By Kirby Arnold
Herald Writer
PEORIA, Ariz. – Edgar Martinez played “survivor” on Thursday and nearly voted himself off the island.
The Seattle Mariners’ designated hitter spent his first afternoon of spring training playing in minor league games, an annual trek to the other side of the training facility in order to get more at-bats.
He got two hits, struck out twice, walked once and nearly had his head taken off in 10 at-bats against some overly exuberant minor league pitchers from the Milwaukee Brewers organization.
He had been warned.
“Before the game, one of their coaches came over and said, ‘Be careful with the second guy,’” Martinez said.
He watched the kid warm up wildly and decided to bat second that inning in hopes that the pitcher would settle down. Problem is, when Edgar Martinez steps to the plate, settling down is the last thing a Class A youngster does.
“They’re out there shaking off the catcher, and you can see them working on a strategy against me,” Martinez said. “The second pitcher I faced was really wild. I couldn’t wait to get out of there. The first pitch was over my head and I almost got out.”
Martinez stayed with the at-bat and struck out.
“It’s not the same as up here (in the major leagues),” he said. “At that level, the mechanics are not what they should be. The second guy I faced, I couldn’t dig in against him. He had no idea where he was going.
“Then the last time up I almost got hit and I said, “OK, that’s too many pitches too close to me.”
Despite the adventure, Martinez says hitting in the minor league camp is a much-needed exercise if he’s to get his swing in shape by opening day. Because several spring training games are in National League parks, the DH isn’t used.
“The good thing is that you see a lot of pitches,” he said. “And I saw all kinds of pitches. Sliders, curves, changeups, splits, cut fastballs. All kinds.”
Martinez, who hit two home runs in the major league game on Wednesday, says nothing replaces game-action at-bats, even if it’s against minor leaguers. After he plays today against Randy Johnson and the Diamondbacks, he will play in minor league games again Saturday.
“It’s just a matter of getting in the games,” he said. “They help you get your swing. If you don’t play, you’re not going to get the swing.”
So far, Martinez says he has no worries about his hitting.
“What I worry about is when I don’t have the bat speed,” he said. “When you have the bat speed, you know that you can make an adjustment and you’ll be fine. But when you lose the bat speed, forget it. It doesn’t matter what you do, it’s going to be hard. I feel I have good bat speed and that’s why I’m not worried right now.”
Steady Freddy: Opening-day starter Freddy Garcia pitched six innings of a minor league game Thursday and continued to impress pitching coach Bryan Price, especially with his changeup.
“He’s not throwing his best changeup right now, although today it might be the best changeup he’s thrown all spring,” Price said. “Guys have a hard time gripping the ball here, the air is light and he doesn’t get as much movement on his changeup as he does pitching regular-season games. When you think about adding that pitch to his fastball and breaking ball, it’s pretty exciting.”
Garcia will get one more exhibition start before the season opener against the White Sox on April 1.
Why face the kids? The Mariners decided it was best for Garcia to get his work against minor leaguers and let John Halama pitch Thursday night against Oakland.
The Mariners have decided that Halama, who began spring training as one of the candidates for the fifth starting job, will begin the season in the bullpen. He looked sharp Thursday, holding the A’s to one run on two hits over four innings in the Mariners’ 5-2 victory.
“Most reasonably Freddy is going to see a lot of Oakland this year and it made sense not to be out there throwing a lot against them,” Price said. “But it works both ways because you can see their hitters and get familiar with their hitters. We had two guys who needed to start and it seemed to make more sense that John face major league hitters and Freddy not.”
Nice timing: The lineup card won’t be drawn up until this morning, but catcher Ben Davis has been told he’ll play today against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
He greeted the news with the look of a kid who got nothing but socks and sweaters for Christmas.
“They say tomorrow, but the Unit is pitching,” said Davis, who would face Randy Johnson if he plays. “That’ll really help me out.”
Davis, who hasn’t played since March 13 because of a strained abdominal muscle, has thrown and taken batting practice the last few days.
“It’ll be nice to get back out there,” he said. “I just hope it doesn’t hurt.”
Lou may return: Manager Lou Piniella, who left the team Monday to be with his sick father in Florida, may return as early as today.
Louis Piniella, 83, continued to improve in a Tampa hospital after being admitted with double pneumonia.
“If he’s on his way, that’s got to be a good sign,” said bench coach John McLaren, who has run the team in Piniella’s absence.
Getting healthy: Mike Cameron and Desi Relaford, two players who missed much of last week because of injuries, started Thursday night. It was Cameron’s second straight game after missing a week with back spasms. Relaford played for the first time after suffering a tender hamstring.
Olerud stays home: First baseman John Olerud did not come to the training complex on Thursday because of a personal situation involving his family. Olerud’s 18-month-old daughter, Jordan, has suffered from health problems since birth.
Today in camp: Mariners vs. Diamondbacks in Peoria, 12:05 p.m. (PST) on KIRO radio (710 AM) and KIRO TV (Channel 7). Right-hander Ryan Franklin will start for the Mariners against left-hander Randy Johnson. Right-handers Ken Cloude and Shigetoshi Hasegawa also will pitch for the Mariners.
Mariners left-hander Jamie Moyer is scheduled to pitch six innings of a minor league game.
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