Seattle Mariners – It’s Only Early Until It’s Late

Over the weekend, the Seattle Mariners won a series in New York against the Yankees and actually showed some tangible signs of life! And after a truly nasty home stand, where the Mariners went a hope-crushing 1-5, hitting the road was has been a welcome vacation. The Yankees did manage to get a win in the third game of the series, which saw Seattle hitters strike out 12 times. You should never win a game where your team strikes out 12 times. The silver lining there is that Seattle only lost by a run, and was in it until the end.

I enjoy seeing the Yankees lose to the Mariners more than almost anything else in this world, but even taking a series in the Bronx won’t bring enough joy to make up for the anxiety I have about this team.

The Mariners are hitting .222 as a team right now, and getting on base at a clip of .294. Those numbers both need to come up for the Mariners to win games, but the sub .300 OBP is the more concerning stat to me. This team was built to get on base, control the strike zone and wreak havoc on the base paths. Right now they’re not the team we’d hoped, and they certainly aren’t playing like the team Jerry Dipoto and Scott Servais planned. The team managed to string together enough offense to win of couple of games, and I don’t take that for granted, as this team could easily be 3-9 right now with the way they’ve swung the bats.

The offense got off to a slow start, but all the statistical data backs up the theory that it won’t last and the production should eventually come closer to what’s expected. On the plus side the bullpen has been really good and the rotation has pitched well enough to keep our deflated offense in some games they really had no business being in. If the offseason plan was to improve the team’s OBP, retool the bullpen and rotation, then I think it’s fair to say that two of those things are working. The bullpen and rotation have been enough to keep the team near .500 in the first couple weeks of the season. I think this team should be able to put up a winning record if the bats start working.

Up next the Mariners head to Cleveland for a three-game series against the Indians at Progressive Field. The 5-5 Indians have had their usual early-season weather issues and have already had two games postponed. Their a team built heavily on pitching, and were projected by many as favorites to win the AL Central. It’s still very early, but it’s only early until it’s late. And it gets late quickly.

There’s sort of a parallel between the Mariners and Cleveland, though I may be reaching, but both teams were projected to be contenders and both have started slow. Both are going to rely heavily on great pitching at the top of the rotation and a solid bullpen.

In the first two games of the series the Indians will throw right-handed starters, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar at the Mariners. Seattle will counter with Wade Miley and Taijuan Walker. Get excited for that! Those are some fun pitching match-ups!

Some of the Mariners early struggles at the plate may be a symptom of facing six left-handed starters in their first 12 games. As you likely know, most people aren’t left handed. Well, it’s the same with starting pitchers. Sooner or later teams have to throw right-handed pitching at us, and the time is nigh! In the next six games, the Mariners are scheduled to face five right-handed starters. If you’re a gambler, I’d recommend putting money on players like Adam Lind, (Career .352 OPB vs. RHP) to start raking this week, along with Robinson Cano, Kyle Seager and Franklin Gutierrez. The point to take away from all of this is that the Mariners look a lot better against right-handed pitching, and they’ve been starved of it early on.

It’s only mid-April, but as I mentioned, it gets late in the season very quickly. Baseball has a long season, but it sneaks up on you and before you know it, you’re looking at June in the rearview mirror and wondering why the team didn’t put it all together in time to stay in the race. It’s going to be July in no time at all. And suddenly we’ll be on the footsteps of September and looking down the barrel of the postseason.

This is one of those weeks that could make a difference. Now is the time to take advantage of the things they’re supposed to take advantage of and put together that elusive Mariners’ winning streak.

Cleveland isn’t a bad team, and they won’t be easy to beat… neither will Anaheim when we go there on Friday. It’s likely not going to be an easy six games, but we need to win at least four of them. And with both of those teams struggling right now it’s a perfect time for the Mariners to put it together and step out of the shadows.

And by the way, the weather report in Cleveland projects clear skies for Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday, looks like rain. Thanks a lot, Major League Baseball’s scheduling department!