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Mariners.org Strong 'pen leads way for young Mariners
Mariners.org - Oct 2, 2006
... nor could they rid themselves of the more-than-occasional offensive doldrums that paved the way for the Mariners to be shut out 15 times. Seattle manager Mike ...


Mon, 02 Oct 2006 18:38:00 GMT

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[Lefty Noob]

We were talking earlier about the Seattle bullpen, and how it was the bright spot for the M's this year, and lo and behold, someone else apparently agrees. This MLB.com article touts closer J.J. Putz and the rest of the pen.

Speaking of blowing everyone away, that's essentially what Putz did after he took over as closer on May 6, following a series of missteps by Eddie Guardado, who was later traded to the Reds.

Putz recorded all but four of his 36 saves since taking over as closer. Always a hard thrower, Putz harnessed a nasty split-finger fastball and got a lot of mileage out of it this season.

The other relievers who helped get Putz the late-inning leads maybe didn't get nearly as much acclaim, but they were nonetheless very important, especially left-handed specialist George Sherrill (72 games), Rafael Soriano (2.25 ERA) and Mark Lowe (1.93 ERA).

"The bullpen has been really outstanding, and it would have been even better if Eddie was able to close for us," Bavasi said. "But J.J. ... once he was able to get a toehold, he never let it go. Our bullpen went beyond what anyone was expecting."

So can Seattle keep this bullpen in tact? And can they find a way to build a team around them?

[MVB]

They have to keep other relief-hungry teams out of their bullpen. That'll be the chore...

The M's have a lot of talent. The bullpen's great, the starting pitching ( with Meche and King Felix) isn't bad, and the offense ( with Ichiro, Sexon, Beltre, and Ibanez) is on it's way to being formidable.

Maybe if they add a player like Alex Rodriguez to their lineup, they'll be stronger? ( He'd have to play shortstop of course, since the M's have a very fine 3rd baseman.)

[MJHMarc]

I heard the Yankees may be looking to trade Alex Rodriguez for Adrian Beltre!

A-Rod Back to Seattle?

[EmpireWF]

I always liked Rafael Soriano...is he healthy though?

That's definitely a strong point and a reason why most expect them to improve next year. As long as they can improve the rotation in the off-season, they should do well next year.