"
We shouldn’t say Brandon Bantz doesn’t deserve [to play at the major league level], or disparage what he’s accomplished in his career. Sometimes in order to get promoted, you simply have to show up every day, work hard, and opportunities may come. Today’s that day.
Bantz may never get another chance to put on a Major League Baseball uniform after this stint, but today he’ll sit with players who play at a level he has surely dreamed of playing at his entire life. That’s a magical thing.
"
— Brandon Bantz Lives his Dream, Gutierrez Re-Lives His Nightmare - Lookout Landing
"‘Jason Bay isn’t toast’
This, of course, is the most obvious lesson, on account of Jason Bay hasn’t played like toast. He hasn’t played like anything resembling toast. I don’t actually quite understand the expression, myself, just like I don’t understand the expression of being “on fire.” I certainly don’t understand how they can co-exist as they do. If you’re toast, you’re done. If you’re on fire, you’re performing quite ably. What does fire yield but extremely dark toast? If Jason Bay were on fire, would he not be toasty? Does “toast” refer to when you’re not on fire anymore? Does one go right from being on fire to being finished? And don’t most people enjoy toast? I don’t think these were thought through. I don’t think these were thought through at all."
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Jeff Sullivan’s meandering paragraphs continue to be my favorite thing in the Mariners blogosphere.
The Jason Bay Lessons | U.S.S. Mariner
"The Mariners could certainly eliminate fan antipathy by winning games, there’s no doubt about that. But after so many years of futility, the sentiment they’re most in danger of treading upon is fan apathy. People don’t care that the M’s suck anymore. They’ve stopped coming to games, they’re not tuning into increasingly-frequent blowout losses, they really do have more important things to worry about than a last-place baseball team."
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When your customer base doesn’t care, it’s a million times worse than if they’re pissed off. Coca-Cola recovered from New Coke. Hell, they may have even been helped by it in the long run. It’s much harder to recover, though, once people have decided they’re done.
The Mariners and Their Trolls | Seattle Sportsnet
