Octoberfest Is Settled

The party was in full swing Sunday afternoon, with the music blaring, the corks popping and champagne-soaked Seattle Mariner players embracing each other after their 5-2 victory over the Angels in Edison Field clinched the American League wild-card berth.

Removed from the clubhouse festivities, in the team’s training room, shortstop Alex Rodriguez sat alone, his face covered by a towel he held with both hands, and he cried, unable for several minutes to join the celebration.

“This was very emotional for me,” said Rodriguez, whose fourth-inning homer cut the Angels’ 2-0 lead in half. “It’s been a very stressful situation the last few days, because we had to do some scoreboard watching, and we had to . . . win two games after an ugly [9-3 loss to the Angels] Friday night.

“I know it wasn’t the World Series, but Saturday felt like Game 6, and [Sunday] felt like Game 7. It was a great ending, but there was a lot of pressure.”

Actually, the pressure has been mounting since Feb. 10, the day the Mariners traded superstar center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. to the Cincinnati Reds and Rodriguez became a lightning rod for all the attention Griffey used to deflect from him.

There were the endless questions about whether Rodriguez, in the final year of a four-year, $10.2-million contract, would re-sign with Seattle or leave as a free agent, and there were new demands that would challenge any 25-year-old player, let alone one in his sixth big league season with a reputation as one of the game’s best players.

“This was the first year I felt I was the leader of this team, and it’s been so emotionally draining,” said Rodriguez, who hit .316 with 41 homers and 132 runs batted in. “It wasn’t a burden, but there was a lot more stress.

“The thing that touched my heart is when guys like [pitcher] Freddy Garcia and [reliever] Jose Paniagua told me I changed their seasons. It’s not easy, because a lot of things come to you that are not baseball-related.”

The leadership skills Rodriguez developed were a factor Sunday, when his power of persuasion was just as important as his power.

Five batters into the first inning, Seattle right-hander Aaron Sele had given up Darin Erstad’s double, Scott Spiezio’s RBI single, walks to Mo Vaughn and Tim Salmon and Garret Anderson’s sacrifice fly for a 2-0 Angel lead.

Rodriguez noticed Sele was trying to “snap off” his curveballs instead of letting them flow out of his hand. He sensed the Mariner right-hander was pressing.

“That first inning, it looked like the Angels were going to score 20 runs,” Rodriguez said. “I told Aaron to just trust your stuff and don’t force your pitches.”

With two on, Sele struck out Troy Glaus and retired Bengie Molina on an inning-ending groundout. Sele went on to blank the Angels into the sixth inning before handing the ball to the bullpen, which followed with a pair of 1 2/3-inning, scoreless outings from Arthur Rhodes and Kazuhiro Sasaki.

“Alex told me I had good stuff, just get it down in the zone and let your defense do the work,” Sele said. “Getting out of that first inning with only two runs was really a springboard for the rest of the game.”

Rodriguez sparked the Mariner comeback when he opened the fourth inning with a 422-foot homer to left off Mark Petkovsek, who started in place of ailing Scott Schoeneweis (stiff back).

Joe Oliver walked with one out in the fifth, took second on reliever Ben Weber’s wild pitch and third on Mark McLemore’s grounder to first. Mike Cameron, Griffey’s replacement in center, stroked a clutch, two-out RBI double to right-center, pulling the Mariners even, 2-2.

David Bell, Seattle’s light-hitting third baseman, drove reliever Shigetoshi Hasegawa’s first pitch of the seventh over the wall in left-center for a homer and a 3-2 lead.

After singles by McLemore and Cameron, Raul Ibanez, who entered the game in the sixth as a defensive replacement for Al Martin in left field, doubled to the gap in left-center for two runs and a 5-2 lead.

“Raul’s hit was probably the biggest one of the game,” Bell said, “because a three-run lead against the Angels is a lot different than a one-run lead.”

With Cleveland’s 11-4 victory already posted and Oakland’s 3-0 victory over Texas appearing imminent, the Mariners had to win to avoid a one-game playoff with the Indians for the wild card.

But Rhodes and Sasaki held the lead, and when Rodriguez cradled Ron Gant’s popup for the final out, he pumped his fist in the air, in jubilation and relief.

A Mariner team that blew a seven-game August lead in the West had lost the division title to Oakland, but a playoff berth--the first time the AL wild card hadn’t come out of the East--was secured. Seattle will play the Chicago White Sox in the first round beginning Tuesday in Comiskey Park.

“People said we were letting it slip away, but we showed a lot of heart, a lot of guts, a lot of everything,” Rodriguez said. “I’m really proud of this bunch of guys.”