Miami Marlins at Seattle Mariners: Three Stories To Watch

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Well, after what fans were treated to this past weekend, is it even worth taking the time to break down this upcoming Miami Marlins-Seattle Mariners series?

Topping what just went down for the Miami Marlins with the division rival Mets in terms of adrenaline, drama, significance, or just about anything else you can think of would be impossible. But that doesn’t mean that this can’t still be an extremely exciting series for Marlins fans to sink their teeth into.

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The Fighting Fish will enter play Monday tied for first place in the NL East, which is the latest into a season they have been able to make that claim since 2014. They will also finally get around to not playing an NL East team, giving fans a chance to see some new faces and places. In fact, after twelve straight contests against teams that were either above .500, or destined to defeat them in the case of Atlanta, the Marlins are on track start a stretch of nine straight against teams that lack a winning record.

Leading off that stretch would be the Seattle Mariners, who if nothing else, offer Miami the chance to travel farther than they would have to do to play anyone else in baseball.

However, just behind the defending AL champion Cleveland Indians, the Mariners are easily the second best team in baseball that currently has a losing record. So caution required- the M’s are a talented bunch.

And while I could just be jazzed about actually getting to attend the opener in person- check out the @MarlinManiac feed for extensive retweets of player close-ups and photos from beautiful Safeco Field- there are plenty of unique to this series stories to watch.

Without further ado, here are the top three. Let’s dive in.

Can the Marlins come down from that Mets series enough to get the job done? Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

Can the Miami Marlins Pass On The Kool-Aid?

From personal experience, probably not if it’s that Blue Raspberry Lemonade flavor.

The tricky part for the Marlins clubhouse is that taking three out of four over the weekend to give you consecutive series wins against a division rival that owned you last year is pretty much the textbook definition of Blue Raspberry Lemonade.

Those four games were nuts. ESPN writers that usually delight in shredding the organization, like David Schoenfield, actually gushed about how great that Mets-Marlins series was. As I teased in the introduction, understating the value here would be impossible. Miami has now won five of their first seven against New York- last year they won seven total.

On paper, the Mets are a better team. On the field, the Marlins made that look less than obvious, and that was with the team playing at less than full strength. The players should feel good about themselves, should have a certain spring in their step.

But they need to make sure they channel that positively, as opposed to sleepwalking through these next three games that have very little to do with the NL East.

Except of course, for the fact that every game counts. Falling into the trap here in the land of coffee and crab of letting their guard down would essentially wipe away any separation gained over the weekend.

Lastly, even if the Fish do enter this series with best intentions of remaining locked in, one has to consider just how draining the last four games have been for the Marlins.

Really, we can even round up to five here: that Wednesday game against the Braves was decided in the 9th inning as well. Even if it is still early in the season, exhaustion is understandable.

Throw in the fact that yesterday was a holiday, and one on which the team jumped on a plane to cross the entire country, fatigue could play a real factor in this series.

Ichiro Suzuki: Marlins fan favorite, Mariners fan deity. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

How Much Ichiro Love Can We Expect?

Miami Marlins backup outfielder and Seattle Mariners super icon Ichiro Suzuki makes his first return to Seattle since joining up with the Fish. And as that move also included joining up with the Senior Circuit National League, this marks the first time he has even faced Seattle since 2014. So just how much love and attention can we expect to see from the hometown fans?

To put it mildly? Oodles.

Remember, we’re talking ten straight All-Star nods, with ten straight seasons of 200-plus hits. Fans remember that. His “rookie” year was with that Seattle team that set the current MLB single-season wins mark. The vast majority of any positive memories from one of teams in baseball yet to even play in the World Series involve No. 51.

Or to keep it short and simple, Wednesday is his bobblehead day.

So, considering what a student of the game Ichiro is, we can expect some added playing time. This would be the case anyway, because DH, but this series might see a spike even beyond that.

It should, in any case. Don Mattingly could also go strict game flow here, and it certainly doesn’t help that Ich is hitting below .100 heading into Monday night.

How this plays out could be fascinating, especially considering a wild-card factor that is great news for the Marlins, but not so good news for Ichiro lovers wanting to see him pull down some extra bats in front of his original fans.

The Miami Marlins return team leader Martin Prado to the lineup Monday. But will he return to the field? Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /

Have Bat, Will Travel….But Will That Be It?

That’s the question for Martin Prado, fresh off his rehab stint and newly returned to the Marlins following some of their biggest wins during his tenure with the club. Does he jump back into the lineup straight away? Probably yes- he’s a veteran, and he wouldn’t be back if he wasn’t ready.

But will he jump right back in as the starting third baseman?

That’s a horse of a different color. Because Miami’s first foray into Interleague play in 2017 affords Mattingly the luxury of the DH spot.

Primarily, this is a welcome respite from worrying about the depth of the bench. However, it is also a great chance to have all the perks of having Prado in the batting order, while also easing him back into his fielding duties.

That butts up against two twin realities. First, to round off Slide No. 2, Ichiro needs plenty of quality at-bats in this series. Considering the love of the game this man holds, it would be a huge disservice to him not to do so, regardless of current struggles at the plate.

Then there is the more obvious fact that Prado is much better at all aspects of baseball than Derek Dietrich or Miguel Rojas, not just offense.

Next: The '17 Marlins: Remaining Relevant

That’s a wrap for this series, Marlin Maniacs. Once again, be sure to keep an eye on our Twitter account @MarlinManiac during the Marlins’ Seattle stay for Safeco Field shots, player photos, and pics of the Space Needle before Stanton knocks it over during batting practice.

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Well, after what fans were treated to this past weekend, is it even worth taking the time to break down this upcoming Miami Marlins-Seattle Mariners series?

More from Marlin Maniac

Can the Miami Marlins Pass On The Kool-Aid?

How Much Ichiro Love Can We Expect?

Have Bat, Will Travel….But Will That Be It?

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