Oct 10, 2012; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees left fielder Raul Ibanez (27) hits a walk off home run in the twelfth inning against the Baltimore Orioles during game three of the 2012 ALDS at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via US PRESSWIRE

Lou Piniella was a great manager that saved baseball in Seattle and I admired him greatly. In the thousands of decisions he had to make as the Mariner leader he was correct a high percentage of the time. But he had a blind eye toward Raul Ibanez who was never given a fair chance in his early years ages 25-28, when he only got a total of 473 at-bats over four years. He was kept in Tacoma for most of the year in 1997 despite having 84 RBI’s in 111 games.

Lou used him as a bench warmer and played a bunch of marginal players instead of Raul. He competed for playing time with Brian Hunter, defensive wizard Charles Gipson, Ozzie Timmons, Al Martin, a washed up Rickey Henderson, John Mabry, Rob Ducey none of whom were more than average players for Seattle. Other outfielders who had at-bats during this four-year window were Mieske, Haskley, Monahan, Kelley and Jose Cruz. Jay Buhner and Stan Javier were also in the mix and better than average performers.

He hit the first grand slam in Safeco history three days after the inaugural game July 15^th, 1999 but only got 204 at-bats that year. Raul never got more than 500 at-bats until he was 30 years old.  And he had sign with Kansas City to do that which he did as a free agent after the 2000 season with the Mariners in which he only got 140 AB’s. When he got an opportunity to play for the Royals he produced by not before he had to do another year, 2001, as a part-time player. Finally, in the year 2002 at age 30, he was penciled into the lineup daily, his first full-time opportunity.

“[During my career], my confidence sometimes wavered because I wasn’t playing as much. I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform. But I knew if I got an opportunity to play consistently then I would be able to perform,” was his quote to MLB.com about his great numbers for 2002. He hit 24 homers, 37 doubles, and had six triples ending up with a .294 average, a .346 OBP and an OPB of .883. He had another good year in 2003 and then remarkably returned to Seattle.

He had a five-year stretch from 2004-2008 in which he hit 113 homers, had 469 RBI’s, 174 doubles, averaged .294 with an OBP of .352 and an OPS of .830. He had a 24-game go-ahead RBI streak, two five-hit games, and in 2004 also ranked third among all left fielders in UZR-a fielding statistic. Perhaps his best year was in 2006, when he scored 103 runs, knocked in 123 more, and had 33 doubles and home runs.

In 2009 he finished second to Jim Thome in a Sports Illustrated poll of 290 MLB players that measured the “nicest player in baseball.” Raul Ibanez’s two homers last evening were thrilling and I was so happy for this truly great guy. It takes some training for this old Seattle fan and life-long Yankee hater to root for those wearing the evil pinstripes but I can’t help it. Raul, my idol Ichiro and pitching stud Rafael Soriano, all ex-Mariner stars, makes it easier. Seeing the New York headline: A-Whoooo! Is one of my favorite things ever, after seeing Raul come through while pinch-hitting for A-Fraud, a scenario I never could have even imagined but is so perfect.

September 29, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Seattle Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager (15, left) is congratulated by designated hitter John Jaso (27) for hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning against the Oakland Athletics at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

Today ends my 35^th straight year of rooting each day for my precious Seattle Mariners. The team will finish in last place again but there have been five glimmering rays of hope. These rays have the following names: John Jaso, Kyle Seager, Hisashi Iwakuma, Erasmo Ramirez and Tom Wilhelmsen.

***John Jaso has had a great year after being given a chance to play. Going into the last game he has 50 RBI’s in only 290 at-bats, 18 doubles and 10 homers. His average is .276 but his OBP is a sterling .394 and his .850 OPS is the best one in years for the Mariners. He is going to finish with more walks than strikeouts for the season with 55 walks to only 50 K’s. This stat puts him in the same league as Edgar Martinez and John Olerud in Mariner history. He has come through in the clutch in pressure situations time and time again. He has been a beam of hope and fun to watch this year.

***Kyle Seager has played a solid third base and has been a consistent hitter. His 85 RBI’s, 20 homers, and 34 doubles surprised me. I thought he would be a good singles hitter but he has become a power guy and will only get better it seems. His last thirty games stats were .303 average, .339 OBP and .853 OPS with five home runs, which are more than encouraging, sunny signs.

***Hisashi Iwakuma has proven to be steal of a signing by GM Jack. Since the All-Star break, he has been lights out. He is 8-4 with a 2.50 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He is going to end the year with a 3.16 ER even after his tough start. The best thing is that he is an Angel killer. He beat them four straight times including out dueling Angel ace Jered Weaver on September second. He was 4-0 with an incredible 1.23 ERA vs the Angels this season. He has to be back in a Mariner uniform next year.

 ***Erasmo Ramirez stats over his last 28.1 innings pitched are impressive. He struck out 23 and walked only five hitters, had a 2.86 ERA and a WHIP of 0.88-a heck of a way to end the season. I love watching control pitchers like this young guy. He could be a star for years and years to come.

September 30, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Erasmo Ramirez (50) pitches against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-US PRESSWIRE

***Tom Wilhelmsen is going to finish his first season as the full-time closer and has been great until this last week or so when he had a few problems. His 1.11 WHIP, 2.50 ERA and converting 29 out of 34 saves has helped define the important bullpen roles for coming years. He came out of nowhere to become a star. His curve ball is one of the best pitches in the entire league.

Those are my top five rays of hope. But there could be others.

Michael Saunders is having a good end to the season and could have a real break-out year next season, especially with the fences at Safeco being moved in a bit. He would easily have had five more homers at home if the new dimensions had been in place this season.

Justin Smoak‘s last thirty games stats are making me a believer once again. Has he figured it out? I think he has. He has had several dazzling hits to the opposite field from both sides of the plate and is hitting not only homers but doubles. I always thought he could and should be a doubles machine. Look at these numbers for the last thirty games:

.351 average, .431 OBP, .610 SLUG, 1.042 OPS with five homers, five doubles and only 12 K’s to 11 walks!

September 30, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics catcher George Kottaras (14) tags out Seattle Mariners first baseman Justin Smoak (17) at the plate during the second inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-US PRESSWIRE

September was supposed to be a month in which we fans would see how much progress this latest rebuilding program was making under the guidance of Eric Wedge. The verdict is in after finishing a Spectacular September Swoon with nine wins and seventeen losses. Of those nine wins, four were against the Red Sox and Blue Jays, both struggling teams. The Mariners went 5-11 against division foes. They lost all six games to Oakland, including one in which the team struck out a record- tying 20 times. Wow, what progress!

“We’ve got a lot of young kids going through an experience right now that is going to help them be a veteran club in a couple years and they’ll be better for it. We’ll win a lot of these next year just because of all they’ve gone through, particularly here in September. For these teams, every night is a playoff game and that’s the atmosphere and what they’re going through. And we’re right there in the mix with them, fighting all the way, ” said Mariners manager Wedge recently after another close loss.

I, a loyal fan, am supposed to keep the faith, ignore the fact that Seattle is again in last place, be satisfied with moral victories and be patient because of how young this squad is this year. Well, that quote is mostly bullpucky for a couple of reasons.

First, Oakland’s average age is almost exactly the same and look at them. They have played more rookies than the Mariners, play in a terrible hitters park, are still going to make the playoffs, and are even challenging the Texas Rangers for the division crown.

Second, is that the theory that players like Ackley, Smoak, Montero and Saunders are going to magically grow into stars as they gain experience. That’s a hope not a fact. Great young players with superior talent are great from the start. Take Angel star Mike Trout or Oakland rookie Yoenis Cespedes as two examples from this year. Good players are good from the start like our own Kyle Seager has been. Baseball is not like gardening where you plant a seed and given enough time it then flowers and blooms. Sometimes it simply sprouts and dies. You know, like the second guy taken in the draft hitting .227 or the can’t miss five tool prospect putting up Jeremy Reed- type numbers or the power hitter who can’t square up an off-speed pitch or a top catching prospect who hits .212 with RISP. You know, those kind of “seeds.”

Manager Wedge wants us all to wait. “In a couple years” is the terrifying part of that quote. How long will it be before the Seattle Mariners are even competitive in their own division? He’s had two full years and I will give him one more before I bail. I wonder if those in power understand that this franchise is in crisis as attendance dwindles at Safeco. Yeah, there have been a few more wins, a few more homers, a few more runs scored this year but it still adds up to a last place team that is currently 20 games out of first place. “Being right in the mix” is silly talk and fewer and fewer are listening.

This September Swoon has been depressing.