The Angels have clearly been the class in the American League West the last few seasons.
The Mariners, on the other hand, have clearly been the class in the AL West the last few days. And on Tuesday the Mariners open the home portion of their schedule by hosting the Angels, a team Seattle would like to be competitive with this month, next month and throughout the 2009 calendar.
Seattle, the loser of 101 games last year, brings a 5-2 record into the series and easily could have been 6-1. For manager Don Wakamatsu, however, the record isn't the bottom line.
"The thing for me is that we've been playing well," he said. "We're getting good hitting when we need it, good pitching, good defense. And the bullpen has been very solid."
The Mariners had nothing but problems with the bullpen in the spring as the club tried to make adjustments to the loss of J.J. Putz, traded to the New York Mets. But in the last four games, Brandon Morrow and David Aardsma each have two saves.
Tuesday, too, is the return to Seattle as a Mariner of Ken Griffey Jr. Griffey played the first 11 years of his career in Seattle, hitting 398 home runs and helping to turn Seattle from a doormat into a playoff club.
