The Seattle Mariners are finally getting the Cactus League respect they deserve. The Mariners take on the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday and Saturday and if you take a quick gander at the Cactus League schedule, you'll notice the asterisk next to the Saturday game. That is right, the Mariners and the Diamondbacks are the premier game of the evening. Take that rest of Cactus League. That is how you get treated when you are 6-1 with a 1.5 game lead over the rest of the league.
The weekend's schedule:
Friday: Arizona Diamondbacks @ Seattle Mariners
Saturday: Seattle Mariners @ Arizona Diamondbacks
Sunday: Seattle Mariners @ San Francisco Giants
As you can see, MLB still has no respect for Mariners travel schedule as they are heading all over a 25 mile radius in Phoenix, Arizona. The Mariners put a thrashing on the Cubs yesterday winning 10-3. Dustin Ackley clubbed a three run homer in support of old man Kevin Millwood. Most importantly, Dustin Ackley clubbed a three run home off of crazed extreme strike thrower/walk the bases loaded fireballer Cubbie Carlos Marmol. Carlos Marmol does get a bit wild at times, but little of that wildness ends up on the other side of the outfield fence as he has allowed eight home runs in three seasons. And people say spring doesn't matter! Dustin Ackley - hit as many home runs off of Carlos Marmol as you like!
Jason Vargas gets the start for the Mariners today against an Arizona team that doesn't want to keep their fans waiting gleefully and have gotten thrashed on three separate occasions this spring. From the looks of the lineup card, Arizona looks very confident in their pitcher so it will be interesting to see how well Vargas adapts.
For more positive reinforcement on the Seattle Mariners, head to Lookout Landing.