Seattle Mariners 2008.The Seattle Mariners took a big step for an immediate run at the AL West title by trading a future superstar prospect. That prospect, center fielder Adam Jones is now starting in center field for the Baltimore Orioles. What did Seattle get in return? A solid ace in Erik Bedard who went 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA and 221 strikeouts with the Orioles in 2006. He is now nearing age 29 and the prime of his career. Will this addition be what the Mariners needed to get atop of the Western Division? We'll soon see.
I think whether or not the Erik Bedard deal will put them over the top all rides on how well Felix Hernandez does coming off of a season of setbacks and under achievements. The rotation looks to be Bedard, Hernandez, Jarrod Washburn, Miguel Batista and Carlos Silva. Washburn is coming off of a disappointing 10-15 season while Carlos Silva seems to be a good fit in this rotation. Its a rotation which looks to be very competitive and which pitches very deep into games. This will help their bullpen which is a bit unsettled. The Mariners need to know that Brandon Morrow, who has been sidelined by biceps tendinitis, is healthy enough to pitch to start the season. He threw recently with no ill effects so it appears to be the case. They also need to find out whether Derek Lowe and/or Chris Reitsma can come back from their respective elbow surgeries. The thing that will help is the fact that their starters can go deep into ballgames. So I'm guessing that all they'll really need is one solid setup man for J.J. Putz.
The batting order will be missing Jose Guillen who is now a member of the Kansas City Royals. Brad Wilkerson isn't what I call a good replacement either. But their lineup still has alot of talent with Ichiro Suzuki, Jose Lopez, Raul Ibanez (21/105), Adrian Beltre (26/99), Richie Sexson, Yuniesky Betancourt and Kenji Johjima. Jose Vidro looks like the DH. Hey, its not the prettiest offense, but it will get the job done. They have perhaps the best table setter in baseball in Ichiro Suzuki, alot of good young hitters like Lopez and Betancourt as well as some contact and power hitters with experience. Jose Vidro can really play an important role, but even if he can't I expect this Mariners team to get the better of their foes more often than not and emerge on top of a less than stellar division. Look for a 87-75 record and a trip to the playoffs.
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