~ Chapter Thirty Seven ~

"Hey, Brian!"  Scott called, catching up to the blond infielder in the tunnel at Skydome in Toronto.  "Got a minute?"  He hadn't had a chance to talk to Brian the last couple days.

"Yep!"  Brian announced cheerfully.  "Now, Scott - I don't want you taking the last two games personally or anything..."

Scott gave him a sour smile.  The Mariners had come into town and humiliated the Blue Jays in front of their home crowd during the first two games.  They had lost the first game 10-3 and the second 4-0.  Things were not looking good for the Blue Jays.  They were flying to Seattle tomorrow, where if they didn't win on Friday, the season was over.  As much as Scott liked his former teammates, especially Brian, he didn't have any intention of going out without putting up a fight.  That fight was just being won by Mariners pitching, and rather easily too. 

"You wait until Friday."  Scott threatened mildly.  "So..." he added.  "I heard about..."  He stopped, not quite sure how to phrase it.  ‘I heard you're dying,' didn't quite sound right.  Even for Scott, that was a little blunt.

"Yeah."  Brian agreed pleasantly.  "That was a big mess."

"Kinda got the family mad at you?"

"Kevin gave me a black eye."

Scott laughed.  "Yeah, well, there's overreacting and then there's Kevin."

"I caught my parents before they heard it on the news though."  Brian's face turned serious for once.  "That made me feel a little better."

"So how're you doing?"  Scott inquired.  He had been shocked when he heard the news on ESPN.  Not just the fact that Brian was dying, the fact that for six months before he moved to Toronto, Brian had been dying and no one knew it.  He never would have guessed something like that was going on.  It was strange to realize.

"I'm good."  Brian smiled again. 

"You feel okay?"

"Pretty much."  Brian shrugged.  "Headaches sometimes... it's not too bad.  They say it's gonna get worse."

"How long do you have?"

Brian scowled.  "Not long enough, let's put it that way."  He leaned against the wall and shook his head. "I've got all this stuff I still want to do - and I don't know how much longer I'm gonna have to do it, ya know?  I'm standing here, staring the rest of my life right in the face.  It's kinda weird."

~*~

Article in the Seattle Times - October 5th

The Seattle Mariners, after their sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday, will get the next three days off, before traveling to either New York or Chicago, pending the outcome of the remaining division series.  The Yankees are leading that series, two games to one.   Until next Tuesday, the Mariners can sit back, relax and wait to see what happens next on the hopeful road to the World Series.  The team is looking forward to the next couple days off.

"It'll be good for us."  Manager Buddy Williams says.  "Things have been a little tense the last month.  We can have a couple days to just relax, then come back and take on whoever wins the White Sox-Yankees matchup."

Of course, Williams was referring to the fact that second baseman Brian Littrell was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor five weeks ago.  Littrell has kept playing, and team doctors confirm there's no reason why he shouldn't be playing.  Littrell was one of the main components in the offense that knocked the Blue Jays out of the playoffs.  He was 10 for 13 in the three games against the Blue Jays, with two doubles and a triple. 

Third baseman Howie Dorough, this years winner of the American League batting title, is keeping up the same pace into the postseason, providing most of the offensive pop in the series.  It's Dorough's first time in the postseason, as it is for Littrell as well, but he doesn't seem to be feeling the pressure.  Four doubles and one game winning home run into the postseason, Dorough looks like he's been doing it all his life.

The one drawback the Mariners experienced in the division series was the loss of starting catcher Lenny Krazelton.  Krazelton ripped a tendon in his left ankle in game one, and will be out for the rest of the playoffs.  Back-up catcher Kevin Richardson is 0-14 in the playoffs so far with an error and a passed ball, something Richardson hasn't had since he played for Kansas City three years ago. 

The pitching for Seattle stepped it up a notch in the playoffs, holding the Toronto offense to only 4 runs with a team ERA of 1.04.  Closer AJ McLean has yet to let a man on base in the postseason.  When asked about the Mariners chances in the League Championship Series, McLean had this to say.  "Right now - I don't know of another team that can touch us.  We've got everything working, everyone's connected, and they can't stop us."