Mariners notebook: No date yet for Ichiro's return to lineup

Despite the Mariners' hopes that Ichiro would be back in the lineup soon, it doesn't seem likely he will get into a game this weekend.

The right fielder, battling a sore calf, can throw and hit without any pain. It's the running part he doesn't have down pat yet. He did some jogging before batting practice Friday, at a bit heavier pace than Thursday, but still not to the point where he'll be ready to play.

When asked whether he expected Ichiro to play this weekend, manager Don Wakamatsu said: "It's hard to say. My guess is, he'll take batting practice [Friday] and we'll check [today]. I don't have a date yet."

Look who's back

With Jack Wilson coming off his lingering hamstring injury, Josh Wilson was back in at shortstop on Friday against Kansas City.

"They told me at the beginning that they weren't going to play him every single day," Josh Wilson said. "They kind of don't want to rush him back in there."

Wilson, who hadn't played since Sunday, has been doing all the same things to prepare for games and hoped he wouldn't suffer any due to the rust of sitting out.

"When I first got here, I didn't play at all," Wilson said with a laugh, referring to his first go-round with Seattle earlier this summer. "Hopefully, this will be a little easier."

Batting seventh Friday, he was 1 for 3 with three RBI.

Notes

• 3B Adrian Beltre (testicle) was eligible to come off the disabled list Friday, but wasn't quite ready. Wakamatsu thinks he could be ready by Tuesday.

• Guess who the scout was who first flew down to the Dominican Republic to sign former Mariner and current Royal Jose Guillen when he was 16? Here's a hint: He's the only general manager in baseball whose last name starts with the letter "Z."

Turns out, Jack Zduriencik was scouting for Pittsburgh back then. The scout who'd spotted Guillen didn't have the authority to sign players, so Zduriencik hopped a plane, flew to the Caribbean nation and saw Guillen work out. The rest is history.