Mediocre M's

It was going to happen at some point this season, but did it need to happen so soon? The Seattle Mariners have come back to reality very quickly. As I write this the Mariners have lost five in a row and are down 9-5 to the Minnesota Twins. A loss will push the M's below .500, a sight seen all too often in 2008.

This season is supposed to be a rebuilding season, so the losses aren't unexpected. It's just that the Mariners managed to foster some false hope in their particularly optimistic fans, like myself, with their hot start to the 2009 season.

Yes, I understood that the Mariners were probably not as good as their record indicated. I knew Seattle was getting lucky and that Endy Chavez couldn't keep hitting. (He hasn't. He's stuck in a terrible slump.) Defense and run prevention is great, but it only takes you so far. At some point the offense has to score runs too. Going into Saturday's games the Mariners ranked last in the American League with 120 runs scored. They had allowed 137 runs. 

Those run totals project to a final pythagorean winning percentage of .434. That winning percentage is approximately equivalent to a 70-92 record. 

Unfortunately, that's the problem for the Mariners. The offense has been dreadful. Now that the bullpen is suffering from injuries and the starting staff is crashing back to earth, the offense isn't doing its part. 

70 wins, even after losing more than 100 games last season, would be a dissapointment. This team can play better. Eventually Adrian Beltre is going to find his swing. One bright spot in the small bit I watched of Saturday's game? Beltre hit a double and a single. Ichiro! is amazing at the top of the lineup. 

Still, the Mariners got my hopes up with their miraculous start. The baseball season is long. I'm certainly not giving up yet. I was just hoping for more.