For the Seattle Mariners, every team in the American League West bears at least a few, if not plentiful, reasons for fans of the Pacific Northwest team to have bitter feelings towards, if not outright vitriol. Look no further than the Houston Astros, defending World Series champions, known cheaters with a chip on their shoulder about it, and annoyingly able to pull talented hitters seemingly out of thin air. There of course are the Oakland Athletics, toothless now, but with a long history of spoiling potential Mariners runs, and a kind of annoying inverse that has given the Mariners a look over the years of what a team not quite given the budget of other markets can do to grind their way to success with competent leadership.
About Last Night: The rivalry, the rookie, and the revival of hope
