Seattle Sportsnet

The Mariners announced today that they’ve signed first baseman/designated hitter Mike Sweeney to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training. The 35-year-old Sweeney played last season with the Oakland A’s, but prior to that spent 13 seasons with the Kansas City Royals, where he was a five-time All-Star.

Sweeney, once an underrated hybrid slugger (meaning he could hit for both contact and power, think Edgar Martinez), has struggled with injuries over the course of his career, and has been especially hampered by leg problems in the past few years. Though he batted .286 with the A’s in 2008, Sweeney was limited to just 42 games and was released in September. In the past three seasons, Sweeney has amassed a total of 176 ballgames and has seen a precipitous drop in his playing ability and numbers.

Though many will likely hail this move as a good one by the ballclub, we need to take this signing with a significantly large gain of salt. Sweeney is very much on his last legs and has produced virtually zero power since 2005 (17 home runs combined from 2006-2008). He still carries the “first baseman” tag, but at this point is more of a DH than anything else. Expecting Sweeney to make the team out of Peoria is no guarantee, and if he can find his way to Safeco, it may be more as a clubhouse presence than anything else.

*Image courtesy NBC Sports.

In one of the more peculiar stories of Superbowl media week, Steelers wideout Santonio Holmes announced to the world that as a child growing up in Florida, he used to sell drugs. Uhhh….

Citing the desire to prevent at-risk youths from committing the same mistakes he made during his adolescence, Holmes revealed the details of his former dealer lifestyle, a story he’d only told “three or four people about” before yesterday.

Holmes, who was cited for marijuana possession earlier this season, described how he avoided the pitfalls of pre-pubescent drug dealing that many kids fall into. He would head to school under the watchful eye of his mother, before skipping out in favor of the street corner. That’s how you do it, kids!

Mariners: The M’s made a trade yesterday, sending recently acquired righthander Aaron Heilman to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for middle infielder Ronny Cedeno and lefthanded pitcher Garrett Olson.

Heilman, acquired less than two months ago from the Mets as part of the J.J. Putz trade, was an expendable veteran arm with no defined role headed into Spring Training.

Cedeno, who turns 26 on Monday, is a former top prospect of the Cubs who has yet to reach expectations in the big leagues. A contact hitter with a good glove up the middle (think a younger, slightly more talented version of Willie Bloomquist), Cedeno batted .269 last season in 99 games, receiving playing time at shortstop and second base. For one stretch lasting from mid-April until the beginning of June, Cedeno kept his batting average above .300, peaking at a sizzling .391 on May 2nd. There was even some speculation in Chicago during this time that Cedeno would supplant either Ryan Theriot or Mike Fontenot as the starter at second or short. He’ll look to do that this season to the likes of Jose Lopez and Yuniesky Betancourt.

Olson, a former “sandwich” pick in the 2005 June amateur draft (#48 overall), is another ex-top prospect who has yet to completely pan out. A slender lefty who throws his fastball in the low-90′s, Olson relies on a big breaking curveball (think Barry Zito) to get batters out, and complements his one and two with a solid changeup. He started 26 games last year for the Baltimore Orioles, posting a 9-10 record with a 6.65 ERA. Olson will be given every chance to crack the M’s rotation and would likely be used in the pen if he failed to impress in Peoria.

Husky Basketball: The Dawgs are in Tucson today to take on the Arizona Wildcats later this evening. The unranked Wildcats are coming off a non-conference home victory Saturday over Houston. Though they’ve struggled this season, Arizona is always tough at home and historically presents matchup problems for an undersized Husky team.

Junior forward Chase Budinger, recipient of an uncalled for head stomping over the weekend, should be fired up and ready to ignite his team against a first-place Washington team looking to extend their lead over the rest of the Pac-10.

The game is scheduled for 5:30 PM and can be seen locally on Fox Sports, or heard live on 950 KJR AM.

*One programming note regarding the site: We won’t be having a Top 11 list this week amidst the scrutiny of a number of other issues going on in the world of sports. Check back next Thursday for the Top 11 on its usual day and time.

If you haven’t checked out our link list (left-hand sidebar, scroll down) you’re missing out on some of the best local and national sports coverage out there. Allow me to showcase some of our partners:

• Dawgman.com. A playground for Husky fans, filled with daily analysis, insider information, and the best University of Washington message board around.




• GOAL Seattle. One of the best resources for local sports happenings, with a spotlight on the Seattle Sounders. Also, take part in an interactive forum with other soccer fanatics and find out where games all over the region are taking place.




• Husky Digest. Jim Basnight brings Husky hoop fans an insider’s perspective on the goings-on at Hec Ed. With frequent updates, and exclusive content you can’t find anywhere else, HuskyDigest provides hardcore basketball fanatics a place to get their daily fix.




• Tri-Cities BRRB. An upstart blog where you can find out everything you need to know about basketball officiating from a college basketball referee. For those hoop fans who need to brush up on what the heck a double foul is.




• USS Mariner. The web’s best Seattle Mariners blog, bar none. Self-described “crazed fans” Dave Cameron, Conor Glassey, and Derek Zumsteg provide comprehensive analysis aboard the good ship Mariner.

*UPDATED: One other site I forgot to mention that has shown us a lot of respect so far, and that’s SeaTown Sports. The guys over at SeaTown keep a daily log of all the local sports news and went so far as to solicit our opinion on an end-of-2008 survey on the Sonics. Great analysis and loads of content. Check them out.