ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It turns out that Mike Hargrove's postgame meeting with the Mariners after Friday's loss included a little more emotion than the few times he had addressed his players before.

"I was hot, and I let it go," said the manager. "If I had a nickel for every bad word I threw out there, I could retire."

Little wonder. His players botched several plays in the 5-4 defeat to Tampa Bay, including a bunt defense, and they knew they had stunk it up.

He was so upset with his team that he did not let a late surge — two runs on a Raul Ibanez double in the eighth inning — change his mind about the well-deserved talking-to.

Yesterday, before a dozen players went out for early hitting, several spoke with Hargrove. They told him he'd done the right thing to call them on their poor play.

"My wife told me I have more patience with my players than she has with our kids," Hargrove said. "But there is a fine line between being patient and being foolish.

"The longer this [losing] goes on, the finer that line becomes."

Yet Hargrove admitted he did not have many lineup options beyond using Pat Borders more behind the plate, where the veteran played last night and was expected to today, and using Willie Bloomquist at shortstop, as will be the case more often.

"We are limited in what we can do," Hargrove said. "But saying that, we believe in our players. We believe they will turn this around. But if they don't, we'll do what we can to further the process along."

Among the possible changes are Bret Boone getting a day or two off, and Raul Ibanez moving up to hit third and Adrian Beltre moving back to hit fifth.

Old is beautiful

According to baseball stat service Retrosheet, research of 90,500 games back to the start of the 1960 season showed that Jamie Moyer and Borders, at a combined 84 years and 199 days, were the third-oldest battery to start a game and the oldest with both pitcher and catcher over 40 years old. Borders caught Moyer in Wednesday's 3-1 loss at Baltimore.

The oldest battery was 86 years, 55 days by Phil Niekro, 48, and Rick Dempsey, 37, for Cleveland in 1987. Next was 86 years, 10 days by Satchel Paige, 59, and Bill Bryan, 26, for Kansas City in 1965.

Working with Aaron Sele in a 5-0 victory over San Diego last Sunday, Borders was the oldest catcher since 1960 to catch a shutout.

Rehab update

Scott Spiezio's rehab from a strained oblique has progressed enough that the utility man is expected to start taking batting practice with the club this week.

The Mariner furthest along in rehab is Rafael Soriano, who has missed about a year after elbow tendon replacement. The right-hander has pitched in a handful of games in extended camp in Arizona, and yesterday he worked two innings, throwing 35 pitches.

Notes

• The Milwaukee Brewers, who signed LHP Ryan Anderson recently, apparently are trying to give the former Mariners No. 1 draft pick a virtual re-start to his career. He made his first appearance last week for Brevard County of the Class A Florida State League. He worked a hitless inning, striking out two.

• RHP Jeff Nelson yesterday pitched a perfect eighth inning in what was his 400th appearance for Seattle, extending his own team mark for games pitched.

• In the early hitting yesterday, Beltre hit one ball against the back wall of the dome in left field, some 500 feet from the plate and 100 feet off the ground. "Only practice, it doesn't count," he said. "I'd rather have two hits in a game. I must be leading the league in going 1 for 4."