All right Ant Man, you're up!

I did not make it to the end of Sunday’s Game 7 in Oklahoma City.

I’m not sure the Denver Nuggets did, either.

By the time the Thunder wrapped up their 32-point victory in the deciding game of the second-round series, I had already transferred my hopes and aspirations to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The fact I was able to do this is an illustration of the single greatest thing about having a team you loathe as opposed to one you love: Haters generally get multiple opportunities to see their ill wishes fulfilled.

That’s not true when you’ve got a favorite team. There are no mulligans in the postseason, no safety net. If your NBA team loses a Game 7, it’s toast.

But when you’ve got a least-favorite team? You get multiple cracks at them. In the case of the Thunder, at least two more chances, which is why I’m now I’m rooting for the team from the land of snow and Purple Rain.

In the words of Bart Scott: Can’t wait!

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We’ll get to the Mariners here in a second, and what was an absolutely dominant showing in San Diego. First, I’d like to ask a somewhat personal question.

What do you like most about my newsletter? 

Ugh. When I say it like that it sounds so self-centered or maybe like I’m fishing for a compliment. I’m not. I’m conducting what I’ve been told is “market research” which is a fancy way of saying I want about you not in general, but you specifically.

What sorts of things do you like? What would you like to see more of? What would you like to see less of?

If you could answer the question below, I would really appreciate it. Any comments you leave on the survey will remain very strictly anonymous.

Additionally, I’m really grateful that you subscribe. Honestly, I don’t say that often enough. After leaving 710 ESPN Seattle, I’ve tried to move toward more first-person narrative writing. This has been hard and occasionally very lonely, and your continued interest in my work has helped buoy me more than you know. Sincerely: Thank you!

So where was I? Oh yeah, the Mariners.

What happened: The Mariners beat the Padres 6-1 on Sunday, wrapping up a three-game sweep and improve to 26-19. Entering the series, San Diego was 27-15 and hadn’t been held to a single run since April 26. The Mariners did it in three straight games.

Next up: Three games against the gawdawful White Sox (14-33)   

• Julio Rodriguez was 4-for-13 in the three game series against San Diego and he has a six-game hitting streak. He’s batting .290 in the month of May with three home runs in 15 games. He hit four home runs in the first 30 games of the season.

• Rowdy Tellez homered in each of the first two games of the series against the Padres, and doubled off the wall in Sunday’s series finale. He has hit eight home runs this season, which is the same number of singles he has. I’m not sure if it would be good for Seattle if Tellez finished the season with more homers than singles, but I can tell you that I would find that extraordinarily entertaining.

• Bryan Woo gave up a home run to the first batter he faced on Sunday when Fernando Tatis Jr. hit an 0-2 pitch out to left center. It was the only run Woo surrendered. Of Woo’s four starts this month, he has held the opponent to a run or fewer in three of them. With George Kirby prepared to rejoin the rotation, a tip of the cap to Woo for holding things down through the first quarter of the season.

Now, for those of you who only want to read one more sentence: At 26-19, the Mariners are much better than they usually are at this point of the season, but that doesn’t mean all that much yet.

For those of you suckers who want to read more of my drivel: Let’s get a little more granular. I went and looked up the team’s record after 45 games in every season since 2000. I’ll show my work at the bottom, but here are some quick takeaways:

• This matches Seattle’s best start in any of the past eight seasons.

• That’s not saying much, though: Seattle has had a winning record after 45 games in only eight of the previous 25 seasons.

• The last six times the Mariners had a winning record after 45 games, they failed to make the playoffs.

• In other words: They’re doing well, but it doesn’t guarantee much of anything.

Here’s Seattle’s record after 45 games going back to 1994 with the years the Mariners made the playoffs listed in bold: