Mariners were difficult to watch during first half of schedule | Commentary

The Mariners’ Thursday matinee was difficult to watch.

In more ways than one.

Literally, the Mariners.TV broadcast was mired in technical difficulties, which significantly impacted the viewing experience. Camera angles were limited, with the entire top of the third inning stuck on a wide shot of the diamond from behind home plate. The score box and other statistics were mostly missing, while broadcasters Aaron Goldsmith and Angie Mentink provided fuzzy commentary from a telephone line.

These things happen. The point isn’t to bash a broadcast that gamely overcame its tanking technology.

But the metaphor is also too perfect to pass up.

Because the Mariners’ technical difficulties are harder to tolerate.

With a 5-1 loss to the Pirates on Thursday in Pittsburgh, the Mariners fell to 41-41. Through the first half of perhaps its most anticipated season, Seattle is inexcusably, profoundly average.

The outlier, of course, was an eight-game winning streak from May 25 to June 2, when the Mariners teased a final product fans had waited months for. After that streak was finally snapped with a 7-1 loss to the New York Mets, relentlessly positive Mariners manager Dan Wilson said:

“The defense has been so solid (in this winning streak). The pitching has been really strong, both starters and the bullpen. Then the offense has been so consistent. I think all three of those areas have been really consistent. That’s what we’ll continue to do as we get started again on Friday. That’s what we have done. That’s who we are as a team.”

That’s not who they are.

It’s who Wilson would like them to be.

Through three months, we know who the Mariners are. They’re arguably the worst defensive team in baseball, as evidenced by a minus-25 outs above average metric that was last in the league entering Thursday, prone to implosions at so many spots. They’re feeble and ineffective against left-handed pitching, with a .618 OPS (also last in MLB) against southpaws. They’re helplessly dependent on the long ball, while hitting an untenable .226 with runners in scoring position (28th in MLB). They’re positively stuffed with scuffling stars, from Cal Raleigh to Julio Rodríguez to Andrés Muñoz to Bryan Woo.

I haven’t even mentioned platoons and piggybacks. There are too many problems to fit in a paragraph.

With fairness to Wilson, the Mariners’ offense remains consistent – just not in the way he wants. Seattle last scored more than three runs on June 12, 11 games ago, the fourth-longest streak in team history. In that 10-game slog entering Thursday, the Mariners hit .182 with a 24.6% strikeout rate and a minus-26 run differential.

Even their positive stories come with caveats. Franchise staple J.P. Crawford selflessly volunteered to transition from shortstop to third base to accommodate 20-year-old prospect Colt Emerson. But the 31-year-old with deteriorating defense committed three errors at the hot corner in the Pittsburgh series alone.

Emerson, too, made an immediate impact upon arriving in Seattle. But he’s 4-for-29 with zero homers, two walks, two RBI and 12 strikeouts in his past 10 games. In their respective spots, it’s unclear whether either Emerson or Crawford can consistently contribute to a playoff push.

Thursday’s loss was a microcosm of the Mariners’ months-long mediocrity. They went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base. A competitive start from Bryce Miller, complete with 11 strikeouts, was wasted. Wilson’s platoon attempt again backfired, when he pinch-hit Rob Refsnyder for Luke Raley to take advantage of a lefty reliever. Refsnyder, whose .139/.211/.228 slash line can’t belong for long on an MLB roster, promptly popped out to strand the bases loaded.

As Goldsmith summarized after Rodríguez flew out to end the game: “The Mariners drop the series. They lose two out of three. The offense does not show up in really any of the three games, and that bus ride to Cleveland just got a little bit longer after this one today.”

The good news? In a six-month season, there are a lot of bus rides left. And even at 41-41, in a dreadful division and a listless American League, this first half can still be forgotten. Consider where the Mariners were at this point in three of their most beloved seasons in franchise history.

• June 25, 2025: 41-38 (second in AL West), advanced to ALCS

• June 25, 2022: 34-39 (fourth in AL West), advanced to ALDS

• June 25, 1995: 28-27 (fourth in AL West), advanced to ALCS

The second half will make or break the Mariners, as it’s done in the past.

But don’t expect this mess to be dealt with at the MLB trade deadline. Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto will undoubtedly be active, as he often is. But it’ll take more than an impact addition to solve Seattle’s sloppy defense, or return Raleigh to his previously prolific form, or fix Woo’s road woes, or keep utility man Brendan Donovan healthy. The list goes on.

Right now, this team doesn’t do the little things. It doesn’t make routine defensive plays. It doesn’t move runners over. It doesn’t deliver clutch hits. It doesn’t maximize its talent.

Don’t blame this on one bad broadcast.

The Mariners were difficult to watch long before Thursday.