Second day might even have been better for M’s

MARINERS

If Opening Day is a major league team at its best – No. 1 starter, amped hitters, etc. – then day two is a major league team at its average.

At least Mariners’ fans are hoping so. Because if Tuesday night was the M’s just being the M’s, then the season holds promise.

Seattle displayed, not necessarily in this order, decent pitching, timely hitting, power, defense and smart base running. The A’s? Not so much of any of those things.

Which means the M’s are 2-0 (1996, if you are wondering when the last time that happened) and the A’s are winless. John Blanchette tells us, in his column, that a hot start might just cool down the “we’re-ready-run-management-out-of-town” talk.

Today’s hot list …

• The game stories from the P-I, Times, News Tribune and Herald. Here is the San Francisco Chronicle gamer and the one from the Oakland Tribune.

• Miguel Batista takes the mound tonight (7; FSN; 920-AM) for the M’s, but don’t expect a Felix Hernandez performance. According to Batista, the two couldn’t be more different. Like we didn’t know that.

• Brandon Morrow (pictured after the game with catcher Kenji Johjima; AP photo) took a major league mound for the first time Tuesday night and it showed. The rookie from Cal took a while to find the strike zone, but ended up working a scoreless ninth. If Mark Lowe returns in midseason from his arm surgery throwing like he did last year, the M’s may have two right-handed power arms to set up J.J. Putz, sort of like what Detroit had last year.

• The M’s will probably open in Cleveland on Friday without shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt, who will be in Miami testifying at a trial.

• Richie Sexson’s bat has started hot this season, so hot it’s kind of funky.

• If you attend a Mariners’ game this season, you’ll see something different near the railroad tracks.

And our question for the day …

• Now that you’ve had a couple of games to listen to Dave Sims and Mike Blowers, what do you think of the two additions to the broadcast booth?