Kuzul

The Mariners have the second overall pick in the draft. This means they can get almost any player they want.

The Pirates, on the hand, can literally get any player they want. While third baseman Anthony Rendon appears to be the consensus overall pick, the Pirates might find pitching a bigger need and go after Gerrit Cole.

We’ll see what the Pirates do, but the Mariners are sure to know who their second pick would be should their first fall off the board.

Here’s a look at the top 10 players that could help them. Although, I’d bank on the final three being the players Jack Zduriencik and his team scout want the most.

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Everything looked a bit different on Opening Day today as I watched the Mariners after six months of waiting. Maybe it was because of the new ROOT Sports look instead of FSN. Maybe it was all the changes the M’s had made to their team in the offseason.

Maybe it was the fact that we were missing Dave Niehaus and his sweet, sweet voice…I found my eyes misty as I watched the pre-game Opening Day introduction narrated by Niehaus.

Or maybe it was that the Mariners actually had some offense tonight (too soon?). Regardless, there were some positive signs to build from after tonight’s ball game.

The M’s stranded several runners early on, but showed great patience at the plate.

Oakland A’s starter Trevor Cahill lasted just 4 2/3 innings, throwing a whopping 105 pitches, as the Mariners hitters forced the ace to exit early and then capitalized on the weak bullpen.

“[Eric Wedge] was in the dugout telling us, ‘We’re knocking on the door. Keep going, keep grinding,’ ” Mariners DH Jack Cust said.

Chone Figgins showed a rare flash of power as he cranked a solo shot off reliever Craig Breslow in the sixth inning, putting the M’s ahead and matching his entire season home run total from last year.

After a Cust walk and a Justin Smoak double in the seventh, Oakland’s defensive play melted down and allowed the Mariners to score three easy runs to widen the lead to 6-2.

M’s batters walked a combined seven times, demonstrating outstanding patience and an ability to put up runs and make King Felix’s night much easier.

Speaking of Felix Hernandez (or should I say ‘Larry Bernandez’?), the ace picked up right where he left off after his Cy Young-winning campaign last season.

After an understandably shaky first inning in which he gave up a two-run shot to Josh Willingham, Felix settled down and retired 24 of the next 27 batters.

Felix was dominant, allowing just five hits in all nine innings of work. He had ‘just’ five strikeouts, but got 15 ground-ball outs as he forced the A’s into submission.

“If you talk about Opening Day, you can’t ask for much more than that,” Wedge said of Felix’s performance.

Overall, the offense showed the potential for productivity. Ichiro did what he needed to by getting on base and stealing his way into scoring position. Smoak showed some pop as he belted a double to initiate the three-run seventh inning.

Miguel Olivo contributed well to the offense, going 2 for 5 with an RBI and showing that maybe the catcher position won’t be the black hole offensively that it was last season.

On Saturday, the A’s and M’s square off again as Jason Vargas faces Brett Anderson at 6:05 PT.

Notes:

Ichiro is one hit shy of tying Edgar Martinez’s franchise record of 2,247 hits.

Felix Hernandez was the first Mariner to throw a complete game on Opening Day.

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Everything looked a bit different on Opening Day as I watched the Mariners after six months of waiting. Maybe it was because of the new ROOT Sports look instead of FSN. Maybe it was all the changes the M’s had made to their team in the offseason.

Maybe it was the fact that we were missing Dave Niehaus and his sweet, sweet voice—I found my eyes misty as I watched the pre-game Opening Day introduction narrated by Niehaus.

Or maybe it was that the Mariners actually had some offense. (Too soon?) Regardless, there were some positive signs to build off of after Friday night’s ball game.

The M’s stranded several runners early on, but showed great patience at the plate. Oakland A’s starter Trevor Cahill lasted just 4.2 innings, throwing a whopping 105 pitches as the Mariners hitters forced the ace to exit early and proceeded to capitalize on the weak bullpen.

“[Eric Wedge] was in the dugout telling us, ‘We’re knocking on the door. Keep going, keep grinding,'” Mariners DH Jack Cust told the Seattle Times.

Chone Figgins showed a rare flash of power as he cranked a solo shot off of reliever Craig Breslow in the sixth inning, putting the M’s ahead and matching his home run total last year.

After a Jack Cust walk and a Justin Smoak double in the seventh, Oakland’s defensive play melted down and allowed the Mariners to capitalize with three easy runs to widen the lead to 6-2.

On the night, M’s batters walked a combined seven times, demonstrating outstanding patience and an ability to put up runs and make King Felix’s night much easier.

Speaking of Felix Hernandez (or should I say “Larry Bernandez”), the ace picked up right where he left of after his Cy Young-winning campaign last season. After an understandably shaky first inning in which he gave up a two-run shot to Josh Willingham, Felix settled down and proceeded to retire 24 of the next 27 batters.

On the night, he was dominant, allowing just five hits in all nine innings of work. He had just five strikeouts, but got 15 ground-ball outs as he forced the A’s into submission.

“If you talk about Opening Day, you can’t ask for much more than that,” Wedge told the Associated Press.

Overall, the offense showed indications of potential for productivity. Ichiro did what he needed to by getting on base and stealing his way to scoring position. Justin Smoak showed some pop, as he belted a double in the seventh inning to initiate a three-run inning.

Miguel Olivo contributed well to the offense, going 2-for-5 with an RBI and showing that maybe the catcher position won’t be the black hole offensively that it was last season.

On Saturday, the A’s and M’s square off again as Jason Vargas faces against Brett Anderson at 6:05 PT.

Notes

Ichiro is one hit shy of tying Edgar Martinez’s franchise record of 2,247 hits.

Felix Hernandez was the first Mariner to throw a complete game on Opening Day.

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Going into opening day for the Athletics and the Mariners, most people were expecting a pitching duel between Felix Hernandez (13-12, 232 K’s, 2.72 ERA, Cy Young winner in 2010) and Trevor Cahilll (18-8, 118 K’s, 2.97 ERA). 

The first three innings didn’t exactly live up to these standards. Cahill was up to 65 pitches after three and the Mariners hitting was effectively working the count on him.  He looked a little shaky, throwing several pitches way out of the zone and walking in a run.

Felix looked a little more steady, even after letting up a two-run shot to one of Oakland’s newest players, Josh Willingham. He retired seven in a row after the minor foible. Before the game, Felix said that if he could work through the first inning without too much trouble, he would be able to lock in to his shut-down mode for several more innings.

The biggest factor for both pitchers, however, was defense.  Not to point the finger, but Kevin Kouzmanoff made several minor errors/bobbles that cost Cahill baserunners and converted to a run for the usually run-deprived Mariner offense.

The Mariners defense was much sturdier, as it should be, since fielding has always been a priority in choosing players. The guys in the infield, notably Brendan Ryan and Chone Figgins, definitely helped Felix keep his pitch count down and keep runners off the bases.

In the past, a focus on defense has been regarded as next-to-useless for a team struggling to rebuild, but it proved useful in this 2011 season opener.

In addition to wary fielding, Seattle looked very sharp at the plate—it took more than half of the pitches from Cahill. Eric Wedge must have said something in the clubhouse before the game and it payed off. Cahill ended up exiting the game after two outs in the fifth inning with 105 pitches, roughly 22 pitches per inning.

The Mariners biggest problem was stranding runners. While they did receive lots of help from Oakland’s pitching and defense in the form of walks and errors, they still failed to capitalize, leaving 11 on.

It wasn’t until the sixth inning that Felix received legitimate offensive support, but he appreciated it, nonetheless. Brendan Ryan ran the bases well, advancing on a sacrifice bunt from Jack Wilson and then a single from Ichiro. 

Notably, during Ichiro’s at bat, he tried to bunt with a runner on second. As the MLB Network commentators so eloquently put it: “He did one of those double things.” They were referring to two unusual circumstances occurring on the play: 1) Ichiro doesn’t often bunt because he can get on base by other means, and 2) there was only a man on second, with one out.  Regardless, Ichiro hit Ryan in, only to be caught stealing on a pickoff move.

Chone Figgins homered to left on the next pitch, making Ichiro and the rest of the dugout cringe at the loss of an insurance run. Even without Ichiro, Figgins’s homer set Felix up for the win, 3-2.

From there, things went downhill for the A’s. Several more errors and poor decisions led to three more runs, upping the score to 6-2. Hernandez was confounded, to say the least—he had no idea what to do with a four-run lead.

But the King proved himself a quick learner, taking his lead and running with it. Felix swept through the final three innings without any trouble.

The telling factors in this one were Oakland’s five errors, Seattle’s zero, Oakland taking a base on balls zero times and Seattle walking seven times.

Mariners fans have reason for optimism; King Felix looked strong (CG, no walks, five K’s and just 94 pitches), the defense was consistent (zero errors), and the offense was surprisingly effective (six runs?!), exhibiting both patience and power. 

Maybe, after all, the Mariners will be in contention for the AL West title.

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Every year the Mariners come out with a new set of five or six commercials in which they feature their most exciting players.  This year we got to meet Larry Bernandez and watch Ichiro hit tic-tacs.  The marketing team always comes up with something pretty clever.

Here’s a look at some of the best:

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Happy opening day!

The long winter is over. All of the speculation and talk can come to an end and baseball can once again be played on grass and dirt instead of paper.

Unlike the expectations of a season ago, these Mariners enter the 2011 campaign with low expectations. No one expects them to contend, and perhaps that will play in their favor. Not in that they’ll actually contend, but that they can relax and work to get better without a microscope on their every move.

I’ve had them penciled in for 70 wins as an official prediction, but that number will likely sway one way or the other depending on several factors that play out during the season. If they have several players have career years, maybe that number balloons closer to 80. If they have another season filled with under-performance, well, let’s not speculate on that.

One thing we can take from last season, if you’re into that whole glass-half-full mentality, is that things can’t get worse. With so many players having wretched seasons, you almost are forced to expect regression to the mean and improvement.

The chances of this team shocking the world are incredibly low. If they’re going to do it, though, these are the keys to achieving that success.

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The Seattle Mariners could have opted to keep Michael Pineda in the minor leagues to start the season, likely saving themselves millions of dollars (due to arbitration time). 

Instead the team opted to reward the 22-year-old righty after he dominated in spring training (2.12 ERA, 15 K, 6 BB over 17.0 innings) by naming him the fifth starter.

Finances aside, it really should have been an easy decision for the Mariners to make. 

Outside of Felix Hernandez (and perhaps Erik Bedard, though the chances of him staying healthy appear slim), it is not like the team is swamped with viable starting alternatives. 

Do the names Doug Fister, Luke French or Jason Vargas instill fear in many opposing hitters?

Pineda’s 2010 season was split between Double- and Triple-A, posting the following lines:

• Double-A: 2.22 ERA, 78 K, 17 BB over 77.0 IP

• Triple-A: 4.76 ERA, 76 K, 17 BB over 62.1 IP

Before we get too worked up about the “regression” at Triple-A, there are a few points to keep in mind: It was the Pacific Coast League, which, as we all know, is a notorious hitter’s league.  As a 21-year-old it wouldn’t be overly surprising to see him struggle getting his feet wet at that level.

You also have to take into consideration that his 4.76 ERA came despite a 1.14 WHIP, 11.0 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9.  In fact, his BABIP against him at the level was .312, a very believable number.  In other words, despite the ugly ERA, the other peripherals were sparkling and it was more poor luck than anything else. 

Obviously, the Mariners are likely to handle him with kid gloves throughout the season.  It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him have a few starts skipped, when the schedule allows it.  He also will likely be held to an innings limit, having thrown just 139.1 innings in 2010. 

It just gets magnified when you factor in a pair of stints on the DL in ’09 due to elbow strains.  The team is just not going to want to overwork him and risk his long-term potential.

I would imagine that 170-175 innings would be the limit, so those in head-to-head leagues will want to keep that in mind.  When your fantasy title is on the line, Pineda may very well be shut down.

However, there is no questioning his potential upside.  Baseball America, who ranked him as the Mariners’ No. 2 prospect prior to the season (behind Dustin Ackley), said the following: “Pineda has the size, stuff and control to pitch at the top of a rotation. He throws a crisp fastball that sits at 93-97 mph and gets as high as 101 with explosive life and occasional heavy sink.”

Yes, there are things to be worried about, but from a pure “stuff” perspective, there is no reason to be concerned.  Pineda has the potential to be a fantasy ace in short order and, outside of the shallowest of formats, should be considered a must-own option in all formats. 

However, I would proceed with caution in the early going.  His first start is scheduled for April 5 in Texas against a high-powered Rangers offense.  Rookie starters are always a tough play in their major league debut, and this setting just makes it even tougher.

Be cautious, but you should reap the benefits soon enough.

What are your thoughts on Pineda?  Would you play him in his major league debut?  What are you expecting from him in 2011?

Make sure to visit Rotoprofessor’s Live Chat today, April 1, at 2PM!  Click here to join the chat.

THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FEATURED ON WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM

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There’s not much to cheer about in Seattle, but they do have two of the most exciting players in baseball in Cy Young Award winner Felix Hernandez and Ichiro.

Just a year ago, the Mariners were a popular pick to win the AL West.  They acquired Cliff Lee during the offseason in a trade with Philadelphia, and acquired Chone Figgins as a free-agent.

Seattle started off slow and Cliff Lee didn’t pitch the first month of the season.  Lee was then traded for four prospects and the Mariners fluttered to 101 losses.

Throughout this article, you will see a number between 7-10 beside each player.  These numbers break the players up into essential categories; here’s a rough layout. 

10: Best player/pitcher in baseball

9-plus: Superstar, MVP/Cy Young Candidates

8-plus: Consistent All-Star

7.5: Periodical All-Star

7.25: Solid Starter

7: Average Player

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This is an insane column, folks. Why would the Seattle Mariners trade Felix Hernandez before the trade deadline? Why would they trade him ever?

To butcher a line from my good friend (never met the man) Allen Iverson, “Felix? We talkin’ ‘bout King Felix?”

I went to Arizona last year for spring training with a friend who was “in” with the Seattle brass. We were hooked up with game tickets, as well as being able to meet and mingle with the players, etc.

I got a really good look at Seattle’s pitching staff that year, and if somebody told me that they were going to trade Cliff Lee, I would have performed, right there on the spot, my best Iverson impersonation: “Lee? We talkin’ ‘bout Cliff Lee?”

I would have bet my bank account (good for about two trips to Bojangles—Bo-rounds one trip and seasoned fries the next; gotta mix things up a bit—and a nosebleed seat to a Bobcats game—I’m trying to embrace my new surroundings since my move from Los Angeles) the Mariners wouldn’t trade Lee.

Thankfully, I never made that bet because 1) I love Bo-rounds and B) the Mariners shipped Mr. Lee to the Texas Rangers for first baseman Justin Smoak, a couple of young pitchers and some other guy. The Rangers, incidentally, went on to play in the World Series. The Mariners did not.

You can look at this thing two ways. First, you can ask yourself how the Mariners could essentially make the same mistake two years in a row and thus conclude that writing about a King Felix trade is just an extreme waste of my time, or you can pitch your tent on the other side of camp, where the “well, they did it before, so I can see them doing it again” people reside. Where are you most comfortable?

In order to trade Hernandez, Seattle must believe it has some extremely pressing needs at the plate. Looking at last year’s Cliff Lee trade, we see that the Mariners definitely upgraded their bats and defense with Justin Smoak, a very promising young slugger.

You see, Seattle went into last season making a deep run in the playoffs without even playing a single inning. In addition to Cliff Lee, they acquired Chone Figgins at third base, Casey Kotchman at first base and Milton Bradley in the outfield. They were stacked to make a run for it.

Then Bradley self-destructed (big surprise there), Figgins essentially decided to take the year off but still collect his paycheck and Kotchman proved that there was a significant reason why the Red Sox only used him as a “just-in-case” man. All of these things made Seattle believe they needed to move Lee for some bats. What will make them believe that this year?

In taking a look at Seattle’s roster, not much impresses me. There is the ageless Ichiro Suzuki manning the outfield, Justin Smoak at first and then there is…well…you tell me. Miguel Olivo is a decent enough catcher, batting .318 with Colorado last season, but then again, Chone Figgins was good before his move to Seattle.

Unfortunately, the Mariners’ Gold Glove center fielder, Franklin Gutierrez, has a stomach illness that they’re unable to diagnose, and thus he’s listed third on the depth chart at his position. It seems that the Mariners have big bat concerns.

As for its starting pitching, Seattle has King Felix and not much else to write home about. At this point the question becomes, what can you do to improve your team overall, and does keeping Hernandez actually hurt you since he can’t singlehandedly take you to the playoffs?

I argue that they have to trade the man. He is worth so much in return, especially to teams that have a legitimate shot at the playoffs this year. Seattle has little else in the way of trade chips; in fact, it has nothing else. Holding on to Hernandez would be the wrong move for the Mariners.

I understand that the fans will have to wait several more years for their team to be contenders, but with last year’s trade blunders behind them, it is time to start anew.

If you believe that King Felix needs to be traded, then the “who will take him” problem comes into play. There are the usual suspects, led by the New York Yankees.

It seems that the Bronx Bombers aren’t exactly awesome on the mound this year—at least not as awesome as they would like to be. CC Sabathia is followed by Phil Hughes (promising but not an ace), A.J. Burnett (overpaid and underperforming), Ivan Nova (who?) and finally Freddy Garcia (everybody rejoice—he won his final spring training game, whoop-dee-doo).

The Yankees brass knows that rotation won’t hold up to a healthy Red Sox lineup with additions Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, and that is whom they’re fighting for a playoff berth.

The Yankees are very much the team to beat in the King Felix trade discussions. The Phillies will be making a playoff run but have no room for Hernandez. Tell me where you would place King Felix in a rotation with Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt and Joe Blanton.

On ESPN yesterday Curt Schilling projected the Milwaukee Brewers to win the NL Central, and he may be right. They are looking very strong at the plate. It isn’t inconceivable that they would make a run at King Felix. Hernandez would make a very nice addition to a rotation led by youngster Yovani Gallardo.

But whom would they give up for the best pitcher in baseball? If they were making a World Series run, they would still need Prince Fielder’s bat in their lineup along with the other Brew Crew starters. Maybe they have an unbelievable farm system that Seattle can raid in return; I don’t know.

The Boston Red Sox have no need for Hernandez. They are pitching Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, John Lackey, Clay Buchholz and Daisuke Matsuzaka. All are under long-term contracts, and all are pretty damn good.

Maybe the Cubbies or Mets would take a run at the King, but I don’t see them landing him.

My take on Seattle’s situation is grim. They won’t make the playoffs by keeping King Felix, and they won’t make the playoffs by trading him, at least not this year. I project that Seattle shops him around before the deadline and that Hernandez gets snatched up by the only team in Major League Baseball that has the money, prospects and current roster players to make such a deal: the New York Yankees.

The Yanks were spurned by Cliff Lee and are scared of the Red Sox additions. With the Baltimore Orioles adding a lot of pop to their batting order this offseason, the boys in pinstripes are staring third place in the AL East squarely in the face. King Felix could change all of that.

By the trade deadline I see the Yankees mortgaging the farm to acquire Felix Hernandez and the remainder of his five-year, $78 million contract. I also see Seattle being the better for it in a couple of years when the zillions of top-rated prospects that they’ll surely get in return finally showcase their abilities at Safeco Field.

Speaking of the Yankees and pitchers, here is a little trivia for you. The Yankees had a guy pitching for them at one point who was the winningest left-handed pitcher in baseball over a three-year span. The twist is that he wasn’t pitching for the Bronx Bombers when he held this distinction. Can you name the player and the years?

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The Seattle Mariner’s chronically underachieve, and last year was certianly no different.

However, when you look at back at their lineup on Opening Day and see Casey Kotchman, Jack Wilson, Rob Johnson and Jose Lopez pencilied in, you can realize why this team failed in historic fashion. The 2010 Mariners scored the fewest runs in the American League since the designated hitter was introduced.

I cannot recall how many times I wish the M’s had just batted the pitcher ninth so that we could just assume there would be an out, rather than hope the likes of Milton Bradley, Ken Griffey Jr. or Mike Sweeney would get a hit, and promptly strike out.

The projected Opening Day Starters:

* Denotes new acquisition, all stats are from 2010

(C) Miguel Olivo* .269/.315/.449, 14 HR, 58 RBI

(1B) Justin Smoak .218/.307/.371, 13 HR, 48 RB

(2B) Jack Wilson .249/.282/.316, 0 HR,14 RBI (61 games)

(SS) Brendan Ryan* .223/.279/.294, 2 HR, 36 RBI

(3B) Chone Figgins .259/.340/.306, 1 HR, 35 RBI, 42 SB

(RF) Ichiro Suzuki .315/.359/.394, 6 HR, 43 RBI, 42 SB

(CF) Franklin Gutierrez .245/.303/.363, 12 HR, 64 RBI, 25 SB

(LF) Michael Saunders .211/.295/.367, 10 HR, 33 RBI 

(DH) Jack Cust* .272/.395/.438, 13 HR, 52 RBI

New Acquisition’s Miguel Olivio and Jack Cust will bring some much needed pop to the offense. M’s fans will try to forget Olivo’s former stint with the M’s in which the Catcher hit a paltry .151 in 54 games played with Seattle in 2005. Olivo’s splits were pretty drastic, as is to be expected with most players while playing in Colorado. At Home: .318/.349/.556 while on the Road: .211/.276/.322. Olivo has hit 12 or more HR’s in five straight season, including a career high 23 in 2009 as a member of the Kansas City Royals.

Cust’s HR totals were down after years of 26, 33 & 25 HRs:Cust hit only 13 HR’s in 2010 with the Oakland Athletics. Cust’s average jumped nearly 30 points from his career average, yet he continues to struggle against left-handed pitching, hitting only .222 last year vs. southpaws while hitting .285 against righties. Cust will be the everyday DH, and I would be surprised to see him in the field at all for the Mariners. It’s likely that he even showed up to spring training without a glove.

Justin Smoak is the player the M’s are counting on the most to help their anemic offense as he provides a middle of the order bat and can hit from both sides of the plate. Smoak rose steadily up the Rangers minor league system and has had only 625 AB’s in the minors all together. Upon being traded to the Mariners in the Cliff Lee deal, Smoak struggled mightily and was sent down to AAA Tacoma to work out some small mechanical issues with this swing. Upon returning in September, Smoak mashed with five HRs and a .340 average in the team’s last 14 games.

Jack Wilson returns after an injury-plagued season and moves over to second base as newcomer Brendan Ryan takes over at shortstop. Ryan’s bat will do nothing to help the Mariners offense, but the defense up the middle for the Mariners may be the best in baseball if Wilson stays healthy.

Chone Figgins returns to his natural position of third base and hopes to put last year behind him. Figgins hit a career worst .259 for the M’s as he fought to hit above the Mendoza line until early June. Despite his inability to hit, Figgins still managed to cause some trouble on the basepaths as he swiped 42 bases.   

As always, the reliable Ichiro once again had over 200 hits for the 10th straight season and continues to dazzle in the outfield. Franklin Gutierrez won his first career Gold Glove last year despite his defense not being as dominant statistically as it was the year before. Gutierrez also struggled at the plate (which was the theme for all Mariners in 2010) after getting off to a torrid start in April. “Guti” battled some digestion system issues and was thought to have put them in the past with a new diet and exercise but the issues have flared up again during spring training. It is unknown as of now if Guti will start the season on the DL or if his ailments will subside.

In left field, Michael Saunders will get the nod to start and play as a regular with the options of Milton Bradley playing LF once or twice a week if needed. Bradley doesn’t seem to have the legs to play the field on a regular basis anymore, and the M’s seem more interested in seeing if young Saunders is their LF of the future, over seeing how much they can get out of Bradley before another angry tirade.

While the Mariners offense shall most likely remain in the bottom third of the American League, there is room for hope as 2B prospect Dustin Ackley will likely make his major league debut in June. Ackley hits for an above average with a ceiling of probably 20-25 HR’s. Ackley, the former No. 2 overall pick, hits the ball hard to all areas of the field and should improve the Mariners offensive outlook in the years to come. SS Nick Franklin may make a September call-up, but Franklin, after only playing A ball last year, will likely remain in the minors throughout most of the year and possibly until June/July 2012.

Due to their lack of offensive production, look for the Mariners to once again battle for the right to get out of the cellar of the AL West. Despite the Angels trading Mike Napoli for Vernon Wells, which MLB The Show 10 wouldn’t even let me do, the Mariners will likely remain the doormat of the division and finish in last place for a second straight year. However, as spring begins along with a new season, Mariner’s fans have room to believe there is hope towards the future, as opposed to last years historic ineptitude on offense.

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