Remember last year, when the Mariners went on an 11-game road trip in August, one that was crucial to their playoff aspirations?
They went 0-11, if you recall, and it was another September of garbage time.
Does it feel a little like that now?
Going into Monday night’s game against the Texas Rangers, the Mariners were on a six-game losing streak, having been swept in two straight series. Those paid to hit aren’t. Those paid to pitch can’t get anybody out. The ace of the pitching staff, Felix Hernandez, will miss at least two starts with a sore elbow.
The M’s are in no better shape – reasonable people could argue that they’re much worse – with offseason starting-pitching acquisitions Miguel Batista, Jeff Weaver and Horacio Ramirez than they were with Gil Meche, Joel Pineiro and (fill in the blank for the fifth starter).
Of the three, Weaver’s lack of production is the most destructive. General manager Bill Bavasi signed Weaver to a one-year, $8.35 million contract. He is 0-3 with a 13.91 earned run average. Manager Mike Hargrove pulled him Sunday after giving up three runs in three innings of work against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, because he saw nothing that led him to believe Weaver would come around.
Monday’s story in The Herald quoted Jarrod Washburn as saying that, when he played for the Angels in 2002, the team went 6-14 through April, righted the ship and later won the World Series. April is too early to project the season to be a disaster, he said.
Maybe. But do you see anything in the Mariners that reminds you of the 2002 Angels? Even in the perennially weak American League West, the M’s look the part of the team circling the drain.
The team is listless. Lifeless. It’s unraveling. If the suits didn’t contemplate a managerial change after 0-11, they have to now.
The home attendance doesn’t hover around 20,000 solely because the temperatures hover in the 40s. M’s fans have seen this before. They’ve heard the annual trumpeting that this is the year the team breaks through and contends for a division title.
They heard it three times in the past three seasons about what would prove to be last-place AL West teams. They’re not fooled.
It’s April and already we’re seeing signs of desperation. Pulling Weaver was one. Hargrove hates to bench starters and tinker with the lineup, but the startling lack of production among almost everyone is leading him to talk about changes.
Will he sit Richie Sexson, who is hitting .170 and has struck out 14 times in 47 at-bats going into Tuesday? Does he bench Jose Guillen, who’s also threatening the Mendoza line?
The prospect of looking into the minors isn’t a pleasant thought, either. Who can Hargrove bring up? Adam Jones? Jeremy Reed?
What can Hargrove possibly do about the starting pitching? Take out Hernandez, and Washburn has been the staff’s ace, and he’s 0-2 with a 4.42 ERA.
Again, the Tacoma connection seems bleak. The M’s already have called up Cha Seung Baek to fill in for Hernandez. Who follows? Jorge Campillo? Ryan Feierabend? Justin Lehr?
Hargrove can pull only so many strings. The organization has only so much talent.
Hargrove was able to keep his job after the 11-game losing streak largely because the team finished the season on a 14-14 “tear.”
Today, 14-14 seems far beyond this team.
And that bodes well for neither Hargrove nor Bavasi.
Sports columnist John Sleeper: sleeper@heraldnet.com
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