Mariners notebook: Lloyd McClendon points to bullpen as biggest disappointment of first half

Slowly but somewhat surely we have seen the Mariners bats start to come around.

Over the last 21 games the runs per game has crept back over the 4 mark, and over the last 12 games it has been closer to 5. Robinson Cano seems to have turned things around, putting up a line of .289/.316/.783 over the last 30 games. Brad Miller has been right behind him, hitting .265/.330/.764 over the same stretch. Nelson Cruz has rebounded from a slow early June to put up his best overall offensive numbers of the season over the last 30 days, and Seth Smith continues to be consistent. These performances start to give a glimmer of hope for the offense in the second half.

“I think we’re starting to pick it up offensively,” Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said Sunday morning. “The starting pitching has been better and if we continue to swing the bats we should be just fine.”

It’s an uphill climb thanks to the considerable hole the Mariners dug for themselves in the first half. Lack of first half offense, however, is not the main reason the Mariners are in the position they currently are, in according to McClendon.

“No, our bullpen is,” McClendon said. “The right-handers that bridged the gap last year and kept games close have not (done it for us this year). We had to send (Danny) Farquhar, (Tom) Wilhelmson, (Dominic) Leone and (Yoervis) Medina all to the minor leagues, and you can go on and on. The offense last year was bad, but our bullpen was outstanding and we won games because of it. In my opinion, that’s been the biggest disappointment. We’ve had to ship right-handers in and out of our bullpen to try and bridge the gap.”

Last year the Mariners bullpen put up near historic numbers in the first half. This year they have lost 18 games – as compared to the 20 losses they took all of last year – third most in baseball in the first half.

While McClendon pointed to Mark Lowe and Joe Beimel providing some stability, it would appear that more help will be needed in the second half. Whether it comes from the inside with Wilhelmsen or Farquhar returning to 2014 form, or the outside in the form of trades, it will remain a focus coming out of the gates for the second half.

Lineup!

Austin Jackson, CF
Robinson Cano, 2B
Nelson Cruz, RF
Kyle Seager, 3B
Mark Trumbo, LF
Jesus Montero, DH
Logan Morrison, 1B
Mike Zunino, C
Brad Miller, SS

Taijuan Walker, RHP

Notes

– Franklin Gutierrez was a late scratch from the lineup with back stiffness. To the best of my knowledge this is the first day Gutierrez has been unavailable since his call-up.

– Charlie Furbush should not be out long. He is eligible to come off the DL July 23 and expected to go on the upcoming road trip with the Mariners.

– I talked with James Paxton earlier today and he said that there has still been some soreness with his finger. Until that soreness is completely gone he will not be allowed to throw off the mound. He has taken a step forward, however, as he was scheduled to throw Sunday, which would mark the first time he has thrown on back-to-back days since going on the DL.

– McClendon is not ready to announce the rotation coming out of the break. He did point to the obvious, that J.A. Happ would most likely be in the back end of the rotation, which makes sense seeing he cannot be recalled back from High-A Bakersfield until Game 3 against the Yankees next weekend. He also said it was unlikely Happ would pitch for Bakersfield during the break, but he should throw side sessions.

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