Vitamin SEA: The Most Dangerous Drug
The race for October is heating up
In the United States, drugs are categorized in schedules on a scale of I-V, with Schedule I being the most dangerous. Drugs like heroin or LSD fall under this category (and also weed for some reason). With this in mind, the most dangerous drug would be a Schedule I category drug, right? Wrong.
There is a drug so addictive that a single taste of it in a community can have everyone addicted in days. This drug has surfaced in Seattle from time to time and causes chaos, leaving broken people in its wake. This terrifying substance?
Hope.
The Seattle Mariners find themselves 1 ½ games back of the Houston Astros for the AL West lead and 1 ½ games back of the New York Yankees for the first Wild Card spot. Since being swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks in June, the Mariners have gone 34-21, which leads the American League, including eight games in a row. The feeling in the Seattle air is one that I have not felt in years. The levels of confidence and hope coming from Mariners fans is not unearned, but it is scary. Let’s break down some of the happenings over these last few weeks;
Cal Raleigh has broken out of his slump, sitting at 45 home runs after hitting one in three consecutive games against the Rays.
Julio Rodriguez has had a 1.011 OPS while batting .292 this past month. His 12 home runs in that time rank first in the majors.
Josh Naylor looks like the trade of the year, hitting the cover off the ball while stealing 11 bases in his first 15 games with the team.
Bryan Woo has thrown 6+ innings in all 23 starts this year.
Literally everyone else is playing well also
What is happening
The choice is tough for Mariners fans. Believe in this Mariners team and risk having our hearts broken in late September once again, or to stay skeptical and risk losing out on enjoying what the Mariners are doing right now. In the past decade, the Mariners have missed the playoffs by one game five times, including three times in the last four years. But I agree that something feels different this year. The last few seasons, even though the Mariners stayed close in the Wild Card race up to the end of September, the division was long out of reach. That is not the case this year. This team is legit.
That was the article I was going to put out last week, right after the start of the series against the Baltimore Orioles. It is in true Mariners fashion that the pendulum is swinging back the other way, having lost seven of their last nine since I wrote the first part of this article. I was unfortunately correct to proceed with caution about the Mariners’ hot streak, as they once again prove to be anything but consistent down the stretch. The first time through the Mariners’ fully healthy rotation put up an 8.72 ERA, with only Bryan Woo having a respectable outing. The wheels are falling off the bus at a frightening pace, and if Mariners fans went all in on the hope of last week, it is biting back tenfold right now. The only saving grace at the moment is that the Astros are matching the bad stretch of play, so the Mariners have lost no ground in the AL West in the past week.
October looms large right now, and this type of play will not end with Seattle in the postseason. Something needs to change, and fast.
Go M’s,
Henry “I Threw My TV Remote Across The Room Today” Neiman