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The Seattle Mariners were 10 games up in the AL West, in 1st place, on June 18th. Now, on August 15th, the Mariners sit in 2nd place, 3 games behind the Houston Astros.
It's safe to say that at least half the fanbase has officially given up on this team. There is a lot of doubt, and rightfully so. Yet, you never know how things will go with the Mariners week-to-week, even day-to-day.
In 9 of the 15 days of the month of August, the Mariners were tied TIED or in 1st place of the AL West.
Trust me, I am not at all trying to explain to you why you should be optimistic about the Seattle Mariners... But I am here to tell you that before this three-game losing streak to the Tigers, the Mariners won FOUR games in a row, and outscored the New York Mets 22-1 over the past weekend in a three-game series.
Of course, the pitching is not the problem, it's the bats. The Mariners just got back-to-back days of Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo going 7 shutout innings and found a way to lose with an 8th inning two-run homer given up by Yimi Garcia and Andrés Muñoz.
The sad reality, is that we do not know what Mariners team will show up day-to-day at the plate, or even in the bullpen. Tomorrow against Paul Skenes, they could randomly come out and score multiple runs and find a way to make us believe again.
Who do we blame? That is the question I keep coming back to. Many people blame Scott Servais, others blame Jerry Dipoto, others blame owner John Stanton, and of course one could blame the players.
Mariners are now 3 games behind the Astros.
— Seattle Mariners ON Tap (@MarinersONTap) August 16, 2024
From 10 up, to 3 behind.
40 games left.
How is everyone feeling?
The answer is a lot more complicated than we'd think. We did finally make some deadline moves, but of course Jerry Dipoto might be handcuffed on how much he can spend. Scott Servais might be handcuffed by Jerry Dipoto and the analytics team on who to put in, in every situation. So that just leaves the players, specifically the bats.
The bats are impossible to understand, players just come to the Mariners and do not perform the way they are suppose to... Is that fully on them? Is it on the coaches? Is it on the lineup provided around them?
It's impossible to narrow it down.
The best thing that we can do as fans, unfortunately, is just watch and hope it all turns out better than expected. It's not the best way to operate in life, but in fandom it might be the only option.
I'm not given up all hope, I'd prefer to have some blind belief and just enjoy the ride.
8 comments
Servais once made a comment about players needing to get in a groove.. but I’ve never seen a manager break so many players out of grooves as often as he has, and to disastrous results. I understand using analytics as a tool, but this team had proven that in the grand scheme, analytics won’t win you the game if you ignore trends. Don’t sit a player who has been hitting .350 for 2 weeks (assuming he’s not hurt, and wants to play). Don’t pull your starters when they’re SHREDDING the opposing team! “Oh well, the analytics show that seeing a hitter for the third and fourth time… Blah blah blah” yeah, I get it. But you know who those hitters probably don’t want to see us the guy who has already K’d them two or three times and have only accumulated a hit or two. Especially if the starter has only thrown 90 pitches or less through 7! What a joke. We have way, way, WAY too much talent to be this consistently mediocre, which means it’s absolutely management. Or the field, if you ask Teoscar (Mariners brass should probably actually look into that).
Jared DeHart is the problem on offense. The guy has been here since 2021 and has absolutely nothing except a consistently bottom tier lineup. Yet Scott refuses to let him go for whatever reason. And speaking of Scott, he has completely given up on this team. His moves are moronic and questionable AT BEST and they completely blow up in his face and our faces almost every night. It’s time for a change in the manager’s seat. And then the soft, woke Seattle media won’t ask him any tough questions about why he makes such stupid decisions. There is absolutely no accountability for anyone in the Mariners organization right now, and this is the result of that. This is what we get when no one is held responsible for their decisions and actions. No wonder we’ve never been to a World Series.
Forget analytics, play the hot hand In the lineup. He changes the lineup on a daily basis. I understand he’s trying to mix it up, but apparently it’s not working. It hasn’t worked. How many years has it been now. The philosophy they’re using for the lineup is a joke. Maybe they’re just too proud to admit it that they screwed up. Servais & Dipoto have had their time here. What should really happen is that they Ownership Solitaire sell the team.