PEORIA, Ariz. — Manager John McLaren doesn’t want his players guessing about their roles with the Seattle Mariners, although three pitchers will wait at least another day to see where they fit into the starting rotation.
McLaren said Friday that he was close to deciding how to arrange Carlos Silva, Jarrod Washburn and Miguel Batista in the final three spots in the five-man rotation.
McLaren announced last week that left-hander Erik Bedard would start the opener March 31 against the Texas Rangers, with right-hander Felix Hernandez pitching the next night.
Determining the third, fourth and fifth starters has taken some meetings to consider a variety of factors — who benefits or is hurt by an extra day of rest when there’s an off day, the need to split up left-handers Bedard and Washburn, and how pitchers match up against certain opponents.
“Sometimes that doesn’t all work, but that’s some of the things we talked about,” McLaren said.
If career numbers were the most important factor, Batista might have an edge to start the third game against Texas because he’s 4-3 in his career against the Rangers, the only winning mark among the three starters. Washburn is 7-8 and Silva 3-4.
Against the Orioles, who the Mariners play in their fourth, fifth and sixth games on the road, Washburn has a 6-3 career record, including 3-1 with a 3.90 career ERA at Camden Yards. Batista is 0-3 with five saves and a 7.86 ERA against the Orioles and Silva 1-4, 4.60.
McLaren said any rotation the M’s put together may change as the season goes on, and that sometimes they’ll use a day off to skip a starter or stay in rotation and give all of them an extra day of rest.
“This is all subject to change,” he said. “We can switch things around at any time. We’re definitely very open-minded about this. If we feel like we’ve got a better combination, we’ll make adjustments accordingly.”
Batista, who has been everything from a starter to a long reliever to a closer in his career — sometimes in the same season — is prepared for any role. There’s speculation that he will be used in the fifth spot because of his versatility.
“So far I’m just trying to get my pitches to go where I want them,” he said. “As far as the rotation goes, you’re asking the wrong man. It doesn’t make any difference to me. When I was with the Diamondbacks, I was a No. 7 and I ended up being No. 3 in the playoffs.
“My job is to be able to pitch for this team any time they need me to. Mentally, I want to pitch every day.”
The only certainty is that McLaren and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre will announce their decision soon — possibly as early as today — and not wait until late in spring training as some teams do.
Oh my, Aumont: Pitchers threw live batting practice for the second straight day Friday, and this time the big names were on the mound — among them Bedard, Hernandez, Silva, Washburn, Batista, closer J.J. Putz and reliever Brandon Morrow.
The one drawing the most attention was a pitcher who won’t make the team — 19-year-old first-round draft pick Phillippe Aumont.
The 6-foot-7, 255-pound right-hander wasn’t fazed in his first appearance against hitters, or with a horde of coaches and team personnel standing behind the batting cage.
“He does some things that you can’t teach, he’s got such natural movement on the ball,” McLaren said. “When you throw on the side it’s one thing. But when you put a hitter up there, sometimes things change. Nothing changed here. He’s going to be the real deal.”
In the big house: The Mariners will conduct part of their workout today in Peoria Stadium, where the annual spring training FanFest is held.
Besides batting practice, the M’s will conduct a popup drill for the entertainment of fans — and chagrin of the players sometimes.
“I remember one year we had a high sky and bright sun. Balls were dropping in like grenades all over the field,” McLaren said. “People were saying, ‘This is a major league team?’ And it was Griffey and the boys. The sky in Arizona can be very tough, and this was one of those days.”
That also rekindles the memory of another popup drill that went so badly that former manager Lou Piniella walked away. Replacement players were at spring training in 1995 and their skills were less than major-league quality.
“I think that’s when the word ‘rumdum’ came into play on a regular basis,” McLaren said. “Lou dropped a ‘rumdum’ on one of them and it stuck around this camp for a long time.”
Of note: The threat of rain forced the Mariners to alter their workout plan Friday, moving the pitchers’ live batting practice to the beginning of the schedule. Good thing, because rain fell late in practice, causing the M’s to scrub their first-and-third defensive drill. … Backup catcher Jamie Burke has agreed to a contract for 2008. … Closer J.J. Putz and Felix Hernandez were among pitchers who didn’t throw from behind a protective screen during batting practice. None of the hitters took a swing against them, although McLaren said nobody was under orders not to swing. “All I heard was one of the pitchers say, ‘If he hits one back, the next one is coming up and in,’” McLaren said. … The Mariners have signed catcher Mike Kinkade, a former Washington State star who last played in the major leagues in 2003 with the Dodgers, to a minor league contract. He will report to the minor league camp. … Friday not only was Putz’s 31st birthday, former M’s closer Kazuhiro Sasaki turned 40.
Read Kirby Arnold’s blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com
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