Four games into the season and the Mariners have already suffered an injury that will likely be a lingering injury throughout the season. Closer JJ Putz, with an injury to his ribcage is out for atleast 15 days and it will likely be longer until he his back to the dominant closer we saw last season.
A good sign is the Mariners starting pitching. Other than Jarrod Washburn, the Mariners starters all had quality starts. The Mariners front three allowed only two earned runs in a combined 19 innings. What was a pre-season weakness now looks to be a strength and an intrical part to the Mariners success.
Addressing bullpen help the most promising ptichers have been Sean Green, Mark Lowe, and Miguel Batista, who go his first save since 2005 this season. Brandon Morrow will likely be called up as soon as he can be. With Morrow, Green, and Lowe in the pen the Mariners should be able to lessen the effect of loosing Putz.
Offensively the Mariners have been suprised with the production from middle infielders Jose Lopez and Yuniesky Betancourt. Betancourt is hitting .429 and leading the mariners in that category. While, Lopez is leading the Mariners with RBI's with five.
Ichiro is currently hitting .250, but that should be no concern to Mariner fans. Ichiro will still have his great season and he will still get 200 hits. The concern comes from Richie Sexson, who barely hit above .200 last year. Sexson is better off than last season starting with a .214 avg, but with pressure on him to succeed I don't know if he can.
In order to be successful this season the Mariners will need to conitnue their great starting ptiching efforts, and find somebody to hold down the fort until JJ Putz is healthy. They will need to continue to get offensive production out of Lopez and Betancourt, and they will need Sexson to step up and have an average season.
Keywords: Betancourt, Ichiro, Lowe, Mariners, Putz
