Three more games and a week of meetings to prepare for the offseason
Monday, September 26, 2011 | 5:50 pm
Not much news on the Mariners front before tonight's antepenultimate (or is it prepenultimate? Go ahead and Google it, kids) game between the M's and A's. We do know this much:
• Haven't seen Billy Beane yet, or Brad Pitt, or Moneyball (will do that in a couple of weeks after things wind down). Side note on Brad Pitt: I worked several years early in my career at the News-Leader newspaper in Springfield, Mo., and covered a lot of football/basketball/track/baseball games involving Kickapoo High School there. Kickapoo is where Brad Pitt went to school. Never heard of him until he became famous in Hollywood.
• Manager Eric Wedge and his staff are having a lot of meetings with players this week. Exit meetings, if you will.
“It's not with everybody, but most of the young guys,” Wedge said. “We've got coaches involved in some of those meetings as well. When it's all said and done (after Wednesday's final game), I'll meet with the staff Thursday. We've got a lot going on.”
Wedge said he and general manager Jack Zduriencik will travel to Arizona next week to connect with minor leaguers and coaches taking part in the fall instructional league in Peoria.
• If there's a theme to the coming offseason, it's that the players will leave Seattle with a specific plan to prepare themselves for the rigors of a full season next year, whether that's from a mental, physical or skill standpoint. Coaches will be responsible for staying in contact with the players during the offseason.
“It's not that we'll be hassling them all the time, but we want to stay in contact with them just to make sure they are doing what they need to be doing,” Wedge said. “This is going to be arguably the most important winter that these guys are going to have. They need to understand what they need to do physically to make sure they're coming to spring training where they need to be and not leaving anything to chance. Believe you me, I'll know when I see these guys or talk to these guys.”
• Wedge said he and Zduriencik have spoken about the coaching staff for 2012 although they're not ready to make an official announcement.
“But I feel very good about our staff. I'll tell you that much,” Wedge said.
• Wedge said shortstop Brendan Ryan (neck) and outfielder Casper Wells (equilibrium problems) won't play in any of the last three games. “When you talk about what you're getting vs. what you're not getting, it makes more sense that way,” Wedge said.
• And finally, a lot of people have asked why the Mariners are playing the final game of the season Wednesday night and not in the afternoon. Reasonable question considering the regular season has always ended on a Sunday afternoon.
Major League Baseball's schedule is different this year with the season ending Wednesday, and that presented the Mariners with a day/night dilemma.
Because of an agreement with the City of Seattle, the Mariners are allowed to play six mid-week day games per year. The Mariners usesd most of those day games this year to accomodate travel schedules (either the M's or their opponent needing to play an afternoon game before a cross-country trip to play the next night).
Because of that, the Mariners have used all of their six mid-week day dates -- April 13 vs. Toronto, April 20 vs. Detroit, May 19 vs. the Angels, June 1 vs. Baltimore, June 29 vs. Atlanta and Aug. 3 vs. Oakland. It left no choice but to play Wednesday's season finale at night.
• Haven't seen Billy Beane yet, or Brad Pitt, or Moneyball (will do that in a couple of weeks after things wind down). Side note on Brad Pitt: I worked several years early in my career at the News-Leader newspaper in Springfield, Mo., and covered a lot of football/basketball/track/baseball games involving Kickapoo High School there. Kickapoo is where Brad Pitt went to school. Never heard of him until he became famous in Hollywood.
• Manager Eric Wedge and his staff are having a lot of meetings with players this week. Exit meetings, if you will.
“It's not with everybody, but most of the young guys,” Wedge said. “We've got coaches involved in some of those meetings as well. When it's all said and done (after Wednesday's final game), I'll meet with the staff Thursday. We've got a lot going on.”
Wedge said he and general manager Jack Zduriencik will travel to Arizona next week to connect with minor leaguers and coaches taking part in the fall instructional league in Peoria.
• If there's a theme to the coming offseason, it's that the players will leave Seattle with a specific plan to prepare themselves for the rigors of a full season next year, whether that's from a mental, physical or skill standpoint. Coaches will be responsible for staying in contact with the players during the offseason.
“It's not that we'll be hassling them all the time, but we want to stay in contact with them just to make sure they are doing what they need to be doing,” Wedge said. “This is going to be arguably the most important winter that these guys are going to have. They need to understand what they need to do physically to make sure they're coming to spring training where they need to be and not leaving anything to chance. Believe you me, I'll know when I see these guys or talk to these guys.”
• Wedge said he and Zduriencik have spoken about the coaching staff for 2012 although they're not ready to make an official announcement.
“But I feel very good about our staff. I'll tell you that much,” Wedge said.
• Wedge said shortstop Brendan Ryan (neck) and outfielder Casper Wells (equilibrium problems) won't play in any of the last three games. “When you talk about what you're getting vs. what you're not getting, it makes more sense that way,” Wedge said.
• And finally, a lot of people have asked why the Mariners are playing the final game of the season Wednesday night and not in the afternoon. Reasonable question considering the regular season has always ended on a Sunday afternoon.
Major League Baseball's schedule is different this year with the season ending Wednesday, and that presented the Mariners with a day/night dilemma.
Because of an agreement with the City of Seattle, the Mariners are allowed to play six mid-week day games per year. The Mariners usesd most of those day games this year to accomodate travel schedules (either the M's or their opponent needing to play an afternoon game before a cross-country trip to play the next night).
Because of that, the Mariners have used all of their six mid-week day dates -- April 13 vs. Toronto, April 20 vs. Detroit, May 19 vs. the Angels, June 1 vs. Baltimore, June 29 vs. Atlanta and Aug. 3 vs. Oakland. It left no choice but to play Wednesday's season finale at night.
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