By Kirby Arnold
Herald Writer
SEATTLE – Norm Charlton, the 38-year-old relief pitcher who defied the process of aging with two brilliant months for the Seattle Mariners, reluctantly can’t ignore logic.
Charlton pulled a groin muscle Wednesday night and he went on the 15-day disabled list, somewhat grudgingly, on Thursday. The Mariners replaced him by calling up left-hander Brian Fuentes, who had five saves and a 1.59 earned run average in 20 relief appearances with the Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers.
“I don’t want to go on the DL,” Charlton said. “I don’t want to be hurt because I feel like I’ve been a valuable part of this team.”
Charlton, who came out of retirement and made the team out of spring training, is 2-0 with a 3.74 ERA in 19 appearances with the Mariners.
“It’s a shame,” manager Lou Piniella said, “because Norm was throwing the ball so well.”
Charlton and the team agreed that the best action is to shut down completely for the next several days and not risk a more severe injury.
“It’s not a bad pull,” trainer Rick Griffin said. “But if he tried to push through it, it could get bad.”
“What I don’t want to do is have it change my mechanics,” Charlton said. “I’m not happy about it, but I think it’s the right thing to do.”
Groin injuries are particularly tough on pitchers because of the long, powerful stride they make toward the plate.
“It’s tough because you don’t know how long it will last,” pitching coach Bryan Price said.
Charlton said he suffered a similar injury during spring training in 1999 while he was trying to make the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He attempted to pitch through that injury but started the season in Class AAA.
“I never got a chance to give it any rest,” he said. “Once I got off it for five or six days in a row, then it was well enough to throw again.”
Charlton said he felt the muscle pull while he was warming up before the ninth inning of Wednesday’s 12-5 M’s victory over the Baltimore Orioles. He had entered the game in the top of the eighth and sat for several minutes during the Mariners’ seven-run rally, but said the injury wasn’t related to his long period on the bench.
Charlton labored in the ninth, giving up a leadoff home run to Mike Bordick, and he struggled to a 2-2 count on Jeff Conine before he bounced a pitch well in front of the plate for ball three. Griffin and Price immediately sprang from the dugout, knowing something was wrong.
“Bryan and I both looked at each other at the same time,” Griffin said. “He’d just thrown two pitches up there at 86 (mph) and then he bounced the last one.”
“I wish he had said something,” Piniella said. “Norm will try to tough it out.”
“Just hard-headedness, I guess,” Charlton said. “It seemed like with every pitch, it got worse.”
Piniella said Fuentes would fill a similar role to Charlton, most likely being used as a long reliever in the middle innings.
“He throws strikes, his breaking ball has improved and we felt he would be tough on lefties,” Piniella said. “He has thrown (up to) 50 pitches in Triple A, so he’ stretched out enough to pitch in that middle role.”
Fuentes, a 25th-round draft pick in 1995, began his pro career with the Everett AquaSox that season.
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