Michael Gore - Baseball
The Seattle Mariners Are going to be a good team this year for many reasons. Their three factors, Pitching, Hitting, and fielding, are all excellent. While they might not win first place in the west, they will still do decently enough to get into the playoffs.
Our pitching quality has slightly lowered, because we lost Arthur Rhodes and Kazuhiro Sasaki. However, Last year, Kazu Sasaki missed most of the season due to injuries, and Arthur Rhodes blew most of his save opportunities. Our starting rotation, With Jamie Moyer, Gil Meche, Joel Pinero, Ryan Franklin, and Freddy Garcia, is one of the best rotations ever. These are not huge name players, but they are still amazing athletes. Last year, we went with those five starters for the whole year, and those five only. The younger Pitchers have gained experience from last year, and they will be better pitchers.
Seattle’s hitting has gotten so much better. The acquisitions of Rich Aurellia, Scott Spezio, and Raul Ibanez make the hitting more of a threat to opposing pitchers.
All of the new hitters bring more power, something that Seattle has been looking for ever since the departure of Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez. Spezio’s arrival is one of the main acquisitions, because ex-third baseman Jeff Cirillo slumped while with the Mariners, bating under .230 both years. Scott Spezio, however, has been minorly injured for the first games of the season. Bret Boone is still a huge threat. Seattle’s defense is about the same as last year, even though we lost Mike Cameron, a stellar defensive player, and his gold glove fielding. Jeff Cirillo, a gold glove winner, also left Seattle, being filled in be Scott Spezio, who is slower and more prone to injuries. Raul Ibanez will take some time to adjust to left field, the cursed position in Seattle. The right side of the infield, with John Olerud and Bret Boone, is the most defensively adequate place on the field. Last Year, The Mariners defense was the best in baseball.
Now you see why the Mariners will be a great team this year. The Hitting is improved, the Defense is the best in the league, and the Seattle Mariners are ready to win.
