Mitch Haniger is the Fire the Mariners need going forward

I’m sitting here on a Thursday morning, just sort of waiting for the offseason to really heat up. It usually doesn’t happen until the World Series, or just after it ends. That’s when legitimate rumors (or at least ones that sound legitimate) start coming out, and players start signing. Mitch Haniger changed all that in an instant.

Hanny came out with an article in the Players Tribune the morning of the 14th. If you haven’t had your coffee yet (what kind of crazy person are you to not have one yet) you finally made a good choice, because he is going to fire you up.

"We lost when it mattered most. We fell short of our goal — period. And I need every Mariners fan to know that. But I also need them to know something else: This group is going to the playoffs. That’s not an if….. it’s a when. And that when is soon.We’re going to end this f*cking drought."

Mitch Haniger wants you to know we’re going to end this ******* drought.

The Mariners were coming out with t-shirts all year with slogans that the team had been involved in or embraced. Why not make this a shirt? I know for sure that I would buy one!

Here’s the thing. We have been in a drought for so long, that knowing the team feels like this still, that they aren’t going to lay down and just let it continue. That they want to be responsible for ending it, for bringing the Mariners back to the playoffs.

"We’re going to end this f*cking drought."

That’s the kind of fire that the Mariners need. Mitch Haniger brings it, and I’ve adjusted my tune on how I feel about his career with the team. I wasn’t sure how much he was going to cost, if the funky injury history was going to affect him, or how much he wanted to be here. You hear things during the year about how much players do or don’t wanna be on the team. Directly hearing the player say it though. That speaks untold volumes.

"I hope our front office is reading this, and they understand that it’s time to really go all-in. It’s time to make some impact moves, and put this group over the top. And I hope our fans are all reading this. I hope you guys understand that it may be the end of the season….. but it isn’t an ending. This is a damn start."

Bring Mitch Haniger back. He is heading towards his final year of arbitration, but I don’t think that the Mariners should let it get that far. Sign him to a deal, long-term, and let him be the clubhouse leader, the vet, the fire that stokes this team and continues to push them towards the playoffs.

You know he wants it, and that attitude has spread like wildfire throughout the rest of the Mariners.

"We’re going to end this f*cking drought."

My Oh My. I’m so hyped for the 2022 season. I love the offseason and all the intrigue and drama that it brings amidst prospect talk, free agency, trades, and the winter meetings. Now though, that’s changed. Give me the 2022 Mariners. I want it to be April. Does anyone have a wall they need knocked down? Cause I’m ready to run through it in support of these 2022 Mariners and Mitch Haniger. As Mitch Haniger said…

"I’ll see you in the spring."