Uncustomed Heroes of 2018: Mariners

Back in about...July, I'd say, I had a conversation with my uncle, who's a lifetime Mariners fan. And we were talking about the Wild Card game. How our teams were gonna square off, and it'd be a matter of whether Mitch Haniger and Nelson Cruz could outhit Severino.

That...didn't exactly happen. And the Mariners CONTINUE to be the unluckiest team in baseball. Their playoff drought is about to go into its eighteenth year, they've given away Jean Segura, Robinson Cano, James Paxton and Edwin Diaz...for practically nothing, and they're continuing to unload as we speak. A team that felt playoff-bound midway through this season is going to start next season looking like a shell of itself. Which is unfortunate.

Speaking of a shell of itself, Felix Hernandez is...that. He's lost his velocity, and his ability to consistently win games, and now all he is...is a strikeout artist that's resting on mythology. He's 32, and he's not quite a lock for the Hall, but...if he can turn his rotten luck around, and regain his mid-decade mojo, the Mariners could be in better shape.

 Ryon Healy was plucked from...the eventual Wild Card finalist to play first base, and occasionally DH, for the M's, and this kind of illuminated how unfit he was for that A's roster. He's a hitter with middling defensive ability and a low average, and could only do so much with a .235 average, despite the 24 homers. He'll have to compete with Edwin Encarnacion in 2019, who had a much better season this year.

 Even in a season where he'd be the MLB's top Seager brother by default, Kyle Seager still disappointed for the umpteenth year, continuing his 2017 trend of striking out too damned much and slipping his average. He's becoming a liability both at the plate and in the field, with negative saber metric stats in both categories. Perhaps Healy will be competing with HIS position.

 Alex Colome was a solid eighth-inning man for the M's this year, and made up their impressive bullpen. In a perfect world, he'd be their closer for 2019, but he was traded to Chicago for, admittedly, a needed catching pickup in Omar Narvaez.

Cameron Maybin, kind of like last year, came to a new team at the trade deadline and didn't really do a whole lot for them. Which is a shame, because he was doing alright in Miami. He'll likely be a cheap free agent for someone who needs outfield help (so perhaps he'll return to San Diego?)

Coming Tomorrow- Speaking of Miami, they had a predictably atrocious year after losing all their big stars.

At Least They're a Fun Mess

Look, I'm not gonna say that the Athletics don't deserve to be in last. The farm system that led to those amazing seasons in the early 2000s has since dissolved a bit, and this seasons team is a mish-mosh of cheap contracts and overtired prospects. However...of the six last place teams right now, I do think that the A's are probably the most fun to watch. There's doom and despair, yes, but at the same time...there's 3 guys hitting near 20 home runs, and there's two guys most of baseball counted out who are doing really well.

Ryan Healy had a great rookie year last year, and as he started 2017 with a down average I got pretty worried. I thought he wouldn't be able to recapture the magic, and fall short like the rest of the A's. But now he's racked up 17 home runs, and he'd providing A's games with a nice amount of suspense.

I feel like the A's could build a team around this guy, like Anthony Rizzo in Chicago, and stack some heftier prospects and players around him to form a contender. I'm guessing that won't be for a while, but still.

Look, the A's may be dire, but there's some charm to them.

Coming Tonight- I'll be watching one of the other last place teams play ball tonight, so expect some sort of recap afterwards.