Tag Archives: Tom Murphy

The Mariners Had The Worst Weekend Possible

Posted on by
Reply

That’s a harsh way to look at a 4-game series where the Mariners won 3 games, especially against a team that had so thoroughly owned us this season (we finished 4-9 against the Rangers; essentially the story of our year), but that’s what you get when you dick around all month, ruining all the momentum you had in a torrid August.

The Mariners finished 11-17 in September. Can’t do that. Not if you want to make noise in the playoffs.

Anyway, nothing mattered this weekend, because the Astros swept the Diamondbacks. We could’ve swept Texas and we’d still be in the same place we are right now: out of the playoffs. What makes matters worse is that we HAD a chance to prevent the Astros from winning the division. All we needed to do was lose in the finale on Sunday. Instead, we somehow clung to a 1-0 victory, thereby ensuring that the reigning champs have this week to reset their rotation, rest their bullpen, and get nice and ready for another dominant playoff run.

Yay.

Our season technically ended Saturday night. That just so happened to be the game me and my friends were going to. It’s the annual Oktoberfest game, where they have a give-away of a special Oktoberfest beer stein or boot or whatever they decide to come up with. By my count, I’ve gone six times so far; it’s the best give-away the Mariners do all year. For the price of your ticket, you get the stein or boot or whatever, AND you get a voucher for one free drink. Can’t beat it!

Unfortunately, I should’ve known I was going to be in for an annoying day when I got an email that morning from the Mariners saying our steins were delayed. I don’t know how that happens when you know about it all fucking year, but there you go. I ended up having a pretty nice day anyway, but that had everything to do with me being with my lovely fiance and my terrific friends (and nothing to do with the product on the field – another inept 6-1 loss – nor the product they were selling in the stadium).

Luis Castillo couldn’t get out of the third inning, at least not without giving up 5 walks, 5 hits, and 4 runs. That’s back-to-back pisspoor outings from our “ace” against our two direct rivals for the division. One could argue, if he was his usual dominant self in these final two games against the Astros and Rangers, we’d be division champs right now. Or, at the very least, in the playoffs. Of course, it also didn’t help that the offense could only muster a single run in each of those contests, but that’s neither here nor there.

The Mariners were trying something a little different with their 200-level concessions (I didn’t scout the other levels, but I’m sure this wasn’t the only spot), where they sell the hot dogs and sodas and whatnot. They had all the hot food sitting out, presumably under a heat lamp. So, you grab what you want (in my case, two of those junior dogs and a pretzel), take them to the check-out, order your drink and pay. Made things a lot faster! But, the hot dogs were cold and the bun tasted a bit stale. Also, I’m staying away from those pretzels from now on; they aren’t great.

Probably the most annoying thing was the fact that they weren’t taking our free drink vouchers that came with the give-away. You’d think we just drew a Mariners logo on a piece of paper and were trying to pass it off as a coupon! We went to the bar area in the 200-level and they turned us away, saying you had to get the drinks from a concessions stand. So, we went to a place that had the hard ciders we wanted – in this case, the pasta station – and they started to turn us away too. Luckily, we were standing right behind someone higher up who works for the Mariners, and they were able to text someone in charge. But, if they weren’t standing right there at that exact moment, we’d probably still be looking for a place to take these damn things!

I’ve never had this much trouble with an Oktoberfest. It was honestly really disappointing. I invited a bunch of people who’d never been to an Oktoberfest Mariners game, and it’s just a shame that there had to be so many snags.

After Saturday’s game, Cal Raleigh came out and admonished the Mariners for not spending enough, and not bringing in enough quality players to fill out this roster. HE SPEAKS FOR ALL OF US, MARINERS!!! The team made him apologize on Sunday morning, but he still got his point across, and J.P. Crawford (as well as others) backed him up after the game Sunday afternoon.

You can’t field a playoff team with the likes of Haggerty, Ford, Caballero, Canzone, Rojas, and Dylan Moore taking up everyday at-bats. Not when Ty France, Jarred Kelenic, Eugenio Suarez, and Teoscar Hernandez are so fucking streaky (to be kind; some of them were outright disasterous). Second base, DH, and left field were fucking black holes YET AGAIN. As was backup catcher after Tom Murphy went down, but what else is new? When you’re already going super-cheap on your bullpen arms – and you’ve got a ton of cost-controlled starters – it’s fucking ridiculous that this team pinches pennies the way it does. Trying to get by with the likes of A.J. Pollock, Kolten Wong, and Tommy La Stella; you should be FUCKING ASHAMED of yourselves, Mariners front office!

I don’t know how to feel looking ahead to next year. On the one hand, I guess we have to like where the rotation sits. Castillo, Gilbert, and Kirby should all be full go’s. Miller and Woo should have increased workloads. Ray will be back. You have to think we’re taking whatever we can get in trade for Marco. But, then there’s the bullpen we have to find a way to reload (presumably with more retreads that we hope we can fix).

It’ll ultimately come down to what we can do to improve the offense. I guess we like J.P., Julio, and Cal. Suarez probably isn’t going anywhere. J.P. said he’s taking Ty France with him to Driveline to fix his swing, but will he even be around after what’s become of his Major League career? Teoscar is a free agent; maybe we put a qualifying offer on him and keep him for one more go-around. Kelenic … we’ll see. We still need a boost at second base, and DH is still a nothing-burger. And the bench … ye gods.

Nobody wants to come here and hit in our stadium. That means trades. No one in the minors is ready for a call-up just yet. Our best prospects will be heading to AA – at best – in 2024. They won’t be ready until 2025 at the earliest. Is it another year just like this one? Or do we flush our farm to try to win now? Will that even bring in enough to put us over the top?

It’s a bitter pill to swallow, compared to how we felt at this time last year. This might be the most important offseason we’ve ever seen around these parts. And, for the first time since the Jackie Z era, I’m having my doubts that we have the management in place to get it done.

As usual, the common denominator is ownership. It’s all on them. So, I guess we’re fucked.

The Mariners Stopped The Bleeding With A Series Win Over The Angels

Posted on by
Reply

That 10-game road trip felt like a month, didn’t it? It’s a good thing literally all the good players on the Angels are hurt. But, even then … couldn’t get the sweep.

Monday’s 8-5 loss was as irritating as every other loss we’ve had recently. We took a 3-0 lead in the first, gave it all back by the fourth. The game remained tied at 3-3 until the ninth, when the Mariners had a chance to walk it off. Three straight sharp singles loaded the bases with nobody out and Kelenic coming to the plate. He promptly struck out. Dylan Moore grounded into a fielder’s choice with the infield pulled in. Then, Canzone rolled over to first base to send it to extras.

The Angels hit a 2-run bomb in the top of the 10th to take a lead, but miraculously, Julio tied it with a 2-run bomb of his own in the bottom half. But, then the wheels came off in the 11th, as the Angels added three more to put it out of reach. We ended 3/12 with RISP, and left with more questions than answers from a bullpen that’s been repeatedly failing us in the later innings. I don’t know what the analytics say, but anecdotally, this group has been ass in the highest-leverage situations (unlike in previous years, when maybe we were luckier than we should’ve been). More and more, I think we’re going to point to the loss of Paul Sewald as the reason why this team fails to go all the way. Canzone sure hasn’t done much, and Rojas has once again cooled off considerably after a hot streak.

Turning things around, the Mariners executed a much-needed 8-0 victory on Tuesday. Bryan Woo looked outstanding (5.2 innings of 4-hit ball with 8 strikeouts), and we managed to close it out with Eduard Bazardo eating up 2.1 innings, and Dominic Leone finishing the ninth. THIS is the role those two were meant to fill; unfortunately, games haven’t been this out-of-reach lately to utilize them properly.

We had great games from Julio and J.P., as well as much-needed sparks from Suarez, France, and Moore. There hasn’t been a lot of production of late from the bottom of our order. Guys like Haggerty, Ford, Canzone, Rojas, Caballero, and O’Keefe have all been balls for the better part of a month and a half. It would be nice if we can get a blistering streak out of someone like Moore to fill that void. Also, it was nice to see Luis Torrens return and hit a rather meaningless double late in the game. O’Keefe is NOT a Major Leaguer, and Tom Murphy isn’t coming back anytime soon (if ever). We can’t afford to play Cal literally every single game the rest of the way.

On Wednesday, we got back to basics with some good ol’ fashioned Mariners baseball, in a 3-2 victory where Castillo pitched another Quality Start (6 innings, 2 runs, 3 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts), and the bullpen was nails from there (Topa, Brash, and Munoz locking it down). All of the scoring was completed by the end of the fifth inning, so it really was a lot of pressure pitching down the stretch. Good to see, after so much shakiness lately.

That caps off the Angels for 2023. We went 8-5, which is pretty appropriate. We’re 8-2 against the Astros, and 9-1 against Oakland, so let’s hope we can keep beating those teams. For what it’s worth, we’re 1-5 against Texas, making the seven times we see them in the last 10 games vitally important. Can we go 6-1 against them? Seems unlikely, but will be necessary if we hope to win the A.L. West.

We have this weekend series with the Dodgers coming up, before we close out against the remaining divisional opponents. We are 81-65, a half-game behind the Rangers (in the loss column), with them playing in Toronto today. We’re 1.5 games behind the Astros for the division (one in the loss column, two in the win column), and they’re off today as well.

We are currently one full game ahead of Toronto for the third wild card. The Blue Jays have lost three straight against the Rangers in this series, which is honestly pretty good for us, because they were on a massive hot streak before that (albeit, against a lot of the same bad teams we played in August). Toronto has 6 against the Yankees, 3 against the Red Sox (both have fallen WAY out of playoff contention), and 6 against the mighty Rays. We will be rooting heavily for the Rays over the next couple weeks.

So, that’s it. There are three teams all within a game and a half of one another for two wild card spots, and there are three teams all within a game and a half of the A.L. West. Win the west, earn a first round BYE, and you’re able to set your rotation and rest your overworked bullpen. Win the second wild card, and you “earn” a series against either the Rays or Orioles in their home stadium. Win the third wild card, and you get the privilege of facing the lowly Twins (who are currently 7.5 games up on the Guardians).

This is very stressful! I sure hope the Mariners do well!

I should point out – since it’s been a while where this has been a topic of conversation – that the Mariners have improved their record in 1-run games to 23-25. That is a mighty jump from where it was pre-August! We are, however, 6-13 in extra innings games, which has been an absurd drain on our emotions. Wouldn’t mind seeing that go in the positive direction asap.

Also, Paul Sewald Update: after a bad blown save early, he’s been pretty great. He had 8 consecutive scoreless appearances before his next blown save. He’s since gone 5 for 5 in save appearances in September. Right now, the Diamondbacks are tied for the third wild card spot (with two more teams right on their heels).

What’s Up With Ty France?

Posted on by
Reply

I don’t want to nitpick too much, since the Mariners have been playing so well over the last couple months, but I have real concerns about Ty France that just aren’t going away.

We traded for France at the 2020 deadline in the infamous COVID-shortened season. He was a part of that blockbuster Austin Nola deal that also brought back Andres Munoz, Luis Torrens (back with the M’s this week as some insurance, reporting to Tacoma), and Quad-A outfielder Taylor Trammell. He got regular playing time with us in 2020 and showed a high-average, high-OBP toolset with a little bit of pop and versatility. Really, my favorite kind of player.

He assumed our starting first baseman job in 2021 thanks to injury and ineffectiveness from Evan White, and he’s run with it. In 2021 and 2022, his power numbers surged: 32 doubles & 18 homers in 2021, 27 doubles & 20 homers in 2022. With that, though, the average has gone down each year. .291 in 2021, .276 in 2022, and .254 this year. His OBP has gone down too, ever-so-slightly, in the .370’s in 2020, to .368 in 2021, to .340 the last two years. It should also be pointed out that he’s either at or near the top of the league in getting hit by pitches. And, due to that and some other flukey circumstances, he’s had his share of time on the IL, which has also worsened as time has gone on (152 games played in 2021, 140 in 2022, and so far 130 this year; here’s hoping he doesn’t get hit with too many more errant baseballs and can move the needle in the right direction in this final month).

What has me concerned is the power outage from his bat. With one month left in the season, he has 30 doubles, but only 10 homers. His career slugging percentage through 2022 was .438; this year it’s .379. And I don’t know how to explain it! His BABIP is down compared to career averages, but slightly up from last year. His strikeout rate is at his career norm. His hard hit rate is also at his career norm. He’s hitting fewer ground balls than normal, and therefore his fly balls are up a tick. He’s up in pull and center percentages, hitting fewer balls the other way (which, again, would indicate he should have more homers, not drastically less).

Where France is extremely down compared to career norms is in his Win Probability numbers. He’s very much in the negative, when he was firmly a net-add the last two years. That goes to explain his reduction in WAR (4.2 in 2021, 3.0 in 2022, 0.8 so far this year), and a mediocre RBI line (73 in 2021, 84 in 2022, only 51 so far this year), but Win Probability numbers also have a clutch feel to them, and France has been decidedly NOT-clutch in 2023. I mean, look no further than the fact that his ground ball percentage is drastically down (46.7% in 2021, 47.8% in 2022, only 42.5% this year), but he’s somehow grounded into MORE double plays (13 in 2021, 18 in 2022, a whopping 24 this year with a month to go).

I mean, I don’t have the specifics on all MLB first basemen, but I have to think France ranks among the worst. He has a defensive WAR of -1.0 for crying out loud! Between that and his dwindling performance at the plate – on top of his reputation as a player frequently playing in pain, with suffering results – I don’t think it’s any surprise that he’s seen his spot in the lineup fall in recent weeks. You can’t just lock him into the three- or four-hole anymore. And, with two years of arbitration left, you have to wonder how much longer he’s destined to be in this organization.

There was cause for optimism back in July when it was reported he had some chiropractic work done that supposedly fixed his neck, allowing him to see the ball more easily, fixing some funky mechanics that had crept into his at-bats. But, in the second half (starting July 14th), I don’t know if we’ve seen a ton of improvement:

  • First Half: 86 games, .261/.332/.389, 22 doubles, 7 homers, 19 walks, 66 strikeouts
  • Second Half: 44 games, .238/.358/.351, 8 doubles, 3 homers, 17 walks, 30 strikeouts

I mean, it looks like the chiro did improve his vision at the plate; he’s not flailing quite as often at those pitches out of the zone. But, his power and batting average are still slipping.

I don’t know what to tell you. How do you explain it? Is it just baseball? Is he breaking down with age and a skyrocketing HBP count? Is his bat speed dwindling? Probably the bat speed thing, right?

Regardless, it sucks. Ty France is so much fun to root for. And when he’s on a heater, there isn’t a tougher out, or someone I’d rather see at the plate in an important situation. The problem is: he hasn’t been that guy very often this year. And he REALLY wasn’t that guy late last year when we were in our playoff run.

Julio isn’t going to continue being a supernova forever. Teoscar’s hot streak is bound to cool off at some point. The more Cal Raleigh is forced to play – in the absence of a competent backup, until Tom Murphy returns – the less effective he’s bound to be at the plate. With Suarez kind of an enigma this season, we could REALLY use a scorching month of September out of France if we want to achieve our goal of winning the West and securing a wild card bye.

I fear, if he continues on this disappointing trend, we’ll be in for a similarly disappointing exit from this season.

The Mariners Completed An Exhausting Series Victory Over The Royals

Posted on by
Reply

Is anybody else wiped out by this 4-game series? I mean yeah, the Mariners had to fly from Seattle to Kansas City without an off-day and play in four hard-fought back-and-forth games, down to the bitter end each and every day, in sweltering heat, minus their short stop and regular backup catcher (Murphy, who landed on the IL this week), with just a pesky, free-swinging opponent that didn’t play for one minute like the bottom-feeders they are. But, as fans, I would argue it was even MORE exhausting! Yeah, I said it! I need a cigarette and a nap!

On the one hand, you hate to lose even one of those games against a team like the Royals, who are pretty clearly the second-worst team in the entire MLB, in a tier with only the A’s as the absolute beans of baseball. But, on the other hand, I think I’m just relieved we won the three we did, and didn’t endure an insufferable split. Following our recent scorching hot stretch by blowing two games against the Orioles, and then treading water against KC would’ve been a nightmare, if not totally on brand for the Mariners.

Still … could’ve had the sweep. The M’s were three outs away from one of the most impressive potential comeback victories of the year, with ostensibly their best reliever on the mound starting a clean 9th inning with a 1-run lead. That’s the table that was set on Monday, after an absolutely abysmal first 7 innings of that game, where we were no-hit through most of them. We headed into the top of the eighth nursing our wounds down 5-0, when finally the offense got things going.

With one out, Mike Ford doubled to right and Dylan Moore reached on a HBP. Josh Rojas singled sharply to load the bases for Julio Rodriguez, who mashed a double to left to clear them. After a J-Rod steal of third, Suarez singled him home to make it 5-4, before Raleigh and Canzone struck out to end it.

No matter, with two on and two out in the top of the ninth, Rojas singled to tie the game, and Julio singled to take the lead. What a reckoning! If only …

All you can say is that Brash didn’t have it. He gave up three hits, managed only one out, and even that was a sac fly to tie the game. I’m hard-pressed to say he was even overworked in that one; sure, he pitched the night before against the Orioles, but that was coming off of three days off.

As for Tuesday’s 10-8 victory in ten innings, I don’t even know what to tell you. I missed the whole thing, as full disclosure, I was out in the sweltering heat sweating my way through engagement photos; I hope our photographer can photoshop out my perspiration. I’m kinda glad I didn’t have to sit through the nonsense of this game though.

Not to be out-done by the Royals gagging away a 5-run lead the previous day, the M’s decided it would be fun to somehow send a game that was once 7-0 into extra innings. We scored those 7 runs in the fourth, with a massive deluge of hitting prowess. Suarez homered, France homered, Cal walked and Teoscar homered. Caballero doubled in a run, then Rojas homered him in. I don’t know if there are many things I love more in baseball than when my team fully bats around; it’s always a tremendous amount of fun!

Unfortunately, Emerson Hancock had a bit of a crushing rookie moment. He was more or less cruising through two outs in the fifth inning, but then gave them 5 runs back, including a grand slam that I don’t know how didn’t end his day right then and there. 5 of his 9 hits given up were in that inning; I don’t know if he got tired, or if the Royals just figured him out in their second and third time through the order. I’m not inclined to freak out about the results (again, I wasn’t able to witness the actual stuff), because the Royals kind of did that to all of our starters in this series. Maybe not in such a massive clump like that, but no one was safe.

Certainly not our bullpen! We even went so far as to add on an insurance run in the seventh with another Teoscar RBI (he was 5 for 5 on the day with a homer, a double, and 3 RBI) to make it 8-5, but Andres Munoz – on the heels of back-to-back late-game suck-jobs against the Orioles – gave up a whopping 3 unearned runs in the bottom of the ninth to send this to extras. Luckily, he was bailed out by Ty France with his 2-RBI single, and we won 10-8.

Wednesday’s victory I want to say was less frustrating, but how can I? The Royals went with a de facto bullpen day, gave us 4 runs in the first two innings, with Luis Castillo on the mound; how WASN’T that a cake walk?! Well, with the bullpen so taxed over the last few days, Castillo was forced to get us 7 innings if we wanted to survive this series. That meant pitching more to contact – with less focus on strikeouts – to keep his pitch count down. Quite frankly, he didn’t have his best stuff, and for whatever reason, when he managed to throw a good pitch out of the zone, they were hitting them fair.

Anyway, the offense went into hibernation from the third through the seventh innings. Well, I can’t say that’s totally accurate; we were getting guys on base, but not hitting them in (finishing a disrespectful 4/15 with RISP, with 13 LOB). That gave the Royals enough time to tie the game 4-4 heading into the eighth, when we finally woke up. We didn’t quite get the big hit we needed, but Teoscar hit a medium foul ball to right field and the resultant throw just BARELY missed the sliding Dylan Moore. For good measure, Julio knocked in another run in the ninth to give us some extra cushion (his 4th hit and 2nd RBI of the day), which was absolutely necessary since Brash gave up a solo homer before recording just his third save of the season.

To wrap it all up, we had Kirby going yesterday morning, coming off of his 9 innings of shutout ball. Even HE had trouble with this lineup, ultimately giving them 4 runs in 6 innings of work. Three of those runs came in the sixth inning, taking a 2-1 lead and turning it into a 4-2 deficit. It all started to feel a little hopeless until the eighth, when Julio mashed a 3-run bomb to give us the lead. Cal hit a pinch hit bomb in the top of the ninth, and this time Brash worked a clean bottom half to get his fourth save.

What does this all mean? Well, for starters, I can’t envision a scenario where Brash pitches tonight, since he’s gone 4 games in 5 days, all of them extremely high-leverage. Campbell and Thornton helped mop up Thursday’s in-between later innings, so that should free up the rest of our (better) bullpen members to take the reins.

But, I dunno. That series looked like we played 8 games in 4 days. No rest, no easy ones, constantly battling for nine and sometimes nine-plus innings. Now, we gotta go to Houston to play a team that’s gone 20-11 since the All Star Break? A team that’s still 3.5 games up on us, that’s had our number (especially in their home ball park) for ages now, without our top two starters (Castillo and Kirby). I just can’t envision a scenario where we win this series. We likely won’t even win a game! J.P. France dominated us earlier this year, and Framber Valdez has been a force against us (and everyone in baseball). The only guy we’ve had success against – Hunter Brown – goes up against Emerson Hancock, who I have to imagine is going to struggle mightily in this ballpark, against that offense.

Don’t forget, the Astros have four guys who are slugging well over .500, with Alex Bregman to boot, who always gives us fits.

This is NOT the time you want to play the Astros. That doesn’t even mention how we’re riding a 3-game winning streak; you want to know the best cure for that? The best cure for Mariners fan excitement? Play a series down in Houston and rant and rave while getting swept and it’s not even particularly close. And oh by the way, it’s not even a given that we’ll have J.P. Crawford back yet, as he still needs to play at least one rehab game in Everett.

Weather’s still nice, folks. I’d recommend making other weekend plans. I’ve got a Paul Reiser stand up comedy show in Tacoma on Saturday night, and a trip to Wild Waves on the agenda for Sunday morning. I’ll see y’all there!

The Mariners Won Their Sixth Straight Series With A Sweep Of The Padres

Posted on by
Reply

In case you weren’t counting along at home, that’s 7 consecutive victories, 12 of 14, and 24 of 34 dating back to the season’s nadir: when we were 4 games under .500 after a 15-4 loss where we were booed off the field at home against the Rays back on June 30th.

The funny thing is, this is exactly the kind of winning I said we can’t depend on. There’s no way the Mariners can keep doing this year after year! At some point, we need a little more everyday consistency! Yet, here we are, with the same exact record – 62-52 – that we had last year. The standings around us are different, but otherwise we’re right there in the thick of it thanks to this stretch. Baseball is fucking weird.

This was just a 2-game series against the Padres, with off-days on either side. So, otherwise a restful week, all things considered.

On Tuesday, we saw perhaps Logan Gilbert’s best-ever performance. He went 7 innings, gave up 1 questionable hit (that very well could’ve been an error), and struck out 12 en route to a 2-0 victory. That was the nastiest, filthiest stuff I’ve ever seen from him; he was in complete command from the jump. Sure, he had some help – a few nifty catches by Julio in the outfield, including a home run robbery – but this was Logan at his finest. He’s put up great box scores before; a lot of zeroes in his relatively short history with the M’s. But, I’ve never quite seen the type of movement and mix of off-speed he was able to throw at them. It’s cool to see Logan blossom, from a long-armed fireballer with lots of run on his fastball, to a crafty pitcher who can keep other teams off-balance and guessing throughout.

The offense consisted of a bases-loaded walk by Cal on a pitch clock violation in the fifth, and a Moore triple in the sixth that scored Tom Murphy. I had kind of hoped for more when it came to the Padres going with a Bullpen Day thanks to injuries. But, it turns out, that’s all we needed, as Brash and Munoz nailed down the final two innings no problem.

I had cause for concern yesterday, as Yu Darvish was on the mound. I don’t know if this is actually true, but it feels like Darvish always dominates us, getting tons of flailing swings and misses. But, this is an older Darvish. Even though he spun some nice gold – 6 innings, 1 run, 0 earned runs – we managed to keep the pressure up, putting a man on almost every inning he was out there. In the end, though, it was 1-1 going to the bottom of the eighth, before we finally busted this one wide open.

We don’t often get to talk about the Mariners batting around, but we saw it last night. Julio led off the eighth with a walk and after a Suarez strikeout, Cal hit a massive 2-run bomb to make it 3-1. That felt like it was going to be it for us, and it also felt like all we needed. But, after Teo was hit by a pitch (on the bill of his helmet, definitely not intentional, based on the pitcher’s immediate reaction, and he fact that he had two strikes on Teo), and the next batter grounded out, the bats really came to life. Ty France doubled in Teo, Marlowe singled in Ty, Rojas reached on an error (originally ruled as his first hit in a Mariners uniform), and Moore singled in Marlowe, to give the game its final score, 6-1.

This game was notable for being Emerson Hancock’s first Major League start. I guess he most certainly IS ready for this promotion!

It started off a little rocky in the first. He walked the leadoff hitter, then pretty much ignored the guy as he stole second and third base. Hancock even ignored him as he was scoring on a fielder’s choice right back to the pitcher; granted, the likelihood of gunning down the runner at home was slim, but it was weird to see a pitcher so casual about his base runner. I’m wondering if he was told by the team to not worry about the men on base, just focus on the hitter at the plate.

In spite of that run coming around to score in the first, Hancock never looked overwhelmed. He had lots of good movement on his pitches, and was pretty willing to mix it up and not just stick to fastballs. In total, he went five innings (throwing 87 pitches), limiting the Padres to just that one run, on 2 hits and 3 walks, with 3 strikeouts. The biggest concern in that whole line is the three walks, but we can chalk that up to first-start nerves. Otherwise, I was very impressed, as that Padres lineup has the potential to be quite potent and damaging.

We brought out all the stops with the bullpen, considering we had two off-days to count on this week. We used five different guys to get through the last four innings, and as the game remained tied later and later, it felt like this one was going to go extras. We even used Brash on back-to-back days in the eighth. The only thing saving us from using Munoz again – he was warming up to come in – was the fact that we put up a 5-spot in the bottom of the eighth. That’s the second time recently that Isaiah Campbell took Munoz’s spot thanks to a late Mariners scoring spree.

You know, I hate to be this guy, but I’ve found myself to be very much more engaged with the Mariners of late, now that they’ve been winning. Oh sure, it’s bandwagony as hell, but this team was legitimately hard to watch in the first half of the season.

With everyone starting to come together and get hot at the same time, it really feels like the Mariners can do anything. That they’re capable of playing with anyone and taking this thing all the way to the World Series. I know that’s just the hot streak talking. We’ll come back to Earth and play some .500 ball again for a while. But, I’m inclined to ride this wave as long as it’ll take me. It’s fun winning so often!

One cause for concern: Suarez and Crawford collided in the field yesterday, both trying to make a play on the same ball. This resulted in J.P. getting hit in the head and later being taken out of the game. He’s being tested for a concussion right now; I hope to Christ it isn’t serious. He’s the last guy I want to lose, after all he’s done to keep this team together.

Also, quick sidebar: Paul Sewald has only appeared in two games so far with the Diamondbacks. They’ve been on a massive losing streak (0 for the month of August) and so he hasn’t had many opportunities to save games. Finally, they threw him into a 12-1 blowout just to get him some work, and he pitched a clean inning. But then, the very next day, with a 3-2 lead in the ninth, Sewald gave up two homers to lose it 5-3 in walk-off fashion. Yikes!

The Mariners Swept The Angels For Their Fifth Straight Series Win

Posted on by
Reply

Things are starting to get interesting for the Mariners. I don’t know how seriously I want to take this development just yet, so let’s live in the hypothetical for now. That way I don’t have to commit to believing anything might be “real” in this situation.

Hypothetically speaking, the Mariners are one of the hottest teams in baseball. You can take this one of two ways: either, “It’s About Fucking Time” and claim this is what the team has been capable of all along; they’re just finally playing up to their potential. Or, “It’s Just A Fluke” and the other shoe is about to drop anytime now, because this team has always been a .500 team, and it’s only a matter of time before they take another nosedive.

But, hypothetically though? Hypothetically it’s now or never. If this team were to ever turn their season around, it couldn’t realistically happen any later. There’s a little under two months to go. And there are still a good number of teams in our way between where we are today and a hypothetical playoff appearance.

So, hypothetically, what’s changed? Well, as we’ve said all along, it starts with Julio. He’s been much better of late, steadily getting on base, producing runs, driving them in, the whole package. I wouldn’t even say he’s gone supernova yet, which is cause for optimism. He’s been fine, but he’s also choked in some big situations. I feel like he’s got a sustained period of perfection in him that’s yet to come out.

Very close behind, I would say the resurgence of Eugenio Suarez has been paramount. He was just giving us nothing most of the year, but then set the Mariners record for consecutive games with an RBI (at 10), and a lot of these have come in huge situations. Then, there’s the power surge of Cal Raleigh. Again, these are ALL guys we’ve been clamoring for all season! This team goes where its core goes, and these three players are the most important hitters on this team.

It’s important not to discount what J.P. Crawford has done this season. I tend to overlook him because he’s been the one positive (on the hitting side) throughout the year. No real lulls! He’s dragged this offense kicking and screaming to where it is today, and we’re finally starting to see some dividends paid. He has the best average and on-base percentage among regulars, which also gives him the best OPS. He’s leading the team in WAR. And, he has 10 homers as of today, which is already a season high for him, with 50 games to go.

Beyond that, we’re getting just enough from Ty France and Teoscar Hernandez (though you hope there are hot streaks left in both of those guys before the season’s through). With real production coming from the likes of Tom Murphy, Dylan Moore, and even Cade Marlowe in limited duty!

Also, by and large, the pitching has hypothetically continued being this team’s rock. It’s not nails every single game, but for the most part, it’s giving us a chance to win. And finally, this team is hypothetically taking advantage.

The Mariners needed this sweep. Hypothetically, if we’re going to make a run at the post-season, winning a series is nice, winning a string of them is even nicer, but we’ll need to sprinkle in some sweeps if we really want to make up some games on the teams ahead of us. The Angels were one of those teams in our way; now they’re not. Hypothetically.

The extreme LEAST likely victory of this sweep happened on Thursday. It was so unlikely that I called it before the game. Ohtani vs. Woo? Bet the entire Taylor Family Farm on the Angels and don’t look back! Easy money on the horizon! -1.5 runs? Of course!

And then the game got funky. Woo matched Ohtani zero for zero. Then, Ohtani left the game after four innings (though he continued to hit as the team’s DH). The M’s took a brief 1-0 lead in the sixth off of a Geno homer, but left that inning down 2-1. For a little while, it was looking like we’d lose that bet on the half-run kicker, but then Ohtani came through with a solo homer in the bottom of the 8th to give us our farm back. With the Angels’ closer having never blown a save this year? Not quite “easy” money, but money nevertheless.

Then, Cal and France walked to lead off the ninth inning. Then, newcomer Canzone singled sharply to right to load the bases. THEN, our last great hope Teoscar struck out, leaving us with Cade Marlowe. Has a guy named Cade ever been good for anything?!

Well, this one was! He hit a high fastball pushing 100mph for a go-ahead Grand Slam! What are you even talking about? What are you saying?! Where’s the Jennifer Lawrence eating hot wings meme?!

Andres Munoz quickly got ready and locked down his fourth save of the season to preserve the 5-3 victory. Unreal.

Nothing’s ever going to top that first game, but Friday’s thrilling 9-7 victory comes close. The M’s rallied for 4 runs in the first, thanks in large part to Ty France’s 3-run bomb (literally his first home run since June 22nd, breaking a streak of 34 homerless games). With Luis Castillo on the bump, this looked like smooth sailing.

Except, Castillo shit all over his legs, giving up 7 runs in 6 innings. Luckily, the M’s played add-on, so the game was tied at that point. Dylan Moore homered in the second to make it 5-1, and Julio homered in the fourth to make it 7-5. We were tied heading into the eighth, when Geno hit an RBI single to take the lead. Cal followed that up with a solo homer in the ninth to give the game its final score. Thankfully, the bullpen was on it, with Brash taking home only his second save of the season after working himself into a little bit of a tight situation.

We closed out the series with a pair of 3-2 victories over the weekend. Kirby got the start on Saturday and was an animal. 7 innings, 1 run on 3 hits, with 5 strikeouts. Julio had a 2-run double in the third, France had the game-winning RBI single in the eighth, and Munoz gave up a relatively harmless run in the ninth. Munoz got himself into a tremendous amount of trouble with two outs, allowing two runners to reach before giving up what was luckily only a ground rule double (the game-tying run definitely would’ve scored had that ball stayed in the yard). But then, after intentionally walking the next guy to load the bases, he hammered home four upper-90s fastballs to strike out the final batter.

On Sunday, J.P. led off the game with a first-pitch homer, but we gave them a run right back in the bottom half of the inning. This was Bryce Miller’s start, who had been on a two game skid that brought into question his ability to be a starter on this team (at least from me). He ended up settling down after that, going 5 innings, limiting them to just the 1 run on 5 hits with a whopping 10 strikeouts. He induced a ton of swings and misses, which was nice to see. And, he still had life on his fastball when all was said and done.

Teoscar eventually gave us a 2-1 lead with a solo homer in the seventh, but the Angels fought right back wth a solo homer of their own in the bottom half. The game went extra, with Geno getting an RBI single to take the lead in the tenth, and Tayler Saucedo earned the win by pitching the final two scoreless innings.

We get a couple of well-earned days off this week, sandwiching a 2-game home series against the Padres. Then, it’s Felix Hall of Fame Weekend against the high-flying Orioles. I’ll be at the games Saturday and Sunday, which is going to be an absolute thrill! Should be a perfect opportunity for the pitching to be on point and for the offense to go back in the tank. It literally defined Felix’s hall of fame career!

The Mariners Won Their Fourth Straight Series

Posted on by
Reply

It sounds good, until you realize it means the Mariners are just four games over .500.

You can glass half full this thing or glass half empty it. On the plus side, we’re talking about an 8-4 stretch, and I’ll always take that kind of success. On the down side, we’re 2-3 in that same span in 1-run games, which means it could be even better, if we were even the slightest bit clutch.

My point is, the Mariners need to sprinkle in some sweeps. It’s nice to win series, but we have a lot of ground to cover, in a short amount of time.

Monday’s 6-2 victory was pretty enjoyable. The Red Sox scored a bullshit run in the first thanks to two fielding errors by the Mariners’ defense (a run that was mystifyingly earned for some reason); it would prove to be the only blemish in an otherwise short day for George Kirby (5 innings, 1 run, with about 90 balls fouled off). But, the M’s bounced right back in the second with a solo Cal Raleigh homer. That was it until the 7th – with the Red Sox starter cruising until then – when Raleigh homered again to make it 2-1. Then, the floodgates opened in the 8th, as we finally knocked their starter out and nipped at their bullpen a bit.

On the day we lost Paul Sewald, the rest of the Mariners’ bullpen was pretty great. It got a little hairy in the top of the 8th; Munoz came in with two outs and two runners on, and struck out the next batter to finish it. By the time the 9th rolled around, we had amassed a 5-run lead, which meant we didn’t need the 4-out save by Munoz. Isaiah Campbell gave up a relatively harmless run, but got out of his own jam without further damage.

That closed the book on July. August started out with a major whimper, losing 6-4. Bryce Miller had his second consecutive bad game, and also his second consecutive game with diminishing fastball speed as it progressed. That’s … concerning. He gave up all 6 runs in 5.2 innings; all came after a clean first three innings for him. Not ideal for someone who wants to stick in the rotation longterm. Hopefully, this is just some dead arm from a rookie who isn’t used to pitching this much.

To their credit, the hitters kept fighting, against a pretty nasty starter from the Sox. Suarez had 3 RBI, including a 2-run homer. And France, Marlowe, and newcomer Canzone all got in on the fun. But, as a team, we were 2/12 with RISP. The newly-acquired utility player Josh Rojas was 0/4 on the day, 0/3 with RISP, striking out twice. Did he single-handedly cost us this game? Who’s to say?! Kolten Wong couldn’t have been worse, though; not that I’m the biggest Kolten Wong fan in the world. I’m just saying.

I was moderately impressed with Trent Thornton stepping in and pitching 2.1 innings of scoreless relief. He’s got an interesting repertoire for someone without the hardest stuff. I’ll be interested in tracking him the rest of the year. It was also nice to finally see Devin Sweet throw a scoreless inning after being called up from AA. It’s interesting to say the least that we still have some of these questionable rookies (Sweet, Campbell) on the Major League roster, while someone like Matt Festa – who was pretty solid for us last year – is languishing in Tacoma.

The Mariners won 6-3 on get-away day. Good on Logan Gilbert – who was subjected to a lot of chatter about possibly being traded in the last week – to shut out the noise and pitch a Quality Start his first turn after the deadline. That’s a pretty good Red Sox lineup, so I’ll take 6 innings and 3 runs anytime against them. And, once again, the non-Sewald leftovers in the bullpen did their jobs: keeping the Sox scoreless the rest of the way.

Once again, Cal Raleigh was a monster, with a 2-run homer to kick off our scoring in the 6th. That was only the beginning, though, as we put up a 4-spot in the 7th to wrestle control of the game from them. Suarez and Tom Murphy had 3 hits each, Julio continued his on-base streak with a hit and eventually stole home to score our final run of the day (on a nicely-timed double-steal). Canzone had a walk and a run, and Marlowe had a pinch hit single and RBI. Lots of good stuff here.

We’re on to Anaheim starting today, and of course we start off by going up against Ohtani on the mound. He’s been in fucking overdrive lately and pretty much all season, so I’m expecting to see a lot of damage inflicted upon us in this 4-game set. I wouldn’t be surprised if we fall all the way back to .500 when it’s all said and done, destroying all the progress we’ve made over the last 12 games.

The Mariners Quietly Won Another Series While The Teams Around Them Drastically Improved

Posted on by
Reply

The Mariners have now won three series in a row against three playoff contenders. That’s not nothing. But, of course, it’s also probably Too Little, Too Late.

On Friday, we took a 4-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a rally highlighted by 2-RBI doubles by both Tom Murphy and Cal Raleigh. Murphy has been on a tear recently, and has therefore seen his role increase. It’s not quite a 50/50 split, but it’s also not a 95/5 split like last year, when Cal had to play damn near every day. I’m still of the opinion that Murphy needs regular rest to stay as effective, but also I think it couldn’t hurt to give Cal some extra days off as well. Or, at least, playing one or the other at DH, since we sure as shit don’t have anyone else up to the task!

Anyway, the offense mostly dried out after the first. Nevertheless, the pitching was on point (Logan Gilbert went 6.1 innings, giving up only 2 runs on 9 hits, with 5 strikeouts), and a Suarez RBI single gave the game its final score: 5-2.

Saturday was another one of those missed opportunity games where we lost 4-3. We had a 3-0 lead early, thanks to a couple of Murphy RBIs (including a solo homer) and a Suarez sac fly. But, the problem there is that the M’s had runners all over the bases in the first four innings, but could only muster a lone run apiece in innings 2-4. The bats were 0/11 with RISP, and that left the door open for a methodical Diamondbacks comeback.

Bryan Woo wasn’t bad, but he’s young and you’re going to run into games like this one. This is where the rest of the team needs to pick him up. He went 5 innings, gave up 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks, but struck out 0. The bullpen managed okay after that, until we arrived at Bad Andres Munoz, who walked a batter, balked him over to second, and let him steal third for good measure. We were, frankly, lucky to get out of the 8th having given up only the one run (thanks to a line drive double play), but it didn’t matter because the offense wasn’t doing jack shit.

Sunday was a nice, comfortable 4-0 victory. Luis Castillo went 6 shutout innings, giving up only 2 hits and a walk, while striking out 7. The offense did a lot of its damage early, getting 2 in the first and another in the third thanks to a J.P. Crawford solo homer. Suarez chipped in an RBI single late to give us a little insurance.

I will say that in addition to Murphy: Suarez, France, and Julio have also been on some nice little hot streaks. Apparently France only needed a chiropractic adjustment to fix his stance at the plate (allowing him to turn his neck the way he used to). Julio’s had some games where he’s really taken over, but we’re in the midst of a VERY un-clutch streak when it comes to him in the box late in the game with a chance to tie or win it. In those moments, he’s pressing more than ever before, and that’s saying something because he’s been largely pressing all year.

The Mariners are three games over .500 at 54-51, but I’m starting to wonder if it’s even going to matter. The Angels are a half-game better and made multiple trades to improve their team, including a couple hitters, a starter, and a reliever. The Astros are 4.5 games better and haven’t done nothing, re-trading for Kendall Graveman to add to their bullpen. And the Rangers are a whopping 5.5 games up and have pushed their chips all in, starting with acquiring Aroldis Chapman, landing a big whale in Max Scherzer from the Mets, then doubling down by also trading for Jordan Montgomery (another quality starter) and another reliever to throw onto the pile. The Rangers are looking MEAN right now, and it’s going to be demoralizing as all get-out if they come from out of nowhere to win it all, while the Mariners are still pinching pennies and trying to get by exclusively on this youth movement, like we’re the fuckin’ Athletics or something.

There’s still another day or so until the deadline, so we’ll see what the Mariners do. We can’t sit here and do nothing! I won’t accept that there’s simply no deals to be made; that’s not gonna fly this time.

Jarred Kelenic Breaking His Foot By Kicking A Water Cooler Is The 2023 Mariners Season In A Nutshell

Posted on by
Reply

I’m not mad at Jarred Kelenic for breaking his foot in a fit of frustration, just like I’m not mad at the Seattle Mariners for only managing a 2-2 split with the Twins this week. It is what it is. I’ve already given up on the 2023 season, and I suggest the organization does the same, by being sellers at the trade deadline.

And believe me, I understand the instinct to take out your rage on an inanimate object. This Mariners team makes me want to punch a hole through my television. It makes me want to scream into a pillow. It makes me want to throw my remote against a wall and decapitate my bobbleheads one by one.

But, I think this past week was the last time to feel any of that. If you haven’t come to the conclusion that a .500 Mariners team almost 100 games into the season isn’t good enough to suddenly transport itself into the playoffs by October, then I don’t know what else to tell you that your eyes haven’t seen all year long. This team is NOT good. It’s not bad, necessarily, but that’s how you get to be 48-48, right? Sometimes you’re shit, sometimes you’re the best team on the fucking planet.

There’s no switch in baseball that you can turn on and magically become what you were always meant to be. Baseball is the great equalizer. Over time, it shows you who you are, warts and all. Sometimes, you’re able to skate by on an unsustainable amount of good luck in close games, but eventually all the mediocre teams are weeded out and summarily destroyed, frauds that they are.

I was happy to hear – on the same day I posted about the Mariners being sellers at the trade deadline – that it looks like my dream will come to fruition. At the very least, I don’t see any blockbuster deals for a Luis Castillo-type coming our way anytime soon. I think the tea leaves are starting to blow the way I want them to with the players I mentioned getting rid of. I mean, how does Ty France fall to 7th in the batting lineup if he’s meant to be here through next year?

Of course, also on the same day I published that post, Kelenic’s injury came to light and he was put on the IL (presumably for the rest of the season, though I don’t know how long a fractured foot is supposed to keep you out), AND the Mariners won impressively to salvage a series split. It’s baseball, nothing makes sense.

The first game on Monday was encouraging enough; a 7-6 Mariners victory. Logan Gilbert gutted his way through 5 innings, limiting the damage to 2 runs. It took waiting until the fifth inning, but the M’s put up more than enough runs in those middle innings to win the game, taking a 7-3 lead heading into the ninth (Kelenic had 2 hits and 2 RBI, Suarez had the same). But, then Ty Adcock got bashed around for a 3-run homer in the 9th to give the game its final score, necessitating Paul Sewald coming in to get the final out.

That 9th inning was a harbinger for things to come, as we lost 10-3 on Tuesday. Bryan Woo laid a total egg, and the bullpen had to wear one. Ty Adcock had to pitch 2 more innings in this one – giving up 2 more runs – before being sent down with Isaiah Campbell, to make room for two more AA relievers. I don’t know what to tell you about the offense, other than Suarez hit another homer. We actually had a 3-2 lead after the first frame, before everything went to shit.

The Mariners were arguably worse in a 6-3 loss on Wednesday. This one featured a solid, if unspectacular start from Castillo (6 innings, 3 runs, 11 strikeouts, but also 2 solo homers, leaving us in a 3-0 hole). The M’s fought back to tie it at 3-3 with a Murphy solo homer and a Suarez 2-run bomb. But, then Andres Munoz came in for the 8th and kept giving up too much of the plate and getting knocked around accordingly. He’s not good enough to leave sliders hanging in the center of the zone. Also, for a guy who routinely touches 100 mph, it’s disconcerting to see him throw so many breaking pitches, especially to lefties, who can see them coming a mile away. One of our AA bullpen call-ups – Devin Sweet – pitched the 9th and gave up 2 more runs to give the game its final score. Not a great start to a Major League career!

Of course, that led to a 5-0 victory yesterday, because the Mariners are nothing if not a .500 ballclub (+/- 1 game). George Kirby followed up a shit start with a blazing one, going 7 innings, giving up 4 hits, striking out 10. Teoscar Hernandez accounted for the first two runs, Mike Ford hit a 2-run bomb late, and we scored on a wild pitch for our fifth and final run. Not too shabby for a team that was 1/8 with RISP.

Now, Toronto comes to town. People are up-in-arms about the Mariners selling Blue Jays gear in their stadium. Everyone’s gonna be even more upset when they see how many actual Blue Jays fans show up to drown us out. I’d just as soon avoid this series altogether, which won’t be hard to do. I’ve got Oppenheimer tonight at IMAX. I’ve got a wedding to attend tomorrow. And, we’re throwing a board game day on Sunday, complete with barbecue and bottled cider. MUCH more enjoyable than the stinky ol’ Mariners. Might even kick a water cooler for old time’s sake!

The Mariners Should Be Sellers At The Trade Deadline

Posted on by
Reply

I would like to believe there are consequences to our actions. The Mariners entered the second half of the season on an encouraging 7-2 hot streak. It got us back to a game over .500 and right in range of competing for a playoff spot. But, we couldn’t let up! There was two and a half weeks between the start of the second half and the upcoming trade deadline. One week in, the Mariners have gone 2-4, including losing 2 of 3 to the lowly Tigers, followed by losing 2 of 3 to a direct Wild Card rival in the Twins.

It’s clear the Mariners are going nowhere.

Once again, we’re a game under .500. Now there’s about a week and a half before the deadline. I’m officially throwing in the towel. This season is cooked. It’s time to start talking about trading away some tradeable assets and reloading for 2024.

Teoscar Hernandez should be the first to go. He’s in the final year of his deal, and he’s definitely not helping us in any way, shape, or form. However, he could help a club that plays in a ballpark that doesn’t stifle his power quite so much. Even though he may be underperforming based on expectations, there’s still good value there. Teams in need of a power bat should be lining up to try to take him from us. Maybe throw in a veteran reliever to sweeten the pot and see if you can get a good prospect or something.

I would look into trading Kolten Wong and A.J. Pollock for whatever you can get. Bag of balls, maybe some Big League Chew. Addition By Subtraction moves at their finest.

I would also see what the market is for a decent backup catcher. What are we holding onto Tom Murphy for?

Last night, I was all ready to blow things up in the bullpen and offer up Andres Munoz in trade, but I think that was mostly related to how shitty he’s looked in his last couple outings. Nevertheless, there’s an argument to be made that you’d be selling high on him. He has a very reasonable contract through 2025, with club options the next three years. I would be extremely curious to see what the rest of the league is willing to offer.

I think the Mariners would be idiotic to not trade away Sewald. Next year is his final Arbitration season before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. He’s also currently 33 years old and is probably as good as he’s ever going to be. The iron is hot, NOW is the time to strike!

I know everyone is ready to let Marco Gonzales go, but good luck trying to jettison that salary. Also he’s currently injured, so I don’t know how you think that’s going to work. My guess is we keep him on the team through this year, then quietly deal him for nothing in the offseason (either packaged with someone of value to get them to take his contract off our hands, or by eating a significant portion of the $12 million he’s owed next year).

I would, however, seriously try to move Ty France asap. He’s got two more Arbitration years left, but he’s 29 years old and already looks like he’s on the downside of his career. He’s one of the most HBP’d guys in baseball, which means he’s oft-banged up. He plays through a lot of pain – which is commendable – but he also clearly suffers at the plate as a result. He’s swung and missed at more terrible off-speed stuff than I ever remember him doing (except, again, when he’s playing through substantial injuries). This is not going to get better. It’s not going to stop, either. Now is the time to get what you can for him. If not, it’ll be too late and we’ll be stuck with him.

I’m not super-committed to this idea, but like with Munoz, I think I would have to listen to any calls that came in for Eugenio Suarez. His isn’t the easiest contract to take on, but he’s only set to earn $11 million next year, with a club option for 2025. And, I mean, he’s proven to play a mean third base. You’re telling me that’s not of value to one of the many legitimate playoff contenders?

I won’t get much crazier than that. I still think the Mariners need to hang onto the nucleus of this team. But, these players who are on expiring deals, they probably don’t deserve to hang around much longer. If we’re being sellers, that means bringing back prospects. Prospects who are either close to breaking into the Bigs, or who we can flip for more useful Major League pieces in 2024 and beyond.

But, it’s time to get rid of this fantasy that the 2023 Mariners are going to contend for anything. It doesn’t matter where we are in the standings, or what’s happening to the teams around us. WE are mediocre. WE can’t get out of our own way. WE keep finding ways to lose these winnable games.

So, WE need to extract as much value as we can from this lost season. That means both trimming the fat and also cutting off some prime cuts of meat to offer to the wolves. There’s no reason to cling to this sinking ship.