Baseball gods have done Mariners a huge favor by cursing the American League

It's been claimed once or a million times before the Mariners are somehow cursed by the baseball gods, to the point that even when everything is set up for them to succeed, things still go wrong. Well, for once it seems the M's are getting a massive break despite their subpar start to the 2026 season. Pure and simple, the American League has been horrendous.

Ahead of Thursday's slate of major league action only two AL teams are above .500, despite us effectively being one-quarter of the way through the regular season. In fact, the AL is tracking towards the worst ever winning percentage in AL/NL history:

In really is a minor miracle that the Mariners are in the position they're in, despite only having a 18-20 record through 38 games. As bad as they're been up to this point, they're only 1.0 games out of first place in their division. They're also tied for the fifth-best record in the AL as a whole, with only three clubs doing better than their underwhelming +4 run differential.

Taking all of this into account helps explain why the Mariners' playoff odds have barely budged from preseason, when they were heralded by many as favorites to win the AL and advance to their first ever Fall Classic. FanGraphs gives them a 74.7 percent probability of making the playoffs, which is overwhelmingly the best odds in the AL West. (The Rangers are second, at 49.8 percent.) FanGraphs also still has the M's as fourth-favorites to win the World Series, albeit at just 7.9 percent.

Mariners remain in contention, but need to get their act together ASAP!

It all feels like a bailout, as even the series win over the Braves seemed like survival mode more than good baseball, even though you'll take it anyway you can versus the club with the best record in the majors. However, you have to think the AL surely won't be this bad forever, so the question becomes whether the Mariners can be ahead of the pack in getting their act together?

You want to believe the Mariners will, and they should for a number of reasons, including Brendan Donovan and his .954 OPS likely coming back this weekend. The rotation gets Bryce Miller back around mid-May. And remaining on the injury front, the bullpen has quality relievers in Matt Brash, Gabe Speier and Carlos Vargas all to come back.

In addition, as much as the offense has been inconsistent so far, it does generally feel as if it's doing better of late. Julio Rodríguez is finding his rhythm earlier than usual in the year, while Josh Naylor is now coming around to the form he showed after arriving in Seattle last July. All they need now is for Cal Raleigh to get his mojo back (and he still leads the M's with seven homers despite his struggles).

Of course, just because the Mariners remain one of the most talented rosters in the AL, there's no guarantees they'll get themselves back on track. And if they don't? It doesn't bare thinking about, especially in a year when the baseball gods seem to finally be doing the M's a favor, by keeping them in contention despite their uninspiring start.

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