Mariners' flawed lineup ruins a perfect day for baseball

You wake up to a sky that is so blue, you believe you can look through it into eternity. The sun is streaming through the curtains, an early-morning wake-up call.

This is the kind of day that makes a baseball fan happy to be alive. A day full of anticipation and optimism.

The home team is in town. There's a baseball game today, and you can't wait to get to the park.

This is how it should be on a Sunday, in the summer, in the city.

But then you arrive at the ballpark and the lineups are announced. And you know the home team doesn't have a prayer, and all the light leaks out of the day.

Against Cleveland's Cliff Lee, the American League's starting pitcher in last week's All-Star Game, the Mariners started a can't-win lineup.

Jose Vidro was the designated hitter. Kenji Johjima was catching. And Miguel Cairo was back at first base. These Nos. 6-7-8 hitters were batting .215, .213 and .211, respectively.

It was as close to a gimme game as Cliff Lee will get in the big leagues. Come to think of it, Carlos Lee could have been the winning pitcher against this lineup.

We all know this M's season is done. It never really got started. So why was a 34-year old journeyman starting again at first? And why was the 33-year-old Vidro the DH?

They got six of the Mariners' 11 hits against Lee, but neither is going to be with the team next year, so there is no point starting them now.

The rest of this season should be considered as something akin to extended spring training. It should be all about next year. Not about finding more at-bats for Vidro, Cairo and Johjima.

Why wasn't catcher-of-the-future Jeff Clement at least in the lineup as the designated hitter? Why didn't recently recalled Bryan LaHair play first? And please don't tell me it was because Lee is left-handed and Clement and LaHair struggle against lefties.

What does it matter? This season is over. The Mariners are going to lose 90-plus games. Give Clement and LaHair some looks against one of the league's elite pitchers.

The Mariners gave their fans nothing to watch and nothing to look forward to on as perfect a Sunday as there is in Seattle.

Why is outfielder Wladimir Balentien still languishing in Tacoma? Either he's a big-leaguer, or he's another mistake. It's discovery time.

It's as if they are using some outside-the-box thinking and trying to develop their old guys instead of the young ones.

Sunday's 6-2 loss to Cleveland felt like a demonstration of everything that has gone wrong this year.

• The Mariners fell into a deep, early hole.

• Another starting pitcher was injured.

• There were scoring opportunities squandered in the second, sixth, seventh and ninth innings.

It is disheartening coming to the ballpark this summer, watching a team that is stuck between coming and going; a team that can't seem to fully commit to the future, when the future is all it has.

It was disheartening watching starter Carlos Silva struggle through another poor performance and then call for the trainer after surrendering a three-run home run to Kelly Shoppach in the fourth.

Silva, 4-12 with a 5.62 earned-run average, has been one of the most disappointing pieces of this disappointing year. He left this game in the fourth complaining of stiffness in his back.

It was disheartening watching the Mariners' hitters go quietly into the Sunday sun, showing so little patience at the plate.

This season began with a feeling of hope; now it's drunk with unanswered questions.

How many more starts is Miguel Batista going to be granted? He gave up eight runs in two dreary innings Saturday. Is he really going to start again Friday in Toronto?

How much longer are the Mariners going to allow shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt to swing at every single pitch he sees? In his four at-bats, he swung at 12 of Lee's 13 pitches. Maybe he should be doing that in another uniform next season.

Sunday's only good news? Closer J.J. Putz returned from the disabled list and pitched a perfect seventh inning.

"A clean inning," manager Jim Riggleman said.

A clean inning, in a blemish of a ballgame, on a day that dawned so beautifully but died with the announcement of Sunday's starting lineup.

Steve Kelley: 206-464-2176 or skelley@seattletimes.com. More columns at www.seattletimes.com/columnists