In Seattle, Jamie Moyer and Aaron Sele are pitching like their best stuff may never return.
In Tacoma, 19-year-old Felix Hernandez is throwing gem after gem and looking like he already has figured out the Pacific Coast League.
Anybody smelling change on a Mariners pitching staff that’s already developing an odor?
The Mariners have shown by now that they aren’t going anywhere this season despite changes to the offense that brought more hope than results. Through 34 games they were just one victory better than last year, and the AL West already looked like a joy ride for the Angels.
So why not shake up the pitching now and bring up the kid?
Here’s why not.
It’s too early to give up on a couple of veterans like Moyer and Sele, but it’s also too soon to throw Hernandez into a growing mess of a season.
Moyer and Sele need more time to prove whether they truly have lost it.
My suspicion is that Moyer – unless he’s hurt – will make adjustments and regain the touch with the low end of the strike zone that made him effective in his first five starts this season.
We’ll know more about Sele after his start Monday against the Yankees. Manager Mike Hargrove already is fidgety after Sele’s two recent poor outings, and a third straight might be enough for the Mariners to make a change.
In the least, they should separate Sele and Moyer from their back-to-back positions in the rotation and avoid a repeat of last week, when their brief outings left the bullpen worn out.
The M’s might simply cut Sele if he throws another stinker. And if they do, then it’s Felix Time?
Don’t get your hopes up.
Veteran Mexican League pitcher Jorge Campillo, a right-handed changeup/control specialist, has pitched well at Tacoma, going 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA after six starts. He’s old enough, at 26, not to get rattled if he’s shellacked by major league hitters.
If Campillo does get hammered, big deal. Better him than Hernandez.
Bringing up Hernandez too soon would expose him to the unnecessary burden of trying to become the person who turns this unturnable season around. He needs to pitch at this level when there’s nothing more at stake than his personal development.
If anybody needs a refresher on what happens to the mind of a promising young pitcher who gets thrashed in the majors, please see Exhibits A and B: Travis Blackley and Clint Nageotte.
These guys came up last July trying to live up to an excessive amount of hype. Neither lived up to it and they injured themselves in the process.
Blackley went 7-2 in Tacoma before the M’s called him up but, after one solid outing, he crumbled. He made six starts before the Mariners sent him and his 10.04 ERA back to Tacoma, but he was a damaged pitcher – both mentally and physically – by then. He went 1-4 before going on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. In February, he needed labrum surgery and won’t pitch again until next season.
Nageotte went 1-6, 7.36 in 12 games with the Mariners before he landed on the DL with back spasms. He struggled in spring training and was among the first players sent back to the minor league camp, and still hasn’t pitched in the regular season because of arm problems.
The Mariners can’t, and won’t, risk the same fate with Hernandez. They’re monitoring the number of pitches he throws and innings he works, careful not to wear him down.
Yes, Hernandez needs to pitch in Seattle this year and get a taste of the major leagues. But the Mariners must wait until they have absolutely no hope of climbing back into the division race.
Of course, they may reach that point by next week.
And finally …: Did Bob Melvin suddenly figure out how to motivate a team? Did he find a home-study course in the offseason that made him a real major league manager?
Or is there something to be said for offense, defense and pitching?
Melvin, whose laid-back style wasn’t good enough for the Mariners, has been a first-place manager the better part of this season with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He went into the weekend on a three-game winning streak and tied for first with the Dodgers in the NL West.
There’s too much baseball to play for anyone to say just what impact Melvin will have on the Diamondbacks over an entire season. But with the NL West looking like any team could win it, a nice guy really might be able to finish first.
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