Big series looming for the Mariners against the team with the best record in baseball starting tonight. I say it’s big because Seattle wants to avoid a sweep like the one it just suffered, so as to avoid falling too far out of this division race. The Mariners are only 2 1/2 games behind as of right now, but that could quickly turn to 5 1/2 out with a sweep and you really don’t want that in the first week of May.

Also, don’t look now, but the M’s are already six games back in the wild-card standings. Yes, we knew it was probably going to be easier to win the AL West than the wild-card, but again, you don’t like to see options vanishing before your eyes on May 4. Time to get down to business and, as I said on my Talkin’ Baseball segment this morning on KJR AM 950′s Mitch in the Morning show, the Mariners really should be wrapping up the experimental stage of their season right about now and moving on to Plan B where they have a choice.

For me, that means seeing what you’ve got in Mike Sweeney and whether he can serve as a DH for more than one game per series.

Some of you want Sweeney gone yesterday and feel that the best way to increase the team’s chance of winning right now is to chop him from the roster and add an extra outfielder to the mix. I’m in agreement with you that all teams would like to have the most flexible bench possible so they are armed to the teeth in a close game.

But wanting something and absolutely needing it are two different things.

And as much as I agree that a strong bench would help the Mariners improve, I believe that a DH who can hit is a higher priority for them at the moment.

First, let’s study the claim that that an extra outfielder would really make that much of a difference.

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