The Mariners have the kind of team this year that is good on enough levels to keep them from being a punchline, but not good enough to be intimidating to any competitors. After a 2022 which saw this team thrust into glory more than halfway through, it's still not impossible for the Mariners of 2023 to figure something out, and they definitely have the team for it. But the real issue is that the AL West is not as wide open as it was last year.
Last year, all the Mariners had to contend with really were the Astros, as the Rangers were a 2nd place team only due to being luckier midyear than the lower three. This year, the Mariners not only have Houston to worry about, but a much better Rangers team, and an Angels team that just decided to catch fire, and will be wielding Shohei Ohtani for the rest of the year. And with the Mariners just being 'good' right now, and the other three being decidedly better...that doesn't really allow the Ms much of a chance. Especially considering that there will already be three or four AL East teams in the running for the wild card race, in addition to the Angels and, for the moment, Astros.
So unless something goes extremely right, this just may be a down year for the Mariners. And looking at a lot of this team, it's a shame. The development from years past has led to a really well-formed and varied Mariners team. George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo are all young guys that are providing solid rotation support, even alongside the foregone conclusion that is Luis Castillo. One of the things that may have doomed this team was the injury to Robbie Ray, as even if he was not at 100% last year he was still an excellent innings eater with a ton of experience, and the Mariners only have one of those right now with Gonzales injured. Yes, people like Kirby are doing well enough even without veteran presence, as Kirby's got a 3.49 ERA in 20 starts, but Woo and Miller are still having occasional rookie mistakes. I look at how good Miller was in his first few starts, and how he's still good now but looking a lot more human.
And that's honestly how I'd describe a lot of this Mariners team. Good, yes, but human. Jarred Kelenic's a few steps down from where he was in May. Teoscar Hernandez has 16 home runs and 58 RBIs, but it still feels like a step down from his Jays numbers. Even Julio Rodriguez, while good this year, isn't blowing the doors off the place like he did last year. And while there's a ton that's working with this Mariners team, like both catchers, the bench support of Jose Caballero, Paul Sewald and his 20 saves, and the continued dominance of J.P. Crawford, there's still a lot that really should be better than it is.
The Mariners probably aren't going to sell this weekend, or at least not substantially, but after this series with Arizona they're gonna really need to figure out if they're a sure bet for this October. Because if not, they need to put in the steps to get over this season and get back to where they were last year.
Coming Tomorrow- I was worried about him for a second, but he always manages to show up.
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