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The right wing, where I stood, was exposed to and received all the enemy's fire ... I heard the bullets whistle, and, believe me, there is something charming in the sound. - George Washington, letter to his brother, 1754
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I dunno but I've been tolllldddd ... someone here is gettin' old ...
Some readers like the approach that says Sports Is Life. Other Gentle Readers are less inclined to getting their Life mixed with their Sports at the author's whim. Peace, brother :- ) and click on to the next article forthwith.
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Amigo axs, What's wrong with #KeepFighting? You got something against the 1995 Mariners?
For my tastes, this roster is too stacked for Cinderella subtitling. The Mariners were the trendy choices to win the AL *last* year. Apollo Creed's corner wasn't telling him to "keep fighting" against Rocky in the 7th. Neither should the 2016 Mariners have gotten themselves into this kind of trouble in the first place.
The M's record is *still* lower than Pythagorean expectation - and their runs for/against are worse than they should be for their bases. They've been underperforming, not to say underattempting.
SSI has been whining that we should hold off on despair or delerium. Check them after 162, we sez, not after 62. Now that we hit 112 and the talent starts to surface, this is a a Jimmy V subplot? Well, maybe for DaddyO and Dr. D it is ...
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The 1995 team had real Cinderella aspects to it for me. The club had never won; their pitching staff other than Randy Johnson was still essentially the remnants of an expansion staff; Smulyan wanted to take them out of town; I was at the game where Griffey broke his wrist, had a big personal problem happen at the stadium in fact... they came from what, -13 games back?
For the millenials who just joined us, that 1995 Mariners team caught the national fancy. It was widely credited with --- > helping redeem baseball from the fan resentment over the 1994 strike. It was one of the Hollywood sports stories of the 20th century. This 2016 squad is merely a powerful roster that let its playoff chances dip to 20% before hitting a winning streak.
Of course, we defer to Arne on the whole question. He's the 1995 guru, and if he says it reminds him, go with Arne.
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Not meaning to sound harsh or sour at all. No way no how! Personally I don't see the #KeepFighting shtick in any way, shape, or form, but ... If the 25 guys (and Griffey and etc) find motivation in "Keep Fighting," and if fans enjoy it, more power to them.
Anyhow: sports has plenty 'nuff drama whether you attach historical meaning to a particular season or don't. This 2016 season has James Paxton; it has Dae-Ho Lee; it has Hisashi Iwakuma's smile; it has Edwin Diaz; it has the final exorcism of the Top-Down demons that Silentpadna and I have net-battled since July 2001; it has Edgar humbly standing on the top step. If the pennant race jells in Seattle, it will be as sweet for Dr. D as for anybody, he dares say ...
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Sports are by their very nature given to displays of heroism - Jackie Robinson's, Lou Gehrig's, Ken Griffey Jr's. It's one of the last places in civilian America you can still see Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage held up as universal ideals. In baseball, these virtues are expected of everyone. Manny may be Manny, but those around him are crystal clear about the fact that he is not our ideal.
There's no crying in baseball. The princess isn't allowed to protest the pea under 15 mattresses. Baseball is fair and it honors those who deserve to be honored. Well, pretty much.
In baseball, nobody cuts you a check because you're inventive with your complaints; they cut you a check because you're hard core. Sometimes, they cut you a check because you've served honorably and you now require assistance. Wrap your feet up and keep trudging through the snow; if you try your very best but you just can't make it, then we'll carry you, and at any risk to our own life and limb. It ain't going to be easy, but it's going to be worth it.
True, some of these quaint little "sink or swim" ideas would be cast as "microaggressions," or worse, upon the intellectual heights of our cultural sensitivities. Fortunately for the old curmudgeons among us, however, the glorification of military-style values is not microaggression -- it is simply a description of life as it exists on the green grass of Safeco Field. No D.C. correspondents get to shout James Paxton down and/or shout Yu Darvish up. Either man gets to throw his curve ball for a strike, or not.
Rhetoric will not be relevant to us at 7:15 Friday night. It's hard work and perserverance and talent that will matter. The 1995 Mariners didn't win, you realize, and that was part of the charm of martyrdom. Winning would have been beside the point, maybe contrary to the point. Obi-wan sacrifices himself so that the cause (well, at least the baseball field) might live.
George Washington would have loved 21st-century sports, and he'd have paid $9 for an ale on a Friday night, too. Time-warped into Safeco Field, he'd probably have gone with Guinness and with Edgar Martinez. He'd have also enjoyed the spirited young bowler Diaz.
As baseball fans, we share a common sense of what is virtuous! It makes us spiritual brothers. There was a camaraderie in the Kingdome in 1995 that far transcended sports. Tomorrow at 7:10 p.m., the seven Army Core Values are virtuous. Their opposites are vices. It will be a long time before situational ethics is able to veto a 3-2 curve ball. It's all great, every inning of it, every pitch's worth.
And so the old generation's love for the Seattle Mariners far, far transcends this quizzical attempt to attach them to their 1995 ancestors. We get undiluted human virtue on display, nightly at 7:10 p.m. But of course, we got that in every at-bat of Edgar's career, too. And Mike Blowers'. And Jerry DiPoto's.
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In Paul Morphy the spirit of La Bourdonnais had arisen anew, only more vigorous, firmer, prouder. ... Paul Morphy fought; on good days and on bad days, he loved the contest, the hard, sharp, just struggle, which despises petted favourites and breeds heroes. - Emmanuel Lasker, world champion 1894-1921
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Maybe, since Griffey Weekend, you hear echoes of 1995 pennant race. The players do too. You're in good company. :- ) When sports are at their best, maybe you prefer to hear echoes of the Founding Fathers' 1776 "pennant" race. Like Dr. Lasker said, when sports ceases to offer struggle, it will cease to be useful.
Enjoy,
Jeff