Can the Pacific Northwest Rise Up? Seattle Mariners 2007 Season Preview

The Seattle Mariners in the early part of the decade were the class of the American League West & always counted on being contenders, however, they have struggled in the past few years. In 2006, the team improved from their 2005 campaign, but they still finished in last place for the third year in a row.

With the development of the young talent, the Mariners inched closer to .500, but were still far from contending. For the upcoming season, quite a few changes were ushered, especially with the pitching corps, but will it be enough to get the Pacific Northwest excited?

The team added former Washington Nationals players Jose Guillen, Jose Vidro, along with World Series hero Jeff Weaver, pichers Horacio Ramirez, Chris Reitsma and Miguel Bastista. However, the team lost Gil Meche as he signed a huge deal with the Royals, Eduardo Perez, Joel Pineiro, along with Chris Snelling, Emilino Fruto and Rafael Soriano to trades.

The starting pitching will compromise of Jarrod Washburn, Felix Hernandez, Jeff Weaver, Miguel Batista and Horacio Ramirez. Washburn is expected to be the number one starter, as he was anything but an ace last year as he finished 8-14 with a 4.67 ERA. If the Mariners expect to go anywhere in ’07, they’ll need him to perform like he did for the Angels in ’05 to justify the huge contract he received from the Mariners last winter.

The other pitcher from last year for the Mariners in starting rotation is amazing young phenom, Felix Hernandez. He was 12-14 with a 4.52 ERA, and had some growing pains, but showed flashes of brilliance, especially towards the end of last season. The Mariners hope that ’07 is the season where Felix puts his amazing ability and assortment of pitches together.

The pitcher I consider to be the wild card in the starting rotation is recently acquired Jeff Weaver. As we all know, he was a main reason why the Cardinals won the World Series, but the question remains, can he translate his playoff run into ’07?

However, his track record and career stats are not all that good, as he left ’06 with a 8-14 record and an ERA approaching 6. He found success in St. Louis during the playoffs after being released from the Angels in the first part of the season. The Mariners can only hope he can maintain the form and poise that made him such a force in the World Series.

The other pitchers who should get rotation spots are new additions, Miguel Batista and Horacio Ramirez. Batista also got a relatively large contract to pitch in Seattle and he was 11-8 with a 4.58 ERA for the Diamondbacks. Considering he is going to the AL, his ERA might stay the same or rise a bit, but they will need him to be effective. Horacio Ramirez had a down year for the Braves in ’06, as he was 5-5 with an ERA in the mid 4 range & the rest of ’06 on the DL. The Mariners will need him to serve as anchor for the rotation.

Young Jake Wood could also factor in the rotation if one of the starters falter. He was 7-4 with a 4.20 ERA and showed a lot of promise in ’06. However, he is most likely to be in the bullpen, most likely in long relief.

The bullpen should also have had a few additions as well. The closer, J.J. Putz is back in the fold and had a career year with 36 saves, 4 wins and a 2.30 ERA. He has progressed nicely in his career, and the Mariners will expect him to build upon his career year for the upcoming season.

The wild card in the bullpen is Chris Reitsma, and he struggled with the Braves with an 8.68 ERA and ended up on the DL for the remainder of the ’06 season. The Mariners hope he returns to his ’05 form with Atlanta, where he registered an ERA under 4. Another addition to the bullpen is longtime veteran Arthur Rhodes who hopes to jumpstart his career and beckon upon previous seasons which made him one of the better left handed relievers in the game.

Other members of the bullpen will be George Sherill, Eric O’Flaherty, possibly Jake Woods and Juilo Mateo.

The starting lineup for the most part remained the same at is was in ’06. For the Seattle Mariners, the main focus of the lineup is the amazing Ichiro Suzuki. Suzuki, who serves as the teams leadoff hitter has been one of the preeminent hitters in the history of the game, should remain at the same level he’s been at as he batted .331 with 9 homers and 49 RBI. 2006 was a down year for Ichiro, but he should bounce back in’07.

The outfield looks strong on paper heading into next season and joining Ichiro out there will be Raul Ibanez who had a great season in ’06 with 33 homers and 123 RBIs to go with a .293 batting average and Jose Guillen.

Guillen will serve as a wild card for the outfield, as he missed the majority of last season with elbow problems that required him to have surgery. He’s only 30 years old, but he been with a number of organizations and has had concerns about his attitude. However, Guillen has a lot of upside, as he always has had the ability to field, hit for power and average. If he could reproduce what he did for the Nationals in ’05 and in years’ past, the Mariners might have gotten a bargain for his services. On the bench for the outfield will be Adam Jones and Jeremy Reed.

The infield should remain the same last year. At first base, will be big bopper, Richie Sexson who hit 34 homers and 107 RBIs with a .264 batting average. He’s always had the ability to hit the ball out of the park, but he’s never really hit for average, strikes out a ton and doesn’t really draw many walks; however, if he can maintain his numbers, he’ll compliment the Mariners lineup well.

At second will be Jose Lopez who’s coming off a good year and at shortstop will be Youniesky Betancourt who had a solid ’06 as well.

The wild card in the infield is Adrian Beltre. He signed with the Mariners in ’05 after parlaying a career year in Los Angeles, and has not been the same player he was in California as he’s in Seattle. Although he had a good second half in ’06, Beltre’s numbers have been down all across the board, and he’s struggled in the American League. The Mariners will need Beltre to revert back to his ’05 with the Dodgers to not only help the team, but to justify his contract.

The bench for the infield will be Ben Broussard who may also platoon and DH, Willie Bloomquist, and Mike Morse.

Jose Vidro will be the designated hitter for the Mariners. Until a few years ago, Vidro was one of the best hitters in the National League who could count on to hit at least .300, hit 15 home runs and hit a ton of doubles. Injuries (he missed all of 2005) and conditioning have brought his numbers down across the board. He’s no longer got the range he used to have at second, but could do well in the AL if he could gain back some of the form which made him one of the NL’s more consistent hitters before 2005.

Kenji Johjima had a great rookie year in 2006 and hit .291 with 18 homers and 76 RBIs, after coming to the states from Japan. He’s got a lot of upside, as he calls a good game, and he’s very good with the pitching staff. The Mariners hope he can build upon his 2006. Backing up for Johjima will be Rene Rivera.

The Mariners play in a competitive American League West and it may be hard for the team to move up in 2007 in light of the additions made. The team has made a number of changes to attempt to get more competitive, but it looks like the Mariners may remain where they are unless the pitching rotation steps up and additions to the offense perform like they have in the past. Considering this is Ichiro’s walk year, it’s vital that the team make strides to move up the AL West standings.

The Mariners may be a few players away from seriously contending in 2007, but the young core that they have give the team hope for the future.