Edgar Gets Mad

October 2, 2001

So this game started as I was coming home from dinner and a movie with my friends Kathy, Loa and Marette and I am listening to the radio in my car and with 2 outs, Bret Boone singled and then Edgar Martinez reached on an infield single but that was as exciting as it got and then Paul Abbott retired the side in order, so second inning and Ed Sprague ripped a big old double and then Jay "Laura's Hero" Buhner walked and then Dan Wilson ripped another big old double which scored Sprague and then Charles Gipson singled which scored Jay and then Stan Javier reached on an infield single which scored Dan and we head to the bottom half leading 3-0 and Abby walked Troy Glaus and Scott Spiezio to lead things off but then recovered nicely by striking out Tim Salmon and getting Adam Kennedy to ground into a double play and I have to say that if the pickup truck in front of me with his ever-so-classy "girlie" mudflaps wanted to use his turn signal, that would be swell and I also have to say that in terms of car decor, I can't think of anything more scary than "girlie" mudflaps except perhaps the people that put them on their vehicles and speaking of scary car decor, on the way home from work today I was behind this Cadillac who had plastered the back of her car with "Nuke the Bastards!" bumper stickers which is horrifically over-simplifying the situation, not to mention belittling this entire cause when you stop to think about it, especially considering that the "bastards" one must assume she is referring to are the terrorists responsible for the recent atrocities in New York, Pennsylvania and D.C., and we (being the United States) have determined that these people are ALL OVER, including RIGHT HERE IN OUR OWN COUNTRY, and while I would expect and support severe military action against those responsible, I have to say that just a random "bomb the daylights out of everybody" kind of statement like that is entirely inappropriate - if it were that easy, it would've been done already. And I understand that her intentions with this were probably good ones in that she just wants justice done and she's supporting the U.S., but this isn't something a big bomb is going to stop here and I guess I just sort of object to such... flippancy over an incident that, speaking only for myself, is going to haunt me the rest of my life. I'm sure we're going to take action in Afghanistan not only because that is where Osama bin Laden is, but also because the Taliban government which controls over 90% of Afghanistan refuses to hand him over and Bush needs to make good on his word that anyone harboring terrorists will "share in their fate", I mean that I can get behind a 100%, but this just "Nuke the Bastards!" sentiment, it's far more complicated and involved than that and while I too feel that military action is a necessity to ensure the future safety of this country, I would go so far as to say an attack at this point would be more about DEFENDING this country than RETALIATING for it, I mean this is about SO MUCH MORE than getting even, and making blindly uneducated statements like "NUKE THE BASTARDS!" really disturbed me.

So third inning and we are down in order and then I arrive home about this time and by the time I get my car in the garage and get in the house and get the radio turned on, Anaheim has TIED it and I could tell you how but I really don't care to. So fourth inning and Jay smacked a big fat double to lead things off and then 2 outs later and Stan singled and then Mike "I'm Goin Yard!" Cameron WENT YARD to put us up 6-3.

"The ball wasn't coming out of his [Anaheim starter Jarrod Washburn's] hand real crisp and he really missed his spots. [The Mariners are] a tremendous offensive club.'' -Angels' manager Mike Scioscia

So then Anaheim is down in order and Lou Pote relieved Jarrod Washburn and Edgar reached on an infield single and then an out later and Sprague walked and then an out after that and Dan Wilson ripped a double which scored Edgar and we head to the bottom half leading 7-3 and Paul Abbott made things very exciting by walking Darin Erstad and David Eckstein and then giving up a single to Garret Anderson to load the bases with nobody out not to mention that Mike Cameron hurt himself a little bit trying to catch Garret's single and he insisted he was fine and ready to keep playing and Abby K'd Glaus and then he got Spiezio to pop up in the infield and then Tim Salmon launched what would've been a grand slam except Mike "Centerfielder Extraordinaire" Cameron caught it instead to end the inning and I am mighty pleased with these boys.

"If we wanted to coast, I could have let that ball fall. We don't play that way." -Mike Cameron

So sixth inning and I REALLY WISH THIS GAME WAS TELEVISED and Stan led off with a single and then Ramon Vazquez hit for Cammie and K'd, but then Bret singled and then Pote hit Edgar with a pitch that bounced off his arm and hit his helmet, knocking that off and knocking HIM down and he SPRANG back up and CHARGED the mound and the stupid little twerp of a pitcher was backing away from him and Edgar broke away from the umpire that was trying to hold him back and it took like a whole pile of people to restrain Edgar and no punches were thrown but Dave Niehaus was having a heart attack that he'd never seen Edgar react like that - EVER - and I wanted to see it SO BAD.

"I've been here since '92 and in all my years, I've never seen Edgar so mad." -Lou Piniella

"That's the fastest I've ever seen him move." -Pat Gillick

"One Mariners player said he tried to offer Martinez a cup of water afterward on the bench "and he knocked it out of my hand and said he didn't want any damn water. I mentioned it to him later and Edgar said, 'I did that? I don't remember.'" -Bob Finnigan, sportswriter

"At first, I thought the pitch hit him in the face. When that happens, you just react. I've never seen Edgar react like that, though." -John Olerud

"They've hit him before. They've got a bunch of young pitchers trying to pitch inside and up. And they can't control that pitch. The nicest guy in the world would get (upset) when that happens. I'll tell you what -- they flicked a switch (in Martinez) that I've never seen before." -Mike Cameron

"He was gone. I've seen him mad before, but never like that." -Bret Boone

"He's so strong that whenever he'd turn one way, that whole pile of players turned with him." -Charles Gipson

"There was no intent on my part. He thought differently. Maybe he should stop diving." -Lou Pote

"Or maybe you should learn how to pitch, you little twerp. I think it would've been interesting to hear you say this while you were backing away from him like a big wuss out there. Edgar does many things at the plate... crowding it isn't one of them, and his record certainly speaks for itself, as does yours... what with the 5 runs on 6 hits you gave up this inning. Jackass." -Laura, extremely offended at the notion that Edgar was diving. AS IF.

So anyway, Edgar was tossed but they left that buttlord Pote in there and Al Martin came in to run for Edgar who I guess was still in the dugout just steaming and John Olerud ripped a big double to clean off the bases which delighted me no end and then Sprague walked and then Jay grounded them both over and would've had a hit if not for what sounded like a spectacular play from Troy Glaus and then Dan singled which scored Sprague and Ole and then Charles reached on an infield single and then Stan singled to load the bases but that's all the damage we do and when the dust had finally settled, it is 12-3 Seattle and Pote trotted off the field probably to go wet his pants and Joel Pineiro came in for Abby and Vazquez took over at short and Gipson moved to center and Eugene Kingsale took over in left and Mike Borders was catching and then Pineiro retired Anaheim in order, including a nice strikeout.

So seventh inning and Brian Cooper relieved Pote who probably didn't have a clean change of shorts back there and with 1 out, Al was safe on an error and then Ole singled and then an out after that and Kingsale singled which scored Al and we head to the bottom half leading 13-3 as Anaheim is again retired in order, which made me very, very happy.

Eighth inning and Borders led off with a single and then Charles singled and then Stan grounded them over and then Vazquez grounded out but that scored Borders and we head to the bottom half of THIS inning leading 14-3 and then Pineiro lobbed one right at Troy Glaus I guess and Troy took his base as Pineiro was being ejected along with Lou Piniella and then Ryan Franklin relieved Pineiro and an out later, he walked Salmon and then an out after that and Benji Molina singled which scored 2, and we head to the ninth inning leading 14-5, and with 2 outs, Sprague walked but we surprisingly enough don't score him and then Anaheim is down in order and we win our 112th game of the year.