MID-AFTERNOON SNACK TIME UPDATE: The lineup is on the board in Texas, and we have a shakeup! Chone Figgins is batting ninth, Milton Bradley second, Mike Carp fourth and playing first base, and Casey Kotchman taking a seat.
It’s Ichiro in right field, Bradley DH, Franklin Gutierrez center field, Jose Lopez third base, Carp first base, Josh Wilson shortstop, Michael Saunders left field, Rob Johnson catching and Figgins second base.
Will this alignment be an improvement? Put it this way, it can’t be any worse.
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LUNCHTIME UPDATE: The Mariners just made it official. Carp is up, Sweeney is on the 15-day DL retroactive to June 3.
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It’s looking like another roster move is in the works for the Mariners before tonight’s series opener at Texas.
With Mike Sweeney’s day-to-day back problem having cost him close to a week of playing time, look for the Mariners to announce that they’re putting him on the disabled list and calling up Mike Carp from Class AAA Tacoma.
Sweney hasn’t played since June 2, so the DL time probably will be retroactive to June 3.
Carp, meanwhile, has been swinging a hot bat at Tacoma, where this month he’s batting .400 with a 1.055 OPS. He has 10 home runs and 31 RBI this season.
It’ll be interesting to see how many at-bats Carp gets. If manager Don Wakamatsu has grown tired of seeing Casey Kotchman hit weak ground balls with no real indication that he’ll crack the .200 batting average plateau anytime soon, might he play Carp more at first base?
We wouldn’t be talking platoon here because Carp, like Kotchman, is a left-handed hitter. But right now, the defensive excellence Kotchman brings is being offset by his complete inability to produce with the bat. He hasn’t hit a home run since April 19.
Carp is no Kotchman defensively, but he also doesn’t bring a skillet to the field, and his ability to put together a quality at-bat with the constant threat of home-run power is something the Mariners need. My gosh, could this team use a three-run homer every so often.
In losing three straight to the Angels over the weekend, the Mariners left 29 runners on base and went 5-for-32 with runners in scoring position. They haven’t hit a home run since Thursday, when Jose Lopez’s three-run shot was the difference in a 4-1 victory over the Twins.
Maybe Mike Carp isn’t THE answer, but it might be worth giving him some at-bats just to find out.
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