Mariners' spineless decision ensures Astros will dominate AL West into the future

Though they haven't won it yet, the Houston Astros are well on their way to taking home the AL West Division crown for the seventh time in eight years. By the way, the lone year that Houston didn't win the division was the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. The Astros have owned the division since 2017, and took home two World Series trophies during that span as well.

Astros fans have enjoyed the recent string of dominance within the division, and after the Seattle Mariners made a rather spineless decision last week, Houston's AL West supremacy is unlikely to end anytime soon.

The Mariners, who haven't won an AL West Division title since 2001, are retaining president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto for yet another season. The Mariners have been to the postseason just once since Dipoto joined the organization in 2015.

Mariners' spineless decision ensures Astros will dominate AL West into the future

Astros fans will remember that the Mariners dismissed manager Scott Servais earlier this season after Houston came from 10 games back in the standings to overtake Seattle for the division lead. The Mariners were 64-64 at the time, and Servais had a winning record during his nine seasons at the helm. For an organization whose goal is to win 54% of the time, it's sad to see that Servais did what he was asked to do and still got the boot.

But while the Seattle fanbase is likely up in arms over the decision to bring back Dipoto next season, this news should be met with great joy from the fans in Houston, as it likely keeps the Astros in the driver's seat of the AL West heading into next season.

With the struggles the Texas Rangers have endured this season and rebuilding efforts underway in Oakland and Anaheim, the Mariners are easily the closest competition to overthrown the Astros in the AL West. But despite the depth of talent within the organization, Seattle still can't get over the hump.

While all of the Mariners' struggles can't be laid at the feet of Dipoto, dismissing the manager isn't the only answer either. Seattle has a loaded rotation, and if things don't get any better, they're likely to miss the postseason for the 22nd time in 23 years. Yikes!

If Houston handles their business over the last few weeks of the season, they'll be in familar territory — playing baseball in October. Based on the Mariners' recent decision, it would seem that they're quite content with that scenario as well.

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