THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: If only they'd let me be president of the M's ...

Congratulations on your new gig. 

There were almost nine thousand applications and/or resumes submitted for the role of president of the Seattle Mariners. 

Candidates for the job ranged from silly to serious. 

In the end, though, what mattered most was having a plan — a road map displaying the highways, cart tracks and various detours that twist and turn through Major League Baseball.  

You are now in charge for the simple reason that you seem to grasp that notion. 

There will be bumps and slides, of course, but having the stubbornness — maybe that’s the wrong word — or certainty to stay the course is the only way to succeed in a tank with 29 other piranhas. 

So, what is this plan that gives you an edge on all your smiling colleagues, the group that wants to see you lose 115 games — and tells you again and again how sorry they are that you flopped to the bottom of the tank and thumped your skull. 

They would have sympathy for you. 

Of course, without a doubt. 

Right. 

OK, SO what is this plan that separates you from everyone else? 

Continuity. 

If you see an organization that develops, signs, trades for and spends eye-watering money for two or three power hitters that are going to set strikeout records that should stand for decades — then fills in the gaps with some guys who play defense with concrete gloves — you can feel comfortable that this is not the team to take you down. 

How do you avoid that sort of trap, then? 

Let’s get a feel for the current Mariners and see if there’s a way to win two out of every three games — and be set up perfectly to win in the postseason.  

Pitching? 

Yes, yes, yes. 

Got to have it, a group somewhat like a KILLER combination involving three solid starters, a couple guys who can eat a million innings and most important, an unhittable bullpen. 

You win pennants by having four or five lights-out relievers — a gang of characters who lock up games if you lead after five innings.  

Get a 3-1 advantage after five, and then march the parade of flame-throwers out there — one per inning — and by the middle of the seventh you can get on the phone to order Chinese food for your postgame party in the suite. 

This seems like a fairly straightforward method for winning baseball games, yes? 

Well, you have to score runs (we’ll get to that shortly) and the bristling bullpen theory only works if you have a pool of seven or eight arms — four or so stashed in the minor leagues — to cover the injuries that ARE coming.  

The Mariners almost had it put together perfectly in 2023, but if you have an absolutely untouchable reliever like Matt Brash, you just can’t run him out there 78 times without doing some damage. 

The great relievers now have so much velocity, plus torque on breaking pitches, that you have to care for them like the Mona Lisa. 

You want to live and die over the last two innings with sturdy studs who are fastball-slider guys. 

Pitches that tear up elbows aren’t worth it. 

ANYHOW, you do what it takes to build the best bullpen in MLB. 

That's a great start to reaching the playoffs — and winning once you get there. 

What about those guys who have to hit and catch the ball, then? 

Find athletes. 

Gifted guys with magic hand-eye coordination who can play defense, game-in and game-out. 

You’ll find that these chaps can often hit, too.

Sure, the Mariners can launch three-run homers from time to time (although their long balls usually come with nobody on), but the key to scoring runs routinely is putting bat on ball. 

More than once. 

You need rallies, like the Mariners stringing six singles together in an inning to wipe out a 5-1 deficit against the Giants. 

Believe it or not, Seattle can be better off with lightweight Leo Rivas — with the bat choked up — punching RBI singles all over the place. 

Are you feeling the secret to winning by now? 

Baseball cannot be overpowered. 

It needs to be understood, and then mastered like chess on grass. 

Is it great to have a beast like Aaron Judge hitting balls into various area codes? 

Sure, and how many Aaron Judges are there? 

My point, exactly. 

It’s easier to find a Leo Rivas. 

Email: scameron@cdapress.com 

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens. 

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”