Randall on Baseball

Rick Randall is a Stanwood resident whose passions include his wife and children... and baseball. Beginning with his first Little League baseball game, Randall has been immersed in the sport on all levels. He shares his thoughts with other fan-atics on his blog and in his column in North County Outlook.

As I watched the Mariners stumble down the stretch the past few weeks, I often asked myself a question: "Why am I watching this terrible team? Why am I letting them ruin my mood?" OK, that's two questions.

True, the Mariners were terrible this season - all season long. I witnessed the 101st and final loss in person with my family last Sunday. So why is it that I was not only watching, but even spending some hard-earned money and a full day's worth of traveling with two young kids to go and watch the worst team in the American League, you may ask?

The answer is simple: I was searching for silver linings.

"Every cloud has a silver lining." That is how the old idiom goes - it's been around for who knows how long, and it is repeated countless times by countless people for countless reasons each day. It is that little voice in the back of your head saying, "Things could be worse, ya know."

And if there ever was a dark, dreary, ominous cloud of a season for the Seattle Mariners and their fans, it was the 2010 season. But many fans, like myself, aren't ready to give up and turn in our Mariner fan cards just yet. We watch as much as we can stomach, we spend way too much money for parking, tickets and food, we spend our precious little free time watching the team that we once loved dearly, hoping that we can find a reason to love them once again.

And you know what? I think I found some reasons over the past few weeks.

True, the team was a stinker down the stretch, as it was all season. The 6-16 limp to the finish line actually gave the team a worse winning percentage under Daren Brown than it had under the much maligned and kicked-to-the-curb Don Wakamatsu.

But there were still glimmers of hope. Ichiro continued to do what Ichiro does, and got to 200-plus hits yet again. Felix Hernandez was phenomenal all year and didn't let up down the stretch, and he just might get a historic Cy Young Award win for his efforts. Several of the young players showed signs of life down the stretch after their recall from the minor leagues. And how about the performance of the minor league teams, huh?

Look, I am a die-hard fan, but I am also a realist. I realize that there isn't much on the Free Agent market-to-be that can help turn this 101-loss team into a division winner next season. But I am confident that the seeds have been planted with some of the young players in the system - either those that are here now, or those that will be here soon - and that the future is looking brighter.

The bright future won't be bright in 2011 in my opinion, but by 2012, or maybe 2013...

Silver linings, folks. Silver linings.