Camp To Open With Few Questions On Field

After six weeks of spring training, Major League Baseball is about to give you … three more.

The names will be more familiar, and so will the questions.

The Seattle Mariners insist they have fewer than most clubs - manager Lou Piniella says the only uncertainty in his camp is who will be his No. 4 and No. 5 starting pitchers.

But a three-week race to a championship season could push every team, Seattle included, to the brink of disaster by forcing quick decisions that could produce long-term consequences.

The Mariners, for instance, could pencil out an opening day lineup this morning, tentatively set up a rotation and come up with the eight or nine relief pitchers they’re likely to carry on the expanded 28-man roster.

Changes? Rookie Darren Bragg will become the sixth different opening night left fielder in as many years when Seattle begins the season, which is expected to be April 27 at home against Detroit. Down in the bullpen, rookie left-hander Ron Villone - a winter-ball sensation after three years of minor-league seasoning - will be prepared for his big-league debut.

But the questions Mariners fans thought might be hot topics this spring likely have already been answered.

Will Seattle reduce salary by trading Chris Bosio or Edgar Martinez? Almost certainly “No,” because with 120 free agents available, teams aren’t likely to trade for someone else’s $3 million player. “We’re getting offers from teams wanting to move salary, not add it,” general manager Woody Woodward said Tuesday.

Will Greg Hibbard be ready after major shoulder surgery to pitch for the Mariners? No chance. A shortened spring ensures he’ll open the season in the minor leagues - once he’s healthy enough to pitch.

Has phenom Alex Rodriguez’ time come at shortstop? Probably not, but there’s an asterisk. The Mariners would love to give him a little more Class AAA time, but should visa problems keep Latino veterans Luis Sojo and Felix Fermin out of camp for any appreciable time, Rodriguez’ chance to open the season in Seattle increases.

There has been open speculation recently on a handful of other possibilities, including whether Tino Martinez and Dave Fleming might be granted free agency instead of tendered contracts.

But the real issues facing the Mariners in the 1995 season are far more crucial. And they must be answered this spring.

Will an ownership group, stunned by more than $40 million in losses over the last two seasons, be willing to increase rather than cut its player payroll budget and sign one or two key free agents to shore up its team?

Though the front office - and the on-field staff - want to keep The Tino and Fleming - as of Tuesday, ownership hadn’t authorized any offers. If they don’t do so by Friday, both become free agents.

Whatever ownership decides, they will be taking into consideration the greatest motivation in franchise history.

Not only are the Mariners trying to pitch a new stadium, which they say must be in the works before the 1997 season, but they must win this year if they have any hope of keeping franchise player Ken Griffey Jr.

Junior has two years left on his contract, but Seattle cannot start the ‘96 season uncertain of his status beyond that year. He has said he would stay only if the team became competitive, something they have not come close to doing in Griffey’s first six seasons.

The Mariners sank more than $15 million into keeping outfielder Jay Buhner, but that didn’t improve a team that was 49-63 last year, it merely kept a key player in place. Since then, Seattle has added infielder Doug Strange - and will probably sign a second infielder, Joey Cora, in the next week.

Discounting Randy Johnson’s 13 victories, the starting rotation - or the in-camp candidates for the other four jobs - combined for a total of 15 triumphs last year.

And with just three weeks of spring training before the season begins, one key injury could become a major problem. Piniella, who has been through these shortened spring seasons before, might be Seattle’s biggest edge.

The last time baseball started late after a quick camp was in 1990, when Sweet Lou was working in Cincinnati. The Reds broke out fast, were never headed and won the World Series that season.

“There were three factors,” Piniella said Tuesday. “We had a dominant bullpen, and if our team was ahead after five or six innings, it was over. We had a young club, so players got into shape fast in the short spring. And we had speed.”

Do the ‘95 Mariners stack up with the ‘90 Reds?

“We’re young and we have the bullpen,” Piniella said. “We don’t have the same kind of speed.”

By opening day, no Mariner starting pitcher will have thrown more than four innings in any game - and some might not have thrown that many. So the emphasis for the first month will be on relievers, not starters.

“Our bullpen could pitch 40 percent or more of the innings that first month,” Piniella said.

Two key relievers won’t be in camp. Veteran Lee Guetterman and rookie Villone, both left-handers, will have had 20 days in Class AAA Tacoma before Seattle opens the season. Figure both to be called up and added to that expanded 28-man big-league roster.

Closer Bobby Ayala and setup man Bill Risley, middle relievers Jeff Nelson, Kevin King and Bob Wells, and youngsters such as John Cummings, Makoto Suzuki and Jim Mecir will get lots of spring work.

Notes: It appears the league has decided the Mariners will open the season on April 27, against Detroit at home, not Cleveland. No official word has been announced yet. … Only two Mariners, Bosio and King, wandered into camp Tuesday, but between 15 and 22 players are expected this morning when voluntary workouts begin. Junior is expected to be among those. … Will 1994 firstround draft choice (Jason Veritek) finally sign a deal with Seattle and come to spring training? It would be lovely to think so, but the Mariners aren’t optimistic. “He’s a young man who knows exactly what he wants, and if we can’t give it to him, I’ll be the first one to wish him well,” Woodward said. “We’re still talking, but I don’t know that it’s much closer than it’s been - and we’ve been talking since June.” Seattle’s last offer was for $500,000, Veritek wants more than $800,000.