Don O’Neill: Stop celebrating mediocrity when it comes to the Mariners

Even when it was official that the Mariners were out of postseason contention as the Oakland A’s clinched the last wild-card spot half way through the Mariners final game of the season, fans still offered the Mariners a standing ovation.

“Look at this, the fans are finding out that the A’s have won in Texas, and the Mariners crowd here at Safeco Field is on their feet, giving their ballclub, the Mariners, a standing ovation,” said announcer Rick Rizzs.

Ace pitcher Felix Hernandez and Robinson Cano also scored standing ovations from the fans as they each stepped out of the game.

But KIRO Radio’s Ron & Don wonder if these players are worthy of this recognition, considering the team just failed to make the playoffs.

“You know what sucked. You’ve got all these players out there, you’re quarter-of-a-billion-dollar players, and instead of taking us to the playoffs, guess what they were doing? They were throwing out T-shirts,” says Don O’Neill. “They were handing out T-shirts and they’re getting a standing ovation, and they don’t deserve one. You didn’t go to the playoffs. It’s another year of mediocrity.”

Don thinks the Mariners are close to being a big contender, but he fears if management thinks Seattle fans are content with this kind of season, they won’t push to get to the next level.

“There needs to be enough people that get upset like I do,” says Don. “You can’t have these moral victories the day after you don’t go the playoffs, because the organization looks at that and they say, ‘You know what? I guess just having a winning record for the people in Seattle is enough.'”