Last night I asked my daughter to pick out stories for bedtime. She handed me a stapled-together booklet, complete with preschool artwork, entitled “The Baseball Bus”.
This original piece by my soon-to-be-famous young lass chronicles
our Seattle Mariners, as they board the team bus in the rain, journey to Safeco Field, beat an unnamed opponent, and win their
playoff game to advance to the World Series. Our clan is of
course in the stands cheering them on.
Perhaps the World Series is a bit fantasy on her part, but the
rest of it? Completely plausible at this point. (Well, more likely the team plane, but you get the idea). If the season ended today your Seattle Mariners would be in the playoffs, thanks to the second wild card slot.
Stop and let that sink in for a moment. Right now, TODAY, the 23rd of JULY, the Mariners have a playoff spot.
Wow.
The first half is done, and the Mariners have kept competitive, despite any number of challenges. Remember that, particularly with Michael Saunders’ latest injury, this team still doesn’t have much of an outfield outside James Jones (who, realistically, and as much as I love the guy, is probably a fourth outfielder on many teams). The starting rotation past Felix, Iwakuma and Young has been held together with chewing gum and duct tape. And we still really don’t have a full-time first baseman with a good offensive profile.
*Despite* all these things, the Mariners are holding on to a wild card spot. May I repeat, we’re in late July.
So the real question now: what help is on the way? Prior to September’s roster expansion, and the ability to bring up warm bodies from Tacoma, that is.
Rumours are flying about any number of players, from Starling Marte of the Pirates to David Price of the Rays, and the Mariner front office is notorious for keeping a tight lid on things. So I certainly can’t tell you what is likely to happen. But I will say this: for a franchise without a playoff appearance since 2001, and a fan base that is finally reconnecting with the team — not to mention one that may be witnessing the birth of a football dynasty over at CenturyLink Field — now is the time for the Ms to spend some money.
It’s going to be hard to find the right fit, and you don’t want to sacrifice too much of the minor league depth you’ve so painstakingly rebuilt since the Bavasi years, but this team might only need one right-handed bat to stay in the playoff hunt through the end of the season. And if the Mariners can get a wild card slot, then the sky’s the limit. Regardless of how things end up, even if you lose the second wild card play-in game [see bottom], just making the playoffs is a huge deal for this franchise.
It’s true, the schedule is not our friend in late August and September, with many games against the Athletics and Angels. If Seattle wants any chance at competing for a (frankly unlikely) pennant, or just wants to stay in the wild card race, it needs to make some improvements on the field. Otherwise the baseball bus is going to be stuck at the curb come October.
[The second wild card team gets a one-game playoff to see who advances to the first playoff round. This is because there are three divisions in each league and a fourth team gets the first wild card slot.]