The Mariners didn’t get back from Kansas City until the wee hours, so batting practice was scrubbed and players filtered in later than usual. That hasn’t stopped a little news from happening, though.
The Mariners have optioned left-hander Jason Vargas, who struggled for a third straight start last night in KC, to Class AAA Tacoma and selected right-hander Doug Fister from the Rainiers.
And, Erik Bedard had an MRI today on his left shoulder and manager Don Wakamatsu said it showed some “slight fraying.” Whether that’s a good report or a bad report isn’t known, although Wakamatsu added, “I don’t think it’s ever good news when a player has some issues with his shoulder.”
Not even pretending to be a doctor here (I haven’t even stayed at a Holiday Inn Express), but trainers have told me over the years that everyone has some degree of “fraying” in their shoulders. So a person might conclude that there’s been more fraying of nerves in the Mariners front office over Bedard than what has taken place in his shoulder.
However, while “slight fraying” could indicate Bedard isn’t hurt badly, Wakamatsu cautioned that he had an MRI on his right elbow when he was a player and it showed no damage, although exploratory surgery revealed tearing of the tissue that the MRI didn’t show. Last summer, in fact, Bedard had an MRI that showed no structural damage to the shoulder, although explatory surgery in September found a cyst along with “slight fraying.”
On to other matters:
-Wakamatsu wouldn’t say who would start in Vargas’ place Tuesday night against the White Sox. It would fall on Fister’s pitching schedule, so that’s a possibility. But so is a guy like Garrett Olson, although he has been a disappointment in his starts this season. There’s also Chris Jakubauskas, who has started eight times this season.
Fister is 6-4 witha 3.81 ERA in 22 games, 17 of them starts, with Tacoma. He was pulled after two innings last night at Round Rock. The Mariners will add Fister to the 40-man roster but, with that roster at 37 after all the movement last week, they won’t need to bump anyone off.
-Closer David Aardsma said he feels much better on the third day after having a boil on his butt lanced. Aardsma needed to meet with Wakamatsu and the medical staff to determine whether he would be available to pitch.
-The new pitchers, Luke French and Ian Snell, got acquainted with their new digs in the Safeco Field clubhouse. Snell spent some time with a pair of scissors trimming the stitching from the bottom of both his and French’s uniform pants.
-Carlos Silva was to see a doctor this afternoon, hoping to gain clearance to throw off the bullpen mound soon. He said his strained shoulder felt great after he threw from 90 feet on Wednesday.
-And yes, there was a healthy crowd already lined up outside Safeco Field five hours before gametime on Ken Griffey Jr. Bobblehead Night. (first 20,000 get a bobblehead). And yes, Griffey is in the Mariners’ lineup. Here it is:
Ichiro Suzuki, right field
Russell Branyan, first base
Jose Lopez, second base
Ken Griffey Jr., DH
Adrian Beltre, third base
Franklin Gutierrez, center field
Jack Wilson, shortstop
Rob Johnson, catcher
Michael Saunders, left field
Right-hander Felix Hernandez, starting pitcher
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