Seattle Mariners

I love the Seattle Mariners.

In 2005, I moved to Los Angeles and began doing some work as a script consultant and worked for an independent production company in Hollywood.

I was sad to leave because I could no longer watch the Sonics and Mariners on a regular basis. I was going to miss Kevin Colabro and Dave Niehaus.

And I did.

When Randy Johnson left the game in the 6th inning last night, a great moment occurred. As I watched history unfold, I started to think about all of the other great moments that he's had in his long career.

I quickly realized that there have been way too many to count, which is fairly common when dealing with someone who's had a career like Randy's.

I have heard it said before, and I do believe it: One of the hardest things to do in any sport is to hit a baseball.

But with 14 guys on the roster, you think that someone could do it. OK, that’s not fair, I hear ya, but last night the Mariners were held scoreless again, thanks to Joe Saunders dazzling the Mariners at the plate with the nine inch in circumference, five ounce object with white with red stitching we call a baseball.

The general consensus is that the American League West is the weakest division in baseball. I would have to agree with this. 

Not only does the division have just four teams, but it is also lacking a powerhouse team that most other divisions possess.

In a lot of ways, this is a good thing. Namely, it gives average teams like the Mariners a chance to compete. It's rare for anyone to walk away with the division in dominating fashion, with the exception of the 2008 Angels.

With Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez the latest superstars to fall into the steroid cloud, everyone is now looking at the current group of young stars trying to find the one to break the 'roid records and restore a sense of legitimacy to baseball's record book.

Why look for someone down the road when baseball has a future hall of fame player winding down a stellar career without needing, much less using the juice; which seemed to flow like Kool-Aid in clubhouses around baseball for far too long.

From what games I have watched, the Seattle Mariners are a much different team than last year.  They are playing "small ball", putting a lot of pressure on opposing teams, moving the runner over, and stealing the extra base when they can. All of these components make for an entertaining team to watch.

It's quite clear that Brandon Morrow isn't doing well. This much has been obvious since he came off of the DL a little over a week ago.

The burning question is: What needs to be done about him?

Everyone has an opinion as to what the answer of this question is, and one very popular one seems to be: "Make him a starter."

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This week saw The Milwaukee Brewers drop former first baseman prospect Brad Nelson in favor of uber prospect Mat Gamel. Why is this so important? Well, because the Seattle Mariners front office picked up Brad Nelson pretty quickly.

You might be thinking that we do not need any more first base (or yikes…outfield?) “prospects” sitting in AAA. Chris Shelton, Brian LeHair, Mike Carp, and now Jeff Clement are already manning that bag in Tacoma among the left field and designated hitter positions.

The Seattle Mariners No. 1 prospect for 2009, outfielder Greg Halman, is currently wit the class AA West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx.

Halman is the starting center fielder for West Tennessee. He's currently hitting .216 with 12 HR, 29 hits, 30 RBI, 2 SB and 57 SO in 134 at-bats this season.

Halman is one of the many power hitters in the Mariners farm system. The only problem with Halman is that he strikes out way to much and he's not patient.

Halman only has seven walks to his 57 strikeouts.