OK, you want to be nervous, feel free.

Felix Hernandez just pitched out of a first-inning jam, but more alarming, badly turned his right ankle on the Astro turf here fielding a ball that was foul.

He stayed in the game, but is being taped between innings.

Pain and swelling will be factors tonight and perhaps beyond.

There's no score, but all Mariners eyes are now on Felix.
Happy New Year

Anyone who watched the Mariners in 2008 remembers the frustration of watching an anemic offense not do the simple things required of scoring.

Well, it's a new season, baby.

Adrian Beltre led off the second inning with a double, and Ken Griffey Jr. grounded to the right side of the infield to push Beltre to third base.

Jose Lopez flied out to left field - just foul - but deep enough to get Beltre home.

This team worked all spring on just this kind of situational hitting, and two innings into their first game, it's given the Mariners lead, 1-0.

Junior, Junior, Junior

Leading off the fifth inning, Junior made a little history with his first home run of the season.

It was No. 612 in his career, and the eighth opening day homer he's hit - tying him with Frank Robinson for the major league lead.

It was also his 399th home run of his Mariners career.

All that, and it's good for a 2-0 lead.

Bad pitching, good pitching

Felix Hernandez pitched himself into a bases-loaded, no one out situation - two singles and a walk - and then pitched out of it with his lead shortened but intact.

After the Twins loaded 'em up, Hernandez got a pop fly, gave up an RBI single and then induced cleanup hitter Justin Morneau to ground into a double play.

Five innings in: Seattle 2, Minnesota 1.

Power to the Powerless

Franklin Guttierrrez has speed, a fine arm and little power - at least that's the scoutin report.

After Endy Chavez singled one out into th sixth inning, Guttierrez took Francisco Liriano deep, just clearing the fence in left-center field for his first home run.

Bad scouting.

Seattle 4, Minnesota 1

Looking very ace-like

Ever since he poked his head into the big leagues, Felix Hernandez has been an ace in waiting - and waiting and waiting.

Good but not quite over that hump, he was challenged this spring by new manager Don Wakamatsu and pitching coach Rick Adair to grow into that role, and to do it now.

An ace leads. He eats innings on days he doesn't feel good. He wins without his best stuff. He leads.

Pitching on a twisted ankle, Felix has thrown 95 pitches in eight innings, and leads 4-1. He's eaten innings, shown tenacity and done his job.

Brandon Morrow is warming up, but Felix may talk them into letting him start the ninth. Usually, if a manager gets his closer up, he puts his closer in.

We'll see. Either way, a commanding performance tonight from Felix.

And in the end ...

Felix stayed in the dugout, Morrow sat down and Miguel Batista came in - this after Jose Lopez banged a two-out, two-run single to make it a 6-1 game.

That's three RBI tonight for Lopez, and the kind of game this team couldn't have drawn up much better.

Great starting pitching, fine clutch hitting - not a bad beginning for a team coming off a 101 loss season.

Opening night hits everyone from bat boys to superstars, from bullpen coaches to, yes, even the folks who watch from the press box.

Kids in the stands are overwhelmed when their home town heroes burst through clouds of smoke and trot to the foul line as they’re introduced. Rookies like Rob Johnson, Matt Tuiasosopo, Shawn Kelley and Chris Jakubauskas get goose bumps and smile a lot.

The games matter beginning now. The spring training crowds and the intimate ballparks in Arizona and Florida are replaced by coliseum-like stadiums and 40,000 or so folks on hand to make noise.

For me, opening night is a wistful event. My father, who shared and enjoyed my love of the game, is gone now. My best friend, a fellow sports writer who went to college with me – and covered the NFL but loved baseball – is gone, too.

They loved baseball and the start of each new season.

So, too, did friend and fellow beat writer John Hickey, whose job was one of those lost when the Seattle Post-Intelligencier ceased publication last month. John is a fine writer, a diligent reporter, and he loves the game.

That he’s not here is a loss, to him and to all those readers who enjoyed his work.

And despite all that, I’ll get caught up in the emotions of the evening tonight. Seeing Ken Griffey Jr. in a regular season Seattle Mariners uniform is going to take me back, oh, 20 years or so.

Seeing the joy in Mike Sweeney’s face at having dodged retirement and become a valued part of a team, that’s a pleasure. Watching the guys who made this team late in camp, who sit in the clubhouse wide-eyed and try to say precisely the right thing when asked a question.

To watch Don Wakamatsu’s first game as a big-league manager, to see the pride of his coaching staff enjoying the moment – that’s a one-time pleasure you can’t recreate.

In this ballpark, the Metrodome, I got to watch Kirby Puckett and got to know Tony Oliva. I sat here through a pair of World Series, and was here when Butch Huskey tried to run through the left field wall in pursuit of a long-gone home run.

The next day, Junior and others taped a chalk-like outline of his body on that fence. Even Huskey laughed.

I’ve had the chance to see the first opening day of dozens of players who became stars – and hundreds who knew just how precious each day in the big leagues could be. And I’ve seen the final openers for players who meant a lot to me.

Last year, I got to opening day weeks after quintuple by-pass surgery, and watched the game not as a beat writer, but as a fan of the game. After almost dying, one of the things on my list – and yes, after a heart attack, everyone makes a list – was to make it back to an opening day as a beat writer.

This game and the men who play it have a grip on me. Spring training is a lovely time, without pressure, without the tough losses or exhilarating wins that a regular season holds. Opening night is just that, and produces a game that opens six months of baseball. We’re about to watch the best players in the world do their best, and their best can be a special thing to watch.

For all of us who love the game, opening night is just short of magic. It’s real, and whether on the field or on the couch, watching at home, it reawakens the passion for the game that scandals and strikes, lockouts and steroids cannot ruin.

Welcome to opening night. Enjoy.