Monday, Opening Day
“Two-seam fastball could be a boon for M’s pitchers” [Times]
“As April goes, so goes the M’s season” [PI]
“M’s no longer darlings” [Thiel, in the PI]
And the return of the Answer Guy in the PI.
Q: What new eats will be encountered this year at Safeco Field?
AG: The ever-popular Ivar’s will offer “Fresh Catch of the Day” items on a rotating basis, while also taking over the pregame festivities at the fenced asphalt enclosure outside Safeco’s Home Plate Gate. What was originally the Outback Outpost and then the Azteca Caliente Corner is now renamed Ivar’s Clam Bake. Kau Kau BBQ from the International District will offer traditional Chinese eats (Section 136). But Club Level denizens may have the best new Safeco grub — various burgers made with that high-end Kobe beef.
I love that note about the ambiance… “fenced asphalt enclosure”. Mmm, I’ve always wished for a local fenced asphalt enclosure eatery I could enjoy before games.
And Reed’s playing today. [PI]
There’s no “Kobe beef” in the states — it’s illegal to import it from Japan. There’s beef from Wagyu cattle, which is the same breed as “Kobe beef”, but it’s grown in Texas. And if it doesn’t cost $300 a pound, or the appropriate fraction thereof, it’s probably nothing special. The closest you can probably get in Seattle is at Canlis. Certainly not Safeco.
But then, the tang of asphalt makes any beef taste like it’s been massaged in beer, or whatever the latest rumors are.
Check out the list of opening day rosters in Thiel’s piece — that’s some crazy infield they had in 2000.
That’s probably a typo, Guillen must’ve played 2B. Thiel also has 2 LF in the 2004 lineup.
And Thiel has Lopez batting second while Reed bats eighth. Well, I lol’d.
Matthew Thornton final line:
1.1 IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 1SO, 0HR, on 28 pitches, 5 batters faced, 1 groundball out, 2 flyball outs (both line drives).
5.16 pitches per batter; pitches were elevated; struck out Hafner on a 3-2 fastball.
Right. I wouldn’t take your eye off the Anti-Matter Containment Field, Mr. La Forge.
Me and my crappy math. 5.6 pitches per batter.
I don;t think there’s anything left to say except Let’s Go M’s. Can we please start the season with a W and punish the friggin Angels?
Here’s to long winning streaks….can anyone second 161-0? 🙂
So, when is the appropriate time to show up and catch the pre-game festivities?
Here’s to long winning streaks….can anyone second 161-0?
So the M’s lose opening day to set up a heroic rally for the rest of the season?
I’ve got to say that I found the article on the two seam fastball pretty amusing, like this is some sort of new thing? It’s probably the first “other pitch” that Little Leaguers learn.
It’s time for some baseball! Let’s get this stuff going!
The greatest 6, and hopefully 7, months of the year begin today!!
Wurld Sears or bust!
Is it game time yet? (Though I’ll be at work and have to DVR the damn thing)
Wagyu or American Kobe-style beef is still ten times the price of standard critter at bulk-rate prices. And there are those who believe that American wagyu is superior to Kobe, mainly because the quality is more consistent than the Japanese stuff.
My big issue with it is that you lose a lot of the reasons for eating wagyu if you just grind it up and press it into a patty. It’s like putting gold leaf on top — it does nothing but make it pretty and expensive.
Finally, enough with the offseason, let’s get to the real news.
Carl Everett for MVP.
I have high hopes for this year, but then again I have high hopes for every year.
Yay for baseball, and let’s hope things stay interesting for at least a few months.
Well the reason you see American-Kobe beef hamburgers is that in general those cows are raised just for their steaks. BUT there is still a lot of meat left. That leads to thinks like Kobe beef fajitas, hamburgers, and cheese steaks. It’s a win-win for the producers. They get to sell off the cuts of meat that are hard to sell, and they get to keep charging the outrageous prices (although waygu apparantly take along time to raise hence the high cost).
has anyone actually ever gone into the fenced asphalt enclosure in any of its incarnations? It has always seemed too much like a holding pen for some of those non-Kobe beef to me….
I think the pre-game stuff is supposed to get underway around 1:25-1:30– it shouldn’t take quite as long this year, as there are fewer awards to distribute 🙂
I have — I had to go in and meet someone there when it was an Outback. It was horrible.
In the Herald, Kirby Arnold gives the opening day rundown, and columnist John Sleeper wonders if the M’s can figure out How To Win
Kobe beef hamburgers are missing the point. They are made for rich people who like the idea of eating hamburgers but can’t stand the fact that a hamburger is made with meat that cost $1.99 per pound. I’ve had a Kobe burger and they are mighty tasty and have better texture and flavor than a normal burger made from normal ground beef but the a Kobe burger misses the point. If I’m going to eat processed meat then I want it to be processed to the extreme (ie hot dogs) because that means its going to be dirt cheap. If you are going to pay $20 for a Kobe burger more power to you because its up there as a class symbol right behind that Mercedes but I’m broke and if I ever drop a bunch of money down for meat, its going to be for a steak or something else I can justify spending the money on. At sonics and rainiers games you can get $1 hot dogs (they’re kinda small) which is great. I wish the mariners would do something like this even if it was a promo.
– Jealous Broke College Student
(PS I predicted that Safeco would get its demographic right and start selling a Kobe burger a while ago on LL)
hey all…long time reader, first time posting on here. im from connecticut so needless to say i dont get to see many mariners games. the whole early 90s got me loving this team. so i had to cough up $160 to pay to watch most of their games this season so hope to make more posts…so excited to watch the game in 5 hrs!
The fenced off area got much better once Azteca took over. You could actually eat dinner for $6 and be full. They also have a pretty good selection of beers and I THINK they were much cheaper than ballpark prices too.
Good meeting place in the summer. Not where you want to hang out when it’s cool and windy outside.
You can get cheap hot dogs…you just have to go to the kids section over by the fountain and play area…
The Wagyu at Canlis is pretty darned good, I must say. We get it from Kobe Beef America. The tenderloin is $70 on the current menu. We in the kitchen tend to laugh at people who order anything over medium.
Hmmm Canlis… I prefer that to the ‘fenced ashphalt enclosure’.
They are probably on opposite ends of the refinement scale for eating in Seattle.
That patch of tarmac across from home plate has all the discreet charm of a carboot sale on a grey day in Basingstoke.
What the hell is going on with NPR? I’m less than half listening, but it appears that Steve Sher is stuck in some 20 minute time loop with Dave Barry. That or I’m dying of deja vu.
‘Kobe beef, and turn it into a charcoal briquette”
Yeeeeeeeeaaaah….
Anyhow, my favorite ballpark cheap eats don’t come from the ballpark- there’s a hot dog stand on Royal Brougham under the freeway onramp that usually has $1.50 or $2.00 hot dogs.
Also a handy tip: soft sided drink pouches are allowed into the stadium. Now all we need to do is to figure out how to put beer in a soft-sided container, and we’re set.
I believe I’ve mentioned before the juicebox of Scandic pop vodka from Romania that I was given a few years back… I think it would count as a soft-sided container….
Does a wineskin count as soft-sided?
Also a handy tip: soft sided drink pouches are allowed into the stadium. Now all we need to do is to figure out how to put beer in a soft-sided container, and we’re set.
Camelbak? I think they make a 2L version.
Ichiro has a tendency to come up with some heroics in games like this one.
Watch for it.
Ichiro is a reborn man after his WBC experiences.
That patch of tarmac across from home plate has all the discreet charm of a carboot sale on a grey day in Basingstoke.
You mock the fine town of Basingstoke. The carboot sales capital of north Hampshire and south Berkshire may have no discreet charm, but it certainly has more soul than the Insert Restaurant Here Place To Eat Crappy Overpriced Food Across From The Park.
Heh. I’d love to see Canlis take it over.
I mentioned this in the game thread, also, but I’ll say here:
The Kobe beef (or whatever you want to call it) burger (I had the blue cheese and bacon version for $15.50) was nothing special. It was good, but not great. More and less sucky fries would have helped, too.
But I figure any burger will have a hard time living up to that price tag.
I’ve had a burger that good (and that expensive). Sadly the place that made them went out of business.
Blue cheese has a place. On beef is not that place.