You know, when I filled out that survey from The Stranger asking what would make me more likely to read the paper and patronize the advertisers, you know I was joking about the "put more sports coverage in"...right?

Since the Rockies are apparently going for a 100-loss season (every other team in the NL West is gearing up for postseason glory while our ownership continues to rake in revenue from yuppies who have made Coors Field the biggest frat bar in the world - who cares what happens on the field?), I may have to start following the M's again. So thank you, Spike, for your coverage. There will continue to be a reason to check out Slog after all.

I enjoyed your Seahawks coverage, I'm curious if you can make me care about regular season baseball.

@2 - I hear you. San Francisco's former football team's owners are on the same track.

2015 Mariners: The Greatest Team in the History of Major League Baseball™!

they'll have to get to the postseason before i'll get on a Mariners bandwagon.

@6 That would pretty much explain your basic Seattle sports fan.

I think the Mariners will be fine on the offensive side of the ledger. However, the starting pitching staff has a few question marks---Can Paxton stay healthy for a full season (for Christ sakes, he's injured already), will Iwakuma stay healthy?, can Walker improve his command and stay healthy?, can Elias and or Happ deliver as #4, or #5 starters. As far as the bullpen goes, between Rodney, Farquhar, and Wilhelmsen and some other contributors, I think we're ok.

If the starters are healthy and productive, no less than a wild card:).

Seems like the most likely scenario involving 1b has Morrison playing full time with Weeks and Willie "Pride of Port Orchard" Bloomquist spelling him occasionally. Montero will only come up in the event of injury and only if he is also playing well in Tacoma at the same time. But keep an eye on Patrick Kivlehan. If something happens to Morrison and Montero does his usual Montero things, Kivlehan could be a nice surprise at 1B. If Zunino can get his AVG to .240 and his OBP over .300, he will be an all-star. The SS battle between Miller and Taylor is really the only position up for grabs this year, except for the 5th Sp battle between Walker and Elias. This team has depth at almost every position, something that no recent Mariner team has been able to say. As long as Felix, Iwakuma, Cano, Seager, Cruz, and Zunino stay reasonably healthy and perform somewhat near career levels, the M's should improve upon their 87 wins from last year. The division is no longer one of the best in baseball, but the Astro's are getting better by the year, just the same as the Angels are getting older by the year. If Texas isn't struck by a voodoo curse again, they could compete for the title. You never should count the A's out, despite how insane their offseason moves look. Billy Beane knows shit that none of the rest of us have even thought of before. Can't really remember a Mariners in the last ten years with the expectations that this team has, but if anyone can get them to think about the task at hand and put one foot in front of the other, it's Mclendon. Pretty excited for sun, baseball, and a meaningful summer of baseball. Go M's!

If they pulled something out of their ass like that, it would blow the superbowl out of the water. I would be shocked. it'd be pretty meat to make up for the 2001 post season implosion after the amazing season.