Mariners notebook: Opening Day lineup edition?

PEORIA, Ariz. – He finally said it. Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon finally admitted that the lineup he put out for today’s game against the Angels is the lineup we most likely will see Opening Day. Not that there was a ton of mystery, but he has gone out of his way to deflect lineup questions for the better part of spring, so this was refreshing.

Of course, with platoons that the skipper won’t call platoons in left and right field, we will not see the same lineup every day. To be fair on the platoon issue, I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t see straight platoons, especially with two of them. With so many options, McClendon will be able to pick and choose. Nelson Cruz has started six games in right field this spring and that had me wondering just how much McClendon planned on using him there. It is an option and one he would like to use in order to get other guys into the designated hitter position from time to time.

“I think it is important to be able to rotate that position because it keeps a lot of guys fresh,” McClendon said. “Also, from a health standpoint we can get guys off their feet. The fact is, Nelson is not a slouch in the outfield. He can play the outfield. Now, he’s not a Gold Glover by any means but he’s not a slouch either, and it helps.”

Lineup!

Austin Jackson, CF
Rickie Weeks, DH
Robinson Cano, 2B
Nelson Cruz, RF
Kyle Seager, 3B
Logan Morrison, 1B
Mike Zunino, C
Dustin Ackley, LF
Brad Miller, SS

Taijuan Walker, SP

Happ’s spring struggles

J.A. Happ had a rough go of things yesterday, giving up five earned runs on 11 hits over five innings. To me, he has the look of a guy who is just not a spring training pitcher. There can be a number of different reasons for this, but the good thing is he is getting his work in and his velocity – which has been on the uptick the last couple of years – is good. He’s hit 94 a few times and the belief is it could jump up from time to time a little more during the season.

Pitching coach Rick Waits believes that Happ is having problems with the breaking pitches down here in large part because of the dry air. Waits studied Happ’s tapes this morning and saw that spin was on the ball, but not the break. He expects that to improve once the team heads north. Break is one thing, keeping the ball down is another, and that was a problem yesterday that he expects to see improvement with in his last start in Arizona.

Notes

• Seth Smith was scratched from the lineup for the second straight game after rolling his ankle sliding into home on Saturday. Rickie Weeks will DH and hit second.

• Brad Miller is back in the lineup after missing the last four games with a bad flu.

• Weeks has made just one start in left field in the last nine days. He insists he is healthy, and I am not sure why he is not out there. McClendon says he has been very happy with his work both in left and more recently at first base before the games and says that we should see him in a game at first before the end of camp.

• Upcoming probables: Tuesday at Cleveland, Felix vs Chen; Wednesday vs. White Sox, Paxton vs. TBA; Friday vs. Colorado, Happ vs. TBA; Saturday at Colorado, Walker vs. TBA.

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