Still on the long road
It’s hard to have the dog days of summer in the mild climate of Seattle, although Jeremy Reed couldn’t be convinced of that.
The Mariners’ injured center fielder remains at least four more weeks, and possibly longer, from rejoining the team because of a fractured right thumb. He’s in the phase of recovery that borders on drudgery, performing hand exercises in water and keeping the rest of his body fit through cardio and strength work.
Meanwhile, his teammates are on the field playing games, and that makes the long recovery even worse.
“I’ve never been on a long-term DL like this and it’s a learning experience for me,” he said. “As much as the ups and downs of the game had frustrated me, having something like this really opens your eyes to how much you miss it.”
Trainer Rick Griffin said Reed has approached his work with enthusiasm, but cautioned that it’s too early to say when the Mariners will get their opening-day center fielder back. It could be early September, mid-September or, if there’s a setback, next season.
“In baseball probably more than any other sport other than a football wide receiver you have to have your hands, wrists and fingers,” Griffin said. “Jeremy had a significant injury to his thumb, and everything he does involves having to use that thumb. It’s the bottom hand in his swing, and that’s more the gripping hand. You’ve got to grip the bat and then roll over in the swing. It’s a huge thing.”
The worst part of the DL time, Reed said, was staying in Seattle after the All-Star break while the team played on the road. He did travel on the most recent trip.
“I’m lucky that I was able to go on the last trip,” he said. “When I didn’t travel on the one before, it was hard to feel like you’re a part of the team.”
The slide: Adrian Beltre’s hard slide into Oakland A’s shortstop Marco Scutaro to break up a double play Sunday is a play that can leave an impression on a young team, manager Mike Hargrove said.
“It’s just a real aggressive play,” Hargrove said. “You see a guy’s true desire when he makes a play like that. It’s like a hard hit in football in that it gives everybody a lift.”
Soriano comeback finalist: Relief pitcher Rafael Soriano was named one of 12 finalists for the American League comeback player of the year award. Soriano, who missed most of last season after Tommy John elbow surgery, entered Monday’s game with a 2.06 ERA in 43 appearances.
Other AL finalists are Magglio Ordonez of the Tigers, Corey Patterson of the Orioles, Curt Schilling of the Red Sox, Frank Thomas of the A’s and Jim Thome of the White Sox.
Father-son finale: First-base coach Mike Goff has had his son Connor with him at Safeco Field much of the summer, and Monday afternoon they were back on the field together as Goff worked with center fielder Adam Jones.
Goff would hit fly balls to Jones and Connor would field the throws coming back, just as he’d done the past several weeks.
This session was bittersweet. Connor returns to the family’s home in Peoria, Ariz., today to begin school.
“I won’t see him for two months,” Mike Goff said. “That’s the hard part of this game.”
Of note: Carl Everett, designated for assignment by the Mariners on Aug. 3, cleared waivers on Monday and became a free agent. … The Devil Rays are the only team that has held Ichiro Suzuki to less than .300 in his career. He entered Monday batting .288, 21 points less than against the next-lowest opponent, the Angels. His high is a .373 average against the Blue Jays. … Richie Sexson entered Monday tied for first among AL first basemen with a .997 fielding percentage. He had made three errors in 962 chances.
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