Yay! Free T-Shirts!

This season of Mariners Baseball has been a study in contradictions.  It has given us soaring highs and dismal lows all occurring within the same week sometimes.  It definitely has not been a show of consistency.  Back on July 23rd we lost Ichiro (who had become a Seattle institution) to the Yankees.  Grrr… (I’m not mad at Ichiro for leaving.  I’m just mad at the Yankees for existing).  At that point it seemed as if the Mariners were destined to live out the rest of the season as the first part had been.  They would likely continue to eek out the occasional good win while more frequently letting games slip away.  And then as the fans were ready to resign themselves to a less than mediocre season, we were reminded of why we watch this damn game in the first place.  Our King reminded us of his greatness.

Of course I am talking about the Perfect Game thrown by Felix Hernandez last week.   It was a reminder to everyone in Seattle who may have stopped watching that there can still be amazing moments even in a lackluster season.  Since then things have been looking pretty good too.  As of today, the Mariners have won five games in a row including a sweep of the Minnesota Twins.  It has been a very good week.  There is no guarantee that this will keep up, but it’s nice to dream.  At this point the team is actually in spitting distance of a .500 record and even that would be an accomplishment.

Anyway, in celebration of King Felix’s awesomeness the Mariners are upgrading the usual King’s Court section dedicated to Felix to the Supreme Court for tomorrow night’s game.  The first 34,000 fans (In honor of number 34) will receive commemorative t-shirts and hopefully the whole place will be a impressive shade of yellow.  They have even lowered ticket prices.  It looks like it will be quite the party.  I have my tickets and hopefully I’ll be seeing you guys at the ballpark so that we may bow to our King.

Ichiro acknowledges Mariners fans before first at-bat as a Yankee. Photo by Robert Sorbo/Reuters

In sports news, the Seattle Mariners traded Ichiro Suzuki to the New York Yankees yesterday. I personally have neutral feelings about the trade, not being much of a baseball fan, but many of my friends are staunch Mariners fans (including the lovely Seattle Belle, Jeanine) and everyone seems to have a very different and very strong, opinion. My boyfriend literally said “Good riddance!” (I was unaware he was hiding a 70-year-old man inside of him. I’m now very excited for his next outburst. I hoping it will be either “Gee willikers” or “Dang nabbet.”) He thinks Ichiro has been under performing for quite a while, and that the team will be better off with some new talent. Another friend of mine thinks losing Ichiro is a huge blow to the Mariners because he was one of our only players who consistently performed well. I, again, have no opinion given that I don’t know the difference between an RBI and a double play, and continually refer to ‘runs’ as ‘points,’ but I do listen. And my listening has given me one thought. One thought that I will share with you and allow you to rip apart or commend. According to my sources, the Mariners are in a rebuilding phase, which I assume means bringing in lots of young talent to give us a fresh, less terrible team. But from the way people are yelling at the TV screen, our new talent (Smoak, Ackley) is really sucking. Given this current state of affairs, why would we trade one of our more experienced, consistent performers for two more new, young, potentially sucky players? Riddle me that, Batman!!

And… discuss.

So we are inching our way through springtime and signs of warmer weather are popping up around us.  There are cherry blossoms on the sidewalks, a lack of motivation at work, and of course the start of baseball season.  It is a glorious time where even the Mariners get a clean slate and fans have a chance to have a little hope for a good year.  (This year I am hoping we make .500)  However if the Mariners do start to tank it’s good to remember that we do have some other options.  Sure, you can watch other teams play on TV, but if you’re looking for some live baseball that doesn’t carry quite the price tag of a trip to Safeco Field try a little trip down south to Tacoma and see the Tacoma Rainiers.  For $25, which wouldn’t even get you a seat in the upper decks at Safeco you can get nice and close to the boys in Tacoma.  Also, the Rainiers are the reigning champions of the Pacific Coast League so that’s some quality there. (more…)

OH HAI! For the second season in a row, or as they say “nawt first annual,” the folks over at Seattle-based I Can Has Cheezburger are hosting “Cheezburger Night at the Mariners” on Thursday, June 3. Last year’s event saw more than 1200 fans from around the world descend on Safeco Park to meet Ben Huh and enjoy food & drink before heading into the stands to root for the M’s!

Expect this year’s event to be just as spectacular and then some! Attendees will enjoy the same benefits: discounted tickets ($16), special Happy Cat Hour in the Bullpen Landing with Huh, and new-this-year Happy Cat Bobbleheads (while supplies last).

So Cheez friends, are you with me!? I’m definitely going, and I’d love to see meet up with you there. Leave me a comment if you’d like to join me!

Details breakdown:

When: Thursday, June 3 beginning at 5:10pm (game starts at 7:10). Game is versus the Minnesota Twins.

Where: Safeco Field’s Bullpen Landing (map)

Cost: $16 (normally $20) Buy tickets here.

Why: Cause, darn it, sometimes it’s fun to be silly. And let’s face it, all this “silliness” has made Ben Huh a wealthy, wealthy man.

I know what you’re thinking.  (Oh, I really do.)  Seven games into the baseball season and our beloved Mariners are at 2 wins, 5 losses.

Wow, that looks way tragic when you type it out.

^_^2 wins!^_^

5 losses.

Eh, I know.  It’s only seven games into the season.  There are 155 games left and eons of time to knock the heads off the rest of the League.  Truly, all we need are something like 92 awesomesauce victories and we’ll be in the good.  Just 90 left, at this rate.

from seatownsports.net

But maybe you’re not a baseball fan.  Maybe you think it’s slow, or boring, or you have a deep, ingrained fear of maple wood baseball bats.  Or moose.  You couldn’t care less if we win or lose or turn the Mariners out to sea to compete in a Trans-Pacific rowing contest, because baseball really just doesn’t make any sense.

Two things:  First, knowledge of baseball trivia could be the difference between being greeted as an American comrade or being detained as a filthy Nazi spy (True story.  Also, try to remember what the capitol of Illinois is).  Second, the Mariners baseball team in particular has always been, and continues to be, a vital contributor to our community.  Last year, the Mariners helped raise over $800,000 for local charities and programs.  And guess what?  For the extremely reasonable price of a Mariners baseball ticket, you can help them raise funds this year!

I’m just crazy about helping.  Also about the Mariners.  You can’t imagine how exciting this is for me.

For example, if you read my post last week and still feel like doing something for our soldiers, how about attending a baseball game?  This Saturday, April 17th, Tigers v. Mariners and, oh yeah, Salute to Armed Forces Night? Honor our men and women in uniform, drink some beer, and watch the Mariners clean up.

Or maybe you like to be more vindictive about your good causes.  Well, who here hates that vicious, pernicious bitch, cancer?  Everybody, Mariners included.  So – and I’m serious about this – purchase a ticket for May 4th, Rays v. Mariners, and part of the ticket sales for that night will go to benefit the American Cancer Society.

And if you’re truly not a sports person, you can always donate to the ACS directly here.

An important note for soccer fans:  The Sounders may have only been here a year,

from www.soundersfc.com

but, let’s face it, they are also immensely awesome – both on the field, and in their dedication to the betterment of their community.  Next Sunday (the day after the Sounders send the Kansas City Wizards back to their yellow brick road looking sour-faced and loser-sore) coaches, players, and fans will descend on Franklin High School to make it just a little better for the students who attend.  You can sign up to join in here.

Let’s face it.  Here in Seattle, sometimes our teams win and sometimes they lose.  Okay, they lose fairly often-ish (but not this year).  I’ll always cheer for them and part of that ridiculous, irrational fanaticism comes from things like this.  They care about Seattle, and so do I and, sometimes, that’s enough.