Opponent: Oakland A’s
When: 1:05 p.m.
Where: Safeco Field
TV: None
Radio: KOMO (1000 AM)
Pitchers: Seattle right-hander Jeff Harris (2-5, 4.47 earned run average) vs. right-hander Joe Blanton (11-12, 3.55).
No surgery needed
Jeremy Reed wore a soft cast on his injured left wrist and a look of relief on his face Friday after learning he won’t need surgery.
A specialist examined the wrist, which a magnetic resonance imaging exam early in the week showed a torn ligament, and ruled that a month of rest should allow it to recover.
“It was good to hear that,” Reed said. “I was really hoping it would be that way so I can actually have a legit offseason and get stronger and better. This way, it won’t take away from it because I won’t start hitting again until December anyway.”
Reed said he first injured the wrist two years ago while playing with the USA team in the Olympic qualifying tournament in Arizona. He dived for a ball and landed on the hard warning track.
He said that collision, plus others, left one of the bones in his wrist askew.
“The ligament didn’t have a place to stay, so it would flop back and forth over the bone.”
Happy to honor Wilson: Manager Mike Hargrove gladly helped retiring catcher Dan Wilson orchestrate his final appearance as a player by starting him Friday, then pulling him from the lineup after the first inning.
“I enjoy stuff like this,” Hargrove said. “Very few people have the sorts of careers that warrant this type of treatment. Seattle has been lucky to have a few of them. And I’m not talking about careers where they put up gaudy numbers. I’m talking about careers where you’re a solid player, you’re a winner and a good person to boot.”
Hargrove became a fan of Wilson while managing against him most of his career, especially in the 1995 playoffs when the Mariners faced the Cleveland Indians.
“There was always a sense of stability about him,” Hargrove said. “I know from watching Danny that he made pitchers better. I don’t know that Bob Wolcott would have thrown the game that he threw in ‘95 (beating the Indians in the first game of the ALCS) had Dan Wilson not been behind the plate.”
MVPs honored: The Seattle chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America presented its annual awards to Mariners first baseman Richie Sexson, relief pitcher Eddie Guardado and infielder Willie Bloomquist.
Sexson was named the most valuable position player, Guardado the most valuable pitcher and Bloomquist the team’s unsung hero. They were honored in a pregame ceremony Friday.
BBWAA members who cover the Mariners voted for the most valuable player and pitcher, and Mariners coaches selected the unsung hero.
Six to play in fall league: The Mariners will be represented by six of their minor league players on the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League, which begins its 14th season on Tuesday.
The Peoria roster will include right-handed pitchers Chris Buglovsky, Mike Flannery and Clint Nageotte, catcher Jeff Clement and outfielders Garry Harris and Adam Jones.
Jones, drafted as a shortstop prospect in 2003, will play center field as the Mariners groom him for another position with the emergence of Yuniesky Betancourt at shortstop.
Of note: The Mariners have named the late Carroll Sembera as their scout of the year for 2005. Sembera, a Mariners scout since 1993, was the club’s Midwest scouting coordinator and national cross checker. He died of a heart attack in June at age 64. He was a relief pitcher for the Astros and Expos in the 1960s and ’70s, and recorded the first save in Expos history in 1970. His wife, five children and 10 grandchildren will take part in a pregame ceremony today to honor Sembera. … The A’s announced that left-hander Joe Kennedy, 3-5 with a 4.70 ERA, will start Sunday’s season finale against Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez. … As of late Friday afternoon, 18,500 tickets remained for today’s game and 12,000 for Sunday’s.
Kirby Arnold, Herald Writer
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