If you're scoring at home the eight Seahawks drafts of the Pete Carroll/John Schneider era -- and with the first round for draft No. 9 starting at 5 p.m. Thursday, who isn't? -- here's my scorecard for handy reference.

First three drafts: Good to great. The next five: Mediocre to poor -- with an asterisk that the most recent two classes lack enough playing time for fair judgment.

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To listen to John Schneider and Pete Carroll tell it, one of the reasons the Seahawks find themselves in a tumultuous offseason is that they permitted too many cooks to spoil the stew of recent NFL drafts.

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Erasmo Ramirez will make his first start of the season at 12:05 p.m. PT Sunday when the Mariners pursue a three-game sweep of the Rangers in Arlington, TX. But in a surprising move, the Mariners made roster room by sending down LF Guillermo Heredia to AAA Tacoma despite the fact that he's hitting .310 with two home runs.

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After all the high-profile personnel changes this off-season, the Seahawks figured to have taken a shot to the glams. But in the release of the 2018 NFL schedule Thursday, Seattle is  booked for the maximum five prime-time games, including four of the season's final six. Apparently the TV networks want to see if the Seahawks most resemble "Lost,"  "The Apprentice" or "Game of Throwns."

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From a standpoint of spectacle last season, the Seahawks' 41-38 win Oct. 29 over the Houston Texans at the Clink was all Bourbon Street, Vegas strip and South Beach -- don't dare blink, or you'll miss something outlandish, voluptuous or ridiculous.

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Where does the long-tenured Seahawks fan rank the high draft selection last year of Malik McDowell? Ahead or behind Aaron Curry or  Jerramy Stevens? Where is the pick in relation to Rick Mirer and Dan McGwire? How about Owen Gill? Or the first draft pick in the 1976 expansion season, Steve Niehaus?

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It's hard to make a claim that a starting pitcher with more than 2,500 major league  innings can have a breakthrough moment in his 32nd year. But there was an episode in the sixth inning Sunday at Safeco when Felix Hernandez demonstrated some comfort with his elder professional self that the Mariners have been aching to see.

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On the surface, Thursday's news that the Seahawks passed on a chance to work out a player because of his politics looked to be one of the more astonishing developments of the off-season. And since that player was QB Colin Kaepernick, it's astonishing on another, purely football,  level.

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In ways subtle and profound, Seattle pro sports just became better Wednesday.

The development won't make Ichiro younger or NFL penalty leader Germain Ifedi more mature. It will make the prospective NHL team more successful and will make Seattle more attractive to the NBA.

The best possible person to upgrade Seattle's sports future, Tod Leiweke, is back.

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In case you thought the feds were too busy investigating the White House, the FBI had enough depth Tuesday to bring fresh indictments against two more men's college basketball programs, Kansas and North Carolina State, in its continuing investigation of systematic bribery schemes steering players to certain schools that put money in the pockets of players from agents and sports apparel companies.

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At the Safeco Field workout preceding the Mariners season opener, I asked Ichiro how much harder the game is at 44 than it was years ago. He offered a classic Ichiro deflection that was true, but also averted answering question truthfully.

"It was difficult when I started, and difficult today," he said. "It's never been easy, never will be easy."

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Since winning 42-7 in December at the Clink in the most dominant manner ever witnessed over a Pete Carroll-coached Seahawks team, the Los Angeles Rams have added premium veteran defenders Ndamukong Suh, 31, Aqib Talib, 32, Marcus Peters, 25, and Sam Shields, 30.

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As he continues trying to change the tires on a moving car, John Schneider sounded a little defensive. Apparently the Seahawks general manager has heard of the bewilderment/dismay/contempt by some in the fan base over the big overhaul underway in Renton. He attempted to slow their roll Friday.

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One of the small points of pride the Mariners bosses took in building the 2018 roster was they had no rookies to be forced into the MLB crucible. Well, except for one, the backup catcher, Mike Marjama, an obscure acquisition in September of note to few outside his immediate family.

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It's probably wise to not make a big deal out of this, but since Mariners fans have a well-earned twitch when in comes to player injuries, feel free to at least cock an eyebrow: Catcher Mike Zunino was pulled from the starting lineup in the season opener Thursday at Safeco with soreness in his right side.

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Jerry Dipoto and Scott Servais enjoy hearing about the Mariners' historic futility the way grandkids enjoy hearing about the Depression from grandparents.

Yeah. Too bad about that. Tough times. Can we go out now and play with the dog?

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Free agent Jayson Werth, a 15-year veteran MLB outfielder who hit .226 with 10 homers in 70 games with Washington in 2017, signed a minor league contract with the Mariners Tuesday, and will work in extended spring training until he's ready to join AAA Tacoma.

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The Seahawks released backup QB Trevone Boykin Tuesday morning after Dallas TV station WFAA reported that he was being investigated for assaulting his girlfriend in his hometown of Mesquite, TX., an attack a week ago that left her with a jaw broken on both sides and strangulation marks on her neck.

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The tumultuous Seahawks off-season now has a sidebar drama: A felony assault charge against the franchise's 2017 Man of the Year for his community work, whose attorney said Monday that Houston police and prosecutors got it all wrong.

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The Mariners made a late add to their pitching staff over the weekend, adding veteran free agent lefty Wade LeBlanc, who in 2016 went 3-0 with a 4.50 ERA in eight starts and three relief appearances for Seattle. And after a 63-pitch outing Saturday night in which he allowed a single run, Felix Hernandez won his bid to be the Opening Night starter at 7:10 Thursday at Safeco Field.

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