Opponent: Oakland Athletics
When: 1:20 p.m.
Where: Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland, Calif.
TV: Fox (Channel 13)
Radio: KIRO (710 AM)
Probable pitchers: Seattle right-hander Joel Pineiro (5-1, 1.84 ERA) vs. right-hander Erik Hiljust (3-0, 3.61).
Lou looks ahead: Now that the Seattle Mariners are in the postseason, Lou Piniella is more inclined to discuss the playoffs – and seemed as fascinated by what lies ahead as any fan.
“It ought to be one heck of a round robin,” Piniella said Friday. “The four teams in the American League are all capable of winning it all. Oakland has three solid starting pitchers, good left- and right-handed hitting, a little speed. The Yankees have Roger Clemens, Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte, and that’s not a bad way to start a series.”
Asked if he thought the Mariners might buckle under the pressure of taking the best record this season into the playoffs, Piniella shook his head.
“We’ll put all that pressure on the Yankees,” he said. “They’ve won four of the last five, they have to be the team to beat.”
Did he have a psychological ploy ready for Cleveland, the Mariners’ likely first-round opponent?
“No, Cleveland you’ve just got to beat,” Piniella said. “I don’t think they much care what anyone says.”
When the subject moved to the National League, Piniella was intrigued by the dilemma faced by Arizona – a similar situation the Mariners found themselves in during the final days of the ‘95 season.
“If you don’t win the division early and you go into that final weekend of the season needing to win to go on, you’ve got to go with Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling those last two days,” Piniella said, “and that means they probably don’t pitch until Games 3 and 4 in the first playoff series.
“In ‘95, we had to use our best – Randy – in that one-game playoff with the Angels.”
Since then, Piniella pointed out, the biggest change in the game may be that the strength of the American League has moved west.
“It used to be, if you didn’t win this division you were done for the year,” he said. “But last year Oakland won the division and we took the wild card. This year, we have the division, they’re going in as the wild card.
“You look at the Angels, that’s a good young team. Texas doesn’t have all the pitching it needs, but Lord, can they score runs. This is a tough, tough division. You look at the team earned run averages in this league and the first three teams are from our division – the Mariners, A’s and Angels. That’s amazing.”
Boone improving: If it had been a playoff game Friday, Bret Boone would have played. Since it wasn’t, he began the game on the bench again, nursing a bruised right heel. “I’m not going to be stupid about it, but if I feel this much better (today), I’ll try to talk my way into the lineup,” Boone said.
“If not, then Sunday.”
Bell improving, too: David Bell’s strained left rib cage continues to improve, and he stood in at the plate in the bullpen while three Mariners relievers threw before the game. If there are no setbacks, he may be allowed to swing the bat Monday.
Power pitching: Beginning the game Friday, the Mariners had the lowest ERA in baseball – 2.81 – since the All-Star break. The next best team? Oakland, at 3.39.
Larry LaRue
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