AP

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Jarrod Washburn throws against the Baltimore Orioles in the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, April 24, 2008, in Seattle.

SEATTLE - This April was supposed to be different for the Seattle Mariners, more like earlier this decade when they used a strong opening month and rolled their way to four consecutive seasons of 90 or more wins.

The Mariners left spring training without doubts about their starting pitching, backed by a capable, solid bullpen, and facing a favorable early season schedule that would give a notoriously slow-starting offense a chance to heat up quickly.

So much for those plans.

Following a lackluster 2-4 homestand, the Mariners (12-14) headed out this week for a difficult six-game road trip to Cleveland and New York, already four games back of Oakland and the Los Angeles Angels in the AL West standings.

Yes, those A's -- with an offense even more anemic than Seattle's -- and the Angels, who were expected to be the class of the division, but have built themselves an advantage without their top two starting pitchers.

Time to panic aboard the Mariners' ship?

"I think we're getting our feet on the ground, getting healthy and if the guys start hitting the way they're capable of hitting, with the pitching we have, we should be able to start putting some streaks together in the left hand (win) column," Mariners manager John McLaren said. "That's what we're looking for."

Seattle has not finished April above .500 since 2003 when it went 17-10 on its way to a 93-69 season. Last year, the Mariners were 10-10 in the opening month.

Seattle could throw out a list of excuses for its slow start and provide legitimate reasoning for some of it.

Closer J.J. Putz injured his ribcage in the second game of the season and missed 18 games, completely throwing the roles of everyone in the bullpen into flux. Staff ace Erik Bedard was sidelined for nearly three weeks with inflammation in his left hip. Fellow starters Carlos Silva and Miguel Batista had to leave games last week with various leg injuries.

But issues at the plate are becoming egregious, especially for an offense that has scored five runs or more only three times in the last 11 games, and just 10 times in 26 games.

Richie Sexson continues to struggle, especially at home. He's hitting .207 overall, but just .160 at Safeco Field. Kenji Johjima, with a newly minted $24 million, three-year contract extension, Jose Vidro and new right fielder Brad Wilkerson are all hitting below .200.

Even Ichiro Suzuki, who has started slowly throughout his career, is hitting just .257. Only Jose Lopez and Raul Ibanez, among the Mariners' starters, are hitting .300 or better. Seattle is tied for ninth in the AL with Kansas City, hitting .253 as a team.

McLaren said last weekend he is running short on patience and that some underperforming players may be sitting soon.

"We need to get some guys going. We're a month into the season now ... and we've gone far enough to give everyone an opportunity," McLaren said. "This game is about winning. It's not about me being everyone's best friend. It's about me doing what is best for the Seattle Mariners.

"We're not in bad position, but we should be in much better to be honest with you."

Compounding the problems with the offense is the inconsistency coming from the bullpen. Eric O'Flaherty, expected to be Seattle's main left-handed reliever after George Sherrill was sent to Baltimore as part of the trade for Bedard, was sent down to the minors after going 0-1 with a 20.25 ERA in seven appearances. Seemingly everyone in Seattle's bullpen has struggled at least once -- five relievers already have losses, while only Sean Green and Arthur Rhodes have picked up wins in relief.

McLaren got so concerned with his team's direction, he held a closed-door meeting with the squad after batting practice on Saturday. The message: don't be concerned with what's already happened, and don't be looking too far ahead.

"I want the team to focus on today, and today only," he said.