For Lakesiders struggling with the rigor of a new fall semester, the Mariners’ failure to perform in recent times has added another layer of gloom. High expectations for the team going into the fall completely sputtered out in early September. Just a month after the Mariners had been on top of the American League West in August, they were eliminated from playoff contention.
Individual performances like Luis Castillos’ pitching meltdown on September 30 ultimately caused the season to falter in crunch time, but simply put, better players make better plays. The Mariners undoubtedly have quality fans and a great coaching staff, leaving only one person left to point fingers at: General Manager Jerry Dipoto.
While heartbreaking for success-starved fans, the Mariners’ implosion in September was much needed. Simmering down continued delusions that the Mariners are a World Series–contending baseball team is the only way to properly assess the franchise. After hovering around .500 the entire season like the team seems to do every year, the final playoff charge we saw in 2022 was simply missing quality role players; Mike Ford and Josh Rojas should have been replaced in the rotation. Still, General Manager Jerry Dipoto was seemingly unfazed. “If you go back and you look in a decade, those teams that win 54 percent of the time always wind up in the postseason,” he said in a postseason press conference.
Dipoto’s remarks were met with incredible backlash from Mariners fans, and rightfully so. For a GM who spent $100 million less than the Astros or Rangers this season, you’d think he’d have more remorse for his team’s failures, and frankly, his unwillingness to invest in the team damaged the Mariners’ chance at the playoffs more than anything else. The Mariners have a couple stars and solid players but clearly lack offensive depth and defensive consistency, two areas that could easily be improved with a couple quality signings. This was particularly apparent during the final series against the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers, when the Mariners failed to win games due to those areas of weakness. In an 0-2 loss on September 23, the offense failed to even hit one out of nine runners on base throughout the game, despite allowing just two hits on defense. Not even 24 hours later, the Mariners’ offense caught on fire, hitting eight runs with 13 total hits. In typical Mariners fashion, however, the pitching staff on the day let in nine. Just like on any other team, our star players have bad games, but the Mariners’ supporting cast fails to step up when they’re needed.
Many fans also point to the Kolten Wong trade as a symbol of Dipoto’s patchwork attempts to build a winning team. In an attempt to improve the infield, Dipoto traded for Wong in December 2022, but Wong played so poorly that he was dropped from the first team just months after the trade. Instead of continuing to look for an infield, Dipoto then reverted back to the subpar infield we had before the trade. The team does not need to be the next Padres and sign every free agent superstar, but upper management needs to be more committed to improving the team instead of being complacent with an average roster.
Although the end of the Mariners’ season may have seemed like a sudden downpour, there could still be rainbows in store for the Mariners next season. First, putting the franchise tag on Julio Rodriguez was a historic leap in the right direction for a team that has seen rebuilding year after year. Secondly, 2022 AL Manager of the Year Nominee Scott Servais has the team moving in the right direction, with fans behind him. Lastly, whether we sneak into the playoffs next year or, more likely, have another disappointing September, we will always be able to find comfort in the delusions and fleeting hopes of other Mariners fans. Remember, at the end of the season, it is the friends and memories we made on the way that matter the most.
