The 2014 Seattle Mariners: Meh

Major League Baseball's regular season is fast approaching. The first game for the Seattle Mariners is on March 31st. Usually this time of year is filled with anticipation for the upcoming season. Baseball fans across the nation are dreaming about their team's chances. If just a few things break right, it could be their year. However, here in Seattle the general attitude is much more depressing. Most fans either have no interest in the team and upcoming season or they are downright mad about the direction of the team and have given up hope. I know of very few fans that still have optimism for this team.

There are many reasons for this general malaise about Seattle Mariners baseball. However the largest and most overarching is that the team hasn't made the playoffs in 12 years. After the 2001 team put together the greatest regular season in baseball history, they have consistently gotten worse every single year sense then. The trend line for the Mariners is clearly going down.

Probably one of the most frustrating things is it isn't as if the team isn't trying to get better; they just constantly fail in all their attempts. Here is a list of some of many strategies the front office has tried over the years.

• Sign big name high priced free agents, such as Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre, to try and win now.
• Sign established quality veteran players, like Raul Ibanez, to bring in leadership and a winning culture.
• Build through the farm system by drafting and trading for young players with high upside like Justin Smoak and Dustin Ackley.
• Take a non conventional approach and try to find players to maximize run prevention, like Franklin Gutierrez and Brendan Ryan.

Despite two general managers, several field managers and a seemingly countless number of players nothing has worked.

Sure there have been a few bright spots like Griffey's return in 2009 and Felix's perfect game, but they have been few and far between. They almost act more to highlight how low all the other times have been.  For the most part they feel wasted just like Ichiro's brilliant career.

At this point, fans have distanced themselves from the pain.  It is the most logically thing to do. Rather then keep returning to only get hurt again, stay away. Even previously diehard baseball fans like me have started to stray. The time and emotion required to truly care about the M's just isn't worth it anymore. If they ever get good again and start fielding competitive teams they will probably lure me back, but until that time it is easier to just stay away.