For M's, déjà vu all over again

The Mariners have a familiar look as they head into their 2006 spring-training camp, very close to the one they wore at the All-Star break last year.

This is not good.

Despite the additions of starter Jarrod Washburn, catcher Kenji Johjima, designated hitter Carl Everett and outfielder Matt Lawton, it is much the same team as it was halfway through the 2005 season.

The team's situation is similar, too.

As was the case last July, the possibility of improving lies largely on the arms of pitchers Gil Meche and Joel Pineiro.

Will they get up (grow up?) or get back to the level that several seasons back made them the Nos. 1-2 hopes of Seattle's rotation?

With Johjima and Everett in the lineup and Lawton always having been a contributor, the offense should be improved. But pitching is the touchstone of baseball success, and unless Meche and Pineiro suddenly get better, Seattle's staff is woefully thin, especially in the rotation.

Unfortunately for the Mariners, who were in desperate need of overhauling their rotation, it was a thin market for starters this offseason.

"It was not an optimum year for it. The free-agent pool was not deep where we needed it," said Bill Bavasi, the Seattle general manager. "But it was good at the very top and we do feel we siphoned off some of that when we signed Jarrod."

Beyond that, the Mariners re-signed Jamie Moyer, who reinvented himself again to improve from a 7-13 record and 5.21 earned-run average in 2004 to 13-7, 4.28 last year.

Still, it remains to be seen if the Mariners were wise to follow their pattern of retaining local favorites. They could have used that $5 million to $6 million to add the likes of Matt Clement from Boston in trade, or free agent Scott Elarton, whom their scouts reportedly did not like.

Elarton, who would have come for two years at a bit more than Moyer's one-year salary, was 11-9 with a 4.61 ERA and .267 batting average against for Cleveland last season. Washburn was 8-8, 3.20 and .274 against with Anaheim.

Seattle could be accused of lacking vision for failing to give up some of its already-spotty offense for pitching.

Boston, for instance, might have given up a lot of its immense starting depth for first baseman Richie Sexson, who came back from serious shoulder injuries to hit 39 homers (a record 21 in big Safeco Field) and drive in 121 runs; or Adrian Beltre, who could reasonably be expected to have a better second season in the American League.

But as crucial as pitching is and as needy as the Mariners are, they felt they couldn't afford to give up any offense. The team was last in the American League in hitting (.256) last season, and second to last in runs scored (699) and homers (130).

"We couldn't give up what offense we had, and Richie was a big part of what we had as it was," Bavasi said. "And we feel Adrian will hit."

Bavasi said no other clubs called and tried to pry away any of what offense manager Mike Hargrove had. "And we had no surplus, no one in development, to come along if we had created holes," Bavasi said. "Serious trade possibilities for pitching did not avail themselves, and we did not shop those guys."

The lack of flow from the minors — most critically in pitching — is an issue the Seattle club has been dealing with for some time, one that Bavasi and scouting director Bob Fontaine are focused on turning around.

Thus, Mariners officials will have a critical eye on hopefuls and prospects this spring, when the World Baseball Classic will draw away veterans like Pineiro and Ichiro and leave practice and playing time for younger performers.

The team's inability to replace Pineiro and Meche has created more reliance on the right-handers, even as they have failed to live up to their potential in the years since 2003.

That season, Pineiro was 16-11 and earned a three-year deal that, combined with an elbow problem in 2004, seemed to drag him down later. Meche was 15-13 in '03 and showed the stuff that made him a first-round pick in 1996.

They have not come close again to that success, and there is no way of telling if Pineiro and Meche are capable of picking up either themselves or their team.

Last August and September, Pineiro actually did have some solid starts, but he was a tired 4-7 overall in the second half.

Meche developed a knee problem that took him out of the rotation for the last six weeks, save one short start at Detroit.

But he was an enigma. He had a brilliant two-inning relief outing in late September at Toronto, in which Hargrove said he threw "as well as I've ever seen a guy." Meche went back into the rotation for one start after that, but went only two innings in Detroit and did not throw the ball as well again.

There are two reasons the Mariners may expect more from the two puzzling right-handers: Rafael Chaves is coming in as pitching coach, and Pineiro and Meche are both in contract situations that would be helped by big seasons.

Meche is in his option year, eligible for free agency after this season. Pineiro is in the final year of his three-year deal, and while he'll still be under the Mariners' control, he will be eligible for arbitration.

The change to Chaves, who spent the past two seasons as pitching coach at Class AAA Tacoma, could be key with both. One part of it is the Latin connection for Pineiro; another is the fact that Meche has always worked well with Chaves.

"No knock on Bryan [former pitching coach Bryan Price], but guys get tired of hearing the same message from a coach," Hargrove said, "and the coach might get tired of the player not getting it. Sooner or later, the instruction is lost. So, changing to Chaves here might do the trick.

"For sure, we would like to see both those guys do better. It would make us a much better team."

It is not by chance that the Mariners have invited veteran right-handers Kevin Appier and Dave Burba to camp. If either one shows he has something left, and someone flops in Cactus League games, he will get a real shot at making the opening-day roster. Meche, especially, could wind up in relief.

The situation is similar at second base, where Jose Lopez will not be handed the job. If the youngster — who was sent out last year to learn to earn playing time — falters, Willie Bloomquist or even invitee Fernando Vina will play.

Otherwise this spring, the additions of Johjima, Everett and Lawton, along with fingers-crossed improvement from Beltre and Jeremy Reed, will be expected to make the offense more consistent.

Johjima's situation will be at the heart of the six weeks of preparation — and in the glare of attention from 29 other clubs and two countries — as he makes the transition from Japan at a position regarded the toughest on the field and one where communication is key.

Beyond the language issue, however, Johjima (like the other newcomers, including Washburn) is reputed to bring leadership and character, ingredients that were noticeably in short supply last season.

Veteran leadership has never been more essential to Seattle. The Mariners used 14 rookies last year, when the average age of the 25-man roster dropped three years from 31 in 2004 to 28 last August. Melding Everett and Lawton, both 34, into the team may bump up that some, but the bump was necessary.

With the likes of Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner, Mark McLemore, Stan Javier and Lou Piniella long gone, the club's chemistry needs a new mix.

It will be a critical camp for the Mariners in more ways than have been evident since the team's glory days. The flaws in the rotation, run production and character were hidden for a few years after the departures, but now stand out starkly.

For a once-proud franchise, there is nothing to do but to get better.

Felix Hernandez, the Mariners' prized 19-year-old right-hander, will be in the rotation from the start. And Yuniesky Betancourt will be the opening-day shortstop. That's a start. But Seattle officials can only hope that much more than those two will start to show itself the next six weeks in Arizona.

Bob Finnigan: 206-464-8276 or bfinnigan@seattletimes.com