O’Flaherty takes left turn

MESA, Ariz. – Eric O’Flaherty said he’s pretty good at dialing down his emotions during situations when his adrenaline is trying to dial them up.

The eighth inning of a tense game? Bring it on.

The day the Seattle Mariners traded away George Sherrill and gave O’Flaherty an opportunity to grab the left-handed relief specialty job? Sure, whatever.

O’Flaherty was more thrilled at getting Erik Bedard and the difference he’ll make for the Mariners than anything he’ll gain personally out of it.

“I was excited for us to have a chance to do something special now,” O’Flaherty said. “After that, I just kind of looked at it as, ‘They are going to be depending on me a lot more this year.’ “

That much is probable, but not certain until a month-long derby of left-handers at spring training flushes out Sherrill’s replacement. Because of his success as a rookie last year, however, O’Flaherty is the leader of a pack.

O’Flaherty, 23, pitched in various relief situations but was stellar against left-handed hitters, holding them to a .183 average. Cesar Jimenez also is getting a hard look for that role, with Ryan Rowland-Smith and Ryan Feierabend also in the mix.

Feierabend has a 2.25 earned run average in four innings of work, and the others haven’t allowed an earned run.

They’ve all been solid against lefties– O’Flaherty holding them to 1 for 3 with a strikeout, Jimenez 1 for 5 with a strikeout, Rowland-Smith 0 for 2 with a strikeout and a walk, and Feierabend 0 for 2.

“We’ve got some guys who know that position’s open,” manager John McLaren said. “You can see the intensity starting to pick up between those guys.”

Unlike other roles on the team that McLaren determined early in camp, he said the lefty reliever competition could last all month.

“It’s not something like the starting rotation where we felt we had to address it,” he said. “This is something that’s going to work its way through as we go through spring training.”

O’Flaherty said he pictures himself as the late-inning lefty. He enjoys the pressure and has the unflappable personality needed for the situation.

“I think what makes guys pitching late in the game so good is they can control their emotions and dial it down,” he said. “Everyone feels a ton of emotion, a ton of adrenaline, and the guys that control it and use it in a good way are the ones that do well in those roles.

“I got to do it a few times last year. But in the minor leagues, almost every team I was on I was the closer. I know there’s not as much pressure in the minors as up here, but when you want to win you want to win. You have your whole team depending on you.”

Mixing his pitches

One advantage R.A. Dickey has is that he can throw a good fastball when he doesn’t have his good knuckleball.

“I’ve been fortunate to be able to use my other stuff to survive innings when I don’t have a good knuckleball,” he said.

He had the good knuckler Friday against the Chicago Cubs, but also showed what his fastball can do to a hitter.

He threw four straight fastballs to Amaris Ramirez in the fifth inning, then flung a fastball over the outside corner to strike him out looking bewildered.

“It’s a real weapon,” said Dickey, a Rule 5 draft pick who would pitch in long relief or spot starts. “If I can throw the knuckleball for strikes and I have the moniker of a real knuckleballer, then I can use that other stuff more effectively, even if it’s just psychologically. That’s what happened on that at-bat. He wasn’t looking for that.”

Silva struggles in loss

Carlos Silva couldn’t get a grip.

Silva had trouble holding the baseballs made slick by the dry Arizona weather and gave up six runs in the Mariners’ 6-4 loss to the Cubs.

Derrek Lee doubled home a run in the first inning, and pinch-hitter Daryle Ward hit a two-run homer in Chicago’s four-run fourth inning to chase Silva.

“I was missing my location so many times,” Silva said. “I was all over. I was rushing too much, overthrowing a little.”

Cubs starter Ted Lilly faced the same problem. He walked Ichiro Suzuki, who is hitless in 10 at-bats this spring, to start the game and then allowed a homer to Yuniesky Betancourt on a 3-1 pitch.

“It’s obviously a little slicker here because it’s so dry,” said Lilly, who gave up one hit and two runs over three innings.

“Today, they (umpires) were letting me blow on my hand so you can get a little bit better grip on the ball. That helps a little.”

Silva gave up seven hits in his 3 1/3 innings. He walked two.

Cubs pitchers limited the Mariners to five hits.

Notes

Mike Morse had a single in two at-bats with two walks, raising his average to .529. Jeremy Reed singled in his only at-bat, lifting his average to .571. … Chris Reitsma and Mark Lowe, two relievers coming back from elbow surgeries, will make their exhibition debuts today against the Oakland Athletics. Jon Huber also will make his first outing after coming back from a forearm problem last season.