Who’s tired? Not the starters

The fatigue factor is a convenient, and valid, excuse for the Mariners’ malaise in their five straight losses. The position players are worn down from the nonstop schedule, and wWhatever the next level beyond complete fatigue might be, that defines the bullpen.

So, even though the Mariners come home 7 ½ games out of first place, there’s no reason to worry?

There’s a big reason to worry, and it’s called starting pitching.

Of all the players on this team who can use the fatigue factor as an excuse, the starters aren’t among them. They’ve all gotten their regular rest and pitched every fifth day.

In return, they’ve done little to ease the burden of the day-by-day-by-day schedule that has worn down this team. They haven’t gone deep into games, they’ve allowed opponents to take early leads and forced their teammates into the difficult position of coming from behind and then shutting down opposing hitters. The bullpen hit a wall in the last series at Houston.

A team can’t withstand that kind of pressure.

The Mariners went into the season with starting pitching as the make-or-break aspect of the team. So far, they’ve done little to show that anything has changed.

Unless the starters start pitching better and working deeper into games, even regular days off won’t make a difference.