Eric Wedge recently broke the news that struggling and overpaid Mariners third baseman Chone Figgins would begin the 2012 campaign in the leadoff position. This left all Mariner fans wondering, “what’s happening to Ichiro”? Wedge announced today that Ichiro will be hitting in the third spot, meaning that Dustin Ackley will be hitting second. As the Mariners manager put it, “I feel like our best opportunity to score runs is with Ichiro hitting third for us. It helps the guy in front of him, it helps the guy behind him.” Here is why Eric Wedge is a total genius.

As many of you know, the Mariners slogan for 2011 was "Ready to play." This "Ready to play" concept failed for the Mariners in 2011, because as many of you know, they were most certainly not ready to play. So I thought it was time the Mariners really started being honest with their slogans, which is where I come in. I decided to come up with some slogans for 2012, just to help out the Mariners front office.

9. "We got rid of Jack Cust for you"

No need to fret kids, Safeco Field security finally caught him.

You don't have to worry about your rally fries getting stolen between innings anymore. Problem solved.

READ MORE 2012 SLOGANS AFTER THE JUMP!

After last week's events, Mariners fans have a clearer picture of what their team will look like in 2012.

Without Prince Fielder, the Mariners need to find another way to drastically improve their offensive output from last season in order to contend. Another issue is Michael Pineda's vacated role in the rotation.

The biggest question facing the Mariners this season, however, deals with the AL West. Will they be able to improve enough to compete against two reloaded teams in the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels? Regardless, the Mariners have to put a product on the field based on what they have, not what they could have had. 

Check out my 25-man roster projection for 2012 after the jump!

The Michael Pineda trade can only be summed up in one word: wow. Jack Z did it again, in typical fashion of holding his cards close and not giving anyone a peek. Everyone following the Mariners closely knew Pineda could be a trade chip but no one thought there could be a package suitable for Jacks standards.

Not only did he find one, but with a mixed reaction from the Mariners faithful. Did we get fleeced? Did we just make a move that will set our team back another 10 losing seasons? Is this Adam Jones all over again? If this is still your opinion of the trade after a week, maybe you should re-evaluate your stance as a Mariner fan.

READ MORE AFTER THE JUMP! 

Yesterday the Seattle Mariners announced Dan Wilson and Randy Johnson will be inducted into the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame this year on July 28, 2012 in a game against the Kansas City Royals (mark your calendars!).

Dan Wilson played 12 of his 14 Major League seasons for the Mariners (1994-2005). Wilson, who played more games as a catcher than any other player in Mariners history (1,281), is ranked among the Top 10 in a bevy of Mariners offensive categories.

Johnson had one of the most dominant fastballs in the game and regularly hit 100+ mph in his prime. He won five Cy Young Awards (1995, 1999-2002), including the first by a Mariners pitcher when he went 18-2 with a 2.48 ERA in 1995. (Via: Mariners.com)

Johnson and Wilson will be joining Alvin Davis (1997 induction), Dave Niehaus (2000), Jay Buhner (2004) and Edgar Martinez (2007) into the Mariners Hall of Fame. For eligibility, a player or a manager must be active in a Mariners uniform for at least five season and must be ceased to be active in the MLB for at least two seasons before selection.

The next obvious inductions have to be Ken Griffey Jr. and Lou Piniella. Ichiro and Jamie Moyer will also get their nods once they retire. Anyone else out there?

A ludicrous suggestion that came in my head after perusing all-time Mariners career stats tells me maybe a case for Jeff Nelson could be made. He is third all-time in ERA and also held opponents to batting .222 in his Mariners all-time leading 432 appearances.  Nelson was also a crucial piece to the Mariners' runs in both 1995 and 2001.

Could he be the greatest Mariners reliever of all-time? Think of an M's reliever that had that much of an impact for as long as Nelson did. I can't. I'm not saying his impact was large, but I am saying his impact is unmatched. On the other hand, I found out he only totaled 4.3 WAR in his eight seasons with the Mariners. And then there's that part that he only pitched one inning when he went into games. Am I crazy? Yes, I'm probably crazy.

--Kevin Cacabelos (@seatownsports) 

No. 1 is still present and accounted for, but who takes over the No. 2 slot? 

By now, you’ve probably heard that the Mariners agreed to trade Michael Pineda and Jose Campos to the New York Yankees for Miguel Montero and Hector Noesi, pending physicals.

So now the big question is: Who will take Pineda’s rotation spot? ANSWER AFTER THE JUMP!

In one of the biggest off-season moves in the MLB, the Mariners have reportedly traded young star, starting pitcher Michael Pineda to the New York Yankees in exchange for Jesus Montero. As many reporters have mentioned, this deal won't be announced today or anytime soon until physicals on both sides have been completed. The Mariners are also sending over pitching prospect Jose Campos, while the Yankees are sending back Hector Noesi.

The Mariners entered this off-season looking to upgrade their offense, and this move on many levels is a step towards acheiving that goal. Montero played designated hitter and catcher for the Yankees last season. In 18 games he batted .328 with a .406 on-base percentage. Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik tried to acquire Montero two years ago when shopping Cliff Lee, but ended up dealing Lee to the Texas Rangers for Justin Smoak instead.

For ongoing updates on the trade, head over to SB Nation Seattle's storystream. At SeaTown Sports we'll have some analysis in the coming days.

--Kevin Cacabelos ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) 

Edgar Martinez failed to reach the 75% vote margin in order to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame coming in at 36.5% this year. Even though this was only Edgar’s third year of eligibility, he is headed in the right direction by adding on votes from last year’s 32.9%. With the upcoming years of Hall of Fame voting it will only get harder for Martinez as the players from the Long Ball Era will make their way onto the ballot including Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Craig Biggio, Mike Piazza, Curt Schilling and the list goes on.

Current projections are placing Martinez on the ballot for another 10+ years before being inducted. How is this so? Comparable nominees such as Bert Blyleven and Jim Rice had similar routes to the Hall of Fame by slowly increasing their vote each year. Blyleven in his third year received 17.4% of the vote and Rice received 35.3%.

READ MORE AFTER THE JUMP! 

Morry Gash/Associated Press

Prince is not our Savior.

I am a huge Fielder cheerleader and, if the price is right, would gladly accept a late Christmas present from Jack Z with arms wide open. But, as has become familiar with Scott Boras’ clientele, landing Fielder may require a contract richer than what it behooves the Mariners to spend.

My message to frantic M’s fans is this: sit down and take a deep breath. Let’s stay the course.

What do I mean by stay the course? It’s simple, and something that you may already have heard. Ex-GM Bill Bavasi left this team—and, most importantly, its farm system—in shambles. His $100 million dollar payroll brought us 100 losses. I have no recollection of a GM firing from the hip in the way Bavasi did, dreaming of buying and trading for a winner.

Mariners brass did right back then when they realized they needed to start with the farm system and build from within. Why did the Mariners bring in Jack Zdurencik? He had 24 years of talent evaluation and scouting under his belt and an impressive drafting track record (recent first-rounders include Fielder, Ryan Braun, Rickie Weeks, Brett Lawrie and Matt LaPorta). READ MORE AFTER THE JUMP!

Everyone knows that Pujols just signed a monster deal with the Angels. But what are the Mariners going to do about that? We’ve all been hearing Fielder’s name tossed around here and there, but the M’s have only flirted with the idea of signing him. In order to determine what moves could be made by Jack Z this offseason, we either have to go all out for Fielder and risk coming up empty handed, or we just gotta move on from him and go for smaller name players who could still be somewhat productive. Here’s a list of rumored/potential signings for the Mariners this offseason:

Prince Fielder- Like I said, if we go for Fielder, it’s gotta be all or nothing. He’s going to be the only big player we get this offseason, if we do sign him. But how much is he worth? Personally, I’d say $20 million a year is the limit.  It’s a high risk move for a team that’s still a year or two away from competing. Having a player like Fielder would be nice, but we’re still two or three big pieces away from contending.

Player Rating: 9/10

Likeliness: 7/10