Diary of a Mariners fan

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2026

Dear Diary:

I went and saw the Mariners play in the Bronx on Thursday. First pitch was 1:35 p.m., and our seats were in the shade, which was nice because the weather was hot and woolen in New York.

For the second time in three games against the Yankees, the Mariners starting pitcher didn’t allow a run. This time, however, the bullpen locked it down and Seattle won 1-0 because somebody named Weston Wilson hit a home run.

A funny thing happened when I noticed that Colt Emerson wasn’t in Seattle’s starting lineup. I felt a sense of relief.

This is probably not a good sign considering Emerson is an important component of the Mariners future, but he has been struggling so badly over the past two months that it had become hard for me to understand why he was still in the big leagues.

And now he’s not in the big leagues. He was informed after Thursday’s game he’ll be sent down, which is probably best for all involved.

Hopefully, this will be just part of Emerson’s learning curve. He’ll learn from this failure and improve from it. A guiding principle in baseball development is to push prospects to the point of failure and let them learn. Emerson experienced an abundance of failure over the past two months.

I do have some deep reservations about the Mariners process here.

Emerson was called up in mid-May.

He experienced early success, which peaked on June 2. On that day, he had two hits in four at-bats, his average stood at .271 and he had homered in two of the last four games he played.

The next two months were a fairly unambiguous skid. He batted .167 in his last 54 games.

I don’t know why it took this long to move Emerson down to Triple A. As important as he is to Seattle’s long-term future, I don’t think progression through the system should be influenced by injuries or need at the big-league level.

I don’t know for sure that’s what happened here, but it sure seems like it. I don’t think it was a mistake to bring him up, but i do believe the Mariners should have sent him down sooner. I just hope there’s no long-term harm.

MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2026

Dear Diary:

The Mariners had to work very hard to weave any doubt into Sunday’s game.

In fact, entering the eighth inning, I didn’t think this team had it in them.

Not only had George Kirby pitched seven scoreless innings, retiring 16 of the final 18 batters he faced, but the Mariners lineup, which ranks among the least productive in the league, had posted six runs. I had gone so far as to roll my eyes when Cal Raleigh hit a three-run homer in the seventh to make the score 6-0.

“Save that for a game when it really matters,” I thought to myself.

Once again, I underestimated the ability of this franchise to stub its toe after shooting itself in the foot.

The Mariners needed every bit of Raleigh’s homer and then one.

The Twins hit three homers off three different Mariners relievers over the final two innings, tying the score 6-6.

Yet, in spite of their best efforts, Seattle wound up winning.

Josh Naylor singled to start the bottom of the ninth. Victor Robles singled with one out, and Naylor wound up on third after some crafty base-running and a face-skinning slide. Pinch-runner Stuart Fairchild was inserted into the game, replacing Naylor, and he scored on Colt Emerson’s single to right.

The Mariners had won a game in their final at-bat for the second consecutive game. They are 55-58 and three games behind Houston in the division.

There is absolutely nothing about this team that makes me believe it should make the playoffs, which is exactly what makes me fear that they just might.