Jose Cruz Dotes On His Jr.

A few hours before the 16th game of his major league career, Jose Cruz Jr. ducked his head and smiled shyly.

“It’s not that big a deal,” he said.

No one believed him - especially his father, Jose Cruz - who got to watch his son play in the big leagues for the first time Thursday.

“I’m going to be pretty nervous his first at-bat,” Cruz Sr. said. “Then I just hope to enjoy the game. We talk an awful lot. He calls me all the time, asking me about this or that, but I haven’t been able to see him except on TV.”

Cruz the father is a coach with Houston and a veteran who played 19 seasons in the big leagues. With the Mariners opening a four-game series in Arlington and the Astros having the day off Thursday, he asked his son if he’d mind if the old man flew in for the game.

“He said he wanted to come,” Cruz Jr. said, trying to shrug.

In the clubhouse, Cruz the son tried to act nonchalant about the visit, saying he and his father talked “once in awhile.” In the dugout before batting practice, dad put an end to that version.

“We talk a lot, he calls quite a bit,” Cruz Sr. said. “He was disappointed when he didn’t make the team in spring training, and he was frustrated in May when he wasn’t playing well in Tacoma. We talked a lot. He asks good questions, he’s a student of the game. He’s a good listener.”

Cruz Jr. blushed.

“Wouldn’t you listen to him about baseball?” he asked. “Everything I’m doing now, everything I’m going through, he’s done.”

Mariners notes

Alex Rodriguez didn’t go on the disabled list and wasn’t cleared to play baseball, which means his status was unchanged despite improvement in the deep chest bruise that has sidelined him the past seven games. Rodriguez took batting practice for the first time since being hurt last week, though the team asked him not to pull the ball - so he lined pitch after pitch into right or center field. He fielded and threw and felt better, but manager Lou Piniella said it would be Saturday “at the earliest” before the Mariners get their shortstop back in the lineup. “We’ll put him through another workout (Friday) and hopefully get him in this weekend,” Piniella said.

Bottom line: Rodriguez isn’t ready, and while he could be by Saturday, he could also wind up on the disabled list retroactive to June 12… . Paul Sorrento’s second-inning home run was the seventh of his career in the Ballpark at Arlington, the most hit by an opposing player… . The Rangers are talking trade with the Colorado Rockies, looking not for pitching but for infield help - trying to swing a deal for shortstop Walt Weiss.

Coming up

Seattle and Texas match up again today at 5:35 p.m. (PST) in Arlington in a game to be televised by Fox Sports Northwest. Probable starting pitchers: Bob Wolcott (2-4, 5.79 earned run average) vs. Bobby Witt (6-3, 3.83).