Notebook | Mariners shift focus to pursue wild card

The last time the Mariners were at Safeco Field, all the focus was on their attempt to catch the Angels in the AL West.

That didn't go so well. It was an unmitigated disaster, in fact, as the Angels swept all three games in decisive fashion. And after a 10-game road trip that was nearly as disastrous for the Mariners, manager John McLaren admitted Monday that the focus has changed.

Having fallen 8 ½ games behind the Angels after Monday's loss, the Mariners now have their sights on the wild card, McLaren said. They are 5 ½ games behind the Yankees, and 1 ½ behind the Tigers.

"We've just got such a long way to go to get the Angels," McLaren said. "They'd have to run into a [losing] streak like we hit. I think, realistically, the wild card is the way we're looking."

Before suffering their 14th loss in the past 16 games, McLaren tried to remain upbeat about the Mariners' prospects.

"If someone had told us in spring training, we'd have been happy to be in this position," he said. "We're not in the position we'd want to be two weeks ago. We certainly wouldn't want to be in this position. With that said, we're still fighting, we're still playing hard.

"We still think we have a chance, which we do. We're on the West Coast the rest of the time, at home 14 of 21 days. We're going to do the most with it that we can."

The name game

The Mariners' recently promoted outfielder, Charlton Jimerson, shares a name with a popular former Seattle player, reliever Norm Charlton. It was always a source of interest for Jimerson as he grew up in the Bay Area.

"I would be excited to see his name in the box score, since it's a unique name," said Jimerson. "If he won, I'd be excited, and if he lost, I'd go, 'Oh, man, he lost.' "

Jimerson, who turns 28 later this month, was signed by the Mariners in May after he was released by the Astros. This season, he finally got to meet his namesake, who now does minor-league instructing for the Mariners. Charlton promised to give Jimerson one of his Mariners' jerseys.

"It would be nice to have that jersey," Jimerson said with a smile. "It would confuse people. They'd think I had my first name on the back, like Ichiro."

Jimerson said he is named after his mother, Charlene. When people were confused about the spelling, he used to tell them that it was the same as actor Charlton Heston. But when Norm Charlton was in his heyday with the Reds and Mariners, Jimerson had a new reference point.

"I say, 'It's Charlton, like Norm Charlton,' " he said. "But now they spell my last name wrong."

Notes

• First baseman Richie Sexson will have an MRI today on his ailing left hamstring. He was examined Monday by Dr. Edward Khalfayan, the Mariners' team physician, and he sat out the game against Oakland after aggravating the injury on Sunday in Detroit.

• Every strikeout recorded in tonight's game between the Mariners and A's will result in a contribution to Barry Zito's charity, Strikeouts for Troops. The organization helps wounded veterans and their families when they return from war. USAA, a financial services company for military families, will donate $400 for every strikeout in every major-league game.

• The Mariners' 2-8 road trip to Cleveland, Toronto, New York and Detroit was one of the least successful in team history. Among road trips of eight or more games, they have compiled seven or more losses only seven other times. The worst was last year's 0-11 debacle in Texas, Oakland and Los Angeles, Aug. 10-Aug. 20, that dropped them from 5 ½ to 14 games behind the A's in the AL West. The others were: 0-9 in 2004; 0-10 in 1992; 1-8 in 1988, 1985 and 1983; and 1-7 in 1978.

• The starting time of the Mariners' game against the Angels on Sept. 22 in Los Angeles has been changed from 6:05 p.m. to 12:55 p.m. The game has been selected as part of Fox's Game of the Week package.

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com

For the record

Streak: L1

Home: 41-28

Road: 34-39

vs. AL West: 22-23

vs. L.A.: 4-11

vs. Oakland: 10-4

vs. Texas: 8-8

vs. AL East: 23-17

vs. AL Cent.: 21-18

vs. NL: 9-9

vs. LHP: 24-10

vs. RHP: 51-57

Day: 21-20

Night: 54-47

One-run: 21-19

Extra innings: 4-1

Home attendance

Monday's crowd: 26,698

Season total: 2,335,664

Biggest crowd: 46,377 (Aug. 5)

Smallest crowd: 16,555 (May 2)

Average (69 dates): 33,850

2006 average (69 dates): 31,327