Mariners have been 5 and 2, 1 and 10, and 13 and 5

[Logicallylethal]

Mariners are 18-7 outside of that horrendous 1-10 streak. If we just go anywher close to .500 during that streak we are in first place

If this season ends up being any sort of moderate success...we will look back to that Kyle Seager walk off home run as the turning point

 

[dude82]

All this and Cano still only has the one homerun all season. He's due to go on a homerun binge and when he does, the offense will get a big boost.

 

[seattlefan75]

I think Cano brings confidence to this team because if you look at it this team hasnt changed from last season everybody is batting .250 and below ackley and smoak are doing ok but not living up to their potential. But it seems that they find ways to win games and our pitching staff is keeping the games close.

Its great that were playing a little above .500 with an unhealthy starting rotation. Chris Young and Reonis have been outstanding for us

 

[Podunkparte]

I think Cano brings confidence to this team because if you look at it this team hasnt changed from last season everybody is batting .250 and below ackley and smoak are doing ok but not living up to their potential. But it seems that they find ways to win games and our pitching staff is keeping the games close.

Its great that were playing a little above .500 with an unhealthy starting rotation. Chris Young and Reonis have been outstanding for us

Let's be real though, Ackley and Smoak are hitting far better than they did last year, especially right now, when Ackley is absolutely on fire and Smoak is hitting the ball hard to center field. Don't underestimate how different it seems with those two at the plate so far this year.

I'd also argue Smoak is absolutely living up to his potential this year. He's tied for the lead in home runs and leading the team in RBI while playing gold glove caliber defense. What more do you expect him to be?

 

[seattlefan75]

Let's be real though, Ackley and Smoak are hitting far better than they did last year, especially right now, when Ackley is absolutely on fire and Smoak is hitting the ball hard to center field. Don't underestimate how different it seems with those two at the plate so far this year.

I'd also argue Smoak is absolutely living up to his potential this year. He's tied for the lead in home runs and leading the team in RBI while playing gold glove caliber defense. What more do you expect him to be?

I mean not to kill your vibe but last season there were stretches where smoak and ackley would play well then out of nowhere they would go on a SLUMP and their BA would dip into the low .200 I wouldnt get to excited about them just yet. I expect justin smoak to be what the scouting report said he was when we traded one of the best pitchers in baseball in cliff lee to the rangers for him. your absolutely right he is playing well now but lets see where he is at the all star break before he breaks our hearts again

 

[Podunkparte]

I mean not to kill your vibe but last season there were stretches where smoak and ackley would play well then out of nowhere they would go on a SLUMP and their BA would dip into the low .200 I wouldnt get to excited about them just yet. I expect justin smoak to be what the scouting report said he was when we traded one of the best pitchers in baseball in cliff lee to the rangers for him. your absolutely right he is playing well now but lets see where he is at the all star break before he breaks our hearts again

I agree, but until they actually do fall into that slump again, I have just enough optimism to hope they might have taken an actual step toward being productive players.

 

[Itsmytime]

I mean not to kill your vibe but last season there were stretches where smoak and ackley would play well then out of nowhere they would go on a SLUMP and their BA would dip into the low .200 I wouldnt get to excited about them just yet. I expect justin smoak to be what the scouting report said he was when we traded one of the best pitchers in baseball in cliff lee to the rangers for him. your absolutely right he is playing well now but lets see where he is at the all star break before he breaks our hearts again

I realize how bad Smoak and Ackley have been in the past, but lets put some perspective into this. How long did it take for Jose Bautista to finally get it and break out? How about Chris Davis? They struggled for years, until one day everything clicked. That being said I know things are frustrating, but just think one day all these things could just click and all these struggles will be a thing of the past.

 

[cezero]

I haven't watched any M's games since game 6 of the losing streak, but looking at the stats, it looks like the M's have hit a couple of weeks of winning thanks mainly to an inordinate amount of 1) capitalizing on opposing team errors, and 2) hits with men in scoring position.

The sabr numbers are consistently horrible from top to bottom for this team offensively. Pretending that's going to change or that the luck they've had lately will keep up is delusional.

 

[cezero]

I realize how bad Smoak and Ackley have been in the past, but lets put some perspective into this. How long did it take for Jose Bautista to finally get it and break out? How about Chris Davis? They struggled for years, until one day everything clicked. That being said I know things are frustrating, but just think one day all these things could just click and all these struggles will be a thing of the past.

Bautista was maybe a little of a surprise when he started hitting all of those homers. Davis was not a surprise in any way when he got hot.

Smoak or Ackley ever having a single year of similar success would be astonishingly, amazingly, and bafflingly extraordinary for anybody who knows anything about baseball.

The comparison puts nothing in "perspective".

 

[johnfree63]

I realize how bad Smoak and Ackley have been in the past, but lets put some perspective into this. How long did it take for Jose Bautista to finally get it and break out? How about Chris Davis? They struggled for years, until one day everything clicked. That being said I know things are frustrating, but just think one day all these things could just click and all these struggles will be a thing of the past.

You're just cherry picking 2 exceptions. For every Jose Bautista or Chris Davis there's 400+ failures. It's just like the whole "who's this years Russell Wilson" thing in the NFL Draft. There isn't a next Russell Wilson just like there isn't a whole bunch of Jose Bautista's walking around. 99.9% of the time prospects that have been as bad as Smoak fail! That's just how it is.

 

[octagondd]

I mean not to kill your vibe but last season there were stretches where smoak and ackley would play well then out of nowhere they would go on a SLUMP and their BA would dip into the low .200 I wouldnt get to excited about them just yet. I expect justin smoak to be what the scouting report said he was when we traded one of the best pitchers in baseball in cliff lee to the rangers for him. your absolutely right he is playing well now but lets see where he is at the all star break before he breaks our hearts again

I assume you mean the Mariners traded 2 months of a great pitcher for 5+ years of a switch hitting, power hitting 1B prospect with decent upside, a BOR SP prospect(Beavan) and through another trade, a catcher to fill a hole for a season (and catch a Perfect game). I know we all loved Lee, but he was not ours to keep, so getting something for him was good. It did not have to be a blue chip prospect with HOF type upside, because you are not going to get that from any team for a two month/playoff rental.

Now, if you want to bag on the Montero/Pineda deal, or the Fister deal, go right ahead.

 

[cezero]

I assume you mean the Mariners traded 2 months of a great pitcher for 5+ years of a switch hitting, power hitting 1B prospect with decent upside, a BOR SP prospect(Beavan) and through another trade, a catcher to fill a hole for a season (and catch a Perfect game). I know we all loved Lee, but he was not ours to keep, so getting something for him was good. It did not have to be a blue chip prospect with HOF type upside, because you are not going to get that from any team for a two month/playoff rental.

Now, if you want to bag on the Montero/Pineda deal, or the Fister deal, go right ahead.

I agree.

Lee wasn't going to be around long, and made it abundantly clear in multiple interviews that all he wanted to do was get back to the Phillies the next year, regardless of whether he ended up with the M's for the rest of the season or got traded.

Every team that traded for him knew that they would have him for, at most, a few months. Getting Smoak/Beaven/Lueke was actually a totally decent move.

 

[Itsmytime]

You're just cherry picking 2 exceptions. For every Jose Bautista or Chris Davis there's 400+ failures. It's just like the whole "who's this years Russell Wilson" thing in the NFL Draft. There isn't a next Russell Wilson just like there isn't a whole bunch of Jose Bautista's walking around. 99.9% of the time prospects that have been as bad as Smoak fail! That's just how it is.

Not the point I was getting at. Just saying it can take longer for players to finally click and get it. Also those are big examples I could think, I know there are quite a few more out there.

 

[cezero]

Not the point I was getting at. Just saying it can take longer for players to finally click and get it. Also those are big examples I could think, I know there are quite a few more out there.

Yes, terrible examples. Think more Russ Davis and less Jose Bautista.

 

[Logicallylethal]

This is my take on Justin Smoak and Dustin Ackley

For Smoak, at this point in his career, I think we've all realized that he's never going to be a .270 or .280 hitter. BUT he's a guy that can hit at least .240 to .250, give us some solid power (20-25 hr) and drive in some runs (80-90 rbi). That as well as his really good glove in the field (albeit at one of the least important defensive positions)

With Ackley...I don't know what to make of him, but I just continue to root for him to succeed. I think he has a good approach at the plate and hits the ball hard when he does make contact. His only problem really is his confidence at times is on and off and also his understanding of the strike zone. With him I think at this point we all realize he won't be the "stud" or "all star" that we were anticipating with the #2 pick. However, he can still be a solid hitter (.270 + with 10-12 hr). What he needs to do is add some sbs to his game. Otherwise he's just a decent avg hitter with below avg power for his position and an average glove at best. If he never adds the speed element to his game, I don't think he's worthy of anything more than a 4th outfielder.

 

[NWinAZ]

Every team that traded for him knew that they would have him for, at most, a few months. Getting Smoak/Beaven/Lueke was actually a totally decent move.

But amazing we took Smoak and not Davis so guess which one developed? After the deal was announced I was hoping we would have ended up with Davis and Salty instead of Lueke and the minor leaguer who we traded then retired. Davis was playing 3B at the time and Salty was out of favor in Texas so i was dreaming we could have added 3/5ths of a new infield in one deal. I never thought Davis would be a 50+ homer guy, but I was happy if he came over and hit 25 along with Smoak hitting 25 and Salty maybe adding 20.

 

[johnfree63]

This is my take on Justin Smoak and Dustin Ackley

For Smoak, at this point in his career, I think we've all realized that he's never going to be a .270 or .280 hitter. BUT he's a guy that can hit at least .240 to .250, give us some solid power (20-25 hr) and drive in some runs (80-90 rbi). That as well as his really good glove in the field (albeit at one of the least important defensive positions)

With Ackley...I don't know what to make of him, but I just continue to root for him to succeed. I think he has a good approach at the plate and hits the ball hard when he does make contact. His only problem really is his confidence at times is on and off and also his understanding of the strike zone. With him I think at this point we all realize he won't be the "stud" or "all star" that we were anticipating with the #2 pick. However, he can still be a solid hitter (.270 + with 10-12 hr). What he needs to do is add some sbs to his game. Otherwise he's just a decent avg hitter with below avg power for his position and an average glove at best. If he never adds the speed element to his game, I don't think he's worthy of anything more than a 4th outfielder.

With Smoak, those #'s aren't good enough for a 1B on a playoff caliber team. Even with his defense.

Ackley, unless he hits above .280, you're dead on with him being a 4th OF on a playoff team.

 

[cezero]

But amazing we took Smoak and not Davis so guess which one developed? After the deal was announced I was hoping we would have ended up with Davis and Salty instead of Lueke and the minor leaguer who we traded then retired. Davis was playing 3B at the time and Salty was out of favor in Texas so i was dreaming we could have added 3/5ths of a new infield in one deal. I never thought Davis would be a 50+ homer guy, but I was happy if he came over and hit 25 along with Smoak hitting 25 and Salty maybe adding 20.

yeah, that would've been nice.

 

[wazzu31]

I assume you mean the Mariners traded 2 months of a great pitcher for 5+ years of a switch hitting, power hitting 1B prospect with decent upside, a BOR SP prospect(Beavan) and through another trade, a catcher to fill a hole for a season (and catch a Perfect game). I know we all loved Lee, but he was not ours to keep, so getting something for him was good. It did not have to be a blue chip prospect with HOF type upside, because you are not going to get that from any team for a two month/playoff rental.

Now, if you want to bag on the Montero/Pineda deal, or the Fister deal, go right ahead.

Lee wasn't going to be with the M's no doubt, but it was a piss poor trade. Smoak had already had struggled with the Rangers. In no way shape or form should a gm ever trade the most coveted deadline pitcher, let alone a guy who dominated in the bullpen, for a one stud prospect who had already struggled and 2 guys who's upside was fillers. Jack said no to Chris Davis but yes to Smoak and Montero.

Hindsight is 20/20 but Jack screwed the pooch and has royally screwed the pooch on just the value of his deals.

 

[cezero]

yeah, it was a very good trade considering lee was a loaner pitcher

the m's were a loser club going nowhere, and they would've been idiots to not trade. the market was thin, and the rangers made by far the best offer. that's a fact, no matter what ignoramuses pontificate.

would've been nice to get davis in hindsight, but it was a very wise trade at the time.

idiots will never understand.

i hate z and the front office, but that wasn't a blunder in any way.