Mariners
Notebook: Guardado finds saves hard to find on this year's M's

By Bob Sherwin
Seattle Times staff reporter

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CLEVELAND — Everyday Eddie is not just a nickname for Mariners closer Eddie Guardado. It's a definition.

He doesn't need days off. He doesn't need to be handled with care. He can rest in the offseason.

"My attitude is I prepare every day to pitch, anywhere, anytime they need me," Guardado said.

When he was a setup pitcher with Minnesota, he once appeared in 12 consecutive games. Another time he worked 4-2/3 innings against Anaheim, then came back the next day to earn a save.

"I'm always ready," he said. "You never know."

But this has been a strange year for him. He has been underutilized because the Mariners have played so poorly. He has just 10 save opportunities, saving eight. When the club went through its recent stretch in which it lost 11 of 13 games, manager Bob Melvin couldn't keep Guardado vital. He had to bring him in in non-save situations just to give him work.

"I still have to get my work in, but it's not a good sight (in those situations)," Guardado said. "It's tough to keep your focus."

Then he was called on to pitch two innings last Sunday for a save followed by saves in the first two games of the Cleveland series this week. It didn't look like he would be needed Wednesday when the Mariners entered the bottom of the ninth with a 7-1 lead. But the Indians scored two and had two on with no outs. Guardado entered and struck out all three batters he faced.

"When it comes, it comes in bunches," Guardado said. "I'm ready to work. I don't need to tell him (Melvin). He knows."

In his past three saves, Guardado has retired 12 of 13 batters, allowing one walk and striking out eight.
 
Nageotte needs work

The Mariners likely won't have young right-hander Clint Nageotte in the bullpen in the near future. Melvin said earlier in the week that he expected Nageotte to be moved to Class AAA Tacoma's bullpen to prepare him for a similar role with the big club.

However, the player-development people have other ideas.

"They think he needs to work on a soft pitch, whether it's a change or a curveball. They think that putting him in the bullpen right now will inhibit that a bit," Melvin said.

Nageotte has two plus pitches, a fastball and a slider. He is trying to develop a changeup to fill out as a starter. It's still a work in progress, which is why Melvin believes he's better suited as a reliever at the present time.

"Maybe it is the right thing to do, to let him throw multiple pitches and work on the things he needs to work on," Melvin said. "That's opposed to pitching him one or two innings (up here) and just using just his sinker and slider.

"He's not going to just throw it (changeup) so it's on the charts. He needs to throw it functionally, for an out. It's about development down there, but when you're out there competing and he has such a great pitch like that slider, it's tough for him to not worry about results. It's tough to do, but we have to pound that home because he's a guy we're going to want here in Seattle at some point."

Boone back

Bret Boone, whose grandfather, Ray Boone, had a serious stroke a week ago, was back in the lineup after being given Wednesday off. Melvin had him batting in the fifth spot for the first time since last September.

"It's a change of scenery to take a little pressure off," Melvin said. "Sometime when you hit in the three hole and you struggle, you put a little pressure on yourself."

Communication is key

Melvin's managerial style was on display before the game. He had a 15-minute, closed-door session with shortstop Rich Aurilia, who is struggling at .222 and was not in the starting lineup. Melvin made sure they were on the same page.

"I communicate with all the guys to let them know what I'm thinking. That's my philosophy, let's have some give-and-take and see what's going on," he said. "They feel better about it. They understand, instead of them sitting there thinking, 'What's going on? Why aren't I playing?' It makes for a better relationship."

Close to home

Julio Mateo, who is from Bani, Dominican Republic, said that the devastating floods that have hit the Dominican along with island neighbor Haiti were a little north of where he lives.

"It's about three hours away," Mateo said. "My father drove to that area to bring clothes and food. He said it was terrible."

There may be more than 1,000 deaths caused by weekend rains that triggered massive floods. Entire towns were washed away.

Mateo said teammate Rafael Soriano's hometown of San Jose, Dominican Republic, also should be unaffected by the floods.