What went wrong for also-rans

The Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres - even if they slip into a second-place finish in the NL West - are baseball’s feel-good stories. They're overachievers, teams nobody expected to be playing games of significance after the All-Star Break, much less in September.

The Seattle Mariners know all about that unexpected success.

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No team was a bigger disappointment in 2010 than the Mariners.

After winning their season opener, they spent only one other day in first place in the AL West - April 21 - and settled into last place in the division for good on May 7.

The Mariners were the darlings of the underdogs a year ago. They came up short in trying to overtake the Los Angeles Angels in the AL West, rallying from a 101-loss season in 2008 to win 85 games in 2009, earning first-year manager Don Wakamatsu and first-year general manager Jack Zduriencik rave reviews for their ability to revamp the franchise.

Now, the Mariners serve as a warning to those teams that enjoy sudden success.

The fall can come as quickly as the rise.

The Mariners head into the final weekend this year trying to avoid a 100-loss season, with Wakamatsu having been fired and a busy offseason of roster juggling having fallen flat. It was a team-wide collapse in Seattle, where Wakamatsu’s inability to communicate with veteran players resulted in such a dysfunctional environment that somehow Chone Figgins became a problem.

Looking to get the Mariners headed back in a winning direction, the franchise must bring in a strong personality, who can deal with internal challenges head-on. Someone like San Diego bench coach Ted Simmons, who hired Zduriencik as a scouting director in his days as the general manager in Pittsburgh.

Colorado was a consensus pick to win the NL West, and while it made an early September run in a bid to win the first division title in franchise history, a combination of injuries and disappointments leave the Rockies short of a third postseason appearance in four years, but not looking for a major offseason renovation.

The offense was basically a two-man show - Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki - and they were definitely worth watching, but the supporting cast never developed. Todd Helton and Brad Hawpe, who opened the season hitting third and fifth, didn’t even combine to put up the numbers either one had been expected to produce - a combined .259 average, 15 home runs and 74 RBI. Add in the fact that Tulowitzki missed 33 games with a broken wrist, the projected rotation combined to miss 45 starts and closer Huston Street spent the first 70 games of the season on the disabled list.

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The Rockies will be challenged to re-sign potential free-agent Jorge De La Rosa, who's 24-9 since June 2009, and find a run-producing right-handed bat who can spell the left-handed combo of first baseman Helton and third baseman Ian Stewart.

It won’t be that simple at Dodger Stadium, where Joe Torre’s farewell as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers will be marked by his failure to guide a team to a winning record and the postseason for the first time since 1995.

Torre’s vacancy was filled with the promotion of hitting coach Don Mattingly, but there's plenty of work ahead for the Dodgers in light of agent Dave Stewart pushing for his client, Matt Kemp, to be dealt, along with holes that need to be filled in left field and third base (with the idea that Casey Blake will become a utility player) and in a rotation that has three potential free agents - Ted Lilly, Vicente Padilla and Hiroki Kuroda. The Dodgers’ priority will be retaining Lilly, a July addition from the Cubs, and Padilla will be back if he'll sign another one-year deal. Kuroda's expected to return to Japan.

The Boston Red Sox headed into the final four games of the regular season with a chance to finish with the fourth-best record in the American League, and a 90-win season for the fourth year in a row, ninth time in 10 years and 28th time in franchise history.

Not that it matters.

Being really good isn’t good enough for a team in the AL East, where the competition is with the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees, who have the two best records in the American League. Deep as the Red Sox roster may be, they couldn’t overcome continuing injuries that led to 19 players spending 24 stints on the disabled list, and missing more than a combined 1,000 games.

WE MADE IT!

While St. Louis outfielder Randy Winn remains the leader among active players in terms of games played (1,714 going into Thursday) without a postseason appearance, the three players behind him on the list have an end to their droughts within sight. Texas (Michael Young 1,503 games) and Philadelphia (Mike Sweeney, 1,451 games) have clinched division titles. San Francisco (Aubrey Huff, 1,474 games) is preparing for a weekend showdown with its NL West challenger, San Diego.

PATIENCE PAYS

Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel’s strength is his ability to stand behind his players. Closer Brad Lidge struggled in the first four months of the season, capped off by getting one out and giving up three runs in a July 31 blown save against Washington. Manuel, however, went back to Lidge the next day and his confidence was rewarded. Lidge heads into the final weekend of the regular season having converted 17 of 18 save opportunities and having allowed only two earned runs in 22 2/3 innings since Aug. 1.

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HONORED

Philadelphia right-hander Roy Halladay has moved into the favorite role for the NL Cy Young award. Halladay, who won the AL Cy Young in 2003, would become the fifth pitcher to win a Cy Young in both leagues. Gaylord Perry won the award once in both leagues. Roger Clemens was a six-time Cy Young winner in the AL and earned the honor once in the NL. Randy Johnson won the honor four times in the NL and once in the AL. Pedro Martinez won the AL Cy Young twice and NL honor once.

FAREWELL TOUR

Atlanta manager Bobby Cox heads into the weekend with the Braves in position to claim the NL wild card, which would allow him to enjoy a record-setting 16th postseason, one more than the current record he shares with Joe Torre. Cox, retiring at season’s end, also could enjoy a 15th 90-win season, which is one shy of the record held by John McGraw. Joe McCarthy also managed 15 teams that won 90 games.