A Series That Never Sleeps

The Subway Series became a reality Tuesday night. The New York Yankees won the American League pennant and kept their Saturday date with the New York Mets by exploding for six runs in the seventh inning of a 9-7 victory over the Seattle Mariners, who are left with a far less appealing reality.

* Alex Rodriguez, who merely homered, doubled twice and singled, probably played his last game for the Mariners and could be riding the subway rails himself next year as the Met shortstop, sharing the Big Apple marquee with his Yankee buddy, Derek Jeter, if he does not elect to go to the Dodgers or the Atlanta Braves or the Colorado Rockies instead.

* Lou Piniella, who made all the right moves only to see his bullpen implode as it did in Game 2, may have managed his last game for the Mariners, electing to pursue a big money contract with a team that plays and/or trains closer to his Florida home, possibly the Cincinnati Reds or Toronto Blue Jays or even the Mets, if Bobby Valentine is not rewarded in a way he deems proper.

The manager and his shortstop, of course, were forced to cope with more immediate emotions after the Mariners failed to hold leads of 4-0 and 4-3 in a dramatic loss punctuated by David Justice’s pivotal three-run homer in that big seventh inning, but they also could not escape questions about their future.

“My mind has been so consumed with beating the Yankees that I haven’t thought about the decisions I will have to make,” Rodriguez said, his eyes rimmed in red from the tears he had shed in private.

“I’m going to test the free agent market as I’ve said all year and gather some information so that I can make an intelligent decision. That doesn’t mean I may not re-sign with Seattle. I’m fond of the organization and have enjoyed my years in the city.

“I know there’s general interest among the public, but the only decision I’m ready to make right now is how fast I can get back to my home in Miami.”

Rodriguez is 24, the complete player, and figures to set salary records where ever he signs, commanding, perhaps, $20 million a year.

The Mets, always in a headline battle with the Yankees, and the Dodgers, looking for a marketing vehicle now that Fox has invested $2.5 billion to televise the entire postseason and an impact player capable of carrying a club to the postseason, will certainly be first in line when the A-train hits the market.

The Mariners will be in line and may have the money to compete, but Rodriguez is thought to want some brighter lights now, the big city attention Jeter commands.

Mariner President Chuck Armstrong, visibly shaken by the Tuesday loss, almost seemed to talk as if the Rodriguez departure is a done deal.

“We extend tremendous thanks and appreciation to Alex for the tremendous year he’s had and the leadership he’s provided,” Armstrong said, as if he was reading a statement. “I told him that from the bottom of my heart I hope he’s back, and I hope Lou is back as well. We’ll address those situations, but this is not the time.”

Piniella agreed. He would only say that he is about to become a free agent like Rodriguez but that he will soon meet with Mariner officials to discuss his status.

Piniella, of course, knows there is little reason to return if Rodriguez is gone.

“This organization has absorbed the loss of Randy Johnson and Ken Griffey,” he said, candidly, “but I’m not sure it could handle Alex’s loss given the team’s dependency on him and the respect it has for him. If he’s not the best player in the game, he’s close to it.”

Rodriguez batted .409 against the Yankees, with a spectacular Game 6.

“My vision for the team was to reach the World Series,” Rodriguez said. “Right now I’m devastated. You never want to concede another team is better, but we obviously weren’t good enough, we’re obviously a little short compared to the Yankees. I have tremendous respect for them, but I also think we earned their respect. We battled, we left everything on the field.”

Ultimately, a rebuilt bullpen that helped carry the Mariners to the brink of the World Series betrayed them in Games 2 and 6, with Arthur Rhodes, the valuable left-hander, giving up a double to the left-handed hitting Justice that ignited the seven-run Yankee rally in the eighth inning of Game 2 and the three-run Justice homer that wiped out a 4-3 lead Tuesday night.

The Justice homer came on a 3-and-1 pitch after Rhodes said he thought plate umpire John Hirschbeck should have called a strike on the previous pitch, when Justice checked his swing.

“If it’s 2-and-2 I would have thrown him another breaking pitch,” Rhodes said, slumped at his locker. “I didn’t want to have to throw him a fastball down the middle on 3-and-1. I feel it in my stomach. I feel I gave the game away.”

Rodriguez wouldn’t hear it.

“The bullpen has been our bread and butter all year,” he said. “Arthur has been unbelievable. He’s the reason we were here.”

The Mariners will provide Rodriguez with plenty of reasons to stay, but the market beckons. He and Piniella are about to leave them hopeless in Seattle.