On a team with five rookies and two other players with less than two years of big-league experience, Mariners manager Eric Wedge can live with inconsistent play from the youngsters.
His patience has gotten short with the veterans who not only are struggling, but also not showing indications o
f change in their hitting approach.
“A kid, it’s somewhat understandable,” Wedge said. “With a veteran, it’s not for me. I mean, this is the big leagues. There’s a lot of baseball these guys have played before getting up here.”
Wedge wouldn’t name names. Of the veterans still getting significant playing time, the best have been right fielder Ichiro Suzuki (.262 average), shortstop Brendan Ryan (.249) and backup infielder Adam Kennedy (.259). Catcher Miguel Olivo is batting .217 with a .257 on-base percentage and center fielder Franklin Gutierrez .190 and .224.
Of the two who rarely play, DH Jack Cust is batting .207 and third baseman Chone Figgins .183.
Wedge has demanded that all hitters approach at-bats with a plan and stay with it. He understands rookies being jumpy at the plate, but there’s no reason a veteran should hit that way, Wedge said.
“With veterans, there shouldn’t be any excuses,” he said. “They should be going up there with a plan, sticking with their plan, and at least giving themselves a chance to have success. You’re not going to always have that, but you at least have to give yourself a chance.”
The Mariners go into one of their most imposing road trips — three games at Toronto beginning tonight, plus three at Boston and three at New York — with baseball’s lowest team batting average, .221.
“We’re going to keep working at it, but ultimately, they have to dig themselves out of it,” Wedge said. “We’re going to help them do it, but we’re not a couple of weeks, or even a couple of months, into the season any more. We’ve got (67) games left. It should have already been remedied.”
As he has said since spring training, Wedge believes the offense will improve. When it does, he says the Mariners can finish strong because nearly every other element of the team is playing well.
“The thing you have to remember, we’re not playing bad baseball,” he said. “We’re just not hitting at all.”
Of note
The Mariners made official Monday what they announced Sunday, that left-handed-hitting outfielder Mike Carp is being called up from Class AAA Tacoma. He replaces outfielder Carlos Peguero, who was optioned Sunday to Tacoma. … Here are the pitching matchups for the final two games of the Toronto series: left-hander Jason Vargas vs. right-hander Brandon Morrow on Wednesday, right-hander Doug Fister vs. left-hander Ricky Romero on Thursday. … Of the Mariners’ 95 games, 51 have been decided by two runs or less. They are 16-17 in one-run games and 7-11 in games decided by two runs. … Morrow, the Mariners’ 2006 first-round draft pick, who they traded to the Blue Jays before the 2009 season, has won his past four decisions and, in six starts since he last lost, has a 2.68 ERA. For the season, Morrow is 6-4, 4.37. … Blue Jays outfielder Travis Snider, from Jackson High School in Mill Creek, is batting .391 with one homer, 12 RBI and nine doubles in 11 games since he was recalled from Class AAA Las Vegas on July 4. He’s batting .256 with two homers and 24 RBI for the season.
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