Mariners Update
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, June 7, 2001
Opponent: San Diego Padres
When: 7:05 p.m. today and Saturday, 1:35 p.m. Sunday
Where: Safeco Field
TV: Fox Sports Net (cable) all three games
Radio: KIRO (710 AM) all three games
Pitchers: Today – Seattle right-hander Paul Abbott (4-2, 5.40 earned run average) vs. right-hander Kevin Jarvis (3-5, 4.99).
Saturday – Right-hander Freddy Garcia (6-0, 4.06) vs. right-hander Bobby Jones (2-8, 3.17).
Sunday – Left-hander John Halama (4-4, 5.37) vs. right-hander Carlton Loewer (first start).
Mr. Content: He starts once every two weeks or so, and the rest of his duty consists mainly of pinch-running in the late innings or sitting the bench.
Charles Gipson loves this job.
“This is my second year in the big leagues and I’m in a role I like,” Gipson said Wednesday, after he started for only the fourth times this season.
Gipson played center field Wednesday after Mike Cameron suffered a knee injury while sliding into a base on Tuesday. The Mariners expect Cameron to be ready for tonight’s game, but won’t know for sure until he shows up this afternoon. On Wednesday, Gipson played a flawless center field that included a diving catch.
Gipson was one of three reserves, along with left fielder Stan Javier and first baseman Ed Sprague, to start Wednesday. Javier and Sprague each had a hit, and Gipson made his spectacular catch.
“This is a great bench,” Gipson said. “The guys here know the game.”
Lou returns: Manager Lou Piniella is expected back from Florida for tonight’s game after missing the last four following the death of his father-in-law last weekend.
Piniella put the team in charge of bench coach John McLaren and didn’t try to micro-manage from afar. McLaren said he spoke with Piniella only once during the week.
“I talked with him after batting practice today,” McLaren said Wednesday, “and Lou said he was proud of everybody.”
Mac is back: Utility player Mark McLemore, who suffered a slight groin pull last Friday, should be available to play tonight. The Mariners said McLemore could have played earlier this week, but decided to be cautious and take advantage of Thursday’s open date.
It’s a practice that Piniella has used often as he attempted to keep players fresh.
“If he gets a day off (Wednesday) and then has the off day, it does a lot for your body to recuperate,” McLaren said.
Mariners sign Russian pitcher: The Seattle Mariners have signed Russian pitcher Oleg Korneev, an amateur free agent, the team announced Thursday.
Korneev, 19, is a 6-foot-7, 220-pound right-hander from Moscow. He pitched with the Russian National Team, which was touring and playing against Northern League teams in May.
“Oleg is probably going to add 30 more pounds and when he fills out, he’s going to be an imposing kid on the mound,” said Mariners scout Ken Madeja, who signed Korneev.
“He needs some work on mechanics and delivery, but I think the kid’s got a chance to be all right. I like him. In two or three years, he could really surprise some people.”
Korneev is expected to report to the Mariners’ Arizona League team in Peoria, Ariz.
When you’re hot: The Mariners’ ratings on Fox Sports Net keep climbing. Wednesday night’s game, in which Seattle beat Texas 7-3 to sweep the three-game series with the Rangers, garnered a 24.2 Nielsen household rating, the second highest rating in Fox Sports Net history.
More than 338,000 households in the Seattle area alone tuned into the game. Fox Sports Net reaches more than 2.5 million homes via cable in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska.
The network’s highest rating (25.3) came on Sept. 23, 1997 when Seattle faced California in the race for the American League West championship. Wednesday’s Mariners game pushed the Chicago Bulls-Miami Heat playoff game of May 22, 1997, into third place (22.8).
Wednesday’s Mariners game was also the highest rated program of the day, more than tripling the 7.0 rating earned by the NBA Finals opener between the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers, shown on NBC.
Kirby Arnold and Associated press
