Mariners notebook: Milton Bradley a model teammate so far

PEORIA, Ariz. — Nobody quite knew what to expect from Milton Bradley when he arrived at spring training with the Mariners.

He’d dealt with recent off-field issues — his January arrest in Southern California on charges of making a threat against a woman and a meeting this mon

th with prosecutors on the case — and came to camp with uncertainties about his game as well.

Bradley had knee surgery to end a difficult season in 2010 and he needed to prove that he was healthy again in order to be productive in 2011.

So far, Bradley has been what the Mariners have needed on the field. Tuesday, he went 3-for-3 with two RBI and a stolen base in the Mariners’ 5-4 exhibition victory over the Texas Rangers.

“He’s enjoying himself. He’s enjoying his teammates,” manager Eric Wedge said. “I love his work ethic. His approach has been good. We just want to see him sustain that.”

Bradley singled in the first inning, drove home a run with a single in the third and hit an RBI double in the fifth. He also stole a base in the third inning but was trapped off second base and tagged out.

“Coming into camp, I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself, but there’s a certain amount of accountability to this team,” he said. “I wanted to be in shape, I wanted to be swinging the bat well.”

Bradley is 4-for-6 in two games.

As for the “other” stuff, Bradley has been a model teammate who has delivered high-fives and hugs during morning workouts. And, he has ignored any remarks he has heard in the crowd at Peoria Stadium. Sunday, one fan booed when he was introduced before his first at-bat.

“I heard him,” Bradley said. “One guy, and no one joined him. Today there was one guy in the outfield, yelling ‘Drop the ball!’ and ‘Nice base-running!’ I figure I had one guy like that and a stadium full of people behind me. When self doubt creeps in, you hear those voices a little more loudly. The key is not to let them in.”

And, to anyone who believes his 2004 incident in Cleveland with manager Eric Wedge still festers, Bradley says it doesn’t.

“Wedge will get the most out of everybody on this team,” Bradley said. “He’ll get the most from me. He’s constantly communicating, constantly teaching. When we were together before, I didn’t want to hear it. Now, I hear it and I know it’s not personal, even if he gets in your face. He’s trying to make you better.”

Young pitchers on display

Veteran Nate Robertson allowed three hits and struck out three in two scoreless innings, but it was a trio of young right-handed pitchers hoping to make the team that got much of the attention in Tuesday’s game.

Blake Beavan allowed three hits, a walk and two runs in two innings, right-hander Josh Lueke gave up a hit in one scoreless inning and Dan Cortes gave up one hit and struck out one in a scoreless inning.

Wedge’s evaluation: “We pitched well today,” Wedge said. “I liked what we saw from everybody. Different types of pitchers, different types of innings.”

Left-hander Royce Ring pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning, as did left-hander Fabio Castro in the eighth. Denny Bautista struggled early with his control in the ninth and allowed two hits and two runs to make the game close before getting the final two outs with a runner on second.

Robertson, a non-roster invitee hoping to rebound from elbow surgery in 2009 and crack the Mariners’ starting rotation, was pleased with his first outing.

“I stayed around the zone and had them swinging the bats and using the defense, which is good,” he said. “Mechanically you want to get comfortable and translate that to your command. If you’re commanding the ball around the zone and trusting your stuff, if you have the stuff to get people out then you’ll be here. If you don’t, then you’re not going to be here. That’s basically it in a nutshell.”

Mr. February

Reliever Shawn Kelley took an important step in his recovery from elbow surgery, throwing Tuesday for the second consecutive day. It’s the first time he’d thrown on back-to-back days since he was injured last season.

On Monday, Kelley threw from 105 feet with some reasonable intensity. Tuesday’s session wasn’t as extreme, but it still was a good measure of Kelley’s endurance.

Kelley had “partial” Tommy John ligament surgery in August and is expected to be at full strength by June.

Today in camp

Mariners vs. Diamondbacks, 12:05 p.m. (PST) at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale (no radio broadcast). Right-hander Michael Pineda will start for the Mariners, who also have right-handers Jamey Wright, Yoervis Medina, Justin Miller, Manny Delcarmen and Chris Smith on their list of pitchers.

Of note

The Mariners expect test results by this weekend on Franklin Gutierrez’s stomach problems. Why has it taken so long? Because there were multiple tests performed last Thursday in Seattle, it’s taking that long to gather all the results and come up with a remedy. … Felix Hernandez will pitch a simulated game on Thursday and Jason Vargas will pitch one Friday as they work their way toward exhibition games. Both pitchers are being eased into spring training after having reached career highs in innings last year. … Catcher Steven Baron, who hit three home runs in 53 games last year with the Everett AquaSox, hit his first spring training homer with a drive over the left-field fence in the eighth inning. Adam Kennedy also homered for the Mariners in the second inning.

Read Kirby Arnold’s blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com/marinersblog and follow his Twitter updates on the team at @kirbyarnold