Starting to Believe

My brain tells me it's foolish optimism. It's June, the season's not even half over. Sure, the Dodgers are in first place, but look at where the other teams are in the standings. Sure the Mariners have won three straight, four of their last five, and had a winning road trip, but they're playing teams they ought to be beating, they're still 5.5 games out of first place, and they've only won two games against the Angels this season.

Still, I'm starting to believe it might be a good year for Dodgers and Mariners baseball. I grew up a Dodgers fan, and thanks to Al Gore and the series of tubes known as the Internet, I'm able to listen to the audio broadcasts live or the next day. Of course, I live near Seattle, so much like I'd become a Royals fan if I lived in Kansas City, or an Astros fan if I lived near Houston (the exception being that if I ever have the misfortune of living near San Francisco, the only Giants games I'll be attending are when the Boys in Blue are in town, and I'd be there with every scrap of Dodger apparel I own), I'm now a Mariners fan. Back in 2001 and 02, being a Mariners fan was easy, since they were good teams. It hasn't been so easy the last few years, but this year, I think things are different.

Last night, with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, the Mariners were down by a run. The teams of the last few years would have simply rolled over and died. The team of this year put together five consecutive hits, two of them pinch hits off the bench and one of them being the third hit of the night for a sub who'd been batting .225 to put up four runs and ultimately win the game.

So it's June, and if the Mariners can put together a good run, and figure out how to beat the Angels, they've got a shot at making the playoffs for the first time since 2002. If the Dodgers can keep it together and stay ahead of the Padres and Diamondbacks, they will make the playoffs for the second year in a row. All I know for sure is that I'd better stalk up on antacids, because it's going to be a wild summer and fall.