Pineiro’s pride swells wearing Puerto Rican uniform

  • By Kirby Arnold / Herald Writer
  • Saturday, March 18, 2006 9:00pm
  • Sports

PEORIA, Ariz. – Joel Pineiro knew it would be nice to go home to Puerto Rico and pitch in the World Baseball Classic.

What he didn’t expect was the feeling of adrenaline and national pride he got from pitching in the tournament.

Pineiro returned to the Seattle Mariners on Saturday and didn’t have a negative thing to say about his experience, even though Puerto Rico was eliminated in the second round of the tournament.

“I would definitely do it again,” he said. “It was a great feeling to have that jersey on and being in Puerto Rico having the fans supporting you. Having those eight other guys out there on the field with you was emotional and exciting.”

The best part, Pineiro said, was pitching to catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez.

“My dream came true,” he said.

Pineiro pitched twice, allowing two earned runs and seven hits in 82/3 innings.

“Everything was for pride and it was a good competition,” he said. “Not to take away from anything here, but it’s a different feeling putting on this (the Mariners’) uniform compared to putting on that uniform. It had extra meaning in Puerto Rico. Maybe if we were playing in Japan, yeah we’d be proud, but we wouldn’t have 18, 19, 20 thousand people behind us cheering every out. It was great.”

Besides Pineiro, right fielder Ichiro Suzuki (Japan) and third baseman Adrian Beltre (Dominican Republic) of the Mariners also are playing in the WBC. Their teams played in the semifinals on Saturday in San Diego.

Pineiro said he stayed at his home, about 10 minutes from Hiram Bithorn Stadium where the games were played in San Juan, and he left about 30 tickets per game for friends and family.

“People recognize me a lot more now than they did before because of this,” he said. “Before, I used to go to the supermarket and a couple people might say something. Now, everybody was saying something.”

Pineiro said the atmosphere at the ballpark was dramatically different than Arizona spring training games, with big crowds for the WBC games and a feeling of national pride feeding the players’ intensity.

“But when I talked to Beltre and Freddy (Garcia, who played for Venezuela) and people like that, they all said the same thing, that it’s a different feeling going into that clubhouse than any other clubhouse,” Pineiro said. “Just having all your countrymen in the same place, talking the same stuff, yelling, it was special.”

Pineiro, who pitched an intrasquad game and a B game before he joined the Puerto Rican team, is scheduled for his first Cactus League game Monday against the A’s.

Felix the bat: Mariners manager Mike Hargrove gave Felix Hernandez some specific instructions before Saturday’s game against the Giants.

“Don’t swing. Just take every pitch,” Hargrove said.

Hargrove knew the chances of that were slim. Hernandez had been looking forward to Saturday’s game – without the designated hitter – for days. He spent most of Friday carrying a bat, and Saturday he got to use it.

Hernandez did swing, but the at-bat lasted just three pitches when Jason Schmidt threw a couple of sliders that left Hernandez looking like, well, a pitcher. He took a fastball for strike one, then tried without success to check his swing on a slider for strike two and waved weakly at another slider to strike out.

It was Hernandez’s first at-bat as a pro. He said the last time he’d batted was in high school in Venezuela.

“I was a really good hitter, but it was different back then,” he said.

On the mound, Hernandez gave up five hits and two runs in four innings, his longest outing of the month. The Giants nicked him for three hits and two runs in the third, when Hernandez hurt himself with a bad pickoff throw for an error and a wild pitch.

“It took me a little bit to get back on track, but I was able to stay within myself,” he said. “I feel good physically.”

Appier update: Hargrove said it may be difficult for pitcher Kevin Appier to recover from a calf injury in time to make a late push to make the team.

“Realistically, probably not,” Hargrove said. ” (Trainer) Rick Griffin is working with him, and he doesn’t expect it to be anything good.”

Griffin said Appier did not work out Saturday, instead receiving ice and stimulation for the injury. Officially, his status is listed as day-to-day.

Loose lefties: The battle for the left-handed setup relief role didn’t exactly heat up Saturday.

In Scottsdale, Matt Thornton gave up six hits and five runs in the fifth inning against the Giants. In Peoria, Jake Woods gave up three hits, two of them home runs, in two innings while pitching for Class AAA Tacoma against Class AA San Antonio.

Thornton has given up 18 hits and 11 earned runs in seven innings this month. The Giants hit for the cycle in the fifth inning against Thornton, who allowed singles to Ray Durham and Angel Chavez, doubles to Steve Finley and Jason Ellison, a triple to Todd Linden and a home run to Mike Matheny.

The Mariners’ best lefty so far has been Luis Gonzalez, who will pitch today against the Rockies. He has allowed four hits in 62/3 innings and has a 2.70 ERA. Gonzalez, acquired from the Rockies in the offseason, has his Rule 5 status going for him.

Because the Rockies selected him in the Rule 5 draft last September, the Mariners would have to offer him back to Colorado if he doesn’t make the 25-man major league roster.

Of note: Right-hander Emiliano Fruto, one of the young pitchers the Mariners were eager to see in camp, pitched a nightmarish sixth inning when he didn’t get anybody out before being lifted. He faced seven hitter and allowed five hits and two walks. … Fernando Vina played in his second straight game after missing all month because of a strained right hip flexor. He made an error on the first ground ball hit toward him. … Eddie Guardado allowed one hit in one inning of a minor league game, pitching for Class AAA Tacoma against Class AA San Antonio. J.J. Putz retired all three hitters he faced, two on strikeouts, and Rafael Soriano gave up one hit and a walk in one inning. … Among those at Saturday’s game in Scottsdale were a couple of Hall of Famers, legendary broadcaster Ernie Harwell and former Giants first baseman Orlando Cepeda. … Left-hander Jamie Moyer will pitch in a minor league game today.

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