The Mariners are on the verge of being  by swept the Washington Nationals, in Safeco Field.  I understand the Nats are a young team that might have a bright future, but not quite yet.  Their pitching against a team, other than the Mariners, is just dreadful.  I've tried to remain optimistic, but this is just ridiculous!  Mariner fans it's time to unite and boycott.  I guarantee McClaren will be axed by Monday, and Bavasi should be in the unemployment line with him.  Ownership should have never let it get this bad.  Bedard was a nice pick up, but an extra power bat was just as necessary.  It's time to cut ties with fossils like Vidro.  Underachievers like Jarrod Washburn.  We have arguably the best 1,2 pitching combo and leadoff hitter in the game.  How are we not competing?  As a diehard M's fan, I can only hang my head in shame.  Time to call the Dodgers and inquire about Matt Kemp, if he is truly available.  I hate to say the word "rebuild".  I prefer re-tool, but it's looking like it's time to rebuild from scratch.  The building blocks will be youngsters like Felix and Brandon Morrow.  Begin!

Starting Rotation:  Seattle Mariners

1.  LHP  Randy Johnson (Named the Big Unit for his intimidating 6'10" frame.  The most dominant pitcher in Mariners history.  Acquired in the Mark Langston trade from the Montreal Expos, Johnson was easily the most popular Mariner pitcher ever.  His pitches had the kind of velocity that few pitchers ever have, and he had one of the nastiest sliders in the majors.  In 1990, he threw a no-hitter against the Detroit TIgers, and was the first pitcher ever to strike out Hall of Famer Wade Boggs 3 times in one game.  His blazing fastball allowed him to have six 300 plus strike out seasons.  Randy was especially dominant during the '95, but more importantly in the post season that year.  During the midseason trade deadline, in 1998, Johnson was dealt to the Houston Astros, who were in the thick of a pennant race, for Freddy Garcia, Carlos Guillen, and John Halama.  The Mariners management traded a player they thought was on the decline.  A 5 time Cy Young award winner, World Series MVP, World Series Ring, and a perfect game later, the Mariners look foolish for trading him.  He was the kind of pitcher you would want pitching in a Game 7. )

2.  LHP Jamie Moyer (Jamie Moyer was the polar opposite of power pitchers like Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, and others who dominated during the late '90s.  The Mariners acquired Moyer during the '96 season from the Boston Red Sox for outfielder Darren Bragg.  He went 6-2, in that half of the season, and would improve with 17 wins the following season, and had 20 wins during the 2001 116 win season for the Mariners.  He was the winningest pitcher in Mariners history, was loved throughout the community for all of the charity work he and his did, still do, and was comparably dominant, but less heralded as players like Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, and Randy Johnson from '97 to 2004.  He was traded during the season to the Philadelphia Phillies for a couple of Single A pitching prospects.  Jamie was best known for his off speed pitching style, with a fastball that tops out a 83 mph, and a great combination of curveball and circle change up.  He wasn't a highlight reel pitcher, but he was effective.  Without pitchers like him, the 2001 season wouldn't have been possible.)

3.  LHP Mark Langston (He wore a Mariners uniform from 1984-1989, but had a tremendous impact for the Mariners.  He was an all star and a league leader in strike outs for 3 seasons, had 2 Gold gloves while with the Mariners.  Langston was the lone all star pitcher on some very underachieving, historically awful Mariner teams, in the mid '80s.  And is highly regarded as having one of the best pick-off moves, in Major League Baseball, of all time.  He is second, only to Kenny Rogers, in this category.  He was traded to the Montreal Expos in 1989 for Randy Johnson and Brian Holman.)

4.  RHP Freddy Garcia (Acquired by the Mariners in a midseason deal for ace Randy Johnson in 1998, Freddy become a household name among Mariner fans.  He was a work-horse during his rookie season, pitching 201 innings and finishing with an impressive 17-8 record, while compiling 170 strike outs.  His last five seasons in he Seattle he had 18, 16, 12, 13, and 14 wins.  He too was a dominant fixture on the Mariners team that won 116 games, in 2001.  Nicknamed the "Chief" for his resemblence to the large Native American man in the movie One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest, Freddy was a fan favorite.  He was his own worst enemy on the mound, because if he failed at something, often times he would come un-glued, and his performance would suffer.  In 2004, his last season with the Mariners, he didn't have those struggles, and in my opinion, had his most solid season with the Mariners during a contract year.  He was dealt to the Chicago White Sox during the 2004 season, and won a World Series with them in 2005.)

5.  RHP Felix Hernandez (It's difficult to say that Felix is one of the Mariners great pitchers, because he hasn't been as dominant, as I think he will be yet.  Felix, like Freddy Garcia, can get frustrated while on the mound, if he makes mistakes.  I saw this first hand when I watched a game against the Baltimore Orioles in mid July.  Felix took a 2-0 lead into the 7th inning, but gave up a couple of base hits, got upset at himself, lost his composure and then surrendered a 3 run homer to Jay Gibbons.  A month later, Felix was in a jam in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays.  The bases were loaded with 2 outs, and a 1-2 count on slugger Alex Rios.  Felix threw a perfect strike, right over the plate that froze Rios.  It was a thing of beauty, but much to the dismay of Felix, manager John McClaren, Kenji Johjima, myself, and any Mariner fan watching, the pitch was called a ball.  Felix was furious.  His next pitch was slapped in to the gap by Rios, and brought in a run.  He then faced Troy Glaus, who he had struck out twice earlier in the game.  Glaus crushed Felix's pitch for a 3 run homer, and it was all over for the Mariners after that.  With maturity, I think Felix will turn into the dominant, clear-cut ace that Mariner fans expect to be.  The one hit, complete game shut-out he threw vs Boston in Fenway, was one of the most awe inspiring games I have ever seen.  It is performances like this that let me know that Felix will develop into, perhaps, the best pitcher in Mariners history.  His fastball and slider are well developed, plus his change up is improving nicely.  All hail King Felix!)

1B.  Alvin Davis (Mr. Mariner.  The first Mariner I liked as a kid, and the one of the only  players on the team I can remember being good at the time.)  Replaced and rightfully so by Tino, the other great Martinez in Mariner History.  Tino played a lot like Donny Baseball and eventually replaced Mattingly, who retired, and then the Yanks win the series. 

Backup:  John Olerud (Fans like myself were devastated when the team decided to part ways with Ole.  Still the best defensive first baseman I've ever watched, and he also had a really sweet swing.)

2B.  Bret Boone (Did Popeye forearms use performance-enhancing drugs?  Probably.  This guy was the king of the break out year followed by the slump year.  I liked Boonie for his pop, gold glove defense, but mostly for teaching Ichiro some curse words in his first season with the team.  I remember the PA annoucer in Oakland on opening day 1999, called him Burt Boone, and he replied with "You gotta be shitttin' me!"  It was a hilarious moment.

Backup:  Harold Reynolds (A Corvallis legend. He had a real knack for swiping the bases.  I would say he was the best base stealer not named Rickey Henderson or Vince Coleman in the '80s.  He also played excellent defense at 2nd.  He was another player the team cast away as he got too old.  His replacement:  A young Brett Boone, who was later dealt to Cincinnatti.  It was hard not to put Joey Cora in this group, but he didn't really have the numbers.  Boone was overlooked in favor of Cora by the team, regarding the thirty year anniversary.

3B.  Jim Presley  (The "Hound Dog" had seriously lethal power, but unfortunately it was wasted on terrible Mariner teams in the '80s.  He made the All-Star team in 1986, when he averaged career highs in HR (27) and RBIs (107).)

Backup:  Mike Blowers (A local product, who played college ball at theo University o f Washington.  He was one of many contributors on the '95 Mariner team that stunned the world.  He is currently a TV Analyst for the Mariners and created a promotional stunt called the "Rally Fries".  Fans with the most clever sign in the audience are rewarded with garlic fries from Kidd Valley Hamburgers.  Saddly he's probably more famous now, but some of us remember him only as "Blower Power")

C  Dan Wilson (He played for the Mariners from '90 to '05.  He was acquired from the Reds and rejoined manager Lou Piniella with the Mariners.  He was one of the best defensive catchers of all time.  He made the All-Star team in '96, where he had career highs in HR (18) and RBIs (83).  He made so-so pitchers like Joel Piniero and John Halama look like above average pitchers at times.  My brother saw him at a Seahawks game and wanted to give him a hug, but I talked him out of it.)

Backup:  Kenji Johjima (The first Japanese catcher to make it to the Major Leagues. There's no telling how good Kenji Johjima will be.  I think he has made prized prospect Jeff Clement expendable at present time, as the club is in playoff contention for the first time, after 3 losing seasons. He has excellent pop for a catcher.  I could tell after he hit two HRs against the Angels in his first two games that he was going to be an impact player for the Mariners, and so far he's been great.)

SS, Outfield, DH (Edgar Martinez) and pitchers next time.