Mariners, so hot right now. Mariners.

Please tell me you noticed that. Don't brush it off as if it was nothing. That was, and still is amazing and it's happening in your town. Wake up. The Mariners are talking to you.

Heading into a Memorial Day weekend match up at the "Safe" with the New York Yankees, the Seattle Mariners sit one and a half games back out of first place. They have won 8 out of their last 10 games. In fact, in the last 30 days Seattle pitchers have owned a 2.47 ERA, tops in baseball. I have a hunch that Seattle will punch the Bronx Bombers in the mouth at least twice in this three-game home stand.

It all kicks off with the top rookie of the year candidate, pitcher Michael Pineda. This Dominican machine is en fuego. He already has 6 wins and 61 strikeouts. No, I'm not confusing him with 2010 Cy Young winner, Felix Hernandez. Pineda has been that ridiculous.

As dangerous as the Yankee offense is, Pineda holds the edge because New York hasn't batted against him yet and of course he is straight up nasty. He currently has the highest average fastball amongst starters in the big leagues at 96 mph.

The beauty of Pineda being so great as the Mariners fifth starter is that he pitches back-to-back with Felix. Thus, Saturday night could be a fantastic night to be in SoDo because Felix brings his "A-game" when faces New York.

In his last 5 starts against the Yanks, Felix is 4-1 with 8 runs allowed. That's 40 innings and 37 K's against a perennial powerhouse offense with a 1.77 ERA. Good luck with that Bombers.

If this weekend doesn't get Seattle fans excited and if SafeCo doesn't get close to selling out then just stay away for good because the real fans don't need your half-hearted attention. The Mariners are an easy target to make fun of but the truth is that they have a shot at the division and I'm loving their contagious tenacity.

Got Road Graders?

The pick was not sexy. It wasn't even cute. It was in fact, ugly.

This is the type of ugly you don't mess with. We are talking about a beast of a man. Alabama offensive tackle, James Carpenter, was chosen 25th overall by the Seattle Seahawks last week. Most people said, "Carpenter who?" They said "what about a quarterback?" There was plenty of criticism to go around.

Upon further review, I believe the Seahawks made a smart choice. They backed up that decision to improve the offensive line by using their next draft pick on Wisconsin guard, John Moffitt.

Both Carpenter and Moffit stand 6'4, 320 pounds and come from winning universities that pump out NFL talent on a annual basis. They each played tough schedules while battling against other future NFL prospects every Saturday.

Head coach Pete Carroll plans to insert those two alongside last year's high draft choice, Russell Okung. Also guard/center Max Unger joins the offensive line again after suffering season-ending surgery in the 2010 preseason. Okung and Unger are huge men just like the rookies, both weighing in at 6'5, 320 pounds. Can you say road graders?

The commitment to restoring a dominate offensive line is obvious. Anyone who knows football and what it requires to be a great team, knows winning starts with a great offensive line. It won't matter if the Seahawks attained a great quarterback if he can't stand back there long enough to find a reciever. It won't matter if Marshawn Lynch gets the ball 20 times a game if there isn't a hole to run through. He can't "Beast Mode" everyone.

See, many people think quarterback was a greater need than offensive line but coach Carroll and general manager John Schneider aren't on that same wavelength. How easy people forget that our offensive line was so inept and constantly injured last year that even the biggest Seahawks fans were confused who even lining up each week. It was like a speed-dating service in which the player showed up for one game and was gone the next.

Lastly, these young beasts will learn the ways of blocking from Tom Cable whom is regarded as one the top minds regarding dominate offensive line play. Cable restored the Oakland Raiders offense by drafting nasty linemen and a hard-hitting runningback. Last year under Cable's tutelage the Raiders rushing attack averaged 156 yards per game.

Regardless of what happens at quarterback, there is one thing we do know. With an improved offensive line, the storied "Beast Mode" will rise again running behind a wall of bulldozers.