"They" say it's early in the season, and that there's time to right the ship.

"They" also say that the Mariners are hovering around .500, so they're okay for now.

"They" not to panic, that good teams prevail over the course of 162 baseball games, and the Mariners are a good team.

Who the hell are "they", anyway? Are they us, the media? (Well, technically not ME, because I'm not a reporter), but you get my drift.

Who are they (we?) to tell us (us?) how they (them?) will fare?

Sorry, couldn't help myself. I'm speaking to a group of sports editors in the morning, and just so no one gets confused, remind everyone out there that I'm not a writer (one of "them").

As if this elegant wordsmithing could ever be misconstrued as real writing.

Back to the game.

Felix Hernandez pitched seven GREAT innings, dominating Oakland some innings, and extracting himself out of jams in others. He recorded 10 strikeouts before getting into trouble in the eighth. In those middle innings, I realized he was pitching special, and so I shot from behind the plate hoping to show his dominance:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 400mm/f2.8 lens + EF 1.4x extender = 560mm, ISO 640, 1/800 sec.,f4.0)

Even though Seattle's bats failed them for much of the homestand, shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt managed a great smile after his solo home run in the fourth inning gave the Mariners a 2-0 lead

And then, as the song goes, "the weather started getting rough..."

How bad was it at Safeco Field? Well, it started to rain, and the technicians took an unusually long time to close the roof. It was so bad that SOME FANS ACTUALLY GOT WET! In Seattle. In April. I know, right?

I didn't care how hard it rained. The photos are always better with the roof open. More light, and it's baseball, for goodness' sake. Anyway, my long-misplaced journalism gene kicked in and I realized it was actually unusual for Seattle fans to be rained on during a game.

Bring out the umbrellas!

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 400mm/f2.8 lens, ISO 400, 1/800 sec.,f2.8)

Seattle's anemic offense couldn't pick up their pitching once again, and some walks and hard-luck relief pitching left Hernandez at the end of the bench watching his walks become runs in the eighth:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark III, EF 16-35mm/f2.8 lens @ 25mm, ISO 1600, 1/640th sec.,f2.8)

Seattle gave up four runs in the eighth and trailed 4-2. What looked to be a great outing by Felix Hernandez and a victory over a division rival at home turned into a tough loss that was reflected in the faces of both...

...the players...

(Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN, EF 70-200mm/f2.8 lens @ 195mm, ISO 800, 1/320th sec., f4.5)

...and the fans.

(Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN, EF 70-200mm/f2.8 lens @ 125mm, ISO 800, 1/320th sec., f3.5)

Here's today's sports cover: