The Mariners Sort of Kind of Have a Chance

Now...just hear me out here. I know this is very unlikely. But as the ninth-best team in the AL, and as a team a game and a half behind Houston, the eighth-best team in the AL, the Seattle Mariners technically have a shot to make their first playoffs since 2001, ending the longest postseason drought in the MLB. It's a bit tricky, but it could happen.

First of all, why the Mariners now? Well...while we weren't looking, the Mariners developed into an alright team. Now it's not just Shed Long playing like a pro, but now J.P. Crawford, Dylan Moore, Sam Haggerty and Kyle Seager are all doing well and providing a solid, scrappy core. Crawford has 37 hits and a 0.9 WAR, and is playing fantastic defensive baseball. Moore has gone from a bench supporter to a full-on lineup threat, as has Haggerty. And Kyle Seager's having his best season in years, despite the recent downturn in the last month. Additionally, Marco Gonzales is an ace, Justin Dunn and Nick Margevicius are strikeout artists, Justus Sheffield and Ljay Newsome are impressive lower-starters, and Yusei Kikuchi is trying his best.

Even better, the imports are doing pretty well too. Luis Torrens, who they got from SD, has become an impressive starting catcher finally, hitting .240. Phil Ervin has been hitting similarly well since getting here from Cincinnati, and has heated up very recently. And Ty France, finally no longer trapped behind Manny Machado, has come ALIVE in the past week, hitting .364 with 6 RBIs and 12 hits. The team didn't have much depth before, but thanks to some trades, it...sort of does now. This team might be better right now than it has all year.

Now. While they are currently one game behind the Astros, they are also headed for a very tricky few series' with San Francisco, San Diego, Oakland, who they've been playing semi-successfully this week, and Houston, which need to be wins to cement any sort of business. Houston, meanwhile, has two series' with the Rangers and one with the Diamondbacks. So Seattle, sadly, has the tougher schedule coming up, and Houston may still hang onto that playoff spot. But if the baseball gods are seeing this, and if they're seeing how hysterical, wonderful, unpredictable and memorable it would be if the ultra-underdog Mariners slid into the playoffs instead of the overachieving, and cheating, Houston Astros...all I'm saying is it would be nice if some sort of miracle happened. 

I don't look for it often, but...if the Mariners catch fire right now and waltz to the playoffs, that'll be one of the few light spots of this very, very dark year.

Coming Tonight- The man they call Donnie Barrels. 

Custom Card of the Night: Conforto Edition

You know...when I went to a Mets game less than a week ago, I had absolutely no clue it would be the start of something huge for that team.

Similar story. I went to a Giants game in 2010, riiiiight as things were coming together for them. Brian Wilson was just growing the beard, Buster Posey was starting every game, and the lineup was squeezing into place. I didn't think in the middle of july 2010 that I would be witnessing the formation of a potential World Series champion.

Now, the Mets are doing something similar- the week after I went, they're taking off. Granderson and Duda are hitting, Uribe and Cespedes are on the team, the pitching staff is solid (even Barty Colon), and they're winning games. Even better, the Nationals are LOSING GAMES. Which means, the potential Mets Playoff Bid that I thought would be nice for the future...could actually happen.

Now, I've been wrong on mid-season bandwagoning before (see: 2013 Philadelphia Phillies), but this team is pretty well put together, especially for a bunch of guys that were counted out back at the beginning. This team has grown in power since their slide in mid-May, and now they're right back in it, with one of the toughest teams in the league, the Washington Nationals.

I have no idea what's gonna happen from here, and that fact excites me. It could go a number of ways, but part of me really wants the Mets to take this one. It would be nice knowing a fun team like this Mets one could be considered a postseason threat for once.

Coming Tomorrow- The Baltimore Orioles have gone to the team that almost went to the World Series to a team in danger of being blocked by an inferior Blue Jays team. Here's their rejuvenated catcher.

They Can't Be Serious

I haven't seen enough people talking about this. However, since I'm the resident Stadium Club expert here, I figured I might as well go for it.

People have been comparing this announcement, which is basically pointing to the return of Stadium Club in 2014, to the announcement in 2008, which announced the return of the set, with a new limited version for hobby stores.

The difference is that back then we were asking for it.

Back in 2008, the cardblogosphere was absolutely adamant about there being another Stadium Club sets. There were online petitions, boycotts, etc, etc. And after actually HEARING THE COLLECTORS, Topps brought back the product, and ruined it.

Now, nobody's asking for another Stadium Club set, because we know what happens when we ask Topps to bring back things. They screw 'em all up. However, not asking could work to our advantage.

Because, in my opinion, the decision in 2008 was rushed by the collectors, the set that came out that year, with the exception of the photography, was an overcrowded, generally uncollectable mess. This year, I don't think they were rushed. They had time to think of the idea, plan out the set, and plan exactly what they were going to do, without a sea of collectors clawing at them from afar.

So, does this mean that the potential 2014 Stadium Club will be a good set? Too soon to say.

I mean, we've only seen one card. Not a sellsheet, not a checklist, not a parallel manifesto. Just a single, solitary insert. Once I get more info, I'll form an opinion about it.

For right now...I'm just patiently waiting for more news. And hoping it isn't worse than the 2008 set.

3.5 games back

 

Baseball is a crazy sport. It's also an unpredictable one.

It took bonafide lunatics to convince me, back in May, that the Phillies would wind up in the playoffs. And by a bonafide lunatics, I mean several die-hard Phils fans who live in my neighborhood.  Could they not see the standings? Could they not glance at the scoreboard? The Phillies were declining, and fast. Their stars were injured, their other stars were gone, and their team was aging, and inexperienced. I honestly couldn't see them fighting for a playoff spot.

As I've said many times before, I never get tired of being wrong.

As of today, the Phillies are 3 and a half games behind the Wild Card frontrunners. The phrase being uttered all around my town is simply "It could happen". Because it certainly could. I don't see them clinching the East, but they could theoretically end up in the playoffs anyway.

If they do, it will make the 2012 season one of the most insane seasons in baseball history. A losing Red Sox team! A winning Orioles, A's and Nationals teams! The Angels circling last! The Yankees fighting to stay in it! A rookie being even better than Bryce Harper! It's all incredibly crazy. 

The Phillies getting that wild card would only add to the craziness. If it happens.