We got a front runner!

Yes, we got us a front runner.  …but he stands on the brink as we write this.

It’s a week into the postseason, but it only took us a day to wonder just what the hell is going on. The box score of the Yankees-Red Sox wild card game contained exactly zero ex-Mariners on either squad. For a couple of teams that regularly feature former M’s like Varitek while we slobber over bums like Slocumb… wait, we digress.

The next night, the Dodgers-Cards matchup, was a different story, wasn’t it? Continue reading “We got a front runner!”

Chalky Topps cards and miracles

I’m on the corner in front of Katterman’s Drug Store. They took one look and ran me out after I paid at the register, caked in dust and sweat from an afternoon on the diamond.

So now here I am. Debating.

Do I rip open this pack of Topps in the August swelter? Risk pissing Mom off even worse than I know she is? I’m late already. Why not take a look? Or do I hop back on my bike, sprint home, beg forgiveness, bolt up the stairs, and take refuge in the bathtub?

One foot on the pedal, I straddle the seat and… no. No! I gotta see who I got. The waxy wrap falls away. Funny, the bubblegum feels like cardboard, and the cards smell like bubblegum.

Tom Who? Why do they fill these packs with rookies?

Continue reading “Chalky Topps cards and miracles”

Who will be 2018 Ex-Mariner of the Year?

The petunia withereth, the Mariners choketh. And it’s only the bottom of the 5th®

Take heart, Mariner fans!

The excitement of the 2018 season is just getting started. Now that the Mariners are officially, gracefully, thankfully, mercifully, and without fanfare, eliminated from the postseason, who will be named Playin’ In The Dirt’s 2018 Ex-Mariner of the Year? Continue reading “Who will be 2018 Ex-Mariner of the Year?”

Mariners in the Playoffs!

Nope. Just nope.

Not those guys. But there are Ms in the postseason this year. Seriously. Once a Mariner, always a Mariner.

Sixteen — enough for a questionable starting rotation, a damn fine bullpen, and a full contingent in the field — went into the playoffs last week on seven different teams. Plus a couple honorable mentions:

Yep. That’s Ron.

Gotta start with Ron Fairly, whose 14-year color commentary career with the M’s broadcast team got him the nickname Ron Fairly Obvious as he bleated wisdom like “When ya strike out — nothing happens!”

Continue reading “Mariners in the Playoffs!”