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Monday 
05 October 2009
a satisfying conclusion
wait, i’m not ready.
i’m not ready for it to be over, or to look ahead to whatever might be next.
this has been too much fun, and too much work, and too much to assimilate, and too much to let go.
i’m not ready to say goodbye to the 2009 seattle mariners.
what? you thought i was talking about something else?
the mariners just left the field after beating the texas rangers in the last game of the regular season. felix hernandez earned his 19th win of the year, and may have locked up a cy young award as well.
ken griffey jr., in his last at-bat of the game, singled up the middle. if retirement speculation is accurate, it was also the last at-bat of a wondrous career. after the game, as the players lined up for high-fives and hugs, junior was wearing sunglasses. they didn’t hide the fact that he was crying, as if he, too, wasn’t ready for it to be over.
after losing 101 games in 2008, the mariners finished 2009 at 85-77. those numbers, however, don’t do justice to their turnaround. the ‘08 mariners were a smorgasbord of suck. start to finish, their effort was awful, and the games were often unwatchable.
this year, in addition to the 24-game improvement, the team was consistently fun to watch. they didn’t hit much, but the defense was often spectacular. the pitching, from the starters through mark lowe in the 8th and david aardsma in the 9th, was tough as nails.
they lost some games they shouldn’t have, but also rallied to win some they had no business winning. and you knew, day in and day out, that the team was working its ass off.
the mariners will have to make changes in 2010, but that can wait–a little while. for now, i’m satisfied with how far they came, how much they improved.
on a parallel track, the five-year run of transcendental floss also is coming to an end. i’ve said many times that i’ve gotten far more out of this endeavor than i gave to it–i don’t know how, but it’s true. that kind of thing doesn’t happen very often in this life, and i’m profoundly thankful for it.
since i never really expected anybody to show up and read, i thank those of you who did. every comment was a pleasant surprise, because you showed up and took time to respond. i appreciate that, as well.
i’m not ready for it to be over–or for the next thing to begin–but it’s time.
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