Mariners Now Face the Rangers in Texas

After a horrible series in Boston where the Mariners finally won a game on Sunday they now go to Arlington, Texas to face the Ranger. It would really be nice if the Mariners could win two out of three in Arlington however the signs don’t look good because of the pitching.

A big problem the Mariners have had is when the pitching has been good the hitting has not been and vice versa. It is an ongoing theme all season. Actually it has been going on for several seasons except maybe last season.

We all know going into Sunday’s game the Mariners gave up an unbelievable thirty-seven runs in two games in Boston. On Sunday things did look a little brighter because the Mariners got ahead of the Red Sox 7-0 before the pitching fell apart and the Sox tied the score in the bottom of the ninth. The signs did not look good until the Mariners scored two runs in the top of the twelfth inning and Danny Farquhar was able to end the game at the bottom of the twelfth.

When it comes to the pitching there are no signs that Mariners pitching will get any better soon. I am sure Iwakuma will be steady, and I Felix will rebound as well, however, Mike Montgomery and TaiJuan Walker will be needing to have their innings shorten. Montgomery has struggled for almost two months after having some two excellent outings where he shutout the opposition. Nuno has been doing some starting as well so he will need to continue in that capacity. I am sure with the actions of three-fifths of the starting until when they expand rosters in September the Mariners will likely go to a six man roster to keep the current starters innings down. Since the Mariners are basically out of the running for any place in the playoffs it is a very good idea.

The Mariners will need to expand the bullpen in September too. Carson Smith innings will need to be cut down as well. If Smith continues in the closer role next season my thought is that he needs to add another pitch to his fastball and slider. He is really good against right handed hitters but lacks against left handed hitters. He will need to improve the slider against lefties or get another pitch to be effective against them. I would say going into next season the Mariners would be best to find a new closer and put Carson Smith back in the setup role. Some day he will be the closer but he is young enough for the Mariners to wait on it. The key who is out there that the Mariners can pick up as the closer; we know that Fernando Rodney will not be back next season unless he takes a big pay cut and is willing to be a setup man. When it comes to the rest of the bullpen we can flip a coin to see who will be there. All we know for sure is the Mariners will need to revamp the bullpen.  

This season has to be the most disappointing ever in the history of the Mariners when expectations were so high. Whether in Seattle or elsewhere everyone figured the Mariners were going to be in the playoffs at the very least. Now we will have to see whether Jack Z and Lloyd McClendon will be returning next season. It is hard to know how higher management think at this point. All we know now is we will hear the rest of the story later. Personally I am not sure what way the Mariners should go. If they do make a change in either general manager or manager they will need to go after someone who has had good experience especially if it is Jack Z is replaced. In my opinion the Mariners do not have to start from scratch they have a good nucleus just need to add some additional parts and play more like a team. When we get closer to a month from now we will have more of an idea than now what the Mariners will do. We can’t say though if the Mariners play at a higher level over the next month that things can’t be changed but that idea would be wrong changes will need to happen this would be true even if the Mariners were going to the playoffs.

Playing manager or general manager we all have ideas what the Mariners should do in those changes. Even if we each have different ideas I am sure the basic changes we will agree. I will bring my ideas in a month. So as fans lets Go Mariners!