By Ethen Lieser
Sure, the Seattle Mariners, on their way to a possible record-breaking season, are continuing to manhandle their opponents, as if the rest of the AL just graduated from Little League. But will manager Lou Pinella be doing some editing soon? Outfielder Ichiro Suzuki is set to break some records of his own this year. Still, the Mariners need to count on the American League’s third-leading hitter to be at full strength come September and October. Pinella has been quoted as saying he is particularly concerned about Suzuki, who never played in more than 135 games in a season with the Orix Blue Wave of the Japanese Pacific Coast League. Plus, Suzuki is counted on to run and ignite the game’s best offense (he leads the league in stolen bases with 30), which can wear down a player during the course of a 162-game season. Last year in Japan, Suzuki only stole 21 bases because the Blue Wave didn’t need him to run … The Milwaukee Brewers snatched pitcher Mac Suzuki from the Colorado Rockies to shore-up their injury-ravaged pitching staff. Suzuki, 26, was traded to Colorado from Kansas City along with catcher Sal Fusano on June 24 for catcher Brent Mayne. With the Rockies, Suzuki made three appearances, posting a 0-2 record with a 15.63 ERA. In Kansas City, he was 2-5 with a 5.30 ERA in 15 games, including nine starts. Suzuki, of Kobe, Japan, was originally signed by the Seattle Mariners as a free agent in 1993 after spending two seasons with independent clubs in Salinas and San Bernardino of the Class A California League. Suzuki is 13-24 with a 5.60 ERA in 57 starts and 38 relief appearances … New York Mets outfielder Benny Agbayani, whose wife gave birth to the couple’s first child, daughter Aleia in Hawaii, rejoined the team after missing two regular season games … The Philadelphia Phillies optioned struggling starter Bruce Chen to Double-A Reading and removed right-hander Cliff Politte from the 60-day disabled list. Once a promising pitcher on the Atlanta Braves’ pitching staff, Chen is 4-5 with a 5.00 ERA in 16 starts this season. In his last start, Chen gave up seven earned runs on seven hits in a 9-5 loss at Atlanta … When Mariners closer Kazuhiro Sasaki retired Cliff Floyd on a tapper to first for the final out of the All-Star game, the major league saves leader became the second pitcher in All-Star history to register a save in his home ballpark. The first pitcher to do it was Detroit’s Denny McLain in 1971.
Reach Ethen Lieser at elieser@asianweek.com. |
