Sorry about the last few days, but aside from assorted holiday stuff, I've also been doing a lot of writing for other places (on a totally unrelated note, you should buy the THT 2008 Season Preview when it becomes available).
The other thing I've been doing, though, is compiling a list of what I think were the top 50 individual moments in Mariner baseball last year. I was going to compile a list of the top 50 most memorable moments instead, but then memorable doesn't necessarily mean pleasant, and I'd prefer to go into the new year talking about happy things instead of Lollablueza. So this list will consist solely of things that sent us good vibes during what was, for five months, a damn fun season.
Moments will be posted in countdown fashion on a near-daily basis, accompanied by commentary, beginning tomorrow (and probably stopping for a few days next weekend, since I don't think I'll be around). For now, here are the events that just missed the cut, presented chronologically:
4/21: Ben Broussard hits a pinch-hit grand slam - the first in franchise history - cutting a late Angels lead to one run.
5/6: Jarrod Washburn beans Josh Phelps in retaliation for an unnecessarily violent slide into Kenji Johjima at home plate.
5/25: Yuniesky Betancourt drives a battered Gil Meche out of the game in the fifth inning with an RBI single.
5/28: Adrian Beltre caps off a four-extra-base-hit day with a seventh inning homer against the Angels.
6/3: Jamie Burke hits a "single" off the hilarious glove of Matt Kata, sparking a five-run rally.
6/22: RRS makes his Major League debut by striking out Ken Griffey Jr. in front of a full house.
6/26: Willie Ballgame takes Kason Gabbard out of the ballpark.
7/6: A ninth inning single puts the finishing touches on a 5-5 day for Beltre.
7/12: Beltre avoids enough Carlos Guillen tags at second base to allow the third and eventual winning run to score.
7/14: Johjima hits a grand slam to blow a close game against Detroit wide open.
7/28: Three days after blowing his first save of the season, JJ Putz inherits a one-run lead in the eighth inning and strikes out Jack Cust with two on and two out.
8/11: Betancourt drills a grand slam in Chicago, much to the delight of one Hawk Harrelson.
8/20: Johjima takes Matt Garza deep, the team's fourth home run in less than three innings.
8/21: Jose Lopez faceplants sliding into second base with a double.
8/23: Ichiro breaks a tie against Texas with a bases-clearing double.
8/28: An RBI single by Johjima chases Ervin Santana in the first inning of a crucial game against the Angels (shut up, it was happy at the time).
9/5: Rick White gets ejected for expressing with one finger all of our collective frustrations with the recent umpiring.
9/12: Betancourt drops the A's with a walk-off single, scoring Charlton Jimerson.
9/25: Beltre takes Joe Borowski deep in the ninth for a game-tying two-run homer.
9/26: Wladimir Balentien blasts his first Major League home run.
9/26: Jeff Clement blasts his first Major League home run as well, this one coming in the second game of a doubleheader and tying it up in the ninth with two outs and none on.
9/26: Mike Morse hits a winning "single" off the glove of Jhonny Peralta to beat the Indians.
Enjoy your evenings, and don't do anything stupid. (That goes for you too, Bill.)