Well, That About Does It

The Mariners were outscored 33-5 while getting swept this series. That fucking sucks! It especially fucking sucks because for the first two games this series The M's faced the two worst pitchers of the Indians rotation and could still barely muster up any offense getting shut out once.

Meanwhile, the Angels refused to lose and have opened a 7 game lead over The M's in the division. The M's had racked up one of the best records in the AL since late May and are two games farther back as payment for their efforts.

Surprisingly I have not come here to bitch. In fact I am rather...ok with the circumstances. I wish The M's coulda stayed in the race for longer but I know it's for the best that they didn't. Much more time stuck in limbo and the M's might not have been buyers nor sellers. At least by falling out of contention now The M's can unload out valuable players for useful parts. A shot to make the playoffs still exists for the M's, for sure. Though it is doubtful that the M's will be able to overcome the obstacles and overtake the Halos. These losses allow Jack Zduriencik and his staff to make the moves necessary to not only build this team for this year but to also make moves that will be good for the club in the future without the fans bitching that he is waving the white flag.

With some solid additions to the big league club that a trade of veteran talent could acquire and a couple tweaks to the roster The M's could almost be more competitive now than they have been. A quality shortstop, a decent bat at catcher, more pop at 3rd and actual production from the DH spot can help get the M's farther than most would have thought possible especially after trading their veteran pitching.

If Veteran pitching does end up going it will be Washburn alone, sadly. Often I had prayed to Jobu to keep Erik Bedard healthy, if only long enough for us to trade him. My prayers and rum were taken with no result. Erik Bedard, after a great start to the season, is headed back to the DL and therefore will not be eligible to trade. Barring a long term signing(not sure if that's a good idea) Bedard will turn out to be one of the worst trades in M's or, hell, MLB history.

Still, Washburn can fetch a nice prize with his sparkly ERA and impressive w-l record. Plus there are other prospects who might be traded, Morrow and Clement, two players whose respective roles on this team have been in question, have been part of may rumors.

All said falling out of contention might have been the best thing possible for the M's to stay in contention as odd as that sounds. A few roster moves and this line up might be better than currently constructed. I have faith in Jack Z. So far he seems to know what he's doing and will do the right thing like Mookie in "Do The Right Thing". In his moves that he has made so far this season he has been damn good and finding quality talent for cheap. Ryan Langerhans and Chris Hannahan have been nice, above average players acquired for next to nothing. Let's see what he does with his moves in dealing "proven" talent for "propect" or "young" talent. My guess is it will kick ass. I mean, the JJ Putz trade has been nothing short of a coup.

Already Z is looking towards the future while still caring about today. Michael Saunders came up yesterday and looks to be the new starting left fielder for the rest of the season. Perhaps Shelton will get more looks at DH and 1st. DH has been a sarlaac pit of suck with Griffey occupying it, young talent might be all that is needed.

So, while I'm bummed that it appears we are not going to make the play-offs, I'm also damn excited about the future of this team not only for the rest of this year but also going forward for 2010 and beyond.

Ichiro Destroys Korea

Ichiro, the new secretary of partying down

Watching Japan destroy Korea's hopes at world baseball dominance in the final round of the World baseball classic I realized something. Ichiro put the Japapnese team on his back and carried them to victory over their hated rivals, despite an less than stellar showing over the course of the WBC. In fact, on this night, Ichiro did more to sully the image of Korea more than Kim Jong Il and Chan-Wook Park's revenge epic, Oldboy, could ever hope to. That's right, Ichiro did more damage to Korea's image than either a megalomaniac dictator and a hyper-violent revenge flick that ended in ignorant incest.

In his final nine pitch at-bat I could see the determination in Ichiro's eyes. He was not about to let his team fuck away a 2 run lead in the determining game of the WBC. Pitch after pitch that the Koreans tried to feed him was in vain. Hoping Ichiro's agressive, swing-at-anything style would cause Ichiro to get himself self out, the Korean team attempted to serve him pitches all over the strike zone but to no avail. In the end, after many fouled pitches, Ichiro finally connected with a pitch he found suitable and drove it up the middle for the go-ahead runs.

Ichiro, being the selfish prick that he is, decided that a two run lead was not enough, he needed more adulation. Almost immediately after arriving at first Ichiro stole second with speed that'd leave Wally West flat-footed. This surely was done to pad his stats, not because he wanted another run as insurance. The stolen base was definitely was not a result of of Ichiro's desire to win. Ok, maybe it was after all.

I'm not a huge believer in "clutch" hits or other such nonsense, for the most part. But it was hard not to feel that Ichiro didn't focus his strength and determination through his bat, like Hal Jordan, to will his team to victory.

In a WBC where Ichiro's off-the-field antics have fueled more headlines than his on-field performance the stats would argue he was due. This isn't an untrue statement, though it feels like it is incomplete. Watching him chip away at the opponent's confidence with each fouled-off pitch, one could sense the grim determination focusing Ichiro's energy in his bat, wielding it without thought, like an extension of his being and know that determinism is real, you can't escape fate.

When Ichiro came through with that seemingly inevitable hit, Korea's fate was sealed. Again, their stellar baseball team would be second to Japan. Ichiro's single locked them into second place.

10 Things You Must Do Before You Die

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