Mike Vorel:
“We were starved to get playoff baseball here. We got it here,” said Servais, the longtime catcher, who had just concluded his seventh season in Seattle. “Now we need to take the next step to improve our club in any way we can. We’re still behind the Astros. They won the division, and I’ll keep saying it: the World Series is going to go through Houston, and you have to beat them. So we have to get better in certain areas, and certainly we will address that this offseason.
“But from the fan base to ownership to front office to the players, coaches, manager, everybody, we want to get back here. We will be back here. There’s no question in my mind.”
Now, imagine telling one of the 47,690 fans inside T-Mobile Park on Oct. 15, 2022, about the nearly two seasons since — the parade of underperforming veterans disguised as key additions, the 54% comment that encapsulated a fan base’s frustrations, the historic string of strikeouts, the squandered quality starts, the dreaded plea for “payroll flexibility,” the 10-game lead that disintegrated in 24 games, the gallons of goodwill unceremoniously spilled into Puget Sound.
The reported firing of Scott Servais Thursday.
If you told them that story, they’d never believe it.