For the first time since 2001, the Seattle Mariners could have a playoff run. It’s good to see our MLB home team do well after so many years of struggling and mediocrity.
In prior years, in every Mariners game that I watched, the hits were few. If they did win, it was likely because of pitching, with a maximum score of three runs. I even have a Mariners program from last year that admits to their mediocrity, and at least implies an unwillingness to spend money. When your own team-made program questions the team, you know that you’ve got problems.
This year, however, something’s different. The team can hit, as evidenced in games such as the Mariners’ thumping of the Toronto Blue Jays 11-1. They have also shown remarkable resilience — in one game, the Boston Red Sox were up 3-0 in the ninth inning, yet the Mariners fought back scoring five runs, with the majority of them coming after two outs.
They probably have the best pitcher in the league with Felix Hernandez.
To be honest, I don’t know what it is. Truthfully, I don’t watch baseball to see what happens every single night, but I do know that the turnaround is amazing. Maybe it’s the fact that the Mariners did spend some big money with Robinson Cano, plying him from the Yankees, or perhaps it’s the new manager.
It should be noted, with pitching as one of the few bright spots of the Mariners of old, well, they have still got it. They have probably have the best pitcher in the league with Felix Hernandez, and the other pitchers are not slouches either.
This year looks like it could be a great year for the Mariners.Wouldn’t that be something, a Super Bowl and a World Series in the same year?
But I shouldn’t get too ahead of myself. For one, they still have to make the playoffs, which is far from a given in the MLB where only ten of the teams make the playoffs. And two, I probably just jinxed them. Oh well, I guess.
(A)side jab: It is also nice to see the Toronto Blue Jays slumping. Initially when the Mariners met the Jays in early August they were neck and neck in the playoff race. However, now the Jays are a pretty significant six and a half games back (as of Tuesday, August 26).
It’s always nice to see a Toronto team fall, whether it be the Maple Leafs or the Blue Jays. And for those of you who want to say that the Jays are our home team, well, Seattle’s a lot closer than Toronto, and in my books, the real home team.
