With just nine days of regular season baseball remaining, we actually have two very heated wild card races remaining with 6 teams involved. In the American League, the Boston Red Sox have dropped 2 in row to the Tampa Bay Rays and have won just twice in their last 10 games, allowing the New York Yankees to presumably capture the AL East title, while the Rays have snuck up to 2 games back of the Sox for the wild card. Even the Anaheim Angels of Orange County Los Angeles California have taken advantage of the Sox slide and are now 4 games back.

In the National League, barring a New York Mets-esque collapse, the Milwaukee Brewers have the NL Central locked up, but the St. Louis Cardinals have taken advantage of the Atlanta Braves’ struggles and have crept to 3.5 games back in the wild card chase, with San Francisco also 4 games out with an 8-game winning streak. And all of this has been my roundabout way of getting to my favorite quote of this MLB season.

“When I was playing shortstop we were in first place. I know that. It is what it is.”

Can you guess who made this bold claim?

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On July 5, in the 10th inning of a 2-2 game against the Oakland Athletics, Franklin Gutierrez and Brendan Ryan scored to give the Seattle Mariners a 4-2 victory and a .500 record. Normally that kind of story wouldn’t be worth telling, but it was also the last time that Seattle has won a game. Since that night in Oakland, the Mariners have lost 17 games in a row. The American League record is 21 (1988 Baltimore Orioles) and the Major League Baseball record is 23 (1961 Philadelphia Phillies). After last night’s 4-1 one-hit loss to C.C. Sabathia and the New York Yankees, it’s looking like a record could be on the cold, rainy Emerald City horizon.

As a St. Louis Cardinals fan, I’m generally regarded as one of the most intelligent, classy and, in this case, sympathetic fans in sports. Seattle fans are a good, knowledgeable and loyal bunch, but they’re never really regarded in the same conversations as the other heartbroken fan bases in sports, like those of the Pittsburgh Pirates or the Cleveland Anythings. After losing the Supersonics to Oklahoma City and Super Bowl XL to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the fans of Seattle sports really only have the Mariners to hang their hopes on (with all due respect to Charlie Whitehurst and your 2011 Seahawks).

That’s why this losing streak is just so sad. Sad enough that I thought we could take a look back at the games, with the help of some really sad pooches. Oh, and for full appreciation of a Mariners fan’s sorrow, play this song in another window.

Special Breaking Score Update: There’s been a new dog added to reflect today’s Yankees-Mariners outcome.

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/glare

Something’s not quite right about baseball season this year. Maybe it needs time to settle. The Baltimore Orioles are 4-0. The Tampa Bay Rays added some big name free agents to their roster and they’ve yet to win a game. Cats and dogs are living together. Mass hysteria.

Whatever the problem, it’s time for the Rays to come together and figure out how to start winning ball games. Tonight they take on the Angels, and because you have never heard a joke about how long that team’s name is before, here is another one: The Los Angeles California Angels of the West Coast of the United States Area Code 90012 But Actually Anaheim.

Today’s Dugout follows.

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When commenter cum laude Upstate Underdog sent in this blog post with the headline, “Angels Promotion ‘Steal 3rd’ Begins with 11-Year-Old Breaking his Arm,” I laughed my ass off, mainly because I’m a detriment to humanity. But this kid whose name is inexplicably Beecher Halliday, put me in my place. After breaking his arm on the first few steps to third base from left field, he gets up and keeps running.

Let’s recap: a sixth-grader BREAKS HIS ARM IN FRONT OF 30,000 PEOPLE, only to get up and keep running. Beecher, it’s people like you that add to humanity all of those things that I take away. Video evidence of Beecher’s testicular fortitude awaits you after the jump. I salute you, young sir who stole his name from a porno western movie. Good luck in puberty, not that you’ll need it. Read the rest of this entry »

This is a little collage of Los Angeles Angels catcher Bobby Wilson getting his business ruined by Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira. There are a lot of things I don’t like about Teixeira. He’s like the Phil Mickelson of baseball, except that his last name’s a lot harder to spell. But some people are calling this play, where Marky Mark foregoes the slide to pop Wilson in the face with a shoulder, uncouth.

I’m not sure I agree, and I’m not sure we’d be having this conversation if Teixeira wasn’t a Yankee. First of all, Wilson makes a move to block the plate (without the ball, mind you.) Teixeira knows it’s going to be a close play, if he isn’t already out. Wilson can’t handle the throw and subsequently gets leveled (and placed on the DL) for his trouble. This would only be some sort of violation if the catcher was Dwyane Wade. Enjoy the video pwnage after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Torii Hunter would like to elaborate on his thoughts on Latin American players, and how they relate to African-American ballplayers that grew up here in America.

“What troubles me most was the word “impostors” appearing in reference to Latin American players not being black players. It was the wrong word choice, and it definitely doesn’t accurately reflect how I feel and who I am,” Hunter posted on his Angels-sponsored blog Wednesday afternoon.

“What I meant was they’re not black players; they’re Latin American players. There is a difference culturally. But on the field, we’re all brothers, no matter where we come from, and that’s something I’ve always taken pride in: treating everybody the same, whether he’s a superstar or a young kid breaking into the game. Where he was born and raised makes no difference.”

So…there’s no difference in your eyes between blacks and Latinos, Torii? [Emphasis added.]

“…The point I was trying to make was that there is a difference between black players coming from American neighborhoods and players from Latin America. In the clubhouse, there is no difference at all. We’re all the same. –Y! Sports.

So aside from the obvious differences in race, there are no difference. This is what I’ve been saying all along. It’s like when I go down to the Navy Yard and specifically request an Asian girl, and they bring me this Indian chick. “India is IN Asia,” they keep telling me. Next thing I’m gonna hear is that Australia is a country and a continent. What, you think I was born yesterday? Read the rest of this entry »