Panic time for the M's?

The grim specter of seasons past is creeping slowly over the Mariners.
Maybe it’s not panic time yet, but as a Mariners fan, it’s hard not to. This season has been a marked improvement over the last three or four dismal campaigns. Gone are the ineffectiveness of Cirillo and Spezio. Out is the unreliability of the once-reliable Aurilia and Guardado. (Those guys were by no means the sole reasons for the last few years of stinkers, but they were big contributors.)

This crew’s got chemistry, and Manager Mike Hargrove seems to finally be getting into the groove. At one point, we were only three in back of the Angels for first place in the American League West, and seven games over .500.

Then the 2nd game of the Cubs series happened. Lou’s crew had been doing horribly all year. The M’s were tough and up by a run. The bullpen was solid. It was getting into late innings. The heretofore sensational rookie reliever Brandon Morrow came in for what should have been some relatively undemanding pitching duty.

But he gave up the winning runs, and (so far), every inning and every game since then, the Mariners look nothing like they team they were before he came into that inning in that 2nd game. But, baseball is a game where fortunes can change and attitudes can shift on the turn of a dime. Put on those rally caps, folks, and pray hard.