Mariners Analysis

Monday, March 28, 2005

M's roster nearly set- no surprises

With Opening Day drawing near, the M's 25-man roster is almost filled. I have to say that other than Ichiro's amazing Spring, this has been an extremely boring Cactus League camp. There have been ZERO trade rumors regarding the M's, and no real standouts among the marginal players attempting to make the team. I'm not sure if boring is good, but there have been very few surprises this spring.

A quick look at the Opening Day Lineup shows-

1- Ichiro
2- Reed
3- Beltre
4- Sexson
5- Boone
6- Ibanez
7- Winn
8- Olivo
9- Reese

No suprise here. This is the exact lineup many predicted two months ago. The only mystery was Reed or Winn in the 2-hole. Looks like Reed is going to get the nod, which is a good decision by Hargrove. Winn has performed well as a 7 hitter, and Reed has more upside. Get him as many at-bats as you can, and let's see what this guy can do over a season.

The decision to send Lopez down and make Reese your starting SS was obviously made over the weekend when Lopez was sent down. I still am stumped as to what the plan is when Reese gets hurt, and wouldn't be surprised to see Lopez up with the club before May.

For pitchers, we have a rotation of Moyer, Meche, Mads and Sele. No surprise here, and Piniero as expected is out with an injury. No one would have been shocked to see this lineup two months ago.

For relief pitching, again no major changes. It looks like Ryan is definitely in the 'pen, which is a relief to many fans. However, we have a huge question mark regarding our closer, "Every-day Eddie." We knew before the season he was a question mark, and a week before the season he is still a question mark.

With zero trades, Bucky out and no fringe prospects stepping up, is Dobbs making the team the only surprise?

Those hoping Willie doesn't make it, or Sele getting cut, or Winn getting traded... it just never happened.