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Monday, July 17
Midseason report: Seattle Mariners
By Andrew Ayres
ESPN.com

The Seattle Mariners are riding high at the All-Star break. Who would have thought this team would be better off trading a future Hall of Famer? Baseball is a funny game, and it's no joke that Seattle is in first. It's time to take a look at the good, the bad and everything in between from the first half for the this team in first place.

First-half MVP: Edgar Martinez is your winner here. This is the title somebody who once played in the outfield here ... had father of same name, um, used to wear No. 24 ... had the leading claim for the last decade. But the 37-year-old designated hitter is simply mashing. Any question that his numbers were adjusted for Kingdome inflation should be put to rest by this season (.353, 23 HR and 86 RBI through July 5). Alex Rodriguez obviously has a claim to this honor, but Martinez putting some exclamation points on an unfinished career deserved credit.

Biggest disappointment: Carlos Guillen becoming a success story at third was going to make the Randy Johnson trade a little more palatable. But after hitting .143 following an injury-plagued 1999, Guillen was demoted to Triple-A Tacoma. There's hope yet: he rejoined the M's before the All-Star break.

Biggest surprise: Seattle's bullpen, which has been pretty terrible since the lamentable deal for Heathcliff Slocumb in 1997, has been excellent. Kazuhiro Sasaki stepped in from Japan and quickly closed out big-league hitters (18 saves as of July 5). Arthur Rhodes is doing a phenomenal job of setting up (team-low 2.58 ERA) while Rob Ramsay, Jose Paniagua and even the frequently flammable Jose Mesa have all contributed.

Second-half goals: This team needs a lefty bat to solidify a lineup anchored by Martinez and Rodriguez. Trade bait could come from a starting pitching staff that will be stacked once Freddy Garcia returns.

Grade: -- Now I remember. It's some guy named Ken.

(Scale: 1 to 4 baseballs; 1 = worst, 4 = best)

We told you what we thought of the Mariners' first-half performance, now you've told us. Here is what you had to say about what the Mariners have to do in the second half.

 



ALSO SEE
ESPN.com's All-Star Game coverage

Kurkjian: Stories of the first half

Ten second-half questions for the AL

Ten second-half questions for the NL

MLB midseason reports

Midseason Feedback: Mariners