Is Tyrone Willingham Turning in to Slick Rick?

Hidden in the middle of this story from the Seattle Times is the news that several Husky football players who studied abroad this past winter find themselves at the bottom of the depth chart for spring ball. In fact the players went to South Africa with none other than Anthony Kelley. You may remember the same newspaper writing an in depth story detailing the fact that Kelley was basically punished for going to South Africa and saw his playing time diminish greatly in his senior season. The basis for the story was essentially that football came first at the UW and the coaches didn't care about academics past the fact that their players stay eligible to play on Saturdays. So, should we expect a fifth installment of the "Victory and Ruins" series anytime soon? Don't count on it. Why not? Shouldn't Willingham and his staff be subject to the same criticism as Neuheisel's? Clearly the perception of Willingham as a person is far different, but in the end he is paid more than any other state employee for one reason -- to win football games. Another losing season and Willingham will likely be on the fast track to unemployment. Would he like his players to have a great educational experience? Probably. Can he afford that? Not likely. The reality of that story is just that, it's reality. Like it or not football players are on scholarship to play football. Anything different would require a change in the culture of college sports.

M's Release Horacio Ramirez

The best move of the incredible Bill Bavasi era? Probably. Except for the fact that it was Bavasi who traded Rafael Soriano for Ramirez and then signed Ramirez to a $2.75 million contract this past winter. At least he's gone, because you know the M's would have felt obligated to keep him in the majors if they kept him around. Wait, we get Soriano back right? I wish. Imagine the pen with Morrow, Soriano and J.J at the end. Sick. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Bavasi is the only human on the planet that makes that trade. When is ESPN going to start putting microphones on GM's during trade negotiations? I would pay money to hear the conversation during this deal. ESPN, please make this happen.

Ichiro Spring Slump

Let's play a little game with numbers. Player A is hitting .500 and Player B is hitting .000. If you guessed Mike Morse and Ichiro, then you would be correct. Wait, Ichiro is hitting .000? As in he doesn't have any hits? Yep. Ichiro's 0-21 to start the spring. Are the Mariners sounding the alarm? Well, not exactly. "Put him down for the batting title," McLaren told the Seattle Times after today's 0-4 game dropped Ichiro to 0-21. Let me throw this at you though, John McLaren: Ichiro has hit .389 overall in spring training since 2002. I'd say a .389 hitter going 0-21 is a big flashing warning sign for a huge bust. Ichiro's done. Stick a fork in him. Old and washed up. Easy, easy I'm kidding. I was just hoping maybe I could get Ichiro two rounds lower in my fantasy league. Seriously, it's spring training, who cares? Brad Wilkerson is hitting .412 right now in spring games. Dude has never hit higher than .268 in the majors. Has he suddenly turned into Ted Williams? Doubtful. Ichiro will get his, there is nothing to worry about. Erik Bedard too. I worry about pitchers even less than hitters, because often times they aren't throwing all their pitches and just trying to throw strikes and build up their arm strength.

As for Player A, can we get this guy a roster spot please? All Mike Morse ever does is hit. He has almost 300 career at bats in three seasons in the majors and he's hitting a healthy .302. I'm not saying he should be a starter or that he would be a .300 hitter over a full season, but I think he has earned himself a spot on the M's bench. Morse can play several different positions and he's a good athlete with decent speed. On top of all that Morse is out of options, which means if he doesn't make the big club he has to go throw waivers. Unfortunately, Bill Bavasi and his love for "gritty" veterans, signed Miguel Cairo and also brought in Greg Norton. Going for the young and cheap guy with some upside is never enough for Bavasi.

T.J. Duckett?

I wrote a while back that I have learned to never question Tim Ruskell, because he usually knows what he is doing. I just don't get the Duckett signing, though. Ruskell has said he believes Shaun Alexander can still be productive with fixes on the offensive line and with his health. Maurice Morris has also proven that he can be a contributor as a change of pace back and as a pass catcher. Leonard Weaver was one of the breakout players on last year's team and can be a contributor both in the running and passing game as the full back. So, where does Duckett fit in? At first glance I thought it was with intention of fixing the problems with short yardage situations. But if the problems last season were truly due to the line then that should be fixed with the upgrades on the line. Does this mean the Seahawks pass on taking a running back in the upcoming draft? A draft which is clearly deep at that position and with Ruskell knowing that Alexander is at least close to being finishes if he isn't finished already. It simply doesn't make sense. Maybe all Ruskell's talk about Alexander isn't true and he is just buying his time until he cuts him in June. Otherwise I'm not sure what Duckett gives you that Leonard Weaver doesn't already and he would be just taking a roster spot or carries from the running back of the future.