Much has happened in the near eight months since I last made any kind of post on this thing - the UW men's team went to the NCAA Tournament, Venoy Overton did his best Godfather (WWF, not Marlon Brando) impression, the Seahawks made the playoffs with a losing record, and the US Women's National Team stole defeat from the jaws of victory. That's all well and good, but the thing that has had the most profound effect on me is the Mariners 2011 season. All of their struggles have been well documented. They can't hit. They can't score runs. Their ownership group only cares about turning a profit. That's not the worst part for me, not by a long shot. The worst part is...this team is boring.
In the 80's, during the heyday of the Kingdome, when 2500 fans would come watch a game and them M's were regulars in the old AL West's cellar (uh, not they are anything different in the new AL West, but go with me here), there were still players you were excited to watch. It started in 1981 with Julio Cruz. He was exciting, he stole bases and played great defense. Then there was Cuffs, Bill Caudill. He was a closer, and he was eccentric. He was the first Mariner to record back to back 20 save seasons. Gaylor Perry got his 300th win in a Mariner uniform. In 1984, two future all stars debuted, Mark Langston and Mr. Mariner himself, Alvin Davis. AD won the Rookie of the Year award, and Langston won 17 games led the league in strikeouts. Those guys were exciting. Sure, the M's only won 74 games and finished 5th, but it was fun. The Reagan era Mariners gave way to 1989 and the arrival of Lou (who actually showed up in 1993) Griffey, Randy Johnson, Buhner, Edgar and the core group that would lead to 1995 and the arrival/revival of basebal in Seattle. No need to document that here, everybody knows what happened. What many people forget is that despite those great teams and players, the Mariners STILL have only made four playoff appearances in their history. So why was that period looked on so fondly? BECAUSE THERE WERE PLAYERS THAT WERE EXCITING TO WATCH. Even after 1995, when the M's had three losing seasons in four years, attendance skyrocketed. You had a chance to watch two of the greatest players in a generation on the same team (say what you will about A-Rod, he is one of the all time greats.
As entertaining and enthralling as the late 90's teams were, their destrcution was equally compelling. First Randy threw a fit on his way out of town. Then Jr. decided he couldn't hit homers in Safeco and held the club ransom for a trade. Then A-Rod swore "it wasn't about money, I just want to win," and went to a last place team for $252 million. No shortage of drama there. All the while, the M's went to the playoffs in 2000 and 2001 by adding the right peices to what was already in place. A-Rod led the team in 2000 with Olreud and Mike Cameron, and in 2001 Ichiro came to town and won the MVP and Rookie of the Year award all while playing a style of baseball that we've never seen. Every night was exciting, every night something amazing happened. The farm system was rich with talent, and we all had faith in the front office.
Fast forward a decade. Lou didn't get the support he wanted from the front office. We've seen the rapid aging of Edgar, Olerud, Boone and Cameron. We saw the putrid Bill Bavasi era that included bringing in overpriced and overmatched free agents and mortgaging the farm system for a broken down lefty who has in four years made less than 50 starts. Only now are the M's showing signs of pulling out of the Bavasi doldrums. But barely. And here's the problem. The product that the Mariners have put on the field isn't just bad, it's a boring team. It's not fun to watch. It's depressing. I don't enjoy watching Chone Figgins look overmatched by a 87 mph fastball. I don't like seeing our "superstar" right fielder grounding out the 2nd baseman four times a night. I don't like seeing our Gold Glove center fielder hitting .180 on July 21st.
Baseball is a very special game. It's a game where a 2-1 pitchers dual can be edge of your seat excitement. But that's not what we're facing. We're looking at a team that if Felix gives up two runs in the 2nd inning, he knows he's getting hung with a loss, because the offense isn't going to score two runs to get you back in the game. And if they do, you're very surprised and excited. This team doesn't have, and hasn't had anybody worth watching in nearly a decade. Not to say that there isn't talent on the roster. Felix and Michael Pineda are top of the rotation pitchers. But it's tough to watch them pitch every five days when you know they're going to lose 2-1 or 1-0. Imagine if the M's could put up four or five runs on a regular basis for those guys? Yeah....it would be nice. Dustin Ackley looks like a legit star in the making, and Carlos Peguero can absolutely mash - if he only got thrown fastballs. Maybe he should ask JoBu to come...offer him rum, and cigars....
The point is...there is a flicker of hope, even if it's faint. But it's at least two years away. And for a fanbase that has already seriously erroded, this is hard to watch. The Kingdome was a fun place to watch baseball, and that fun brand of baseball gave birth to Safeco Field, SoDo Mojo and a ton of other crappy slogans. When I was growing up, the Mariners were awful, and I didn't like them...the Oakland A's were my favorite team and Jose Canseco was my favorite player. Despite that, my grandfather took me to games, and to this day I can say that I watched Ken Griffey Jr. play when he was 19 years old. Who are today's kids going to say they watched? "Back in 2011, I saw Jack Wilson play 2nd base. Man, did he have an odd looking face." Yeah, doesn't quite have the same ring to it.
No comments:
Post a Comment