Vitamin SEA: A September to Dismember
Looking at the final month of the regular season, and how the Mariners can make the playoffs
September is upon us, and Mariners fans are wishing it wasn’t. The past two weeks have been excruciating baseball, especially for those fans who have already bought their postseason tickets (me). If the Mariners are truly going to make the postseason, they are hell-bent on making it as stressful as possible. An inability to win on the road mixed with untimely stumbles from some of the team’s more steady contributors (Cal Raleigh, Luis Castillo, Andres Munoz) has not given fans much to hold on to recently.
The remaining games in the season are all very important. Let's take a look at which of these final 23 games mean the most right now.
Braves (road): The Mariners need to prove that they remember how to win on the road. With a vital and terrifying final road trip looming later, the team needs some sort of confidence booster on the road now, and beating a solid Braves team would do it.
Cardinals (home): if there is one series I am comfortable with the Mariners losing, it is this one. The Cardinals have no bearing whatsoever on the team’s playoff chances, and they aren’t just going to win all the games. Better to lose this one than a more important series. The main reason I would be unhappy losing is that I am going to one of these games and so I’d like the Mariners to at least win that one.
Angels (home): Four games at home against the division pests from Anaheim? Cannot lose this one. Intra-division record might be important for tiebreakers and losing to the Angels always feels bad.
Royals (road): This is a sleeper pick for a make or break series. The Mariners have never once had a normal series against Kansas City. There is always some insane collapse or tomfoolery when these two teams match up. It will be mind-boggling and terrifying. Please somehow manage to win this, the Royals are too close for comfort in the Wild Card race.
Astros (road): This is the road trip from hell. The place to win the division is here in Houston. This series will decide the season series between Seattle and Houston and will most likely be the opportunity for one team to break away from the other. This will be the most important three games of the entire year. I am not looking forward to this at all.
Rockies (home): You have to beat Colorado. Cal Raleigh will hit 17 home runs this series.
Dodgers (home): It is really unfortunate that the Dodgers have not done the usual thing where they have the division locked up by mid-September, because it would be great if LA just rested their starters to close out the season and let the Mariners pick up a few easier and much needed wins. But no, the Dodgers might need these games just as much as the Mariners, and if Seattle wants to prove that they are a real playoff contender, closing out the year by beating the defending champs is a great way to do it.
Having typed all this out, it really does just look like the Marines have to win almost every series to have a real shot at October success. Surely this will happen and everyone will be very happy, it’s a good thing that the Mariners have no history of falling exactly one game short of the playoffs!
I don’t know if I’m going to make it through this month of baseball.
Go M’s
Henry “You Really Do Have To Beat The Rockies” Neiman