This was supposed to be a banner year for the Seattle Mariners. The division they play in, the American League West, appeared to be watered down, as the defending champ Los Angeles Angels had heavy free agent losses in pitcher John Lackey, slugger Vladimir Guerrerro and infielder Chone Figgins, and Oakland and Texas figuring to be their usual disappointments. Meanwhile, The Mariners loaded up on talent, grabbing ace Cliff Lee to go with their young star pitcher Felix Hernandez and rejuvenated Eric Bedard to form a solid top three starting rotation. They also added Figgins and Milton Bradley to their offense, which already had perennial all-star Ichiro Suzuki. Unfortunately, the season has been a disaster so far, as Bradley has made his way to the team’s suspended list with his usual personal issues, Ryan Garko and Eric Byrnes became major disappointments, Ken Griffey Jr. had his infamous “asleep in the clubhouse” incident that probably led to his retirement, and Lee wound up hurt to start the season. While the Rangers got off to a good start to move to the top of the division and the Angels began to come together and look like their “rebuilding” project won’t be a long one, the Mariners sank to the bottom of the division, and now it appears they will throw in the towel and trade Lee to a contender. It’s a sad situation, especially after the team showed a lot of promise in 2009, even before they made all the additions. There must be something to this “team chemistry” thing.
MLB – Mariners’ Season Going South
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