The Seattle 17

Mariners' losing streak among all-time worst


Not much was expected of the Seattle Mariners this season.  Before the season, the consensus among scouting reports was that although Seattle had talent on the pitching side of the ball, whether it be established talent like 2010 AL Cy Young Award winner Felix Hernandez or young and up and coming like Rookie of the Year candidate Michael Pineda, the offense would yet again be so horrifically bad that the Mariners would never catch up to the high powered offense of Texas.  Believe it or not, this year's Mariners have been almost as awful offensively as last year's team which barely managed to score 500 runs on the season.  Even 600 runs in a season would be considered a bad offensive season for a team.

The 2010 Mariners were led in home runs by Russell Branyan with 15.  And Branyan did that in only 205 at-bats.  Franklin Gutierrez led the team with 64 RBIs.  Chone Figgins, a big free agent signing for the Mariners before 2010, was a huge bust in his first season with the team.  But he still managed to lead the team in batting average at .259.

The 2011 version is currently being led in homers and RBIs by Miguel Olivo, with 14 and 46, respectively, and in batting average by Ichiro Suzuki at .272.  About two-thirds of the way through the season, the Mariners have scored an underwhelming 345 runs, easily the worst total in MLB.  They have also been held to three or less runs 56 times, or in 54% of their 104 games so far this season.   This incompetent offense is to blame for Seattle's now-infamous 17-game losing streak that began before the All-Star Break.

The streak began on July 6 with a 2-0 loss in a series finale in Oakland.  The Mariners then went to Anaheim, and promptly got swept in a four-game series.  Hernandez, Pineda, and Brandon League then went to Arizona for the All-Star Game.  The three probably wish they could've stayed in Arizona for a while longer, as their team would go on to lose 12 more in a row.  First, the Mariners hosted the Rangers in a four-game series and got swept, scoring two runs in the entire series.  Yes, two runs scored in four games.  Then the M's went to visit the Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Yankees, playing a three-game series against each and losing all of them except the last game against the Yankees, which ended the streak on Wednesday.

During the streak, the Mariners only scored 44 runs, or 2.6 runs per game.  The futility of this streak will live in infamy for quite some time not only because of its sheer length, but because it blew the Mariners' chance at the wild card.  Right before the streak began, the Mariners were at .500 (43-43) thanks to the pitching staff.  But a closer examination reveals that this isn't the first time the Mariners have been plagued by such infamy down the stretch.  

On August 24, 2007, the 73-53 Mariners, fresh off a 4-2 win in Texas by none other than the same Hernandez (one of just two players on that team that remain on the Mariners today, along with Ichiro), began a similar losing streak that would knock them out of contention.  Although the M's had a relatively comfortable lead in the Wild Card after the win, they lost the lead to the Yankees during their nine-game losing streak.  The Mariners came out of it two games behind the Yanks and would never get the lead back.  This makes it twice in five years that the Mariners were knocked out of contention by a uncommonly long losing streak.  

Despite the team's overall struggles in 2011, the Mariners' pitching has held up pretty well.  Even including the streak, the Mariners staff ranks 9th in MLB in ERA, 6th in quality starts, and 3rd in walks allowed.  If pitching actually does win championships like they say, where are the championship rings for the Mariners?  At 44-60, to say it'll be a while until they get some is a major understatement.  Maybe in the mean time they'll score a run, or maybe even two.  Be warned.      

Darwin Barney: The Right Man for the Job

Cub fans, meet Darwin Barney.  Many of you have already been acquainted last season, but still many of you are still getting to know the former Oregon State University Beaver.  Getting to know the guy will come quite in handy, as he's here to stay.  If Barney is sent back down to the Minors even once this season, it will come as a surprise to me.  He played so well in Spring Training that he pole vaulted right over the two above him in the depth chart in Blake DeWitt and Jeff Baker.  Becoming the first rookie to start on Opening Day since Kosuke Fukudome in 2008, Barney has already entered the Cubs' record books.

Not only does Barney bring energy; he's a hardball, max-effort type player.  These kind of guys are very fun to watch and also conducive to winning, which is obviously a plus.  The max-effort skills of players like Derek Jeter and Ichiro Suzuki have contributed to their widespread popularity probably more than anything else.  This status means that the player will hustle on every single play, work as hard as possible on fundamentals, and play the game 'the right way'.  Barney didn't show up in the Majors just to wave to the TV cameras and bask in popularity; he's here to win.  And he's going to prove that this season.

Barney is also Mike Quade's type of player.  Right away from the Carlos Silva incident, Quade took a no-nonsense attitude.  Barney's just here to play.  The fact that Quade even allowed a rookie to hop over a six year Major League veteran in Baker and a 'valuable' trade return in DeWitt shows that Quade is going to play whoever is going to get the Cubs the win on a certain day.  And as of Opening Day, that man is Darwin Barney.  Although Baker and DeWitt will be getting starts at second base as well, Barney could have the position locked up in just a month or so.      

The Mariners' Hunt to Regain Seattle

In 1997, led by manager Lou Piniella, center fielder Ken Griffey Jr., shortstop Alex Rodriguez, and designated hitter Edgar Martinez and ace Randy Johnson, the Seattle Mariners won the American League West for only the second time in franchise history but the second time in three seasons.  They would lose to the Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS, but the winning group could do something the 2010 Mariners could not: score runs.  This 1997 team scored an incredible 925 runs, a total very few teams can accomplish.  This Mariners team was popular: they had the most hyped prospect in the history of baseball in Rodriguez, a fan favorite in Martinez, a power bat in Jay Buhner, and the face of baseball in Griffey Jr.  Playing in the enormous Kingdome in Seattle, the fan base started showing up and making the place a notorious bandbox, especially during Game 5 of the 1995 ALDS against the Yankees where the Mariners won and advanced to the ALCS off a historic walk-off double by Martinez.  The Kingdome had plenty of issues, however, and in midseason of a mediocre 1999 season the Mariners moved into shiny new Safeco Field.  Seattle won the wild card in 2000 with 91 wins, setting up an incredible 116 win season in Ichiro Suzuki's rookie season of 2001.  The heavy favorite to win the pennant in the playoffs, they were eliminated by the Yankees in the ALCS.

That would be Seattle's last playoff appearance to this day, and although the Mariners won 93 games both of the next two seasons, they missed the playoffs and the feeling changed.  Gone were Buhner, Griffey Jr., and Rodriguez, and the team character that stuffed the rowdy Kingdome had gone missing.  Ichiro Suzuki was a perennial All-Star through all of this, but as time went on he became the only star remaining.  After scoring 927 runs in 2001, the Mariners haven't scored even 800 runs since 2002.  Adrian Beltre never lived up to expectations he set during a huge 48 homer season with the Dodgers in 2004, and a post-40-year-old Jamie Moyer served as ace until they had a better option in Felix Hernandez.

In 2007 the Mariners won 88 games, leading in the wild card race until a 10 game losing steak down the stretch doomed them.  The team wasn't exciting enough to wake up the Seattle fans, however, ranking just 16th in attendance.  A terrible season in 2008, with 101 losses, was followed by a surprising 85 win team in 2009.  Signs of life came from this Mariner team; Ken Griffey Jr. returned to finish his career where it all started and hit 19 homers as a pleasant surprise.  Felix Hernandez won 19 games and was an AL Cy Young Award finalist, all under new manager Don Wakamatsu.  A new sabermetric obsession over fielding and range statistics enthralled the baseball stat world, and the Mariners were widely viewed as the best fielding team in the country.  Stat gurus and baseball experts alike were starting to warm up on the Mariners to be the team to leapfrog the Angels in the AL West to win the division.

Picked by many as the surprise team in baseball, the Mariners didn't disappoint.  They were surprising, for the absolute opposite reason.  Mediocre for the first two months (18-31), an absolutely terrible June doomed their season.  The Mariners went 6-22 in June, scoring on 75 runs or about 2.68 runs per game.  Over the entire season they were shut out 15 times.  Besides Ichiro's .315 batting average, they were led by Chone Figgins' .259.  Russell Branyan led the team in homers with just 15, but he only played 57 games for the Mariners after being traded from the Indians.  Milton Bradley had a minimal effect on the team, which was probably a good thing, but he essentially wasted his high salary and the at-bats he did get in 73 games.  The team RBI leader was Franklin Gutierrez with a ridiculous 64.  The Mariners finished last in Major League Baseball in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, total bases, runs, hits, doubles, triples, homers, and runs batted in.  This was a team that didn't have a chance to win unless Felix Hernandez was on top of his game and not giving up any runs, and the Mariners would be lucky to score two.  Unfortunately for Seattle, the fans had nothing to be excited about except Seahawks training camp.  The city forgot about the team last season, and the fans can't be blamed.  Seattle forgot about the Mariners, and the Mariners did nothing to fix it.

Earlier today, Hernandez won the AL Cy Young Award.  Holding a record of 13-12, average for sure, Hernandez had by far the least wins by any pitcher winning the award.  How did he get so few wins?  The offense.  Hernandez had little to zero margin for error because if he wasn't going to shut down the opponent, the Mariners couldn't win.  His 2.27 ERA would have suggested an 18-7 record or something similar.  Looking forward, the Mariners need to address this problem.  Safeco Field is a pitchers park and the franchise has committed to pitching and defense, but that doesn't work if all the players are defense-first and no one takes responsibility offensively.  They also need offense for another reason: the fan base.  Baseball traditionalists enjoy pitchers duels, but today's generation of baseball fans want to see some offense most of the time.  With the bombers of the Kingdome in the late 90s like Griffey Jr., Martinez, Buhner, and Bret Boone the fan base got behind the team.  This is a goal the Mariners need to focus on regaining the city that fell in love with them, or will remain in infamy.  

Death in Philadephia

My hate for the Phillies is represented very well in this photograph.  I hate everything about the Phillies.  I can't believe I used to root for them like in 2006 just because of Ryan Howard.  What did your baseball coach in 4th grade tell you?  Follow through on your swing!  Utley hasn't done that on a single swing in his life and yet has ESPN covering his trips to the bathroom.  And he's not even the worst.  Raul Ibanez was a nobody in Seattle but a very effective power hitter, collecting 100 RBIs for a few seasons out there although getting no recognition.  Then he goes to Philadelphia and is some kind of hero.  Sure, the Mariners weren't winning and that factored into it, but he was an All-Star and you don't need to win to get to the All-Star Game, as Ichiro Suzuki has shown.  His swing is also annoying and I hate seeing it after he hit a three run homer against the Cubs last year when the Cubs went to Philly.  And he isn't even the worst.  Shane Victorino, center fielder, is my least favorite player in baseball.  And I know a lot of players all of whom are subject to my disliking if they fall out of my favor.  His swing is the worst, wild and roundabout.  When he runs he never seems to get off base and is near impossible to get out.  He is just a whiny player in general and got ejected from center field in a game last year for arguing balls and strikes.  Victorino is not the type of player that deserves to be a major leaguer.  He has some talent, but I just wish he would leave.  I'm telling you all this because after another bad series loss to Pittsburgh and a two game sweep of Colorado at Wrigley, the Cubs are playing twice in Philadelphia.  In 18 games Cubs games at Citizens Bank Park since its opening in 2004, the Cubs are 6-12.  They haven't even won a series, losing every one 2-1.  At least this time it's a two gamer and so the Cubs could tie it with just one win.  Citizens Bank Park is a tough place to play because of the fans, who have sold out the stadium 61 straight games including tonight.  But don't let ESPN exaggerate about the power of the Phillies; this is absolutely the best hitters park in the National League and it doesn't hold anything.  Howard, Utley, and Ibanez have plenty of power, but would probably have some taken away in a league average park.  I must apologize to fans about my recent lack of posts.  I pledge, just like Marlon Byrd pledged the Cubs will be in the playoffs Monday, that more posts will fill up this blog especially when summer begins.  Go Cubs!