Tonight.

Daisuke Matsuzaka vs, Felix Hernandez and Ichiro. Boston vs. Seattle. Two young, possibly brilliant pitchers. Two Japanese superstars. Two American League powerhou-- oh, wait. Ok, so one good team and one possibly really bad team. Although it's hard to tell anything about the Mariners at this point after the long layoff and the abomination 14-3 whipping they took yesterday.

Doesn't matter. Tonight's game (on ESPN2 no less!) has the potential to be very interesting. If only because Felix and Ichiro.

And as much as I want our two key guys to go out there and impress in their little matchups--more than that, I want the Mariners to win. And I don't really care how they do it. 1-0 with an Ichiro homer and nothing but terrible hitting from the rest of the guys? Felix blows it but somehow the offense rallies? Those would be ugly wins, but I'll take 'em.

If I can't have a win, I at least hope that Felix can be impressive on the national stage. If the entire team can avoid looking like fools, that would be nice too. I have this hope--and it may be ridiculous--that the Mariners will come out fired up because of the matchup, because of yesterday's terrible game, because of a weekend of sitting around not being able to play.

We'll see what happens tonight.

A couple links for your perusal. ESPN has ranked the 122 US professional teams (hockey, basketball, baseball, football) in fan satisfaction. The Seahawks are ranked 13th. The Blazers are 92, right below the Houston Texans (ouch!). The Mariners are 90.

Art Thiel from the Seattle Post-Intelligence breaks down the Mariners rank and the fact that they are ranked near the Red Sox. He provides us with this glum gem:

As far as the Mariners being ranked low with the Red Sox, it's possible that the native New Englander steeped in club tradition is more comfortable with complaint and bitterness. The 2004 championship is over, and Red Sox Nation is back to being fulfilled by disappointment and low expectations.

The Mariners, once irrelevant, then astonishing, are only in the early stages of building a Red Sox-like industry out of consistent futility in pleasant surroundings.

Sounds like fun.

Here's a pretty good article about how spring training has gone for the Mariners. I'm excited about the new catcher, Jamie Burke. He's from Roseburg, Oregon, 35, and hasn't played much in the big leagues. And he's not the sucking black hole in the lineup named Rene Rivera, so.

Hey, a lady got to umpire a spring training game. Cool.

The Mariners blog Lookout Landing has the most pessimistic outlook possible regarding the upcoming baseball season. That sound you hear while reading is all the hope you have exiting your body at a high velocity. Thankfully they promise that four more optimistic predictions are upcoming.

To continue with the pessimism: my hero, Kenji Johjima, can't throw people out at second. He is also the subject of this hilarious and unfortunate picture from Monday's game.

Seattle Mariners catcher Kenji Johjima can't handle a bop foul off the bat of Arizona Diamondbacks' Chad Tracy in the second of their spring training baseball game in Peoria, Ariz., Monday, March 19, 2007. Tracy then reached base on an error by Seattle's first baseman Richie Sexson.
(AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

There's also been much worry about ace closer Putz and some strange arm stiffness, but so far it seems like there's no need to panic, and that he'll be okay.

I'm learning that a lot of time being a sports fan means choosing between a constant feeling of dread or blind Pollyannaism. It's hard to take the middle of the road and still be passionate and involved. There's no such thing as looking at a team and letting out an enthusiastic "hmm." What's interesting is that a lot of blogs I've been reading lately--particularly those that seem to be particularly interested in statistical analysis--seem in general to take the pessimistic road. I get the sense that they feel that they have a responsibility to be the voice of reason against the eternally optimistic mainstream media.

While on the subject of sports media and what I'm reading lately: I've been reading a lot of Geoff Baker's articles for the Seattle Times as well as his blog on the paper's website. It's interesting to see what a regular reporter does with the blogging media, and what he chooses to talk about in his blog and what he talks about in print. One of the things that I enjoy is the fact that he writes about the spring training games as they happen, meaning I can check in on how the Mariners are doing as soon as I remember that they're playing. He also provides up to the minute info on developing issues, like Putz and his stiff elbow.

Besides the promptness of the updates, the blog also allows Baker to discuss certain issues in more detail then he might in print. Yesterday he wrote this fascinating article about up and coming pitcher Brandon Morrow, and the possibility of using him in the bullpen this year. Baker discusses what he has personally seen in similar situations with other clubs. It's interesting and really helped me understand the Morrow issue in a way that a brief blurb in the paper would not. Baker even edited the article to respond to a user comment.

Basically, Baker uses the blog to give readers more information, faster, in a more informal environment. It's awesome.

Ok, that's enough baseball blather for now. 12 days until the first real live official game of the season.

Upcoming posts I'm planning: more talk about what makes me like teams--particularly what sort of strategies and tactics I find appealing in all sports; talk about the sweet sixteen in NCAA basketball; and photographic proof that my house has been infiltrated by Yankees fans.

help us Kenji Johjima, you're our only hope

I love Kenji Johjima.

In general, I think I like catchers. Maybe it's because my brother was a catcher when he played ball. Maybe it's because I like it when the catcher goes out to pat the pitcher on the shoulder and calm 'em down. Maybe I like the gear. But I like catchers, and I like offensive minded catchers in particular. I grew up liking Mike Piazza. I like that Mauer fellow who's playing for the twins. And I like Johjima, and the fact that instead of groaning and hiding when he comes up to bat, I get excited (and yes, I'm looking at you Rene Rivera).

Kenji was on the front page of Yahoo sports the other day, and I was happy to see him getting a bit of national press. The article suggests that with the Mariners rather questionable pitching moves this off season, Johjima will need to play a huge roll on the team.

Johjima must learn to read the ball coming out of Weaver's dozen arm angles, to keep Batista from imploding when he gets wild, to draw something out of Ramirez, because 248 strikeouts in 521 1/3 innings just doesn't cut it.

...

Johjima, though only in his second year in Seattle, is one of the things on which the ever-changing Mariners can rely. His 147 hits last season set an American League record for rookie catchers, and his .291 batting average, 18 home runs, 76 RBIs and .783 on-base-plus-slugging were top seven among big-league catchers.

Hey, a guy who can hit, on the Mariners? Please, can we keep him, pleeease?

Johjima also recently did a chat/interview thing at ESPN. He sounds like a friendly, funny guy, who approaches the game meticulously. I couldn't ask for a better personality on a team I'm cheering for.


One final goodie for you: Ichiro and Johjima share a wonderful, magical moment.

Ichiro fancypants

Who is Ichiro, and why do Mariners fans love him? He is the calm zen master of our outfield. He is is our most consistent hitter.

He wears fancy pants.

photo from the AP/Elaine Thompson

Current speculation is that Ichiro might leave us next year, possibly for the hated Yankees. Maybe it's time for the team to move on, and for Ichiro to join a team that might actually win something. But I hope he stays. And that he continues to talk in riddles and wear pink.

photo from the AP/Elaine Thompson

WFB

The first thing that needs to be established by a Mariner fan is how she feels about one Willie Bloomquist, affectionately known as Willie F-ing Bloomquist (WFB) by the some in the Mariner community. Some fans think he’s great, some fans hate him. What’s his deal?

WFB is a utility player. He can play most positions on the field and he has speed, which means that he’s a useful fellow to keep on the bench in case someone gets hurt or you need a pinch runner. He doesn’t hit very well, however. Seems pretty straightforward, right? Well, sort of.

The fans that love Willie love him because he’s local and scrappy. They think he’s the best utility player in baseball. Some of them want him to be a starter.

The fans that hate him think that he gets too much money and too many at bats. The U.S.S . Mariner has this to say about WFB:

The problem is that what he offers the team could easily be replaced by any number of minor league players; that he gets so much irrational love from the team, the media and fans due to his local ties; and because of the dramatic divide between the playing time his skills merit and the playing time he actually gets/people want him to get.

That seems pretty reasonable to me.

Take a look at this article in The News Tribune. Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi calls Willie “an old-fashioned red-ass” (what does that EVEN MEAN?) and the article goes on to say he has “a rage to play.”

Bloomquist himself has a lot to say:

“I hate losing. I hate failing. Beat me today, and I’ll try to find a way to beat you tomorrow. I’ve had guys come to me and say I should settle down a little more.

That’s not how I’m made.”

…

‘If I’m going to be a utility player, then I’m going to be the best utility player, that’s how I look at the job. Every day, I take ground balls at one position or another. During batting practice, I play the outfield.

And every day, I try to find one way to beat you.”

Is he a jerk, or just fired up about his job? I think that's merely a matter of opinion. I think it's a fine attitude for a player to have.

Here's my official position. Willie’s an interesting fellow. Sometimes seeing him at the plate fills me with dread, but I like following his story. And I love it when he does succeed at the plate, not just because it helps the team, but because I think it's funny how uncomfortable it makes the people who don't care for him at all.