Wednesday, May 23, 2012 @ 11:52am

Wednesday Mariners news and notes

Some quick news and notes before today's game:

Franklin Gutierrez threw and ran under the eye of head athletic trainer Rick Griffin and all went well. I was off Tuesday so this morning was the first time I saw Guti since the team broke camp in Arizona. I was happy to see that he appears to have kept the weight and muscle mass he put on this offseason. He looks like he looked when he reported for spring training.

Of course he has not had a spring training so he still has a lot of work ahead of him. The plan is to send him back to Arizona at the end of the week then get him into five or six extended spring games. If those go well he then will be sent on his rehab assignment. Players are allowed to be on rehab assignments for 20 days. Eric Wedge wasn't sure where he would be sent. It sounds like they want the bulk of his work to come with Tacoma but that will depend on weather.

John Jaso is still a little banged up after taking a foul tip off the collarbone Monday night. As a result, Jesus Montero is catching today, his first day after night game start. Jaso is available if needed but Wedge would like to stay away from him today.

Miguel Olivo is playing in his third rehab game today. He is scheduled to catch all nine innings and if all goes well could be back as soon as Thursday or Friday, at which point a roster decision will have to be made.

Kevin Millwood is on the hill today coming off two great starts on the road. Millwood has an interesting home/road split, a 10.05 ERA at home and 1.78 on the road. To further illustrate, in three starts at hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium, Coors Field and Rangers Ballpark in Arlington he has allowed a grand total of two runs. In three starts at Safeco Field Millwood has surrendered 16 runs. I asked him about this earlier this week and he said, "You go into a place like New York and you know you have got to keep the ball down and try to keep the ball on the ground. You go to a place like Safeco and it's a big ballpark, the ball doesn't fly very much and I think you kind of get away from that thought process a little bit. I think it is something I need to do more there because I haven't had the results I want there."

Morning funny. Before day games Eric Wedge usually holds his meeting with the media in his office. It is a more relaxed atmosphere than in the dugout and as a result there is often a little more story telling. Today Wedge was describing a situation a couple of nights ago where a second catcher was needed in the bullpen late in the game. He planned to send Jesus Montero who was DHing to catch him but Munenori Kawasaki had other ideas. Give this a listen.

What is important to note is Kawasaki is not a rookie, he's not a young player. He is a player who more than established himself, a perennial All Star and two-time Gold Glove winner in Japan, yet he has embraced his role and has been willing to take on whatever is thrown his way. This has not gone unnoticed in the Mariners clubhouse.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012 @ 12:29am

Once again the Mariners contain the Rangers offense

It is hard to determine what was more impressive, the ability of Felix Hernandez to bounce back from his worst outing of the year to handcuff the best lineup in baseball for eight innings or the ability of the entire Mariners offense to stick to an approach against one of the toughest pitchers in baseball this year and generate six runs on five hits. Needless to say, it was a good night.

The Texas Rangers have been held to one run just three times this season and the Mariners are responsible for two of those games. Blake Beavan did it on April 10 in Arlington and Felix did it last night. After giving up 8 runs in 3 2/3 innings in Cleveland, Felix shut down the most dangerous lineup in baseball. Against the Rangers he fought fire with fire.

"I wanted to attack and throw strikes," he said after the game. "If you get behind against this lineup, you get in trouble."

I noted that he appeared to use his four-seamer more and he said he did. The reason?

"The righties had a lot of power. I didn't want to make a mistake in the middle of the plate so I threw more four-seamers on the corner and outside," he answered.

As for his problems in Cleveland, Felix chalked them up to mechanics. Opening up too soon and not staying back enough. Obviously neither was a problem Monday.

As for the offense, Eric Wedge has preached from day one that he wanted his team to be ready to hit but patient enough to lay off pitches out of the zone. Last night they made Yu Darvish work and it paid off as they were able to work him for six walks and in the process get his pitch count up. He exited after the fourth inning – his shortest outing of the year – after throwing 96 pitches.

A good night all around for the Mariners.

News and notes: As entertaining as Felix was on the mound he was even more so when he left the game. While the Mariners were batting in the eighth inning, he carried out an ongoing dialogue from the dugout with good friend Adrian Beltre at third base. Beltre, according to Felix, was yelling at him to throw something straight. He also playfully accused him of doctoring the baseball. Felix could be seen in the dugout rolling up his sleeves to show there was nothing there. The two were laughing almost the entire inning.

Miguel Olivo made his start with the Rainiers in Iowa and got one hit. Forrest Snow, who started the game, tweeted this after: "I had a blast throwing to Miggy! Offense got me a lead, bullpen picked me up, pryor hit 100mph! I'd say it was a good night. #lifeisgood" ... Olivo is scheduled to DH tomorrow, catch Wednesday and could possibly be activated Thursday if all goes well for him.

Finally, I witnessed something I have never seen before in a clubhouse. If you follow me on Twitter, and you should @shannondrayer, I tweeted the scene as best I could in 140 characters. Hector Noesi and Hisashi Iwakuma were sitting at Iwakuma's locker "talking". No, an interpreter was not needed. Noesi was using Google Translate on his laptop while Iwakuma was typing questions in Japanese into a similar program on his phone and getting the Spanish translation. This went on for a good 10 minutes. The two lockered next to each other in spring training and have developed a friendship. Noesi has been making an effort to learn Japanese but the method they were using to communicate he told me has been quite effective.

Monday, May 21, 2012 @ 6:59am

Rangers round two: How far have the Mariners come?

Back in early April, the Rangers took a four-game series from the Mariners, three games to one. I don't think anyone was surprised to see the American League champs make quick work of (at the time) the second youngest team in baseball. Some may have been surprised to see how close the games were, however.

In game one, after scoring four and loading the bases in the first inning, the Mariners let Yu Darvish off the hook when Brendan Ryan struck out and Chone Figgins grounded out quickly to end what could have been a bigger inning or even an inning that Darvish, in his debut, was pulled from. Hector Noesi was not able to hold onto the nice five-run lead his team gave him and the Mariners went on to lose the game, 11-5. What looked so promising turned ugly quick. After that the games were a different story, however.

In the next game Blake Beavan and the pen held the Rangers to just one run. The trouble was, the offense could not come up with anything against Neftali Feliz and the Rangers came away with a very rare 1-0 win at Arlington. The Mariners won the next game and lost the finale by two, leaving Arlington with three losses by a combined nine runs. Take out the first game and they went 1-2, losing by a combined two runs. Jason Vargas took note of this in his comments following the final game.

"We threw the ball great," he said at his locker that day. "They have got some guys who do it on the mound over there so it is tough for our guys. But to come over here and first series of the year do what we did? We can pitch and we have pitched for a the last few years so they know that. They know that they need to come in ready and we know we have to come in ready, so looking forward to seeing them again."

I liked the competitiveness Vargas displayed with those comments. He is veteran enough to know that at the time it was early and that the Texas offense would no doubt kick things up a notch, or 10, as the season progressed. But he was confident about the pitching. The Rangers cranked things up offensively and have had quite a run so far this season as predicted. What about the Mariners? How different are they from that opening road trip?

Well, since that trip there has been a change at the top of the order. Figgins is no longer a starter and it has been learned that Ichiro is not a three hitter, although he still occupies the spot in the lineup. Kyle Seager has firmly established himself as a starter and has found himself in the power spots in the lineup along with Jesus Montero.

Justin Smoak has proven to be more of a question mark than was hoped back in April. Ryan has had his struggles but still holds down the shortstop position. Michael Saunders may not have big numbers but there is no denying he has been hitting the ball hard on a consistent basis.

In April, we thought Franklin Gutierrez would have rejoined the team by the next meeting with Texas. We still don't have an ETA on Guti as he suffered a setback, coming up with plantar fasciitis.

The solid pitching that Vargas talked about has been up and down. Vargas has been off to his typical solid start, Felix Hernandez has been lights out for periods of time but is coming off one of his worst starts in recent memory. Noesi and Kevin Millwood are coming off their best starts of the year and Blake Beavan has been Blake Beavan.

The bullpen is another matter. In April, the Mariners had question marks about the pen but felt good about the back end of it. That has flip-flopped completely. The seventh, eighth and ninth innings have been inconsistent while the unknowns in the lower part of the pen have come through. Lucas Luetge has more than handled the lefties and Hisashi Iwakuma has shown he can pitch.

It is still all very much a work in progress. This team is not dramatically different from the one we saw in April but a lot has been learned in that time and some areas of the club appear to be moving in the right direction. How "real" is what we saw in Colorado? Once more the offense took advantage of some bad pitching, but what can they take from that heading into a 10-day span where they will see very good pitching? Here is where you want to see them take a step forward. Get to a pitcher they are not supposed to. They face Darvish tonight for the second time. What did they learn from him the first time? It should be a tough but very interesting week ahead that all starts with a great pitching matchup tonight.

Friday, May 18, 2012 @ 6:06pm

Montero needs a break, League pinpoints his problem

Greetings from Coors Field where you sometime catch yourself forgetting that you are not at Safeco. There are a lot of similarities except of course, that this is a hitter's park. My favorite feature has to be the Toyota Tundra on a platform above and beyond the left field stands. Behind it is a wall with the yellow line and 485 marked on it. I would love to see one go flying over that.

No surprises in the lineup Friday. The general feeling is we could see a change soon, but tonight is not the night. Jesus Montero is sitting for a second straight game. He came in to pinch hit Thursday night and had two miserable at bats flailing wildly at pitches far out of the zone. Eric Wedge noted that and his previous game when making out today's lineup with John Jaso at catcher.

"He needs it," Wedge said of Montero's day off. "We've talked about it when there was all of the business early on about him playing every day, he's just not ready to play every day. We're going to get him in there as much as we can, but he has got a lot to process mentally and we are asking a lot of him."

As for the uncharacteristic at bats we have seen in the last few days, Wedge said they indicated it was time to give him a break.

"That's a red flag," he said. "It just tells you that mentally he is not in a place that he needs to be right now which is not uncommon for a young player, especially a young player that you have given a lot of responsibility to, that you have thrown in the middle of the lineup because he has done a nice job for you. To give him a couple of days off now I think is a healthy thing to do."

So Jaso is in today and we could soon see there Miguel Olivo who arrived in Denver at about 4:00 today. Olivo went through his regular pregame routine with the team, stretching, taking batting practice and catching in the bullpen. He will do the same the next two days and most likely be sent out on a short rehab assignment where he will alternate catching and dh'ing. If all goes well I would anticipate having him back for the next roadtrip.

One other order of business today was to check in on Brandon League after his disastrous outing where he walked three batters in an inning en route to the Mariners loss Thursday in Cleveland.

"He was just out of sync," Wedge said. "His delivery was out of sync, he just was not able to find it. He just wasn't himself yesterday."

League said after the game that he was sure his lack of command of the fastball was a mechanical issue and that he would waste no time getting the video tape and figuring it out. According to Carl Willis he did just that and the two of them were able to isolate a mechanical issue that they worked on today.

The strange thing about League's 11th inning meltdown is that it came nearly a year to the day that the same thing happened last year. On May 8th he gave up three runs in the tenth inning of a tie game in Chicago. He blew saves in his next three outings including a game where he gave up three runs in the ninth in Cleveland.

The problem then was that he was throwing his fastball too much. Carl Willis wanted League to not only mix in the splitter more but to throw his slider as well to give the hitter a different look. Thursday we saw League throw primarily fastballs. We also saw him throw a splitter in the dirt that Jaso could not block. I asked League why he stuck with the fastball that night and he told me that he couldn't throw the breaking ball until he was ahead in the count.

Willis pointed out that it was understandable that he wouldn't chance throwing the splitter with the bases loaded but that again, that would be a good place to throw the slider. I think in addition to the mechanical fix we may see League mix his pitches a little more. Command, particularly with his first batter faced has been more of the issue but Willis would like to see him use all of his weapons.

That's it for now. We are in the fifth inning and Millwood has something rather interesting going on right now...

Thursday, May 17, 2012 @ 9:16pm

Is it time for the gloves to come off?

A question I get often is, how is Eric Wedge handling the struggles that the Mariners are going through? Some wonder if the postgame interviews are delayed because closed door meetings are called. Others wonder what it is like walking into Wedge's office after another loss. Surely he is angry, right?

There is no question Wedge has fire and there is no question about his intensity. It is there and if you think that it isn't, well, I can only assume you haven't spent significant time with him. The overwhelming characteristic he has displayed this year, however, is patience.

Wedge knows what he is up against with a young team. I don't think he has seen anything here that he hasn't seen before. He is a firm believer that these players have to see and experience everything before they are true big leaguers. He knows there will be struggles and he knows it will take time for the young players to develop. He also knows that how he reacts can influence every man in that clubhouse.

He gave his veterans plenty of rope, or time to break into the season. When they weren't producing he called them out. My understanding is he hasn't told us the media anything he hasn't told the individual players first. He isn't sending messages through the media about his vets but he isn't covering for their play ever. He needs them and offensively for the large part they have let him down.

The young players have been another matter. He has been very careful with them. He could yell about bad at-bats that we have seen from some of them and I believe he would if he felt that it would lead to the best result. For now he displays patience and understanding for the process they are going through. He doesn't hang his head after a loss and he bounces back well the next day. He expects his players to do the same.

Is it enough? Is this team getting to a point where perhaps the best results would come if the gloves came off with the young players? Has his patience and understanding coupled with the organizational declaration that this year is about the development of youth created an environment for learning that perhaps is too safe for some of these players?

If Wedge got angry would his players get angry too? Do they need to get a little angry? Do they need to feel a little less safe? Safe in their spots in the lineup, safe on the 25-man roster?

It's Wedge's call. He has his finger on the pulse of the team. At some point a kick in the butt will go further than a pat on the back but that is a call that has to be made by him and he has experience in that department. I am sure many hours away from the park are spent thinking of this. How much can he push? How much is too much, how much is not enough? What impact could changes have?

Changes could and probably should be coming. The offensive problems are well documented but while the focus has been on the offense, the bullpen has failed to establish itself. Far too many first batters reaching base, too many walks, too many home runs. No go-to guy. Who would you give the ball to with a one-run lead in the eighth?

The Mariners have young relievers in the system that could be close to ready. Stephen Pryor was moved to Triple-A just over a week ago and there are more big arms behind him. Unfortunately, there really isn't the equivalent in position players being ready to jump to the next level. This shouldn't stop Wedge from sending a player down, however, if he thinks it would be best for that player's development. Not just to get at-bats or to work on something but perhaps for the experience of having the big leagues taken away and having to fight to get it back.

Again, this is Wedge's call. I am not saying that there is complacency in the clubhouse from the young players but I sure as heck would keep my eyes open for it. The players themselves would probably never see it because they work hard but if there is another level, if there is more they can give, be it physically or mentally, do they know it?

Does this team need a shakeup?

Thursday, May 17, 2012 @ 1:21pm

Wedge: 'We've got to have more out of the 3 hole hitter'

While Eric Wedge has continued to find bright spots in the lineup with his youngsters he became even more clear about his expectations for his three hitter in his conversation with Rick Rizzs on the pregame show this morning. Rizzs pointed to a situation in the third inning of Wednesday night's game when the Mariners had a chance to score a run.

"With Saunders on, then a stolen base, runner at second nobody out, Ichiro ends up flying out to left field. In that situation is his first job to get the guy over, second to drive in a run?" Rizzs asked.

"The first job is to get the guy over, but when he gets to two strikes I am just going to let him hit," Wedge answered. "Ichiro has been struggling situationally for us. He has got to do better than that. We have got to have more out of the three hole hitter, especially a veteran guy with all these young kids surrounding. That's the bottom line. If not, we are going to have to make a change."

One has to wonder if that change is coming quickly. Hours after Wedge made his latest statement regarding the three hitter, Ichiro went 0-for-6, stranding five runners. There is no question he is not the only offender – far from it – but he is the veteran Wedge has asked for and for whatever reason he has not been able to deliver what has been requested. The question now is, if Wedge does make a change will it be to move Ichiro back to leadoff or down in the order? He seems to like Dustin Ackley hitting at the top.

"I think he is going to settle in either one, two or three depending on his supporting cast, but right now I really like him in the leadoff spot," Wedge said. "I think he is well suited for it; he can get on base, he can drive the ball, he can spray the ball throughout, he can run, he is a smart player, he has got a lot to offer up there. I like him up there."

For Ackley's part, he is comfortable hitting anywhere and doesn't feel that hitting first has sparked his offense.

"I think as the season has progressed I feel more and more comfortable," he said of his recent success. "I don't think the leadoff spot necessarily has anything to do with that. I think that is just more of my feeling more comfortable at the plate, getting more confidence getting hits here and there."

If not Ackley, then who at the top? If Ackley at the top, then where does Ichiro fall in the order? We could find out soon.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012 @ 11:36am

Another day, another lineup

Greetings from Cleveland, where the above jumped right out at me when I settled into my spot in the press box here at Progressive Field. It is a wind turbine designed and installed by the engineering students at Cleveland State University. I haven't had a chance to ask about it yet but with the wind here it is no doubt generating some amount of power for the ballpark. They apparently also have solar panels installed on one side of the building that supply enough energy to power every TV in the stadium. Pretty green and pretty cool.

So we have a new lineup today, again with three lefties at the top.

Ackley 4
Saunders 8
Ichiro 9
Montero 2
Seager DH
Smoak 3
Liddi 5
Carp 7
Ryan 6

Do you think we will see a bunt from Saunders tonight?

Something I would like to see that doesn't make a ton of sense in most conventional thinking but I think would be worth a look to satisfy my curiosity if nothing else would be to hit Kyle Seager second. More specifically, hit Seager after Ackley wherever he is in the lineup. Seager hit behind Ackley for three years in college and I am wondering if that experience would count for anything or translate at this level. Just curious.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012 @ 5:48pm

Wedge sees progress in loss plus news and notes

By Shannon Drayer

The Mariners suffered their fifth shut out loss of the season falling 5-0 to the Red Sox. It goes without saying, but I guess I will say it anyway, the offense is still mired in it's gargantuan struggle.

Four hits for the Mariners in game two against Boston, only two hits with less than two outs. Blake Beavan's performance was not great, but that is no way to score runs. After the game Eric Wedge chose to look at the positives. When asked if he saw was a repeat of Monday night's game he said no.

"Different from last night. I felt like we had nine or ten hard outs today. Seager put up four good at bats, Smoak hit the ball hard a couple of times, I like Saunders approach up there now."

"We still had some poor abs with a few guys," he continued, "and we have got to do a better job with that but we have got four or five guys heading in the right direction. What we need to do is get the other four or five heading in the right direction along with them."

Wedge was choosing to go with the glass half full approach after the game. Perhaps that's what his young hitters need right now. While he has been tough with his veterans in the media in the last few days he remains careful with the young players who most likely will be a part of the core of the Mariners going forward. He no doubt believes that this is the best way to handle them right now.

I don't know what the end result will be but I can tell you that I have seen a difference in Justin Smoak. A week ago before and after the games he had the same weight of the world on his shoulders look he had when he first came over to the Mariners. It was concerning. We even saw it in batting practice a couple times. He looked like he was defeated before he stepped into the cage. What changed?

He found a little success. Wedge pulled him aside during batting practice Friday in New York and had a talk with him. He told him to let go of what he was trying to do at the plate, all of the adjustments he was trying to make and told him to just try and see the ball out of the pitcher's hand and get out in front of it. He didn't necessarily want him to try to pull the ball, but he wanted him to give him a chance to hit the fastball. He took it into the game and went 3 x 4. A little bit of desperately needed success to build on which he did going 8 x 16 coming into tonight's game.

Tonight he put up an o-fer but was one of the players Wedge was talking about when he said he liked what he saw in his outs. For his part Smoak was not going to see his recent success derailed by one hitless night.

"The last couple of days it has been a lot better," he said. "I have started to turn some fastballs around and laying off some of the off speed pitches. I felt like I had some good ab's today, you know line drives and even the strikeout I feel like I should have done something with the balls I fouled off but I feel better and I feel like I am right on things right now."

Let's hope so. For as much of a mess the lineup has been solidifying Smoak in the cleanup spot in the lineup could help other parts fall into place.

News and notes...For those of you who have suggested moving Kyle Seager to short in order to see more of Alex Liddi, don't hold your breath. Wedge once more today said that Seager was not an option at short. Not a surprise. What was a surprise was someone else he said he could put there. "I might consider playing Liddi at shortstop," he said. "If you locked in on him in his pregame, he is all over it. All over with intensity." The focus still is getting Brendan Ryan going but he did allow for the possibility of playing Liddi at short or left. He also said that he would like to get him in against righties as well...Ichiro is still a hot topic for discussion. Wedge was asked if we could see him moved back to the leadoff spot soon and he said no. "Right now my focus is just for him to be more productive in the three-hole. He's a smart guy, there's nothing I need to say to him. He has his unique approach to hitting and it has to work. I would like him to be a little more timely particularly late in ball games. He is the one veteran player we have in the lineup and we need him help pick up these younger kids."...Wedge and the coaches will take a look at Miguel Olivo for a few days when they return to Seattle and determine if he looks ready to send out an a rehab assignment. Olivo has been working out at Safeco Field while the team has been away and has also caught a couple of bullpens in Tacoma...Franklin Gutierrez will receive a final treatment for his plantar fasciitis on Monday. After that he will have to stay off the heel for a week and then he should be able to resume workouts. Still no word on when he could return but Wedge admitted today that mid June would be the absolute earliest we could see him in Seattle...