Mariners 7, Rangers 6

Took the day off to catch an afternoon baseball game with the co-editor of the North. I'd never done that before, and it was a lot of fun, especially after I'd gotten myself into a foul mood reading political blogs and downloading fifty dollars of software that only caused my system to freeze. It was a beautiful day at a beautiful park. Around the third inning, I got some clams and chips at Ivars and ate them on a terrace overlooking Elliott Bay, with a container ship parked in the foreground and the Olympic Mountains cutting a stencil on the horizon. Just a perfect moment of peace and emptiness in the warm sunshine.

Meanwhile the Mariners gave up three home runs and still managed to squeak out a victory with fifteen hits of their own, including four each by Ichiro and Ibanez. Far better than the blow-out we were expecting when we heard who the Mariners' starting pitcher was going to be.

A wonderful day with a friend at the baseball game. Just what the doctor ordered for a mild case of stress.