Don't forget to tune in to Geoff Baker Live! from FX McRory's tonight at 6:10 p.m. PT. We've pushed the time back 10 minutes because that's about the time we've normally been starting in any event. We're sort of like an airline, building in a time cushion so we can keep our on-time rating high.

There is all kinds of buzz out there over the airwaves and on Twitter about a possible Dustin Ackley promotion to the Mariners as early as tomorrow. I've been told that's not going to happen.

The Mariners like what they've seen from Ackley hitting-wise. He pounded a home run in a three-hit performance today for Class AAA Tacoma. But the team still does not feel he's ready enough defensively.

I'm told that the defensive stuff is more of a concern than Ackley's potential to gain Super Two status and reach arbitration a year early. It used to be that players could be held back until the third week in May (right about now) and not gain Super Two status, but lately, the cutoff date seems to be getting pushed further and further back to the point where anybody brought up before mid-June is a risk.

The whole Super-Two thing could be done away with in the next round of CBA talks after this season. For now, the system is still there and there's no point paying Ackley an early year of arbitration if the team isn't convinced he's ready with the glove. Best to hold off a few weeks.

Mariners manager Eric Wedge was asked about Ackley in this afternoon's pre-game media scrum. Wedge was asked whether it's tough to avoid the temptation of wanting to see Ackley up here as soon as possible, given his recent torrid stretch of hitting for Tacoma.

"I just don't react like that,'' Wedge said. "You start reacting like that in this game, you chase your tail. You've got to do things for the right reasons at the right time for the organization, for the big-league team, for the players. And not necessarily in that order, so we've got a day-to-day thought process here and we've got a big picture in mind right on top of it.''

Had a nice chat with Michael Saunders pre-game. Saunders is in a terrible rut at the plate and knows it well. He has also been playing very good center field defense and says this is as comfortable as he's felt out there in the field all year.

That's likely going to keep him in the majors a while longer.

Wedge today said that when Franklin Gutierrez is activated -- there's a good chance that will happen tomorrow, though a decision has yet to be made -- he will likely sit out at least two days a week. I asked Wedge whether he'd be comfortable with Mike Wilson playing center for two days a week and he said yes.

But others in the organization do not feel Wilson can do that and Wedge was likely just being diplomatic. Saunders is the only proven center fielder out there besides Ichiro and Gutierrez and Ichiro isn't going to be moved from right to back Guti up when he's off.

So, Saunders sticks around.

I'm told the six-man bullpen idea is one of the scenarios being tossed around by the team as it contemplates its moves for tomorrow. If that happens, as we wrote this morning on the blog, it gives you all kinds of bench flexibility when it comes to lefty and righty bats.

The team has played with a five-man bullpen for the past month in any event.

Otherwise, the club could demote one of Wilson or Peguero. I'm thinking it's Peguero if that happens because the team still needs Wilson's right handed bat.

Saunders says he's worked hard behind the scenes and feels he's had good at-bats even if the results haven't been there.

"I think this is really going to end up helping me in the long run, going through this,'' Saunders said. "Because it can only make me stronger. I'm learning a lot. Just about every player in the game, no matter how good they are, goes through a period like this and the quicker you learn to deal with it, the better it makes you as a player.''