Kuzul

The Seattle Mariners finished the 2011 season with the third worst record in baseball at 67-95 to go along with their second consecutive last-place finish in the American League West.

On the bright side, the Mariners did manage to win six more games than they did in 2010 while managing to lose less than 100 games.

Seattle will be improved offensively with the addition of Jesus Montero into the middle of the lineup—although he came with a heavy price tag.  

Former No. 2 starter and future star, Michael Pineda, is now a New York Yankee as a result of the semi-blockbuster trade for Montero.

Let’s take a look at the Mariners’ projected starting lineup (with one surprise) and rotation for 2012.

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As the world found out on Friday night, the Seattle Mariners have traded prized young pitcher Michael Pineda along with top prospect Jorge Campo to the Yankees for prized young hitter Jesus Montero and big league pitcher Hector Noesi.

People in Seattle are already writing this off as yet another terrible trade involving one of their future stars. But they shouldn’t.

This is exactly what the Mariners needed. Here are three reasons Seattle fans should love this trade:

1. Danny Hultzen, James Paxton, and Taijuan Walker

Three young pitchers with immense talent. We could see Paxton and maybe even Hultzen at some point this season, and by all accounts they will both be very effective Major League pitchers when they get here. Taijuan Walker may have the most talent of the bunch, but at just 19 years of age, it will most likely be two more seasons before we see him take the field in a Mariners uniform. Bottom line is, the Mariners have enough young arms, and as we all saw last season, not nearly enough talented bats.

2. The Angels and Rangers

I know no fan likes to hear this, but barring a miracle, no team except the Angels or the Rangers will win the AL West this season. With Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson joining the Angels, they should, on paper, be the best team in the division. Apparently this Pujols guy is fairly decent.

At the same time, the Rangers, who have made it to the World Series two straight seasons, seem to have improved their team as well and should make another late-season push.

With the roster the Mariners currently have, there is just no feasible way to think that they have a chance to win this division. In two years, however, when Montero and the rest of the young M’s hitters are coming into their own, and the young pitchers I referred to earlier are ready, this team should be prepared to make the jump to the postseason.

3. Hitters don’t get hurt (as often)

One of the biggest things that worried me when I saw young Mr. Pineda pitch last season was how hard I saw him throw the ball just about every time. His injury history in the minors only added to my worry. It seemed that at any moment he could go down with a Stephen Strasburg-like arm issue.This is just speculation, but so often young hard-throwing pitchers go down with season ending injuries.

I’m not saying that Montero will never get injured; there is no way to know that. It is easier to expect that he will have more durability though, especially if he plays a lot at designated hitter in his first couple of seasons. 

Bonus: Hector Noesi

Noesi is a young pitcher who already has a season of Major League experience under his belt and is expected to be a back-of-the-rotation starter with the Mariners. He is someone whom Yankees GM Brian Cashman really liked in New York and should continue to develop. In the Campo-for-Noesi portion of the deal, it seems that the Mariners have won.

This is a very good trade for the Mariners. It is also a pretty good trade for the Yankees. Both sides seem to have won, but we won’t really know until we see how both of these players pan out. For now though, the Mariners front office went out and made a move that proved they aren’t just sitting on their hands. They made a move that proved they are not afraid to disappoint some fans for the long-term improvement of the organization.

Of all the tough-luck trades the Mariners have made in the past five years, lets hope that the one that happened on Friday the 13th was the luckiest of all.

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It’s more than common knowledge by now that the Seattle Mariners‘ offense is severely lacking. In fact, Buster Olney commented that the Cleveland Browns are to the NFL what the Mariners are to baseball.

Ouch. 

There are a few key players that the M’s could add to their roster to bolster their offense. 

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In Seattle, the fans have been waiting to see if and when the Seattle Mariners would make some moves in response of the division-rival Angels‘ signing of Albert Pujols. 

Well, Seattle, the Mariners did sign two players—to minor league deals, with invites to spring training!

Guillermo Quiroz, a catcher, and Scott Patterson, a relief pitcher, will be in Arizona this spring, and in all likelihood, they will start the season in the minor leagues. Have you heard of these guys? Perhaps you’ve heard of Patterson, as he’s been in the minor leagues with the Mariners; and apparently Quiroz was a part of the system in 2006 and then again in 2009-10. 

Sorry to get your hopes up, Seattle, but this is an example of what Mariners fans are used to: signing 30-year-old players to minor league deals in hopes that somehow they will explode on the scene in Seattle and do the unthinkable.

Living in this area, every offseason I try to be the “glass half full” guy who believes the M’s may figure things out and make an acquisition that may impact the club right away to help them win. Or, if nothing else, sign a guy who shows their city and the fans that they’re trying to be relevant with the rest of the division.

Reality, though, is much different than what the fans are hoping. Seattle looks as though they are going to stay on the same course they have been on since that magical 2001 season, hoping for young talent to emerge on the big stage—sometime!

I feel sorry for the fan base in Seattle, one of the greatest in Major League Baseball. When Seattle is playing well, they will draw nearly 3.5 million fans to Safeco field and have one of the highest household television ratings in baseball. All of this has been going to waste over the last few years, and it doesn’t look to be getting better any time soon. 

Most of all, I feel bad for Jack Zduriencik, the general manager. I know he’s trying to do something big for the club, but ownership simply will not allow the money to be spent. Get ready to sit back for a long season again in 2012 Seattle!

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As the free-agent signing period gets underway the Mariners enter the marketplace as potential buyers in the midst of rebuilding with GM Jack Zduriencik leading the charge.

After another disappointing season, the Mariners currently have a few roster spots that could use a significant upgrade. 

Fortunately from a long-term perspective, the Mariners appear to have a solid stockpile of young pitchers, given the number of quality prospects currently within the organization that can some day join Felix Hernandez and Michael Pineda, as Baseball Prospectus via Larry Stone at the Seattle Times posted last week.

Until then, Jason Vargas, Charlie Furbush and Blake Beavan can fill the void while options like Jamie Moyer are available to help fill out the rotation if need be. 

But what the Mariners currently need and potentially lack down the road is hitting and speed.

The Mariners have prospects, but right now no one on par with where Dustin Ackley was this time last year. 

So from an offensive standpoint, what options do the M’s realistically have for 2012 and beyond?

Assuming the right side of the infield is set with Justin Smoak and Dustin Ackley, two outfield spots with Ichiro and Franklin Gutierrez and the catcher’s spot with Miguel Olivo, we are left with a whole lot of uncertainty on the left side of the diamond. 

At the hot corner, Alex Liddi, Kyle Seager and Chone Figgins all have major questions/issues, but it’s likely that one of them will be in the lineup opening day.

At shortstop, Brendan Ryan is a placeholder. SS Nick Franklin is still another year or two away, although based on his performance in the Arizona Fall League we might be seeing him sooner rather than later. 

Joe Sheehan at Sports Illustrated reports…

“At 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds, Franklin doesn’t look impressive until he starts playing baseball, and then he can look like the best player on the field. Franklin is a switch-hitter who I saw drive the ball, from the left side, to all parts of the park. Just as impressive was his defense, a combination of quickness, hands and arm that stands out in a league where defense is often sloppy. He could come very quickly for a Mariners team that needs help at many lineup spots.”

So that leaves left field and DH.

One of those spots probably will go to Mike Carp following his solid performance during the second half of the 2011 season, but the final spot in the lineup currently has few appealing in-house solutions from a short list that includes Casper Wells, Trayvon Robinson, Carlos Peguero and Michael Saunders.

While the free-agent market has some truly great players that would help the Mariners’ lineup next season, the likelihood of landing Albert Pujols, Jose Reyes or Prince Fielder is probably quite small given how much those players will cost to sign.

The Seattle Times’ Larry Stone discussed the budget issue specifically with Jack Z. this week…

“When you go to the big, big free agents, you’re not sure where it will end up, dollars wise,” Zduriencik said. “I’d say right now we have to lay out a lot of other options and see where it ends up. I do know the numbers will be pretty high. How high will it go? Everyone has a threshold. It’s an unknown at this point.”

Translation: “We will come to the table in good faith, but try to avoid losing our shirts.”

If we look past the high rollers, what other options are available?

In the outfield, players such as Grady Sizemore, Carlos Beltran, Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel and Josh Willingham are all free-agent options that the Mariners could consider, but it might be worthwhile to consider expanding the search geographically a bit.  

Jeff Passan at Yahoo Sports offered his take on the potential options available across the Pacific in a report last week focusing on Korean pitcher Suk-Min Yoon.  

Most of the other big names mentioned are pitchers, but one name the Mariners might want to consider is Yakult Swallows’ outfielder Norichika Aoki, who according to the Japan Times has his team’s agreement to begin the posting process, 

Historically position players outside of Ichiro and Hideki Matsui have had a poor track record playing in the States, as Tom Verducci at Sports Illustrated reported earlier this week in a profile on Yu Darvish. Verducci only offers brief mention of Aoki, stating “(Aoki) has drawn some comparisons to (Ichiro) Suzuki for his style of play, though he has not been that kind of impact player.”

It’s almost unfair to compare anyone to Ichiro, but at age 29 Aoki seems ready for a new challenge.

“My dream is not just to go over there to play, but it’s to perform strongly in the majors,” the three-time Central League batting champion said. “I’m ready to play for whatever team needs me, regardless of contract terms.”

Should the Mariners make an offer? 

When Aoki burst on the scene in Japan during his 2005 rookie year, comparisons to Ichiro seemed ridiculous if not a bit premature.

But over the next several seasons he made a strong case for himself statistically, hitting well over .300 each year while showing a solid mix of power and speed as the lone star for the cellar-dwelling Swallows. 

Yet this past season Aoki’s numbers fell well short of his career averages on several key metrics even while the Swallows made the playoffs.  On some level you can ignore/forgive the drop-off in power, as the NPB this season started using new baseballs, which led to a decline in homers across the league; however the drop for Aoki’s two main drawing cards of high average and speed are harder to comprehend. 

Even if you chalk up this past season as a statistical blip, it would seem that putting Aoki in a relatively young lineup along side an aging Ichiro might be a mistake.

Both Ichiro and Aoki will be looking to rebound from off-years with a strong desire to prove themselves, yet will likely do so facing intense media pressure from both sides of the Pacific following them from day one at spring training. 

As streak hitters the possibility of one if not both getting off to a slow start is a scary prospect. 

Having had the opportunity to watch Aoki play for several seasons in Japan, I find it hard to disagree with Tom Verducci’s initial assessment.  

However…quite often Aoki would press in trying to do too much on some truly terrible Swallows teams, especially after being inserted into the  No. 3 hole in the lineup a few years ago to help drive in some runs.

Watching him in the on-deck circle you got the impression he was carrying the weight of the world while swinging his donut-weighted bat knowing for a fact he was the only player in the entire lineup capable of hitting the ball past the infield grass, especially in the later innings.

He tried hard to adapt and hit for power, but he couldn’t do enough…no one could, especially with Aaron Guiel as your cleanup hitter. 

With all of the Mariners’ moves this offseason it comes down to pricing.

Right now the team doesn’t have anyone they can depend on at the top of the lineup long-term (knowing Ichiro cannot play forever) who can set the table and steal a base. In 2012 the Mariners do not need Aoki to field an entire team, but it might be worthwhile for them to place a bid for his services.

As for Aoki, asking him to fill Ichiro’s shoes is almost bordering on cruel. 

Ideally, he could be a difference-maker on a team in need of an outfielder required to do nothing more than hit singles and occasionally steal a base. Protected in a truly solid lineup, he could hit .300, steal 20+ bases and score 100 runs. Not quite an All-Star, but someone who can help push a .500 team to a wild-card or better playoff berth. 

In two years time, that could be the Mariners…       

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The Seattle Mariners rank ahead of only the San Francisco Giants in runs scored per game this season, and to move into third from last before the season ends is probably too tall a task. Dustin Ackley would need a .900 OPS, Justin Smoak would need to notch a 1.000ish figure.

As dire as the situation appears, though, things are getting better in Seattle. Ackley’s strong rookie showing has been a pleasant surprise. Kyle Seager has been well above average since being called up, as has Casper Wells since the trade that brought him over from Detroit. Trayvon Robinson, who the team inexplicably extracted from the Dodgers in a three-way trade at the end of July, has been roughly average since and shows real promise.

The Mariners are averaging roughly 3.75 runs per game on the season, but since ending their 17-game losing streak on July 27, that number has risen to 4.25. Wells was acquired July 26. Robinson arrived on July 31. Seager came up for good on August 2. Since then, the Mariners’ .736 team OPS ranks 19th in baseball.

A disclaimer: That middle-of-the-pack figure came largely courtesy of a .338 team average on balls in play, easily the highest in the league over that span. But then again, this is a BAbIP lineup. They are athletic, and most have some speed. At a scrawny 6’2″, Wells is the biggest man in the bunch. These guys succeed if, and only if, they can consistently make contact, and then make trouble for opponents with their athletic gifts.

Robinson, Ackley and Seager are not a bad crop of rookies. Ichiro Suzuki and Smoak still haven’t even hit this season, yet things are getting better. Smoak has been hurt, in fact, and though Mike Carp hit well in his absence, one has to figure that Smoak will be back and better than any replacement Seattle could readily muster. Another prospect general manager Jack Zduriencik seemingly conjured from air, Francisco Martinez (actually acquired in an apparently lopsided trade with Detroit) should be a part of the equation by the end of 2012 as well.

Nor has Zduriencik abandoned his commitment to defense in rehabilitating the lineup. The new guys are all adequate defenders. Wells is above-average in the corner outfield spots. Seager has been solid at third base, and surprisingly adequate at both middle infield spots in brief auditions. Robinson’s arm and sheer athleticism make him a high-ceiling defender.

Meanwhile, Seattle has retained A-plus defenders at two crucial positions in shortstop Brendan Ryan and center fielder Franklin Gutierrez. Both men are miserable hitters, but the same goes with the rest of Seattle’s lineup. Now that the others seem to be picking up some slack, it’s much easier to justify Ryan and Gutierrez as run-prevention stars.

It’s a long day living in the AL West these days, with the Texas Rangers already light years ahead and loaded in the farm system. The Angels may be hamstrung by some awful fiscal decisions, but Seattle could be stalled for a while if they try too hard to build the way they have this season. It may be time, then, to revisit the notion of trading Felix Hernandez.

There is no rush on that. In fact, the deal unequivocally ought not to happen in 2012. Once top draft pick Danny Hultzen establishes himself alongside Hernandez and Michael Pineda in the Seattle rotation, though, Zduriencik ought to at least explore a swap. Hernandez is a stud, but the Mariners have ridden his young arm way harder than is advisable, and anyway, he’s just one piece. If Seattle could extract two pieces equaling his value, one being a top-hitting prospect and one being a future mid-rotation starter, they would be wise to do so.

Building a winner in Seattle will be difficult, but the front office has taken major positive steps this year. If there is a market inefficiency in modern baseball, it is the industry-wide obsession with the next market inefficiency. Zduriencik wrestled that demon and lost, but he now has the chance to prove that run-prevention teams can win in pitchers’ parks. He just needs another slugger or two.

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Coming off a franchise-record 17-game losing streak that has essentially torpedoed the season, it was only a matter of time before the Seattle Mariners started trading from their position of strength:  starting pitching. 

We know they are not dealing Michael Pineda or Felix Hernandez (which I have been saying for awhile now), but the rest of their deep rotation is up for auction.

It appears that the Mariners have finally made a move, as SI’s Jon Heyman reported that the Mariners had traded Doug Fister and reliever David Pauley to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for outfielder Casper Wells and lefty Charlie Furbush.

I’ve felt bad for Fister this season, as the tall righty has pitched much better than his won-loss record would indicate. Fister has gone six or more innings in 18 of his 21 starts, ranking seventh in the AL in walk rate (1.97) and taking advantage of spacious Safeco Field to rank fourth in HR rate (0.43). He doesn’t strike out many hitters (just 89 Ks in 146 innings), so he needs a quality defense behind him in order to be an effective innings-eater.

Pauley has been Seattle’s most consistent reliever this season, but the converted starter is hardly a power arm coming out of the bullpen (5.63 K rate). Still, he has stranded runners at a very solid 81.5 percent rate thus far, which instantly puts him ahead of anybody in the Tigers’ bullpen.

Wells looks like the key to this trade for the Mariners. A righty hitter who has spent most of the year in rightfield, Wells has put up a .323/.451 line as a part-time player but has struggled to stay in the lineup on the veteran-laden Tigers. 

He immediately becomes a middle-of-the-order bat for the Mariners, though it is likely that his numbers will take a slight dip while playing at Safeco.  That said, he still has better hitting numbers this season than anybody in the Mariners’ lineup and should step in immediately in left.

Furbush is a hard-throwing lefty with control problems who should fit nicely into the Mariner bullpen.

This is a trade that can only help the Mariners in the future. Fister was a reliable but expendable back-end starter (which are not hard to develop at Safeco), and Wells is a serious upgrade to the Mariner lineup. Then again, the Mariners probably could have pulled somebody out of little league and had an upgrade to their lineup. But with that said, this looks like a win for Seattle.

UPDATE:  Larry Stone is reporting that third base prospect Francisco Martinez could also be a part of this deal. I don’t know much about Martinez, but he is a five-tool third baseman who rated fairly highly on Detroit’s prospect list.

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According to the latest reports, the Seattle Mariners‘ Doug Fister was dealt Saturday morning to the Detroit Tigers, in addition to reliever David Pauley.

In a tweet, Danny Knobler of CBSSports reported that a deal between the two teams was on the verge of completion, which would send Fister and Pauley to Detroit for outfielder Casper Wells, pitcher Charlie Furbush, third baseman Francisco Martinez, and a player to be named later.  

Okay, first, let me get this off my chest. No Fister or Furbush jokes (Casper is a funny name though).

The Tigers needed a starting pitcher badly and could’ve used another bullpen arm. What they got was a tall 27-year-old lefty in Fister with club control through 2015 with a 3.33 ERA and impeccable consistency.    

For the Mariners, a trade was imminent for one of their pitchers. With one of the league’s best rotations, it was a commodity that needed to be taken advantage of. And while the return was a bit light, it addressed some positions of concern.

The centerpiece of the prospect package is 26-year-old Casper Wells, who fills an immediate need in the outfield and can play all three outfield positions. With 206 at-bats in the majors in two seasons combined, Wells holds a .286 average with eight home runs and 29 RBI.

Wells is by no means a polished hitter and has his share of issues at the plate, but he provides decent pop and an average that if replicated, would instantly make him among the best hitters on the Mariners.

Casper “the friendly ghost” is a young player who should hang around the M’s as a part-time starter for the rest of the season.

The next part of the deal, you could see it as a bit of a swap. The Mariners dealt Pauley and got 25-year-old lefty Charlie Furbush in return. Furbush is currently a reliever and has a 3.62 ERA in 32.1 innings pitched, but with the potential to be a future starter.

The Tigers have even tried him as a starter where he performed respectably well, allowing three runs in 4.2 innings to the Angels and none in five innings to Boston.

The last part of the deal provided the Mariners some potential at third base with 20-year-old Francisco Martinez. Ranked as the No. 6 Tigers prospect but not expected to be up until 2013, Martinez is a speedster with a nice bat but questionable defensive skills.

In Double-A Erie, Martinez was hitting .282 with seven home runs and 46 RBI. The strategy going forward could be throwing Kyle Seager, Alex Liddi and Martinez against a wall and seeing who sticks.

For the Mariners, the prospect package wasn’t terrible but you would have liked to see them get a bit more in return. I’m excited about Casper Wells long term, though, and he should be in our lineup very soon.

“Mister Fister” will certainly be missed, but he gains the opportunity to go to a legitimately contending ball club that can improve his 3-13 record.    

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At a Seattle Mariners professional baseball game last night, we were parked in the garage between the football and baseball stadiums in Seattle.  This was a perk for the front-row tickets given my wife by supervisors for all her good work of the past few months.  No nose-bleeders for this group on this warm late-spring night! 

And no hiking tens of miles to the car following the game.  This time we would be the snooty royalty that annoys the masses of peons, and like snooty royalty, we would be parking across the street from the baseball stadium free of charge with the BMWs, Mercedes and exotic sports cars of the world.

Walking only a few yards to the car was really cool. 

But after the game, not getting out of the same parking garage for over an hour, gridlocked in non-moving vehicles just outside the stadium, sort of ruined the thrill of parking in the garage where they charge mere mortals up to $50.  

More disturbing, it became apparent that the traffic planners in our city were either crazy, or deliberately making traffic as bad as they could following typical sporting events.  It was almost as if they were making traffic worse—far worse than had there been no helpful, friendly Seattle police officers supervising traffic flow after games.

How do I know this? 

Because after waiting an hour in toxic fumes that could melt steel, I finally managed to escape the confines of the concrete garage, but was immediately ushered to the east side of Safeco Field where all vehicles did not move.  Nor could they move, because helpful, friendly Seattle police traffic officers were routing all 45,000 vehicles into the same one-lane alley south of the stadium. 

Ironic, because I sort of wanted to go north, and catch the freeway on-ramp that would take me north, that I could see…ever so close.

But the friendly, helpful police traffic officers were having none of that!  Nope, they insisted all traffic go south, right into a big gridlocked mess where nobody could move out of because other helpful police traffic officers were routing everyone where they should not be.   

So there we sat.  For a very long time.  Nobody moving and everybody getting extremely agitated.

Finally, the two-hour mark after the game hit, and like magic all the police officers hopped on their little parked motorcycles and sped away into the night, suddenly leaving all the gridlocked intersections unregulated. 

And once they did, within five minutes the traffic had completely cleared out. 

No more helpful traffic cops equaled no more gridlock.  Who would have thought?

At that point many of us, as we drove home, asked the important and profound question most citizens in Washington State have asked after sporting events: 

“Hey, if traffic is better without the friendly, helpful police regulation following games, perhaps the city is wasting its money by having each and every intersection littered with these fine, uniformed folks?”

Maybe a prudent plan would be to not spend the money for all these lovely traffic heroes, and instead let things be like they are during the rest of the week? 

Why not let traffic do what traffic does, without the “help”?

Once, several years ago, following another game in which this exact same thing happened, I emailed the beloved traffic commission chairperson and suggested this wonderful and intellectual idea. 

And just like the friendly, helpful police traffic officers at every corner last night, he eventually emailed me back with suggestions of various physical activities that I could do to myself. 

He also mentioned that people as stupid as me don’t realize that this was actually a huge traffic improvement.  “You idiot!”

See this is because the Seattle Police Department, in co-operation with the City of Seattle and various inept mayors, has carefully crafted a set of hiring guidelines for every single traffic planner.  Here’s how it goes:

Clause No. 1

If the applicant shows college education or traffic planning experience, that person will immediately be disqualified for employment consideration by the PGSTPC (Postgame Seattle Traffic Planning Commission).

Clause No. 2

If said applicant shows any natural talent for common-sense thinking, that person too, will immediately be disqualified for employment consideration by the PGSTPC.

Clause No. 3

Preferred applicants will normally be found in chimpanzee cages at the Woodland Park Zoo, or found sleeping under bridges in frigid temperatures.

Clause No. 4

Habitual inebriation for each traffic planner is a plus.  In fact, if said applicant arrives at job interview immediately after consuming a fifth of Jack Daniels straight up, that applicant will vault to the top of the stack and may be immediately hired and assigned to supervise all traffic planning for the day, before sobering up.

Contrary to what you might think, the goal of the PGSTPC is not to clear traffic out.  Nope.  The goal is to keep traffic confined in unmoving gridlock for as long as possible. 

Speculation persists that the local business community is behind this reasoning, insisting that the longer you stay in their neighborhood, the more crap you may buy.  Oh sure, most of those businesses are closed by the time the Mariners games are over, but…well, please see Clauses No. 1 through No. 4 if you are confused about this policy.

Also, within the traffic code is the north/south directional concept.  If said vehicle prefers to travel north (because your house is north of the stadium), each and every regulated traffic corridor will insist you go south.  For many miles too.  Conversely, if your house is situated to the south, then the very same traffic corridors will route you north in the opposite direction you wish to go, usually into gridlock and parked contraptions that cannot move.

Years and millions of dollars were spent on little, unknown GPS chips that police officers read from your vehicle as you approach, like they do for the toll bridges.  Particular effort is put into stringent requirements insisting the direction of your vehicle goes in the opposite direction that it should.   

Why? 

Because it’s fun for intoxicated traffic planners to see all the cars not moving for hours after a sporting event.

And don’t bother screaming at localized traffic cops on corners about all of this, because that will merely make them cranky.  They didn’t do the traffic plan, they merely enforce it.  In fact, when frustrated motorists yell at cops, frustrated motorists may soon find themselves charged with heinous crimes and strip-searched in public. 

What frustrated motorists can do, however, is write sarcastic articles like this one when they get home several weeks later, and then send them to every public official they can find. 

That’ll teach those jerks.

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The Seattle Mariners weren’t supposed to be two-and-a-half games out of first in the second week of June.

They were supposed to be in the cellar of the AL West, looking up at the A’s, Angels and defending AL champion Rangers.

But here they are on June 11th, two games over .500 and within striking distance of the Texas Rangers.

Here are five reasons why the Mariners strong start in 2011 is not a fluke.

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