Seattle Mariners

With the team headed to Safeco Field for the home opener against the Cleveland Indians Friday, hopes and expectations were high.

Sure, the M’s had won just two of their first six games. Sure, they had gone into Arlington and gotten their behinds handed to them by the Rangers.

But it was Opening Night, and somehow all was momentarily forgotten. Ichiro and King Felix were set to receive their awards in front of a sold-out crowd.

It's Opening Day, which means it's time to put the spreadsheets away and head out to the ballpark for pampered grass, the smell of garlic fries and a rousing nine innings of pure bliss.

What better way to enjoy this event than sharpening your pencil and getting lost in a baseball game by keeping score?

That may not be for everyone. Perhaps you're more into chatting, watching the Hydro Races and anticipating the start of The Wave.

Dating back to their first season in 1977, the Seattle Mariners have had their share of disappointments.

It may be hard to stay loyal at times, but these wily M's have a knack of sprinkling in some magic moments that help fans keep the faith.

The Seattle Mariners need to learn from their mistakes as they prepare for their 2011 home opener.  After being swept by the Texas Rangers, they sit at 2-4 and in third place in the AL West, which is shaping up to be a difficult division.

The Mariners have the second overall pick in the draft. This means they can get almost any player they want.

The Pirates, on the hand, can literally get any player they want. While third baseman Anthony Rendon appears to be the consensus overall pick, the Pirates might find pitching a bigger need and go after Gerrit Cole.

We'll see what the Pirates do, but the Mariners are sure to know who their second pick would be should their first fall off the board.

This afternoon, to our dismay, we saw the Mariners revert back to last year's style of play: low run production, a shaky bullpen and carelessness at the plate.

We should probably admit to ourselves that this is the way the season will progress, but it's easier just to make legitimate excuses that could possibly explain the woes of the Mariners.

We can attribute today's loss to a couple of things. One, an unfavorable pitching matchup. Two, an improvement in the A's' play.

Solid pitching and waiting for the A’s to implode—such has been the formula for success for the Mariners in their first two games this season.

The first part of that equation was Jason Vargas’ impeccable performance on the mound Saturday night that kept the M’s in the game. Showing impressive command of his pitches, Vargas nearly rivaled King Felix’s gem Friday night. He mixed his different pitches with success and kept the A’s off balance all night.

Solid pitching and waiting for the A’s to implode—such has been the formula for success for the Mariners in their first two games this season.

The first part of that equation was Jason Vargas’ impeccable performance on the mound Saturday night that kept the M’s in the game. Showing impressive command of his pitches, Vargas nearly rivaled King Felix’s gem Friday night. He mixed his different pitches with success and kept the A’s off balance all night.

Saturday night, Ichiro Suzuki connected on a pitch from Oakland reliever Brian Fuentes to surpass Edgar Martinez for the Seattle Mariners' franchise lead in total hits (2,248).

It's no surprise; throughout Ichiro's career, he has been a record-setter for the Mariners.

Seattle Mariners fans have been tormented over the past few years with incredibly disappointing seasons.  This is in part due to the unfairly high expectations that have been set by analysts.

Other factors include poor performance, inconsistent pitching, injuries, and bad management; but let's put those behind us and examine the successes of 2011.