The Trade Deadline - Why the Seattle Mariners Should Be Sellers? Or Not?

With the trade deadline less than a month away, the Seattle Mariners find themselves in an unforeseen predicament. At the beginning of the season, they assumed that by this time of the year there would be no way for them to still be in any sort of pennant race.

Now as we begin the month of July, the Mariners have some tough decisions to make not only for this season but for the future as well. Adrian Beltre, Jarrod Washburn, and Erik Bedard are all considered to be potential trade chips for contending teams trying to solidify their playoff chances. The problem begins and ends with the fact that for some strange reason they are finding ways to win and stay relevant in the AL West. While they ended up losing the series to the hated Yankees, they were able to hold their own against the Red Sox.

As a long time Mariner fan, I can only wait patiently to see how they proceed during the coming weeks. It could go one of two ways: They could trade away one of the pieces that has made them a surprise team, or they could trade away more prospects further depleting the minor league talent level in hopes of trying to contend into September.

For once, I would hope that the Mariners decide to see the truth about where we really stand in the playoff race. For most of the season, we have been finding ways to win games we shouldn't have won. I would hope that the Mariners brass sees it the same way and continues the rebuilding of the organization through youth instead of trying to gain a slim chance of getting to the World Series.

While it pains me to say this, I would rather see a team building for the long haul and a return to the type of teams we had in the mid 90's. We had stars that came up through the organization that took us to levels never before seen. If we again trade away players like Adam Jones, we will never regain our place among the elite teams.

The Mariners are making this one of those years where you never now what you are gonna get.  One minute they are losing to teams that they should be beating, and than they turn around and compete strongly against the Yankees and Red Sox.

Now last week, I just knew they had to sell the goods that were still salvageable for a chance for enhancing the future of the organization.  But with the series ending today against the Red Sox, I am wondering if they do have a chance this year, once everyone gets healthy, to take a stab at the playoffs.

With Russ Branyan having a solid season, Felix finally turning into the King, and Ichiro hitting it every where, the Mariners have themselves a team to be at least noticed.  What they just accomplished on this last road trip was simply amazing.  To be able to take 2 of 3 series against the Dodgers, Yankees, and Red Sox is worthy of giving them a shot until the end.

 Now that we have shown we are not though yet, we will need to see how the team fares in the coming weeks.  If they keep on winning series, than we will have to see what we can do to  bring in another bat or a couple more arms for the bullpen to solidify our chances.  But what I would still like to see is us not giving away our future.