Following a devastating sweep at the hands of the lowly Cleveland Indians in late July - a series in which the Mariners were outscored 32 to 7 - the common opinion around the water cooler in Seattle seemed to be that the Mariners' playoff hopes, slim from the get go, were over.  The "objective" media even got into the act as the top columnists in Seattle all simultaneously called for the Mariners to sell the veterans they could and play for tomorrow.  At the time we'd slipped to 7 back in the wild card and 9 back in the AL West and Boston was in on all kinds of rumors to improve their ballclub at the deadline.

Thankfully, Zduriencik doesn't listen to the media and equally importantly, doesn't come from the all or nothing school of thought that seems to drive the net rats.  It seems to me that Mariner fans (at least the ones who post regularly within the blogosphere) are of the opinion that you have to be the odds-on favorite to at least get to the ALCS for it to be worth something to play for the season.

He traded Jarrod Washburn and the net rats cheered that he'd done the correct thing and punted the season.  But he chose the Tigers' offer specifically because he wanted the pitcher that could hold down Washburn's rotation spot in '09.  Luke French is not a glamor prospect, but he can help the '09 Ms fight to beat the odds and make the post-season.  He traded prospects for Ian Snell and Jack Wilson to improve the '09 club while setting up for '10.

Ten days after the deadline, the Red Sox had indeed made a trade to improve their offense - which was followed almost immediately by a bone crushing 6 game losing streak.  The previously red hot Rays have also fallen on some recent struggles, and the Mariners are back on the winning track and 4.5 out of the wild card...well within striking distance of the big dance.

I consider this a "teaching moment" for myself as much as for the rest of the Mariner blogosphere.  Zduriencik himself may not believe the Mariners can win the wild card or the west, but he's operating with knowledge that USSM and LL lack.  Let this be a lesson for us - you cannot put a pricetag on dignity.  Just as there is no such thing as a dignified death, there is no such thing as a franchise with a winner's mentality that gives up when the odds are long.  There is no dignity in treating 25 overgrown children like stratomatic cards or poker chips.  Baseball is simulated war, and no general ever won hero's praise from his own troops by surrendoring every time things got risky.

Say the worst happens...the Mariners try their best and fall short of the playoffs in 2009.  Do you know what they're thinking as they pack up to go home for the winter?  "We left it all on the field, Zduriencik gave us a chance, and we came up short.  Next year will be different."  They walk out with their heads held high and in 2010, they believe their general is going to put them in position to try again.  If we'd have punted '09, the club would feel like it was starting from scratch when it returned in 2010.  You'd have to build that trust all over again...a process that if repeated could set back a team for years.  Don't believe me?  Ask Jack Wilson how it feels to have your best players sold out from under you year after year in the never ending quest to hold out for a better hand.  Bill Veech famously quipped "Five year plans only lead to more five year plans.  Don't believe me, ask the Phillies."  At that time the Phillies had never won a world series despite existing since 1876.  Their long track record of saving money and building for tomorrow produced the first sports franchise to ever lose 10,000 games.

I, for one, never wanted the Mariners to fold, not even after the debacle against Cleveland.  But I will admit that I did not watch the next two games and felt as though the season had ended.  After one bad series.  I can understand the call for the rebuild...it certainly felt like we'd lost all hope, and I think that's because I'd become used to the losers mentality that Bavasi had installed here.  I thought the guys had finally folded.  I thought they were going to struggle the rest of the way.  They proved me wrong.

But I remembered another club that ran into a horrible losing streak in late July and early August, falling even further out of contention than our boys had in '09.  That club was about to get a major star back from the DL, but we're getting Beltre back (perhaps not a major star, but a central figure in the clubhouse).  That club made similar trades for interesting players for now and the future at the deadline.  That club was led by its offense rather than its defense, but the shape of the franchise shouldn't matter as much as the quality of its' strengths.

I hope the rest of you feel the same vibes that I do now...the "battle back" spirit of the '09 Mariners that has led them to a 27-14 record in 1-run games and an AL leading 33 come from behind wins rivals the winning spirit in 1995.  Playing or not in October, this club is securing for itself a lasting desire for excellence and a winning personality that wouldn't have been possible if Zduriencik had played his hand the way the saber dweebs on the net wanted and sold high on guys like Branyan and Aardsma.  Zduriencik's refusal to abandon 2009, whatever the odds said was the best play, has put the 2009 team in a position to do something unexpected, and perhaps more importantly, has gained the 2010 Mariners 10 wins or more in self confidence.  Count on that.