For the bulk of this holiday weekend, I'm much more fan than writer. I'm given myself time to watch these games, but I haven't given myself much time to write about them, and tonight I'm not in much condition to be writing about the Mariners anyway. Which might be just as well, because this was a hard game to explain to anyone sober.
Tonight, the Mariners beat the Yankees. But they didn't do it the way you'd expect. They didn't beat the Yankees because this was Felix Hernandez taking on Ivan Nova. Felix was pedestrian, for him. Ichiro went 0-for-6. Justin Smoak went 1-for-5. The Mariners beat the Yankees because they got big bullpen work out of Aaron Laffey, Jamey Wright, Brandon League and David Pauley. The Mariners beat the Yankees because they got a ringing double from Miguel Olivo. And the Mariners beat the Yankees because, instead of jumping on any of their other relievers, they instead jumped on Mariano Rivera, where by "jumped on" I mean they surrounded a double with two flares and an intentional walk.
I'm still not convinced the Mariners should've won this game, just because the whole time it felt like they were on the brink of falling behind, but they actually put more runners on base than the Yankees did, and they've taken the series while giving themselves a shot at a sweep tomorrow afternoon. I don't fully understand how we got here and I watched on with disbelief as Adam Kennedy's single found ground, but it wasn't so much disbelief that the Mariners won as it was disbelief that the Mariners continue to win. The Mariners now have more wins than losses. It's the end of May. Think about that. As much as I want one to happen, I don't know if I'm actually prepared for a competitive year. The thought is so strange.
I hope that, for once, everyone's enjoying the present.