Pitching holes vex Mariners

By Kirby Arnold

Herald Writer

Midway through an offseason in which the Seattle Mariners beefed up their offense, the starting pitching has gotten puny and it’s becoming apparent that the team will turn to Plan B to fill the rotation.

Can you say Joel Pineiro, Ryan Franklin or John Halama? Or hope for the return to health of Gil Meche and Ryan Anderson early in the season?

Those are the names rolling around manager Lou Piniella’s head as he tries to figure who the fourth and fifth starters will be.

“Starting pitching is our concern,” Piniella said by phone from his home in Tampa. “We have some good arms, but experience is going to be a problem. We need for one or two of these kids to step up in the spring.”

The Mariners have only three pitchers who finished last season in the rotation – Freddy Garcia, Jamie Moyer and Paul Abbott – because of a convergence of offseason occurrences.

They decided to let 15-game winner Aaron Sele walk away in the free agent market, and he signed with the Angels two weeks ago.

The M’s thought they had offered enough money to land free agent Jason Schmidt, but his heart stayed in San Francisco and he accepted a similar deal (reportedly four years, $30 million) from the Giants.

Now the Mariners are bracing for arbitration decisions next month that will push the 2002 payroll close to the budgeted $90 million level. That would squash most hopes of a free-agent signing.

“I know that we’re pretty well spent up payroll-wise,” Piniella said.

The Mariners are known to remain interested in James Baldwin, Rick Helling and Ismael Valdez, and they might submit a bid for Japanese left-hander Kazuhisa Ishii.

“We’ve talked to a slew of pitchers,” Piniella said, “but I still don’t see us doing anything there.”

That would leave the club to fill its holes – the two starting jobs and a setup role in the bullpen to replace Jose Paniagua – from within.

Pineiro, a right-hander with 12 major league starts, a lively fastball and a steel-tough demeanor, seems the most likely to fill one rotation spot.

Nearly every team that talked trade with the Mariners asked for Pineiro, and the M’s now are thankful they didn’t say yes.

“We told clubs almost from the start, ‘Look, he can’t be part of the equation.’ We knew we would be a little short (on pitching) if we didn’t sign anybody,” Piniella said.

Franklin, a right-hander who was superb in long relief last year, could win the fifth rotation spot. That, however, would create another opening in the bullpen.

“What we really need, assuming we don’t do anything more (via trade or free agency), is for one of our young pitchers – Meche or Anderson – to get healthy and assume a spot in the rotation six weeks into the season,” Piniella said.

Neither Meche nor Anderson has thrown a game-situation pitch in more than a year after surgeries on their pitching shoulders sidelined them all of last season.

Meche, a 23-year-old right-hander who has 30 starts at the major league level, has been throwing three times a week from 60 feet and soon will move to 90 feet. Anderson, a 22-year-old left-hander, threw off a mound during the fall instructional league.

“By the time instructional league was over, Ryan was throwing very easily,” pitching coach Bryan Price said. “He’s fine, and by the time spring training starts he should be ready to go. Gil is on a long-toss program to build up the arm strength and range of motion. He’s throwing pain free, loose and with no inhibitions.”

Unlike last year, when nearly every job on the team was locked up before spring training, there should be hope this time for young pitchers. Price looks for guys like Jeff Heaverlo, J.J. Putz, Rafael Soriano and Matt Thornton to get a good look at spring training.

“I think you’re looking at guys that maybe won’t break with the club (at the beginning of the season) but could very easily make a jump up at some time,” Price said. “That’s a neat thing because you’re keeping guys in the organization excited about the opportunity. The last two years, we haven’t had a major opportunity for our young guys to come up and pitch a significant amount of innings. This year I think there will be a little more opportunity.”

Caravan coming: The Mariners’ annual caravan will begin its three-week tour across the Northwest next week, with stops in Everett and Mukilteo scheduled Tuesday.

Catcher Dan Wilson, bench coach John McLaren and play-by-play announcer Rick Rizzs will appear at an assembly from 1:45-2:15 p.m. at Discovery Elementary, 11700 Meridian Ave. in Everett. Wilson, McLaren and Rizzs then will conduct a baseball skills clinic from 4-5:30 p.m. at the Kamiak High School performing arts center, 100801 Harbour Pointe Blvd. in Mukilteo.

The clinic at Kamiak is free and open to youngsters of all ages.

No Boone progress: The Mariners, still hoping to sign second baseman Bret Boone to a long-term contract, probably won’t address that issue until after Jan. 18, the date arbitration figures will be exchanged.

“Nothing’s been happening lately,” assistant general manager Lee Pelekoudas said. “We’ll see what happens when numbers are filed.”

Roster surprise: Besides the young pitchers, promising outfielders Eugene Kingsale and Scott Podsednik might battle each other to make the major league roster. Both got some playing time with the Mariners last year.

Piniella said the only opening for a position player probably will be for a reserve outfielder.

“I would think Kingsale has a leg up because switch hitter,” Piniella said.