In Major League Baseball, only the Toronto Blue Jays have a longer active postseason drought than the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners won a franchise best 116 games in 2001 as they made their third appearance in the American League Championship Series that year. The Mariners would go on to win 93 games in both 2002 and 2003, but the AL West was so competitive during that stretch and they were unable to qualify for the postseason in either year. Since 2003, the Mariners have only had three winning seasons, with one of them coming in 2014. The M’s went 87-75 last season and only missed the playoffs by one game which left them optimistic about their chances in 2015. Over the off-season, Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik made upgrades to Seattle’s roster in the hopes of getting this club to the postseason in 2015. But so far things aren’t going according to plan for the Mariners.
The Mariners are currently 20-23 which is only good for fourth place in the American League West and they are eight games behind the Houston Astros for first place in the division. The Mariners longest winning streak of the season has been four games and they have not been above .500 since Opening Day when they defeated the Los Angeles Angels.
Felix Hernandez
The Mariners starting pitching staff is highlighted by Felix Hernandez who is a former American League Cy Young Award winner and one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball. Hernandez is 7-1 this season with a 2.19 earned run average. But Hernandez is only one player and he only takes the mound every fifth day and the other pitchers in the Mariners starting rotation this season have a combined record of 8-10 with an earned run average of 4.76 which is not going to get it done if this team truly has postseason aspirations in 2015. Mariners relief pitcher Fernando Rodney does have 12 saves this season, but he has been erratic which is evident by his 6.23 earned run average.
Robinson Cano
Last season second baseman Robinson Cano joined the Mariners after he signed a 10-year, $240 million contract. Cano’s power numbers dipped in his first year with the Mariners as he did not have that much protection around him in the lineup along with the fact that Safeco Field in Seattle does not have a reputation of being a hitter friendly park. But Cano was still able to hit for average in 2014 as he batted .314 with an on-base percentage of .382. However this season, Cano is struggling mightily at the plate as he is only batting .247 with an on-base percentage of .290 to go along with a single home run and 11 runs batted in. Cano’s lack of offensive production this season is rather alarming being that the Mariners signed designated hitter Nelson Cruz over the off-season with the sole purpose of protecting him in the lineup. Cruz has lived up to his end of the deal as he is currently leading Major League Baseball in home runs with 17 to go along with a .343 batting average, 34 runs batted in, .401 on-base percentage and a .699 slugging percentage. But aside from Cruz, the Mariners offense has been struggling in some key categories.
Coming into play today, the Mariners are 14th in the American League in runs scored (161) and on-base percentage (.298) along with being 13th in hits (345) and batting average (.238). Cruz is also the only player on the Mariners roster that is batting over .275 this season.
Lloyd McClendon
Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon has a fiery personality and it could be time for one of his infamous tirades tirades in order to get his club going. And Zduriencik could attempt to make some deals in order to improve the Mariners as they definitely need another bat in their lineup as well as another arm for their starting rotation if they really intend on turning things around this season.
Like the other teams that are currently looking up to the Astros in the American League West, they are hopeful that Houston will eventually come back down to earth. But right now the Astros are rolling while everyone else in the division is struggling. The Mariners are 3-3 on their current nine-game road trip as they are set to begin a series tonight against the Tampa Bay Rays who are in first place in the American League West. At this point the M’s cannot worry too much about the Astros as they simply need to take care of their own business which begins with them getting back to and eventually above the .500 mark. Pitchers in the Mariners starting rotation must step up and help out Hernandez while led by Cano, the bats must come around in their lineup as well. If this doesn’t occur soon, the folks in Seattle will be spending this summer looking forward to training camp for the Seahawks.
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