Mariners need to ‘show some patience’ after ‘bad week’

CLEVELAND – On most getaway days, the Seattle Mariners’ clubhouse is bustling with anxious energy as players and staff hurriedly eat, shower and pack for the pending flight out of town.

But on Wednesday, in the aftermath of a 4-3 loss to the Angels that closed out an awful season-opening homestand when they went 2-5, the clubhouse was quiet and largely empty.

Defeat meant no postgame music.

And a handwritten note informed the traveling party that their flight was going to be delayed by at least two hours due to inclement weather in Cleveland.

It left more time to commiserate on their substandard play for much of the homestand.

They didn’t pitch with their normal command or efficiency in the strike zone.

They didn’t produce much at the plate, abandoning their approach and resorting to hacking at pitches out of the strike zone.

They didn’t adhere to their normal standards on defense, committing costly errors and failing to make other plays in crucial situations – a staple of their past success.

They didn’t run the bases with their typical controlled aggression, making silly outs on the bases that prematurely ended rallies.

“I guess what has stood out is the fact that we have really struggled in almost every facet of the game for a week,” said Jerry Dipoto, president of Mariners baseball operations, on his weekly radio show on Seattle Sports 710-AM. “We will turn ourselves around when we get back to doing the thing that we do, which is, managing the strike zone. We are giving up too many free bases, we aren’t getting enough of our own and that has to flip for us to turn the script to the start of our season.”

But other than that, everything was just swell.

The Mariners did show some improvements in those areas at various times in the series. But it wasn’t the level of execution that has become expected.

“We’re swinging outside the strike zone and we are making a lot of noncompetitive misses on the pitcher’s mound,” Dipoto said.

One of his simplest measures for finding efficiency is these numbers: hitters’ walks (positive value), hitters’ strikeouts (negative value), pitchers’ walks (negative value), pitchers’ strikeouts (positive value).

Ideally, it totals up to a positive number.

A year ago, the Mariners drew 596 walks and struck out 1,397 times while their pitchers struck out 1,391 and walked 447, which gave them a plus-143. In seven games this season, Mariners hitters have drawn 16 walks and struck out 62 times. Their pitchers have walked 31 hitters and struck out 58. That yields a minus-19.

“These are guys who’ve done it before and they’ve done it very well, at this level,” Dipoto said. “They just had a bad week. What we can do is show some patience and keep on beating the drum of the process that we know led us to the places that we’ve been and we want to get back to.”

Another frustrating injury for first baseman White

First baseman Evan White’s return to playing daily baseball ended on Saturday. The former Gold Glove first baseman suffered a Grade 2 groin strain while running the bases for Triple-A Tacoma.

Dipoto mentioned that White was injured on his weekly radio show and would be out for a considerable amount of time.

“It’s unfortunate for Evan that every time he seems to take a step forward, he’s unable to stay out on the field,” Dipoto said.

General manager Justin Hollander provided the details via text message, saying the White is expected to miss the first two months of the season.

It’s the latest injury setback for White, who has missed most of the past two seasons due to injuries in the core and pelvic area.

He has played in 32 minor leagues games over the past two seasons.

But after finding some new treatment in the offseason, White arrived to MLB spring training healthy and ready to resume his career.

“I can’t remember the last time I felt this good,” White told the Seattle Times.

He looked healthy in the spring, showcasing the athletic play in the field and speed on the bases that made him different from other first basemen.

The Mariners were excited to have White continue to work on some swing changes and tweaks to his hitting approach in Tacoma for an extended period, believing he build up the at-bats and innings that were lost over the past two seasons.

“He needs to play baseball,” manager Scott Servais said in spring training. “I said to our coaches, I believe at some point this year, Evan will help us. He’s going to impact us.”

But it won’t be for a while now.

White, 26, was a first-round pick (No. 17 overall) in the 2017 MLB draft out of the University of Kentucky. Before the 2020 season, he signed a six-year, $24 million contract despite having never played in the big leagues.