There are only 5 days remaining before the 2010 MLB season is underway. Over the last 5 months each team did everything in their power to insure that this very well could be their year. Every offseason, there’s always one or two teams that does a little bit more than the other teams. So the question remains, which team had the most productive off-season?The Case for the Seattle Marinersby Sebastian LenaIn 2008, the Mariners finished a woeful 61-101; Their worst record since 1983. Following such a debacle it was only logical for the Mariners to make a change at the top. Enter new general manager Jack Zduriencik, who brought with him a completely new coaching staff for 2009. The results? An 85 win season and the best pitching staff statistically in the American League. Zduriencik was up to the same tricks this past off-season. On the pitching side, Zduriencik made sure that ace Felix Hernandez wasn’t going anywhere for a while by locking the phenom into a $78M five year extension. If the thought of facing Hernandez didn’t provide enough nightmares for opposing hitters, how about adding the 2008 NL Cy Young winner? By bringing in Cliff Lee, the Mariners now have one of the most feared 1-2 pitching combinations in the league and have taken a huge step towards realizing their World Series hopes. The Mariners were also able to bring back Erik Bedard for one more year at a bargain price of 1.5M after a disappointing two years following his acquisition from Baltimore in 2008.  If Bedard comes back anywhere close to the form he was at with the Orioles, where he posted a 3.16 ERA with 221 Ks, the Mariners might prove to be one of the toughest opponents to play against in a postseason series.With the the acquisitions of Chone Figgins, Jack Wilson, and Casey Kotchman, the Mariners also strengthened a defense that was already one of the best in the league. Figgins also contributes on offense, bringing his .291 career average and 48 stolen bases a year to a team badly in need of an offensive jump start. With Figgins batting second behind Ichiro, the Mariners will easily have one of the most dangerous lead off combinations in the league. The Mariners also made sure that they didn’t let their sensational young centerfielder Franklin Gutierrez out of their sights by signing him to a 4-year extension worth $20.25M. Last but not least, there’s the self-proclaimed “Kanye West of baseball”, Milton Bradley. Many questioned why the Mariners brought in this troublemaker at all. First, the Mariners were able to exchange underperforming pitcher Carlos Silva and his enormous salary for a player who has a risk/reward ratio worth gambling on. While Bradley struggled in Chicago, batting only .257, there’s always hope that he will return to his 2008 form where he put up a .321 average playing for Texas. As for the clubhouse tension? One only has to look back to 2007 when the Mariners signed troubled outfielder Jose Guillen. After only batting .216 the previous year, Guillen finished the 2008 season with an impressive .290 batting average and no outbursts. Given their track recortd for handling problem players, the Mariners should be able to keep Bradley under control. It’s his performance on the field that is the question mark.Overall, the Mariners have shown that they are playing for all the marbles this year. While they might not have all the pieces needed to win the World Series this year (see lack of a true power hitter), look for the Mariners to be a true contender to win the AL West and make a deep run in the postseason.The Case for the Boston Red Soxby Andrew OtovicEven though the popular pick among pundits is the Seattle Mariners, fact remains that while they had a very good off-season, the award for best off season goes to the Boston Red Sox. One of the major moves that the Mariners made was to sign another lead off hitter, when they already have one of the best in the league in Ichiro. They also traded for headcase Milton Bradley who will probably get upset with how many times it rains or the absurd price of Starbucks coffee and find himself suspended yet again. I do like the fact that Seattle acquired another ace in Cliff Lee, it just simply was not good enough.The Red Sox had one strategy this offseason, and they stuck to it. The plan this off season was to get better at team defense and better pitching, and that they did. The Sox, even though they had the 4th best defense in the American League by some measures, had one of the worst defenses according to Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR). UZR is based on Zone Rating, a defensive stat kept by STATS, Inc. that measures a fielder’s success at getting to balls determined to be in his “zone” of the playing field. The world knows Jacoby Ellsbury is one heck of a defender but he uses his speed to get to most of the balls he catches. For the UZR, that is bad, because in order to have a good UZR you should get everything within a certain radius of you, regardless of your position.To improve defense in the outfield, the Sox signed defensive maven Mike Cameron to patrol center which will allow Ellsbury to move to a less stressfull role in left. To fill the gap at third base left by the crippling of Mike Lowell, Theo and the Trio brought in Adrian Beltre and signed him to a one year deal. With the Monstah in left, the right handed Beltre should be smacking doubles and homers all season long. Shortstop acquisition Marco Scutaro was one of the highest rated shortstops according to UZR and is also a very pesky out, posting a .379 OBP last season, good enough for fifth among MLB shortstops. With Beltre and Scutaro joining Gold Glovers Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia, expect the Olde Towne Team to flash some serious leather this season.As if that wasn’t enough, the Sox also improved their pitching staff by signing John Lackey. Lackey is not an ace, but a definite number two starter who will serve as number three starter here behind All-star Josh Beckett and ace-in-waitng Jon Lester. Lackey is also dirtdog and someone that wants the ball all the time. He should fit in fine here. In Beckett, Lester, and Lackey, the Sox have a front end of the rotation that might be the best in their illustrious history. So ultimately it comes down to the Red Sox adding two gold glovers at third and center field, plus a top of the line starter versus the Mariners who added an ace, a speedster, and a migraine headache.Don’t agree? Have a better idea? Send all comments, thoughts, and concerns to [email protected]