 |
| yes sir, there she goes; let's admire that one |
Game seven begins imminently, so let me say now in just these few moments that remain before it what a wonderful thing game six was, and not just Vladdy's homer, or the joyous havoc he caused on the bases (no Vladdy, don't run! that ball in the dirt has not skipped nearly far enough away from Cal Raleigh for you to do so prudently! oh wait no okay he threw it into left field and now you have scored with ease! never mind, Vladdy, great job! [how fortuitous for us all that he was born ready]), or even Addison Barger's two-run shot to bring home Ernie Clement's two-out triple, or any of those obviously wonderful things, but consider please, if you will, young Trey Yesavage, in literally just his sixth major-league start, who kept his head sufficiently amidst a considerable amount of traffic on the basepaths in the early going to induce three—three!—consecutive inning-ending double plays, two of them in near-NOBLETIGER fashion from the perspective of the Seattle Mariners (they were OOBLETIGERs, I suppose, in that the bases-loaded-ending-in-team-incapable-of-getting-easy-run[s] began with one out in each such instance). All of that, obviously, could have just as easily gone the other way should even one of those three crucial groundballs found a hole; or if the Mariners had not uncharacteristically kicked the ball around for three costly errors; or had either Varland or Hoffman faltered even slightly in relief (which they extremely did not); or really any number of little things along those lines (or others!). But just about everything broke our way, which, along with everybody doing an especially good job, is really all you need to win a postseason baseball game. "We’re trying to win one game in a row," John Schneider said ahead of game six. "We’ve done that ninety-nine times this year." Now that they've made it an even hundred, would it be to much to ask for just the one more? It might well be, but at the same time, I see no harm in merely asking, right? Shane Bieber, in whom my faith is unwavering, takes the hill, with literally everybody available out of the pen, up to and including Kevin Gausman and Max Scherzer (let's get nuts). Of course, the most agreeable outcome would be one that sees the Blue Jays ahead early and easily and in such comfort that nothing weird has to happen at all, but if things are even remotely close beyond the earliest innings, I hope to see starters—perhaps exclusively starters—up in the bullpen in the truest, darkest, yet at the same time most exuberant spirit of game seven. Could be good!
KS
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