Getting to Know a Rival: NL Central

I was going to do a seperate post for each of the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians, but because I don't have the time right now, I'm going to do a reasonanbly quick look at both teams, and what they will have to do with the Mariners push for postseason glory.

Cleveland Indians

Manager: Eric Wedge

2007: 96-66, first in ALC

Coming In: RHP Masahide Kobayashi, INF Jamey Carroll, RHP Jorge Julio

Packed Their Bags: OF Kenny Lofton, OF Trot Nixon, RHP Jason Davis

Outlook: The Indians are bringing back virtually the same team, so they should be seriously in the running for the AL Central. They didn't martgage the farm like the Tigers, but brought in a bit of relief depth. The 1-2 of CC Sabathia and Fausto Carmona is one of the best combos, and has a year more experience. Not to mention that Sabathia is in his contract year. The Indians biggest mountain to climb, is getting the team to the next level. In last year's ALCS, they went up 3-1 on the Boston Red Sox, but lost the next three games and had their playoff hopes dashed. That will be the only concern for this year. And maybe the Tigers.

Detroit Tigers

Manager: Jim Leyland

2007: 88-74, second place in ALC

Coming In: 3B Miguel Cabrera, SS Edgar Renteria, OF Jacque Jones, LHP Dontrelle Willis

Packed Their Bags: 1B Sean Casay, INF Omar Infante, LHP Andrew Miller, OF Cameron Maybin

Outlook: The Tigers gave up their top two prospects to get Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis in a blockbuster deal. The Tigers can only look to improve on their 2007 season now that they have a huge bat in the middle of their lineup, a dependable leadoff man in Edgar Renturia, and a solid number three starter, who should be way higher in the rotation, in Willis. Their rotation looks amazing, their lineup looks almost as good as the rotation. But the only concern may be their bullpen. It won't be an immeadiate problem, but half way through the season and some of the starters either get hurt or don't pitch enough innings, then people will start to realize that the Tigers' bullpen is fairly week. If the Tigers aren't competing for the division, they will be a pain in the wild card race if that's where the Mariners are.

The rest of the division looks alright, but won't be much, if anything of a problem to the Mariners this season. If you truly are interested in the Royals, White Sox and Twins, then I think that I could dig you up a couple of links if you haven't already.

Getting to Know a Rival: Boston Red Sox

Next up, are the Boston Red Sox, who like the Yankees, will not be an imeadiate threat to the Mariners, but could and should pose a threat in the Wild Card race, if that's what it comes to.

Manager: Terry Francona

2007: 96-66, 1st in ALE, World Series Champions

Coming In: 1B Sean Casey, RHP Dan Kolb, RHP David Aardsma, RHP Bartolo Colon

Packed Their Bags: 1B Eric Hinske, INF Royce Clayton, Doug Mirabelli

Projected Lineup:

C: Jason Varitek

1B: Kevin Youkilis

2B: Dustin Pedroia

3B: Mike Lowell

SS: Julio Lugo

LF: Manny Ramirez

CF: Jacoby Ellsbury

RF: JD Drew

DH: David Ortiz

Projected Rotation:

1. Josh Beckett

2. Daisuke Matsuzaka
3. Jon Lester
4. Tim Wakefield

5. Clay Buchholz/Julian Tavarez/Kyle Snyder

Projected Bullpen:

LRP: Kyle Snyder/Clay Buchholz/Julian Tavarez

LRP: Javier Lopez

LRP: Manny Delcarmen

MRP: Mike Timlin

SU: Hideki Okajima

CP: Jonathan Papelbon

Offensive Outlook: With Manny, Ortiz, Drew and Lowell in the middle of the lineup, it should be one of the best. Manny and Ortiz are both 40 HR guys, while Drew probably could hit that Manny of he was healthy to get enough at bats, and Lowell has turned into a solid hitter, power and contact wise. Pedroia and Ellsbury will provide pretty much the only speed in this lineup, and both are developing in to solid MLB players, Ellsbury especially, because since being called up last late summer/fall, he has stolen the starting CF spot from Coco Crisp, who isn't a fourth outfielder on most teams in the MLB. Varitek and Youkilis are both solid hitters, and will produce some pretty good numbers. Julio Lugo is the only wariable in the lineup not regarding health. Lugo was a big acquisition last Winter, and hasn't panned out. Lugo isn't really that good of a hitter to be honest. He is an okay defender and has some speed, but overall, he isn't that great of a player. This lineup is amazing. If Manny and Varitek can last through the season, and Drew can come to his $15M form, not that he ever was, and everyone else does what they need to do, then this lineup will be like I said, one of the best.

Rotation Outlook: The rotation would look better with Johan Santana there, but it is a solid rotation. Josh Beckett finally emerged from his cucoon and won 20 games for the first time in the MLB since 2005. Dice-K pitched well in his first year here, or there. The rest of the rotation is a bit of a question mark though. How much does Wakefield have? More importantly, what are the Red Sox going to do now, after releasing Doug Mirabelli? The Sox got Josh Bard, and then traded him to the Padres to get Mirabello back after he signed with them in the offseason. He's a good pitcher because of his knuckleball, but after about six innings he's done, and if one of his 80 MPH fastballs is over the plate, it will be crushed. Jon Lester has made some huge strides, and found his way on to the rotation. Just a sidenote, I was at the game when the M's played the BoSox and Lester made his return from cancer in 2006. He has got the stuff, but the Mariners still won that game I think. The fifth spot is a wild card. Buchholz is a great pitcher, but is he ready for a big league role yet? Tavarez hasn't been much more than a good reliever. As for Snyder, I haven't heard much about this kid, but he looks like he could get the job done. It's hard to call the Red Sox's rotation anything except for solid after two World Series wins over the past four years.

Bullpen Outlook: The Red Sox have one of the best 8/9 inning combo in the league. Okajima also came over from Japan and was an All-Star in his rookie season. Jon Papelbon continued to impress as he was also an All-Star last season. Timlin and Delcarmen are good mid-relievers that should do alright this season, although Timlin's age is starting to catch up with him a bit. The rest of the bullpen will be determined by what happens with the rotation. Snyder, Buchholz, and Tavarez could find themselves in some kind of a rotation between starting and long relieving, but overall, this bullpen looks pretty good.

Prognosis: The World Series Champs of 2007 are pretty much exactly the same, but with some players a year older, and others a year more experienced. It would be very hard to not see this team in serious competition for the World Series again. Health in the middle of the lineup could become an issue, but there shouldn't be too many problems for the Red Sox in 2008, except maybe too many wins? I hope not.

Getting to Know a Rival: New York Yankees

Haven't done one of these in a little while. The Yankees are not a divisional threat, but caused the Mariners problems in the Wild Card race last season, so they should be considered somewhat of a rival.

Manager: Joe Girardi - 1st season

2007: 94-68, 2nd AL East

Coming In: RHP LaTroy Hawkins, 3B Morgan Ensberg, RHP Jonathan Albaladejo, OF Jason Lane

Packed Their Bags: Manager Joe Torre, RHP Roger Clemens, RHP Luis Vizcaino, 1B Doug Mientkiewicz, INF Andy Phillips, LHP Ron Villone, RHP Tyler Clippard

Projected Lineup:

C: Jorge Posada
1B: Shelley Duncan/Wilson Betemit
2B: Robinson Cano
3B: Alex Rodriguez
SS: Derek Jeter
LF: Jhonny Damon
CF: Melky Cabrera
RF: Bobby Abreu
DH: Hideki Matsui

Projected Rotation

1. Chien-Ming Wang
2. Andy Pettitte
3. Phil Hughes
4. Ian Kennedy
5. Mike Mussina


Projected Bullpen

LRP: Edwar Ramirez
LRP: Ross Ohlendorf
LRP: Jose Veras
MRP: LaTroy Hawkins
MRP: Kyle Farnsworth
SU: Joba Chamberlain
CP: Mariano Rivera


Offensive Outlook: The Yankees have always been known for their high powered offence. 2007 was no difference. Alex Rodriguez is one of the best hitters in the game, and maybe ever. Derek Jeter, Bobby Abreu, Robinson Cano, Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui are all very good hitters too. I don't know what to say about Betimet, Duncun or Damon. All three are above average hitters in my opinion, but aren't that great. Health is going to be an issue for this offence. The rotation of Matsui, Damon, Cabrera, and Abreu between DH and all of the outfield positions worked out okay last season, and depending on what new manager Joe Girardi decides, it would be a good idea. All of the mentioned, except for Cabrera were injured at some point last year, and now are getting another year older. Cabrera is still pretty young, and has stayed injury free for most of his short career. This is a great offence, and should be so again in 2008.

Rotation Outlook: This is what's going to be the downfall of the Yankees if there is one. Wang has established hisself as a solid pitcher, but Mussina and Pettitte are getting older, and I'm not too sure of what the effect of the Mitchell Report will have on Pettitte. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy are both excellent pitching prospects. I don't mind Hughes starting with the team, but I think that the Yankees are rushing Kennedy a little bit. I don't expect a lot from Hughes and Kennedy, as they are new to the bigs, but if the Yanks can give them the runs that they probably will, than they will be fine. Overall, I'm very iffy on this rotation. I don't know if Mosse and Pettitte can stay healthy for another whole season, and like I mentioned, I don't know what the whole Roger Clemens/Congress/Mitchell Report crap will affect him. Hughes and Kennedy look too tender. You'd think that with all of the money that the Yankees have, they could buy a good rotation, but pitching hasn't been their strong suit these past few years.

Bullpen Outlook: Again, why can't the Yankees buy a decent bullpen? Rivera looks fine as a closer, and Hawkins and Farnsworth are decent pitchers. I don't know what to expect from Joba Chamberlain as a set up man. I have never heard of Edwar Ramirez or Ross Ohlendorf. I've heard of Jose Veras a couple times, but it doesn't seem Yankee like to have a couple no-names on their team. Health doesn't seem to be that much of an issue, it's more what you could get out of them. If they Yankees put up their usual bombing amount of runs, than this bullpen should turn out okay. Again, I can't believe how cheap this bullpen is.


Prognosis: They are the Yankees. Not much else needed to be said. There will be a few more variables this time around though. I'm not sure what kind of a mood the team is in after the Joe Torre saga coming to what I'd consider a rude ending. The Yanks didn't get any better, but they don't look any worse. Once the bats get going, then this team will become a pain in the but for the Mariners of they aren't running away with the division come about May.

Getting to Know a Rival: Texas Rangers

Time for another one of these. I just wanted to make note, that you can help me make this a better blog with your comments, suggestions, votes in the polls, and whatever else. I can be reached at marinerscentral"at"gmail.com.

Next up, are the Texas Rangers.






Manager: Ron Washington
2007: 75-87 3rd place
Coming In: OF Milton Bradley, 1B Ben Broussard, RHP Kazuo Fukumori, CF Josh Hamilton, RHP Jason Jennings, LHP Eddie Guardado, INF Edgardo Alfonzo
Packed Their Bags: DH Sammy Sosa, OF Brad Wilkerson, RHP Akinori Otsuka, RHP Edinson Volquez, INF Jerry Hairston

Projected Lineup:

C: Jarrod Saltalamacchia
1B: Ben Broussard
2B: Ian Kinsler
3B: Hank Blalock
SS: Michael Young
LF: Marlon Byrd
CF: Josh Hamilton
RF: Milton Bradley
DH: Frank Catalanotto

Projected Rotation:

1. Kevin Millwood
2. Vicente Padilla
3. Jason Jennings
4. Brandon McCarthy
5. Kason Gabbard

Projected Bullpen:

LRP: Jamey Wright
LRP: John Rheinecker
MRP: Kazuo Fukumori
SU: Joaquin Benoit
SU: Eddie Guardado
CP: C.J. Wilson


Offensive Outlook: This wouldn't be that bad of a lineup with Hank Blalock, Ian Kinsler, and Micheal Young all healthy and producing, but the rest of the lineup doesn't offer much support. Miton Bradley and Ben Broussard are your power threats? Byrd, Hamilton and Catalanotto aren't bad hitters, but they arent't going to strike much fear into opposing pitchers. Salty is a great prospect, but as of right now, I would rather have Mark Teixera in this offense. Fice years from now we can talk about it. I don't see this offense as being too much of a problem, but as always, the variable known as health comes in to play here. Literally. If a few of these guys can step it up, than we might be in for a surprise.


Rotation Outlook: Just not that interesting. Kevin Millwood and Vicente Padilla are both good, and occaisonally great pitchers, but their nasty contracts have made us forget about their abilities. I would like to see...actually I wouldn't as a Mariners fan...what these two guys can do without the pressure of their contracts on them. Who knows. Underneath the millions of dollars, there may be a pair of great pitchers here. Jason Jennings also isn't a bad pitcher, but he isn't great. He doesn't have any large salary pressure on him, and Texas isn't a must win environment right now, so maybe this guy could have a good first half and be flipped for something nice at the deadline if the Rangers are out of it. I don't have much to say about McCarthy or Gabbard as of right now. These are a pair of solid young pitching prospects, with nowhere to go but up. I don't see these guys ripping it up yet.


Bullpen Outlook: Hmmmmmm. What to say. Not much to say really. CJ Wilson could be a decent closer, if the team around him performs. Seems that anyone could close if the team around them was good. Guardado was good with the M's a while back if my memory was right, but like most pitchers, injuries tore down his career. Wright and Benoit are alright pitchers I guess. Fukumori could be a decent pitcher once he adjusts to the MLB. Rheinecker is a new name to me, but I'd say that he could be alright. I wouldn't expect much from this bullpen, but like most rebuilding teams, it could be alright.

Prognosis: Much like Oakland, this team probably won't be much competition for the M's in the standings, but will be a pain in the you know what for the Mariners for no apparent reason. Once the younger players on this team get a bit of expierience, and some of the veterans either leave or play like their contracts say they should, this team will be alright. What this team needs is a bona fide All-Star. A-Rod would bring fans in to the park, I'd guess that Soriano would bring in a few as well, but other than his family and friends, I don't see too many people coming to watch Milton Bradley.

Getting to Know a Rival: Oakland Athletics

Next up in this 'mini-series' I guess you could call it are the Oakland A's. Last time, we looked at the Angels. The A's won't be much of a threat this season, but they do have a few guys that could get something done if they are healthy.

Manager: Bob Green

2007: 75-86, 3rd place

Coming In: OF Emil Brown, RHP Joey Devine, Of Carlos Gonzalez, LHP Gio Gonzalez, LHP Dana Eveland, OF Ryan Sweeney, LHP Brett Anderson

Packed Their Bags: RHP Dan Haren, OF Nick Swisher, OF Mark Kotsay, DH Mike Piazza, OF Shannon Stewart, INF Marco Scutaro, RHP Colby Lewis

Projected Lineup

C: Kurt Suzuki

1B: Dan Johnson/Deric Barton

2B: Mark Ellis

3B: Eric Chavez

SS: Bobby Crosby

LF: Ryan Sweeney/Emil Brown

CF: Chris Denorfia

RF: Travis Buck

DH: Jack Cust

Projected Rotation

1: Joe Blanton

2: Rich Hardon

3: Chad Gaudin

4: Justin Duchscherer

5: Lenny DiNardo

Projected Bullpen

LRP: Dan Meyer

MRP: Alan Embree

MRP: Kiko Calero

MRP: Joey Devine

MRP: Keith Foulke

SU: Andrew Brown/Santiago Casilla

CL: Huston Street

Offensive Outlook: The A's aren't interested this year, as they dealt away Nick Swisher, Mark Kotsay, and Marco Scutaro (among position players) for prospects, as once again the A's try to rebuild. I look at this lineup, and nobody sticks out to me. Erik Chavez was, key word 'was', a solid player. Injuries have dismatled his career, as they have to most of the A's. If guys like Mark Ellis and Dan Johnson can produce some decent numbers than maybe the middle of the order has a shot. Jack Cust showed some sort of power ar one point last year, and everyone jumped on to his bandwagon. He could be worth 20 HR's if he's lucky. The rest of those in the batting order are nothing to be afraid of. Kurt Suzuki and Bobby Crosby could do something, but that would take a few steps. It's hard to expect more then three or four runs a game with this offence. Heck, three or four may be wishfull thinking...

Rotation Outlook: Same as above. The A's dealt away Dan Haren, so they're done. Joe Blanton could so something. On the average team he could be a legitamite ace, and seeing as the A's are below average, so that shoots Blanton's value through the roof. He had some trade interest, but the A's are holding on to him for now. We'll see what happens come deadline day 2008. Rich Harden was once a great pitcher, but his career has been slaughtered by injuries. He has ace potential, but not too much of that has come through. The rest of the rotation..... That says it all. Gaudin, Duchscherer, and NiDardo aren't much more than decent relief pitchers at best. No pressure to perform, so who knows what can happen.

Bullpen Outlook: As I mentioned, the A's most decent (don't know if that's grammatically correct) reliever is Huston Street, who blew outas a rookie. That about sums it up. He had a great rookie year, and then blew out his arm. End of story. The rest of the bullpen are either has-beens, Embree, and Foulke, or youngs minor leaguers who only have a shot because there isn't anyone else. I can't say much about Devine, Meyer, Casilla, Santiago, or Calero, but they fit into that second category. Don't expect anything from this bullpen. Foulke and Embree could be flipped for more prospects, and the others could come out and show something. That's best case scenario. Prognosis: Another season in the botton half of the AL West is about as good as it's going to get. As I mentioned a few times in this post, the A's gave up on 2008 a while back when he first traded Dan Haren, and the rest of the players sent out for prospects. Nothing doing here. The only problem with the A's, is that the Mariners will likely find some sort of problem with the A's that they can't solve. Your thoughts?

Getting to Know a Rival: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, California

Time for the first team in this new series/feature. The LA Angels appear to be the Mariners biggest threat for the AL West. As I go through the rest of the AL, the urgancy for the Mariners to win the division versus the Wild Card becomes more prominent. To start thing off the LA Angels.

Manager: Mike Scioscia

2007: 94-68 1st in AL West

Coming In: P Jon Garland, OF Torri Hunter

Packed Their Bags: RHP Bartolo Colon, RHP Greg Jones, RHP Chris Resop, INF Dallas McPherson, SS Orlando Cabrera, OF Tommy Murphy, Of Nick Gorneault

Projected Lineup:

C: Mike Napoli

1B: Casey Kotchman
2B: Howie Kendrick

SS: Caeser Izturis

3B: Chone Figgins

OF: Gary Matthews Jr.

OF/DH: Garret Anderson
CF: Torri Hunter
OF/DH: Vladimir Guerrero

Offensive Outlook: The Angels offense is in no way 'bad', but every year as I look at it, it just doesn't seem to be improving much. With Guerrero, who I think is one of the best pure power hitters out there, and has an amazing arm, and Anderson, all that I see is two guys with abilities to do very well, are a year older, a year more injured, and needing the DH spot even more often. Garret Anderson is pretty much the Mariners Raul Ibanez. Solid offensive player, but is older, and his defence is falling fast, but he's still a solid offensive help, in the DH spot. I think that Vlady has a bit left in the tank before he permantly needs the DH spot, but both are going to be there often. Torri Hunter was brought in on a massive deal, isn't really here for his defence, but rather giveing Guerrero some protection in the lineup. I like Hunter, but his offence isn't Guerrero level, but is still a decent power threat. Other than those three I don't see much other threat in the form of homeruns. Casey Kotchman looks like he could be a 20-30 HR guy in the future, but probably won't do that this season.

The top of the Angels order looks solid. Chone Figgans is one of the best leadoff hitters in the game, and his ability to run, and get on base is amazing. Howie Kendrick and Caesar Izturis can be dependable number two hitters, with speed, and qestion marks. After that go down to Guerrero, Hunter and Anderson. That looks pretty solid.

The bottom of the order is a mess. Mike Napoli, Casey Kotchman, and Gary Mathews Jr. are question marks. They all can do something, but not much. The Top-mid of the order looks ok, but the rest is a mess, as I said. If something can come out of the last few guys, this could turn out ok. Whatever happened to Juan Rivera? This guy went from solid LF to DH to riding the pine. I feel bad for this guy, but the Angels screwed it up. All of their outfielders except for Rivera have massive, nasty contracts. I'd like to see what comes out of this. Hopefully on the wrong side.

Rotation Outlook: One of the things that they Angels can credit theirselved with, is having a solid young core of pitchers. They are six deep in their starters, but with Kelvim Escobar having some kind of injury, that may turn into five pretty fast. Other than him, John Lackey, Jered Weaver, Jon Garland, Ervin Santana, and Joe Saunders make up the rest. This is a solid rotation, and is likely one of the main reasons that the Mariners beafed up their rotation to compete. Lackey is a potential 20 game winner, that would be the Mariners' Erik Bedard. Jered Weaver is an exciting young pitcher with a ton of promise, Felix Hernendez. A guy who can eat up innings, Carlos Silva. Jon Garland, a decent pitcher that has had an up and down career, Miguel Batista. Joe Saunders and Jarrod Washburn aren't that comparable, but both are lefties, and that's the biggest comparison that I can find, but I think that you get the point. Solid rotation, with a ton of skill. Angels/Mariners, best rotations? The Mets would enter that conversation as well, and the Red Sox probably could too.

Bullpen Outlook: The Angels have one of the best closers in baseball in Francisco Rodriguez, which I think overvalues their bullpen. Scott Shields is an excellent eighth inning guy, and also a solid reliever, but the rest? Justin Speier is a good pitcher, a fifty inning guy who can keep his ERA under three, but isn't necessarily All-Star material. The rest as I said is, well, Darin Oliver, Chris Bootchek, Jason Bulger, and Dustin Mosely speak for theirselves. I'm not saying that they are bad pitchers, but they aren't great.

Prognosis: I'm not going to lie, the Angels are a heckuva team, and if they would've acquired Miguel Cabrera they would almost have the division locked. I don't want to know what would happen if they got Dontrelle Willis too. Health is a big issue. If Guerrero and Anderson can stay healthy, then the offence is fine. If Lackey and Escobar can stay healthy, then the rotation will be fine, in all likelihood. If K-Rod and Shields are healthy, you get the point. This will be the biggest pain in the Mariners' side in '08, unless a miracle happens in Oakland or Texas.