Even though it’s got 10 of ‘em, regression is a four-letter word in Major League Baseball.
And regrettably for the Mariners and their fans, regression has come home to roost in Seattle.
Since July 3, the Mariners have gone a reprehensible 9-17 (.346 winning percentage) and are tied with the wretched Kansas City Royals for the worst record in the American League over that time span.
The biggest reason for that is the lucky horseshoe the Mariners were carrying around for much of the season apparently got lost in early July. Winning for much of the season despite having a very slim positive run differential figure, things have finally started to go the other way and the team now sits at a negative differential of 19 runs.
To put it in perspective, that -19 run differential for the 64-48 Mariners puts them right in the ballpark of the 52-58 Minnesota Twins (-17), 57-55 Pittsburgh Pirates (-6), 59-52 Colorado Rockies (-10), and 57-56 San Francisco Giants (-19).
As you can see, all those teams sit much closer to .500 mark than the Mariners, which is why it’s no shock that’s the way the Mariners are sliding now that they’ve started to regress.
It’s a bad time for regression to creep in because, as cold as the Mariners have been, their closest competitor for a playoff spot, the Oakland A’s, have been equally as hot.
So where do those two division rivals find themselves in this week’s edition of RealClearLife‘s Ultimate Power Rankings?
You’ll have to look at our rankings, which combine ratings from ESPN, CBS and USA Today to get a single rank for all 30 teams in MLB and use segmented tiers to arrange them, to find out.
The Best of the Best (1.00-5.00)
No. 1.00 last 1.33, two weeks ago 1.33: Boston Red Sox – (ESPN, 1), (CBS Sports, 1), (USA Today, 1)
No. 2.00, last 2.33, two weeks ago 1.66: Houston Astros – (ESPN, 2), (CBS Sports, 2), (USA Today, 2)
No. 3.00, last 2.66, two weeks ago 3.00: New York Yankees – (ESPN, 3), (CBS Sports, 3), (USA Today, 3)
No. 4.66, last 4.33, two weeks ago 4.33: Chicago Cubs – (ESPN, 5), (CBS Sports, 5), (USA Today, 4)
The Best of the Rest (5.01-10.00)
No. 5.33, last 6.33, two weeks ago 7.66: Oakland Athletics – (ESPN, 7), (CBS Sports, 4), (USA Today, 5)
No. 6.66, last 5.66, two weeks ago 5.66: Los Angeles Dodgers – (ESPN, 4), (CBS Sports, 8), (USA Today, 8)
No. 7.00, last 8.00, two weeks ago 6.33: Cleveland Indians – (ESPN, 6), (CBS Sports, 9), (USA Today, 6)
No. 7.33, last 8.00, two weeks ago 10.66: Milwaukee Brewers – (ESPN, 9), (CBS Sports, 6), (USA Today, 7)
No. 9.00, last 9.00, two weeks ago 12.66: Arizona Diamondbacks – (ESPN, 8), (CBS Sports, 10), (USA Today, 9)
No. 9.33, last 10.33, two weeks ago 9.66: Philadelphia Phillies – (ESPN, 11), (CBS Sports, 7), (USA Today, 10)
So You’re Saying There’s a Chance (10.01-15.00)
No. 10.66, last 12.00, two weeks ago 8.66: Atlanta Braves – (ESPN, 10), (CBS Sports, 11), (USA Today, 11)
No. 12.66, last 11.00, two weeks ago 11.66: Colorado Rockies – (ESPN, 13), (CBS Sports, 12), (USA Today, 13)
No. 13.00, last 9.66, two weeks ago 7.66: Seattle Mariners – (ESPN, 14), (CBS Sports, 13), (USA Today, 12)
No. 13.66, last 15.66, two weeks ago 16.66: Washington Nationals – (ESPN, 12), (CBS Sports, 15), (USA Today, 14)
No. 15.00, last 15.66, two weeks ago 16.00: St. Louis Cardinals – (ESPN, 15), (CBS Sports, 14), (USA Today, 16)
Stuck in the Middle with You (15.01-20.00)
No. 15.66, last 15.00, two weeks ago 15.00: Pittsburgh Pirates – (ESPN, 16), (CBS Sports, 16), (USA Today, 15)
No. 17.66, last 19.00, two weeks ago 15.33: San Francisco Giants – (ESPN, 19), (CBS Sports, 17), (USA Today, 17)
No. 18.00, last 15.66, two weeks ago 17.66: Los Angeles Angels – (ESPN, 17), (CBS Sports, 18), (USA Today, 19)
No. 18.33, last 17.66, two weeks ago 18.33: Tampa Bay Rays – (ESPN, 18), (CBS Sports, 19), (USA Today, 18)
No. 20.00, last 20.33, two weeks ago 21.00: Minnesota Twins – (ESPN, 20), (CBS Sports, 20), (USA Today, 20)
It’s Probably Not Your Year (20.01-25.00)
No. 21.66, last 21.33, two weeks ago 20.33: Toronto Blue Jays – (ESPN, 23), (CBS Sports, 21), (USA Today, 21)
No. 22.00, last 21.00, two weeks ago 21.66: Cincinnati Reds – (ESPN, 21), (CBS Sports, 23), (USA Today, 22)
No. 22.66, last 24.00, two weeks ago 23.66: Texas Rangers – (ESPN, 22), (CBS Sports, 22), (USA Today, 24)
No. 24.00, last 24.00, two weeks ago 25.00: Detroit Tigers – (ESPN, 24), (CBS Sports, 25), (USA Today, 23)
No. 24.66, last 25.00, two weeks ago 25.33: New York Mets – (ESPN, 25), (CBS Sports, 24), (USA Today, 25)
See You in 2019 (25.01-30.00)
No. 26.66, last 25.00, two weeks ago 24.66: Miami Marlins – (ESPN, 27), (CBS Sports, 27), (USA Today, 26)
No. 26.66, last 26.66, two weeks ago 26.33: San Diego Padres – (ESPN, 26), (CBS Sports, 26), (USA Today, 28)
No. 27.66, last 28.00, two weeks ago 28.00: Chicago White Sox – (ESPN, 28), (CBS Sports, 28), (USA Today, 27)
No. 29.33, last 30.00, two weeks ago 30.00: Baltimore Orioles – (ESPN, 29), (CBS Sports, 29), (USA Today, 30)
No. 29.66, last 29.00, two weeks ago 29.00: Kansas City Royals – (ESPN, 30), (CBS Sports, 30), (USA Today, 29)
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