dnak
Unfortunately, it’s a dubious one. With tonight’s loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Seattle Mariners record now stands at 58 wins and 100 losses. And with an estimated $118 million team payroll for 2008, the Mariners are the first team in history with a $100M+ payroll to have 100 losses.
The only silver lining is that with their complete nosedive performance the last several weeks, the Mariners are now in hot contention for first place in the Strasburg Sweepstakes. They’re now 1 full game ahead of (or behind) the Washington Nationals for the #1 pick for the 2009 MLB draft with just 4 games left to play. San Diego State’s Stephen Strasburg is the consensus #1 pick. He was a starting pitcher for the USA Oympic bronze medal team, has a fastball in the upper 90′s, and struck out 23 batters in an outing against Utah in April during a season he compiled an 8-3 record and a 1.57 ERA.
And even though it will take more than a single player to help the Mariners out of their historic slump, it certainly can’t hurt to have a 1-2 punch of Felix Hernandez and Stephen Strasburg, So don’t let us down, Mariners!
UPDATE on 9/28: The Mariners proceeded to close out the season with a 3 game sweep of the Oakland A’s, thus handing the number 1 pick (presumably Strasburg) to the Washington Nationals.
