THE PERFECT STORM IMPECCABLE MARINERS ARE BEST STORY GOING.Byline: Steve Dilbeck Staff Writer People keep looking, straining, but it's not in the box score. No names will make sense of it. They are almost devoid of names. Traditional, simple baseball logic will not help. Not the star-powered kind to which we've grown accustomed. Not the kind that decrees money spent equals numbers in the win column. Yet there is no denying what's become of the Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Mariners have played in Safeco Field. . Through the first half of the season, they are the best team in baseball. Not just the best but the you've-got-to-be-kidding best. The Mariners are playing at such a remarkable clip, they already have made a mockery of the American League West The American League West is one of three divisions in Major League Baseball's American League. The division currently has four teams, but it has had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. . Heck, they made a mockery of it before April ended. Before Thursday night's game, they were 61-22, a stunning .744 winning percentage that gives them a 20 1/2-game lead over the second-place Oakland A's. There isn't a team in baseball that wouldn't trail them by double digits Double Digits was a pricing game on the American television game show, The Price Is Right. Played from April 20, 1973 through May 18, 1973's show, it was played for a car and used small prizes. . And they're mostly pulling if off with a bunch of guys A Bunch of Guys (BOGs), or Group of Guys (GOGs) are terms used by counter-terrorism officials to refer to small, self-organizing terrorist cells.[1] BOGs typically have little to no contact with global terrorist groups like al Qaeda, so they independently plan and past their prime or who never had a prime. Guys few other teams were interested in or just in from Japan. Guys who individually don't scream superstar but whisper very nice player. Only together, they just roll. They win every way possible. Their rotation, like the rest of the team, is solid but not overpowering. But it keeps them in games and turns over to what might be the best bullpen in baseball. They certainly have its best defense. This is not a team that beats itself, which is a main reason nearly every night it is finding a way to win ... and win. ``We feel we have good pitching, good defense, good offense, great bullpen - we have more ways to win,'' Seattle designated hitter designated hitter n. Baseball Abbr. DH A player designated at the start of a game to bat instead of the pitcher in the lineup. Noun 1. Edgar Martinez said. ``There's no reason we can't keep playing this way. ``One day we might not have the offense, but the pitching takes over. Another day we might have the offense. It's a combination of ways to win games, which in the past it was more offense than anything.'' Martinez, 38, is almost the last of the old Mariners, last of their traditional stars. Still, Martinez spent his career in the large shadows of Seattle superstars Ken Griffey Ken Griffey may refer to:
Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "the Big Unit . All fled, no doubt believing the Mariners never would win big. Only, the more superstars they lose, the better the Mariners seem to become. Last year, Rodriguez, heralded as the best all-around player in baseball, headed for Texas and a ziga-billion contract with the Texas Rangers Texas Rangers, mounted fighting force organized (1835) during the Texas Revolution. During the republic they became established as the guardians of the Texas frontier, particularly against Native Americans. . General manager Pat Gillick  Pat Gillick (born August 22, 1937) is the current general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. then signed second baseman second baseman n. Baseball The infielder who is positioned near and to the first-base side of second base. Noun 1. second baseman - (baseball) the person who plays second base second sacker Bret Boone Boone was born in El Cajon, California to Susan G. , outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and reliever Jeff Nelson Jeff Nelson can refer to different people:
``We've lost some outstanding players,'' Mariners manager Lou Piniella If they had to make hurried trades of Griffey and Johnson when it became obvious they would be unable to re-sign either, the Mariners were able to pick up key players in return - outfielder Mike Cameron Michael Terrance Cameron (born January 8 1973 in LaGrange, Georgia) is an outfielder in Major League Baseball with the San Diego Padres. Overview Mike Cameron was a standout player at LaGrange High School. and pitcher Brett Tomko Brett Daniel Tomko[1] (born April 7, 1973 in Euclid, Ohio)[2] is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres, who previously played for the Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, St. for Griffey, and shortstop Carlos Guillen and starters Freddy Garcia and John Halama John Thadeus Halama (born February 22, 1972 in Brooklyn, New York) is a Major League Baseball pitcher who last played for the Baltimore Orioles. Previously, Halama played with the Houston Astros (1998), Seattle Mariners (1999-2002), Oakland Athletics (2003), Tampa Bay Devil Rays for Johnson. See, that's how it goes. They keep losing superstars, adding nice players, and getting better. If it all seems too mystifying mys·ti·fy tr.v. mys·ti·fied, mys·ti·fy·ing, mys·ti·fies 1. To confuse or puzzle mentally. See Synonyms at puzzle. 2. To make obscure or mysterious. , there is no reason to believe things will change in the second half. The Mariners are more than just a giant collection of overachievers, they are a completely solid team that seldom makes mistakes, plays hard and smart, then relies on one of several options available to beat you. ``There's no real weakness in their team,'' Angels coach Ron Roenicke said. ``They're outstanding on defense. They have really good pitching. They have a lineup set where the guys fit good. The other guys get big hits for them. If you go player by player ... but one day they may win a game on defense. They may win on pitching the next day and bash the ball the next. ``They go ahead of people with that defense. When they put (Charles) Gibson out there in the outfield in the late innings (with Suzuki and Cameron), I'm looking at those three guys thinking, 'Oh, my gosh. Where are we going to have to hit a ball out here?' '' That defense helps keep the Mariners in games, where more often than not, they find a way to win. When the Mariners moved from the Kingdome to more spacious Safeco Field, Piniella went from keying on the long ball to concentrating on the little things. ``We've been an aggressive team, taken it to opponents,'' Piniella said. ``We don't overpower o·ver·pow·er tr.v. o·ver·pow·ered, o·ver·pow·er·ing, o·ver·pow·ers 1. To overcome or vanquish by superior force; subdue. 2. To affect so strongly as to make helpless or ineffective; overwhelm. 3. you. We're blue-collar all the way.'' Now the Mariners do just about every little thing right. They are first in the AL in runs and RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in , despite being sixth in home runs. They are first in walks, and second in steals, hits and batting average. ``We don't get caught up in stats,'' outfielder Stan Javier said. ``Sometimes stats don't speak the truth. There are a lot of things we do that people don't appreciate unless they see us play every day. Nobody here talks about stats. They just come in to do their job. We have a lot of players who know how to play the game and play it hard for nine innings.'' Certainly, there have been some unexpected surprises. Suzuki figured to be good - he was a seven-time Japanese batting champion - but he's been a sensation, near or at the top in the league in hitting, runs and steals. Boone came almost unwanted by anyone else, and even the Mariners only signed him to a one-year deal for what is now an incredible bargain ($3.2 million). And Boone has replaced Rodriguez's numbers all by himself, with 22 home runs and 82 RBI. Sometimes, things just go right. ``We have good people, a good mix of people,'' said Boone, who played at USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. . ``We have players who have won World Series and people who have been at the bottom. We have players who have been around awhile and appreciate this.'' They have pieces that fit. Have a Mark McLemore who has started at five different positions. Have people Piniella uses wisely and often. It's all part of a major revamping. Among the position players, only Martinez and part-time catcher Dan Wilson have been with the Mariners more than three consecutive years. Their modest rotation won't scare teams - Garcia, Aaron Sele, Jamie Moyer, Paul Abbott and, currently, Dennis Stark - but doesn't have to. ``Our pitching rotation is not a power staff, aside from Freddy Garcia,'' Piniella said. ``The bullpen has power. But the rotation is more knowing how to pitch, location and changing speeds.'' The Mariners aren't about overpowering you. They don't dominate, they just win. And the bullpen finishes things. Eighty percent of inherited runners are left stranded. Arthur Rhodes, Nelson and Kazuhiro Sasaki all have more strikeouts than innings pitched. Sasaki easily leads all closers in saves (29). A team with good chemistry, and a great manager at the top of his game, now plays with the success and confidence of the Bronx Bombers. ``You wouldn't know it by being around the club,'' Boone said. ``It's very humble, a very gratifying grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. thing. This club acts the same today as when the season began.'' It acts like it's going to keep winning. SEATTLE at DODGERS --Today: 7:10 p.m., Saturday 1:05 p.m., Sunday, 1:10 p.m ON PACE The Seattle Mariners are 61-23, a winning percentage of .726. They are on pace to win 118 games, which would break the Chicago Cubs' record of 116 set in 1906. That Cubs team had an all-time best winning percentage of .763. It played 152 games. CAPTION(S): 20 photos, box Photo: (1 -- color) ICHIRO SUZUKI (2 -- color) BRET BOONE (3 -- color) KAZUHIRO SASAKI (4 -- color) MIKE CAMERON Kirby Lee/Special to the Daily News (5) HOW THEY WERE BUILT How the Seattle Mariners acquired their key players. CATCHER: Dan Wilson Acquired with pitcher Bobby Ayala from Cincinnati for Erik Hansen and Bret Boone (1993) (6) FIRST BASE: John Olerud Signed as free agent (1999) (7) SECOND BASE: Bret Boone Signed as free agent (2000) (8) THIRD BASE: David Bell Acquired from Cleveland for Joey Cora (1999) (9) SHORTSTOP: Carlos Guillen Acquired with Freddie Garcia and a player to be named later The concept of the "player to be named later" is most often associated with Major League Baseball trades. The "player to be named later" (PTBNL) is generally used to postpone a trade's final conditions or terms. This is often done for two reasons. (John Halama) for Randy Johnson (1998) (10) LEFT FIELD: Al Martin Acquired from San Diego for John Mabry and Tom Davey (2000) (11) LEFT FIELD: Stan Javier Signed as a free agent (1999) (12) CENTER FIELD: Mike Cameron Acquired from Cincinnati with Brett Tomko, Jake Meyer and Antonio Perez for Ken Griffey Jr. (2000) (13) RIGHT FIELD: Ichiro Suzuki Signed as a free agent (2000) (14) DESIGNATED HITTER: Edgar Martinez Signed as a free agent (1982) (15) STARTING PITCHER: Freddie Garcia Acquired with Carlos Guillen and a player to be named later (John Halama) from Houston for Randy Johnson (1998) (16) STARTING PITCHER: Aaron Sele Signed as free agent (2000) (17) STARTING PITCHER: Jamie Moyer Acquired from Boston for Darren Bragg (1996) (18) STARTING PITCHER: John Halama Was player to be named later when Mariners acquired Freddie Garcia and Carlos Guillen from Houston for Randy Johnson (1998) (19) STARTING PITCHER: Paul Abbott Signed as minor-league free agent (1999) (20) RELIEF: Kazuhiro Sasaki Signed as free agent (1999) Box: ON PACE (see text) |
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