The 2016 Seattle Mariners (Official season edition)

[IndyHawk]

So has this team gotten a mental lift from the demotion of Cishek?

I think WE ALL have gotten a mental lift from that demotion.I hope I never see him in M's uniform again!

 

[Glasgow Seahawk]

Hoping the AL East teams all beat each other up to help us. Ultimately we just can't afford any slumps, need Felix to get some of his old form back and MUST start doing well against AL West opponents. Sweeping the Angels was a good start but we have them again, the A's, Rangers this month along with the Yankees who are a few games behind us and the White Sox. Then next month is mostly against AL West teams.

 

[Glasgow Seahawk]

Furbush out till 2018 after rotator cuff surgery. That sucks...if he even comes back from it.

 

[Sports Hernia]

Furbush out till 2018 after rotator cuff surgery. That sucks...if he even comes back from it.

Yeah, feel real bad for Charlie, seems like an awesome guy.

 

[sutz]

Finished the sweep of the Tigers. 6 in a row, 2 consecutive sweeps. They're building up our hopes again.

 

[Sports Hernia]

Finished the sweep of the Tigers. 6 in a row, 2 consecutive sweeps. They're building up our hopes again.

As someone on pain meds (1 extraction, 2 temp crowns, 2 other fillings) this was a great game to watch/float. 8)
It's great that it came against someone directly ahead in the WC standings.

 

[Glasgow Seahawk]

Glad to see some old Felix today and Diaz getting rested. Only team with a winning record we face before Texas is the yankees. Just keep wracking up the series wins.

 

[Hawkscanner]

Well, I'm going to withhold blaring on the bandwagon horn until at least the end of this month ... BUT the M's are looking awfully good at this moment in time after sweeping the Tigers tonight. 6 in a row and counting! The only team in MLB who have been hotter of late are the Cubs.

As of tonight, they find themselves just 1.5 games out of the Wild Card. You know, I'm beginning to think that the M's might actually be able to make a run at this thing. The biggest issue with this team early on in the season was the bullpen; however, JeDi (Jerry Depoto) has deftly swung his lightsaber of late ... scoring some huge hits in remaking that pen in short order on the fly. Guys like Edwin Diaz, Arquimedes Caminero, Nick Vincent, and even Tom Wilhelmsen have all been solid contributors of late ... with Diaz looking like a potential star. It's hard to believe that Vincent is the only member of that pen who was on the 25 man roster on opening day.

There is a LOT of baseball left to be played. A LOT can happen between now and the end of September ... but as of right now, this team is finally showing signs of life and I wouldn't be surprised whatsoever if the Mariners find themselves still playing baseball into October.

 

[kearly]

Felix simply didn't have his out-pitch working tonight, with two strikes the Tigers hitters were able to foul off his offerings at will. Felix ended with good numbers and somehow got 8 K's, I'm not sure how. The key thing for Felix was that he threw a ton of pitches and never once made a mistake pitch. Even when he got hit hard it was never hard enough to leave the yard.

The Mariners offense played better than the 3 runs in 8 innings would suggest. Verlander is still an ace, and they drove up his pitch count and regularly put him in minor jams. When Verlander finally left, the Mariners immediately got to his replacement for two runs.

Must have been a frustrating start for Felix. For starters, the Tigers hitters were REALLY annoying with the foul balls with two strikes. Compounding that, the Mariners run support came one inning too late to get Felix the win, and the 1 run the Tigers scored that cost Felix the win came from an 11 pitch walk that advanced to second on a stolen base that was originally ruled a caught stealing, who then advanced to 3rd on out and then finally scored with a clutch 2 out single.

The team won but I know Felix cares about getting that win stat and nobody in baseball seems to get screwed out of the win more than Felix has the past 10 years. Glad he kept his composure and was a warrior tonight under some trying circumstances.

 

[kearly]

The Mariners only need to go 12-8 rest of this month to enter September at a high water mark for games over .500. That should be manageable, since the Mariners play a very easy schedule the rest of the month and will be favored to win in every game other than the final series against Texas.

Thanks to this recent hot streak, the Mariners no longer need a miracle to make the playoffs. They only need to take care of business by winning most of the games they are supposed to win and then holding serve against the Astros and Rangers. Do those two things, and they have an excellent chance.

 

[Hawkscanner]

The Mariners only need to go 12-8 rest of this month to enter September at a high water mark for games over .500. That should be manageable, since the Mariners play a very easy schedule the rest of the month and will be favored to win in every game other than the final series against Texas.

Thanks to this recent hot streak, the Mariners no longer need a miracle to make the playoffs. They only need to take care of business by winning most of the games they are supposed to win and then holding serve against the Astros and Rangers. Do those two things, and they have an excellent chance.

I would definitely agree. If you look at how the schedule shapes up for the rest of the month, the M's are going to face only 2 teams with .500 or better records -- the Yankees and the Rangers.

Earlier in the season, the bullpen was this team's real Achilles Heel. Now that JeDi has basically totally remade that pen on the fly into a fairly functional unit, things are looking up. You know, if the M's DO make the playoffs (and I think there is a decent chance that they do) ... I really think that JeDi (Jerry Dipoto) would deserve some serious consideration for Executive of the Year.

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

The Mariners only need to go 12-8 rest of this month to enter September at a high water mark for games over .500. That should be manageable, since the Mariners play a very easy schedule the rest of the month and will be favored to win in every game other than the final series against Texas.

Thanks to this recent hot streak, the Mariners no longer need a miracle to make the playoffs. They only need to take care of business by winning most of the games they are supposed to win and then holding serve against the Astros and Rangers. Do those two things, and they have an excellent chance.

Easier said than done as both teams have given the Ms fits in recent years, and IIRC this year as well. But on the other hand, they're heating up at the right time so.....

 

[Hawkscanner]

For those who might be interested, I just got done compiling some numbers regarding the M's Bullpen. I was curious to see just how the pen compares from where it was at the beginning of the year ... to where it is now. Here are the numbers ...


Opening Day Bullpen ... (Year to Date Stats)
Steve Cishek ... 3.40 ERA (47.2 Innings) ... 25 Saves ... 6 Blown Saves ... .197 BAA
Mike Montgomery ... 2.34 ERA (61.2 Innings) ... .220 BAA
Vidal Nuno ... 3.00 ERA (42.0 Innings) ... .259 BAA
Joel Peralta ... 5.40 ERA (23.0 Innings) ... .261 BAA
Nick Vincent ... 3.29 ERA (38.1 Innings) ... .210 BAA
Tony Zych ... 3.00 ERA (12.0 Innings) ... .171 BAA -- [on the 60 Day DL with Rotator Cuff]
Joaquin Benoit ... 5.18 ERA (24.1 Innings) ... .215 BAA

94 Earned Runs Allowed ... 249.0 Innings ... 3.40 Team ERA


Current Bullpen as of 8/11 ...

Year to Date Stats ...
Edwin Diaz ... 1.74 ERA ... (31.0 Innings) ... .227 BAA
Tom Wilhelmsen ... 1.93 ERA (14.0 Innings) ... .196 BAA
Nick Vincent ... 3.29 ERA (38.1 Innings) ... .210 BAA
Drew Storen ... 5.68 ERA (6.1 Innings) ... .208 BAA [On the year, Storen has a .294 BAA ... .350 vs. Left/.268 vs. Right]
Arquimedes Caminero ... 0.00 ERA (4.0 Innings)
Vidal Nuno ... 3.00 ERA (42.0 Innings) ....259 BAA
Ariel Miranda ... 3.86 ERA (7.0 Innings) ... .345 BAA

44 Earned Runs Allowed ... 142.2 Innings ... 2.78 Team ERA

Stats Over the Last 30 Days ...
Edwin Diaz ... 0.68 ERA (7.0 Innings) ... 5 Saves in 5 Save Opportunities ... .170 BAA
Tom Wilhelmsen ... 2.53 ERA (10.2 Innings) ... .206 BAA
Nick Vincent ... 0.00 ERA (2.0 Innings)
Drew Storen ... 5.68 ERA (6.1 Innings) ... .208 BAA
Arquimedes Caminero ... 0.00 ERA in 4.0 Innings
Vidal Nuno ... 1.29 ERA (7.0 innings) ... .269 BAA
Ariel Miranda ... 3.86 ERA (7.0 Innings) ... .345 BAA

Steve Cishek ... 4.70 ERA (7.2 Innings) ... .233 BAA -- [currently on 15 Day DL]

16 Earned Runs Allowed ... 51.2 Innings ... 2.81 Team ERA

Minus Steve Cishek ...
12 Earned Runs Allowed ... 44.0 Innings ... 2.45 Team ERA

Open Day Roster ... 3.40 TEAM ERA
Current Roster ... 2.81 TEAM ERA (as of 8/11)
Current Roster Minus Cishek ... 2.45 TEAM ERA (as of 8/11)

 

[kearly]

Bullpen play is notoriously hot and cold, it's like that across the MLB. Right now the Mariners are enjoying a hot spell. Hopefully it continues a while still, but it shouldn't be considered the new Normal, Just like we shouldn't expect Mike Zunino's 1100 OPS to be the new normal.

Right now our bullpen is mostly made up of dudes who are just dudes. Diaz is the exception. Which is exactly why Servais has been so over-protective of him.

 

[86Hawk]

Red Sox lose. Mariners only one game out of wild card!

 

[Hawk-Lock]

Why do I get the feeling we hang but fall short. This might be 2014 all over again. As a M's fan, I have low expectations so as long as they stay in contention I guess that is all I care about.

 

[Hawkscanner]

Bullpen play is notoriously hot and cold, it's like that across the MLB. Right now the Mariners are enjoying a hot spell. Hopefully it continues a while still, but it shouldn't be considered the new Normal, Just like we shouldn't expect Mike Zunino's 1100 OPS to be the new normal.

Right now our bullpen is mostly made up of dudes who are just dudes. Diaz is the exception. Which is exactly why Servais has been so over-protective of him.

Well, I agree and disagree with you Kip. You're exactly right in one sense -- bullpen play IS notoriously hot and cold AND can be quite situational. Case in point -- Norm Charlton was cut by the Phillies in 1995. At the time the M's picked him up, he had an ERA of over 7 (7.36 to be exact). He comes to the M's ... and whamo! He sports a 1.51 ERA, saves 14 games, and is an absolutely unhittable superstar that helps power Seattle to the ALCS. We also see it all the time of how some guys struggle for a LONG time ... and then all of a sudden figure it out. Raul Ibanez ended up being allowed to walk away from the M's at the age of 28 after they had invested over 5 years in him. What happens? He goes on to Kansas City and suddenly morphs into a star. Same story with another former Mariner -- Michael Saunders. It took him several years of struggle to figure things out. He was a decent, but not great player when the M's traded him last year ... and now he looks fairly solid. We see that with pitchers as well. R.A. Dickey was a guy who was a near flameout in baseball. The M's had him in 2008 and let him go after posting a 5.21 ERA. At age 33, it looked like his career was over. He remade himself into a knuckleballer at age 35 and made the All Star Team in 2012 at the age of 37.

Yes, bullpen guys can be volatile. They can lose their stuff in a heartbeat ... and then go on to a new place, work with a new pitching coach (a new set of eyes) and can find super-stardom just as suddenly.

But at the same time, you never know about baseball players. Sometimes, it just takes some guys longer for things to finally fall into place. Will these guys keep up this kind of production? Who knows? I certainly hope so. I know this -- I like what I see at this point in time. Huge Kudos to Jerry Dipoto.

 

[IndyHawk]

Why do I get the feeling we hang but fall short. This might be 2014 all over again. As a M's fan, I have low expectations so as long as they stay in contention I guess that is all I care about.

I figure if we hang it can go either way,I think we are better than 2014 but I can be wrong.

 

[Hawk-Lock]

Why do I get the feeling we hang but fall short. This might be 2014 all over again. As a M's fan, I have low expectations so as long as they stay in contention I guess that is all I care about.

I figure if we hang it can go either way,I think we are better than 2014 but I can be wrong.

The 2014 squad had some really great strengths (pitching), but some really obvious weaknesses (hitting). This years team is much more well rounded, but they aren't great at anything, but they aren't horrible at anything either.

That 2014 team was on a historical pace as far as pitching goes. Felix was arguably the best pitcher that year, and Iwakuma was a top 5 pitcher that season. Paxton and Young were very good, and Elias was about as good as a #5 in MLB.

I prefer the 2014 team, but they were painful at times on offense.

 

[kearly]

I would have pulled the starter after Seattle tied the game 3-3. Wieland is a batting practice caliber thrower and Seattle was very fortunate to have only allowed three runs through the first five. They really shouldn't have pushed their luck, and they paid the price for it. Too bad.

But at the same time, you never know about baseball players. Sometimes, it just takes some guys longer for things to finally fall into place. Will these guys keep up this kind of production? Who knows? I certainly hope so. I know this -- I like what I see at this point in time. Huge Kudos to Jerry Dipoto.

I think we know who these guys are. Wilhelmsen was || close to being totally out of baseball due to being terrible for years when Seattle picked him up out utter desperation. Vincent is okay but Seattle basically got him for free because the Padres didn't care. Nuno seems to be pretty good but not amazing. The three most recent additions had struggled badly with their previous teams which is why Seattle got them for free. Over a large sample size this isn't going to be a very good bullpen, other than Diaz.

But then again, this is kind of the way it has to be. Teams that spend money on relievers so often regret it because even good relievers are not 100% predictable year to year. It's often the guys you don't expect to be anything that end up coming through for you and vice-versa. This year is a good example of that, with Seattle throwing money at two very good relievers this offseason and getting burned badly for it. It's frustrating. You pretty much have to churn through players and hope to get lucky. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't.