It’s not the offense. It’s not the defense. It’s not even a bullpen that finds its arms hanging by a thread with a month left to the season.

What’s killing the Seattle Mariners in their latest losing streak – this one a second seven-game stretch – is the starting rotation. Manager John McLaren said hours before Friday’s game the team needed a starter to make 100 pitches last eight innings, not five.

Then Jarrod Washburn made 102 pitches last just 3 1/3 innings, putting his team behind 6-2, and McLaren spent the rest of a 7-5 loss trying

Read more »

Mother Nature did Thursday what the Seattle Mariners have not – she benched Richie Sexson, at least temporarily.

Sexson, batting .207 and booed roundly at Safeco Field this week, will likely have to sit out a few games with a strained left hamstring. That means Ben Broussard will play first base.

If that adds more punch to the lineup, the Mariners need it and more – they’re mired in a six-game losing streak, and their bullpen is running on empty. By the time they got to the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday and Eric O’Flaherty stumbled, there

Read more »

Our reporting on the Mariners goes beyond just the stories Larry LaRue and others write. Staff photographers also capture interesting and important moments. A good example is this sequence shot by Peter Haley on Monday night.

There are tough losses and then there are beatings, and heading into the series finale today the Seattle Mariners have simply been beaten by the first-place Angels.

It’s a reminder that, against the division leaders they’ve played this month – Boston and now Los Angeles – Seattle simply does not have a starting pitcher that can match up with the best of those other teams.

Daisuke Matsusaka and Josh Beckett flattened the Mariners offense, and John Lackey shut them out.

Against other wild card contenders, the Mariners match up a little better, but it’s a harsh reminder

Read more »

It’s the series the Mariners and their fans circled on the calendar a few months ago – a three-game set at Safeco Field against the Angels, with first place in the American League West hanging in the balance.

Seattle opens the series two games behind Los Angeles, and the matchups are locked in.

Miguel Batista vs. John Lackey

Jeff Weaver vs. Ervin Santana.

Felix Hernandez vs. Jered Weaver.

You’ve been waiting for it, now call it. How do you see the three games going, and where will the Mariners be when the series ends and

Read more »

For those who don’t remember the last three years – or don’t choose to – the Seattle Mariners put together a little reminder against the Texas Rangers.

Two errors, each disastrous. Two hits in 15 at-bats with runners in scoring position. One hanging changeup turned into a three-run home run.

Going into Saturday night 20 games above .500, the Mariners had almost let their fans forget games like this one.

Even in defeat, they had chances – even in the ninth inning – to tie or win the game.

"Uncharacteristic," manager John McLaren said.

Thank God.

Read more »

If you live in the Northwest, you probably begin to stumble when temperatures hit the 90s – the kind of heat the folks in Texas don’t notice.

Down here, where they had a month of 100 degree temperatures last summer, 90s is spring weather. Which gives the Texas Rangers a sizeable advantage on the opposition during summer months.

The Mariners won the first two games of their series in Arlington with both starting pitchers – first Jeff Weaver, then Felix Hernandez – exiting after six innings. By the eighth inning Friday, the e-mail was already demanding John McLaren’s

Read more »

Not everyone agrees with any one major league manager, and certainly not all Seattle fans – especially the ones who visit here – are in the court of John Lowell McLaren.

He has steadfastly stuck with veterans when others clamored for change.

In July, fans and much of the media wanted Adam Jones in left field every day for Raul Ibanez – and they wanted anyone at first base except Richie Sexson. Jeff Weaver and Horacio Ramirez have stretched everyone’s patience.

McLaren stood with each, and if the fans and

Read more »