The fire sale on the Mariners roster takes no account of the feelings of the fans, the burning desire to grab that playoff spot with the men on the club right now, the love we feel as family for these devoted ballplayers who’ve given at least a piece of their lives, bitter as it may be with all the losing, to us. But it’s all business. Stiff upper lip, chaps. And what not.
Here at Playin’ in the Dirt, we had to blow off a little folk-song steam along with all the tears, so here, as our gift to you, our one or two verified readers out there… well, you know the tune…
Anybody here seen my old friend Abraham?
Did we really trade him for Denorfia?
Rizzer promised all of us, he was so speedy…
But I just looked around and he was gone.
Anybody here seen my old friend Martín?
Can you tell me where his smiling face has gone?
You say he went to the Cubs back in August ‘17?
Hell, I just looked around and he was gone
Anybody here seen my old friend Juan?
Is it true, Nicasio too? C’mon…
He struggled in the second half but still we all believed
Seems like he just got here, and now he’s gone
Anybody here seen my old friend Edgar?
He’s been a part of us, since 1982
Stoic on the top step of the dugout there with Servais
He wanted to step back, and now he’s gone
Didn’t you love what this team used to stand for?
Didn’t Refuse to Lose find the good in all of us?
Can’t we still believe?
Someday soon, in the playoffs again one day
Anybody here seen my old friend Robi?
Tell me, is New York really where he’s gone?
I thought I saw him walking out, saying goodbye,
With Abraham and Martín and Juan
…and Big Maple, and Nelly, and Jean, and Pazos, and Edwin, and Denard, and Erasmo, and Guillermo, and Zunino, and Casey, and Alex…
…and Chris…
…and Munenori…
I guess this fire sale is necessary. With a squirt of WD40 this crew might have qualified for a one-and-done playoff (probably landing on the “done”). I feel worst for Zunino, not because I think he’s been mistreated, but because he was THAT close, a great defensive catcher, and just couldn’t find the trigger.
I think ownership has been the drag on this team from its inception. I keep thinking if they’d have given Piniella that one more bat he was asking for, we’d have at least had one world series, and Piniella for a lot more years.
At least Spring Training will be interesting.