It was little surprise to hear the Seattle Mariners’ pregame schedule would be different Tuesday in Tampa, considering their game a night along with their current situation had all the markings of a team meeting being imminent.
With precious few games remaining and an alarming second half trend of losing on the road pushing the Mariners farther from their goals, a regrouping of sorts was clearly needed.
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“We had a chance today to put that together and talk a little bit about it as a group and how we want to move forward,” manager Dan Wilson said of the meeting, which included the coaching staff and members of the front office that are currently on the trip. “That’s what’s important about this time of year, coming together as a team at this time and getting hot at this time, and that’s what we intend to do.”
The meeting went for just over an hour, and Wilson called it an “open forum” with those present having the opportunity to say what they felt. After the 6-5 loss to the Rays that followed Tuesday, starting pitcher Bryan Woo shared what he took as the message from that meeting.
“You just gotta take accountability for it,” said Woo, who immediately did so himself, declaring his effort that night not good enough. “This point of the year, you can make all the excuses you want. You just gotta play better. You gotta be better. You gotta have more urgency.”
Cal Raleigh, who hit his MLB-leading 51st home run Tuesday but failed to drive in a run in two key plate appearances late in the game, echoed some of Woo’s thoughts.
“We’re just not playing well,” he said. “We’re not playing good baseball. That’s pretty much pure and simple.”
Right words from the right people in that clubhouse. The question now is with just 23 regular season games remaining, is there enough time to do something about it? Perhaps taking time with Tuesday’s meeting to acknowledge their situation is the first and biggest step to getting back on track.
The short memories, resilience and ability to bounce back that this team has displayed all season long has been instrumental in moving forward, but it may have masked a bigger picture. The six weeks the Mariners spent in first place in the AL West ended when the calendar flipped to June. Since that day, the team is sub-.500, having put up a record of 37-40.
“We’re better than we’re playing right now, and it’s not going to change unless we do something about it, to change it,” Woo said. “And the coaches, Jerry (Dipoto), whoever, can say as much as they want. It’s up to us (the players) to do something about it, to change it. The ball is in our court.”
On paper, the Mariners would appear to have the pieces it takes to not just keep a grasp of the wild card spot they currently hold by a game and a half, but make a run.
They have starting pitching they didn’t have at the beginning of the season. They added the corner infield offense they lacked at the trade deadline. With 23 games to go, it’s a matter of putting it together and staying together at game time.
“We know what’s in front of us,” Wilson said. “We know the opportunity that exists. We know the commitments that have been made to this organization and this club, and we want to deliver on that.
“We want to do it for ourselves, for our fans and for the city. That’s really what it boils down to, and being able to get on the same page.”
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