Questionable relief
PEORIA, Ariz. – The Seattle Mariners’ relief pitchers are running out of time to get their act together, and manager Mike Hargrove plans to do something about it.
“I’m still waiting to see our relief pitchers throw strikes,” Hargrove said Friday after watching another uninspiring performance. “I’m going to meet with them and tell them that the best way to make the club is to throw strike one. We’ll see if we can get them straightened out.”
Perhaps because the pressure to win jobs is causing them to be tentative, the relief pitchers have nibbled with the strike zone and fallen behind in the ball-strike count. As a result, they’ve been forced to throw more fastballs over the plate later in the count, and they’ve given up hits.
There are nine pitchers – Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Julio Mateo, Nate Bland, Jeff Nelson, J.J. Putz, Dan Reichert, George Sherrill, Matt Thornton and Ron Villone – competing for six setup and long relief jobs. The numbers from their most recent outings are staggering.
In their last 12 1/3 innings, they have combined to allow 19 hits and nine walks.
“Our starters are having so much success because they’re throwing strike one and their pitch counts are good, but our relievers are coming in and throwing 25, 35 pitches to get through an inning,” pitching coach Bryan Price said. “There isn’t any excuse. At this point in time, they need to be throwing the ball over the plate.”
In Friday’s game, Brian Anderson pitched one-hit ball over four innings and Terrence Long and Joe McEwing each drove in two runs, leading Kansas City to a 5-2 victory in Peoria.
Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki tripled in the sixth to extend his hitting streak to 15 games, tying a franchise spring training record set by Ken Griffey Jr. in 1989.
Moyer gets in some work
Jamie Moyer pitched six innings for the Mariners’ Class AA San Antonio team and the result wasn’t spectacular, or unexpected.
Against minor leaguers from the Royals organization who were swinging aggressively, Moyer allowed 10 hits and five runs, but also struck out nine. He threw 94 pitches and felt good afterward, which was the main objective.
“I wasn’t sharp,” he said. “They were guys who haven’t seen me and I haven’t seen them. I may have had the advantage there. I played a little bit off their aggression. I don’t care who you face, it’s a challenge.”
Moyer is scheduled for one more exhibition start, Wednesday against the Royals.
Hail Cesar!
Price was sitting in the coaches’ room late Friday afternoon when Pat Rice, the Mariners’ minor league pitching coordinator, walked in and asked what he wanted to do next with young pitcher Cesar Jimenez.
“He makes the team,” Price said, feigning seriousness.
On a day the relief pitchers continued to frustrate the Mariners, the 20-year-old Jimenez blew away the Royals with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.