July 15 was the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Mariners ballyard, then Safeco Field and now T-ball Park. The Mariners that season won 79 games, and 91 in 2000. Then in 2001, they won 116, a feat that remains as incongruous as the giant stone heads on Easter Island. At the time, the steady uptick was seen as a fulfillment of the suggestion by team owners that a publicly funded stadium was just the financial trick that would solve for the perpetual baseball futility the Seattle franchise experienced from its inception in 1977.
As far as baseball outcomes, the notions of stadium as panacea and the uptick that led to the astonishment of 2001, proved ephemeral. Regarding accountability for the failure, the owners have been as inscrutable over a generation as the Polynesian monoliths were over centuries.
Which gets us quickly to the summer of 2024, where the Mariners find themselves in a familiar position of competence absent confidence — not close to the worst, not near the best. After a 10-14 July that included a 3-9 record at home, the 57-53 Mariners are in a wobbly tie with the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West. It’s a division in which the past two World Series champions, the Astros and Texas Rangers, have unexpectedly flailed, beset by injuries. Yet, beginning a nine-game homestand Friday against National League East leader Philadelphia (65-43), the Mariners, in a time of opportunity helped by playoff-berth expansion, are merely mid, and realistically need to win the division to make the playoffs.
True to form, they seem to have made middling acquisitions at the trade deadline Tuesday. Then again, so did most every team in MLB. The summer festival for data seamheads was remarkable for its absence of big names and/or top prospects exchanging laundry. Part of it is due to so many teams being close to a wild-card playoff spots, and part of it is the reluctance of general managers, fearful of the volatile media-revenue landscape, to take on big contracts.
Whatever the reasons, the Mariners were among the busier outfits, trading for outfielder Randy Arozarena from Tampa Bay, infielder/DH Justin Turner from Toronto, and two right-handed relievers, Yimi Garcia from Toronto and JT Chargois from Miami. All were acquired for younger prospects, none of whom were among Seattle’s eight minor leaguers in the Top 100 List of prospects by MLB Pipeline. In fact, no players in the top 100 from any team were traded, believed to be a first.
The top draft analyst for The Athletic, former major league GM Jim Bowden, gave the Mariners an A grade, one of four teams so awarded. Here’s what he wrote this week:
The Mariners were big winners at the trade deadline, adding a key bat in Arozarena, who provides 20-plus homers and 20-plus steals a year. More importantly, he excels in the biggest games and the biggest moments, which could be a difference-maker for Seattle in the playoffs. The pick-up of García gives the Mariners another high-leverage reliever, and he was one of the best set-up men on the market. And I liked the under-the-radar move to get Turner. Adding the veteran will be more significant than people think because of his leadership skills, on the field and in the clubhouse. Turner knows how to win championships, how to work a count and how to mentor young hitters.
Underlying the positive is the reality that these moves were necessary because the acquisitions of hitters in the off-season have mostly disappointed. The off-season is when a season’s foundation is laid; the trade deadline for contenders is for patching cracks. Second baseman Jorge Polanco, outfielder/DH Mitch Haniger and DH/catcher Mitch Garver have all under-performed. First baseman Ty France was traded for beans. Additionally, key newcomer reliever Gregory Santos, finally healthy enough to pitch 5.1 innings, was pulled from a game in Boston with a sore arm. And holdover stars Julio Rodriguez and J.P. Crawford are injured and out temporarily.
Recall in October that Mariners president Jerry Dipoto indicated that part of the reason the club didn’t deal for big-money players was likely reduced income from its ROOT Sports regional TV network. Left unsaid was that none of the owners is making a living from seasonal operations. The absence of an above average payroll is a large contributor to Seattle’s inability to pull away in a saggy division.
The upshot from last winter’s fecklessness was a lopsided roster with perhaps the best starting rotation in the game burdened by the game’s worst offense. The problem cracked open Wednesday in Fenway Park’s visitors’ clubhouse after the Mariners gave away a 3-2 decision to the Red Sox, primarily because more runners were left on base than were entered in the Paris Olympics triathlon.
From Ryan Divish’s game story in the Seattle Times describing the public backlash to the shortfall of Garver, who signed a two-year, $24 million free agent deal in the off-season and is hitting .168/.286/.337 with 108 strikeouts:
“This is by far the worst I’ve ever played in my career,” Garver said, fighting back tears and his voice shaking. “It’s tough on myself and my family with the death threats, the ‘retire’ and ‘you suck’ and ‘(expletive) kill yourself’ and all that (expletive). It’s getting old. The only way I change it is if I play better. And the worse I play, the more I hear. And rightfully so. I’m not playing well.”
It’s rare to hear in pro sports such a candid lament. Players know many fans have no tolerance for complaints from millionaire players, so they keep quiet about the emotional toll. Yet that’s the sort of consequence that can creep throughout a clubhouse dealing with a high percentage of taut 3-2 and 2-1 outcomes where no slack is available for missteps.
The hope is that newcomer Turner, 39 and a World Series winner with the Los Angeles Dodgers, won’t feel compelled to slap Garver and tell him to snap out of it. But after 25 years in the ballpark and no World Series yet, accountability is way overdue to start somewhere.
I point the finger at management at the M’s shortfalls. The past few years every offseason they have cut payroll and gamble on cheap pickups on up and coming players hoping they’ll turn into a perennial all-star. Then either trade them, cut them or let them walk. There was a 2 1/2, stretch where they didn’t do that and they became the best team in MLB. Then they tightened the purse strings in midseason in ‘02, the A’s discovered Moneyball and both Lou and Gillick walked. Is is any wonder that the batting order is struggling when Teo, Geno and Jarred are replaced with Garver, Haniger and a platoon of first year players? Glad to see Turner on the team but he’s the DH the M’s should have targeted in the offseason. I question how deep a postseason run they can have with both Woo and Miller in the rotation. This is where keeping Marco would have been a better option. And there’s still a question about having a definitive set up man. They can have a deep playoff run but they need Julio and JP back and to hit well, for Cal to be more consistent and the rookies on the roster to forget that they’re rookies. Dipoto made some smart moves that didn’t sacrifice the best in the farm and showed fans and the organization that they want to succeed. I believe with help they can get to the ALCS but be surprised if they make it to the World Series. The offseason should garner a hard look at the hitting coaches and their approach.
Mr. Art
A column on the last 3 weeks, please.
Baseball history here, sort of. 10 games ahead to this, be on track for K record, fire manager. Nice.
Of equal pain during the loss of the 10 games is the ascendance of the filthy Houston Trash Cans.
Yr Obt Svt
A.S. aka Jim Hughes
P.S. At least it’s nearly football season and we can go back to ignoring the stinky Mariners.