Worst Mariners team ever?

With yesterday’s 9-2 shellacking by the hands of the Tigers at Comerica Park, Detroit picked up its first three-game sweep of a Seattle Mariners baseball team in the Motor City in thirteen years. Similar to the series against the New York Yankees a few weekends ago, the M’s came to town facing a scuffling team struggling to score runs, only to be on the receiving end of a dominating three-game sweep. (The Yanks out-scored the M’s by a 19-4 margin over three games, while the Tigers tallied up a 30-14 spread in the last three games.) The loss also marked the fifth seperate time that the Mariners have had at least a three-game losing streak so far this season, while not having strung together three wins in a month.

This current streak will only continue as the M’s make another trip to the Bronx, in a pitching match-up that pits Erik Bedard against Andy Pettitte. Bedard has good career numbers against the Yankees (4-4 record with a 3.32 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 62 innings) that are slightly better than Pettitte’s career marks against the M’s (8-10 record, 4.81 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 120 innings). Look for Bedard to toss another quality start only to be let down by a lack of run support in tonight’s ball game. I’d like to say that the Yankees will eke out a close victory by a 4-3 margin, but the way things are going New York- who have won their last two after a two-game losing streak- should win by at least five runs.

All though the M’s aren’t mathematically out if it yet- there is, unfortunately, four more months of the season to muddle through- it will be interesting to use hindsight after the season to pinpoint just when the 2008 season ended for Seattle. I mean, the AL West was won with 94 wins by the Los Angeles Angels last year. To reach that mark, 76-34 for the rest of the season, a .691 winning percentage. It’s not as if it can’t be done- this franchise did win 72 percent of their games back in 2001, remember- it’s just that it won’t.

The club’s current winning percentage of .375 currently sets a pace worse than Bill Plummer’s 1992 squadron, and instead is on pace to post the lowest amount of wins since Renee Lachman’s 1983 Mariner squad tallied just 60 in 1983. That’s quite a collapse for a club that a near consensus of baseball ‘experts’ had picked to be a contender in the American League West prior to this season, and I thought it would be interesting to see how this current Mariner club would match-up against that 1983 team. With help from ESPN’s 2008 player projections, I thought it would be interesting to see if I would prefer to have the position player on the so-called “contender” Mariner squad, or instead the one from one of the worst teams in Mariners’ history.

While there are some worse won-loss records in Mariners history- the 1980 team lost 103 games and the 1978 team lost 104- in all three seasons that the franchise topped the century mark in losses, the winning percentage ranged between the .350 to .370 range, a difference of only four wins. I’m picking the 1983 club to compare to the 2008 version of the M’s as it is the most recent Mariners team to lose 100 games, and the winning percentages also more closely align. So, with no further ado:

First Base

1983 squad: Pat Putnam (.269-19-67)

2008 squad: Richie Sexson (.206-31-73)

Yes, we all know Big Sexy is the league’s most overpaid and under performing first baseman. We’re all aware of the fact that he’s hit .205 over his last 575 at-bats, and can’t get on base thirty percent of the time during that same span. He might have some power potential in the middle of the line-up, as he is the fastest to hit 100 home runs in a Mariner uniform. Yet his OPS has hovered around the .700 mark over his last season’s worth of games, a mark that shouldn’t be in the middle of the M’s line-up, much less pulling in a $15 million plus salary.

In comparison, in 1983 Putnam enjoyed the last productive season of an unremarkable major league career whose singular highlight was finishing fourth in the Rookie of the Year balloting as a first baseman for the Texas Rangers in 1979. Sexson may top Putnam in untranslated power numbers, but Putnam did manage to get on base nearly a third of the time and also posted a .774 OPS in 1983. In fact, Putnam had a ferocious May that season, batting .265 with five home runs and an .826 OPS, a far cry from the .178 average and .596 currently posted by Sexson so far this month.

I’m sure the 2008 M’s would be content with Putnam’s production, especially coming from a player who didn’t even sniff $15 million in his career.

Edge: ‘83 squad

Second Base

1983 Squad: Tony Bernazard (.267-6-30 in 80 games in mid-season trade for Julio Cruz)

2008 squad: Jose Lopez (.294-7-82)

Without a doubt, Jose Lopez (along with Raul Ibanez) has been one of the lone bright spots offensively in the first six weeks of the Mariners’ 2008 season. Still, even though Lopez may end up representing the Mariners at the All Star Game at Yankee Stadium by default, its not as if those projected numbers by ESPN are eye-dropping. It does, however, mark a return to form for a 24-year old who suffered from a taxing 2007 season, both physically and mentally. As the team’s most consistent hitter, Lopez has been dropped from his customary second spot in the line-up to third in an attempt to jump start Adrian Beltre’s bat. That said, some current Mariners will be wearing different uniforms by the end of the year, and with his combination of youth and talent, Lopez would demand quite a return in any trade talks. Don’t whine or moan. I mean, Billy Benae would be willing to deal Lopez in similar situations, shouldn’t the M’s be doing the same thing with a .375 winning percentage after nearly 50 games?

In comparison, Tony Bernazard is the answer to the trivia question of who the Mariners traded their franchise leader in stolen bases- now deposed- Julio Cruz for? After 80 unremarkable games with the M’s, Bernazard moved along to Cleveland where his infield presnece anchored some awful Inidans clubs during the 1980s.

No comparison.

Edge: ‘08 squad.

1983 squad: Spike Own (.196, 2, 21)

2008 squad: Yuniesky Betancourt (.262, 7, 55)

Yes, we’re talking about that Spike Owen. As a kid, he was one of my favorite Mariners. I mean- his name was Spike! What’s not to like?

The fact is, when you give half your team’s starts at shortstop to a fresh-faced 22-year old kid who struggles to hit .200 and get on base a quarter of the time, that’s going to be a direct cause in your team losing 100 games. A first round draft pick in 1982, Owen developed a reputation as a gamer and eventually became the team’s captain in 1986, before being traded to the Red Sox where he made his only World Series appearance. Owen never embarrassed himself with the glove, but he absolutely provided no offense throughout his career, with career highs of seven home runs and .422 slugging percentage. Heck, even in the “juiced ball” season of 1987, Owen tagged just two home runs while playing half his games at Fenway.

Its probably not fair to compare Betancourt to a 22-year old kid trying to right himself as a rookie in the majors. Betancourt wasn’t even playing professional baseball when he was 22, instead tearing through Double-A and Triple-A before arriving with the M’s as a 23-year old. Still, with a comparable glove and 162-game averages of .281-8-56 compiled over his two full seasons, Betancourt also provides Lopez’s blend of youth and skill and should also be considered a top priority for the M’s to trade.

Edge: ‘08 squad

Third base

‘83 squad: Jamie Allen (.223,4,21 in the only 86 games of his major league career)

‘08 squad: Adrian Beltre (.246, 31, 75)

Beltre’s ESPN projections have similar raw numbers with Sexson, but with a 40 point uptick in batting average, which translates to a 70 point increase in OPS. If those numbers hold, it would mark the first time in franchise history that the M’s would be getting 30+ home runs from their infield corner positions, positions that typically demand a power bat. Usually such production from both positions would coincide with a dominating, winning club. The fact that it would be tied to a projected 60 win team demonstrates just how awful this year’s Mariners club is. Beltre is signed through the next two years and, unlike Sexson, the production he provides is worth the $24 million owed, and as such is also a valuable trade commodity.

And you simply can’t compare Beltre to Allen, who hit .223 in his only 86 major league games, and who lost his starting spot to Darnell Coles (.283-1-6) for the last month of the 1983 season.

Edge: ‘08 squad

Left Field

1983 squad: Steve Henderson (.294-10-54)

2008 squad: (.291-24-105)

One of two Hendersons making up two-thirds of the Mariners outfield- with Dave Henderson in center- Steve Henderson set career highs in 1983 win 32 doubles, a .294 average, and a .450 slugging percentage. It says something about a player when his “career year” amounts to him being a league-average player.

If it wasn’t for the abundance of great outfielders in the American League, Raul Ibanez could be suiting up in a Mariners uniform during the Midsummer Classic rather than Lopez. Raul may have only two home runs so far this month after hitting five in April, but with a 10:10 striekout to walk ratio, Ibanez’s OBP has shot up forty points from last month and if he were to ever start getting some protection in the line-up could lead to another power barrage.

Clear edge: ‘08 squad

Center Field

‘03 squad: Dave Henderson (.269-17-55)

‘08 squad: Ichiro Suzuki (.294-7-37, 71 stolen bases, 105 runs)

By any indications, ESPN’s projections for Ichiro indicate a down year by the inhuman levels of production we’ve come to expect from our favorite Japanese import. Still, there is no comparison between Ichiro and Hendu, who as a 24-year old hinted at the power hitter he’d develop into in another five years.

Edge: ‘08 squad

Right Field

‘03 squad: Al Cowens (.205,7,35)

‘08 squad: Wladimir Balentien (.219,26,58)

A former MVP runner up as an outfielder for the 1977 Kansas City Royals, Cowens provided the only ’star’ presence in the M’s line-up, indeed starting off the season batting third.  However, a year after providing 20 home runs and 78 RBIs for the M’s, Cowens bat disappeared as did his presence in the line-up.  To give an idea of just how putrid this 1983 squad was, the third spot in the line-up was divvied up nearly equally with Cowens (38 starts batting third), Ron Roenicke (35 starts in the third hole while posting a .253-4-23 line), and Jamie Nelson (35 starts batting third with a .219-1-5 line).  Cowens bat and line-up presence returned in 1984 (.277-15-78) but in 1983, it was AWOL.

Balentien, meanwhile, is the Mariners’ future number three batter.  While he is currently displaying excellent power- seven of his 16 hits have gone for extra bases- he is also going through a learning process with off speed and breaking pitches.

Still, considering just how horrible Cowens was, I’ll have to give a slight edge to the ‘08 squad.

Catcher

‘83 squad: Rick Sweet (.221-1-22)

‘08 squad: Kenji Johjima (.217-8-45)

Its tough to knock Joh, as he was one of the most consistent hitting catchers during the 2006 and 2007 seasons.  But at 32 and with 1,300 games caught coming into this season, you have to think that three-year extension Joh received was a mistake, especially as it creates a 200 pound obstacle blocking the development path of former first round pick Jeff Clement.  That .217 average doesn’t bode well for the future, and certainly isn’t worth $24 million.

Rick Sweet was a journeyman whose final season in the big leagues was the .221 average he posted in 249 at-bats with the M’s in 1983, before fading away to irrelevance.

Perhaps a slight edge could be given to Johjima, though if Sweet had 500+ at bats he would’ve topped Kenji in both average and RBIs.  That is how horrible Kenji’s 2008 season has been so far.

Edge: Even

Designated Hitter

‘83 squad: Richie Zisk (.242-12-36)

‘08 squad: Jose Vidro (.208-8-79)

In 1983, Richie Zisk was a former All Star who was playing out the string with the M’s after thirteen seasons.  In 90 games, he was marginally productive as a DH- despite career lows in all three percentages, his power numbers would’ve equaled his output with the Mariners in his two prior seasons.  As it was, his final appearance in a major league line-up came in mid-August and then baseball said adieu for Zisk.

Still, the one thing about the position who’s entire purpose is to serve as an extra bat is that you have to hit.  It’s fundamental to be a designated hitter.  The fact that Vidro is currently sitting at an average one hundred points below his career mark with a .558 OPS that could be topped by more than a few National League pitchers (and probably a few American League ones as well) is embarrassing and one of the reasons why the M’s offense can’t score any runs.  Then again, Jeff Clement has the second-most starts as DH, and his ESPN projections give explanation as to his recent demotion.

Edge: ‘03 squad

Bench:

‘83 squad:

John Moses (.208-0- 6, 11 stolen bases in 93 games as a 25-year old)

Ken Phelps (.236- 7- 16, .449 slugging average in 127 at-bats)

Darnell Coles (.283-1-6 as a 21-year old)

Phil Bradley (.269-0-5 in 67 games as a 24-year old)

Harold Reynolds (.203-0-1 in 20 games as a 22-year old)

‘08 squad

Willie Bloomquist (.167, 0, 12)

Miguel Cairo (.176, 0, 34)

Jaimie Burke (.241, 10, 30)

There are simply no bats on the bench of this year’s Mariners team.  Jaimie Burke should obviously be getting the bulk of the starting time behind the plate, which would only add Kenji’s weak bat to the collection of sub-.200 hitters that are all ready riding the pine.  Besides the lack of production, the main difference between the two squads is that the role players for this year’s Mariners team are veterans, not 20-somethings.  They should all ready know how to hit a baseball by now.

Edge: ‘83 squad

Starting staff

Matt Young (11-15, 3.27 ERA as a 24-year old rookie)

Jim Beattie (10-15, 3.84 ERA)

Bob Stoddard (9-17, 4.41 ERA)

Mike Moore (6-8, 4.71)

Gaylord Perry (3-10, 4.94)

‘08 squad:

Erik Bedard (10-7, 3.24 in 24 starts)

Felix Hernandez (7-14, 3.34 ERA, 192 strikeouts in 34 starts)

Miguel Batista (10-20, 6.47 in 34 starts)

Carlos Silva (10-10, 4.91 ERA in 34 starts)

Jarrod Washburn (7-20, 6.99 ERA in 30 starts)

Nary a winning record on the 1983 staff, but that’s hardly a big surprise as the offense I dissected above would only allow Walter Johnson a .500 record, with all his wins coming as shutouts.  Felix’s projected 7-14 mark with a 3.34 ERA would be right at home on that staff.  But the projections are not too kind for Batista or Washburn.  Although it would be unlikely that either would lose 20 games- that would be a cruel part on behalf of manager John McLaren- it seems like a reasonable conclusion that it would be a mistake to let either pitcher make 34 starts.  That would be cruel to Mariner fans.  Despite getting quality starts in roughly half of the team’s first 21 games, the current M’s starting staff has been tossing batting practice to opposing teams on a regular basis lately.  It will be interesting to see if Felix can follow Mike Moore’s career path and develop into a Cy Young contender.

Edge: ‘83 squad

Bullpen

‘83 squad:

Bill Caudill (26 saves, 4.71 ERA)

Ed Vande Berg (3.36 ERA in 68 games as a 24-year old)

Mike Stanton (3.32 ERA)

Roy Thomas (3.45 ERA in 89 innings over 43 games)

2003 squad:

J.J. Putz (17 saves, 3.46 ERA, 61 strikeouts in 44 innings)

Sean Green (2.52 ERA in 84 innings)

Mark Lowe (4.00 ERA in 68 innings)

Ryan Rowland-Smith (2.78 ERA in 68 innings)

Arthur Rhodes (2.79 ERA in 31 innings over 52 games)

Brandon Morrow (1.74 ERA in 47 games)

Nowhere on this list do you see Eric O’Flaherty, who bombed earlier this year as the bullpen’s key lefty.  O’Flaherty is still young at 24 and is coming off a dominating 2007 season, so hopefully he’ll be back.

The 2008 bullpen has mostly been strong despite some occasional hiccups.  Mostly that was brought about by J.J.’s trip to the DL, which resulted in the reshuffling of the pen and people not sure what their role is.  It has settled down and has performed mostly well with the situations it has been handed, which mostly involved the starting staff coughing up the early lead to the opposing team and the bullpen trying to keep it close for the M’s to score some late runs.

In fact, that has been the modus operandi of the Mariners’ entire 2008 season, which will not lead to success, as the M’s have learned as they struggle to win four out of ten games.

Edge: ‘08 squad

In comparison between these two clubs, it’s quite clear that the 1983 Mariners were a team of transition.  The offense was horrendous, tallying up 558 runs- an average of 3.4 per game- which ranked last in the league by a good margin.  By comparison, this year’s club is on pace to score 662 runs, not nearly as lousy but a total that’s almost 130 runs fewer than the 794 runs scored by last year’s Mariners team.  The ‘83 Mariners saw Del Crandell replace Renee Lachmann have way through the year, being the team’s fourth manager in a span of four years.  The club was looking for an identity, and one that really wouldn’t be solidified until the emergence of Alvin Davis and Mark Langston on the 1984 squad.

This 2008 version of the Mariners wasn’t supposed to be a team of transition.  All the transitioning had all ready been done to the point that this year there could only be one result: just win, and win now.  But that has not been the case, and the M’s are following the same path of a team that they are clearly a superior offensive team than.

Despite playing half their games in the homer-happy Kingdome, the 1983 Mariners clearly have superior pitching than the current Mariner squad.  The team ranked seventh in the league in ERA twenty-five years ago, as opposed to the current pitching staff that is ranking 12th in the league currently.  Considering that the bullpen has done a pretty good job for the most part, it can only be concluded that the M’s atrocious starting pitching has done the team in.

Starting pitching a glaring weakness for the Mariners?  Funny, I thought they spent the off season addressing that aspect- and only that aspect- of the team….