The Associated Press
Mariners second baseman Bret Boone throws to first base for an out against Arizona on Tuesday in Tucson, Ariz. The M's lost 6-1.

M's to make first spring cuts today

OLYMPIAN NEWS SERVICES

Originally published Wednesday, March 13, 2002

TUCSON, Ariz. -- He has watched young pitchers give up late-inning runs by the half-dozen and inexperienced position players make any number of mistakes afield.

Tonight, Lou Piniella will sit down with members of the Seattle Mariners' front office and do something about it.

"We're going to meet (tonight) and cut the camp down," the Mariners' manager said.

Normally, the Mariners have made their first cuts by now, but the early Cactus League schedule forced Piniella to keep everyone on hand until after the three-day trip to Tucson, which ended Tuesday.

"I don't think you'll see any surprises," Piniella said.

The M's still have the original 52 players in the major league camp.

After Tuesday's 6-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Mariners' record fell to 6-7. Piniella is confident that the results will change after the cuts are made and the regular starters get more playing time.

"But we'll cut this down to a more manageable number and start playing our regulars a little more," Piniella said. "And, we'll be picking up with some of our bench players, and that should make a difference."

- MOYER'S ROCKY OUTING: Starter Jamie Moyer looked crisp in the first inning against the Diamondbacks, then trudged through two more innings of his worst outing of spring training.

He allowed six hits, one of them a homer, two walks and two earned runs in a game in which he was scheduled to work four innings.

"He threw a lot of pitches," Piniella said. "He hit his pitch count (63 pitches) after three innings, and we made a couple of errors behind him that didn't help him out. But he got his work in."

Aided by Bret Boone's dropped popup, the Diamondbacks scored two unearned runs in the second inning, then two more in the third on Luis Gonzalez's home run and two more hits.

"He just didn't find his rhythm, for whatever reason," catcher Dan Wilson said of Moyer. "He didn't get locked in."

Tuesday's game was Moyer's first loss in spring training since March 3, 2000. He had won seven straight since then.

Randy Johnson struck out eight and allowed one hit in five scoreless innings for Arizona. The 38-year-old left-hander even knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly against his former team.

- WHO'S ON FIRST? Jeff Cirillo started at first base Tuesday and played a flawless defensive game, including a backhanded stop of a one-hopper over the bag by Erubiel Durazo.

"I like what I saw at first base," Piniella said of Cirillo, his usual third baseman. "He gives us an option when we rest (John) Olerud and put (Desi) Relaford at third base."

- CLOUDE COMEBACK: Ken Cloude, the comeback story of the camp so far, pitched two scoreless innings Tuesday as he continues to progress from two years of injuries.

"He mixed his pitches well, threw strikes and gave us two scoreless innings," Piniella said.

Cloude rehabbed nearly a year from Tommy John elbow surgery, then tore his Achilles' tendon last winter.

- ANDERSON DELAYED: Ryan Anderson, the left-handed pitching prospect who is recovering from shoulder surgery, probably won't see game action in spring training.

The Mariners, still hoping Anderson will be available sometime this season, say he doesn't have the arm strength to throw off a mound, much less pitch in a game.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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