Opponent: Boston Red Sox
When: 10:05 a.m.
Where: Fenway Park, Boston
TV: FSN (cable)
Radio: KIRO (710 AM)
Pitchers: Seattle right-hander Freddy Garcia (4-3, 3.90) vs. Boston right-hander John Burkett (4-0, 2.40)
Carlos Baerga never played a regular season game for the Seattle Mariners, though it was tough to tell that his weekend.
The infielder who stayed one spring with Seattle – and didn’t make the opening night roster last year – is now a Boston Red Sox reserve.
And no one is happier for him than those who were almost his teammates.
“He’s still a good hitter, he still loves the game and he’s still Carlos,” Edgar Martinez said. “Everybody likes Carlos.”
Before the first game of the Boston-Seattle series, Baerga was taking ground balls at third base and listening to a firestorm of teasing, most of it in Spanish, from the Mariners dugout.
After a few minutes, he gave up fielding and with a huge grin on his face, said hello to anyone in a Seattle uniform, even getting a hug in on manager Lou Piniella.
Two young pitchers Baerga met last spring – Julio Mateo and Rafael Soriano – embraced him.
“Take our picture, take our picture,” Baerga begged a man with a camera. “These two are my babies!”
Carlos Guillen saw the shot taken and scrambled out of the dugout. He wanted one, too. Freddy Garcia came up next and before Baerga knew it, there was Luis Ugueto, who didn’t know Baerga but wanted in, too.
“These are great people, great players and they would have been great teammates,” Baerga said. “I love them, until the game starts.”
Used as a pinch hitter, designated hitter and occasional second baseman, Baerga may be in better shape than he’s been in since his glory days in Cleveland in the mid ’90s.
A year ago, he worked hard in spring and lost 12 pounds but never quite got into game shape and the Mariners released him.
“He was just a total professional in camp,” Piniella said. “He worked with kids, he’d talk baseball to pitchers and hitters. He was a joy to have, and I wished things had worked out.”
They didn’t, but in December – slimmer, stronger and far more fit – Baerga signed a deal with the Red Sox. On Saturday, he went 1-for-4 as the Boston designated hitter, driving in a run in the Red Sox win.
“I want a copy of that photo, please,” he said again, after the game. “Those guys are like family.”
Trade talk: Rumors continue to follow the Mariners, insisting the team is asking Cleveland for pitcher Bartolo Colon. Three problems: Colon’s $5.25 million contract is too large for Seattle to absorb, the Mariners don’t want to give up the young players Cleveland would want – if there was a deal in the works – and the Indians insist they have no intention of moving Colon.
Short hops: Mateo made his third big-league appearance Saturday and pitched two scoreless innings in relief. In 5 1/3innings, he’s allowed one run. … Ruben Sierra’s home run was the 13th of his career against Boston, his first against Pedro Martinez. … Jeff Cirillo isn’t pleased with his .257 batting average, but the third baseman is on pace for 107 RBI. … Ichiro Suzuki’s 13th stolen base was Seattle’s 55th of the year. The team is on pace to break the club record for steals (174). At their current rate, the Mariners would steal 213 bases.
Larry LaRue
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
