M's Notebook | Putz earns AL Pitcher of Month

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A somewhat startled J.J. Putz doesn't know quite what to make of all the accolades flowing his way.

One day after being named to the American League All-Star team, the Mariners closer was honored as the AL Pitcher of the Month for June. It's only the second time in franchise history a Seattle relief pitcher has taken home the honor, joining Norm Charlton in 1995.

Putz said the latest honor was "very humbling" but made him feel uneasy.

"We play a team game," Putz said. "It isn't really a one-person thing. I wouldn't really be having an opportunity if it wasn't for Brandon [Morrow] and George [Sherrill] and [Sean] Green and others out there getting their jobs done."

But Putz has put up the kind of numbers that exceed those posted by all other pitchers on the team's staff. He converted all 11 save opportunities in June, posted a 0.59 earned-run average for the month, struck out 19 batters and walked only three.

For the season, he was 23 for 23 in saves, with a 1-0 record and 0.92 ERA and a .107 opponents' batting average against heading into Monday night.

Pitcher of the Month routinely goes to starters and Putz is the 10th Seattle pitcher to be so honored — the last one being Freddy Garcia in 2003.

Putz said he isn't surprised by how well the team's relatively young bullpen has held up despite an enormous amount of use. Seattle headed into Monday with a 37-1 record when leading after seven innings and 38-0 when ahead after eight.

"I'm not surprised," he said. "You guys don't really see how hard they work. Day in and day out in spring training and stuff like that. They take care of their bodies, so I'm not surprised."

McLaren names Goff as bench coach

New manager John McLaren wasted no time ending speculation over his bench coach, tagging first-base coach Mike Goff for the job. There had been speculation McLaren might reach out to Lee Elia, Sam Perlozzo or other former Mariners coaches for the role.

But McLaren said he liked Goff.

"I'm real comfortable with Mike," McLaren said. "He's a friend of mine, he's done a great job for this organization, done a good job coaching here. I'm glad Mike agreed to be the bench coach."

Goff served in a similar capacity last September after bench coach Ron Hassey was fired by the team. The Mariners will replace Goff at first base for the next few days with batting-practice pitcher Johnny Moses.

Notes

• McLaren made it clear that there will be a difference in the way he manages his bench players compared to how Mike Hargrove used them.

"I'll do some things different," McLaren said. "I believe in using the bench a little bit more. I'll probably put the game in motion just a little bit more."

McLaren told his players in a pre-game meeting to expect more bench use. "I told these players 'We have the toughest schedule in baseball, we travel on the plane more than anybody. On top of that we have good bench players. If I can give you a chance to catch your breath and give another good player a chance to play, I think it kills two birds with one stone.' "

• Royals manager Buddy Bell, a former bench coach to Hargrove in Cleveland, said that he was very surprised by his longtime friend's decision to leave midseason.

"I think I'm more surprised by the timing of it more than anything," Bell said, adding that he hadn't spoken to Hargrove yet but would in coming days. "I know that the gig can get to you at certain points. I'm not really sure what the final straw was. But I do know that he gives an awful lot to his job every single day. He probably got to the point where he just said 'This isn't working.' "

• Mariners first baseman Richie Sexson badly bruised his left thumb scooping up a hard grounder in the bottom of the ninth. X-rays were negative but Sexson appears unlikely to play tonight and could be out a few days.

For the record

Streak: L1

Home: 27-15

Road: 18-19

vs. AL West: 12-10

vs. L.A.: 2-7

vs. Oakland: 4-1

vs. Texas: 6-2

vs. AL East: 15-7

vs. AL Central: 9-8

vs. NL: 9-9

vs. LHP: 15-6

vs. RHP: 30-28

Day: 13-11

Night: 32-23

One-run: 14-10

Extra innings: 3-1