M's Notebook | A helping hand making history

BALTIMORE — When it comes to working with historic sluggers, Mariners' hitting coach Jeff Pentland is at the forefront.

He was the Cubs' hitting coach from 1997 to 2002, when his star pupil was Sammy Sosa.

He was the Marlins' hitting coach from 1992 to 1996, when he tutored Gary Sheffield.

And in the early 1980s, he was hitting coach for none other than Barry Bonds at Arizona State University.

That trio represents 1,839 dingers — 478 for Sheffield, 604 for Sosa and 757 for Bonds.

Not that Pentland takes credit for their prowess.

"People don't realize how hard these guys worked," Pentland said. "It wasn't just like they showed up at the ballpark and hit. They knew what pitchers were throwing, they knew when they were going bad.

"It was almost like with those kind of guys, you essentially went down there and did what they wanted to do. The level of their baseball intelligence was so far ahead of everyone else's. That's the one thing I noticed about the guys we're talking about."

Bonds, he said, "probably saw the ball out of the hand earlier than anybody I've ever been around. He's probably the smartest, most instinctive hitter. He could set up pitchers. He knew what was coming all the time."

All three of those players, of course, have been linked to steroids. Pentland revealed that the Mariners' coaching staff was questioned last year by lawyers from the Mitchell Commission, led by former Sen. George Mitchell, which is investigating steroid use. Mitchell and his staff have been interviewing personnel throughout the majors for months.

"I'm prejudiced for Barry," Pentland said. "I know there's probably more pitchers doing that kind of stuff than anybody else, because I saw big increases in velocity over the years.

"They're making a big deal out of it because he's a great player. People feel like great players shouldn't have to add substances or whatever. I never saw anybody do any of that stuff."

Jones going slow

Adam Jones was out of the starting lineup Wednesday for the third time in five games since he was called up from Tacoma amidst much hoopla.

Though he'll likely start the series finale tonight, Seattle manager John McLaren made it clear he has no urgency to create playing time for the outfielder.

"Even if he doesn't play it's a good learning process for him," McLaren said. "We're going to use him in different places, spot starts, defense, pinch running, possible pinch-hitting. It's not a priority for me to find him a place to play right now."

No rush to Wells

The Padres announced Wednesday they were cutting ties with 44-year-old left-hander David Wells, leading to speculation the Mariners would have interest.

Wells might retire, but his agent said he would definitely be interested in pitching for a contender. The Padres have already said they would be willing to designate Wells for assignment and try to facilitate a deal to another team if that's what Wells wants.

Reds claim Ellison

When Jones came up last Friday, outfielder Jason Ellison was designated for assignment to clear a roster spot.

The Mariners were hoping to slip Ellison through waivers, but Wednesday he was claimed by Cincinnati.

NOTES

• Ben Broussard flew back from Seattle after witnessing the birth of his second child, a daughter, Monday. He landed at about 4:30 p.m. and arrived before game time.

• The Tomo Ohka era is over. The Mariners have released the veteran pitcher, whom they signed to a minor-league contract on July 13. Ohka was 0-3 with a 10.32 earned-run average in four starts for Tacoma.

For the record

Streak: W2

Home: 37-22

Road: 25-27

vs. AL West: 20-17

vs. L.A.: 4-8

vs. Oakland: 10-3

vs. Texas: 6-6

vs. AL East: 21-12

vs. AL Cent.: 12-11

vs. NL: 9-9

vs. LHP: 22-8

vs. RHP: 40-41

Day: 17-15

Night: 45-34

One-run: 18-17

Extra innings: 4-1