Felix falters as the Mariners stumble to the finish

TORONTO – The Mariners’ freefall continues and for now there are no answers. While the lineups of the past few weeks may have prompted grumbles – some from me – they seem rather inconsequential in light of what has happened with the pitching.

On Tuesday, the unthinkable happened. Felix Hernandez joined the staff’s stumble and no one was more shocked than he was.

“It’s disappointing,” he said at his locker, voice low, lip shaking following the Mariners’ 10-2 loss to the Blue Jays. “I’m the ace. That’s my responsibility. I let my teammates down, I let my team down. It’s my fault.”

Rather than go back to the clubhouse after being lifted from the game having surrendered eight runs in 4 2/3 innings, Felix sat in the dugout for a couple of innings looking shell-shocked. A teammate would occasionally pat him on the back and a trainer sat next to him.

No one wanted to see what they saw on the field or what they saw in the dugout. What was supposed to be the biggest game of his career turned into the worst. It was far from the first time he had been called upon to be the stopper, to get the team back on track. But there was obviously more with this game and he knew it.

“It was a big game,” he said. “I tried to go out there and do what I was capable of, and I didn’t.”

After giving up a first-inning run, Felix retired the next 11 batters. He appeared to be in cruise control but then gave up a leadoff home run – his first in the big leagues – to Dalton Pompey. Then the wheels came off. He could not get his fastball down. He fumbled a bunt trying to rush the throw. He walked a batter and then walked another, bringing in a run.

“I’m just not sure,” manager Lloyd McClendon said when asked what he saw from Felix. “He seemed to lose his command in the fifth inning for some reason.”

While the Mariners are not yet mathematically eliminated from postseason play, it would take a monumental collapse by Oakland or Kansas City for them to even get into a play-in game at this point. To say it came down to this game is unfair as any win at any point of the season could have put the team closer. For Felix, however, it did not appear as though he felt that way Tuesday night at his locker.

I believe this will ultimately turn into a learning experience for Felix. A painful one, yes, but one he most likely needed to go through. These games are different. He couldn’t have known that as he hadn’t pitched in a game to get his team to the postseason before. The pressure may or may not have had an impact – only he knows. If it did he will take something from this. This wasn’t just another loss for him.

As for the team, answers will need to be found. How could a pitching staff that was putting up historic numbers in the first half and leading the American League for the majority of the second half put up the second-worst ERA in the league in the last 30 days and the worst over the last two weeks?

The turnaround is shocking especially considering the management of innings from start to finish this year by McClendon and staff. Extra days were given to starters and the bullpen ran with an extra arm once Brandon Maurer was up. What happened in September with the pitching will be a question that needs to be answered before the next steps are taken in the offseason.

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