Mariners fans just cannot escape the names.  They lie awake at night tormented by them, like a child afraid of the monster hiding in his closet.  The mere mention of the names instills fear in the hearts of everybody who bleeds Mariners blue.  But the names that cause sleepless nights for Mariners fans shouldn’t be Vladimir Guerrero, Mark Texiera, and Rich Harden, some of the Mariners scariest division foes.  The names Mariners fans shouldn’t be able to get out of their heads are Rick Ankiel, Ben McDonald, Ryan Wagner, and Cal Eldred; young pitchers bursting with talent who achieved great success in their first taste of the big leagues, and then struggled to find it again.  
    
The Mariners can only hope that Felix Hernandez, the 20-year-old Venezuelan on whose golden right arm the future of the franchise rests, is not the latest addition to the list.  After a stellar rookie season in 2005 (12 starts, 2.67 era, 1.00 whip), Hernandez regressed last year and his ERA ballooned to 4.56.  His struggles mirrored those of the team, which finished last in the A.L. West, 15 games behind the Athletics.  It was the Mariners third straight losing season following four consecutive years of at least 90 wins.  

Seattle entered the offseason hoping to land a frontline starter to join Hernandez in the starting rotation. Disappointment ensued as they were spurned by Jason Schmidt and Barry Zito, and they failed to pony up enough cash to land the rights to negotiate with Daisuke Matsuzaka.  Instead, Hernandez will be joined in the rotation by veteran lefty Jarrod Washburn, the only other returning starter, Jeff Weaver, Miguel Batista, and Horacio Ramirez.  

Despite having an ERA of 6.29 in 16 AL starts last season, Weaver’s postseason performance with the Cardinals after switching leagues (2.43 ERA in 5 starts) was enough to convince the Mariners he’s worth the more than $8 million the team will pay him this season. (Perhaps Seattle signed him with an overly optimistic eye towards shutting down the Mets in the World Series.)  In another shortsighted move, the Mariners committed nearly three times that amount of money (3 years, $24 million), to the 36 year-old Batista, a pitcher who last had success as a full time starter in 2003.  Ramirez, who came over from the Braves in a deal for Rafael Soriano, is the most intriguing of the Mariners new acquisitions.  Although he has battled injuries and inconsistency over the last two years, Ramirez’s performance from 2003-2004 has shown he is capable of being a 15-game winner.