By Kirby Arnold
Herald Writer
SEATTLE — A year ago, the New York Yankees exposed the few weaknesses in the Seattle Mariners. So the Mariners went out and became the Yankees.
The Mariners, a team that came within two victories of reaching the World Series — thanks to the Yankees — now believe they have the elements to reach the next level.
They added a guy who re-energized the offense and became the American League’s best leadoff hitter, they added a second baseman who nearly duplicated the power numbers of Alex Rodriguez, they maintained a strong staff of starting pitchers and rounded out an already-stout bullpen.
The question remains, have they done enough to reach the World Series?
The showing of proof begins today when the Mariners and Yankees, two teams built along the same lines — with pitching, defense and a mix of speed, finesse and power in the offense — begin the American League Championship Series at Safeco Field.
The winner of the best-of-seven series advances to the World Series.
More than last year, the Mariners believe they have a great chance to be that team. Take it from a pitcher who is glad he doesn’t have to face his own teammates.
"We’ve been through it," said Paul Abbott, who will pitch Game 4 on Sunday in New York. "It’s our second year there (in the ALCS) and we can’t help but get better from being thrown into the fire like that.
"We’re peskier, too. Our lineup causes more problems. We can be a thorn in your side with guys who you can’t seem to get out. That’s the kind of team we are. That’s the kind of team the Yankees have been."
Nobody has changed the Mariners’ offense more than Ichiro Suzuki. The rookie from Japan whose .350 batting average and 56 stolen bases not only led the league, they completed the Mariners’ transformation into a team that will play any style needed to score.
"Ichiro has really changed the dynamics of this ballclub," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "He is so good. He can do a lot of things that have really made that ballclub a lot better. They are a very balanced club. It’s interesting how they’ve changed their club over the last few years. They obviously spent their money well shoring up the areas they needed to, especially their pitching staff and adding Ichiro, has given their club another dimension.
"I think they’re probably the best team we’re going to play."
Suzuki has set the table for others in the Seattle lineup who had some of their best offensive seasons. Bret Boone, a career .265 hitter, batted .331 with a league-best 141 RBI. Mike Cameron set career highs in batting average (.267), home runs (25) and RBI (110). Edgar Martinez had a typically impressive season (.306, 23 homers, 116 RBI).
"It’s a different team," hitting coach Gerald Perry said. "We’ve got Ichiro at the top of the order and Boonie pretty much replaces Alex’s numbers from last year. Cameron had a better year and Edgar did what Edgar does.
"We were able to get guys on base in front of the guys in the middle. That’s the key to our ballclub, be aggressive running and trying to be patient at the plate. Take your walk when they give it to you."
What the M’s will throw at the Yankees is a significantly different look than what they showed last year at this time.
"We have more ways that we can win," Martinez said. "Some days we run and steal bases, create situations. Other days we bunt, move runners, hit-and-run. And other days it’s with pitching and defense."
The Mariners ranked first in the league in team batting average, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits, runs batted in, sacrifice flies and steals; the pitching staff led the league in victories, ERA, shutouts, and fewest hits and runs allowed; the defense made just 83 errors, by far the fewest in the American League.
The pitching staff, already the strength of the team, will come at the Yankees with two huge elements that were missing last year: Jamie Moyer and a complete bullpen.
Moyer, a left-hander who suffered a broken kneecap just before the ALCS last year, will start Games 3 and (if necessary) 7. Manager Lou Piniella believes Moyer’s presence last year would have changed the outcome of the series against the Yankees, a team dominated by left-handed hitting.
The addition of relief pitchers Jeff Nelson and Norm Charlton might have turned the series as well.
Nelson, a right-handed setup specialist signed as a free agent in the offseason, is playing in his seventh straight postseason. He went to the playoffs with the Mariners in 1995, then was traded to the Yankees along with Tino Martinez and won four World Series rings.
Charlton is the second left-hander in the bullpen, a painfully missing commodity that the Yankees exposed last year. Arthur Rhodes, the lone left-hander who was used frequently in the late-season drive to win a playoff berth, had lost the zip to his fastball by Game 6 of the ALCS. That’s when the Yankees’ David Justice crushed a three-run home run to help win that game and clinch the series.
With that pitching-defense-hitting formula, the Mariners tied the major league record with 116 victories, but then were quick to caution that what happened in the regular season means little now.
There is one huge exception, however.
Every one of those victories gave the Mariners such a confidence boost that they enter the ALCS believing in themselves like never before. They don’t hope to win anymore, they expect it.
"We just have to play the way we’ve been playing all year," Martinez said. "We’ve played consistent baseball all year, and I think that is big in a seven-game series. When you play consistent baseball, it gives you more opportunities to play the game well in a series like this. We just have to concentrate on playing the game right, get some pitching and defense.
"I like our chances."
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