Who says Erik doesn’t smile?Surly Canuck Erik Bedard showed the stuff that made Mariner fans (irrationally) hopeful about last season, striking out 8 in 5 innings and displaying a devastating curveball, or yakker. (He was yanked after 5 innings because he’s on a pitch count.) Franklin Gutierrez continued to complement his outfield wheels with his plate patience, leading Dave Cameron to declare that “(s)o far, our new CF has been nothing but aces.” His outfield mate Endy Chavez showed why Raul Ibanez was so frustrating last year, and why a good defensive play is like an RBI, when he cut off a Joe Crede double down the left field line, preventing a run.Sadly, it all ended with former first-round pick, former SW cover boy, and current Mariners’ closer Brandon Morrow unable to throw strikes. Morrow, if you’ll recall, decided recently that he’s done with starting and prefers instead to finish games. However, after a spring training in which he was hampered by a forearm injury, he looked underwhelming, walking three straight batters after retiring the first two. Next came the awful Miguel Batista, and the rest is history: Twins 6, M’s 5.Rubber match today: slimmed down Carlos Silva takes the mound. As we’ve riddled previously: If there’s less of him, but he still sucks, will he suck less than he did when there was more?