Mariners verge on mutiny, lose 3-1

I’m hearing grumbling below deck, captain

It’s April 1797. Britain’s war with Revolutionary France has just entered its fifth year. Britain’s greatest weapon, its navy, lies at anchor in Spithead near Portsmouth, and The Nore on the Thames estuary. Battered by cold wind and constant rain, the seamen, the “jolly Jack Tars” that protected Britain from French invasion, were planning a mutiny.

Life in the British Navy was miserable for sailors and seamen. While the officers preserved for themselves relative comfort and dignity, coming as they often did from noble stock, the seamen below decks were afforded very little of either. Indeed, many of the systems aboard ship seemed designed to strip the sailors of all but their humanity. Impressment, the act kidnapping men in the street to force them to serve in the navy, was common and many of those “jolly Jack Tars” were there against their will. Many officers were cruel, flogging seamen within an inch of their lives for even the slightest perceived breach of discipline. Combine these systemic measures with the natural hardships of living at sea (poor food, unsanitary sleeping conditions, constant work), and it is hard to blame the crews for demanding better treatment. On April 16, 1797, the sailors on board 16 ships of the Channel Fleet refused to work until their demands (better pay, more food, and the reassignment of specific, particularly cruel officers) were met.

Over 200 years later and 3,000 miles away, spirits are low for some other Mariners. With today’s loss, the Mariners secured a losing road trip, dropping 6 of their last 9 games, including their first 4 game losing streak of the year. Much, much ink has been spilled on why this is happening, ranging from “that’s baseball, baby” to “I am going to throw this offense into the sun.”

Certainly, the blame lays mostly at the feet of the hitters, who have managed 5 runs in the last 4 games, with 3 of those coming in a loss. Although the Mariners have somehow cheated death and still sit on top of the AL West, something has to change in order to secure that lead. They can’t keep relying on the other teams to also be bad.

Worst of all, the Mariners themselves are feeling this. It’s been a long time since they were here in town, and the long road trip combined with the recent losses is putting a strain on the players themselves. Suffice to say, they’ve been over extending, both in hitting and pitching. Pitchers are counter-intuitively in the zone too much and are being hit around. Conversely, hitters are swinging out of the zone too much trying to hit any low-and-away change up over the wall. And it’s not working. They struck out 12 times today.

As this is technically a recap, I’ll give you the rundown. Logan Gilbert was very good, and controlled the game as long as he could. The Nationals manufactured a run on him in the second with a ground ball single, stolen base, bunt base hit, and a sac fly. From then on, he allowed no runners except for a double to Keibert Ruiz in the fifth.

And then, at 78 pitches, he was pulled in the 7th. Scott Servais said it was because of the 83 degree heat. Gabe Speier came in, let Jesse Winker steal second off him, then gave up another hit to Keibert Ruiz. Speier was then yanked for Trent Thornton. But it didn’t matter; an RBI groundout to Ildemaro Vargas gave the Nats the lead, and a single by Joey Gallo extended it. The next two opportunities for the Mariners came and went quietly. A plunked DMo was the only baserunner.

I’m going to show you a Julio home run now, because it happened and because it was good. Maybe this is a sign of better things to come.

But, in general, the game was bad and frustrations were high. From the players, the commentators, the fans, and from Scott. In the top of the 9th, Cal scraped together this long at-bat, finally being called out on strikes on pitch number 9.

Pitch number 9, you may note, is definitely a strike. But Cal was upset about the calls all game, upset that Mariners were losing, and upset that he let the bat be taken out of his hands. So he voiced his frustration to the umpire, prompting Scott to come out of the dugout and take his player’s side. Ever the knight in shining armor, Scott took Cal’s place in the umpire’s crosshairs, and was eventually thrown out of the game. All together, it was a minor incident at the end of a bad game, but it is emblematic of where the Mariners are at mentally right now.

Something’s gotta give.

Back in 1797, after a month of striking, the Spithead sailors managed to negotiate a peaceful and happy resolution with the Admiralty. Admiral Lord Howe knew how important the Navy and its sailors were, and issued pardons while meeting all of the Spithead sailor’s demands.

Buoyed by this, over at the Nore, the crew of HMS Sandwich (yes.) mutinied against their officers and seized control of the ship. A few other ships at the Nore followed suit. The Nore group was not part of a fleet, and instead were individual ships anchored together. Even still, they joined together quickly and actually blockaded the Thames river, allowing no ships to reach London. They put together a far more radical list of demands which eventually included calling for the King to dissolve Parliament altogether.

This Nore group proved a far more important threat to the Admiralty than the Spithead mutiny, and had to be dealt with. Eventually, after nearly a month, Captain Charles Cunningham, who had been left aboard his ship, actually convinced his crew to return to duty (presumably, they were running low on food and water), and leave the blockade. Soon after, the united mutiny dissolved. After their radical demands, there could be no peaceful and happy reconciliation, however. 29 of the ringleaders were hanged, and many more were banished to Australia.

Put simply the Nore group, when compared to the successful Spithead mutiny, overextended themselves, and paid the price.

When tensions are high, it seems, there are two possible fates for Mariners.