Playoff push or gradual descent? Let’s hear it!
With a not-terribly-convincing sweep of the objectively bad, yet pesky Texas Rangers, the Seattle Mariners hit a season-best 10 games above .500. We are gathered here today to check the LL pulse on if and how much your belief in these 2021 Mariners has changed due to this recent streak of play.
One reason for hope: Weak opponents!
You may have seen some of these numbers the last couple weeks regarding the remaining 2021 schedule:
MLB easiest strength of schedule based on remaining opponents’ win %:
Phillies 45.8%
Reds 47%
Astros 47.9%
Braves 48.5%
Mariners 48.6%
Indians 48.6%
Blue Jays 48.7%
Red Sox 48.9%Among contenders, the Padres, A’s and Mets have a top 6 hardest schedule.
— Joe Osborne (@JTFOz) August 9, 2021
The Mariners have 13 games to play against the very bad Kansas City Royals and historically-bad-on-the-road Arizona Diamondbacks. That’s good! But, as we’ve seen with the Rangers and earlier in the season against the Tigers and Twins, this Mariners team plays up and down to their competition just as much as every Mariners team from the last 2 decades has. That’s bad! Still, there is reason for hope given the 13 attainable wins here. What’s the rest of the schedule like, you ask? Well…
Three reasons to not get hopes up: The Oakland A’s, Houston Astros, and Boston Red Sox
As John and other staffers will be discussing today, 21 of the remaining 40 games are against those three shitbird teams. Personally, I don’t believe these Mariners can out play any of them, which is extremely on brand for the A’s especially, who are once again in the position of being juuuuust upstream of the Mariners while taking a giant piss into the team’s water supply. Literally every time the Mariners have come within striking distance of the playoffs the last 20+ years, the A’s have been just ahead of them eternally moving the goal posts.
The Astros are a foregone conclusion to me and the Red Sox, while scuffling a bit lately, now have a fully operational Chris Sale again. All in all, I’m not buying in this time on a team that couldn’t beat the Rangers by more than two runs this week.
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Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images
Enough about me, let’s hear it from y’all!
BELIEF CHECK TIME!
All right, that’s all for now. Have a great weekend and go Mariners! Don’t get swept in Houston, thanks!
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