Not to shabby Eh Mariners fans? Mike Morse became the first Seattle player since Ken Griffey Jr. in 1997 to hit four homers in his first four games of a season.

Game 1: Matchup | Preview

Pitching Match Ups

Game 5: Blake Beavan (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs Jose Quintana (0-0, 0.00 ERA) – Mariners Win 5-4
Game 6: Felix Hernandez (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs Dylan Alexrod (0-0 0.00 ERA) – Mariners Win 6-3
Game 7: Hisashi Iwakuma (1-0 3.00 ERA) vs Chris Sale (1-0 0.00 ERA) – Mariners Loss 2-4

What you should know:

The M’s continue their road trip by heading to Chicago for a 3 game set. The Mariners were only 1-8 against the White Sox last season including falling victim to Phil Humber’s (Now with the Astros) perfect game.

The Sox finished 2nd in the AL central last season with a record of 85-77. The Sox outscored the Mariners 55-38 last year as well.

The M’s have an advantage with out of date scouting reports of other teams early in the season so it would be good to see them take advantage of misconceptions as much as possible before those reports are updated.

The Windy City will hold an early test in difficulty in cold weather conditions, and time zone travel for the new season as well. One day in Oakland CA, the next in Chicago IL.

How well the M’s travel will be critical to the success this season.

Blake Beavan barely squeaked into the fifth spot on the M’s rotation

What to watch for:

Blake Beavan barely squeaked into the fifth spot on the M’s rotation this season and is considered to be a bit of a place holder for several of the M’s starters in AAA Tacoma chomping at the bit to join the team.

Last season Beavan only walked 24 batters the whole year. That could be an indication that he is less of a pitcher than a thrower.

On the other hand if he has learned to use that control to place the ball outside the zone as much as inside we could be looking at a much different dude this go around. Watch his pitch placement and his strike out rate to see if he could go the distance for Seattle this year or not.

The lineup dilemma.

With bench players needing playing time expect Eric Wedge to mix up the order a bit during this series. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Jason Bay get a couple of starts, especially with the team coming east for their first time zone change of the year.

Bay beat out Casper Wells for the job due to to his consistency but if he doesn’t get to play often how will he be able to maintain anything he has gained in the spring?

Small ball.

It was great to see the M’s use the long ball a ton in the spring, but what we need to see now is how well Seattle can move base runners around the diamond without leaving the yard.

Brendan Ryan‘s plate discipline is making me happy thru four games. So far Ryan has been impressive already tallying a handful of free passes.

He is a dynamic player and I have high hopes for a much better season behind “at” the plate for him in 2013.

I am interested in what he will do with each at bat.

NWSB Prediction

My glass is still half empty early in the season here. Forgive me. I’m a lifelong M’s fan. If we can get out of Chicago with two wins I’ll be ecstatic. I’m predicting we only win 1 though.

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My wife is in the final stages of pregnancy right now and she is sore, tired and uncomfortable. At the same time there is an air of excitement at the new life that is coming into the world. I doubt that she will ever read this so I think it is safe to say that I have similar feelings in thinking about the upcoming Seattle Mariners season.

I’m tired of this process, uncomfortable with where things are at, but excited for the potential.

With the Mariners out of Arizona it is time to see what this baby can do.  I better stop.

The Mariners rotation is a in a bit of flux.  Consider the fact that this time last year the Mariners rotation looked like this.

Felix Hernandez (The highest paid pitcher in baseball) who went 13-9 with a 3.06 ERA

Jason Vargas (Now with the Angels) went 14-11, 3.85 ERA

Hector Noesi (Now with Tacoma) had a banner year of 2-12, and 5.82 ERA yet the Mariners had him stick around for 22 games through out last season.

Joe Saunders is one of the fresh faces this year, but with a serious veteran presence.

Blake Beavan  was 11-11 with a 4.43 ERA who was an obvious choice for this years rotation due to those stellar numbers.  Am I right?

Kevin Millwood (Now retired and many peasants rejoiced) 6-12 and a 4.25 ERA

Many analysts are saying the Mariners are going to win more games this year.  I heard one guy on sports radio give them up to 95 wins.  While I am optimistic by nature – that seems like pure hokum.

Can the current rotation muster up 95 wins?

Here is my analysis of the 2013 rotation

Felix Hernandez

Felix is good.  Apparently good enough to get a contract that values him higher than some small countries. His average number of wins from 2005-2012 is 14.  With a better offense behind him he could win more of those close games.

I will give him a projected 17 wins which is two less than his career high 19 in 2009.

Hisashi Iwakuma

Iwakuma was sort of on the 25 man roster last April.  Although it was well into the season before he even made an appearance. Yet this season he is considered to be the #2 starter on the team.

This comes from his 11 years of experience of pitching in Japan in which his average season win total was about 10 and an average 3.36 ERA.

Last year for the M’s he had 16 starts and went 9-5.  If his control is the same as it was last season he could have a good year with 14 wins. (His record season win total in Japan was 21). I actually think this is a bit low, but Iwakuma is still a bit of a wildcard to me, better to err on the side of realism.

Joe Saunders

Saunders is a former All Star that the Mariners are taking on to bring a veteran presence into the rotation this year.  He is this year’s Kevin Millwood with a bot more of an upswing.  Although coming out of spring he has an 11.57 ERA in 11 innings of work.  In 8 years of MLB experience, Saunders has accumulated an average of 14 wins per season and a career 4.15 ERA.

Brandon Maurer earned his spot, skipping AAA altogether to make the starting rotation.

It would be surprising to see his ERA any less than that this season meaning the M’s will have to score at least 5 runs per game to offset that.  Much has been said of how much better he will be in Safeco field.

Since 2009, Saunders’ ERA in Safeco Field is 1.37, but he has only pitched 3 games in that time he was pitching against the Mariners terrible offense.

If he lasts all season I say at best he would go 50/50 giving him a record of 11-11 or so. Surely he can make double digits right?

Blake Beavan

Beavan has shown us that in 2 years of time in the majors that he is capable of a win/loss percentage of .500.  I think he could be better this year.  Although I think technically he would be the first to go if the M’s want to bring in one of their “big three” this season.  If he starts the year showing that he has moved from throwing the ball to pitching then I will give him 12 wins.

Brandon Maurer

The rook has never pitched above the AA level before so this is a real crap shoot.  This spring he has an unbelievable 0.90 ERA and 1.250 WHIP.  He was the minor league pitcher of the year last year, but the M’s shut him down early wanting to save his arm.

He could light it up early.  However, once the scouts get a good look at him and he realizes how long this season is, is when we will get a more accurate view of his capabilities as a big leaguer.  So I will give him 9 wins.

That means the M’s starters would total 63 wins leaving the 32 games (in the 95 win scenario) with the bull pen.  That would mean the bullpen pitchers would have to average 4.6 wins each. 

That seems a bit high.  I would see it closer to an average of 3 putting the bullpen win total to 21 and a Mariner win total of 84.

I guess I just made my prediction.  I would be happy with an 84 win season.  That is 9 more wins that last year.  Achievable results.

Now excuse me, I have to go sleep on the couch.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE MARINERS BLOG IN OUR CLUBHOUSE TODAY AT NWSB!

With just a couple of weeks left in Spring Training, the Seattle Mariners have some roster decisions to make.  The 40-man roster (players eligible to play on the big league club) is currently full, but every year Major League teams invite players to their training camp for an extended tryout to make the team.

Some of these are youngsters with little to no experience while others are washed up veterans attempting to make a comeback.

Even with the addition of some veterans such as Raul Ibanez, Joe Saunders, Michael Morse and Robert Andino, the Mariners are still a relatively young team.

As such, the M’s are likely to let younger invitees get more opportunity in the minors before making any major changes to the roster. This really eliminates the reality of guys like Mike Zunino and Nick Franklin from seeing any major league time in 2013.

The Mariners simply don’t have a reason for bypassing the development time they could have in the minors. If the management didn’t want to keep hot hitting 21-year-old Julio Morban (who is on the roster) in camp, you can make a safe bet in the opportunities for non-roster guys are getting cold quickly.

Possible Youngsters

The one exception may be the versatile Brad Miller as a back-up infielder.  Miller is mostly known as a short stop, but has shown good defense at 2nd and 3rd base so far this spring. And at the time of this writing he is hitting .258 in 13 games.

However nice it would be to have a young and healthy guy as a back-up to an aging Brendan Ryan, it probably wouldn’t do the kid any favors to put him in a spot where he would get limited at-bats.

Hultzen, left, and Miller, right, are two promising young guys for Seattle. (Mike Harrison/The Seattle Times)

Blocking his path in this role is Robert Andino, who was brought over in the trade for Trayvon Robinson back in November.  In my opinion, Andino is a subpar defender and has only a .235 career batting average.

Andino was brought in for veteran presence, but with Ryan filling that role in the clubhouse, I don’t see why he is needed.  Miller has a case, I’m just not sure it is strong enough.

The other youngster that could petition for a roster spot is 24-year-old catcher Jesus Sucre.  Sucre has a shot to make the team as a third catcher.

Right now the M’s have Kelly Shoppach and Jesus Montero platooning the position, but it is unclear what Montero will be like as an everyday catcher, and most teams like to have a third option in case of injuries.

Sucre holds a .986 career fielding percentage in the minors.  With 7 years of experience in the farm system, Sucre would make more sense than moving Zunino along too quickly, even if Zunino is a better all-round player.

Veteran Hopefuls

As for the veterans, the most likely to make the team are those petitioning to make the starting rotation.  Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma and Joe Saunders are the most likely to man the top-end of the rotation.  That leaves two spots open for the likes of Jeremy Bonderman and Jon Garland.

Bonderman hasn’t pitched since he was with Detriot in 2010.  At his absolute best Bonderman was a 14-game winner and pitched 214 innings.  So far this spring he has an ERA of 7.20.  I can’t see it.

Garland is a bit more interesting.

As a former all-star, Garland has an opportunity to have a real upside if his injuries are behind him.  He can be the work horse the Mariners need with experience to balance out a rotation that is in quite a bit of flux.

He isn’t really the same caliber pitcher the M’s are used to, though, so in the end he may lose out to the likes of Blake Beavan. However, his 1.50 ERA in 3 games this spring isn’t hurting his chances any.

The veteran that has been the most interesting though is Mike Jacobs.  Jacobs has been getting a significant amount of playing time at first base this spring, which is interesting considering the M’s have Justin Smoak, Kendrys Morales and Michael Morse as regulars for that position.

However, if the M’s could find space for Jacobs on the bench, he could be exactly what the M’s need to call on in close situations, pinch hitting in close games, which most of their games are likely to be.

After all, if you are down by one with a guy on 3rd and 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th, Brendan Ryan will need a pinch hitter to come in. But what options do the M’s really have for pop off the bench?  If only Jacobs could play catcher, he would be golden.

The real question is, if you are going to add any of these players, who would come off the 40-man as well as the 25-man roster?

But that is speculation for another day.

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I was originally going to title this article, “5 players who are surprising me in Mariners spring training.” The more I thought about it, though, the less surprised I was and the more annoyed I was getting.

Most of this annoyance is directed toward the Seattle Mariners‘ veteran AAA outfielder, Carlos Peguero.  It isn’t that I don’t like Peguero; in fact, that is part of the problem.

I don’t think that I am alone in this. It seems that the radio announcers get all excited about Carlos Peguero every time he comes up to bat.  So either he is a likable, strong kid with a lot of potential, or Rick Rizz simply has some sort of man crush on the guy—that thought is bringing up way too many mental pictures that I am not comfortable with.

Moving on.

The truth of the matter is that Peguero is surprising me, not because of how strong or likable he is.  I know that he has a great swing and a lot of power.  I would expect him to hit the ball into the stratosphere, so that’s not a surprise.

Carlos Peguero’s strike-out rate has been surprising thus far. (Photo: Keith Allison via Flickr)

The surprising thing is his strike-out rate.  As of this writing, Peguero is hitting .364 in 33 at bats.  He has struck out 11 times and has 12 hits including three home runs, 2 doubles and a triple.

So far he is striking out a third of the time.  That’s fairly normal for a guy with a power approach.  They either hit the ball a long way or they don’t hit it at all.  Last season, Peguero played in just 17 games with the M’s and he hit .179 in 57 at bats with 28 strike outs and 10 hits.

The surprising thing is that, so far, he doesn’t seem to be swinging at as many bad pitches.

Peguero actually did fairly well in the minors the last two seasons in AAA and he is always reported as being a star in the winter leagues.  However, we all know that Carlos has trouble with breaking balls down in the zone.

If we all know it, the scouts all know it, and every pitcher will know it as well.

In spring ball, it isn’t about scouting—it’s a chance for pitchers to experiment with new pitches and zone control.  It is a paradise for a guy like Carlos, which is annoying because with great numbers and a friendly face (not to mention that man crush thing), I want him to make the team.

The problem is that I don’t think he is worth the roster spot.  I don’t think his “surprise” performance is based on reality, but I can’t help but feel like the Mariners are going to give him a chance, which means that Peguero will be taking away a spot from someone that could be a legitimate game changer early in the season.

How much playing time do you think he would get as a backup outfielder?  Not enough to keep him fresh, that’s for sure.

Guess what?  He will swing at bad pitches.  And he isn’t the greatest choice as a backup anyway because he can’t play center, and although they use him in right, I don’t see the wisdom in that defensively. 

Like I said—it is annoying.

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I find it so strange when a franchise player like Ichiro Suzuki leaves a team.

After all, what is the team that we cheer for anyway?  Isn’t it the collection of athletes?  Or is it simply the uniform with our city name embroidered across the front?

Now I feel like I have to cheer for Ichiro as well as the Seattle Mariners, which means cheering for the Yankees from time to time.

That goes against a lot of my standards.  I almost feel like baseball would be a much better sport if it was equalized with a salary cap and players having to stay with the team that signed them.

Then again, because baseball reflects real life, it is no wonder that there will always be Davids and Goliaths squaring off against each other in uneven matchups.

Life is unfair, people move on, and baseball doesn’t make exceptions to either of those facts.

And while Ichiro was a franchise player during his time with the Seattle Mariners and will continue to produce for the Yankees, his departure from Seattle isn’t all that bad.

Now, as the Mariners head into a new season filled with a lot of young talent and promise, let’s look at what the first season without Ichiro will bring.

Without Ichiro there is less pressure.

The international media coverage in the clubhouse is noticeably different at the start of spring training, as guys have more equality with the media and more opportunity to simply be themselves instead of being seen as Ichiro’s band of empty headed sidekicks.

With everyone on an equal plane, there is more opportunity for teamwork, which any great sports movie will show you is needed to win.

Without Ichiro there is more opportunity.

If Ichiro was with the team this season, that would mean fewer players would get a chance to make the team.

Seattle says goodbye to an Icon

Even after his departure last season the field was opened up and the line-up was freed for guys to make some much needed mistakes in which to learn.

Ichiro was great, but he was holding the team back from their desire to truly rebuild.  Not to mention the amount of payroll freed up for the M’s this season and the ones that follow.

Without Ichiro there is more leadership

I have no idea what Ichiro would have been like as a team mate, I can only speak about what I did see in the news and such.  That’s not much.

Ichiro didn’t communicate with the media often, and for a veteran, that is part of the job that needs to happen to give young guys a boost and to give the fans hope.

Without Ichiro there is new hope.  Hope for the Mariners to have a fire lit under their butt, and hope for a dearly loved player to find a new chance at success.

Even if it is in New York.

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There is a lot being said about the expectation and projections for many of the Mariners young players and incoming veterans this season.

Much of it centers on Justin Smoak to live up to his failed hype and to become the middle of the lineup guy we wanted out of the Cliff Lee trade.

I really hope that the bone spur issue that was reported about Dustin Ackley was true and not just an excuse to justify why he was so bad last year.

It’s go time Mr. Wedge. Win now or forever suffer the consequences (Photo: Bleacher Report)

Brendan Ryan just needs to hit the ball more.

The big three need to make it to the big leagues and Mike Morse needs to punish the ball.

There are literally thousands of blog posts out there about all of those things.

Some of which we are seeing in the early stages of spring training, but what I need to see isn’t on the field, it is in the manager’s office.

So what about Eric Wedge

When Eric Wedge came in, I didn’t really know him.

I didn’t spend a lot of time evaluating managers and coaches. I just wanted to enjoy the game for what it was.

However, when I asked the question to other M’s fans, they assured me that Wedge was a no nonsense guy that would turn this overturned ship wreck into a smooth sailing ocean cruiser.

I haven’t seen that.

I think he has been good, but not great.

I think he let guys get away with a lot the last two seasons in the name of “experience”, but enough with experience – I want to see that the guy cares as much about winning these games as I do.

Sometimes I am screaming at my radio telling the Mariners what to do – and I hear nothing from Wedge.

After the game he is interviewed, and although honest, I just don’t sense the passion flowing through that vein in his forehead that scares players and umpires alike.

He doesn’t need to try to be Lou, but I would like him to be something more.

With that thought here is a letter to the skipper

Dear Eric,

First of all, I would like to say, I admire your patience. 

Get mad Eric Wedge! We Are!

There have been days where I have shut off my TV in disgust at what I have seen this team do. You don’t have that option – you have to live through it every day. I’m not sure how you do it. However, I have some requests for you this upcoming season.

I figured with this being your third year I could come to you and say – it’s time:

It’s time to show us your passion.

Time to get angry at the press for dissing on your players.

You don’t need to make excuses, but you don’t need to let the press point the fingers that they do.  Give us a reason to believe.  And on the field, show us how you really feel about that crappy umpiring.

Get mad. We are.

It’s time to show us your commitment to winning.

Talk is cheap. Show us that you are willing to make the tough decisions.

I admire you moved Ichiro in the order and gave Chone Figgins a chance last season, but the time for “graceful” moves is over.

Experimenting time is over: It is time to expect more.

It’s time to win. I know that the expectations are not too too high – so it should be easy to impress us with what you can inspire your players to do.

I need to see wins. Give us a reason to expect great things instead of bad things.

We need it.  We need it from you.

Sincerely, Mariners fans!

Go M’s

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It is a time speculation and expert opinion about what the coming year will look like, where the M’s will place in their division and what players will make the 40 man roster for opening day.

It is a chance to see the possibilities of the future as the Mariners prospects play alongside the veterans.

What is bad about spring training are the skewed stats that make one believe that the Mariners are going to win every game.

However, I am going into this spring with a game plan to help me prepare myself for reality.

Justin Smoak’s swing

Smoak ended last season on a tear that snapped his season long “warm up”.

With the Mariners adding so many players as eligible 1st base candidates, the leash for Smoak with be short.

When Smoak comes to bat I am going to be looking for a consistent, smooth and quick bat. Last season he swung at a lot of bad pitches and couldn’t catch up with the good pitches.

This is a strong young guy that was once the top 1st base prospect in the game. He isn’t a guy aging out, he should be able to make the adjustment or he will find himself in a Tacoma uniform.

Jesus Montero’s feet

Will Smoak last this year in Seattle? (Photo: Seattle Times)

After losing John Jaso and Miguel Olivo, the M’s are putting a lot of weight on their prized steal from the Yankees to be more of an everyday catcher.The M’s have picked up Kelly Shoppach and Ronnie Polino to add to their young catching corps, including raging hot prospect Mike Zunino, but Montero is the only one that has worked with the pitching staff before.

Aside from that leadership component I will be looking at his footwork behind the plate, and his speed on the basepaths.

Last season the young man proved to hit better on the days he was catching instead of DH’ing but his footwork will determine his role on this club.

It will also be interesting to see what sort of implications come out of his name being on the steroid doctor’s list and how that affects him mentally.

Dustin Ackley’s gameplay

Apparently Ackley played through some painful bone spurs in his ankle last season, yet still provided better than expected defense at second base.

I’ve had ankle problems myself and I can tell you there is no way I could have played in 153 baseball games in this past year.

It goes to show what an incredible athlete he is. However, I really hope to see why he was a top draft pick for the M’s, Seattle needs a win.

Mike Carp’s options

Carp proved one thing last season, that he shouldn’t be playing the outfield.

However with the addition of Jason Bay, Raul Ibanez, and Michael Morse, it would seem that Carp is a man without much of a chance of making the team.

He is also out of minor league options at this point so if the M’s don’t keep him on the roster, they could lose him to another team.

If he has spent the offseason getting in shape he could make that decision really difficult.

Editors note: Mike Carp was DFA’d on Tuesday afternoon.

Danny Hultzen’s control

With the loss of Jason Vargas, the M’s are without a left handed starter moving into this season.

Hultzen could potentially fill that gap if he proves himself against major league hitters.

He struggled in AAA last season, so he could use some more seasoning, but it would be great to be wowed by the young man.

Editors note: Left hander Joe Saunders was signed officially on Tuesday afternoon.

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The Seattle Mariners opened up Safeco field over the weekend to 18,000 loyal fans.

An ever-shifting club like the Mariners desperately needs fans to re-engage if they want to kick-start the season. Walking into Safeco this past weekend helped to show everything the franchise is doing to accomplish just that.

Even through the 2013 season doesn’t feel all that promising, just feeling the energy and enthusiasm in the park from the youngest of fans helped to just make people smile. Seattle fans need to smile more, and Seattle players desperately need to see those smiles as well.

All that being said, here are five things to smile about that were illuminated at FanFest:

1. Things are happening

For so long it has seemed that the Mariners have been stuck in the past. Safeco Field was built in the golden era of Seattle baseball, sandwiched in between the miracle seasons of 1995 and 2001. For the longest time it seemed like the Mariners had gone from “refuse to lose” to “refuse to win” with short-sited trades of top draft picks for players aging out and a constant stream of “rebuilding” messages.

Now the Mariners are addressing the present needs (agree with them or not) by moving in the outfield walls. At FanFest, you couldn’t help but notice the major construction came from moving in those wall. It was an acknowledgement of a new direction for the club.

A new future.

Michael Morse and Jack Zduriencik participated in the Mariners 2013 FanFest. (Photo: Ben VanHousten/Mariners)

2. The Mariners have some quality guys on the roster

A lot of pro athletic teams have guys that don’t play well with others. FanFest really illuminated one of the Mariners’ strengths in recruiting players that can be good role models on and off the field.

Part of this may just be caused from the Mariners young staff, but even the Seattle greats like Jay Buhner and Dan Wilson help things lean in that direction.

Now it would be nice if they were a little bit better ON the field as well as off, but if you can get to know these players as real people,than some of the bad attitudes of fans stop and we can just enjoy the baseball games together.

3. Happy fans are important to the Mariners

One of the things that really impressed me about FanFest was how much great stuff there was to do for a low price. There was a zip line across the outfield, fly ball competitions, photo ops, giveaways, lots of interactions with players, autograph sessions and even touring of the Mariners’ clubhouse.

On top of that was seeing the Mariners’ addition of the new top-of-the-line scoreboard in center field and the new open-air restaurant field level in left field. The fan experience is going to be better than ever in 2013.

4. Honest dialogue

Many players came and sat on top of the dugout just to chat with the fans. I admired their accessibility as well as their willingness to own up to their weaknesses and talk about what they were doing to get stronger.

Some clubs would try to hide that. The Mariners embraced it. I can stay a fan of a team that is honest.

5. There is hope

I don’t understand most of what the Mariners are doing this off season, to be honest, but I do see that there are a bunch of guys on that team that truly believe they have what it takes to be something special.

Only time will tell, but at Fanfest you don’t see stats and you don’t judge the numbers—you see the game through the eyes of a child and remember that this game is all about the magic of the unpredictable.

There is hope in that unpredictability because you never know when something special might happen.

Hopefully it is in 2013.

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Earlier this week, the Seattle Mariners released the news that Ken Griffey Jr. would be added to the Mariners Hall of Fame.  Griffey will be the seventh member of the most elite members of the Seattle franchise.

The Mariners Hall of fame was formed in celebration of the club’s 20th anniversary in 1997.  Since that time, other members have slowly been added over the years.

Here is the current list as found on the Mariners website:

• Alvin Davis (1997)
• Dave Niehaus (2000)
• Jay Buhner (2004)
• Edgar Martinez (2007)
• Randy Johnson (2012)
• Dan Wilson (2012)

There’s no doubt about it. Ken Griffey Jr. belongs in the Mariners Hall of Fame. (Photo: AP)

When it comes to the Mariners including Ken Griffey Jr., there really is nothing to debate.  Junior was the heart and soul of the Mariners, and all of Major League Baseball, for many years.  In some ways he still is, as he has not once been included in the black list conversations concerning performance enhancing drugs.

In Seattle, he is known best for his backwards cap, his fun loving attitude, his Spider-Man catches and his power hitting.  Many people call Safeco Field, “The house that Griffey built”, indicating that he practically single-handedly saved the franchise from being moved.

Ironically, he only played in the new stadium, which is built around his hitting intricacies, for a single season before requesting a trade to the Cincinnati Red’s.

However, the Mariners fans stayed loyal to their superstar, which was evident when he returned to Seattle in 2009 and retired as a Mariner in 2010.  Here are some of the reasons why:

1. The Early Days

Junior won the hearts of Seattle fans who had stuck it through many seasons of bad baseball when he stepped up to the plate for the first time in April of 1989.  There were a lot of expectations upon Griffey as a prospect, but no one expected that the first pitch he would ever hit for the home crowd would sail over the outfield wall.

Quite a birthday gift for his old man, as well as to everyone else in the Emerald city.

2. Father & Son Make History

Speaking of his old man, the Mariners did a classy thing in bringing in the older Griffey to play alongside his son.  On September 14, 1990 the two made history in hitting father-son back-to-back home runs.

That wasn’t just a cool baseball moment in Seattle; it was a family moment and the Griffey’s invited the entire city in on that moment.

3. Refuse to Lose

Sliding into home plate in game 5 of the American League Division series in 1995 off of “The Double” hit by Edgar Martinez.  This moment personifies the hope that all Mariners fans have in their underdogs that refused to lose.  The spirit of that moment continues to this day.

When Griffey announced his retirement, Nike put out an ad in his honor that shows his value to the Mariners, as well as the whole sport of Major League Baseball:

However, I feel like the real news in this whole piece is not about Griffey, but about how Griffey can once again mask some of the painful things the Mariners organization are doing. Sometimes, un-news hides the true news, and that news doesn’t feel good going into 2013.

I only hope that I’m wrong.

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It is no secret that the Mariners need a lot of crap to pull together a respectful season.  Actually, crap is the one thing that they don’t need at all.  The Mariners have been a crappy ball club for the past decade.

Some of the only quality stuff they have put out there are their commercials.  And last year, even that was debatable.

It was encouraging early in the offseason to hear the Mariners being touted as the favorites in the pursuits for high profile difference makers like Josh Hamilton, Nick Swisher and Justin Upton.

However with only a few more weeks left until the Mariners hit Peoria, all that have arrived are a bunch of veteran risks.

For the first time I think that General Manager Jack Z had the backing of the ownership group to spend some legitimate money to pull in someone that could indeed make the difference that they needed.  But nothing happened.

I don’t think it’s his fault.

Free agents don’t want to play for Seattle. Do you know why?

1. Seattle is stuck in the past.

While every club praises their best performances of the years, the Mariners gravitate to those moments as if they happened yesterday.  The truth is that the magic season of 1995 was 18 years ago and the Mariners haven’t been a legitimate threat since they won 116 games in 2001.

Most of the players coming into the major leagues now aren’t even old enough to remember a time Seattle was good.  They don’t want to be a part of a painful past.  They want to be a part of a legend.

Seattle is shrouded in the clouds of rain and doubt.

That is something Seattle doesn’t even look close to offering.

2. Seattle is kinda bleh.

Even though Seattle is a beautiful city, it is shrouded in the clouds of rain and doubt.  This is both literal and metaphoric.  The local weather is a challenge and so is the ownership group.  The majority owner has never even seen his team play.

(Even when they traveled to the other side of the world and played in his native Japan.)  Who wants to be a part of an organization that is gray and dreary all the time?  Case in point.

Almost every veteran that has come through here watches his numbers plummet.  This could be the ballpark dimensions, but I think most players see it for what it is beyond that.

Instability in leadership that affects the mental game.

3. Seattle doesn’t pay

The Mariners lose out on chances to sign the difference makers because they can’t compete with the other teams offering up the moon for mediocre players.  The Angels are the worst at this at the moment.  Unfortunately, the Mariners are living in their shadow, and will continue to be a plaything for the rest of the division if they don’t do something soon.

All thats left for Jack Z?

Players that know the team and don’t have all these preconceived notions what the Seattle club really is.  Those that have played here before genuinely feel attached to the fans and the organization.  Mike Cameron loved Seattle so much he signed a one day contract to ensure he could retire as a Mariner.

But here is the thing.

If all Jack has to really work with are those players in the league that give a crap then that means he would only be left with the shells of former good athletes such as:

• Ken Griffey Jr (2009)
• Russell Branyan (2010)
• Miquel Olivo (2011)
• George Sherill (2012)
• Raul Ibanez (2013)

Does that crap sound familiar? No wonder free agents don’t want to come here.  No one wants to smell like crap.

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