M's Notebook | All-Star 2nd baseman secured for four years

A smiling Jose Lopez spoke optimistically Wednesday about the future, one that will see his pockets filled quickly after signing a four-year extension with the Mariners.

But the guy giving the second baseman added money, general manager Bill Bavasi, hopes to shell out less in the long run by buying out the final years of Lopez's arbitration eligibility. It's part of an ongoing Bavasi strategy, one he copied from the Cleveland Indians while serving as Angels GM in the late 1990s, to deliver the Mariners a cost-contained core of younger players.

"To stay ahead of the game financially, you have to take a little bit of a chance, provide some sort of prediction of what your guy's going to do," Bavasi said after announcing the deal — terms not disclosed — that runs through 2010 with a team option for 2011. "Back in the Anaheim days and the Cleveland days, contracts were just going straight up [in cost]. You couldn't blow it. You couldn't make a mistake. Now, the margins aren't quite as wide."

The Indians saw then-GM John Hart solidify a playoff roster for years to come in the early-to-mid 1990s by locking up future stars Albert Belle, Jim Thome, Kenny Lofton, Sandy Alomar Jr., Carlos Baerga and Charles Nagy before they became eligible for salary arbitration. Bavasi and the Angels did the same soon after with Tim Salmon, Garret Anderson, Troy Percival, Gary DiSarcina, Chad Curtis and Jim Edmonds.

A player's salary can jump exponentially in arbitration years. By locking them up, teams hope to give a little more up-front and save having to pay out huge arbitration awards later should the player become a star.

Seattle has already locked up shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt, closer J.J. Putz and now, the 23-year-old Lopez. There were rumors in spring training that the Mariners and pitcher Felix Hernandez were exploring a deal.

"You will see a bigger group," Bavasi said, declining to comment on any progress in talks with Hernandez. "They just aren't getting done all at one time."

Lopez said he's thrilled the Mariners voluntarily extended him less than a year after his All-Star Game nod.

"I'm happy to sign with Seattle, so I can play together with Betancourt," he said of his double-play partner and off-field friend.

The deal is structured in two different ways because Lopez could have become a so-called "super two" arbitration-eligible player after this season. The designation is given to the top 17 percent of players, in terms of service time, who have played more than two years and less than three.

Lopez will now be paid one set of figures it if turns out he would have become a super-two player after this season. He'll earn another set of figures if he'd have had to wait another year to gain arbitration status.

"We wanted to protect him in case he did become super two," Lopez's agent, Martin Arburua, said in a telephone interview. "In that case, he'd be in line for more money."

The deal won't delay Lopez's free-agent eligibility, something he'd only be up for after the 2011 season.

No Weaver family duel

So much for a Weaver brothers pitching duel in Anaheim on Sunday. Mariners starter Jeff Weaver said Wednesday that he'd spoken by phone with younger brother, Jered, and that he likely won't pitch again for the Angels until Monday.

"They have an off day and it looks like they're just going to leave their rotation the way it is," said Jeff Weaver, set to pitch Sunday's series finale. "He didn't mention anything to me about pitching on Sunday.

"It's too bad. It would have been neat with all the snow, the rain, games being cancelled and stuff if it all would have lined up for us."

Jered Weaver made his season debut for the Angels on Tuesday, yielding four runs in six innings of a 4-1 loss to Oakland. That same night, Jeff allowed a grand slam and seven runs over six frames of an 11-2 loss to the Twins.

The Weavers would be just the eighth brother combination to face each other as major-league starting pitchers.

Notes

• Ichiro had a familiar sight greet him as he emerged from the clubhouse for pregame stretching. A life-sized bobblehead doll in his likeness had been placed near the dugout entrance as part of a team promotion. The Mariners' leadoff hitter spent several moments inspecting the doll, which was as tall as he was and quite a bit thicker. "I wish it was cuter," he quipped before jogging off.

• Twins center fielder Torii Hunter was not in the lineup and is listed as day-to-day after bruising his left shoulder Tuesday.

For the record

Streak: L2

Home: 4-4

Road: 1-1

vs. AL West: 4-2

vs. Anaheim: 0-0

vs. Oakland: 2-1

vs. Texas: 2-1

vs. AL East: 1-1

vs. AL Central: 0-2

vs. NL: 0-0

vs. LHP: 0-0

vs. RHP: 5-5

Day: 3-1

Night: 2-4

One-run: 0-1

Extra innings: 0-0

Home attendance

Wednesday's crowd: 20,871

Season total: 210,190

Biggest crowd: 46,003 (April 2)

Smallest crowd: 19,015 (April 17)

Average (eight dates): 26,273

2006 average (eight dates): 27,910