NEWS CLIPS February 25, 2011

For Pauley, being an afterthought a step up LARRY LARUE; Staff writer Published: 02/25/1112:05 am The Tacoma News Tribune

PEORIA, Ariz. – When it comes to discussions about the Seattle Mariners’ starting rotation this season, David Pauley is an afterthought – which is an improvement over 2010, when he wasn’t thought of at all.

A 27-year-old right-hander without a dominant pitch, Pauley was a midseason call-up for Seattle, and his first start of the year was a telling game.

Against the , Pauley went five and allowed one earned – a first- to Mark Texeira. Great game? Yes, but he lost nonetheless. And it didn’t get much better for Pauley or anyone else on the staff.

There were lessons learned, however, and Pauley intends to make the most of them.

“When I was called up by Boston (in 2006), I thought I had to be better than I’d been in the minors, and I tried too hard,” Pauley said. “Last season, I figured I’d use the stuff that got me here and not change.”

Pauley finished the season with a 4-9 record with a 4.07 earned-run average in 902/3 innings.

As a fifth starter, he pitched at least six innings in 11 of his 15 starts.

“After last season, I felt better about myself. I do belong up here,” Pauley said.

Now, he simply has to prove it to a new Mariners staff – and beat out teammates such as Michael Piñeda, , and Charlie Hager.

“The stress isn’t as high for me this spring,” Pauley said. “The highlight for me last year was my consistency. Whether I gave up three runs, two runs or four runs, I felt I competed. I kept my head in the game.

“In the past, that’s been an issue. I’d cruise through three innings and let up for some reason and one inning would beat me.

“Part of it is not second guessing myself on the mound before throwing a pitch. There were times I’d be thinking of one pitch and the would call another and I’d think about it too much before throwing it. I trust my , but I have to make that decision,” Pauley said.

Pauley is 6-foot-2 and weighed 205 pounds at the end of last season, and trainers gave him a program to build muscle and asked him to come in stronger.

He gained 13 pounds, while his body fat rose just 11/2 percentage points.

Is he ready for the spring games that begin Sunday? Pauley laughed.

Page 1 of 33 “ can mess you up,” he said. “Hitters early on may be tracking pitches, getting their timing. As a pitcher, though, you have to approach the game with a midseason mindset and forget what the hitter may or may not be doing. You have to get him out.

“If a hitter doesn’t , it’s early. If you get hammered, you may not be around later in spring.

“I throw a sinker, change-up, curve and -cutter. Last year, finally, I pitched to contact. When I pitched to have hitters miss, I’d get into trouble and walk guys. That’s not my game,” Pauley said.

“Command is nothing more than repetition. Can you have the same delivery, the same release point every pitch? You find something that works, and you do it again and again.

“I came to camp to battle for the fifth spot in the rotation. If I’m in the , that’s fine with me. If it’s the rotation, fine. I want to be part of this,” he said. “Other than Felix (Hernandez), Jason (Vargas) and Doug (Fister), I think the rotation is wide open.”

AN INFIELD PICKLE?

Infielder Brendan Ryan expected to get more practice time at second base than this spring, but it’s turned out to be the opposite.

That, of course, could be awkward, since his locker is next to incumbent shortstop , but Ryan said it hasn’t been.

“When I was traded here, Jack was one of the first guys who called to welcome me,” Ryan said. “And we’re talking about defense and hitters all the time. I don’t know where I’m going to play, but I’m enjoying camp.”

SHORT HOPS

Before team stretching, rookie outfielders and Greg Halman ambushed veteran Milton Bradley with a long double hug, which got Bradley laughing. “We love that guy,” Halman said. “We’re just giving him some love.” … The day after walking without crutches for the first time since December hip surgery, David Aardsma was asked how he felt. “Like I’d taken a long walk,” he said. “Not sore, but aware.” … Coach was running pop fly drills with a pitching machine, and on one pop fly, he put the ball straight up – and when it came down, it missed his head by inches. “That would have staggered him, at best,” said. … Hernandez may not pitch in a Cactus League game until late next week as the Mariners try to slow him down a bit. He threw to hitters, who tracked his pitches, on Thursday, and next time around will throw a bullpen session. Next up? Perhaps a simulated game, then the real thing.

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Gutierrez needs exam LARRY LARUE; Staff writer Published: 02/25/1112:05 am The Tacoma News Tribune PEORIA, Ariz. – The first official health scare of the spring for the Seattle Mariners was the same one they ended the 2010 season worried about – Franklin Gutierrez and his ailing stomach.

The Gold Glove center fielder was sent to Seattle to be examined by team doctors as the Mariners try to determine what’s causing their star’s stomach issues and how to deal with it.

Page 2 of 33 “He’s been able to do everything, but we want to be proactive with this, get ahead of it and stay ahead of it,” manager Eric Wedge said. “It’s still hanging around, so we sent him to Seattle.”

Gutierrez missed playing time late last season, sitting out the final series in Seattle when his stomach kept him off the field. Wedge said the issue has cropped up “on and off” this spring.

How soon Gutierrez returns to the team depends upon when he gets back – and what tests determine is wrong.

“We’re just not going to speculate,” Wedge said of the tests. “I don’t expect this to be a season-long situation.”

Wedge said even before the stomach became an issue, he’d determined giving Gutierrez a few more days off during the season would help keep him fresh throughout the year.

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Published: Friday, February 25, 2011 Mariners' Gutierrez undergoes tests Center fielder back in Seattle because of stomach issues By Kirby Arnold, Everett Herald Writer Franklin Gutierrez said last week when he arrived at spring training that he was fine after the stomach/digestive problems that plagued him last season.

Thursday, he wasn't so fine.

The Mariners' Gold Glove-winning center fielder was back in Seattle Thursday to undergo more tests. Manager Eric Wedge didn't believe it's anything serious and he expected Gutierrez to play in today's intrasquad game if he was able to return to late Thursday.

“We want to be pro-active about this and stay ahead of it to make sure he doesn't have some of the same issues he had last year,” Wedge said.

Wedge said Gutierrez was able to participate in all drills his first week of spring training, but that the stomach bothered him “a little bit on and off. We saw him out there working out and doing his thing, but it was enough for us to check it out a little bit further to stay ahead of it. We'll see what they come up with, if anything, and we'll go from there. There's really no reason to speculate right now.”

Gutierrez played 152 games last year. He played 153 games his first season with the Mariners in 2009, the most in his career.

“I'm optimistic, obviously. One thing I want to do with Guti this year from a playing-time standpoint is to make sure we give him a few more days off. I felt that was something we needed to do in Cleveland and it helped him a little bit.”

Felix faces hitters

Felix Hernandez stepped onto the mound with hitters in the box for the first time since last September, throwing a sort-of session of live batting practice Thursday morning.

It actually was tracking practice because the hitters — , , Brendan Ryan and Carlos Peguero — were instructed not to swing.

Page 3 of 33

Felix's assessment?

“Boring,” he said. “It's not the same when it's your own hitters. You don't want to come inside on them.”

Still, he was pleased to get back onto the mound after a -winning season when he pitched a career-high 2492/3 innings. Would Felix like to count this as the 250th inning?

“Naw,” he said. “I'll throw 250 this year.”

The Mariners will ease him into it, just like they did last year. Some have thrown two live BP sessions by now, but Hernandez's “tracking” session Thursday was his first. He said he will throw a bullpen session on Saturday, likely followed by a simulated game a few days after that and then an exhibition.

“I just wanted to throw strikes today,” Hernandez said. “Throw strikes and throw all my pitches.”

He did that, including a nice sinker that thumped off the heel of catcher Miguel Olivo's mitt before rolling away.

Later, after Hernandez's final pitch to Ryan (a knee-high on the outside corner), for the first time this year he performed his finish-em-off twirl from the mound. After a few pitchouts, his session was done.

Of note

Gutierrez's situation makes the Mariners' center field backup situation a lot more important. While worked in center with the regulars Thursday, Wedge wouldn't say he's the logical choice to play center when Gutierrez isn't there. Wedge also will look at Gabe Gross, Jody Gerut, Ryan Langerhans and Greg Halman. ... Milton Bradley served as the chief motivator for the outfielders during Thursday's practice. After Jack Cust fielded his final ball, Bradley came at him with a leaping chest bump, and Bradley did the same to Saunders in center. Bradley also made his way to right field, where the flying chest bump was replaced by a shoulder nudge with . ... The Mariners followed infield/ work with a pop fly drill, and the only near-casualty was inflicted by the guy running the drill. Third-base coach Jeff Datz operated the machine that shot balls high into the air, and he fired one behind the plate for Adam Moore. The ball started near the backstop but, because of the backspin, it drifted back to the plate and hit the ground just inches from where Datz was standing.

Published: Friday, February 25, 2011 Healthy Mangini ready to make impression on Mariners Third baseman played half of last season with partially torn quad muscle By Kirby Arnold, Everett Herald Writer PEORIA, Ariz. — When Matt Mangini says he feels fine, he really means it this time.

For the first time since midway through last season, the Seattle Mariners' 25-year-old third-base prospect is healthy and eager to show what he can do at the plate and in the field at spring training.

“I'm all ears and I'm just working hard,” Mangini said Thursday before the Mariners' morning workout.

Best of all, Mangini said he's completely healed from a strained right quad muscle that was much worse than he'd thought as he played through the pain the last half of last season. He played well with it, finishing with a career-best .313 average, 18 home runs and 63 RBI at Class AAA Tacoma before being called up to the Mariners in September.

Page 4 of 33

Mangini batted just .211 in 38 at-bats with the Mariners, but it was a taste of the big leagues and the perfect lead-in to an offseason of winter ball that would prepare him well for spring training.

Instead, Mangini spent the winter rehabbing the quad after a postseason exam revealed a partially torn (Grade 2 strain) muscle.

“I was really looking forward to playing in the fall league and I was going to try to go over to Venezuela,” he said. “But we decided it was probably better to make sure it was 100 percent going into spring training. That was my concern. I wanted to show up in shape and not have to get into shape at spring training. I feel good so far, so it was a good decision.”

Mangini hurt the leg during a game in July when he tried to stretch a hit into a double and felt the quad grab. He felt it the rest of the season.

“It wasn't like I couldn't walk or anything,” he said. “There was a little bit of pain, but you're always going to be banged up in a 140-game season. You suck it up and keep going.”

Mangini sucked it up to produce the best of his four minor league seasons since the Mariners selected him in the supplemental round of the 2007 draft. He'd batted .273 with 12 homers and 67 RBI in 2009 at Class AA West Tennessee and backed it up at Tacoma, injury and all.

The key to that success, Mangini said, is that he settled into a routine last year with both his pregame and in- game work.

“I'm real big on routines. Routines give you confidence, they make you feel comfortable and relaxed,” he said. “I had a great routine last year and I'm sticking with it now.”

Darren Brown, who managed Mangini both at Tacoma and in Seattle after he became the Mariners' interim manager, said the consistency in Mangini's hitting throughout last year was the product of his hard work.

“We preach that to them but some of them don't grasp it,” Brown said. “Those kinds of things keep you from getting into slumps. Did I think he'd hit .300 going into the year? No. But he surprised me and he swung the bat well the whole year. He worked at it, he had a routine that he stuck with and he never got into any kind of slump. He was consistent all year.”

Mangini's slim September numbers with the Mariners weren't so alarming because that's part of the process nearly every young player experiences.

“What you saw in September was a kid coming up for the first time getting his feet wet,” Brown said. “He's shown us he can hit. Now it's a matter of doing it at the big-league level.”

Read Kirby Arnold's blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com/marinersblog and follow his Twitter updates on the team at @kirbyarnold.

Beavan's command opening Mariners' eyes By Greg Johns / MLB.com | 02/24/11 6:29 PM EST PEORIA, Ariz. -- has a lot of things going for a 22-year-old, including a 330-acre ranch in Eastland, Texas, and a wife he's been with since they started dating as 16-year-old high school sweethearts.

Page 5 of 33 What would make his life complete, of course, is the dream being pursued now on the practice fields at the Mariners' Spring Training complex, where Beavan will be one of the starting pitchers in Friday's intrasquad game.

While much of the focus of last July's trade with the Rangers has been on first baseman and reliever Josh Lueke, Beavan could become another nice return in that deal as a 6-foot-7, 240-pound right- hander, who was a first-round Draft pick for Texas in '07. The big kid with the Texas accent isn't expected to be part of the Mariners' immediate plans, but he's looked good in camp thus far and was chosen to start against top prospect Michael Pineda in what will be the first game-like conditions of camp on Friday.

"It's definitely a good opportunity to go out there and try to throw strikes and get some work in and face some hitters," Beavan said. "It'll be good for everybody to start getting back into that groove."

His general approach in this, his first big league camp?

"Eyes wide open," he said.

Beavan could open some eyes of his own if he continues to throw well. He's working on a that he thinks will significantly help a fastball generally in the low 90s. Though not an overpowering pitcher for a youngster his size, he possesses excellent command. His 1.1 walks per nine innings were the lowest of any Double-A or Triple-A starter last season in the Minor Leagues and he had 101 to 21 walks in 168 1/3 innings.

"I just try to throw strikes," he said. "Some guys work on throwing harder or making this or that pitch nastier. I just work on commanding the baseball with each of my pitches on both sides of the plate."

After being selected with the 17th pick in the Draft, Beavan was regarded by some in the Rangers' organization as a disappointment after his velocity dropped from the mid-90s in high school to the mid-80s when he turned pro and the workload increased dramatically.

But the fastball has gradually come back to where he's in the low 90s now. And with his command, that should be good enough as he continues to develop his secondary pitches.

"You love his size and I really like the way his arm works," Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. "It's fun to watch a young person like that continue to learn and get better."

Beavan is an outgoing sort who seems a little older than his years, having just turned 22 last month. He got married over the offseason to Allison Cook, the girl he began dating at Irving High six years ago.

"It kind of changes your priorities," he said. "We don't have a family yet, but we've got three dogs, so it might as well be a family. Hopefully, we can have kids in a few years, but I need to get my career going so I can help support."

Beavan has already done pretty well in that regard. His first-round signing bonus with Texas was sufficient to help him buy a sprawling ranch with his parents about 90 minutes west of Fort Worth.

The family now spends almost every weekend possible there hunting and enjoying life.

Page 6 of 33 "We've got horseshoe pits, a big ol' fire pit where we smoke and grill ribs. Duck hunting, turkey, there's everything down there. It's a great getaway," said Beavan, who grew up hunting deer with his dad and two older brothers. "It's good to get out in the woods when baseball is done.

"I'm definitely blessed to have the opportunity to play this game and get something like that at a young age," he said. "Of course, my wife doesn't like going every weekend, but I end up dragging her with me."

The tradeoff?

"Spending time with her as much as I can," said Beavan. "That's the biggest thing she wants, just because I'm gone so much."

The couple just bought a house in Fort Worth, about 30 miles from their hometown, where Beavan's mom runs her own bookkeeping company and his dad recently retired as the park and recreation director.

So, yeah, life is pretty good. But Beavan knows he's got a lot of work ahead in his baseball career. He pitched very well in Double-A last year, going 12-6 with a 3.09 ERA between the Rangers and Mariners affiliates. Promoted to Triple-A Tacoma toward season's end, he went 2-2 with a 6.47 ERA in seven starts. Chances are he'll be targeted to start the season there, one stop away from his Major League dream.

For now, he's happy to have the fastball gradually increasing again over the last few years, but feels it's an improving changeup that will be critical to his improvement. He said that offspeed pitch is 50 percent better than last year already as he gains a better feel for it, having only begun throwing the changeup three years ago.

"I feel great," he said. "I'm definitely pleased with what I'm doing right now. But I'm not satisfied. I still have a lot of work to do before the season starts."

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 or its clubs.

Gutierrez returns to Seattle for stomach tests By Greg Johns / MLB.com | 02/24/11 6:38 PM EST PEORIA, Ariz. -- Mariners center fielder Franklin Gutierrez missed Thursday's workout in Peoria after flying back to Seattle on Wednesday night to have a lingering stomach issue checked out by doctors.

Gutierrez had problems with his stomach last year, but never missed any playing time. He went to a doctor again this offseason in Venezuela, but no problem was diagnosed.

But when the issue continued this spring, the Mariners elected to have him fly to Seattle as "a proactive" measure, according to manager Eric Wedge.

"We want to make sure we stay ahead of it so he doesn't have some of the same issues he had last year," Wedge said.

Gutierrez hadn't missed any of the workouts this spring, but the issue had flared up "on and off," according to Wedge.

Michael Saunders was working in center field during Thursday's practice and Wedge said Jody Gerut, Ryan Langerhans and Gabe Gross are also candidates to fill in when needed, along with some of the young prospects in camp.

Page 7 of 33 But Wedge said he's optimistic the issue isn't serious and indicated Gutierrez will play in Friday's intrasquad game if he returns in time.

"We'll see what they come up with, if anything, and go from there," Wedge said. "There's no reason to speculate."

Wedge, who managed Gutierrez in Cleveland earlier in his career, said he would like to give the 28-year-old more time off this season regardless. Gutierrez played 152 games last season and 153 in '09.

One move Wedge won't make is using versatile Chone Figgins in center. Figgins, who started 212 games at that position during his career with the Angels, will focus strictly on third base.

"I've told him we'll keep him right at third base and let him stay put there," Wedge said. "I'm not going to mess with him."

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 Baseball or its clubs.

Datz barely avoids injury during drill By Greg Johns / MLB.com | 02/24/11 6:38 PM EST PEORIA, Ariz. -- New Mariners third-base coach Jeff Datz was running a popup drill Thursday morning when he nearly launched a ball off his own noggin from high in the sky.

Datz, standing at home plate shooting balls in the air with a pitching machine to various defenders, tried to give catcher Miguel Olivo a shot and then stood stock-still, never flinching a muscle, as the straight-up fly came thundering back down just inches from where he stood.

"Thank the good Lord," Datz said afterward, shaking his still-intact head.

Eric Wedge, his manager for seven seasons in Cleveland as well, chuckled as he recounted the near miss for the man they call "Polar Bear" because of his towering frame.

"We about made a trip to the emergency room right there," Wedge said. "He wasn't exactly hopping around either. He just stood there like a tree. The thing about cut his head in half, but it missed him. Came down with a pretty good thump though, right there."

Wedge said he's never seen a coach take a shot direct in the head, but recalled a time when he smacked his own bean into the top of a dugout when jumping up to avoid a foul ball during a Minor League game ... and realized moments later he had blood pouring down his face. He didn't want his coach going through the same thing, though he said it probably wouldn't have taken the big man down.

"They don't call him the Polar Bear for no reason," Wedge said. "He probably would have still been standing up. Would have been a little wobblier though ..."

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 Baseball or its clubs.

Felix throws with hitters in the box By Greg Johns / MLB.com | 02/24/11 6:38 PM EST

Page 8 of 33 PEORIA, Ariz. -- Cy Young Award winner Felix Hernandez took the mound for the first time for live batting practice Thursday, though the five batters he faced were ordered not to swing and just tracked the ball while he threw about 35 pitches.

Hernandez is on a slightly slower process than most of the pitching staff, along with , as the Mariners attempt to ease his workload.

"It felt good," Hernandez said. "Not bad for the first time since last season. Nothing different."

The animated Hernandez gave a little hop after throwing his last pitch, clearly feeling ready to compete. But there wasn't much competition on this day as Chone Figgins, Brendan Ryan, Dustin Ackley, Greg Halman and Carlos Peguero all just stood in the box and watched his pitches sail past.

"That part is boring," Hernandez said. "And it's our team, so it's way different."

Hernandez will throw an actual live batting practice session Saturday, then a simulated game next week before getting his first Cactus League action.

"We're just slow-playing him a little bit to where he doesn't up the ante too early," Wedge said.

One guy who did get the full dose of Hernandez on Thursday was catcher Miguel Olivo, who had to deal with the assortment of nasty pitches the 24-year-old likes to unleash.

"He caught me before," Hernandez said, "But I was a little younger then. I didn't have a slider or the good sinker."

At one point Thursday, Olivo unleashed a loud expletive after Hernandez handcuffed him. What was that pitch?

"Sinker," Hernandez said with a devilish chuckle.

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 Baseball or its clubs.

Santo, Niehaus, Markas leave huge void Accomplished broadcasters shared special connection with fans By Tom Singer / MLB.com | 02/24/11 10:00 AM EST You can almost hear Ron Santo cue the booth in the timeless fashion of his second career.

"And now, let's throw it over to Keith Moreland ..."

Moreland has it, one former Cub replacing another behind the WGN microphone. Not that simple, of course. Two generations of Chicago fans knew Santo only as the passionate broadcaster, not as the heels-kicking third baseman. So Moreland, the former outfielder and longtime University of Texas announcer, has big vocal chords to fill.

"Can't do it," Moreland said plainly. "That's not an option."

It is an absorbing, literally hurtful transition. The pangs were felt last spring in Orange County, as the Angels said a teary farewell to Rory Markas and welcome to Victor Rojas, and two years ago in Philadelphia, where

Page 9 of 33 Harry Kalas bequeathed the booth to Tom McCarthy. Detroit had practice in replacing Ernie Harwell, twice in their booth and once in their hearts, and still none of it went down well.

The Seattle Mariners won't even try. Dave Niehaus' chair, the one he had occupied since the club's inaugural season in 1977, will go empty, at least symbolically. Seven, perhaps more, personalities will rotate through the M's booth during 2011.

"It's the right way to do it. You can't replace someone who is irreplaceable," said the Mariners' lead play-by- play man, Rick Rizzs, who knows that better than most.

Not only has Rizzs worked extensively with both Harwell and Niehaus, but in 1992 he was hired by the Tigers to replace Harwell, then a 74-year-old victim of club management's decision to go in a different, hipper direction.

"That's when I found out that there are legends you can't replace," Rizzs said. "That was a very unpopular move, and I felt like I was doing the seventh game of the World Series every night, there was so much pressure."

Relief came when Mike Ilitch purchased the franchise in the middle of that 1992 season. One of his first moves was to bring back Harwell, with whom Rizzs teamed for two more seasons prior to returning to the Northwest.

"For 33 years, he was the fans' voice, their story-teller. Like Dave," Rizzs said. "It was really a joy to see how great these two guys were at relating to the fans. They had deep-rooted relationships, stood tall and were there forever."

In a game where the message is that there are no forevers, the messengers come close.

Ballparks change. Uniforms change. The men in those uniforms certainly change, now more frequently than ever before.

But the men behind the voices that connect fans with their spiked heroes endure as the most stable, identifying characters of many franchises. When announcer and team tie the knot, they hold most sacred the part of the marriage vows that goes, "Till death do us part."

And too often, it does.

When a heart attack claimed Markas in January 2010, the bittersweet task of assuming his role befell Rojas. His dad, Cookie, had managed the Angels. Victor himself had briefly pitched in the club's Minor League system.

So Rojas said, "The Angels have always held a special place in my heart. So I'm thrilled to be with such an amazing organization."

But he also had to address the difficulty of "knowing that the position was available only because of the untimely passing of a wonderful person."

This is now the position of Moreland, in for an eddy of emotions between now and his debut on Feb. 27, when formal introductions with Cubs fans will be made during the Cactus League exhibition opener against the A's -- less than three months, and rivers of tears, since Santo passed.

"I know it's an unbelievable opportunity to go to work ... but I hate to be sitting in this seat," Moreland said, sounding very much like Victor Rojas, or like anyone ever asked to bear up under a legend's echo.

Page 10 of 33 In Seattle, that will be a shared burden. Ken Griffey Jr., who just rejoined the organization as a special consultant, in fact is likely to occasionally join a rotation of other former Mariners players and men who worked with Niehaus through the years.

The roster of Rizzs' sidekicks includes Ron Fairly, Ken Wilson, Ken Levine, , , Dave Valle and Dan Wilson.

"These are the guys who worked with Dave in the past and are best at carrying on his legacy and telling stories about him and the franchise," Rizzs said. "The fans are familiar with all these guys, and for me, they'll be great to work with."

In time, Moreland, Rojas and whoever eventually permanently takes Niehaus' seat may develop the kind of rapport with fans that their predecessors had. In a very long time, because those relationships are special and unique.

"The connection with fans through the radio is amazing," Rizzs said. "You're there every day for seven months. You can take the game with you everywhere -- the home, the car, the office computer. It becomes part of your life.

"Many fans in the Northwest who never had an opportunity to meet Dave Niehaus still felt like he was a part of their families. In what other business do you have that type of relationship?"

There are always new stories to tell. Baseball welcomes the new storytellers. Pull up a chair.

Tom Singer is a national reporter for MLB.com. Follow @Tom_Singer on Twitter. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Gutierrez in Seattle as stomach woes resurface Posted on February 24, 2011 by John Hickey SportsPressNW.com PEORIA, Ariz. – Center fielder Franklin Gutierrez flew back to Seattle Wednesday night to have his ongoing battle with stomach issues checked out by the Mariners’ medical crew.

Manager Eric Wedge said Gutierrez probably would be back sometime Friday but he wasn’t a definite to take part in the club’s intrasquad game.

Wedge did say he didn’t believe the issue to be serious, and said “these are just tests on the stomach region to be proactive and try to stay ahead of things.’’

`”We don’t want Guti to have the same issues as he did last year,’’ Wedge said.

The Mariners’ Gold Glove center fielder missed some playing time in 2010 when a stomach flu or virus kept him off the field.

Gutierrez, who said he had been frustrated because he couldn’t get a handle on the issue the second half of the 2010 season despite seeing some medical specialists, said he’d hoped the issue had been resolved over the winter, but that’s clearly not the case.

“He’s been able to do everything,’’ Wedge said, “but we want to be proactive with this, get ahead of it and stay ahead of it. It’s still hanging around, so we sent him to Seattle.’’

Page 11 of 33 Wedge, who also managed Gutierrez in Cleveland, said he’d been planning on giving Gutierrez a little more time off during the season to keep him fresh.

“I felt that was something we needed to do in Cleveland, and it helped him a little bit,’’ Wedge said. “I think it is something we need to do here, too.’’

John Hickey is a Senior MLB Writer for AOL FanHouse (www.fanhouse.com)

Twitter: @JHickey3

Last updated February 24, 2011 4:23 p.m. PT Zduriencik hoping M's don't repeat drama of '10 By TIM BOOTH AP SPORTS WRITER

PEORIA, Ariz. -- When all 63 of the Seattle Mariners in camp finally got on the field for the first time earlier this week, was hopping around the cloverleaf of four fields anxiously watching an intriguing mix of youth and experience he welded together.

The scout in Seattle's general manager never gets suppressed much by the administrative responsibilities of running a major league franchise.

"I've always bounced. I've always tried to get different looks," Zduriencik said. "It's probably the scouting in me from over the years."

It's moments like these where Zduriencik can try to move forward from Seattle's miserable 2010 season where seemingly nothing went right for the 60-year-old GM about to enter his third season in charge of the Mariners.

There were the injuries and controversies. Trades and abrupt retirements. Firings and embarrassment all clumsily wrapped into one big 101-loss mess that was a massive step backward from the progress made in Zduriencik's first season, when he was the toast of baseball.

And it came on Zduriencik's watch, in a season where Seattle was expected to be a contender, only to become a laughingstock. It wasn't easy for him to watch, but he insists the franchise is continuing in the right direction, helped by learning from last year's mistakes.

"The focus was so much on the big league club and there were just things where it didn't work. It didn't fall into place," Zduriencik said. "We are continuing to build this thing and I've been here two years and we're just starting a third season. You look at what we accomplished at the lower levels, the pieces at the big league level, it's going to come together. I feel very strongly that this is a good organization, it's a great place to be, it's going to be a hell of a club eventually."

When looking back on last year, Zduriencik hangs on to the success in the minors, because really there wasn't much good to find with the big league club - sans Felix Hernandez's AL Cy Young award, another 200-hit season by Ichiro Suzuki and Franklin Gutierrez's first Gold Glove.

Zduriencik still shakes his head thinking back to all that went wrong in 2010. Key players had some of the worst stretches of their careers. A team that was going to be offensively challenged to begin with bordered on offensively inept the entire season.

Page 12 of 33 And that doesn't even include all the problems off the field. There was the report of Ken Griffey Jr. sleeping in the clubhouse and then abruptly retiring. Chone Figgins tried to fight manager in the dugout during a game. Cliff Lee was traded to Texas for three prospects, one of whom - pitcher Josh Lueke - had pleaded no contest to charges of false imprisonment with violence in Bakersfield, Calif.

But lost in all the Mariners drama was some good taking place in the minor leagues.

"The big league club is obviously the most important element of everything we do. That's what it's all about, but the process to get to where we want to get to has been going on. We continue to add talent, we still continue to have an effective draft, we can still continue to build the minor league systems," Zduriencik said

"Sitting back and having everybody focus on the big league club I get that 100 percent, but if you were speaking to any of the people in our minor league system through the course of the year, everyone was excited."

When Zduriencik took over before the 2009 season, there was a massive void of talent close to making the jump to the big leagues in Seattle's farm system. While trying to put together a winning product at the major league level, Zduriencik was also tasked with replenishing the minors.

It's starting to work. Seattle's Triple-A affiliate, Tacoma, won the title. Their nine affiliates combined to win a club-record 490 games, with eight of the nine making the playoffs. In 's recent rankings of the top 100 prospects in the minors, Seattle had three of the top 53 - second baseman Dustin Ackley, RHP Michael Pineda and SS . Ackley was 12th and Pineda was 16th with both possible to make their Seattle debuts sometime this season.

Just asking about Ackley and Pineda and some of Seattle's other youngsters brings a smile to Zduriencik's face. For the second time in three seasons, the Mariners will have the second pick in June's amateur draft.

Of Seattle's 40-man roster, 17 players will be 24 or younger come opening day.

Zduriencik accepts this season is a bridge to what the Mariners could be, thanks to the young talent they've accumulated, and that 2011 could be full of more bumps for a franchise now a decade removed from its last playoff appearance.

But he also sees the possibility on the horizon.

"Our sport takes time and it takes courage to build an organization and you have to understand you can't just take your dollars and throw them, it depends what's out there. You can't just throw dollars at players and hope that it works. You've really got to have a sound philosophy," he said. "At the big league level we've tried some things that have worked and tried to do some other things that hopefully will pay dividends this year. But in this whole process we've never taken our eyes away from building this organization up. That was a goal from day one."

NOTES: Hernandez, LHP Erik Bedard and LHP Jason Vargas all threw to batters on Thursday, but the hitters were only tracking pitches and not swinging. ... CF Franklin Gutierrez returned to Seattle to have additional tests for stomach issues that bothered him last season. He's expected back at camp on Friday.

Last updated February 24, 2011 1:25 p.m. PT Gutierrez returns to Seattle for stomach tests THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Page 13 of 33 PEORIA, Ariz. -- Seattle Mariners starting center fielder Franklin Gutierrez has returned to Seattle to have additional exams for stomach issues that hampered him during the 2010 season.

Manager Eric Wedge says Thursday that Gutierrez flew back to Seattle on Wednesday night and should be back at the Mariners camp on Friday. Gutierrez has been bothered on and off by his stomach in recent days.

Gutierrez was slowed periodically during the last season by the stomach problem that caused him to lose weight. Wedge says that Gutierrez was fine when he arrived at spring training and has participated in all drills until Thursday.

Wedge says the Mariners are trying to be "proactive with it" and keep ahead of any of the problems Gutierrez experienced last season.

Originally published February 24, 2011 at 10:02 PM | Page modified February 24, 2011 at 10:04 PM Mariners' two catchers weaving similar tales Second-year catcher Adam Moore is working through struggles that the Mariners' new starter, Miguel Olivo, faced years ago in Seattle. By Geoff Baker Seattle Times staff reporter PEORIA, Ariz. — His voice is an enthusiastic soundtrack of wisecracks, cuss words in two languages and constant encouragement, echoing around the fields like the pops of hitting gloves.

Mariners catcher Miguel Olivo admits he's having far more fun than he did during his first go-round with Seattle in the middle of the last decade. Olivo, who turns 33 in July, is all grown up now, having exchanged his daunting "catcher of the future" label for that of a proven major-league veteran.

But he remembers the hard times, much as he has tried to forget them. So he naturally had plenty to say this week when second-year catcher Adam Moore, whose own struggles mirror those Olivo faced years ago, approached him for advice.

"I went through the same thing," said Olivo, who hit .200 for the Mariners in 2004 and .151 in 2005 before he was traded to San Diego. "We talked about it. He's still young and he's going to be good. He is good. But everything comes in the right time. I went through it for five years, six years. Now, here I am again. I'm a better player, a better person and I'm still learning."

Moore hit just .195 in 60 games and had a team-high 58 starts behind the plate last season. The Mariners wound up trading equally unproductive catcher to the Padres, then signed Olivo to a two-year, $7 million deal to start ahead of Moore.

That was quite a disappointment for Moore, 26, who'd dazzled in a brief September stint in 2009 and had team officials and fans gushing about a bright future. The same way former general manager gushed about Olivo in 2004, when he acquired him from the White Sox as a key piece of the Freddy Garcia trade.

"I just brought it up and asked him about it," Moore said. "He went through the same struggles I went through here. He told me 'You've got to continue to work hard and think about the positives that happened last year.' "

Moore says the positives included his final two weeks with the club in September, when he stopped lunging in front of the plate during at-bats and instead waited to see where a pitch was headed. He went 10 for 25 (.400) from Sept. 21 onward, including a five-game hitting streak.

"There are no more excuses for me," he said. Page 14 of 33

Moore said the big leagues were a huge adjustment for him coming out of camp last year. He'd hit well in Class AAA the previous year, but nothing really prepared him for what was coming.

"In AAA, you might have two really good starters in the rotation of every team and then the rest, you can handle," he said. "When you get up here, you've got five guys who can put the ball across the plate with every pitch."

And exploit weaknesses. Once pitchers saw Moore lunging, they kept pounding him inside, where he couldn't get his bat on the ball.

"They'll keep doing it, too," he said. "Until you adjust."

Moore says he now has faced just about every starter in the West and should know their tendencies better. He figures the key will be to stay back and not fret about every 0-for-4 outing.

He'll also have Olivo there to offer defensive pointers. Olivo says there's no secret to how he pulled himself out of his career funk after leaving Seattle.

"You just need to work harder and harder every day," Olivo said. "And maybe things will start to come to you. After that, you just do what you need to do. Yeah, you get frustrated. But it can't get to the point where you want to quit. You just need to step up and play hard."

Olivo did just that in San Diego, hitting .304 his final 37 games in 2005 after the trade from Seattle.

After signing as a free agent with the Marlins, he hit 16 home runs each in 2006 and 2007.

He signed as a free agent with City in 2008 and belted 12 more homers in only half a season before clubbing a career-best 23 for the Royals over 114 games in 2009. Last year, with Colorado, he hit a career full- season best .269 with 14 more long balls and an on-base-plus slugging percentage of .764.

The Mariners will be thrilled if Olivo comes anywhere near those numbers, playing home games in a Safeco Field ballpark that ate him alive last time around. Olivo says he's a different player now and doesn't appear worried.

He's too busy playfully jabbering at hitters when they step up to the plate during batting practice, or laughing and swearing with Felix Hernandez each time he delivers a steaming fastball. In other words, playing the dual leadership role the Mariners are counting on to help bring the team closer together.

"I'll be honest with you, right now I enjoy it more because I'm older," Olivo said. "I understand the game more and they trust me. On this team, I see a lot of young kids, and they want to learn too."

And the best lesson Moore can take away from Olivo is that you can survive a harsh career start and live to tell others about it.

Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or [email protected]

Tale of the tape Adam Moore's first full season in the majors wasn't great. Here's how he and Miguel Olivo did in their first full seasons in the majors. Page 15 of 33 Olivo Moore 2003 Year 2010 114 Games 60 317 At bats 205 37 Runs 12 75 Hits 40 6 HRs 4 27 RBI 15 .237 Avg. .195

Originally published Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 10:00 PM Compete? Mariners can learn a lot from Pete Carroll The Mariners' new mantra of competition at every position sounds good, but can it work on a team with Ichiro and without the weak NFC West? By Jerry Brewer Seattle Times staff columnist PEORIA, Ariz. — Pete Carroll, the human corporation who doubles as the Seahawks' coach/czar, has suffered a rare missed opportunity to enhance his brand. He should have trademarked the word "compete" long ago.

Because he could be making suitcases full of cash from the Mariners right now.

Roughly a year after Campaign ComPETE rumbled through Seattle with the anonymity of a Ken Griffey Jr. clubhouse nap, the local baseball team is following its sporting cousin and attempting to set the players' trousers afire by actually making them do what they're paid to do.

But can you ignite men who chew smokeless tobacco?

"No one is on scholarship," general manager Jack Zduriencik has said many times.

It's a great quote, but, um, unless you're playing for USC, a guaranteed pro contract is more lucrative than a college scholly.

The Mariners are talking tough and leaving some positions open for wrestling matches. Still, you must wonder if they're truly prepared to take this competition thing to Carroll-ian proportions. They'd be wise to do so.

During Carroll's first year in charge, the Seahawks became the most thrilling 7-9 team ever mostly because he challenged it out of them. The Seahawks weren't very good, and a lot of the time it showed, but Uncle Pete — you know, the crazy uncle who both entertains and scares the mischief out of you — squeezed that team until it didn't have a drop of talent more to give.

Carroll guaranteed no positions, shuffled the roster as if he were being paid by the transaction and guided his team past the defending-champion New Orleans Saints and into the second round of the NFL playoffs. The players feared his hammer, but they kept their focus and maxed out. That's about all you can ask for in Year 1 of a rebuilding process.

Now it's on the Mariners to do the same. Baseball is a different sport, and it has no NFC West division, so finishing slightly below .500 won't allow the Mariners to stagger into the postseason. But even though they exist in a league that doesn't allow constant shuffling because most players receive guaranteed deals, the Mariners should apply what they can from the Seahawks' approach.

Page 16 of 33 Even though patience is a far more important asset in baseball, the Mariners must display some impatience.

"The competition is real," new manager Eric Wedge says. "We don't have a lot of positions predetermined. It's important to me. It's important to the organization. We have some options with this ballclub, and we need to look at all of them. The players need to understand that jobs will be earned."

Wedge is saying the right things, and so far, the players appear to be responding. But unlike Carroll did with quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, Wedge doesn't have someone to compete with his star player, Ichiro, to shock the team into obedience.

That said, it wasn't Carroll's wisest decision because he did no favors for his starting quarterback by overselling his competition, Charlie Whitehurst, and leaving fans to pine after a backup whose considerable raw talent rose to mythical heights. In the end, though, the risk worked because Hasselbeck played some of his best football in the playoffs.

Ichiro remains untouchable. The Mariners can't employ that provoke-the-star stunt. Really, how would they even try? Who's going to compete with Ichiro? Jody Gerut?

When the Mariners talk competition, they're referring to openings at second base, left field, possibly shortstop, the back of the rotation, in the bullpen and utility players on the bench. Ichiro is the right fielder, period. Felix Hernandez is the ace. Franklin Gutierrez is the center fielder. Chone Figgins is the third baseman. Justin Smoak is the first baseman. Jack Cust is the . And Miguel Olivo signed because he was told he'd be the starting catcher.

The tricky question is whether the Mariners can get the full benefit of competition while allowing for a privileged few. Mr. ComPETE would probably say it can't happen. Therefore, the Mariners had better challenge those privileged few in some manner.

While everyone else is competing, the team must make its untouchables fight against their weaknesses. Make Ichiro play more unselfishly. Keep Hernandez engaged at all times and teach him to pitch even more economically. Ensure that Smoak rediscovers discipline at the plate, that Gutierrez becomes as consistent offensively as he is defensively, and that Figgins turns into a steady performer and clubhouse presence.

The Mariners don't have the depth of talent to push every player like you can with a 53-man NFL roster. But Wedge can be more imaginative with his batting order than predecessor Don Wakamatsu was. He can sit down any player who doesn't perform well over a period, even if it's just for a few games, to prove a point. And even when players win jobs in spring training, he can reevaluate them more regularly than the norm. Routine is important during the grinding baseball season, but the Mariners can't be prisoners of habit. They must mix things up to get the best out of a limited team.

Compete. Like Pete. Nothing less.

"We have some really talented young players, but by no means am I going to sit in awe of them," says closer David Aardsma, who will have to regain his job after he recovers from hip surgery. "I'm going to fight and earn what I believe is mine. I might not be ready for the start of the season, but I'm not ready to say I won't be this team's closer. If somebody wants to beat me out, they'd better be prepared. I'm not going to let that happen easily."

Well, there's one convert. Twenty-four to go.

Jerry Brewer: 206-464-2277 or [email protected], Twitter: @Jerry_Brewer Page 17 of 33

Originally published February 24, 2011 at 7:23 PM | Page modified February 24, 2011 at 7:23 PM Mariners center fielder Franklin Gutierrez sidelined with stomach troubles Mariners center fielder Franklin Gutierrez left the team and flew to Seattle on Thursday to be checked out by a doctor for ongoing stomach issues. By Geoff Baker Seattle Times staff reporter PEORIA, Ariz. — Mariners center fielder Franklin Gutierrez left the team and flew to Seattle on Thursday to be checked out by a doctor for ongoing stomach issues.

Gutierrez was weakened by recurring stomach pains throughout the second half of last season. He had an endoscopy examination and other tests performed in Venezuela over the winter to try to determine the nature of the problem.

The problem is not believed to be from a serious, or life-threatening, illness. Gutierrez told reporters last week that he felt fine and was not still bothered by the pains.

"He was fine, but I think it's still hanging around a bit," Mariners manager Eric Wedge said.

Wedge said that the team was being proactive in sending Gutierrez to Seattle to have it checked out further. He added that he doesn't feel the issue will be ongoing and plague Gutierrez throughout the season like it did last year.

"I don't think so," he said. "I'm optimistic with him physically."

Nevertheless, Wedge said he does plan to rest Gutierrez a bit more often during the season. It's something Wedge said he'd thought of doing while managing the Indians in 2008, when Gutierrez was playing for him and faded over the course of a long and difficult season.

Gutierrez was expected to rejoin the team Friday or Saturday.

Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or [email protected]

February 24 2011 Last updated at 04:58 PM ET Mariners Send Franklin Gutierrez Back to Seattle for Tests on Stomach By John Hickey Senior MLB Writer | Follow on Twitter: @JHickey3 AOL FANHOUSE PEORIA, Ariz. -- Center fielder Franklin Gutierrez flew back to Seattle Wednesday night to have his ongoing battle with stomach issues checked out by the Mariners' medical crew.

Manager Eric Wedge said Gutierrez probably would be back sometime Friday but he wasn't a definite to take part in the club's intrasquad game.

Wedge did say he didn't believe the issue to be serious, and said "these are just tests on the stomach region to be proactive and try to stay ahead of things."

"We don't want Guti to have the same issues as he did last year," Wedge said.

Page 18 of 33 The Mariners' Gold Glove-winning center fielder missed some playing time in 2010 when a stomach flu/virus kept him off the field.

Gutierrez, who said he had been frustrated because he couldn't get a handle on the issue the second half of the 2010 season despite seeing some medical specialists, said he'd hoped the issue had been resolved over the winter, but that's clearly not the case.

"He's been able to do everything," Wedge said, "but we want to be proactive with this, get ahead of it and stay ahead of it. It's still hanging around, so we sent him to Seattle."

Wedge, who also managed Gutierrez in Cleveland, said he'd been planning on giving Gutierrez a little more time off during the season to keep him fresh.

"I felt that was something we needed to do in Cleveland, and it helped him a little bit," Wedge said. "I think it is something we need to do here, too."

Published: Friday, February 25, 2011 Cardinals' comments irk Mariners' Ryan By Rick Hummel, St. Louis Post-Dispatch PEORIA, Ariz. — While other baseball players might sit on their couches in the offseason and relax, Brendan Ryan sat on his sofa this winter and, as is his wont, fretted.

Ryan, ever tinkering with his hitting approach, wasn't really concerning himself with that part of his baseball experience. What did bother him was his being portrayed as a distraction in the Cardinals' clubhouse, with the upshot that he was traded to Seattle after a number of veterans apparently made it known to manager that, in essence, it was difficult for them to be his teammate for eight or nine months.

“Yeah, that was very upsetting,” Ryan said Thursday in the Mariners' clubhouse. “It was like I was a pretty bad guy. A clubhouse cancer and all kinds of horrible things.”

At this point, former Cardinals and current Mariners teammate Adam Kennedy walked by and cracked, “I think it's true.”

Ryan still is perplexed by what happened — he was traded for hard-throwing pitcher Mikael Cleto.

“To just kind of sit there and see some of the things that were written or whatever, I think people were looking for reasons why I, in a sense, was dumped,” Ryan said. “People want some closure. The only way it was justified was me looking bad in some way. Just sitting on the couch reading and hearing those things, it was tough, really tough.

“It really kind of crushed me. But what can you do? You don't have your own TV station or a wireless mike from your living room. But to be portrayed as a bad teammate or a cancerous guy, I could not believe it.”

One remark that especially had pricked Ryan was from Cards reliever Ryan Franklin about, as Ryan called it, his “punctuality (or lack of same).” Ryan called Franklin about the matter and discovered that Franklin had been complimentary at other points in the interview.

These are things Ryan talked about early here Thursday and, as he admitted, “I'm not a morning person.”

Page 19 of 33 Later, in the day, Ryan made a phone call to make it clear he wasn't bitter about leaving the Cardinals, just disappointed.

“I don't want to seem like I'm disappointed to be with the Mariners because I'm not,” he said. “You always want to be where you're wanted. The Mariners wanted me. And the Cardinals clearly didn't.

“But I'm still pulling for them. And I've talked to Tony (La Russa) a couple of times.”

A few days ago La Russa said, “We moved Brendan because he was in a growth process and we felt like it was risky, in case he was still growing. I like Brendan. A lot. I've said that many times.

“He's learning how to control his energy. Every year he's gotten better. Three or four years ago, he had no clue.”

What have you done lately?

One of the basics in the Ryan situation is that few complaints apparently were aired when he was hitting .292, as he did in 2009. When he hit .223 last year, the process might have changed.

One former Cardinal said, “It's one of those situations where you say, ‘How much is the headache worth?' If he's hitting .300 ... then you're having to deal with it. When you're hitting .220, then it's a whole different animal.”

Referring to Ryan's penchant for tardiness, the player said, “If it happens one time, you say, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah.' When it happens all the time, it's like, ‘Dude, seriously.'

“He was a big distraction. You've got guys walking the other way because they can't deal with it. But I hope he does well. He's a talented player.”

Kennedy said he could see how reactions toward a player might differ, depending on what kind of year the player is having.

“That is a fact of life in our business,” Kennedy said. “When you're different and doing good, it's a part of your character. And when you're not, people think about what you could be doing to be better.”

But Ryan insists, “My behavior was exactly the same as in '09. I didn't change one thing.”

Except his average changed drastically — Ryan hit under .200 for much of the season — and he beat himself up while he might have been bothering others, too.

“As bad as it was statistically, you just feel like the walls are closing in,” Ryan said. “You're not helping the team and the harder you try, the harder things seem to get. You feel you're a burden. It's just a horrible feeling that you're not helping the team.

“I don't want to say I was a victim of being treated differently, but in reality, that was kind of the case. If I had done the job I wanted to do, I feel like things would have ended different. But that wasn't the case and some things got magnified. They may not have been the good things.”

And he had an acknowledgement.

“The tardiness thing. I did push that a couple of times,” he said.

Page 20 of 33 Making reference to pitcher Chris Carpenter glaring at him and later dressing him down for not being able to find his glove at the start of an inning in Cincinnati, Ryan said, “Obviously, there was one thing that happened on camera,” he said. “I don't want to bring him into it. I'm not saying he's crazy about me, but I don't want to bring him into it. But they know that I genuinely care and have a good heart.”

Kennedy said he never had an issue with Ryan, much as was the case with fans and media who found him unfailingly cooperative and polite.

“Brendan's a different character but not in a bad way,” Kennedy said. “For a veteran like me, he's always enjoyable to be around because he livens up the conversation or the energy he brings on the field.

“I've always taken it as a good thing about him being a little different and ‘out there' a little bit. I don't know if losing (the Cardinals finished second last year) got to them and they were looking for something more — because I know a lot of those guys were disappointed the way last year ended. Who knows? But it's disappointing that that's the case over there. You can't tell him to tone it down. But if there were times when people did, he doesn't take it personal.”

A new clubhouse

Ryan, 28, will contend with oft-injured Jack Wilson for the Mariners' shortstop job and signed to a two-year, $2.75 million deal. He also has been fielding some balls at second base and could wind up there.

Former Cardinals star , now a special assistant to Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik after being a bench coach with Milwaukee and San Diego in recent years, was one of those who pushed for the Mariners to get Ryan.

“The year before, (Ryan) was as solid a hitter as you would want, for as much as he played,” Simmons said. “You'd have to think there's something between .290 and what he showed up with last year. I figure it's a nice opportunity for us.”

Zduriencik, asked if he had to check on Ryan's character, said manager Eric Wedge would deal with any clubhouse issues.

But Zduriencik said, “That's in the past. Sometimes, you get a guy and put him in a different environment with a different club. You never know. We knew he was talented. You just work through those other things.”

Wedge already likes what he's seen from Ryan.

“A lot of energy,” Wedge said. “Hard-nosed. Hungry.”

Ryan did say that the Mariners have discussed with him “taking it back a notch,” and Ryan said he has tried to take a deep breath once in a while.

“I almost have to be more tranquil,” he said.

No blaming McGwire

This offseason, Ryan said he decided not to hit at all for a couple of months after engaging in a program with hitting coach Mark McGwire the previous winter. Last February, Ryan felt his right wrist bother him and underwent surgery not long before spring training, surely hampering his start last year.

Page 21 of 33 “I hate to bring up the surgery because it sounds like you're making excuses. But it really limited my time in spring training,” Ryan said. “I definitely wish I would have done (the surgery) sooner but there was no way to know I needed it at that time. “Do I regret having done it? The only way I regret having done it is because of the numbers I put up. Outside, of that, absolutely not.”

As for his trying to adopt McGwire's philosophies, Ryan said, “I don't want to throw ‘Big Mac' under the bus. I was trying to get better. I tried something new. It wasn't his fault. The stuff he was teaching wasn't wrong or anything. I just think I learned that I'm not strong enough to do some of those things.”

After wearing No. 13 with the Cardinals, Ryan is wearing No. 26, his high school number (he also was born on March 26).

“It's my favorite number,” he said.

Then, smiling, he added, “It's two times 13. I'll play twice as good.

“I want to make the Mariners look so good “ and so smart. I wanted to be a Cardinal my whole career. Now, I want to be a Mariner for the rest of my career.

“It's a fresh start. I want to be respected, be a good teammate and accountable. All of those things.”

Gutierrez flies to Seattle for stomach tests Posted By Larry Larue on February 24, 2011 at 12:45 pm The Tacoma News Tribune Blog Gold Glove center fielder Franklin Gutierrez was sent to Seattle today to be examined by team doctors as the Mariners try to determine what's ailing their star's stomach- and how to deal with it.

Gutierrez missed playing time late last year when his stomach kept him off the field. According to manager Eric Wedge, the issue cropped up 'on and off' this spring.

"He's been able to do everything, but we want to be proactive with this, get ahead of it and stay ahead of it," Wedge said. "It's still hanging around, so we sent him to Seattle."

How soon Gutierrez returns to the team depends upon when he gets back - and what tests determine is wrong.

Wedge said even before the stomach became an issue, he'd determined giving Gutierrez a few more days off during the season would help keep him fresh throughout the year.

February 24, 2011 Center fielder Gutierrez back in Seattle for tests on stomach problems By Kirby Arnold Everett Herald Blog Franklin Gutierrez said last week when he arrived at spring training that he was fine after the stomach problems that plagued him last season.

Today, he's not so fine.

Page 22 of 33 The Mariners' Gold Glove-winning center fielder is back in Seattle today to have more tests. Manager Eric Wedge didn't believe it's anything serious and he expected Gutierrez to play in Friday's intrasquad game if he returned to Arizona later today.

"We want to be pro-active about this and stay ahead of it to make sure he doesn't have some of the same issues he had last year," Wedge said.

Wedge said Gutierriez was able to participate in all drills his first week of spring training, but that the stomach bothered him "a little bit on and off. We saw him out there working out and doing his thing, but it was enough for us to check it out a little bit further to stay ahead of it. We’ll see what they come up with, if anything, and we’ll go from there. There’s really no reason to speculate right now.

"I’m optimistic, obviously. One thing I want to do with Guti this year from a playing-time standpoint is to make sure we give him a few more days off. I felt that was something we needed to do in Cleveland and it helped him a little bit."

Gutierrez played 152 games last year. He played 153 games his first season with the Mariners in 2009, the most in his career.

February 24, 2011 Felix Hernandez's goal in first session against hitters: 'Just throw strikes' By Kirby Arnold Everett Herald Blog Felix Hernandez stepped onto the mound with hitters in the box for the first time since last September, throwing a sort-of session of live batting practice this morning. It actually was tracking practice because the hitters -- Chone Figgins, Dustin Ackley, Brendan Ryan and Carlos Peguero -- were instructed not to swing.

Felix’s assessment?

“Boring,” he said. “It’s not the same when it’s your own hitters. You don’t want to come inside on them.”

Still, he was pleased to get back onto the mound after a Cy Young Award-winning season when he threw a career-high 249 2/3 innings. Would Felix like to count this as the 250th inning?

“Naw,” he said. “I’ll throw 250 this year.”

The Mariners will ease him into it, just like they did last year. Some pitchers have thrown two live BP sessions by now, but Hernandez’s “tracking” session today was his first. He said he will throw a bullpen session on Saturday, likely followed by a simulated game a few days after that and then an exhibition.

He did that, including a nice sinker that thumped off the heel of catcher Miguel Olivo’s mitt before rolling away.

Olivo shouted, “Oh s---!”

Later, after Hernandez’s final pitch to Ryan (a knee-high fastball on the outside corner), for the first time this year he performed his finish-em-off twirl from the mound. After a few pitchouts, his session was done.

“I just wanted to throw strikes today,” Hernandez said. “Throw strikes and throw all my pitches.”

A few other notes this morning before we talk with manager Eric Wedge: Page 23 of 33

• Not to make too much of this until we ask Wedge, but center fielder Franklin Gutierrez wasn’t on the field when the Mariners’ infielders and outfielders ran their drills. Gutierrez suffered from stomach problems during the season last year, but last week said he’s OK. Michael Saunders fielded balls in center.

• The Mariners’ infield drill was as crisp as we’ve seen in a while, with Wedge clapping his approval at one point. With Chone Figgins and at third base, Jack Wilson and Brendan Ryan at shortstop, Adam Kennedy at second, Justin Smoak at first, and Miguel Olivo and Adam Moore at catcher, every throw was firm and there was a definite hustle as guys covered up bases to take throws, etc.

• In the outfield, Milton Bradley served as the chief motivator. After Jack Cust fielded his final ball, Bradley came at him with a leaping chest bump, and Bradley did the same to Michael Saunders in center. Bradley also made his way to right field, where the flying chest bump was replaced by a shoulder nudge with Ichiro Suzuki.

• The Mariners followed infield/outfield work with a pop fly drill, and the only near-casualty was inflicted by the guy running the drill. Third-base coach Jeff Datz operated the machine that shot balls high into the air, and he fired one behind the plate for the catchers. The ball started near the backstop but, because of the backspin, it drifted back to the plate and hit the ground just inches from where Datz was standing.

Everybody watches when the King is throwing Posted on February 24, 2011 at 6:20 PM Greg Johns Mariners.com Yup, everybody pays attention when Felix Hernandez takes the mound, as he did for the first time this spring on Thursday with some almost-live batting practice.

Among the most attentive Thursday were the guys pictured above -- Dustin Ackley, Brendan Ryan and Chone Figgins -- since they were waiting their turns to get in the batter's box.

But as good as Felix looked -- and he looked as sharp as you'd possibly expect at this juncture -- it was impossible to get a true read since batters were instructed to only track his pitches with their eyes and not swing away on this first outing.

You can read my full story on Felix's thoughts about his first step back on the mound since last season, as well as his upcoming schedule by clicking here. He told me the plans call for him to throw an actual live batting practice session Saturday.

Here's a shot I got of him throwing today.

Tomorrow brings the intrasquad game at 1 p.m. (MT). It'll be five innings on Field 1 at the Mariners facility and Eric Wedge said he's going to try to get all his position players at least one at-bat and an inning or two of work.

Michael Pineda and Blake Beavan are the starting pitchers, which doesn't mean a whole lot, but will be fun to see two of the big 22-year-old hosses in camp. We've talked a lot about Pineda, but I wrote this story today on Beavan, one of the players obtained in the Cliff Lee deal.

Interesting kid who throws a lot harder than I'd been led to believe, with excellent command. Could turn into a nice rotation piece down the road.

The big news today was Franklin Gutierrez's absence as he flew back to Seattle to have his stomach problems checked out. Don't expect that to be a huge issue, more of a precaution at this point, but definitely something Page 24 of 33 they want to clear up after he lost weight during last season and struggled in the second half because he wasn't able to eat well.

We should learn more about that tomorrow when Gutierrez is expected to return. You can get the news on that on Mariners.com and here on my blog, or follow me on Twitter at @GregJohnsMLB.

Gutierrez returns to Seattle for stomach tests Posted on February 24, 2011 at 1:45 PM Greg Johns Mariners.com Mariners center fielder Franklin Gutierrez missed Thursday's workout in Peoria after flying back to Seattle on Wednesday night to have a lingering stomach issue checked out by doctors.

Gutierrez had problems with his stomach last year, but never missed any playing time. He went to the doctor again this offseason, but no problem was diagnosed.

But when the issue continued this spring, the Mariners elected to have him fly to Seattle as "a proactive measure," according to manager Eric Wedge.

"We want to make sure we stay ahead of it so he doesn't have some of the same issues he had last year," Wedge said.

Gutierrez hadn't missed any of the workouts this spring, but the issue had flared up "on and off," according to Wedge.

Michael Saunders was working in center field during Thursday's practice and Wedge said Jody Gerut, Ryan Langerhans and Gabe Gross were also candidates to fill in when needed, along with some of the young prospects in camp.

But Wedge said he's optimistic the issue isn't serious and indicated Gutierrez will play in Friday's intrasquad game if he returns in time.

"We'll see what they come up with, if anything, and go from there," Wedge said. "There's no reason to speculate."

Wedge, who managed Gutierrez in Cleveland earlier in his career, said he would like to give the 28-year-old more time off this season regardless. Gutierrez played 152 games last season and 153 in '09.

Updated Feb 24, 2011 - 10:44 pm Beavan, a long way from 18 710 ESPN Seattle's Shannon Drayer MyNorthwest.com Getting drafted in the first round at eighteen can be pretty heady stuff. Getting drafted by your home town team at that age of eighteen could leave one speechless. Perhaps that would have been better for Blake Beavan. "It's overwhelming," Beavan told reporters. "Since I was five or six years old, I dreamed of playing for the ."

Standard stuff. Unfortunately minutes before the brash teen quipped on television that he could pitch as badly as anyone on the current Rangers staff. He didn't stop there. There were reports of Beavan boasting that he had a major league slider. Not the kind of behavior that will endear you to a fan base or a clubhouse.

Page 25 of 33

"The comments weren't meant to offend anybody but you live and you learn," Beavan, now twenty-two said sitting outside the Mariners clubhouse in Peoria when asked about his earliest days in .

"Everybody makes mistakes. I was just an eighteen year old kid. Just signed for some good money and felt like I was on cloud nine and then got brought back down to earth going into my first year of pro ball."

Never mind being fodder for talk radio, the comments didn't sit well with the Texas Rangers. While they valued his arm they knew the attitude had to go. These things have a way of being handled in baseball.

"I learned real quick." Beavan said. "Back then they heckled me, bringing it up, printing it up in the clubhouse and letting everyone see it. It was definitely embarrassing but you can't get too upset. You have to realize it was a dumb mistake, put your head down and try to move on."

Justin Smoak was a teammate of Beavan's in 2008 at Clinton. He smiled when I asked what he remembered of Beavan then. "He's really grown up a lot and matured, both on the field and off the field. And he can pitch. Comes right at you."

It didn't hurt that Beavan was able to find a mentor in the Texas organization. His off season workout partner was none other than Kevin Millwood.

"I tried to pick his brain as much as I could. He shoots you straight and tells you how it is. He brought up the comment of what I said and he understood that I was eighteen and kind of talked to me about sometimes you don't say this and sometimes you have to learn how to go around some of the obstacles, like sometimes the media will set you up, and they did, they got me, (laughs) around the draft. No offense to them but I had never dealt with TV stations and media. I was speaking like a fan, an eighteen year old kid. He talked to me about my mindset, the preparation, what is expected and what you need to do to be ready for that level. How to handle yourself, represent your family and fans."

As tough as the off field adjustment for Beavan was the on field adjustment may have been tougher. At 6'7 and 215 pounds the high school senior could touch 97 on the radar gun. Growing up he idolized Nolan Ryan, and who's 3/4 delivery he tried to mimic on the mound even though he is right handed. The delivery served him well but put up red flags to the Rangers, namely pitching coordinator Rick Adair who changed his mechanics in an attempt to get him to use more of his body and put less stress on his arm. The result?

"I lost probably 6 mph on my fastball," Beavan said. "In high school I was 93-97. The next thing I know I was to 87-89. It happened all at once. In spring training I was throwing okay but as soon as pro ball started it just disappeared. I couldn't tell in warmups but my first start? Wow. I haven't thrown without this much force behind my ball in a long time. It was a shock and I was always wondering where it went, how do I get it back. Do I need to start lifting more? Get stronger? Run more, get in better shape? They said it will come back, just trust what we are doing it will make you a better pitcher in the long run."

Beavan said that it wasn't hard to commit to the changes. He trusted that what they were doing would make him better. He turned his focus from his velocity to actually pitching.

"I tried to get into the habit of having a purpose with each pitch instead of coming from high school, just gripping it and ripping it."

Adam Moore who caught a couple of Beavan's early this spring saw this immediately.

Page 26 of 33 "He's so huge, you are expecting him to throw hard and he didn't throw as hard as I thought he might but he never missed the glove. His command was impressive."

The numbers back this up with Beavan posting a 101-21 to walk ratio last year.

"I might not have the best stuff," Beavan said, "or the best delivery or most deception but I am going to throw strikes because that is what has been harped on since I was a little kid. Throw strikes, good things will happen. You have more opportunity to have success if you throw strikes than walking people and then trying to throw strikes."

Pitching coach says repeating his delivery is Beavan's biggest challenge right now. He also suspects that they may be able to get more than the 92 mph he is now throwing from him.

For now Beavan is just trying to soak in the atmosphere of the major league clubhouse. There is no hint of brashness when he talks about the experience.

"I mean, Felix is in here. He is a guy that young guys look up to, he might not know that, but I watched him growing up when I was in high school. I remember him pitching at 19, 20, watching him on Sportscenter and all my buddies would be like, "Did you see that guy? That kid?" It's fun to be around these guys. Ichiro I have watched forever. You just kind of sit back and take it all in and realize it is a privilege to be here and a great experience to be in the Major League environment."

Updated Feb 24, 2011 - 2:46 pm Guti out with stomach issues again 710 ESPN Seattle's Shannon Drayer MyNorthwest.com Franklin Gutierrez was noticeably absent on the field this morning. We just received word from Eric Wedge that he has been sent to Seattle to have his stomach issues further looked into. "We just want to be proactive about it, make sure we can stay ahead of it where he doesn't have some of the same issues he had last year," Wedge said.

Gutierrez was seen by specialists both during the season and in the winter but expressed mild frustration to me at the end of the year that he hadn't been given any answers. Wedge said Gutierrez was fine when he reported to spring training, "but I think it is just still hanging around a little bit." He is expected back in camp tomorrow or Saturday and Wedge said he should be able to get right back to work. He also said that he didn't think that his newest problem would be something he had to deal with for the entire season.

One thing that Wedge wanted to do even before this episode was give Gutierrez more days off this season. "I felt that was something we needed to do did in Cleveland and it helped him a little bit," he said. "I think it is something we need to do here too."

Elsewhere around camp today, Felix Hernandez threw to hitters for the first time this spring, but it was on Field 4, which is the "track only" field. No swings. The advantage here is that the pitchers do not have to deal with the screen or trying to field the ball. No distractions for Felix.

That doesn't mean he didn't have fun, however. He took the mound, threw a couple of warmup pitches then shouted, "Feels like old times," at Miguel Olivo, who actually caught Felix a couple of times in Tacoma when Felix was coming up.

He then fired his first fastball in and then another. Chone Figgins, who was the hitter, turned to the other hitters after each pitch and just smiled. There is no question Felix's teammates appreciate his talent. Even his new ones. Page 27 of 33 Charlie Haeger, who was watching from behind the batting practice cage, turned after one pitch and said, "That is just nasty," to no one in particular.

Also facing Felix was Brendan Ryan, who Miguel Olivo messed with, letting out an "oh (expletive)" after Felix shook him off twice and went into his wind up. When Ryan walked away shaking his head he looked at Figgins and said, "And he's just throwing 65 percent now, isn't he?"

Figgins told him to look for the Tiant Turn that Felix began using a couple of years ago. "When he is really throwing," he said demonstrating the move, "you will see this."

Felix threw about 35 pitches and told me that he will throw a bullpen and a simulated game before he is put into a Cactus League game. This is what he did last spring and Felix said that he thinks that worked out pretty well. "I won the Cy Young, didn't I?" he said with a laugh.

Before batting practice, the team ran infield practice, pop up drills and relays. Ichiro showed off the arm as always in the latter. The infield practice was sharp, with Brendan Ryan and Jack Wilson splitting the time at short and Adam Kennedy at second. Pop up drills can be an adventure down here but the guys came away unscathed. Even Jeff Datz, who was manning the Juggs machine and shot a ball almost straight up for the catcher that instead just missed him by inches.

"How high did that ball go when it bounced," laughed Wedge. He wasn't worried about his coach however. "They don't call him the polar bear for no reason. He probably would have stood up. Been a little wobbly though."

February 24, 2011 at 10:07 AM Adam Wainwright injury shows how quickly a team's outlook can change Posted by Larry Stone Seattle Times Blog

This has already been a miserable spring for the St. Louis Cardinals. First, they had to endure the whole contract melodrama, something that figures to hang over them all season.

Now they are dealing with something that will likely prove far more damaging, at least in the short term (because does anyone really doubt that Pujols is going to overcome the distraction and put up his usual monster year?) In one fell swoop, they went from having one of the best one-two pitching punches in baseball in Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright to losing Wainwright for the season. The team is confirming today that Wainwright will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss all of 2011.

This is a devastating loss to a team that was already in danger of slipping behind a rising team like the Reds in the NL Central balance of power. And don't sleep on Milwaukee, which has added Zack Grienke and Shaun Marcum to its rotation this season.

To get a feel for how much of a dropoff the Cardinals are facing without Wainwright, who finished second and third in the last two Cy Young votes, consider whom the Cardinals are looking at as his replacement. They say they will try to fill from within, and two of the people they are considering are and .

Snell is coming off a season in which he went 0-5 with a 6.41 ERA for the Mariners (but pitched worse than the numbers indicate). Batista is 40 years old and was last a regular starter in 2007, when he went 4-14 with a 6.26 ERA for the Mariners.

Page 28 of 33 On the other hand, Batista did get a spot start with Washington last year on July 27 when Stephen Strasburg was scratched at the last moment. He wound up pitching five shutout innings against the Braves, giving up three hits and striking out six in a 3-0 Washington win. That's when he uttered the famous quote about understanding the booing he received from Nationals fans: "Imagine if you go to see Miss Universe, then you end up having Miss Iowa, you might get those kind of boos.

The upshot, you might recall, is that Batista ended up apologizing to Miss Iowa, who was a good sport about and even came to a Nationals game to throw out a first pitch.

No matter who ends up taking Wainwright's spot -- and my money's on Kyle McClellan over Batista or Snell, if the Cardinals don't go outside the organization -- it's going to be a huge comedown. I'll spare the beauty contest comparisons, however.

February 24, 2011 at 12:39 PM Franklin Gutierrez flies to Seattle to see doctor about ongoing stomach issues Posted by Geoff Baker Seattle Times Blog Franklin Gutierrez did not take part in this morning's workouts, flying to Seattle to have doctors check him out because of a stomach issue ongoing since late last year.

Gutierrez has suffered from occasional severe stomach pains since the second half of last season. He underwent an endoscopy exam in Venezuela back in November and has been attempting, through various tests, to find out what the problem is.

I'm told that Gutierrez's condition is not a serious illness or a life threatening issue, but something he'll have to find a way to get a handle on -- possibly through medication. There's a good chance that's what he's going to try to resolve up in Seattle.

"He was fine but I think it's still hanging around a bit,'' Mariners manager Eric Wedge said.

The big problem when these pains strike Gutierrez is that he has trouble eating, something that plagued him down the stretch last year. His numbers drop-off could almost certainly be largely explained away by that.

Gutierrez told reporters upon arriving in camp last week that he felt fine and that the pains were no longer bothering him. But obviously, that's changed in recent days.

I asked Wedge whether he was concerned this might be something that follows Gutierrez around this entire season.

"I don't think so,'' he said. "I'm optimistic with him physically.''

February 24, 2011 at 12:39 PM Franklin Gutierrez flies to Seattle to see doctor about ongoing stomach issues Posted by Geoff Baker Seattle Times Blog

Don't forget to tune in to Geoff Baker Live! at 6:30 p.m. PT, where we'll be able to chat about Franklin Gutierrez and the latest surrounding the team.

Page 29 of 33 Franklin Gutierrez did not take part in this morning's workouts, flying to Seattle to have doctors check him out because of a stomach issue ongoing since late last year.

Gutierrez has suffered from occasional severe stomach pains since the second half of last season. He underwent an endoscopy exam in Venezuela back in November and has been attempting, through various tests, to find out what the problem is.

I'm told that Gutierrez's condition is not a serious illness or a life threatening issue, but something he'll have to find a way to get a handle on -- possibly through medication. There's a good chance that's what he's going to try to resolve up in Seattle.

"He was fine but I think it's still hanging around a bit,'' Mariners manager Eric Wedge said.

The big problem when these pains strike Gutierrez is that he has trouble eating, something that plagued him down the stretch last year. His numbers drop-off could almost certainly be largely explained away by that.

Gutierrez told reporters upon arriving in camp last week that he felt fine and that the pains were no longer bothering him. But obviously, that's changed in recent days.

I asked Wedge whether he was concerned this might be something that follows Gutierrez around this entire season.

"I don't think so,'' he said. "I'm optimistic with him physically.''

Gutierrez is obviously a key part of the team's plan this year and going forward. Getting him able to manage his discomfort is something the team will obviously need to figure out.

Wedge did say that he plans to give Gutierrez a few more days off this coming season. It's something he says he felt he should have done in Cleveland, when Gutierrez struggled through a tough season in 2008.

Gutierrez may not play in tomorrow's intrasquad game. It depends on whether he flies back here from Seattle tonight or tomorrow.

Other than Gutierrez, Wedge plans to get all his position players some game time.

"That's the grand plan, to get everybody in there,'' he said.

The one thing, though, is he can't guarantee everyone will have an at-bat. At minimum, he hopes to get all players in the field for an inning.

During today's pop-up drills, the Mariners nearly lost their spring training co-ordinator. Third base coach Jeff Datz was manning the (Juggs) pop-up machine, inserting baseballs into it and sending them into the air in various directions.

But at one point, he let fly a straight pop-up right behind the plate. As seen in the video above, as players charged towards the plate screaming, Datz began to notice that the ball was heading straight for him.

Datz covered his head with his hands at the last second and the ball missed hitting him by about an inch.

Much laughter and catcalling ensued from players yelling at Datz to "Pay attention!''

Page 30 of 33 "If it had hit that little beanie on top, there would have been blood dripping down his face, I can tell you that,'' Wedge said.

So, the Mariners are down one center fielder. But they still have all of their coaches present and accounted for.

February 24, 2011 at 10:59 AM Felix Hernandez throws a live batting practice session Posted by Geoff Baker Seattle Times Blog Felix Hernandez skipped the live batting practice session the other day, with the Mariners opting to have him throw in the bullpen instead. Not today. Hernandez was out there with a very lively and vocal Miguel Olivo, unleashing his pitches at hitters who stood in there but did not swing.

Erik Bedard threw live BP right after Hernandez, snapping off some lively .

The rest of the morning, as always , was devoted to fielding drills. Yeah, they get redundant, but they are certainly important.

One of my personal favorites is the pop-up drill, where the ability of infielders -- and outfielders -- to communicate with one another is just as important as making the catch. Well, OK, not just as important. All the yelling in the world won't matter if you don't catch the ball. But the point is, communicate enough and the catch should be made.

Coaches were stressing that players yell "I got it!'' at least three times. And they did.

Some of the balls were dropped. Most weren't, even in the bright morning sun.

We also saw outfield relay drills, where the fielders had to hit their cut-off men. Sometimes, they'd throw directly home depending on the situation.

Again, it can seem mundane if you're watching it from your home on TV. But up close, you see just how much communication is involved. And I'll tell you, there's nothing like watching Ichiro charge a ground ball to right field and make a perfect, one-hopped throw home.

February 24, 2011 at 8:37 AM Around the Blogosphere Posted by Geoff Baker Seattle Times Blog Good morning all. For those of you asking the time of tomorrow's intrasquad game, it will be at 1 p.m. local time here, so noon back in Seattle.

A lot of talk about prospects in the blogosphere this morning. Prospect Insider recently released its digital handbook and has decided to release the names of its top-30 Mariners prospects free of charge. Today's it's No.s 16-30. I won't give it away, but will tell you Matt Mangini is the highest of that bunch at No. 16. Several other players in big league camp with the Mariners are also in that group.

Moving along, Seattle Sports Insider has been running a series of takes on various Mariners minor leaguers, basing a lot of it off analysis found in the Baseball HQ minor league handbook.

Page 31 of 33 One of the more interesting players looked at is . SSI's main author, Jeff Clarke, concludes that "Everybody has completely lost interest" in Carp from a prospects rating perspective.

Hard to argue with that one. But Clarke also says that Carp should fare better than other prospects ranked higher on various lists and expresses some surprise that the M's didn't take a look at him at DH rather than Jack Cust.

By the way, Clarke considers the latter point to be a good thing from the standpoint of the M's being more competitive this year. Anyhow, take a look.

At Section 331, Megan Shear ventures outside of the Mariners sphere and takes a look at some other AL West teams. She links to a story about a 36-year-old woman throwing BP for the (and the ). She also updates the story we linked to last week about a 3-year-old Michael Young fan in Texas who appeared to be devastated (on video) when told his favorite player would no longer be with the Rangers.

Young and his wife apparently saw the video and the boy was treated to a fun day at the Rangers team store.

Finally, over at The Outfield Grass, Justin Olsen posts some video of Mariners shortstop prospect Nick Franklin.

Originally published Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 9:18 PM Cardinals ace Wainwright will miss entire season By The Associated Press

Adam Wainwright's season is over before it started.

The St. Louis Cardinals ace learned Thursday that he will need surgery to replace a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow, an injury that usually takes at least a year to recover from.

"That's a big guy to miss," teammate Kyle Lohse said in Jupiter, Fla. "We've still got to go out there and play. Nobody is going to feel sorry for us. We still have to go out there and do our jobs."

The 29-year-old right-hander experienced soreness toward the end of last season and didn't pitch in September. He threw to the Cardinals' top hitters in batting practice Monday and was set to start his team's spring-training opener, then felt soreness the following day and was sent back to St. Louis on Wednesday for an examination.

Lewis Yocum then gave a second opinion to Wainwright, who won 19 games in 2009 and 20 last year to earn a second-place finish in NL Cy Young Award voting.

St. Louis will search for a fifth starter to go along with Chris Carpenter, Lohse, Jaime Garcia and Jake Westbrook.

"You're losing an ace," Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said. "It's not something you can replace overnight. I would also say we have four quality pitchers. It's not exactly like we have no bullets left."

Cabrera reports

Page 32 of 33 LAKELAND, Fla. — Miguel Cabrera arrived at spring training for the first time since he was arrested last week on suspicion of drunken driving. He promptly apologized as Major League Baseball said he will undergo treatment set up by doctors administered by management and its players union.

The 27-year-old was arrested Feb. 16 on suspicion of driving under the influence and resisting an officer without violence, both misdemeanors. He is set to be arraigned March 16.

"I am very sorry for what I have done," Cabrera said through a translator. "I have worked hard for a period of time and I hope everyone forgives me. All I ask for is forgiveness."

Cabrera didn't deny he had an alcohol problem but said he was willing to undergo treatment. He refused to say he is an alcoholic.

"I have it under control," Cabrera said. "It was just a bad decision. I plan to continue with treatment. I made a mistake this time, and all I can do is continue treatment."

Notes

• Pitcher Vicente Padilla is expected to return to the Dodgers' spring-training facility in Glendale, Ariz., after having surgery on his right arm in Los Angeles. Doctors freed up a nerve that was trapped by a muscle. Padilla faces three to four weeks of rehabilitation.

• In Scottsdale, Ariz., the decided to be careful with right-hander Aaron Cook, who has missed three days of pitching and will miss his first scheduled start due to continued setbacks from tightness in his shoulder and a bout with a stomach ailment.

• In Sarasota, Fla., second baseman Brian Roberts missed a second straight day because of a stiff neck.

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