Seattle Mariners: My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined

Roughly 30 hours removed from proposing a hopeful outlook, the Mariners have let me down once again. I’m about ready to admit defeat.

But I won’t just yet. If we’re being honest, this is the scenario I fully expect to occur: the Mariners will split its upcoming series with Oakland, play decent ball and stay in the hunt up until the final week, allowing us a small glimpse of hope.

Similar results transpired in both 2014 and 2016, and I can’t imagine this season being any different. The Mariners have the fortitude to be good this year, but they can’t break all the way through. They are at the peak of baseball mediocrity.

For most of the 2018 season, the Mariners greatly overachieved. They delivered jaw-dropping and tear-jerking moments into the Summer, then reverted to their true heartbreaking nature. Once again, I was fooled. We all were, for the 17th year in a row.

If you’re a returning reader of the blog, you’ll be familiar with my series titled The Drought. The honest truth is, I started that series because, at the time, the Mariners were high-stepping to the playoffs.

Now, we’re here, in the same place we’ve been countless times since 2001: the Mariners are a solid team, but not solid enough.

I’m not sure what lies ahead for this organization. I have an idea of where they should go, and most of the players currently on this team are not a part of that vision. However, that path is very extreme and I can’t imagine this considerably conservative regime fully going in on a Rays-esque rebuild.

So, for now, I’ve decided to abandon hope. Not just for the playoff aspirations of the 2018 season, but for the ideal pivot needed to give this team a future past the turn of the decade.

I feel a lot more at ease about my relationship with the Mariners when I toss away my expectations. I didn’t go into this season with expectations, and instead had new expectations built sky-high by the success of the team. Of course, that didn’t go so well.

Just like a reboot is needed for the Mariners, one is also needed for my mind.