Mariners notebook: James Paxton shows progress

ARLINGTON, Texas – Mariners left-hander James Paxton threw his first simulated game since going on the disabled list with a strained tendon in his finger, and all went well. He threw two 15-pitch innings Tuesday with coaches Chris Woodward and Andy Van Slyke standing in against him and mixed in all of his pitches. After the 15-minute session, he told reporters he was pleased with what he saw.

“I just wanted to get the ball down, execute a few pitches and overall just have no pain at all, which is what I have, which was great,” he said. “Everything felt great, no pain on pitches. It was good.”

Pitching coach Rick Waits also liked what he saw.

“What I saw today was the curveball and the cutter were there and they haven’t been in his bullpens,” Waits said. “That was very encouraging.”

The curveball is the pitch that puts the most stress on the finger. If Paxton felt anything on that pitch, it would be back to playing catch. Instead, Paxton continues to progress, and while he feels he could be sent out immediately on a rehab assignment, he most likely will throw a bullpen on Thursday before being sent out. On Tuesday he showed he was ready, according to Waits.

“You can go into the game with that,” Waits said of what he saw in the session. “That’s always a concern before he goes somewhere to pitch in rehab. I want him to have pitches to get people out. It’s not just a matter of throwing hard and feeling good. Today I saw a lot of really good pitches with movement on his fastball, good (velocity) in the second part and sharpness in a breaking ball.”

We should learn more on Wednesday about the plan for Paxton moving forward.

Closer woes

Since the All-Star break, going to the bullpen cannot be one of manager Lloyd McClendon’s favorite things. The bullpen has taken nine of 16 losses in the second half, all but one after the seventh inning. A quick rundown:

• 7/17, @NYY, 3-4, Joe Beimel
• 7/19, @NYY, 1-2, Fernando Rodney
• 7/20, @DET, 4-5, Mark Lowe
• 7/25, TOR, 6-8, Carson Smith
• 7/27, ARI, 3-4, Carson Smith
• 8/1, @MIN, 2-3, Carson Smith
• 8/5, @COL, 5-7, Mayckol Guaipe
• 8/8, TEX, 3-11, Rob Rasmussen
• 8/17, @TEX, 3-4, Fernando Rodney

As you can see, there is a lot of Carson Smith on that list. He has struggled of late and for McClendon, that is not exactly a surprise.

“He’s just got to continue to grow, both physically and mentally. This is one of the things I was worried about when everyone was up in arms about getting Rodney out of there and making Smith the closer,” he said.

“When you make that move, you don’t go back. You can’t continue to flip and flop. Now there are some growing pains to go with it and we all got to live with it. He’ll be better as a result, but the process was sped up quite a bit and one we did not want.”

This has not been the ideal situation to break a closer in but the process is underway. Some things, like physical maturity, take time. On the mental side of things, Smith is learning every day. Giving up a lead in the ninth inning is different than giving up a lead in the eighth inning at the big-league level and Smith didn’t have much experience at that.

“There’s a lot of factors,” McClendon said. “The grind of a 162-game schedule, the travel that goes with it. It’s not the minor leagues. You have got to show up every night and entertain, and you have got to win games.”

Lineup!

Ketel Marte, SS
Kyle Seager, 3B
Nelson Cruz, DH
Robinson Cano, 2B
Seth Smith, RF
Austin Jackson, CF
Brad Miller, LF
Logan Morrison, 1B
Jesus Sucre, C

Hisashi Iwakuma, RHP

Notes

• Jesus Montero is out of the lineup for the second straight day. He is on an 0-for-17 stretch but McClendon said he didn’t necessarily see that as a bad stretch as he was seeing good at-bats from Montero. With four lefties coming up starting Wednesday, we should see plenty of Montero in the lineup.

• Charlie Furbush was scheduled to see the doctor Tuesday in Seattle to try and determine why he is not progressing with his biceps soreness. We should hear more about this Wednesday.

• The top-ranked golfer in the world, Jordan Spieth, threw out the first pitch Tuesday at Globe Life Park, and what do you know, he’s a lefty. Not surprisingly, he threw a strike. Good short game.

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