CTOD: Seattle Mariners

We definitely haven't been saving the best for last in making our way towards completing our Countdown To Opening Day season previews. Yesterday we previewed the Pirates and Indians and today we will be looking at the Mariners and Diamondbacks. All four of whom are probably favorites to sweep out the basements of their respective divisions. So let's get to the Mariners..

I don't know where to start with 2010 Mariners. Has there even been a team with playoff aspirations that tanked so gloriously? Last year at this time the M's featured the best 1-2 pitching punch in all of baseball, Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez, and had high hopes for riding this duo all the way to the postseason. What a difference six months makes. When it was all said and done Seattle had probably put together the worst offensive season in MLB history, putting a meager 513 runs on the board, and finishing at a lowly 61-101.



I don't want to go to deeply into how bad this team was last year, but if you like all the nitty gritty details then check this article out about how historically awful the Mariners were.

At the plate, the only thing that went well for the Mariners last season was Ichiro. Suzuki continues to be a consistent, and timeless, force in right field. It really is hard to believe that Ichiro will turn 38 this year. After Ichiro, there is literally nothing to discuss about what was good in the Seattle lineup last season. But let's not dwell on last season, what's going on this year?

The answer is: not much. Seattle is counting on bounce back years for Franklin Gutierrez,  Chone Figgins, and Jack Wilson. They are hoping that Justin Smoak isn't as bad as he looked during his major league debut. Jack Cust was added under the hope that he can regain his power stroke that disappeared last season. Counting on Milton Bradley seems to be a spring ritual and I wouldn't be surprised to see Bradley finally going Kenny Powers on the Seattle faithful and washing out of baseball this year. All in all, while it is difficult to expect another offensive horror show, there hasn't been the major kind of changes to signal that they will be any better. This team is going to struggle to score runs again and the fans will have to wait for the much hyped debuts of Dustin Ackley and Nick Franklin before getting their hopes up.

Pitching and defense were the only things that kept the Mariners from going completely into the chasms of MLB history. Despite only 13 wins, Felix Hernandez locked down his first Cy Young in a completely dominant performance from wire-to-wire. Cliff Lee was just as good, maybe even better, as Hernandez during his brief stay in Seattle. At the back end of the rotation Doug Fister has emerged as a right handed Mark Buerhle, a control artist who pumps the strike zone, and Jason Vargas gives quality innings while benefiting from SafeCo field and the Mariners defense. Replacing Lee is impossible, but Erik Bedard is making a comeback (1.13 Spring ERA) and phenom Michael Pineda has earned a spot in the rotation after rocketing through the minors last year.

Overall, losing 100 games is a difficult task. Despite not making any major roster changes on offense there is no way the Mariners can be that bad again. Their pitching and defense looks to be above average yet again, but can be really good if Bedard and Pineda perform at their best, and should keep the M's from going completely off the deep end. If they can get close to .500 ball it should raise optimism, especially if some of the youngsters start to perform. However, another disastrous season and the King Felix trade rumours will become more prominent as the pressure to completely blowup and restart grows.

Prediction: 4th AL West.


Surprise Player: Justin Smoak.

Last year it was Smoak versus Jesus Montero in the Cliff Lee sweepstakes and the Mariners chose the young first baseman. Smoak brings average power with a great eye for the strike zone but struggled mightily last year and still needs time to adjust to MLB pitching. I think he is capable of making the adjustments and in two years will be seen as one of the premier first basemen in the American League.