Seattle Mariners Need a Nice, Long Hot Streak
By Todd Pheifer
Pretty obvious, right?
Every team could use a winning streak. Every team could benefit from sustained winning.
The Seattle Mariners are playing pretty good baseball this year. Offensive production is looking better overall, and somehow the rotation has survived a number of annoying injuries.
Unfortunately, “pretty good” isn’t going to get it done, particularly when you spend $240 million on Robinson Cano. This team needs to show that they are truly improving.
A winning streak can do that. Granted, one long winning streak does not a season make. However, there are pivotal moments in a long, 162-game season that have a major impact.
Look at the span from April 15-22. Eight games in eight nights. All losses.
Now, did that losing streak derail the playoff hopes of the Mariners? Not necessarily. Still, if the Mariners even split those games, they are 31-24 and remain in serious contention for the American League West title.
Obviously we can play these “what if” scenarios all day, and they don’t really mean anything in the grand scheme of things because we have to live with what actually happened. What does remain is a need for sustained winning.
Right now this team wins a couple, loses a couple. One win, two losses. Two wins, one loss. This is not going to get it done.
Sure, the Mariners had a nice five-game winning streak from May 3-7, but they followed it up with a four-game losing streak from May 13-17. One step forward, one step back. The result? A .500 ballclub.
Maybe that is what the Mariners are this season, but it just feels like this team may actually have the talent to be just a little bit more. Winning the division may be tough against the magical Oakland A’s and the talented offense of the Los Angeles Angels. The Wild Card, on the other hand, is very possible.
We need a win streak, Mariners. Would 10-12 games be too much to ask? Probably. One can always hope.