Originally published Sunday, February 24, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Mariners still awaiting McLaren's call on fifth starter
This whole fifth-starter business isn't having too profound an impact on Mariners pitcher Miguel Batista. The Mariners on Saturday again...
Seattle Times staff reporter
PEORIA, Ariz. — This whole fifth-starter business isn't having too profound an impact on Mariners pitcher Miguel Batista.
The Mariners on Saturday again delayed announcing what many assume to be a forgone conclusion — that Batista will be the fifth starter this season despite winning a team-high 16 games last year. But it wasn't too long ago, with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001, that Batista began the year seventh on the team's depth chart of starters.
After a string of injuries and poor performances by others, he moved up from a relief and spot-starter role to being the rotation's No. 3 guy behind Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson. Batista also took home a World Series ring that year, tossing eight shutout innings for a no-decision in Game 3 against the Yankees in New York.
Just like that season, Batista figures there will be plenty of flexibility in who the fifth starter is.
"Don't be surprised if there are a lot of changes happening during the season, where some of us are going to be jumping a day to pitch against a certain team that we can dominate better," he said. "Because I don't believe they invested all that money to be average.
"We've got to win. And if there's a guy who can dominate a team, and we're going to play that team in two days, we're going to jump their day so they can face that team."
Batista is 4-1 with a 1.99 earned-run average lifetime at Oakland's McAfee Coliseum.
Jarrod Washburn is 10-3 with a 2.69 ERA lifetime against the Tampa Bay Rays. He's also 5-1 with a 2.76 ERA against the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis.
Carlos Silva has a 1.91 ERA in six starts against the Boston Red Sox.
Mariners manager John McLaren said Saturday that he knows the order of his rotation already, but had yet to tell the pitchers involved. It's expected that Silva will be No. 3, with left-hander Washburn fourth to separate him and the rotation's other lefty, ace Erik Bedard.
Notes
• The Mariners signed former Washington State infielder Mike Kinkade, 36, to a minor-league deal Saturday.
![]()
Kinkade had a .256 batting average in 222 major-league games with the Mets, Orioles and Dodgers over the past decade to go with more than 1,000 contests played in the minors.
Kinkade last played in the majors in 2002 and spent a year in Japan with the Hanshin Tigers in 2004. The Mariners are looking at him strictly for minor-league depth, which is why he did not receive an invitation to major-league camp.
• Seattle players and coaches participated in pop-fly drills and batting practice in front of hundreds of spectators attending the team's annual FanFest at Peoria Stadium. As usual, Ichiro was the star attraction and was mobbed by autograph seekers during a pre-workout signing session.
• Pitcher Anderson Garcia played catch for the first time since experiencing biceps tendinitis in a bullpen session early last week. Garcia was claimed off waivers from the Philadelphia Phillies last weekend and is being looked at for a possible bullpen role.
Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or gbaker@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
UPDATE - 04:13 PM
Huskies finish third at NCAA cross-country championships
First load of rescued fish moved to Salmon Creek
NEW - 02:21 PM
Second-tier soccer league dubs itself the NASL
Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
Real Salt Lake wins MLS Cup on penalty kicks

Real Salt Lake wins MLS Cup
Real Salt Lake defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy with penalty kicks after 120 minutes of play at Qwest Field in Seattle.
general classifieds
Garage & estate salesFurniture & home furnishings
Sporting goods
just listed
8 Drawer Dresser with Attached Mirror - $200
8 seat pecon formal dining table and china hutch - $1500
A American Table, Chairs and Bench - $275
More listings
POST A FREE LISTING
shopping
Give yourself a treat and visit Watson Kennedy's Holiday Open Houses
More minding the store
events for Monday, Nov. 23
- Contractors equipment and vehicle auction
- Pitch Black Weekend Sale at Mapel
- Karan Dannenberg Clothier Black Friday Sale
- Dish It Up! Totally Truffles
editors' picks
More shopping guides- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Tugboat sinks at Seattle waterfront pier
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Woman stabbed by stranger in North Seattle
- Snow piles up on Cascade slopes
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Illegal workers quietly let go
328 - Climate change speeds up since 1997 Kyoto accord
200 - Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
170 - Metro won't cut bus service after all
137 - Historic health care bill clears Senate hurdle
93 - New Husky recruit: Enes Kanter
81 - Tattoos at Mill Creek Church pierce skin, soul
78 - Jerry Brewer: Seahawks can't lean on the Hutch Crutch now
70 - UW, WSU once again meet to see who's worse
64 - Ranking the Pac
53
- Sprouts, raw fish on attorney's 'do not eat' list
- Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business
- Rediscovering Moab, 'the most beautiful place on Earth'
- Architects, chefs find 'kid' within to build Gingerbread Village
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Taste | The Great Pie Bake-off pits friends and fruit




