The M's
- Thread starter PurpleBaze
- Start date
TierbsHsotBoobs
New Fish
I'm a 6
Great Het bestand wat u zocht bestaat niet of is verwijderd.
U word na 5 seconden doorverwezen naar de hoofpagina as always.
Fuck guys! This is so fucking irritating. Enough with this fucking shit. Embed pictures properly or GTFO.
SteveInShelton
New Fish
Lol at M's fans expecting playoffs or bust. The team does look better, but this hasn't exactly been a successful organization. Yankees and Red Sox fans can be disappointed if their team doesn't make the playoffs, M's fans cannot.
I think it's very possible that the M's overachieved last year and revert back to being an under .500 team. Overachieved is probably the wrong word, but they are typically so bad that I will use it. I'm still scarred by the 2010 season when they acquired Cliff Lee after a winning record in 2009.
We are talking about the Mariners. Questions at shortstop, first base, and the outfield. Cano's power decline is at least a little concerning.
Felix reverts back to a 3.00 ERA instead of 2.30. Iwakuma was terrible in September. Walker and Paxton are still unproven and Paxton has been injury prone. Chris Young was pretty valuable last season. The bullpen was outstanding last year. They likely take a step back.
They might be better, but there are still tons of question marks. I get why they will be better. Oakland rebuilding helps too. We will see what happens.
Tequilla
Active poster
Problem is that the Mariners of that time period were not only too cheap to build up the depth that they needed, but they also were way behind in recognizing the future of the game.
The case in point of that was the Tino Martinez trade for Russ Davis and Sterling Hitchcock. No huge problems with that deal as it was set up ... but huge problems in including Jeff Nelson in that deal. But then again, that's why the Yankees are the Yankees (at least at that point in time).
Tequilla
Active poster
Not even really sure if I care about Cano's power. Only 11 guys in the majors hit 30+ homers last year. More interested in him continuing to be a .300+ hitter, working counts, and making those around him better. More concerned about him at some point losing some range at 2nd base.
I get what you are saying at the position where you are worried. But I have reasons to believe that we'll be better there. Performance of the Mariners lineup by position last year:
C: .206/.254/.378
1B: .252/.314/.399
2B: .315/.379/.448
3B: .264/.329/.447
SS: .242/.302/.355
LF: .241/.284/.383
CF: .235/.271/.285
RF: .255/.308/.413
DH: .190/.266/.301
When I look at that, I don't see any reason to believe that Cano or Seager will go backwards. I don't see any reason to believe that Cruz won't be a massive improvement at DH (he was .271/.333/.525 last year; not that far off from his career numbers). I think LoMo has the ability to take another leap forward given the 2nd half of the year last year combined with his age. However, I would agree that it would be prudent to have a backup plan in place given his injury history. I don't see how SS gets any worse next year. I feel like Ackley has turned a bit of a corner so I would expect the numbers at LF to see an uptick. Austin Jackson's career splits are .274/.336/.402. Anything even remotely close to that for 2015 would be a MASSIVE improvement over what the Mariners ran out there last year. In RF, you have a platoon situation set up where Smith has a career stat line of .277/.358/.481 against RHP and Ruggiano has a split of .266/.329/.508. Those stats are a massive improvement if career norms are approached (particularly in getting on base and power). Finally, I think you have a strong case to see Zunino take a huge step forward in the next year or two. Getting a solid backup is definitely needed.
I get what you're saying about Felix potentially regressing, but I expect to see another strong campaign out of the King given that he felt like he got slighted against. A motivated King is a vicious animal. I agree that there's reason to have some concern about Iwakuma. I'd feel much more comfortable if he was the 3rd starter. Paxton's biggest issue will be staying healthy. IF Walker has turned a corner, then that's going to be a massive improvement. Elias is still a massive question mark to me. He's a league average pitcher to me with upside. Beyond Happ, I don't see depth and that's by far my biggest concern on the club.
With respect to the pen, I guess it's very reasonable to suggest that they'll take a step back. However, they all have really good arms and are settled in what they are doing for the most part. The areas where I worry about the pen are injuries and overwork if the rotation really starts to fall apart.
The one other area where I do think that they have some room to move is that the next generation of talent is getting close to the bigs. Should they be in a position where they find themselves an arm short, etc. as the season progresses, they can trade from some of their minor league strength to secure the player(s) necessary.
When I look at the AL West, Oakland will be taking a significant step back and I expect them to finish in last. I like what Houston is building but they are going to be in a position where their goal this year will be getting to .500. I felt like the Angels played a little above their heads at points last year. They have a lot of guys in their core that are aging and it feels to me like they will take a step back. The wild card in the division is Texas ... but something down there just seems a bit broken.
HeretoBeatmyChest
New Fish
I don't know much about the Mariners but I have some good sources on the situation. Here is some info I've gathered about the upcoming season...
-Bullpen is very good but there is huge variance in performance (statistically) from these pitchers. Odds are bullpen will be good but not as lights out as last year.
-Cruz helps offense but he's a power/HR hitter and his #s will certainly take a dip at Safeco as right as right handed power hitters don't do well at Safeco. Also, and you can tell this from looking at his stats but Cano won't be as good in coming seasons.
-Starting pitching should be fine and could exceed last year's performance if Tajuan Walker has a good year.
-Saunders could have a breakout year for Toronto…unfortunately didn't fit in here.
-AL West will be tough
Overall, the WS hype is not warranted but they have a chance to be a few games better this year and thus a reasonable chance to make playoffs. In the end the goal is just that…to get to the playoffs because anything can happen.
-Bullpen is very good but there is huge variance in performance (statistically) from these pitchers. Odds are bullpen will be good but not as lights out as last year.
-Cruz helps offense but he's a power/HR hitter and his #s will certainly take a dip at Safeco as right as right handed power hitters don't do well at Safeco. Also, and you can tell this from looking at his stats but Cano won't be as good in coming seasons.
-Starting pitching should be fine and could exceed last year's performance if Tajuan Walker has a good year.
-Saunders could have a breakout year for Toronto…unfortunately didn't fit in here.
-AL West will be tough
Overall, the WS hype is not warranted but they have a chance to be a few games better this year and thus a reasonable chance to make playoffs. In the end the goal is just that…to get to the playoffs because anything can happen.
TierbsHsotBoobs
New Fish
dhdawg
New Fish
Baseball rewards mediocrity more than any other sport, NFL football is probably 2nd in that regard.
Baseball is played over 162 games for a reason, it's incredibly evenly matched game to game
Make the playoffs and anybody can beat anybody.
I think the pitching may take a step back due to bullpen variance (as you already mentioned) but stay well above average and the offense on paper should be much better with the upgrades in RF, DH, and a probable increase in production at SS, CF (even though I don't love Jackson it can't be as bad as it was last year) and maybe C.
I think they are probably co favorites with the angels in the west with the Athletics being a strong darkhorse. Projections say they are the best, but they still need to show it on the field
Last edited:
who said the Lou Piniella Lounge was doomed to obscurity?
The Rangers have a lot of ifs, but they might be decent. Their roster isn't much, if any worse than the M's. If Fielder can stay healthy and hit 30 HR's. If Choo and Andrus play at their normal level. If Holland and Darvish are healthy. If those things happen, they have a better team than the Mariners.
dhdawg
New Fish
I would agree, but the angels, mariners, and even A's are much more of a sure thing right now.
Another guy you didn't mention is martin Pérez, a nice pitcher who's projected to return from TJ at some point this season.
They could be good, but they just as easily could lose 90 games again
Tequilla
Active poster
The Rangers are shells of what they used to be. Beltre and Fielder are nice ... although Beltre's aging a bit (so the decline that is talked about Cano applies as well for Beltre who is also older) and we really don't know how Fielder is going to respond to his neck surgery last year. Choo is about the only other offensive piece that I look at on their team and immediately think that he's above league average. Martin may end up being but he's average at best right now. Everybody else is some combination of young, unproven, or inconsistent.
Pitching wise, Darvish is obviously crazy talented but his inability to consistently pitch deep into games hurts their team IMO (can't underestimate how draining the summer months are for them - it's probably a 2-3 game difference in the standings). Holland's a solid #2. Gallardo is nothing special at this point in his career and I can't imagine that pitching in Texas is going to be helpful to him. I actually liked Colby Lewis before his injuries, but you can't have a guy in your rotation in the AL West penciled in to make 30 starts with an ERA of 5+ and win. And in all honesty, their pen isn't that good.
Vegas projects the Rangers for 77.5 wins in 2015 and I think that's a good number. They strike me as a just below .500 team with 85 wins probably being their high water mark. I think I'd take the Astros +3 in a H2H bet against the Rangers.