8:14

League finishes the job after giving up some hard hits.. Mariners win 3-1. Nice game to start off the season. Colon Vs. Vargas tomorrow.

8:08

That said.. League gives up a flyball to the warning track to the first batter he faces.. Might be a long inning.

8:05

Ichiro comes through with his 4th hit, scores Ackley.. 3-1 Mariners. Ackley, Felix and Ichiro fighting for Fantasy MVP for the game.. Ackley is 2-5, 2 runs, 2 RBI, HR and a steal, Ichiro is 4-5 with an RBI. Felix- 8 IP, 5 Hits, 1 ER, 6 K.

Brandon League not planning on blowing the save anymore, but probably more concerned about blowing the 1.5

8:03

Seriously, what is going on in Japan? They showed a different section and probably 25 people were on screen, 4 of them had surgical masks on.. Is it the pollution?

7:58

In the 11th and the tie is broken.. Ackley takes back the RBI lead from Kurt Suzuki. I can only imagine the battles between these two the rest of the year. Brandon League presumably warming up, preparing to blow his first save of the year.

7:28

And of course Seattle goes 1-2-3.. Balfour shuts the door. Not looking good for Seattle. The ever dangerous Tom Wilhelmson is in for the M's.

7:18

Felix starting to get tired.. Falls behind the first two hitters but retires the side. Over 100 pitches now, it's all bullpen from here on out. 1-1 Top 9. Ichiro, Smoak and Montero do up for Seattle.. Seattle needs a run from one of these guys. Ichiro 3-3, but Smoak and Montero hitless so far.

7:01

Bob Melvin already the leader for worst manager in baseball. Tied at 1, bot. 7, Cespedas leads off with a double. Brandon Allen is 0-2 with a pair of strikeouts, is asked to bunt. Brandon Allen is not a bunter. He is hitting 8th today, but he mashes homeruns. He bunts the ball in the air for an out. I get that he is struggling and you want to move the runner to 3rd, but he is not a bunter. Brutal. Felix gets out of the inning and we go to the 8th tied at 1.

6:53

The Mariners and Athletics TV crews aren't actually in Tokyo. They must be getting some sort of DomeVision feed because, it hasn't been the best broadcasted game ever. The Mariners announcers are making it known they are not there, constantly saying how early it is, etc. I assume this sideline reporter did these reports earlier in the week. We haven't heard from her since she showed us what was inside the magical food box. I can only hope she can find the surgical masked guy to find out what he has.

6:47

Not much going on.. 1-1 Top 7.. Felix gets out of a big jam, stranding runners on the corners and gets Redick to line out to left. Both pitchers are being very efficient, with low pitch counts. Felix- 83, McCarthy- 73.

6:23

I'm really starting to get annoyed by Mike and Mike on ESPN.. Greenberg keeps bring up "One of the biggest trades in MLB history happened last night when you were sleeping. We will tell you coming up next".. I'm thinking, who got dealt? Then it turns out he is talking about the new Dodger ownership. Dumb.

6:20

Today's MLB 2012 season opener breakfast is brought to you by stale Cap'n Crunch and 1 day expired milk. I may not make it into work today.

6:08

Kurt Suzuki doubles to tie the game up at 1. Suzuki isn't Japanese, but he is from Hawaii. The fans must know this, because they weren't too excited about the double. Ichiro though obviously getting a lot of love. Hitting third this year, he is 2-2 with two infield singles. I wonder if that million dollar bounty on a photo of him naked is still on the table. How surprising is it that some scrub minor leaguer never took that picture and sold it? He could buy several thousand Vento boxes with that cash.

6:01

Mike Carp flies out to end the top of the 4th. And we check in again with our sideline reporter who has FINALLY opened her box of Japanese food. Apparently it's called a Vento box.. It costs $1000 yen. Seems a little steep, but she says it's a bargain at 10-11 US dollars. Its got rice, dumplings, egg rolls, etc. But she says the best part is it's in a box so it's all ready to take to your seat! It's good to know Seattle has a Barney Gellnar as well.

5:58

Dustin Ackley gives us our first run and HR of the season.. A Blast to straight away center field. This proceeded our sideline reporter telling us about the cuisine at the Tokyo Dome. I don't know what it was, but it comes in a box. She then tells us, "I'll let you know later how it tastes." Now THAT my friends is a tease.

5:53

Michael Saunders trending on Twitter right now. Here are some highlights:

A PURRFECT LANDING ‏ @AntsinIN

some scrub solo homer, like Eric Sogard or Michael Saunders, is gonna be the only run of this game

Jeff Evans ‏ @jeffrevans

It is one at-bat, one swing...but I am telling you, this is a different Michael Saunders!

John Boyle ‏ @johnpboyle

Michael Saunders missed the pregame meeting about hitting weak groundballs.

Chris (CT) K. ‏ @CT_BallHawk

Michael Saunders is my comeback player/breakout player for the M's. Remember that name.

And then he makes the bonehead base running play:

Eric Nusbaum ‏ @ericnus

The Michael Saunders revolution is about *not* thinking. So don't worry.

Mark Townsend ‏ @Townie813

lol Michael Saunders good lord.

The Michael Saunders ERA.

5:45

Michael Saunders in the lineup today, a former decent prospect, who has a career batting average of .196. The Mariners announcers mentioned this is probably a must contribute season for him (Something M's fans probably said 2 years ago). Saunders comes up with a hit and even steals 2nd. Announcers are getting pumped! Then on a groundball to shortstop, he is thrown out at 3rd base. I can already hear Tacoma fans itching for Saunders to be their Pick to Click.

5:38

Yoennis Cespedes is making his Major League Debut this morning.. I hadn't really seen him yet in Spring Training, and he steps up to the plate and I already immediately think of Vlad Guerrero. He even strikes out on a pitch in the dirt. The resemblance is uncanny.

Anyway, the Mariners broadcasting team is not impressed by him, saying "There really isn't a whole lot of video on Cespedes, except for one you tube video. Apparently the Athletics saw that video, and them gave him $36 million." Ouch.

5:33

I should probably get to my pick for the game. But let me first say I have had a successful Spring Training. I get a lot of flack from some friends about picking preseason games, but they are easier to cap. You can see the lineup and know what pitchers will be throwing. But essentially, comes down to #75 pitching to #68 with two outs and the tying run on 2nd base. Anyway, I racked up a 12-6 record, which is a disappointment considering I started 10-2. Anyway, I like Seattle in this, basically all because of Felix. Money line -135, 1.5 line +130.

5:30

The Mariners sideline reporter joins us for the first time today, to talk about the "Subtle differences" in MLB and the Japan League. Her first difference? In batting practice, when a ball is about to enter the stands, a loud whistle starts to blow, warning the fans a ball might hit them if they aren't paying attention. Yep, Japan baseball is so different!

5:23

Felix Hernandez on the bump for Seattle. So basically anything less than a 5 hitter would be a disappointment against Oakland. Well, he only has 4 hits left because Weeks leads the game off with a single. We also have our first sighting of a fan in Japan with a surgical mask on. This might be weird coming from somebody that lives in one of the biggest medical cities in the United States, but when I see someone with a surgical mask on, I immediately have to get as far from that person as possible. I understand they are probably wearing it to prevent getting something from somebody else, but they obviously have something pretty terrible and I'm not interested in getting it. What a strange society we live in, in a post-SARS world.

5:14

Recent ESPN cover boy, Brandon McCarthy on the hill for Oakland, and already has thrown 2 ground ball outs, and nearly gets a third, but Ichiro beats on a two out infield chopper. My brother the other day pulled an Elliot Mann... We were watching the NCAA Tournament when he mentioned how people were loving Brandon McCarthy in Fantasy Baseball this year. Flashback a few years ago, when Elliot was pondering if Zack Greinke would ever be good again. At the time, Greinke was on the cover of SI with the title of "Best Pitcher in Baseball?". So Paul asked about McCarthy, but this time I was able to chuck ESPN Mag at him that he was on the cover with the headline, "Chicks Dig the Ground Ball".. So Elliot, you are off the hook at this point.

2012 Opening Series

5:10- What better way to fire back up Don't Call Him Joey than to wake up at 5:00 in the morning to watch an AMERICAS baseball league start the season in JAPAN. I always hate when MLB does this. But anyway, I'm up, the game has started, and I'm ready for some baseball