Mariners Nation thinking about the future

MARINERS

Sometimes you can be so busy planning for the future (ie. Ken Griffey Jr. becoming an M someday) the present is ignored. So let’s quickly say today (1:35 p.m; FSN; 700-AM) the M’s go for a three-game sweep of the Red Sox, with Ryan Feierabend (1-2, 8.20 ERA) facing Daisuke Matsuzaka (9-5, 4.01). On paper it looks like a Red Sox rout, but so did the first night, when Jeff Weaver pitched.

The offense came to Felix Hernandez’s rescue last night, the offense and J.J. Putz. The ninth inning was baseball at its finest, with Putz getting Mike Lowell, Jason Varitek and pinch-hitting Manny Ramirez on strikes to close out the 8-7 win.

Today’s hot list …

• Tuesday’s tenacious effort led the game stories from the P-I, the Times, the News Tribune and the Herald. Here are the game stories from the Boston Globe and Herald.

• If you don’t think major league hitters guess, you’re wrong – no matter how many times your high school coach told you good hitters don’t. As proof, read this Times notebook.

• Is Adrian Beltre a veteran? Well, he uses the term “back in the day,” so he must be.

• Another injured pitcher is headed back to health. Starter Horacio Ramirez will make a rehab start in Tacoma on Saturday.

• • And our question of the day …

• Is J.J. Putz a lock for the All-Star game?