A Mariner of a Mess

A Mariner of a Mess

The Story of a Franchise 17 Years Removed from the Playoffs

2001

The Mariners just tied the 1906 Chicago Cubs for the most wins in a regular season at 116 games. And this wasn't easy, as an Oakland A's team was right on their tails all season with 102 wins and was responsible for 9 of the 46 losses the Mariners suffered (19.5% of their losses).

With the likes of Bret Boone, Edgar Martinez, and the newly added phenom lead-off hitter Ichiro Suzuki... who could stop the Mariners from winning it all?...

Given their pitching was suspect, but so was everyone else's in this point of the steroid era (Well, except for Pedro Martinez who would've had a sub 2.20 ERA again if he stayed healthy the whole year). They were as solid as it gets and were a runaway train hitting the postseason, winning 11 of their last 13 games.

Enter the Cleveland Indians

This team had been to a World Series in 1995 and 1997 and were looking formidable again after winning the AL Central. Jim Thome and Juan Gonzalez combined for a scorching 84 homers and Roberto Alomar hit .336 on the year.

Game 1 would be 8 shutout innings from the human bowling ball Bartolo Colon who dominated a potent Seattle lineup. Game 2 would be a dominant outing for the Mariner's Jamie Moyer that would earn them a Game 2 win, only to be absolutely tattooed for 17 runs by a strong Cleveland lineup in Game 3.

Suddenly, the historic season had the breaks thrown on and was one game away from their sofas with the dominant big Bartolo on the bump for Game 4.

Seattle grinded out a 6-2 win to force a Game 5 in Safeco where Jamie Moyer pitched a gem in a 3-1 win.

They looked like the team of destiny. After a historic regular season, they had conquered a potential Cy Young starter to survive and advance.

The next team on their radar was no easy task, though.

Enter the New York Yankees

In order to be the man, you've got to beat the man. In order to be the king, you've got to get the crown.

A team that just three-peated World Series rings and won 4 of the last 5 World Series. They were coming off of a series against the A's where the A's jumped out to a 2-0 series lead.

All of a sudden, Jeter was making "The Flip" to nab Giambi at the plate and the Yankees had grinded back to win 3 in a row.

Seattle had every reason to get over the hump in 2001 and knock out the defending champs. Instead, they laid an egg and lost in 5 games.

As a Yankee fan, I'd rather not tell you how the rest of the 2001 season went... but the Mariners had fallen short of a World Series berth they looked destined to reach.

This didn't look like the end of the road, but instead motivation for Mariners fans of what was to come... SPOILER ALERT: As it turned out, this would be the last time Seattle would make the playoffs, even to this present day...

2002 Opened with Bret Boone, Edgar Martinez, Ichiro, Jamie Moyer, Freddie Garcia, and almost the entire rest of the supporting cast returning. However, 93 wins wouldn't be enough for the Mariners as they fell behind the A's and the soon-to-be World Series champs Anaheim Angels.

This was a disappointment. 93 wins is a great season, but the Mariners had much higher hopes for this season. What made it all the more disappointing was that this ball club won 93 games again the next year and missed the postseason once again.

With all the hopes and potential following their late 90's success and 2001 season, this would be the last time the Mariners would win 90 games for the foreseeable future, as they still haven't to this day.

So why does the 17-year drought in Seattle hurt so bad? Because the Mariners fans are so good to them, and always have such great hopes for them, even when they screwed up the rebuild they currently are undergoing.

Enter the Mariner Front Office

Mariners fans saw the Front Office bring in Adrian Beltre, only to see him struggle and then go on to hit .320 his first year away from Seattle.

The Front Office made the infamous trade of sending Adam Jones, Chris Tillman, George Sherrill, and two other prospects to Baltimore for Eric Bedard. Jones would go on to be the franchise-player for multiple years in Baltimore, while Bedard only made 43 appearances for Seattle.

These blunders also happened before the 2001 season and might have cost the Mariners a legit franchise, as they gave away players like David Ortiz and Omar Vizquel. The Mariners also refused to extend Randy Johnson in 1998, lost Alex Rodriguez in 2000 due to his record-setting contract goals, and a family dilemma traded Ken Griffey, Jr. to Cincinnati...

And the blunders haven't stopped. The Mariners had multiple chances to sell King Felix at a high value or to build around him, but instead still have him through his struggles as he ages. They instead sold James Paxton, Robinson Cano, Edwin Diaz, Jay Bruce, and most recently Edwin Encarnacion for the price of just about nothing but prospects who have almost all struggled since arriving to Seattle...

It's time for a massive rebuild. There are few teams that will be able to build a farm system the way the Astros have, but we are seeing teams like the Braves and the Padres who have made massive adjustments to drastically improve their franchise.

So why can't the Mariners? It seems that they can't get out of their own way. They'll pay an older big name a lot of money to hit in a non-hitter park and not surround him with another talent. Now that they've lost all talent-trade leverage and have what looks like a very thin minor league system, they slip down to the category that only the Baltimore Orioles can really share with them.

Good luck Mariners fans, this drought is long from over...