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The hitting coach is gone, but will it make a difference on this team?

Published 2:10 pm Sunday, May 9, 2010

By Kirby Arnold

Mariners hitting coach Alan Cockrell is gone, relieved of his job this morning.

Alonzo Powell is up from Class AAA Tacoma to take over the job, and the Mariners hope this will spark something in an offense that performed well below even some mild expectations going into the season.

I have my doubts.

Powell is a personable guy who once played with the Mariners and went on to win three batting titles in Japan, and under him the Rainiers hit for some serious power last year.

But unless he can transform the Mariners’ DH tandem of Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Sweeney into consistent run producers (which simply doesn’t seem possible), the Mariners will be dealing with the same old story. One player this morning feared that this could be just the beginning

Yeah, it’s about getting guys on base and moving them into scoring position. But small ball needs at least a little bit of pop and, at this point, it doesn’t seem the Mariners have it on the premises. And, with Milton Bradley out indefinitely because of his personal-stress issues, this team needs more than one bat to change things.

As manager Don Wakamatsu said a few minutes ago, “We have to get production out of our two leadoff guys and we have to get production out of 3-4-5.

When you’re asking a Rob Johnson, who’s hitting eighth or ninth, to carry your club, that’s not the right message.”

Speaking of punch from the middle guys, Sweeney delivered a verbal jab at himself and the hitters for what transpired with Cockrell.

“I look around this clubhouse and there are a ton of players that deserve to get fired before him and I am one of them,” Sweeney said. “I mean, I know our offense hasn’t had a heartbeat, but it’s not due to Alan Cockrell. It’s due to us, the players. We are the ones that deserve all the criticism, not him. I will be the first one to stand up and take a bullet for that guy because he was here early, he worked his butt off, he put in more hours than anyone in this clubhouse.”

But, as Wakamatsu said, one guy had to take the fall for this and Cockrell was the easy target.

“There are eight guys on this team hitting under .220. That can’t continue,” Wakamatsu said. “You’ve got to start somewhere and, unfortunately, Alan is the guy who has to pay the toll for that.”

Other notes before today’s game:

  • First baseman Casey Kotchman didn’t start because of a sore right ankle, the result of getting hit by a pitch late in Saturday night’s game. Kotchman had the ankle taped this morning but was walking without a limp. One thought: If he’d been hitting, say, .280 and driving the ball, what are the chances he’d be playing? Let’s not forget that Kotchman is 1-for-31 on this homestand.
  • Ryan Langerhans started at first base. He’s had exactly two games at first in his big-league career, both with the Washington Nationals in 2008.
  • Wakamatsu said again that shortstop Jack Wilson (tight right hamstring) should be ready to play Tuesday night at Baltimore. The Mariners won’t know for sure, however, until after Wilson takes part in Erik Bedard’s simulated game after batting practice Tuesday.
  • Many of the Mariners are using pink bats today as baseball observes breast cancer awareness on Mother’s Day. Seven of the nine starters are swinging pink bats. Michael Saunders, called up late last week, couldn’t get pink bats in time and Ichiro Suzuki, who makes pink a regular part of his unique off-field wardrobe, is using his standard black bat.

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