Let’s get one thing straight, right off the top: I love Felix Hernandez. It is the biggest tragedy of this franchise that they couldn’t get him into a playoff series during his prime. It sucks. As Mariners fans, we were all deprived of seeing it. But here, in 2018, it does not matter.
Felix Hernandez is not worthy of getting the ball every 5th day. He has not earned it. Not since 2015. Everything he did from 2008-2015 is irrelevant to where the team is today: a dogfight to end a 16-year playoff drought.
And yet, many Mariners fans would rather miss the playoffs entirely than remove Felix from the rotation.