Enjoy that title, Seattle -- Mariners still have lots of questions

At least he is entering a market in which sports fans at long last have a championship to celebrate. The glow from the Super Bowl win should last a while. San

Tom Verducci | Feb 4, 2014

Enjoy that title, Seattle -- Mariners still have lots of questions /

The Mariners are hoping Robinson Cano can continue hitting as well at his new home ballpark as he did as a visitor there, when his .309 average at Safeco Field matched his overall career mark. — The Mariners are hoping Robinson Cano can continue hitting as well at his new home ballpark as he did as a visitor there, when his .309 average at Safeco Field matched his overall career mark :: Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

At least he is entering a market in which sports fans at long last have a championship to celebrate. The glow from the Super Bowl win should last a while. San Diego and Cleveland can only dream such happiness will find them soon. The wait in Seattle has been so long that nobody minds one bit that to end the drought the Seahawks needed a minor leaguer from the rival Texas Rangers, Russell Wilson, to lead them.

Published Feb 4, 2014

TOM VERDUCCI

Tom Verducci is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated who has covered Major League Baseball since 1981. He also serves as an analyst for FOX Sports and the MLB Network; is a New York Times best-selling author; and cohosts The Book of Joe podcast with Joe Maddon. A five-time Emmy Award winner across three categories (studio analyst, reporter, short form writing) and nominated in a fourth (game analyst), he is a three-time National Sportswriter of the Year winner, two-time National Magazine Award finalist, and a Penn State Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient. Verducci is a member of the National Sports Media Hall of Fame, Baseball Writers Association of America (including past New York chapter chairman) and a Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 1993. He also is the only writer to be a game analyst for World Series telecasts. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, with whom he has two children.