  Selling Seattle on Jack Cust   Today, the Mariners announced
the acquisition of Jack Cust. They expect him to be the full-
time DH. This likely means that the Mariners will not pursue
Russell Branyan; presumably, the Mariners project Justin Smoak
playing first-base, so Branyan will likely need to find work
elsewhere. So now that the Mariners have essentially opted for
Cust over Branyan, has our offense improved?  Over his time the
past two seasons with the Mariners, Russell Branyan has
consistently hit for power (46 HR; .508 SLG), and last year his
OPS was the highest on the team (technically, tied with Mike
Sweeney for the highest OPS, .802). Also, last year, he was, by
far, the most significant Mariner power threat. He led the team
with 15 HRs, despite starting the season in Cleveland and
appearing in only 57 games with the Mariners.  Cust is a very
similar hitter to Branyan. Yes, he strikes out a ton–so be
patient. He led the AL in strikeouts three straight seasons
(07-09), and yes he struck out in over a