewell. As a player, Fraley started 123 games at center and guard over a 10-year NFL career with the Eagles (2001-05), Browns (2006-09) and Rams (2010). According to Breer, Fraley has done groundwork in searching for a pass game coordinator that he would pair with as an OC.
Brown, 38, began the season as Chicago’s passing game coordinator. He then was promoted to offensive coordinator when Shane Waldron, a former Seahawks assistant, was fired as OC on Nov. 12, and then to interim head coach when Matt Eberflus was fired on Nov. 29. Brown went 1-4 as the Bears’ interim head coach.
Brown was the Carolina Panthers’ offensive coordinator in 2023. Prior to that, he spent three seasons under head coach Sean McVay in various roles on the Los Angeles Rams’ coaching staff.
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