Manzanillo To Be Out Two Weeks
Seattle Mariners reliever Josias Manzanillo is expected to make a full recovery after undergoing surgery to repair tears in both of his testicles, the Mariners said Thursday.
Manzanillo was injured Tuesday night when he was hit in the groin by a line drive off the bat of Cleveland’s Manny Ramirez. He had the surgery Wednesday night at a Seattle hospital.
Manzanillo, 29, has been placed on the 15-day disabled list and will resume throwing in about two weeks, the Mariners said.
To replace him, the Mariners recalled left-hander Tim Davis from Triple-A Tacoma. Davis, 26, was 1-0 in one start with Tacoma, allowing two runs on four hits in five innings.
“It’s tough for us, tough for Josias,” manager Lou Piniella said, “because he was really pitching well.”
In the middle of a bullpen that was the target of much criticism the first week of the season, Manzanillo appeared in five games and had compiled a 1.42 earned-run average, charming fans and teammates with enthusiasm that included sprints to and from the mound.
What stunned the Mariners about the injury was how Manzanillo reacted after being hit - he scrambled after the ball, threw to home plate for an out and then collapsed. After a few minutes, however, he sprang to his feet and sprinted off the field.
The injury sent a message to Mariners pitchers.
“Anyone who didn’t wear a cup before will be wearing one now,” Piniella said.
Junior’s great memory
When the media began surrounding Ken Griffey Jr. and asking him about his torrid April start, he laughed and reminded the assembled press he was the same man they’d cornered last April - for a very different reason.
“Y’all just can’t figure it out, can you?” he said, beaming. “Last April, y’all were in here wondering why I was starting so bad. I’m the same player now as I was then, I’m just seeing more mistakes.”
A year ago, Griffey began his year in an un-Junior fashion, batting only .253 in April, though he did hit eight home runs and collect 18 RBI. In his first eight games this season, he is at .467 with six homers and 12 RBI.
“Junior is just Junior,” Piniella said. “There’s nobody like him in this league.”
Griffey found something he wanted to talk about Wednesday more than his own hitting, and that was Piniella’s ejection Tuesday night.
“Jay (Buhner) and I were standing together in the outfield and at first we thought it was Dennis (Martinez) that had been thrown out,” Griffey said. “Then Lou went off. When he started kicking up all the chalk on the foul lines, he put out such a cloud of dust we sort of lost him for a minute.”
Coming up
The Mariners had Thursday off to fly to Boston, where the Red Sox home opener is scheduled today at 10:05 a.m. (PDT). Probable starting pitchers: Randy Johnson (0-0, 3.00) vs. Steve Avery (0-0, 1.80).
The Red Sox (4-4) returned from their West Coast trip early Thursday morning and worked out at Fenway Park during the chilly afternoon. Temperatures are expected to be in the 50s for today’s game, but bad weather predicted for Saturday night prompted the team to move the game to 12:05, from 6:05.
Although last week’s blizzard left the field soggy and brown in some spots, new manager Jimy Williams said it was in good shape.
“I wish we were playing right now,” he said.
Notes
Martinez woke up with a 15.75 earned-run average Wednesday but was assured another start in the Seattle rotation. “His velocity was good and he’s going to get better,” Piniella said. “It’s not like he was facing an ordinary lineup. I thought he threw pretty well.”… If you’re wondering, since the Opening Night game that was 2 hours and 46 minutes long, the Mariners games are averaging 3 hours and 36 minutes. … Boston on Thursday purchased the contract of reliever Jim Corsi from Triple-A Pawtucket and optioned pitcher Vaughn Eshelman there. It was the first transaction of the season for a team that used a club-record 53 players in 1995, then broke that with 55 last year.