Life's disappointments: 47-73

I think that in all the seasons in the history of the Mariners franchise, 2010 will be remembered as the most disappointing. The expectations were certainly there at the beginning of the year that this might be the year the Mariners reestablish themselves as a team to beat in the American League. I think a large part of the disappointment is the the buildup that was created by the media which makes fans really believe that their team has a legitimate shot at contending. Most of the expectations of a mediocre offense providing enough offense for a stellar pitching staff to drive a good team through a weak division were based on the presumption that younger players would get progressively better as their years gave them more experience, when in fact those players have stayed static or regressed. Jose Lopez and Franklin Gutierrez were expected to be major RBI producers. They have not been, which is not to say they have been terrible, simply not better. Chone Figgins has been terrible, a mystery not unique to free agent hitters showing up to Seattle (see Rich Aurelia, Jeff Cirillo, Scott Spezio, Jose Vidro) yet Ichiro's numbers are down from usual expectations, leaving zero room for figureheads like Ken Griffey Jr. to not produce on the field in exchange for putting fans in the seats. But nothing will put fans in the seats like winning, and nothing will drive fans away from the park like losing. Ken Griffey Jr. was supposed to bring fans to the ballpark for a feeling of nostalgia, but the only reason that fans felt nostalgic was because of the positive feeling associated with Ken Griffey Jr.'s presence in the lineup, and the only reason that feeling existed was because we won when he played. Had 1995 not happened, had we not made playoff appearances during those years, fans would not have cared nearly as much about "the Kid" returning to Seattle. People like to remember times when we won.

Losing on a daily basis is simply too difficult to swallow. It's too difficult for me as a fan to watch everyday expecting to lose, and even worse to try and drive the nagging questions from my head that wonders when we will be winners again. But the game must move on, and so we wonder where to go from here. The M's have been winning recently with a chance tonight to win our fourth series in a row, our late summer effort to stave off unnecessary humiliation. But the rosters will expand soon and we will be thinking about who to call up, who to give time in September to. '
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At this point, I'm satisfied to solidify a starting rotation to move forward with. Doug Fister and Jason Vargas have consistently performed this season. Luke French has not had enough of a chance to show what he can do. I'm glad at this point that we have Felix Hernandez for a few years, but soon decisions must be made on what to do about Ryan Rowland-Smith. The braintrusts of our organization must have a huge amount of faith in his stuff to keep giving him chance after chance to fly right, but patience can not be unlimited. I have no feelings on what to do about RRS as no one else seems to be jumping for the last rotation spot.

More questions linger about where to move forward with our hitting. My philosophy has always been to stay young when losing, favoring younger talent instead of players on the opposite end of their prime. It's still difficult to determine what to make about Figgins. Is this year a fluke? Is his talent suddenly diminishing? Who would we rather have?

I am encouraged by Josh Wilson and Michael Saunders. These are younger guys who seem to have great swings. Jack Wilson is a defensive wizard, but with no bat he's not what our team needs right now. I hope we can keep Branyan driving the baseball in the middle our lineup, but his injuries issues are worrisome. Many questions will try to be answered this September with our call ups, and that needs to carry as much if not more weight than spring training performances.