THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Fixing the Mariners so they can win the AL Weak — er, West

Are the Mariners dead?

No.

But. 

They need two injections to keep them breathing in the AL West postseason scramble.

The first needle is non-negotiable.*

Cal Raleigh has to start hitting, and we're not talking about looping singles.

It's unfair (and useless) to demand that the Dumper suddenly find his mega-club from a year ago. That's just not going to happen.

The big boy can do damage, though, if he simply gets back to finding the barrel.

This doesn't sound all that important, but it's actually excellent news that Cal is beginning to draw some walks. That means he's taking pitches that aren't in the zone, especially those high fastballs that had him lunging (and missing) for the first half of the season.

The league had figured out that Raleigh would flail at any kind of high gas, and pop up the pitches he missed.

Now, he's getting back to leaving that high, hard stuff alone.

I can't imagine he'll make it all the way back to the rhythm of last year, when his bat was deadly quick and he could ID pitches in a heartbeat.

That was a zone that most hitters NEVER reach.

The Hall of Fame is not exactly littered with catchers who hit 60 home runs.

In fact, there are none.

OK, THAT first injection is obvious.

Cal Raleigh has to hit, and he's gotta do it with runners on base. He has to dole out pain, fairly consistently, to put some teeth in the Mariners' lineup.

If Cal is driving the ball, that whole team will hit.

There are two rookies and a newcomer in that lineup, and they'll take their lead from the big man.

That's how it works.

You can argue that baseball is just too strange, but you'll be wasting your breath.

With all respect to Julio Rodriguez, he can help the Mariners put numbers on the board — but he's not a guy you copy.

Julio is one of one, a smiling, free-swinging, physically gifted Dominican to whom baseball is just a lot of fun.

Josh Naylor is another oddity.

He's a truly rare bird, a left-handed hitter who lives to hit high pitches. He can hammer a fastball up in his eyes.

I'm not sure I've seen another left-hander who can handle that pitch. Lefties crush low stuff.

Don't ask me why or how, but it's been that way forever.

Speaking of Naylor, he possesses the speed of fourth-class mail ... but he can steal 20 or 30 bases.

You see what an unusual lineup the Mariners somehow put together?

It's a gang that NEEDS Taylor Ward.

Ditto Brendan Donovan, who is finally returning from months on the IL.

Ward and Donovan fall into a "See the ball, hit the ball" category that has kept a lot of players employed in professional baseball.

We've agreed, I think, that the first injection is all about Cal Raleigh hitting.

So, what about No. 2?

Are we ready with the syringe?*

Good, because we have to fix the pitching staff.

IF YOU plan to break open a multi-team pennant race, you have to do it with arms.

You need a couple of winning streaks, because simply treading water just won't do it.

Streaks happen when you have pitching, and you can run a nasty starter out there every night.

Then, if the game stays tight, you need to be able to win it with a bullpen that tacks on zeroes for as long as it takes.

The Mariners haven't been able to count on either part of the deal so far.

They've fiddled with the starters, trying a six-man rotation, piggybacking starters on what would be their off days, yada, yada.

Sorry, but you can't move these guys around like it's the Babe Ruth League.

This team has the talent to string wins together, but Dan Wilson has to stop screwing around.

Luis Castillo is gone, so let's put all the other pieces in place.

My suggestion: Bring up rookie Kade Anderson, and make him a rotation regular.

That gives you a left-hander in the rotation.

Now ...

Take one of the current starters and make him No. 2 (behind Andres Munoz) in the bullpen.

When Matt Brash returns from the injured list, so much the better.

The most obvious candidates for relief work are Emerson Hancock, who started the season in the 'pen, and Bryan Woo, who lives on high fastballs and won't walk a soul.

Get everything in order, with hitters understanding their roles ("Psst: You're not Barry Bonds"), and the pitching staff settled in place.

No guarantees — it's baseball, remember — but THIS team could run off some streaks.

And it won't take many to win the division.

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*We're not talking about REAL injections here. Although, medically legal help remains available — and a damn good idea for tired bodies in September.

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Longtime journalist Steve Cameron writes "The Cheap Seats" three times each week for The Press.