One day after Jose Lopez nearly cost the Mariners a game by letting a double-play grounder scoot between his legs in what became a three-run inning for the Blue Jays, he’s not in the lineup tonight.
Punishment? Not at all, Mariners manager Jim Riggleman insists.
“We made up our minds before the game yesterday that we were going to give him a day off,” Riggleman said. “He didn’t have his best game yesterday and it would appear it had something to do with that, but I can assure you that this was pre-determined. He’s been playing great baseball for us and he’ll be right back in there tomorrow.”
This move was more about getting time for Miguel Cairo, who hadn’t played since Sunday in San Diego. Cairo will start his second game this season at second base.
“I’ve got to get Cairo a game,” Riggleman said. “You just have to do that sometime.”
Look for more of this kind of lineup shuffling as Riggleman tries to keep his bench players — Cairo, Willie Bloomquist and Jamie Burke (who’s the third catcher) — as sharp as possible.
“You’ve got to be a good teammate and sacrifice a game to get Cairo or Bloomquist or Burke a game,” Riggleman said. “Burke is one who we’ve got to find a game for. If you have to use a guy when someone gets hurt but they haven’t had an at-bat in two weeks, it’s not going to work. We’ve got to get them three or four at-bats on a particular night to keep them sharp.”
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