TERRY MOSHER
ROBINSON “MR. COOL” CANO
Is there a curse against the Seattle Mariners, or what? This was supposed to be the baseball season where the Mariners would contend for a World Series championship. Most of the so-called experts were saying that in their preseason predictions.
But here it is June, two months into the season and the Mariners have a sub-.500 record (24-26) and are 6.5 games back of the surprising Houston Astros in fourth place in the American League West.
There is still plenty of time to turn it around, but there are no visible signs that is about to happen any time soon. The biggest problem – and it is a VERY big problem – is that the Mariners can’t hit. That also is not anything new. That has been the problem the last several years, and that was supposed to have been solved this past off-season by the addition of Nelson Cruz, who blasted 40 home runs last season with Baltimore.
And Cruz has not disappointed. He leads the American League with 18 homers and has driven in 38 runs and is batting .335. He certainly is in early contention for being the league MVP, although unless the Mariners pick it up that likely won’t happen.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment in all of this is the hitting, or the lack of hitting, by the 24-million dollar man, Robinson Cano. Let me say right off the bat, that Cano is an incredible fielder and second baseman. He makes difficult plays look easy. He’s Mr. Cool out there at second, although I think at times he is too cool.
It is at the plate where Mr. Cool is really Mr. Cool. He is currently batting .251 with an on-base percentage of a lackluster .295. Ok, let’s be honest: an OBP below .300 is considered bad by the people who spend hours (months?) pouring over baseball statistics.
So Mr. Cool needs to look in the mirror and wake up. He’s not Mr. Cool with a bat in his hand, and when you are being paid as much as he is, that is definitely not cool.
What I can’t figure out is how Cruz is batting so well when the man in front of him is doing so badly. It would seem by any logic that pitches would be foaming at the mouth to get to pitch to Mr. Cool so they don’t have to face Cruz. All I can figure is the M’s No. 5 hitter behind Cruz, Kyle Seager, is making it tough for pitchers to ignore Cruz because Seager waits right behind him with his nine home runs and slugging average of .478.
But once we talk about Cruz and Seager, hitting-wise it gets pretty dim. Seth Smith has been a pleasant surprise and Logan Morrison (LoMo) is not good, but not bad either. He’s probably a little below average, but nothing to get worried about as long as others in the lineup are picking him up now and then.
Unfortunately, the rest of the lineup is easy prey for even the most average Major League pitcher. Because the rest of the lineup is so milquetoast it becomes clearer why the Mariners are having so much trouble despite a pitching staff that has performed well considering injuries to their No. 2 and No. 3 starters (Hisashi Iwakuma and James Paxton).
I’m not a big fan of general manager Jack Zduriencik. I don’t see many position players arriving in Seattle ready to have an impact. Dustin Ackerly continues to play while hitting .188 and Brad Miller, who may or may not be a shortstop depending on the day apparently, is batting .228. Mike Zunino is an excellent defensive catcher with some power, but he’s hitting .188 with a team-leading 56 strikeouts.
And I don’t see what Jackie Z saw when he signed free agent Rickie Weeks and in a three-way deal involving Tampa Bay and Detroit brought in Austin Jackson. Weeks is weak. He’s hitting .183. And Jackson, who was injured for a while, has no power and is batting .236 with an on-base percentage of .277 that is terrible for anybody in the lineup, but especially from a lead-off hitter like he is supposed to be.
I know it’s tough to be a GM. You have to rely on a lot of eyes within the organization to make the best decisions you can, but Jackie Z is in his 7th year as GM and the Mariners have yet to stabilize enough to be considered a contender. This was supposed to be that year, but at the third-way mark in the season, it doesn’t look good. Maybe the hitters will start to hit, maybe Mr. Cool will get hot. Who really knows? But right now, the M’s are headed toward what could be a major disappointment and that definitely is not cool.
So what happens if the M’s continue the rest of the season like this and finish at .500 or just below .500? Will Jackie Z survive? And if he doesn’t, who is out there that could come in as GM and light some fire in the organization?
I know I would find it weird if Felix Hernandez, who is 8-1 with a 1.91 ERA, wins 20 or more games and captures another Cy Young Award, and Cruz, who is on pace to hit over 50 home runs and about 120 RBI while hitting over .300, captures a triple crown (home runs, RBI and batting average) and the Mariners finish under .500. That, in itself, would be a big deal, worthily of entry into the Guinness Book of Records.
So we’ll see. Perhaps the Astros will revert to form and fade and the Mariners will repeat the year to remember, the season of 1995 when the team got hot in August and stormed to the AL West championship.
Until then, don’t hold your breath.
Be well pal.
Be careful out there.
Have a great day.
You are loved.
