The days of Ken Giffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez are long gone. The Mariners went from having one of the best seasons in 2001, to being a rebuilding team by 2004. As a Mariners fan, this is difficult to grasp, but Seattle is always fun to watch.

Ichiro is the best player in Japanese history, his success in Japan has translated to the major league. Ichiro broke an 80-year old record for hits in a season with 262. Seattle has also widened their fan-base by acquiring Ichiro and Kenji Johjima. The asian fans have allowed them to seek Japanese sponsorship for billboards in Safeco Field. The extra revenue that this generates helps them spend more money on free agents.

Seattle fans are always feeling a bit jolted when they look at daily box scores. Alex Rodriguez and Griffey Jr.'s statistics bring back memories of the Mariners teams that won AL West divisions and did well in the playoffs. Seattle has never been to a World Series, but the level of talent on those teams in the late 90's was very high. It was nice to be in contention every year.

Being out of the playoffs for the last five seasons has made Seattle fans restless. The AL West has historically been a very competitive division. The winner of the division will have around 85 wins and the team that finishes second will not have a record that will compete for the Wild-Card spot. The Mariners finished with 78 wins in 2006. Additions of Jose Vidro, Jeff Weaver, and Jose Guillen are hopefully going to lift the Mariners to a winning record.

Beltre and Sexson have both grossly underachieved. The Mariners signed both of these players to 100 million dollar contracts and received 10 million dollar play for the duo. I wouldn't be sad if they would deal either one of the two at some point this season. If they want to classify this period as a true rebuilding phase, a few prospects in return for either Beltre or Sexson wouldn't bother a true fan. If we can handle A-Rod and Junior leaving, we can handle anything.

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