The fans have voted 36-year old lefty swinging outfielder Ichiro Suzuki into the starting lineup. It will be his 10th appearance in the mid-summer classic. Ichiro has played in 80 games this season for the Mariners and he is 108 of 327 (.330 avg, .807 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 3 homers, 24 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. His run production numbers look so poor because he’s getting absolutely no help in the lineup. 31-year old lefty starting pitcher Cliff Lee was selected for the pitching staff. Lee has started 12 games for the Mariners this season and he is 7-3 with a 2.45 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. He has only given up 83 hits in 95 2/3 innings this season for the Mariners. Lee has also whiffed 78 batters while only walking 5 so far this season which is pretty remarkable when you think about it. Hopefully the Mariners will wait to trade Lee until after the all-star game so he can wear a Mariners’ uniform.

Word is out around major league baseball that 31-year old lefty starting pitcher Cliff Lee is available right now in trade talks. Lee has started 11 games this season for the Mariners and he is 6-3 with a 2.39 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. He has only given up 75 hits in 86 2/3 innings for the Mariners this year. He has also whiffed 76 batters while only walking 4 which is stunning when you think about it. The Mariners should demand three close to ready prospects that can help out their woeful offense in return for Lee.

27-year old lefty starting pitcher Jason Vargas has been a nice surprise for the Mariners this year. He has started 9 games this season for the Mariners and he is 3-2 with a 3.12 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. He only has given up 44 hits this year in 57 2/3 innings while whiffing 38 batters so he’s looking good. Vargas was once one of the Marlins’ better prospects so he might just be getting everything together right now. Vargas came into this season pitching in 54 games (34 starts) in his major league career and he was 9-14 with a 5.43 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. For some reason lefty starting pitchers usually take more time to develop but I don’t see any reason to think Vargas can’t keep pitching well.

26-year old righty starting pitcher Doug Fister is pitching out of his mind so far this season for the Mariners. He has started 8 games for the Mariners this season and he is 3-2 with a 1.96 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. Fister has only given up 40 hits in 55 innings as he consistently is missing bats despite not having great stuff. He has been very aggressive in the strike zone as he has only walked 10 batters while whiffing 25. He has been helped a lot by the defense of the Mariners but I just have a feeling that Fister won’t be able to keep up his wizardry over A.L. hitters much longer due to the fact that he’s not missing bats.

Cliff Lee made his debut for the Seattle Mariners on Friday against the Texas Rangers, and Lee didn’t show any signs of rust after missing the first 24 games due to an abdominal injury.  Lee went seven strong innings where he gave up only 3 hits and 0 earned runs, while striking out 8 and giving up no walks.  Unfortunately the Mariners’ bats didn’t provide Lee with any run support and his gem of a debut got him a no-decision.  This was a great sign for the Mariners though, as Lee has seemingly picked up where he left off last season with the Philadelphia Phillies when he went 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA in five postseason starts.  Lee helped lead the Phillies to the World Series last year and the Mariners are hoping Lee will help them get to the postseason this year, so he can make another stellar run like he did last year in October.  With Lee back now, that gives the Mariners one of the best one-two punches in the game with him and Felix Hernandez.  The Mariners pitching will not be a problem this season, but so far the bats have been killing them. Their offense is in the bottom five in the majors, with a .236 team average.  If the offense doesn’t wake up and provide some run support, their great pitching won’t be enough to get them in the playoffs.