Tragedy or comedy
Good things
Ichiro, three games in first place, McLaren fired, Bavasi fired, the improvement of Riggleman, Morrow’s development, Morrow going to start, Felix starts, nice return on Rhodes trade, RRS ascent to rotation, Vidro release, Sexson release, Beltre, Clement promotion, Clement re-promotion, Ibanez’s hitting, continued if diminished fan support, anger of the Lincoln/Armstrong post-Bavasi-firing conference, Lopez’s hitting, improved outfield defense, the most valuable Bloomquist season in years, Burke pitching, LaHair getting a shot, the return of a healthy Mark Lowe, the July 28th game where the M’s hit four home runs, three walk-off wins, Wilkerson released, Sean Green, four shutouts, twelve wins by five or more runs, hope (however small) for a organizational overhaul this winter, and 48 wins.
Bad things
McLaren started the season as manager, team offense, team pitching, team defense, Washburn versus Johjima (one and two), personal catchers, Bedard hurt, Silva starts, Batista appearances, Washburn not traded, Baek traded for no reason, Putz injury, Putz ineffectiveness, Putz re-injury, Vidro, Sexson, Johjima extension, Johjima’s season, Clement demotion, Ibanez’s defense, some Dickey appearances, continued if diminished fan support, Lincoln-Armstrong still in charge, Lopez’s defense, Betancourt’s collapse, Reed not hitting after promotion, Wlad not hitting after promotion, Clement not hitting after promotion, no towel service day, Bloomquist injured, Morse injured, Cairo, the division cellar, three seven-game losing streaks, eight times being shut out, twenty three losses by five or more runs, the 15-3 loss to the White Sox this last week, winless against the goddamn Yankees on the season, swept by the Nationals, “funk blasts,” the fifteen-inning 1-2 loss on July 6th, the thirteen games where no Mariner collected an extra-base hit, the thirteen games where no Mariner drew a walk, the one game where no Mariner had an extra-base hit or a walk, Valle and Fairly guesting in the broadcast booth, the Moose, 1-71 record when going into the ninth behind, nine walk-off losses, Drayer fired, Rally Fries, Bloomquist’s quest for historical futility in the field of hitting thwarted, and “no question about it” the 82 losses.
Getting really technical:
“Tragedy depicts the downfall of a basically good person through some fatal error or misjudgment, producing suffering and insight on the part of the protagonist and arousing pity and fear on the part of the audience.” (http://condor.depaul.edu/~dsimpson/tlove/comic-tragic.html)
If you said Bavasi was he central character of this story… I’d have to say that perfectly sums it up.
also: “A true tragedy should evoke pity and fear on the part of the audience.” That’s definitely true of this season as well… 🙂
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As for comedy: “A comedy is a story of the rise in fortune of a sympathetic central character.”
I’d really have to stretch to see who this one applies to, someone who would also be a central character.
So technically, on a scholarly level, definitely a tragedy.
I don’t know about “Good” but it was fun to see Jamie Burke pitch
52: Well, considering JB’s one inning pitched wasn’t as bad as most of Silva’s or Batista’s appearances this year, it probably qualifies as being in the “good” catagory.
That was a strange game. It was one of those WTF moments when I heard the announcer say “Now pitching…Jamie Burke.” I hadn’t been watching him warm up so it surprised me. Same thing happened when I went back to my desk at work and checked Gameday and saw “Felix Hernandez hits grand slam to right field…” I thought it was a typo then LL and USSM broke.
Yeah, I loved it when they brought Jamie Burke in to pitch.
I just wish he could have gotten through his inning unscathed…catchers in general seem to get so little recognition for what they usually do compared to the “best players in baseball” heavy hitters, that when they do something that is NOT in their job description, it’s great to see them do it well.
Sad for Jamie…