The other day lightning hit my house. At first, I was afraid that my computer had been fried, but after booting up, everything appeared to be working fine. But, upon further review, I noticed an extra file on my computer that I hadn't put there. After virus scanning it, I opened it up in notepad. It definitely reads like something I would've written. It's the date, however, that really made me wonder.

April 1, 2010

"The Miracle Ms" by Sandy Hemenway

As a new season is set to unfold, it is only natural to reflect on the previous campaign. Of course, this time around is extra special, because no one predicted, or could've predicted the surreal events that unfolded in the Summer of Ought Nine. After the debacle of 2008 it would've been difficult to have lower expectations for a new season.

Oh, getting Griffey back was a crowd pleasing move. But, the crowd understood that they were getting an homage, not a rerun. There was no "savior" signing like Bedard. No, this time around the new guys were Guttierez, Branyan, Endy Chavez. No "saviors" in here. These were stopgaps and prospects. These were guys that were supposed to simply turn the ship around and maybe undo some of the damage done by the previous regime. Like strands of spaghetti against the hourglass ...

Of course, the blather about improving the defense thrilled a few wingnuts on the web, but everyone REALLY knew that nothing significant could occur without a big bat - excuse me - without three or four big bats being added to the mix. There was some hope in the air surrounding "Z" and "W" -- but it was more like moving to the next grade in elementary school after having that worst nightmare of a teacher the year before. You didn't really care what the new teacher was like. Simply not being the old one was salvation in and of itself.

Looking back on Ought Nine will forever be to those lucky enough to live in the great Northwest of America a magical moment in time. Like a movie script, a twisted replay of the 40th anniversary of the Miracle Mets, Seattle's run to the title was richer in plot twists than a Ludlum novel. But this time around, as the Universe continued adding plot thickener, the cake it was baking only got sweeter.

So, how does one go about retelling such a magical mystery tour of that taken by the 2009 Seattle Mariners? Well, it's baseball. It's a marathon, not a sprint. So, you begin in April.

APRIL - 2009:

There was no foreshadowing of what was to come that first week. Felix wasn't sharp, and Liriano was. Opening with a 5-2 loss was only significant in that it was exactly the opposite of the first game from 2008, (a 5-2 win over Texas). By April 12th, after 7 road games, the club was 2-5, the offense was putrid, the bullpen spastic, and it seemed like every day there was somebody else being listed as "questionable" due to some random minor injury.

The forces of evil seemed to have gathered early for the Ms, as the injuries ended up leading to Carlos Silva being announced as the starter for the home opener. Getting crushed 8-1 in your home opener is just not fun. But, then Washburn won and RRS pitched well in a no-decision that F-Gut won in the 12th with some great base running. From 2-6 to 4-6 in two nights - and a series win against the Angels.

The rest of April was alot like those first two weeks. By the end of the month, the club was 9-13. Even the good news was bad news. Johjima was hitting like Johjima again. But, that was keeping Clement in AAA longer than most liked. Chavez seemed to have become the fulltime LF, (more angst from the blog-o-sphere). The only real bright spot offensively in April was Branyan killing RHPs as advertised. Morrow was doing okay as closer, though the dreams of Morrow becoming a dominant starter had been dashed before the season started.

MAY - 2009: (start 9-13)

This was the month where things started changing, but not in a good way. Beltre got hot, as the contract year appeared to kick in. But, the bullpen became a natural disaster area, except for Morrow. The rotation was pitching well enough to win, but the pen became the evil twin of 2007, finding new and excrutiating ways to lose winnable games. Ten games into May, and the club was 12-20 and morale was at an all-time low. Enter, AROD. Of, rather, exit AROD. After waiting 5 weeks for his production, Alex pulled a hamstring ... severely, just after returning from the DL. The combination of that injury, plus the planned end-of-season surgery led the Yankees to making a tough call, quickly. They were in first, but Cody Ransom had been a major disappointment. So, they called Seattle.

It wasn't just AROD, though. Pettitte had a sore arm, and Seattle had the perfect combo to trade -- Beltre and Washburn for Swisher and Edwar Ramirez. Tui had been tearing up Tacoma, and the club was clearly going nowhere in 2009, so the chance to dump salary, shore up the bullpen, and do something to plug the gaping hole in left was a win/win trade on every front.

Of course, with Washburn gone, the rotation was iffy. Morrow was in the pen, but appeared to be healthy, (finally), but nothing else had worked. The season might be over already, but at least the club was going to have a nice chance to give the kids a solid chance at learning their craft. Of course, as soon as Beltre and Wash were overboard, talk of whether to trade Bedard or hold onto him for draft picks became the primary talking points. Thing is -- the club had different ideas. Garrett Olson was brought in to fill the #5 slot.

Sweeping Texas in Arlington pushed the club to 15-20, two of three when Boston came to town, and a split when the Angels visited had the club at 19-23 when interleague play began. The upstart Giants were first up on the agenda. Zito won. Lincecum won. Johnson won. The San Fran sweep was a major downer, of course. But, it was bittersweet, getting to see Unit win one more game in Seattle, in all likelihood, his final game in Safeco. Finishing the month at 22-29 wasn't too bad, all things considered. The offense was sub-par, but not quite as bad as feared. The rotation was actually really starting to come around, as RRS was surprising just about everyone. It was the bullpen that "W" had still not been able to twist into an asset. As May ended, most of the hope was that the club could win 70 and maybe Clement could find his stroke, (which was still more miss than hit two months in).

June -- 2009: (start 22-29)

On June 1st, Baltimore came to town. Adam Jones decided to show the fans exactly what a collosal blunder trading him away had been. He'd go 7 for 12 with 3 dingers during the three game series. Funny thing, though. Skip had tried about every other combination in the bullpen. To begin June, Batista was finally DFAed, and then "W" opted to use Cesar Jimenez as the setup man, with Edwar Ramirez as the 7th inning guy. Despite AJ's heroics, the club won 3 in a row, two by single runs. The club had been terribly short of 1-run wins during the first two months of the season. The other significant move was Ronny Cedeno supplanting YuBet as the starting SS.

Three more 2-1 series wins followed, Twinkies at home, then Orioles and Rockies on the road. San Diego, having a perfectly miserable season, ended the good times by taking two of three in Petco. When the Diamondback followed up by taking another 2-1 series, it would've been easy for the club to pack it in. But, the personality of the team had changed as the season progressed. Instead of getting depressed in response to being shoved back when they were so close to .500, this team got ANGRY. Though the Mariners would lose the first game when San Diego came to visit, the beanball war and subsequent bench-clearing brawl was very much NOT SOP. The club crushed the Padres in games 2 and 3. Sweeping the Dodgers in LA took the club to .500, and when they beat the Yankees in their new digs on June 30th, the club was suddenly and shockingly 39-38 and on a 6-game winning streak. But, the Gods must be Crazy, and it was during that win against the Yankees that Johjima separated his shoulder -- out six weeks, probably seven including rehab. Clement was officially the starting catcher and Rob Johnson was his backup. It had taken Clement half a season to find his stroke again, in AAA, and nobody was very confident he'd continue hitting in the majors, except perhaps, Clement.

July -- 2009 (start 39-38)

In the dozen games before the All-Star break, the club didn't miss a beat, going 7-5, and giving them a 46-43 record at the break. Though Ichiro didn't have the best numbers in the world, the fan voting managed to get him into the starting lineup. He would be the only All-Star from Seattle. Griffey was having a ho-hum season, but not of All-Star quality, and though Lopez could've been chosen from the weak 2B options, he wasn't. Felix and Bedard had pitched well, but were both snubbed, (this happens when your bullpen keeps blowing leads and preventing you from getting Wins). If the club needed just one more incentive to be ticked off at the rest of the world, this was probably the perfect one. While the other also-ran teams would come back from their vacation with a sigh and a shrug, the Mariners would come back with something to prove. And they didn't care that they'd start the second half 8 games behind the Angels.

July -- second half (start 46-43)

Cleveland and Detroit had turned high hopes into carnage in the first half, as the Central had become a 2-team race between the Twinkies and the ChiSox, with the surprising Royals in third. The schedule could not have possibly been more conducive to creating momentum. The Tribe and Indians and Toronto and Texas. That was 15 games against teams that were either genuinely awful or so far out that they simply didn't care that much anymore. The club would finish July at 56-48.

August -- (start 56-48)

Though they lost the final game of July, the club would win 5 straight road games to begin August. When you win 15 of 20 games, regardless of the competition, the sporting world WILL notice. There had been a lot of discussion about fishing for a big name bat at the deadline. But, the winning streak came so late that there was little ground work done ahead of time. The closest deal was one that would've brought Pedro into the rotation. But, the price was too steep.

The glamour streak ended, but the club continued to win series, going 13-10 the rest of the month, and ending August with an improbable 74-58 record. When Cordero was added to the bullpen in the middle of the month, it was one of the perfect moments. The pressure seemed to be getting to Morrow, who had been fine before the club was an actual threat to make the post-season. But, when his control faltered during August, having Cordero come on board could not have been better timed. Though there was no miraculous deadline deal, "Z" had made his deadline deal way back in March.

Meanwhile, Felix and Bedard were playing their own personal game of "Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better," while the rest of the rotation continued to alternate good and mediocre outings. The offense was never going to be much better than average, but the defense had come around huge, and the Seattle pitching was slowly marching up the stat sheets to stake their claim as the best staff in baseball.

September - 2009: (start 74-58)

Being a Cinderella team is an interesting experience. Like the Rays in 2008, a lot of road fans would pull for Seattle. At least that helped a little before September. September was a brutal jungle for the club to whack its way through. Division rivals never give you a break. After a dozen games against division foes came six games against division leaders. That was eighteen holes that even Tiger would have trouble with.

Having crawled soooo close to the Angels, that eighteen game stretch was the stuff of legends. The club would only go 10-8. But it was the WAY they did it that was so incredibly beautiful to watch. Each time it looked like a losing streak was about to start, the club would claw back for an extra inning victory. Or they'd get a pinch-hit HR from a September call-up to stay in the race. But, the Angels were not ready to simply roll over and die. They no longer had a 62-save lock-down closer, but they still had great pitching, good defense and timely hitting.

Three games down, then five, then back to three. Boston had run away with the East, and thanks to Beltre, and a mysterious collapse by Tampa, the Yankees were a veritable lock for the wild card. Making the post-season wasn't going to happen unless the Ms could pass the Angels.

September 24th - three games behind with 10 to go. A 2-hitter by Felix. A 4-hitter by Bedard, and a game-winning 8th inning shot by Griffey gave the team 3 of 4 from the Blue Jays, and the lead was down to 2.

September 29th - the club comes home for its final 6 games, a trio against Oakland, and the final three against the Rangers. The Angels finished with 3 against Texas at home, but had its final three in Oakland. With all its history of failure when the games really mattered, this time around, the atmosphere was different. The magic of the playoff run in 2007 was a pale echo of the magic surrounding the club this time. There was magic that allowed everyone - players, coaches and fans to enjoy every moment - knowing somehow that good things would happen, and knowing that even should the clock strike midnight, there would be no regrets. The years of veteran entitlement and of settling for second best had already been excised even before the final six games began.

Oakland simply wasn't prepared for what happened to them. They expected the pitching. They knew that thanks to the off day on the 28th that they would face the big three - Felix, Bedard and RRS. They knew runs would be tough to come by. What they weren't ready for was the explosion of runs. Branyan, Griffey and Swisher went back-to-back-to-back in the first inning, and THEN things got ugly. When the dust had settled Oakland had been gutted and fried 8-1, 12-3, 9-2. The lead was down to one with three to go.

Maybe it was getting embarrassed so badly by the Ms. Maybe it was simply destiny. But Seattle continued its winning streak by sweeping Texas by similarly undramatic scores. Meanwhile, the Angels went from one up to two down, losing their final three to finish 90-72. Seattle, at 92-70 were division champs. It couldn't get better than this - could it?

POST-SEASON: 2009

Sweeping the BoSox was a bit of a surprise even given the momentum the club had built up heading into post-season play. But fate was still having fun, as the Yankees upset the division champ ChiSox. This meant the Yankees, including Beltre and Washburn, would be the opponents in the ALCS.

This series wasn't going to be so easy. Sabathia was a nasty lefty. Pettitte was back and healthy, and Washburn was available. The Mariners had gotten a really great lefty-heavy lineup assembled, which was quietly dangerous against righties. But good lefty starters gave the team trouble. The Yankees were set up with CC, Burnett and Pettitte in games 1-3. The sweep of the BoSox had allowed Seattle to counter with its own big three of Felix, Bedard and RRS. While RRS didn't have the "stuff" of the other two, somehow in 2009, he had learned to pitch, and was a guy that nobody seemed to want to hit against. The Yankees took both games started by lefties.

Game 4 was the game that could spell doom, or take the drama to even higher levels. Instead of gambling on Washburn, it was Wang versus Silva. There wouldn't be a lot of Ks in this one. There was a lot of stellar defense, however. Cedeno had really blossomed once given the starting nod for the team, and he put on an amazing display behind Silva. There were jokes that the wind was blowing DOWN for that game, because practically every swing taken ended up as a groundball. The Ms won in 12.

Game 5 was the one that did the Yankees in. CC was cruising along fine until Swisher banged a 3-run HR out in the 5th. A 2-run shot by Tui in the 8th sealed the deal. The final game was a 7-2 anti-climax. The Mariners in the World Series. Going worst to first had happened on occasion. But going from 101 losses to the World Series -- THAT was new.

WORLD SERIES: -- 2009:

Of course, in a year when the entire country began to rise from the ashes of its own idiocy, baseball, as it often had in the past, led the way. It wasn't enough to have one Cindarella story and miracle turn-around. In the National League, San Francisco had run a nearly identical script, hitching its trolley car to a killer rotation, and a laughable offense that was just good enough to leave the rest of the NL crying. They, of course, were greatly aided by a division where an 84 win season was enough to squeeze into the playoffs. Then, the pitching simply suffocated the competition in the playoffs. End result, one of the most improbable World Series matchups of all time.

If there was going to be a World Series to officially end the unofficial Steroid Era, this would be the series. Not a single hitter had managed 30 HRs during the season. Both clubs were built on pitching and defense with just enough hitting to get by. Seattle was in the somewhat strange position of bringing the superior offense to the plate.

Zito had finished out the NLCS, so the Giants choice for starting the Series was between Lincecum and Unit. The double-dip of experience and leftyness put Randy Johnson being the first pitcher that the Seattle Mariners would ever face in the World Series. The 6-game ALCS had messed up the Seattle rotation, though, Felix and Bedard had won the final two games to make the series, removing them as options to start the series. So, the Seattle Big 3 rotation became RRS, Felix and Bedard. The next-gen against a Hall-of-Famer who had already performed on the ultimate stage created a nice marketing spin, but it didn't create a good game. RRS was behind 4-0 before he settled down. That was three more runs than Unit would need, and Seattle was down 1-0 in the Series and had lost home field.

Game 2 was Lincecum versus Felix. This time it was Lincecum who was a little tight, but the early 2-0 lead vanished with The King's only real mistake of the night, so it was bullpen versus bullpen in a 2-2 tie after the 7th. When San Fran manufactured a run in the top of the 11th it could've spelled doom for the Mariners, but this club was one that had learned to thrive on adversity. A bunt single by Ichiro, follwed by another bunt by F-Gut put two on with none out when Sandoval bobbled the pickup. Two strikeouts later, Ken Griffey Junior was Seattle's last hope, and he delivered a 3-run shot to tie the series.

Game 3 in 'Frisco had Bedard and Zito. When San Fran walked away with a 2-1 win, to put them ahead in the series 2-1, speculation about game 4 starters reached a fever pitch. Which manager would opt for short rest? The answer? Neither.

Game 4: Matt Cain had been a solid, but sometimes erratic pitcher all year, racking up lots of Ks, but with control issues that left him with a losing record. Silva was a photo-negative, the ultimate control pitcher, rarely walking anyone, but always walking a tight rope which relied primarily on the hope rather than expectation that the hits the opponents would get would be spread out instead of bunched. Silva wasn't exactly revered in Seattle, though his performance in game 4 of the ALCS had earned him a little respect. The talk-radio buzz was primarily filled with first-guessing "W"s decision to stick with his rotation. Silva was cool as a cucumber, (as were the fans, on a night with a temperature of 42), while Cain was tight as a tick, and went to get a hot shower in the middle of the third, with Seattle up 5-0 on its way to an 8-3 victory.

Game 5-7: RRS, Felix, Bedard vs. Unit, Lincecum and Zito. Unit beat RRS again, though the kid pitched much better this time. The series would return to Seattle for (hopefully), two must-win games for the Mariners.

Game 6: A rare error by Renteria led to an unearned for Seattle in the bottom of the first. But Lincecum and King Felix both had their A games for this one. The two would set a combined record for strikeouts in a World Series game, (30), and "W" didn't even bother to get Cordero up in the 9th as Felix sealed the 1-0 CGSO with his 16th K.

Game 7: Bedard and Zito had similar stories. Both had excelled and then were tossed aside, and expected to be saviors. Both had been severe disappointments initially in their new homes. But, in 2009, each had managed to deliver the excellence that had been hoped for. For 5 innings, they hung zeroes on the scoreboard. Then the Giants got a run on a Fred Lewis double in the 6th. Ichiro would manufacture a run almost single-handedly in the bottom of the inning, walking, stealing second, moving to third on a groundout, and scoring on a sac fly.

At the end of 8, Zito was done. But San Fran had a lot of lefties in the pen, and they were doing their best to hold onto that lefty-lefty edge. Instead of bringing in their righty closer (Wilson) in the tie, they went with Affeldt. With two outs in the bottom of the 9th, Mike Sweeney singled. Griffey stepped up with a chance to be the hero. He walked. Two on and Endy Chavez, a pinch-runner, is in scoring position. Tui came to the plate. Wilson replaces Affeldt. Branyan replaces Tui. Branyan is walked intentionally, loading the bases. And it all came down to ... Ronny Cedeno. "W" could've pulled Clement off the bench, to get a lefty up to the plate, but the bench was starting to get thin already. It was a 2-1 pitch that he slapped into right field that ended the game.

Of course, in this miraculous season, the final blow would have to be delivered by the most unlikely of heroes. The Hollywood script would've had Junior end it, or maybe Tui. But the real world takes turns we cannot predict. Baseball, in its unique fashion, had once again delivered a miracle season and transmogrified one of its lowliest players into its biggest star.

America, the country built by the hard work of the discarded and unwanted from every corner of the globe again showed the brilliance of allowing everyone to get a fair shot. Two dismissed teams had met, each hoping to be crowned the best. Each team sprinkled with faces from different countries, and dotted with players thought unworthy by others. And the final, magnificent moment provided by a guy struggling to utilize every last inch of his limited potential just to hold onto the tiniest shred of the dream of his life.

Who knows what 2010 will bring? Will the economy continue to improve? Probably. Hopefully. Will the miracle Ms of ought-nine repeat? Probably not. But, there are miracles around every corner in America. The miracle of the crack baby breaking free from the chains of poverty to build a better and easier future for her children is certainly a more meaningful and powerful example of the power of the American Dream. But, baseball is important. It is moments like Ronny Cedeno winning a miracle season that demonstrate how possible the impossible can actually be. It is not trivial, because it is these moments that we will share with each other for the next 40 years, reminding us all that we all can be a part of something larger and more magnificent than we can imagine. And sometimes, regardless of the outcome, the real miracle is that we can choose to believe in a brighter future and better outcome tomorrow.