Winless In Seattle
Steve Sauro
Elliott Smith2010 Seattle Mariners: Worst Seattle Team Ever?
July 28th 2010 15:59
Well, they've done it. I tried. I really tried. I kept trying to convince myself to not write - or even think - these words, but they've forced my hand. The 2010 Seattle Mariners are, in my opinion, the worst Seattle team ever. Yes, ever.
Apparently, I'm not alone. In fact, Larry Stone has the exact same outlook - as he writes in his blog, The Hot Stone League. Not only does Larry Stone have the same outlook - but 65% of over 1,750 voters feel the same way according to a poll he has up on his blog.
Why are they so bad? Well, stats don't lie - and in this team's case, they can't even be skewed in a favorable direction (trust me, I've tried). In fact, these stats I'm about to share with you are so bad - I recommend just skipping over this little section, or drinking heavily before proceeding...
Runs scored - 331. Dead last, 17 behind the Pirates...
Hits - 789. Dead last, 10 behind the Pirates...
Home Runs - 62. Dead last, 4 behind the A's...
RBI's - 314. Dead last, 21 behind the Pirates...
Total Bases - 1138. Dead last, 37 behind the Astros...
Slugging Percentage - .338. Dead last, 14 points behind the Astros.
Batting Average - .235. Dead last, 4 points behind the Astros.
Extra Base Hits - 215. Dead last, 15 behind the Astros.
On Base Percentage - .303. Not dead last, but only 5 points higher than the Astros, who are dead last!
Well, you've reached this far in my post - so you are either still in a relatively good mood, or you're drunk - so you might as well continue on. Look, I get it - Jack Z wanted to build the team around pitching and defense. But, really? Those offensive stats are putrid. Beyond that. Worse than that. I don't even think there is a word to describe it. Maybe "Seattle Mariner bad"? Just a quick recap - in case you did skip over it - the Mariners are DEAD LAST IN JUST ABOUT EVERY MAJOR OFFENSIVE STAT CATEGORY.
Too bad stats and performance aren't the only things that make this club the worst team ever. I think it has a lot to do with the lofty expectations this team had in the Spring. On paper they had gotten better. They made the right moves. They said the right things. Hell, they were even doing good for the first time that I can remember in Spring ball. Well, so much for that. Not to mention the surprising little decent season they strung together in 2009 - you could only see improvement.... right?
Wrong. An 11-0 loss last night wrong. I think a lot of parallels to the season thus far can be drawn from last night's "performance" (if you can call it that without cracking a smile - you should be looking into an acting career).
First, Wakamatsu further proves to me that he couldn't manage a "classic" team in a video game. Why is Ryan Rowland-Smith still getting the ball - much less getting the ball to start a game? It's not even funny anymore. The guy just doesn't give them a chance - he doesn't even give himself a chance. At this point I really think they are hurting his future - forget rotation (on any club) next year, this guy might not even make a roster. Not to mention - we've seen this act before - he's not in a funk. It's not his mechanics (though, him trying to mimic Cliff Lee and speed up his game is laughable). He's not hurt. He's just bad - beer-league softball pitcher bad. He simply needs to be done on the hill - starter or bullpen. Jack Z/Wakamatsu - I'm begging you... move him aside and let's see what else we have (Seddon, Pineda, even French) - because you sure know what you get when you put The Hyphen on the mound. Well, I guess he did tie a team record for most earned runs in a game, so there's that...
Second, it's not the fact that we went 0-fer with RISP last night - it's that it was an 0-3. Three. 3. Oh. For. Three. I won't even get into the fact the all seven (!) of the scattered hits were singles. Or that Smoak added yet another strikeout (his 79th total, 22nd in his 55 Mariner at bats) while going 0-4, to lower his season batting average to .200 (.164 as a Mariner). It was a classic display of 2010 Mariner baseball! Again, I get it - Wakamatsu doesn't go up to the plate and swing the bat. I understand that about 6 guys are having career low years across the board. It's tough to manage that. But here's the thing - if you know anything about baseball, you know consistency plays a huge role. How many different lineups has Wak thrown out there this year? No consistency. Period. Case and point: Saunders "error" in CF in the first inning. He's not comfortable there - he's not consistent, he makes a bad play. As a manager, you need to lessen the chances of things like that happening (yes, I know Franklin Gutierrez was a late scratch). Hey, while we're at it, let's move Ichiro to 3rd in the lineup... Because taking a 170 lbs. slap singles hitter and batting him in a power/RBI spot sounds like a great idea... Am I right?
On the bright side - Brian Sweeney looked sharp in his three inning "relief" appearance - only allowing one hit. Maybe it was just because the White Sox were pretty tired from running around the bases so much in the previous five innings. Or maybe it was the fact that he has the talent of a major league level pitcher - unlike his counterpart does at this point.
To wrap up - I'm frustrated. I'm willing to bet I'm not alone. When the season started I placed a $100 bet with a good friend of mine on the Mariners winning a division title before the Seahawks do... Honestly, I'm almost ready to just pay it. This team is nowhere near being ready to contend - even in the next 3 years. Mariners baseball!
11:39 am Breaking News Update: As if old Jack Z and Wak were reading this very article and taking notes - the Mariners have placed Ryan Rowland-Smith on the DL with a strained lower back (read: whiplash from watching all the balls fly out of US Cellular Field last night) and have called up Luke French.
Apparently, I'm not alone. In fact, Larry Stone has the exact same outlook - as he writes in his blog, The Hot Stone League. Not only does Larry Stone have the same outlook - but 65% of over 1,750 voters feel the same way according to a poll he has up on his blog.
Why are they so bad? Well, stats don't lie - and in this team's case, they can't even be skewed in a favorable direction (trust me, I've tried). In fact, these stats I'm about to share with you are so bad - I recommend just skipping over this little section, or drinking heavily before proceeding...
Runs scored - 331. Dead last, 17 behind the Pirates...
Hits - 789. Dead last, 10 behind the Pirates...
Home Runs - 62. Dead last, 4 behind the A's...
RBI's - 314. Dead last, 21 behind the Pirates...
Total Bases - 1138. Dead last, 37 behind the Astros...
Slugging Percentage - .338. Dead last, 14 points behind the Astros.
Batting Average - .235. Dead last, 4 points behind the Astros.
Extra Base Hits - 215. Dead last, 15 behind the Astros.
On Base Percentage - .303. Not dead last, but only 5 points higher than the Astros, who are dead last!
Well, you've reached this far in my post - so you are either still in a relatively good mood, or you're drunk - so you might as well continue on. Look, I get it - Jack Z wanted to build the team around pitching and defense. But, really? Those offensive stats are putrid. Beyond that. Worse than that. I don't even think there is a word to describe it. Maybe "Seattle Mariner bad"? Just a quick recap - in case you did skip over it - the Mariners are DEAD LAST IN JUST ABOUT EVERY MAJOR OFFENSIVE STAT CATEGORY.
Too bad stats and performance aren't the only things that make this club the worst team ever. I think it has a lot to do with the lofty expectations this team had in the Spring. On paper they had gotten better. They made the right moves. They said the right things. Hell, they were even doing good for the first time that I can remember in Spring ball. Well, so much for that. Not to mention the surprising little decent season they strung together in 2009 - you could only see improvement.... right?
Wrong. An 11-0 loss last night wrong. I think a lot of parallels to the season thus far can be drawn from last night's "performance" (if you can call it that without cracking a smile - you should be looking into an acting career).
First, Wakamatsu further proves to me that he couldn't manage a "classic" team in a video game. Why is Ryan Rowland-Smith still getting the ball - much less getting the ball to start a game? It's not even funny anymore. The guy just doesn't give them a chance - he doesn't even give himself a chance. At this point I really think they are hurting his future - forget rotation (on any club) next year, this guy might not even make a roster. Not to mention - we've seen this act before - he's not in a funk. It's not his mechanics (though, him trying to mimic Cliff Lee and speed up his game is laughable). He's not hurt. He's just bad - beer-league softball pitcher bad. He simply needs to be done on the hill - starter or bullpen. Jack Z/Wakamatsu - I'm begging you... move him aside and let's see what else we have (Seddon, Pineda, even French) - because you sure know what you get when you put The Hyphen on the mound. Well, I guess he did tie a team record for most earned runs in a game, so there's that...
Second, it's not the fact that we went 0-fer with RISP last night - it's that it was an 0-3. Three. 3. Oh. For. Three. I won't even get into the fact the all seven (!) of the scattered hits were singles. Or that Smoak added yet another strikeout (his 79th total, 22nd in his 55 Mariner at bats) while going 0-4, to lower his season batting average to .200 (.164 as a Mariner). It was a classic display of 2010 Mariner baseball! Again, I get it - Wakamatsu doesn't go up to the plate and swing the bat. I understand that about 6 guys are having career low years across the board. It's tough to manage that. But here's the thing - if you know anything about baseball, you know consistency plays a huge role. How many different lineups has Wak thrown out there this year? No consistency. Period. Case and point: Saunders "error" in CF in the first inning. He's not comfortable there - he's not consistent, he makes a bad play. As a manager, you need to lessen the chances of things like that happening (yes, I know Franklin Gutierrez was a late scratch). Hey, while we're at it, let's move Ichiro to 3rd in the lineup... Because taking a 170 lbs. slap singles hitter and batting him in a power/RBI spot sounds like a great idea... Am I right?
On the bright side - Brian Sweeney looked sharp in his three inning "relief" appearance - only allowing one hit. Maybe it was just because the White Sox were pretty tired from running around the bases so much in the previous five innings. Or maybe it was the fact that he has the talent of a major league level pitcher - unlike his counterpart does at this point.
To wrap up - I'm frustrated. I'm willing to bet I'm not alone. When the season started I placed a $100 bet with a good friend of mine on the Mariners winning a division title before the Seahawks do... Honestly, I'm almost ready to just pay it. This team is nowhere near being ready to contend - even in the next 3 years. Mariners baseball!
11:39 am Breaking News Update: As if old Jack Z and Wak were reading this very article and taking notes - the Mariners have placed Ryan Rowland-Smith on the DL with a strained lower back (read: whiplash from watching all the balls fly out of US Cellular Field last night) and have called up Luke French.
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