Let's turn back the calendar to late March, when the various talking heads were making their annual postseason predictions. Most of the picks were pretty obvious (Rays, Yankees, Red Sox, Twins, Cards, Phillies), but one popular selection struck me as odd: the Seattle Mariners winning the AL West.
At first I thought that I must be missing something. Maybe the Mariner offense is much better than the numbers would suggest. Perhaps the third, fourth, and fifth starters got their hands on some magic pitching dust. Maybe Dave Aardsma and Milton Bradley will beat the odds and not implode before our eyes.
Well, 86 regular season games later, and the Mariners reside in last place, which is right where I thought they would be. In all honesty, I didn't think they would be this bad. However, a lineup built around an old Ken Griffey Jr., an overrated Chone Figgins, a disappointing Casey Kotchman, and the aforementioned Milton Bradley had trouble written all over it.
Yes, Cliff Lee and King Felix were a fantastic one-two punch, but two starters can only take a team so far. With Lee now in Texas, Seattle fans are about to find out what the crappy end of a baseball season really feels like. Hopefully Marty Crane has a healthy supply of Ballantine in the fridge.
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