A funny thing happened to the Seattle Mariners on Monday night. They won a close game.
The victory, a 4-3 nail-biter that needed extra innings, was the first in M’s the last four outings – they have been on the short end of games like this all season.
Seattle is one of the most snake-bitten franchises in baseball this season. In the 21 games they’ve played heading into Monday, the Mariners have dropped nine by two runs or fewer. They own the American League’s second-worst record and are on pace to finish last in their division for the third time in as many years.
What puzzles me so much about the Mariners’ output is the fact that they actually look better than last season. I see a lot of potential in this team under second-year skipper Mike Hargrove.
Can you blame me? For starters, their pitching staff is showing signs of life. Seattle’s ERA of 4.41 ranks sixth in the American League and second in the AL West behind Los Angeles.
I know what you’re saying. Seattle’s hurlers had the league’s fifth-best ERA at the end of April last year. My point is, their pitching isn’t the reason why they’re losing games. Yes, they have surrendered late runs here and there, but many of those are credited to Seattle’s shaky closer Eddie Guardado. He blew his third save of the season Monday night.
As for their other pitchers, let’s just say that it’s easy to get saddled with L’s instead of W’s when you have no run support.
Despite Seattle’s remodeled lineup, its offense is still in the tank. Here are some stats to think about. Out of the AL’s 14 teams, the Mariners are tied for 11th in on-base percentage (.313), tied for 10th in RBI (85) and 13th in batting average (.246), home runs (14) and slugging percentage (.384).
Did I say they have a lot of potential? No, that wasn’t a misprint.
Don’t get me wrong. This column isn’t suppose to be a cheap shot at the Mariners. Yes, they may be an easy target for critics, but the direction they’re heading in isn’t the wrong one.
The franchise took big steps forward in the offseason by picking up Carl Everett and adding Jarrod Washburn to its rotation. On opening day, the M’s defense featured four new faces from their 2005 opener. As well, the team is getting more production out of its younger players such as Yuniesky Betancourt. The second-year shortstop drove in Monday’s game-winning run.
Efforts like this are slowly becoming more common in Seattle. This shows that this team is not your parent’s division doormat and definitely not content with losing.
If the Mariners can get their offense out of first gear, watch out. They’re sure to make noise this season out west.
They have a break from division play now, but face AL West front-runner Los Angeles on May 12.

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