The end is in sight

Mariners DH Edgar Martinez has announced that he plans to retire at the end of the season. Paul at Nice Guys Finish Third has been calling for this to happen all year, but there's no jubilation now that it's official. Instead, he offers up some thoughts (a "fulsome weepy tribute", as he calls it...) on Edgar's career and its place in both the Mariners' and Paul's own history.

Baseball Musings' Dave Pinto argues the case for Martinez being a Hall of Fame candidate, though if you read the comments on the post, you'll see that a lot of people feel either that the DH is not a 'real' position and thus not worthy for HOF consideration or, more simply, that Edgar just doesn't have the numbers (Frank Thomas is often cited as a more worthy candidate).