Seattle Mariners
 

In 1995, the Seattle faithful were told that if the Mariners didn't get a new stadium, that the team would not be able to keep it's superstar troika of Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr and Alex Rodriguez.  That same year, the Mariners had a wonderful run to get into the postseason, boot the Yanks in the division series and nearly make the World Series, losing to a powerhouse Cleveland team in the ALCS.  Mariner-mania was at an all-time high that November and the stadium issue was passed.

Fast forward to 2001.  The Mariners now play in beautiful new Safeco Field, completed just a year and a half ago.  However, Johnson,  Griffey and ARod are gone because the Mariners couldn't, or wouldn't, afford them.  Hmm.

Fortunately the Mariners got some good young players in return for Johnson and Griffey.  Otherwise this situation might look really bad.
 

Offense

The Mariners were 4th in runs scoring last year and ARod was a big part of that.  His replacement at short, Carlos Guillen, is a fine player but it's hard to replace perhaps the best player of the last half century.  Guillen has power enough for 15+ homers a year and speed enough for 15 to 20 steals, which is still pretty good.  Griffey's replacement in center field, Mike Cameron, had a fine year, hitting nearly 20 homers, getting on base over 36% of the time and making numerous TV highlights with spectacular catches.  At 28, he's entering his peak years so expect more of the same.  Eventually age will catch up with 38-year old DH Edgar Martinez, but it showed no signs of getting him last year.  He topped 30 home runs for the first time in his career and led the league in runs batted in while maintaining his career .426 on base average.  With ARod gone, it's unlikely that he'll lead the league again in RBI, but he'll still be a threat to drive in over 100.  John Olerud is often overlooked when people discuss the best first basemen in the AL largely due to his lack of home run power.  But what they miss is that he's always among the leaders in doubles every year.  Along with the doubles and his 15-20 home runs, he's a good contact hitter and gets on base 40% of the time, which makes him a pretty prickly problem for pitchers.  Second baseman Bret Boone returns to Seattle for a second stint, this time a little more bulked up from the wiry gloveman he was in 1993.  For the past 3 years he's averaged 20+ home runs and has shown a more disciplined eye at the plate.  Utilityman David Bell will assume most of the duties at third base this year, but he is below league average offensively there.  Dan Wilson and Chris Widger are likewise behind the plate.  Al Martin, Jay Buhner and Stan Javier will share time in the outfield.  Each will be useful as 4th and 5th outfielders.  The big acquisition, at least in terms of press coverage, was the signing of right fielder Ichiro Suzuki, simply known as Ichiro in his native Japan.  Suzuki is only 27 but has already won 7 consecutive batting titles and 3 MVPs in Japan.  Suffice it to say he's the best hitter Japan has ever offered to the big leagues.  If the Japanese leagues are roughly equivalent to AAA as many conjecture, he'll be good for a batting average around .300, with good on base (.360-ish) and baserunning skills (30 steals is a reasonable expectation) and decent extra base power in the form of plenty of doubles and triples.  However, his performance in Japan was against pitchers like Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Hideki Irabu and Hideo Nomo.  Good, yes, but not nearly the quality of Pedro Martinez or Mike Mussina.  So it wouldn't be surprising to see his batting numbers a little lower than the general expectation.  While the Mariners will definitely feel the loss of ARod, just as in the case with the loss of Griffey, they will not be crippled severely by his absence.  If Ichiro and Guillen are as good as expected, the M's should still have an above average offense.  RATING: 55
 

Defense

The Boone signing and the emergence of Guillen will help offset the loss of ARod's glove.  Boone is very good at turning the double play and possesses above average range.  Ichiro has a cannon arm in right and good instincts for the ball.  So along with Cameron in center and Olerud at first, the Mariners should have very good defense at 4 positions, 5 if Guillen is as good as the scouts say he is.  The rest of the positions, however, are manned by below average defenders.  RATING: 55
 

Starting Pitching

The M's were supposed to have the best starting pitching in the division this season, but with the injuries of Gil Meche and uber-prospect Ryan Anderson, they may have to get through this season with bailing wire and duct tape.  Freddie Garcia, who came over from Houston in the Randy Johnson trade, has assumed the mantle of staff ace.  Still just 24, he has one of the most promising arms in the AL, routinely throwing his fastball in the mid-90s, mixing in an excellent change and a good curve.  Given a reasonable workload, he should emerge in the next couple of years as one of top 3 or 4 starters in the AL.  Lefty Jamie Moyer showed his age last year with injuries and an ERA over 5.  At 38, he's iffy to regain the 15-win, mid-3 ERA form that he showed though the mid-late 90's.  Aaron Sele is a solid third starter with an excellent curveball.  The higher strike should help him as it will allow him to set it up better with a high fastball.  This should boost not only his strikeout numbers, but his home runs allowed as well.  His average fastball isn't good enough to sneak by the better hitters so pitching them upstairs for him is an invitation for some fan to get a souvenir.  John Halama, also from the Johnson trade, Paul Abbott, Brett Tomko and Jose Paniagua will each probably see time in the rotation.  Paniagua and Tomko have the talent but not the skill to be accomplished starters.  Halama and Abbott will get the majority of the opportunities.  RATING: 60
 

Bullpen

The Mariner's other Japanese import, Kasuhiro Sasaki won rookie of the year honors last year, saving 37 games and posted a solid 3.16 ERA.  Like fellow countryman Hideo Nomo, he uses an above average fastball and a devastating forkball to befuddle hitters.  The rest of the bullpen is a solid mix of veterans and youngsters.  Paniagua and Tomko began their respective careers as starters but have found success in the bullpen, operating both as short relievers and swing men, capable of giving 4 or 5 quality innings when one of the starters fails.  Except for his struggles in the ALCS, Arthur Rhodes pitched very well as the lefty set-up man.  The M's persuaded former Yankee set-up man Jeff Nelson to return to his roots.  Nelson has been brilliant for much of the last 5 years, making right-handed batters look foolish flailing at his exceptional slider.  Its interesting to note that Nelson was a part of that 1995 Mariners team that stunned the Yanks in the division series.  A very good bullpen. RATING: 70
 

Management

Lou Pinella won a World Series as an underdog in 1990 when he skippered the Reds and nearly pulled off a similar feat in 1995 with the M's.  As an in-game strategist, he's one of the best.  He got a well-deserved reputation as a poor handler of young pitchers as he allowed a number of young quality arms to throw too many pitches too many times.  But if last year is any indication, he may know better now.  Garcia is probably the best arm he's had since Randy Johnson and he allowed him to throw as many as 120 pitches just once.  Not a great record considering Garcia is so young, but a better one than in previous years and perhaps reason for optimism that he's learning.  But that, as significant as it is, is Sweet Lou's only flaw.  His player's play hard for him, he makes good moves in the game generally and he puts on a great show whenever he gets thrown out.  GM Pat Gillick is also high quality.  When Griffey demanded a trade and demanded he be traded to Cincinnati and only Cincinnati, that didn't leave him much room for bargaining.  And yet, he still got a quality arm (Tomko), a good centerfielder (Cameron) and an excellent shortstop prospect (Antonio Perez) out of the deal.  Gillick was the architect of the championship Blue Jays teams of the early 90's and there's no reason to doubt that he can't construct a similarly successful ballclub in Seattle.  RATING: 70
 

Conclusion

The Mariners have the makings of a championship team - some superb young pitching, some very good defenders up the middle, a solid bullpen, a smart manager and an even smarter GM.  However, they still have a few weak spots in the line-up and on defense and a few questions in the rotation.  While they may have too daunting a task to compete with the A's this year, the rest of the decade is up for grabs.