SEATTLE – Moments after the Seattle Mariners’ scheduled trip to Japan was called off in March, major league baseball officials already were talking about trying again next year.
That apparently won’t happen, either.
The Mariners, who’d had discussions with baseball about another attempt at opening next season in Japan, are expected to announce their 2004 schedule within days, and every game will be on their own continent.
Word has filtered among several Mariners players that they won’t open in Japan, to the relief of some who experienced a factured spring training last year without even making the trip. Major League Baseball is believed to be working on a season opener involving the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Mariners president Chuck Armstrong wouldn’t comment on Japan, but he said the club hopes to release its schedule soon.
“There’s nothing I can say today,” Armstrong said Thursday. “I’m hoping we can make an announcement (today) or the first of the week.”
When it is announced, the schedule is expected to include a four-game opening series April 5, 6, 7 and 8 at Safeco Field against the Anaheim Angels.
Most other teams have released tentative schedules with some interesting dates involving the Mariners.
The most intriguing is an interleague series June 18, 19 and 20 against the Cincinnati Reds at Safeco Field. It would mark Ken Griffey Jr.’s first games in Seattle since he was traded to the Reds before the 2000 seasons.
The Houston Astros (June 6, 7, 8 and 9) and San Diego Padres (June 25, 26 and 27) also are scheduled for interleague games in Seattle.
The Mariners will play interleague road series at Milwaukee (June 15, 16 and 17), Pittsburgh (June 18, 19 and 20) and St. Louis (July 2, 3 and 4).
The Mariners were scheduled to open the 2003 season in Japan with two games against the Oakland A’s, but the trip was called off because of security concerns connected with the war in Iraq. The trip was scrubbed less than 24 hours before the teams were to fly from Phoenix to Tokyo.
The proposed trip made life difficult on the Mariners last spring.
They dealt with numerous details involved in transporting the team, its equipment, families and media to Japan and back, plus concerns that the travel would wear down a veteran club during a critical time in its schedule against American League West Division teams. The Mariners started spring training a week earlier than usual because of the planned departure in mid-March but wound up staying in Arizona more than a week longer than expected.
Now that it’s apparent the Mariners won’t have the details of Japan to handle, Armstrong hopes to get clearance from the commissioner’s office to release the regular-season and spring training schedules.
“The sooner we can get going, the better, especially from a marketing standpoint,” Armstrong said. “We’re late on all that stuff. People need to plan.”
Roster moves: The Mariners added four players to the 40-man roster Thursday – right-handed pitchers Cha Seung Baek and Clint Nageotte and infielders Greg Dobbs and Justin Leone.
The roster now has 38 players.
No pressure: There may be a lot of expectations on the shoulders of Raul Ibanez, the newly signed left fielder who the Mariners believe will add left-handed power to an offense that struggled in that department.
Ibanez, who agreed to a three-year contract with the Mariners on Wednesday, said he doesn’t sense any pressure.
“For me, pressure was when I was non-tendered (by the Mariners in 2000) and my wife was pregnant and I had to make a club out of spring training,” he said. “This is fun. I’m going to do what I do best. I’m gong to maintain my approach and maintain my mindset.”
M’s lose draft pick: The Kansas City Royals may have lost one of their best hitters when Ibanez signed with the Mariners, but they weren’t left empty-handed. They will get a high draft pick from the Mariners next year.
Because Ibanez is considered a Type A free agent, the Royals will get two additional draft picks in 2004. One would be the Mariners’ first-round pick, 22nd overall, and the other would be a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds.
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