.
It's a funny thing, but the Mariners' team OPS+ is quite reasonable after one month of play. It's 95.
And there are all kinds of players who actually had good Aprils, positioning them for big years at the arb table:*
| Hitter | OPS+ | Remark |
| CF/RF Saunders | 156 | Epic WBC in March; 1.0 EYE in April with >.500 SLG |
| 3B Seager | 149 | Most-improved hitter in baseball, per Sw% |
| CF Gutierrez | 131 | 4 homers, 3 doubles ... in two weeks' play |
| RF Morse | 114 | Took a tragic HBP too keep him THIS bottled up |
| DH Morales | 109 | On pace for 70 walks, 30 doubles, 20 homers - meh |
| OF Bay | 128 | Krueger: "he's about to catch fire; you can feel it" |
| CF Chavez | 95 |
Purely lucky start; about to do a bug on a windshield |
| C Shoppach | 144 | Jaso-like .383 OBP; awesome 2-strike results |
.
I think it was like 1993 when Scott Erickson lost about 20 games, ran an ERA over 5 ... and won his arb case! The GM moaned, "some guys had better years than I remember them having."
Huh! The M's OPS+ is about league average, you say. So why did it feel like if they were down 1-0, the game was over?
Because the 5-6 guys who could hit, were getting the fewest AB's. And the guys who were healthy enough to play were sunk without a bubble:
| "Hitter" | OPS+ | Remark |
| SS Ryan | 14 | Played every day. 9 hits this YEAR, ALL SINGLES (.148 SLG) |
| OF Rauuul | 49 | 60 PA's already - same as Jesus Montero, Guti |
| 2B Ackley | 61 | Played EVERY day |
| C Montero | 67 | |
| 1B Smoak | 70 |
103 PA's leads team.* 1 homer, 2 doubles, .267 SLG |
| SS Andino | 50 | Has more AB's than Guti, Saunders, + Shoppach (averaged) |
.
In this case it wasn't an excuse; it was a root cause. With Morse and Saunders and Gutierrez out, the Mariners' lineup was filled with the half of their roster that couldn't hit.
All at once, here come
So there has been a root cause to the 4-for-5 winning streak. If you want to root for the Mariners to climb in the standings now, you can do so with SSI's blessing.
Play ball,
Dr D
Just noodling around after my Shout Box comment. [Which was: "I remember when Saunders was 20 and tearing up the minors, and I said he reminded me of Jim Edmonds, and, boy, was I scoffed at. So I retreated to "left-handed Mike Cameron" but maybe I shouldn't have."]
Jim Edmonds career .284/.376/.527 OPS+ 132 XBH% 10.7% HR% 4.9%
El Condor age 26 .281/.342/.563 OPS+ 156 XBH% 10.3% HR% 5.1%