If defense and pitching truly wins Championships then get ready in Seattle because it’s finally your year. The Mariners were super aggressive this winter bringing in Cliff Lee & Brandon League for the pitching staff. They also brought in Chone Figgins, Casey Kotchman and Milton Bradley to help out with both the offense & defense. With Ichiro Suzuki and Chone Figgins batting #1 and #2 in the lineup it will set things up for the rest of the lineup as they will see more fastballs than usual. Look for Jose Lopez and Franklin Gutierrez to benefit the most from that. No team in baseball can match the 1-2 punch of Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee at the top of the rotation. The Mariners are also talking to Jarrod Washburn about a return engagement in Seattle. Closer David Aardsma came out of nowhere last season so it will be interesting to see if he can back it up in 2010. I like the Seattle Mariners to win the A.L. West and easily eclipse 83.5 wins. Take the over.