Here are the facts this season.  The Seattle Mariners sit at 45-44, which is good for third place in the AL West.  They are 9 games behind the Texas Rangers for the Division lead, and 5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox for the two Wild Card spots (both teams are currently tied right now).

If this is me at the start of the season, I’m optimistic as a fan because we’re only halfway through the year and well within striking distance of a potential playoff berth.  On the other hand though, we have seen this team gain ground in the division and get a firm tight hold on it for a while, only to implode like we did in June.  You can’t expect to be a playoff team with a 10-18 mark like that.

Robinson Cano will be participating in the 2016 Home Run Derby tomorrow as the #4 seed going against Giancarlo Stanton. Cano has 21 Home Runs on the year.

There have been some bright spots though.  Cano has gotten out of his sophomore slump from 2015 and done a superb job.  Driving in 58 RBI’s and batting with a .313 average.  Nelson Cruz leads the team with 23 homers, with Kyle Seager adding 18 of his own.  Cano unfortunately is the lone All-Star, but the Mariners are tied for second in the majors (with the Toronto Blue Jays) with 130 Home Runs.  They may not be the best team, but they are sure an exciting team.  The M’s are also 9th in the majors with 427 runs, and 8th in RBI’s with 411.

Ace Felix Hernandez is pitching in a rehab start for the Everett Aquasox today, but if all goes well he should take the mound on July 20th.

The main problem is that the Mariners are too inconsistent.  The best example I can give you is a more recent one.  Seattle sweeps the AL East leading Baltimore Orioles over the 4th of July weekend, only to lose three straight to the Houston Astros and lose precious ground in the Wild Card race.  It feels like the team always looks like they are taking a step forward, but then they wind up taking two or three steps backward.  I’m not trying to be cynical, I’ve just been taught not to get my hopes up with this team.

As far as pitching goes, averages show that Seattle has the 10th best staff in the major leagues.  That’s pretty good considering that ace Felix Hernandez has had a rough go over the past week and is rehabbing in the Mariners farm system right now.  If Felix can return to health, that very well could push the Mariners fortunes into a positive direction.

Plus the team also won today, and it is always better to go into a long break after a win than a long break after a loss.