Where the Mariners Stand with Me

Last time I did a blog post on the Mariners, they were more than halfway into their 2015 season, but hadn't yet fired their GM or manager, which they eventually did.  I said I was done with them, done buying their merchandise or going to games and not watching them on TV as much.  I stood by that, not buying any Mariner merch since then and I didn't go to a game or really watch much in the last month or two.  As the season winded down, the Mariners made changes and it left Mariners fans like myself feeling an all too familiar feeling: Transition for the sake of progress.  We've seen this before with the M's, and it's gotten them nowhere, so that gives us little hope this time around it will be any different.

I think the general consensus after this offseason is muted optimism.  No one is expecting the Mariners to succeed this year, although some are saying they could be a surprise team.  The Mariners made a few good moves this offseason, but nothing too large like signing a huge free agent like has happened recently.  New General Manager Jerry Dipoto filled some holes at first, centerfield, catcher, and a corner outfield spot fairly well, with players that are more all-around players rather than big bats like Jack Zduriencik sought.  The lineup does look better and the rotation if healthy as a whole looks like a top 10 rotation, but the bullpen remains a question mark with new closer Steve Cishek.

Also, I won't be doing an official Mariners prediction blog post, because I don't want to burden this team with expectations nor be let down when or if they fail to meet them.  Consider this my predictions, more or less.

I don't really plan on going to any games this season, although there is the Star Wars weekend in August that I might have to attend, but other than that, my spending money will go very little if any towards the Mariners.  They need to prove to me that they're committed to winning and that the atmosphere in the organization has changed.  The Mariners are almost like the Cleveland Browns of baseball--no matter what moves they make, at least in the back of your mind you expect them to disappoint.

So what will happen this year?  It's hard to say.  A lot of things could happen, one of the worst possible things being a severe injury to Felix, Cano, Seager, or Cruz.  But if this team stays at least relatively healthy and plays as a unit, I could see this team surprising.  I really could.  I did, however, predict the Mariners to be in 2nd place in my MLB Predictions for 2016, although I had them missing out on the playoffs (again).

It's a wait and see approach with this team.  How this team does in the first few months will really show us the direction this team is headed.  Either fans will slowly hop on board the Mariners bandwagon or the Mariners will have lost all interest before the All-Star break.  Time will tell.  But, as a Mariner fan (more or less) until the day I die, I will finish with this: GO MARINERS!