THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Earl Weaver's philosophy doesn't apply to Mariners

Earl Weaver was right. 

And wrong. 

In case you don’t remember him, Earl was a fun, foul-mouthed little (5-foot-7) character who managed the Baltimore Orioles for 16 years. 

Earl had plenty to say and a lot of it has stuck in baseball. 

He only had one losing season and he promptly retired at the end of it. 

Players, executives and the media all expressed some shock that the “Earl of Baltimore” was stepping down. 

Weaver replied by suggesting that his tombstone should read: “The Sorest Loser That Ever Lived.” 

At the moment, though, I want to talk about Earl’s baseball strategy, which he delivered with the fervor of a howling country preacher. 

Two of Earl’s gospel items stand out, especially when you consider this year’s Mariners. 

“Forget about playing little ball, with bunts, and one base at a time,” he said. “Give me great pitching and a couple of three-run homers.” 

Amen on that one, Earl. 

The Mariners would love to be doing it. 

Weaver was perhaps even more famous for this statement: “Momentum is only as important as tomorrow night’s pitcher.” 

Now, on that pronouncement from the top of Earl’s mountain, the Mariners are certain to disagree.

ALL THE pitching on Earth can’t seem to buy Seattle some momentum. 

To be fair to Weaver’s philosophy of the national pastime, however, the Mariners are not matching up great pitching with many of those three-run homers. 

With all due respect to Earl, I have a theory about that, and yes, he bagged 1,480 major league victories — while I only have one. 

(True, sort of. Royals outgoing boss Bob Lemon let me do the lineup, and phone him for pitching changes, on the final night of the 1972 season.  

I also rang the dugout for a pinch-runner. And the losing manager was Ted Williams, so there.) 

Right. 

So much for my career as a manager. 

Back to Weaver, and his belief that momentum was entirely about the starting pitcher. 

If that were all you needed, the Mariners would have 10-15 more wins, and a lock on the AL West — instead of peering at the postseason picture from the outside. 

Momentum is a real thing. 

That first gut-wrenching loss in Detroit, in which Yimi Garcia gave up a tying, two-run homer to Kerry Carpenter in the eighth inning (after seven brilliant scoreless innings from Bryan Woo), became the next one. 

Really. 

Scott Servais could have brought in Mariano Rivera or Cy Young in the eighth inning on Thursday, and the 1-0 lead crafted by Bryce Miller was going to be shot. 

Andres Munoz, who had not allowed a HIT in his previous 12 1/3 innings, gave up the predictable two-run homer to Javy Baez (by several metrics the worst hitter in all of MLB). 

Of course he did. 

No offense to Earl Weaver and his deep philosophy on the absence of momentum, but Baez could stand there and face Munoz another thousand times without hitting that home run. 

SO, HOW do we account for this “Bad Luck from Hell,” this nightmare that has left a pretty good Mariners team sitting by the side of the road? 

You know, wondering if it’s worth running the whole thing back again in 2025. 

Well, I can give you the answer in two words. 

Julio Rodriguez. 

No, I’m not suggesting that Julio is somehow at fault for this year’s team never really firing its rockets. 

Nah. 

It was a combination of a few rocks hitting you in the chin. 

At first, you just go: “Oww!” 

A few more, and you say, “What’s goin’ on, here?” 

Julio started the year in a funk, thinking he needed to carry the team, and swinging so hard — at ANY kind of pitch — that teams could get him out with any sort of caution. 

Just about the time that Julio was finding himself, spending a few million hours at early batting practice and hitting in the cage, he got hurt. 

If you want to argue the point, you might say that losing a baseball player isn’t like losing a quarterback. 

No, not QUITE the same. 

But when you have a special player, a guy who feeds the club its electricity — and does amazing things just when something super would jump-start a winning streak — those athletes are different. 

More than that, they give a team its personality, its excitement, it’s will to win. 

The Mariners with Julio looking for his swing, or rehabbing from injury, are NOT just a good club missing one star player. 

They’re a team waiting for its soul. 

The good news is that these Mariners have quite a few guys who feed off Julio — perfect teammates who are ready to take off and go. 

I’m afraid it’s probably too late to make this happen in the next two months. 

Sorry to ask you to wait. 

Email: [email protected] 

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens. 

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”