When the Mariners gather at spring training next February, this is what I’d like to see: n A lineup with legitimate home run potential, especially in a left-handed hitter who can take advantage of the right-field power alley at Safeco Field.
A big bopper not only would boost the Mariners’ anemic power numbers, it also would take the pressure off others – like Bret Boone and Scott Spiezio – who tried too hard this year and failed.
The Mariners will have to over pay to get such a hitter, but the alternative could be an offense just as puny as this year’s.
* Bob Melvin happy, whether he’s managing the Mariners again or not.
Melvin may take the fall for what happened this year, but it’s not his fault. He didn’t cause the veterans to gag early in the season, just as he couldn’t be blamed for the losses after the All-Star break when the roster was dominated by minor leaguers.
* Randy Winn in left field.
If that means Ichiro Suzuki goes to center and Raul Ibanez to right, so be it.
Winn has proven his value as a No. 2 hitter and is worth keeping. But his continued struggles in center field, especially at Safeco where it’s vital to get a quick break on the ball and run a straight route to it, should convince the club it’s time for a defensive change.
* Catcher Miguel Olivo with a clue on blocking pitches in the dirt. Besides all the passed balls Olivo has allowed, he also has let runners advance on wild pitches that he could have blocked.
* Edgar Martinez enjoying his retirement but hanging around the batting cage, showing players the technique and work ethic necessary to become good major league hitters.
* Eddie Guardado with a strong left shoulder, capable of another 40-some-save season. But also a quality reliever in camp able to close games in case Guardado’s bad rotator cuff doesn’t respond to therapy.
* A truly dominant pitcher to anchor the starting rotation.
It’s too much to assume Joel Pineiro will be that kind of pitcher this early in his career. Pineiro, Jamie Moyer, Gil Meche, Bobby Madritsch and Ryan Franklin comprise a rotation with hope, but the Mariners need to operate with guarantees and not hope.
Otherwise, they’ll be devoured again in the AL West.
* Pitching phenom Felix Hernandez, who will be 19, getting a solid look at spring training.
The Mariners would be wise not to push Hernandez too far, too soon despite his dominating stuff, but a few weeks in big-league camp – especially under the wing of a veteran like Moyer – would do nothing but help him develop.
Judgment calls
* His chances of winning the MVP aren’t great anyway because of the Mariners’ horrible season, but Ichiro Suzuki didn’t help himself this week when he twice bunted with runners on second base and two outs.
Suzuki said he wanted to get on base and allow the middle-of-the-order RBI men drive home the runners. Excuse me, but a .380 hitter needs to be swinging the bat, especially on a team when the middle men have failed all season.
Dropping those bunts gave the appearance that Suzuki was trying only to pad his own numbers and not help the team. Whether or not that was his intention, nobody will ever know, but it wasn’t a move that fits the definition of an MVP.
* After one of their sloppiest games of the season Wednesday, the Mariners played one of their best Thursday when they beat the Red Sox. Bobby Madritsch had a lot to do to with that, pitching eight shutout innings.
But let’s not discount Dan Wilson’s impact behind the plate.
One day after Miguel Olvio let three blockable wild pitches reach the backstop, Wilson was a fortress and the Mariners played crisp, flawless baseball in the field.
Coincidence? I doubt it.
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