Mariners notebook: Offense continues to surge

OAKLAND – Four runs down in the first inning Friday night? So what.

In the first half of the season the Mariners struggled to score three runs a game, but in the second half it has been a different story.

The Mariners finished the first half with the worst batting average (.236) in the American League, second worst in runs scored and OBP, and third worst in slugging percentage. In the second half they flipped the script, scoring the fourth most runs in the AL while putting up the second best slugging percentage and sixth best average and OBP.

Too little, too late many will say which is true in regard to this year, but what about next season? The majority of this offense returns – or can return – next year. Maybe there aren’t as many needs in the offseason to be filled on this offense as many who comment on this blog seem to think.

Perhaps the biggest need was filled June 20 when Edgar Martinez was hired as hitting coach. Before that day the offense was hitting .233 as a unit, putting up just 3.38 runs per game. Since then they are hitting .262 and scoring 4.6 runs per game. Robinson Cano turning things around at the start of July is part of this, but the Edgar effect should not be discounted.

When Edgar first joined the team and the numbers started steadily picking up, I had conversations with numerous people about when it would be fair to say that he had an impact. It’s hard to measure but impossible to ignore.

When Edgar was first hired I talked to a number of players about the move and about what they were seeing from him. After that I tried to back off the subject, give Edgar some room to work and some time to see results. I also didn’t want this story overexposed. A funny thing happened, though – his name still came up in every interview I did with a hitter. Every single one. Not brought up by me, but by the players. These guys believe.

They have talked about everything from approach to drills to preparation to in-game input they have received from Edgar. They have also talked about the positivity that he has brought and the confidence he has instilled in them. You do everything right and don’t get your pitch in a particular at-bat, you will get it the next time. When a potential Hall of Famer tells you he likes your swing or believes in the changes you have made, it’s not hard to buy into what they are saying, which is in reality buying into and having confidence in what you are doing. Hitting is not easy and these guys appreciate the support. It seems like a little thing when you take the bigger picture of mechanics and approach into account, but it is not.

There are still plenty of questions to be answered in this final month – if Ketel Marte is ready to man shortstop and lead off at the big league level every day, and if Brad Miller can transition to the outfield are major questions at that – but they have taken a major step forward with the offense in the second half, which should answer some questions heading into the offseason as well.

Notes

• Felix takes the hill after being skipped the last time through the rotation. The move had been scheduled some time ago but came at a good time as it gave Felix time to work on changes he tried to make before his last start. Felix doesn’t usually throw bullpen sessions between starts – rather he just throws from flat ground – but he needed some mound time to get his timing back. He discovered while watching film he was rushing his delivery and, as a result, opening up too soon. He’s thrown two bullpen sessions since his last start and it will be interesting to see if he is able to keep the ball down better.

• Nelson Cruz and Franklin Gutierrez are not in the lineup. Cruz’s strained quad is improving and he actually took batting practice before the game. McClendon called Gutierrez day to day after coming out of the game last night with groin tightness.

• The Mariners are scoring 5.62 runs per game so far on this 10-game road trip.

• I talked with Tony Zych, who made his MLB debut Friday night, before the game for my radio interview. There has been a lot of talk about his high-velocity fastball, but the word on his slider is good too.

“I have had quite a bit of decent sliders but I never felt like it got really good until this year,” he said. “In spring training one day I was talking to Jake Arrieta, who is obviously pretty good, and he kind of showed me some of his thoughts on his slider and how he works through it. I worked on it the next couple of days and ended up striking out two guys the first time I used it in the spring. I decided I would stick with that one and see if I could make it better.”

Zych believes the pitch has been a difference maker for him.

“I went from a guy last year who would have a fair amount of strikeouts but not as many as I should have for a velocity pitcher. Ever since throwing that in there and learning how to command it for strikes and also throwing it off when I need to helped tremendously.”

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