The Seattle Mariners have risen, and then fallen in just a few short years. From 1977 to the mid 1990s, they were year in and year out the worst franchise in major league baseball. During the 1990s, however, players like Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Jay Buhner, Tino Martinez and many others made them a championship caliber team. in 2001, the entire team had a "career" year and the team won 116 games, but still couldn't get past the Yankees in the playoffs. No team won more games than the Mariners from 2001 through 2003, yet they only made the playoffs once during that span. Seattle fell flat on their face last year as the entire team got suddenly old. This year, a new manager and new players have made them competitive, but not a winner.

2005 Seattle Mariners Record: 26 - 32, 3rd place, American League Western Division

Mariners Probable Lineup:

1B]Richie Sexson .239 - 13 - 45 .357 OBP
Sexson was one of the two major off season acquisitions by the Mariners. His was the chancy one, as the lanky first baseman was injured for much of the season last year while playing for the Diamondbacks. Sexson is the prototypical one-dimensional American League slugger. He'll end the season with 40 home runs and 135 RBIs, but he'll also hit only .240 and strikeout 195 times [his current projection]. Sexson can hit five homers in a weekend series, and then strikeout 10 times in the next two games. He reminds me of a similar player I watched while growing up, outfielder Dave Kingman.

2B]Bret Boone .246 - 5 - 29 .246 OBP
Bret Boone is a shell of his old self. Once the premier defensive AND offensive 2nd baseman in the American League, today he has limited range and a slow bat. How bad has it gotten? He's on pace to hit 15 homers and drive in 85 runs, which is fine. But his .246 on base percentage makes him another Mariner with limited capabilities today. Boone is in the last year of a costly contract signed after his breakout 2001 season. No way he's coming back in 2006.

SS]Mike Morse .278 - 0 - 0 .381 OBP
Morse is a youngster just called up to the big club. He is considered a decent shortstop who might be a starter in the major leagues, but more likely, he'll end up being the Mariners' version of Jamie Carroll -- a player who can fill in adequately at several positions. At this point, with only 18 at bats, he hasn't shown what he can or cannot do.

3B]Adrian Beltre .242 - 5 - 30 .277 OBP
Signed at a 16 year old by the Los Angeles Dodgers, they waited six years for him to finally reach the potential he had shown. But that was only one great year. The Mariners took another chance, partly because they needed a 3rd baseman and partly because they needed to show the fans they were serious about upgrading the team. So far, it's a disaster. He's on track to hit in the low .240s, hit 15 homers and drive in 90 runs. Like most of his teammates, Beltre has a horrid .277 on base percentage. Maybe he's pressing too hard to be worthy of the large contract, maybe he's now so fat and happy that he's calling is game in each night, maybe he's just in a season long slump. This year's stats look a lot like those first years with the Dodgers than 2004.

LF]Randy Winn .298 - 0 - 15 .366 OBP
Winn is one of the very few major league players who was traded for a manager. When Lou Pinella signed with Tampa Bay, the Mariners chose Winn as their compensation pick. Winn has speed and is very good in the field. He has a good on base percentage, and usually hits with some power, though he hasn't hit one yet. He seldom strikes out. Winn will be available on the trading block next month as he doesn't fit into the Mariners plans for 2006. I'd love to have him on the Nationals in one capacity or another.
CF]Jeremy Reed .259 - 2 - 20 .333 OBP
Because Reed is the center fielder of the future, he by default is the center fielder of today. And he's not ready. He is a fast player, but only has 3 stolen bases this season. He will one day be a fine center fielder, perhaps in the Johnny Damon mode, but he's having to learn his role in the vast centerfield of Safeco Field and not in the quietness of Tacoma's AAA field. Reed is past the "deer in the headlight" stage, but now must find out how far his talent will take him. I think it will take him far.

RF]Ichiro .306 - 3 - 17 .355 OBP
My, but these numbers look rather pale for the great one. Ryan Church is producing at a much higher rate than the Seattle right fielder. Don't delude yourself, though. Ichiro will get hot sometime later this month like he has every year and end up hitting .350+. He's got a gun in right field, covers more green than any other player who will come into RFK this year, and can change the outcome of a game by what he might do. No other player can control the game so well.

C]Pat Borders .188 - 1 - 2 .235
The 42 year old catcher is starting for the Mariners because Dan Wilson and Wicki Gonzalez are both on the disabled list. I think they found him at an old folks home in Toronto. He's breathing and still had his cup, so he met the Mariners qualifications to be their starting catcher. I'd give you a scouting report on Borders, but he can't do what it says anymore, so why bother.


The Seattle Mariners are not looking good for 2005. They can't get on base, they strike out too much, the older players don't cover nearly as much ground as they used to, and the quality players, with the exception of Ichiro, are too one-dimensional to be a threat every night. The pitchers ... well lets talk about the pitchers:
Jamie Moyer: 5-2, 5.21
Gil Meche: 5-4, 4.76
Ryan Franklin:2-7, 4.77
Joel Penienero: 2-3, 6.55
Aaron Sele: 4-5, 4.43
These guys couldn't break into the Nationals starting rotation. Same goes for the fielders, with the exception of Ichiro. The Mariners are not as good as the Athletics. They tried to improve their team but ended up only increasing they payroll.

# posted by Farid Rushdi @ 10:15 PM