4 Seattle Mariners

PITCHER		PVR	W	L	IPS	WHIP	ERA
LH	Jamie Moyer	91	7	13	6.0	1.39	5.21
RH	Joel Pi�eiro	83	6	11	6.7	1.33	4.67
RH	Gil Meche	150	7	7	5.6	1.46	5.01
LH	Bobby Madritsch	76	6	3	7.2	1.22	3.27
RH	Aaron Sele [New acquisition]	180	9	4	5.1	1.62	5.05

Fresh off the worst season-to-season collapse by an American League franchise in 70 years, the Mariners had a new spring training look this year: tongues hanging, sweat dripping and heads shaking. New manager Mike Hargrove ran a no-nonsense camp long on hours and drills, including one called 27, in which the defense must obtain 27 consecutive outs in a simulated game without making a mistake. One missed cutoff man and Hargrove would bark, "Zero!"--and start the count all over again.

"Whoa, I haven't been in a camp quite like this," says shortstop Pokey Reese . "I guess when you lose 99 games, you've got to change things. I understand that."

Says Hargrove , "You establish how you go about your business right away--what's accepted and what's not. And after 99 losses, they should be receptive to change."

Plummeting from 93 victories in 2003 to 63 last year, Seattle became only the fifth AL team to suffer a 30-win drop in consecutive full seasons, the first since the 1934 Senators. The Mariners scored the fewest runs in the league, hit the fewest home runs, had the worst slugging percentage and allowed the second-most homers. No pitcher won more than eight games, a new low for a franchise that's had its share of bad teams. Lefthander Jamie Moyer , who turned 42 in November, allowed one homer for every birthday plus two--the fifth most in baseball history. He went 1--11 with a 6.46 ERA in his last 19 starts.

"This year depends on how our pitching bounces back," says second baseman Bret Boone . "Jamie, I think he'll be better. He was like the rest of us--you just get caught up in the losing. I've never seen anything like last year."

Yet in the off-season Seattle did not add a single pitcher from outside the organization to its 40-man roster. When righthander Joel Pi�eiro , who missed the final two months of 2004 with a forearm injury, developed a sore shoulder in camp, the Mariners were left with only two locks in the rotation: Moyer and righthander Gil Meche , who briefly was sent to the minors last year. The bullpen returns essentially intact--an ominous sign, considering it ranked 10th in the league with a 4.51 ERA--but that's more than can be said for closer Eddie Guardado 's right hamstring, which popped during a running drill in camp, putting his Opening Day status in question.

The outfield of Randy Winn in left, rookie Jeremy Reed in center and Ichiro Suzuki in right might not hit 40 home runs combined. Reese, a career .248 hitter, and catcher Miguel Olivo , a .234 hitter, are well-below-average offensive players who also lack pop.

Thus, Seattle 's season hinges on its $114 million investment in two free agents from the National League : third baseman Adrian Beltre and first baseman Richie Sexson . With the Dodgers last year, Beltre led the majors in home runs (48) and played a slick third base. "He's been everything as advertised and more," says Hargrove . As a member of the Brewers from 2001 through '03, Sexson averaged 40 home runs a season then ripped nine in his first 22 games with the Diamondbacks last year. But his season ended on April 29 when, while checking a swing, he dislocated his left shoulder and tore the labrum.

"For most players, when their shoulder pops out, it pops out in the front or to the side," says Sexson. "Mine popped out to the back. The doctor told me he usually only sees that kind of injury in football players and car accidents."

Though Sexson struggled early in camp, he is unconcerned about how his rehabilitated power will play in Seattle 's spacious Safeco Field , a.k.a. the Cooler, where fewer runs were scored last year than in any other major league ballpark, even though it was fairly neutral (14th) as a home run park. "It's all about RBIs, anyway," says Sexson. "I'd rather get a two-run single than a solo homer."