After taking a few quick steps forward out of the gate, the Mariners have tripped on their own shoelaces and dropped four games in a row, returning to Seattle for the home opener with a disappointing 2-4 record. And perhaps worse than the struggling is the familiar manner in which the team has struggled. Why have these games felt so familiar? Oh, I don't know.

Obviously, we should expect things to get better as the M's stop facing so many lefties, since this is a lineup better built to hit righties. But, yeah, there's a reason why we've felt like we've watched these games so far before, and it's because we did, all last season long.