The Seattle Mariners are staring through the wrong side of an almost-empty hourglass.

The clock is winding down on the once-heralded prospects that made Seattle’s farm system one of the best in baseball. They are the ones who made losing bearable, who fueled the most hopeful fan base since that of President Barack Obama in 2008.

Weeks turned into months, months turned into years, and now the proverbial “saviors” are in Seattle, on the front lines, with nothing to show for it.

Whether the Mariners knew it or not, when Erasmo Ramirez was pulled last Sunday after just an inning and a third in the season finale, it marked the Mariners’ second rebuild under General Manager Jack Zduriencik. When he took over in 2009, the Mariners went 85-77 with a group of past-their-prime stopgap solutions destined to accomplish nothing more in their careers.

Zduriencik knew this, but he needed time to develop a farm system depleted by the previous general manager. He needed time for prospects to evolve into big-league stars capable of competing for American League pennants year after year.

Most fans knew this as well, and the following year, when the team went 61-101, they accepted the step back given that their double-A affiliate just finished a promising season, losing in their league’s championship. They were the future, and the future looked bright.

Then 2011 rolled around, and it wasn’t until a 17-game losing streak in July that the Mariners realized they couldn’t hit a tetherball off a tee. This realization led to the promotion of their top prospect – Dustin Ackley.

Ackley showed promise his first big league season. A former No. 2 overall pick, he hit .273 and homered in his first game. By the end of June, Ackley was hitting .300 with two home runs and six RBIs. He had been with Seattle two weeks.

Although the team finished 67-95, there was hope as more heralded prospects entered the picture.

Everything went downhill from there as Ackley and the Mariners stumbled through 2012. Ackley’s average dropped to .226, and the team finished 75-87 – last in the American League West for the second year in a row. More prospects were called up and fizzled out quicker than a Jimmy John’s delivery guy.

Jesus Montero, rated No. 6 on Baseball America’s top prospect list, couldn’t hit, run or catch, and is now serving a 50-game suspension for PED’s. Justin Smoak, regarded as the next Mark Texiera, could hit the ball to the fence, but not over it.

“Smacklero,” fans called them. Smoak, Ackley and Montero, all tagged as top prospects, all busts by age 26.

But Mariners fans stayed patient. Going into 2013, they still had four of baseballs top 100 prospects in Triple-A, including the big three.

The first crop of talent failed. Excuses were made, players were rushed and their confidences were shot. Surely the same mistakes would not be made with their second wave of prospects.

Wrong. Now 2013 is over, and the Mariners have lost 14 of their last 20 games. At 71-91, they are getting worse, not better. Despite having no offense they have always had some of baseball’s best pitching. Now they have no pitching, and their bullpen is among baseball’s worst.

Nick Franklin was heralded by fans as a sure prospect when he was called up back in late May. In his first month of big league ball, Franklin hit .295 and had 15 RBI. Sound familiar? See Ackley. Franklin is now hitting .215.

Now all the young guns are with the big league team. Brad Miller, James Paxton, Abraham Almonte, Taijuan Walker – they’re all there. It’s time to sink or swim, and there’s no minor league talent left to hope for. For the Mariners, it’s time to win or go home.