Manager gets his golfer’s cut Morning briefing

Seattle Mariners Manager John McLaren may have come up with the best golf idea since the mulligan and the 19th hole: golf balls as currency.

McLaren had the Mariners put on “American Idol” segments during team meetings last week, with players selected to sing or tell a joke.

It was either that or . . .

“A couple of bribes have come about and I’m considering them,” McLaren told MLB.com. “I’m a golfer, and golfers always need golf balls.”

A week later, McLaren upped the ante during bunting drills. Mariners players could earn a day off by bunting the ball into one of two circles six times in 30 at-bats. If they failed, they had to buy McLaren a pack of golf balls.

The Seattle Times reported that only two players didn’t have to trek to the pro shop, Ichiro Suzuki and Raul Ibanez.

“Titleist Pro V1s or Pro V1X or Nike One platinums,” McLaren said. “Not going to have any Pink Ladies. They have to be the real deal.”

If he really needs that many new golf balls it sounds as if his game is a little, um, in the rough.

Trivia time

Spain’s Pau Gasol continues to raise the bar for international players in a Lakers uniform, having passed Vlade Divac a while ago. Who was the Lakers’ first player from outside the 50 states?

Conspiracy theory

In June, Lakers owner Jerry Buss met with a cranky Kobe Bryant in Barcelona.

Then, earlier this month, the Lakers fleece the Memphis Grizzlies and get Gasol, who is from Sant Boi de Llobregat, a mere three-point jumper from Barcelona and who used to play for FC Barcelona.

That’s either an interesting coincidence or Bryant’s best vacation souvenir ever.

A big game

Cecil Fielder this week was named manager of the Atlantic City Surf, an independent minor league baseball team, meaning he’ll work a mere tape-measure shot away from the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino -- where he ran up a $580,000 gambling debt eight years ago.

Fielder said he was unconcerned about the proximity, telling the Press of Atlantic City, “Gambling has never been a temptation for me.”

French fries, on the other hand . . .

Meanwhile, the team’s ownership said it was willing to roll the dice on Fielder.

“I think this league was built on a league of second chances,” managing partner Mark Schuster said.

If that’s the case and even half the Mitchell Report is true, then it should probably brace for an influx of talent.

Call him a Gray Wing

The Detroit Red Wings said Thursday that they would offer a one-year contract extension to 46-year-old Chris Chelios, keeping him in line to become the first player to simultaneously draw an NHL salary and social security.

Leap list

Considering it’s a leap year, it is worth noting that baseball-reference.com lists 12 former major leaguers born on Feb. 29.

The list includes all-stars such as Pepper Martin and Al Rosen -- and also catcher Jerry Fry, who in his career was 0 for 9 with five strikeouts.

Trivia answer

Butch Lee, according to the NBA’s international department. Lee was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in New York. He won an NCAA title at Marquette and an NBA title with the Lakers. He was passed over for the 1976 U.S. Olympic team, so he joined Puerto Rico’s team, and scorched Team USA for 35 points in a near upset in Montreal.

And finally

Iowa State running back Bo Williams, a former Florida player, described his intense recruiting by Gators Coach Urban Meyer to the Orlando Sentinel, saying, “He recruited my parents and my grandmother just as much as he recruited me.”

Makes you wonder what grandma’s time was in the 40.

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chris.foster@latimes.com