OT: #marinerstalk

my formula to winning baseball is
1 superstar in the lineup, 1 upper tier player who isn't a star, with some role players/above average hitters
4 deep in the rotation
great back end of the bullpen
That's why my WS is the Nats (ILTCTT) and the Rays.
Nationals have Strasburg Gonzalez Zimmerman Fister (great 1-2-3-4) Harper along with zimmerman and/or desmond, along with Laroche, Ramos and some guys like that. And then a back end that includes Clippard, Soriano, Storen, ossai, etc.
The Rays have Price, Cobb, Moore, Archer. A superstar in Longoria, a close to star in Wil Myers, with some role players like Zobrist, Jennings, etc. And then a back end with Balfour Peralta McGee.
That's how you win (see 2010, 2012 giants) not by piling up on superstar hitters like the angels, rangers, yankees, etc.
I will say the Tigers and Dodgers will be tough to beat but I don't like the tigers bullpen, and everyone is going with LA so I wanted to mix it up a bit.

RoadDawg55 said:

dhdawg said:

wilson had a great year in texas and hasn't done much since. Last year their back end was garrett richards and joe blanton for a portion of the year. You can spend as much on hitting as you want but it won't matter if you can't pitch

See the Mariners (96-99). They had the best lineup in the league with A-Rod, Griffey, Edgar, and Buhner, but had no pitching outside of Randy Johnson. Even Russ Davis was hitting 20 HR's a season. Remember how bad the fucking bullpen was?

They did make that awesome trade for Heathcliff Slowcum, so there's that

The Angels' bullpen is a #fuckingdreckfest

DeepSeaZ said:

This team doesn't suck! LOL.

If they're above. 500 come Memorial Day, that might be believable.

they are not a playoff team, but they right now look the part of at least a 500 team.
Santiago was a tough assignment for them and they ran him in the 6th and feasted on the angels dogshit bullpen.
While the contract is absurd Cano is making a difference in the lineup

He_Needs_More_Time said:

dnc said:

dhdawg said:

they are not a playoff team, but they right now look the part of at least a 500 team.
Santiago was a tough assignment for them and they ran him in the 6th and feasted on the angels dogshit bullpen.
While the contract is absurd Cano is making a difference in the lineup

Cano is the closest thing to 90's era Griffey we've had in the lineup in a long time. Hard not to notice the resemblance with him batting third in the lineup from the left side of the plate. His swing isn't as pretty as The Kid's, but it's pretty sweet.

I'm developing a mancrush.

Will we regret the Cano contract when's 36 and beyond? yes.

However this franchise hasn't been dick in a decade so I liked the signing. You needed to go out and get that superstar in the lineup. Second among all position players in WAR in the last five years and now guys like Seager/Smoak aren't asked to carry this offense which they struggled with.

With Cano there to anchor this lineup and be a leader the rest falls into place.

I've said this before but I truly believe Wedge and his hack at everything approach that he had was detrimental to our young guys. With him gone I noticed the Mariners are actually working counts and having good solid AB's.

Totally agree. Absolutely hated Wedge's over aggressive approach to everything. Cano's patience in the heart of the lineup really gives the young guys something to look to.