Manager says M's already miss Charlton in bullpen

KIRBY ARNOLD, FOR THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published Sunday, March 10, 2002

PEORIA, Ariz. -- In a Seattle Mariners camp with few jobs to be won, it's the opening with no real candidate that worries Lou Piniella most.

After Norm Charlton was lost for the season with a shoulder injury, the Mariners went into spring training without a second left-hander in the bullpen to complement Arthur Rhodes.

"We've got everything we need except that, and we're looking," Piniella said, laying more than a hint that the team would need a trade to fill the second-lefty hole. "They're out there."

Besides Rhodes and starter Jamie Moyer, there are four other left-handers in camp, all with reasons they aren't the perfect fit for what Piniella wants.

Ryan Anderson is a starter who's been injured; John Halama is competing for the fifth starter's job and, even if he doesn't get it, isn't the strikeout artist Piniella prefers in the pen; Matt Jarvis is a 30-year-old career minor-leaguer; and Matt Thornton has been one of the pleasant surprises of spring training, but is suited more to be a starter.

The average fan would ask why Halama, a left-hander who worked out of the bullpen much of last year, can't fill that role.

"Ideally, you want somebody who can strike somebody out. You want to stay away from contact," Piniella said.

Halama's forte is to force contact with his breaking and offspeed pitches.

"Charlton was perfect because he had the split-finger and he had a pretty good fastball," Piniella said.

In listening to Piniella's argument for a second lefty, it's easy to see why he feels vulnerable without Charlton.

"The big benefit of a second left-hander, outside the fact that he gets left-handed hitters out, is that he forces lineup changes," Piniella said.

"If we can force the other manager in the sixth inning to make a move, it makes it easier on my late-inning (pitchers)."

When an opponent has a quality second left-hander, Piniella said it dictates how he draws up his lineup.

"If they don't have that second left-hander, you can bunch up your left-handed hitters and not have to space them out," he said. "If a guy's got a couple of left-handers in the pen, I've got to think about how to counteract what he has.

"If you have two lefties, you have one for the sixth inning and one in the eighth. It makes the other manager make moves. He's only got five (backup position players), and if you can make him use two of them by the seventh inning, you've got him corralled a little."

Mariners glance

- M's lose 4-2 to Oakland in exhibition.

- Today: Seattle vs. Milwaukee Brewers, noon (1240-AM).

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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