Local baseball patrons and mavens are inclined to try to keep one eye on the calendar this time of year and another on the daily box scores from Seattle Mariners Cactus League games in Arizona. Such optical acrobatics reveal, of course, that the March 31 home opener is approaching, with hopeful fans imagining the first playoff season since the 116-win campaign of 2001. The other mind's eye wonders as it wanders through the box scores. Was lefty Erik Bedard worth bartering Adam Jones and George Sherrill to Baltimore? Can Mike Morse, Wladimir Balentien or somebody else step up and become the fourth (or maybe even third) outfielder and have a break-out year at the plate? And, more to the point, why is Ichiro Suzuki suddenly the worst hitter on the team? Actually he's been the worst "batter" during the first week of spring training since, as of Wednesday (March 5), Number 51 was uncharacteristically hitless at 0-for-8.
As home opener approaches, an eye on the box scores
Local baseball patrons and mavens are inclined to try to keep one eye on the calendar this time of year and another on the daily box scores from Seattle Mariners Cactus League games in Arizona. Such optical acrobatics reveal, of course, that the March 31 home opener is approaching, with hopeful fans imagining the first playoff season since the 116-win campaign of 2001.
Local baseball patrons and mavens are inclined to try to keep one eye on the calendar this time of year and another on the daily box scores from Seattle Mariners Cactus League games in Arizona. Such optical acrobatics reveal, of course, that the March 31 home opener is approaching, with hopeful fans imagining the first playoff season since the 116-win campaign of 2001.
