M's: Don't give up on everybody this season
Now we head to the bright days of summer, when a time-tested tradition kicks in for umpteenth straight year.
Yep.
Baseball teams’ strengths and flaws are exposed in the glare.
And now, finally, long-suffering Mariners fans are beginning to ask: “How can a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2001 actually step back?”
Step back from…?
What, exactly?
The other issue, of course, is whether this “step-back” program actually has a goal and, if so, when and how can it be achieved?
Surely it’s not in the long-term plan to remain on this current pace, while stringing together errors (63 in 58 games) that would have made Abbott and Costello proud.
Just for starters, get Domingo Santana out of left field before he kills himself.
The guy can hit, really hit, but if there ever were a case of a human being born to be a DH, that’s Domingo.
IT’S NOT just his remarkable nine errors, including some routine fly balls that have been dropped.
You really have to fear towering, catchable drives on which Santana gets some kind of vertigo and begins staggering as he stares into the sky.
I’m telling you, one of those moon shots is not only going to cost a game — as it did on Wednesday afternoon — but easily could split Domingo open like a coconut dropped from an airplane.
Memo to Jerry Dipoto: If you truly believe that Daniel Vogelbach can hit major league pitching over the long term, put him at first base and trade Edwin Encarnacion (13 homers, 34 RBI) for whatever the market will bear.
Yes, it might be prudent to wait and get back a little more for Edwin and his imaginary parrot closer to the deadline, but please…
Show the fan base that you care about players’ well-being and get Santana out of the firing line in left.
Here’s a thought: When J.P. Crawford is healthy again, try Tim Beckham in left.
What is there to lose?
He’s another guy who can hit, but needs to be stashed someplace where he can do the least amount of damage.
Since most of Beckham’s errors at short have come on wild throws that air mail first base, we know he has a strong enough arm to play left.
Hell, he has enough arm to chuck one into Puget Sound.
JERRY, WE get it that you’re planning to field a contender by 2021, and plenty of Seattle’s talent is hidden in the minors.
Fair enough.
But why not see if a few of the poor souls stuck on this current roster might help you down the road?
The pitching staff cannot sustain a .500 record — no way, never, not a chance.
So once we accept that — and believe me, the fan base HAS made peace with that catastrophe — then why not use this season an audition for your next phase?
That’s been the deal at short and second with Crawford and Shed Long — presumably your middle infield of the future.
What’s wrong, then, with experiments involving Santana, Vogelbach and Beckham?
Why give up on guys who can actually rake the ball — and might just find a home as you transition to success?
Look, the pitching staff is in shreds. You’ll have to wait on that.
It’s a cinch, then, this team will lose a billion games, so…
C’mon.
Give a few of its survivors a chance.
Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns for The Press appear on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Steve also contributes the “Zags Tracker” package on Gonzaga basketball once monthly during the offseason.
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