Seattle @ Oakland

[TTown]

IT'S OPENING DAY!

Felix Hernandez vs. Trevor Cahill
Jason Vargas vs. Brett Anderson
Doug Fister vs. Gio Gonzalez

To the surprise of no one, League will close until DA is back. Perhaps somewhat surprising, Ryan Langerhans wins the CF job over Michael Saunders. Langerhans supposedly has a new approach to the plate, and did lead the team in extra base hits this spring.

Ichiro, RF
Figgins, 3B
Bradley, LF
Cust, DH
Smoak, 1B
Olivo, C
Langerhans, CF
Ryan, SS
Wilson, 2B

[Sweezo]

The A's beat us 13-6 on the season last year, so it would be nice to start off the season with a series win, especially when we're facing Cahill and Anderson out of the gate. I'm looking forward to the game but not as insanely excited about Opening Day as I usually am. The M's need to give me a reason to get excited.

I'm not shocked that Langerhans won the CF job over Saunders since one has more experience than the other, but I still wish Saunders would've gotten the nod. I liked his approach in the last half of the spring and he certainly has more upside than Langerhans does.

[TTown]

One game in... so far, so good! Felix was dominant the final 8 innings, Ichiro and Figgins got on base and were terrors on the base paths, we took advantage of some Oakland errors, and we even had a clutch hit or two.

[TTown]

2 outs, so what eh? Bradley singles, steals second, and Cust drives him home, tying an offensively-challenged game two at 1-1 in the 6th. Way to be, 3/4 hitters.

[TTown]

Ryan with a leadoff double, Wilson gets him to 3B with a single, and Saunders successfully executes a sac fly. Ryan is a speedy little guy. Wilson went to 2B on the throw, hopefully Moore (but more likely) or Ichiro can drive him home.

2-1 M's, top 7.

[Sweezo]

Both games have been a lot of fun to watch. Good starting pitching, and surprisingly effective offense. So far we've demonstrated an odd mix of patience in the first half of the lineup and effective hacking in the latter part of the lineup. Cust knows how to work an at bat like a pro, and Ryan may not get a ton of hits but when he does he's fun to watch on the basepaths. Olivo's not worth what we pay him and he's a hacker, but at least he can get a basehit and push a run in. We've been forced to watch such lousy catchers the last couple years that a catcher who simply seems average is a revelation.

Figgins also looks a hell of a lot better. So far, that combo of Ichiro and Figgins at the top of the lineup is working exactly like it was supposed to last year.

The bullpen still scares the hell out of me; When Chris Ray is the go to guy when you have a close lead, then you know you have problems. Get well soon, Aardsma and Kelley.

[TTown]

Ray really pissed me off, that was a terrible outing. I wouldn't mind seeing what Lueke can do next time. I'm hoping Fister can go aways tomorrow, I can't imagine Bedard going beyond the 5th/6th Monday and the less we see of the 'pen the better.

Really nice stuff by Vargas tonight, though.

[TTown]

Lost the final game 7-1.

The outfield has apparently never played in sun before.

Fister was okay, about what I expect from a Fister start. 2 ER in 5.2? Ok. I can take that.

Lueke was a disaster, that'll shut me up for awhile.

Langerhans smoaked a ball over the right field fence, that was a sweet shot. That was our offense for the day.

Figgy was anti-clutch in a game that was close the whole way until it was Lueke'd in the 7th. 5 LOB. Blah.

[Sweezo]

The outfield has apparently never played in sun before.

That sucked. I was upset and irrationally mad at Bradley and Langerhans, but when it happens there isn't much to be done about it.

Lueke was a disaster, that'll shut me up for awhile.

Well...he wasn't good, but you can see the talent there. If he can take care of his control issues he'll be a pretty good arm. When Aardsma comes up, I hope they keep guys like Lueke and Wilhelmsen up because of their promise [as opposed to keeping someone like Pauley who has none].

Langerhans smoaked a ball over the right field fence, that was a sweet shot. That was our offense for the day.

For every outstanding play he makes, whether it be a home run or a diving catch, he does something horrible like strike out four times in a game or make a mistake on the basepath by being too aggressive. I don't know what to make of Langerhans...

Figgy was anti-clutch in a game that was close the whole way until it was Lueke'd in the 7th.

Not a good game for him but he's looked better this year IMO [small sample size be damned!].