On Sept. 11, the Mariners trail the Braves in the bottom of the ninth. They’ve already blown a 6–1 lead in front of a rowdy, near-capacity home crowd. Many in attendance have returned to T-Mobile Park only recently, flush with cautious optimism born from knowing better while they reach for their maxed-out emotional credit cards once more.
If the playoffs started today, the Mariners would be in, ending the longest playoff drought in professional sports. But there’s still a month to go, meaning plenty of time for another promising season to collapse.
The M’s are facing closer Kenley Jansen, a three-time All-Star, and their center fielder is stalking the dugout, whistling and screaming and waving his arms. We will compete! Believe! We got this!
