It seems that whenever a bad thing happens in life, we find out one more little thing about ourselves. In the Seattle Mariners’ case, they may have found one little thing about themselves due to extensively stressful circumstances.
For a short amount of time, three Mariners were on the bereavement list due to issues with their families. Those relatives were of catcher Rob Johnson, first baseman Russell Branyan and second-baseman Jose Lopez.
But it was the injury to southpaw Erik Bedard that finally snapped the barrier that was holding back first baseman Mike Carp from reaching his dream.
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All of these struggles have led up to the rise of the minor-league slugger from Seattle's triple-A team, the Tacoma Rainiers, back on June 17. Before being called up by the Mariners he was hitting just under .300 (.299) while knocking in 10 home runs for the third-place Rainiers.
The interesting thing with Carp is that he may be the spark needed to ignite the Mariner’s potent offense that currently ranks dead last in the majors in runs with 250. In only three major league at-bats, he has one hit and two walks while scoring one run.
Carp carries an eye that lacks any significant flaws while still being able to hit for power. His .412 OBP at Tacoma could follow him into the majors if he progresses to plan.
The problem with Carp is trying to find him enough at-bats to make an impact while still keeping the team’s offensive core intact.
First base is covered by potential All-Star, Russell Branyan, so Carp's chances to start there any time soon are small, if any.
On over to designated hitter would be viable option if Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Sweeney failed to exist.
While the thought of having Carp be a part of the Seattle Mariners’ offense in 2009 may be an interesting one, there is simply no place for him to start unless an injury occurs.
Reach Ben Brown at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
