Sea What I Mean?

 

Folks...the Seattle Mariners have the third-highest record in the AL.

Yes, higher than so many teams that were supposed to compete this year, like the Blue Jays, White Sox, Red Sox, Rays and Angels. Yes, higher than anyone in the AL Central. The only teams higher than them are the Astros, who they always seem to struggle with, and the Yankees, who they've had no trouble with recently. 

...the Mariners are doing this. I LOVE that the Mariners are so good. This is what we've all been waiting years for. And in August, especially the last few years, the Mariners have consistently looked like a competitive team with a chance of breaking their 21-year playoff drought.

But. The one thing that usually seems to thwart them is September. And I worry that this could be the case again this year. Remember, unlike the NL, the AL wild card race is wide open. Thanks to a return to winning in Boston, all four non-1st AL East teams are competing for the wild card spot, as are the Guardians and White Sox. There's a lot that can change in this picture in a month in a half. And while the Mariners are leading the wild card race now, they've also come off of series' against the Rangers and Angels, and are headed towards series' against the A's and Nats. In fact, their schedule for September looks pretty cool too, although it starts with series against both AL and NL Wild Card competitors.

And, really, the Mariners are just in a really good place right now. They picked wisely in getting Luis Castillo from Cincinnati, he's got a 2.18 ERA and 24 Ks in 3 starts. They also just got Mitch Haniger back from the IL, and he's been the surging sure thing that Kyle Lewis should have been. France, Crawford, Julio and Suarez are all still playing really well. The rotation is strong. Paul Sewald is owning the ninth. Sam Haggerty of all people is doing well in right. So much is working and right now just seems like a great time for this team. 

And I just...want this team to stay this good, and keep fighting, and make a feel-good story last as long as possible. But I know baseball doesn't work like that, and I'm so afraid of losing a great story like this in order to get another Astros pennant win. So I want them to build on this and go the distance. It sounds insane. But they're the third-best team in the AL right now, and if that's not insane enough, it has got to get crazier from there.

Coming Tomorrow- He got out of Arlington before they started tanking. He got out of Chicago before the mass exodus. I really hope he won't have to jump ship from San Diego anytime soon.