Seattle Gets Lefty For Simple Role
Mariners spring training
Tony Fossas is the definition of a short reliever.
Last season, with St. Louis, Fossas led Cardinals’ pitchers with 71 appearances, yet threw just 51-2/3 innings.
His task this year for the Seattle Mariners is simple: get out left-handed batters. The 40-year-old left-hander has made a career of that.
“Our bullpen is much deeper this year because we have a left-hander to get left-handers out,” manager Lou Pinella said before Monday’s spring training workout, the second for Seattle’s pitchers and catchers.
When the opposing team sends its top left-handed batter to the plate in late-inning situations, Fossas will get the call. The past five seasons, Fossas has limited lefties to a .204 batting average. Seattle’s Ken Griffey Jr. is 3 for 23 against him with seven whiffs.
“Fossas is very deceptive and he hides the ball very well,” Pinella said. “He’s a sidewinder and his breaking pitch has got fairly good bite.”
“When I came up, they told me that’s what I needed to do to stay at this level, get left-handers out,” Fossas said of his days in the Texas Rangers organization, for whom he made his major-league debut in 1989 after a decade in the minors. “Once I accepted that, I had no fear.”
Fossas is also at his best in tough situations. He allowed only 6 of 60 inherited runners to score last season, the best percentage in the majors.
“If somebody brings me in with the bases loaded and nobody out, you can’t expect miracles,” Fossas said. “But if the bases are loaded with two outs, I can get out of that.”
Camp notes
On day two of workouts for pitchers and catchers, Griffey Jr., Jay Buhner and David Segui were among the regulars who showed up, dressed and took batting practice on their own against pitching machines.
Piniella on Randy Johnson’s immediate future: “My opinion, and it’s only an opinion, is that Randy Johnson will be our opening night pitcher.”
Right-hander Felipe Lira joined the team after missing Sunday’s workout. His flight from Venezuela to Miami on Saturday was so late he missed his connection to Phoenix and couldn’t arrive until late Sunday.
Talking about pitching roles, Piniella said he might use Bill Swift in the bullpen this season the same way he used another oft-injured Mariners right-hander, Scott Bankhead, one year in Cincinnati.
“With Bill, like with Bankhead, you only get them up in the bullpen when you have to use them - you can’t get ‘em up, sit ‘em down and go to ‘em again the next day,” Piniella said. “You do that once, twice a week for an inning or two, maybe get them once through the lineup, and they’re very effective in middle relief. The year I had Bankhead in that role he went like 9-1 for me.”