AL WEST STANDINGS (September 17)
Oakland Athletics 92-61 .601 --
Seattle Mariners 86-65 .570 5

AL WILD CARD STANDINGS
Boston Red Sox 88-62 .587 --
Seattle Mariners 86-65 .570 2.5

RECORD SINCE THE ALL-STAR BREAK
Oakland Athletics 37-22 .627
Boston Red Sox 33-24 .579
Seattle Mariners 28-30 .483

RECORD IN SEPTEMBER
Boston Red Sox 10-4
Oakland Athletics 9-6
Seattle Mariners 6-8

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BATS?
Quick, how many teams in all of Major League Baseball have a lower batting average in September than the Seattle Mariners? If you said 2, you win the prize. Yep, the M’s .223 average in September is higher than only the Detroit Tigers (.219) and the New York Mets (.217), two teams who were eliminated from the pennant race back in April.

The M’s have scored just 55 runs in 14 games for an average of 3.9 runs/game in September.

The team OPS is .643. That’s the equivalent of 9 Jack Wilson’s in their lineup. Never heard of Jack Wilson? Not many have. He’s the weak-hitting (.251/.299/.345) shortstop of the Pittsburgh Pirates who’s OPS this season is .644, a point higher than the M’s have hit as a team in September. While it’s not down in the depths of Cirillo-ville (.205/.281/.271, .553 OPS), it’s too close for comfort.

Speaking of Jeff Cirillo, the last “Cirillo sighting” was on August 30th, when he went 0 for 1 as a pinch-hitter. His last start was August 21st (0 for 3). At $6.245 million this year, Cirillo makes $39,660 for each of the 162 games on the M’s schedule, whether he plays or keeps the bench warm and toasty. From August 22 to the present, for one at-bats worth of work, Jeff Cirillo has made $912,191.36.

If Cirillo can go hitless in 8 more at-bats this season, his batting average will drop to .199 and the Mendoza Line can officially be updated for the new millenium.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BIG HITTERS?
Let’s take a stroll down the M’s lineup and how their hitters have performed in September:
Ichiro, .214
Guillen, .229
Boone, .167
Martinez, .216
Olerud, 239
Cameron, 159
Winn, .308
Sanchez, .281
Wilson, .083

You’re not going to be able to put may runs on the board with hitting like that.

WHY THE SEPTEMBER SWOON?
If I knew exactly why the Mariners have gone down the toilet in the last month-and-a-half, I could quit my day job. But a slump of this proportion is not easily explained. The M’s have looked terrible against virtually unknown pitchers. On September 3, Doug Waechter, making his first major league start, tossed a 2-hit shutout. The next night, Jorge Sosa, he of the lifetime 7-18 record and 4.96 ERA, tossed another shutout at the M’s. Two games later, Eric DuBose gave up a single run in 8 innings. Finally, Kevin Gregg pitched 7 innings and allowed just 1 run in his 3rd career start on September 14. It’s frustrating for fans as well as players. In interviews, the players express more confusion and bewilderment than anything. The hitting has totally disappeared, while the pitching hasn’t been too bad (3.83 ERA in September).

Take a closer look, though, and you start to make some sense out of the Mariners mess. They’re an old team. Much of their lineup is 30 or older and on the other side of the career curve. Hitters, in general, peak between the ages of 26 and 29. Many players have their career years at the age of 27. Comparing Oakland and Seattle, the A’s Ascent and Seattle Slide start to make more sense.

(Statistics used are from baseballprospectus.com. If you’re a real baseball fan, you should check out their site,--it’s a must.)

Hitting-Plate Appearances by Age
Oakland—42% of Oakland’s plate appearances this year have come from players at the peak age of 27. That’s the highest in all of baseball by a good margin (the Florida Marlins are 2nd with 34%).
Seattle—Just 7% of the Mariners’ plate appearances this year have come from players aged 27. The M’s get their highest number of plate appearances from 34-year-old players (27% of the team total).

Oakland—77% of Oakland’s plate appearances have come from players under 30.
Seattle—37% of Seattle’s plate appearances have come from players under 30.

Pitching—Innings by Age
Oakland—21% of Oakland’s innings pitched this season have come from pitchers over 30.
Seattle—46% of Seattle’s innings pitched this season have come from pitchers over 30.

The M’s are old and it looks like age has finally caught up to them. The team peaked with their 116-win season in 2001 and it’s been downhill since. There will be wholesale changes in 2004, starting with Pat Gillick being put out to pasture.

Posted by Bobby Mueller at 07:36 PM | Comments (2)

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