The Masters and More

Today Thursday April 9 begins the Master. It is easy to remember especially for us who are not big pro golf fans. I always know when it is because it follows March Madness NCAA men’s basketball tournament and the beginning of baseball season.

It is hard to know what the big story is for the Masters. I just figure to enjoy it when I tune in. I likely will not watch the whole thing but will keep an eye on the leader board. I know that we have one local professional golfer playing in the Masters named Ryan Moore. He has been playing pretty good golf as of late so hopefully he will have a good showing. He grew up in Puyallup, Washington and played college golf in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The story I am first going into the Masters which I am sure other people who generally watch the big tournaments is the return of Tiger Woods. How will he perform? Will he be among the leaders, somewhere in the middle, not making the cut on Friday, or will he have to bow out because of injury. This is the first tournament he will be playing in a few months.

I am sure those who are really into golf have other stories that may interest them than about Tiger Woods. I am sure the ratings will be really good at the beginning because the occas-ional fan is interested in Tiger Woods. I am sure they will stay tuned when additional stories service and how the top players are doing.

In other sport news the baseball season started off this week. Already there are some local fans that are being critical of the Seattle Mariners since they lost the last two games after winning the opening day game. It happens when the team starts at home, and they are not playing at the standard fans are hoping for. It is important to know it is a long season, and generally the early season the pitching is usually ahead of the hitting. The first three games of the Mariners against the Los Angeles Angels has been that way. The Mariners won the first game on Monday April 6 behind the pitching of Felix Hernandez winning 4-1. The following night they lost to C.J. Wilson and the angels 2-0. Of course, some fans start getting off the bandwagon complaining about the lack of hitting. They forget to remember that C.J. Wilson always pitches well against the Mariners. On Wednesday night they lost 5-3. Iwakuma who started the game gave up four runs in the first inning so it was something they had fight back from and though had opportunities lost in the end. It was amazing that Iwakuma lasted pitching six innings especially having thrown fifty pitches in the first two innings.

The Mariners now go out on the road to face the Oakland Athletics and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Last year they actually did better on the road than at home. Hopefully this will allow them to relax and they can win at least two games in both Oakland and Los Angeles. Maybe the next time home they will perform better.

It is amazing that fans forget real early that baseball season is like a marathon. It is a very long season, and the team will have its ups and downs. It will be nice if they can have a decent start during April. I remember someone saying that every team wins fifty games and loses fifty games it is what you do in the other sixty-two games that decide whether you have a good season or not; something really to think about.

Anyway for those who are watching enjoy the Masters, and the baseball fans enjoy your team now regardless the record they have started out so far.