Seattle Mariners 2008 Preview

An 88-win season in 2007 wasn’t enough to make it into the American League playoffs, so Seattle management remains under the gun to put a playoff team on the field in 2008. The addition of Erik Bedard is a huge boon to the starting rotation, but it remains to be seen whether the offense can make up for the loss of right fielder Jose Guillen. “I think we’re ready to compete for the division title right now,” manager John McLaren says. It’s hard to see the Mariners matching up with the Angels in the division, though.

Rotation 
The Mariners finished the season by stripping Horacio Ramirez of his starting job, and they also said goodbye to Jeff Weaver. Down two starters, they added one with the signing of Carlos Silva, then came the headline trade for Bedard. The three returning starters — Felix Hernandez, Jarrod Washburn and Miguel Batista — are reasonably solid. Hernandez, who turns 22 in April, has won 26 games the last two years. Washburn has yet to have a winning season for Seattle, however. Batista was a great find in free agency a year ago. Hernandez and Washburn stack up well with just about any No. 2 and 3 starters in the American League.

Statistician
10	Number of games the Mariners improved from 2006 to ’07, going from 78 to 88 wins.
9	Number of Mariners who drove in 50 or more runs in 2007.
45	Come-from-behind wins for the Mariners in 2007, tying for the best in the AL.
49	Wins at home for Seattle in 2007 as Safeco Field again became a tough place to visit.
10	Safeco Field crowds of 46,000 or more in 2007.
15	Games in which the Mariners had 15 or more hits, the most in the big leagues and a new club record.
200	If Ichiro can reach the 200-hit mark again in 2008, it will be the eighth consecutive season he has done that, a new American League record.

Bullpen 
As part of the Baltimore trade, Seattle traded George Sherrill, the strong left-handed setup man ahead of closer J.J. Putz. A 2007 All-Star, Putz has developed into one of the game’s best in the ninth inning and had more saves than hits allowed in ’07. Brandon Morrow is the best candidate to set up Putz. Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey and Cha Seung Baek will be a part of the bullpen mix. Sean White and Sean Green add depth. Cesar Jimenez and Eric O’Flaherty are the lefthanders.

Middle Infield 
It was a tough offseason for second baseman Jose Lopez as the Mariner front office talked about “upgrading” the position. But in the end, they are looking for the upgrade to come from Lopez himself. A 2006 All-Star, Lopez tailed off somewhat late in 2006 and again, more significantly, in 2007. His sidekick up the middle, shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt, looks to be a foundation in the infield for years to come, especially after having come to terms with his error problems. He had only four errors the final 68 games after 19 in the first half. Seattle wants to see him run more in 2008.

Corners
Third baseman Adrian Beltre has never matched the 48-homer output of his 2004 Dodger season since joining the Mariners for the 2005 season. But he has been a steady run producer for Seattle — 92 RBIs per year as a Mariner — and is coming off the first Gold Glove award of his AL career. Richie Sexson was shopped by Seattle during the winter, but there were no takers for the 6'8" first baseman returning from the worst year of his big-league career. If the Mariner offense is to improve, it will need lots of help from Sexson, who went from back-to-back 100-RBI seasons to only 63 in an injury-shortened 2007 season. A big return from Sexson is a necessity.

Outfield 
Center fielder Ichiro Suzuki, who has seven consecutive 200-hit seasons, has a chance to go over 3,000 hits combined for his Japanese and North American careers this year. He’s been a steady run scorer and is as feared a leadoff hitter as there is in the game. Left fielder Raul Ibañez, who was prepared for a shift to first or DH if major trades came down, returns to his given position and, probably, the third or fourth spot in the batting order. Ibañez was a dynamic hitting machine down the stretch in 2007 and hopes to carry that over to 2008. Newcomer Brad Wilkerson takes over in right field for Guillen giving the Mariners a left-handed threesome in the outfield to go with the right-handed infield.

Catching
Kenji Johjima’s offense has been steady during his time in the U.S., but he’s improved markedly on defense in his two years in the big leagues. His right arm has proven to be a deterrent to AL baserunners. His power fell from 18 homers in 2006 to 14 last year, but he should be counted on for a minimum of 15 after having 30-homer outputs during his career in Japan. More significant, he has built an increasing rapport with the pitching staff; the mix-ups of 2006 seem to be history.

DH/Bench 
Jose Vidro doesn’t have the power of a classic DH, but as a No. 2 hitter, he combines with Ichiro to get the middle of the batting order up with men on base much of the time. The Mariners could be one of the few teams carrying three catchers this season with Jeff Clement, a former No. 1 draft pick, deemed to be just about ready for the jump to the majors. Backing up is Jamie Burke. Willie Bloomquist can play any position except catcher, and he’s the club’s second-best baserunner as well. Mike Morse has always hit well, but he hasn’t gotten much playing time, and that may not change.

Statline Fewest Baserunners per 9 IP Since 1900 Minimum 70 IP
1.	Dennis Eckersley, 1990	5.52
2.	J.J. Putz, 2007	6.53
3.	Eric Gagne, 2003	6.56
4.	Rafael Betancourt, 2007	6.81
5.	Billy Wagner, 1999	7.11

Management 
General manager Bill Bavasi enters the season in a better position after an 88-win year, but Seattle’s payroll — as much as $120 million — demands a postseason berth, and the Mariners haven’t been there since 2001. This will be the first full season as manager for McLaren, who has yet to put his mark on the team. To help, he has a mostly new coaching staff, including Mel Stottlemyre as pitching coach with the pitching needing the biggest upgrade.

Final Analysis
The Mariners were able to improve their starting rotation by acquiring Bedard. The two areas that could prevent them from staying close to the Angels are the bullpen and the middle of the order. With the departure of Guillen, the offense desperately needs Sexson and Beltre to be the mashers Seattle thought it was paying for when the team signed them a few years ago. Getting the bullpen sorted out in front of Putz will be a priority.

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Difference Maker

The Mariners paid a high price to get Erik Bedard from the Orioles, including former first-round pick and top prospect Adam Jones. But if their new ace can match the success he had last year on the also-ran O's, it could put the contending M's over the top. Bedard challenged for the AL strikeout crown with 221 last year and, matched up with Felix Hernandez, should give Seattle a potent one-two punch at the front of the rotation.

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Beyond the Box Score

Positive trend The Mariners had the biggest improvement in batting average from 2006-07, surging 15 points, and that trend could continue if first baseman Richie Sexson can get back to .260 or so after hitting .205.

Knuckling down Of all the players moved in the Rule 5 draft in December, right-handed pitcher R.A. Dickey, acquired from the Twins, could have the best chance of making an impact. He’s a veteran — Rule 5 players are usually untested rookies — who’s changed his attack by committing to throwing the knuckleball.
Class of his class The 16 wins by Miguel Batista not only represented a career high, but they were also the most by any pitcher from the free agent class of 2006.

Closing strong J.J. Putz was only the sixth reliever since the save stat came into existence in 1969 to have more saves than hits allowed (40 saves, 37 hits). Without Putz, the Mariners are an extremely ordinary team. But Putz’s ability to put games away has made Seattle a threat the last two seasons. Since the start of the 2006 season, Putz is 10–2 with 76 saves and a 1.86 ERA. He is the first Mariner reliever to have a two-year cumulative ERA under 2.00.

Dominating Raul While the overall stats for Raul Ibañez were good, they don’t accurately describe how dominating he was after he recovered from a shoulder injury at midseason. Ibañez hit .357 with 15 homers and 44 RBIs in 55 games the last two months of the season.

Call him the hyphen Ryan Rowland-Smith became the first player in big league history with a hyphenated last name.

Hitting .350 Ichiro Suzuki is the only active player with three seasons averaging .350 or better. He hit .350 in 2001, .373 in 2004 and .351 in 2007.

Clutch Yuniesky Betancourt generally hits eighth or ninth, but he had 15 game-winning RBIs in 2007, the most on the team.

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