The Mariners’ lineup is on the clubhouse door and, for the first time this spring, it’s what we’ll probably see on a regular basis this season. Here it is:
Ichiro Suzuki, right field
Jose Lopez, second base
Ken Griffey Jr., left field
Adrian Beltre, third base
Russell Branyan, first base
Mike Sweeney, DH
Kenji Johjima, catcher
Yuniesky Betancourt, shortstop
Franklin Gutierrez, center field
Manager Don Wakamatsu wouldn’t go so far as to say this is his preferred alignment. “I’ll probably have 120 over the course of the year,” he said. “I wouldn’t put a lot of stock into this game.”
Maybe, although it’s pretty safe to guess these are the nine guys he’ll go with on a regular basis.
Other notes from this morning:
-The Mariners sent four players to their minor league camp: catcher Adam Moore, third baseman Matt Tuiasosopo, catcher Jason Phillips and pitcher Sean White.
Wakamatsu called Tuiasosopo the team’s most improved player, both offensively and defensively. With Adrian Beltre ahead of him at third, Tui will get regular reps at Class AAA Tacoma and, who knows, continue his rise to what could be the third-base job next year.
-With a little more than a week remaining before the roster must be set, Wakamatsu left a fairly strong clue about the makeup of the bullpen. Instead of a true left-on-left relief specialist, the Mariners may be more inclined to construct a bullpen that’s heavy on versatility. Part of that is because starter Erik Bedard (barring any setback in the final week) will only be built up to about the 80-pitch range and it seems clear that the bullpen, which probably will be a seven-man unit to begin the season, will get plenty of work in the early games.
That doesn’t bode well for lefty relief specialist Tyler Johnson’s chance to make the opening-day roster. The Mariners want to be cautious with him anyway because he’s coming back from shoulder surgery last year. Johnson will pitch a simulated game Friday.
-A lot of people noticed that Brandon Morrow pitched only out of the stretch Tuesday night against the Dodgers, leading some to think the Mariner are planning to make him a reliever after all. Not the case. At least now.
Morrow hasn’t been sharp out of the windup since he came back from a bad forearm and, in his return to the mound Tuesday, used the stretch only because he’s more comfortable with it. He’s scheduled to pitch two innings Friday against the Rockies, and it’ll be interesting to see how much he uses the windup, if at all. Pitching coach Rick Adair said Morrow may never pitch out of the windup if he’s not comfortable with it.
Morrow, by the way, was hitting 96 and 97 mph with his fastball in the one inning he pitched Tuesday.
-Watching the World Baseball Classic, it was obvious that Kenji Johjima was calling a different game with Team Japan than he has in the major leagues. The Japanese use the breaking ball much more. Problem? Roger Hansen, the Mariners’ catching coordinator who has spent time in Japan, says Johjima will be fine. He knows the Mariners’ pitchers, having worked with them the past three years. He will, however, have a crash course the next week in learning the adjustments the Mariners pitchers have made since he caught them last year.
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