SEAside Thoughts: Mariners Face a Harsh Reality in Week 16

Mariners SEAside Thoughts Week 16

“You learn more from getting your butt kicked than getting it kissed.”

-Tom Hanks

• Let’s start with the good, Julio became a star on Monday when he belted 81 home runs at Dodger Stadium. Soto may have won the trophy, but Julio won the night. He will win next year’s event in Seattle.
• It sucks that Julio hurt his wrist. I don’t think it’s too far-fetched to think hitting as many dingers as fast as he possibly could, played a role in his injury.

• I do not blame him though. He earned 750K to double his salary for the season. He’ll be back soon, we should have no ill will towards Julio’s decision.
• So about the Houston series…
  • At the end of the day, the Astros showed the Mariners what a championship team looks like. On the road in a sellout weekend against a young challenger, the big brother Astros put the Mariners in their place, effectively securing the AL West crown for the fifth time in six years.
  • From a series perspective, that wasn’t very fun. It seems like every year Seattle has a chance to win the city over with a big home series, they lay an egg, and in a sense they did. To hear Julio was hurt shortly before the game was a brutal blow no doubt. This was only compounded by Altuve’s home run to start the game…sigh.
  • I’m a big Marco Gonzalez fan, but he can’t be a guy that starts in a three-game wildcard playoff series. I’ve seen it too many times, he just doesn’t have it when the lights shine brightest in big games.
  • Julio will win rookie of the year, but wow, Jeremy Pena is gonna be a problem for years to come. His leaping snag in game one to steal a hit and multiple runs late possibly changed the complexion of the whole series.
  • The Astros are the class of the American League, and in a big picture view, it was a good dose of reality to Mariners leadership…and hopefully ownership. The wildcard is absolutely in play, and odds even say the Mariners should get to October this year. For Seattle to make the jump, and get to places this franchise has never been, they need more teeth. The Mariners need another arm, and they need two more star bats to strengthen the lineup. If ownership and management can make that happen by this time next year, Seattle will have a world series contender capable of standing over the Astros, not just up to them
  • All in all, the sweep didn’t hurt Seattle too bad. Despite falling to 51-45, the Mariners are still two games up on the final wildcard spot. That position will be tested as Julio continues to sit and the Mariners still have ten more games in the next few weeks against the Astros and Yankees.

"SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – JULY 22: Dusty Baker Jr. #12 of the Houston Astros high fives Jose Altuve #27 after the game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on July 22, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. The Houston Astros won 5-2. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)"

• The Rangers come to town to start the week, and while Marcus Semien has been on a heater, this is a series where Seattle should bounce back and win.
• This week’s SEAside Thoughts Player of the Week is the entire Seattle Mariners team. Yes, this weekend sucked, but what the Seattle Mariners did these past few weeks was incredible and an absolute joy to watch.
• This week’s Mariners Music Mojo is A Memory Away by Matt Maeson

• Have a great week and go Mariners!