Odd Thoughts

Mariner Extra - Is it too Late

I don't want Mariner fans to walk away from this optimistic, but it's really not over. Take a look at our division itself: The A's are about as good as we thought they'd be - about .500. Maybe a little more right now, but it's not like they're running away with it. The Rangers are playing way above the normal level, but the team batting average that helped them tear it up in April has dropped 34 points to .282. They had a 4.31 ERA in April - third best in the AL! They're now at 4.57 - 6th in the AL, but it took a 4.78 for May (9th) to get them there. Will the real Texas Rangers please stand up? Now consider the Angels. Most of the experts liked the Angels at the beginning of the year, and rightly so: just look at the opening day line up. But two months later, it seems clear that they too are playing above themselves as Troy Glaus is out for the year, Garrett Anderson might be out for the year, and Darin Erstad, Tim Salmon, and Brendan Donnelly will all be out past the All-Star break. How long can they ride the wave of Chone Figgins and Jeff DeVannon? Jarrod Washburn and Bartolo Colon have a combined 4.86 ERA, and that offense can't keep giving them 6 runs a game. I'm not saying the Angels will fall completely apart; I'm just saying that they're leaving the door open.

Now consider 1995: At the end of July, the Mariners were 9 games behind the Angels. The Mariners had a record of 43 and 44 to the Angels 54 and 33 - the Angels even went 20 and 7 in the month of July, and we still came back to win. It's not out of the question. If we can be within 10 games at the end of July there's still hope. In the end though, hope is nice, but I'd really like to have a reason to believe.