2nd half keys for the Mariners

Well, here we are. A day before the start of the second half for the Mariners and we cant all but think "are the Mariners really one game above .500 after the first half"? First off I think the one question we should be asking ourselves is "why are the Mariners only one game above .500"? It was May 10th that the Mariners were 10 games over .500 and it would be the last time they were, since then they have gone 17-26 since then. The month of June wasn't pleasant to the Mariners as they saw themselves losing 19 games, which included losing 8 out of 10 between June 14th and June 23rd. That also saw them lose 6 straight games and I think it was at that point that not only myself but other Mariners fans began to think "how do they keep finding new ways to lose every game"?

Its true, the Mariners were finding new ways to lose or find ways to lose games during that tough stretch. Where it would come off a bad outing, one single error, or one play that defined the whole game; also at one point terrible calls by umpires but that's another story. The M's did find some light during their last home stand where they only found ways to win. They won 7 out of the 9 home games they played and took the series from the St. Louis Cardinals and swept the Baltimore Orioles in a slug fest. Though that home stand was short lived as after they left Safeco Field the misery began again, starting with getting swept in a 4 game series against the division rival Houston Astros, but the Mariners did take a 3 game series and the season series from the Kansas City Royals thus ending their first half.

So here we are, a day before the start of the second half, the Mariners are one game above .500, 8.5 out of first place in the AL West, and 5 back in the Wild Card. Didn't think the Mariners would be in this position did you? The M's only wish that June never happened that way they may have been still sitting at 10 games over .500 and still in first place in the division. So I think a lot of people are wondering what this team HAS to do, I can emphasize "has to do" enough, to make a run for the postseason and end 15 straight seasons of no meaningful baseball in October. First things first, get and stay healthy! Boy is that the biggest key for the Mariners in the second half. The M's have had both their top two pitchers Felix Hernandez and Taijuan Walker out for some time. Felix has had a calf injury and Walker has had an issue with foot tendinitis in his right foot, but both are due to return from the disable list and Felix should be making his first start in awhile against the Chicago White Sox.

Another problem the M's need to address is Wade Miley for one. Miley hasn't had the season to remember, in fact I'm a bit surprised that Miley still has a job with the Mariners. With a 6-6 record and a dreadful 5.44 ERA Miley has shown that he can't be trusted to go on the mound and give the Mariners bullpen a day of rest. In Miley's last 7 games Miley has gone 1-4 with a 6.87 ERA......not what you need in a starting pitcher. Hopefully the Mariners can take away from Mike Montgomery's last start against the Royals and make a move there. Nathan Karns has already been demoted to the bullpen due to his uncanny ability to fail to go into the 6th inning. Montgomery has been a big part to the Mariners bullpen this season, he's appeared in 31 games with a 3-3 record with a 2.06 ERA so I have the funny feeling that maybe Montgomery gets his chance to be a starter once again.

Also in the bullpen is an "8th inning specialist" who hasn't been special at all, in fact he's been nothing more than a headache to watch go out and nearly cost the M's games. I'm of course talking about Joaquin Benoit, who has a terrible 4.57 ERA in 23 games. Benoit has to go, plain in simple. The Mariners star rookie Edwin Diaz is making a great case for himself to either be the setup or closer for this team possibly during the 2nd half. Diaz has appeared in 17 games and all he's done has strikeout 34 batters and throw heat. With Steve Cishek facing some scrutiny about his role as the closer due to blowing 5 saves, though he does have 21 saves so he's not going anywhere. Though Diaz is making a pretty good effort to take either one's job.

James Paxton though has made his mark in the starting role with several impressive starts, though he really could have used some run support. Jerry Dipoto should consider making at least a move or two to help boost both either the starting rotation or the bullpen and the lineup. There was talk on Twitter yesterday about a possible trade, Paxton for Andrew Miller and Brett Gardner......interesting trade proposal huh? At first I'm thinking that its either a good/bad trade. I mean lets face it, Paxton has shown us that this year after his first bad outing that he wants to prove that he is ready to show us the hype that we have been hearing about. On the other hand though, trading Paxton for an excellent arm in the bullpen plus speed on the base paths and the outfield and a decent bat would certainly help the Mariners out in a huge way, as they are looking to make a push for the playoffs during the second half.

Adam Lind, lets talk about him shall we? I made a comparison to Richie Sexson, and I mean that Lind will strikeout and flop out most times but then comeback and hit a home run that will help us later. Lind so far this season has been a huge bust from what he did last year. By the end of the first half of last season Lind was batting .293 with 15 home runs, this season Lind has managed to hit 13 home runs but bat a very sad .232. Dae-Ho Lee on the other hand has managed to hit .288 with 12 home runs and drive in 37 while having 65 less at bats than Lind has. Lee has been getting more playing time due to his ability to consistently hit but the M's should consider looking at a possible replacement for Lind. Lind's WAR, wins above replacement, is at a very sad -0.4! The next to last in WAR for the Mariners is Nori Aoki at -0.2.

Things need to change with those two as both Lind and Aoki have been a first half bust for the Mariners, but you never know they could very well have breakout second halves. Mariners manager Scott Servias has already noted that Aoki maybe coming back to the ball club, but on the other hand who wants to see Aoki imitate George of the Jungle in the outfield again? Aoki and Lind's failures have come on both offense and defense. Aoki has been a bust defensive wise and hitting wise where as Lind has been very good defensive wise but is dismal offensive wise. In hind sight that Mark Trumbo trade that Dipoto made has truly hurt the team. Getting back though to the Lind/Aoki problem, coming from me I don't think bringing up Aoki is the best move for the Mariners. Currently the Mariners star Cuban defective Guillermo Heredia is currently in Triple-A Tacoma, and lets just say that coming up from Double-A Jackson didn't faze him a bit.

Heredia has done nothing but keep tearing the cover off the ball since he's been with the club. During his time with Double-A Jackson Heredia hit an impressive .293 with 2 home runs and 40 RBIs, not to mention that in his first 30 games in Double-A Jackson Heredia was hitting .274 with 19 RBIs and a homer to boot. During his brief time in Triple-A Tacoma Heredia hasn't cooled down one bit, as he's hit .323 in only 15 games, and to make things even better D.J. Peterson got a call up as well and has hit .341 with 3 home runs and 14 RBIs since his call up. So right now, I'm thinking that maybe both or just one maybe getting the call up very soon to replace either Lind or Aoki, only time will tell.

In the lineup currently there's not one complaint coming from me. Kyle Seager is having a career year so far and is on pace for his first 100 RBI season, Robinson Cano as well is having the best year as a Mariner, but Cruz on the other hand is having some troubles with the slider and can't seem to come up when the time is needed. Hopefully though the Mariners struggles with hitting with RISP, runners in scoring position, change now that the second half is about to start. The Big 3 for the Mariners have been nothing but huge for the Mariners this year, though Seager had a rough April but eventually picked things up, it seems that the Mariners only problem this year has been one thing and that's staying healthy as a unit. Ketel Marte and Martin both went down with injuries during May and it hurt the M's somewhat but the pitching has been the biggest concern as both the Mariners top pitchers have been having trouble avoiding the injury bug.

Again, lets just hope that the All Star break has done this team some good and that we'll see a new Mariners team, hopefully a team that doesn't fall apart, in the second half of this season. The Mariners are gonna open up the second half with a chance at redemption against the Astros, as Houston comes into Safeco for 3 games. Lets hope our boys can pay them back for that 4 game sweep. Again Felix is set to make his return on the 20th of July against the White Sox and there is a possibility that Charlie Furbush could return by August, which would indefinitely help the bullpen out. Currently I am hoping that with Felix and Taijuan coming back fully healthy they can both help this team make a huge push for the Wild Card if not the AL West. Only thing us Mariner fans can do is hope that this team and their manager can find new ways to win, comeback, and push our team into the postseason. Currently the Mariners postseason drought is the longest in MLB right now at 15 years, the last time they made it to the playoffs was during their incredible 116 win season.

Things currently don't look easy but you know the sane, where there's a will there's a way, and the Mariners need to find a way to win and I mean win a lot of games. Not looking for sweeps, which would be amazing, but right now I think Mariner fans would love to see this team take a lot of series like they were doing in May. That's the best that fans and myself can hope for at this point. As of now, in my opinion, the Mariners are even lucky that they are only 1 game over .500 and I'm honestly surprised that we didn't lose the entire last road trip. Also on another note Dipoto needs to make some serious moves to help this club. As of now the Mariners still have a chance at the postseason and if Dipoto wants to have his team playing in October then he needs to possibly trade for a pitcher, call up Heredia (but that's just what I would do), and let go a couple players who can't seem to contribute in any possible way. Let's just hope JeDi can do this and help this team make the playoffs for the first time in 15 years.

Go Mariners.