3 games into the season, and the media wants me to believe that the Mariners are something special.

All spring long, talking heads have been telling me how Mike Piazza is not going to replace Frank Thomas' production (ignoring that the team's offense as a whole was down last year due various injuries), that the rotation is shaky (we've been giving way too many starts to multiple future #6 pitchers for the last few years, why should this year be any different?), and that Oakland is, at best, a second-place finisher (where have I heard that before?).

But, oh, all that changed on Opening Day.  Felix, a.k.a. "King," a.k.a. "The Ace," a.k.a. "The Hype That Hasn't Really Delivered" Hernandez fans 12, with the help of an umpire whose strike zone was extended to an extra foot on either side and an A's offense that hasn't really been dangerous since Jermaine Dye put the whammy on himself in the batter's box.

3 games into the season, and the media wants me to believe that the Mariners are something special.

All spring long, talking heads have been telling me how Mike Piazza is not going to replace Frank Thomas' production (ignoring that the team's offense as a whole was down last year due various injuries), that the rotation is shaky (we've been giving way too many starts to multiple future #6 pitchers for the last few years, why should this year be any different?), and that Oakland is, at best, a second-place finisher (where have I heard that before?).

But, oh, all that changed on Opening Day.  Felix, a.k.a. "King," a.k.a. "The Ace," a.k.a. "The Hype That Hasn't Really Delivered" Hernandez fans 12, with the help of an umpire whose strike zone was extended to an extra foot on either side and an A's offense that hasn't really been dangerous since Jermaine Dye put the whammy on himself in the batter's box.

No, on that day, the common refrain was "Felix Hernandez K's 12 against the DEFENDING AL WEST CHAMPS;"  "Overmatched DEFENDING AL WEST CHAMPS look helpless against slightly less fat 20-year-old phenom."

To boot, the A's/Mariners matchup was the lead story of Baseball Tonight that evening.  Of course, Rich Harden could throw a perfect game and Eric Chavez could set a new single-game record with 17 home runs in 5 at-bats, but I'd still have to wait until the final 10 minutes of the broadcast to hear anything about it.

I get it.  Small market.  Low payroll.  Few, if any, stars.  But it's wearing thin.  The only respect the A's get is framed in terms of someone else's achievement.