I’ve been a Mariner’s fan for quite a few years now. I think it all started when I was about ten years old or so. Ken Griffey Jr. was just getting going and there was an awesome team along with him. Jay Buhner, Tino and Edgar Martinez, Randy Johnson and the list went on. That was the team that sucked me in.
Living in Utah makes it a little hard to be a diehard, all out fan since there is no television coverage, but I like to think of myself as a dedicated one. I’ve watched their mediocrity rise and fall over the years. With that, I have one question that I could use some help answering… Why do the Mariners suck this year? At 21 and 39, and opening a series with Boston today, they’re a long, long ways away from that team that was in the wildcard race deep in the season last year.
My uneducated guess points to the biggest change on the team. I think the midseason resignation of manager Mike Hargrove has to play some part in it. Not that the new guy, McLaren, isn’t capable, but maybe he just isn’t there yet. I hate to point at management when there is a whole team of guys out on the field that are actually making the plays, but some of the blame has to fall there. Again, I’m just speculating. At the end of last year I was hoping just locking up Ichiro would help out, but even he is having what could be seen as a lack luster performance this year. 17 million a year should get you something right? There is also the year after year disappointment of Richie Sexson. I don’t think they have ever gotten out of him what they expected as a team. Here is an article asking for his sacrifice to the baseball gods.
Whatever the problem may be, they are still no good this year. It makes it hard to want to follow when they have gone from battling it out with the Yankees for a wildcard spot to scraping the bottom of the barrel at the worst record in the league. I guess I’ll have to start hanging out with Cub’s fans and get a t-shirt that says, “There’s always next year”.
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