Around the West: Seattle Mariners Back In Contention

May 8, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Fernando Rodney (56) and second baseman Robinson Cano (22) and shortstop Brad Miller (5) celebrate after defeating the Kansas City Royals at Safeco Field. Seattle defeated Kansas City 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

The AL West was predicted to be a tight race, and the Seattle Mariners are making it even tighter one with their recent string of success.

When the season was young and not even a week in, the Seattle Mariners were in first place with a 4-1 record. Many thought that they would quickly fall back down to Earth, as they did when they faced the Athletics.

Well it seems they’re out to prove themselves, and they are doing just that. The Seattle Mariners took 3 of 4 against the Athletics this week, evening the season series to 5-5. They were also one win away from knocking the Athletics out of first place. With a win on Thursday, they are now officially in second place, 1.5 games behind the A’s.

The Mariners were thought to have already been in the cellar, potentially having to fight for fourth place against the Houston Astros, but now they are showing they can potentially fight for first place.

So is there anything the Athletics should worry about when it comes to the Mariners?

The answer is probably not. At least for now. It is impressive that they have managed to get into second place in the beginning of May. But it is just May. The Athletics would have more to worry about if they were in second place coming out of the All-Star break.

The biggest threat to the Oakland Athletics in the long run is still the Texas Rangers. They have been the past two years, and the rivalry will continue on this season.

That isn’t to say that the Mariners can’t remain contenders late into the season. It is simply still too early to tell whether they are the real deal yet or not. That can’t properly be assessed until the season is about half way through.