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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   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: Sunday, July 5, 2009 The curious case of Brandon Morrow Kirby Arnold Herald Writer Two years and four months ago, I sat at a picnic table outside the Seattle Mariners' spring training clubhouse in Peoria, Ariz., talking with Pat Rice, who was the organization's minor league pitching coordinator. The topic: Brandon Morrow. Less than a year after becoming the club's first-round draft pick -- yes, selected over Tim Lincecum -- Morrow was in the big-league camp carving up competition. Impressive, certainly, but you tend to see that early in spring training while hitters regain their timing. So I asked Rice, whose job was to develop young pitchers into major leaguers, about what we could realistically expect of Morrow in 2007. "I don't think there's any doubt he can pitch at the Triple-A level," said Rice, who's now coaching in the Giants organization. "Really?" I asked. Triple-A seemed like a stretch to me. Morrow had pitched only 16 minor league innings in 2006, 13 innings at the rookie level and three innings -- one start -- at Class A Inland Empire. I could see high-A, maybe Double-A to start the season, then Triple-A and possibly a taste of the big leagues late. Starting pitchers, which Morrow was, need time in the minor leagues to become accustomed to working every five days, to refining a repertoire to keep hitters off balance when they catch up to that fastball, to build stamina and generally prove they're ready when the big club has a need. It's a process that usually takes a year, two or three to play out. "He's still got professional baseball to learn, to pitch every fifth day and to rack some innings up," Rice said, before adding something that floored me. "But we don't know exactly where we're going to go with him because who knows what can happen? He can do a Ken Griffey Jr. on us, and all of a sudden nobody can hit him and he makes the big-league club." No way, I thought. The Mariners wouldn't dare do that with a kid who'd thrown only 16 innings of pro ball. I'd forgotten one key element to the scenario: The Mariners were a desperate organization. Jobs were at stake after a third straight losing season and everyone from the general manager to the manager seemed concerned only with winning now and worrying about tomorrow later. By the end of March, Morrow had cruised through the exhibition season with a 1.08 ERA and onto the Mariners' roster as a reliever. And I learned a valuable lesson about what really counts in baseball. When an organization becomes as desperate as the Mariners were in 2007, development be damned. The best arms were going to make that team, and Morrow obviously had shown a great arm at spring training. So he became a reliever who had a nice rookie season with a 4.12 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 63 1/3 innings. Since then, I'm not sure we're any closer to knowing what Morrow will become. The Mariners sent him to winter ball in Venezuela and stretched him out to be a starter for the 2008 season, only to make him a reliever again after the trade for Erik Bedard and signing of Carlos Silva (talk about your desperation moves). Halfway through last season, with the Mariners on their third manager in 12 months and their year already a hopeless mess, they sent Morrow to Tacoma for another transition into a starting pitcher. He made five starts in September, pitched impressively and seemed like one of the great hopes for the 2009 rotation. Then, depending on who you listen to -- the radio talk shows or those in the know -- Morrow endured the ultimate jerk-around. The Mariners made him their closer at the end of spring training but, after some ineffective outings and a shoulder issue, changed course again and began the conversion back to a starter. And this time, the team defied conventional wisdom by stretching Morrow out in the big leagues and not the minors, where he could have developed his secondary pitches and build pitch count without the pressure of the big leagues. Critics scorched the organization for all the indecisiveness and messing with both Morrow's arm and his head. In truth, it was Morrow who did this to himself. At spring training, he'd suffered a forearm problem that ruined any chance he'd make the team as a starter. So, Morrow told the club that he was still a closer at heart and he wanted that job again. He told reporters there's nothing like the adrenaline that comes with protecting a lead in the ninth inning and, besides, it would allow him to better control his diabetes. Barely a month into the season, Morrow's arm was bugging him again and he'd lost the closer role to David Aardsma. Then he dropped another shocker on the team, that in his heart he felt he should be a starter. So the Mariners converted him again -- for the third time in less than two years, if you're keeping score -- but this time in the most unconventional way. They left him in the big leagues instead of sending him to the minors. Is that so wrong? Maybe, because even though Morrow doesn't have a decision in his four starts, the Mariners went 1-3 and leaned heavily on the bullpen to get through those games. But I'm not willing to criticize the Mariners because it didn't seem like they had a decent alternative. Erik Bedard couldn't pitch because of pain in his shoulder and Ryan Rowland-Smith was at Class AAA Tacoma and hadn't shown much progress in his rehab from arm problems. Morrow, with his stuff, was the best hope. And besides, if he pitches six innings and beats the Red Sox today, a lot of people will be thankful he's with the Mariners and not the Tacoma Rainiers. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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