Before Belcher, Mariners Had Sights Set On Dibble

In the days before the Seattle Mariners acquired pitcher Tim Belcher, they discussed another trade - and came close to getting reliever Rob Dibble from the Chicago White Sox.

“We had talks,” general manager Woody Woodward acknowledged, “and Ron Schueler was going to get back to us with the names of players they were interested in. Then he talked to his people and they told him how well Dibble was pitching and the White Sox brought him up instead.”

How close were the Mariners to getting Dibble?

“We had scouts looking at three pitchers, and the word on Belcher was he was worth the risk,” manager Lou Piniella said. “Our scouts saw Dibble and said, ‘Yes!’ because they had him throwing consistently at 93-94-95 mph. We talked to Chicago.”

“There was interest on both sides,” Woodward said. “But we never actually got the names Schueler was interested in.”

Fleming to the pen

As expected, the Mariners dropped Dave Fleming from their starting rotation and the 25-year-old left-hander will work out of the Seattle bullpen indefinitely.

“He could help us there and he’ll be able to work every day with (pitching coach) Bobby Cuellar,” Piniella said.

Fleming will be available for relief beginning Friday in Minneapolis. Jim Converse will start in Fleming’s spot Sunday, and Belcher will slide into the rotation in place of either Converse or Wells.

Notes

Randy Johnson entered the game with an 0-4 record in Kansas City and will start again on Monday in Detroit - where his career mark is 0-5… . Jay Buhner entered the game trailing his brother, Shawn, in home runs, 2-1. Shawn played for the Mariners’ Class A team in Wisconsin.