As Season Approaches, Questions Need Answering for Young Mariners Squad

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Every year, spring training brings new hope to Mariners fans. A new season means a chance to start from scratch, forget last year, and go forward with a clean slate. After another rebuilding year in 2010, the Mariners look to try and get back to competing in the AL West, but won’t be able to do so unless they can cure their many problems from a season ago. After a somewhat quiet offseason, it will be interesting to see how they can use their additions to impact their organization.

Perhaps the most intriguing Mariners story of the offseason is the acquisition of new manager Eric Wedge. Wedge comes to an inexperienced Seattle clubhouse one year removed from being the head coach of an equally young and inexperienced team in the Cleveland Indians. Wedge has a lot of experience with young teams, and can hopefully do the same with the M’s. It will be interesting to see how he can develop the young players on the team, because that seems to be the direction the Mariners are headed over the next few years. If they are going to do anything of note this year, Wedge is going to have to spearhead it.

This offseason was nothing special for the Mariners, who once again failed to make a big splash in the abundant Free Agent market. Instead, they signed many players to minor league contracts, meaning they are not likely to make the immediate impact that Seattle so direly needs. However, they did find a couple of position upgrades over last season. Catcher Miguel Olivo signed with the Mariners this offseason, returning to the team that signed him back in 2004. After a big power surge last season, the Mariners hope to add his bat to a lineup that had little to no power at all in 2010. They also added utility-man Brendan Ryan, who can play any position in the infield and some Left Field as well. The Mariners will most likely deploy him in the middle infield, wherever they see fit once their rosters for the new season are set. With a couple of new players, the Mariners tried to show that they are capable of change, but in reality, they didn’t do enough to flip a struggling lineup for 2011.

The biggest story of the offseason for Seattle was the acquisition
of new head coach Eric Wedge

Spring training is going to yield a lot of answers to many fans hopes for the Mariners this season. In spring training, the Mariners are going to be monitoring top prospects Dustin Ackley and Michael Piñeda to see if they are ready to play at a Major League level. Ackley could be the potential second baseman for the Mariners this year if all goes well, and Mariners fans everywhere have been waiting to see him on the Major League squad. Ackley has the best chances of making the squad after an impressive season in the Arizona Fall League, where he took league MVP honors. Piñeda comes into spring training once again as the Mariners top pitching prospect, but has a lot to work on before he’s ready for the majors. Namely, he needs to work on his accuracy and consistency. Once he learns better control of his pitches, he could see some time in a Mariners’ bullpen in dire need of a power arm. If these two rookies can display maturity and readiness in spring training, they have a good chance of bringing some life to a squad in need of some real change.

Overall, the Mariners season is going to be filled with a lot of “ifs”, and it will be interesting to see how things unfold during spring training. Spring training is going to set the stage for them, and is where we can get a true sense of what the team is going to be like in 2011. With nothing else the Mariners can really do to shake things up, the only thing left is to sit back and watch it how it plays out.