State of the Mariners: At the Break 2007

The first half of the 2007 season has been spectacular for the Mariners to say the least. Pre-season expectations set by fans after an offseason of inactivity have been shattered, and the Mariners are sitting pretty at 2.5 games behind the Angels in the divsion and 1.5 behind Cleveland in the AL wildcard race. With a record of 49-36 (13 games over .500), we are on pace to win 93 games which we haven't done since 2003 when we went 93-69, finished 3 games behind Oakland, and just 2 games behind Boston for the wildcard. The question that Seattle fans are sub-conciously asking themselves is, "How in the hell did this happen?" It really is a good question considering there was not much hope among the Mariners fanbase after we failed to sign a stud starter in the offseason, which was thought to be a desperate need.

Keys to Success:

Bullpen: The Mariner's young bullpen has been absolutely stellar this year. George Sherrill has been a very pleasant surprise after a ho-hum 2006 season where he had a 5.21 era in just 19 innings. This season, he has been among the best in the league and currently has an era of 1.33. Opponents are hitting just .146 against him, and left handed batters have hit a miniscule .098. He has been fantastic and certainly has the numbers to be a closer; the reason he's not a closer? J.J. Putz. Putz has continued his success as a closer from last year and is heading to the All Star game as arguably the best closer in baseball. His filthy splitter continues to baffle hitters and has been fundamental in striking out 43 batters in 40 innings and maintaining an era under 1.00 (currently 0.90). The cast surrounding these two studs has also been above average. Though he walks a batter for every one he strikes out, Brandon Morrow goes into the break with a very respectable 3.66 era, which is astounding considering his control problems that often plague young pitchers. Sean Green and Eric O'Flaherty have been even better posting era's of 2.67 and 2.17 respectively. If the young guns in the bullpen can continue to dominate, they can default the struggling and inconsistent rotation.

Depth of Lineup: The Mariners lineup is often underrated because people pass judgement too soon. Just because there isn't a stud power hitter in the middle of the lineup doesn't mean we can't hold our own. A closer look at our lineup from 1 through 9 reveals that we actually have talent from beginning to end. If we can get better at hitting with runners in scoring position, opposing pitchers will be in for some really bad innings.

Washburn: There is no doubt about it, Jarrod Washburn has been the most consistent starter for the Mariners this season. Pitching 106 innings thus far, he leads the team in innings pitched and has a respectable 3.72 era, tied with King Felix. This season may be one of Washburn's best of his career as he has already matched his win total in each of the last two years. Chances are he wont match his career best 18 win season with the Angels in 2002, their World Championship year, but if he keeps his era below 4.00, Mariner fans should be pleased.

Disappointments:

Power Outage: Oh where, oh where has the power gone? The Mariners rank 10th in homeruns with only 77 as opposed to 91 at the break last year. A closer look at our power guys reveals why we are struggling as a team with the longball. Comparisons of their career HR's per at bat with their 2007 homeruns per at bat show a downward trend.

Sexson: +2.9 at bats per homerun in 07

Ibanez: +20.8 at bats per homerun in 07

Guillen: +1.8 at bats per homerun in 07

Beltre: -2.8 at bats per homerun in 07

Combined: +3.6 at bats per homerun in 07

Rotation: Our rotation as a whole has been flat out B-A-D. So far this season, our 7 starters have a whopping 5.03 era. In fact, our bullpen is so much better than our rotation that it lowers our team era by a mindblowing 0.54; an extremely impressive statistic since our bullpen accounts for only 35% of innings pitched. The fact that we weren't able to add a front line starter in the offseason is definitely rearing its ugly head right now. If we are able to add a solid guy before the trading deadline, which I personally doubt, then I believe we have a fair shot at making the playoffs and possibly winning a series.