Justin Smoak is playing his first game as a Mariner and, yes, the puns are flying.
They’re playing Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” before his at-bats (My personal Deep Purple favorite is “Highway Star” — maybe the Ken Griffey Jr. retirement theme?), and there are a few other yuk-yuk’s floating around in the press box. For example (this is the only time we’ll do this. Promise):
It’s doubtful Kotchman sees the humor. He’d just gone through a stretch when he went 9-for-18 to earn back some of the playing time he’d lost. But now, with the arrival of Smoak for what the Mariners hope is some much needed power, Kotchman is down on the bench and pretty much out of the team’s plans, at least on a regular basis.
Manager Don Wakamatsu spoke with him about the playing time that will be scarce, and he said Kotchman “was fine.”
“I talked to Casey,” Wakamatsu said. “The adjustments he’s made as of late have been phenomenal. He feels good about himself and he understands that playing time is going to be limited. I just said we’re going to do the best we can to get him the at-bats when we can. He was fine.”
Same with Milton Bradley, to a degree, when his sore right knee allows him to start again (after the All-Star break, Wakamatsu said). Wakamatsu said the plan is to platoon Bradley, a switch hitter, in left field with left-handed-hitting Michael Saunders.
Bottom line, Wakamatsu said, is that this is no time to hand out playing time just to avoid hurt feelings.
“What we’re accountable for now is trying to put the best offense out there,” he said.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
