By Kirby Arnold and Larry Henry
Herald Writers
SEATTLE – Manager Lou Piniella, his coaches and the Mariners’ front office executives met, wrung their hands, fretted, debated and finally decided who would get the final spot on the 10-man pitching staff against Cleveland: John Halama.
The left-hander, who went 4-1 with a 1.84 earned run average out of the bullpen after being recalled from Class AAA Tacoma, was chosen for the roster over right-handers Ryan Franklin and Joel Pineiro.
“It was a horribly difficult decision because you’ve got three guys who pitched their hearts out for the club this year,” pitching coach Bryan Price said. “Neither one (Pineiro or Franklin) deserves not to be on the team, but I think we did the right thing. They’re all deserving, but in this case nobody moreso than John.”
The decision not only came down to performance, but also experience. Neither Franklin nor Pineiro has pitched in the postseason; Halama started twice at Yankee Stadium last year in he ALCS.
“He’s postseason tested,” Price said. “He’s performed in a hostile environment in New York and pitched very well, and he’s a guy who has pitched brilliantly out of the bullpen for us this year.”
Halama started the year in the starting rotation but was inconsistent, with a 6-6 record and a 5.78 ERA. He was sent to Tacoma and flourished, including the first perfect game in the Pacific Coast League’s 99-year history on July 7.
He was recalled on July 16, inserted into the bullpen and pitched well his first two times out. Then he flopped.
Halama relieved Aaron Sele in the seventh inning on Aug. 5 at Cleveland, inheriting a 14-5 lead. He gave up four runs on five hits in just 2/3inning, the start of a bullpen collapse that allowed the Indians to beat the Mariners 15-14 with the biggest comeback in major league history.
“Everybody wants to refer to that game in Cleveland in the game that got out of hand,” Price said. “But hopefully what they’ll remember is that he came in and went seven up and seven down against them here his next time out (Aug. 25). If there was ever a time a guy should have been vulnerable, it should have been that next outing against a team that handled him fairly well. But he was completely up to the task
“We like John because he’s going to throw strikes and he gets a ton of ground balls.”
Guillen visits team: Shortstop Carlos Guillen, hospitalized for a week after he was diagnosed with tuberculosis, visited his Mariners teammates during batting practice Monday at Safeco Field.
“It was good seeing him here,” Piniella said. “I think it was a little bit of a pickup for us. He’s a good kid, a good player. We’re going to miss him, but to see him physically doing well makes us feel better as a team.”
Guillen declined an opportunity to talk with reporters.
“He’s improving and feeling better,” Piniella said.
The Mariners have said Guillen won’t play in the first two rounds of the playoffs, and they’re not sure if he would be ready for the World Series if they get that far.
“We don’t know that,” Piniella said. “We just want to make sure he gets well.”
It’s a different game: Jeff Nelson, a guy who should know since he owns four World Series rings with the Yankees, says it’s a whole different game in the postseason.
“We’ve won 116 games, but it doesn’t mean anything to Cleveland,” he said. “Everybody is 0-0 now. The atmosphere is different. Every pitch, every out, they mean everything.
“If you lose a game in the regular season you can always say you’ll get them again tomorrow. In the postseason, there really is no tomorrow.”
Familiar feeling for Ichiro: This will be Ichiro Suzuki’s first experience in the major league postseason, although he has played twice in the playoffs in Japan.
That experience, says Mariners Pacific Rim director Ted Heid, should serve him well for the pressure to come this week.
Not only is there the intensity of the competition, there’s the distraction of the rabid fans in Japan, who cheer and chant throughout the games.
“He’ll probably be relieved that the drums won’t be beating over here,” Heid said. “He’s had some outstanding series over there. He’s one of the guys who thrives in this type of situation.”
Itching to play: Jay Buhner finally is reaping the reward of the months of long rehabilitation from a foot injury he suffered during spring training.
He has homered twice since coming off the disabled list on Sept. 1 and is hitting .222 with five RBI.
“I feel fine at the plate,” Buhner said. “I have some good days and some bad, and at this stage I’m hoping they’re all good. This is what I worked so hard for, to be a part of the postseason.”
Piniella said Buhner may start in left field against left-handed pitching or be available off the bench when opponents bring a lefty to the mound. Stan Javier will start against right-handed pitching and, because he’s a switch hitter, may keep that job against lefties.
“Jay gives us a power bat, a situational bat,” Piniella said. “I’m undecided what we’ll do in left field against a left-handed starter. It’ll be either Javier or Jay.”
All that glitters is Arthur: Mariners relief pitcher Arthur Rhodes vows to wear his diamond earrings when he is called to the mound. Indians shortstop Omar Vizquel says he will ask that the jewelry be removed if it’s a distraction.
Vizquel nearly sparked a brawl on Aug. 25 when Vizquel, on a sunny afternoon, complained and umpires forced Rhodes to remove the earrings.
Rhodes won’t talk about the episode, or what may happen in this series. Pitching coach Bryan Price, however, doesn’t think it will be an issue.
“I don’t even want to speculate, but I think by the time Arthur is in the game the field is going to be completely shaded,” Price said. “I’d be surprised if it’s an issue and we’ll see how the umpires handle it. But we’ll have spoken with Arthur about it as to how we’re going to handle it.”
Chances are, Rhodes will comply with whatever the umpires order.
“If the umpires are going to do something about it, we’re going to deal with it professionally and do things the right way,” Price said.
Comeback Colon? Indians pitcher Bartolo Colon, who will start today, lasted just two innings in his final start of the regular season last week against the Royals. It’s not the kind of tuneup that manager Charlie Manuel had in mind.
“I think any time someone goes two innings, that concerns me,” Manuel said. “I’m concerned about every game we play. But at the same time, I know he’s one of these guys that in his mind, like when more is at stake, he’ll step up. I’ve seen him do that before and I think he’ll do that tomorrow.”
Colon would like to agree with that.
“I didn’t have my best stuff on that day, but this week I have to stop thinking about it,” he said. “This is a brand new game and that’s in the past.”
Extra security: The attacks in Afghanistan prompted added security measures at Safeco Field for Sunday’s regular-season finale, and today’s game will be no different.
Mariners officials refused to be specific about what extra steps are being taken.
“We’re already been on a very high level of alert, and we’ve taken appropriate measures,” said Rebecca Hale, the team’s director of public information.
The Mariners stressed that Major League Baseball’s security directive will be strictly enforced during the postseason games.
Coolers, backpacks and large bags will not be allowed in the ballpark. Bags larger than eight inches by 12 inches by two inches thick, including purses, will not be allowed. Diaper bags that accompany fans with babies and small children will be allowed, but they will be subject to a complete search. Small purses also will be searched at the gates.
In addition, only police and emergency vehicles will be allowed to park within 100 feet of the stadium.
All-nighter for staff: The work was just beginning for members of the Mariners’ Baseball Information department after the end of Sunday’s regular-season finale. The staff, led by Baseball Information Director Tim Hevly, worked through the night to complete the Mariners’ 152-page postseason media guide.
The finished their work at 7:30 a.m. Monday and the guides were printed and distributed by 1 p.m.
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