From a standings perspective, Monday's Seattle Mariners loss at Fenway Park just might have been the deathblow on an incredibly disappointing season.

The Mariners are now 10 games under .500 for the first time since 2022 and their playoff odds are at a woeful 12 percent.

A season that began with such promise is crashing, and frankly, it's felt disjointed most of the year. 

But from a practical standpoint, Monday's loss was probably the Mona Lisa for this team, which dropped its fifth consecutive game to fall to 64-74. And it's a loss that perfectly encapsulates the 2026 campaign.

I discussed further on the most recent 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast.

I've seen it with my own eyes how hard they work. I've seen it with my own eyes how much they want it. I've sat in the press conferences. I've been there in the interviews, and I've seen how much this affects them.

I believe that this team cares. I believe that this team wants more than they are giving and more than they are getting. They showed, again, the fight that I think they have (on Monday night).

The problem is that the fight just isn't good enough, and that's one of the more frustrating things of anything.

On Monday night, you look. They punched first. They hit first. They punched back. They came back. They got off the mat. They were resilient. They battled. All of the cliches, they did all of it, and it still wasn't good enough.

Look, you name it, and the Mariners are failing at it. This isn't a one-guy problem. This isn't what Rob Refsnyder did. This isn't Cal Raleigh. This isn't Julio Rodriguez.

You want to blame Josh Naylor. You want to blame Randy Arozarena's effort in Tampa. You want to go after Dan Wilson. You want to go after Jerry Dipoto. You can blame any individual you want, but the bottom line is this is a collective failure up and down.

You name the area, and the Mariners are failing at it. This is an all-encompassing organizational failure.

1) The Mariners take a 1-0 only to give it right back on a home run by Mickey Gasper, a guy who was in Triple-A just 24 hours earlier.

2) The Mariners get down 3-1 on a two-run homer by Jarren Duran, who is one of the worst qualified hitters in baseball this year.

3) The Mariners come back tie the game at 3-3, but they squander bases loaded, nobody out, with the middle of the order up.

4) They get down 5-3, only to come back and take an 8-5 lead.

5) Eduard Bazardo's struggles continue to make the lead 8-7.

6) The Mariners then fail to score a runner from third with nobody out in the ninth inning, missing out on a crucial insurance run, again with the middle of the order up.

7) Julio Rodriguez misplays a single into a triple in the ninth inning, eventually causing the game-tying run to score.

8) The Mariners fail to score the automatic runner in the 10th.

9) And yes, there are some, at least questionable managerial decisions in extra innings, having Victor Robles bunt against Aroldis Chapman and walking the bases loaded for Trevor Story.

Again, that's just a perfect representation of the season as a whole. When one hole gets plugged, another one opens up. The offense finally did its job, but the starting pitching didn't do its, which led to an overexposed bullpen unable to do its. Also, the defense and some mental mistakes piled up, and there you have it, one of the worst losses of the season.

And too often, guys the team is relying on, are falling short.

The Mariners and Red Sox will play again on Tuesday at 3:40 p.m. PT. Bryan Woo will be on the mound. Mariners prospect Laz Montes is expected to make his major league debut in the contest.

The most recent edition of the 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast is out. You can listen here, or you can watch in the YouTube player below.