NEWS CLIPS February 10, 2011

Former Ray could find opening in Seattle Aardsma's injury gives right-hander chance to win spot in 'pen By Greg Johns / MLB.com | 02/09/11 10:00 AM EST SEATTLE -- With closer still on crutches while recovering from offseason hip surgery, one of the many orders of business for the Mariners this will be coming up with some new late-inning relief options.

Right-handed Brandon League stands as the most-familiar name in that expected group and hard- throwing rookies Dan Cortes and Josh Lueke also have been mentioned prominently in the club's prospective plans.

But another guy to watch in that regard when and report in Peoria, Ariz., on Sunday is Chris Ray, a former Orioles closer now two years removed from Tommy John surgery.

Ray, 29, turned down a Major League offer from another club and signed a Minor League deal with the Mariners, liking his chances enough to take that risk on a deal that will pay him $1 million in base salary if he makes the team, with playing time incentives that could add as much as another $1.025 million.

With Aardsma expected to miss at least the first few weeks of the regular season, Ray comes in as the most experienced closer in camp with 51 saves, 49 of those coming with the Orioles in 2006-07 before his elbow surgery.

After missing all of '08, Ray pitched 46 games for Baltimore in '09 and then 63 games while splitting time last year between Texas and San Francisco, the two teams that wound up playing each other in the .

Ray wasn't on the playoff roster with the Giants, but he pitched fairly effectively for both clubs in putting up a 5-0 record and 3.72 ERA in 55 2/3 innings in the regular season. Now the Mariners feel he should be all the stronger, another year removed from his elbow reconstruction.

Mariners general manager says the Tampa, Fla., native definitely figures in the mix for one of the late-inning jobs if he shows well in camp.

"Chris is going to be given every shot to make this club," Zduriencik said. "Here's a guy that has closed games out at times and he's a veteran. He's bounced back now healthy.

"In our talks with him, we laid it out, 'Chris, you have every opportunity to make this club. We'll give you every chance to be part of this bullpen .' Certainly he has to come in and compete, but it's a nice opportunity for him."

Tony Blengino, the Mariners' special assistant to the general manager, believes the 6-foot-3 right-hander is close to being back to the who posted a 3.19 ERA and totaled 138 in 149 1/3 innings his first three seasons with the Orioles.

"The arm strength is there," Blengino said. "His slider was an out pitch for him when he was at his peak and lots of times with arm issues, the last thing to come back is the secondary stuff. If that comes back, we have a chance to have the same guy who closed those games for Baltimore." Page 1 of 14

If Ray does close games for Seattle, he'll enhance his own value. A total of $500,000 of his potential incentives are tied into the number of games he finishes. The other half are based on number of appearances.

So if Ray pitches often and works his way into a prominent late-inning role, he'll do well for himself and the Mariners. And the club certainly is open to that sort of help, given the uncertainty over Aardsma's health and the inexperience of several of their other top late-inning candidates.

Greg Johns is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregJohnsMLB as well as his Mariners Musings blog. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League or its clubs.

Originally Published: February 9, 2011 Offseason grades for the AL West By Jerry Crasnick ESPN.com The West experienced a power shift in 2010, as the made the playoffs for the first time in 11 years and the Angels finished below .500 after winning five division titles in a span of six seasons.

Could it happen again in 2011? Oakland is a trendy dark horse pick in the division, the Angels' offseason was widely panned and Rangers general manager has a lot of work to do resolving this nettlesome Michael Young situation on the road from Arlington to Surprise.

Meanwhile, the Seattle Mariners still can't .

How did the division's four teams fare during the offseason? Here are our AL West report cards for the winter:

Oakland Athletics

BIGGEST ADDITIONS: Josh Willingham, David DeJesus, Brian Fuentes, Grant Balfour, Hideki Matsui

BIGGEST SUBTRACTIONS: Justin Duchscherer, Jack Cust, Vin Mazzaro, Eric Chavez

The A's spent a lot of time wondering "why won't anybody take our money?'' after spurned them to sign with St. Louis and Adrian Beltre passed on a five-year offer from Oakland to sign with Texas. In addition, the A's failed to reach agreement with their other prime target, right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma. He elected to return to Japan.

As the winter rolled on, general manager Billy Beane and assistant GM David Forst found ways to upgrade an offense that ranked 11th in the league with 663 runs. After picking up DeJesus from Kansas City in a trade, the A's snagged Willingham in a deal with Washington and signed Matsui to be their DH.

Matsui, 36, isn't quite the force he used to be. But he still hit 21 homers and logged a .361 on-base percentage last year, and he has an .815 OPS in 136 plate appearances at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland. When gets one year and $8 million with Baltimore, the artist formerly known as Godzilla is a reasonable sign at $4.25 million.

The A's signed Fuentes for two years and $10.5 million and landed Balfour for two years and $8.1 million. Those deals seem reasonable in light of the three-year contracts signed by setup men Rafael Soriano, Matt Guerrier, Joaquin Benoit, Scott Downs and Jesse Crain this winter. The veteran relievers fortify an already

Page 2 of 14 strong bullpen and help ensure that Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson and Oakland's young starters won't have to endure the anguish of watching their leads frittered away in the late innings.

The A's also took low-cost flyers on Rich Harden and Brandon McCarthy, who'll compete for the fifth spot in the rotation. If their injury histories mean anything, they'll present a challenge for the training staff.

Grade: B+

Texas Rangers

BIGGEST ADDITIONS: Adrian Beltre, Arthur Rhodes, Mike Napoli, , Yorvit Torrealba

BIGGEST SUBTRACTIONS: , Vladimir Guerrero, Bengie Molina, Jeff Francoeur, Michael Young (?)

The Rangers did everything they could to retain Lee, only to lose out to Philadelphia in the end. Texas has the raw materials to pitch well in 2011, but C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis need to bounce back after logging more than 450 innings combined last year, and Derek Holland, Tommy Hunter and the kids will have to embrace the expectations raised by the team's deep in 2010. The Rangers' bullpen logged an American League-high 503 2/3 innings last season, and manager Ron Washington and pitching coach Mike Maddux need to coax longer outings from the rotation.

Beltre is a fine two-way player and an upgrade over Young at third base, but a guaranteed five years and $80 million were a bit extravagant after Boston and Oakland dropped out of the running and Beltre's other options were scarce. Webb also did well in landing a guaranteed $3 million deal plus $5 million in incentives after pitching a total of four innings over the past two seasons. Can the Rangers count on him for 25 or more starts this season?

Rhodes will help in the bullpen. But his workload needs to be monitored judiciously now that he's 41, and the lineups are a little tougher than what he faced in Cincinnati the past two years. Napoli, who has a .931 career OPS against lefties, will help an offense that ranked seventh in the AL in OPS against left-handers in 2010.

The Rangers' overall grade takes a hit because of the sloppy handling of the Young situation. Alienating the team pillar and clubhouse leader to the extent that he feels it necessary to pronounce himself "manipulated and misled'' in early February is not a great way to end the offseason. If the Rangers can trade Young without having to eat most of the $48 million still owed him, this grade could rise. But it's so late in the winter and the negative vibes are so pronounced, Daniels is backed into a corner. He has almost zero leverage now.

Grade: C+

Los Angeles Angels

BIGGEST ADDITIONS: , Scott Downs, Hisanori Takahashi

BIGGEST SUBTRACTIONS: Hideki Matsui, Mike Napoli, Scot Shields, Juan Rivera

It's always dangerous to overlook the Angels as a contender in the AL West. Kendry Morales' return from a broken leg will help immensely. Any rotation with Dan Haren, and Ervin Santana at the top and Joel Pineiro in the fourth spot is going to keep the team in most games. And just because Wells is overpaid at $86 million over the next four years, that doesn't mean he's not a serviceable player.

Page 3 of 14 But when the national media keeps saying that Wells, Alfonso Soriano and Barry Zito have the most "untradeable'' contracts in baseball and Angels GM Tony Reagins takes almost the entire thing off Toronto's hands, then yeah, that qualifies as a misstep. (And at the risk of dwelling on the negative, Wells has a .607 OPS in 39 career games in Anaheim and hit .201 against lefty pitching the last two seasons.)

There's more. It was apparent from the outset that was an ideal fit in Anaheim and the Angels' No. 1 target, but they still allowed Boston to swoop in and spirit him away. Owner Arte Moreno left the impression that his lingering animosity toward Scott Boras kept the team from jumping in on Beltre and/or Rafael Soriano. And while Downs and Takahashi will help in the bullpen, the Angels didn't skimp on either pitcher.

It's also hard to fathom how the Angels enter this season with Alberto Callaspo, Maicer Izturis and Brandon Wood on the third base depth chart after the team's third basemen (mainly Wood) ranked last in the majors with a .573 OPS. If there's a position crying out for a makeover in Anaheim, that's it.

Grade: D+

Seattle Mariners BIGGEST ADDITIONS: Miguel Olivo, Jack Cust, Nate Robertson, Brendan Ryan, Adam Kennedy

BIGGEST SUBTRACTIONS: , Jose Lopez, Ryan Rowland-Smith

Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik is Exhibit A of the hazards of placing too much faith in an offseason report card. Last winter, he was universally hailed for his wizardry in assembling a team with the pitching and defense to make a splash in the AL West. Then reporters began showing up at the Mariners' spring camp in Arizona and concluded that the Seattle lineup was a wasteland. Those suspicions were confirmed over the next six months, as the team ranked last in the majors with 513 runs.

The Mariners approached the offseason with a modest agenda. But even with the bar of expectations set low, their moves were uninspiring. They invested $7.5 million in a two-year deal for Olivo, who brings energy, some pop and a career .283 on-base percentage to the lineup. That's the lowest of any active player with at least 3,000 plate appearances. And Cust, the new DH, homered once every 26.8 at bats last season, compared to a homer every 14.6 ABs in 2008.

There would be some reason for hope if the Mariners had a farm system with the depth of Kansas City or even Cleveland. But other than second baseman Dustin Ackley and pitcher Michael Pineda, it's tough to find much help on the immediate horizon.

Reliever David Aardsma, one of Seattle's best trade chips, underwent hip surgery in January. That didn't help Zduriencik's efforts to show some creativity and add another useful piece or two.

Grade: D

Jerry Crasnick is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Click here to purchase a copy of his book, "License to Deal," published by Rodale. Crasnick can be reached via e-mail.

Originally published Wednesday, February 9, 2011 at 1:49 PM Mariners' Milton Bradley, wife will meet with LA City Attorney's Office on March 9

Page 4 of 14 The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office will meet with Mariners Milton Bradley and his wife on March 9 to determine whether to proceed against Bradley in a felony threats case. By Geoff Baker Seattle Times staff reporter Mariners outfielder Milton Bradley will attend a hearing next month in Los Angeles to determine whether authorities there will proceed with a felony threats case against him.

Bradley, 32, was to be arraigned in municipal court Tuesday on a charge of making a criminal threat against his wife last month. But the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office has decided to postpone the arraignment and instead hold a private hearing March 9 with Bradley and his wife, Monique, to hear details of the matter and decide whether to proceed with the criminal case.

"It's a tool that we use where it may not be crystal clear whether a criminal charge is warranted," Frank Mateljian, a spokesman for the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, said Wednesday.

Mateljian said Bradley and his wife will be advised about domestic violence issues during the hearing. They will also be asked to give a specific accounting about what took place on Jan. 18.

From there, officials will decide whether to proceed, based largely on the chance of a repeat occurrence and the willingness of Bradley and his wife to work out their differences.

Court documents show Bradley filed for divorce from his wife in January 2006 after 11 months of marriage, citing "irreconcilable differences." But the divorce petition was never finalized.

Police had been called to the couple's home on three occasions for domestic violence issues before the divorce petition was filed.

The couple has a 5-year-old son.

Bradley has one year remaining, at $12 million, on a three-year contract the Mariners inherited when they acquired him from the in December 2009 for pitcher Carlos Silva. Bradley is expected to see time as a fourth outfielder and if he makes the team out of spring training.

Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or [email protected]. Felix Hernandez's brother signs Minor League deal Posted on February 9, 2011 at 1:15 PM Greg Johns Mariners.com Blog The Mariners have signed Moises Hernandez, older brother of Felix, to a Minor League contract.

This one likely won't be much more than an interesting human interest story and welcome news for King Felix as Moises, 26, isn't a highly regarded prospect. He's not being extended an invitation to the Major League camp, but will be part of the large group that reports to the club's Minor League camp in Peoria, Ariz., on March 6.

But it will be interesting to watch another Hernandez on the mound in a Mariners uniform and see where he winds up.

The older Hernandez isn't nearly as big as Felix at 6-foot-1, 170 pounds. He spent three years in the Orioles organization from 2003-05 pitching in Rookie and Low-A ball.

Page 5 of 14 He then was in the Braves system from 2006-09, again spending most of his time in the low Minors. He did go 10-3 with a 3.66 ERA with Class-A Myrtle Beach in the Carolina League in '07 at age 23, then was promoted to A Mississippi for 10 starts (2-2, 5.94 ERA) and one start in Triple A Richmond (0-1, 7.73).

After missing all of '08, he was back in Rookie League and A ball for the Braves in '09 and didn't pitch in the Minor Leagues at all last season.

This isn't the first time the Mariners offered a shot to one of their star's siblings. Shawn Buhner was in the club's Minor League system from 1994-99 and Craig Griffey did the same from 1991-97 and both reached as high as Triple-A Tacoma.

Matt Woodward, the son of then-GM , played in the Mariners' system in 1998-99 but never advanced above A-ball.

February 9, 2011 at 11:28 PM Felix Hernandez, Moises Hernandez, and the quirk of disproportionately talented brothers Posted by Larry Stone Seattle Times Blog I've always had kind of a strange fascination with mismatched baseball brothers, perhaps dating back to my youth, when I first found out about Tommie Aaron. It seemed a cruel twist of fate for Hank's younger brother to have gotten such the short end of the genetic stick (at least when it came to hitting a baseball; by all accounts, Tommie had a keen baseball mind and was headed to a productive career as a manager until being struck by leukemia). Tommy -- who tragically died young in 1984 at age 45 -- played parts of seven lackluster seasons in the majors, compiling a .229 batting average and socking 13 homers -- a mere 742 fewer than Hammerin' Hank.

I bring this up because of the news Wednesday that the Mariners had signed pitcher Moises Hernandez, older sibling of Felix, to a minor-league contract (with no invitation to major-league camp). It's pretty clear by now that Moises, 26, does not possess the transcendent skills of his regal brother. Moises barely touched Triple-A (one game) in six seasons in the Baltimore and Atlanta organizations, and he didn't play at all last year after the Braves let him go.

Now, maybe being in the same organization as Felix will reawaken the King that lurks within Moises. But so far he's headed down the same road as former Mariner farmhands Craig Griffey and Shawn Buhner, who never could make it out of the minor leagues.

Here are some other second-fiddle siblings over the years (click on the names to see their career ledger):

Larry Yount, brother of Robin.

Mike Maddux, brother of Greg

Billy Ripken, brother of Cal

Wilton Guerrero, brother of Vladimir

Bobby Bonds Jr., brother of Barry

Stephen Larkin, brother of Barry

Page 6 of 14

Mike Glavine, brother of Tom

Chris Gwynn, brother of Tony

Ozzie Canseco, (twin) brother of Jose

Rich Murray, brother of Eddie

Ken Brett, brother of George

Edgar Gonzalez, brother of Adrian

Glenn Hoffman, brother of Trevor

George Dickey, brother of Bill

Joe Evers, brother of Johnny

Henry Mathewson, brother of Christy

Frank, Jim, Joe and Tom Delahanty, brothers of Ed

There are others, but you get the picture. Not all brothers can be as evenly matched as the Waners, Paul and Lloyd -- Big Poison and Little Poison -- who are enshrined together in the Hall of Fame.

Yes, it's an accomplishment to even get to the major leagues -- or the minor leagues, for that matter. The point is not to demean these lower-achieving brothers, but rather to commiserate with them. It can't be easy to watch your bro soak up the accolades while you struggle to survive in the game -- though I can attest to the grace with which the likes of Mike Maddux, Chris Gwynn and Billy Ripken did just that. They carved out decent careers -- just not Hall of Fame careers.

Last year, I happened to be flying to San Diego for a Mariners' interleague series with the Padres when I noticed Felix Hernandez across the terminal at Sea-Tac, waiting for the same flight in my gate. Which was really weird, because the Mariners were playing a series in Texas. But as he and his traveling companions came closer, I realized it wasn't Felix at all, but Moises, who bears an uncanny resemblance to his brother. It's going to be fun watching him pitch this spring in Peoria -- even if it's on the minor-league diamonds.

(We won't even get into fathers and sons).

February 9, 2011 at 10:17 AM Milton Bradley court case put off pending hearing with Los Angeles City Attorney's office Posted by Geoff Baker Seattle Times Blog We're into the final week before pitchers and catchers report and it's great to be back and running the blog again. I like to take a couple of weeks off before throwing myself into the blog again seven days per week and I can assure you I'm raring to go as the Mariners prepare for their 2011 campaign.

Page 7 of 14 We'll have our first broadcast of Geoff Baker Live! this Sunday, Feb. 13, at 6 p.m. from Arizona after pitchers and catchers report for their physicals. After that, we'll do regular 6:30 p.m. broadcasts. Be sure to tune in right here on the blog or on UStream TV.

Milton Bradley is preparing for spring training as we speak and won't have to go to court beforehand either. Bradley was due to be arraigned in court yesterday on a felony charge of making criminal threats last month against his wife.

But that court date has actually been put off and Bradley instead must now go to a March 9 hearing with the Los Angeles City Attorney's office, where he and his wife will be interviewed and advised about domestic violence issues. At that point, officials will decide whether or not to proceed with the case.

Frank Mateljian, a spokesman for the city attorney's office, told me this morning that such hearings aren't all that unusual where domestic violence is concerned.

"It's a tool that we use where it may not be crystal clear whether a criminal charge is warranted,'' Mateljian said. "

Court records indicate that Bradley filed for divorce from his wife, Monique, in January 2006 after 11 months of marriage. Police had been called to the couple's home on three separate occasions to investigate reports of domestic violcence.

The divorce petition cited "irreconcilible differences" between the pair and stated that they had separated on New Year's Day of 2006. But the divorce was never finalized.

The couple have a 5-year-old son.

So, it appears, for now, that Bradley will be able to attend at least the first part of spring training without having to deal with the legal fallout from his case.

That's likely got the Mariners breathing a sigh of relief. They've since acquired two , Jody Gerut and , on minor league deals as potential left field insurance in case struggles. But Bradley is the only one of those players who's had any real major league production within the past few years and is still under contract at $12 million whether he makes the Mariners or not.

I'll be off to Arizona on Friday to prepare for spring training. Just thought I'd update you on this for now.

February 9, 2011 at 12:35 PM Mariner fan inks a tribute to Ken Griffey Jr. Posted by Larry Stone Seattle Times Blog I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Ken Griffey Jr. show up at Mariners' camp in Peoria, Ariz., at some point this spring, as he and the organization are working toward formulating a position for him. Team president Chuck Armstrong told me a couple of weeks ago that he envisioned Griffey as a "consultant on baseball,'' and added that they were still working on the specifics of his role. "It's all still to be deterimined. We have to talk to him about what he feels comfortable with. We want him to be comfortable, and he wants to be productive.''

I think having Griffey back in the organization will be a win-win. It's time to put the messy ending to his career aside and remember that he was the most important player in franchise history (with due respect to Edgar Martinez, Ichiro or any other Mariner stalwart of the past. Griffey was, for a time, the most famous and popular baseball player in America, and he put the Mariners on the map when they were, to the vast majority of the Page 8 of 14 country, nothing more than an afterthought). Having him play a permanent role in the organization, as an advisor/instructor/goodwill ambassador, is a no-brainer.

Meanwhile, I thought I'd share this photo sent to me by 20-year-old Tanner Detschman of Lynnwood, who is a junior at the University of Washington studying to be a history teacher.

Detschman writes that "growing up was amazed by Griffey and his work on and off the field. To me, Ken Griffey Jr. is Seattle so I had my tattoo artist, Jason Middleton of Deep Roots Tattoo in Seattle, place the Seattle skyline in the background of the tattoo."

Detschman said that Middleton worked off a Griffey sketch he found online. Detschman adds that he has just one other tattoo -- his last name. "This was a really important tattoo for me. In short, to me the tattoo is really important as Griffey is and always will be Seattle to me.''

Impressive work by Jason, and an extraordinary show of Junior support by Tanner. Me, I think I would have limited my devotion to a scrapbook.

Grading the AL West's offseason moves (ESPN) Posted by Gerry Spratt at February 9, 2011 1:55 p.m. Seattle PI.com Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com has graded the offseason moves by each team in the American League West, and the standings look pretty familiar.

The Mariners are in last place, earning a D. The has the best offseason, Crasnick says.

The Mariners added Miguel Olivo, Jack Cust, Nate Robertson, Brendan Ryan and Adam Kennedy, among others. They parted ways with Russell Branyan, Jose Lopez and Ryan Rowland-Smith.

Crasnick's take on the Mariners' winter:

The Mariners approached the offseason with a modest agenda. But even with the bar of expectations set low, their moves were uninspiring. They invested $7.5 million in a two-year deal for Olivo, who brings energy, some home run pop and a career .283 on-base percentage to the lineup. That's the lowest of any active player with at least 3,000 plate appearances. And Cust, the new DH, homered once every 26.8 at bats last season, compared to a homer every 14.6 ABs in 2008.

Mariners sign King Felix's brother (MLB.com) Posted by Gerry Spratt at February 9, 2011 1:34 p.m. Seattle PI.com Greg Johns of MLB.com reports that the Mariners have signed Felix Hernandez's older brother to a minor league contract.

Moises Hernandez, 26, is not considered a top prospect and will not be invited to major league spring training. He will report to Peoria, Ariz., on March 6 for minor league camp.

Moises is smaller than Felix – 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds – and hasn't been with a organization since 2009.

He pitched at the rookie and low levels for the from 2003-05 and Class A and Double-A levels for the from 2006-09.

Page 9 of 14

See Johns' entire story here, including some other Mariners sibling signings from the recent past.

AL West is stuck with Rangers' Young – for now Posted by Gerry Spratt at February 9, 2011 10:24 a.m. Seattle PI.com Troy Renck of the Denver Post reported Tuesday night that the Colorado Rockies are out of the running for Texas Rangers Michael Young.

The Rockies had been considered the most likely destination for the disgruntled Young, whose relationship with the Rangers soured after offseason acquisitions threw his role with the team into question.

After initially saying he would do whatever the team needed to accommodate new third baseman Adrian Beltre and /designated hitter Mike Napoli, Young now says he was "misled and manipulated" by team management.

The Rockies nearly had a deal for Young in place earlier in the offseason that would have sent Eric Young Jr. to Texas with the Rangers paying more than half of the $48 million left on Michael Young's contract.

The collapse of talks between the Rangers and Rockies could mean bad news for Mariners fans hoping for one of the American League West's best hitters to find a new division. Renck reported earlier this week that the and Oakland Athletics – along with the – are potential destinations for Young.

Young hit .284 with a .330 on-base percentage and a .444 last season. He hit 21 home runs and had 91 RBIs.

Two teams that make the Mariners look good Posted By Larry Larue on February 9, 2011 at 11:04 am The Tacoma News Tribune

The Seattle Mariners haven't won a lot of games over the past three seasons, but they've managed to avoid personnel disasters that are befalling the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals today.

Ichiro Suzuki isn't happy with the win-loss record, but he's never complained about his $18 million a year salary, or the way the team has dealt with him.

The Rangers, who made their first World Series appearance in October - and then lost the bidding war for ace Cliff Lee - have managed since to add Adrian Beltre and Mike Napoli to their roster.

Along the way, they so infuriated team leader Michael Young that he's asked to be traded.

Now the Rangers are faced with the prospect of not only moving a man teammates consider the soul of the team, but eating much of the $48 million they owe him over the next three years.

That's a problem.

As for the Cardinals, they've put off negotiating with 31-year-old so long that they're now faced with a player-issued deadline - a week from today - to come up with a contract agreement with arguably the best

Page 10 of 14 player in baseball. If they don't, Pujols has said, he'll decline any trade and become a free agent after the '11 season.

That's a problem, too.

Young is a team-player, a six-time All-Star who's average season is batting .300 with 17 home runs and 87 RBI. Asked to move from shortstop to third base last year, he did so without argument. Asked to become the full- time DH when the Rangers signed Beltre, Young again accepted. Then Napoli was acquired in trade, and told he'd share DH at-bats with Young.

Not only did Young object, he said publicly the team had manipulated him, lied to him and he'd had enough. Hard to see how keeping him with the team now would help Texas return to the post-season.

And Pujols? Though his average season has been - gulp! - .331 with 42 home runs and 128 RBI - he has been among the Top 10 paid players in a season just once in his 10-year career. Pujols never complained, never demanded a renegoiation. Now, however, he's asked for a contract before his spring training begins - and the Cardinals, after months of waffling, have yet to make him an offer.

When the Mariners pitchers and catchers report to camp on Sunday, the focus will be solely on improving a team that lost 101 times in 2010. Felix Hernandez is happy. Ichiro is, if not happy, Ichiro-like in his preparation for a new year.

No, Seattle isn't going to win more games this year than the Cardinals or Rangers - but they won't have the impossible to ignore distraction of unhappy franchise players, either. Sometimes, front offices are too smart for their own good. In Texas and St. Louis, the issues of February aren't on wins and losses. Those teams have turned two of the game's finest assets into liabilities.

Updated Feb 9, 2011 - 1:08 pm International Mariners learn the language of the Northwest By BILL SWARTZ 710 ESPN Seattle/KIRO Radio Baseball has a language all its own. Chin Music, Baltimore Chop, Texas Leaguer, Suicide Squeeze are just a few of the more interesting terms. It's hard enough for the average fan to understand and even harder if you don't speak English.

With so many international players in their minor league system, the Seattle Mariners are offering English courses as part of their overall player development program. The goal is to make it much easier for the foreign ballplayer to succeed at all levels of baseball and American society.

"To be able to have players able to speak English, especially coming from Latin academies, really helps in the whole development process," says Casey Brett, Mariners Assistant for Minor League Operations. "First of all, they're able to interact with coaches a lot easier. It helps them be part of a community and a team."

A few years back, the Mariners unveiled a very popular television commercial. Veteran Edgar Martinez is teaching a classroom of Spanish speaking players "Puget Sound English". Martinez has them try phrases like, "I'd like a double tall latte please." And, "I took my geoduck to Puyallup." The language mentoring like this is actually part of the Mariners development game plan.

The club's mental skills coach Rafael Colon says they encourage veterans to assistant the newcomers. "While that commercial was cute, it is to the point. Edgar was reinforcing the importance of understanding questions that are asked by reporters, and how to give the right answers," Colon says. Page 11 of 14

Popular baseball movie "Bull Durham" explains the process pretty well, where the veteran, played by Kevin Costner, teaches the rookie, played by Tim Robbins, how to deal with the media: "Practice your standard answers like, 'we gotta play 'em one day at a time.' Or, 'I'm just happy to be here, hope I can help the ball club.'"

With the Mariners language class, the young foreign players could eventually give us much better quotes than that.

Technology has made it easier for international players to learn English quicker. Brett says the Rosetta Stone language courses are now available on the computer. "Guys with laptops are able to download Spanish to English lessons, and walk around the Peoria complex listening to the words on their iPods," says Brett. "Our hope [is that] in the future they'll arrive from the academies already speaking English with little trouble."

While Spanish speaking ballplayers make up the majority of the international group, the Mariners have youngsters in the system from South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. They too are encouraged to take English courses to ease the transition. At the same time, some American players are taking Spanish courses as a way to communicate better with their new teammates.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011 @ 1:10pm What's better than one Hernandez? 710 ESPN Seattle's Shannon Drayer MyNorthwest.com Why two Hernandez's of course. Felix had a catch with his older brother Moises today at Safeco Field and shortly after we learned the team has signed him to a minor league contract.

This is a move the team actually explored last spring and Felix was hopeful his brother would be signed but the Mariners took a pass on the then twenty six year old pitcher who originally signed with the Orioles organization and also played in the Braves organization making it to the AAA level in 2007. He missed the 2008 season with a shoulder injury, tried to bounce back in '09 then did not pitch in '10 until winter ball where he pitched in relief for the Lara Cardenales in Venezuela.

Last updated February 9, 2011 2:46 p.m. PT Rangers raise some ticket prices, add more premier THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The AL champion Texas Rangers have raised ticket prices for about two-thirds of their seats for 52 non-premier home games, though many of the increases are for $2 or less per seat.

Coming off their first World Series, the Rangers increased from 19 to 29 the number of home dates considered premier games with higher prices. But about 30,000 seats (69 percent) at Rangers Ballpark for those games will cost less than last season.

Individual ticket prices were announced Wednesday. The biggest increases are for lower box and club seats.

Advance sales on non-premier games are $62 (from $50) for lower box and $58 (from $45) for club seats. For premier games, the increases are from $60 to $69 for lower box seats and $55 to $65 for club seats.

Seats with all-you-can-eat food are up from $34 to $39 for non-premier games; and from $39 to $45 for premier games.

Page 12 of 14 Premier games include most Friday and Saturday home games during the season, July 4 against Baltimore and a four-game midweek series against Boston in August.

The Rangers lowered prices on upper box and bleacher seats for all games, while upper reserved seats remained $15 for non-premier games and decreased from $20 to $17 for premier games. Grandstand reserved seats increased $1 to $7 for non-premier games, but dropped $3 to $8 for the rest.

Cash parking remains $10, reflecting the $2 drop from the start of last season instituted when the new ownership group took over last August. Parking is only $5 for Friday games.

Individual tickets go on sale March 5 for all games except opening day.

For the April 1 opener against Boston, fans have to register online for a drawing to determine who gets the chance to buy the remaining limited number of individual reserved seats and standing room tickets. Or the team is offering 10-game plans that include a ticket to opening day.

Last updated February 9, 2011 8:59 p.m. PT Brewers, Marcum agree on $3.95M, 1-year deal THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MILWAUKEE -- The and right-hander Shaun Marcum agreed to a $3.95 million, one-year contract late Wednesday night on the eve of a scheduled salary arbitration hearing.

The deal fell just short of the midpoint between Marcum's $5 million request and Milwaukee's $3 million offer. The 29-year-old, who made $850,000 last year, can make an additional $100,000 in performance bonuses.

Marcum went 13-8 with a 3.64 ERA and 195 1-3 innings last season after returning from elbow ligament- replacement surgery.

Milwaukee traded top hitting prospect Brett Lawrie to Toronto in December to get Marcum in an effort to bolster a rotation that includes Zack Greinke and Yovani Gallardo.

Second baseman Rickie Weeks is the only remaining Brewer in arbitration.

Last updated February 9, 2011 4:45 p.m. PT Malinosky dies at 101, was oldest living MLBer THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OXNARD, Calif. -- The ballplayer who was the oldest living major leaguer has died at the age of 101.

Tony Malinosky was an with the Brooklyn Dodgers for three months in 1937. The say he died Tuesday in Oxnard, Calif.

Malinosky hit .228 in 35 games with Brooklyn before his career was cut short by a knee injury. He later served in the Army and fought in the Battle of the Bulge.

Malinosky was honored at Dodger Stadium during the 2009 season when he turned 100. The team says he remained a Dodgers fan his whole life.

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