M's Notebook | Union files grievance on behalf of Mateo

Turns out the baseball players' association has a problem with the way the Mariners suspended and demoted relief pitcher Julio Mateo.

The union filed a grievance Thursday over Mateo's 10-day suspension without pay and also complained the team improperly optioned him to Class AAA Tacoma. Both moves came after Mateo was arrested May 5 in New York and charged with third-degree assault of his wife, Aurea, at the team's Manhattan hotel.

At the time, the Mariners said the suspension came as a result of Mateo missing that day's game at Yankee Stadium without permission. But Mateo had spoken with manager Mike Hargrove earlier that day, at which time the latter urged him to cooperate with authorities.

If allowed to stand, the suspension would cost Mateo $54,645 of his $1 million salary for this season.

"Yes, we are aware that the union has filed a grievance in this matter," Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi said Thursday. "Frankly, the union files a grievance on virtually every matter involving player discipline."

The Mariners announced Wednesday — the day Mateo's suspension ended — that he had been placed on the AAA Temporarily Inactive List. He will continue to be paid a major-league salary and work out privately, but he will not be allowed to rejoin the Mariners or their AAA affiliate for the time being.

It is important to note that while the union filed the grievance on Mateo's behalf, it doesn't mean the pitcher himself was behind the complaint. Mateo issued a joint statement with the team after his arrest, apologizing for his actions and continues to undergo voluntary counseling sessions through the ballclub.

O'Flaherty upset

No one was more upset than Mariners left-hander Eric O'Flaherty by his two-batter relief stint Wednesday. O'Flaherty enjoys a dual-bullpen role as a long and situational reliever, and his latest outing served to remind him of the differences between the two.

He entered in the seventh inning with one out and a runner on first, then fell behind 3-1 on the Los Angeles Angels' Chone Figgins before walking him. The next batter, Reggie Willits, jumped ahead 2-1 in the count before hitting a run-scoring single.

"When you come into a situation like that, you have to throw strikes," O'Flaherty said. "You can't start falling behind guys or else that's the kind of stuff that can happen. I was so upset with myself after the game. You can't walk Figgins in that situation. He's the guy you've got to go get."

O'Flaherty had thrown first-pitch strikes to nine of the 15 hitters he faced in tossing 4-1/3 scoreless innings of long relief against the Yankees on Saturday. He landed an initial strike against Figgins on Wednesday, but couldn't get him to bite on ensuing sliders.

Letting two of the quickest Angels reach base came back to haunt O'Flaherty even after he was pulled for Chris Reitsma. Figgins and Willits pulled off a double steal, and both scored on an Orlando Cabrera single to cap a three-run inning that sealed the game.

Another Hasegawa

The name Shigetoshi Hasegawa rolled off tongues around the majors for nearly a decade, ending with the Mariners in 2005. But now, a different Hasegawa is making his mark in baseball.

Hasegawa's 10-year-old son, Kohto, is apparently a promising pitcher and power hitter. So promising that the Hasegawa family is packing up and moving from Redmond to Irvine, Calif., so Kohto can play for the powerful local Little League there.

Kohto was a candidate for the 9- and-10-year-old all-star team for the North Redmond Little League last season, though he didn't make the final cut.

His father, 38, plans to visit Safeco Field tonight to bid farewell to former teammates. Hasegawa spent the first five years of his career with the Angels and the last four with Seattle.

Notes

• The Mariners completed the trade that brought relief pitcher Jason Davis from Cleveland, sending 18-year-old pitcher Gregorio Rosario to the Indians. Rosario had spent the past two seasons in the Dominican Summer League and had been in extended spring training with Seattle's rookie-level Peoria team when the deal went down.

• Raul Ibanez was a late scratch from Thursday's starting lineup, complaining of lower back pain. Ben Broussard got the left-field assignment, his first start at that position since 2002. RF Jose Guillen was moved to the No. 3 spot in the order, where Ibanez normally hits. Ibanez struck out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning with two on and two out and the Mariners trailing 6-3. He did not play in the field.

For the record

Streak: L2

Home: 11-9

Road: 7-9

vs. AL West: 8-7

vs. L.A.: 1-5

vs. Oakland: 4-1

vs. Texas: 3-1

vs. AL East: 5-5

vs. AL Central: 5-6

vs. NL: 0-0

vs. LHP: 6-2

vs. RHP: 12-16

Day: 7-6

Night: 11-12

One-run: 4-4

Extra innings: 0-0

Home attendance

Thursday's crowd: 20,488

Season total: 563,711

Biggest crowd: 46,181 (May 13)

Smallest crowd: 16,555 (May 2)

Average (20 dates): 28,186

2006 average (20 dates): 26,438