Mariners Update

  • Thursday, May 16, 2002 9:00pm
  • Sports

Opponent: Boston Red Sox

When: 4:05 p.m. today, 10:05 a.m. Saturday and Sunday

Where: Fenway Park, Boston

TV: KIRO (Ch. 7) today, FSN (cable) Saturday and Sunday

Radio: KIRO (710 AM), all three games

Probable pitchers: Today – Seattle left-hander John Halama (2-0, 2.67 ERA) vs. left-hander Darren Oliver (4-2, 3.53); Saturday – Seattle right-hander James Baldwin (3-3, 4.93) vs. right-hander Pedro Martinez (5-0, 3.09); Sunday – Seattle right-hander Freddy Garcia (4-3, 3.90) vs. right-hander John Burkett (4-0, 2.40)

For decades, major league pitchers have sought ways to toughen the skin at their fingertips – using everything from pickle juice to super glue – to avoid blisters that prevent them from pitching.

Rafael Soriano, 22, didn’t have time for all that. He went with a false fingernail.

“It’s a pretty impressive nail, too,” pitching coach Bryan Price said.

Soriano has had an impact on the Seattle bullpen in his first two appearances. In five major league innings, he has given up no runs, allowed just two hits and struck out six without walking a batter.

Much of that, he says, he owes to a false fingernail.

Speaking through teammate Joel Pineiro, Soriano found it somewhat easier to explain the nail in Spanish than English.

“He says he has, like, half a nail on the middle finger of his right hand,” Pineiro explained. “The end of the finger would catch the seam of the ball and get tender. Now he has this fingernail put on every few weeks.”

Tough, thick but not particularly sharp – no one wants anyone to think he’s using the nail to ‘cut’ the baseball – the nail looks real at a glance.

“Pitchers are always having trouble with their fingertips,” Price said.

“Paul Abbott, for instance, has to keep his nails cut short because when he throws his change, the nail on his index finger can cut his thumb as he releases the ball.

“I’ve seen guys out on the mound wiping blood on their pants because of things like that, little nicks out there.”

Soriano has been using the false nail for about a year now, he said, without problems. In his first appearance for Seattle, he earned a three-inning save.

In Toronto on Wednesday, Soriano threw two more scoreless innings but left with a mild tenderness on the end of that middle finger.

“He could have gone another inning,” Price said, “but if he tears the nail or breaks open the skin, you may lose him for three or four days, so we got him out of there.

“He should be fine for the Boston series.”

It still hurts: Catcher Dan Wilson had less swelling from his bruised right wrist than the team feared he might have a day after being hit by a pitch, but it was still tender and puffy.

“He’s got a bit of a grip, which is good, but he’s probably not going to be available until Sunday in Boston,” manager Lou Piniella said.

In Wilson’s absence, Ben Davis is the only other catcher on the Seattle roster. Who would catch in an emergency? Charles Gipson.

Lights, camera, action: During Blue Jays batting practice Thursday, Jamie Moyer comandeered a television camera, and before long the TV crew had him set up with a headset and microphone to talk to the director in the truck outside SkyDome. No sooner did Moyer begin shooting than a half dozen teammates crammed in behind him to observe the process.

Hair today: Bret Boone began growing a goatee the day his 11-game hitting streak began, so he hasn’t shaved it since – not that you’d notice.

“It’s little boy hair,” he said, rubbing his chin.

“It’s the most pathetic beard any grown man ever produced after 11 games, but I’m not about to shave it until I stop hitting.”

What’s that smell? Which Mariner player shouldn’t you invite to your next party? Probably Ryan Franklin. The reliever has taken to carrying a scent marker used by hunters that smells like dead, rotting beasts – and he quietly releases it at odd times. On Thursday, he cleared 15 players from the visiting dugout before batting practice. Only Kazuhiro Sasaki stayed seated, and he wrapped a towel around his face.

Rally caps: Of Seattle’s first 27 victories, 14 were come-from-behind wins – and seven of those came with the Mariners trailing after seven innings.

Larry LaRue

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