When do we put away Seahawks gear for Mariners?

When is the proper time for us to start putting our Seahawks gear away and breaking out our Cano jerseys?

After what Seattle has just gone through with the disappointing end of the Seahawks season, even Mariners insider Shannon Drayer says, “We need a little time here.”

“It was like a bad breakup,” says 710 ESPN Seattle Barbershop host Terry “T-Holla” Hollimon. “When you have a bad breakup, you don’t need to jump right back into a new relationship. I don’t need to jump back into the Mariner relationship yet, do I?”

It’s also not always an easy relationship for Mariners fans. Barbershop host Gee Scott reminds Drayer of the 13-year playoff drought.

“Talk about pain,” says Drayer.

But she does offer some hope.

“The biggest thing I see is this is the first year going into spring training in a long time where I think it is not an unreasonable expectation to say this team should make the playoffs.”

Of course there are 162 games and Drayer says injuries can happen. Anything can happen, but she says the Mariners look good on paper.

“With all the adjustments and all the big signings they made this past offseason, it’s logical to think that they’re just going to continue to build off that, right?” says Hollimon.

Drayer says the moves they’ve made will help and points out the team is also further along in coaching transitions, which should help this season.

“A year ago, you had a coaching staff that needed name tags,” says Drayer. “You had new faces. You had an all new coaching staff, new manager, new system. And they’re starting now having gone through that.”

The Mariners got close to the playoffs last year and Drayer says many players were probably considering that near miss in the off-season and thinking, ‘what more can I do?’

“What more in every workout that they have. [They] don’t want to be feeling that way in the last seconds of a game again. That whole Mariners team that was there last year went through that.”

Fans have several good reasons to give the Mariners a chance this season, says Drayer.

“On paper, a lot of people are picking them in the division. And on paper a lot of people are picking them top three, top four in the American League, and that gets you in and that’s all you need to do is get into that final week, get into that wildcard game and anything can happen,” says Drayer.

“We were saying that a year ago and now you’ve added to what you had last year. You’ve added an arm to the rotation. You’ve added Nelson Cruz. You got nothing from your DH spot last year. You picked up the American homerun king,” says Drayer, adding play at Safeco is likely going to be “a heckuva lot better.”

Fans bringing their support might also be something that can help make it a good sports summer in Seattle.

“They love playing in front of full houses,” says Drayer, of the players, explaining they pick up on that. “You see a different energy from the team.”