Mariners' Studs 'N Duds of the First Half

Considering the fact that the Mariners lost 101 games in 2008, they have had a great first half. They're 46-42 and four games back of the division-leading Angels. Last season at the all-star break, they were 37-58 and 20 games back of the Angels.

They have a legitimate chance at making the playoffs, and plenty of players have contributed to that reality.

I'll call them studs.

There have also been a few players who haven't helped the team nearly as much, and even some that have hurt the team.

I'll call those duds.

Studs:

Ichiro:

Coming off a down year, for him anyway, Ichiro is back to his old ways in 2009. He is on pace for well over 200 hits, despite missing the first two weeks of the season. He's hitting .362 and (at the end of this season) will become the first player in history to record over 200 hits in nine consecutive seasons.

He's cut down a bit on the stolen bases, only 19 at the break, but he's getting as many infield hits as ever, and his speed is still fully intact. He's scoring fewer runs than usual, but that's not his fault, and his defense has been good.

Franklin Gutierrez:

The Mariners got Franklin Gutierrez in the three-team deal last offseason, in which they also acquired Endy Chavez, Jason Vargas, and Mike Carp, but it's become clear that Gutierrez was the real prize.

Not only has he been the best defensive center fielder in all of baseball this year, but he's also hitting over. 290 with 10 bombs.

Franklin has been a huge part of the Mariners' success this year, and, at age 26, we should have the privilege of watching him play here in Seattle for a nice, long time.

Russell Branyan:

After signing a one-year deal with the Mariners for a mere $1.4 million, Russell Branyan has been one of the most underrated players of the first half. The journeyman is on pace for around 40 home runs and 100 RBI, and he's hitting .280.

He strikes out a lot, and the Mariners knew that about him, but he also has the ability to draw a lot of walks, shown by his on base percentage of .382.

Russell Branyan is giving the M's the type of production that usually costs closer to $10 million, and has hinted that he intends to resign.

Felix Hernandez:

King Felix is 9-3 with a 2.53 ERA, 121 K's, and a 1.14 WHIP. He's also right in the thick of the AL Cy Young race with Zack Greinke and Roy Halladay.

He has been a true stopper for the Mariners this season, and is perhaps the biggest reason that the Mariners have had success. He is also one of the M's two all-star game representatives, with the other, of course, being Ichiro.

Jarrod Washburn:

Jarrod Washburn has not been nearly as good as a lot of people would think by looking at his sparkly ERA. That being said, he has been better than he was last year, and he's been able to do something that the Mariners have really needed—eat innings.

He's gone seven or more innings in nine of his 17 starts.

The M's bullpen has been shaky, especially recently, and Wash has been able to spare them a lot of work.

David Aardsma:

When Brandon Morrow was knocked out of the closers role after a couple of meltdowns in Texas, David Aardsma stepped up to temporarily take on the role.

That was two months and 20 saves ago.

He's been the most reliable piece of an otherwise mediocre bullpen and has put up all-star caliber numbers all season.

He doesn't have the JJ Putz, Thunderstruck kind of feel to him, but he gets the job done, and for the most part makes the fans feel comfortable.

Not quite studs: Adrian Beltre, Sean White, Garrett Olson, Jason Vargas, Miguel Batista, Shawn Kelley, and Endy Chavez.

Duds:

Kenji Johjima:

Johjima hasn't been all that terrible, but he has failed to earn the starting catcher spot in favor of Rob Johnson.

I find that unforgivable.

For whatever reason, most of our starting pitchers feel more comfortable with Johnson, and because of that we've been stuck with a much worse hitter.

It's not just his rapport with the pitchers, though. He's also been incredibly mediocre offensively and just hasn't done much to help the team.

Rob Johnson:

A lot of people would disagree with me here, but Rob Johnson is a much worse option than Kenji Johjima. He's a really bad hitter, and when he does manage to have a good game at the plate, he'll generally go a week or so without doing anything.

He also has a bad arm and is clearly inferior to Kenji at throwing out base runners. The fact is, we don't have any good options at catcher, which makes me long for Adam Moore.

Carlos Silva:

He's been on the DL since May, but he built on his terrible 2008 season by having a terrible start to the 2009 season. He only started six games, but he gave up six or more earned runs in half of them, acquiring an 8.48 ERA with nine walks and 10 strikeouts.

He's just plain terrible.

Fortunately, it appears as though he's found his calling—hugging and kissing players in the dugout after they've hit home runs.

Hey, if it improves the clubhouse chemistry, I'm fine with it...as long as he's not pitching.

Yuniesky Betancourt:

He's no longer on our team, but he's been so bad this season that he bares mentioning. He's had a terrible season offensively, showing absolutely no plate-discipline and hardly any speed.

Defensively, he's been even worse than last year, showing the occasional flash of his former brilliance, but all in all having no range whatsoever and a lack of focus.

He also has appeared unwilling to buy into Don Wakamatsu's system of accountability and discipline, showing that he really has no place on this team.

Roy Corcoran:

After doing a respectable job in 2008, Roy Corcoran has been awful this season. He's had a lot of trouble throwing strikes (16 BB, 6 K) and has been getting hit hard when he does. He has been perhaps the least reliable part of the Mariners' bullpen in 2009.

Ronny Cedeno:

Ronny has been good defensively, but he just isn't hitting up to his potential. He's probably been the least disappointing of all the duds, but unless he picks it up offensively quickly, he's just not good enough to be the Mariners' starting shortstop.

Jack Zduriencik is going to have to go out and get one, most likely.

Not quite duds: Brandon Morrow (it's not all his fault), Chris Jakubauskas, Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Sweeney, and Jose Lopez.

Too Soon to Tell:

Ryan Langerhans, Jack Hannahan, Chris Woodward, Chris Shelton, and Ryan Rowland-Smith.

Here's hoping there will be more studs and fewer duds come the end of the second half!

You can follow me on Twitter here