Jim Riggleman has been around the Mariners since February, including the past two weeks as manager, and he’s like a lot of people when it comes to describing the team’s offensive personality.
Riggleman isn’t sure how to describe the Mariners.
They aren’t a running team and they aren’t a power team, so it’s probably no coincidence that they’ve scored fewer runs than any team in the American League.
“We don’t really have an identity as one or the other,” Riggleman said. “But that’s OK. There’s still the potential there to play good baseball.”
The question the Mariners still haven’t answered is how? Riggleman’s best answer is with pitching and defense.
“I like any kind of offensive style that works,” he said. “But my point is that it’s secondary to pitching and defense. Generally, if you have athletic people, you have a good defense.”
Unless some slumping hitters like Jose Vidro (.220 average entering Tuesday), Kenji Johjima (.229) and Richie Sexson (.226) catch fire soon, pitching and defense will be the only path to a successful second half of the season.
“We’re not a great defensive club by any means, but I feel good when the ball’s in play,” Riggleman said.
Usually, a strong defensive team also can run offensively, Riggleman said. These Mariners counter that theory.
“A lot of times when you have good defensive players it does translate into a team where you’re going to steal more bases,” he said. “But that’s just not who we are. If you try to force that, we’re going to be running into outs.”
Infield work: Riggleman and his coaches put the Mariners through a crisp infield drill before batting practice Tuesday, something he plans to do on a regular basis.
“I think it gives us an opportunity to work on specific things without bringing guys out at 2:30 or 3 o’clock to do it,” he said. “We can do it in that 10-minure period before batting practice and it doesn’t take away from our BP time. It’s just a reminder that taking ground balls and making throws are important and they’re not to be taken lightly.”
The fielders usually take ground balls while batting practice is going on, but Riggleman believes their concentration isn’t as sharp because of so much activity.
“Once BP starts, the line drives are flying all over the place and we can’t get as much done,” he said.
Asked if he has seen results after a couple of fielding sessions, Riggleman’s answer contained an unintended slap at the hitters.
“Those guys are good fielders, so we might not see any results,” he said. “We might not see results from batting practice, but we still do it every day.”
Of note: Left-handed reliever Cesar Jimenez joined the team Tuesday after being called up from Class AAA Tacoma. He replaces Felix Hernandez, who went on the 15-day disabled list Monday night — retroactive to June 24 — because of a sprained left ankle. … Pitcher Miguel Batista, whose sore back is the latest in a season-long series of ailments he says he has experienced, may be well enough to pitch out of the bullpen tonight. … Shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt returned to the lineup after missing Monday night’s game because he’d had a tooth pulled.
Kirby Arnold, Herald Writer
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