Seattle Mariners extensions based on record, not performance
By David Hill
The Seattle Mariners have extended their manager and general manager as they aim for their first playoff berth since 2001. However, the team’s performance does not match their record.
The Seattle Mariners find themselves in a relatively strange place, considering their recent past. Here it is, after the All Star Break, and the Mariners control a playoff berth. The postseason drought, extending since the 2001 campaign. There have been close calls along the way, but the Mariners just have not been able to get over the hump.
After years of hoping this may be the year, 2018 looks like the season that could finally end the streak. Although the Oakland A’s are hot on their heels, the Mariners are in command of the second Wild Card berth. Given the status of the rest of the American League, unless a team comes out of nowhere, it will be a two team race for the postseason.
Given that success, it is not a surprise that the Mariners ownership would look to lock in their braintrust. And they have done just that, signing general manager Jerry Dipoto and manager Scott Servais to contract extensions. This gives the Mariners stability in the front office and in the dugout, a consistent message for years to come.
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And yet, one has to wonder if these extensions are a matter of the Mariners current record, as opposed to their actual performance on the field. Heading into Saturday’s contest, Seattle was an impressive 59-39, just five games behind the defending champion Astros. However, they have scored 415 runs, and allowed the same amount. Based on projections, the Mariners should be a .500 team, sitting at 49-49, just like the Angels.
This run of success may well be unsustainable. The Mariners have an incredible 26-12 record in one run games, as Edwin Diaz has become a fearsome weapon in the back of the Mariners bullpen. Seattle is also 8-0 in extra innings, another mark that is unsustainable over the course of the year.
There is something to be said for good teams making their own luck. And the Mariners are a solid team, with James Paxton and Marco Gonzalez fronting the bullpen, and an impressive lineup. They have managed to overcome the loss of Robinson Cano due to a PED suspension, and injuries to their pitching staff to be in this position.
However, the A’s are not going away, and just traded for Jeurys Familia. Meanwhile, the Mariners have begun to fade, losing five of six games before the All Star Break. If they start to play closer to expectations, it could be another season without a playoff berth. Stability is one thing, but results speak for themselves as well.
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The Seattle Mariners decision to extend Jerry Dipoto and Scott Servais makes sense. But would those extensions have already happened if the Mariners were closer to their expected record, based on their projections?