Mariners are five wins away from this achievement…

If the 2019 Mariners could be described in a nutshell, how does a “sandwich of bad” sound to anyone else? Is that accurate enough? The first 15 games were a mix of shock and amazement as our guys started 13-2. Here is our top piece of bread. The meat in between the bread spanned from early May to late July.

The Mariners weren’t just losing games, they were getting their butts kicked. Calling those games fun is far from it. It was as if every opponent was the Yankees. In other words, we were a Triple-A club and every opponent was actually at the pro level! From May 1st to late July, they allowed double-digit runs in 14 of their losses! It looked like the Mariners signed a deal with the Majors to be everyone else’s Home Run Derby warmup coach.

Despite playing crappy opponents, late July till now has been more respectable. They won six straight games against the Tigers and Rangers, including a rare sweep. In mid-August, they won 8 of 12 contests.

Yes, the Yankees came to Seattle and made us look amateur again. What else is new? But do you agree that we have calmed down our last-place ways a bit? We don’t look horrible anymore. We look more competitive and are actually in more games overall.

A specific high note that the Mariners showed came in late August. We were one blown save away from sweeping the Rays on their turf. What’s one of the few things to look forward to when you’re miles under .500?

Playing spoiler, and that’s what we did. Tampa probably thought they would handle us with ease but that series showed serious potential of the future Mariners. And what was more encouraging than Kyle Seager hot streak?

So along with showing some promise and playing a not-so-bad second half, what’s another silver lining in this 2019 cloud? I’ll give you a hint. The 2008 and 2010 Mariners failed at it and this year’s team is only five wins away from dodging it. Since the MLB expanded to 30 teams in 1998, 27 have held this notorious distinction! And the 2003 Tigers were the worst of those worst.

Unless this season does get worse and the Mariners really get cold, we will avoid losing 100 or more games for the first time in nine years. The chance of us losing 90 to 95 games is more likely but that’s not as historical as 100 losses.

If you lose 90-99 games, that’s just a bad season but doesn’t taste as sour in your mouth as another possibility. The 2004 Mariners lost 99 games but do you remember that miserable season as much as 2008 or 2010? Absolutely not.

Neither of those teams showed as much promise as this years either. Both 100-loss squads were filled with underachieving veterans and their farm systems didn’t compare to this years. There was no Justin Dunn or Jarred Kelenic racking it up in the Minors.

No Mariners shortstop made as unreal as a play as JP Crawford did. And to put the cherry on top, those teams didn’t have their #1 prospect pitch decently unless the New York Yankees like Justus Sheffield did.

So look up, Mariners fans. We had a horrendous run most of the year yet will avoid what seemed like certain infamy; triple-digit defeats. Of the six last-place teams, exactly half are on pace to join the comical record books. The Orioles will likely lose 100 or more for consecutive seasons while the Tigers are shadowing their old 2003 selves. Yet we will be safe this year. Things could be worse, fans.