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FEELIN' it.
The young Mariners (with the possible exception of Seager) are pressing. It takes me back to the conversation this offseason that what this team needed was a serious veteran bat in the middle to take some of the pressure off and let the young guys develop. Ideally, they needed two, but hey, when you routinely get ZERO you take what you can get.
The reason why they needed it was not the undermine the youth movement but to secure it. Fielder wasn't coming here. I get it. The other options weren't captivating. I get it. But in the words of The Dave Clark Five, we've heard this tune "uh-Over-and-uh-Over-and-uh-Over again." (1) The really good one's ain't coming here, and (2) nobody else truly good makes sense at a rate we're willing to pay. And the end result, according to the British invasion band, was "This Dance Is Gonna Be A Drag."
Spring training was a fabulous feel-good for this team. It appeared we had a bevy of booming bats. We may yet. But so far the season has been a dose of reality that underscores the obvious concerns of the offseason.
You can TELL kids to grow up fast, but you can't MAKE 'em. They'll grow up as fast as they grow up. Start squeezing kids to produce like adults (metaphorically speaking) and you're just as likely to crack 'em.
The difference between adults and kids is experience, and experience is not something that can be force-fed. Put a young, inexperienced kid with oodles of sales talent up against competitors who have a proven track record of closing deals and the kid doesn't stand a chance. Not until he gains valuable experience seeing how the pros do it.