Seattle Fans: Be Patient, Baseball is a Marathon

So this guy pitches tonight.

In a city that has been swept up by the success of the Seahawks since quarterback Russell Wilson‘s arrival three years ago, it’s easy to describe Seattle as a “football town.” Add the fact that the Mariners haven’t made the playoffs since a magical 2001 season and the Sonics were robbed from this city seven years ago and it’s no wonder why everyone in Seattle has jumped on the Seahawks’ bandwagon. That’s not a bad thing at all.

However, over this time, Seattle sports fans have taken on the mentality of football fans, which are much different than baseball fans. In the NFL, everything is so emotional because nearly every play matters. With only 16 games in a season, one loss can be detrimental to a team. Combine that with the reality that the Mariners missed the playoffs last year by one game, and it’s no wonder why this city has learned that every game matters.

So when the M’s enter 2015 with lofty expectations and stumble to a 6-9 start, some fans naturally abandoned ship. The trademark phrase, “same old Mariners” has been murmured in households and bars throughout the state of Washington for the past two and a half weeks. Gut-wrenching losses have filled the first 15 games of this season.

So far, Mariners fans have seen solid offensive contributions, especially from the newly acquired Nelson Cruz, who is batting .328 and already has 8 home runs and 17 RBI’s. At the same time, though, they’ve seen some terrible pitching. Outside of Felix Hernandez and J.A. Happ, the starting rotation has failed to go deep in games. This has put pressure on a bullpen that has been overused early in the year. As a result, the Seattle has blown late leads and lost a few games that they absolutely should have won. The Mariners’ pitching staff has a 4.83 ERA, which is 14th out of 15 teams in the AL and 28th out of 30 teams in the MLB. Not good.

But as a rational fan, it’s hard to think that a team full of talented pitching will continue to struggle this much. I’m confident that the starters will get right and this team will turn it around – starting tonight against the Minnesota Twins. And this leads me to the point of this post: settle down Seattle fans and please read the following reasons why.

1. The offense is better at the pitching will turn it around. There’s simply too much talent on this pitching staff for them to not turn it around. It couldn’t get much worse than it has been. Once they do the M’s will win a lot of ball games because the offense is better and will continue to get better. Adding Cruz to this lineup has allowed everyone in the order to see better pitches. It’s only a matter of time before they start hitting them consistently.

2. The rest of the AL West has also struggled so far. The 8-7 Houston Astros lead the division, and that should tell you everything about the beginning of this season. As disappointing of a start as its been, the M’s are only two games back in a division race that we shouldn’t even be talking about in April.

3. Baseball is a marathon. It’s way too early to jump to any kind of brash conclusion about this ballclub. There’s 147 games left in the 2015 season. Last year’s squad started the season 7-13 before nearly making a playoff run. At least wait until June to start making judgments about the 2015 Mariners.

I felt like it was important for me to put my emotions about this topic on paper (or the internet, rather) because I, too, am guilty of approaching baseball with a football mentality at times. But the truth is we all need to relax and just enjoy the romance that is baseball, however frustrating it can be at times. There’s still so much season left and there are so many good (and bad) times ahead of these 2015 Mariners.

As Seattle fans, we’ve all witnessed some really tough times throughout our sports history (RIP Sonics). Yet we continue to cheer on our teams because years of failure have to be followed by success at some point, right? So keep your heads up and believe that this team is going to be different. Believe that Seattle can once again be a “baseball town.”

Besides, what choice do we have?

Opening Day Win Creating Buzz Among Mariners Fans

I already love this team.

Yes, it’s April 7th. Yes, baseball is a marathon of a season. Yes, it’s only one game. But yesterday’s 4-1 Opening Day over the defending AL West Champions Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim?) win felt different, and it’s already creating a buzz among Seattle Mariners fans. Aside from a first inning Mike Trout home run, the game felt easy and fluid. Everyone did their job and it showed in the box score.

A revamped Mariners offense piled up 10 hits, led by Seth Smith‘s three extra-base hits (a club record for an Opening Day game) and two RBIs. Smith was one of the quieter acquisitions of this past offseason, but he played a vital role in the M’s first win of the season. For those who are unfamiliar with him, Smith is what one might call a “professional hitter,” which basically means that he’s someone who will put in good at-bats and work a pitcher’s pitch count. This kind of batter is incredibly valuable in the second spot in the order because it allows the middle of the order to see the opposing pitcher’s repertoire before they bat. Having Smith in this lineup will provide consistency and veteran at-bats and is definitely something to keep an eye on going forward.

Possibly the most encouraging thing I noticed yesterday was the fact that the Mariners produced this kind of offense without much from the middle of their order. Robinson Cano lined an RBI single up the middle to give Seattle a 2-1 lead in the third inning, but Cano, Nelson Cruz, and Kyle Seager combined to for a 1-12 day. Just think about how much potential there is if these three All-Stars begin to manufacture runs. That is something this club hasn’t had in YEARS.

One thing that felt similar is Felix Hernandez, who had another stellar Opening Day outing. The King tossed seven frames of two-hit baseball, one of which was Trout’s first inning homer, and striked out 10 Angels batters. While it’s unfair that we take Felix for granted, this kind of performance seems to go under the radar often because he does it so regularly. He basically made one bad pitch and then completely baffled a lineup that led the MLB in runs (773) in 2014. Hernandez improved to 6-0 with a 1.50 ERA in 8 Opening Day starts. The best part? Felix got run support! YAY!

Oh yeah, and young reliever Carson Smith came into the game in a two-on, two-out jam and struck out Trout, arguably the best hitter in baseball. This guy has NASTY stuff and he is virtually unhittable against right-handers when he’s on his game.

Ahhhhh. Baseball is back, my friends. And it feels so good. Don’t get me wrong, this season isn’t going to be perfect and there’s going to be bumps in the road. But there’s something about this team that is special and I can’t wait to see what they do this year.

So far, so good.