Sounders finally get their first win of the season, 2-1 over the Chicago Fire

By Money Mike

The Seattle Sounders, after a rough first 4 games with the season with 2 losses and 2 draws, find an answer to all critics and defeat the Chicago Fire 2-1 in front 36,233 at Qwest Field. With Fredy Montero missing the second straight match after having surgery on his right wrist, Sigi Schmid went with a 4-3-3 formation with O'Brian White partnering up with Steve Zakuani and Mauro Rosales.

In the 7th minute, the Sounders get on the board first. Mauro Rosales sends in a bender into the top of the area and O'Brian White's thumping header from 16-yard beats goalkeeper Sean Johnson who had a terrible jump on that play, thinking that it was gonna be an easy save. It was White's second goal in as many matches. Did I mention earlier this season he was gonna have a breakout year? He came from Toronto where he scored 2 goals in 9 appearances in 2009 and 2 goals in 24 appearances in 2010. He's played in all 5 matches so far and already has 2 goals.

A minute later, Chicago would pick one back. Leo Gonzalez got caught on a give-and-go between Patrick Nyarko and Gaston Puerari. After received the pass from Nyarko, Puerari sent Nyarko away down the right hand side, and the Ghanaian used his speed to get around Gonzalez and send a driven cross into the penalty area for Diego Chaves for an easy tap in to quickly tie the match up at a goal a piece. With that goal, Chaves also became the first Chicago Fire player to score in his first three games.

In the 23rd minute, Sounders had what I believe is their biggest opportunity by far this season. Leo Gonzalez sent in a chip into the penalty area aiming for Rosales, Sean Johnson came out to try to clear, but Rosales got a head on it and Johnson was dead meat but Erik Friberg failed to take advantage of the opportunity as his touch sailed over the bar. He couldn't get a better chance to score his first Sounders goal. But the Sounders would continue to dominate and this time they got a goal two minutes later.

In minute 25, Osvaldo Alonso started the attack by intercepting a pass and playing it out wide to Steve Zakuani who took on Jalil Anibaba. After a give-and-go with O'Brian White, Zakuani got around Anibaba and instead of squaring it to Erik Friberg, he went for goal alone and slotted it past Johnson for his second goal of the season.

Seattle had another opportunity to go up 3-1 from the corner when Mauro Rosales's out swinger found Jeff Parke at the near post, but his header fell straight to the hands of Sean Johnson.

In the Second half, Kasey Keller came up huge on a couple of Chicago Fire opportunities. In the 59th minute, Marco Pappa's free kick hit the wall, James Riley's attempted clearance failed and Diego Chaves had a golden opportunity to take advantage of it but Keller went down and denied a potential equalizing goal. Two minutes later, Chaves's through ball found Gaston Puarari who beat Jhon Kennedy Hurtado but couldn't beat Keller as he made a kick-save to stop Chicago yet again.

In the 75th minute the Chicago Fire got caught on a counter attack, Nate Jaqua's long ball sent Steve Zakuani off to the races, took on Logan Pause. He cut to his left foot and ripped a shot wide as he was aiming for the far corner. With about 5 minutes to go, Nate Jaqua found Servando Carrasco overlapping on the right. Carrasco had a chance to put the game out of reach, but again, no luck. That was just about the last opportunity of the game. With those opportunities the Fire had in the second half, the Sounders could've ended up with a draw or maybe even a loss if Kasey Keller hadn't made those saves, but good or bad, the only thing that counts is the Sounders winning their first match of the year 2-1.

It was really fun catching this match in person, I had pretty good seats, the atmosphere was fantastic, everyone standing for 90 minutes. I mean, ever since November 2007 when they announced that Seattle was going to join MLS, the fan base has just kept on rising. Before then, soccer wasn't really as big in Seattle as it is now, and I hope that doesn't change at all and that the fans continue to attend these matches and Give their full 90'. This is the 2nd match I've seen since they joined MLS. I didn't go to a game in 2009. I went to one last season when Colorado came to town, that one also resulted in a 2-1 win, but I think I enjoyed this match more than the Colorado one. This one was an early season game, the Colorado match was late in the season.

Scoring summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - O'Brian White (Mauro Rosales) 7'

Chicago Fire - Diego Chaves (Patrick Nyarko, Gaston Puarari) 8'

Seattle Sounders FC - Steve Zakuani (O'Brian White) 25'

Misconduct summary:

Seattle Sounders FC - James Riley (caution; Reckless tackle) 32'

Seattle Sounders FC - Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (caution; Reckless tackle) 47+'

Chicago Fire - Dasan Robinson (caution; Reckless foul) 71'

Starting lineups:

Chicago Fire - Sean Johnson; Jalil Anibaba, Dasan Robinson, Cory Gibbs, Gonzalo Segares (Dominic Oduro 83'); Logan Pause, Marco Pappa, Michael Videira, Patrick Nyarko (Orr Barouch 90'); Gaston Puarari, Diego Chaves

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jeff Parke, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Leonardo Gonzalez; Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Mauro Rosales (Nate Jaqua 64'); Erik Friberg, O'Brian White (Servando Carrasco 81'), Steve Zakuani

Indians crush Mariners 12-3 in home opener!

By Kshell

The Cleveland Indians(5-2) ruin their former manager Eric Wedge's home debut with his new ball club the Seattle Mariners by destroying them early. The Indians put the Mariners away with a 10 run fourth inning to defeat them 12-3. On a day where the Mariners honored legendary announcer Dave Niehaus who passed away this offseason the team put up a performance that Niehaus was used to from the 1980's. The Mariners will never be able to replace the voice of Niehaus but must find a way to snap this five game losing streak. The Mariners still aren't hitting which is putting too much pressure on the starting pitcher. When the starting pitcher has an off night the game is essentially over since the team has scored just 24 runs in seven games and just 13 in the last five games.

Before the game had begun the Mariners honored Dave Niehaus when rapper Macklemore rapped a tribute song for Niehaus. Then there was a plaque for Niehaus above the announcers booth forever that read "Niehaus 1977-2010". The Mariners also presented gold gloves to Franklin Gutierrez and Ichiro. Ichiro was presented with an award from Edgar Martinez for breaking Martinez Mariners hit record. The Mariners then presented Felix Hernandez his Cy Young award. Then the game began and it was all down hill. The second batter of the game and former Mariners product Asdrubal Cabrera took Jason Vargas deep to left field for a home run to give the Indians a 1-0 lead. In the bottom half of the inning Ichiro led the inning off with a hit but was quickly cancelled out when Chone Figgins lined into a double play. Vargas would put up zero's the next two innings but then the fourth inning happened.

In the fourth inning the game quickly got away from Jason Vargas. The inning began with a simple single by Shin-Soo Choo and moved to third on a Carlos Santana base hit. The Indians then scored on a Travis Hafner single to shallow center field scoring Choo and moving Santana to second base to give the Indians a 2-0 lead. Orlando Cabrera then got a base hit scoring Santana giving the Indians a 3-0 lead. Austin Kearns then finally got an extra base hit ripping a double scoring Hafner and giving the Indians a 4-0 lead. Then the Mariners got their first out of the inning when Matt LaPorta hit a sac fly scoring Cabrera giving the Indians a 5-0 lead. Former Mariner Jack Hannahan recorded a base hit scoring Kearns giving the Indians a 6-0 lead and ending Jason Vargas night after just 3 1/3 innings pitched. Wedge brought in Tom Wilhelmsen who turned a blowout into a disaster. After allowing another base hit Wilhelmsen struck out Asdrubal Cabrera for the second out. Santana then got an RBI base hit scoring two guys to give the Indians an 8-0 lead. To cap the inning Hafner hit a three run home run to give the Indians an 11-0 lead and scoring 10 runs in the inning. Most of the Seattle crowd had left at that point in the game.

The Mariners at one point trailed in this game 12-0 but would score three meaningless runs throughout the game. Ichiro drove in two of the runs to pad his stats. Overall this was a disasterous game for the Mariners as they have now lost five games in a row. Despite being 2-5 this was the first poorly pitched game by the Mariners. The Mariners just can't get any consistent offense going. They have scored just 13 runs the last five games(2.6 per game) which is putting too much pressure on the pitching staff. The Mariners look no better than the team who lost 101 games last season. The team will have to start scoring some runs or fans will lose interest by May.

All in all, this is going to be a long rebuilding season for the Mariners. The Mariners roster right now most likely will be totally different than in June. The team lacks hitting and unfortunately other than Dustin Ackley there is no hope on the horizon for this team. The Mariners have to stay patient with Eric Wedge unlike previous managers. This team simply isn't good and wasn't good last year. The Mariners when they make the youth movement at least will be sort of exciting. Until then you have to just grit your teeth and ride through the pain. The Mariners on a day they honored Dave Niehaus put up a pathetic performance. This wasn't the proper way to say thanks to our hall of fame announcer.

Observations:

- Jason Vargas struggled pretty bad after such a great start against Oakland. Vargas wasn't hit hard just gave up base hit after base hit. Vargas finished the game pitching 3 1/3 innings allowing nine hits, seven earned runs and just one strikeout. Vargas on most teams would be your fourth or fifth starter. In reality he is the Mariners fourth best starter. Most games Vargas won't be the problem and is proof that signing guys like Jarrod Washburn to big money is stupid. You can always find effective fourth and fifth starters at Safeco Field.

- The hitting was led by Ichiro who went 2-5 with two RBI's. The team is struggling is an understatement. The Mariners had four guys in the lineup yesterday hitting .200 or worst. Figgins(.100), Brendan Ryan(.167), Ryan Langerhans(.154) and Jack Cust(.200). The Mariners only .300 hitter is Adam Kennedy who is hitting exactly .300 on 3-10 for the season. The hitting has just been horrible this season with only two home runs so far this year. The team is going to struggle scoring runs all season long and will challenge last year's team for worst offense in franchise history.

- Wedge is in for a long season. I like what he is doing so far with the Jack Wilson situation. For those who don't know Jack Wilson after committing two errors in Wednesday's loss to the Texas Rangers asked out of the ball game. Wedge called the move unthinkable and is benching Wilson in response. Good chance Wilson may have played his last game for the Mariners.

I also like how Wedge isn't afraid to call out his team. His quote speaks volumes to the entire team "I don't care if you make 18 million or $450,000 you have a job to do. That job is to always play hard no matter. Some guys think because they are making a lot of money they can get away with that well they are in for a rude awakening". I love that Wedge isn't afraid of this team and is standing up for himself. Wedge might not be the guy but at least he is showing some fire and ruffling the feathers on this team.

Overall, this was a disappointing way to open the 2011 season in Safeco Field. This was supposed to be a great day as we saw a sell out crowd, honored Dave Niehaus, gave Felix Hernandez a Cy Young award. Instead the team laid an egg and reminded fans we have a long ways to go. This team is going to struggle for a while. The Mariners sadly will have more games like this until things change. I just don't see where the changes will be made as long as Howard Lincoln and Chuck Armstrong are here this team will continue to fail. Just remember fans we have a great ball park, some great pitchers but don't think for a second this is a good product. This opening day was a cold hard reality check to the fans that this team still stinks.

Seattle Sounders FC vs Chicago Fire preview

By Money Mike

The Seattle Sounders get ready for their 5th of 34 matches this season at home against the Chicago Fire. Last year, Seattle swept the season series against the Fire with some late drama. On August 28, it was Fredy Montero leading the team to a 2-1 victory at home. John Thorrington, who now plays for the Vancouver Whitecaps, got the Fire on the board from the penalty spot in the 28th minute of that match, but Montero answered with a 36th minute goal and a 91st minute goal to claim the victory for the Sounders. The Sounders needed more late drama on September 25th to sweep the Fire in 2010. It was Blaise Nkufo's turn to be the hero in the 89th minute of that match with his game winning goal. The Sounders are 2-0-2 so far against Chicago dating back to 2009 and look to keep their unbeaten record in tact against them and also win their first match of the 2011 season.


Injury report:

Chicago Fire - Mike Banner has inflammation on his left achillies tendon and he is out. Steven Kinney is also out with what I believe with a torn right achillies tendon. Gabriel Ferrari with suffering from a right hip flexor strain, he is listed as doubtful. Josip Mikulic with a left quadriceps strain, he's also listed as doubtful.

Seattle Sounders FC - Fredy Montero was expected to play, but he has not fully recovered from his right wrist surgery and I think Sigi Schmid is doing the right thing and not rushing Montero back into full fitness. So, Fredy Montero is out. Mike Fucito is listed as questionable with a right ankle sprain. Pat Noonan, Taylor Graham and Josh Ford are listed as probable, not that it matters because neither of them will be on the 18-man squad tomorrow. Finally, Erik Friberg has a flu, the MLS website is saying he will be out and Friberg is saying he feels alot better. Right now, I don't know whether or not Sigi will put him on the pitch.

Key matchups:

Steve Zakuani vs Jalil Anibaba - Right backs always have a tough assignment with Zakuani on the wing, and this is no exception for Anibaba. The rookie out of the University of North Carolina trained with the Sounders last season. This looks a good matchup here.

Patrick Nyarko vs Leonardo Gonzalez - Leo is gonna be tested again on the wing. Nyarko has already drawn seven fouls this season and Gonzalez already has 3 yellow cards this season. I think it's the Ghanaian footballer with the edge over the Costa Rican international. As I said, Gonzalez will be tested a lot in this match.

Uconn-Butler championship game fitting end to a down college basketball season

By Kshell

As I watched UConn win yet another national championship in a game that put me to sleep I wasn't surprised. The game featured so many bricks you could build a house but that was to be expected as the women's game is pretty boring. Wait, wait this was the mens game?!! Yes it was in a game that set men's college basketball back to the pre-shot clock era. This game was a fitting end to an otherwise terrible display of basketball this year in mens basketball. Sure the NCAA tournament was great because of all the upsets but parity is only good for so long. Sports in general thrives on marquee teams and when you have cinderalla making a run every year that isn't a good thing. In this following post I'll explain why this was the worst year in the NCAA in quite some time. The first problem was the game has changed in the past 30 years especially in the last 10.

The talent pool has shrunk over the years due to players leaving early. In the 1970's and before that freshman weren't allowed to play. While you couldn't get a freshman year out of anyone most coaches often received two to three great years. Take the UCLA Bruins dynasty for an example as John Wooden won five titles with Lew Alcindor(Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Bill Walton. Now he didn't get either player for their freshman year but in today's game he would only get the freshman year of both. If players were allowed to leave straight out of high school back then Alcindor in today's game would be the #1 pick straight out of high school. The days of seeing elite players stay more than three years are over. Even as of 20 years ago elite players would stay like Tim Duncan stayed all four years at Wake Forest. Over 20 years ago you saw dynasties which is great for the game because either you love them or hate them. When Duke with Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley were going for a repeat title everyone had an opinion. Now you don't see that even the team they defeated in 1991 the UNLV runnin rebels doesn't happen today. UNLV had won the title and superstars Larry Johnson and Stacy Augmon came back. UNLV went undefeated in the regular season and were upset to the Duke Blue Devils. Duke in 1992 defeated Michigan's fab five which started five freshman. Now that fab five team like the 2010 Kentucky team all leaves but they chose to come back. That is the problem by the time you learn a kid's name he is gone to the next level.

Now college basketball is being forced to be carried by freshman. Sometimes you get a great class of kids and other times like this year you get nothing. Before the one and done rule was in place you saw Michigan State win the title in 2000 led by Mateen Cleaves who was the best player in college. In 2002 Maryland won the title with such "stars" like Chris Wilcox, Juan Dixon and Steve Blake. The game safe to say was pretty weak back then which saw #1 picks overall be Kenyon Martin and then non college players such as Kwayme Brown and Yao Ming. In 2003 the champion was the Syracuse Orangemen who were led by super freshman Carmello Anthony. Anthony could have gone to the NBA straight out of high school if he wanted too. That final four also featured cinderalla Marquette who was led by Dwyane Wade. Then in 2007 the NBA implemented a rule where high schoolers had to play at least one year in college basketball. That year was a good year for the NCAA as such players who normally would have left straight of highschool had to play college. The players were Greg Oden, Mike Conley, Kevin Durant and Spencer Hawes who were all lotto picks after their one season in college. Since then you have seen guys like Kevin Love, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Michael Beasley, John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins make a huge splash as a one and done player. The problem with that is in a year like this year where there isn't that one and done type talent it kills the product.

In today's college basketball the teams who typically win are the teams without great NBA players. The last team to win a national championship with an elite player was the 2003 Syracuse Orangemen with Carmello Anthony. Ever since then look at the rosters of the winning team they feature good role players in the NBA. The last team to repeat the Florida Gators returned their whole team and only Joakim Noah and Al Horford are making an impact. While you look at a team like the Kentucky Wildcats who next year will have the #1 ranked recruiting class for the third straight season. Now if this was just 20 years ago Kentucky would probably go undefeated next year with a roster of John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones, three other first round picks and four McDonalds All-Americans coming in. Instead Kentucky for the third straight year will most likely fall short as they will once again have to rebuild that is the price you pay for being such a great recruiter.

Just look how the NBA landscape is different compared to college basketball. In the 1980's your stars were Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan. Those four players all played for a national championship and in the case of Thomas, Jordan and Magic they won the national championship. Bird played all four years in college, while Jordan played three, Magic and Thomas played just two which was unheard of back then. You compare that to today which saw just one guy in the All-Star game starting lineup win a national championship just shows how different the game is. Of the 10 starters only three played in a final four(Anthony, Wade and Rose) and two of those players played just one year in college. While in that same starting 10 you saw five guys never lace it up in the college game. Of the 10 all-star game starters only Tim Duncan who is from a different era than the other guys played all four years. The game's biggest stars Lebron James and Kobe Bryant never played college basketball. Over 20 years ago Bryant is playing for Duke and becoming the next Grant Hill while James as a senior is playing with freshman Greg Oden making one of the greatest college teams of all-time. Instead we get a year with no stars and no future all-stars in this title game. We saw Butler break WSU's record set in 1941 for worst shooting performance ever. The numbers were just sick 19-55(34.5%) from the field and 1-11(9.1%) from three point range. Those numbers are from the national championship UConn Huskies. Butler shot 12-64(18.8%) and 9-33(27.3%) from three point range and 8-14(57.1%) from the foul line. Butler was so bad they shot just 3-31(9.6%) from two point range. This is what college basketball has come to unfortunately.

All in all, there is nothing college basketball can do to stop this. You can't prevent or blame kids for wanting to make money. The NBA just pays their players too much money for a kid to want to stay in school. If you are a first round pick guaranteed you'd be a fool to stay in school. The fall back to that is you have a title game with an 8th seed who lost three starters from last year and a team who finished 9th in their own conference. This was the first final four with no #1 or #2 seeds and the games were poorly played. Nobody could hit a shot in all three final four games. Expect the NCAA tournament to continue to be wide open which is good for the smaller schools and non traditional powers. The problem is the basketball just won't be the same. You need a face and when your face is Jimmer Fredette who screams NBA bust then you know the game is in trouble. Hopefully next year some super freshman can come in and save the game. That is the problem college basketball is banking on some 18-19 year old kid to save the sport. If the kid is a junior or a senior odds are he won't be an elite NBA player or he would have left by now. This title game was epicly terrible and I don't expect another game quite like this. I also don't expect the game to improve ever again in my lifetime.

Ichrio sets franchise hits record in Mariners 5-2 win over Athletics

By Kshell

The Seattle Mariners(2-0) scored three runs in the ninth inning behind Ichiro's franchise setting base hit to defeat the Oakland Athletics(0-2) 5-2. The Mariners for the second straight day were led by great starting pitching and took advantage of the A's mistakes defensively. The Mariners were led by Ichiro who recorded two hits which passed former teammate Edgar Martinez with 2,448 career for most hits in franchise history. The Mariners improve to 2-0 for the first time since 2007 and look to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 1995. The Mariners at no point last year were two games over .500 . Eric Wedge has to be thrilled with the starting pitching he has received. Last night everyone expected Felix Hernandez to be dominant but Jason Vargas followed up that performance. Vargas went 6 2/3 innings allowing just one run and striking out six. The Mariners are playing small ball and actually resemble a major league ball club. Wedge through two games has his team playing the game the right way.

Just like the previous game the Mariners pitcher found himself in trouble early on then settled down. In the third inning Vargas found himself in a second and third, one out jam. Vargas got David DeJesus to ground out which allowed a run to score. Then Vargas struck out Josh Willingham to keep the damage at 1-0 after the third. Vargas wouldn't allow another hit until the seventh inning as he dominated a weak Athletics lineup. The Mariners would rally in the sixth off of A's starter Brett Anderson. After recording the first two outs Milton Bradley would single to left. Then Bradley stole second base. Former A's hitter Jack Cust was at the plate who had walked three times the previous game. Facing a 3-0 count Cust was given the green light and ripped a base hit to centerfield scoring Bradley to tie the score up at 1-1.

In the seventh inning the Mariners offense would strike again. Once again the Mariners allow they didn't score on the A's starter worked the pitch count so Anderson could only last six innings. New Mariners shortstop Brendan Ryan doubled to lead off the inning. Then Jack Wilson followed that up with a single to shallow rightfield to give the Mariners a first and third nobody out for youngster Michael Saunders. Saunders hit the ball to centerfield scoring Ryan from third base to give the Mariners a 2-1 lead. Vargas in the bottom half of the inning was pulled with a runner on and two outs. Vargas would end up going 6 2/3 innings, five hits, walking one and allowing just one run. Vargas would also strike out six batter. Jamey Wright would relieve him and get out of the inning protecting the 2-1 lead.

In the eighth inning Wedge handed the ball over to new setup man Chris Ray. Ray's Mariners debut wasn't a good one. Ray allowed a bunt single to Coco Crisp to lead off the inning. Then he allowed a base hit to give the Athletics a first and second nobody out situation. DeJesus then grounded out to Jack Wilson for a fielders choice. That play was confusing as the Mariners thought Wilson caught it and if he had trapped it the runner at second base should have been out. Instead it was first and second just one out. Crisp then stole third base to give the Athletics first and third one out. Willingham then singled to right field scoring Crisp which tied the game up. For the sixth straight season the Mariners have blown a late inning lead in the first or second game of the year. Ray would eventually get out of the inning with the score still tied at 2-2.

In the ninth inning facing the Athletics closer and former Mariner Brian Fuentes the Mariners had a scoring rally. The inning begin when Jack Wilson singled to left field. After a sacrifice bunt by Saunders allowed Wilson to reach second Wedge pinch hit for Adam Moore with Miguel Olivo. Olivo singled to left field giving the Mariners first and third with one out. Ichiro who had tied Edgar Martinez earlier with an infield single had a good spot to pass Martinez. With the infield in Ichiro hit it to the first baseman who had to come home. The throw was off which allowed Wilson to score and because of the throwing error Olivo went to third base. The Mariners had taken a 3-2 lead on that base hit. Then Fuentes threw a wild pitch which allowed Olivo to score and Ichiro to reach second giving the Mariners a 4-2 lead. Ichiro then stole third base and Chone Figgins last night's hero hit a sacrifice fly scoring Ichiro from third to give the Mariners a 5-2 lead. The Mariners by taking the extra base scored three runs they wouldn't have if they hadn't been aggressive. The Mariners would then hand the ball to closer Brandon League. League would retire the side in order to record the save and give the Mariners a 5-2 win.

The Mariners despite not hitting the ball all that great have found a way to score in the first two games. It helps that the Athletics have committed six errors. The Mariners are taking the extra base which is winning baseball and will be counting on their pitching staff to win games this year. Vargas was pretty dominant today striking out six batters which he hadn't done in his previous 13 starts dating back to last season. The Mariners have improved to 2-0 under Wedge which is the best start for a Mariners full-time manager since Chuck Cottier in 1985 who began his Mariners career 6-0. This may just be game two of a 162 game season but for a club that lost 100 games last year they needed some confidence. All wins count the same eventually which is good to see the Mariners off to a good start.

Star of the game:

This goes to Ichiro who broke Edgar Martinez franchise hits record and drove in the winning run. Ichiro was 2-5 with an RBI and a run scored with a stolen base. Ichiro already has three stolen bases on the young season. Ichiro might not be the legend that Martinez is but this is a big accomplishment and fitting he tied and passed Martinez on infield singles. Ichiro has 2,248 hits now and if he keeps up his pace he should go over 3,000 hits in the middle of the 2014 season.

Here is a stat for the weird from Zach Cecil if you haven't already saw he pointed out that Ichiro broke the record on the 10th anniversary of his debut April 2nd, 2001. That isn't the weird part the weird part is that Edgar Martinez passed Ken Griffey Jr. on April 3rd, 2001. So pretty fitting all the way around. Ichiro is starting the year off with a bang so far with four hits and three stolen bases.

Pitcher of the game:

This is clearly Jason Vargas who was just dominant. Vargas went 6 2/3 innings, allowed just five hits and one run. The big thing that made this Vargas start standout was the fact he struck out six batters. Vargas who has improved on his swinging strikes looked pretty sharp last night. Vargas who was considered the fifth best player in the big J.J. Putz trade is now the teams #2 starter. Vargas although against a weak lineup looked pretty good.

All in all the Mariners are playing pretty good baseball which they didn't do last year. The Mariners vastly underachieved last year after overachieving in 2009. Possibly this year can provide some balance for the ball club. The Mariners bullpen proved until David Aardsma they will be scary all season long. The Mariners offense is working the count which is forcing the A's to go to their middle relief. Wedge seems to be pressing the right buttons so far. It also helps a manager when his starting pitchers are going deep into games and dominating the opposition. The Mariners look for the sweep against their division rival on the road. The sweep although early would put them three games up while a loss only puts them just a single game. The Mariners are playing better which after last years disappointing season is great to see even if it's just smoke and mirrors.

Sounders strike twice in a 2-2 draw at San Jose

The Sounders are still due for a win after finishing level at San Jose. Brad Evans and O'Brian White were the goal scorers for the Seattle Sounders in a 2-2 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes. Nothing changed in the standings with all the draws we had this week. Only the LA Galaxy and the Columbus Crew won their matches. The Sounders were without their designated player Fredy Montero, who didn't travel with the team after having a minor wrist surgery.

Seattle nearly broke through in the 3rd minute when Osvaldo Alonso found Steve Zakuani but goalkeeper Jon Busch came out to deflect his attempt wide of the goal.

The Sounders continued to dominate in the early stages and they got on the board first in the 17th minute. Mauro Rosales, who took Montero's place, shook free of Sam Cronin and delivered a good ball at the near post to Brad Evans who beat Chris Leitch to the ball and smashed it home from point-blank range and the Sounders took their first lead of the 2011 season, leading 1-0. San Jose had a great early chance to take the lead earlier in the match when Ramiro Corrales's lead pass found last seasons Golden Boot winner Chris Wondolowski who redirected the ball and broke free for a shot from 16-yards out, dead center, but Kasey Keller made a huge reaction stop with his left hand to deflect it wide. However, Keller had nothing to do in the 32nd minute.

Former Reading F.C. midfielder Bobby Convey threaded a great pass through three defenders and found Simon Dawkins, and the man on loan from Tottenham Hotspur won the race to the ball and placed it neatly past Kasey Keller inside the far post to tie the match up at 1. It was also San Jose's first non-Wondolowski goal in regular season play since September 5.

The Sounders came right back to re-take the lead. Steve Zakuani sent in a high lofted ball into the six-yeard box for O'Brian White, and the third year man out of the University of Connecticut fended off Jason Hernandez for a diving header that left Jon Busch helpless. It was O'Brian White's first goal with the Rave Green. He previously made 33 appearances and scored only 4 goals during his time with Toronto FC.

Keller came up huge again on the stroke of halftime when Tacoma native Joey Gjertsen who sent free from Chris Leitch and his effort was stoned by the veteran goalkeeper.

In the 52th minute, San Jose would level it up again. Khari Stephenson intercepted a pass from Alonso and ripped a shot from 35-yards out that beat Kasey Keller, into the upper 90. And that was how it ended, Sounders-2 San Jose Earthquakes-2.


Scoring summary:
Seattle Sounders FC - Brad Evans (Mauro Rosales, Erik Friberg) 17'

San Jose Earthquakes - Simon Dawkins (Ryan Johnson, Bobby Convey) 32'

Seattle Sounders FC - O'Brian White (Steve Zakuani, Osvaldo Alonso) 42'

San Jose Earthquakes - Khari Stephenson (unassisted) 52'

Misconduct summary:

San Jose Earthquakes - Chris Leitch (caution; Reckless Takle) 6'

Seattle Sounders FC - Nate Jaqua (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 71'

Seattle Sounders FC - Leonardo Gonzalez (caution; Delaying a Restart) 80'

Lineups:

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller; James Riley, Jeff Parke, Patrick Ianni, Leonardo Gonzalez; Erik Friberg (Alvaro Fernandez 46'), Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Mauro Rosales (David Estrada 83'), Steve Zakuani; O'Brian White (Nate Jaqua 66')

San Jose Earthquakes - Jon Busch; Chris Leitch (Ike Opara 70'), Jason Hernandez, Brandon McDonald, Ramiro Corrales; Sam Cronin, Simon Dawkins (Scott Sealy 85'), Joey Gjertsen (Khari Stephenson 46'), Bobby Convey; Ryan Johnson, Chris Wondolowski

Mariners win opener 6-2 over Athletics behind King Felix's CG win

The Seattle Mariners)1-0) start the Eric Wedge era off with a win over the Oakland Athletics(0-1) 6-2. The Mariners who have now won five straight opening day games primarily because of ace pitcher Felix Hernandez(1-0) who set franchise history today. Hernandez the reigning Cy Young award winner became the first Mariners pitcher to pitch a complete game win on opening day. The Mariners scored some runs for Hernandez unlike last year due to five errors by the A's. The Mariners had just enough timely hitting and chased Trevor Cahill to last just 4 2/3 innings. Behind Hernandez who was dominant after the first inning the Mariners just sat back and watched Hernandez finish the A's in just 108 pitches. The Mariners are hoping to rebound from a 100 loss season last year and with Hernandez every fifth day there should be some improvement.

The game started off rough for Hernandez just like he did last season in the first inning. After a single by Coco Crisp to start the game off for the Athletics, Hernandez quickly retired the next two batters. Then Josh Willingham stepped up to the plate. Willingham was a big offensive free agent signing by the A's in the offseason. Willingham jumped on the first pitch which was a fastball grooved down the middle to deep left field for a home run to give the A's a 2-0 lead on the Mariners. Hernandez then struck out Hideki Matsui to end the inning.

In the third inning the Mariners made a two out rally against A's ace Trevor Cahill. First Ichiro reach on an infield single which was the first hit of the season for the Mariners. Then Chone Figgins would get a base hit to right field which was the first ball hit out of the infield for the Mariners. Figgins and Ichiro would then do a double steal to give the Mariners second and third with two outs for Milton Bradley. After getting two strikes on Bradley Cahill lost him and eventually walked him. Then fell behind former Athletic Jack Cust 3-0 but battled back to have a full count. Then on the full count pitch Cahill walked Cust which forced Ichiro to score the first run of the season. Cahill would eventually get Justin Smoak out but the Mariners pulled within 2-1.

The Mariners who kept stranding runners eventually ran up the pitch count on Cahill. Cahill only lasted 4 2/3 innings but did allow just one earned run while striking out eight batters but did allow four hits and four walks. Cahill had also thrown 105 pitches. In the sixth inning the Mariners were facing Jerry Blevins who walked Brendan Ryan. After a Jack Wilson bunt the Athletics pulled Blevins for Craig Breslow to face Ichiro. Ichiro recorded his second hit of the game to left field driving in Ryan from second base to tie the game up. After Ichiro was thrown out trying to steal his third base of the game thunder struck for the Mariners. Figgins who hit one home run all of last season took Breslow deep to left field to give the Mariners a 3-2 lead. That was all Hernandez needed as he was in a groove.

For the Mariners a 3-2 lead felt like a 10 run lead with the way Hernandez was pitching. Hernandez from the second inning through seventh inning allowed just one base runner which was eliminated by a double play. In the seventh inning the Mariners blew the game open thanks to two Athletics errors. Cust led off the inning with a walk then Smoak belted a double to deep center. Miguel Olivo then hit what would have been an RBI groundout but Derrick Barton made a throwing error allowing Olivo to be safe and Smoak to move to third base. Cust scored giving the Mariners a 4-2 lead. Then Brad Ziegler trying to pick off Olivo threw the ball away which allowed Smoak to score and Olivo to go all the way to third base giving the Mariners a 5-2 lead. Ryan then hit a fielders choice which the A's came home with it by a great slide by Olivo he was safe giving the Mariners a commanding 6-2 lead. The only question was if Wedge was going to let Hernandez go the distance.

Hernandez who got out of a jam in the eighth inning had just 94 pitches. Wedge even though this was opening day let his ace finish the game. Hernandez retired the A's in order ending the game by striking out Barton then David DeJesus. Hernandez showed everyone why he won the Cy Young last year. Over his last eight innings he had allowed just three hits. Hernandez finished the game going nine innings, allowing five hits, walking nobody and striking out five. The Mariners are without closer David Aardsma and with Hernandez having a low pitch count Wedge made the right call. Now the Mariners begin the season like they have the last four seasons which is 1-0. The Mariners were helped out by their 1-2 punch at the top of the lineup Ichiro going 2-4 with a run scored, an rbi, two stolen bases and a walk. Figgins was also huge going 2-5 with a home run, run scored, an rbi, and a stolen base. Olivo in his first game back as a Mariner was 2-5 with a run scored and an rbi as well. The Mariners despite striking out 14 times and hit just 1-11 W/RISP did just enough to win. It helps to have Hernandez dealing the way he was.

Star of the game:

No offense to Chone Figgins but this was an easy choice. Felix Hernandez was his dominant self and when he gets any run support that is an automatic win for the Mariners. Hernandez gave up a two run bomb in the first inning but unlike most pitchers quickly found focus and struck out the next hitter. Hernandez only had five strikeouts but had 14 ground outs. Hernandez who had thrown 39 pitches after two innings went the next seven innings throwing just 69 pitches. Hernandez who improves to 3-0 with a 1.70 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 27 strikeouts in 31 2/3 innings in four opening day starts. Hernandez like he did in the past came out and dominated on opening day once again.

Unsung Hero:

To me that is Jack Cust. Cust was 0-2 with an RBI but had three walks. In five at bats Cust faced a full count in all five at bats. Cust by doing the little things like working the count allowed the Mariners to raise the pitch count on Trevor Cahill. Cahill despite allowing just one run and striking out eight couldn't even last five innings. Most teams have poor middle relief so better to face them than an ace like Cahill. Cust will drive fans crazy with his strikeouts but he will also work the count as well.

Hitting stars:

This goes to the top of the order Ichiro and Chone Figgins. Those two combined were 4-9, with two runs scored, two rbi's, three stolen bases and a home run. The Mariners are hoping for a bounce back year from Figgins and hope Ichiro does what he always does. Ichiro today moved within one hit of tying Edgard Martinez franchise record for most hits as a Mariner. Ichiro with two hits will be the all-time leader.

All in all, the Mariners just won one game out of 162 but it feels good to get a win after last year. The Mariners with a new manager are hoping to ride the pitching staff this year. The Mariners are hoping on offense to do the little things like I mentioned with Cust. Ultimately this is a long season and to change your thoughts on the team or any individual after one game is just crazy. At least one in five games we get to enjoy the greatness which is watching Felix Hernandez pitch. Hernandez showed why again on opening day he is the best pitcher in the American League. For Eric Wedge his first game as a manager couldn't have gone more smoothly. Now today with Jason Vargas on the hill I have a feeling Wedge will have to do some managing today. Enjoy the win Mariners fans we deserve it after last year. Just remember one in five days we are lucky to watch a great talent like Felix Hernandez entering his prime.