A Grip on Sports: Monday night’s loss in Arizona is just the latest example of the M’s getting oh so close to success and then failing
A GRIP ON SPORTS • When it comes to being a success at failure, not many professional teams can rival the Seattle Mariners. Throughout their almost 50-year existence, even their high points have ended in collapse. The latest example came Monday night in Phoenix.
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• We’ll get to that in a moment. But, first, a little history of the franchise’s malfunctions since 1977.
It took the M’s until 1991 before they had a winning season. That’s the longest an MLB franchise has existed before breaking .500. And a precursor to the next 33 years of failing to reach its goals.
Remember 1995? Then remember they great chase-down of the Angels resulted in the M’s leading the American League West, only having to win one of their final two games to clinch their first playoff berth. And lost both. They did, however, win a one-game playoff that taxed the pitching staff.
Remember The Double? It was followed with a squandered two-games-to-one lead in the A.L. Championship Series against Cleveland.
Remember 116? Of course you do. And what happened in the 2001 A.L. Championship Series.
Remember the final day of September in 2022? How Cal Raleigh’s long home run just inside the T-Mobile right-field foul pole ended their 21-year playoff drought? How that bomb set off a celebration unlike any other, one that continued through the elimination of the Blue Jays in the Wild Card? Then came to a crashing halt by the immovable object known as the Astros?
That was then. Over and over again. And now here we are, more than two years down the road and the Mariners are still, well, Marinering – if that’s a real word.
It isn’t. But the sentiment is. The M’s find ways to fail consistently unlike any franchise baseball has seen.
The Red Sox and their 86-year World Series drought? Pshaw. At least the franchise had been there – and has won four since it ended. The Cubs and their 108-year World Series title drought? Pshaw. Again, they won before and after.
The Mariners fail and fail and fail. On the big stage, sure, when they get there. But more importantly, over and over during the course of a 162-game season. It’s that drip, drip, drip that drives a person insane. And, ultimately, seems to instill an expectation of failure from top – ownership that nickels and dimes the roster to death – to the bottom – Mr. and Mrs. Average Fan, who spends their hard-earned nickels and dimes to support the folks in between, the players.
And those in-between types? They know they are running uphill in a downpour. That the front-office folks have to try to mine sand-like castoffs and hope they shine like diamonds. That their margin for error is thinner than deli ham.
Monday, the M’s cut one of those castoffs, Leody Taveras. The 28-game experiment with the ex-Ranger started off OK, then fizzled and failed, resulting in a -0.6 WAR. While being a defensive liability. While being, well, a roster-filler.
His replacement? Dom Canzone, who at least has a positive WAR in his three truncated Seattle seasons. Not much of one (0.3) but that’s where the M’s are right now. And have been for much of their nearly five-decade history.
Which brings us to last night. In Arizona. In the midst of a Mariner downturn that has dropped them from first to second – behind the Astros, of course – in the West. A downturn that included 10 losses in 14 games since May 23, when they had a 3.5-game lead in the West. The biggest culprit in the slump? Take your pick. The hitting. The starting pitching. The bullpen. All have struggled recently for a variety of reasons. And did Monday night.
The Diamondbacks built a 4-0 lead. The M’s had a total of five hits with two outs and no one on base in the ninth. Then proceeded to score four runs over the next four hitters, with Canzone delivering the biggest blow, a game-tying home run.
A high point? Sure. Followed by, as the script seems to always call for, failure. There were two more hits, sure. By J.P. Crawford and Julio Rodriguez. That brought Raleigh to the plate. Mr. Everything this season. And he topped a ground ball in front of the plate.
In their two extra innings, the M’s didn’t get a hit. Didn’t advance the designated runner an inch. And then Arizona won, with an 11th-inning Josh Naylor grand slam off Carlos Vargas.
That was then. And, seemingly, forever. This is now. Once again an M’s group treading water. Trying to stay afloat. With a boat full of holes.
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WSU: It’s interesting to see Cedric Coward’s name appear on NBA mock drafts. This one has him going 22nd to Atlanta. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, we could have spent our column space on the ever-changing landscape of college athletics. There was a report yesterday from Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellinger the eight members of the conference have agreed to a grant of rights, the next step before finalizing their media deal. There are also reports Congress is getting ready to move forward on legislation that will give the NCAA – is it still around? – the antitrust cover it says it needs to bring order to its members. And, not surprisingly, folks with their pulse on college sports, including Jon Wilner, have decided the enforcement of the House settlement provisions, especially concerning outside booster collectives and individuals, will be darn near impossible. That’s a drum I’ve been pounding for months and months. … John Canzano covers some of that in his weekly mailbag. But a lot of the question involve Oregon State baseball and the College World Series. The tournament will consist of eight schools from seven conferences. (Though we know the Pac-12 leads with three schools.) The Beavers have the same shot as anyone, including the underdogs from Murray State, making their first appearance in Omaha. … Colorado is all in with the new era of college sports. Have been for a while, actually. … Utah is adjusting. And football is still recruiting. As is Arizona State. And Utah State. … Arizona has done that too, mainly for its defense. … In basketball news, Kyle Smith has moved veteran coach Eric Reveno from assistant to general manager of the Stanford program. … Tad Boyle is still trying to finalize the Colorado roster. … The Buff women have added another assistant coach. … In baseball, Arizona’s program has jumped past its neighbors to the north as the preeminent one in the state.
Gonzaga: Funny thing. The Zags are not among this list of the five men’s teams most likely to win their first NCAA title in 2026. For some reason that makes me believe it just may happen.
EWU: Efton Chism III is, along with former WSU receiver Kyle Williams, trying to make the New England Patriots’ roster. It seems to be going well for both. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, former Montana star Junior Bergen tries to catch on with the 49ers as a punt returner. … The Griz have decided who gets to wear No. 37 next season.
Preps: We wanted to keep you updated on a story we covered a couple weeks ago. It concerns the disqualification of a runner in the California state track meet.
Indians: Once again it’s Tuesday. Tacos? Sure. But more importantly, at least in this space, Dave Nichols’ weekly Indians notebook.
Mariners: Besides the game story and roster news, both of which we linked above and here, there is one other story to pass along. It concerns five possible trade targets for Seattle. My thought: By the last week of July, the M’s could be sellers, not buyers. I’m sure they could get a bunch of prospects for Dylan Moore or Mitch Garver. Just kidding. … Bryce Miller is back on the injured list. His elbow is still not right. (Surgery next? Just wondering.) Logan Evans is back and will start tonight. … You won’t see a better wall-scaling catch this season than this one from last night by the A’s Denzel Clarke. A parkour special.
Kraken: New coach Lane Lambert was front and center yesterday, meeting the Seattle media for the first time. The same thing happened for what’s-his-name, you know, the guy the Kraken just fired, last year. … For once an NHL finals’ game was a snoozer. Unless you enjoy regular-season-like blowouts or fights. The last one followed a postseason-like hit on Edmonton star Connor McDavid. The Panthers took a 2-1 lead in the series with a 6-1 home rout.
Sounders: Have questions about the Club World Cup? This Athletic story tries to answer them.
Seahawks: The mandatory minicamp is on the way. There will be a few things to watch. Bob Condotta tells us what the most important ones are. … Ernest Jones IV will be on the field. And will be on the field in the fall all the time. … It is possible the Hawks’ secondary is set. It is also possible they could add a free agent.
Sonics: Once again, NBA expansion seems close. But we’re leery of the rug being yanked away once again. Let us know when Adam Silver wakes up and makes a definitive announcement. … The finals continue Wednesday night at 5:30. In Indiana. With the series tied.
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• It’s OK to root for the Mariners to win and still be skeptical the front office has given Dan Wilson the roster to make it happen. And to criticize that failure. Both things can exist at the same time. Anyone who tells you different is wrong. Until later …