My favorite bit on the Poscast the other day was this exchange:

Joe: [After updating us on the rise of the Astros, the fall of the Mariners, and the general lousiness of Mariners hitting] So the Mariners are playing for their playoff lives, and ... Man, is this going to happen again? Are the Mariners going to just fall short AGAIN?
Mike: Yeah.

It's the way Michael Schur says it—with a “no duh” quality to his voice: “Isn't it obvious? Are you an idiot? What happened to my smart friend Joe?” And the chef's kiss is that Mike's answer was immediately echoed, in the exact same tone, by their guest Justin Halpern, who is a showrunner for the TV series “Abbott Elementary” and a big San Diego Padres fan. 

This has been a theme throughout the year, by the way. Joe keeps pushing for the M's and the M's keep disappointing. Basically the M's are Joe's fetch. He keeps trying to make them happen. And yeah, they're not happening. 

As if to underscore this point, M's manager Scott Servais was fired by the club today. Don't know if other heads will roll. They should. As I said earlier this month, fire the hitting instruction team up and down the org. Whatever hitting philosophy we have, it's a bad one. 2024 numbers:

• Batting average: .216 (30th of 30 teams)
• OBP: .301 (26th)
• SLG: .365 (29th)
• Hits: 903 (30th)
• Doubles: 170 (29th)
• Triples: 12 (28th)
• Ks: 1,308 (1st)

We're also middle of the road in homers (15th). Basically the only good thing we're good at is walks: 5th-best there. We walk a lot, strike out a ton, barely put the ball in play. All walks and many Ks make the M's a dull team.

Interestingly, Halpern is on the Poscast because of the surprising resurgence of his team, who are the opposite of that. They're fun. Someone in the Poscast described them as akin to the 2014-15 KC Royals: a team that doesn't strike out, doesn't walk, puts the ball in play. Amen! I've been waiting for another 2014-15 Royals team to cheer on. Maybe this year's Padres are it. 

When the Servais news broke I immediately texted my friend Tim, who responded with this touching eulogy, borne of watching Servais mismanage the ballclub for the past nine years: “About fucking time.” 

Former Mariners catcher Dan Wilson is purportedly taking over. He has no experience as a big-league coach or a manager at any level. At the same time, he doesn't seem like a bad choice.

ADDENDUM: Hitting instructor Jarret DeHart was also let go and will be replaced by Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez. Per Wiki, DeHart was promoted to M's hitting coach and director of hitting strategy on November 15, 2021. M's team batting averages under his tenure: .230 (27th), .242 (22nd), .216 (30th).

• Tim's take 
• Poz's take