Mariners swept again, words fail me
Seriously. What am I supposed to say here? I don’t get paid to write, so I’d like to say that I haven’t sat around at work, at home, during games, rolling things around in my head before I sleep, thinking of ways to talk about what’s going on for the Seattle Mariners. I’d love to say that it doesn’t torture me, feeling like every game I watch or go to for the rest of the season is going to be a miserable loss at the hands of a far-superior team. And I’d like to admit that I haven’t been making any effort to write because I just don’t like the team this year, so it doesn’t bother me. But none of these things are true. None of them.
Lacking the ability to just go stone cold analyst on these guys, what do I say that hasn’t been said by thousands of fellow fans over the course of the last few series? It’s like my only options are Dixie cup jokes – it’s all been said or done before, and it’s not funny unless you’re 6 years old. Actually, 6 year olds wouldn’t even find the 2011 post-ASG team funny. Not to take anything away from 6 year olds, but from what I’ve been able to observe, most 6 year old Mariners fans are far more interested in imitating Ichiro’s batting stance and conning their parents out of cotton candy money than they are in the foibles of the team on the field. Maybe that’s more the path I should take; ignorance is bliss.
The Mariners are not losing me, but they are finding me heavily distracted. Yesterday for example, I meant to go fishing on the Sound with some friends while listening to the game in my headphones. But by the 3rd inning, the Ms hadn’t scored, and I was at Shillshole Marina. I had to haul a backpack, fishing rod, and lifejacket out of my car and get down to the boat, then got down to the business of figuring out the rules of the water with my friend Patrick, the boat’s owner. So while Jamey Wright was busy getting pelted by the Blue Jays to assist in an 11-6 score, I was setting a line, having a beer, listening to 80s hair metal, and looking pretty serious.
I caught two fish that were too small to keep, and got a keen sunburn, so I guess in my own way, I sort of mirrored the Mariners success (or lack thereof). Had I known how badly the Ms were losing their shirts when this photo was taken, I might not have even looked that happy (seriously though, there was a lot of glare).
I will still watch games, but I don’t know that I will be tripping over myself to make sure that I’m front and center. My new thing now is bracing myself for what I feel will surely be some sort of fire sale or unloading of our better guys. I have to think that the front office is taking maybe a little more serious listen to offers than they might have in June, and I think I’m ready for it. As always, I don’t want to lose anyone, but I’m also exhausted with losing games. I don’t mind the ups and downs of baseball, but we’re getting nothing but downs, and it’s heartbreaking. I just keep thinking about how happy we all were in June, and about how now I’m glad to have some of my evenings to myself. I’d rather be sitting on the edge of everything, waiting for the next game to start, but things are what they are.
So in spite of the fact that I’ve just written way more than I ever intended to, I still am truly rendered speechless and wordless over what’s been going on. I can only express my disappointment at what this season has so suddenly become, and look forward to the games that I’m able to attend. Everyone has their own way to cope, I guess this is mine.
