Seattle Mariners

If Seattle had a sports-themed amusement park, the roller coaster ride would probably be called the “Moose-a-lini”, “Marinator”, or “M’s-Sir-Mount-able”.

For some, a roller coaster is a frightening event.

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.

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A quick group "Aww" for that picture.

Awwwwwwwww!!!

Anyway, the term "Moneyball" was coined by Michael Lewis in his book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game .

The book is mainly about the Oakland Athletics' revolutionary (at the time) idea of using sabermetics to construct a competitive baseball team in spite of their payroll disadvantages.

Franklin Gutierrez stepped it up last year, hitting .283 with 85 runs, 18 HRs, 70 RBI, and 16 SBs.

He turned 27 yesterday, so continued progression is likely.

However, I’m not sure he has a 20/20 season in his future.

The bulk of his stolen bases—seven, to be exact—came when he was hitting out of the two-hole. Newly acquired Chone Figgins figures to occupy that spot in the order, meaning Gutierrez will hit fifth.

He hit nearly half (eight) of his HRs in the fifth slot (in 21.9 percent of his ABs). He only stole two bases there though.

As a Mariners fan, I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't slightly apprehensive about the arrival of new outfielder Milton Bradley this year.

Along with other new arrivals such as Cliff Lee (starting RHP), Chone Figgins (1B), and a few other capable contributors, Bradley (who I'll now refer to as MB) comes with all the tools to help boost the M's into October this year. 

But he also brings with him quite a bit of baggage—a hot temper and what seems to be a distaste for authority figures (in which umpires and some managers might qualify). 

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?

I’ve seen multiple places rank David Aardsma as a Top 20 relief pitcher heading into 2010.  Some even have him ranked as a Top 15, borderline Top 10 option.  I have to wonder, why?  Are we talking about the same pitcher here?

I know, he was fantastic in 2010, just look at his line:

3 Wins
71.1 Innings
2.52 ERA
1.16 WHIP
80 Strikeouts (10.09 K/9)
34 Walks (4.29 BB/9)
.271 BABIP

After the 2008 season, the Mariners fired GM Bill Bavasi and hired Jack Zduriencik.

Led by GM Jack Zduriencik, the Mariners made bold moves over the last couple of years to make them the favorite to win the AL West in 2010.

This is a look at the seven best moves JZ has orchestrated.

Feel free to agree or disagree in the comments section.

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