Meche feeling good

  • By Kirby Arnold / Herald Writer
  • Monday, March 13, 2006 9:00pm
  • Sports

PEORIA, Ariz. – Only seamheads may know the difference between a four-seam fastball and a two-seamer.

Gil Meche is getting a first-hand feel this month at what the two-seamer means to him.

Meche, pitching his first exhibition game after recovering from a strained oblique, pitched two pain-free, stress-free innings Monday in the Mariners’ 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.

He allowed only a first-inning double to Vladimir Guerrero, then retired the next four Angels to complete his work. He struck out three.

“It felt good,” Meche said. “I felt a little soreness here and there, but it wasn’t even close to what I was feeling. I felt pretty sharp, which is good news. I threw some pitches that I didn’t think I would be making after having not thrown in a while.”

Meche, a fastball-curveball-changeup pitcher whose past two seasons were marred with inconsistent pitching, knew something had to change. He went 7-7 in 2004 and 10-8 last year.

Under the direction of pitching coach Rafael Chaves, Meche has added a slider and two-seam fastball to his repertoire.

He believes the two-seamer, especially, will be an important pitch because it has late break and stays down in the strike zone. A four-seamer doesn’t have much movement and can stay high in the strike zone, a problem Meche has experienced.

Because the two-seamer breaks down and in to right-handers, it’s a good complement to the slider that breaks the other way.

“I have more confidence knowing I have more than three pitches to throw people,” he said. “I’ll be able to mix a lot better. I’ve got a slider they’ve got to look for, and that makes the two-seam fastball in to a righty even more effective when they’re looking for a slider or a breaking ball.

“It gives you more confidence on the mound when you’ve got five weapons instead of three.”

Meche also is confident that his injury scare is over.

He strained the oblique in his left side during an intrasquad game and, because of the touchy nature of such an injury, the Mariners treated it with extreme caution to avoid a long-term problem.

“Staying healthy is No. 1,” Meche said. “That’s why I was kind of scared when it happened. I didn’t know exactly what was going on. I’d never had oblique strains or back pulls or anything like that, so I didn’t know what to expect. Luckily I was able to come back pretty quick. It’s still a little sore, but I can work with that.”

Moyer thumped: Jamie Moyer threw about 70 pitches in a morning B game against the Texas Rangers, who smacked enough of them that the linescore looked a little greasy – seven hits, five runs, four earned runs in four innings.

The Rangers – with a lineup that included starters Brad Wilkerson, Kevin Mench, Hank Blalock, Phil Nevin and Rod Barajas – beat the M’s 6-4.

Numbers at spring training, of course, don’t tell the whole story. Moyer did labor through his first three innings, especially the second when he allowed three runs, but he finished with a perfect fourth and said he learned from it.

“It wasn’t a wash,” he said. “They like the ball elevated (in the strike zone). It was a good reminder.”

Moyer almost didn’t get a chance to pitch a fourth inning, but convinced manager Mike Hargrove and pitching coach Rafael Chaves to let him go.

“I talked them into it,” he said. “I told them, ‘Let’s play a little game. Give me three hitters or 15 pitches.’ “

Moyer needed five pitches to finish off those hitters.

“I did in the fourth inning what I had wanted to do in the first, second and third,” he said.

Buhner’s back: Former Mariners right fielder Jay Buhner is in Peoria a few days this week to work with the outfielders. One of his first duties, of course, was to amuse and disgust as many current Mariners as he could, including new catcher Kenji Johjima.

“I haven’t really done anything to him,” Buhner said. “That comes later. We’ll keep him in suspense.”

Back issues: Relief pitcher J.J. Putz has pitched two perfect innings since he returned from back spasm, and he says he feels no pain.

One play Sunday offered solid proof, when Putz sprinted off the mound to field a chopper in front of the plate and throw out Rangers catcher Nick Trzesniak.

“Cat-like, wasn’t it?” Putz said, boasting of his quickness off the mound. “I feel good now.”

Besides his health, Putz was pleased most with the slider he has been working on at spring training. Of the 12 pitches he threw Sunday, four were sliders.

“I had good command of that pitch, and it had better break with more depth,” he said. “Raffey (pitching coach Rafael Chaves) has been working with me to throw it a little slower, get it to slow down and it will have a better shape to it.”

Of note: Johjima had his best overall game Monday, going 2-for-3 and throwing out speedy Angels leadoff hitter Chone Figgins trying to steal in the first inning. … First baseman Richie Sexson, scratched from Sunday’s lineup because of a tight right quad, started Monday against the Angels. … Pitcher Bobby Livingston will make his exhibition debut today after being sidelined a week because of a stiff neck. He will pitch two innings against the Cubs. … Second baseman Cody Ransom went 3-for-4 and outfielder Wladimir Balentien 2-for-2, including a home run, for the Mariners in their B game against the Rangers. … The Mariners spent another day without relief pitcher Julio Mateo (at home in the Dominican Republic after the death of his older brother), pitcher Eddie Guardado and outfielder Matt Lawton (who attended Kirby Puckett memorial services in Minneapolis). … The popular commercials starring the Mariners will be unveiled Wednesday. … Roger Jongewaard, the longtime former Mariners scouting director, watched the M’s on Monday. He’s living in the San Diego area and scouting on the West Coast for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

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