Mariners Win Game, Still Manage to Lose

Somehow, the Mariners always find a way to lose. With their 4-3 win over Oakland Sunday, the Mariners finished the season with only the 2nd worst record, losing the rights to the first overall pick in next years amateur draft. Instead, the Washington Nationals will enjoy the opportunity to select Steven Strasburg (SP, San Diego State) in the upcoming draft.

There is some good news for Mariners, the Nationals are cheap and Strasburg will not be. The Mariners may be able to add him to their rotation at #2. If not, my choice would be Dustin Ackley (1B/OF, UNC). Ackley was the NCAA Freshman of the Year in '07, and followed it up with an impressive sophomore campaign. In 08, he hit .417 with 7 HR and 19 SB. In his freshman season he had 10 homers and 20 doubles with an OBP of .448! This seems like a guy you want on your major league roster. Still, the Mariners would much rather have Strasburg to put into the monster rotation they could have (King Felix, Morrow, R.R-S, Aumont), but need the Nationals to buckle to make it happen. If only they could have found a way to lose as usual.