Rodriguez Lines Up for Seattle’s New Star Bucks

In a news conference at their suburban Phoenix training base here the other day, the Seattle Mariners announced that they were keeping Alex Rodriguez and had no intention of trading the vaunted shortstop, even though he will be a free agent when the season ends.

It’s a calculated gamble. Or as General Manager Pat Gillick said: “We’re rolling the dice.”

The Mariners are gambling that, with Ken Griffey Jr. gone, Rodriguez will help stimulate sagging ticket sales, help produce a winning team, take on the leadership mantle and feel more inclined to think of the team as his with Griffey gone. They also hope that he may even feel the environment is conducive to re-signing.

“The best way to win in 2000 is for Alex to remain, and the best way for us to keep Alex long-term is for the team to win in 2000,” said Chairman Howard Lincoln, who also heads Nintendo USA.

“This decision is part head and heart, but I’m as comfortable with it as any I’ve ever made.”

The Mariners know, of course, that Rodriguez could walk at the end of the year and they would get only draft choices as compensation.

Unlike Griffey, however, Rodriguez does not have approval rights over a trade and has not made any demands.

He has told the club that he will not sign a multiyear contract until he has tested the free-agent market--competitive bidding will inflate the offers--that he wants to stay and help lead the club in 2000, and that he has an open mind about re-signing as a free agent.

The departure of Griffey is a major hit, but the Mariners have made aggressive and significant additions, having signed John Olerud, Aaron Sele, Arthur Rhodes, Mark McLemore and Stan Javier, among others. There is also the likelihood that the Mariners will deal for Angel center fielder Jim Edmonds once Angel General Manager Bill Stoneman decides which Seattle pitcher he likes best, Brett Tomko, Ken Cloude, John Halama or Tom Davey.

Edmonds said this week that his previous reluctance to joining the Mariners was misinterpreted and that he was only saying he would not sign a multiyear contract with any club that trades for him until he becomes a free agent.

Rodriguez made an interesting reference to Griffey at the news conference when he noted the team’s winter additions and said of Griffey’s departure:

“There’s been a perception we made a lateral move. But we are no longer a team that hits long balls and loses. The team we have now will be exciting to watch. We added veteran players we needed and the pitching that we needed. I’m excited and ready to go.”

There was never an open conflict between Rodriguez and Griffey, but the relationship was far from warm, and the Mariners believe Rodriguez is prepared to step up now and be more comfortable with a leadership role that the enigmatic Griffey never totally filled.

Rodriguez’s agent, Scott Boras, also made an interesting reference to Griffey when he said, “In Alex’s concept as leader of a team, when you enter the locker room, you don’t have to look in one particular direction and you don’t have to watch what you say, concerned that one voice will override what you have to say. You all do things together, as a team, no exceptions.”

Griffey never stretched with the team before games and, while nursing injuries over the second half of last season, seldom took batting practice.

Jay Buhner, Griffey’s close friend, recently told the Seattle Times, “Alex can lead us. His time has come.”

Rodriguez seems to accept that. He has told the Mariners through Boras that he is willing to write to and phone prospective ticket buyers. He has distributed T-shirts to teammates that carry the message: “We’re on a Mission, Sir.” He is symbolically parking his white Mercedes-Benz in the spot Griffey always used.

Small steps on the way to a potentially big season for a team that probably has the division’s deepest pitching and has to be considered a favorite in the American League West.

Then again, what happens if the Mariners don’t fulfill expectations? What happens if the Mariners are out of it at the July 31 trading deadline? Will they still keep Rodriguez? Will they still roll the dice?

“There are always unforeseen possibilities,” Lincoln said. “If that happens, we would reevaluate our decision before July 31, but our plan is to win, and Alex’s plan is to win.”

BRAVE FRONT

John Schuerholz, general manager of the Atlanta Braves, doesn’t minimize the loss of John Smoltz, but by phone from Florida said, “I would venture to say that a lot of clubs would love to have a rotation that includes Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Kevin Millwood. We’re not as strong as we would be with Smoltz in it, but we’re still strong.”

Schuerholz also said that with the addition of Reggie Sanders and Quilvio Veras, acquired in a trade with San Diego, and the return of Andres Galarraga, Javier Lopez and Kerry Ligtenberg (who had the same elbow reconstruction that Smoltz faces), “We’re still on the plus side of the ledger.”

There is no question the Braves are better equipped than most to compensate for the season-long loss of workhorse Smoltz, who has a 157-113 record and is 12-4 in postseason play.

“Everybody buckled when we first got the news,” Schuerholz said. “But there’s no sense of panic or urgency to make a trade. As I told Maddux and Glavine, we’ll circle the wagons and do this internally. We’re confident about that.”

Terry Mulholland and Bruce Chen, who were vying for the No. 5 spot, now will battle for the No. 4. Chen has been a disappointment, but it’s a new spring and a new opportunity. Darren Ebert, another prospect, and Steve Avery, returning to his first home, are in the mix for No. 5.

Asked by Atlanta reporters his first reaction to the loss of Smoltz, Maddux said, “Mourning for the Atlanta Braves,” and concern as to who would now handle their road golf schedule.

Smoltz, however, still will be a clubhouse presence and expects to be back in the Atlanta rotation next year, although he will be 34 then with a resume of 2,414 major league innings.

“I’m positive as I can be about the future.” he said. “But I’m getting a straitjacket fitted for this year.”

WOOD’S TAKE

Kerry Wood heard about Smoltz just after delivering 46 pitches in batting practice at the Chicago Cubs’ camp in Mesa, Ariz., where he is making his own comeback from elbow reconstruction last April 8.

“Before I had the surgery, I probably wouldn’t have said much more than, ‘Tough luck,’ ” Wood said. “Now I can feel more sympathy for what he’ll be going through. It’s a long road.”

Wood, the 22-year-old flamethrower, struck out 20 Houston batters, tying the major league record on May 6, 1998, and 233 in 26 starts as a rookie. Then he blew out his elbow last spring with bad mechanics, too many sliders at too young an age, and, probably, too many pitches overall. He has been pain free for about a month.

The cautious Cubs, however, will not let him make an exhibition appearance until next weekend and will not take him on their season-opening trip to Japan. He probably will begin the season on the disabled list and may not start until mid-April.

“I think my velocity is good enough to get some hitters out right now, but I’ve got to be able to find the plate first,” he said. “The big thing is that I’ve been throwing without pain, and I’m pleased about that.”

He also is not throwing the slider, the key pitch when he struck out the 20 Astros.

“The curve has less stress on the elbow than the slider, and we’ll build from there,” Wood said. “The people here think I can get people out with fastball, curve, changeup, but I don’t think I can just abandon the slider. We’ll shorten it up, change the delivery, make it less stressful. I can’t just throw it out the window.”

That would be a pane of a different kind.