Eric Wedge looking for more from Hector Noesi

By Shannon Drayer

So, how ’bout that offense? Moving on.

We have spent so much time focusing on the development of the young hitters and no doubt we will continue to do so, but Monday night it was the young pitching that stood out and not in a good way.

Hector Noesi has at times shown that he has the stuff to be a good major-league pitcher. We have seen the pitches. A variety of them at a variety of speeds. He possesses good tools but often fails to utilize them in the correct manner and we end up with nights like Monday.

Another night where he shows good pitches here or there but gives up six runs in troubling fashion. Once again Noesi was giving up hits in good pitchers’ counts. Once again we saw him give up hits on 0-2 pitches. We also saw him strike out four consecutive batters at one point, but that is not enough. Noesi has failed to show any kind of consistency in his first full year of starting and after the game you could hear more than a hint of frustration about the matter in Eric Wedge’s voice.

“When it comes to being a big-league starter, and this is a guy we feel like can be that for a long time once he gets more consistent, you have to bring it 30 to 35 times,” Wedge said. “And you aren’t going to always have your best stuff but you have to have a strong base to work off to give yourself a chance to win.”

It is a matter of mindset and focus, both in game and in preparation. I think we have seen a lapse in both from time to time. It is not a matter of fixing a pitch or a mechanic. He has those. Wedge is looking for more in focus and aggressiveness particularly when he gets into 0-2 counts. Noesi better find it quickly or he could soon hear Danny Hultzen’s footsteps sneaking up behind him.

News and notes: Jack Zduriencik, Tom McNamara and Jeff Kingston are all on this trip. The trio made a trip to Peoria where a good number of the newest signees have assembled to start rookie ball. Zduriencik spoke to the group, which later attended the Mariners game against the Diamondbacks. … Soon to sign? We shall see. Florida was eliminated from the College World Series Monday, which means that the Mariners will now be able to get to work on signing their top draft pick, Mike Zunino. … The Everett AquaSox announced that they will retire Greg Halman’s number before their game June 23. “Like everyone, we were saddened by Gregory’s loss,” said AquaSox executive vice president Tom Backemeyer. “He played in Everett for two seasons, and not only was he one of the best players to ever wear an AquaSox uniform; he was a wonderful young man too. We wanted to find a way to honor his memory and decided that retiring his number was the most appropriate way to do it.” Greg’s number 26 will be the first number retired by the AquaSox and will be permanently displayed on the wall in right field.