2008 Seattle Mariners MLB Predictions & Preview


June 9, 2008 | Posted By Larry Cook

The Seattle Mariners improved greatly last season despite being doubted heading into the year. But their 88 wins were not enough to make the playoffs. Now Seattle management remains under the gun to put a playoff team on the field in 2008. The offense has to make up for the loss of right fielder Jose Guillen. Manager John McLaren says his team can compete for a division title this season, but it will be tough for the Mariners to stay with the Angels. Seattle has the better pitching staff with the 1-2 punch of Bedard and Hernandez, but can their line-up give these young guns enough run support to capture a long-awaited division crown en route to a playoff birth? Larry Cook gives you his 2008 Seattle Mariners predictions along with a season preview below.

Starting Rotation:

The Mariners finished last season by taking away Horacio Ramirez’ starting job and saying goodbye to veteran Jeff Weaver. Seattle has made up for these two weak links in a big way with a pair of proven starters. Eric Bedard comes over from Baltimore and brings with him a great potential. Bedard is a killer strikeout guy for all of you fantasy lover’s out there. Carlos Silva comes over from Minnesota and can be counted on for at least 190 innings of solid work this year. The three returning starters are Felix Hernandez, Jarrod Washburn and Miguel Batista. Hernandez is the Ace, winning 26 games in two years at just 21 years old. He won’t turn 22 until April. Hernandez is the heart and sole of this staff and must stay healthy. This is one of the few teams in the league that has their rotation clearly set. Seattle has turned from a great hitting team in the Griffey Jr. days to a team reliant on their starting staff and they hope it pays major dividends this season. Teams can’t win ball games if they can’t get hitters out, so pitching should be the major priority and this team is heading in the right direction because of it.

Bullpen:

Seattle also has one of the best ‘pens in the big leagues. Brandon Morrow and Rowland Smith will be turning over games to closer J.J. Putz. A 2007 All-Star, Putz has developed into one of the game’s best in the ninth inning and had more saves than hits allowed in ’07. Now that’s a trend that cannot be ignored. George Sherrill has become a reliever that teams ask about in trade talks. He may not be around long. A player to look at in spring training is Mark Lowe. If he came come back fully recovered from elbow surgery in ’06, it would be a big boost to the rotation. Eric O’Flaherty and Sean Green add nice quality and depth to bullpen as well.

Line-Up:

The Seattle Mariners have the craftiest lead-off hitter in the big leagues. CF Ichiro Suzuki can do it all in the field and at the plate. Suzuki doesn’t walk much, but he also doesn’t strike out much either. His speed can beat out a lot more ground balls than most hitters due to the fact that he is on the move at impact. So he still has a great on-base percentage and is a 110-plus run guy year in and year out. DH Jose Vidro is not your classic DH, but had an on-base percentage close to .400 last season and mans the No. 2 hole this year. 3B Adrian Beltre has seen his average, homers and RBIs increase each year since joining the Mariners. LF Raul Ibanez dominated AL pitchers during the final two months of the 2007 season. 1B Richie Sexson has to return to form after a terrible year last season. His ability to due so will be key in the Mariners’ run at the playoffs in 2008. RF Adam Jones looks to bat 6th, but could bounce around until he gets comfortable with a spot as he is ultimately a 3 or 4 hitter. C Kenji Johjima took a slight hit offensively last year, but his pitch calling and defense improved tremendously. 8th hitter in SS Yunieasky Betancourt could bat higher in the line-up given his .345 average with runners in scoring position in 2007. 2B Jose Lopez will likely be the only Mariner who is actually pressed to hold his job this season as he hits 9th to start the year. Jose Vidro is not your typical DH off the bench, but he and Ichiro will get on base better than most 1-2 hitters in the big leagues. This will give Beltre, Ibanez, Sexson and company a good chance to knock home some runs. Jamie Burke will back up Johjima behind the plate and No. 1 prospect Jeff Clement could be called up from the minors in a rare occasion where the Mariners would have 3 catchers on the bench. Willy Bloomquist is your classic utility guy that can play any position except catcher. He’s also the club’s second best base runner. Mike Morse has always hit well, but has not got the playing time to show it more often. It doesn’t look to change any time soon either. OF Jeremy Reed was the opening day starter two years ago for Seattle. Now he’s just fighting to get back into the big leagues and earn a spot on the Seattle bench this season.

Mariners 2008 Predictions:

The Seattle Mariners improved their starting rotation with the additions of Bedard and Silva. This 88-win team from a year ago has easily made up for the loss of Jose Guillen. These two starters can carry heavy work loads and get the Mariners back to the playoffs this season. Will it be enough to overcome the Angels is the real question? We don’t think it will be enough as the division comes down to the wire in the closing weeks. The Angels have the experience to finish off the year strong in the end while Seattle just doesn’t have the players that have been in this position before. Seattle may be leading the division for most of the year, but when it comes down to it they don’t have what it takes to finish the job. The Mariners will have to settle for 2nd in the AL West division and pray the Yankees or Red Sox have a down year so they can catch a Wild Card birth this season.

Larry Cook finished with the #5 World Ranking with his baseball picks in 2007 last year. Hard work with research, analysis and starting pitcher breakdowns gives Larry the edge over your sportsbook and bookies. You won’t believe the kind of profits you can make by signing up for any of Larry’s long-term packages. By doing so, you will get in on all of his winning MLB action this season. Larry will guide you to profits you have never seen before once he makes his move up to the #1 spot in 2008.

2008 Seattle Mariners Odds:
Odds to win AL West: 5/2
Odds to win 2008 AL Pennant: 12/1
Odds to win 2008 World Series: 25/1

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