Friday, April 8, 2011 @ 8:45am
My favorite Dave memory

Happy Opening Day 2. To be honest it is never very exciting opening in Oakland. There just is not a lot of fanfare or celebration there. They did sell it out and I get a kick out of seeing the fans there but other than the extended introductions it felt like most any other game.

Things will be quite different tonight here in Seattle. The Mariners organization knows how to put on a show and they have been working hard on this one. We actually saw some of it when we returned from Texas Wednesday night. Just a tiny sliver that we could see as the team busses pulled up to the building. After that it was into the clubhouse the guys went and one of my favorite sights in baseball.

I love watching as the guys, particularly the new guys walk into the clubhouse for the first time after spring training. They look for their lockers which already have their uniforms hanging in them. They had about a half an hour to hang out until the truck with their luggage arrived and they did just that. Many of the guys went through the process of taking shoes out of boxes, opening bags of new batting gloves, placing items from their spring training boxes in the lockers that will house their things for the next six months. It is a beginning.

As is Opening Day. Today for me will be mostly about Dave Niehaus. He will be remembered in the ceremonies today as well as throughout the year as his "Dave" patch is prominent on the right centerfield wall. A lot of folks have asked me and others on the broadcast team how we are doing and how Dave has been missed. I will tell you and then I will share one of my favorite Dave stories.

As expected it was tough when the broadcasters arrived in Peoria because Dave was not there and that time of year was one of his favorites. I missed seeing him in the early morning in the clubhouse telling stories of what he had done in the off season. I missed seeing him sitting at the picnic table outside the clubhouse enjoying the morning sun with his cup of coffee and newspaper.

I missed seeing him in the booth in Peoria on an off day. There was no such thing for him. No broadcast that day? No matter. He would be there.

It hit me hardest when we boarded the plane to leave Arizona and he was not in his seat. Last row first class window seat. A coach was there instead.

We will have these moments throughout the year. Every now and then out of the corner of my eye I think see him. I forget and when I realize it isn't him there is sadness. Despite this we try to celebrate him and we will do that tonight and I will do so now with this story which I have told on the air but never written.

We all know by now of Dave's love of white shoes. Fans are encouraged in fact to wear them tonight and Felix Hernandez tells me he will wear them (he has several pairs unfortunately with belts to match) to the park as well. I actually found myself shoe shopping once on the road with Dave which to this day remains one of my favorite memories of him.

We were in Kansas City two years ago. KC is a favorite stop for the broadcasters. The food is good, the ballpark is pleasant and they buy shoes there. I learned this on my first trip my first year on the job. "Are you going to Bob Jones? Are you going to Bob Jones? Are you going to get shoes?" I kept hearing.

Bob Jones Shoes has been in Kansas City for years. It is pretty unspectacular, a worn, dusty and dated building inside and out but it is home to thousands of pairs of designer shoes all at good prices. This is where the guys would stock up on their footwear. I would always get a good chuckle when I walked into the booth after they had made a trip to Bob Jones and hear the guys discussing their newest acquisitions. "Boys talking shoes," I would tease. "Now who would believe this."

Two years ago on our trip to KC the broadcast group decided to go to Stroud's for fried chicken for lunch one day. It was a great lunch. Six of us sitting around a red and white checkered table clothed table eating the world's best fried chicken and fixins family style. With Dave at the table telling stories it felt like family. When lunch was finished Dave turned to Kevin Cremin who was sitting next to him. "You want to go get shoes?" he asked. Cremin declined. Dave proceeded to go around the table and ask everyone. "Shoes? I am going to Bob Jones." As others had other things do I got the sneaky suspicion I was going shoe shopping.

"Shannon? You you want to go get some shoes?" he asked.

"Sure Dave." I answered. I knew it wouldn't be as fun for him alone. I was going shoe shopping with Dave.

We headed out. He drove which I have to admit was sometimes a scary experience. The store was in downtown, far from the hotel and the ballpark but he knew Kansas City like the back of his hand. He had been there so many times. We chatted in the car. I think we talked about the Hall of Fame trip. He offered me a mint. He was in grandpa mode which I saw sometimes and treasured.

We got to the store and he pointed out the lay of the land to me. "Women's shoes that way, I will be in the back. Meet you in twenty minutes at the front."

I browesd through the shoes and found a pair. In twenty minutes I made my way to the front to make my purchase. As I was finishing up Dave and a sales clerk carrying boxes came up behind me. "One pair!" Dave said disappointedly. "You only found one pair!"

It wasn't restraint mind you. Size restrictions. There just aren't a lot of 5 1/2 sized shoes in the bulk stores. I knew I wouldn't be buying a lot of shoes that day. That is not why I went.

Dave on the other hand had eight boxes. He showed each to me marveling over the leather of one pair. Three of the pairs were, you guessed it, white.

After he checked out he asked me if I had looked at the handbags in the back? Handbags, I missed those. Could I have a few more minutes? Dave said to go ahead and take a look and he would bring the car around the front to get me.

Size is not a problem with handbags and I found a few. When Dave pulled around the front and saw me walking out the door with two giant bags he laughed and rolled his eyes, "It looks like I was too late!" he joked. "I'm not taking that from someone who just bought eight pairs of shoes," I replied.

We headed back to the hotel, talking the whole way. I don't remember what we talked about but I know it was comfortable. Just an easy chat as we drove through Kansas City.

As I walked back into the hotel I smiled. I was with Dave when he bought some of those darned white shoes. I knew then and there that would be one of my best memories of anything I did in this game.

White shoes. If you got em, wear em tonight for Dave.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011 @ 12:04pm
Pineda's debut an opportunity to announce his presence

When Michael Pineda takes the hill tonight he will become the first Mariners starter to make his debut as a starter and not out of the pen since Felix Hernandez made his first big league start August 4 2005 in Detroit. That night Felix went five innings giving up one earned run on three hits and two walks while striking out four.

I remember that outing, I was there. There was a buzz around Felix and with some pitches that night he dazzled. He was a different Felix back then, we were watching the radar gun for the 96s 97s and 98s. It was a good, not great outing. What a difference five years can make.

The progression with Pineda this spring has been steady. The velocity on the fastball was there the entire time with scouts reporting seeing 97 in his first outing in the stadium. The command was a little spotty throughout but the break on the slider got nastier and the changeup improved as the spring went on. The confidence never wavered.

In Michael Pineda's mind he is ready. I agree with him. Despite the test he will face in baseball's hottest hitting team in the hitter friendly Ballpark at Arlington is daunting he has stuff however to go after these guys and he could be nastier.

Not his stuff mind you. He could be nastier. He already is intimidating at 6'7 260 and looking even larger on the mound. The opposition only knows him on what they have heard. Get nastier. I would love to see Pineda make these Rangers hitters who are so locked in right now uncomfortable. I don't want to see any nibbling around the plate. Own plate and go after them. Push them off if they are hanging over. Get their feet moving, make them dance. The word will get around quickly. To steal a line from Bull Durham, announce your presence with authority.

Moving on. I suspect we could see Adam Kennedy in the lineup tonight. Eric Wedge has only been able to get him in as a pinch hitter and would like to use him more. With Brendan Ryan struggling at the plate I wouldn't be surprised if I saw him at second tonight and Jack Wilson back at short...Aardsma update-David is scheduled to throw bullpen number 4 tomorrow. He told me he is now approaching bullpens as regular bullpens and not re-adjusting to the hill, getting the arm ready or loosening up the hip. He is beyond that. He also told me that he has no doubt he will be sent out on a rehab assignment and is happy to do so before he returns to the Mariners. I would look for at least another week of bullpens and a sim game or two before he is sent out...

Monday, April 4, 2011 @ 2:20pm
Mariners vs Texas: First look at Bedard plus a wind update

Greetings from sunny but windy Arlington, where the Mariners will take on the Rangers later tonight. A little more on the conditions below, but first the lineup:

Ichiro 9

Figgins 5

Bradley 7

Cust DH

Smoak 3

Olivo 2

Langerhans 8

Ryan 6

Wilson 5

It would appear we have a regular lineup.

Starting of course will be Erik Bedard, completing his comeback from his latest surgery. Bedard looked like all of the healthy pitchers this spring with the only difference being he pitched one inning less than the others the first three outings.

I think we could see a bit of a different Bedard tonight as from what I saw this spring it appeared that he was throwing his cutter a lot more than in the past. He didn't want to acknowledge this but a few others noticed it too. All of his pitches looked sharp this spring but the cutter especially could be of help to him in that it sets up his curve nicely. We will see what happens tonight.

Finally a little bit of a weather update. It is very windy out there right now and I am told that the many of the eleven homeruns hit by the Rangers over the weekend were wind assisted. This could change tonight. Although it is windy one of the Rangers broadcasters told me that the last three days they had a south wind which aids balls from left center over to right while today there is a north wind. The north wind isn't going to carry as many balls out but if a hitter is able to get a ball up, way up, it will be aided particularly again to right. This could all change by game time but this is what I am told we have now.

Sunday, April 3, 2011 @ 3:34pm
Sunday morning, Ryan a ball of energy and Aardsma sharp in pen

Another beautiful day in Oakland. Texas no doubt will be warm, Seattle might be a bit of a shock I am thinking? We shall see.

Today at the ballpark the Athletics are celebrating Japanese Heritage Day with the club donating $1 from every ticket sold to the relief efforts in Japan. There were also pregame ceremonies and special messages including one from Hideki Matsui that were played on the stadium scoreboard. The crowd which included many Japanese fans holding signs asking for prayers and encouragement as well as thanks was silent as a video message from Japan was played.

Those on hand were in for a treat when the game began as in the second inning Matsui collected his 2,500th career hit, a double then promptly was thrown out at third on a laser throw from Ichiro.

Before the game it was a somewhat quiet Sunday morning for the Mariners. Check that. I'm not sure there will be such thing as a quiet anything for the Mariners with Brendan Ryan around. I said it earlier this week if you listen closely you will probably hear him in the background of the majority of interviews this year. He is loud. He has a big personality, he is hard to miss but easy to lose.

Yesterday I tried to corral him for an interview I wanted to do with him and Jack Wilson. Wilson said no problem as far as he was concerned but good luck pinning down Ryan. Ryan said he would be happy to do it but minutes before he was to be on the field with Wilson he was busy trying to get last minute tickets. "I'll be down in four seconds!" He promised.

Jack Wilson and Brendan Ryan on working it out in the middle infield

I headed to the field and when Wilson saw me alone he laughed. "You gotta hold onto him," he said shaking his head. I had faith he would be right behind me but as Mariner after Mariner came out of the tunnel there was no Brendan Ryan.

A couple of minutes later he emerged out of the tunnel and walked towards us. This was going to work. I had exactly eight minutes to get it done before stretch. I started the interview and he said, "Hold on one minute," as he ran to the cage to say hello to Connor Jackson. Wilson started laughing again. "I told you!" he said.

Finally he came back and we were able to get the interview in. It was good but shorter than I wanted because it was time to stretch. Ryan wasn't done for the day in the entertainment department however. A few minutes later as the team was going through their stretching routine he was kicking a baseball hacky sack or soccer style. It was pretty impressive right until he kicked it into his face. He looked around to see if anyone noticed.

I commented to a colleague that they might want to put a helmet on him. The colleague and said he needed a helmet and a leash. He's a puppy. Boundless energy and enthusiasm. He got on the team bus seconds before it was scheduled to leave this morning eyes already flashing clutching a giant frozen coffee drink with whipped cream. Sugar and caffeine. Like he needs it. He told me he needs a ton of calories a day. Doesn't surprise me because it seems like he never stops. I think you will enjoy him.

On to the news and notes...

I watched David Aardsma throw his third bullpen of the spring. He is not on a regular throwing program as of yet rather they are monitoring him pen to pen but today's session looked great. He threw 30 pitches and after called the session "lights out," telling me that he really let it go in the final 10 pitches. I had been told previously that he would probably throw 3 or 4 similar pens before being put on a program aimed at getting him ready for game action but I have to wonder if he is closer than that. He looked strong and he was hitting his spots today and if all feels good tomorrow I would imagine they will be able to start looking at a return date...

Texas has flip flopped their rotation for the series with the Mariners. The M's will face right-hander Alexi Ogando tomorrow and lefty Derek Holland Tuesday. Texas swept the Red Sox in their opening series and in so doing set a club record with 20 extra base hits in their first three games. Wasn't exactly expecting a soft landing for Bedard and Pineda but wow.

Last night the skipper told me that Adam Kennedy would have been the emergency catcher last night if needed. Today he revealed that Brendan Ryan getting picked off first in the same game was his fault. He put the sign on to go with two outs and two strikes on Saunders. All's well that ends well. Kennedy didn't have to catch and the M's won the game.

That's about it for now. About 45 minutes after the game we leave for Texas.

Saturday, April 2, 2011 @ 11:34pm
Ichiro passes Edgar and the M's win in interesting fashion again

Another interesting game for the Mariners who beat the A's 5-2. The pitching stood out as the good with Jason Vargas picking up where he left off last year throwing 6 2/3 innings of one run ball. We had our first appearance of the bullpen with the skipper electing to go with the veterans with the game on the line. Chris Ray picked up the win despite giving up a run in the one inning he pitched, but Jamey Wright got the out he was asked to and Brandon League was able to pick up a save with just 13 pitches. Not a bad start for the pen. We will see what happens when the rookies get into a game.

Ichiro passed Edgar Martinez as the all time Mariners hits leader with an infield single to first that scored the go ahead run. It was Ichiro's 2,247th hit of his Mariners and Major League Baseball career. When asked what it meant to him to pass his former teammate Ichiro replied,

"Today I broke his record, when you look at the numbers that is a fact. He is a hero back in Seattle. He is my hero as well. When you look at his existence he is a lot bigger than I am being a great human being as well."

Ichiro has passed others in baseball and has always shown great reverence for those players. With Edgar the feelings run deeper because he knows him.

"I have played with Edgar for three years as well. That is precious, that is a treasure to me. That is what I honor as well."

On the record breaking hit Jack Wilson slid into home and was slow to get up and looked like he was limping slightly on his way back to the dugout. Turns out his legs were fine, he just knocked the wind out of himself on the slide. Good new for someone who has a history of leg injuries.

Speaking of which, Eric Wedge rolled the dice a little sending Miguel Olivo in to pinch hit for Adam Moore in the eighth inning. Had Olivo who was kept out of the game partly because he is coming off of a groin injury and Wedge wants to make sure he gets extra rest because of this injured himself running the bases who would have caught the ninth?

Turns out Adam Kennedy was told before the game he would be the emergency catcher if need be. I asked him about this after the game.

"Skipper asked and I said sure," he answered. "I have never done it before but I told him I would be ready if need be. Why not, right?"

Luckily it didn't come to that although Olivo said after the game he is not favoring the leg. He has one speed and it is all out.

"When you run like that, when you make plays like that the team gets excited, like we are going to play baseball now." Olivo said. We play hard. That is what you have seen the last two games. Myself, I come in with the groin injury but I am just running. If something is going to happen it will happen. That is just the way we play."

Olivo will be catching tomorrow. I am wondering what we will see in the outfield. Eric Wedge has talked about taking opportunities to rest Milton Bradley's legs and tomorrow may be a good day. I mentioned on the pre game show that Milton had been "communicating" with the fans in the left field stands Opening Day. It looked like he was being heckled and he was reacting. I didn't see anything too extreme but he definitely was answering back in some fashion. I am going to guess that the skipper would prefer that he no be distracted by such things during the game.

I saw Wedge talking to Milton pre game and wondered if that was what the conversation was about. Tonight I didn't see the interaction with the crowd but I did twice see Milton call over security guards and talk to them perhaps about what he was hearing. It will be interesting to see if he is in there tomorrow.

Saturday, April 2, 2011 @ 10:47am
From Opening Night to game 2

Last night was fun. Or funny. I still can't decide which one. It isn't every day let alone Opening Day that you see a team commit five errors, but hey, that's baseball as they say. You have got to take what you get and the Mariners had no problem doing that. They knew what to do with the gifts they were given.

What's great is that this game won't be remembered for the five errors. It will be remembered for Felix's performance. He didn't have his best stuff, his strikeout ten and leave them with their heads shaking stuff. But he had the next best thing, which just about any pitcher in baseball would kill for and that was put the ball in play, specifically on the ground, head for first and then return to the dugout. He had the stuff that could keep him on the mound for nine innings and in so doing, became the first pitcher in Mariners history to throw a nine inning complete game on Opening Day. Nice going Felix.

Of course there was the possibility he may have needed to stay out there an extra hitter. Kind of like in his final game he pitched in Arizona, the minor league game on the back field when he struck out the last hitter then turned to the dugout and flashed two fingers signaling that he wanted two more hitters even though his day was done. I didn't see him turn to the dugout and flash one after (I asked and he assured he didn't with a laugh) DeJesus struck out to end the ballgame and Olivo fired the ball down to third. "Ask him why," Felix said laughing. "I told him hey man, I don't need 28 outs!"

Luckily Figgins was alert and caught the ball. In his post game interview, he too was laughing and said he was ready because with Olivo you have to be ready for anything. Just part of the fun. Or funny. For an Opening Night win it works.

Now it is back to the real baseball world. The Mariners have won five straight Opening Days, the A's have lost seven straight. In a 162 game season the first game is indicative of absolutely nothing statistically. But it does help complete the picture a little. You don't really know exactly what you have accomplished in spring training until you get them under the lights in a game that counts and there was good beyond Felix.

Something that wasn't talked about this spring as it has been in the recent past was working the pitcher or trying to get the starter's pitch count up early. What was talked about instead was having good at bats and the skipper was happy with what he saw despite the fact that the team struck out nine times in the first five innings. They also bounced a pitcher who was on the edge of the Cy Young talks last year very early.

We also saw aggressive baserunning. Smart baserunning for the most part. I wasn't sure about Jeff Datz waving in Brendan Ryan with the tying run in the sixth, but Ryan can fly and apparently slide as he had a beautiful one just avoiding the Suzuki tag at the plate. Miguel Olivo still can run. He ran out what looked like a sure groundout in the seventh then made it first to third shortly after on the throwing error by Zeigler. He scored shortly thereafter with a good slide to the opposite side of where Suzuki received the ball. Good running, smart running. This is what Wedge expects.

What also jumped out at me was Jack Wilson at second. At times, he looked like a shortstop playing second, but in the seventh on the throw he made with DeJesus barreling into him he hung in there like a guy who had played the position for a very long time. The beautiful thing about this was what I saw before the game. I Twitpic'd it yesterday. If you don't follow me on Twitter @shannondrayer, you really should. Moving on.

First off, Wilson is by no means comfortable at second base. He might as well be playing left handed right now. I talked to him about this the day before and he has made very little progress in the comfortability department.

When I was in the dugout doing the pre-game show, the Mariners were starting to wrap up batting practice with the hitting group just starting to hit. Wilson and Ryan came off the field as they were done hitting and they were talking. Wilson said that he was going to need more work with the double plays. He was asking that they do more before tomorrow's game, incorporate more work into their daily work during batting practice. Ryan got a cup of Gatorade in the dugout, turned to him and said, "Let's go back out there now dude." Off they went for more work right then and there.

Ryan laughed when I relayed this to him in the clubhouse after the game. He had more work he wanted to do to. "I wanted to spin some and he was right there with me. We are going to go on and off the field together. It's a matter of reps, it's a partnership and hopefully it is going to be fun to watch."

It has been so far.

Tonight we will not see five errors. Tonight there won't be Opening Night butterflies. Tonight is just game 2. We will see Jason Vargas who had a strong spring and looks to build on last year's performance. We most likely will see the bullpen. Chris Ray was up in the eighth last night but other than that it looked like the bullpen last night for the most part was enjoying a baseball game and dodging errant throws from Oakland pitchers.

Friday, April 1, 2011 @ 9:38am
Recap: Mariners chat with Shannon Drayer

Friday, April 1, 2011 @ 1:26am
What will we see from the 2011 Mariners?

I am not big on predictions. I can't tell you how many games this team will win or lose. I can't guarantee that something glorious won't happen despite what we see before us right now both with what the Mariners will take forward into the season and what the competition will be. I also can't guarantee that they can't possibly finish worse this year than they did last year. Too much can happen in 162 games.

I can tell you what I see right now after watching this team for the last month and a half however. The good? Eric Wedge says that they are building a foundation not just with the big league team but within the entire organization. I see that. The highlight of this spring for me was seeing more young prospects, hitting prospects to be specific, than I have seen in this organization at one time in the 10 years I have covered spring training. I think they are closer than most people realize, too.

For now, they go forward with a team that like last year will be offensively challenged. While I believe that they have upgraded offensively at a few positions they still are going to struggle to score runs. At times this will be incredibly frustrating. I think they could challenge the franchise strikeout record of 1,184 set last season. Jack Cust, Miguel Olivo and Franklin Gutierrez all are high strikeout guys. Add to this the young players that we will see throughout the year and the numbers could get ugly. Despite this I think that they still will be able to score more runs than last year's team.

Like it or not, a Milton Bradley, Cust, Justin Smoak middle of the order is better than what they had at any time last season. Beyond that however, I see the potential for more runs to come from the bottom of the order. When healthy, Jack Wilson and Brendan Ryan have the ability to get on base and cause problems. Both play heads up offense and can find ways to get on base when healthy. Wedge has pointed this out and said that he expects Ichiro and Chone Figgins to be more than table setters after the first inning. It will be up to them to drive in runs as well.

I asked Ichiro about his role after the first inning and possibly being relied on to drive in runs.

"That's what I look forward to," Ichiro said through interpreter Antony Suzuki. "It is interesting because I have more to do now with guys on base and I have to do what I can to help the team. That's what I look forward to and that is part of my thinking right now."

Something to watch here. For all of the talk that Ichiro should be dropped in the order to third, watch carefully how and what he does when these RBI opportunities come up. I found it very interesting that he mentioned that he was thinking about driving in runs as one of his responsibilities now.

Moving on to the pitching. I like the rotation. Felix Hernandez we don't worry about. I am not as worried about Jason Vargas as some are. Although he threw a career-high 191 innings last year that is by no means a ridiculous number. There is no reason to believe that he will not be a 200 innings a year guy.

Doug Fister will be interesting. I don't think we will see a repeat of his first two months last season. He has been inconsistent this spring but usually when he has missed his spots it has not been by much. He has been able to repeat his delivery and release point for innings at a time but it has not quite kicked in to the point where it is automatic yet. He has said the entire spring has been a struggle but that he feels close to finding the consistency he must have to keep the ball down and throw quality strikes. He knows he has very little room for error.

As for the fourth and fifth starters, they have the potential to be the best four-five punch, if you will, in the American League. Key word here is potential. At no time this spring did Erik Bedard look like a pitcher coming off injury. The key of course will be to keep him that way. With his history I will take it game by game. If he is on I will expect a beautiful 100 pitches then a call to the bullpen. This is what Bedard has proven to be in the past and I will take it.

And then the next day Michael Pineda will pitch. I was a little concerned earlier in camp that the slider did not have the nasty break on it which so inspired Dave Niehaus to declare it "The Stank!"

Well "The Stank" returned later in camp. The change-up looked better with one scout telling me it was much better than what he was anticipating. Pineda threw a good percentage of his secondary pitches this spring and he will need to carry that over into the season. I think he realizes that his fastball will not be enough at the big league level and if he does he may avoid at least one painful rookie learning experience. Still, expect some ups and downs with him as his pitches continue to develop. Have patience with this one. For all of the hype, and yes it is warranted, remember that it will take time. It took three and a half years at the big league level for Felix to turn into what we now see.

Last but not least in the worry department is the bullpen. I had hoped this off season that Zduriencik would go after an established bullpen arm. A known quantity that a manager could go to in different situations. They didn't quite do that, although Jamey Wright almost qualifies. For now look for Brandon League to close and perhaps be called in in the eighth inning if needed. Chris Ray and Wright will be given opportunities late and David Pauley could as well. I found it curious that he was never stretched past two innings in a major league game this spring. They liked what they saw from him in smaller doses and he could be called on later in games than he has in the past. Look for Aaron Laffey to get more of the long relief/swing work.

Wedge will look to get soft landings for the rookies Tom Wilhelmsen and Josh Lueke if possible. Wilhelmsen has got great stuff the question will be can he command it? Lueke is a little bit of a concern. He looked good early but was hit a bit harder later in camp. Also, I didn't see the velocity from him that I thought I would. It is something to keep an eye on.

Lastly, this team has leadership. It is something that is impossible to quantify but something that will help pull them through and keep them together when they face the struggles they very well could face. According to Ichiro the leadership is coming from the top.

"We have a new skipper who is pretty clear with what he wants to do and we are all facing the same direction," he said. "He has a strong base that will not sway. That said, we all know our roles and we all see the big picture. That is a big influence to us."

Thursday, March 31, 2011 @ 2:50pm
Aardsma and Pineda throw, lineup posted

Some quick notes from the Mariners workout which is underway right now in Oakland. First of all, beautiful day. Mid 80's not a cloud in the sky. Tomorrow we expect more of the same.

The Opening Day Roster

Ichiro 9

Figgins 5

Bradley 7

Cust DH

Smoak 3

Olivo 2

Langerhans 8

Ryan 6

Wilson 4

Felix

I will have more tonight but wanted to let you know that as the first group was hitting David Aardsma threw a bullpen. It was his second bullepn of the spring. He threw 25 pitches and after trainer Rick Griffin told Jack Zduriencik that he looked good.

I talked to Aardsma before he threw and he said that he is not yet on a throwing schedule. He said that he is reacclimating himself to both throwing off the mound after a long layoff and still getting flexibility in the hip. He still has a ways to go but this is progress.

Until he returns it looks like Brandon League will close but the skipper stopped shy of calling him "the closer." He left open the possibility that he could go to one of the other veteran arms if needed.

Also, I am working on getting a line score but Michael Pineda threw in a minor league game in Arizona this morning and by all reports he threw very well. He is on his way to Oakland as I write this.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011 @ 11:29pm
Mariners finalize 25-man roster

It was a very crowed clubhouse with the minor leaguers in temporary lockers in the middle of a very cramped space and travel bags strewn across the floor. As the guys hurried to get dressed and try to catch the early bus to the airport two guys were a little slower in getting ready.

Luis Rodriguez who had the corner locker closet to the managers office shot a look in that direction. Jack Zduriencik was in there. After a few minutes he came out but Rodriguez had left his locker.

"Luis," Zduriencik called out as he scanned the clubhouse.

Rodriguez came forward and was motioned into the office. He came out shortly after with a smile on his face and was hugged by a teammate. He had made the team.

"I feel good now," he said with a huge smile. "The last week, I can't sleep. Me and all my family. A tough spring training for me because last year I asked for release after spring training and spent like three months in the minor leagues, and now I come back to the big league."

"Congratulations, man," Chone Figgins said warmly. "Just make sure you get on the right bus when you go out there. That is most important. You don't want to go back to Peoria!"

Also not going back to Peoria with the minor leaguers is Ryan Langerhans who received the good news after Rodriguez. Despite a strong spring he has been around long enough to know that anything can happen and was slightly nervous before the game. It turns out there was no need.

Rodriguez and Langerhans fill out both the 25 and 40 man rosters. As expected Mauricio Robles was placed on the 60 day DL. Sent to the 15 day DL was Franklin Gutierrez, Matt Mangini and David Aardsma. Guti was placed on the DL with what was called stomach gastritis but Zduriencik told me that was not a complete diagnosis. They are still evaluating his condition and looking for more answers.

All three who were sent to the 15 day DL are eligible to come off as early as April 6 as the moves were retroactive to March 22.