Is Bucky the next M’s DH?

Before Edgar Martinez makes his final retirement speech, could the Seattle Mariners already have found his replacement at designated hitter?

Bucky Jacobsen hasn’t shown yet that he can’t handle the job.

Jacobsen, a career minor leaguer who hadn’t batted .300 in his seven previous seasons, is still hitting over .300, still showing he can hit a curveball, still proving wrong a lot of people who didn’t believe he could hit at this level.

Still, it’s early.

So far, Jacobsen has handled all the breaking balls that opposing pitchers tested him with early. His challenge now is to adjust as teams alter their pitching patterns against him. Often, it’s not the first adjustment that is the true test of a hitter, but the second, third … you get the idea.

Baseball is a game of never-ending adjustments, and that’s one reason the Mariners brought up their top minor league prospects in July rather than wait until September.

Anyone can have one month of splendor — or a month of struggle — and the Mariners knew they couldn’t make any valid evaluations in such a short time.

The evaluation of Bucky Jacobsen has reached its midpoint and he has been a short-term success so far.

But is he the Mariners’ next DH? It’s too early to know.

Jacobsen may not win that job in the final 41 games this season — DH is one of many holes the Mariners must fill in the off-season, and you can bet they’ll look for a big hitter — but he certainly can play himself out of it.

First pitch key to success

Gil Meche has made an amazing transformation, from a pitcher who nibbled at the corners of the strike zone and failed to a guy who simply throws his fastball over the plate for strike one and has thrived.

It will be interesting to see how Meche reacts, however, when hitters start jumping at his first-pitch fastball.

Doubleheader on tap

Mariners fans who yearn for the days of doubleheaders, or those who simply want to see Ichiro Suzuki get every opportunity to set baseball’s single-season hits record, must give a little credit to Commissioner Bud Selig.

Selig has taken a hard stance that teams will make every effort to play a full 162-game schedule. Thus, the Mariners and Royals will play a doubleheader Saturday at Safeco Field to make up for last week’s rainout in Kansas City.

Minor league report

Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers: Despite a roster that has been raided by the Mariners, the Rainiers entered the weekend 70-53 and a half-game ahead of Portland in the Pacific Coast League North.

Left-hander Travis Blackley, battered in his short time with the Mariners, struggled early after he went back to Tacoma, but is pitching well again and is 8-4.

His 3.47 earned run average is third-lowest in the PCL.

Randy Williams, one of four young left-handers who got a serious look from the Mariners at spring training (along with Blackley, Bobby Madritsch and George Sherrill) is 6-2 with a 3.13 ERA and eight saves.

Outfielder Jamal Strong led the Rainiers with a .324 average and had 19 stolen bases.

Double-A San Antonio Missions: Outfielder Shin-soo Choo stands among the Texas League leaders in several offensive categories. He is fourth with a .310 average, fourth with 30 steals, third with 140 hits and tied for second with seven triples.

The Missions, just behind first-place Round Rock in the West Division standings, are last in the league with a .264 team batting average.