If you missed Geoff Baker Live! we've got the latter part of the show in the video above. And also a nice selection of clips below, like the one where I explain why it makes sense to go to a six-man bullpen -- which the M's have now done. We began the show with the news we broke on the blog, that the Mariners were not preparing to call Dustin Ackley up on Wednesday despite rumors.

Another viewer suggested that the team move Jack Wilson to third base and Chone Figgins to second. Here's what I thought of that idea. I also disagreed with somebody who felt Adam Kennedy should play every day. Someone asked whether the M's will still limit Michael Pineda's innings count in what's looking like a possible all-star season. There was a question of whether Ichiro should get more DH time or days off if his defense shows further signs of decline. Yet another viewer wants to see catcher Josh Bard added from Class AAA. Can't say I disagree.
On to the post...

Well, it's official. The M's are going with a six-man bullpen. Tom Wilhelmsen will be optioned out to Class AA Jackson tomorrow in order to clear room for Franklin Gutierrez to be activated and start in center against the Angels.

That means the M's will be going with five outfielders. Ichiro in right, Gutierrez in center and Michael Saunders, Mike Wilson and Carlos Peguero in left.

Saunders will also be the backup center fielder.

I asked Eric Wedge whether Saunders would be in left tomorrow and he didn't want to answer that right away. On the one hand, a struggling Saunders could use a night off. On the other, he did get one of three Seattle hits tonight and there's a right-hander on the mound.

But that right-hander is Jered Weaver. So, yeah. Tough decision. My guess is we'll see Peguero out there tomorrow and Saunders on the bench.

By the way, Chris Ray does have minor league options left. But once you get five years experience, you can veto any optioning and become a free agent -- so the options are kind of a moot point.

So, the Wilhelmsen move was a no-brainer. He's got options, needs to pitch and really, if you think he can start someday, you're best off finding out now than letting him rot in the bullpen from non-use.

So, a six-man pen. Wedge has been mulling that one over for a while now. We've discussed it on this blog multiple times this month, including this morning in deducing that Wilhelmsen would be the odd man out.

The last time the M's went with a six-man pen was at the very beginning of last year. It was an abysmal experiment, though the circumstances were different. In reality, the M's have operated with a five-man pen for a while now.

I asked Wedge why he was comfortable doing it now.

"It's pretty obvious,'' he said. "You look at the way our starting pitching has been. Obviously, they've been very consistent and are getting us late in the ballgame.''

Wedge knocked his wooden podium as he said this. Watch Jason Vargas get lit up tomorrow night. Seriously though, this move made sense.

Yes, the M's are going with five outfielders (three in left), but Saunders has really only been half a player this season while Gutierrez will only be a partial player until he gets back in the swing of things.

Peguero and Wilson are hardly complete MLB products either.

So, the extra bodies won't hurt.

Wedge is excited about the impact Gutierrez could have on the team. The M's have looked for another impact right-handed bat for a while now and would like their outfield defense to get back to normal as well.

Whatever normal is. Saunders hardly looks out of the woods yet. This is more of a stay of execution for him and another week or two to right himself offensively until Gutierrez can handle center six days a week.

"On and off the field, Gut has been a solid major league player,'' Wedge said after the game. "I had him when he was a young man coming up from the minor leagues. He's accomplished a lot since then. To have him around his teammates consistently in center field, in the lineup, it should be a boost for us.''