I Love This Team!
Listed in: BaseballThere's been a lot of chatter in the Mariners' blogosphere about what the proper reaction to the team should be. Clearly, this season has come completely out of nowhere, and has split followers into two camps. The first says "we never expected to be here, so cut McLaren, Bavasi, Sexson, Ibanez, Ramirez, etc. some slack and enjoy the ride." The second says "sure, we may be in uncharted territory, but that's no reason to not want to continue to improve our chances to win."
I want to leave that behind for a minute, and just relish the fact that today, August 24, the Mariners are just one game behind the Angels in the AL West, conjuring images of 1995, and sit two games ahead of the Yankees in the Wild Card. I love:
Ichiro!'s consummate greatness. Not just the batting prowess, or the tremendous defense in centerfield and the brilliant baserunning, but also the always-amusing quotes, and the fact that we just signed him to a five-year, $90 million extension.
Jose Guillen's fire. The best signing Bavasi made this offseason, Guillen has not just contributed at the plate, but he's been the charismatic rebel in a clubhouse mostly filled with stoic, boring dudes. It's always nice having one guy on the team who's prone to lose his mind at an opportune time.
Putz wooooooooo! JJ's emergence as the best closer in baseball has spawned two fantastic things: a classic Lookout Landing image and a fantastic entrance montage/musical theme whenever he enters the game. Even more amazing is the fact that fans like me remember the days when this was the routine Putz image.
GS52, Potatoes, Green, Morrow, and RRS. The rest of the lights-out Mariner bullpen flies way further under the radar than Putz, but together they form the core of the best bullpen in baseball. George Sherrill is death on lefties (and surprisingly effective against righties), while Eric O'Flaherty would be the prime LOOGY on almost any other team. Sean Green developed a new arm slot and has turned into a ground-ball and strikeout machine. Brandon Morrow seems to have learned control (and a wicked breaking ball) and has been great the last month, and Ryan Rowland-Smith has been mostly unseen despite having good success. With the shakiness of the rotation, the bullpen has had to step up this year, and they have.
Adrian Beltre's obsession with pointing. Seriously, I've never seen anyone point down to first base while check-swinging. AB doesn't just do it occasionally, he does it every time. Why? I don't know, but it's amusing. Also amusing are the people who still think he's a bust, despite a very solid season at the plate and his usual stellar defense at third base.
The Mysterious Voyage of Jeff Weaver. From a 14+ ERA in May to nominal "ace" status in August, Weaver the Elder has had as strange a season as you could ever want. I'm worried that what he's doing now is something of a mirage, but just the fact that he's still on the roster is testament to his persistence.
Miguel Batista, Published Author. Seriously, how many teams have an honest-to-god writer in their rotation? Batista has been mostly good this year, and he's certainly brought a level of erudition to the clubhouse.
The Toughness. This team has suffered through two six game losing streaks, and a seven-gamer. They're still in the playoffs if they started today. How awesome is that? Oh, and they had their manager quit in the middle of the season.
The Funk Blasts. Seemingly a random occurrence first noticed on Opening Day, the Mariners post "Funk Blast" on the scoreboard and play funk music whenever a Mariner hits a home run...they also post "Explosion de Funk" when a Latino player does it and "Sugoi Ippatsu" when Ichiro or Kenji Johjima goes deep. Has led to a number of quality Photoshops.
How about some of my favorite moments?
Jason Ellison going toe-to-toe with "Cupcakes" Blanton in Oakland. Felix's Opening Day start. Felix's start in Boston. Mike Hargrove stealing a win away from Cleveland. Winning three straight games in three different cities (San Diego, Cleveland, and Chicago) on three consecutive days. Jeff Weaver's miracle shutout. Ken Griffey's return. Finishing off a sweep of the Red Sox by getting the win off Joel Pineiro. Richie's walk-off against Minnesota.
It's been a hell of a season, and for one day at least I'm just going to enjoy one of the greatest thrills a sports fan can have: an unexpected playoff run.
