There's a few teams that were great last year whose slow starts have worried lots of people. The Padres obviously, to an extent the Dodgers, the Phillies I suppose, the Cardinals. And it's hard to really gauge if a lot of these teams are just not as good this year, or if they're waiting for a similar slow spool season that becomes unstoppable after a certain point. If you look at a lot of recent Championship teams, that's what's happened. The Nats and Braves won World Series' after having drastically uneven starts. Last year's Phillies fired their manager then completely turned things around.
And last year's Seattle Mariners worked their way up after the All-Star Break, caught fire and notched a playoff spot, then took out the Blue Jays. So maybe the 2023 Mariners still bobbing around .500 and not having things completely figured out yet isn't a death sentence.
The Mariners are riding a lot of great performances, even with a mediocre record, and are definitely going in the right direction as far as future organizational growth is concerned. J.P. Crawford, still a huge piece of this team, is having another awesome season, and is still excellent on defense. It is Crawford's contact numbers that are keeping him a valuable asset, and keeping him respectable with 4 guys on the team striking out 80+ times. Eugenio Suarez and Teoscar Hernandez lead the team in RBIs, but they both strike out too often, which is the consequence of letting contact guys like Adam Frazier go.
And we're really just working with a Mariners team where Kelenic and Rodriguez are purely alright. Not overwhelmingly amazing, not commanding the conversation like Acuna or Tatis, just...alright. They'll get there. But they're not there yet, and this stretch of the season, where the fans desperately want them to look good, which they have at points before this, and they're just...hitting around .250 and striking out a ton, isn't ideal.
The rotation is keeping this team afloat for sure, but it currently seems like at least one rotation spot is cursed. Like, everyone who passes through that one specific spot needs Tommy John surgery. Robbie Ray, and then Easton McGee after literally ONE major league start. They get Bryce Miller up, and then Marco Gonzales gets hurt. So now we have Bryan Woo who, while very K-friendly, is struggling like most rookie pitchers that aren't Easton McGee or Bryce Miller usually do. I want him to figure it out, but I worry it means he'll get injured as well.
The Mariners play the Yankees starting tomorrow night. Two teams that have paled to their expectations. I think it'll be an evenly matched series, and I think the Mariners could get some of their groove back, but...it may honestly be another second half comeback for this team. At least I hope it is.
Coming Tomorrow- The apology tour is over. Time for the redemption arc.
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