(For Part 1 of this series, see here.)So, we had a team. We had new players, exciting potential and a hell of a lot of expectations. We knew we didn't have much home run oomph in the lineup, but we had the two best pitchers in baseball, along with a bunch of hitters who had what overly optimistic fans call "doubles power." All that was left to play 162 actual games.
Game 1 went well enough. Down in Oakland, Felix threw 6 and 2/3rds, highlighted by six walks but effective nonetheless. Casey Kotchman came up huge, ending the night with 4 RBI, including two knocked in with a ninth-inning single. David Aardsma struck out two to get the save. Ichiro and Figgins stole bases and scored runs. This was what victory should have looked like for the 2010 Mariners: simple, undramatic, but effective. The final score was 5-3 and the M's were that much closer to a division title.
But then they lost four straight games. April's highlights included an 11-3 annihilation of the Tigers and a sweep of hapless Baltimore, but the team fell apart when they visited the Chicago White Sox. Led by Paul Konerko, Chicago crushed the Mariners, hitting walk-off homers in Games 1 and 2, then ending the series with an eighth inning, game-winning shot in the Game 3. We would finish April with a decent, but unremarkable 11-12 record.
With May came reinforcements. Cliff Lee returned from the disabled list on April 30 and performed exactly as advertised. He got outs, missed bats and didn't walk a single soul. But even Cliff couldn't turn things around. The Mariners opened the month with seven straight losses. The offense simply wasn't there, saddling our pitchers with one undeserved loss after another. The lone highlight of the month was on May 21, when the floodgates finally opened against the Padres, with the M's scoring 15 runs when all was said and done. Ironically, Cliff gave up 8 runs that night, yet got the win.
Then came the injuries and roster cuts. The bullpen was rearranged by cutting Jesus Colome and Rule 5 daft pick Kanekoa Texeira. Eric Byrnes was unceremoniously let loose after failing to do anything well. Milton Bradley's personal issues forced him onto the restricted list. Adam Moore jammed his foot in Tampa. Jack Wilson's hamstring knocked him out, too. Mike Sweeney's back was never actually 100%. But even all these problems weren't the real cause of the Mariners' abysmal record. We just weren't a good team to begin with. Even the mid-month trade to bring back 2009 star Russell Branyan couldn't invigorate our tepid offense.
The inevitable finally came on June 2. With the team boasting a 21-31 record, Ken Griffey, Jr., the most iconic and beloved player in Seattle history, announced his retirement. Amid the applause and memories, the M's managed to squeak out a victory, with Ichiro singling in the winning run in the tenth inning on a questionable infield call. June would actually see the Mariners play above .500, going 14-13 and highlighted by a six-game winning streak against the Cardinals, Reds and Cubs. We ended June by marching into New York's Yankee Stadium and throwing back to back complete game wins behind first Cliff and then Felix.
But our fate was sealed at that point. In the weeks leading up the All-Star break, the Mariners lost nine of their eleven games. So, on July 9, we traded Cliff Lee and reliever Mark Lowe to the Rangers. In return, we got four players, including first base prospect extraordinaire Justin Smoak. As the first half of the season concluded, the M's were sitting on a hideous 35-53 record. Ichiro had once again been named to the All-Star team, but that victory could not dispel the three-and-a-half months of pain we'd suffered through. The Kid had retired. Our offseason acquisitions had underperformed and disappointed. Now, we'd traded our best pitcher for a handful of unproven minor leaguers. We'd become what no fan wants his team to be: a rebuilding team.
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