Vince Grippi: Just wait until next year, Mariners fans. Really!
With two outs in the top of the fourth inning Sunday, Mariners broadcaster Dave Sims did a live read.
It was for the upcoming postseason broadcasts on Fox.
Ironic probably doesn’t begin to describe it.
The Mariners were en route to a 6-2 loss in Anaheim that would end their season. Their record? It is 78-84 and, for the 16th consecutive year, it is not good enough to be part of those broadcasts Sims was touting.
But don’t despair. Next year just may be the year.
No, we’re not kidding. Why not?
Heck, the Minnesota Twins will be playing Tuesday and last year they lost 103 games.
Colorado and Arizona meet the next day in the National League wild-card game and they lost 87 and 93 games last season, respectively.
So the Mariners’ 2018 chances are due some respect. Heck, it’s not that long ago they were winning 116 games in one year.
Sure “not that long ago” really only applies if you are using geologic time, because in baseball years 2001 is a long, long time in the past. But, if you are willing to be patient – and if you’re a Mariners fan, the chances are good you are –we’ll try to explain why next year might bring an end to the frustration.
•We start with the infusion of young talent.
Yes, the Mariners are old, a bit older on average than Houston, which will win the A.L. West this season and more than likely in the foreseeable future.
The numbers – according to ESPN, Seattle’s roster averages 28.6 years old, third-oldest in the A.L., while Houston’s is 28.4, sixth – belie general manager Jerry DiPoto’s assertion it’s a young team. So does the lineup, which includes 34-year-old Robinson Cano and 37-year-old Nelson Cruz in the middle.
But the addition of Jean Segura, Mitch Haniger, Ben Gamel and Guillermo Heredia, along with the resurrection of Mike Zunino’s career, means the M’s have a decent core still less than 30 years old when next season begins.
Of these, the most exciting seems to be Haniger, who started and finished his first full major league season as one of the team’s best bats.
Segura is a proven bat, Zunino seems to be capable of hitting .250 with decent power – he had 25 home runs – and either Gamel or Heredia should pan out as an everyday outfielder.
The pitching staff still has holes – there is no one less than 30 who can be truly counted on – and needs to be ironed out, but Edwin Diaz, James Paxton (if he can stay healthy), James Pazos and Tony Zych, among the younger guys, are sources of hope.
•We’ve mentioned health. The odds say we shouldn’t have to as much in the future.
There were injuries galore among the everyday players. And, this season, the Mariners used 40 pitchers, tying a major league record. They started 17 different guys, tying a long-standing team mark.
Records in these categories shouldn’t be set in back-to-back years. And they won’t.
But what did come from them is improved depth. The M’s picked up Mike Leake from St. Louis and he’s been their best starter the past month. Erasmo Ramirez has thrown well. Marco Gonzales has an upside. All were acquired via trades. If either of the latter two pan out next year, the rotation is 80 percent full, as Paxton, Leake and Felix Hernandez will join one or maybe both.
Yes, an upgrade would be nice. Always is. But if it doesn’t happen, the rotation could be worse – and was this season.
•Finally, we invoke the pain of the past. Between 1941 and 1954, the Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the New York Yankees in the World Series five times. And every year Dodgers fans would head into the offseason muttering.
You could hear them all over the country. They kept saying, “next year will be our year. Next year we’ll get ’em.”
Finally, 1955 became “next year.” The Dodgers defeated the hated Yankees in the World Series’ seventh game and became, after eight tries, world champions.
Sooner or later Mariners fans are going to have a “next year.”
Why not in 2018?