Why the Mariners are playoff bound

This year's Seattle Mariners team to me looks playoff bound right from the get-go. They have shown that this year they will show off more power and speed to the lineup as well as good pitching, starting and in the bullpen to back up the lineup. Last year the biggest problem was run support. During Felix Hernandez's perfect game the M's only scraped together 1 run. Even though it was enough what would've happened if Felix didn't throw the perfect game? What would've happened if the Tampa Bay Rays scored a run? During this spring the Mariners have shown that they can come back from being down by a few runs. Even though its just Spring Training I see terrific things for this ball club this year. 

The Mariners made some great offseason transactions both releasing and signing players. The M's released Miguel Olivo, Chone Figgins (but come on were happy they did that), and Munenori Kawasaki. They also parted ways with John Jaso, who as you know was one of the Mariners best clutch hitters in the 2012 season, Shawn Kelley, Mike Carp, Trayvon Robinson, hitting coach Chris Chambliss, and Jason Vargas. The Mariners did make some terrific addition to the team in Michael Morse, Kendrys Morales, Jason Bay, Raul Ibanez, Jeremy Bonderman, Robert Andino, Joe Saunders, and hitting coach Dave Hansen. Jaso, Robinson, and Vargas were all traded away but in return I have to say we did get some very good players. 

Lets look back at the stats that most of these players had shall we?
Chone Figgins: .181 AVG
Munenori Kawasaki: .192 AVG only 20 hits over 104 at bats
Miguel Olivo: .222 AVG, 12 HRs, 29 RBIs
Mike Carp: .213 AVG, 5 HRs, 20 RBIs
Trayvon Robinson: .221 AVG, 3 HRs, 12 RBIs
John Jaso: .276 AVG, 10 HRs, 50 RBIs
Jason Vargas: 14-11, 3.85 ERA, 217.1 IP, 141 strikeouts

Now you must be wondering why would we give up Jaso and Vargas if they had that great of a 2012? Well, before I get into that lets look at the others. Figgins was a no doubter, he was gonna be released either way. Kawasaki barley played and the only thing he was good for is a late inning pinch runner. Carp you cant put any blame on, he was hurt most of the year but I do see a future for him in the Boston Red Sox organization, he has the power and the ability to play everyday if he stays healthy. Now Robinson I was skeptical because during the 2012 year Robinson made some incredible plays in the outfield and I saw him playing this year for the Mariners; Robinson has the ability to hit for either average or power. Now the player everyone was really sad to see leave was Jaso. Jaso came up with so many clutch base hits for the Mariners and was Felix's favorite to pitch with, he caught Felix's perfect game. He posted career highs in HRs, RBIs, hits, and batting average and was also a key player to the Mariners as I said before came up with so many clutch and walk off hits for the Mariners. Now Vargas, why would the Mariners trade away a pitcher who gave them 14 wins? Well, we traded him away to get a player who hit 22 homers last and drove in 73 runs. The Mariners were planning to trade Vargas anyway, during the 2012 season the Mariners got some good offers for him but failed to trade him away before the trading deadline.

Now that I have told the guys who are no longer with us lets get to our new Mariners shall I? First off lets start off with returning Mariner Mike Morse. Morse began his career with the M's but never got his career started and was traded away. During his 4 year stint with the Nationals he showed off his power and had a career year in 2011 by hitting 31 HRs and driving in 95 runs. Morse will provide power, average, and fielding for the Mariners. Next we have Kendrys Morales; here we have a guy who can give you 20-30 homeruns a year along with driving in 70-100 runs. Morales will also provide the same abilities as Morse in the lineup. Jason Bay; well this former Rookie of the Year is trying to rebuild his career with the Mariners after having injury problems with the Mets. Watching some of the highlights and games the Mariners have shown Bay was an excellent addition to the team, he can still play the outfield and hit for average and power. Raul Ibanez; he is now on his 3rd stint with the team and will provide veteran experience for the young kids in the clubhouse. Ibanez still has plenty of pop to his bat and will be in and out of the lineup this season for the M's. Joe Saunders; Saunders is a former All Star who had break out years for the Los Angeles Angels in 2008 and 2009. In those two years he won 36 games and lost 14 of them. Saunders has already made the starting rotation and is set to pitch the 3rd game of the year against the Oakland Athletics. Robert Andino; now Andino has shown me that he can play shortstop and hit at the same time. In the games that the Mariners have televised Andino has made some terrific plays at SS and has shown that he can hit and run.

With all these additions to the organization the Seattle Mariners have made a statement that this year's team is ready to compete not just for the American League West title but also the AL Wild Card. The teams pitching has both veteran experience and young guns to help this team out, the last two spots of the starting rotation are still undecided by manager Eric Wedge, but whoever gets the last two spots will help the M's either way. The Mariners bullpen also has a staff that will help keep the team in close ball games and has their big inning eater Charlie Furbush to pitch long games such as, if one of the starters is taking out early in the game or if the game goes to extra innings. Tom Wilhelmsen is the M's closer for sure. Last year Wilhelmsen took over the closing job after Brandon League blew a number of saves and failed to hold teams and keep the games close. Be sure to cheer for this year's playoff bound Mariners team as they look to make a trip to the postseason for the first time since that amazing 116 win 2001 season. 

GO MARINERS!!!