History

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Three of these four teams get a ticket to the Bright Lights, Big Cit-eh:

In Ball Four, Jim Bouton relayed the Seattle Pilots' locker room in July.  Guys were sitting around after another loss, talking about the exciting games going on between the Tigers (yes), Orcs (yes), and Twins.  (Check me if I'm wrong; it was Reggie Jackson's rookie year, or pretty close, and he hit 40+ homers as a kid.  The Tigers and Twins would fade, IIRC, but the A's were on a groundswell that would lead into one of history's great dynasties.)

Anyway, one of the Pilots started to muse good-naturedly.  Golly gee whiz, he said.  I wonder how this clubhouse would handle a pennant race?  You think we'd play well if somebody put us at the top now, or how would we be?

Don Blasingame, or Fred Gladding, or somebody, was coming out of the shower.  "How would we be?," he said.  He sucked in his cheeks like a trout, pressed his keister cheeks together, clamped his knees, and started taking Charlie Chaplin steps around the locker room.  "VERY TIGHT," he said.

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For those who just joined us, the local club has to beat out ONE (1) of the following rivals.  Another way to put that is, whichever of these three teams now plays the worst, the M's need to exceed that team's wins:

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Mojo sez,

[Good for Tejas, Holland beating K-Pax] That poor team deserves something to cheer about. Nobody except Oakland deserves the horrible things that have happened to the Rangers this year. Kinsler for Fielder and hold the health. Jurickson Profar, the hope of Texas up in smoke. Shin-Soo Choo goes missing. And Washington quits without two weeks notice. So they got their Holland back and he still has it. GOOD. The carnage was making me queasy.  

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Two weeks notice :- )

The rest of us in the SSI crowd doesn't know if Nelson Cruz' performance in Baltimore was included in the 'carnage' to which the Counselor refers.  But today, Cruz had ANOTHER two homers ... and a triple just to gloat! ... as the Orioles ran their division lead to +9.5 games.  That's double digits.  The M's didn't even win by double digits when they won 116 games, we don't think ...

But the Rangers' B team from two years ago is also now carrying other teams to glory.  They're down there in Texas, wringing their hands, Oh, if only we had our old #7 hitter to legitimize this lineup...

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You know that old joke about ... Who would you rather have on your park and rec basketball team?  Jamie, or Jordan?

1.  Jamie averaged 21 points per game last year, Jordan, only 13.  

Guess you'd take Jamie.

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Mojo sez,

If there were a baseball doctor, (heh) and he diagnosed Felix with malaise or August swoon or dog days or dead arm, his best perscription would be: "Destroy nine orcs then call me in the morning".  Hammering these loathsome green creatures rejuvenates Felix.  He lives to slay Orcs!  

Conspiracy Theory: Adam Dunn and John Lester were acquired for the specific purpose of beating Felix in the wild card game.  Here's the evidence:  1. Dunn has the best stats against Felix of any Orc.  1.188 OPS lifetime against Felix, not counting today's stats.  The other Orcs? divide Dunn's productivity by two or three.  You see this play out in today's teaser for the Wild Card Game.  Felix mows down Orcs, except for Big Donkey solo shot.  

2. The Mariners are uniquely vulnerable against tough lefties.  check out their stats against Chris Sale or David Price.  Or better yet, don't if you don't want to ruin your win-buzz.  

3.  The Orcs lined up Lester vs. Hernandez on purpose to see how they matched against their old enemy.

Is acquiring Lester and Price too big of an investment to defeat only one opponent and win only one game?

Not so.  There will always be an astericks next to Billy Beane's legacy if he doesn't get some post season W's under his belt, and he has pushed all of his chips into the center.  (Hey, motive evidence!).  The Felix monkey is hard to get off your green back, and the Wild Card Game rule is simple:

Loser walks.