Melvin keeping an eye on Lopez
Published 9:00 pm Monday, March 29, 2004
PEORIA, Ariz. – In the doldrums of a flat performance by a team counting the days to the end of spring training, one of the Mariners’ top prospects proved his potential again Monday.
Jose Lopez, a 20-year-old shortstop beginning his fourth pro season, hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning off former Mariner Arthur Rhodes.
It turned a blowout into a one-run Mariners loss, 6-5 to the Oakland A’s, but maintained manager Bob Melvin’s enthusiasm for Lopez.
“He watches the game the right way,” Melvin said. “He doesn’t just sit over there and BS with the guys on the bench. He’s actually watching what’s going on.”
Melvin learned Saturday when the Mariners played the Brewers how well Lopez observes the game.
“I had the first two guys take a strike in the ninth inning but I didn’t say anything to him because I wanted to see if he was watching,” Melvin said. “I know he’s a real aggressive hitter, but he went up there without a word and took a strike. He watches the game intently and he knows what’s going on out there.”
Lopez, the Everett AquaSox’s MVP in his first pro season in 2001, is batting .286 with two home runs and 11 RBI this month.
He played second, shortstop and third base for Class AA San Antonio last year, when he made the Texas League All-Star team.
Just get it over with: The Mariners committed two errors and the A’s three Monday in a game that carried the scent of two teams plodding through the final week of spring training.
Eight of the runs scored on three swings, Bobby Crosby’s two home runs for Oakland and Lopez’s homer for the Mariners.
“We’ve been a little flat the last couple of days,” Melvin said. “I think guys are getting ready to get out of here, but that’s no excuse because the other teams are looking to get out of here, too.”
The game ended with a spurt of poor execution when Ramon Santiago failed to execute a sacrifice bunt in the ninth inning.
The Mariners had runners on first and second with nobody out, but Santiago popped out to the catcher. It didn’t help Santiago’s case for making the team because he is competing for the final opening with Willie Bloomquist and Hiram Bocachica. Bloomquist is expected to win the job.
Speculation: Pittsburgh Pirates scout Pete Vukovich watched the Mariners again Monday, just like he has nearly every day for the last two weeks.
Trade time?
Probably not, although the Pirates would love to unload high-priced catcher Jason Kendall and the Mariners could use an offensive upgrade behind the plate.
The roadblock is huge: Kendall is due $42 million the next four years and the Pirates would need to keep a large amount of it for the Mariners to be truly interested.
Record spring: The Mariners finished their home schedule with a spring training average attendance record of 9,726 fans, beating the old record of 7,676 per game.
The Mariners drew 136,170 in 14 home games this year.
They will play once more at Peoria Stadium, Thursday in their Arizona finale, but the San Diego Padres will be the home team.
In case of emergency: Melvin said Raul Ibanez will be the Mariners’ emergency catcher. Ibanez was a catcher early in his minor league career before the Mariners shifted him to the outfield.
“He’s done it before, although I don’t want to get to that point,” Melvin said. “It’s not like I would pinch-hit for my second catcher trying to tie up a game knowing that I would have Raul to run back there. It would take an injury.”
Melvin said Willie Bloomquist, the Mariners’ most versatile player, also could catch, and he assumed even Edgar Martinez would be willing.
“If it came down to it, Edgar would probably volunteer,” Melvin said.
