Here's hoping the summertime doldrums don't strike the Mariners

SARAH SCOTT

Originally published August 19

It's late summer and Seattle Mariners fans are getting jerked up and dangled by an adversary that's never in uniform.

We're time victims.

Until October, there is nothing to do but wait for the weeks to scuttle on.

The glitzy success of the All-Star game is past.

The division pennant could have been hung out at Safeco Field months ago.

The only fresh thrill is watching rookie Joel Pineiro slay right-handers with skill that would wow us in a Cy Young winner, much less a 22-year-old No. 5 starting pitcher.

Time, meanwhile, lurks with this threat: There are hundreds of bullpen pitches to go. Instead of exhaling relief when Kazuhiro Sasaki takes the mound for a save, we now study his face for fatigue.

It's the time of year we want to tumble into the doldrums of summer, but we don't want our M's to follow us down.

No, we want them out there in top form to provide our entertainment while we're doldrum-slumming.

We want to see that winning percentage stay above .700 as incredibly as it's done for most of the season.

Okay, it's selfish to wish for continued alignment of the stars in Lou Piniella's firmament.

Maybe if the Mariners eased up for the next six weeks, they'd be freshly energized for the playoffs in October. For the Wo-- you know what.

If, instead, they play hard every game through Sept. 30 and score wins like clockwork, how can they not be done in when the matchups that matter begin? After all, it's been a long time since March 31.

Recent games have given us hints that this for-all-time team could be vulnerable to a plain old anytime slump.

The flashback in time that happened August 5 on national TV against Cleveland, complete with the ghost of Norm Past, filled us with dread of a downward spiral. Not many of the late innings since then have dispelled it. Too often, the M's have won by the skin of their clenched teeth.

If a time machine showed up, we fans would be tempted to use it. We might fire it up, dial in October and get this wait and worry over with.

Lacking that, we count the days. Sometimes, we find curious pleasure when those days are spent elsewhere. I know of one fan who's eager for a long stretch in Yosemite. That allows nine days in September without any inkling of how the team is doing. Upon return, the regular season, spectacular as it's been, will be that much closer to an end.

So it's hang-on time for Sodo Mojoans. Take a breather if you have to, team. Heck, have a slump if you need it.

But promise us that when October comes, you'll shimmer with the confidence and dazzle that's vaunted you to 50-plus games over .500. Whatever happens between then and now, promise you'll take us to the dance and show us the time of our lives.

Sarah Scott is an Olympia free-lance writer.

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