Athlon Baseball 2009 Mariners Preview - 美國職棒

Athlon Baseball 2009 Seattle Mariners Preview




The Mariners would seem to have nowhere to go but up after a 101-loss season,
but the offense is going to have to get a whole lot better before that becomes
a sure thing. The Mariners lost their top RBI man from 2008 when Raul Ibanez
left for the Philadelphia Phillies, and the club hasn’t found a suitable
replacement. On the other hand, new general manager Jack Zduriencik has done a
serious revision of the roster that new manager Don Wakamatsu will have at his
disposal in 2009. It’s a roster in which the defense, particularly in the
outfield, should be better and where the starting pitching should keep the
Mariners in games. As opposed to last season under then-general manager Bill
Bavasi, the Mariners should get the chance to find themselves in the early
going. A year ago, the Mariners were coming off an 88-win season and there were
huge expectations after the additions of starting pitchers Erik Bedard and
Carlos Silva. This year, after the trade of closer J.J. Putz as the key man in
a 12-player, three-team trade, the Mariners are looking more and more like a
team that is going to have to reinvent itself.



Rotation

If there is one major upside to the Seattle picture entering 2009, it’s the
starting rotation. Hard-throwing righthander Felix Hernandez, still just 22,
will be the No. 1 starter. He only went 9–11 last year, but his ERA dipped to
3.45, down almost half a run from the 2007 season. He finished eighth in the AL
in ERA and seventh in strikeouts with 175. Lefthander Erik Bedard might not be
the most popular guy in the game, but he knows how to pitch. In between two
stints on the DL (hip and shoulder), he won six games and had a 3.67 ERA. When
healthy, Bedard is one of the top lefties in the league. Brandon Morrow and
Ryan Rowland-Smith figure to occupy the third and fourth spots in the rotation.
Morrow, the team’s first-round pick in 2006, started five games for the
Mariners last season and came out of the bullpen 40 times. The Australian-born
Rowland-Smith had a 2.56 ERA from Aug. 21 through the end of the season.
Veterans Jarrod Washburn and Carlos Silva will battle newly acquired Garrett
Olson for the fifth spot in a rotation that is as strong top-to-bottom as it’s
been in half a decade.



Bullpen

With the departure of Putz as the closer and innings-eating Sean Green in
middle relief, the bullpen will have an entirely new look. Going into the
spring, Miguel Batista could be the closer, a role he handled in Toronto a few
years back. He saved 31 games with the Blue Jays in 2005 but lost eight games
and had more hits allowed (80) than innings pitched (74.2). The Mariners could
also move Morrow back into the bullpen for ninth-inning work. He wants to
start, but the Mariners may have no better choice than the man who filled in
nicely for Putz for a stretch last 2008. Mark Lowe and Roy Corcoran, a pair of
young righthanders, are going to be asked to assume bigger roles in the pen,
while Jason Vargas will get a chance to be the setup lefthander. Also, Jose
Lugo, a lefty, will get a long look as a Rule 5 free agent.



Middle infield

Wakamatsu says he’s “looking forward” to the opportunity to work with second
baseman Jose Lopez and shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt. Lopez came into his own
as a hitter in 2008, hitting a career-high .297 while slugging .443. But his
defense remains suspect, particularly his range. Betancourt has slipped a notch
on both offense and defense, though his bat showed signs of life in the final
quarter of the 2008 season. He hit .305 in August and .343 in September and
ended the season at a respectable .279 with 66 runs scored and 51 RBIs.



Corners

Third baseman Adrian Beltre enters the final year of his contract as the glue
of the infield. Coming off his second Gold Glove-winning season, he’s as good
as any third baseman defensively, and on offense he’s been a steadying force
in the middle of the Seattle offense even if he hasn’t reverted to the
48-homer power of his 2004 season with the Dodgers. Across the diamond, Russell
Branyan’s best power years came in the early part of the decade, but the
Mariners believe he can increase his production with more consistent playing
time. His left-handed swing is built for Safeco Field, or at least the Mariners
are hoping so. On the other hand, the club spent the winter converting
utilityman Mike Morse into a first baseman, and he’s an offensive threat who
could serve as the designated hitter or split time at first base if Branyan can
’t secure an everyday job.



Outfield

The addition of center fielder Franklin Gutierrez, who was a right fielder with
Cleveland, to play alongside Ichiro Suzuki gives the Mariners two of the best
defensive players in the game. And Endy Chavez, acquired from the Mets in the
Putz deal, can chase it down as well. The Mariners believe a better defensive
outfield will make the pitching staff better. Chavez could split playing time
with Wladimir Balentien in left, but Balentien will have to prove that he has
caught up with major league breaking pitches before he can be sure of seeing
his name in the lineup regularly. Last year, he hit .202 with the Mariners and
struck out 79 times in 243 at bats.



Catching

The position will be a tricky one for Wakamatsu, a former catcher. Kenji
Johjima, fresh off his worst professional season, comes in as the nominal
starter, but former first-round draft pick Jeff Clement will need some playing
time as well. Clement caught 38 games last year and served as the DH 21 times.



DH/Bench

Since Clement is penciled in as a regular DH, the Mariners are likely to carry
three catchers. Rob Johnson will challenge Jamie Burke, last year’s backup,
for the roster spot. Morse, who missed almost all of the 2008 season with a
separated shoulder, is being groomed as a first baseman, but he can play third
and the outfield, too, if needed. Second baseman Tug Hulett gives the Mariners
some depth in the infield. Chavez is an outfielder who can start if needed, but
look for one of two youngsters, Mike Wilson or Greg Halman, to make a move on
to the 25-man roster before the season gets too advanced.



Management

CEO Howard Lincoln and president Chuck Armstrong gave Zduriencik a free hand to
hire a manager. He chose Wakamatsu, who served as the bench coach in Oakland
last year. Wakamatsu spent three years managing in the Diamondbacks
organization in the late 1990s and managed the Angels’ Double-A team in 2000.
Much of the front office has undergone a turnover, with only international
scout Bob Engle and associate general manager Lee Pelekoudas retaining their
positions.



Final analysis

Zduriencik refuses to use the word “rebuilding” when talking about this club.
It’s hard to know what else to call it, however, unless the Mariners make some
late additions to bring in some offense. There is enough starting pitching to
keep the Mariners in most games, but the re-tooled bullpen has some issues. The
Angels, who have dominated the AL West in recent years, don’t figure to be as
good in 2008, but the Mariners don’t look like a team capable of posing too
big of a threat.



Beyond the Boxscore


Hit man Once again, Ichiro Suzuki led the Mariners with 58 multiple-hit games,
but he had real competition internally in 2008. Second baseman Jose Lopez set
the pace for a good portion of the year and finished with 54 multiple-hit games.


Back in right Ichiro starts the 2009 season as the Mariners’ right fielder for
the first time since 2006. It was in midseason 2006 that centerfielder Jeremy
Reed was hurt and Ichiro ultimately moved from right to center. He was moved
back to right 10 weeks into the 2008 season.


Innings eater Felix Hernandez is only the second Mariner pitcher to have thrown
200 or more innings in a season before his 23rd birthday. Hernandez had 206.2
innings in 2008. Dave Fleming threw 228.1 innings in 1992 at the age of 22.


Rough starts Last season, Seattle’s starting pitchers failed to get through
five innings almost a quarter of the time. The Mariners were 8–31 in those 39
games.


New leadership The Mariners have an entirely new coaching staff and new manager
(Don Wakamatsu) for the first time since the 1993 season.


Repeat basher Adrian Beltre became the fifth player in club history to lead the
team in home runs in consecutive seasons, joining Richie Zisk (’81-82), Ken
Griffey Jr. (’92-94, ’96-99), Bret Boone (’03-04) and Richie Sexson (’
05-06).


Shut him down Beltre cut the final 10 days of the season short to have separate
surgeries on his left shoulder and left thumb on Sept. 18. The idea for the
early exit to the 2008 season was that he would be healthy for the 2009 World
Baseball Classic and the ensuing regular season.


Clutch Yuniesky Betancourt hit .302 with two outs, the best two-out average
among American League shortstops and 10th among all AL hitters.



Farm System


2008 Top Draft Pick — The Mariners grabbed Georgia closer Joshua Fields with
the 20th pick in the first round, but the hard-throwing righthander, who has
Scott Boras as an agent, had yet to sign through mid-January. Boras has been
asking for a $2 million signing bonus; the Mariners have been offering $1.5
million, and the two sides have not compromised yet. If and when Fields signs,
he could jump straight to Triple-A. He shined as a sophomore at Georgia but
struggled through a poor junior campaign in 2007. He returned as a senior in ’
08 and was dominant, allowing only 17 hits in 37.1 innings while striking out
63 batters.


2007 Top Pick — Phillippe Aumont, RHP, Ecole du Versant, Quebec
Throws in high 90s, but a strained shoulder limited him to three games after
June 9. He’s been fast-tracked and could be up in 2010.


2006 Top Pick — Brandon Morrow, RHP, California
He’ll either be in the rotation or be the closer in 2009.


2005 Top Pick — Jeff Clement, C, USC
His defense may force him to DH, but he’ll be a regular with the Mariners in
2009.


2004 Top Pick —Matt Tuiasosopo, SS, Woodinville (WA) High School
Turned down a football scholarship to Washington. Now playing third base, he
could be with the big club by 2010.


2003 Top Pick — Adam Jones, SS, Morse (Calif.) High School
Converted to the outfield, he was traded to Baltimore last February in the Erik
Bedard deal.



Other Prospects (age on Opening Day)


C Rob Johnson (25)
Hit .305 at Triple-A and has been sought in trade talks.


LHP Ryan Feierabend (23)
Has been up a couple of times with the M’s. Went 7–1 with a 2.04 ERA in 13
starts at


OF Greg Halman (21)
Split the season between Class-A and Double-A, leading all Mariner minor
leaguers with 29 homers while also stealing 31 bases.


OF Mike Wilson (25)
Could make the jump from Double-A to the big leagues after hitting .276 with 27
homers and 84 RBIs.


RHP Shawn Kelley (24)
Shot from low Class A to Double-A in 2008 as a closer who had a 3–1 record
with 16 saves and a 1.88 ERA.



Statistician

1 >> Grand slams hit by a pitcher in the history of interleague play. The
man who accomplished the feat is Felix Hernandez, who hit it off Mets
ace Johan Santana.

8 >> Consecutive seasons in which Ichiro Suzuki has had 200 or more hits and
100 or more runs scored. The streak of 200 or more hits is a modern
major league record (dating back to 1901).

590 >> Combined hit total of Suzuki, Jose Lopez and Raul Ibanez. That was the
most hits produced by any trio from any big league team in 2008.

4 >> Number of Mariners who have hit for the cycle. Adrian Beltre joined the
club last September.

18 >> Number of multiple-RBI games for shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt in the
final two months of the season as he salvaged 2008 with a strong stretch
drive. He’d had 22 multiple-RBI games in the first four months.

4.73 >> Seattle’s team ERA, which ranked 11th in the 14-team AL.

5.07 >> Seattle’s team ERA by its starting pitchers, which ranked 12th in the
league.

.318 >> The Mariners’ on-base percentage, which tied Oakland for last in the
league.



Difference Maker

Lefthander Erik Bedard spent the winter recovering from minor shoulder surgery,
and reports are that the veteran, who was just 6–4 last year in 15 starts,
should be ready to return to the form that made him one of the top starting
pitchers in the American League during his final few seasons in Baltimore.
Bedard had a 3.67 earned run average in his 15 starts and allowed only 70 hits
in 81 innings, but he averaged only five innings per start and had two long
stints on the disabled list.



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