The sky is not actually falling, Seattle Mariners fans. Despite the early cries of “Same old Mariners!” echoing from the corners of Dave and Edgar, all is not as it seems. A slow start has been a shock to the systems of M’s fans far too eager to buy into the World Series hype the national pundits were selling. But the Mariners have shown glimpses of how good this club can be. And an encouraging three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers to start the road trip provided the illusion that the team might be gaining its stride and ready to make a run at the division lead. And then Houston happened. The scorching hot Astros pulled off an impressive four game beat-down to officially claim legal ownership of the Mariners. It didn’t help that Seattle managed to showcase nearly every possible way to lose a ballgame on their way to being swept out of Houston. The M’s now find themselves at 10-15, falling to fourth place in the AL West, and a full 8 games back of the division leading Astros. But, again, all is not as it seems.
One reason for optimism, and why the 2015 Seattle Mariners are not the same old Mariners, has been the addition of Nelson Cruz. Boom Stick has been everything that his nickname would imply in providing the Mariners offense with the legitimate power threat they have been searching for since GM Jack Zduriencik’s arrival in 2008. Cruz led the major leagues in home runs in 2014, wearing a Baltimore Orioles uniform. And he seems to be on a mission to do so again in 2015, slugging for the Mariners. He went into Sunday’s series finale with Houston leading the majors in home runs (13), RBI (25), slugging (.811) and OPS (1.203). Cruz obviously leads the Mariners in all those categories, as well as, batting average (.347), OBP (.392) and runs (17). He has provided plenty of boom with his stick, and has also displayed a decent glove in right field when not penciled into the lineup at DH.
The frustrating part for M’s fans has been the team’s inability to capitalize on Cruz’s power surge; finding ways to lose despite getting the kind of run support that the same old Mariners desperately, futily sought. And the stellar pitching and defense they showed last season has not been a part of the make-up of this season’s squad. Felix Hernandez has been his usual best ace in the AL self, and is certain to be in the CY Young conversation again. But the heavily hyped and much anticipated dynamic duo of James Paxson and Tijuan Walker have been inconsistent at best, and gasoline cans at their worst. Both have had starts where they have shown the kind of command and dominance over opposing hitters that M’s fans have been led to believe they’ll deliver for years to come. And both have had starts where they have left their team with little chance of victory by the time they were pulled from the game. Plus, the uncharacteristic defensive lapses, highlighted by Brad Miller’s throwing yips, have definitely hurt the struggling staff as a whole.
One characteristic that is seemingly inherent in same old Mariners DNA, and one this present club shares, is the inability to consistently score with runners in scoring position. Most glaringly, an inability to plate runners from third base with less than two outs. That ineffectiveness killed the Mariners chances in the series against Houston, and has been a reoccurring nightmare for this club. A nightmare they will need to wake up from quickly before winning the division becomes a faded dream. Felix taking his 4-0 record and 1.82 ERA to the mound against the Angels tonight in Anaheim could provide the awakening the team needs.
The Mariners still have plenty of time to right the ship and set a course for the post-season. Those smoking hot Astros struggled out of the gate before catching fire. At some point they will cool off, if not revert back to the same old Astros. And no one else looks poised to run away with the division. So far, it’s been King Felix on the bump and Cruz’s power at the plate that has kept the Mariners within a prayer of catching the division leaders. And it’s been inconsistent pitching performances, defensive lapses, and far too many stranded base runners, that has kept them from legitimate expectations of being the division leaders. Only time will tell if they will live up to the lofty praise heaped upon them in the spring by the baseball wiseguys in the national media. And keep the sky from falling on M’s fans.
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