The spring training challenge: Battling boredom

PEORIA, Ariz. — There is a hidden enemy the Mariners spend each morning trying to keep at bay.

Call it boredom, restlessness, or even early camp blues. But there are only so many base-covering drills the human mind can take. Just a limited number of routine grounders can be scooped out of the dirt, or pop flies chased in the glaring sun before the eyes glaze over and ears tune out.

This is the enemy Mariners bench coach John McLaren is assigned to overcome. Or at least, fight to a standstill. As the guy in charge of running spring-training workouts for the Mariners, the 55-year-old spends each day trying to keep things interesting so the team heads into the regular season prepared.

"It's about organization and positive attitude," said McLaren, who rejoined the club this winter after a four-year absence and is entering his 21st season as a big-league coach. "We try to let them know that we're not here to stay out here all day. We're not here to keep them here for eight hours to impress you guys, the press. We want focus. We want concentration and execution.

"If we get that out of our workouts, we've accomplished something. Just staying out on the field, standing around, is not accomplishing anything. From the first day of camp, we've stressed that we want to do it right. And if we don't do it right, then we do it over again."

But that's easier said than done. The players are eager to get into games, starting with today's intrasquad affair and the onset of Cactus League play this week.

"Early on, I think it's easy to be interested," Mariners left fielder Raul Ibanez said. "But then, there's that three-day period before the games start, like right now, where it starts getting a little monotonous. So what you have to do is, you have to keep it in perspective. You have to stay focused."

Manager Mike Hargrove is more blunt about the mood this time of spring.

"Spring training, basically, is boring," Hargrove said. "Especially the mornings. The games are fun. But it's monotonous. It has to be monotonous because it's such a routine-oriented game."

There are things that can increase interest, like Monday's contest during a situational-hitting drill. Two groups of hitters bet each other $100 per head they could come through the most in key situations.

In the end, it was Ben Broussard delivering the clinching blow for his cheering group with a fly ball in a situation in which hitters pretended there was a runner at third base with less than two outs. The contest was actually dreamed up by hitting coach Jeff Pentland and by Hargrove, who wants more emphasis on situational hitting and baserunning this spring.

But the spirit behind the contest is exactly what McLaren strives for from the time he arrives at the Peoria Sports Complex about 6:15 a.m. He first does a gym workout, then chats up arriving players.

After meetings and a 9:30 a.m. team stretch, the day's sessions begin with pre-assigned groups running through station-to-station workouts of 30 minutes each on three practice fields. The drills run until noon and McLaren assigns each coach specific tasks, which get switched daily.

McLaren stood next to the catchers during the 10:30 a.m. bunt-defense workout. A full complement of fielders stood in position, with a runner on second. They all watched as a coach threw a slow-roller toward the third-base side of the pitcher's mound to simulate a bunt.

"One! One!" screamed catcher Jamie Burke, indicating the pitcher picking the ball up should throw to first — and not third — base. The out was recorded at first and McLaren seemed pleased.

"If you can get him at third, get him at third," McLaren said, to no one in particular. "But we want a damned out."

A few rounds of that drill and the yawns were already starting by the time hitters began their 11 a.m. bunting practice. McLaren, who was on the mound pitching to them from behind a protective screen, decided to try a different approach as Broussard laid his bunts down.

"That there just may be the best bunter in camp!" McLaren exclaimed. "The best bunter in camp!"

Was he serious? No, not really, McLaren admitted afterward.

"I was just trying to spice things up a bit," he said. "I figured that when they heard that, one or two of the guys would think 'Hey, I'm better than him!' and get a little competition going."

Some of those tricks work better than others. The good news for McLaren is, he has only got a few more days of make-believe before some real competition starts.

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