No offense: Hitting struggles have Mariners falling behind

Let’s start with the good news about the Mariners because everyone – myself included – seems to zone in on the negative stuff with Lloyd McClendon’s team.

They’re 54-51. Think about that for a minute – they have a winning record on July 28.

They have the best starter and the best bullpen in the American League.

They’re in a playoff race, just 1.5 games behind the Blue Jays, who currently hold the second wild-card spot.

They’re going on a six-game road trip, which isn’t good news, it’s great news considering they’re a better team on the road (28-20 vs. 26-31 at Safeco Field).

Dustin Ackley is on fire, hitting .375 in July after collecting three hits in Sunday’s 3-2 loss to Baltimore. In Chris Taylor, they might have a better all-around shortstop than Brad Miller. And they have consistency from Robinson Cano, who’s second in the league with his .328 average.

I think we tend to forget about those things – or at least I do – when we watch this team struggle to score night after night. You see all of the good things obscured by the offense. What makes it worse is that it seems like we’ve been watching this forever. They’re not the same old Mariners, but it sure feels that way at times. They’re averaging 2.2 runs over their last 20 games.

Baseball is a hard game. When I sit close to the field, I’m still amazed that batters are able to even connect with a 95-mph fastball. The reaction that it takes, determining whether to swing or not, appears to be one of the most difficult things to do in sports.

But a bunch of these guys are pretty good at it anyway, and if I’m putting it in “amazing” terms, I’m amazed that a few of the Mariners still have major-league jobs. Even worse, as far as I can tell, they keep their jobs only because there aren’t better options in the farm system.

As good as he was for a two-week stretch spanning late June and early July, Logan Morrison has been dreadful ever since, going 6 for 60.

Since returning from his hamstring injury, Corey Hart has two doubles and no home runs in 57 at-bats. He’s batting .211 and has an OPS of .516. Even an old-school guy like me knows that an OPS of .516 stinks, especially when you’re supposed to be a power hitter like Hart.

The Mariners strengthened their first base/designated hitter options by acquiring Kendrys Morales last week, but he went 1 for 10 over the weekend.

A spark for most of the season, James Jones is hitting .125 since the All-Star break, magnifying the Mariners’ issues in the outfield. Ackley’s hot streak helps, but there’s no power at any of the three positions.

I also thought we’d see more longballs from Cano. The sabermetric guys tell me that Cano is still producing in a big way, but how can you not be surprised that he has only seven home runs through 105 games? This is a guy who has averaged 29 home runs the last five years. Different ballpark, fine. No consistent threat behind him, fine. But to go from 29 to a pace for 10 or 11? Unacceptable when you’re making $24 million a year.

I’m also concerned about the third, fourth and fifth starters. Though he’s proven me wrong so far, Chris Young can’t possibly maintain his stellar pace as the innings pile up. Roenis Elias has looked good in his last two starts, but the Mariners are monitoring his innings. He’s up to 123 with a reported limit of 170 this season.

Then there’s the unknown fifth starter. It could be Taijuan Walker, Erasmo Ramirez or James Paxton, who could rejoin the Mariners and pitch on Saturday at Baltimore.

Clearly, the Mariners need a right-handed hitting outfielder and another starting pitcher, and hopefully general manager Jack Zduriencik will find one or both before the trading deadline on Thursday.

The Mariners scratched out two wins during their seven-game homestand, looking competitive and disappointing at the same time.

The best thing about them is this is how every time you think they’re going to fall out of the playoff race because they’re just not good enough, the Mariners rise up and surprise us all.

As they head to Cleveland, this needs to be another one of those times.

The Go 2 Guy also writes for SeattlePI.com and KitsapSun.com. You can reach Jim at jimmoorethego2guy@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @cougsgo.