First half of Mariners’ season wraps up on a predictable note; now what?

The Mariners’ 10-3 loss to the Angels Sunday seemed like a perfect way to wrap up what has been a frustrating and disappointing first half. Of course, if the first half had ended Saturday, Seattle’s 5-0 win would have been somewhat representative of the first half – particularly the last month – as well. And there you have it, the 2015 Mariners.

They have been shut out nine times this year. They have shut out the opposition eight times. They’ve pulled off the feat of getting shut out and then shutting out the opponent on back-to-back days three times in the last month. They have had hope-inducing wins followed by shattering losses so many times that you know better than to look for that spark game anymore. It’s not to say that it won’t happen, says the Pollyanna angel still perched precariously on my right shoulder, but for now let’s just point that out after the fact, when and if it happens.

The Mariners’ last winning streak of three took place 42 games ago. On the flip side, the last losing streak of more than two was 34 games ago. The team has played .500 baseball since its seven-game losing streak came to an end June 6 and it has alternated wins and losses the past 12 games. In the wins, the Mariners have outscored their opponents 37-14. In the losses, they have been outscored 40-15. In a word, the last month in particular has been maddening. For manager Lloyd McClendon, it goes back further than that.

“That’s been the case for us the entire first half,” he said following Sunday’s loss. “We’ve taken one step forward and two steps backwards. You go 5-4 on a road trip and you feel it was a horrible road trip. You play halfway decent at home and you feel like you lost five in a row.”

Without question. Been there, felt that. A week ago in Oakland, McClendon called the inability to get any sort of momentum going after good games puzzling. On Sunday, he said he didn’t have any more answers than he did last Sunday, but business as usual will not be his attack plan coming out of the gates next Friday in New York.

“You try to stay positive and encourage your club,” he said, “but maybe it takes prodding of a different nature, and if that’s the case then that’s what I have to do.”

Three errors in the final game of the first half may have been the tipping point for McClendon. He called it the Mariners’ worst game of the year.

“It was a very bad performance on our part,” he said. “In a lot of ways it was very embarrassing. It was an absolutely horrible game for us. We’re much better than that. We will play better than that. I have given my club a lot of string and allowed them to do a lot of things, but it’s not working and we have got to change things.”

Change things with what they have, most likely. For as much talk as there is of “go get this guy or call up that guy,” the reality of the situation is that one bat is not going to change this lineup. It would be great to get a speed/on-base type, but that would give the Mariners exactly one of those on their roster. If you are going to play that type of baseball, you need more than one. If this offense is going to succeed it is going to have to do so as it was built. Your sluggers are going to have to be sluggers. Your stars are going to have to play to their star numbers. Your young players are going to have to take a step forward. Changing things may mean nothing more than playing better.

Of course, relief pitching and defense could go a long way in helping pick up a few more wins. With the Mariners playing more close games (those decided by two runs or fewer) than any other team in baseball, every run counts and far too many have been given away. Before Sunday’s game, McClendon pointed out that the missing “bridge player” in the bullpen this year was hurting them. You have to feel good about a healthy Charlie Furbush, Mark Lowe and Carson Smith at the back end of the bullpen. Every effort should be made to find another guy who can hold a lead in the sixth and seventh innings.

A move that must be made is at catcher. Another one has to be found. Forget for the sanity of Mike Zunino, which is important – and hard to maintain when he is playing in every game but two since June 3 and making all but five starts – but what if anything happens to him? One of the reasons Welington Castillo was acquired in the first place was because the Mariners had no one else in the system they felt they could put behind the plate on an every-day basis if necessary. Right now they are operating without a net unless Erik Kratz at age 35 is ready to be an every-day guy for the first time in his big-league career.

Do the Mariners have a second-half run in them? As bleak as the first half has been, I have to go back to what I said at the beginning of the season and say that on paper it looks like they should. McClendon can only prod so much, however, and any player that is brought in at this point can’t be expected to take the entire season on his shoulders. Ultimately it’s up to the guys in that clubhouse to play clean baseball and get the numbers on the back of their bubble-gum cards off those cards and onto the stadium scoreboards.

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