PEORIA, Ariz. — Most of the uncertainty over the shape of the 2008 Seattle Mariners centers around the bullpen.
Will they carry six relievers or seven?
Will any of the rehab relievers — Arthur Rhodes, Chris Reitsma or Mark Lowe — be on the opening-day roster?
How healthy is Brandon Morrow, who hasn’t pitched in a game since March 10 because of a stiff right shoulder?
There’s still a week remaining before manager John McLaren hopes to make his roster decisions, but the bullpen seems to be taking shape nicely despite the questions.
Closer J.J. Putz threw an impressive ninth inning Wednesday against the Diamondbacks, Sean Green’s sinker produced ground balls to get out of jams, and Ryan Rowland-Smith adds to the intrigue at the bubble end of the roster decision with a 0.00 ERA after seven exhibition outings.
Morrow’s arm felt good Thursday, one day after he threw in the bullpen. He’ll throw another bullpen session today and possibly pitch in Sunday’s game against the Angels. McLaren said he expected Morrow to be ready for the March 31 opener.
Green’s outing Wednesday was especially satisfying, coming four days after the Giants got to him with four hits and six earned runs in his previous outing. Green is a key right-handed component of the bullpen, particularly if Morrow isn’t healthy.
Green had been struggling early in camp with his release point, which tended to flatten out the break on his sinker. Wednesday night, the sinker was diving and he got ground ball outs when he needed them, especially when McLaren brought him into the game with the bases loaded.
“I’m slowly starting to settle into my natural arm slot,” Green said. “The first couple of outings are always kind of rough because I’m trying to figure out where my hand needs to be. I’m all feel when it comes to pitching. The more pitches I throw, the better it gets.”
McLaren said Reitsma, Lowe and Rhodes all felt good Thursday after they each pitched two innings in a minor league intrasquad game Wednesday. McLaren won’t say if any of the three will be ready by opening day, only that he wants to be patient with them. There’s a chance one or more could start the season on the disabled list.
Nobody left behind: McLaren said he would like to make his final roster cuts before the Mariners leave next Thursday for their final three exhibition games in San Francisco and Las Vegas.
“I don’t particularly like to tell people in Vegas,” he said. “It’s a real letdown. I can remember one time we had to tell guys they were not on the team when we were getting on the plane and they were going elsewhere. They did not know it at all and it blindsided a couple of them.
“Sometimes you’re put in situations when you have to wait, but hopefully that won’t happen this year. I hope that by the time we go to San Francisco, guys will know what they’re doing. It might not be avoidable, but I will try.”
The critical decisions center around the final spot on the bench and whether the Mariners will carry 11 or 12 pitchers. If they go with 11 pitchers, Rowland-Smith could be in jeopardy even though he has pitched well. The guys on the bubble for the final bench spot probably will be pinch hitter/infielder Greg Norton and outfielder Jeremy Reed. Norton could be safe if the M’s go with 11 pitchers, but both could be in trouble if they carry 12.
Second fiddle: Jose Lopez was back at the second spot in the batting order for the second straight game Thursday, something that could solve a few issues in the batting order if he’s able to handle that job.
It allows McLaren to move switch-hitting DH Jose Vidro down in the order and break up a string of right-handed hitters. Vidro spent much of this month batting second.
“We pretty much know what Vidro can do in second hole and we’re kind of seeing what Lopez can do,” McLaren said. “Not only that, but what does it do to the middle of the lineup? We went through streaks last year when we ran five right-handed hitters in a row and other teams could match up with us pretty good.”
There’s also the issue of two strikeout-prone hitters, Richie Sexson and Brad Wilkerson, batting back-to-back.
“We have a lot of hitters who mirror each other, a lot,” McLaren said. “They are basically slashers and we want them to slash strikes.”
Of note: Willie Bloomquist’s bad right quad has knocked him off the field again, and he won’t play again until Saturday the earliest. McLaren wants to be cautious with Bloomquist so close to the season opener. … A limited number of tickets are available for the March 31 opener at Safeco Field against the Rangers, although plenty remain for the other two games in the series April 1 and 2. … Thursday night’s game was televised without broadcaster Dave Sims, who was in Anaheim calling the national radio broadcast of the NCAA Tournament games.
Read Kirby Arnold’s blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com
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