Seattle Mariners Are Poor Encore for Seattle Seahawks
By Todd Pheifer
Feb 5, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and quarterbacks coach Carl Smith at Super Bowl XLVIII victory parade on 4th Avenue. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
If you love Seattle sports, you have to be pretty happy right now. After all, longtime Seattle Seahawks fans were finally rewarded with a Super Bowl victory. A Lombardi Trophy in the Emerald City has been a long time in coming.
And now…it is time for baseball! Who is excited?
If I had a cricket sound, I would insert it here.
Alright, perhaps it isn’t that bad. After all, the Seattle Mariners did sign Robinson Cano in the offseason. The M’s still have Felix Hernandez. Isn’t that something to be excited about?
Remember the old Sesame Street skit of “which of these things in not like the other?”
Ironically, this video has three kids playing baseball, and as the singer suggests, one kid is “doing his own thing.” When it comes to the Mariners and the Seahawks, perhaps the ratio should be reversed.
The Seahawks are currently the gold standard on how to build a successful franchise. The Mariners…are doing their own thing.
Now, it isn’t like Jack Zduriencik hasn’t tried. In theory, the Mariners have attempted to do what the Seahawks did. You get a bunch of young, inexpensive players like Dustin Ackley, Kyle Seager, Justin Smoak, Nick Franklin, Brad Miller and Mike Zunino. Then, they let them develop into a solid, contending core.
Unfortunately, there does not appear to be a Richard Sherman or Earl Thomas in the bunch. In addition, there is the challenge that baseball is a little more patient than football when it comes to player development. The Mariners have a group of players that have not reached their desired potential, but they are probably still going to be on the team in 2014.
So, will there be excitement for baseball in Seattle this year? There will be some. After all, “hope springs eternal” and anything is possible. Just don’t expect a World Series victory to follow a Super Bowl win this season.
One of these teams is not like the other.