The Seattle Mariners’ 2014 season is a wrap. It took 162 games to eliminate the Mariners from post-season for the 13th consecutive year. They did everything they could to push the Oakland Athletics to a one-game playoff for the second wild card spot. Unfortunately for the Mariners, they needed help from the Texas Rangers and that didn’t happen. The A’s knocked off the Rangers on Sunday to back end to the final playoff spot.
Coming into this season expectations were low for the Mariners. In 2013, they had a 71-91 record and were burning through a lot of managers. Half the starting line-up were facing a make it or break it season. Starting with Justin Smoak, Dustin Ackley, Michael Saunders and Logan Morrison. Brad Miller won the starting shortstop job as a rookie. There were a lot of questions.
This season seemed lost early on in April when the M’s suffered an 8-game losing streak. Jim Paxton, who made the rotation out of spring training, was injured during his second start and missed most of the season. Hisashi Iwakuma missed the first month of the season due to an injured finger. Corey Hart, who signed with the M’s during the off-season, was also injured early and missed most of the season. Kyle Seager started off horribly and rebounded nicely to make his first All-Star game. It seemed like another hopeless season that Mariners fans are all too familiar with.
If someone asked me at the beginning of the year if I’d be happy with a 16 game improvement in the standings and to finish the season a game out of the playoffs, I’d take it. But the season ended too soon. The Mariners should have gone deep in the post-season. Things were setting up nicely for them. They had a bunch of injured players off the disabled list and were starting to produce. They were hitting their stride at the perfect time.
Kyle Seager and Dustin Ackley had break through seasons and are now on the verge of being household names outside of the Pacific Northwest. Robinson Cano, the biggest free-agent signing in team history, lived up to the hype and finished the season with a .314 average and more importantly mentored the young core of players. Mike Zunino, playing his first full year in the majors, set a Mariner record for home runs (22) by a catcher and is destined to be an All-Star — Gold Glove catcher in the near future.
The pitching staff and bullpen were arguably the best in baseball. They finished the season with a Mariner record 3.17 ERA. Felix Hernandez led the American League in ERA – 2.14. Hernandez had a better year than when he won the Cy Young in 2010. Iwakuma had a strong season but stumbled in the last couple of weeks.
Paxton has been compared to Andy Pettitte and has a very high ceiling. Taijuan Walker gave us a glimpse of his future during his last start of the year in a must-win game when he pitched 8 innings and gave up a hard luck earned run against the Los Angeles Angels. Fernando Rodney broke the Mariners’ record for saves in a season with 48 and led a bullpen that was arguable the best in baseball.
The season ended too early. 162 games is a lot of games. To miss out of the post-season by one game is a tough one to swallow especially by a team that hasn’t reached the playoffs in over 2,000 games. A lot of could’ve should’ve and would’ve.
What if Kendrys Morales signs during the off-season and had a full spring training? What if Walker and Paxton had a full season? What if Seager and Ackley played like they did after the All-Star Break in April and May? What if Iwakuma pitched the first month of the season? Looking back, the Mariners could have easily won 5-8 more games. That’s the beauty of baseball.
The post-season starts on Tuesday. The Mariners came close. A lot of young players gained valuable experience in must-win games. Now it’s the front-office turn. They have core players coming back and some holes to fill. The most common losing quote is about to be said. Wait til next year!
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