Tag: Opening Day

Game One: Through the looking glass
Game 1 of 162 is in the books, and it was ... weird. Fans in the stands, but only 9,000. Marco on the mound, but also Jeff Nelson and his tiny tiny strike zone behind the plate. Kevin Gausman pitching for the opposition as if he were Juan Marichal. And the Mariners coming back from 5-0 and 6-1 to win 8-7 in the 10th inning, a 10th inning in which free baserunners were used because reasons.

Baseball for first-graders
The 2021 baseball season started yesterday, and from Miggy's home run in the snow to the Mariners' eighth-inning comeback against the Giants (which our closer gave back on four pitches in the ninth), there was much joy in Mudville, particularly after last year's pandemic-shortened, fan-free season. But a few things could still use fixing. I'll start with the easy one first.

Opening Day roster shuffling
Game 1 of the 2021 season commences tomorrow night at 7:10 down at TMP as Your Seattle Mariners take on the San Francisco Giants. Six weeks of spring training is over and it's time to get down to brass tacks. There are a couple of unexpected wrinkles in the club's opening 26-man roster, making tomorrow's group just slightly different than previously expected.

Game One thoughts
What do you know. The season really did start. Three weeks ago I'd have put money on it not starting, but then I should have had more faith in the abilities of Commissioner Manfred and the other Major League Baseball powers that be to ignore anything that might get in between them and money. Pandemic, shmandemic.

Age of uncertainty
Opening Day is just two weeks away...maybe.

Second Opening Day
The Mariners have already played their first games of the season, having defeated the Oakland A's in two contests in Tokyo, but tomorrow they resume action when the other 28 Major League teams open their seasons. The home opener begins a four-game series with the Boston Red Sox, the only visit of the year for the defending World Series champs.

Game 2: Curtain Call
We didn't know when the game began that Ichiro was calling it quits. That news came a few innings in. Kyodo News had the story and those of us keyed in to Twitter started getting the alerts. The ESPN broadcast caught up to us a bit later, and for half the game or so half the drama was how was Ichiro going to leave the game.

One Down, 161 to Go
Konbanwa, baseball fans. Are you ready to pull another all-nighter for Game 2 from Tokyo tonight/tomorrow morning (game time 2:35am PDT)?

Next Year is Here
Winter is over. Well, not technically, but hey, it was nearly 80 degrees today in Seattle (in your face, Miami!) and tonight the Mariners take the field for the first official game in the 2019 championship season. Or tomorrow night, or tomorrow morning, based on your time zone. It's complicated. Temporal mechanics and all. Anyway, come 2:30am PDT the Tokyo Dome will be abuzz with excitement when the Oakland A's take the field as the "home" team against our Seattle Mariners.
Meet the Mariners
With Opening Day only ... let's see, carry the one ... 27½ hours away in Tokyo, it's time to get familiar with the 2019 Seattle Mariners. Who are these guys? With so much change form the 2018 roster will we recognize even a handful?

Game One: Random Thoughts
Game 1 of 162 is in the books, and it was a nailbiter win for Your Seattle Mariners against the Cleveland Ethnically Insensitive Caricatures. Some random observations: