Madritsch requires surgery

Starting pitcher Bobby Madritsch spent most of the season rehabbing a strained capsule in his left shoulder, knowing a small tear in his labrum could become a problem.

It has.

The labrum is the cause of pain in the shoulder during recent throwing sessions, and a magnetic resonance imaging exam Thursday showed he needs arthroscopic surgery. Madritsch says he’ll have the operation within two weeks in an attempt to be at full strength by spring training.

Madritsch, who started just one game before he went on the disabled list in April, said it’s difficult to measure his frustration.

“The whole year, man. That’s probably the most frustrating thing,” he said. “I’ve worked the whole year for the one injury to heal up, but the labrum ended up getting a little worse.

“The hardest thing to deal with was the time I’ve been away from the team. Now, with surgery, it’s another blow.”

The typical recovery time from labrum surgery is four to six months, and Madritsch believes he’ll be at full strength when spring training begins in mid-February.

“My motivation is to be back with my team next year,” he said.

Thanks, Dan

One day after catcher Dan Wilson played his last game and thanked his Mariners teammates, the players, coaches and manager Mike Hargrove thanked him back.

The Mariners convened for a team meeting following batting practice on Saturday and presented Wilson with a bronze sculpture of home plate that contained his career statistics, mounted on a metal beam from Safeco Field.

They also gave Wilson and his wife, Annie, his-and-hers watches and four huge, framed photo collages with dozens of pictures from his 12 years with the Mariners.

Notes

First baseman Richie Sexson, named the Mariners’ MVP on Friday by writers covering the team, is a finalist for A.L. comeback player of the year in Players Choice voting. … Friday’s victory left the Mariners with a 13-15 record in September, giving them more victories than any other month of the season. They went 12-12 in April. … When Eddie Guardado recorded his 36th save Friday, he became the second Mariner to have more than 35 saves in a season. Kazuhiro Sasaki recorded 35 three times. Four Mariners – Guardado, Sasaki, Mike Schooler and Jose Mesa – have saved at least 30 games.