The Seattle Mariners’ 2010 lineup is far from a sure thing.
The only part of it that you can take to the bank is the part where Ichiro Suzuki leads off and where Chone Figgins bats second.
It will be a change for Figgins, who batted leadoff during most of his career in Anaheim with the Angels.
But what it means for the Mariners is that they have two men at the top of the lineup who are good at getting on base and scoring lots of runs.
Ichiro led the AL in hits last year with 225 while hitting .352. Figgins hit just .298, but he led the league in walks with 101, giving him a slight edge on Ichiro in on-base percentage, .395 to .388.
Seattle manager Don Wakamatsu, in town for a week as the club gears up for the start of spring training in three weeks, said he’s planning on sticking with Ichiro leading off – unless he hears differently from his right fielder.
“It would be my right fielder,” Wakamatsu said Thursday when asked who would be leading off for him. “We’ll go into spring training thinking that. (But) if Ichiro says to me that it’s time for him to move (to another spot in the lineup) or that he wants to try and hit more home runs, we’d be open to that.”
It’s clear, however, that the leadoff spot is Ichiro’s as long as he wants it. And although a couple of his former managers have toyed with the idea of having Ichiro bat third, the right fielder has never developed a liking for that idea. It would seem unlikely in the extreme that he’d change his mind now.
He doesn’t have to, at least not on Figgins’ behalf.
“I’ve talked to Chone, and I know it’s not a problem for him,” Wakamatsu said. “Chone wants to win.”
NOTES: Trainer Rick Griffin said catcher Rob Johnson (two hip surgeries and one wrist surgery) will be brought along slowly this spring but should be ready to play regularly come Opening Day. ... Griffin also said Ken Griffey Jr. (knee surgery), reliever Sean White (labrum injury), starter Ryan Feierabend (Tommy John-style ligament-replacement surgery) and reliever Chad Cordero (labrum repair) all should be good to go when the camp opens. … After picking second in the MLB draft in June last time around, the Mariners will draft 43rd this year. That’s the cost of having signed Figgins as a free agent. ... The Mariners are high on the possibility of that No. 2 pick, Dustin Ackley, making the conversion from being an outfielder/first baseman to being a second baseman. Ackley will be brought into camp with the idea that he’ll give second base a go. ... First baseman Casey Kotchman is the only arbitration-eligible player on the roster not to have signed a contract for 2010. Negotiations are continuing. ... General manager Jack Zduriencik flies Friday to Kansas City, where he will pick up the Rube Foster award from the Negro League Baseball Museum as the American League Executive of the Year. … Zduriencik said the club is still looking to add a right-handed hitter – either a first baseman, outfielder or designated hitter – to strengthen the bench. … Randy Johnson, who retired as an active pitcher after last season, has agreed to throw out the first pitch April 12 in the home opener against Oakland.
John Hickey is a National Baseball Writer for AOL FanHouse ( www.fanhouse.com ).
