Notebook | M's skipper John McLaren admits lineup matched catcher-pitcher

DETROIT — It was a natural question he knew was coming, and John McLaren chose not to duck it.

McLaren had penciled Jamie Burke in as the starting Mariners catcher for Wednesday night's game with left-hander Jarrod Washburn on the mound. But instead of saying it was because of some obscure hitter-pitcher matchup, or because he felt Johjima needed a rest, the manager chose to tell the truth.

Washburn has worked better with Burke, and McLaren chose to give the pitcher what he wants.

"If we can do it, we'll try to do it," McLaren said. "I'm not going to switch everything around. Just when there's an opportunity, when certain pitchers are pitching."

But McLaren also went on to all but declare that Burke will be the personal catcher for No. 1 starter Erik Bedard for the foreseeable future. Bedard has also had greater success when Burke catches, though the sample size is relatively small.

Bedard has held opponents to a .168 batting average and a .597 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in four games working with Burke, while the average climbs to .283 and the OPS to 1.022 in three games with Johjima. In Washburn's case, opponents were hitting for a higher average, .302 to .293, in the three games Burke caught him as opposed to the six with Johjima catching.

But in the more important OPS category, hitters were at .893 when Johjima caught Washburn compared with only .712 with Burke.

Those numbers obviously changed big-time on Wednesday night, when the Washburn-Burke battery yielded nine runs on 12 hits in 2 1/3 innings of a 9-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers.

There have been studies done on the impact of pitcher-catcher relationships that show them to have a marginal impact, if any, on actual results. But for McLaren, it's a matter of simply sticking with something that makes his pitchers most comfortable and appears to be working.

"You've got to look at it two ways," McLaren said. "If a guy is having success with one guy, you've definitely got to really weigh that heavily. That doesn't lie. We've got kind of that situation with Burke and Bedard. It's been a good combination, and so we're going to stick with it for a while."

The situation raises uncomfortable questions about the reasoning behind the team's decision to grant Johjima a three-year, $24 million contract extension at a time he is struggling at the plate and in getting on the same page with some pitchers. That's likely a reason McLaren was quick to insist the Washburn arrangement wasn't a permanent thing and would only be done when it made sense.

Johjima was only to play one of the final two games here in any event since today's contest will be in the afternoon following the Wednesday night affair. And while some top pitchers, such as Greg Maddux and Mike Mussina, have been known to be granted "personal catchers" apart from the team's No. 1 guy, it's not all that common for a back-end starter like Washburn to be accorded the same privilege on a regular basis.

News stuns Baek

A somewhat stunned-looking Cha Seung Baek was the last player to leave the visiting clubhouse after the game, having been designated for assignment. Seattle now has 10 days to trade, release or outright the pitcher to the minors and will likely recall knuckleballer R.A. Dickey from Class AAA Tacoma in time for today's game.

The ironic part for Baek, who was consoled by teammates and coaches after emerging from a closed-door meeting with McLaren and assistant GM Jim Na, is that he'd just tossed three scoreless innings against the Tigers. That came one night after he'd been pounded for three home runs and a double in just two innings of long relief on Tuesday.

Adjusting to the long-relief role, after being a starter his entire professional career, has been a challenge.

"I'm used to being a starter, so as a long reliever, I have to get ready much quicker," Baek said before Wednesday's game. "They told me I have to get ready the first five innings of every game."

Whether it was stretching his back, loosening up with a weighted ball, or rubber tubing, he tried to be ready for the times he'd have to start his warm-up tosses.

"He's had to change his whole routine, not only physical but also mental," bullpen coach Norm Charlton said. "We don't want him sitting around in the bullpen waiting for the phone to ring. The point of all that [work] is getting ready before the phone rings."

Baek looked ready on Wednesday. He yielded a double to Placido Polanco, the second batter he faced, but then retired eight of the next nine hitters.

But it was all academic by that point. The Mariners, having seen starters go only 6-1/3 combined innings the past two nights, are in dire straits bullpen-wise heading into the series finale and needed a fresh arm. So, after bouncing among the rotation, bullpen, minors and majors for the Mariners the past two years, Baek's career with the team could be at an end.

Notes

• Jose Vidro went hitless in four at-bats on Wednesday, one night after collecting a double and an RBI single on Tuesday in his return to full-time DH work. Vidro had been sidelined for nearly two weeks by a back injury, but he says the problem didn't flare up until after the team's trip to New York earlier this month.

That means his previous hitting woes had nothing to do with his bad back. Asked what he thought might go differently for him this time, Vidro simply shrugged.

"It feels OK, a lot looser," he said of the back. "But right now, I've just got to start hitting."

• Yuniesky Betancourt improved to 6 for 16 (.375) lifetime off Tigers starter Kenny Rogers, clubbing a solo homer off him in the second inning.

• Ichiro finished the game 1 for 3 with two walks and is now hitting .351 in May, compared with .252 in April.

• Ivan Rodriguez of the Tigers likes to face Washburn, going 2 for 3 off him to improve to 17 for 39 (.436) lifetime against the lefty.

For the record

Streak: L2

Home: 11-13

Road: 7-16

vs. AL West: 10-11

vs. L.A.: 3-3

vs. Oakland: 3-2

vs. Texas: 4-6

vs. AL East: 3-10

vs. AL Central: 3-7

vs. NL: 2-1

vs. LHP: 4-9

vs. RHP: 14-20

Day: 6-7

Night: 12-22

One-run: 3-9

Extra innings: 1-2