The Seattle Mariners currently sit at 46-54, 10 games back in the Major League Baseball AL Western Division. The guys at MLB.com gave them a 3.2 percent chance of even making the playoffs. All this losing after an off-season that had everyone from ESPN, as well as myself, thinking this was finally our year. We signed Nelson Cruz, the 2014 home run leader to back Robinson Cano (who we invested 10 years and $240 million a few years ago) who had a great 2014 year in his first season in the Emerald City. Young, homegrown talent was finally starting to pan out in Kyle Seager, and even Dustin Ackley showed huge strides in the second half of last year.
Don’t even get me started on the pitching. Felix Hernandez, dubbed King Felix by his fans, had one of the best seasons of his career (and was robbed of a Cy Young in my opinion). He was set to continue his 2014 dominance, backed by all-star Hisashi Iwakuma, hard-throwing lefty James Paxton and uber-prospect Tiajuan Walker. Their bullpen, led by last year’s save leader Fernando Rodney, had just come off a season where they led the league in ERA and stayed almost completely intact. It seemed like General Manager Jack Zduriencik and manager Lloyd McClendon were making all the right moves to build a team that was ready to win.
So how did we get to this point? How did we fall this far? While the pre-season was filled with talks of the World Series and a trip to the playoffs for the first time since 2001, it’s now filled with rumors of players to be traded in an effort to rebuild.
Do you know how hard this is on Mariners fans? Do you know how hard it is to root for a team year in and year out only to have your hope for a winning season stomped out every single year? The last time the Mariners made the playoffs was when the first Harry Potter movie hit theaters, and I was six years old in kindergarten. Yet every year when Spring Training rolls around, I can’t help but be hopeful that this is finally our year. Over the past 10 years, I’ve seen the Rays, Pirates, and Royals finally have their years, and even the Blue Jays look poised to end their playoff drought in 2015. But never the Mariners.
What was once a promising season has been derailed by injuries and lack of production. Without the scorching start Nelson Cruz had, our situation could be even worse. Cruz has been steady this year and is among the league leaders in home runs and RBIs, and Seth Smith has been a nice addition but plays sparingly. Robinson Cano had career lows across the board before the All-Star break, but has been hitting well in the month of July. His performance has not been what anyone expected, especially with eight years and about $200 left on his contract. Kyle Seager is still doing his Kyle Seager thing, on pace for around 25 homers and plays gold-glove-caliber third base. Felix, while still an ace and an All-Star, has an un-King Felix-like start to the season. It saw his ERA rise above 3.00, until recently where it dipped back down into the mid-twos. These are the bright spots on the roster.
The rest of the team has been dismal. Brad Miller and Logan Morrison, some of the streakiest hitters I think I’ve ever seen in baseball can’t seem to stay hot more than a few games. Mike Zunino, while a great defensive catcher has been hitting under the Mendoza line all season, and his 10 home runs are overshadowed by his 111 strikeouts (4th in the AL). Chris Taylor who was supposed to put pressure on and battle Brad Miller for the starting shortstop spot has failed to hit above .200, and spent the majority of the season in Tacoma. Dustin Ackley has failed to live up to the expectations that come with being a second overall pick, and his time in Seattle may be coming to an end. After all, we saw players like Rickie Weeks, Willie Bloomquist, and Justin Ruggiano cut after failing to perform. Austin Jackson doesn’t get on base enough and doesn’t have the speed of ideal leadoff hitters, and Mark Trumbo simply has not hit enough home runs. These are just a few of our offensive problems condensed—believe me I could go on.
What’s even been disappointing is our pitching. Besides Felix, who I already mentioned, the guys behind him and in the bullpen don’t even look like the guys they were last year. Expected number two and three starters Iwakuma and Paxton have been out most of the season with injuries. Walker got off to a horrendous start but has been mostly consistent as of late. JA Happ and Roenis Elias have been interesting pieces but have been far too inconsistent whenever they take the mound. Even rookie Mike Montgomery has been roughed up his past few outings after a record-setting start last month. Fernando Rodney has gone from the AL saves leader to a setup man after failing to convert save after save. If you told me this bullpen led the league in ERA last year today, I’d think you were crazy.
As the season drags to an end, we should see a number of free agents to be traded. Expect to see Jesus Monetero and top prospect Ketel Marte, along with other young players in the Mariners lineup. We’ll just have to ride this one out and hope that next year is finally our year.
