Well, you knew it was going to happen but the Angels clinched the AL West yesterday. Still the Mariners should win around 85 games and they played some meaningful games in September, which was unthinkable to a lot of people at the beginning of the season. Now, they just have to make sure their recent success doesn’t slip through their fingers.
The pitching staff has to be the biggest disappointment on the team. Miguel Batista has 15 wins but a 1.56 WHIP means he had his share of run support. Felix Hernandez looked like he was going to break out before he got hurt and settled back into being just good and then you had disappointments like Jeff Weaver and his 6.00+ ERA.
The hitting was surprisingly good. The Mariners battiner average is second to just the Yankees in all of baseball and that’s due in part to the slick of hitting if Ichiro. I guess I’m not too excited they threw all that money at him, but he’s not a bad guy to have. Adrian Beltre, while still not worth that monster deal we gave him, is showing some returns and he should walk away with a gold glove this year to go along with his team leading 25 homers.
The Angels aren’t going to go away though and the Athletics have a way of getting better when you least expect so this offseason is an important one. They need to round out their rotation and also continue to work with King Felix so he can become the ace that we all know he is. And while you always hate to say, “Wait until next year,” Mariners actually have a little hope in that regard.