Piniella Makes Some Tough Roster Decisions

Here’s how deep the Seattle pitching staff is: The Mariners left two right-handers off their division series roster who were probably good enough to have been the Nos. 2 and 3 starters in the Angel rotation.

Joel Pineiro went 6-2 with a 2.03 earned-run average in 17 games, 11 of them starts, and Ryan Franklin, a starter in the minor leagues, went 5-1 with a 3.56 ERA in 38 relief appearances, but Mariner Manager Lou Piniella bypassed them to keep left-hander John Halama on his 10-man staff.

Halama, bumped out of the rotation by Pineiro in mid-June, went 10-7 with a 4.73 ERA in 31 games, 17 starts, and threw six shutout innings in Game 2 of the AL championship series against the Yankees last season. With three right-handed starters, Freddy Garcia, Aaron Sele and Paul Abbott, in his playoff rotation, Piniella wanted a left-hander who could pitch long relief.

“It was a very, very difficult choice for us,” Piniella said. “Halama does well out of the bullpen, and he gives us a little different look, more of the softer stuff. He throws strikes and holds runners on well. If we’re fortunate enough to get past this first round, we’ll go to 11 pitchers in the second round.”

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The Indians and Mariners played one of the most memorable games of the season on Aug. 5, when Cleveland came back from a 12-run seventh-inning deficit to beat Seattle, 15-14, in 11 innings.

In case the Mariners needed a reminder, the Indian media relations department displayed the picture of catcher Eddie Taubensee lifting Kenny Lofton over his shoulders after Lofton scored the winning run that night on the cover of its postseason media guide. On the inside cover is a recap and box score from the game.

Indian Manager Charlie Manuel believed the victory helped catapult the Indians toward the Central Division title, but first baseman Jim Thome doesn’t think the comeback victory would give the Indians any psychological edge.

“It was nice for us to do that, but that was two months ago,” Thome said. “We don’t really look at the fact that because we came back in that game, it should give us any advantage in this series.”

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Mariner shortstop Carlos Guillen visited his teammates before Monday’s workout in Safeco Field, the first time the Mariners have seen him since Guillen was diagnosed with tuberculosis 11 days ago. Guillen will miss the division series and is doubtful for the rest of the playoffs should Seattle advance.

“Everyone was happy to see him,” Mariner first baseman John Olerud said. “None of us really knew how serious [his illness] is, but to see him up and walking around was great. Everyone wants him to be healthy and to get through this. I don’t know that anyone is expecting him back.”

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The secret to beating the Mariners? Thome had the answer. “If you can keep Ichiro [Suzuki] and everyone else off base, you have a good chance of beating them,” he said.

Hey, if it worked for Don Larsen, it can work for the Indians.