Time for some predictions
Adam Loghides
Issue date: 3/11/08 Section: Sports
Since the start of last fall term, I have made a few sports predictions in this column. The majority of them have been right on (see OSU's 0-18 men's hoops team, the Red Sox obliterating the Rockies in last year's World Series and the Blazers falling out of the playoff picture before the All-Star Break), but a couple haven't quite worked out so well (yeah, I was the guy who picked South Florida to play for the college football national championship and the Patriots to go undefeated - although you can't blame me for that one).
So, since baseball worked out so well for me, here goes another prediction that may startle you.
The Seattle Mariners are going to win the American League West and, even more surprising, will seriously challenge the Red Sox, Indians and Yankees for the AL pennant in 2008.
Winning it all starts with your division and the Mariners are set up well in the AL West. The Rangers are still the Rangers and the A's seem to have taken enough steps back to not be considered a contender this season. That leaves the defending champs, the Angels.
The Angels do have a leg up on the Mariners in one area: the manager. In Mike Scioscia, the Angels have a World Series winning manager who imposes his toughness upon every one of his teams and this year should be no different. However, the Mariners have John McLaren who went 43-41 in finishing the 2007 season after the mid-season sudden retirement of then-manager Mike Hargrove. McLaren was placed in a very tough position and handled the team well, keeping them in the pennant race until the last week of the season. The Mariners finished 88-74 and six games back of the Angels.
So the question must be: did the Mariners improve their team six games more than the Angels did in the offseason? You can answer that question with two words: Erik Bedard.
The acquisition of Bedard from Baltimore last month solidifies Seattle's best starting rotation since the late 1990s when the team was a perennial contender. Bedard, who has a career ERA under 4.00 while pitching the majority of his games at Baltimore's hitter-friendly Camden Yards, will be backed up by 22-year-old (when the season starts) phenom Felix Hernandez. Hernandez is destined to have a great career and showed some signs of absolute brilliance last season. The rotation also includes Carlos Silva, Jerrod Washburn and Miguel Batista. Each one of these guys won over 10 games last year and will win double-digit games again in 2008. Bedard and Hernandez may benefit from spacious Safeco Field and be in the Cy Young conversation come August or September.
So, since baseball worked out so well for me, here goes another prediction that may startle you.
The Seattle Mariners are going to win the American League West and, even more surprising, will seriously challenge the Red Sox, Indians and Yankees for the AL pennant in 2008.
Winning it all starts with your division and the Mariners are set up well in the AL West. The Rangers are still the Rangers and the A's seem to have taken enough steps back to not be considered a contender this season. That leaves the defending champs, the Angels.
The Angels do have a leg up on the Mariners in one area: the manager. In Mike Scioscia, the Angels have a World Series winning manager who imposes his toughness upon every one of his teams and this year should be no different. However, the Mariners have John McLaren who went 43-41 in finishing the 2007 season after the mid-season sudden retirement of then-manager Mike Hargrove. McLaren was placed in a very tough position and handled the team well, keeping them in the pennant race until the last week of the season. The Mariners finished 88-74 and six games back of the Angels.
So the question must be: did the Mariners improve their team six games more than the Angels did in the offseason? You can answer that question with two words: Erik Bedard.
The acquisition of Bedard from Baltimore last month solidifies Seattle's best starting rotation since the late 1990s when the team was a perennial contender. Bedard, who has a career ERA under 4.00 while pitching the majority of his games at Baltimore's hitter-friendly Camden Yards, will be backed up by 22-year-old (when the season starts) phenom Felix Hernandez. Hernandez is destined to have a great career and showed some signs of absolute brilliance last season. The rotation also includes Carlos Silva, Jerrod Washburn and Miguel Batista. Each one of these guys won over 10 games last year and will win double-digit games again in 2008. Bedard and Hernandez may benefit from spacious Safeco Field and be in the Cy Young conversation come August or September.
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