Baseball fans -- and millions of people across the Pacific Ocean -- are going to miss out on an unbelievable opportunity tonight when the Yankees travel to Seattle to play the Mariners.

In the midst of a 162-game regular season, especially one that has been disappointing for the Yanks to this point, it's easy to overlook a 10:10 p.m. start time on a Tuesday against a team that has been irrelevant for a decade.

Hisashi Iwakuma is 4-2 with a 2.66 ERA this year (Getty Images).
Hisashi Iwakuma is 4-2 with a 2.66 ERA this year (Getty Images).
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Often, it's individual matchups or storylines that keep fans coming back to games like that, and today was supposed to be one of those days when Masahiro Tanaka was set to square off against Seattle's own Japanese ace, Hisashi Iwakuma.

Not only would this game feature two of the best pitchers in baseball, but it would highlight the continued globalization of the game by bringing about two of the best Japanese pitchers to ever play in the majors, similar to when Hideki Matsui and then-Mariner Ichiro Suzuki squared off for the first time.

But the Yankees got rained out last night in Kansas City and manager Joe Girardi has decided to push back Vidal Nuno to Tuesday.

Baseball wise, it's probably the smart move, as you don't want to waste Tanaka in a probable pitchers duel. Instead, you hope to take today and almost assure yourself a win tomorrow.

Baseball wise, it's correct, but it's not what the baseball world wants.

Tanaka and Iwakuma were teammates for five seasons with the Rakuten Golden Eagles in Japan, so they know each other well. Even Tanaka admitted he was excited for this game earlier this week saying, “We’re going to be pitching at a different stage together. I think that’s what I’m looking forward to.”

I guess we'll have to wait.

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