The Mariners gave Figgins a third go around to see and hope that he would work out but it never materialized and now the question becomes how much longer is Figgins a member of the Seattle Mariners. As it stands right now that’s yet to be known but the other question is who is the next Figgins?

With a young core of players and veterans not performing up to par there has to be a point where Wedge and general manager Jack Zduriencik draw the line. The Mariners have a plethora of talented elite prospects between double-A and triple-A who are ready to make the jump.

However, the next veteran to go will be catcher Miguel Olivo.

Jesus Montero, who the club acquired during the offseason, has emerged early this season as the face of the offense even though his role is still mixed as a catcher and designated hitter. While Montero does possess the raw power to be a designated hitter the numbers clearly show that his best performance’s come when he starts behind the plate.

In 47  plate appearances this season as a catcher Montero is hitting .386 with an on-base percentage of .404 including three home runs. The other 67 plate appearances Montero has played as a DH he’s hitting .200 with a .262 on-base percentage.

All impactful  offensive stats Montero is better behind the plate than as a DH except he has more strike outs and less walks when he’s DHing vs catching.

With Miguel Olivo on the 15-day disabled list Montero has taken the reigns as the “head catcher” per-say and flourished which has also allowed backup catcher John Jaso to emerge as a strong alternate. What does that mean for Olivo?

It means when he becomes active again his days are likely numbered in Seattle. Montero’s main concern coming into the season was his defensive ability behind the plate and he’s answered those questions with flying colors. He’s also become one of the leaders in the club house and also a fan favorite.

To add on-top of that Jaso has become one of the more clutch Mariner hitters and has always been versatile whether it be hitting leadoff or coming of the bench.

Even though Olivo’s salary is three and a half  million this season he’s got a three million dollar club option looming next season and it’s seemingly a zero chance it’s picked up. He’s not a power threat offensively and his one of the worst defensive catchers in the majors which doesn’t bod well for his future in Seattle.

Keeping Olivo and allowing him to take away any at-bats from either Montero or Jaso would be criminal. Once he becomes active off the disabled list Olivo will become the next Chone Figgins and there’s no other way around it.

You can follow Lars on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/larshanson 

Then Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian plunked Lupoi and Cal’s offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau away from Berkeley and up to Seattle. That was after Payton committed to Cal at the U.S Army All-American game. With one day left until national letter of intent day Payton would go on ESPNU and verbally commit to Washington.

Just 24 hours later after a long phone call with Jim Mora Jr. UCLA’s new head coach Payton faxed in his letter of intent and decided to stay home, just about an hour drive away. Through a world-wind recruiting process which was confusing to say the least, Payton decided in his heart to stay close to home.

Now it’s that time of year in California where the calendar starts to look warmer and warmer as summer approaches. According to Payton it’s girlfriend season and he’s looking for his “UCLA” also known as the right girl.

Anyone wanna date? JP needs a girlfriend #GFseason

April 26, 2012 12:26 am via EchofonReplyRetweetFavorite

@JordanPayton

Jordan Payton

Payton set a Friday deadline to find his dream girl, which might or might not be met. However in the grand scheme of things I’m sure he wouldn’t mind giving up a couple extra days or weeks to find the right girl.

Ladies, he’s a heck of a catch and he’s got great hands. While Payton might not have the worlds best commitment record no ones perfect. He committed to the place were his heart belongs. Now he’s trying to find the girl that belongs with him.

If you think you fit the bill give him a hello @JordanPayton on Twitter.

Irvin, a senior with quite possibly the best true pass-rushing ability in the 2012 NFL draft was graded as a second-round pick at best due to his questionable past and not being an every down player. At 6-feet-3 245-pounds Irvin recorded 8.5 sacks this past season in a limited roll.

He has the ideal size to be a dominant pass-rusher however he’s best used as a situational pass-rusher ala Aldon Smith who was drafted seventh overall last year by division rival San Francisco.

Irvin’s questionable past is well documented starting in 2007 when he dropped out of Stephenson High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia because his grades weren’t high enough to continue playing football. He would go on to eventually earn his general education degree (GED) after being kicked out of his mothers home and enrolled at Mt. San Antonio Junior College after a short stint at Butler community college.

Irvin would go on to become a first team All-American and was the all-California Region III player of the year in 2009 for Mt. San Antonio. In 2010 he transferred to West Virginia and excelled immediately finishing second in the nation in sacks with 14.

For Irvin, the raw talent and electric skills on the field have always been there. What has been touch-and-go is his off the field problems. Head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider apparently were confident enough to let the past go and fill their biggest need, a dominant pass rusher.

Chris Clemons has led the team in sacks over the past two years and the next closest player hasn’t had more than four sacks. Clemons has had ten in back-to-back seasons.

With local product David DeCastro and South Carolina defensive end Melvin Ingram still on the board it’s a risky move given his past, and selective ability.

The last player out of West Virginia to be selected in the first round….Adam “Pacman” Jones.

You can follow Lars on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/larshanson 

In a pre-game fan entertainment 13-year-old Kyle Smerer took part in a “steal second” game which is where a fan runs in from the warning track into second base, steals the second base and runs back to the track with it. Well Kyle got a small surprise waiting for him at second.

His father, Sgt. first class Steve Smerer, who was serving over in Afghanistan and hadn’t seen his son in four months.

Once Kyle realized it was his father the two embraced at second before a crowd of 46,026 at Safeco field.  After that Kyle, along with his father, made the jog back out to the right field warning track to meet the rest of his family. Wife Trina, sister Kayla and brother Colton were reunited tonight in a very special, unique and emotional way which reminds us all of the sacrifices made by people around us.

While the Mariners came out on the losing end against the Oakland Athletics the Smerer family reunion is all that matters for them.

Home opening day always brings out the best in an organization when it comes to recognizing or remembering a former player and tonight the Mariners also welcomed back former center fielder Mike Cameron to throw out the first pitch.

Here is the video.

It’s no secret the Seahawks lack an elite pass-rusher opposite of Clemons and with the twelfth overall pick in the Rant Sports 2012 NFL Draft they will select Melvin Ingram, defensive end out of South Carolina. He’s not the tallest defensive end in the draft but he brings exactly what Seattle needs, explosiveness and an eye for the quarterback.

At 6-foot-1 272-pounds Ingram is one of the best defensive athletes in this years class and can come in immediately and make a significant impact.  He’s got a high football IQ and knows how to use his body to the fullest extent whether it’s a fast rip making a b-line to the quarterback or using his quick spin, he gets to the quarterback.

He can play both at defensive end and defensive tackle if needed which brings more value than a situational pass-rusher. His best quality by far is that he’s at tough-son-of-a-gun who will play through almost any injury. With Pete Carroll running a traditional 4-3 defense Ingram will have no problem transition from college to the NFL given he was in the same scheme at South Carolina.

His size isn’t typical of an NFL defensive end at 6’1 but he uses it to his advantage, eliminating it as a major knocking point on his game. Ingram is a four in shorter version of New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, who by most accounts is a top five defensive end in the league.

Ingram is the best player available at arguably Seattle’s highest need position outside of a quarterback. Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill, LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers and Illinois defensive end Whitney Mercilus are all possibles but Ingram makes the most sense.

With that said the Seattle Seahawks select DE Melvin Ingram in the Rant Sports 2012 NFL Mock Draft

You can follow Lars on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/larshanson 

Smart, tough, and talented.

General manager Ozzie Newsome and director of scouting Eric DeCosta have built the core of the roster through the draft and expect that trend to continue with the selection of Konz. A great two-way center who’s very technically sound and has incredible raw strength. He fits Baltimore’s offensive scheme perfectly and coming out of a Bret Bielema you already know he’s got a high football IQ.

While it might not be an exciting, or “sexy” pick, selecting Konz gives Baltimore several options this year as well as moving forward. If Matt Birk is able to start and continue to play at a high level then Konz can slide over to either guard position or remain a backup until needed. If Birk falters then Konz can step in right away and become the long-term center.

Either way Baltimore gets an impact player that gives them flexibility and stability moving forward. Baltimore could decided to go with a wide receiver like Alshon Jeffery but Konz is almost a sure lock to be the Ravens first-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

With that said the Baltimore Ravens select C Peter Konz in the Rant Sports 2012 NFL Mock Draft

You can follow Lars on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/larshanson

Ruud, 28, was a second-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2005 NFL draft and excelled under then linebackers coach Gus Bradley who is the Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator. In six seasons with the Bucs Ruud recorded 585 tackles, five sacks and six interceptions.

With the loss of free agent linebacker David Hawthorne to the New Orleans Saints Ruud could be in position to become the starting middle linebacker in 2012 depending on what happens in the 2012 NFL draft at middle linebacker. Ruud will be able to compete, as usual, for the starting middle linebacker job but he could also be featured on special teams.

Last season Ruud was slowed by injuries appearing in just nine games and recording 57 tackles and one interception for the Tennessee Titans.

Lewis, 26, returns to the Seahawks after spending his entire four year career in Seattle and going back further to his days at the University of Washington. While he’s never played an entire 16 game season Lewis has shown well in nickle and dime packages when given the opportunity.

Seattle doesn’t have a drastic need at cornerback having lost only Marcus Trufant. The Seahawks could use a dominant No.1 cornerback to support “rookie” cornerback Brandon Browner who showed well after a slow start.

Lutui, 28, is arguably the most impactful  of the three signings, especially in size at 6-feet-4 338-pounds. He also could prove to be a pivotal signing should the Seahawks not draft an offensive guard or tackle in the first round like Stanford’s David DeCastro or Jonathan Martin.

The Seahawks young offensive line was touch-and-go to say the least but their patch-work line toward the end of the season held up thanks in large part to offensive line coach Tom Cable. Seattle has already resigned tackle Breno Giacomini this offseason and missed out on Steve Hutchinson and cut Robert Gallery.

Needless to say the offensive line is a major question mark heading into the draft and signing a player like Lutui, who was with Carroll in his USC days, gives the Seahawks more options in the draft.

You can follow Lars on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/larshanson

When San Francisco based hedge fund manager Chris Hansen announced that he had an NBA and NHL arena deal that would work with city laws it was welcome news. While fans had their hopes raised about having basketball return and professional hockey come to the city the deal still has to pass by the Arena Review Panel.

So far nothing negative has come from the panel, Mayor Mike McGinn or any of the teams within the city including the Sodo district which houses the Mariners, Seahawks and Sounders and where Hansen’s arena would be built. Today that changed with Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln sending a letter to McGinn, county executive Dow Constantine, the Seattle City Counsel and King County Counsel.

In that letter which was obtained by Sports Radio KJR in Seattle Lincoln claims that it would create scheduling conflicts  along with traffic and parking problems. “It would bring scheduling, traffic and parking challenges that would likely require hundreds of dollars to mitigate.”

Hansen’s proposed arena location is about a quarter of a mile south of Safeco field with the clubs parking garage between the two sites. The Mariners season runs from April 13th (home opener) to October 3rd (final home game). The Portland Trail Blazers schedule during a normal 82 game season would run from October 5th to April 13th plus any playoff games. So essentially we’re talking about one or two weeks of overlap that could possibly conflict with the Mariners.

The exact same scenario would play out with a hockey team in the city. The Vancouver Canucks 2011/2012 season runs from October 6th to April 7th.

In terms of traffic “problems” the team would only have a couple of days where the two would overlap on game day which would make it a rare problem. On those days Hansen could either build his own parking garage and not have to worry or the two sides could work out an agreement to have NBA/NHL fans use the Mariners garage with some financial compensation coming back to the Mariners.

There will always be congestion in any city let alone downtown Seattle so anyone could make that claim but it’s about as useless as one could make.  Lincoln does insist clearly twice in his letter that the organization is firmly behind having both and NBA and NHL team to the city. However, they don’t want it anywhere near the Sodo area or more specifically Safeco field.

Lincoln also states that should an extensive search for a location to house an NBA and NHL team show that the current proposal in Sodo is the best fit then the two sides would work to eliminate these current “problems”.

In reality the letter sent by Lincoln is nothing more than an organization crying out to the city to prevent another two teams taking whatever little amount of fans the Mariners have left. A Jamie Moyer fastball has been more productive and attracted more fans over the last four to five years than the Mariners have.

Since 2008 when the Sonics left the Mariners seasonal average for attendance has gone down every year.  2008: 28,762. 2009: 27,105. 2010: 25,749. 2011: 23,411.

The Major League Soccer Seattle Sounders have had a higher average attendance (granted over a shorter season) over the Mariners since 2009 when the club was created.

Needless to say the letter from Lincoln hurts the Mariners PR more than it does help them. With a city so deprived of a successful sports franchise the sports fans of Seattle deserve to have an NBA franchise back and welcome an NHL team that is committed to being successful more than just once in a decade.

The Seattle Seahawks continue to build on the right track having made the playoffs in 2010 and the Seattle Sounders already one of the elite teams in Major League Soccer. Even the WNBA Seattle Storm won the WNBA title in 2010 and consistently make the playoffs.

The Mariners are a fledgeling franchise to say the least with their last playoff game October 22, 2001 against the New York Yankees. Since then the club has more seasons with 75 or more losses than 75 or more wins. That includes two 101 loss seasons, a 95 loss season in 2011 and 99 losses in 2004.

The Mariners became the first organization in MLB history to lose 100 or more games AND have a payroll over $100 million in 2008.

Simply put the Mariners can’t afford to have two more teams come into the Sodo area and that’s solely on the Mariners organization. That’s not on the Seahawks, Sounders and future NBA and NHL teams. Fans will not pay to come watch a team lose badly year in and year out.

The reason the Seahawks continue to sellout CenturyLink field is because the club, while not elite, is still a strong competitive team that competes every year. The Seattle Sounders have dominated MLS and have now started to have international success as well in Concacaf Champions League.

Having a horrendous product on the field is one thing. Compounding it with a boneheaded letter which kills your PR is detrimental.

Here is letter Lincoln sent to McGinn and the city.

You can follow Lars on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/larshanson

Note: The Seattle Mariners are currently in Tokyo, Japan and will play a two game series against the Oakland Athletics Wednesday March 28th and Thursday March 29th.

Lars Hanson: What should fans expect from Jesus Montero this season in terms of productivity?

Jason Churchill: If he gets 600 plate appearances, 30 homers is not only possible, I’d be surprised if he didn’t get there. His opposite-field power is tremendous and he’ll walk enough to offset some of the strikeouts. I don’t see a .300 hitter just yet, but .270 isn’t too much to ask.

Lars Hanson: With Figgins back leading off and Ichiro hitting third which of the two will have the biggest impact this season?

Jason Churchill: Ichiro is far and away the better player and hitter, and I am not a big Ichiro fan. His new stance is helping him pull the ball more, which is where all of his power is, which should help him hit the gaps and reach extra bases more often than in the past. He’ll always make a lot of contact, so I expect around a .300 average again with a .340 on-base percentage. He’ll swipe 30-40 bases. He doesn’t belong hitting in the three-hole, but using him there eliminates the downside to using Dustin Ackley, Justin Smoak or Montero in a role they aren’t ready for just yet.

Figgins… it’s difficult to believe he won’t improve on his 2011, but I can’t see him performing well enough to warrant batting leadoff for very long.

Lars Hanson:  Will Taijuan Walker, Danny Hultzen and James Paxton reach the majors at the same time or will the club spread out their call-ups and should fans expect out of the talented trio?

Jason Churchill: Barring injury, Hultzen will hit the big leagues first; he’s polished and has a feel for pitching that plays in the big leagues right now. Expect him to make his debut by early August, if not before. Paxton is probably a September call-up, if he hasn’t used up all of his innings by then, and Walker is a year from such considering. By 2014, they should be in the rotation with Felix. Hultzen, for me, is a solid, reliable No. 2 while Walker has ace potential. Paxton is the wildcard; he has No. 1 upside, but needs to improve his command and the consistency of his offspeed stuff to reach his ceiling.

Lars Hanson: With the majority of up-and-coming prospects like Montero, and arguably Smoak and Ackley where is the offensive power going to come from outside of those three?

Jason Churchill: There isn’t much outside those three, which is why it’s so critical for the club’s future that each of them pan out as average or better regulars. Mike Carp, whom I believe peaked last season, could hit .270/.330 with 20 homers in a full year’s worth of at-bats, but he’s a poor defender and won’t likely face lefties regularly while being replaced for defense late in games.

At some point, Vincent Catricala is likely to take over at third base, and he’s capable of 20-25 homers a year.

Lars Hanson: With the Mariners not likely to be contenders this season in a continued rebuilding process who are some players that will play in Tacoma (Rainiers, AAA affiliate)  that fans should go see that maybe they haven’t heard of yet?

Jason Churchill: At some point this season, Hultzen and Paxton both are likely to see Tacoma, but most fans know of both left-handers. Francisco Martinez, my No. 6 prospect in the club’s system, should hit Triple-A in 2012 and could be the team’s long-term answer at third base. Nick Franklin could also see Tacoma, as should right fielder Johermyn Chavez, who struggled last season but has a terrific swing and plus bat speed.

Lars Hanson:  Should the Mariners be out of contention by July should they trade Felix this season?

Jason Churchill: No. The only reasons the M’s should consider trading Felix Hernandez anytime in the next three years is if they are 1) convinced he will not re-sign with the club beyond 2014, the final year if his current contract, or 2) if they don’t feel they can contend without the package Hernandez would bring back in a trade. My bet is the M’s never trade Hernandez, and he re-ups to another long-term deal prior to the 2014 campaign.

You can follow Lars on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/larshanson

You can also follow Jason on Twitter.

Lumpkin, 27, came into the league in 2008 as an undrafted free agent out of Georgia signing with the Green Bay Packers. He appeared in only two games with the Packers in 2008 before being placed on injured reserve on October 11th. He was eventually placed on waivers on September 5th 2010 and claimed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

His career got on track this past season setting career highs in every single statistic category. At 5-foot-11 228-pounds you would expect Lumpkin to be a fullback/third-down and short back. However, he’s more of a pass catching running back than a runner with 45 career receptions and 325 receiving yards. That’s more than double his rushing total of 124 yards on 33 carries.

He has yet to record a touchdown in his career having appeared in 29 games over three years.

Seattle has already resigned running back Marshawn Lynch to a four-year, $31 million dollar contract along with fullback Michael Robinson on a one-year contract. Lumpkin now joins Lynch, along with Leon Washington and Justin Forsett in the Seahawks backfield.

The Seahawks have lost out on tight end Jacob Tamme who signed a three-year, $9 million dollar deal with the Denver Broncos. Seattle also lost out on cornerback Corey Graham who re-signed with the Baltimore Ravens on a two-year deal. Both visited the Seahawks this week.

You can follow Lars on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/larshanson