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free sis for P900August 15, 2006
Give it Up, Turn it Loose; Or, Why Barry Zito Can Take His Laid-Back Attitude and Surfer Style Elsewhere
Editor's note: This post was started on August 6th.
Ahh, the Seattle Mariners. I went into this year without a lot of hope (witness -- no optimistic 2006 predictions like the crazy 2005 ones). But... this team is unlike any other I have been a fan of. They have managed to get me excited and crush me not once, or twice, but seven times. Today I gave up on them for good. Or at least, I hope so.
A few weeks ago, I finally picked up a copy of "Fever Pitch" by Nick Hornby *. Great book, funny, and man do I identify. Truthfully, I don't understand about 90% of the references in the book because it is about the English Premier League, but my love for baseball and *Your Seattle Mariners* is, while not on the same scale, at least comparable to Hornby's love for Arsenal. So in Fever Pitch fashion, (without the amazing prose and detailed reflection on life) I will provide a chronological view on my 2006 M's season:
April 3rd, 2006 -- SEA vs. LAA.
Mood: Interested, but not bought in.
Record: 0-1
My boys lose a close one 5-4 to the Angels. Incidentely, "The Los Angeles Angels" translates roughly to "The The Angels Angels", right? I'm pretty sure I stole that joke from someone. Anyhoo, the opening defeat reinforces my belief that this is probably not a team worth pouring my heart into.
April 6th, 2006 -- SEA vs. OAK
Mood: Starting to believe.
Record: 3-1
A win against the A's to open up the second series of the year. Tied for 1st place. Maybe this season will turn out ok after all. (In retrospect, the only win against el Elephantos in 14 tries).
April 12th, 2006 -- SEA vs. CLE
Mood: Given up (1).
Record: 3-5
Losers of 4 straight, (including 3 straight against Oakland) drive me off the bandwagon. It'll take a serious run to get me interested again. Same old M's of the last few years.
May 1st, 2006 -- SEA vs. MIN
Mood: Eh?
Record: 12-16
After winning their last two series, and taking the first game from the super-hot Twinkies, I am keeping one eye on these guys. Lopez, Johjima, and Betancourt are pleasant suprises.
May 5th, 2006 -- SEA vs. CLE
Mood: Given Up (2)
Record: 12-19
Check that. The M's lose their 4th straight, 9-4. Awful streaky. And I am officially fickle.
May 14, 2006 -- SEA vs. LAA
Mood: Hmm, they might hover around the race.
Record: 17-22
They beat the Angels to take their second series in a row. 5 games below .500 and the same out of 1st place. Thanks to a crummy division, this season might become interesting.
May 18th, 2006 -- SEA vs. OAK
Mood: Throwing stuff; Given up (3)
Record: 17-25
A three game sweep at the hands of the A's. I fall asleep, only to dream of Billy Beane getting hit by a car and losing his job, then miraculously recovering to GM the Mariners. Dream of the year.
May 24th, 2006 -- SEA vs. BAL
Mood: Forgotten about the A's.
Record: 22-26
4 out of 5! Hovering in the division race. Putz is a dominant closer. Who knew?
May 30th, 2006 -- SEA vs. TEX
Mood: Given up (4)
Record: 22-32
Losers of 6 in a row, my boyz drop 10 games below .500. I stop checking scores and turning the radio on in the car (TV was forsaken long ago). I would rather listen to Sam's Veggie Tales CD.
June 11th, 2006 -- SEA vs. LAA
Mood: Radio on.
Record: 32-34
The M's sweep the Angels to win 9 of their last 11. Sniffing the break-even mark, they are still in the race and sports radio talking heads think they might trade for a bat at the deadline. I'm listening. Felix is starting to pitch well, and the division-leading A's are looming.
June 15th, 2006 -- SEA vs. OAK
Mood: *&@^#$&. Given up (5)
Record: 32-37
OOOOHHHH THE AAAAAA'S. I know this sounds really lame as a fan, but I gave up again after another sweep to Oakland. My fragile emotional state can't stand to buy in again only to stare at another Eric Chavez double down the line. I'm done.
July 1st, 2006 -- SEA vs. COL
Mood: WooHoo!
Record: 42-40
Seattle comes from behind to beat the Rockies 8-7 to cap off a nice 11-3 run. They are over .500 and are starting to look like a real threat. Beltre is hitting for the first time in Seattle. In other news, I'm a sucker.
July 8th, 2006 -- SEA vs. DET
Mood: Given up (6)
Record: 42-46
My favorite streaksters have lost 6 in a row including this 2-1 heartbreaker against the Tigers. I'm done. No really, I'm done.
August 2nd, 2006 -- SEA vs. BAL
Mood: Scoreboard watching
Record: 53-54
After losing a few coming out of the All-Star Break, the M's take series at home against TOR and BOS, then on the road against CLE and Baltimore to climb within a few of the A's. They have a better run differential than Oakland, and a chance to make up some ground with a three-game set against the division leaders coming up next. No idea why I was excited about this series at the time.
August 6th, 2006 -- SEA vs. OAK
Mood: Given Up (7)
Record: 53-56
Needing to take 2 out of 3 to get within striking distance, the Mariners get swept *again* by Zito and company. 11 in a row. So frustrating, especially considering Zito isn't any good any more and he still managed to win the opener despite giving up 7 hits and 3 walks. Just to rub it in, the M's will probably sign him to a $20 million per deal this winter. (Cut to Beane smoking a cigar and cackling with evil schadenfreude).
August 9th, 2006 -- SEA vs. TAM
Mood: Well, at least they did that...
Record: 56-57