Sports

POSTED: Tuesday, Sep. 16, 2008

MARINERS NOTEBOOK: Seattle will get to see injured pitchers return

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After two weeks of uncertainty about Jarrod Washburn — and more than two months of it on Erik Bedard – the Seattle Mariners are about to get one back and test the other.

Washburn, who strained an abdominal muscle pitching Aug. 30, wants to pitch again and will get his chance as early as tonight.

“Brandon Morrow will start the game, and we’re expecting him to go five, maybe six innings,” manager Jim Riggleman said. “If that’s the case, Jarrod will go into the game after Brandon. If we’re winning, we’ll let him pitch until we get to J.J. (Putz) in the ninth. If we’re losing, he may finish it.”

Washburn is not 100 percent healthy, but this close to the end of the season, if he reinjures himself, he has the offseason to heal.

With Bedard, who hasn’t pitched since July 4 because of shoulder tenderness, the team wants to see him pitch — and it’s unlikely they’ll get him in a regular-season game this month.

“Erik is improving, and he’s going to throw again Wednesday with more intensity,” Riggleman said. “If that goes well, we’ll try to get a simulated game for him in Oakland, let him face a few of our hitters.”

Even if Bedard was pain free, there’s risk in putting him in a game at this point, Riggleman said. “If all he can throw is fastballs, you can’t send him out against big league hitters in a real game,” he said. “We’d want him to have at least a couple of weapons before going out there.

“With Erik, after he throws he’s very vague about how he feels, so it’s been hard to gauge his progress.”

THE 2-0-0 ON ICHIRO

As Ichiro Suzuki continues his steady march to his eighth consecutive 200-hit season, it’s interesting to look at his 200th in each of the last seven years.

Not surprisingly, five of those hits were singles. Here’s the odd stat – the other two times he reached his 200th hit, he did it with home runs.

REUNION TIME

Before he signed a three-year, $36 million deal with Kansas City, outfielder Jose Guillen made it clear his heart was in Seattle.

Now, with the season drawing to a close, Guillen is batting .263 with 20 home runs and 93 RBI – and he still would rather be with the Mariners.

Much of the pre-game was spent with Mariners who played with Guillen last season giving or getting hugs. There were plenty to go around. Former Mariners Miguel Olivo and Gil Meche also reintroduced themselves.

SHORT HOPS

The Mariners added two minor league coaches to the big-league club for the final two weeks of the season. Tacoma’s Alonzo Powell and Wisconsin pitching coach Jamie Navarro will work with players and assist the coaching staff. … The Mariners got a break in during Kansas City’s first inning when baserunner Ryan Shealy scored from second base on a single only to be called out when the Mariners appealed – he’d missed third base.