Player Unrest Brewing Over Mariner Trade

The trade of Randy Johnson to the Houston Astros for two prospects and a player to be named, possibly pitcher John Halama, continues to dominate Seattle newspaper columns, radio waves and clubhouse conversation. And the Mariners continue to be excoriated--by players and the public.

“People in Houston must be wondering, ‘What’s in that coffee you all drink up there,’ ” right fielder Jay Buhner said, meaning the Mariners gave up a latte and got little.

Seven players, among them Buhner, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez, met with General Manager Woody Woodward during the ensuing firestorm but failed to grasp his thinking.

Woodward said he had wanted to accept the Dodgers’ June 1 offer of Ismael Valdes and Wilton Guerrero but was overruled by ownership.

“I think Cleveland and New York worked together to see that Randy did not go to either of those teams,” Rodriguez said. “All they cared about was that the other didn’t get him.

“They thought, ‘We’ll play even-square in the playoffs, neither of us will have Randy.’ The Mariners got fooled on this. They took the option fake, and it was a bootleg.”

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Carlos Guillen, a shortstop acquired from the Astros, has been moved to second base and could replace Joey Cora when the Mariners return from their current trip.

Cora’s defense has been a significant problem.

“It’s their decision,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about retiring anyway.”

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The addition of Todd Stottlemyre and Esteban Loaiza obviously improved the Texas Ranger rotation. The addition of Royce Clayton and Todd Zeile enabled the Rangers to rebuild the left side of their infield. Overlooked, to an extent, is how an offense that already led the league in runs became even more dangerous--potentially, at least.

Consider the Nos. 6 through 9 batters against right-handed pitching, which the Rangers expect to face in a string of 15 of 17 games that began Thursday with a 7-4 victory over Bret Saberhagen and the Boston Red Sox.

Ivan Rodriguez, who ranks among the American League leaders in average, continues to bat sixth, followed by Zeile, who had 31 homers last year, Lee Stevens, who has 15 homers despite a long slump, and Clayton, a 1997 all-star.

Manager Johnny Oates said, “There are some clubs that play to get through the bottom of the lineup so that they can get the offense started again at the top. But the bottom of this lineup is now capable of starting big innings. We’re dangerous from top to bottom.”

In the hit-happy AL, released shortstop Kevin Elster and traded third baseman Fernando Tatis had become liabilities. Elster batted .198 and drove in eight runs in his last 116 at-bats. With Tatis starting, the Rangers ranked last in the league in homers and RBIs from third base.

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Darryl Strawberry, who helped the 1986 New York Mets to 108 regular-season wins and a memorable World Series victory over the Red Sox, has been reluctant to compare his 1998 Yankees to those Mets. But after his second pinch-grand slam of the season helped the Yankees to nine runs in the ninth inning of a 10-5 victory in Oakland, Strawberry said, “We did some amazing things in ‘86, but this team is doing things that are unheard of.”

In their bid to win 117 games, and beat the record 116 by the 1906 Chicago Cubs, the Yankees were scheduled to play 35 of their final 53 games at Yankee Stadium, where they were 36-8 before the weekend. By continuing that pace and playing .500 on the road, the Yankees would get the 117.