Servais unconcerned by slow start from Mariners relievers
Mar 13, 2017, 6:54 AM | Updated: 2:05 pm
Mariners reliever Nick Vincent has allowed three home runs during his first three Cactus League outings. (AP)
(AP)
PEORIA, Ariz. – If it seems like the Mariners’ relievers have been having a tough go of it lately, well, they have.
Twelve of the 21 active relievers in camp have surrendered two or more runs in one of their last two appearances. While it’s not fun to see the runs cross the plate, it is far too soon to say these performances are in any way indicative of what we could see in the regular season.
“I’m not reading too much into it,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said Sunday. “I don’t expect anyone to go through an entire spring training and not have one or two hiccups. This is what happens down here. Games can get crazy, a lot of runs score, balls keep going once they get in the air.”
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That’s not fun for fly-ball pitchers. Nick Vincent, who relies largely on the flyout, has seen a number of those types of balls go over the fence. Both Servais and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. are quick to point to Vincent as a reliever they are not concerned about.
“You have to let stuff play out, specifically for guys who have some history,” Stottlemyre said.
Vincent himself is not focused on the results. Instead, he said he is trying to keep his process the same in a different environment.
“It’s hard to tell out here. It’s so dry here the balls cut when you want them to two-seam, so it is kind of hard sometimes to work on things here,” Vincent said. “Mentally, it’s like it’s not doing anything, and then you try to do too much.”
Stottlemyre has seen these types of results spring after spring in the desert.
“Sinkerballers and cutters in particular struggle,” Stottlemyre said. “It seems that those two pitches will come late, specifically down here in Arizona.”
Stottlemyre added that dry conditions are not the only obstacle relievers face in the spring. Lefty Marc Rzepczynski, for example, has been facing righties. That won’t happen very often during the regular season. Relievers may also have to wait three to four days between innings early in spring training, which is out of the ordinary for most during the season.
Veterans who know they have a spot in the bullpen can continue to work toward opening day. Younger pitchers, and those transitioning from other organizations, know there are eyes on them and that every outing counts.
“They have to make a good impression so the outings are important,” Stottlemyre said of the latter group. “It’s important that they put together good outings and they get their stuff together quickly. Guys can get tempted to try and do too much; we don’t want to see that, but there are a couple of spots open and they are fighting for jobs.”
The Mariners will need a second lefty in the bullpen and a couple of right-handers, one to hold down a spot until setup man Steve Cishek returns from an offseason surgery to repair a hip labrum. It will mostly be mix-and-match in the eighth inning until Cishek is ready, and a number of relievers have the opportunity to open eyes in Cactus League play. Casey Fien, who is in that mix and had yet to surrender a run this spring, gave up three runs Sunday against the Angels.
“What happened with Casey Fien yesterday happens to a lot of guys down here. I know he’s disappointed in it, but get the ball again. We will fire him out there and we will go from there,” Servais said.
In other words, one bad outing now won’t derail a reliever’s chances.
“You are looking at how they respond to it,” Servais said. “You pay more attention to maybe the younger guy that doesn’t have the track record that some of the other guys, but I am not concerned with it at all.”
