Mariners Monthly Roundup: September/October “Free at Last” Edition.

AL West pitchers are quickly learning that second hand Smoak can be deadly.

Record: 9-21 (Overall 61-101)  

AL West Standings: Texas, Oakland, L.A., Seattle 

Top Hitter: Ichiro turned it up a notch in September (.342) to continue his extraordinary run of 200 hit seasons but it was a talented rookie who gave Mariners fans the most reasons to cheer in the season’s last month. First baseman Justin Smoak looked like the player we envisioned the team was getting the Cliff Lee trade, posting a line of .325/.400/.525 in September/October, including a string of three straight games with a home run. In a lineup utterly devoid of any power, a full season of Smoak will be just what the doctor ordered for 2011. 

Top Pitcher: Even if he doesn’t win the AL Cy Young Award (he does play on the West Coast after all) Felix Hernandez still  finished the season with a bang, posting a 3-2 record in September with a 1.64 ERA and only 20 hits allowed in 38 innings. Hernandez finished the year ranked first in innings, first in ERA, second in K’s, second in WHIP and third in complete games, and oh yeah, he’s still just 24-years-old. King Felix gave Mariners’ fans something to look forward to every five days and provided hope that things won’t be this bad forever. For all the flak that Jack Zduriencik has received this season (and deservedly so) we should be very thankful that he got Felix inked to a contract extension. Now let’s just hope we can get him some run support in 2011.

Biggest Surprise: After doing absolutely nothing at the plate all year long, Jose Lopez went bananas in a September game against Toronto, hitting three longballs and driving in four runs. Of course he did it at a time when the Mariners couldn’t trade him, instead just stealing time away from young players who needed major league at-bats. Thankfully, he jammed his finger shortly thereafter and was shut down for the rest of the season–if only that had happened in April.

Biggest Disappointment: Everyone except Felix and Ichiro.

Home Run Tracker: The Mariners finished the season with the same number of home runs (101) as losses. Woof!

Injuries: Matt Tuiasosopo and Ryan Langerhans both had surgery to remove bone chips from their elbows. Erik Bedard is on a steady diet of tough pills to prepare for next season, but no one’s holding their breath. It’s dangerous.

Lingering Questions: Why did I pay to go to five Mariners’ games this year? Why did anyone pay to go to any Mariners’ game this year? Will anyone miss Casey Kotchman or Jose Lopez? Did we just witness the worst offensive season in the history of baseball? How was Dave Niehaus able to keep his sanity in the broadcast booth? Will my heart ever recover? Can I ever love the M’s again? Do they even deserve a second chance? Who will be the manager next season?

October Schedule: HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH!

Overall Grade: (D) The last month was as painful as any this season but at least Mariners’ fans got to watch Ichiro pass 200 hits and King Felix continue to dominate hitters at an otherworldly level. While the young kids (Cortes, Mangini, Halman, Varvaro, etc.) didn’t wow in their brief stunt with the big club, they gained invaluable major league experience and hopefully will help the Mariners gain some level of respectability in 2011. This month would have been graded an “F” but mercifully, it brought the season to a close. Let’s try to forget about 2010 as quickly as we can…