They clinched the American League West title so early their spring training fundamental drills should have included how to spray champagne on each other.

They were in first place every day of the 190-day season. They won 116 games, more than any team in American League history. Their lead was 19 games at the All-Star break and never less than 14 games after May.

And none of it means a thing anymore.

The Mariners begin the postseason in the same position as everyone else. Needing to win 11 games, beginning with three this week in the division series against Cleveland.

"The postseason is totally different than the regular season," Seattle manager Lou Piniella said. ""Everybody starts equally. Everybody is capable of winning. And you've got to go out and play good baseball over a short series. There's very little margin for error."

Great teams are measured by how many games they win during the postseason, not the regular season. Yes, the six months and 162 games of the regular season are a better indication of a team's true ability, but that's not how they'll be judged.

Ask the 1954 Cleveland team, which won 111 games in the regular season, then got swept by the Giants. Ask the 1990 Athletics, who won 103 games and were swept by Piniella's Cincinnati Reds. Ask the 1997 Orioles, who went wire-to-wire and didn't reach the World Series. Or ask just about any recent edition of a certain team in Atlanta.

It doesn't matter what your winning percentage was during the season; if you don't win it all in the postseason, you will not be regarded among the best teams of all time. As Seattle pitcher Paul Abbott said, fans outside Seattle will finally start talking about the Mariners being one of the best teams of all time "if we win the ring."

That the Mariners were easily the best team in baseball this season is indisputable. They finished 14 games better than the next-best record and 25 games better than the team they play in the first round, Cleveland. Had Atlanta played in the same division, it would have finished 28 games behind the Mariners.

The Mariners scored more runs than any other team in the majors and allowed fewer than any other team, a pretty good recipe for winning. They are the first team since Cleveland in 1948 to lead the league in ERA, batting and fielding. They have two MVP candidates (Bret Boone and Ichiro Suzuki), two Cy Young candidates (Freddy Garcia and Jamie Moyer) and the obvious rookie of the year (Ichiro).

Still, they are vulnerable. Shortstop Carlos Guillen was hospitalized two weeks ago with tuberculosis and will not be available in the first round. Mark McLemore will play shortstop in his place. While McLemore is capable at short, that means he won't be free to fill in where needed in the utility role he played so well all season. That doesn't sound like much, but it is. McLemore's versatility was a big part of the Mariners' success.

"It takes a little away a little bit from our depth," Piniella said. "The fact that Carlos hit second in our lineup against left-handed pitching and was hitting lefties well. It also takes away a switch-hitter from the bench for me, for us to maneuver late in the game. But with Mac at short, we're covered fine."

That's not all … well, no, actually, that pretty much is all. Unless you count the dreaded Balboni Curse. No team with a player who hit 35 or more home runs has won the World Series since Steve Balboni did so for the 1985 Royals. Boone hit his 37th last week.

Due to the unbalanced schedule, Cleveland and Seattle played only seven times, with the Mariners winning five of them. Cleveland's two victories were memorable, though. Seattle blew a 12-0 lead Aug. 5 and lost 15-14 in 11 innings and blew a 3-2 lead in the ninth inning Aug. 26 when reliever Arthur Rhodes, pitching without his famous diamond earrings, allowed two runs. And Cleveland played almost all the other meetings tough as well, despite a much worse record.

Piniella said his team doesn't face any added pressure because of its 116-win season, but he's wrong about that. There is extra pressure, even if the Mariners have played so well they can handle that added burden that weighs heavier on them than Rhodes' earrings.

Still, if the Mariners don't at least bring Seattle its first World Series, the season will be a tremendous disappointment. It won't be a failure, but it won't be a success, either. Expectations are too high, too much has been put at stake. It's like a person who keeps doubling a bet at the roulette wheel. He can win as many times and as much money during as many spins as possible, but success boils down to that one last spin of the night.

Winning 116 games in the regular season doesn't make winning in the postseason any easier, just more important.

Jim Caple is a senior writer for ESPN.com.