Seattle Mariners mid season review

Finally we come to teh Seattle Mariners and the final American League team for our mid season review. They sit 19.5 games out of the lead in the American League West with a 37-59 record. It seems teh Ken Griffey Jr. situation may have been a bigger distraction than many felts since this team went 8-19 in the month of May as Griffey pondered his future with this team. They did go 9-9 in interleague play, but so far in July this team has gone 4-15 and that indicates that something else is wrong. It could be that co-ace Cliff Lee’s heart does not lay in Seattle or on this team, or it could be that they just are not that good.

The problem here is offense. This team has scored just 320 runs, and the team batting average is way low at .235 easily the worst team average among the 14 American League teams. This team has collected 755 hits and they can be broken down like this; 136 doubles, 9 triples, and 61 home runs. All of those numbers have them ranked as the third or worst AL team. Beyond Ichiro Suzuki the highest batting average among the regular 9 starters is SS Josh Wilson at .264.

It is kind of hard to argue that pitching is the problem on this team when the starting rotation features Felix Hernandez and Lee. This staff has given up 415 runs, and their collective ERA is 3.94, which is the fourth best AL staff ERA. They have given up 851 hits, 90 of which were home runs. They have managed to strike out 602 batters, and have issued 262 walks.

This is a team rebuilding, and the initial process has not gone very well. They made big plays for Lee and 3B Chone Figgins in the off season, but chemistry issues and back of the rotation issues have stymied any on the field progress. They should be better once they trade Lee away, and unify their locker room.

Related Links:

•Seattle Mariners news and notes
•The Business of Major League Baseball
•MTR Baseball.com