The Mariners All-Star Break Report Card

Coming into the All-Star break the Mariners are a disappointment having a record 41-48. Everyone expected to compete and have a winning record at this point. I know I expected to see a record more like 48-41 coming into the break.

The report card for the Mariners as a team at this point would have to be a D. We can only hope the report card will improve the rest of the season. Next I will do a breakdown of each player on the Mariners by position.

I first start out at catcher since it is listed first by number. I would give Mike Zunino a C-. I am somewhat be generous; I would give him an A for his defense being one of the best in the major leagues but an F for his hitting. Anyone who is batting around .160 deserves a failing grade. There is hope after the break because of his work with Edgar Martinez. The backup catcher most of the season has been Jesus Sucre. I would give a D. I am probably generous here but he is hitting less than Zunino and doing OK behind the plate. Of  course, it is hard to do anything when you are playing once a week. I know there are those who think Zunino should be sent down to Triple-A work on his hitting but do you replace him with Sucre. No one else adequate in Triple-A so the only idea would be to go out and trade for a catcher. I would say most likely not going to happen this year for the Mariners unless included in a multi-player trade.

The next position is first base. I would give Logan Morrison a C. In most every way he has been average. His defense has been above average but I leave the grade where it is at. He has played almost every day. In the second half of the season he could be having more time off allowing Mark Trumbo to play first base depending whether his play goes up and who may play outfield against lefties.

Second base is played by Robinson Cano. I would have to give him a D at this point. We expect more from a superstar. His hitting and defense have both been below par for a player of his stature. If the Mariners can make any move up in the standings and still make the playoffs Cano must have an A for second half. He does look recently like he is breaking out of the season slump.

Next on the list is Kyle Seager at third base. I would give him a C+ or maybe a B-. In most part his defense has been another high caliber season so far. His hitting has been good and sometimes outstanding but for the Mariners to recover the second half he has to do better along with Cano and help out Cruz. On a better team he would have a solid B.

Shortstop has been position that has had some change throughout the season. I would give an overall grade of C-. Brad Miller has been pretty solid since returning to being the starting shortstop after the Mariners gave the position to Christ Taylor for about a month and made Miller the super sub. Now with Taylor back on the team after spending some time back down in Triple- A I still see Miller the starting shortstop. Depending on the left handed pitcher Chris Taylor will likely be in the lineup. This last weekend before the break Miller did start two games against left handers who started for the Angels. How much Taylor plays does depend on how Miller plays on defense. In the long run it looks like Miller could move to the outfield or be that super sub. Whether Taylor can hit enough to be the regular shortstop we don’t know at this time. It is possible the Mariners could go out and get an experience shortstop.

Next is left field. I find a position the Mariners should upgrade at. It may not happen this year but must going forward to next season. It is one position have had little success at over the years. Seth Smith has played good out in left field, however, the Mariners expected him to play more right field. Dustin Ackley had a down first half like he usually does though he is hitting better going into the break. It is not worth the mention the right handed hitters spent some time in left field. Most likely Ackley will spend a lot of the second half being a defensive replacement unless he is traded within two weeks. So I would give the position a D. The only reason not lower is the play of Seth Smith.

Austin Jackson playing center field I would give a C+. He has played solid centerfield and has done better after coming off the disabled list. Like Seager he would have a better grade on a better team. His main downfall is as a leadoff hitter.  His on-base percentage is lower than expected for being a leadoff hitter; however, Jackson has done well batting second or lower in the batting order. The big question will he be back next season or be traded stay tuned. Right now Ackley is his backup unless Ruggiano returns sometime in the second half.

Right field is an interesting story because Nelson Cruz has played the position more than designated hitter. I believe he may DH more in the second half. Cruz has been as much or more than we expected. He made the all-star team so he gets an A just like Felix Hernandez. Mark Trumbo looks like he is starting to come out of his slump since coming to the Mariners from Arizona. The rest of the way he likely spend time in left, right, first base, and DH. For the first half I would give him an incomplete since he was not here the whole first half. I am hoping that the second half he will come up with a B. If so this will help the Mariners recover and have a winning record.

The bench I would give a D-. I am being kind. The only reason not a F is the hitting of Seth Smith when he pinch hits. We can hope that Franklin Gutierrez and Chris Taylor will improve the bench the second half. I know it will because they both will play good defense, and hit at least OK.

Manager Lloyd McClendon I have to give a D just like the grade for the team. We all know it is not all his fault; however, he is the one who decides who plays. Of course Jackie Z holds the same grade for the same reason. The major flaw I have seen in his managing this season is platooning too much along with the pinch hitting. We can only hope both happen less in the second half.  I would still like seeing Frankie playing in left field against left handers and Chris Taylor at short against some lefties as well. Outside of Seth Smith when he is on the bench Lloyd should stop pinch hitting in most cases. It has not worked except with Smith. Depending on the situation Frankie could pinch hit as well. Both of them being veteran hitters will really help the second half.

Now onto the pitching; to be honest I almost forgot to mention the pitching. The starting pitching I would give a solid B. Like I mentioned earlier King Felix gets an A. The rest of the starters have been good though they each have struggled at times. The relief pitching I would give a D. I am probably being generous here. Charlie Furbush, Mark Lowe, and Carson Smith have all been good. The rest of the bullpen has been done a very bad job with occasional success. They have blown a number of games as much as the hitting has not produced runs.

I suppose I could go on and on; however, I think this a good report card. We can only hope the second half will be great improved or we will see a lot of changes over the off-season. If the Mariner stays on the course they are on so far we could see changes at GM and manager. Anyway Go Mariners!