Rodriguez’s Return To Lineup Re-Evaluated After Pain Persists

The good news for Seattle was that Alex Rodriguez did what he does so well Tuesday - he fielded ground balls, threw and swung the bat.

The bad news for the Mariners? Their shortstop won’t be doing any of that in a game for at least another few days, as a deep chest bruise continues to hamper most everything the game requires of him.

And Rodriguez could still wind up on the disabled list.

“We had the day off (Monday) and I didn’t do a thing, and this is the best I’ve felt, the most progress I’ve seen,” Rodriguez said. “I swung the bat, hit about 25 balls off the tee, and swung probably 75 percent. Two days ago, I couldn’t even take a full hack.

“I’ve got to be analytical about the situation. I’ve missed four games, I’ll miss the two here in San Francisco. I’ve got to build on each day I feel better. If I rush back and really do something, I could miss a month or more.”

So the earliest Rodriguez figures to play, he says, is Friday in Texas, though Saturday is even more likely - and neither is certain.

“He’s got to tell us when he’s ready,” manager Lou Piniella said. “We don’t want him hurrying, we don’t want to get him in there and lose him again.”

Notes

Former Mariners hitting coach Gene Clines, now the Giants’ batting instructor, on the wind at 3 Com Park: “I’ve seen Gold Glove outfielders embarrassed out here. The wind swirls, and balls do funny things. We play here 81 times a year and we get fooled - it’ll be interesting to see what happens to A.L. teams that have never been here.”

Few Mariners had memories of playing in what used to be Candlestick Park but one of those who did was Norm Charlton, who had two of his finest games here. “I struck out 10 guys in a game here one day in 4-1/2 innings,” Charlton said. “And I threw a complete-game shutout here, too.” True enough, Charlton’s best games were both pitched here while with the Reds in 1989 and 1990.

Three pitchers on the Seattle roster - Bob Wells, Bob Wolcott and Derek Lowe - have never had a major league at-bat. The other seven have a combined 687 big-league at-bats, and have managed 41 hits, 28 of those singles. The best-hitting M’s pitcher? Scott Sanders has a .180 career average.