SEATTLE — On a Sunday afternoon last September, the Seattle Mariners were finally eliminated from playoff contention 161 games and four-plus innings into their season.
After an Oakland victory went final, officially eliminating the Mariners, a nearly sold-out Safeco Field crowd stood and gave a lengthy ovation in the middle of a Kendrys Morales at-bat, applauding a season that had fallen just short of what would have been Seattle’s first postseason berth since 2001.
Those fans were mostly showing their appreciation for what had been the most exciting season of Mariners baseball in over a decade, but that impromptu celebration also had something to do with a future that kicked off Friday in Peoria when pitchers and catchers reported. As disappointing as the ending to last season was, the year as a whole, which saw the Mariners improve from 71 wins the year before to 87 in 2014, was enough to inspire optimism for the future.
That promising season, as well as a few offseason moves, most notably the signing of designated hitter/outfielder Nelson Cruz, didn’t just create hope for 2015, it means there are real expectations on the Mariners this season. In Las Vegas sports books, the Mariners are listed among the favorites to win the American League along with the Angels and Red Sox. Every day another national story seems to emerge calling the Mariners legitimate contenders.
The Mariners have question marks, to be sure, but they also come into this season with the most formidable middle of the lineup — Robinson Cano, Cruz and Kyle Seager — that they’ve had since their playoff days in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The rotation, led by Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma, should again be one of the best in the league, and while the bullpen may not live up to last year’s standard, it should be strong again.
It’s all enough to make you think that this year’s regular-season finale won’t be a day for feel-good, but ultimately meaningless celebration of a team that fell just short, but rather a day to look ahead to an upcoming playoff series.
But while fans and media can get caught up in the expectations and hype surrounding the 2015 Mariners, they must avoid thinking about how good they might be and focus on the long journey that starts in spring training. After all, the 2008 and 2010 Mariners also had a lot of expectations placed on them following surprising winning seasons the year before, and both of those teams, despite some seemingly big offseason additions, went 61-101 when they were expected to contend.
“I don’t get caught up in expectations,” Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said. “I think that’s a word for the media. I’m more concerned with the preparation and how we go about our business in spring training, so I’ll let you guys decide all that stuff. That means absolutely nothing to me.
“If we get concerned about expectations, we’re not focused. Our concern should be preparation and making sure we get ready for the start of the season and get ready for the journey. The expectations, it’s a nice conversation piece for the media, but I don’t really concern myself with that.”
While its easy to look at the 2008 and 2010 flops and wonder if we’re all just being set up for another season of disappointment, there are plenty of reasons to believe this team won’t suffer the same fate. The rotation is deep, the bullpen is strong again, and while the lineup has potential flaws, it is as balanced as it has been in a long, long time and features three legitimate All-Star bats in the middle.
We still don’t know who will play shortstop this season, or if Austin Jackson can bounce back after a rough finish to the season following the trade from Detroit. We still don’t know if Dustin Ackley can finally put a full season together, or if Logan Morrison can stay healthy and build off of the finish to last season. We still don’t know if a right field platoon of Justin Ruggiano and Seth Smith can be productive, or if a slimmed-down Jesus Montero can really help the team a year after it looked like his career was flaming out.
But every team has its flaws heading into a given season, and few in baseball, as crazy as it sounds after so many seasons of losing, look better on paper than the Mariners.
“All in all I think it’s been a really good winter, the organization is excited, I think we’re in a really good spot right now,” general manager Jack Zduriencik said, who like his manager wouldn’t get caught up in talking about expectations for this season. “… You have to execute, you have to prepare, you have to be ready for the next step, and that’s the expectation. We think our club’s a good club. We think we have a chance to be really competitive. There are some nice pieces here, there are young kids growing up, there are veteran players who have joined in, there are guys who had really good years last year. So on paper, hey, this has a chance to be a lot of fun, but you’ve got to execute, you’ve got to perform and you’ve got to stay healthy, then let the pieces fall where they may.”
Nothing is given for the Mariners or any team in 2015, but this year more than ever, it feels like the annual optimism that comes with the start of spring training isn’t just optimism for optimism’s sake, but rather optimism because these Mariners look like a team ready to end a 14-year postseason drought.
Herald Columnist John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com
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