Flashback Friday: What could've been

In 2007 the Seattle Mariners finished the season at 88-74 which was there first winning season since 2003 when they went 93-69. The team finished six games out of first place in the American League West standings and six games out of the Wild Card. During that season Ichiro became the second Mariners player in team history to win the All Star Game MVP as he went 3-3 and hit the first inside-the-park-homerun in All Star Game history, three days after his MVP performance the Mariners signed him to a five year contract to a $90 million deal, making him the highest paid player for the Mariners for the second time. The 2007 season saw plenty of milestones, retirements, and no hitters. Craig Biggio, Jeff Conine, Mike Lieberthal, and Shawn Green said farewell to baseball and Mark Buehrle, Justin Verlander, and Clay Buchholz threw no hitters. 

I wont get into the other milestones that happened in 2007, this blog im writing talks about the Mariners and how one manager could have lead this team to its first playoff birth since 2001. The Mariners began the opening month of April at 10-10 and the following month they kept pace at staying at or above .500 by going 16-14. the first two months of Mariners baseball in 07 were very interesting to say the least. In April the Mariners went into a 6 game losing streak that put the team's record at 5-9 but the M's picked things up and won the next 4 games to put the team back at .500. In March the Mariners went up against the Yankees and in the first game it was nothing but a slugfest but the Mariners bats were stronger in that game as the team would win 15-11 thanks to an 8 run fifth inning that put the Mariners ahead 14-8. They would lose the next two games to the Bronx Bombers but were able to come out of New York with a four game split. Four days later they played the Yankees again this time at Safeco, the Mariners would take the series from them 2 games to 3. 

The Mariners entered the month of June with a 26-24, the month of June would see the Mariners have their best month of the year and would also see the return of Ken Griffey, Jr., to Safeco. After the Mariners first 11 games in June they had a 9-2 record, they then lost 6 games in a row after their hot start, they just couldn't figure out the Chicago Cubs or Houston Astros. They then came back to Seattle and boy ever did the Mariners catch fire, winning the next 14 games out of 19. When the Cincinnati Reds came into Safeco it was an emotional time for both teams and the fans. Jr had returned to Safeco and each game that was played there was not a seat empty, after losing 16-1 in the opening game the Mariners won the next two games and in the final game of the series Jr banged out two homeruns that sent the fans into hysteria. I attended all three games of that series and it was exciting to watch the Kid bang out batting practice homers and watch him go 5-13 in the series.

The Mariners won a season high eight games in a row after the 16-1 blowout the Reds handed to them. The Mariners were officially in the playoff picture, but unfortunately the Mariners playoff run would officially come to an end after July 1st. Mike Hargrove was the manager for that year and not only did he bring experience to the manger position he brought great chemistry as well. Hargrove had coached the Cleveland Indians from 1991-1999 and in that time he was their manager they won five straight American League Central titles and won the AL Pennant twice but lost in both World Series that they appeared in. Hargrove then managed the Baltimore Orioles from 2000-03 and then finally came to Seattle in 04. 

After three straight losing seasons Hargrove finally had seemed to have gotten the team he wanted with the Mariners in 07. On July 1st the Mariners faced the Toronto Blue Jays and were looking to extend their winning streak to eight games, thanks to Jose Guillen's walk off single in the bottom of the ninth they were able to extend the winning streak and give Mike Hargrove his final win as a manager. After the game Hargrove called a press conference and said that he had lost his passion for managing and that he would be stepping down as the Mariners manager.

Bench coach John McLaren took over for Hargrove and helped the Mariners finish the season off at 88-74. The Mariners fell both six games short of the AL West and Wild Card, the big reason for that was that from August 25th through September 11th the team went 2-15 which drastically hurt their playoff hopes. The Yankees won the Wild Card that year but would lose to Cleveland Indians in the ALDS in four games. The Mariners could've made the playoffs, they could've won the AL West, and they could've won the Wild Card but they didn't. If Hargrove would not have left in the middle of a playoff run think of what could have happened. For some reason their was no chemistry with the team and manager John McLaren, that is what hurt the Mariners the most. 

Without Hargrove the team was basically lost, without good chemistry in the clubhouse the team sank and lost their edge and also lost a shot at their first playoff series in six years. The following year McLaren was fired after the team started out their first 72 games 25-47, since then he has managed three game with the Washington Nationals after his replacement from the Mariners Jim Riggleman resigned as manager. After the third game Davey Johnson replaced McLaren. 

So what do you think could have happened if Hargrove stayed to manage the rest of the year? We will never know, all we know is that the M's finished above .500 and since then have had only one winning season. Well, as a die hard Mariners fan I await the return of a manager that will lead this team from mediocrity and back into playoff contenders.