The travails of Tuiasosopo

Matt Tuiasosopo talks freely about last year, because he is confident that it is in the past.

It's what motivated him to hire a personal trainer and to work harder than he ever has in the offseason.

Failure can do that to you.

"That was definitely on my mind, that .150 batting average," said Tuiasosopo, a Woodinville High School graduate and former Washington football recruit. "It was a constant motivation."

It wasn't quite as bad as he remembered. But after hitting .306 in 232 at-bats at Class A Inland Empire, Tuiasosopo was promoted to Class AA San Antonio, where he hit .185. He followed with a .167 average in the Arizona Fall League.

Tuiasosopo knows this is an important season. Perhaps no one in the organization, though, needs a fresh start as much Tuiasosopo. The better competition at Class AA led to some of his struggles, but part of the problem was within.

"The pitchers had livelier arms and more command of their pitches, but I started to have some mechanical problems with my swing," he said. "It got to the point where I was trying something new every day. Eventually, I didn't know what to do. I had never experienced failure to that extent in my life. It was a very hard time for me."

He said he continued to play hard, but it didn't seem to make a difference.

"I lost my confidence," he said. "I became timid."

The Mariners say what Tuiasosopo went through was not unexpected.

"If you look at any player, at some point in their career, they hit a roadblock," said Frank Mattox, the Mariners' director of player development. "The key is how do you react when you hit that roadblock. Matt is a very hard worker and he has a great makeup.

Failing in athletics was new for Tuiasosopo. A high-school quarterback, he was Washington's top football recruit in 2004. He was expected to do many of the things his older brother Marques had done, which included a Rose Bowl victory after the 2000 season.

Then the Mariners drafted Tuiasosopo with their top pick in 2004, in the third round. The club offered a record $2.29 million signing bonus for a third-round pick, and Tuiasosopo embarked on a pro baseball career that was going according to plan until last summer.

"I had never failed like that before, but I was lucky that I had a lot of support," he said. "My coaches, my teammates and particularly my family, were there for me. They helped me keep the faith. And it wasn't like I wasn't trying. I was working hard, and for a day or two things would be OK, but then they would go bad again."

It was also a tough year in the field. After struggling at shortstop the first part of the season, he was moved to third base.

"I started getting the idea that they wanted me to move when I was playing third base in spring training," he said. "I am feeling comfortable at third. I had always envisioned staying as a shortstop, but my goal is to get to the big leagues as quickly as I can, whether that's at shortstop or third base."

Tuiasosopo was a non-roster invitee to spring training, and he hit .250 in eight at-bats during Cactus League games. He also was encouraged by how he performed in workouts and in the batting cage.

Tuiasosopo likely will begin this season back at Class AA, with the team's new affiliate, the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx in Jackson, Tenn. Tuiasosopo can't wait to get going, and to put last year's numbers to rest.

"I just want to play," he said. "I am really looking forward to getting back out there."