Mariners Primed To Turn Things Around

I’m going to make a bold prediction. Certainly a prediction that will have its fair share of naysayers, people who will laugh, scoff, insult my baseball knowledge, and best of all, will be utterly stupefied when it comes true. Are you ready?

The Seattle Mariners will win the AL West. Yes, I said the Seattle Mariners. The same Mariners that became the first team in MLB history to win 90 games in back to back seasons and then proceed to lose 90 games in back to back seasons. In fact, one step worse, they actually had a string of four 90 win seasons snapped by their two consecutive 90 loss seasons.

Let me be clear about one thing. This is not the same Mariner team that stumbled out of the gates in 2005. The Mariner off season acquisitions were minor, but the true merit of this team will be realized in the maturation of its young burgeoning superstars. If you don’t know the name Felix Hernandez by now, you will very soon. The right-handed Venezualen is like a combination of Pedro Martinez and Bartolo Colon, with full command of all four pitches and the confidence to throw them at any point in an at-bat. Most ten-year veterans don’t have the poise or control of Hernandez and its easy to forget the most important aspect, that Hernandez is only 19. His age and early brilliance have brought out the inevitable  comparisons to Dwight Gooden, with the daunting exception that Felix doesn’t have a problem with putting things in his nose- and we all know I’m not referring to Gooden’s fingers.

The rest of the staff surrounding Felix is a question mark, but Moyer and Washburn have been proven winners, and Safeco field should treat them both well, and look for Joel Piniero to re-emerge as the sought-after prospect from 2003.

Like Hernandez, the rest of the team’s strength lies in its youthful raw talent. Consider the infield: Beltre, 26, Bettancourt, 24, Lopez, 22, and the old man of the diamond, Sexson, 31. Sexson will do what he does year in and year out, and Beltre is primed for a huge season after he fell flat on his face last year, his first with the Mariners and first in the AL. Beltre will never again do what he did in in ’04, but people forget that he’s only 26 because he’s been in a Dodger uniform since he was 17, and another year under his belt does nothing but increase his value.

The third factor in the Mariners success is their rookie catcher Kenji Johjima. For the previous 11 seasons the Mariners have only had one primary catcher, Dan Wilson, at best mediocre offensively, solid defensively, and good with the pitching staff. However, there is something to be said in the major leagues for a catcher who is nowhere near spectacular, but reliably shows up for work for 11 seasons. Last year in light of Wilson’s knee injury the catching slot was a black hole both offensively and defensively, the pitching staff never knew who they would be throwing to, with a total of seven different players seeing time as the backstop. (Shortstop was a similar black hole with the M’s playing five different shortstops, not including Pokey Reese, originally the starting SS, but injured all year long).

Certainly Johjima has a lot riding on his shoulders. As the first Japanese catcher in the majors, he is paving the way for future catchers, as not only will all eyes be watching his bat to see how his offensive game translates, but also to see how well he communicates with the staff, how he adapts to the mental aspect of the game. If the early season is any indication his bat will be just fine with two home runs in his first two major league games.

So, when the Mariners are back to being a team people are talking about, remember that you heard it from me. But, I suppose I should allow that I might be a bit of a homer. I did after all pick the University of Washington Huskies to beat UConn in the NCAA tournament, and still feel they would have if the refs hadn’t screwed them. And I picked the Seahawks to win the Super Bowl, and still fee they would have if the refs hadn’t screwed them as well.

Fortunately baseball is the last remaining sport where an umpire’s bias cannot sway the outcome of a game, no matter how many bad calls he might make. Just ask Mike Scoscia.