2012 Mariners vs. A's Tokyo Japan: 6th Straight Opening Day Wins Longest in MLB

I stayed up all night to watch Felix battle Brandon McCarthy and the A's. While I have done this before during the World Baseball Classic, this game was truly a first. The Mariners were unwilling to pay the fee (roughly twice the expense of an out of town game) to broadcast live from Japan. So Mike and Dave called the game from the Root Sports office in Bellevue, while Rick Rizz and Ken Levine did the radio feed from the Tokyo Dome. It was very bizarre. It also meant no pregame show.

After showing Mike and Dave from the studio, we could see the A's players standing around the field chatting. Apparently the bullpens are underneath(?) the stands, so there was perhaps a mis-communication and McCarthy didn't realize he needed to be out on the field.

Very strange with someone other than Ichiro batting lead-off, but that didn't seem to impact his performance: 4 - 5, all infield singles, with an RBI. He's currently leading the league with a batting average of .800, though I don't expect it to last long. He also tied Ken Griffey Jr.'s record for most hits on Opening Day by a Mariner. Despite his great night at the plate, the real MVP was Dustin Ackley. Led off the 4th with a solo home run then made up for his error by smacking the go-ahead base hit in the 11th.

Felix was solid, going 8 innings with 6 Ks, 0 walks and one earned run with the A's scattering 5 hits. I'm concerned about his two hit by pitches and he was lucky to get himself out of potential trouble. At one point he retired 10 straight. Tom Wilhelmsen threw two hitless innings and was credited with the win. Brandon League pitched the 11th and earned his first save of 2012.

Not too sure why Bob Melvin kept replacing pitchers, using 5 after McCarthy's departure in the 7th. It seemed very unnecessary to me; it's not like the Mariners are (or will be) an offensive Juggernaut anytime soon.

After pulling off a 3 - 1 victory in 11 innings, it will be interesting to see what the Mariners do in game 2.

Year Two

As the Mariners officially opened the season last night, so began our second season without Dave.

Picture taken 4/9/11. Still undecided whether to have my patch sewn on the sleeve of my Felix jersey or leave it as is.

Dave Niehaus Press Box at Safeco

Dave Niehaus Way, unofficially