Yuniesky Betancourt, Adrian Beltre, Freddy Garcia, Doug Fister, Alex Rodriguez — what do all these baseball players have in common? They all were on playoff teams this season. What else do they have in common? They were all once Seattle Mariners.
Another season, and the Mariners are once again at home watching the playoffs unfold from their couches. It was another forgettable season in Seattle and things don’t look to be shaping up anytime soon. But what is the issue in Seattle? It’s not lack of talent, because the Mariners have produced a lot of that over the years.
It is amazing how many formers Mariners are in the playoffs this season despite the team’s absence. What is even more amazing is how much better they play now than they did in Seattle.
Adrian Beltre spent five years with Seattle and the best he hit in those years was .276. He left Seattle and the next year hit .321 for Boston and .296 this season with Texas. Not to mention he is knocking homeruns in the playoffs like a superstar.
Yuniesky Betancourt was a mediocre shortstop at best, and something of an error machine at worst during his time as a Mariner. Now he is just a few games away from the World Series with the Brewers and looks like a veteran at his position.
Doug Fister’s win-loss record was unimpressive with Seattle, mostly due to lack of run support. The M’s traded him at the deadline, and suddenly he’s shutting down the Yankees in game five to help the Tigers advance to the ALCS.
Many other former Mariners shine after trading their Seattle uniform. Raul Ibanez is a steady part of the Phillies lineup. Freddy Garcia has been impressive for the Yankees this year. Endy Chavez is an all-around solid outfielder for Texas.
I would talk about how Alex Rodriguez is shining, but I am a Mariners fan, so I won’t. I will, however, mention that A-Rod was the last out for the Yankees this season and once again failed to show up in the playoffs.
The Mariners have had some great talent on their team over the years, but failed to do anything with it. These now-successful players make it obvious that the M’s roster is not the issue — management is. The Mariners have not had a coaching staff to make them the team they could be.
Manager Eric Wedge is a tough cookie that I know is capable of winning, as he showed a few years ago by leading Cleveland to the ALCS. While the wins didn’t stack up this year, he’s the right person for the job.
The M’s have a really young team right now that has a lot of talent. Dustin Ackley looks like he has a promising future along with other youngsters like Michael Pineda and Trayvon Robinson. They also have some established stars in Ichiro and Felix Hernandez.
The Mariners are at a crossroad. Do they develop this team and make them winners? Or are we going to see half this roster on different teams in two years? Seattle has the talent, the question is, do they have the management to develop it?