Not Fit for a King

It didn’t take a complete game shutout against one of the best teams in baseball to realize that three time All-Star and former Cy Young Award winner, Felix Hernandez was an extraordinary pitcher.

What we might have realized last night was that no matter how impressive “King Felix” is in his starts, he might very well be wasting away in his youth for a bad Seattle Mariners team.   

Last nights 7-0 win in Seattle over the AL West division leading Texas Rangers, was a nice feather in the cap for a low producing (37-52) ball club.  Hernandez brought the pain to the “murders row” of Rangers by racking up 12 strikeouts and only giving up three hits.  The highlights from his performance include striking out Josh Hamilton in three at bats and doing the same to last years ALCS MVP, Nelson Cruz.  Hernandez was dialed in.  However, this wasn’t his first masterpiece of the 2012 season.  On June 28^th, he registered 13 strikeouts in a complete game shutout at home against the Boston Red Sox.

If you just looked at his record of 7-5 you might think he’s having a poor season, but wins and losses don’t define his ability, given where he has played his entire career.  When Hernandez won the 2010 AL Cy Young Award he had a record of 13-12, but had an ERA of 2.27 an allowed only 194 hits in 34 starts.  The Mariners finished in last place in the AL West that season with a record of 61-101.  The run support and talent wasn’t present then in Seattle for Hernandez to rack up the wins and it isn’t there now in 2012.  In fact, Felix Hernandez hasn’t even come close to pitching in the postseason since he was called up from the minors by the Mariners in 2005. 

Seattle is a wonderful city with some of the most passionate sports fans in the country.  They have watched the Hall of Fame career of outfielder Ichiro Suzuki for almost 12 seasons now without ever witnessing him come close to playing in a World Series and for that matter, the only time Suzuki has played in the postseason was in his first year with the Mariners in 2001.  It would be unprecedented and border line disastrous to see the same happen to Hernandez.

The right hander is currently three years into a five year extension he signed back in January of 2010 with Seattle.  The Mariners are indeed paying their ace big time dollars, as “King Felix” is set to earn 18.5 million dollars this season alone and a reported 19.5 million in 2013.  The money is nice and Hernandez clearly enjoys playing for the Mariners.  If he’s comfortable in the Emerald City then he should stay there.  If he wants to win and compete in meaningful games in his prime then he should consider playing elsewhere or put pressure on the Mariners to spend the money to get better. 

Maybe "King Felix" will learn from his future Hall of Fame teammate, not to be so loyal.  Suzuki’s amazing career is wrapping up.  It’s poignant that he will never play in a World Series for the city and the franchise he has been so loyal to.  Hernandez showed the same kind of loyalty when he re-upped with the Mariners in 2010.  When his contract expires after the 2014 season, Hernandez will be 28, still young, but who knows if Seattle will ever be competitive over the next couple of seasons.  Right now, it doesn’t seem likely that they will be.