M's Notebook | Lowe could undergo more elbow surgery

PEORIA, Ariz. — An optimistic Mark Lowe on Tuesday vowed to return this season despite the prospect of facing even more arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow.

Lowe is to undergo an MRI examination today to see whether something is preventing the elbow from extending further. If an obstruction is found, he would have it removed and said the surgery would "only" set him back two more weeks.

"There's clearly a difference between my left and right arm and they want to get it straight," said Lowe, who underwent surgery last October to help regenerate cartilage in the injured elbow.

"It's not going to be straight, but if they can get it closer than what it is, that's what they're going to do," he said. "See if there's any build-up in the back and if there is, go in there and see if we can get some more range of motion in there."

Lowe had hoped to start throwing again next week and return to the team between May and July. But Dr. Lewis Yocum, who performed the surgery on Lowe, met with him Tuesday and decided he wanted the MRI.

The pitcher described the potential surgery as "a very simple procedure" and "not a big deal at all." He also said he has no doubt he'll be on a field again in 2007.

"I don't even think about it," he said. "I know I'm going to come back."

But his optimism wasn't echoed by manager Mike Hargrove, who was asked earlier in the day whether he was counting on Lowe to be back this season.

"Am I counting on seeing him this year? No," he said after a long pause. "But that doesn't mean I'm hoping we won't see him back."

Notes

-- Mariners relief pitcher George Sherrill fielded plenty of questions after Tuesday's encounters with Ichiro during live batting practice. On one occasion, he had shattered Ichiro's bat with a fastball, prompting an over-anxious female fan to run out on to the grass in foul territory in a bid to collect the wood shards as souvenirs.

She was quickly hustled off the field by officials, minus the broken wood pieces.

The next time Ichiro came up to face Sherrill, a few minutes later, the lefty pitcher sent him lunging out of the way with a pitch inside.

"The one he fell back on was a slider, coming inside," Sherrill said. "I thought it was a pretty good pitch. It just had late break on it. I guess it was a little tighter than I wanted."

Sherrill said that while he tries not to hit teammates when working in such sessions, he can't afford to worry about the possibility. Ichiro declined comment on the pitch and said he normally wouldn't swing at any live BP pitches this early in camp.

But he did so anyway, mostly because other Mariners were swinging as well. "That's real typical of hitting off pitchers in the first days of camp," Hargrove said. "It's not batting practice. It's pitching practice."

-- Relief pitcher Sean Green had his hamstring tighten up again Tuesday and will miss another two or three days of workouts. Green suffered a hamstring cramp while warming up late last week.

Geoff Baker: 206-464-8286 or gbaker@seattletimes.com