Mariners 8, Oakland 4

M's are 2-0 to start the season for the first time since 1996.

Our favorite moment was Yuniesky Betancourt's home run on a 2-0 pitch. Not just because it untied the game, but because it showed how far Betancourt's progressed as a hitter. Calero challenged him with a fastball, which 2005 Betancourt probably would've popped up. 2007 Betancourt CRANKED it.

Attention American League: You can't just throw Yuniesky Betancourt a fastball any old time and expect to get away with it.

Betancourt needs a nickname--BC? YB? Yuni Bear? We're at a loss.

Brandon Morrow made his major league debut in the 9th, and if protecting a four-run-lead wasn't nervous-making enough, he was facing the A's, his favorite childhood team. Imagine facing the M's when you were 23! We would've been shitting bricks, and not just because Russ Davis absolutely killed our off-speed stuff.

box score
Associated Press recap [Yahoo]
M's off to quick start [Seattle P-I]
Beating Mariners is a thing of the past [San Francisco Examiner]

From the dept. of where else would we ever share this: After the jump is the lyrics of a tribute song we wrote for Russ Davis in '97 or so, to the tune of that then-ubiquitous Michael Jordan hagiography "Like Mike (If I Could Be Like Mike)"