An Open Letter to the Seattle Mariners

Dear Mariners,

We need to talk.

I've looked up to this team my whole life. They taught me that hope will get you a long way, and even the least likely group can come out ahead if you work hard enough. But it means I also grew up not knowing what winning felt like. Sure, we had '95, '97, and '01. But now it's been fourteen years since we've touched the playoffs, or even truly had a legitimate shot at them.

I grew up not knowing what a championship felt like. I grew up in a house that cheered for the Mariners, the Astros, the Cowboys, and the Seahawks. I didn't experience my first championship shot until 2005, and my first championship win until 2-2-12 when the Seahawks won the Super Bowl. I was twenty-one. Many people I know have had more championships than they can count by that age. Or at least shots at them.

I tell you that so I can say this. Something needs to change. And it's not me, it's you. There have been several years in that fourteen year span that the Mariners should have gone to the playoffs. The reason why they missed was not because the team wasn't good enough. It was because the management and ownership gave up on the boys on the field.

I'm tired of the athletes being meddled with and eventually given up on by people who sit in an office and get paid millions, instead of the men who are paid to manage the athletes. Even former manager Eric Wedge complained that the front office made poor decisions about players and scouting.

We've had a whopping two winning seasons since Jack Z took over at GM. Two. And that's with not one, not two, but four different managers. I know I'm not great at math, but I know how to find a lowest common denominator.

Every season, the Mariners get fans hopes up, bringing in great players like Cano, Cruz, and this year J.A. Happ. And then something goes wrong. The first half the season is mediocre at best, but looks promising. There are trades made, and it's not hard to tell that we're always on the short end of it. It's easy to see that certain guys are kept around for name value, like Iwakuma (or in his day, Ichiro), and should be the ones going, but are kept on and kept playing for reasons unknown to everyone with eyes.

And then the All Star Break happens. It's great, we get a breath of fresh air. King Felix goes and represents the team and reminds the world that we can be the best!

And then the season starts back up. And the world remembers why we're not. The trade deadline approaches and this is where it's apparent the front office has given up. Every year. It doesn't matter how promising our team looks in terms of potentially making a playoff run, especially when you bring into account anybody you may be able to bring in, or anybody who may be sick or injured. Jack. Gives. Up.

This year it started with the trade of Dustin Ackley. While this one was not a surprise as the outfield is pretty strong this year and the once-firstbaseman no longer HAS a position in the majors, you trade a guy hitting .215 with a .635 OPS, for Ramon Flores (another outfielder), who has barely set foot on a major league field, hitting .219 with .469 OPS, and Jose Ramirez who has an ERA of 15.0.

I'm not a manager. I'm not a business person. I am an athlete, but in an individual sport. But I do know that when you trade from one team to another team, you should always try and make it so that your team is getting the better deal. I cannot imagine a world in which the Mariners got the better deal here. Even for young prospects. These are not the kind of players I want.

BUT WAIT. THERE'S MORE!

THEN YOU TRADED MARK LOWE?! You traded a pitcher with a 1.00 ERA and 47 strikeouts for effectively three prospects. AND THEN. J.A. Happ has a few bad games. So you throw him away for ONE SINGLE PROSPECT.

You cannot win a World Series on the hopes of prospects. You will never win a World Series if you continue to trade away your good players faster than the ink dries on their contracts. Fans are tired of "rebuilding." We're tired of being told that these prospects are great and then seeing nothing from them, a la Ackley, Smoak, and many others you've promised us. We're tired of seeing players we have built go on to win series rings with other teams because you traded them away for mediocre counterparts. We're just tired. Take a trip down the street and go have a chat with Pete and John. They know how to get it done, with respect for their fans and their athletes. They never gave up. Something you need to learn.

Most importantly, stop giving up half way through the season. There's still hope after 81 games. Hell, there's still hope after 120 games. It's not how you start, it's how you finish. You can lose the first eight innings, but if you win the ninth, that's all that matters. So for the sake of your fans, finish something for once.

Forever True to the Blue,
Emily