By Larry LaRue
The News Tribune
PEORIA, Ariz. – You might not know the players without a scorecard judging by the first lineup the Seattle Mariners will use this spring – unless, of course, you were watching the game live in Japan.
And since Thursday’s charity game with the Padres is being televised live to the Far East, it’s no surprise that the Mariners’ leadoff hitter will be Ichiro Suzuki.
After Ichiro, get out the scorecard.
The lineup manager Lou Piniella will start reads like this:
Ichiro, RF
Desi Relaford, 3B
Carlos Guillen, SS
DH Ryan Christianson
C Ben Davis
CF Scott Podsednik
2B Antonio Perez
1B Alex Arias
LF Ken Kelly
Compare it with the lineup Piniella will start on Friday, when the Cactus League exhibition season begins. That lineup will include regulars Jeff Cirillo, Edgar Martinez, John Olerud, Bret Boone, Mark McLemore, Mike Cameron and Dan Wilson.
“The first game, we may have a few regulars pinch-hit, but they’re not going to start,” Piniella said Tuesday. “Ichiro wanted to because the game is being televised to Japan. This first week, you won’t see our regular lineup in there often.”
You also won’t see Ruben Sierra, the 36-year-old outfielder-designated hitter that Piniella had initially had DHing Thursday. Sierra came to camp with a tight left hamstring, and since it hasn’t completely loosened up, he won’t play until it does.
“He’s taking part in all the batting practice and outfield drills, we’re just not letting him run,” trainer Rick Griffin said. “When the hamstring is well, he’ll play.”
Martinez will DH whenever the Mariners play at home or against an American League team on the road. When the Mariners play a National League team on the road – as they do Sunday, when the Padres are the home team in Peoria – Martinez will likely take extra hitting in camp.
Edgar hates golf: The team began practice early and broke early Tuesday to give players time for the annual Padres-Mariners charity golf tournament. Most players and coaches signed up to play, but Edgar Martinez wasn’t among them.
“I can’t putt and my second shot is not good,” he said of his golf game. “I don’t drive that far, either, because if I swing hard I never know where the ball will go.”
Short hops: No one ever said baseball was fair, and coach Gerald Perry learned that lesson again Tuesday. Feeding balls into a pitching machine so hitters could take batting practice in the covered cage, Perry found himself in an exposed area – with hitters ripping laser beams by his head. Not without good reason, he borrowed a catcher’s mask. Players immediately filed charges with the team’s Kangaroo Court, and Perry will be fined. He could appeal, but any appeal automatically doubles the fine. … During batting practice, when pitchers usually shag fly balls in the outfield, James Baldwin sneaks into the infield and plants himself at shortstop. “I can dream, can’t I?” Baldwin said. “I played infield a long time ago, when guys didn’t hit balls this hard.”
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