World Baseball Classic schedule

It's amazing how little buzz from baseball fans there is surrounding the World Baseball Classic. Most of the media talk is more focused on who's not playing rather than who is.

For those that haven't looked at the schedule, the US is scheduled to begin play:
Tues. March 7 1:00 pm vs Mexico at Chase Field

The finals will be at Petco on March 20th. It will be quick, and should be entertaining at the least.

How will Japan do in international competition? How about Cuba? Who ya got in Puerto Rica against Cuba? Lots of interesting stories that sure beats the standard spring training stuff.

You can check the full schedule here.

Weaver to Angels

A few quick observations.

First, Boras did not get what he wanted. It doesn't happen very often, but Boras went from 5 years and $50 million, to having his client accept a one year deal for quite a bit less.

Second, the Angels improved the depth of their pitching staff, with only a one year commitment.

Isn't it amazing how the Angels magically found $9 million to sign Weaver, while the M's are all tapped out?

The Angels have a larger payroll, an owner who's not afraid to spend money, and a STOCKED farm system. Right now the Angels are kicking the Mariners ass in every sense of the word.

Bavasi firing unlikely this season

Given the poor performance the M's have displayed the past few years, it is only right to assume Bavasi's job is on the line this year.

But I just don't see it.

Does anyone really feel if only Bavasi had made a move here or there the M's would be in the division race? This team got old frighteningly fast, and had a poor farm system to back it up. We can all second guess every move Bavasi has made, but the core of this team was so bad it's hard to see the M's in any kind of competitive situation the past few seasons.

The real reason the M's sunk to almost 100 losses a year are pretty indisputable. The key players we thought would be anchoring this team for years to come... and I'm talking about the Ryan Anderson's, Snelling's etc... did not pan out. Imagine our current farm system with a healthly, reliable Chris Snelling. Based on his numbers, he would be one of the top two or three best outfield prospects in all of baseball. Combined with Felix, we'd have some of the best young talent around to build upon. But instead, we are left with considerably less...

Sure, every team can complain about injuries, but the M's had more than their fair share, and it has set this team back tremendously. Combined with some really lousy drafts and squandering of picks under Stand-Pat, is it any wonder this team is bad?

The casual fan can't understand why the M's were so good, and then got really bad so fast. The fan who closely follows the M's understands this is a LONG TERM turnaround, and the M's are largely on track.

Unless Washburn and Everett have a complete meltdown in the first three months of the season, Bavasi survives at least until fall.

If the M's show any signs of improvement this year, and all signs currently point to yes, then Bavasi is the GM next year.

Lousy Super Bowl

Not much going on in M's news, as we all wait for pitchers and catchers to report. But for Seattle sports fan, we all have opinions on the Super Bowl.

It's clear the 'hawks blew it. They had so many chances to put the game away early. Holmgren and Hasselbeck simply cannot manage a clock. Stevens' dropped passes. Injuries to key players.

We could go on and on about all the missed opportunities. And of course the big white elephant in the room is the officiating.

As Seattle fans, any complaints we have about the officiating comes across as sour grapes. The Seahawks lost. The Seahawks made mistakes. The Steeler fans don't care about the officials. All they care about is their team won. They get to jump around and overturn cars and scream a lot.

But for the true football fan, you have to be dissapointed to see the officials become such a large part of the game. The officiating was TERRIBLE. It is a part of the story, regardless of who won the game.

The Steelers had a great run through the playoffs. Any team that beats the whiney Indianapolis Colts gets my support. They outplayed the Broncos, who I also can't stand. They are a good football team.

But can they beat the Seahawks in a game with neutral officials?

We'll never know.