Cal Raleigh answers for the Mariners’ struggles

Be it in the small interview room off the Mariners’ clubhouse in Seattle or in front of a logo-covered portable backdrop in the bowels of a visiting stadium, Dan Wilson takes questions from the media after every game. He is the first to speak win or lose on most nights, with sometimes the starting pitcher going first if there is other business that needs to be taken care of by the manager immediately following the game.

Tuesday night in New York after the Seattle Mariners’ 4-1 loss to the Yankees, it wasn’t Wilson or starting pitcher Bryan Woo who emerged from the clubhouse first. It was Cal Raleigh, who went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in Seattle’s fifth straight loss. He wasn’t requested, but he was there and took questions for 10 minutes, still in full uniform as a handful of teammates exited the clubhouse in their street clothes. Raleigh was to be the spokesperson for the the team that has grossly underperformed this year, and he had plenty to say.

Rizzs ‘still walking on a cloud’ after Seattle Mariners HOF reveal

“It’s not good,” he said of the team’s current trajectory. “That starts with me. I’m awful. I’ve got to find a way to to be better and to help bring the guys along, and we just got to play better. I mean ultimately we’re just playing very, very, very, bad baseball in every facet of the game. We’ve got to pick it up, you know, from the the energy standpoint to the execution to the little things in the game that help you win baseball games. And we’re just not doing those right now.”

To see it is one thing. To attempt to define the problem and present solutions is another. Raleigh pointed to a mentality he talked about earlier in the year, perhaps still searching for it.

“I think we just got bring that edge every day,” he said before admitting there were challenges, perhaps giving a glimpse inside at what has been the biggest challenge of his career. “It’s tough when things aren’t going your way, and it’s hard, you feel like everybody’s against you, things aren’t going your way. But you got to have a good attitude and you got to ultimately bring that edge to play every single day because nothing’s given to you. We got to go take it.

“And sometimes when you’re feeling bad for yourself, you get a little lackadaisical out there. You maybe have a little less energy or maybe you don’t have quite that edge that you should have every single day. That starts with me, and I need to do a better job of that each and every night and just being prepared and being ready to go every single night and letting whatever happens happens. But ultimately we just got to play with a little more urgency.”

Sputtering offense

At the plate, Raleigh sees plenty that can be cleaned up. When asked about the Mariners’ offensive woes, he let out a big sigh before answering.

“You know, the approach is just not there,” he said. “To me, it’s just off-balance swings and late to the heater, early on the offspeed – and I’m not pointing fingers. I’m ultimately the the worst of the group right now and I understand that. Sometimes baseball players can be stubborn and and we just got to put our pride aside.

“We have to maybe focus a little more on the team aspect or hitting the ball the other way or trying to just take singles and not trying to go for the long ball every time. Because ultimately, when you rely on the long ball, you’re going to get a lot of off-balance swings and you’re going to be a little out front and stuff. And ultimately, the pitchers here are really good and you just got to take what they give you. And we’re just not doing that right now.”

When the Mariners have been successful in recent years, the longball has been a big part of that success. Raleigh pointed out however that those home runs don’t just happen. They have to be earned.

“I don’t really believe in trying to hit a home run and you do hit a home run. I think home runs obviously are mistakes that pitchers make and ultimately they come when you have a good approach and your swing is in a good spot and you’re doing the right things and thinking the right things, which is driving the ball through the middle of field or using the whole field and try to stay inside the ball and being in a good position to hit. And it’s not ultimately trying to hit a home run or getting too big because that’s when you miss your pitch, and then you get into a bad count and then that’s when you see the nasty breaking stuff. You see pitchers take advantage in those counts ’cause you know you can’t hit when you’re behind every single time.

“Ultimately, sometimes you don’t lose the at-bats on the strikeout. You might lose it on the 2-0 pitch that you missed and you try to do too much with it and you go on down the heart of the plate and you just didn’t do anything with it because you weren’t in a good position to hit. You weren’t thinking the right things and ultimately that’s kind of what I see throughout the group and and with myself right now.”

‘We can’t point fingers’

As for his manager who has been coming under fire from the public for the team’s unexpected poor performance this year, Raleigh didn’t see that as the right place to lay blame. He said the same for a number of other coaches and front office members, including senior director of hitting Edgar Martinez, pitching coach Pete Woodworth, president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander.

“I mean, ultimately the players decide the outcomes of these games,” he said. “Obviously Dan has to say and who comes in and writes the lineup and we understand that. But at the end of the day, those 26 guys have to be ready to play and we have to rely on each other. And that’s where the performance comes in. Dan’s not out there playing. Edgar isn’t out there playing. Woody is not out there pitching. That’s what it comes down to. It comes down to the 26 guys in that locker room, and we’re going to lean on some different guys each night, and that starts in the clubhouse and we just have to do a better job of relaying that and understanding.

“We can’t point fingers. We can’t say it’s Jerry’s fault, Justin’s fault, or Dan’s fault. It’s not their fault, it’s our fault. We’re the ones that are performing and we have to accept that. And that’s just the tough reality of it. And ultimately, like I said, as a leader on this team, you know, I feel responsible and I just have to do a better job of getting ready to go and be prepared and bringing that edge and that readiness each night at 7 o’clock.”

It’s not all on Cal

Raleigh taking a lot on his shoulders is nothing new. He is a catcher in part because he wants that. He wants to lead. He understands the impact of his position and how all eyes on the field are on him behind the plate.

“Really putting off confidence, really putting off a sense of calmness and focus is important all the time. It doesn’t matter if it’s a big moment or not,” he said on a recent edition of The Cal Raleigh Show on Seattle Sports. “You want to put out good body language and energy. I just think that’s important, being a catcher. Trying to instill confidence and a sense of calmness to the pitcher and the rest of the position players, because you still have a job at hand, you got to focus and be under control.”

It’s a lot to carry on both sides of the ball, particularly when you are struggling. Bryan Woo, who Raleigh took under his wing when he first came up to the big leagues, pointed out he doesn’t need to do it all on his own.

“He takes it as hard as anybody,” Woo said. “We all do. But you’ve got to continue to remind him that he doesn’t have to carry the whole ship by himself. You’ve got 25 other guys trying to pull the rope and trying to figure this thing out. But high-performing people, sometimes they just want to take all of that and try to put it on themselves, figure it out for themselves.”

It’s a tough place to be at any time, but perhaps no more so for Raleigh, who just a year ago was on the mountain top of baseball.

“I know it’s been frustrating for him on the offensive side,” Woo said. “Everybody wants to compare last year and this year. Sports is year to year and every year is a different story. I think the most important thing is just for him to remember we all got his back whether he’s doing good, bad, indifferent. We’re all going to be fighting by his side, no matter what.”

In trying to define the whys and what needs to be dones on Tuesday night, it appears Raleigh is fighting for them as well.

Seattle Mariners news and more

• Mariners claim pitcher away from AL West rival Texas Rangers
• New M’s prospect Boston Smith hits 5 HRs in first 6 games
• Seattle Mariners unveil the top 50 players in franchise history

Related

Slumping Mariners fall 4-1 to Yankees for 5th straight lossAL West Check-In: MLB-worst Angels fire pitching coach in staff shake-upMariners-Yankees Lineups: No Josh Naylor for series openerBased on precedence, a big Mariners run should be coming soonRob Refsnyder may have retired over joining Mariners rivalRick Rizzs ‘still walking on a cloud’ after Mariners HOF reveal