Mariners Respond in Plain Language

It was a few days ago that Kazuhiro Sasaki, the Seattle Mariners’ closer, distributed white T-shirts to teammates with black Japanese characters translating to monolith, an important symbol in Japan of unity and unbreakable spirit.

In the early weeks of the new season, as the Mariners again begin to resemble the team that won 209 games the last two years and 300 over the last three, they could be a monolith that the pundits almost unanimously consigned to third place in the American League West while choosing the Angels and/or Oakland Athletics to finish ahead of them.

The Mariners insist that the A’s and Angels deserved that recognition and that they aren’t slighted or motivated by it despite their own impressive resume, but “we all know that projections and potential don’t mean anything,” center fielder Mike Cameron said in Anaheim. “It’s what you do on the field, day to day, and when the end comes, we plan to be there.”

Said second baseman Bret Boone: “We know what we’re about and don’t need any preseason predictions for motivation. Two years ago we were picked to finish third and won 116 games. Last year we were picked to win and finished third. That shows you what those predictions mean. If we stay focused on playing good baseball we can beat anybody in the game. If we stay healthy, and health is important to an older team, we can beat anybody in the game. I know talk is cheap, but I don’t see any problem saying we should be in the mix all the way.”

The Mariners feature a new manager and a rebuilt bench as protection against those issues of health, and they now have those T-shirts to remind them of the monolith’s power.

K Rations

With the Dodger lineup obviously giving away too many outs to support their decent pitching, one basic problem has been a total lack of contact in the middle. Based on their at-bat totals of last year, Shawn Green and Fred McGriff projected to 236 combined strikeouts through Friday, which would be tolerable if their home run totals didn’t project to a combined 35.

Daal Dilemma

Omar Daal, who did a big job for the Dodgers last season as a spot starter and long reliever but was allowed to leave as a free agent, signing a two-year contract with the Baltimore Orioles for $7.5 million, will seek his first win today when he faces the Tampa Bay Devil Rays with an 0-2 record and 8.05 earned-run average. Daal has been two different pitchers for the Orioles, restricting batters to a .250 average with no one on base but getting pounded to the beat of a .469 average with runners on. He says it’s mechanics and isn’t worried, but adds, “I do feel embarrassed. I came here to help the team win.”

About Schmidt

So, Mike Schmidt claims that Commissioner Bud Selig has been dragging his feet regarding reinstatement of Pete Rose. The question is: What has Rose been doing for 13 years except dragging his feet by continuing to lie, denying he bet on baseball?

Food for Thought

Brett Tomko, traded by the San Diego Padres to the St. Louis Cardinals during the off-season, gained his first win Monday, surviving a continuation of his first-inning problems. He had given up a combined nine runs in the first inning of his first two starts against Houston and Colorado but pitched decently Monday after giving up three runs in the first against Milwaukee.

Tomko thinks his first-inning problems are mental and physical.

“Apples and oranges,” he said. “And probably some watermelons. It’s more like a fruit salad.”

Teammate Lance Painter understands. The left-handed pitcher, after a long recovery from elbow surgery, slipped on the mound at Coors Field and broke his pelvis last week. He called it a freak accident that could have happened to anybody, adding, “You really can’t do anything about a fracture of the bone. Maybe I should have drunk more milk.”

Taking the Bait

The reeling Arizona Diamondbacks sense they’re in the middle of a school of sharks.

“We’re like chum on the water,” first baseman Mark Grace said, referring to the opposing teams, waiting to take a bite.

Beaten by the Cardinals, 6-3, in the first game of a weekend series, the Diamondbacks were hitting .241 as a team (.208 with runners in scoring position), and usual stoppers Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling were a combined 1-4 in seven starts. The 39-year-old Johnson was scratched from a Wednesday start because of swelling on his right knee, and on Saturday, Schilling underwent an appendectomy. He’s expected to miss at least one start.

Already 9 1/2 games back in their bid for a National League West three-peat, Manager Bob Brenly is calling it “rock bottom,” and Managing General Partner Jerry Colangelo says he doesn’t want to hear how early it is because “the longer you dwell on those things, the longer you go into the bad start and the more difficult it is to come back. It’s important that we right ourselves pretty quick before the hole is too deep.”