M's Notebook | Rescheduling becomes messy

OAKLAND, Calif. — It appears that one of those four postponed games from the Mariners' series with Cleveland earlier this month is to be made up at Safeco Field.

At least, that's what Seattle player representative Willie Bloomquist says has been all but decided. The problem is, it's the only thing nobody is really fighting about as the teams and their players continue to haggle over when to play the three other contests.

"It's a real mess," Bloomquist said Wednesday.

Katy Feeney, MLB's senior vice president in charge of scheduling, also said Wednesday that a decision on exactly when the games are to take place may not be made until next week.

"The Mariners have interests, the Indians have interests and the players have interests," Feeney said. "And none of them seem to mesh."

The Chicago Cubs apparently also have their interests. The Cubs, you say? Well, it seems that just two days ago, according to Bloomquist, they nixed a proposal that would have seen them bump their June 12-14 series with Seattle at Wrigley Field up by one day.

That would have left an open date on June 14, one day before Seattle is due in Houston for a three-game set. The Mariners would have flown to Cleveland for a doubleheader on June 14, then continued on to Houston.

Not any more. The common open date for the Mariners and Indians is still June 11, but that's one day after Seattle finishes a three-game series in San Diego.

Bloomquist said there's no way his teammates want to hop on a plane on the West Coast, arrive in Cleveland after midnight and play a jetlag-laden doubleheader starting in the daytime. The only chance of playing that date, he said, is if it's one game at night. And even that has been a bone of contention because the Indians apparently want even the lone game to be played in the afternoon.

One option, if that lone game is played in Cleveland, would be to make up a second one as part of a doubleheader at Safeco Field the final week of the regular season. Cleveland would share in the gate proceeds, as per MLB provisions.

After that, two games could be made up a day after the season ends — if they are important. But Bloomquist said players have serious reservations about that.

"What happens if we make the playoffs?" Bloomquist asked. "Or what if the games mean something to the race? We could have to play a doubleheader, then fly to New York or something the next night to start the playoffs. That's not really fair."

Feeney agreed the final decision may not be fair to all.

"There's no easy solution to any of it," she said.

Morrow enjoys homecoming

Brandon Morrow enjoyed a real homecoming of sorts on Tuesday night, having grown up about an hour from here and then attending the University of California at Berkeley — not far from McAfee Coliseum. After arriving here about 7 p.m. on the team's charter flight from Arlington, Texas, Morrow headed over to the house he and his college roommates shared up until last spring.

"I went back to the house I lived in and one of my roommates is still there," he said. "We just kind of hung out for a while. Nothing much has changed. It hasn't really been all that long. There were just some questions and stuff about how this [major-league gig] works."

Morrow also got to spend Wednesday having lunch with his girlfriend, Julia. She's a senior at the university, as Morrow would have been if not for baseball, and hoping to become a broadcast journalist.

Notes

• A 12-year-old girl from Oregon who took part in a dream day visiting with the Mariners at Safeco Field last year died Wednesday after a battle with brain cancer. Katie Morris of Powell Butte, Ore., was the only female on her Little League baseball team in Oregon City and the Make-a-Wish Foundation arranged for the entire squad to travel to Seattle to meet the Mariners.

• Kenji Johjima was back behind the plate, having been sidelined since a ball was fouled off his right calf on Saturday. Mariners manager Mike Hargrove had the option of resting Johjima until today — since he'd usually only play once when a day game is followed by a night contest.

• Oakland activated first baseman Dan Johnson (left hip) from the 15-day disabled list and optioned catcher Adam Melhuse to Class AAA Sacramento.

For the record

Streak: W2

Home: 4-5

Road: 3-4

vs. AL West: 6-5

vs. L.A.: 0-3

vs. Oakland: 3-1

vs. Texas: 3-1

vs. AL East: 1-1

vs. AL Central: 0-3

vs. NL: 0-0

vs. LHP: 0-2

vs. RHP: 7-7

Day: 3-3

Night: 4-6

One-run: 1-3

Extra innings: 0-0