Getting Used to Disappointment

Last night I attended the Mariners game against the Cardinals.  Ben and I kept crowing about how great the post-game fireworks were going to be, based on our experience from last year at an M’s game.  When the M’s pulled out the victory  we cheered but sat smugly in our seats while others around us, apparently unaware of the fireworks still to come, got up to leave.

Old Detroit:  W 1, L 1; 14 – 10. (.348, .404, .500; 7.7 ip, 5 er.)  Madison Bumgarner had, for him, a disappointing day: 6.3 ip, 3 er.  Erasmo Ramirez had one, too — 1.3 ip , 2 er.  So a Happy Edgar Martinez Day with the W’s ace on the mound ended in a split doubleheader.

Portland:  W, 9 – 4. (.321, .368, .566; no pitching).  Already I am having trouble carrying my theme through the entire post.  What could the Rosebuds possibly be disappointed about on a day they won big and gained games in the standings?  That exactly one of their 12 hitters failed to reach base safely?  Maybe that they got no pitching?  Are they feeling so entitled already that a 0.1  game gain in the standings leaves them inconsolable?  Sheesh.  There are 86 games left in the season.  At the pace they gained yesterday, they’ll be 7.5 games ahead at the end of the season.

Haviland: W 2, L (-1); 3 – (-4).  (.259, .355 .407; 18 ip, 0 er.)  Wow!  Two shutouts pitched  in one game!  Carrasco did 9 of them alone.  Gausman needed 1.3 innings of help from Enny Romero to get his 9 innings done scoreless. The Dragons won 2, erasing a loss and 0.6 games in the standings.  Nothing but blue skies — right?  You’re not still grumbling about being in third place,  are you?

Canberra:  L, 2 – 2. (.200, .245 .340;  7 ip, 1 er).  The disappointment in Canberra is palpable from here on the other side of the globe.  They were cruising along in first place until displaced by the Jackie Bradley affair.  Now they’ve sunk to fourth, 7.1 games out, and made no progress even though they got very good pitching.

Pittsburgh: W, 16 – 8. (.487, .535, .949;  5.7 ip, 5 er). Stunning offense with stunning results. Hard to see the disappointment in this case — unless you are Jose Altuve.  What a loser that guy is!  He made an out! Out of his four hits, he got no triples!  For his last hit, needing a triple for the cycle, he tripped at second base when his helmet flew off and hit his feet. He fell close enough to the bag to get back before being tagged out, so he had to settle for his second double. That guy can’t do anything right!  A source of continual disappointment.

Flint Hill:  W 1, L 1; 8 – 5. (.194, .286, .226;  8 ip, 0 er).  Where do people find all these pitchers capable of throwing shutouts, like Drew Pomeramz?  The Tornado’s expressed their disappointment the other day when they offered to trade most of their roster.  Wasn’t Pomeranz part of the Flint Hill garage sale?

Cottage:  W, 5 – 4.  (.265, .395, .382; no pitching).  The Head Cheese has announced two objectives for this year: be mediocre (.500 or better), and beat the Pears. If today were the last day f the season, the Cheese would have ticked every item off their 2016 to-do list.  So I suppose we could say the Cheese are disappointed the season isn’t over today.

Peshastin:  W, 5 – 4. (.237, .326, .447; 6.7 ip.. 3 er).  Middling offense, middling pitching, a middling .500 winning percentage, a position smack in the middle of the NL West.  The Chief Pear is on record — I’ve heard him declare this many times myself — that virtue lies in moderation, at the balance point between extremes.  I’ve also heard him say it is better to be a miserable philosopher than the happiest pig in the world.  So, unless there’s something about moderation that isn’t as advertised, I’m sure the entire Pear community isn’t disappointed about their team’s position in 8th place, behind the Cheese.

Kaline: W, 7 – 7. (.318, .388, .500;  1 ip, 0 er).   The Wizard lives with an outstanding woman in idyllic retirement in paradise — surely he is immune to disappointment.  I have not heard that he was at the game last night expecting fireworks.  If anyone caxn take pleasure in the small graces of life — say, Jonathan Villar going 3 for 4 with a double, or Alex Avila waking from his long sleep to hit a double and a homer in four trips to the plate — wouldn’t it be the Wizard?

D.C.:  W, 3 – 3.  (.226, .294, .290; 10.7 ip, 4 er).  The Balk picked up their 25th win in their 75th game and stayed ahead of the Twins, close on the heels of the Braves.  I hope Balkans were not expecting a championship their first year — beating an established MLB team or two would be a pretty good showing for an EFL expansion team.