Only A Matter Of Time Seattle’s Shortstop Of Future, Rodriguez Looks Like Can’t-Miss

With Alex Rodriguez, there are no ifs, only whens. There are no maybes, only certainties. His future is as predictable as the phases of the moon.

It appears he is going to be a bigtime, big-league shortstop long into the 21st century.

If you were shopping for a shortstop, you would ask for the Rodriguez model. He is the prototype. Tall and lean. Fluid as mercury. Soft, receptive hands. An arm that throws lasers from deep in the hole.

Rodriguez is the shortstop from Central Casting.

In the normal progression of a ballplayer, he would be spending this summer in Appleton, Wis., or Riverside, Calif.

Still a teenager, he should be adjusting to pitchers with 90 mph fastballs; adjusting to life away from home; slowly maturing into an adult.

But Rodriguez is in the big leagues, hitting .320 in nine games, offering an impressive preview of what will become a long career.

Guaranteed.

Sitting at his locker an hour before the Seattle Mariners’ game Tuesday night against the Boston Red Sox, he didn’t sound like a teenager. He isn’t awed by anything. He isn’t uncomfortable with his surroundings. He isn’t surprised by his play.

“I have a lot of confidence. I feel a lot better here this year than I did last year,” said Rodriguez, who hit .204 in 54 cameo at-bats for the Mariners last season. “I feel a lot more comfortable, both on the field defensively and off the field.

“I’m only 19 years old, but I don’t like people to use that for me or against me. I just want to be one of the guys. This is all a learning experience. But as far as confidence goes, I’ve got it.”

Rodriguez understands the plan. He is here because Felix Fermin is on the disabled list with a pulled calf muscle.

Fermin is expected to leave shortly for a rehab assignment in Tacoma. When Fermin is ready, Rodriguez will replace him in Tacoma.

Next year will be Rodriguez’s year. Or maybe the second half of this year. He is coming like a meteor.

“Experience is something you can’t buy in sports. You either have it or you don’t,” he said. “I know I took some blows last year. I was a bit overwhelmed. I was 18 years old, a couple of months out of high school, playing in New York one day and Seattle the next. Playing outdoors one game and in a dome the next. Adjusting to a lot of things.

“But I got the experience and I ran with it. The way I look at it, I want to be just as good as every other shortstop out there. I don’t even want to think about my age. It’s not an issue with me.”

The harbinger of greatness came after Rodriguez was sent to Class AAA Calgary late last season. He didn’t sulk. He didn’t gripe.

Just turned 19, on the fourth stop of his first meandering pro season - from Appleton, to Jacksonville, to Seattle, to Calgary, he finished the year in Class AAA hitting .311 at Calgary with six home runs and 21 RBI in 32 games.

“I was very happy with how I reacted,” he said. “I’m glad I bounced back. When I look back, I had a very satisfying year.”

Something to remember. The Mariners were 6-1 this season before Fermin was injured.

Something else to remember. Fermin is Rodriguez’s best friend on the team. They met in Anaheim before the 1993 draft when Fermin played for Cleveland.

“What I’m saying now is that I’m very happy to be here,” Rodriguez said. “I’m not supposed to be here. Felix is a great friend of mine.

“I hope he gets better and I want the team to get better and keep winning.

“Felix is always telling me I’m going to be a very good player. He keeps on me. He knows he can scream at me when I do something wrong. That’s OK with me, because I know he respects me. The thing about Felix that is amazing is, whatever team he’s on, the chemistry is always good.”

Six years ago, another teenager from Central Casting came to Seattle with the same guarantees. Only whens, no ifs.

Ken Griffey Jr. delivered. Rodriguez will be next.

“I don’t drink, smoke. I don’t do anything of that stuff. I work hard,” Rodriguez said. “Hopefully, next year’s my year. This year, who knows? All I want to do is come in, work hard, make a good impression.”

He already has.

Piniella pulls “Vermeil”

Lou Piniella was so stirred by the loss to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday that he pulled what he called “a Vermeil.”

“Didn’t Dick Vermeil used to sleep in his office?” Piniella asked.

Well, yeah - that’s one of the things that drove the football coach into broadcasting.

“I pulled a ‘Vermeil’ last night,” Piniella said. “I pulled a blanket over to the couch in my office, laid down and the next thing I knew it was 4 a.m.”

It was that kind of loss for Piniella, who watched his team blow a 4-1 seventh-inning lead before losing in 10 innings, 5-4. It was marked in that 10th inning by Steve Frey’s debut out of the Seattle bullpen.

“He got the first two hitters out and I said to one of the coaches, ‘I like this guy,”’ Piniella said. “I guess I put the curse on him. He walked the next two guys, hit a batter and walked home the winning run.”