A good way for M's to start the season

Based on first impressions, it’s pretty clear that it could be a long season for the Seattle Mariners.

Yes, they’ll struggle in spots, including scoring runs against really good teams.

And yeah, maybe there’s a little more nostalgia than a missing piece in left field.

That being said, there’s no reason to think that the longest postseason drought in major sports won’t end come October.

AFTER ONLY his second start of spring training, Felix Hernandez was named the Mariners starting pitcher for the team’s opening day game against the Cleveland Indians.

Maybe he deserved it, with everything he’s done for the franchise, going 6-2 in opening games and giving home fans a reason to cheer when things haven’t been great.

Then again, Hernandez has had a few injury-filled seasons and the nod could have easily gone to another pitcher, like James Paxton.

It didn’t and for what it’s worth, Hernandez did exactly what he was supposed to do on Thursday. He got through five shutout innings and battled, allowing two hits and striking out four.

Sure, his strikeout numbers weren’t that impressive or what fans have seen out of him in the past.

Who cares?

Hernandez gave the team a chance to win, pitched with the lead the entire night after Nelson Cruz hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning, and they won, somehow.

Yeah, it was ugly at times and you’d wish the offense could put more than just two runs on the board, but that didn’t happen.

It happens sometimes, but the Mariners found a way to win a game that in the past, they might have lost just as easily.

FANS WERE also treated to the return of Ichiro Suzuki, who returned to the team a few weeks ago.

And it seemed as if he never left.

Suzuki never reached base, made a couple plays in the outfield, but was lifted late in the game for a defensive replacement.

When he was introduced during the pregame festivities, as well as when he came up to hit, he was greeted with a lot of cheers.

It kind of reminded me of a few years ago, when Ken Griffey, Jr., returned to Seattle after leaving to go to Cincinnati.

No, Suzuki won’t challenge for the hits title, and probably won’t show flashes of what led to him winning the American League Most Valuable Player award in 2001 when the team last advanced to the playoffs.

That year, Seattle won 116 games, but lost in the American League Championship Series to the New York Yankees.

They probably won’t come close to that number this year, but anything is possible.

Judging from Thursday’s game, maybe they’ll be a little better than most thought.

It’s possible, but only a first impression.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.