Dear Seattle Mariners

I'm a Seattle Mariner Fan. Have been for about 20 years now. And after several years of very losing seasons and one really good one last year, this year was expected to be better than the 88 wins of last year. But so far, as of today May 15th, their season sucks. And they're becoming a team other teams love to play because they'll give you the game, either by not being very good or by giving you opportunities.

So to that end, after listening to them blow another game in the 8th or 9th inning, this time to Tampa Bay, I have to say:

GET YOUR HEADS OUT OF YOUR YOUR ASS AND START PLAYING WINNING BASEBALL

The team brought in some excellent players to add to the excellent players they kept from last year, and to date, few of them come close to their career average, let alone play well. They've been swept 3 series this season, so far. They've blown so many leads by inept pitching, it's pitful. They have one of the lowest team batting average in baseball. They lost to teams with losing records, not once but a series, and even a sweep.

They are a good team, on paper. But on the field, right now, they suck. Early in the season they were 9-7 and now (today), they're 14-22, that's 5-15 for the last 20 games. Many of those winnable when they were leading going into the 8th inning and often the 9th inning, only to lose with bad pitching or fielding.

I'm tired of hearing, like today, another game lost on ineptness of either the pitching, batting or fielding. They're better and should do better, and if they want fans the rest of the season they had better start playing the game they're paid handsomely to play. You're paid for performance, yours, and the team's.

So how about it? Can you do that, win more than one of every 3 or 4 games? We built you a ballpark. We pay for the tickets. And we cheer for you. It's time you returned the work we expected and you promised.

Update.-- Sunday the 16th and true to form, they blew a 1-0 lead in the 7th inning and the lead in the 8th inning. In the last two games, Chone Figgins has hit into double plays with runners in scoring position which would have helped the Mariners tie or win the game. He Kotchman and other players are consistently hitting 50-100 points below the career average.

This includes hometown favorite Ken Griffey Jr., who somehow needs to take himself out of the game. He may be good for the moral of the team and fans, but he's not producing anything beyond a triple-A player and the team would do better if they had one who could actually play the field too, which Griffey can't very much anymore. I like Jr. but he's not worth part of the team's chance to get and do better.

They start tomorrow with a 14-23 record, after a 2-4 road trip. The record so far in bunches of 8 games is, 2-6, 7-1, 2-6, 2-6 and 1-4 in this period. Not the promises from last year's record and this year's hope to compete in the American League West division. They can overcome that, but at 9 games below .500, they had better find some offense very soon or they'll be, as they have been 4 of the last 5 years, out of the race by the All-Star break.

We'll know the management's view of the team then when they start shopping some of their best players to contenders, like Cliff Lee, Chone Figgins, and so on. And then promise 2011 will be better, like we've heard the last 5 years. It will be interesting, but I'm not holding my breath. Hoping and watching, yes. Expecting? No.