Mariners Playoff Hopes: Three Things that Need to Happen

Mariners need a visit from Dipoto

I get it. Jerry is the boss, his decisions are final, and players need to respect that. His complete revampment of the Mariners’ farm system and his track record of bringing in high-quality players at minimal cost is only further evidence that players and fans should trust his actions.

However, professional baseball isn’t fantasy baseball. In fantasy baseball, you want to roster a group of players whose individual performances will help you win; in real baseball, you need a group of men who have not only individual talent but are also willing to do whatever it takes to help their team be successful on a nightly basis. There’s a lot that goes into that human element of the game, including having faith in your franchise’s leadership from the top-down.

I believe Dipoto when he said he hated the timing of the Graveman trade (during a series against the Houston Astros, the team they traded him to), and I also believe that the trade was in the best short and long-term interest of the team (Abraham Toro has been a man amongst boys since coming to the Mariners, and he’s under contract through 2025).

While Dipoto clearly knew what he was doing, the players had no idea. On the surface, it looked awful: a dominant relief pitcher who was beloved by his teammates gets traded to a division rival for a player with a career batting average right around .200 (and veteran reliever Joe Smith), all after Dipoto made it clear that the Mariners were in “win-now” mode at the deadline. That type of move can’t happen without a little bit of explanation to the people it directly affects.

I’m no speech-writer, but I believe something along these lines would be an effective statement for Dipoto to make to his team when they return to the clubhouse this week: *This is conjecture, it didn’t actually happen*

“Hey, fellas – this visit is overdue. I wish I could have come down here two weeks ago, but it’s about impossible to leave my office during the trade deadline. I know Kendall was a huge part of this team, and I miss him just as much as you guys do. I believed in Abraham Toro when we traded for him, and I hope you believe in him now just as much as I do. Bullpen – keep doing what you do best, and we’re excited to have Diego (Castillo) and Joe on board. Let’s go win some ball games.”

It doesn’t have to be a full-blown intervention, and it shouldn’t be, but any good boss makes time to honor the thoughts and emotions of their people.

Winning when you are supposed to win

The Mariners’ schedule for the final month and a half of the season is very interesting. Here’s the total layout:

6 games vs. Texas (39-73)

3 games vs. Toronto (60-50, 2.5 games ahead of Seattle)

9 games vs. Houston (66-46)

9 games vs. Oakland (64-48, 5.5 games ahead of Seattle)

7 games vs. Kansas City (48-62)

6 games vs. Arizona (35-78)

3 games vs. Boston (65-49, 5.5 games ahead of Seattle)

6 games vs. Los Angeles Angels (56-56)

At first glance, this schedule has a major theme: on a nightly basis, the Mariners will either be faced with teams they can directly overcome in the playoff race or teams they should be able to beat handily. The one anomaly is the LA Angels, a team Seattle tends to be very evenly matched with.

If you are a team sitting 5.5 games back in the Wild Card race, and 7.5 games back in the division, this is an exciting schedule. I believe that if you can’t beat the teams you’re competing with for a playoff spot, and if you can’t beat the teams that you are far better than on paper, then you shouldn’t be in the playoffs. This is a chance for the Mariners to prove themselves.

Get back to what works

Before their most recent road trip, the Mariners were 23-9 in one-run games, easily the best in MLB at the time. Since then, they’ve dropped four one-run games in a row.

One may look at that statistic and think “uh… well if they still had Kendall Graveman, maybe they’d be winning those one-run games”. While Graveman’s presence in the bullpen would have certainly helped, the Mariners wouldn’t have even been in contention in those games without the production of Abraham Toro. Without Toro, Graveman would have been twiddling his thumbs in the bullpen the past two weeks, likely without a single opportunity to close a game.

In order to win one-run games consistently, a team must play outstanding defense, make clutch hits late in the game, and get near-perfect outings from their bullpen.

In Seattle’s most recent one-run loss, a 5-4 heartbreaker to the Yankees on Saturday, two defensive miscues cost at least three runs: Mitch Haniger flubbed a routine fly ball to right field in the 6th inning, then Ty France threw to second instead of a home on a non-force out later in the inning. That same game, the Mariners jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the 2nd inning, then didn’t come close to producing a run the rest of the game, while the bullpen faltered as well.

Excelling in those three aspects of the game has been the Mariners’ secret weapon this year, not their Achilles heel. If Seattle can revert to their old ways and own their strengths, expect them to make noise in the American League playoff race as the regular season comes to a close.