Mariners Notebook: Corcoran working his way into mix
Journeyman has gotten ball often in late innings
Jim Riggleman hasn't made any grand pronouncement, but it would surprise no one if Roy Corcoran is becoming more and more a part of the Mariners manager's late-inning plans.
The right-handed relievers who have been ahead of Corcoran this season, Sean Green and Mark Lowe, are struggling.
Green has been scored on in five of his past six appearances. Lowe is having similar problems and is walking around on crutches, too.
Corcoran, meanwhile, has put together numbers that are in contrast to the "career minor leaguer" label he's carried with him for the past eight years.
The right-hander is 4-0 with a 3.46 ERA and has retired 28 of 36 first batters faced. On Friday, he pitched the seventh and eighth innings without giving up a run and got credit for the Mariners' 7-5 win over Oakland. On Sunday, he got five of the final six outs in an 8-4 victory.
Corcoran isn't in a position to lobby for late-inning work, not after 7 1/2 years of bouncing around the backwaters and rarely getting a chance to show what he can do.
"I'll pitch whenever they call down to the bullpen and ask for me," he said. "It seems like I'm getting some more work late in games, but I haven't talked to anyone about it."
Corcoran is just happy to have gotten the opportunity. He made a total of 10 appearances with the Montreal Expos in 2003-04, and then six more appearances after the franchise moved to Washington in 2006.
Last year, pitching in the Florida organization, he never got to the big leagues.
"I was labeled 'Triple-A' after spending four years in the Pacific Coast League," he said. "I could get jobs, but just pitching in the minors. Coming to Seattle made for a good situation for me. I always thought I could pitch up here, but no one gave me the opportunity before this. So I don't care what part of the game I pitch in; the key is you have to pitch good when they give you the ball."
MIGHTY MIGUEL: With Adrian Beltre unable to play for a few days, Miguel Cairo was pressed into duty at third base Sunday for the second consecutive day.
He was more than equal to the challenge, saving a run in the sixth inning, starting a double play in the eighth and driving in two runs with a triple to get the offense started.
"I hit it pretty good," Cairo said about the ball that scooted under the glove of right fielder Emil Brown. "I think the grass was a little wet out there; that may have helped the ball get by."
Cairo, who is hitting .244, has started at first, second and third this year, giving the club backup all over the infield. And his role has expanded with Willie Bloomquist on the disabled list.
"Miguel's a good player," Riggleman said. "He's one of those guys whose numbers aren't indicative of the contribution he makes."
NOTHING BROKEN: Lowe had a new look when he showed up in the clubhouse Sunday morning. He was using crutches to get around. The right-hander was pitching to the A's Frank Thomas on Saturday when the former MVP whistled a shot up the middle that caught Lowe on his left foot. Lowe stuck around for one more batter, but spent the night in pain.
"If anything, it's a little worse now," Lowe said. "But I had an X-ray, and they say there's nothing fractured, so that's good. I can walk around, but they tell me I'm better off using the crutches for a while."
Lowe and Riggleman said he likely will miss about three or four days, but the manager said it's too early to tell if the club will need to make a move to get more pitching help.
"A lot depends on what happens with Miguel Batista and Ryan Rowland-Smith," he said, referring to the Seattle starters Monday and Tuesday against the Twins.
BATISTA, THEN MORROW: Batista returns to the rotation Monday for the first time since Aug. 4. Batista, who is taking over for R.A. Dickey, figures to get at least two starts, but that will depend on how well he throws Monday.
"With the off day we have in Cleveland (Thursday), we may take the opportunity to give everybody an extra day's rest," Riggleman said. "Then again, it's going to be time to look at the (Brandon) Morrow situation."
Morrow has made four starts for Triple-A Tacoma as the Mariners try to convert him from reliever to starter. He could start Sunday in Cleveland or next Monday in Texas.
"He's making progress," Riggleman said of Morrow. "We know he'll go one more, and after that, I'm not certain."
Morrow's longest start has been 4 2/3 innings, and the club would like to see him get deeper into a game. He's 0-1 with a 4.97 ERA for the Rainiers.
The Sept. 1 date for his return is more logical, if only because rosters expand that day, and the club wouldn't have to send someone down to open a roster spot.
WILLIE WANTS IN: Bloomquist would like nothing better than to get on the field once again before the season is over.
Part of it is business. He's a free agent at the end of the year, and if he shows that he's recovered from his hamstring injury, that's one less question potential employers have about him.
Part of it is personal. He'd like to know in his own mind that his leg has mended. But he's not about to do anything dumb.
"I absolutely want to be out there again before the season is over," he said. "But I won't go out there if I'm not healthy. I've heard stories that even when your hamstring feels 100 percent, it's not quite. And it would be a bad idea to go out and have it pop again."
NOTES: Beltre spent a second consecutive day as the DH on Sunday because of a sore shoulder. He could be in the lineup Monday at third base. ... Jose Lopez's homer was his 11th, matching the career high he set last season. ... Catcher Jeff Clement probably will need one more day off because of knee troubles, so Jamie Burke could catch Monday. ... Raul Ibanez's RBI single in the seventh gave him 25 RBIs in August, the fourth-best month of his career. ... Mariners pitchers have allowed homers in 15 consecutive games.
Journeyman has gotten ball often in late innings
Jim Riggleman hasn't made any grand pronouncement, but it would surprise no one if Roy Corcoran is becoming more and more a part of the Mariners manager's late-inning plans.
The right-handed relievers who have been ahead of Corcoran this season, Sean Green and Mark Lowe, are struggling.
Green has been scored on in five of his past six appearances. Lowe is having similar problems and is walking around on crutches, too.
Corcoran, meanwhile, has put together numbers that are in contrast to the "career minor leaguer" label he's carried with him for the past eight years.
The right-hander is 4-0 with a 3.46 ERA and has retired 28 of 36 first batters faced. On Friday, he pitched the seventh and eighth innings without giving up a run and got credit for the Mariners' 7-5 win over Oakland. On Sunday, he got five of the final six outs in an 8-4 victory.
Corcoran isn't in a position to lobby for late-inning work, not after 7 1/2 years of bouncing around the backwaters and rarely getting a chance to show what he can do.
"I'll pitch whenever they call down to the bullpen and ask for me," he said. "It seems like I'm getting some more work late in games, but I haven't talked to anyone about it."
Corcoran is just happy to have gotten the opportunity. He made a total of 10 appearances with the Montreal Expos in 2003-04, and then six more appearances after the franchise moved to Washington in 2006.
Last year, pitching in the Florida organization, he never got to the big leagues.
"I was labeled 'Triple-A' after spending four years in the Pacific Coast League," he said. "I could get jobs, but just pitching in the minors. Coming to Seattle made for a good situation for me. I always thought I could pitch up here, but no one gave me the opportunity before this. So I don't care what part of the game I pitch in; the key is you have to pitch good when they give you the ball."
MIGHTY MIGUEL: With Adrian Beltre unable to play for a few days, Miguel Cairo was pressed into duty at third base Sunday for the second consecutive day.
He was more than equal to the challenge, saving a run in the sixth inning, starting a double play in the eighth and driving in two runs with a triple to get the offense started.
"I hit it pretty good," Cairo said about the ball that scooted under the glove of right fielder Emil Brown. "I think the grass was a little wet out there; that may have helped the ball get by."
Cairo, who is hitting .244, has started at first, second and third this year, giving the club backup all over the infield. And his role has expanded with Willie Bloomquist on the disabled list.
"Miguel's a good player," Riggleman said. "He's one of those guys whose numbers aren't indicative of the contribution he makes."
NOTHING BROKEN: Lowe had a new look when he showed up in the clubhouse Sunday morning. He was using crutches to get around. The right-hander was pitching to the A's Frank Thomas on Saturday when the former MVP whistled a shot up the middle that caught Lowe on his left foot. Lowe stuck around for one more batter, but spent the night in pain.
"If anything, it's a little worse now," Lowe said. "But I had an X-ray, and they say there's nothing fractured, so that's good. I can walk around, but they tell me I'm better off using the crutches for a while."
Lowe and Riggleman said he likely will miss about three or four days, but the manager said it's too early to tell if the club will need to make a move to get more pitching help.
"A lot depends on what happens with Miguel Batista and Ryan Rowland-Smith," he said, referring to the Seattle starters Monday and Tuesday against the Twins.
BATISTA, THEN MORROW: Batista returns to the rotation Monday for the first time since Aug. 4. Batista, who is taking over for R.A. Dickey, figures to get at least two starts, but that will depend on how well he throws Monday.
"With the off day we have in Cleveland (Thursday), we may take the opportunity to give everybody an extra day's rest," Riggleman said. "Then again, it's going to be time to look at the (Brandon) Morrow situation."
Morrow has made four starts for Triple-A Tacoma as the Mariners try to convert him from reliever to starter. He could start Sunday in Cleveland or next Monday in Texas.
"He's making progress," Riggleman said of Morrow. "We know he'll go one more, and after that, I'm not certain."
Morrow's longest start has been 4 2/3 innings, and the club would like to see him get deeper into a game. He's 0-1 with a 4.97 ERA for the Rainiers.
The Sept. 1 date for his return is more logical, if only because rosters expand that day, and the club wouldn't have to send someone down to open a roster spot.
WILLIE WANTS IN: Bloomquist would like nothing better than to get on the field once again before the season is over.
Part of it is business. He's a free agent at the end of the year, and if he shows that he's recovered from his hamstring injury, that's one less question potential employers have about him.
Part of it is personal. He'd like to know in his own mind that his leg has mended. But he's not about to do anything dumb.
"I absolutely want to be out there again before the season is over," he said. "But I won't go out there if I'm not healthy. I've heard stories that even when your hamstring feels 100 percent, it's not quite. And it would be a bad idea to go out and have it pop again."
NOTES: Beltre spent a second consecutive day as the DH on Sunday because of a sore shoulder. He could be in the lineup Monday at third base. ... Jose Lopez's homer was his 11th, matching the career high he set last season. ... Catcher Jeff Clement probably will need one more day off because of knee troubles, so Jamie Burke could catch Monday. ... Raul Ibanez's RBI single in the seventh gave him 25 RBIs in August, the fourth-best month of his career. ... Mariners pitchers have allowed homers in 15 consecutive games.
