Felix Hernandez leaves game with arm injury

Bad baseball news from out here in Seattle: Felix Hernandez left the Mariners-Twins game in the first inning due to "tightness in his right elbow."

I hope the injury isn't serious. It wasn't enjoyable when King Felix plowed through the Red Sox lineup last week, but as a baseball fan I was/am psyched to watch him pitch this season against the rest of the league. As Dave over at U.S.S. Mariner puts it -- without Felix Hernandez watching the 2007 Mariners "is about as much fun as having your eyelids ripped out."

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I promise to stay at least ninety feet from Fenway tonight

(Photo from Boston.com)

I hesitate to throw around the term "bad luck," but the Red Sox haven't scored a run in the last two games I have attended. Wednesday night (as we all know), Felix Hernandez stole the show and the Sox lost 3-0. Back on August 25th, 2006, we convinced fifty people to fly out to Seattle to catch a game with us and the Sox lost 6-0. What's up with that?

Some observations from Fenway Wednesday:

• Before the game, Daisuke Matsuzaka was introduced in Japanese - it was a nice moment.
  
• 36,000+ flash bulbs lit up for the first pitch of the Matsuzaka - Ichiro showdown.
  
• 67% of the Fenway crowd were wearing Dice-K headbands.
• Signs utilizing kanji (correct and incorrect translations) are "all the rage."
• Ichiro needed a hug.
• Felix Hernandez was impressive.
• Eating ice cream when it is 37 degrees is a bad idea.

Oh! We also saw an R2-D2 mailbox in front of Symphony Hall. (Very exciting!)
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Ichiro! Zen Master

I've lived in Seattle for four years now so I'm familiar with the soul-searching musings of Ichiro! that find their way into baseball articles ("If I'm in a slump, I ask myself for advice"). This one, prompted by a question about opposing Daisuke Matsuzaka, really...uhm...takes the cake. From the Seattle Times:

"I hope he arouses the fire that's dormant in the innermost recesses of my soul. I plan to face him with the zeal of a challenger." -- Ichiro on facing Matsuzaka Wednesday

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The Showdown

I saw this Daisuke Matsuzaka vs Ichiro video over on Deadspin. I have no idea what is being said, but the gist is that a)Matsuzaka has had the upper hand in previous encounters with Ichiro and b)the Japanese are wicked psyched for Wednesday's matchup:

In a twist that will add to the drama of Wednesday's game, the Seattle Mariners announced that their own young stud pitcher, Felix Hernandez, will match up against Matsuzaka. The M's had their entire weekend series snowed out in Cleveland, so Hernandez will be pitching on eight days rest. "King Felix" (as he is referred to in Seattle) was awesome in his first start of the season (8 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 12 K). He will be fun to watch too.

My dad and I have tickets to the game Wednesday, so I'll be doing the "PLEASE don't rain" dance for the next 48 hours (no video footage available). So far, the forecast for Boston is "good":

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Ugliness / Trivia Winner

Today's Sox game was ugly. Let's just chalk it up to Opening Day jitters and move on. Over at 38 Pitches, Curt Schilling posted an insightful blog entry recounting his not-so-great outing.

I also caught the Mariners' opener today. Seattle's 20 year old pitcher, Felix Hernandez, had scary, dominating stuff (8 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 12 K). I've seen most of his outings since he broke into the majors in '05 and today was the first time he's lived up to his supposed "phenom" status. Thankfully, it doesn't appear that he'll line up to start next week at Fenway against the Sox.

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Congratulations to Adam P for answering last Tuesday's trivia question correctly! Adam won the random drawing for a Boston Insoxicated T-shirt.

Last Tuesday's Question:
Who produces Red Sox tickets? The company's name is on the back of each hard ticket that the Red Sox sell....

Correct Answer: Weldon, Williams and Lick

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Stop by tomorrow for another question from Trivia Guy. As usual, there will be a prize.

If you are in the Boston/Cambridge area, don't forget to head over to John Harvard's Brew House tonight at 9:30 for trivia night with Trivia Guy. Thinking cap required, drinking shoes optional!

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Talkin' Trash

Lookout Landing has a hilarious guide for Seattle fans (novices and veterans) on how to talk trash to each of the AL teams when they're in town.

For example, here are the suggested jabs at Red Sox fans:


For Novices: Inability to win the division, Yankee superiority, ridiculous accents
For Veterans: Manny Ramirez's defense, parasitic nature of fan base, godawful ballpark, pink hats, Joel Pineiro
Avoid Mentioning: Recent success, Heathcliff Slocumb, cancer

Here are a few comebacks if you encounter any newly obnoxious Mariners fans Opening Day at Fenway:


For Novices: Heathcliff Slocumb, Recent failure
For Veterans: Mike Hargrove, A-Rod, Crowd waits for scoreboard to initiate cheer (Let's Get Looooud!), Synchronized dancing ground crew, OBP, Fans need a guide to trash-talking
Avoid Mentioning: Joel Pineiro, Garlic Fries


"Your Guide To Being a Really Obnoxious Trash-Talking 2007 Mariners Fan" [Lookout Landing]
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