Seattle Mariners

During their primes Barry Bonds and Ken Griffey, Jr. were the two greatest hitters of their era. Both second generation ballplayers, having famous fathers who had enjoyed their own successful careers, Bonds and Griffey were lifelong acquaintances that had similar career paths, and comparable numbers through their prime.

While their paths to Major League Baseball were similar, their legacies would wind up very different.

Seattle Mariners (2010 record: 61-101)

Many pundits believed the Mariners could win the American League West last season—I am numbered among those people. The joke was on us.

Instead of making a run at the Angels and the Rangers, the Mariners turned in one of the more disappointing efforts in major league history, going 61-101.

Felix Hernandez in pinstripes is something that a lot of people still see as a possibility, even as early as this season.

A lot has been ballyhooed about the reigning Cy Young's status with the Mariners, his no-trade clause and whether or not the Mariners should consider shipping off their ace for a true king's ransom.

The Mariners were bad in 2010. There's no getting around that. The real worry here, is how do we get better?

We get better with trades. What do you need for trades? Prospects.

We get better with new talent. What is another word for new talent? Prospects.

It's all simple math, really. Here, I'll try to lay out some of those prospects that could serve a purpose in the Mariners getting over that 61-win mark.

Let me start by getting this out of the way: Despite the rumors, I don't think the Mariners are going to trade Felix Hernandez anytime soon.

Hernandez is the best pitcher in the American League and he's signed through 2014 at a rate that is reasonable for a player of his caliber. 

The Mariners are a well-supported team that is regularly in the top half of the league in team payroll and has no apparent need to cut salary.  There are no Mets-style financial problems here.

There were those that believed the Seattle Mariners had enough talent to win the American League West last year, but instead, the team turned in one of the more disappointing years in franchise history.

If you're into listening to people in the know, such as scouts, coaches, front office guys and other players, you'd be led to believe that Michael Pineda could be pretty special.

Of course, all you have to do is see his mammoth size and ability and you can draw the conclusion all on your own.

There are good reasons for the Mariners to bring Pineda up now, but there appear to be good reasons not to as well.

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162-0. 

I still believe. We all still believe at this point.

As the MLB season draws near, the amount of belief you have in your team may begin to shrink, especially for a team like the Mariners, who only managed 61 wins last year.

But it's spring training, and it's a time for hope, a time for speculation and a time to make predictions that will inevitably be proved wrong.

That's where I come in. Without further ado, here is the lineup I believe the Mariners will roll out on April 1st in Oakland for the first of their 162 wins.

As the persistent Arizona sun beats down on the backs of the 2011 Seattle Mariners, the biggest question in the minds of fans—besides "when oh when will we be relevant again­?"—is when Dustin Ackley will be ready for the Show. 

The Mariners’ offseason middle infield moves say a great deal about the timetable for their biggest prospect since King Felix matriculated.

For the first time since Richard Nixon was president, no big league team will break spring training camp with a Ken Griffey on its roster—Senior or Junior.

Every April from 1974 through 2010, there was a Ken Griffey in the majors. First it was the original Griffey—Senior—who broke into the bigs with the Cincinnati Reds and who kept playing until his baby boy grew up and was old enough to be his teammate with the Seattle Mariners in 1990.