Things are about to get more challenging for the Mariners

[PolarVortex]

Some of you have looked ahead to the June and July schedule and have seen how difficult it is. For those of you that haven't, 34 of the 51 games in June/July are against teams currently over .500. That is in contrast to playing less than 20 games against teams over .500 in the first two months.

This team has a lot of heart, no question. But we will find out about their perseverance in the next two months. If they are still in the thick of things on August 1st then they have a very good chance at making the playoffs. The August/September schedule is very friendly.

And, of course, all of this is predicated on currently crappy teams remaining crappy and currently good teams remaining good.

June:
3 @Texas
4 vs Cleveland
3 vs Texas
3 @ Boston
3 vs St Louis
2 vs Pittsburgh
1 vs Baltimore

July:
3 vs Baltimore
4 @ Kansas City
3 vs White Sox
2 @ Pittsburgh
3 @ Cubs

 

[cezero]

I've brought up the SOS several times.

The 6 games vs Texas in the first half of June are going to be a good barometer for how well we can do against teams like the Red Sox and White Sox.

 

[JMR]

Meh, I say bring it. Tons of ups and downs in the stream of a 162 game season. These "good" teams will have pockets of not-so-good, and v/v. I'm looking forward to seeing what this team can do when matched up with the big boys.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Yep...

I think a lot of this will come down to what adjustments we make post All Star and how well we play...

Mariners aren't a powerhouse team... I think we'll be in it for sure (HOPEFULLY leading?) post All Star but it's all about how we close out the season, who stays healthy, and who slumps/booms. You could say that for a lot of teams... but the Ms aren't as stacked depth wise as some others.

 

[JMR]

Yep...

I think a lot of this will come down to what adjustments we make post All Star and how well we play...

Mariners aren't a powerhouse team... I think we'll be in it for sure (HOPEFULLY leading?) post All Star but it's all about how we close out the season, who stays healthy, and who slumps/booms. You could say that for a lot of teams... but the Ms aren't as stacked depth wise as some others.

Ok, I'll bite. Aren't as deep as who? Aside from the low hanging fruit (the 3 teams in MLB with better records currently). Battling a couple injuries right now, but the lineups we've put there so far with platoon players of Lee, Lind, Smith, and Guti have the offense top 10 in MLB in pretty much all the standard categories except BA (14th).

Now I'm not saying we are a juggernaut or anything, but so far this team is clearly much better than expected and one of the top handful of teams out there. With potential to climb a bit when a couple guys come back from injury.

 

[uwdawgfan]

Still waiting for a few pitchers to improve,should be interesting month....

 

[Destroydacre]

Bring it on. Let's see how good this team really is.

 

[JMR]

Bring it on. Let's see how good this team really is.

Yep, and if the Ms do well against these teams, the naysayers will just tell us that it's one thing to do it in June but entirely something else to do it in October.

 

[AceKeptic]

Seven of the aforementioned twelve series are at home. That's the key right there, because for whatever reason, that's our weak spot...like we needed Minnesota to remind us...

 

[JMR]

Seven of the aforementioned twelve series are at home. That's the key right there, because for whatever reason, that's our weak spot...like we needed Minnesota to remind us...

Pretty unnerving so far the disparity in results between home vs away. Lots of negativity on the board here after this weekend, but I bet there wouldn't be half as much if you just flipped the records between home/away.

 

[Anointed One]

Pretty unnerving so far the disparity in results between home vs away. Lots of negativity on the board here after this weekend, but I bet there wouldn't be half as much if you just flipped the records between home/away.

The negativity comes from the fact that fans have a glimmer of hope finally this late in the season and we just don't want to let it go or get lost...

Fans are kind a like the grounds crew on the movie, Major League at this point...

Guy in Bar: [During mid-season] You know, they could be a lot worse.

Construction Worker: Ya know, these guys ain't so fuckin' bad.

Groundskeeper #2: [In Japanese] They're still shitty.

 

[AceKeptic]

To borrow your list, just to keep up with so-called "progress"...

June:
3 @Texas - Swept
4 vs Cleveland - Three steps away from getting swept
3 vs Texas
3 @ Boston
3 vs St Louis
2 vs Pittsburgh
1 vs Baltimore

July:
3 vs Baltimore
4 @ Kansas City
3 vs White Sox
2 @ Pittsburgh
3 @ Cubs

 

[AceKeptic]

Okay, they avoided the Cleveland sweep. But they still have their work cut out for them, not just in the schedule, but as a team in whole.

 

[unlvmariners]

Okay, they avoided the Cleveland sweep. But they still have their work cut out for them, not just in the schedule, but as a team in whole.

There are some holes that are getting exposed with the roster lately, not that we didn't know they were there but definitely been disguised for awhile and not as big of holes as there has been in the past.

The schedule shows a tough month+ but you gotta be able to beat good teams if you want to earn a playoff spot.

 

[cezero]

I've brought up the SOS several times.

The 6 games vs Texas in the first half of June are going to be a good barometer for how well we can do against teams like the Red Sox and White Sox.

Yep.

Quite a few questions answered now.

As I said at the beginning of the season, a game or two over .500 would be a nice result. I think this team could possibly get to 85-87 wins, even.

 

[NWinAZ]

It is a long season and you need farm strength to get through it. Look at their call-ups and then look at ours. Night and day. They bring up studs and we just hope our guys don't wet themselves.

 

[unlvmariners]

It is a long season and you need farm strength to get through it. Look at their call-ups and then look at ours. Night and day. They bring up studs and we just hope our guys don't wet themselves.

good point. Our next guys up are not even close talent wise. Sardinas, Taylor, O'Malley, Romero etc...

You don't really get into much intriguing talent in the Mariners system until you get into AA or A ball, even then its probably nothing extraordinary. I am starting to get extremely curious about the trade deadline and what exactly Dipoto is thinking and the route he is wanting to take.

 

[SeattleCoug]

It is a long season and you need farm strength to get through it. Look at their call-ups and then look at ours. Night and day. They bring up studs and we just hope our guys don't wet themselves.

Yea Taylor and Romero don't quite measure up to Profar and Mazara do they

 

[SeattleCoug]

14-16 in the last 30 games. I feel pretty similar to the way I did at the start of the year. Tough to get a pulse on this team. I do know that they are paying for most mistakes they make right now

 

[AceKeptic]

Okay, revising things again:

June:
3 @Texas - Swept
4 vs Cleveland - Split
3 vs Texas - Dominated 2-1 by our own incompetence
3 @ Boston - On the road, but won't help matters
3 vs St Louis - More weekend struggles at home
2 vs Pittsburgh - I'm sure we can help with these guys
1 vs Baltimore - ...

July:
3 vs Baltimore - Is it possible for the manager to eliminate his players from the AS roster?
4 @ Kansas City - Defending champs, 'nuff said
3 vs White Sox - Another struggling team? Not after this meeting
2 @ Pittsburgh - Perhaps the only salvation we'll get due to being on road
3 @ Cubs - The finalizing of the team's sale can't come quickly enough!