Notebook | Mark Lowe rediscovers success with slider

A little typing of notes into his computer is something Mark Lowe hopes will spare him some grief down the road.

Lowe has found renewed success with his slider this past week. The breaking pitch is one he'd used to keep hitters off-balance upon breaking into the big leagues in 2006 before an elbow injury sidelined his career.

Trouble is, once Lowe made it back to the majors this season, he'd forgotten how to throw the pitch.

"I've been using it, but the spin and the depth of it hasn't been what I've wanted it to be until about a week ago," Lowe said before Tuesday night's game against the Los Angeles Angels.

The problem was the way Lowe was gripping the ball. His grip was roughly the same, but he wasn't applying enough pressure with his fingertips.

"That's why it's so important to write stuff down," Lowe said. "You can remember everything that's working for you and how to do it."

Lowe used to jot some occasional notes down in the minors. But he hadn't really gotten into the habit when a chondral defect in his elbow derailed his rookie season with the Mariners in August 2006.

"After the surgery, I did it a lot because of the difference it made," he said.

Throwing pitches, he added, isn't like riding a bicycle. Pitchers forget how to throw them the way that works best.

The slider is an important complement to Lowe's fastball, which averages about 95 mph and can frequently hit 97.

Lowe's slider runs about 86 or 87 mph and breaks away from right-handed hitters. That's the opposite of his changeup, which goes about the same speed and breaks in on right-handers.

All three pitches give him different looks to keep hitters off-balance.

On Monday night, he helped his team escape a two-on, one-out jam, later going on to allow just one hit over 2-1/3 scoreless innings. He threw two scoreless innings against Detroit on Friday night, also allowing just one hit.

"It's like Jamie Moyer," Lowe said. "You look at him and how successful he's been because he's got three pitches he can put over the plate. I feel I've got the same thing now."

Of Morrow and draft

With the annual June draft taking place Thursday, the Mariners have their senior scouting officials in town preparing for the big day. The team's vice president of scouting, Bob Fontaine, spoke before Tuesday's game and was asked whether he felt Brandon Morrow had to make the jump to a starting role in order to justify the decision to draft him in the first round two years ago.

"Let me tell you something," Fontaine said. "I don't look at it having to be justified. I've done this so long, if I have to feel everything we do is under a crystal ball and has to be justified, and I'm going to worry about it, I'm going to make a lot of mistakes.

"If Brandon Morrow is helping us, that's what counts," he added. "Can he start? Of course he can start. I believe he's a starter. Our scouts believe he's a starter. We scouted him as a starter. When the time comes, if he's a starter here, I believe he's going to be an outstanding starter. But in the meantime, he's going to be and is an outstanding reliever. If that's what's best for this club ... that's one of the things we liked about Brandon, that he could do both things, and fill a need for you when you needed it."

Fontaine added he isn't wondering what could have been in regard to San Francisco Giants starter Tim Lincecum. The Mariners passed on the Bellevue native, who is 7-1 with a 2.23 earned-run average, in order to draft Morrow.

"First of all, I'm not going to comment on another team's player," he said. "A lot is written and whatever. I'm very thrilled with the guy we took. I love Brandon Morrow. Careers take time to develop. The kid in San Francisco has been fabulous. You hope he has a fabulous career, as I believe Brandon Morrow is going to have a fabulous career here."

Expensive losing

Seattle is on pace to hit 103 losses for the season. That would make the Mariners the first team in baseball history to lose 100 games with a payroll in excess of $100 million.

The record for losses by a team with a payroll exceeding $100 million was set by the 2003 New York Mets. That squad lost 96 games with a payroll of $117 million — the same amount being spent by the Mariners this season.

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

For the record

Streak: L3

Home: 14-17

Road: 7-21

vs. AL West: 10-13

vs. L.A.: 3-5

vs. Oakland: 3-2

vs. Texas: 4-6

vs. AL East: 5-14

vs. AL Cent.: 4-10

vs. NL: 2-1

vs. LHP: 4-12

vs. RHP: 17-26

Day: 7-11

Night: 14-27

One-run: 5-11

Extra innings: 2-2

Home attendance

Tuesday's crowd: 23,534

Season total: 899,211

Biggest crowd: 46,334 (March 31)

Smallest crowd: 15,818 (May 6)

Average (32 dates): 28,100

2007 average (32 dates): 28,908