The Lost Mariners

A couple of nights ago one of my favorite TV shows of all time, Lost, ended.  Over the past 6 years, I’ve spent countless hours trying to decifer plots and come up with theories to crack this ridiculously confusing show.  Last week, a friend asked me how many hours a week I spend watching sports.  I came up with the estimate of 25 hours a week.  I then went on to question my life but that’s not relevant to this post.  When combining the hours I’ve spent on Lost and sports, it’s safe to say that I’ve done little else. 

But now Lost is over and in honor of the series finale (and in honor of the Sports Guy, who is also a Lost lover) I’m playing the match the “Mariner With the Lost Character” game.  If you don’t know what this game is then read the title again and it should explain it.  If you’re still lost (no pun intended) the game simply goes as this:  I pick a character from Lost and then find the Seattle Mariner who fits the bill of that character.  Here we go!

Jack Shepard – Franklin Gutierrez

When Oceanic flight 815 crashed on the mysterious island, Jack became the leader of the survivors.  He didn’t do this by choice, he did this because it was the role assigned to him.  He was younger than a good share of the survivors and probably wasn’t as wise as some, but when he did things people followed.  We find that Jack is a lost man before and after he’s on the island; he feels empty, worthless as a spinal surgeon, and can never truly find peace.  I disliked Jack because he was annoying a good share of the time and sometimes jumped the gun on decisions but in the end he did what was best for his friends on the island and was a good leader. 

This one is difficult because the Mariners’ don’t have a clear cut leader that fits the demeanor of Jack Shepard.  With that being said Franklin makes sense.  Before Guti came to the Mariners’ he was a no-name right fielder who couldn’t really hit.  He wasn’t given a starting position in Cleveland and was a fantastic defensive outfielder before defense became cool.  Then he came here.  He was given a chance and found himself to be one of the best players on the team.  What we don’t realize is how much of a leader Franklin is.  Sure, he’s not one of the outspoken guys in the clubhouse but on the field the team goes as he goes.  When Guti was on his hot-streak early in the season the team was playing a ton better than they are right now (they were actually winning).  Franklin is in the middle of the order because that’s where the team needs him to be.  Like Jack, he’s young, still learning and makes mistakes from time to time but we’re sure glad he’s on our side.  Guti is a lot less annoying than Jack.  He’s the leader of the team on the field, and it wasn’t his choice to take that role.  It just kind of happened much like a certain doctor became leader of the Lost cast.

Hurley (Hugo Reyes) – Mike Sweeney

This one is close to perfect.  Off the island, Hurley won the lottery and then became cursed by a set of numbers.  He had more bad luck than the bird I just watched my dog kill.  But once he crashes on the island we find that Hugo is the most caring survivor of them all.  He would do anything for any of his friends and he fills the role of caretaker of the island in the season finale.  Hurley is just the all around nice guy that it’s hard to root against.

Mike Sweeney is the epitome of a nice guy.  He cares more about his teammates than any other guy on the Mariners and would do just about anything for them.  Sweeney isn’t without his bad luck though.  His career was disrupted by never-ending injuries and he played for the Royals.  Playing for the Royals is about as unlucky as you can get.  Hurley and Sweeney are the type of guys who would smile and say hello to you as you walked by on the street.  They care about their friends/teammates above everything else.  Thankfully, the one that is real is hitting the ball really well right now.

To the jump and more comparisons!

John Locke – Jack Zduriencik

Locke was in a wheelchair before the plane crashed.  Once on the island, John finds that he suddenly has feeling in his legs and can now walk.  Because of these events Locke has a tremendous amount of faith in the isand and the understanding of fate.  In the end, Locke was right about everything but his decisions were questioned frequently when he made them.  He’s also white and bald.

Jack Z is in John Locke season 3 or 4 form right now.  This was the part where Locke was questioned the most; he sometimes appeared crazy for having so much faith in the power of the island.  Right now, Jack Z isn’t quite crazy but is somewhat frustrating in having the amount of faith in this team.  I still firmly believe that Z is the man for the job and is a genius but he probably should be questioned right now.  Jack is also white and bald.  John Locke was one of my favorite characters on Lost and Z is one of my favorite people in baseball.

Sayid – Milton Bradley

This comparison is a little too easy.  Sayid’s job before he came to the island was to torture prisoners in Iraq.  He was haunted by this throughout his time on the island and this found him to be somewhat destructive.  All around he was a good guy but he was misunderstood at times.  Sayid was a very straight-forward character.  All of those characteristics apply to Milton.  No, Bradley did not torture people but he has been somewhat destructive due to his past.  I believe Milton is a good guy and just wants to win and have fun but when he’s not winning then he becomes misunderstood because of his antics.

Richard Alpert – Ichiro

This one is pretty simple also.  Richard came to the island in 1840 and didn’t age (because of a wish that was granted to him by the leader of the island) until the very end.  We know that Ichiro has gotten older, it’s impossible not to, but there has been no sign of him aging as a baseball player.  If anything he’s gotten better. 

Another little comparison is in their quotes.  Richard is known to say wise things and gives off the impression that he knows what’s going on more than most people.  Judging by Ichiro’s quotes he knows more about things than the rest of us do.  He really is a never-aging genius.

Desmond – Felix/Lee

Until this comparison I’ve tried pretty hard on this (maybe too hard).  These 3 don’t have a ton in common except for being extremely awesome.  I can’t think of a trio I would rather have around me.  There are only a few people cooler than these guys. Rambo, Tony Jaa, Bono, and Jake Locker are the only guys who come to mind.

The Smoke Monster – Rob Johnson

The Smoke Monster is the source of evil on the island.  Rob Johnson is terrible and sometimes appears to be evil.  Enough said.

If you can think of anymore comparisons be sure to put them in the comments.  They don’t have to be Mariners.  Or you could compare Mariners to characters from other TV shows.  It’s really a fun game and it’s tougher than it looks.

Anyway, thank you to Lost for giving me 6 of the best years of TV possible.  If only watching the Mariners could be that enjoyable.

-Andrew