Don Wakamatsu Takes a Beer Shower

It is pretty hard to blame the Seattle Mariners for being overjoyed by their 4-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Monday to open the 2009 season. After finishing the 2008 season with a 61-101 record, you know they have to be excited to start all over again, so if they want to celebrate a bit, we should let them celebrate.

After all, Felix Hernandez pitched like Felix Hernandez even after turning his ankle, and Ken Griffey Jr. hit a home run in his first game back in a Mariners uniform. So it's no surprise that the team gave its new manager Don Wakamatsu a beer shower in the clubhouse after the game.

For new manager Don Wakamatsu, it couldn't have been drawn up much better.

Even the postgame beer shower felt good.

"The guys are in there celebrating our first win," Wakamatsu said. "This is a continuation of what we started in spring training, how we want to play. What you saw tonight was guys setting the tone.

"Felix set the tone on the mound. Griffey set the tone offensively."

Now beer showers may be a bit much for winning the first game of the season and are probably something that should be reserved for celebrating a division title or a no-hitter, but let's be real, these are the Seattle Mariners. They're already without Ichiro Suzuki because of a bleeding ulcer, so this may be the last chance they even have to celebrate this year. Let them have their moment before reality punches them in the face.