Say Goodbye to the 2015 Seattle Mariners

Aug 19, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Joe Beimel (97) leaves the game after giving up three home runs in the seventh inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Texas won 7-2. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

This is a true story. The other day I put my smartphone in my pocket and unbeknownst to me it was still on. Some of you have had this experience. Your phone ends up getting bumped and it dials the last person you called. This can obviously be annoying as the recipient is shouting “HELLO?!?” into a phone that is obviously not going to be answered. My phone did not call anyone, but somehow it did take several photos inside my pocket and then post one of them to Instagram. How it did this, I am not sure.

To make a long story longer, my phone ended up posting a black square to Instagram given that the light inside my pocket was insufficient for taking quality photographs. I only discovered this because someone texted me and asked whether I had indeed posted the black square on purpose. I opened up the app, only to discover that I already had a bevy of “Likes” and several comments, some more snarky than others.

Finally…we get to the punchline and why I chose to share this story. A former student of mine had left a comment that said, “Is this an artistic expression of the Mariners season?”

Hilarious. As you might imagine, he is not a Mariners fan. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much in terms of a comeback. The season has hardly been a rainbow of joy and happiness.

Hope is a wonderful aspect of being human, but when applied to sports late in a dismal season, it can actually be kind of annoying.

Statistically, the Mariners still have a chance to make the playoffs. Granted, it is an underwhelming 1.6% chance. In other words, it might as well be zero.

The Mariners as an organization are not built to win.

If the Mariners were to defy all laws of current basebal logic and rip off 10 wins in a row, we might be able to have a different conversation. I cannot definitively declare that such a streak won’t happen, but…

Sadly, we must face a basic truth. The 2015 Seattle Mariners season is essentially over with 41 games to go. Those of you who are more rational (or cynical) probably came to this conclusion long ago.

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At this points, wins are going to be bittersweet as we lament their timing and wish that there could have been more victories in April. This might also be a time to get excited about talent for next year, but the franchise leadership has not proven that they can develop and retain quality players. Given that Jack Zduriencik is still at the helm, it is hard to be optimistic. The Mariners as an organization are not built to win. They are merely a division of a disinterested parent corporation that does not seem to have any plan to actually develop a winning franchise. A motivated owner would be nice, but no one appears to be interested in buying at the moment.

The baseball season is incredibly long so it can be hard to let go, particularly if the future is uncertain. But, that is the reality of being a loyal fan.

Time for some football. At least the Seahawks should provide us with a bit more joy.