The Mariners announced their 2008 schedule this morning. Here are a few highlights:
Opening day is March 31 at home against the Texas Rangers in the first of a three-game series before the Mariners go on a six-game road trip.
Speaking of that trip, and travel in general, the Mariners are crossing their fingers, eyes and everything else they’ve got that the East Coast weather will be good the first weekend in April.
This year, on their first trip back East, a snowstorm in Cleveland wiped out four games. Even worse, the schedule-makers did the Mariners the disservice of not sending them back there the rest of the season. It forced them to make up three of the four games on one-day drop-ins on their way to other Eastern cities.
Well, guess what? The first road trip this year, on the first weekend in April, begins with a four-game series at Baltimore. Granted, the chances of snow along the coast in Baltimore aren’t as great as they are in Cleveland. But, with no return trip scheduled to Baltimore the rest of the year, all it’ll take is one lousy weekend weather-wise to put the Mariners back in the same bind that caused them so many problems this year.
Overall, the Mariners will travel 55,000 miles this year. Ron Spellecy, the Mariners’ director of team travel, says that’s by far the most in his 10 years with the club. The M’s traveled 51,000 miles this year.
The Mariners will play home interleague series against the Padres, Nationals and Marlins, and road interleague series at Atlanta, New York Mets and Padres.
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