By Kirby Arnold
Herald Writer
At this point in the season, Mariners third baseman Chone Figgins might rescue a kitten from a tree and get booed.
Figgins, who has heard the wrath of the home fans much of this season, and especially Friday night when he went 0-for-4, was on the be
nch Saturday night when manager Eric Wedge started Adam Kennedy at third base.
It was Kennedy’s first start this season at third. Figgins, meanwhile, had started seven straight and 27 of the past 28 games.
Kennedy entered the game batting .270 while Figgins’ average had dipped to .195. Manager Eric Wedge, asked if Figgins’ night off was the result of his tough game Friday, said only that he wanted Kennedy to play.
“I want Adam to get in there,” Wedge said. “One of the ways for him to get in there is for him to play third base.”
Kennedy has started 34 games at second base this season but the arrival Friday of Dustin Ackley, who’ll play every day at second, has changed his role. Wedge has said he plans to keep Kennedy’s bat in the lineup by rotating him into the lineup at second, first and third base.
Whether that means Figgins’ playing time will be cut significantly, Wedge isn’t saying.
What’s clear is that Figgins is bringing little to the lineup offensively, and the home fans have been so vicious toward him that anything he does will draw boos. The crowd seemed especially harsh Friday night, when Figgins went 0-for-4, including two foul popups and a strikeout.
In the field, he also heard booing after he made a long run in left-field foul territory chasing a popup. He got to the ball but didn’t catch it, and the boos were ringing as he tumbled over the railing into the first row of the grandstand.
Saturday may have been a one-night-only seat on the bench for Figgins, although Wedge may choose to play him again this week when the Mariners play three games at Washington — and away from the jeers of the Safeco Field crowd.
Guti’s health is fine, not his bat
The good news concerning center fielder Franklin Gutierrez is that he’s doing well physically after being diagnosed early this season with irritable bowel syndrome. Gutierrez’s .184 batting average is the concern now.
“What he has to focus on is to back up the truck a little bit and slow things down, work to see the ball and get that barrel to the ball,” Wedge said. “It’s easier said than done, but mechanically he’s just a little bit off right now.”
Wedge said Gutierrez should be past the spring training-mode of tuning his swing after he missed most of March and April while undergoing tests for his condition. Still, the medical problems Gutierrez experienced going back to last season have had an impact, Wedge said.
“From last year to this winter to this spring to this season, without a doubt all that has had a strong effect on his game,” Wedge said. “He’s just going to have to toughen up and fight through it. There’s no other way to get around it. He’s a good hitter, a good player and he’s just got to keep working hard to find it. We need him to contribute offensively for us.”
Of note
Wedge said DH Jack Cust, who’s batting .214 and has lost a lot of his at-bats to Mike Carp, Carlos Peguero and Kennedy, is working on his hitting but offered no hint on how much he would play. “I’ve had multiple conversations with Jack,” Wedge said. “I had quite a few conversations yesterday with different players. Jack was one of them. He’s working hard. He’s trying to do some things that will help him get back on track.” … Dustin Ackley, who singled in his first at-bat Friday, became the 19th Mariner to get a hit in his first plate appearance. The last was Wladimir Balentien in 2007. Until Friday, Carp was the last Mariner to get a hit in his first major league at-bat, doing it in 2009.
Kirby Arnold, Herald Writer
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