SEATTLE — The most amazing thing about the Seattle Mariners is that they’re two games back.

Despite the injury and ineffectiveness of franchise catcher Cal Raleigh. Despite the platoon problems and botched piggyback. Despite the in-game gaffes and unsatisfying explanations of manager Dan Wilson. Despite lefty starters serving as their collective kryptonite and an inability to produce with runners in scoring position. Despite an analytically dreadful defense. Despite the Band-Aids falling off their bruised bullpen. Despite the lost leads and general listlessness.

Despite banging off icebergs like bumper cars, this boat won’t seem to sink.

Why?

Because the AL West is a kiddie pool, not an ocean.

Because the Athletics (25-24 entering Thursday), Texas Rangers (24-25), Houston Astros (20-31) and Los Angeles Angels (17-33) have been incapable of capitalizing on Seattle’s slow start.

That’s good news, I guess. But it doesn’t make your disappointment any less legitimate. Because the 2026 Mariners were/are supposed to be better. This was supposed to be a season-long celebration, an appreciation of the past and anointing of the present, a reward for decades spent dawdling in the darkness. This was supposed to be an even more ambitious sequel to a season that ended in Game 7 of the ALCS.

But if they’ve excelled at anything, it’s finding ways to frustrate their fans. It started even before the season did, with the clumsy and poorly communicated migration from ROOT Sports to Mariners.TV. It extended into the World Baseball Classic, as Raleigh and Randy Arozarena’s failed handshake made the ridiculous national rounds.

The list of grievances keeps getting longer. And 51 games into the franchise’s 50th season, it isn’t early anymore. So it’s concerning that Seattle is 7-12 in one-run games; that its defense has disappointed, ranking 29th of 30 MLB teams in outs above average (minus-16); that its .215 batting average with runners in scoring position is better than only the Angels; that it’s won back-to-back series only once, alternating encouraging wins and catastrophic losses; that it was last above .500 on March 30, when the Mariners were 3-2.

It hasn’t helped that Raleigh, All-Star addition Brendan Donovan and leverage relievers Matt Brash, Gabe Speier and Carlos Vargas have all endured injuries — forcing the likes of Jhonny Pereda, Mitch Garver, Patrick Wisdom, Connor Joe, Alex Hoppe and Nick Davila into upgraded roles. These were not meant to be core contributors.

Even so, it’s impossible to argue Wilson has put his players in the best possible positions to succeed. While left-handed hitters Luke Raley and Dominic Canzone have largely produced, they’ve often been lifted for platoon pinch-hitter Rob Refsnyder, who was signed almost exclusively to smash southpaws. Instead, the 35-year-old Refsnyder is hitting .106 on the season and slashing .096/.167/.212 against lefties.

In theory, Seattle’s platoon strategy should produce in a large sample size. But all too often, Wilson has lifted Canzone or Raley early in games … and lived with the consequences later, when a capable bat is wasted on the bench. And while Refsnyder’s struggles seem unending, Wilson stubbornly sticks to the same strategy.

Then there’s the ongoing piggyback problem. Rather than making a difficult (but necessary) decision to send 33-year-old starter Luis Castillo to the bullpen, the Mariners are clumsily cramming two pitchers into the same slot. In doing so, they wasted 5 2/3 one-hit innings from Bryce Miller this week, then asked Castillo to earn a save in the first regular-season relief appearance of his 10-year career. While two-time All-Star closer Andrés Muñoz waited to take the ball, Castillo walked one batter and hit another with a soon-to-be-lost 1-0 lead.

Of course, Wilson’s contributions inside Seattle’s clubhouse are unquantifiable. He’s a franchise legend and a steadying force, a stabilizer in a six-month marathon. He might also be a liability. If you hoped the Mariners manager would gain a feel for in-game decisions in his second full season, that hasn’t happened. The Mariners are 24-27, with a plus-11 run differential and an expected record of 27-24 (according to Baseball-Reference). They've wasted could/should/would-be wins.

“We’ve gone through a little bit of a tough stretch,” Wilson acknowledged before Wednesday’s 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox. “But I think there are a lot of good things on the horizon here. The way our pitching staff has thrown the ball has been outstanding. We’ve shown really exciting times on offense, and the way our offense has come along the last month or so has been really good. It’s just a matter of putting all that together consistently as we go forward.”

(The Mariners offense has ranked 20th in MLB in runs, 23rd in strikeout percentage and 26th in batting average across the past month. It has also mustered one hit in two of its past four games. I’m not sure I’d call that coming along.)

But there are bright spots — like Cole Young's clutch hitting, Arozarena's steady bat, Julio Rodríguez's comparably sweltering start, Jose A. Ferrer's reliable relief, Emerson Hancock's emergence. And the fact that there's so much season left.

Despite all of the above, they’re two games back. With a returning and hopefully healthy Raleigh, a healing bullpen, a deep starting rotation, a punchless division and 111 games to go, there’s no reason the Mariners can’t make a run. There’s no reason the next 50 games need to look like the last.

Your frustration is warranted. Your optimism, too. Because in reality, a maddening start has hardly hurt the Mariners.

In the kiddie pool, there’s only so far to sink.

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