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2017 SEASON
edit: working on updating OP.
OFFSEASON 2017
SEPT/OCT 2017
AUGUST 2017
JULY 2017
JUNE 2017
MAY 2017
APRIL 2017
SPRING TRAINING 2017
A good sophomore season for Cullen cut short by a torn calf. After a rough April, he got into a groove of hitting for average and power. He was on the top of the list for NL MVP, Gold Glove RF, and HR leader. Despite being hurt for a large number of games, the Mariners were able to make the playoffs and were 1 win shy of making it to the National League Championship series. The Detroit Tigers beat the defending champions Diamondbacks in the World Series and had (3B) Miguel Cabrera named the AL MVP. He's the 4th Tiger in 5 years to win the award, Fielder won it last 2 years. Braves' (RF) Jason Heyward won his 2nd NL MVP before signing a 4yr/39.8M deal with Arizona. The Mariners strengthened their outfield with the signing of (LF) Tyler Moore. They also brought in veteran help with Former Indian (2B) Scott Sizemore. The MLB Power Rankings have Seattle ranked 10th (highest in the AL West), which is lower than their 4th place ranking last year. Hopefully, the experience will overcome the loss of talent from FA. Tom Wilhelmsen, former AL Delivery Man of the Year, signed with the Marlins during the offseason. The top 3 team rankings belong to (3) Pittsburgh Pirates, (2) Cleveland Indians, and (3) San Diego Padres.
Tigers win their 1st Championship since 1984.
Tigers win their 1st Championship since 1984.
SEPT/OCT 2017
Cullen was unable to play due to injury. Despite the absence of their top player, the Mariners were able to get the final Wild Card spot. They finished in a tie with Texas after losing the last game of the season 6-13 at Arlington. Luckily, Seattle was able to bounce back the next day and beat the Rangers 5-2 in an away tie breaker game. Their reward was to face the #1 MLB team Oakland A's (w/ 103 wins). Cullen was taken off the 60 day DL list the same day the Divisional Series started against the A's, so he wasn't able to be put on the 25 man roster. The Mariners took the series the distance before losing in a decisive game 5.
Mariners make the Playoffs after beating Texas in a tie breaker game 5-2.
Final Standings:
* Played 1 game tie breaker at the end of the regular season.
Mariners make the Playoffs after beating Texas in a tie breaker game 5-2.
Final Standings:
TEA |
W |
L |
GB |
X - OAK |
103 |
59 |
-- |
Y - SEA* |
85 |
78 |
18.5 |
TEX* |
84 |
79 |
19.5 |
LAA |
63 |
99 |
40.0 |
HOU |
60 |
102 |
43.0 |
AUGUST 2017
Cullen’s season was cut short after suffering a torn calf 4 games into August. The Mariners had to put him on the 60 day DL. The chances of Mariners making the Playoffs without their best player become slim but the team still says it is playing for the Post Season. Cullen made it known that he will work hard to come back next year an improved player. Mariners have made Eric Thames the starting RF for the rest of the season. He had been used mainly as a DH since Cullen took over the starting job at right field.
Cullen sneaks the ball past 3B for a single.
Monthly Stats:
Standings:
Cullen sneaks the ball past 3B for a single.
Monthly Stats:
TEA |
G |
AB |
H |
HR |
RBI |
AVG |
SEA |
4 |
17 |
6 |
-- |
-- |
.353 |
TEA |
W |
L |
GB |
OAK |
82 |
51 |
-- |
SEA |
72 |
61 |
10.0 |
TEX |
70 |
63 |
12.0 |
LAA |
51 |
82 |
31.0 |
HOU |
49 |
84 |
33.0 |
JULY 2017
This is a month to forget for the Seattle Mariners and its fans. At the beginning of July, the M’s were 1 game behind the Oakland A’s for 1st place in the AL West. Fast forward to the end of July and they have fallen to 3rd place. They are now 11.5 games behind 1st place Oakland and 5.5 games behind 2nd place Rangers. They had the worst July record out of the divisional teams with an 8-17 (.320) record. It didn’t help that they went 1-6 against Oakland this month; Cullen went 7-26, 1HR, and 2 RBIs. For some odd reason, the manager sat him 1 game in the 2nd series against the A’s, despite being the best player on the team. Cullen did struggle during the month compared to previous months. His percentage of balls chased and swinging early/late increased in July. He has dropped out of the top candidates for AL MVP and OF Sluggers. He’s T-1st in HR (28) and Top 10 for RBI (77) and Slug % (.544). Because of the drop off in production, Cullen was not voted for the All Star game, falling from 3rd in RF to 7th. A Divisional Title may not be possible this year but a Wildcard spot is still within reach (2.5g behind KC).
Cullen struggles when he faces the A's. Highest in SO and lowest in AVG, and RBI (w/ min. 100AB).
Monthly Stats:
Standings:
All Star voting (1st in voting per position):
AMERICAN 2
NATIONAL 3
Cullen struggles when he faces the A's. Highest in SO and lowest in AVG, and RBI (w/ min. 100AB).
Monthly Stats:
TEA |
G |
AB |
H |
HR |
RBI |
AVG |
SEA |
22 |
92 |
19 |
5 |
9 |
.207 |
TEA |
W |
L |
GB |
OAK |
67 |
38 |
-- |
TEX |
61 |
44 |
6.0 |
SEA |
56 |
50 |
11.5 |
LAA |
40 |
64 |
26.5 |
HOU |
36 |
71 |
32.0 |
AMERICAN 2
NATIONAL 3
TEAM (AL) |
PLAYER |
POSITION |
TEAM (NL) |
PLAYER |
MIN |
CARLOS SANTANA |
C |
SF |
BUSTER POSEY |
DET |
PRINCE FIELDER |
1B |
PHI |
JOEY VOTTO |
CLE |
JASON KIPNIS |
2B |
PIT |
NEIL WALKER |
DET |
MIGUEL CABRERA |
3B |
MIL |
CHASE HEADLEY |
TOR |
JOSE REYES |
SS |
CHC |
STARLIN CASTRO |
OAK |
JUSTIN UPTON |
LF |
WSH |
BRYCE HARPER |
BAL |
ADAM JONES |
CF |
SD |
COLBY RASMUS |
KC |
TYLER AUSTIN |
RF |
ATL |
JASON HEYWARD |
CLE |
TOM MILONE |
SP |
LAD |
CLAYTON KERSHAW |
KC |
LUIS COLEMAN |
RP |
ARI |
JOSH COLLMENTER |
KC |
AROLDIS CHAPMAN |
CP |
WSH |
RAFAEL SORIANO |
JUNE 2017
Another month passes and the Mariners are still within striking distance of overtaking the Oakland A's for the #1 position in the AL West. Currently, they are #1 for the Wild Card spot early in the season. As for Cullen, he has had back to back months of hitting for average and power. The All Star break is near and Cullen is trying to get voted into the game this year, but it seems to be a difficult hill to climb. Still he is in the running for AL MVP; 3rd place at the end of the month.
Hit to LF ends with a double.
Monthly Stats:
Standings:
Hit to LF ends with a double.
Monthly Stats:
TEA |
G |
AB |
H |
HR |
RBI |
AVG |
SEA |
25 |
97 |
37 |
8 |
30 |
.381 |
TEA |
W |
L |
GB |
OAK |
49 |
32 |
-- |
SEA |
48 |
33 |
1.0 |
TEX |
45 |
35 |
3.5 |
LAA |
31 |
49 |
17.5 |
HOU |
26 |
55 |
23.0 |
MAY 2017
The bat is the hottest its ever been for Cullen. He had all-time monthly highs in AB (109), Hits (39), HR (12), RBI (30), and AVG (.358). Taking his time off from the media, when possible, helped him focus on what part of his game he had to work at to get better. It's been no secret that Cullen had a weakness at balls thrown low and away but (at least) for this past month, he's stayed away from swinging at them. He has made his AB last longer by letting bad 1st pitches pass by him and start the count 1-0, instead of his usual 0-1. Hopefully this continues into the future because it seems as Cullen improves his play, the Mariners improve their standing. At the end of April, they were in 3rd place (4GB), now on June 1st they are tied for 1st place with the Oakland A's.
Cullen making the final out in a 22-3 blowout W against the Angels.
Cullen hits one far during the 3 game series in his hometown (Houston).
Monthly Stats:
Standings:
Cullen making the final out in a 22-3 blowout W against the Angels.
Cullen hits one far during the 3 game series in his hometown (Houston).
Monthly Stats:
TEA |
G |
AB |
H |
HR |
RBI |
AVG |
SEA |
25 |
109 |
39 |
12 |
30 |
.358 |
TEA |
W |
L |
GB |
OAK |
33 |
21 |
-- |
SEA |
33 |
21 |
-- |
TEX |
31 |
22 |
1.5 |
LAA |
25 |
28 |
7.5 |
HOU |
13 |
40 |
19.5 |
APRIL 2017
Entering his sophomore season, Cullen should have become more of a leader on the field with the greater comfort level of being in the pros. Unfortunately, his struggle of avoiding bad pitches continued in the first month of the season, batting a lowly .159. On the bright side, he has maintained his power with 3 of his 14 hits leaving the ballpark. A stint in the Minors might help him get his swing back; the swing that made the Mariners bring him up to The Show last year. When asked about his struggles that still haunt him, Cullen replied, "I don't let it get to me because I know what brought me here [the pros] and straying far from that might send me back down." Let's hope for the Mariners sake that Cullen finds the swing that he's missing and helps get the Mariners to 1st place in the AL West division.
Cullen looking forward to the new season on Opening Day.
His fielding abilities have improved during the offseason.
Monthly Stats:
Standings:
Cullen looking forward to the new season on Opening Day.
His fielding abilities have improved during the offseason.
Monthly Stats:
TEA |
G |
AB |
H |
HR |
RBI |
AVG |
SEA |
22 |
88 |
14 |
3 |
8 |
.159 |
TEA |
W |
L |
GB |
TEX |
19 |
8 |
-- |
OAK |
16 |
9 |
2.0 |
SEA |
14 |
12 |
4.5 |
LAA |
12 |
13 |
6.0 |
HOU |
5 |
21 |
13.5 |
SPRING TRAINING 2017
Info/Stats lost for this time of year.
edit: working on updating OP.
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