When Does The Real 2012 MLB Season Begin?

When does the real 2012 MLB season begin?  It depends how you look at it.  Believe it or not, the season has already begun even though it seems that MLB is promoting April 4th as the official start of the baseball season.

You see, technically, the 2012 MLB season has already begun.  On March 28 and 29, the Ichiro-led Seattle Mariners played the Oakland Athletics in official MLB games in Japan.  The Mariners won the opener 3 to 1 in 11 innings but the A's won the next, 4 to 1.

The first 2012 MLB game of the 2012 season to be played in the United States is scheduled for this evening, April 4, when the 2011 MLB champion St. Louis Cardinals play the Miami Marlins in the Marlins new ballpark. 

What's odd about the Mariners and A's playing these 2 official games, they both came back to the states and went back to playing spring training games.  They resume the 2012 MLB season on Friday, April 6th in the rubber game to be played in Oakland.

The rest of the MLB season kicks off on April 5 with the following 7 MLB games:

Boston Red Sox vs Detroit Tigers @ 1:05pm ET
Atlanta Braves vs New York Mets @ 1:10pm ET
Philadelphia Phillies vs Pittsburgh Pirates @ 1:35pm ET
Washington Nationals vs Chicago Cubs @ 2:20pm ET
Toronto Blue Jays vs Cleveland Indians @ 3:05pm ET
Miami Marlins vs Cincinnati Reds @ 4:05pm ET
Los Angeles Dodgers vs San Diego Padres @ 7:05pm ET