Maybe it's time for a Baseball Bail-out?

The SEATTLE MARINERS reach 100...

...100 Losses, that is, with Wednesday's loss to the Anaheim Angels. Come to think of it, that's more a "millstone" than a 'milestone'. Like this year's Economy, the '08 Seattle Mariners slumped. And slumped BIG. The M's reportedly paid its players a total sum of $119 Million Dollars this season. That's "million" with an "M". Perhaps I'm a very negative person, a product of these negative times, but I must say this season for the Seattle Mariners has been, well, 'negative'. I only know that it's gotten so bad, that this year, while watching or listening to their games, I've not only expected them to lose, I've WANTED them to lose, so I could then listen to the Mariners' post-game show and hear callers around the Northwest phone in their negativisms, and boy, there were negativisms-a-plenty to go around this year. "This player's gotta go!" "Why did the manager put This Guy in when That Guy shoulda been left in?" "The problem is with Management!" "The problem is with the Players!" and so on, and so forth. Baseball, turned into a soap opera.

I thought of something earlier this evening. And, an astounding revelation it was. Earlier in the season, some disgruntled fans were speculating that the Mariners could set something of a record, dishing out $119 Million Dollars for a team that had a possibility of losing 119 Games! And that would have been some kind of record, all right. A DUBIOUS record. Alas, there are only 4 games left in this season for the M's to lose. So somehow, that's supposed to soothe us fans? Ack. So, the '08 Season From Hell for the M's will soon be Done With, and will stumble towards a final conclusion before fizzling out altogether this weekend. And, the only way this could be described as a comedy of errors would be to say it's something of a Tragic Comedy, if indeed one of those can exist in the world of Baseball. Hitters couldn't hit. Pitchers couldn't pitch. Or when Pitchers pitched well, they got no run support. Just about the only way the M's could win a game was for the Starting Pitcher to throw a complete-game-shutout. And those don't happen very often. Especially in a season that's been so dismal that the M's can't even be "lovable" losers like the New York Mets were oh, so long ago. The Mariners are almost 40 games out of first place. FORTY. Yikes!

The Seattle Mariners' Moose (pictured above) must feel lonelier than the Maytag Repairman these days. I wouldn't blame the poor maligned mascot if, next year, he became the "Minnesota Moose", or perhaps the "Milwaukee Moose" (although that last one would be a stretch)...it's kinda difficult, I would bet, to try and rouse support among fans who have No Real Reason to attend the games (other than socialize and drink lots of expensive beer), since the Team will probably Never get to a World Series. Ever. The M's got close in 1995, when they won a tiebreaker only to lose in the playoffs. But that was 13 YEARS ago. (Something which Mariners Broadcaster Rick Rizzszszsszzz doesn't seem to realize, since He Brings It Up all the time Like It Happened Yesterday. Get over it, Rick!) The M's won 116 games in 2001, but were bounced out of the playoffs again. Some fans feel the team has been jinxed, saying they wouldn't be surprised if Safeco Field (the quadra-zillion dollar ballpark where the M's Play) was built on the site of an old Indian (whoops, Native American) cemetery. Jinxed? Hexed? That almost makes sense. I'm almost ready to believe that. Maybe I do. What Else could it be?

So I'm approaching this all from a distorted perspective, you say. So you say I'm endlessly negative and not thankful that we in the Northwest have our very own professional Baseball Team to root for. Maybe. You be the judge. The Seattle Times has a Mariners' Fan blog, which can be accessed at http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/mariners/. There is no joy in Mudville.