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Mired in a hole of one poor transaction after another, the Seattle Mariners are nine years removed from their last playoff berth.

They have struggled with upper level management, found it difficult to find perennial stars in the lineup, and haven’t been able to solidify their rotation.

Much of these struggles can be amplified by a series of questionable moves that the franchise has made in recent memory, because there are quite a few of them.

For a team looking to ultimately contend in the AL West for the the first time in much too long, they must stray away from the bad moves of the past.

The team must not dwell on the struggles, but the Mariners organization must avoid making the same mistakes twice, again.

Here are the 10 worst moves made by the Seattle Mariners over the course of the last decade.

Begin Slideshow

On Thursday night, the Seattle Mariners lost to the New York Yankees, 3-1. This is hardly newsworthy, as the Yankees are a far better team than the Mariners.

However, prior to the Mariners’ loss against the Yankees, they were swept, at home, by the…Kansas City Royals.

Currently, the Mariners sit 16 games out of first place in the AL West. Save for Ichiro, every single player on the Mariners is vastly underachieving.

Chone Figgins, .287 lifetime batting average, is hitting .235 on the year. David Aardsma, 38 saves and four blown saves last year, has only 16 saves this year and has blown four saves already. Jose Lopez, .272 batting average, 25 home runs, and 96 runs batted in last year, is hitting .242 with five home runs and 32 runs batted in this year. I could keep going and going with useless stats.

So, what do we do?

Well, we’ve got some options. Let’s start with the man most talked about, Cliff Lee.

When the Mariners do finally trade Cliff Lee, here is what I’d see in return: AAA players who are ripping the cover off the ball, or a young guy in his first or second year in the majors who has an unbelievably high ceiling. Maybe this is just me, but I don’t want any guys from Single-A or Double-A ball who are going to take three to four years to get to the Majors. I want guys who are going to contribute in 2011.

Bring up Michael Pineda. This kid has been lighting it up. His line for the year so far is a record of 10-1, 2.25 ERA, and 104 strikeouts in 96 innings, and batters are only hitting .216 against him. Let’s find out what he can do against MLB clubs. 

Trade Jose Lopez. He cannot play defense, and he has absolutely no strike zone. Case in point, on Thursday’s game, Lopez went 0-for-4 and saw SIX PITCHES! The Mariners have a guy named Dustin Ackley down in Double-A who they picked second in last’s year draft. I’m sure the Mariners can get something from him, although it doesn’t really need to be much.

Most importantly, tell Cliff Lee, Felix Hernandez, Ryan Rowland-Smith, Jason Vargas, and Doug Fister that the only way they are going to win is if they pitch a complete-game shutout, because this is the worst offense I have ever seen.

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Fantasy Baseball’s Pitching Line of the Week

Felix Hernandez (SP-SEA): 9 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 11 K, W

Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners pitched a complete game two-hitter in the Bronx this Wednesday in what was his best start of the 2010 season to date.

He fanned every starter on the Yankees roster with the exception of first half MVP candidate Robinson Cano. Additionally, Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, and Alex Rodriguez each struck out twice against King Felix. 

This outing was Hernandez’s third straight game pitching at least nine innings and third complete game of the season. Roy Halladay is the only pitcher in Major League Baseball who has eaten more innings than the King thus far in 2010.

Felix Hernandez was originally signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2002 out of Valencia, Venezuela. After tearing his way through Minor League Baseball, he debuted for the Mariners on Aug. 4, 2005 at the age of 19.

In 2009, Hernandez’s brightest season, Felix earned 17 wins, 200-plus strikeouts, and a trip to the MLB All-Star Game. Moreover, Felix finished second in the American League Cy Young voting and was rewarded handsomely with a five-year, $78 million contract.

Since his debut, Hernandez has won more than 10 games in three of his four full seasons in the bigs and is on pace to do so again in 2010. A career 8.17 K/9 pitcher, King Felix’s repertoire includes a fastball, changeup, curveball, and slider. These tools have Hernandez on pace to surpass his career high for strikeouts in a season (217 in 2009). 

Notable Achievements

Named No. 1 pitcher prospect by Baseball America (2005)

Hit a grand slam off Johan Santana in his only plate appearance in 2008

Pitched for his native Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic (2009)

Named to the American League All-Star team (2009)

Finished second to Zack Greinke for the American League Cy Young Award (2009)

Felix made history on June 3, 2010 when he struck out four Minnesota Twins in the eighth inning.

Felix Hernandez is currently owned in 98 percent of Y! leagues. 

The “Double Dipper” is a starting pitcher who will get two starts in the same week. Each Sunday we will preview the top three options in each league and highlight streaming options for players owned in less than 50 percent of Y! leagues.

The No-Brainers in the NL

Roy Halladay, PHI (@SD, vs. SF): Until he gives you a reason not to.

Mike Pelfrey, NYM (vs. CIN, vs. ATL): He’s 10-2 and has a save!

Jonathan Sanchez, SFG (@ MIL, @ WAS): Despite being just 6-6, he’s rockin’ decent ratios and a .211 BAA.

The No-Brainers in the AL

CC Sabathia, NYY (@ OAK, @ SEA): 6-0 in last six starts. 

Felix Hernandez, SEA (vs. KC, vs. NYY): See the King’s profile above.

Jered Weaver, LAA (@ CHW, @ OAK): 10.27 K/9, leads MLB in K’s.

Warning: Streaming can be lethal. The following are owned in less than 50 percent of Y! leagues.

John Ely, LAD (vs. FLA, vs. CHC): Only two earned runs in last two.

Justin Masterson, CLE (@ TEX, @ TB): One ER, 5:0 K:BB, and glimpses of the “breakout” we’ve been waiting for last outing vs. Toronto.

Madison Bumgarner, SFG (@ MIL, @ WAS): MadBum gets the nod on the road versus two mediocre offenses despite his 0-2 start.

Erik Bedard, SEA (vs. KC, vs. NYY): First start in a year, but it’s the Royals! His second start depends on if his labrum is intact following Tuesday’s trip.

Vicente Padilla, LAD (vs. FLA, vs. CHC): Just because his looks intimidate you enough to start him twice.

Don’t Touch ‘Em

Aaron Laffey, Jesse Litsch, Jeff Suppan, Kevin Slowey

Week 14 One-Start Stars Owned in 50 Percent or Less

Livan Hernandez, WAS, 42 percent Y! – Wednesday vs. SD (Jon Garland) – ERA under three.

Tommy Hunter, TEX, 24 percent Y! – Thursday vs. BAL (Jeremy Guthrie) – 5-0, 1.98 ERA.

Tim Wakefield, BOS, four percent Y! – Wednesday @ TB (David Price) – Will the success in TB continue?

Who will win the pitching duel of the week: Stephen Strasburg or Matt Cain?

Who will be the best Two-Start Pitcher owned in 50 percent or less in week 14?

Leave a comment, or reply to us on Twitter

Twitter.com/thefantasyfix

Written by Alan Harrison exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com.

If you liked this article, you’ll go bananas over these fantasy baseball articles:

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Thumbs Down! Jason Heyward to the DL: Filling The Void On Your Fantasy Team

Filling The Void: Dustin Pedroia

Edinson Volquez Eyes July Return

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When I was growing up in the ’90s, there was one guy who every young baseball player wished he could be: Ken Griffey Jr.

He made baseball more exciting than anyone else in the game and kept my short attention span focused on a slow-paced sport.

I remember playing wiffle ball in my backyard, imitating Griffey’s swing, even though I was right-handed—that smooth left-handed swing with the one-handed follow-through, the prettiest swing in the history of baseball.

The way the guy played the game was amazing. He really was the first baseball player in his era to make the sport cool for a younger audience—an audience that had options to follow other action-packed sports. Griffey brought the action to baseball, steering the younger crowd towards the great sport of baseball.

I know this was the case, because I grew up in a time when football was emerging as the most popular sport in America. The one thing that kept me glued to baseball was the excitement that Griffey brought to the ballpark every night.

When Griffey would participate in the home run derby every year, everyone watched. He was the coolest cat out there with his backwards hat. He brought a certain swagger to a sport that had been lacking an attractive attitude for younger fans.

I wasn’t a Mariners fan, but Griffey was one of my favorite players. If it wasn’t for him, I might not be following the New York Mets the way I do today. He is the reason that I grew up with baseball.

If he never got hurt, there is no doubt in my mind that he would have broken the home run record and would have gone down as one of the statistically great players ever. 

We all know how important statistics are to baseball purists, so those of you that are statistically driven, don’t read this next part. 

I don’t care what the stats say—Ken Griffey Jr. was the greatest ever to play the game.

There was never anyone to play center field the way he did, and there weren’t many that were as physically gifted. If you just watched the way Griffey played the game, you didn’t need to look at statistics to know that he was the greatest outfielder ever. Based solely on the eyeball test, Griffey is the greatest ever.

The overall production of his career will land him in the Baseball Hall of Fame, without a doubt. But those numbers don’t do justice to what he brought to the sport every day.

And we all know the greatest baseball video game ever is Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr.

I could just keep going on about Griffey’s contributions to the sport, but as a journalist for a college newspaper, I feel that I am not worthy of commemorating a player such as him.

Major League Baseball is in a hangover right now; the sport is decreasing in popularity, whether it be due to the steroid era or the dominance of the NFL. If you go to baseball stadiums nowadays, you rarely see a sold-out crowd, and the TV ratings are down.

Baseball needs another Ken Griffey Jr. to step up and make it exciting again, for the future of the game. However, I don’t know if there’s a player like that right now. Albert Pujols is putting up inhuman numbers, and because of his stats he will go down as one of the greatest ever, but he’s nothing like Griffey.

Baseball needs someone to make the game cool again.

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By Eric Denton – LA Angels Insider.com

I must confess—I bought into the hype this offseason.

The Seattle Mariners, coming off an 85-win 2009 season, made some serious moves in the winter.

They traded for one of the best starting pitchers in baseball in Cliff Lee, giving them one of the more formidable one-two punches along with blooming superstar Felix Hernandez.

Seattle also signed the best free-agent third baseman on the market, the Angels’ Chone Figgins. Not only would Ichiro and Figgins be dangerous batting one-two in the Mariner order, they also hurt the AL West champion Angels by taking their offensive catalyst.

Seattle’s one confusing move was the acquisition of controversial outfielder Milton Bradley, but even Bradley has a track record of behaving well every other year, so maybe the M’s would get the good Milton.

Adding Bradley and Figgins to a lineup consisting of one of the best players in all of MLB, Ichiro Suzuki, up-and-coming center fielder Franklin Gutierrez, along with second baseman Jose Lopez, who at 25 years old had just put up his biggest offensive season with 25 HR and 96 RBI: what wasn’t to like?

Seattle had great defense and enough offense to back up the league’s best pitching staff from 2009. The only real loss the Mariners took was losing slugging first baseman Russell Branyan to the Indians and replacing him with another former Angel, Casey Kotchman.

I was totally convinced it would be the Mariners and not the Angels who would win the AL West. I proclaimed it boldly on a couple appearances on AM830’s “The Drive” with Jeff Biggs and Jason Brennan.

While I can’t say my early concerns about the Angels have come to pass, my choice of the Mariners, like the team, is a complete disaster.

Chone Figgins has been a complete bust in the early months of his new four-year contract. Figgy is hitting just .194 with a .308 OBP and only has nine stolen bases along with three caught stealing.

Jose Lopez became such a liability defensively at second base they had to move him to third to hide him. Seattle signed Figgins, who arguably could have won a Gold Glove at third, and had to move him to second, a position he never played with regularity in Anaheim, because of Lopez’s poor defense. Lopez also has been terrible at the plate, hitting only .214 with one HR.

As for the other new additions, Milton Bradley had a well-publicized meltdown and left the team to deal with stress-related issues. He’s hitting .237 with three HR. Casey Kotchman got off to a fast start and then fell off the face of the Earth. He’s under .200 like Figgins—.190, three HR, and 18 RBI, which I believe were all produced within the first couple weeks of 2010.

Seattle icon Ken Griffey Jr. is a shell of his former self and went through his own controversy when it was reported he allegedly fell asleep in the clubhouse. Cliff Lee started the year on the disabled list, and Felix Hernandez hasn’t found his 2009 form.

Overall, the Mariners still have a very good pitching staff (team ERA 3.75) but, outside of Ichiro, Gutierrez, and the resurgent 36-year-old DH Mike Sweeney, the Mariners are a disgrace: 18-28, 7.5 games back before their weekend series against the Angels.

Unlike the Angels, who have shown some flashes of being a competitor, the Mariners, preseason darlings of most followers of Major League Baseball, were dead on arrival.

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Turning the Tide

Less than three weeks ago, the Seattle Mariners were in a proverbial free fall. The Mariners dropped consecutive series at Oakland and Texas to start the season and lost the home opener to Oakland to open a nine-game home stand.

Sitting at 2-6, the Seattle Mariners were down, but not out. Many fans wondered, however, if the Mariners’ 2010 season had died in early April.

Now three weeks later, the Seattle Mariners have proverbially gotten back on their feet. Since the 2-6 start, the Mariners have won series against Oakland, Detroit, and Kansas City and completed a three-game sweep against the Baltimore Orioles. Despite falling victim to a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox, the Mariners now sit on an 11-11 record near the end of April.

Had you talked to any Mariners fan after the home-opening loss against Oakland, in which the Mariners offense managed to produce just two hits, they would been ecstatic at the potential of an 11-11 record. After all, the prospects at that time were far worse.

After the home opener, Cliff Lee was both injured and facing a pending suspension, Ichiro Suzuki and Chone Figgins were a combined 14-for-59 (.237), and cleanup hitter Milton Bradley was a preposterous 1-for-22 on the season (.045).

Since that loss to Oakland, however, the Mariners’ fortunes have changed. Lee progressed through rehab in time to make an April return, Ichiro is 22-for-55 (.400) over the last 13 games, and Bradley is 10-for-31 (.323) over the last 15 games, slugging .452 in that stretch.

Of course, several other players have factored into the Mariners’ success. The starting pitching has been markedly better, surprisingly led by Doug Fister, and Franklin Gutierrez and Casey Kotchman have been phenomenal so far this season.

The Upcoming Series and Its Implications for the Seattle Mariners 

Having reversed a downward spiral from the first few weeks, the Seattle Mariners now enter what could turn out to be the most important series of the 2010 series.

At 11-11, the Mariners sit a half game back of co-division leaders Texas and Oakland. This weekend, the Mariners have a chance to jump the Texas Rangers, and with a little help, they could jump the Oakland Athletics as well. It’s worth noting that the A’s have cooled off substantially over the past few weeks, dropping seven of their last 10 games.

Aside from division standings, this game also marks the season debut of heralded free agent acquisition and former Cy Young winner Cliff Lee. As previously mentioned, Lee’s 2010 season has faced numerous obstacles, but he is prepared to make his season debut tonight in the pitcher-friendly confines of Safeco Field.

The Mariners have their best arms guiding them in the upcoming series. Lee takes the mound tonight, Felix Hernandez is on the hill tomorrow, and Fister, who is 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA over his last three starts, is scheduled to pitch on Sunday.

The Texas Rangers, meanwhile, have recently faced a series of obstacles. Within the past week the Rangers optioned 1B Chris Davis to Triple-A Oklahoma City, placed All-Star OF Nelson Cruz, who was top-five in the American League in home runs, runs batted in, and slugging percentage, on the disabled list, and watched RP Neftali Feliz throw four innings to earn a 13.50 ERA, a loss, and a blown save.

On a positive note for the Rangers, All-Star 2B Ian Kinsler returns from the disabled list this weekend. He returns from an ankle sprain suffered in spring training, however, and skeptics have questioned whether he is ready to play at full strength.

With a division up for grabs, a division rival in town, and the debut of the much-anticipated Lee-Hernandez pitching duo, the upcoming series against the Texas Rangers may provide a glimpse into the Mariners’ 2010 chance of success.

Yes, it is only one series, but this series has implications that could stick with the Seattle Mariners for the rest of the season—for better or worse.

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