01.29.05
M’s and L.A. off-season — Well done overall
Before the Dodgers signed Odalis Perez and Derek Lowe and agreed to terms with Brad Penny, I wasn’t high on the off-season moves. But with the pitching moves and even though the Dodgers lost Adrian Beltre, I think overall it was a good winter for L.A. That sense is based on my hopes for young Dodger prospects at third base and catcher. There are too many variables to predict whether the Dodgers will improve this year, though I think they have the tools to be better, especially in the playoffs if Lowe and Penny are healthy.
As for the Mariners, no question this was a very good off-season and they have young talent who look very promising. No doubt the team will improve this year, but we all know that wouldn’t take much for a team that finished 18 games under .500 last year. The added offense and the defensive improvements should earn them 15-20 wins more than last year alone. Whether they improve more than that will depend entirely on the pitching staff. The staff was miserable last year, only three teams had worse starters. I think Mariner management did the right thing in trying to drastically improve the offense, because the pitchers have shown real ability in the past. For the Mariners to be above .500 this year, they’ll all have to do it. If not, look for the front office to go after pitchers this time next year.