M's Notes: Seattle addresses Ichiro's slump

ARLINGTON, Texas — Hitting coach Jeff Pentland met with Ichiro the past two days and talked to the Mariners star about his recent slump.

Ichiro was hitting .359 on July 3, but since then has hit just .242 (32 of 132) after going 0 for 4 in Thursday's game. In the past 12 games, it's even worse, a .157 average (8 of 51), though that does include a handful of line-drive outs.

Pentland recently watched tapes of Ichiro when he was hitting well, and during his recent at-bats.

"His balance has been off by a hair," Pentland said. "So he's just not squaring up on the pitches. Even he needs to hit the ball solid."

Like all hitters, Pentland added, even the great ones such as Ichiro go through periods where they are not themselves. "[Albert] Pujols has been off for a month," he said, referring to the St. Louis slugger.

Twice, Pentland has discussed with Ichiro what he had found studying film.

"We did it in English [Wednesday], then again [Thursday] we had an interpreter with us. I think Ichiro is so precise he wanted to be sure he totally understood what I was saying."

Was the right fielder, who can be standoffish and usually works on his batting technique by himself, receptive?

"He's receptive to talking about hitting," Pentland said, "probably because he's a master at it. Whether he uses it or not, I don't know."

Pentland simply found that Ichiro was not balanced as he came through the ball, that he had been lunging at pitches.

In his .157 slide, which dropped his average to .327 — still better than all but five hitters in the majors — Ichiro has hit the ball in the air 29 times and only 17 times on the ground.

"He has unusually good balance to begin with," Pentland said. "Even though he appears to be off-balance, he's actually always in good position to hit. For most guys the balance he has right now is good enough, but not for Ichiro."

The coach said his discussion was "more or less, along the lines of suggestions. He can do with them what he wants, use some or all, or none at all. Hopefully, he found something in the conversation to help him."

The Lowe down

Mark Lowe played catch prior to Thursday's game and said if all went well he could be available to pitch tonight.

What had the reliever sidelined the past five days is a variation of an age-old ailment. According to pitching coach Rafael Chaves, "It's a big-league version of Little League elbow."

Lowe was asked about it and wasn't sure what Little League elbow was. Then the right-hander ventured ... "from throwing curveballs?"

Told that's indeed what the injury was, Lowe acknowledged he had been throwing a lot of sliders.

"I had been going to the slider more when I needed an out," he said.

However, Chaves said there would be no change in the way Lowe pitches. "If he is healthy, he's healthy enough to throw sliders," he said.

Notes

• Hank Blalock started at third base Thursday for Texas and probably will tonight, but may not Saturday with Jamie Moyer starting for Seattle. Blalock, once regarded a cornerstone of the Rangers club, has hit .214 against left-handers, compared to .317 against right-handers, and has been benched against lefties.

• Kenji Johjima is hitting .389 with runners in scoring position, and if it holds up, Stats, Inc. reported it would tie him with Fred Lynn of the 1975 Red Sox for fourth-highest among rookies since 1974. Ichiro hit .445 in 2001, Kent Hrbek of the 1982 Twins hit .398, Mariners manager Mike Hargrove, playing for the Rangers in 1974, hit .393. Since June 16, Johjima's batting average is .343 (46 of 134), second only to Minnesota's Joe Mauer (.355) among American League catchers in that span.

• Some of the best high-school baseball prospects in the Northwest will take on their peers from Southern California in a three-game weekend series at Safeco Field.

Tickets for the first Mariners Cup cost $5. Parking is free at the Safeco Field Garage.

The teams of about two dozen players each will play two games Saturday, starting at noon, and one game at 11 a.m. Sunday. Both teams will wear Mariners uniforms and be coached by members of the M's scouting staff.