Back in the Game!!

During our vacation I had part of my computer crash (internet, e-mail, and presentation program). After a week of trying to fix it myself, I ended up taking it in to the shop. They had it for over a week and now I thought I was back in the game. I'm typing this with a bum left hand. Last night our Bible Study group played basketball. I blocked a pass and ended up with a sprained, swollen, and hurting thumb. Thankfully the x-rays didn't show any breaks.

Now, my reason for posting. On March 31st I heard two of my favorite words again, “Play Ball.” Just in case you don’t know, I was up at beautiful Safeco Field for the start of another Mariner Season. This season we have some new seats just inside 1st base (we were behind homeplate last season), but we are about 6 rows closer to the field. This is a shot without telephoto:



Now for its closeup:



If you’ve never gone to Opening Day, I highly recommend it. It is so much fun and everyone has great expectations for the season. One of the traditions is announcing all the players as they run in from the outfield. This picture was taken just as they started:



Here’s the lineup just before the National Anthem:



After that, they give out some awards, but don’t worry I won’t bore you with the pictures or names.......Next came the Ceremonial 1st pitch. They honored one of the greatest guys, Dave Niehaus, who’s been the Mariners announcer since they started. He is being inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown this summer by being the 2008 Ford C Frick Award Winner given to a broadcaster. My understanding is that this is the only way a broadcaster can be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Here’s a photo of him getting ready to throw the pitch:



Now, here’s the awesome car that he road in on (I couldn’t get a great picture of the car when he was in front of our section, because there were too many people):



Now for some action shots. Can’t remember what he did during this at bat, but here’s Adrian Beltre swinging for the fences:



Coming in to close the game is J.J. Putz:



Here’s my final picture:



Final Score: Mariners 5 Texas 2!!!!