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<< Previous   of   Next >> Associated Press  (click to enlarge) Mariners pitcher Cha Seung Baek throws a pitch during Sunday's Cactus League game against the Los Angeles Angels. Baek gave up four earned runs and seven hits in three innings of work.   ADVERTISEMENT   ADDITIONAL ITEMS • Seattle Mariners (External Link)   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, March 24, 2008 Mariners: good news on 4 players By Kirby Arnold Herald Writer PEORIA, Ariz. -- In the you-can't-judge-a-player-by-his-linescore realm of spring training, this is what the Seattle Mariners learned about themselves Sunday: · Carlos Silva threw 107 pitches, was knocked around for five innings in a minor league game and said he felt good. · Brandon Morrow threw 12 pitches in his first inning of work since developing a sore shoulder March 10 and said he felt good. · Richie Sexson, who hasn't played first base since March 17 because of bursitis in his right shoulder, got a cortisone shot Sunday and the Mariners say he'll feel good. · Of the three rehab relievers trying to make the team, Mark Lowe has an edge now over Chris Reitsma and Arthur Rhodes, pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre said. Lowe's elbow feels good now, but the team wants to see how it feels after back-to-back outings. · Cha Seung Baek, one of the intriguing roster decisions of camp because he's out of minor league options, struggled in an 8-2 loss to the Angels and frustrated his manager because he wouldn't pitch inside. With a keep-him-or-possibly-lose him decision necessary before opening day, the Mariners aren't sure how they feel about Baek. While it seemed the Mariners weren't any closer to snapping out of their late-camp malaise with the events of Sunday, they did learn a little about what the coming week will bring as they approach their March 31 opener. Lowe, who pitched a scoreless inning Sunday against the Angels, will work an inning today against the White Sox. It's an important test to see how Lowe's surgically repaired right elbow handles back-to-back games. Reitsma, who had elbow surgery last summer, also will pitch today and Tuesday as the M's see how he handles back-to-back games. Rhodes may not get an opportunity to throw back-to-back outings and there's a chance he'll start the season on the disabled list. "Lowe might perhaps be just a slight bit ahead of the other two," Stottlemyre said. "It's primarily because it's been longer since his surgery and he had some time last fall with the club. He's pretty much answered most of the questions. The back-to-back will be very interesting for him." What it all means is that the Mariners, despite manager John McLaren's desire to have the roster set before the team leaves Arizona on Thursday, may not make final decisions until after the final exhibition Saturday in Las Vegas. The Mariners may need every game in order to evaluate the health of their relief pitching. It's looking more like they'll open the season with a seven-man bullpen -- which means a four-man bench instead of five -- but it's uncertain who the seven relievers will be. "I think it's going to take the entire spring," Stottlemyre said. "I say that because of the fact that (the medical staff) just gave us the green light for a couple of the rehab guys. If you didn't figure them in the picture it would be a little clearer. I think it will be last-minute." Morrow appeared healthy Sunday while pitching for the Mariners' West Tennessee team against the Brewers' Class AA team. He gave up an opposite-field single, then retired the next three hitters. Stottlemyre said Morrow would pitch again Tuesday but, because of his tender shoulder, wouldn't throw back-to-back games before the opener. "I felt strong," said Morrow, who treated it like a regular-season outing in that he gave himself limited time to warm up and threw with full effort. "I didn't feel like I was holding anything back." Stottlemyre said Morrow should be ready for the opener if there's no setback. "To say that he would be at full strength where we would feel like we could use him every day, no," Stottlemyre said. "To be able to use him every other day, I think he's got to show us that in this last week. I feel pretty good about him." Because the bullpen could include Morrow and at least one other pitcher (Lowe and/or Reitsma) coming off health issues, Stottlemyre said the team probably would carry seven relievers. "I think it's going to depend on the makeup of the staff and basically who they are and how healthy they are," he said. "With 11, really, they all need to be healthy. They don't all have to be able to pitch every day but with 11 you can't really have anybody that you have to give X number of days off in between. We've got some tough decisions to make." Sexson injected: The Mariners say Sexson's shoulder issue wouldn't keep him from playing if this was the regular season. They're giving him plenty of opportunity to let the bursitis heal and believe the cortisone injection he got Sunday should help. "The way I understand it, it's not an issue at all," McLaren said. "He slept on it wrong." Silva getting a grip: Silva was less concerned with some daunting numbers -- 10 hits, six earned runs and 107 pitches in five innings for Class AAA Tacoma against Class AAA Nashville -- than with the grip on his pitches. Silva again worked on his cutter, which he threw for the first time in a game early last week. "Sometimes as pitcher, you throw one pitch really good and you don't remember how your fingers were on the ball," he said. "That's what I tried to do, I tried to remember everything. If I throw one, I want to repeat. I feel very good, I feel very strong. I had very good command today." It was the final outing of Silva's first spring training in Arizona, and he'll be glad to make his next start somewhere else (Las Vegas on Friday night). "The weather here is weird. It's so dry," said Silva, who had always trained in Florida when he played for the Twins. "I try to lick my fingers and nothing. My fingers were so dry." Of note: Silva said he struggled in his first inning because the mound on the minor league field dropped off sharply. "It bothered me, but you make adjustments," he said. Rhodes complained of the same thing when he pitched there earlier in camp. … Felix Hernandez will make his final exhibition start on Thursday, although the Mariners aren't sure if he'll pitch in the split squad game in Peoria against the Padres or in San Francisco against the Giants. Read Kirby Arnold's blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com

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