MLB Insider: Trouble quickly finds veteran, new-look Mariners

Going home to Seattle on April 6, fresh off taking two of three in the season-opening series against the defending American League West champs, the Mariners could have been feeling pretty good about themselves.

Yeah, it was early. Only three games. But the Mariners outhit and, at least out of the bullpen, outpitched the Texas Rangers. The new-look Mariners, from the front office to the bullpen and in various parts of the team, had to be feeling pretty good about themselves.

If anything, the Mariners looked at it as just a series win. They’re a veteran group, the oldest in baseball. They’ve been around long enough to know that a baseball season is six months long, and trouble can find them really quickly.

Maybe not this quickly.

The Mariners entered the weekend having lost five of their last six games. The one victory was a series-ending walk-off Wednesday to beat the Rangers and avoid the sweep — and to avoid losing their first six home games.

Five straight home losses to start the season set a club record, and any buzz generated by the fast start at Globe Life Park gave way to a really bad hangover.

Alas, they won back-to-back games Friday and Saturday at New York to open a 10-game road trip. They still have arguably the best pitcher, Felix Hernandez, in the American League; the best second baseman, Robinson Cano; and one of the top sluggers, Nelson Cruz.

The third baseman, Kyle Seager, is a nice player, especially against the Rangers, and the Mariners added one of the game’s top defensive center fielders in Leonys Martin. There isn’t a team that wouldn’t want Hisashi Iwakuma in its rotation and Steve Cishek somewhere in its bullpen.

“We’ve got a good team. We’ve got a good lineup, more speed, more athletic,” Cruz said. “We have a lineup that can do different stuff than we did last year. We have great pitching, good defense.”

The Mariners have a new general manager, Jerry Dipoto, who no longer feels shackled by his owner and manager. Instead, he has two confidants on the bench in manager Scott Servais and bench coach Tim Bogar.

Servais is a former Rangers farm director, and Bogar lost out to Jeff Banister to be Ron Washington’s full-time replacement after carrying the interim title for the final month of the 2014 season.

With the exception of a near-miss on the 2014 postseason, the vibe after years of misdirection under GM Jack Zduriencik and whatever it is that manager Lloyd McClendon brought the past two, has changed.

That counts for something. Servais is trying to create a new atmosphere.

“He’s cool,” said Cruz, who became a star with the Rangers. “He lets you play, and he said we’re going to have fun and enjoy the game. I think the atmosphere is better.”

Happiness counts for something, too, and Martin is happy for the fresh start the Rangers gave him when they dealt him in November for Tom Wilhelmsen, James Jones and Patrick Kivlehan.

Having lost his job to Delino DeShields and having lost himself when he exited stage left before the postseason, there was no longer a place in Texas for Martin despite his defensive prowess.

He didn’t get into what happened in October after sustaining an injury at Triple A Round Rock in late August. He had surgery and attempted a comeback under the guise that he would be used in the postseason as a defensive specialist.

Instead, Drew Stubbs made the roster, and Martin declined the club’s request to head to Arizona to continue working out in case of an injury.

“Last year is over, man,” Martin said.

This year he has been reunited with Cruz, who helped teach Martin the game and whom Martin has said is like a brother to him. The best thing about going to a new team was that Cruz was there waiting for him.

Martin was coveted by the Mariners to patrol the spacious outfield at Safeco Field, where fly balls don’t stand a chance. While others can cover more ground than he can, no one has better arm.

Martin fits the ballpark and Dipoto’s plan to play better defense. Martin doesn’t have to be their leadoff hitter, a role that didn’t suit him last season with the Rangers, and he knows he’s going to play regularly.

That has boosted his confidence.

“Every time I come to the ballpark, I know I’m going to be in the lineup,” Martin said. “It’s just an amazing feeling.”

But the Mariners have their problems. The middle of their lineup is terrific, but Cano, Cruz and Seager can’t do it all. Their rotation packs one of the best 1-2 punches in the game, but Wade Miley wasn’t an upgrade and Taijuan Walker and Arlington Martin’s Nathan Karns are young and going to hit some bumps.

Seattle also has to stay healthy, as they have no quality replacements from one of the game’s worst farm systems. No team stays healthy.

That all adds up to a team that needs a lot to go right to be in the playoff hunt. They’ve already seen how quickly trouble can find them.

This story was originally published April 16, 2016 at 8:09 PM with the headline "MLB Insider: Trouble quickly finds veteran, new-look Mariners."