Well, That Was Unexpected

Behind the decent pitching of Garret Olson and the bullpen combined with a few timely runs the Mariners managed to escape Chavez Ravine in East LA not only with their wallets and money but also come out 2 wins richer putting them at 3 games over .500 this year. Going into the series I had felt we would be lucky to come out with just one win. It's a damn pleasant feeling to double that prediction.

After getting knocked around like Rihanna in the first game the M's went all Lifetime movie and took the fight back to their abusers. Felix threw 8 innings of 4 hit 1 run(unearned) ball, keeping hitters off balance with his pitch selection. He even threw 8 breaking balls out of his first 20!!! In the past few games Felix has been looking deserving of his title of King, mowing down all opposition. He has come to chew bubblegum and kickass and he is all out of bubblegum!!

The M's offense, while not a juggernaut, has come back from it's comatose state in May and shown some quality power. This is a nice change of pace as there was a stretch where even the shittiest of right handers(Vincente Padilla, Sidney Ponson et al) could make this team look like a bunch of blind little leaguers. There is a comfort from not expecting to be shutout every time this team faces a moderately good right handed pitcher.

This stretch of 7-3 over the last 10 games has all come at a time when this team has had more injuries than a hypochondriac. Outfield defensive specialist Endy Chavez was lost this week when he tore his ACL in a collision with "shortstop" Yuniesky Betancourt. A few games later Betancourt was put on the DL with a hamstring pull or possible tear. Jarrod Washburn has missed time with a back injury and Erik Bedard has been bothered by shoulder inflammation and will hopefully be back on July 5th.

An already injury plagued team was told yesterday that it would lose 3rd baseman Adrian Beltre for 6-8 weeks when he goes in for surgery to clear out bone spurs in his shoulder. There is a lot of speculation on how the team will make up for the production of his combined bat and glove. While the organization has a derth of oufielders and 1b/DH types in the system 3rd base is not a position of depth. To get the most out of Beltre's absence it may take some creative ideas on player positions.

Many people are lobbying for Griffey to take over as the every day left fielder for the team. What people fail to realize is even if Jr didn't have to get 3 liters of fluid drained from his knee every time he sees extensive time out in the field, he is simply not a good defender. Luckily the front office recognizes this and brought in Ryan Lagerhans, whom Dave Cameron lobbied for the team to pick up. Lagerhans isn't quite the defensive wiz that Chavez was,though who is? But he brings more patience and lefty power to a team in desperate need of both.

As the team heads out to the east coast to face the Yankees and Red Sox there looks to be little hope to continue to play so well against top teams. But hell, no one expected them to take 2 of 3 from LA. So maybe with a little energon and a lot of luck they can come out of the road trip above .500. If not, I make a simple request, tank the damn trip and acknowledge that you are now sellers!! We have a lot of attractive and valuable pieces for trade. I'd like to either see us gain a little ground on those ahead of us or just end the suffering all together.

New England's Sports Dominance Getting Old

I have to admit something to you, Dear readers. I am a Red Sox enabler. I'm sorry. I never imagined my enabling would lead to such moral lows.

4 years ago I was living abroad in Mexico. I remember stopping by a small bar and watching Curt"I'm the Biggest Asshole in the World" Schilling and The Red Sox break the sway the Yankees had held over them so long. In an innocent thought to myself I mused "Good for the Sox. I hate the fucking Yankees! I'd like to see the Sox win the series. After all they've been through they deserve it." Not long after that thought had passed I wanted it back so very bad.

Much like someone who jumps off a bridge in attempts to commit suicide but lives, I realized "No, this isn't what I want at all!". I wanted the Yankees to lose, sure. Those cocky New York fucks deserved to lose. But if Boston Made it to the Series I had no doubt that they would absolutely destroy whichever second class NL team they faced. Then everything would change.

No longer would the Sox be the lovable losers filled with fan faves like No-mah, Pay-dro, Big Papi and Man-Ram, none of who could win the big one. They would be the world champs. And that would suck. It was so much fun watching those Boston fans wallow in self-pity and believe in garbage like the curse of The Bambino. With a win, they would no longer be self-loathers and, if The Pats mini-dynasty is any reference, happy New Englanders are very annoying New Englanders.

Last year I watched as my surrogate team, the well run and smartly put together, Cleveland Indians go up 3-1 on the Sox in the ALCS. The Indians(and the most racist logo ever. Can you imagine similarly racist team names?) stood poised to clinch the 4th and deciding game at home in Cleveland , when I had another innocent thought. "I want this series to be at least a little interesting, maybe the Sox can have this one. Besides, how sweet would it be for the Fenway faithful witness the dismemberment of their beloved Sox there in Boston?"Again, almost immediately I realized my error.

My simple wish turned very sour and the Red Sox went on to take the next two in Boston, winning the games by a combined score of 24-4. I knew that this incredible turnaround would only add to the Sox lore and I hated it. I couldn't stand the thought of ever more bandwagon fans coming out of the woodwork in support of this grotesque monstrosity of a team. The Red Sox had become the new Yankees.

Working at the stadium when the Red Sox are in town is a confusing time. One never realizes just how close Boston is to Seattle until witnessing the flood of all sorts of Sox gear come flooding into the stadium, most of it freshly purchased. When cheers eurpt it is difficult to discern if it is for the M's or the Sox(except this year when with the M's ineptitude you knew it was for the Sox). This baseball blasphemy should never transpire in one's home stadium espescially not when the team you are playing's true fan base is over 3,000 miles away.

Now the Tampa Bay Rays have the Red Sox on the ropes 3-1 going into game 5 in Boston on Thursday. I want very badly for the upstart Rays to continue to kick the holy hell out of the Sox as they have done the past two games.

I've learned my lesson. I'm not rooting for a close series. I'm not even rooting for the sweet irony of Man-Ram coming back to play at Fenway in Dodgers blue in the series. No, All I want is a swift and painless victory on Thursday. Then I want the Rays to kick the shit out of Pat Gillick's Phillies in the series. I want all those tools who constantly claim that a team needs post-season experience to win it all to have to eat some serious crow. All those who doubted the Rays because they were "too young" and didn't see that they were also supremely talented, will weep as old baseball cliches are torn asunder. And I want to be there to watch.