Welcome back, Wilson

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, March 7, 2006

PEORIA, Ariz. – The uniform still fit Dan Wilson, but life back at the ballpark wasn’t quite the same.

The newly retired Mariner returned to spring training Tuesday to begin three days of work with the team’s catchers.

“It’s been nice to not have that overwhelming pressure to get in shape, which takes up a lot of time in the offseason,” said Wilson, who retired after the 2005 season. “It’s just been nice to be around home and kind of normalize your life. It’s been great for the kids.”

Wilson said he spent the winter hanging out at home in Seattle with his wife Annie and their four children, and he plans to finish coursework to obtain a business degree from the University of Minnesota. He helped coach 7-year-old son Elijah’s hockey team this winter and will coach the boy’s youth baseball team this spring.

“It’s going to be a completely different side of the game for me,” he said. “I’ve seen it at the top level, and to go to the bottom level it’ll be interesting to see how kids develop and what it’s all about for them.”

In a way, Wilson is experiencing that this week in Peoria. He arrived early at the Mariners’ complex Tuesday and was on the practice field by 8 a.m. for early work with Kenji Johjima, Rene Rivera, Jeff Clement and Rob Johnson.

“It’s a chance to see some of the new catchers, a few young guys, and talk with Kenji a little bit,” Wilson said.

Johjima, in particular, is looking forward to Wilson’s guidance. The two met in January in Seattle, and this will be Wilson’s first chance to see Johjima on the field.

“It’s always different than when you see them in a drill, but I hear he’s doing a great job,” Wilson said. “I know the game in Japan is a little different than it is here. But what’s great about this game is that it’s universal. It doesn’t matter which side of the ocean you’re on, it’s the same game.”

Wilson said he hasn’t missed baseball, even in mid-February when Mariners pitchers and catchers reported to spring training without him for the first time since 1994.

“I really hadn’t thought about it. My wife and I were sitting on the couch watching the news one night and it was the day pitchers and catchers reported,” he said. “They showed the field, and that’s when we realized that this is the time we would have been down there. All in all, it’s been a good adjustment.”

Memories of Puckett: Eddie Guardado remembers his first day as a nervous rookie with the Minnesota Twins. He remembers how horrible he’d feel after a bad outing and the words of encouragement he heard, and he also remembers the early morning fishing trips.

Guardado remembers Kirby Puckett being there for all of those moments.

Puckett died Monday after suffering a stroke and Guardado, a young pitcher during Puckett’s final seasons with the Twins, described him as a guiding influence in his career.

“I first met him in ‘93 when I was a rookie called up to the team when we were in Texas,” Guardado said. “It was before the first game of the series, and there was a team meeting. Afterward, (manager) Tom Kelly introduced me and asked me to stand up. He said, ‘We have a new guy, Eddie Guardado. Who’s going to look after this kid?’ Kirby stood up and said, ‘I got him, T.’”

Puckett especially lifted Guardado when he struggled early in his career.

“I’d have a bad outing and be sitting in front of my locker with my head down and this voice would pop up next to me,” Guardado said. “‘Keep your chin up.’ It was always Puck. You talk about lighting up a clubhouse. He enjoyed every minute of his life.

“One game against Milwaukee, about the seventh inning, I get out of a jam with a 3-1 lead. I’m in the dugout thinking ‘How’d I do that?’ and he comes over and says ‘I got you, kid.’ Then we get a couple of hits and Kirby went to the plate and yelled back to the dugout, ‘E! Watch!’ and, bam, he hits a three run home run.

“He was that kind of player. He’d come in the clubhouse after batting practice and yell ‘Jump on, boys!’ and he’d carry you that day. It happened a lot. He was just a little 5-foot-7 butterball, but man, he could play.”

Guardado chuckles at the fishing trips he and Puckett would take when they had a free morning.

“Kirby loved to fish, but he didn’t like to touch the fish,” he said.

Most of all, Guardado said Puckett taught him how to be a professional and maintain a positive outlook on life.

“He always said nobody is promised tomorrow, and he lived life to the fullest. I do that. You can’t take life for granted, and Puck never did,” Guardado said. “I’m real glad I was his teammate. He taught me everything I know about how to act, how to carry yourself, on and off the field.”

Felix wobbles: Felix Hernandez struggled with his control and, for a moment, his emotions in a difficult two-inning outing against the Brewers.

Hernandez allowed three runs on four hits, including Corey Hart’s two-run homer in the second inning. After that poke, Hernandez threw up his hands in disgust.

“He got a little frustrated,” manager Mike Hargrove said. “The ball wasn’t going where he wanted it to. I’ve thrown my hands up a couple of times already this spring.”

Lofty numbers: The Mariners’ team earned run average ballooned from 12.86 to 13.60 in Tuesday’s 15-5 loss to the Brewers.

And that’s paltry compared with right-hander Marcos Carvajal’s ERA: 189.00.

He gave up seven runs on three hits, three walks and a hit batter in the seventh inning, when he got just one out.

Mike Bumstead got the final two outs of the seventh, but not without allowing four runs on three hits – including a home run – and a walk. His ERA is 36.00.

Jamie and Johjima: Catcher Kenji Johjima will play this afternoon’s game against the Giants, catching pitcher Jamie Moyer, and skip tonight’s game against Japan.

Johjima, the first Japanese catcher to play in the major leagues, has preferred to catch the Mariners’ front-line pitchers but said Hargrove made the decision on which game he would play.

“I do whatever the coaches want,” he said.

Johjima, who got Tuesday off after starting four of the first five exhibition games, said he feels comfortable so far. He wouldn’t, however, evaluate his progress.

“Other people should evaluate me, not me,” he said.