Like most Seattle Mariners fans eager to see how the team pulls itself together before opening day April 5, Mark Lowe pays close attention to the rumors this time of year.
“I’m on the Internet all the time,” the Mariners’ right-handed setup relief specialist said Friday after a workout at Safeco Field. “It’s the only time the entire year I get on the Internet and look at stuff daily.”
Friday, Lowe saw another name linked with the Mariners: right-handed starting pitcher Jason Marquis. Foxsports.com listed the Mariners, who would like to add a starting pitcher behind staff ace Felix Hernandez, among numerous teams interested in Marquis.
Marquis posted some numbers this year that certainly should pique the interest of the Mariners — 15-13 with a 4.04 ERA for the Rockies with an impressive 216 innings in 33 starts. Here’s another number to keep in mind, though: Marquis made $9.875 million this year.
Long before Lowe read reports that the Mariners were courting free agent infielder Chone Figgins, he and other teammates talked about what a great fit Figgins would be for this team. To his delight, the Mariners signed Figgins this week.
“I remember talking with Norm Charlton a lot about it when he was our bullpen coach, that if we could pick a team from the first person to the 25th, we’d start it with Chone,” Lowe said. “He’s a perfect fit for our team and for our ballpark. We talked about it all year in the bullpen, how good Chone would be here.”
Lowe said he hasn’t noticed his name in any of the speculation this offseason, although it did surface briefly during rumors of a proposed deal between the Mariners and Tigers.
“I don’t want to go anywhere,” Lowe said. “I love what we’ve got going on and what we’ve got as a team. And I’m home grown. From the day I was drafted in 2004, I’ve spent my whole career with them. I feel comfortable here. Trades are the nature of the beast and we can’t think about it. If you get traded, you get traded. But I don’t want to go anywhere.”
Lowe pitched a career-high 80 innings this year, going 2-7 with a 3.26 ERA and three saves in a team-high 75 appearances. It was a season that put to rest any concern about the health of his right arm after major surgery in 2006 to repair a cartilage defect. The surgery was so comprehensive that doctors originally feared Lowe might not pitch again.
Lowe is putting himself through a five-day-a-week strength program in an effort to ensure he can handle a similar workload next year. On Mondays, he focuses on his upper body. It’s shoulder work on Tuesdays, lower body on Wednesdays, upper body Thursdays and lower body again Fridays.
On Monday, he’ll add one more thing — throwing a baseball, two sets of 25 throws at 60 feet.
“After throwing that many games I wanted to make sure I’m strong and ready to go through the whole season again next year,” he said. “I added a couple of things (to the offseason work) this year. I’m working harder than I have in the past.”
Read Kirby Arnold’s blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com/marinersblog
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