The fight is finished for 2017
Have you wanted to give up?
Give in?
Want to quit the fight?
That’s kind of what it feels like to be a fan of the Seattle Mariners these days.
WHEN THE season started with so much promise with the additions of Jean Segura, Drew Smyly and Jarrod Dyson, some really, really thought they could make a run at the Houston Astros for the American League West championship.
After this week’s three-game series — at Safeco Field in Seattle — it’s pretty safe to say those dreams are well over.
Houston came into Seattle and swept the Mariners, which each and every win felt more like a punch to the stomach instead of another disappointing loss.
Granted, Seattle has been hit by the injury bug this season, with Felix Hernandez, James Paxton and Hisashi Iwakuma all missing a significant chunk of time. It has been so bad, that unless you bought a program beforehand, you might not realize who the guy on the mound really was on any given night.
Smyly, who was supposed to add to that depth in the rotation, hasn’t pitched for the team yet after getting injured in the World Baseball Classic.
Another reliever, Evan Scribner, was granted his release earlier this week after two injury-filled seasons with the team.
Not even the likes of Robinson Cano or Nelson Cruz have been immune to the injury bug, also missing time.
ALL THAT being said, the Mariners still find themselves within a few games of the AL wild-card race.
How? Well, nobody in the American League seems to want to run away with it.
Cleveland, which struggled early in the season, has been almost unbeatable lately, winning its 16th straight game on Friday night. Boston has fallen back to the pack in the AL East and while nobody’s going to catch the Red Sox, Houston hasn’t been as sharp as the Astros were to start the season, sans that whipping they handed the Mariners this week.
With Hernandez and Paxton projected to return to the rotation next weekend, who really knows where this team is headed.
If either pitcher can give them a few strong outings in their starts, maybe the Mariners can find themselves back in the mix again.
Whether or not they make the playoffs — and it’s teetering on the latter at the moment — things set up nicely for 2018.
Ben Gamel has shown flashes of good things on the horizon, and the additions of Mike Leake and Marco Gonzales in recent weeks have shown that help is on the way.
It just might not include the postseason this year.
NO MATTER what happens in the next three weeks, the season will end in disappointment.
But as Mariner fans, you’re probably used to it by now.
Yeah, you want to shut the television off and stop watching, and you will.
Swear off the team again and again, that’s fine.
But come next April, you’ll be back.
We always are.
Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.