Seattle at 11-12 has been somewhat disappointing, but the return of Lee should provide a huge boost to this club. Do not underestimate this pitcher, as he has almost been disregarded since the trade from the Phillies. The 2008 AL Cy Young winner had his most impressive showing last year in the playoffs for Philadelphia. In 5 starts in the postseason, Lee recorded 4 wins (including 2 vs. the Yankees), 0 losses, and only allowed 7 runs.
Lee's return will allows fans to see their first glimpses at the awesome duo of Lee and Felix Hernandez. Still the Mariners need to get the offense going if they are going to be successful this season. Off-season acquisitions Milton Bradley and Chone Figgins are both hitting under .215 and outside of Ichiro and Franklin Gutierrez, no one is batting above .250.Still, the AL West is already shaping up to be a tight race all season, as the 4 teams are all separated by 1/2 game. I'm sticking with the Mariners to win.
You're leaving out that in Lee's return, he was outdueled by Rangers starter Colby Lewis, recently returning from Japan, who went 9 innings, didn't give up a run, gave up 3 hits, and struck out 10. That makes 3 games of 10 strikeouts out of 5 starts for Colby Lewis- certainly one of, if not the, highest ratios of double digit strikeout games to starts in the league. Why is no one talking about the Rangers? THey just swept the Mariners, your pick to win the West, against a great outing by Cliff Lee, then knocking around King Felix, to snap his 18 consecutive quality starts streak, and then beating Doug Fister, a guy who came in at 2-1 with an ERA under 2. Without our best hitter. Good teams find ways to win. Give us some love LaFem.
ReplyDeleteI do like the Rangers, but they gotta fix up that bullpen before I can be fixed on them. They've had a bunch of tough losses, but I could definetely see the Rangers winning the division.
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