M’s keep a close eye on Batista
PEORIA, Ariz. – Miguel Batista was able to walk to his car without pain, and that’s progress for the Seattle Mariners right-handed starter.
A day after his second win of the spring, the 37-year-old Batista sat at his locker in the Seattle clubhouse discussing his back, which has given him problems for weeks.
“It feels better today than last time and that is good news,” Batista said Friday. “Last night was fine. I could walk to my car and get home. (Before) it had taken me forever just to get to my car and get in.”
That’s encouraging news for the Mariners, who have been keeping a close eye on their fifth starter. Batista pitched six innings against San Diego on Thursday, his longest outing of the spring, despite feeling tightness in his lower back early in the game.
Afterward, Batista spent nearly 30 minutes with a thick pack of ice on his back in an attempt to keep it from locking up on him.
Seattle manager John McLaren is optimistic Batista will be fine by the time the season begins.
“Being a veteran pitcher you gotta improvise sometimes,” McLaren said. “(Trainer Rick Griffin’s) got a game plan for Miggy. We’re on top of it. What I saw last night was impressive.”
Bench concerns
While the Mariners have their starting lineup set with the exception of the batting order, what the team will do with its bench is up for debate.
Utility man Mike Morse, who leads Seattle with a .523 average, appeared to have the upper hand for one of the spots but made a pair of costly errors in Thursday’s 6-6 tie with San Diego. He misplayed a single for a two-base error and later overran a fly ball, again allowing the runner to reach third.
Infielder Willie Bloomquist and outfielders Charlton Jimerson, Wladimir Balentien and Jeremy Reed are also in consideration along with Morse, a converted infielder who has started nine games in the outfield this spring.
Bloomquist has been sidelined with tightness in his right quadriceps muscle and is slowly working his way back onto the field. Balentien has three homers this spring, Reed is batting .350 and Jimerson leads Seattle with four stolen bases.
Short hops
LHP Ryan Feierabend will make a rare start today against Texas. Normally it would be Felix Hernandez’s turn in the rotation, but the Mariners want to take an extended look at Feierabend while Hernandez pitches in a minor league game. … Gold Glove third baseman Adrian Beltre committed his second error of the spring on a sharp grounder by Kansas City’s Alberto Callaspo.
What’s wrong with ace?
The Mariners paid a hefty price to get Erik Bedard. So far this spring, they’ve got little to show for their investment.
Bedard was knocked around for the third straight start, giving up seven runs and nine hits in five innings during Seattle’s 8-3 loss to Kansas City on Friday.
Obtained in a trade with Baltimore for top prospect Adam Jones, left-handed reliever George Sherrill and three minor leaguers, Bedard was chosen Seattle’s opening-day pitcher on the first day of spring training. He later signed a $7 million, one-year deal with the team and avoided arbitration.
The results on the field, however, have been lacking.
“I felt good,” Bedard said. “I just gave up a lot of runs.”
He gave up a two-run home run to Kansas City’s Alex Gordon in the first inning, allowed a solo run in the second, then was tagged for another two-run homer in the third by former Mariner Jose Guillen.
Bedard, who gave up 19 homers in 182 innings for Baltimore in 2007, has given up seven home runs in his last three exhibition starts. He’s also allowed 19 earned runs, the most among Seattle’s starters this spring.