Even M’s need program to know just who’s who

CHICAGO – The Mariners’ merry-go-round roster made another turn Friday, with four more moves that left Seattle newcomer Yorvit Torrealba working again just to learn the names of his teammates.

Jeff Nelson came off bereavement leave after the death of his father-in-law, Chris Snelling was brought from Triple-A Tacoma and stuck into the lineup as the left fielder, and pitcher Masao Kida and outfielder Jamal Strong were returned to the Rainiers.

Torrealba, a Mariner since joining the team on Monday, has already seen comings and goings this week – from Jorge Campillo to Clint Nageotte to Felix Hernandez – while trying to get to know the Seattle pitching staff.

“Every day there’s someone new,” Torrealba said.

Nelson arrived carrying a virus of some kind, picked up while tending to his daughters while their mother flew to England to take care of funeral arrangements for her father.

“I’ve got a sore throat, a cough, but I’m ready to pitch,” Nelson said.

Rookie Snelling, whose battles with injuries have cost him the last 21/2 seasons, said he’s just happy to be playing the game again.

“I appreciate the game more now,” he said. “When I was in Tacoma, I honestly wasn’t thinking about Seattle – I was thinking about beating whoever the Rainiers were playing.

“I look at baseball differently now. I didn’t play for so long, and there were times I didn’t think I’d ever play again. This year, my only goal was to stay healthy all season and play a full year.”

With Tacoma, Snelling hit .370 with eight homers and 46 runs batted in during 65 games.

“I’d like to see him do that up here,” manager Mike Hargrove joked. “We like him as a hitter, and he’s going to get the chance to play now.

Ah, rookies

Jeff Harris, the 31-year-old right-hander who likely will make his first major league start Sunday, isn’t taking anything for granted about his first visit to the bigs.

When a journalist telephoned to set up an interview with Harris on Tuesday, Harris wasn’t coy.

“I’m not sure I’ll still be here Tuesday,” Harris said.

Short hops

Since July 2, Willie Bloomquist has collected 82 of his 153 at-bats this season, and in those 82 at-bats he has hit .329 – pulling his average from .197 to .268. … According to research done by the Mariners, Felix Hernandez was the youngest starting pitcher to make his debut since 1978, when Britt Burns started for the Chicago White Sox. However, the Associated Press said he was the youngest since Jose Rijo debuted on April 5, 1984, for the New York Yankees, about five weeks short of his 19th birthday.