BALTIMORE — Three full days after being hit by a pitch on his left elbow, shortstop Brendan Ryan still couldn’t play the field Tuesday.
“They’re doing everything they can for him, but he’s just not ready to play,” manager Eric Wedge said. “There’s a lot of inflammation, there’s range of motion issues. Brendan just can’t go yet.
“We could use him as a pinch runner late, but I’d rather not — you want to avoid any possibility that might slow his progress down.”
It’s a considerable loss without him. Ryan leads all major league shortstops in fielding percentage and was the American League’s defensive player of the month in May.
Over his last 40 games, Ryan has batted .278 and he’s already established a new career high in walks (36) through 97 games.
Trainers aren’t certain when Ryan will be available to play the field and hit.
The pitch, which hit him directly on the point of the elbow, came after the Mariners had hit five New York batters over four games — three hit by Felix Hernandez.
Ryan believed he was hit intentionally. In his absence, Munenori Kawasaki has played shortstop, and Chone Figgins would play if Kawasaki could not.
Furbush need more work
Left-hander Charlie Furbush made his second appearance on a rehabilitation assignment with Tacoma on Monday, and both he and the Mariners agreed he’ll need at least one more.
“It’s a matter of velocity, command and feel,” Wedge said. “He thinks he needs at least one more, too, which tells you something. It’s the first go round with something like this for him.”
Furbush, acquired with Casper Wells and Chance Ruffin in the trade that sent Doug Fister to Detroit last July. In relief this season, Furbush is 4-2 with a 2.17 earned run average in 34 games, and he’s held opposing hitters to a .147 batting average.
Short hops
Closer Tom Wilhelmsen will accompany the team to Anaheim after the game tonight, then fly to Seattle early Thursday to be with pregnant wife, Cassie, on the Mariners off day. He’s hoping they can induce delivery and get him back for the Friday start of the Angels series. … The complete game by Jason Vargas on Monday was the sixth of the season by a Mariner, tied for the second highest total in the American League. … Seattle has outscored it’s opposition since July 2, 119-94, but for the season trails in run differential, 435-440. A year ago, through the same number of games, the Mariners had scored only 368 runs. … Ex-Mariner Adam Jones is having a marvelous year in Baltimore and is one home run shy of his career high (25). Of his 24 home runs, 13 have put the Orioles ahead and three others have tied the game.
Larry LaRue, The News Tribune
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