Mariners
Notebook: With Meche's departure, Melvin ponders next move

By Bob Condotta
Seattle Times staff reporter

Ron Villone

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Mariners manager Bob Melvin wasn't ready to announce who will take Gil Meche's spot in the starting rotation yesterday, saying no final decision has been made.

But the more he talked, the more clues he gave as to which way the team may be leaning.

Melvin said the team had "probably three or four options" on how to replace Meche, who was sent down to Class AAA Tacoma yesterday with a 1-5 record and a 7.06 earned-run average.

Those include skipping the fifth spot in the rotation for a while because the team has four days off between today and June 21, or putting left-handed reliever Ron Villone — who has 83 career starts including 19 last season with Houston — into the rotation.

Melvin also said it was possible the Mariners would look to one of the starters in Tacoma.

And then there's the most logical, and seemingly most likely, option — putting rookie Clint Nageotte, who went four innings in relief of Meche on Tuesday against Toronto, into the rotation.

Pressed on what the team was thinking, Melvin pointed out that Houston — the team the Mariners will face the next time Meche's spot in the rotation comes up — has a primarily right-handed hitting lineup. That would seem to rule out Villone or Tacoma starters Travis Blackley, Bobby Madritsch or Matt Thornton, all of whom are left-handed.

Asked to follow up on that statement, Melvin said, "I've already said more than I wanted to say."

Melvin also said that taking Villone out of the bullpen would leave only Mike Myers as a left-handed reliever (besides closer Eddie Guardado), a situation he said isn't ideal.

Nageotte, who gave up four runs, four hits and four walks while making his major-league debut Tuesday, said he hadn't been told anything, but he will do whatever the team wants "at the drop of a hat."
 
Melvin said the fact that Nageotte struggled in the 6-5 loss to the Blue Jays didn't mean much.

"It's tough to evaluate a guy on his first big-league outing," Melvin said. "He didn't have as good a command of his fastball as he would have liked to have had, but I'm sure it will be better next time. He even threw a couple of curveballs, which he's just learning to throw, and that shows he's thinking clearly out there. Now he's got all of that (making his first major-league appearance) out of the way and I think you will see better things next time."

Nageotte, who was 4-3 with a 4.66 ERA in nine starts at Tacoma, said it took him a while to get his nerves under control. "It was a totally different feeling (than any other game he has ever played)," he said.

But Nageotte has a history of starting slowly. He said he walked the first five batters he faced as a professional when he came out of the bullpen for Peoria in 2000. He ended that season 4-1 with a 2.16 ERA.

Bocachica glad to be back

The Mariners called up utility man Hiram Bocachica from Tacoma to take Meche's place on the roster.

Bocachica became a fan favorite when he hit .341 with a team-high four home runs and 14 runs batted in during spring training. And he continued to play well in Tacoma, hitting .299 with seven home runs and 21 RBI in 31 games.

Melvin said Bocachica will be the team's fourth outfielder — filling the role vacated when Quinton McCracken was designated for assignment last week — and that he can also play all the infield positions if needed.

"He's the best fit for us right now," Melvin said. "And with the spring he had, it's nice to be able to reward him."

It didn't take long for Bocachica to make his first Mariners appearance as he replaced Raul Ibanez in the second inning after Ibanez was injured running to first base. Ibanez left the game with a strained right hamstring. He will be re-evaluated today.

Bocachica popped out to second with two men on and one out in the third for his first at-bat.

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com