So maybe these Mariners aren't a fluke after all. I mean its still early and there is still a ton of baseball to be played. The hard part for me is trying to not get my hopes up because at the start of the season, I thought the M's would finish dead last in the division with no hope of making the playoffs. But because of our great pitching, mostly great defense, timely hitting, and throw in numerous of injuries to the A's and Angels, this equals a team that could push for the division deep into the summer.
For those of you who missed this past series with the Athletics, you missed some serious drama. The two walk off singles by Jose Lopez (last night's walk off pic above) were simply amazing. This was a game that the Mariners from last year would have lost. They had no heart. Which is why this team has a chance to compete. Because lets be honest, they aren't as good on paper as the Angels, Athletics, or probably even the Rangers. They definitely don't compare offensively. The offense still struggles to hit for power and have a high on base percentage. The only thing getting us by is cluth hitting and small ball.
For example, Yuniesky Betancourt still hasn't even drawn a walk this season. Adrian Beltre, our cleannup hitter, hasn't hit a home run this year. Ichiro is always going to be mainly a singles hitter, as is Endy Chavez. Luckily Griffey has drawn some walks and Russell Branyan (pic above, this guy is seriously fun to watch hit home runs, aka Paul Bunyan) has provided some pop in the lineup. Mix that in with some good defense by Franklin Gutierrez and Rob Johnson and this team has manage to stay afloot.
The key obviously has been the pitching. Felix (pic above) has been King Felix. Bedard has regained his 2007 form as a second ace on the team. Washburn has been a very pleasant suprise with his new found changup and sinker. Jakabouskas has been solid for the most part. Carlos Silva is the only one not performing and with an ERA over 7, they are considering putting him into the bullpen when Ryan Rowland-Smith comes off the DL if Silva doesn't do well in his next couple of starts.
The bullpen has also been very good. How bout that job by Jason Vargas (pic above) last night! David Aardsma, Mark Lowe, Shawn Kelley, Sean White, and Brandon Morrow have all been more than reliable and exceded expectations.
The big question now is whether this great pitching can hold up long enough for the offense to find a groove once the weather starts getting warmer into the summer. This is normally the time of year when the bats start waking up so lets pray for a little Pedro Cerrano (pic below) Vudu/Golf cover magic and seperate ourselves from the Angels!
