Weird Mariner fact right now.

[Maulbert]

The Mariners are right now, the worst division leader in terms of record.

They also, right now, have the largest lead of any division leader, being +8.5.

That just blows my mind.

 

[Ruminator]

I know -- it's been a bizarre season in the AL West.

 

[sutz]

At least we are taking advantage of (and contributing to) the slow starts by Houston and Texas.

 

[Crizilla]

Stars have aligned for the Ms this year have to make the playoffs (win the division). LFG.

 

[sutz]

Stars have aligned for the Ms this year have to make the playoffs (win the division). LFG.

Who are you and what have you done with the real Crizilla?

 

[Ruminator]

And unless Rangers rally from being down 9 in the fifth vs Mets this evening, that division lead Ms have in the AL West is about to widen another 0.5. Edit: However, Asterisks are increasingly a concern. A big concern.

 

[Crizilla]

Who are you and what have you done with the real Crizilla?

I said same thing awhile ago lol

 

[RiverDog]

The Mariners are right now, the worst division leader in terms of record.

They also, right now, have the largest lead of any division leader, being +8.5.

That just blows my mind.

None of that matters much to me right now. All I know is that for the first time in decades, that the Mariners are playing good baseball and are leading their division by a lot. Over the past 20 years, I've lost a lot of interest in baseball, and thanks to this season, my love affair has been rekindled.

 

[Shanegotyou11]

And if Ms played in the NL, they would have made the playoffs the past 3 years. They would be be in NL again.

Its what it is.

 

[Threedee]

Rangers get wrecked by the Mets.

 

[Hawk-Lock]

To sum it up, the divison really blows.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

I see it differently. The M's are just a good baseball team with the best pitching in baseball. Sure the division sucks, for now. But I'm not gonna' downplay or apologize for texASS and PUKEston falling on their faces.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

None of that matters much to me right now. All I know is that for the first time in decades, that the Mariners are playing good baseball and are leading their division by a lot. Over the past 20 years, I've lost a lot of interest in baseball, and thanks to this season, my love affair has been rekindled.

First time in Decades? They made the playoffs 2 years ago. But your point is a good one. This is a fun team to watch, and they know how to finish games. Add that to the best pitching in baseball, they have a legit WS chance. Just keep piling up wins now. It's baseball, there will be a slump at some point, create that cushion for a slump and/or TexASS or the CHEATstros getting hot. The difference is that this pitching is too good for any "slump" to last that long.

 

[sutz]

I believe that the M's have not had a losing streak longer than 4 games since 2022.

 

[Chapow]

None of that matters much to me right now. All I know is that for the first time in decades, that the Mariners are playing good baseball and are leading their division by a lot. Over the past 20 years, I've lost a lot of interest in baseball, and thanks to this season, my love affair has been rekindled.

They've played a lot of good baseball over the past 3 and a half years. This year isn't just a 1 year wonder, flukey outlier type of season.

They won 90 games in 2021, 90 games in 2022, and 88 games last year. Sure, only 1 playoff appearance is disappointing, but the results over the past 3 seasons (and now this season so far) is encouraging considering the previous nearly 2 decades. At the very least, they've been taking steps in the right direction for 3 and a half years now.

And while my intent isn't to "excuse" the lack of playoff appearances, I do think it's fair to acknowledge that the AL has been a stronger league than the NL. In 2021, 90 wins gets you into the playoffs by a comfortable margin in the NL, but misses the playoffs entirely in the AL. The Phillies had 87 wins and not only made the playoffs, but made it all the way to the WS. Last season, the Diamondbacks not only made the playoffs in the NL with 84 wins, but made it all the way to the WS. To put it another way, the M's had more wins than than the NL teams that made it to the WS in both 2021 and 2023.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Ownership cares about making money over winning championships. Period.

Until I see them actually do something to put them over the top, I won't believe anything different.

 

[RiverDog]

First time in Decades? They made the playoffs 2 years ago. But your point is a good one. This is a fun team to watch, and they know how to finish games. Add that to the best pitching in baseball, they have a legit WS chance. Just keep piling up wins now. It's baseball, there will be a slump at some point, create that cushion for a slump and/or TexASS or the CHEATstros getting hot. The difference is that this pitching is too good for any "slump" to last that long.

It's the first time in decades that they're playing good (if not great) baseball and leading their division by a lot. In 2022, the year they qualified for the playoffs, they finished 22 games behind the division champ Astros, clearly the better team.

And yes, the Mariners played pretty well in 2022, but not at the pace which they are playing now.

There's a long, long ways to go until October. They haven't even hit the halfway point in their schedule. But it's the first time in a long while that I've been this excited.

 

[RiverDog]

They've played a lot of good baseball over the past 3 and a half years. This year isn't just a 1 year wonder, flukey outlier type of season.

They won 90 games in 2021, 90 games in 2022, and 88 games last year. Sure, only 1 playoff appearance is disappointing, but the results over the past 3 seasons (and now this season so far) is encouraging considering the previous nearly 2 decades. At the very least, they've been taking steps in the right direction for 3 and a half years now.

And while my intent isn't to "excuse" the lack of playoff appearances, I do think it's fair to acknowledge that the AL has been a stronger league than the NL. In 2021, 90 wins gets you into the playoffs by a comfortable margin in the NL, but misses the playoffs entirely in the AL. The Phillies had 87 wins and not only made the playoffs, but made it all the way to the WS. Last season, the Diamondbacks not only made the playoffs in the NL with 84 wins, but made it all the way to the WS. To put it another way, the M's had more wins than than the NL teams that made it to the WS in both 2021 and 2023.

You can put lipstick on a pig and it's still a pig.

Maybe it's just because I'm paying more attention, but I've never felt this good about a Mariners team since 2002.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

It's the first time in decades that they're playing good (if not great) baseball and leading their division by a lot. In 2022, the year they qualified for the playoffs, they finished 22 games behind the division champ Astros, clearly the better team.

And yes, the Mariners played pretty well in 2022, but not at the pace which they are playing now.

There's a long, long ways to go until October. They haven't even hit the halfway point in their schedule. But it's the first time in a long while that I've been this excited.

Makes sense. It def. does feel different this year. Enjoying every day of it. Shoot, I expect them to win every time it's a close game. Been a very long time since I felt that way.
I also don't freak out if they lose, at least not nearly as much.

 

[Chapow]

You can put lipstick on a pig and it's still a pig.

I guess that's where we differ. I don't consider 90 wins, followed by 90 wins, followed by 88 wins, followed by the best first half to a season in nearly 20 years to be "a pig".

Maybe it's just because I'm paying more attention, but I've never felt this good about a Mariners team since 2002.

I'm not there yet with this team. I mean, I feel great about where they're at right now, but I'm still pretty concerned about the offense. Phenomenal starting rotation, good (not great) bullpen, but a bottom 10 (arguably bottom 5) offense is a bit scary to me. If the starting pitching stumbles a bit or hits a rough stretch, that lead could evaporate pretty quickly.