7/18: Open game thread

Do you hear that sound?

That's baseball. Baseball is back, and despite three days of no ball catch or throw or wooden stick swing, we all survived. It's a great sound too, just listen to it. It sounds like a dull roar, almost like collective laughter or maniacal hollering:

#Astros fail to sign top pick Brady Aiken and two others http://t.co/s0pPxcRZM9

— MLB Daily Dish (@mlbdailydish) July 18, 2014

Oh wait, shoot, that's not baseball. That's DRAMA! Nothing quite like a little AL West schadenfreude to kick off what should be the most exciting second half the Mariners have had in ages. And just think of it this way--six months ago the world was joking about Jack Zduriencik and font sizes, and the Mariners were walking around with a big red target super-glued to their collective foreheads reading "WORST ORGANIZATION IN BASEBALL." At this time, Sports Illustrated was running a piece on the 2017 World Champion Houston Astros. Fast forward to today and...well...I'm sure that there is a lot more nuance to this whole thing, but the Mariners just signed 30 of their 40 picks and might have a David Price in the next couple of weeks. The times they are a changin'.

Anyway, back to real baseball, where tonight it's Iwakuma to face Jered Weaver. In a way, this could be practice for a one-game playoff in October. The Angels are going to be in the middle of the M's crosshairs for the next two months, so get used to it. Don't, however, get used to seeing Endy Chavez bat leadoff like he is today, or perhaps even see Dustin Ackley wearing a uniform with the word Seattle on it anymore. I mean, let's be honest, we'll probably be right here in a few months but you have to get excited about something.

Go M's.

Game info

• Mariners @ Angels, 7:10 PM PST
• TV: ROOT, Radio: 710 ESPN, Online: MLB.tv