Nobody in the American League has pitched as many games as Sean Green, but who’s counting?
Certainly not Green, who has been the Seattle Mariners’ go-to guy out of the bullpen this year. He has pitched in 24 games, most in the AL and tied for second in the major leagues.
“It’s nothing that I consciously think about,” said Green, 1-1 with a 1.88 earned run average. “It just happens that the first month and a half this year they’ve needed me more.”
That’s fine with Green because the more he pitches, the better he seems to get.
He may not get better with fatigue as some have suggested, but he doesn’t get worse. That’ mainly because he throws a sinker, which doesn’t require high velocity to create movement.
“I don’t rely on a hard straight fastball,” he said. “When you start getting tired and you need to throw that straight fastball, it can be tough. But I throw a sinker, so sometimes when I’m not 100 percent, I can still get the job done.
“I don’t know if the ball moves better when I’m tired, but it’s just as good. My velocity might not be there but the movement doesn’t get worse.”
Manager John McLaren calls Green a staff saver because he can call on him during times when other relievers might not be available.
“All clubs need somebody like that, somebody who can pitchin a lot of roles for you,” McLaren said. “He’s somebody we can use three days in a row, four out of five, whatever. If we didn’t have him, we’d be putting pressure on somebody else who can’t take everyday use like he can.”
Green has been everything from a two-inning stop-gap to a guy McLaren brings in to face one hitters and get a ground ball, and he’s been especially good the past three weeks.
In 12 relief appearances since April 26, Green has allowed two earned runs in 11 1/3 innings.
Green’s performance has been a big reason the bullpen has been so effective this month after a rough start to the season, and he looks forward to even more success as a unit.
“Once we get into a good winning streak, that solidifies things even more as a unit and everybody falls into their roles,” he said. “When you’re not winning a lot of ballgames and just trying to keep the games close, everybody tends to get used. But when you’re ahead by a couple of runs, you know when you’re going to be out there. It all comes off winning.
“There’s a lot of season left. We’re a good team. We’re running a good lineup out there and the starters are solid. We’re going to win ballgames.”
Tension gone: A week ago, McLaren mentioned the “T” word — tension in the clubhouse — and it spawned all kinds of thoughts.
Do the players hate each other? The coaches? Pitchers fed up with hitters? It was none of that, McLaren said.
“We weren’t winning,” he said. “It’s not that we don’t like each other or the staff.”
Then he elaborated.
“Our players play the game hard and they play with passion,” McLaren said. “But sometimes we don’t give ourselves a fair chance to win. We hit a point where it was totally mental — 100 percent mental.”
And when that happens, frustrations take over. It peaked a week ago, McLaren said, and seemed to ease after a players-only meeting .
“And now the tension has left,” he said. “It goes back to believing in yourself and your teammates. Sometimes when you’re struggling, you lose focus on the team concept.”
Niehaus to speak at Cooperstown: About two months before he’s inducted into the Hall of Fame, Mariners broadcaster Dave Niehaus will appear there Friday to speak as part of the Hall’s “Voices of the Game” series. Niehaus, who was named the Ford C. Frick Award winner for broadcast excellence, will be inducted July 27.
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