M’s rear ugly head of old

You could hear a collective sight of relief coming from Seattle today. The Mariners snapped a nine-game losing streak, out pitching and slugging the New York Yankees in route to a 7-1 win.

It is a small consolation to be trailing New York in the Wild Card by just one game, after trailing the AL West leading LA Angels by two games just eight days ago. But M’s fans do have reason to celebrate.

Despite the seven game losing skid to end August, Seattle played above .500 baseball during the month for the first time in the past six seasons. In 2003, the Mariners got close with a 14-14 record during August, finishing the season with 93 wins. But they missed the playoffs.

Between 2002 and 2006, August baseball absolutely killed the Mariners. During that span Seattle’s combined record was a pitiful 61-79.

Thanks for this year’s turnaround belongs to the Mariner additions of two Jose’s: Guillen and Vidro. But this Seattle team is a real team, showing tremendous grit and offensive balance.

Seven Mariners finished with batting averages above .300, while four M's drove in 20 or more runs during August. For the season, every regular starter has driven in at least 50 runs. Seattle’s weakness is certainly not at the plate, rather it is on the mound.

That is exactly what sunk the M’s late in the month. Shoddy starting pitching, coupled with untimely bullpen collapses doomed Seattle. The dependable bullpen preserve a late tie in a tough loss at Cleveland last Thursday (Aug. 30).

Horacio Ramirez was the only Mariner starter to finish August with an ERA under six, 3.31 in six starts. Reliever George Sherrill and his 13.50 August ERA didn’t help the cause either.

Toss in star closer J.J. Putz's one pitching appearance during the end of August skid, and managerial moves are open to interpretation and questioning.

However, Mariner fans attitudes should not match the doom-and-gloom of Seattle weather. Thirteen of their remaining games are against teams with sub-500 records: Tampa Bay, Oakland, who is waving the white flag and Texas.

The Mariners finally shook their August demons only to have their past rear its ugly head, again. While Seattle is not out the postseason race yet, every game matters.

Blogger’s Note: Seattle outfielder Jose Guillen, pictured, helped the Mariners achieve their first winning record for the month of August in six seasons. Guillen batted .305 with six home runs and 22 RBIs during the month. Photo courtesy of AP Photo – Ted Warren.