Fantasy M’s more fun

The loud thud you heard was the Seattle Mariners baseball team crawling out of the month of July with a 6-22 record.

With Reality Mariners doing so poorly again this year, I found myself thinking about a Fantasy Mariners team, and I have to admit it made me feel better. Here is my dream Mariners team:

As much as I like Tino Martinez, I am putting John Olerud at first for his .302 season in 2001. Joey Cora is playing second base due to his .300 average in 1997. I’ve moved Brett Boone over to third and watched him hit .294 in 2003. A-Fraud remains a disappointment, but I can’t overlook his juiced .358 batting average in 1996. At catcher is everyone’s nice guy Dan Wilson and his .295 average in 2002. Watch out for Edgar Martinez as my designated hitter. He had a great .356 in 1995.

There were quite a few outfielders who did well over the years, so I settled on Ichiro. His best season was a .350 average in 2001. Griffey, Jr. will be hustling around center field and he had a nice .327 in 1991. In an effort to not forget the old guys, I signed up Alvin Davis to round out the defense (.295 in 1987).On the mound is a formidable rotation: Randy Johnson, Jamie Moyer, Mark Langston, Freddy Garcia and Felix Hernandez. I’m keeping Kazuhiro Sasaki in the bullpen in case we need a save.

Leading the team is our all-time favorite manager, Lou Piniella. His temper outbursts always added a little excitement to an occasionally not so exciting game.

Well, what do you think? Sometimes fantasy is a heck of a lot more fun than reality.

Stan Hughes

Spokane Valley