Thursday, August 25, 2011

Falling To Pieces

It wasn't that long ago that Mariner fans could hang their hats on one of the best pitching staffs in the league.  Sure, the hitting was terrible (dead last in OPS in the first half at .621).  But the Mariner staff held opponents to the second lowest OPS in the league. Mariner hurlers held the league to a .643 OPS, second only to Atlanta's .637.  

Unfortunately the second half pitching regression has been obvious to anyone following the Mariners.  The chart below (courtesy of the Sporting News) shows the ugly truth since the break.  Numbers are through Tuesday. That's the Mariners down at #27, serving up an opponent OPS of .801.

Has the league caught on to their tricks, or was Mariner pitching not that great to begin with?  Can a staff led by Felix, Pineda and Vargas compete in the AL West next year? 

2nd Half Pitching Results by team (through 8/23):