I'm looking at the bright side of things and saying that 2023 marks three years in a row of competitive baseball in Seattle--they won 90 games in 2021 and 2022, 88 this season. In August, they set a franchise record for wins in a month (21), propelling them into first place for a week or so. But as September moved through, Seattle faltered. It was especially frustrating when both Texas and Houston would lose and the Mariners couldn't take advantage of it.
Our team needs more bats--hitters that don't leave runners stranded. That's got to be addressed this winter. But thanks for the thrills, guys: taking three of the last four games of the year from Texas would normally trigger a celebration, yet with so many games thrown away in September, it was too little, too late.
Next year! I'm a little down about how the season ended and I'm not real excited to watch the remaining teams shoot for the World Series. It's great that the Mariners returned the disfavor on the final day and beat Texas 1-0; this kept the Rangers from clinching the division. Now, Texas won't be hosting their first playoff series at home because of those upstart Mariners. But that's only a small victory for us--Seattle fans deserve better.
Update: The Rangers won it all this year, defeating the surprising Arizona Diamondbacks four games to one in the 2023 World Series.