Erik Bedard

Sometimes, I think that my punishment in life for all the bad things I've done, and will do in the future, is being a devoted Seattle Mariners fan.

It's not an easy life, and one that takes a certain kind of person to fully commit to it.

We must be masochists. The constant pain and despair that my team has brought me over my 23 years on this earth is enough to drive a man straight into the arms of a bottle of Jack Daniels.

I know there are other fan bases out there with similar, or even harder, teams to root for.

There were many baseball fans, myself included, who thought that the Mariner's were the real day. Who wouldn't? They showed vast improvements in 2009 and they made a bunch of moves to get even better. The fact that the Angels looked pretty weak only help the Mariners' chances. Oh were we wrong.

This team can't hit, can't score, and can't hit home runs. It doesn't even matter that they can't hit home runs because there's no one on the stadium to catch them.

What I’m Reading

• Get ready for some comic mischief and summer-hijinks – and all of it outdoors! What I’m trying to say here is that the Twins are planning on using a closer-by-committee strategy in Joe Nathan’s absence.

The Mariners traded for Cliff Lee and signed Felix Hernandez to solidify the top of their rotation, but the back end of the rotation was still a glaring weakness that has many questioning how good the M’s could be.

After a couple weeks of spring training, not only have the questions not been answered, but more questions are piling up.

After years of taking a backseat to the Angels, it is time for the Mariners to step up and take back control of the AL West.

The team had potential last year, but not exactly enough to get ahead of the Angels or the Rangers.

Trust me, this season will be different.

My last article looked at the Oakland Athletics' rotation. I gave their group a B+overall.

Finally, the last team in my tour of the AL West rotations is the Seattle Mariners.

At the end of this article, I'll compare the Mariners to the A's, Angels, and Rangers, and see who has the best rotation.

I'll be posting a wrap-up article to this series hopefully later today, analyzing strengths and weaknesses of each rotation in relation to each other.

Begin Slideshow

Pitchers and catchers have reported to Spring Training and opening day is just around the corner!

In Arizona, Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee have the baseball world abuzz with anticipation of the impact they can make on the landscape of Seattle baseball.

Will they answer the call to arms with a team monopoly in the pursuit of the American League Cy Young Award?

The Ace List

The Minnesota Twins came into this offseason with three major goals:

1) Sign Joe Mauer to an extension
2) Improve the infield
3) Add at least one veteran arm to the rotation

General manager Bill Smith got off to a quick start on his offseason “to do list” by acquiring shortstop J.J.

Almost four years ago, the Seattle Mariners signed left hander Jarrod Washburn to a four-year, $37.5 million contract. For the first three years, he posted 31-43 record with ERA never under 4.32, WHIP always over 1.35.

Every Mariner fans thought Washburn signing was another horrible mistake made by former GM Bill Bavasi.