Over the last month, the bullpen has been dreadful, which has led to some no-win situations for the skipper.
Before everybody jumps down my throat, let me just say this:
Two things can be true at the same time.
On one hand, you can dislike Seattle Mariners manager Dan Wilson and think he needs to be removed at the end of the season. That is your right.
But on the other hand, we all need to acknowledge that there aren't a lot of good options for Wilson, at least when it comes to his pitching staff as a whole right now.
On Monday, MLB Network posted a graphic following the M's three-game sweep at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays. That graphic said that, since Aug. 2, the Mariners bullpen had an ERA of 8.14 and an opponents batting average of .313. That 8.14 ERA was the worst in baseball by more than two full runs (5.66 was next-worst).
Again, that was on Monday, before we saw Mariners relievers give up four runs against the Red Sox (Eduard Bazardo, Andres Munoz and Cooper Criswell) in a 9-8 loss. On Tuesday, we saw the Mariners give up five runs out of the bullpen (Carlos Vargas and Hoby Milner), even though they won 9-6.
Furthermore, the Mariners won 8-3 on Wednesday, but not before Michael Rucker gave up two runs as well.
So, all that's to say, the bullpen numbers are worse than the MLB Network graphic indicates when you add in those three games in Boston.
Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Eduard Bazardo (83) pitches to the Los Angeles Angels during the seventh inning at T-Mobile Park. Steven Bisig-Imagn ImagesWhich leaves Wilson in a precarious spot, and always in the crosshairs. Does he stick with starters too long in an effort to avoid the bullpen? Does he pull a starter at the appropriate time, but then overexpose the bullpen?
You are damned if you do, damned if you don't, and always playing the lottery. And that's a battle that Wilson can't win, especially in a court of public opinion that's already against him.
We spoke about that with ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney on the most recent 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast on Thursday.
"That's exactly right. And I do think that the conversation around managers, generally speaking, is related to how good their bullpen is. Because if they have a bad bullpen, no matter what they do, no matter who they call out of the bullpen, if they're struggling, that's going to be a problem. The manager is going to look bad. That's just the way it goes."
The Mariners (66-74) enter play on Thursday at five games back in the American League West race. They are also 4.5 games back in the battle for the third wild card spot.
The Mariners will take on the Athletics on Thursday at 6:40 p.m. PT.
Of note
The most recent 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast, featuring Buster Olney of ESPN, is out. You can listen here, or you can watch in the YouTube player below.
