Notebook | Mariners summon catching coordinator

ARLINGTON, Texas — Mariners manager John McLaren wants to make sure his pitchers and catchers are "on the same page" going forward.

To that end, the club decided to bring up its catching coordinator, Roger Hansen, from the minor leagues starting today, for one of his periodical visits. Hansen was going to be visiting with the club soon in any event, McLaren said, adding that he and general manager Bill Bavasi figured now would be a good time.

"That's our job as a staff, to get everybody on the same page," McLaren said before Monday night's series opener against the Texas Rangers. "Roger Hansen's going to come in ... we're going to get him talking to the catchers a bit here. That's one thing we're doing as a staff, trying to get everybody on the same page."

Mariners pitcher Jarrod Washburn said over the weekend that he and catcher Kenji Johjima were still somewhat out of sync at times. "It's a work in progress," Washburn said, making reference to Johjima's efforts at transitioning to the American game since coming over from Japan.

Washburn reiterated after Monday's game that he gets along with Johjima and wasn't trying to blame him for his struggles on the mound.

"I wasn't on the same page with Bengie Molina in Anaheim all the time, but I loved the guy," he said. "It's an ongoing thing between a pitcher and a catcher. You have to make adjustments or there will come a time when you're not in sync."

Johjima caught Erik Bedard on Monday night — something backup Jamie Burke had done the lefty's last three outings — for the first time since early April. Bedard was staked to a 5-0 lead in the first inning, but lasted only two-plus frames and was down 6-5 when pulled.

For his part, Johjima said before the game that he'd been working hard to improve the communication with pitchers. He said his grasp of English has progressed to the point where he understands what the pitchers are saying on the mound and they comprehend him.

"We go through game plans before the game during our meetings so we can make everything clear before we get into the [pregame] bullpens," Johjima said through a translator. "What I try to do is, I try to go with a game plan. I try to go with what [a pitcher] wants to pitch. As a catcher, when you give up a run, we take a lot of responsibility. When they [pitchers] do not give up any runs, they take a lot of the credit. That's just how it is in baseball. I don't think it's wrong or anything.

"My job is to help each pitcher every night," he added. "That's how my attitude is."

McLaren said he and his coaches have been quick to pinpoint any clubhouse situations that could be signs of trouble and work on them.

"I think we've had some frustration here as a team," he said, not referring specifically to Johjima, or pitcher-catcher relationships, but the team as a whole. "I think we're beyond that now, and we're ready to settle down and play some good baseball."

Notes

• An unexpected sight greeted the fans here who came to watch pregame batting practice on Monday. Standing in the cage, all 6 feet 8 inches of him, was Richie Sexson, target of much venom on local radio sports call-in shows here the past couple of days. Few had expected Sexson to make the trip because his five-game suspension for charging the mound and throwing his batting helmet at Rangers starter Kason Gabbard last Thursday night still had three games to go.

But Sexson said he wanted to be here.

"I always intended to make the trip," Sexson said as he dressed in the visitors' clubhouse pregame. "I didn't want to be away from the team for so long."

A couple of fans heckled Sexson, but things otherwise went calmly.

Sexson could have remained in Seattle and worked out on his own. He is allowed to partake in all team workouts here but can't remain in the dugout once the game starts.

• Mariners rookie Jeff Clement, who entered Monday's game with a .125 batting average, came up with his first multi-hit effort. Clement had a single in a five-run first inning by the Mariners, then later added a double and scored the tying run in the sixth.

• Ichiro led the game off with a bloop single to left, extending his hitting streak to a dozen games — the longest active streak in the majors. Ichiro had entered the night hitting .405 in May.

Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or gbaker@seattletimes.com

For the record

Streak: L1

Home: 9-12

Road: 6-13

vs. AL West: 9-10

vs. L.A.: 3-3

vs. Oakland: 3-2

vs. Texas: 3-5

vs. AL East: 3-10

vs. AL Central: 3-5

vs. NL: 0-0

vs. LHP: 2-7

vs. RHP: 13-18

Day: 4-7

Night: 11-18

One-run: 1-9

Extra innings: 0-2