Vince Grippi: Injuries, inconsistency, individual failures behind M’s coming up short again

It’s over. Officially over. The Mariners hunt for the postseason in 2017 has ended.

Their 4-2 loss Sunday to Cleveland clinched it. They have tacked another year on their streak of failure.

It started in 2002, when George W. Bush was president and continued through his two terms in the White House. Then through two terms of Barack Obama. And now into the Donald Trump era.

The one constant through all the years has been the Mariners staying home in the postseason. Safeco has become a field of broken dreams.

How the heck did it happen again?

Injuries

They started in spring training, though at first they seemed innocuous enough. Shawn O’Malley, battling for the utility spot with Taylor Motter, felt pain in abdomen. On March 21, his appendix was removed.

And a dam broke.

Within the next 10 days, Drew Smyly, the biggest offseason pitching addition, would have surgery on his left elbow and miss the season.

O’Malley, in a head-scratcher, was put on the 60-day disabled list with tendinitis in his right shoulder. And Shea Simmons, another offseason pitching acquisition, was diagnosed with a flexor strain and also hit the 60-day.

Over the course of the season the Mariners lost all but one of their expected starting pitchers. They lost Jean Segura, James Paxton, Felix Hernandez and Mitch Haniger to the disabled list twice. Just about everyone else of consequence visited it once.

The Mariners used 40 pitchers to get through the season, as many as anyone in baseball history. They used 17 starters, the most in the American League this year. Impressive.

“I don’t know how impressive it is,” manager Scott Servais told the Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish recently. “It’s actually disheartening that you have to go through that many to get through a season. Just knowing you can never plan for that.”

Disheartening. That’s a good word.

Inconsistency

The Mariners are pretty average.

By that, we mean over the course of the season, they’ve hovered around the league averages in most offensive and pitching statistics.

Not too good in anything, not too bad in anything – except home runs given up, the third-highest total in the league. And that comes with a home ballpark considered pitcher friendly.

But there were highs and lows all year, which, of course, average out. The M’s would have stretches in which they mashed the ball, and stretches when it looked as if they were hitting with paper-mache bats.

There was times when the bullpen was spectacular, and too many instances in which they struggled to keep games close.

It averaged out, of course, but also added up to not being good enough to win half their ballgames.

Individual failure

Of their five highest-paid players, only Nelson Cruz, with a $14 million salary, probably exceeded expectations.

Hernandez ($26 million, which is almost 16 percent of the M’s total) is 5-5 with a 4.57 earned run average. Not what you would hope from your highest-paid player.

Robinson Cano ($24 million) is under his career averages in just about every statistical category.

Kyle Seager ($11 million) is at his career averages in most, but he’s been improving every year and this season, with a batting average 10 points lower than his career one, has seemed to regress a bit.

The fifth player on the salary list is Yovani Gallardo ($11 million). Enough said.

Add up the numbers and you probably understand the M’s 75-81 record. And understand why the M’s are outside, looking in. Again.