Hitting was the topic of manager Eric Wedge’s conversation with the media a few minutes ago. Or, in the case of the Mariners, the lack of hitting.
“There are a lot of positives going on here,” Wedge said. “Hitting isn’t one of them.”
Wedge, as heR
17;s been all season, didn’t name names but he also wouldn’t back away from his season-long statement that certain guys need to improve or they’ll find themselves out of the majors.
“It’s hard for me to understand seeing the same thing over and over again, seeing the same results,” Wedge said. “We’re going to find out who’d going to sink or swim. If you’re up here not squaring up pitches that you should, it’s not going to happen.”
Wedge said the problem isn’t effort. It’s the inability of some hitters to make adjustments and be ready to attack a fastball when they see it.
“The effort is there. The work is there,” Wedge said. “But they’ve got to be brutally honest with themselves. Each individual has to look at himself. You’re either not doing it or you can’t do it.
“This is big-league baseball, best of the best. The strongest survive.”
Other matters of note:
• Justin Smoak, who isn’t in the lineup tonight against Rangers right-hander Colby Lewis, has put in some extra work to improve his struggling stroke from the left side.
“This was kind of pre-planned by me, knowing who we were going to face after the (All-Star) break,” Wedge said. “It gets him off his feet, but I also wanted to give him the opportunity to work in his game from the left side. He’ll be back in a couple of days.”
With the Rangers pitching left-handers the next two days (C.J. Wilson on Saturday and Matt Harrison on Sunday), Smoak is likely to play one or both games.
“Early in the season his timing was better and he was barreling up the ball,” Wedge said. “We have to remember he’s still young and the league is adjusting to him. I’m confident he’s going to have a pretty good second half.”
• Wedge said pitcher Erik Bedard, on the disabled list with a sprained left knee, will throw a bullpen in a few days. Wedge expects Bedard to return to the rotation “in the middle of the next road trip.”
• Relief pitcher Shawn Kelley, returning from an early setback in his recovery from elbow surgery last year, said his right arm felt good after he threw a bullpen on Thursday. Kelley threw 27 pitches, all fastballs, at full intensity in his first bullpen since being shut down in June.
He’s scheduled to throw another bullpen Sunday, mixing some breaking balls into the repertoire, followed a few days later by a bullpen with all his pitches.
• It turns out former Mariners DH Edgar Martinez will take part in ceremonies tomorrow as the team recognizes the 10th anniversary of the 2001 team that tied the major league record with 116 victories. Martinez was able to clear up a schedule conflict and will be at the ballpark Saturday along with nearly two dozen former players and coaches, along with former manager Lou Piniella.
• Catcher Chris Gimenez, on the disabled list after suffering a strained left oblique three weeks ago, played catch today for the first time since the injury.
• Catcher Adam Moore, who suffered a season-ending right knee injury on April 7, is hitting baseballs off a tee. He isn’t allowed to squat or do any rotational movement with the knee.
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