Seattle Mariners Are Winning In Surprising Ways En Route To First Place

The unthinkable has just happened. The Seattle Mariners currently sit in first place in the AL West for the first time since 2009. Their record is not flashy at 10-9, but with the way the rest of the division has played so far, the Mariners’ record is somehow good enough.

What amazes me most about the entire situation is that everything the Mariners had planned in the offseason has not gone their way. A major piece of the core on offense, Kyle Seager, has been extremely bad at the plate, hitting only .141 in 71 at-bats. Nori Aoki, normally the model for consistency, has straddled the Mendoza line all season.

The bullpen, while performing like one of the best in baseball, has been hit by injury after injury. Of the seven bullpen members expected to start the season, four of them sit on the DL right now (Joaquin Benoit, Charlie Furbush, Evan Scribner and Ryan Cook). The bullpen has continued to perform, which makes one wonder what happens if the injured relievers return and are not as dominant as their replacements?

The Mariners focus on on-base percentage in the offseason hasn’t been the model for winning so far in 2016. The club seems to be winning by the long ball, which might explain why they have been doing much better on the road (8-4) rather than at home in spacious Safeco Field (2-5). It should make fans hopeful, knowing that the on-base part of the formula will show up eventually.

If you talked to fans yesterday, you would have thought the Mariners were at the bottom of the division. The Mariners were seen as having just another season, on their way to another year they didn’t make the playoffs. That has been the case since 2001, but this could actually be the year.

Sure, it’s extremely early in the season. April has not even ended yet, but the Mariners are performing well even without succeeding in the areas that they were expected to. Some things are going right and they seem to be making all the difference. Robinson Cano has been crushing home runs with six already this season. He did not hit that same mark in HRs in 2015 until July.

Taijuan Walker is on fire, sporting a 1.44 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 25 strikeouts in 26 innings of work. He made things look easy against the Houston Astros last night, striking out 11 in seven innings on the mound. Felix Hernandez has been pitching like the King, although he hasn’t seen much run support during his starts.

The offense is working, although not as expected just yet. The starters are getting it done, although Wade Miley and Nathan Karns have both had rough starts to the season. The bullpen has been amazing, even with all the injuries (including both setup men). Things might not have worked out as expected to start the season, but you can’t complain about being in first place.