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The Mariners "try" to keep the sixth position in the 2020 project. The Cubs are trying to keep their grip on the Wild Card. Jon Lester is experiencing his 800th consecutive season. Felix Hernandez tries to show why he should be employed next season.
The Mariners will never have an easy life in this game and that's good. However, when the training was revealed a few hours before the start of the match, the game's projection went from "it's going to be tough" to "lol".
Smith-Moore-Nola, huh? That's not exactly Combs-Koenig-Ruth, is it? Kyle Seager and Tom Murphy look like skilled hitters (in fact, Seager was one of only two Mariner hitters to make positive contributions to WPA). Dee Gordon is fine. The rest, though? He just left a little to be desired.
In some ways, it was like the Mariner teams of yore. No, I'm not talking about the 90s. I'm talking about the early 2010s: Brendan Ryan, Trayvon Robinson, Miguel Olivo.
As Jon Lester made his way through the Mariners, and the Mariners repeatedly repeated the few rumors of a rally they were threatening, it reminded us strangely of how far we have come. Do not get me wrong, this year has been terrible for a number of reasons. And yes, the juice ball makes comparisons of offenses a little risky.
But one of these teams of sailors scored 3.2 races per match. It was not terrible to watch. It was boring. It was frustrating. It made you want to scream. These sailors score 4.8 points per game. At least there are fireworks for their nightly funerals.
Felix is of course the place where this power of attorney becomes uncomfortable. Each of his debut comes with the unspoken assumption that if something goes wrong, it could be his last. At this point, if he gets hurt, it seems more likely he will be in Seattle. Watching Felix work for three rounds (and taking 70 shots to do it) before being shot for a pinch hit is a boon to say the least.
I'm not in Felix's head and I do not know how he feels. The most obvious thing to feel is anger at the Mariners. The bonus of Felix was wasted, after all. The second most obvious thing to feel is anger against the world. I mean, Jon Lester, 35, spearheads well on the other side. If Felix had been in another team with different setups and different support, would he have shot down a hapless quad-A team tonight en route for his tenth round in the playoffs?
I look at Felix and I see the fear and the frustration. Sometimes I project myself and I fear that my personal efforts in life will look like Sisyphus and meaningless to those of Felix in the dark days.
On the surface, Felix did it. Free of material desire. An illustrious career. A Cy Young Award. But what's he really want to when he signed with the M's at 16? Would he have been happy with the money and some rewards? I do not know. I hope it's now.
I hope that he still has some beginnings in him. I hope that one of them is magic. I hope he's roaring when he jumps from the mound once again.
I hope that he is happy that he has come here. I hope it was as meaningful to him as it was to us.
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